Disclaimer: I don't own anything! Not the characters, the movie, etc…
::.Chapter Two.::
Yuna jolted awake to the sound of heavy metal playing at full blast. Yuna turned around to see the familiar scene of her brother in his red pajamas, laughing at the expression on her face. Seeing as she was up already he turned the radio off.
"SQUALL! Why can't we wake me up like a normal person!"
Still laughing, "Hey, I tried that and you wouldn't wake up, besides this way is more amusing."
Yuna hated when he did this. If she didn't wake up, he was her alarm clock, since she would smash her other one to smithereens. Squall even tried disconnecting the 'snooze' and 'off' buttons on her alarm clock and replacing it with a horrible, annoying beeping noise that only he knew how to stop. But now, he had a simple method. He would place his boom box on her bed side table and turn on the radio full blast (he didn't have to change the station, he was always listening to heavy metal).
"Can't you just wake me up by opening the window, the sunlight will get to me soon enough!"
"Nah, I think I'll stick with this plan."
Yuna threw a pillow at him and got up, ready to face a new day. Hey, it was a Friday at least, her favourite day of the week. Yuna began brushing her teeth vigorously. If you knew Yuna well enough, you would know that she's a complete neat freak, and of course personal hygiene was on the top of her list.
It was just then that she realized that she would be spending the day with Tidus, working on that stupid case. And she didn't know anything about those people. 'What were their names again…the Anizans, right!' Yuna gagged suddenly, realizing she didn't finish any of the paperwork, and Tidus sure wasn't going to do it. The minty blue toothpaste splattered against the bathroom mirror. Yuna wiped at her mouth, not as elegantly as she would have usually. 'I can't believe I forgot to pack my stuff too!' Over the time they would be on the case, they would have to stay in a hotel, separate rooms of course.
She took a 5-minute shower, and began flinging clothing into her suitcase haphazardly. Grabbing her last pair of underwear to pack, she was about to quickly shove them in when,
"I knew you wouldn't be ready. I didn't think you were stupid enough to forget that, but once again you've proved me wrong."
Yuna looked up, even though she could tell it was him by his voice.
Ignoring his insulting remark, "Has knocking gone out of style?" Yuna asked sarcastically, hiding her lacy, black panty behind her back. "And who gave you permission to come in my room!"
Tidus ignored the comment, looking intently down at her packing her stuff.
"You didn't do the paperwork either, did you? You know Yuna, these are the kinds of things you would get fired for…oh right you already were."
Yuna couldn't stand his cocky, ignorant, annoying insults anymore. She picked up her heavy 'Law and Order: Professor McRuth's Edition' and gave him one hell of beating with it, almost playfully-as much as she really did want to hurt him. Of course, in an attempt to defend himself he backed outwards toward the door.
"What the hell Yuna!"
"And stay out!" Yuna slammed the door in his face. This could give her some more time to pack the rest of her things, without being under his surveillance. Getting out her laptop, she began her search for the Anizans, the people she would be investigating, and conveniently, knew nothing about. The page was taking so long to download before she finally got a response out of it. After 10 minutes of waiting, Tidus helped himself in again. Talk about disrespectful. The stupid thing still wouldn't even load.
"What is taking so long?"
"I'm waiting for this thing to load."
Yuna stared at the screen excitedly after noticing a window pop up which read: 'Fatal ERROR!' Yuna pounded at her bed furiously.
"Fatal ERROR? I'll give it a fatal beating!"
Tidus watched, amused before he snapped down the screen, closing it.
"We'll check later. We only have…25 MINTUES TO GET THERE!" Tidus yelled the last part, after glancing down at his watch.
He grabbed all of Yuna's bags in attempt to get her running out the door. They were really late. They speedily put on their coats and headed out the door. Luckily, the taxi was on time.
"We need to get to 112 Golden Oceancrest Mansion, in less than 20 minutes." Tidus notified the taxi driver.
In 15 minutes the driver stopped at the gates, and it was only then that Tidus and Yuna realized what a gigantic place this was. The mansion was a beautiful white that looked almost like it was made completely of marble and it had many detailed, gold designs. Not to mention that it had a huge "U" shaped driveway that curved in front of the house, bringing attention to the stairway leading up to the house.
"Wait, you mean we have to walk all the way up? You can't drop us off at the stairs?"
"Sorry kid, but the Anizans only allow V.I.P's to drive through their main gates."
Yuna and Tidus both growled at this. These people were obviously disgustingly rich, couldn't they at least have their visitors properly taken care of? With 5 minutes to spare, Tidus jogged up ahead leaving Yuna slightly behind, trying to keep up in her high-heeled shoes.
"The least you can do is wait up for me. You know I can't run in these shoes, never mind running uphill!"
"We wouldn't be in this situation if you were prepared and actually on time for once."
"……….." Yuna sighed deeply. It really was her fault, even if she didn't want to admit it. Nonetheless Tidus's slightly patient side came out as he watched her make her way up. They were almost there anyway.
"Mommy! Daddy!"
Tidus only managed to see a little, bouncing girl with brunette hair before she jumped into his arms.
"What the—
"Naomi get back here." A lady, who looked like a maid made her way down the stairs bounding after the girl and gasped at the sight of Tidus and Yuna.
Tidus looked down at the little girl in his arms, who looked about four years old. She looked up at him and smiled, and Tidus couldn't help but smile back. He took this time to notice some of the girl's facial features. She looked surprisingly like Yuna, with her brunette hair and angelic face. Her eyes however, were a mixture of green and blue. If he could describe them in his own words they would be: 'a beautiful teal color with jade tones trying to escape'.
"Maria what's going on?" A man's voice was heard coming from behind the door. He too emerged from the house with another woman -supposedly his wife- and gasped at the sight of the two strangers standing in the middle of their driveway with the little girl.
The little girl, Naomi signaled to Tidus with open arms that she wanted Yuna to hold her now. Yuna hugged the girl closely to her, (she was so cute!) and for some reason, she had a feeling she and Tidus would be involved with her in some way…
The woman enveloped Tidus in a hug. She was definitely the mother, they both could tell by her actions.
"Is it really you? I can't believe you two have been gone so long on that business trip, Shuyin."
"What? But he's not—
"And you Lenne, come here dear. Oh how we missed you two, especially Naomi. She would cry and cry everyday to see her mommy and daddy." The lady chuckled, "She can spot you two from a mile away!"
"But Mrs. Anizan—
"You don't have to call me that, dear. Afterall, I am your mother in-law."
Tidus and Yuna exchanged surprised looks.
Tidus started, "But we were sent here to—
"What are you taking about son, you live here!" The man, presumably the father interjected.
"Now come on inside so we can get acquainted. You have to tell us all about your business trip to Zanarkand."
Confused, they both entered the house and were shocked to see that the inside of the mansion was even more elaborately decorated than the outside.
The walls were filled with paintings of many different people who looked like family members of the Anizans. One large portrait was placed in the middle of the large foyer, which caught the attention of both Tidus and Yuna. It was a picture of a man and woman who looked about 20 years old. The man looked surprisingly like Tidus, down to the structure and even the same deep ocean blues. The two looked as if they were in a park, next to a beautiful tree filled with white blossoms. What surprised Yuna most was that the woman, -most likely the man's wife or girlfriend- looked exactly like herself. She had long, brunette hair and pale skin; the only difference was that she had brown eyes. 'So these two must be Lenne and Shuyin…' Yuna mused. She was secretly jealous of the two; they looked like such a happy couple. Looking at the picture she wished her prince charming would hold her like the woman in the picture was being held.
Yuna looked cautiously over at Tidus who must've seen how she was looking at the picture. Tidus shrugged not really knowing how to act the only thing he knew right now was that they were both tangled in the Anizan's web.
"Mommy?"
Yuna looked down at the little girl in her arms and quickly realized that she was addressing her.
"Hmm?"
"I love you." Yuna instantly froze at the girl's comment. She wasn't really her mother, should she take her place, if only for a little while? The whole family thought she and Tidus were Lenne and Shuyin anyway.
Yuna fiddled with the girl's brunette strands, "Love you too."
"Now you too get unpacked upstairs, I'm sure you're tired as well. We can talk about your trip tomorrow."
Tidus looked at Yuna curiously. 'What is she doing?' Tidus took Yuna's hand and squeezed it a little letting her know that he was going to play along too, until they made up a plan.
They started up the winding staircase, Naomi now in Tidus's arms but stopped when they noticed that there were practically ten different rooms upstairs.
Tidus laughed nervously, "Uh…through all the confusion and with the jetlag and all…we kinda forgot where our room was…"
The maid, Maria laughed a little, "two doors down, Mr. Anizan."
They opened the door only to gawk at what was inside. There was a four poster king sized, canopy bed with beautiful baby blue covers. The bed was fit with light blue silken draperies and several fluffy pillows. The room was magnificently furnished with beautifully crafted designs and golden trim. 'Boy, these people sure know how to live it up' Tidus thought, amused. He could get used to this.
"Um…Naomi why don't you go and play for a while, mommy and I have to talk."
Naomi nodded happily, nonetheless and headed to what Tidus and Yuna assumed was her room. Tidus closed the door behind him, and went to sit beside Yuna on the bed.
"Tidus, they think we're Shuyin and Lenne…what do we do?"
"I don't know. Are you sure Naomi isn't yours?"
Yuna rose swiftly from the bed scowling at him. "Tidus, for the last 4 years, did I really look like I had a human child growing inside of me!?"
"Do you really want me to answer that?"
Yuna kicked him in the leg, hard. Tidus sneered and retracted his leg.
"You deserve that, you ass! Besides, she's probably yours. You most likely fooled around with some girl and left her the next day!"
"How would you know?! You've never even had the luxury of stepping into my bedroom!"
"And I would want to because…oh right, you're totally available for any girl's use."
"Don't be jealous, you could never be that lucky."
"Is everything alright in there?" Maria's voice was muffled from the closed door.
"Of course!" Yuna yelled cheerfully, rolling her eyes after.
"Anyway, we have to get this job done otherwise Dona will have a cow. We'll probably learn more about the Anizan's by being them for now." Tidus reasoned.
Yuna nodded approval and began looking through the drawers and closet.
"What are you doing?" Tidus asked, curious as to why she was looking through everything.
"Hey, if I'm gonna be Lenne, I might as well dress like her. Besides, one false move and we're both done for. And I really only packed business suits and casual clothes like tank tops and jeans, and somehow I don't think the Anizans dress that way."
Yuna yelped when she unintentionally picked up a lacy article of clothing, obviously lingerie. Tidus laughed at her innocence, "Gee, that Shuyin sure was a lucky guy!" Yuna blushed at his remark.
"Hey, remember from now on not to talk as a third person. You are Shuyin."
"Yeah, yeah. I get it Lenne."
Yuna went to the washroom to change into her new clothes. Tidus was interested in what Yuna had chosen. If Lenne had lingerie, who knew what other kinds of clothing she had!
Yuna stepped out wearing a red, V-neck long-sleeved shirt and an angled black skirt that showed her shapely legs that Tidus never knew she had. This outfit showed Yuna's perfect curves, which were always hidden away judging by the things that she used to wear. Oblivious to Tidus's gaze, Yuna started styling her hair until she noticed he still wasn't dressed yet.
"What are you waiting for? Hurry up and get something to wear, Ti- I mean Shuyin."
Without hesitation, Tidus took off his shirt baring his chest. Yuna could feel her cheeks burning up, and quickly turned away.
"Hey, what's this?"
Yuna saw him holding her locket. That locket was originally her mother's. It was simple really; the only thing fancy about it was the engraved vines and red gems shaped like roses placed around the front of it. Inside was the only picture Squall and she had of their whole family together. Squall was 5 at the time and Yuna was only 2, but it brought back a lot of memories, the small insignificant ones. Like her mother's 'lily of the valley' perfume or her father's heavy, silver chain she used to play with as an infant.
"Don't touch that!"
"Hey, what's the big deal?!"
Yuna tried to remove the locket from his grasp, hoping he hadn't broken it. For some reason, she just didn't trust him with it. Tidus backed away a bit, and ended up tripping over his suitcase, bringing Yuna down with him onto the bed. Yuna held the locket in her hands, but was embarrassed because she was currently ontop of Tidus, and could feel his muscles under her touch, although it didn't feel so bad…Before they had a chance to get up, they both heard,
"Oh my! Am I interrupting anything?" Apparently, Ms. Anizan had just stepped in.
Yuna carefully got out of her position, since she was wearing a skirt and a low-necked shirt; she wasn't willing to expose anything to Tidus. Tidus rubbed the back of his neck and said, "Uh…we were just getting ready to come downstairs…"
Yuna stepped in, "Nothing happened, really!"
Mrs. Anizan chuckled, "You two act like you aren't married sometimes!"
Yuna and Tidus looked at each other and laughed nervously. Tidus quickly put on a dress shirt and buckled his belt. Even if this lady was his 'mother' he didn't want her to see him half-naked!
"Oh, by the way Shuyin, your best friend came over."
Tidus gave his 'mother' a skeptical look. "Uh…which friend exactly, mom?"
"Gippal of course. Now hurry up you two."
Oh great! I'm gonna have to deal with a whole truckload of people! Tidus thought, a bit annoyed and nervous. Yuna, however was smiling at his misfortune.
They made their way down to see this Gippal character. If he was such a good friend of Shuyin's maybe they could learn more about him.
"Hey bud. Whatcha been doing for so long?"
Gippal. There were so many words to describe this guy. First of all, he had blonde hair gelled upwards in a wild fashion, and an unmistakable black patch over one eye. His swirly, green eyes –indicating he was Al Bhed- seemed to glimmer playfully. This guy just looked like he was ready to do something outlandish. And 'charmer' was written all over his face. He didn't look so bad himself…
Gippal punched Tidus playfully in the arm and gave him a half-hug. Noticing Yuna there, he extended a tanned hand, to help her down the last few steps, giving her an irresistible smile.
Yuna smiled graciously, "Oooh! What a gentlemen!"
Gippal, obviously amused and flattered by the remark said, "Every last fiber of me, my dear."
Yuna giggled girlishly. If only Tidus were like that…it would be easier to live with him,Yuna thought. Yuna didn't notice the look Tidus was giving her while Gippal kissed her soft hand, causing her to blush a little. Gippal then came out of his 'charm' mode and into his 'partying' mode.
"Hey, Shu lets hit the bar."
Tidus laughed nervously, "Ah, well you see, me and the wife just got back and we're really tired. So—
"—Oh don't worry about it, honey. You can go with Gippal. I don't mind." Yuna interrupted, smiling evilly at Tidus.
Tidus glared covertly at Yuna, who was waving goodbye. Yuna blew him a fake kiss and winked at him. Oh, I'm bad…
○♥○
Author's note: Well, I made this chapter about two pages longer. I hope you enjoyed it. Review and tell me what you think! The next chapter will deal with Tidus's 'adventure' with Gippal and Yuna's discoveries of Naomi and the Anizans. Stay tuned…and if you have any questions/comments don't hesitate to ask!
