Chapter 6

Bad feelings often come true

It was about eleven o'clock when all the lights went down and the music died as well. Everyone looked around, trying to figure out what had happened, but before anyone could say anything the lights on the stage lit up again, focusing one single girl standing there, with a micro in her hands. We all knew who she was, with her long brown hair falling down her back and her silky blue dress (not the one she was wearing the night Shuyin got arrested, but another one even more beautiful) clinging gracefully to her body. By the time she started to sing, the lights were on once again and her sweet voice floated through the air, filling the huge room.

I glanced at Shuyin, whose eyes were fixed on stage, following closely every move Lenne made. Suddenly he turned his head to me and our eyes met. "You knew about this, didn't you?"

He wasn't asking, he was stating. Even so, I tried to explain myself. "I wasn't sure if she was gonna be here or not. But you guys need to talk and―"

He shook his head, cutting me off. "I don't know 'bout this, Yuna. I know you're just trying to help, but… Don't ya think you're pushing it a bit?"

I sighed and bent my head. Maybe he was right and I was pushing him a little too fast. I mean, in one single night I had made him met my entire group of friends and now I was trying to persuade him into talking with his ex-girlfriend. Maybe I was getting a little out of line there. It was his life after all.

"You're right." I said, giving in. "Maybe talking to Lenne tonight won't be a good thing. I don't want to ruin your night. I'm sorry if I pushed you." I just wanted to help you out of your problems... I completed in my mind.

He let out a small smile. "Hey, it's okay…" He lifted his hand and was about to mess with my hair when a sudden shriek made him stop.

"Don't even think about it, Shuyin! Do you have any idea how much time I spent doing her hair?" Rikku almost yelled from the other side of the table. We were both so surprised that we just stared at her, until Shuyin burst out into laughing, making me laugh too.

"Hey, that's not funny, you big meanie!" my cousin pouted, crossing her arms over her chest.

"Sorry, Rikku, I didn't know." He apologized, still smiling widely. I was so happy with his good mood that I couldn't help but to grin too.

"Goodnight, ladies and gentlemen." It was suddenly heard all over the room. I turned to the stage, surprised that the song had ended already. I guess we were so caught up talking and playing that we hadn't paid much attention to Lenne's performance. "It's a pleasure to share this night with you." She continued as she stared at the audience, smiling at some of her regular spectators. Some people cheered and clapped and her smile widened. Beside me, Shuyin smiled too.

"Are you sure you don't wanna?" I asked him, nudging his arm slightly.

"I… I don't know if I'm ready." He answered me, hesitating a bit.

I just nodded, not wanting to go on with that conversation. I knew he was ready; he was just scared of what Lenne's reaction would be. But I also knew she would be there for him with her arms opened, like she had always been. I was just afraid that if he took too long, she would believe he didn't care about her anymore and would move on with her own life. And they would both be left heartbroken for no good reason.

"Maybe after she ends her performance…" he added, still not sure. I gave him a small encouraging smile and he sighed heavily. But I knew he would go to her and that would be the best for both of them… or so I hoped.

"The next song it's called 'Real Emotion' and I hope you enjoy." Lenne said, as a faster beat came along and she started to sing again, dancing at the same time, in sync with the rhythm of the music. It was a really nice song and I found myself tapping my fingers on the table.

Rikku also began to swing with the beat and she held her arms in the air. Suddenly she stood up and grabbed my arm, pulling me to my feet. "Let's dance!" she motioned towards the dance floor, but I stood still, looking down at Shuyin. Rikku also looked at him, expectantly.

He half-smiled at us and folded his arms across his chest. "Go ahead. I'll watch the table for you."

Rikku seemed pleased enough with his reply for she quickly pecked his cheek and almost dragged me behind her. I looked back a couple of times, but Shuyin was once again staring at the stage. Well, until she finishes singing I have nothing to worry 'bout. I might as well have some fun… I thought as Rikku found a good spot for us to dance.

We started moving in sync with each other, lifting our arms above our head and enjoying the feeling. I closed my eyes and drifted to some place else, momentarily forgetting everything except the music. It felt so good… I should definitely do that more often.

After finishing that song Lenne sang a couple more and Rikku and I could go for yet another one, but Lenne was probably tired from all the singing and dancing, for she announced she was going to take a ten minutes break, while the recorded music began to play again.

"Maybe we should go back to the table." I told Rikku over the music.

She nodded. "Yeah, I'm getting thirsty."

Well that was not exactly my motive, but I didn't contradict her. I bet if I told her that I just wanted to keep Shuyin out of troubles while he talked to Lenne, she would probably criticize me. Shuyin and Lenne are not five-year-old kids, Yunie. They don't need a mother… I could almost hear her voice saying in my head. I chuckled at the thought of Rikku reprimanding me.

"What's so funny?" she asked, quite surprised.

I would've told her, but the moment she turned to me I saw something she wouldn't like to see at all and the smile instantly faded from my face.

"What is it?" she insisted, moving closer to me.

I had to think of something to keep her eyes out of that specific corner so I pointed somewhere to my right and said, forcing myself to smile again. "See that?"

"Where?" she demanded, trying to look above the crowd.

"There." I pointed again, gently turning her to the opposite direction of the corner where Gippal was making out with some random girl. I couldn't let her see them or that would ruin everyone's night, not to mention the next few days… So I kept pointing, while Rikku stepped on her tiptoes so she could have a better look to nowhere in specific for I had no idea to what I was pointing at.

Suddenly she lost her balance and fell forward, bumping into a guy who was dancing close to us. He had fast reflexes and he grabbed her promptly by the shoulders, preventing her from falling on her face. "Hey, you okay?" he asked, looking down at her.

She lifted her head and smiled weakly (and very seductively), as she met the boy's eyes. She pushed her long tresses behind her back and nodded, slightly batting her lashes. "I'm fine… thanks to you."

Oh, Yevon! Can't she be more obvious?, I asked myself, rolling my eyes. Less than an hour ago, Rikku had been pissed at Gippal because he had been flirting with a girl, but now it was she who was flirting with a guy. And the worst part was that I knew that, if Gippal saw it, he would freak out too. Because they were just the same. And that was why they felt so attracted to each other, even if they didn't want to admit it.

"Rikku..." I called, tapping her shoulder. She turned to face me, still smiling. "I'm gonna go sit down, 'kay? And I thought you were thirsty…" I completed, hoping she would come with me.

"You're thirsty?" the boy asked, slightly touching the bare skin of her arm. "I was heading to the bar. Maybe I could buy you two ladies a drink?"

Rikku's smile widened and she winked at me, before turning to the young man once again. "That's so sweet of you,…" she drifted off, waiting for him to give his name, while she waved her hands in circles and eyed him intently.

He took the hint and simply replied. "Rhael. My name's Rhael. So do you wanna come along?" he looked at both of us, but I knew his question was directed to Rikku only, so I declined it politely, also because I was in fact getting tired and sitting down was becoming such an appealing idea.

After Rikku darted off to the bar with Rhael, I moved across the dance floor until I reached our table, where Paine and Baralai were talking in an almost friendly manner. There were a couple of empty glasses on the table and Paine was emptying another one.

"Hey there!" Baralai grinned at me, when I sat down beside them.

"Hey. Where are the others?" I asked, as he handed me his glass, which was still full. I accepted it and took a sip of the sweet blue liquid. Apparently Rikku wasn't the only one to be thirsty for I took another sip right after the first one, drinking almost half of the drink.

"Take it easy, Yuna. That stuff is strong." Paine advised, placing her glass next to the others. Then, she answered my question. "We don't know where the others are. We saw Gippal a while ago but he was with his new dumb blonde pet." I smiled, knowing to whom she was referring. "Oh, speaking of blondes… Your friend had to leave."

"Shuyin?" She nodded "Where did he go?" I would have bet that he had gone talk to Lenne, so I was quite surprised with Paine's response.

"Well, he didn't say where he was going, but he left in a hurry after receiving a phone call. He seemed really distressed about it."

"He also said that he would call you in the morning." Baralai added.

I furrowed my eyebrows. He received a strange phone call and disappeared without a trace? That's so weird! What the hell happened? I asked myself, not knowing what to think about all that.

"Yuna!" I heard someone calling me and I looked around only to find Lenne running towards our table. She approached us and placed a hand over her chest, recovering her breath. "Do you know where Shuyin went?"

Paine raised an eyebrow with a questioning look in her ruby eyes. I glanced at her but my eyes quickly returned to Lenne, motioning her to sit down. "I'm sorry, Lenne, I have no idea. But how did you know he was here?"

"I saw you guys while I was singing. Then I saw Shuyin on the backstage but he just stormed off through the backdoor. I thought that maybe you could know something… Why was he here in the first place?"

"Well, I invited him. I knew you usually sing here and I was hoping that you two might talk, you know." She nodded "He agreed and said that he would talk to you after you finished singing, but then he got a call and left. I don't know why."

"Yeah." Lenne stood up again "Well, I gotta go. The show must go on, right? But please, Yuna, please tell me if you know anything else, okay?"

"Sure. Just gimme your number."

She grabbed a pen and wrote her number down on a napkin that was on the table. Then, after handing it to me, she left. Not even an hour later we were leaving too, heading home, where I took a hot shower to clean myself from the smoke and the sweat and then got ready to go to bed.

"Aww… It was a great night!" Rikku yawned as she climbed to my bed.

"Don't even think you're sleeping here tonight, Riks." I told her, adjusting the covers "We're way too big to share a bed, ya know."

She laughed. "C'mon, Yunie. Your bed is huge, there's plenty of room for me too. Pretty please?" she got on her knees and put her hands together, giving me the puppy eyes.

I groaned. Why couldn't I just say no? Sighing heavily, I finally gave up. "Okay, you can spend the night here."

She jumped out of contentment and then got under the sheets, laying her head on one of the pillows and looking up at me. I turned off the lights and lied down next to her, looking at the ceiling.

"Whatcha thinkin'?" she asked, her huge emerald eyes fixed on me.

"Nothin' special. Just wondering."

"'Bout what?"

"You ask too many questions, Rikku." I smiled "I was just thinking about everything that happened tonight."

"Well, I think this night was great!" she repeated.

"Yeah, well, you're not the one who had to share a dance with Seymor…" I joked, as I rolled over to the side so I could look her in the eyes, even though the room was darkened.

"Okay, I admit it, dancing with Seymor must've been kinda creepy, but you must also admit that being saved by Baralai was rather exciting!" How the hell did she managed to change subjects so quickly and use my weapons right against me?

"I wasn't saved by Baralai…" I pouted, looking at the ceiling once again.

It was her time to go "Yeah, right."

I smirked, not really wanting to go on with that conversation. I was just too tired to think straight and I knew that Rikku could be very persuasive into leading someone to say things they would later regret. So I just said as I shut my eyes. "G'night, Riks."

-----XX-----

I woke up several times during the night, feeling restless. It seemed like every time I closed my eyes I dreamt of something I could not remember the moment I woke up. And the strangest part was that I couldn't erase the feeling that I was dreaming of Tidus. But why in hell would I dream of him? I mean, when he had left Besaid I had dreamt of him often, but then the dreams became more sporadic and now they rarely happened, which only made that night even more outlandish… I just didn't understand. What could that possibly mean?

"You were quite twitchy last night, Yunie." Rikku said, as she sat at the table for our family breakfast. It was about the tenth time in that morning that I heard the same sentence from her and I was becoming quite annoyed with it. "What were you dreamin' of?"

"I've told you a million times, Rikku: I don't know!" I snapped back, pouring coffee into the cups.

"Bad dreams, huh, Yuna?" Uncle Cid asked, taking a bite of his toast.

"I don't know." I repeated "I just don't remember what I dreamed of… It's weird, I know. The worst part is that I can't stop this bad feeling I have. Something's gonna happen and it ain't gonna be good." I was speaking more to myself than to the others, but they all had heard and were just staring at me.

"Relax, Yunie. Nothing's gonna happen, you'll see." Rikku patted my back before turning her gaze to the empty chair in front of her. "Anyways, Pops, where's Brother?"

Cid shrugged, continuing to eat his meal. "Don't know. He didn't come home last night."

Rikku and I nodded and continued eating our breakfast. It was no big deal if Brother hadn't spent the night at home. He was often away with his friends or with girls, especially with girls. He was completely crazy about the opposite sex, I must say. He had even hit on me when I had moved to their house, and I was his cousin… It had been a while before I could get him to realize that he wouldn't get any from me. Well, he was also a bit slow at times, so…

Suddenly my cell phone began to ring. I ran to get it and looked at the display. Private number? Who the hell―? I said to myself as I answered the call. "Hello?"

"Yuna." I was greeted by a very familiar and very tired voice from the other side of the line.

"Shuyin! Are you okay? What happened? Where are you?" I stopped myself, realizing I had asked all that with one single breath.

"Calm down, Yuna. I'm fine." he answered, but I found it hard to believe. His tone betrayed his statement.

"Where are you?" I demanded again, more firmly this time.

"I'm at the hospital."

My jaw dropped and I was unable to speak. In front of me, Rikku and Cid eyed me intently, trying to get a glimpse of what was going on. "At the― At the hospital?" I stuttered, panic growing inside of me. Please, gods, let him not be hurt, please…

"It's not me, Yuna, I'm fine." He said quickly as if he had read my thoughts, which I bet was not very difficult at that time. I sighed in relief and he continued "Could you come meet me here?"

I was surprised by his request and couldn't help but to ask "What happened, Shuyin?"

"Please, just come here." He pleaded, his tone a little more desperate.

I could not say no to him; he needed me. And I just needed to know what was going on, for that bad feeling that had cringed to me all night was now even stronger. "I'll be there in a sec." I said as he hung up. I closed my eyes as I placed the phone on the counter next to me and leaned on it.

"What did Shuyin want? And why is he in the hospital?" Rikku asked me, standing up and moving towards me.

"Shuyin wanted me to go to him. He didn't tell me what happened, but he said he was fine―"

"That's a good thing, right?"

"Yeah, I guess." I said, absently. "It's just that I cannot stop thinking about this stupid bad feeling… I need to go get ready." I declared, snapping my head up and looking at my cousin and uncle.

Uncle Cid stood up slowly and nodded. "Go ahead, Yuna. If that friend of yours asked for your help, you should go."

"Yeah, Yunie, let's go." Rikku exclaimed, beginning her way to the stairs. But her father's voice stopped her in her tracks.

"You're not going anywhere, little lady. The call was for your cousin only." Rikku seemed a little disappointed. "Besides, you've already told me you'd help me with those new machines, so…"

That was enough to bring a smile to her lips. Rikku just adored playing with her father's machines. And Cid not only approved that passion of hers but he also encouraged it since she was really little, giving her small machines for her to dismantle and put together again, making her pretty good at it.

Anyways, Uncle Cid's support was precious and ten minutes later I was getting in the car and driving all the way to Besaid Hospital, all by myself.

"Shuyin!" I yelled as soon as I saw him. He had his back to me but turned around when he heard me calling him.

"Thank you for coming, Yuna." He said as he held me in his strong arms.

"Well, we're welcome." I responded bluntly. "Now, can you tell me what the hell's happening here?"

He backed away and looked around, until he found a couple of vague chairs. He led me there and we both sat down. He ran his hands through his blonde hair, and then looked straight at me, a grim face darkening his beautiful features.

"There was an accident, Yuna." He began slowly, as if he was telling a story that someone had told him. "Last night, two cars crushed, killing three people and leaving the others with serious injuries. There were two children involved in the accident: one didn't make it and the other is fighting for her life. Their parents were both killed in the disaster. And the driver that caused it all is still alive, but in a deep coma. The doctor isn't sure if he's gonna make it."

I wasn't understating his point and I blinked twice before carefully asking "And what's that got to do you, Shuyin? I mean, you―"

"It has to do with me, Yuna", Shuyin cut me off, in a whispered tone, with a sad smile on his lips, "because the man who killed those children's parents is… my father."

My eyes widened as realization fell over me. I thanked Yevon I wasn't standing otherwise I would have fallen, for strength had abandoned my legs. My mouth was dry and even if it wasn't I wouldn't know what to say. But the worst part was that there was one single thought screaming loudly inside my head: I was right about my bad feeling all along, and it had just proved true.

A/N: Hey there! I know this chapter isn't the best, but I promise I'll try to make up it for you on the next, okay? Another thing, I know you're all waiting for Tidus, so I'll try to bring him in the next chapter…

Thanks to everyone who reviewed. I'll see you soon.