Thanks for reading! I hope you liked the story. =)
Epilogue
"Sin is finally dead! The people of Spira will suffer no more!"
The stadium erupted in cheers as Yuna announced the great news. She continued...
"Because of Sin, we all have lost something precious." She looked back at Rikku. Rikku nodded, knowing what she meant. Yuna turned back to the crowd. "We all have lost homes, dreams, and friends. But, working together, we can make new homes, new dreams. I know the journey will be hard, but we have lots of time. We will rebuild Spira. The road is ahead of us, so let's start today!"
The crowd burst into cheers again, and Yuna had to raise her hands to quiet them down. "Just one more thing," she added. "The people or the friends that we have lost, or the dreams that have faded… never forget them."
Yuna turned to face her friends as the stadium went crazy. Lulu came up to her and embraced her. "You did well, Yuna."
"Yes," she said, tears in her eyes.
She smiled at Wakka and Kimari, then she stood in front of Rikku. She put a hand up to Rikku's face, wet in tears.
"Oh, Rikku…"
Rikku embraced her cousin as the tears flowed. "You did really well, Yunie. The people are so happy now."
"Yes. The summoners and guardians before us have sacrificed so much in order to reach this day. They would be so happy."
Rikku nodded into her cousin's shoulder and took in her flowery scent. "Yes, they would."
Yuna looked back at her and brought a hand to her cheek and wiped the tears. "I am sure Sir Auron is as well."
She nodded. "I know he is."
Yuna turned to the crowd again and they cheered. When it came time to go, Rikku left the group as they stood at the entrance to the dock outside the stadium. She walked down the wooden planks to the very end and gazed out at the sparkling blue sea. She took the band holding up her hair and pulled it out, letting her hair fall to her shoulders and billow in the wind.
"You said that you liked my hair down," she said, hoping that somehow, he would be able to hear her. "That was the first time I really knew that you cared about me in the way that I thought you did." A tear escaped her eye. "I promise I'll be happy. I have Yunie and Lulu, and Wakka… I'm still a little afraid of Kimari." She chuckled sadly. "I miss you…"
The wind blew warm air into her face, and she heard footstep coming up behind her. Yuna and Lulu came and stood next to her on either side.
"You okay?" Lulu asked.
"Yeah, I'll be okay."
"We'll miss Sir Auron and Tidus," Yuna said, then gave her a pointed look. "But I think you'll miss Sir Auron most of all."
Yuna chuckled and Rikku looked at her cousin with wide eyes. "Yunie, did you know all along?"
"If confessing your love for him before he was sent to the Farplane wasn't evidence of it," Lulu said. "It was pretty obvious from the beginning."
"Who else knew? I mean, before I confessed and everything."
"Everyone."
Rikku sighed. "I guess I had a hard time hiding it."
"It's alright," Yuna said. "It wasn't difficult to tell with him, either."
Rikku put and arm around both of her dear friends and hugged them close to her. "Let's go on being happy and enjoying life now that Sin is gone, alright?"
"Sounds like a plan," Yuna said, and the three young women laughed. Wakka and Kimari came up behind them.
"Hey, let me join in, too!"
Wakka bombarded them in an embrace, and they all laughed happily. Rikku knew that she would be able to keep her promise to Auron as long as she had her best friends around.