Sorry that I'm a teensie bit late getting this out! I forgot that I was supposed to update today. I usually like to update between 9 & 10 am, but it's now -gasp- 2 pm! Haha, and this time, we can thank Hyde's "Shallow Sleep". I haven't had much time to write, but I at least have chapter 23 finished...Heh, I'm going to have to really start writing! Enjoy!

Chapter 22: No Wrong

The water felt cool on Tidus' face, but he barely noticed. He rubbed softly at his eyes, shocked at how black his right eye really was. His nose appeared almost crooked, which worried him, but only momentarily. Not much was on his mind.

He stared at his reflection for a long time. Many guys came in to use the restroom, and they all shot him confused looks, all sad looks. They must have figured that he'd lost someone close to him. But he had, hadn't he?

He finally managed to stumble out of the bathroom, his body numb, his mind blank. He was shaky, and very tired. It was getting late, but he knew it wasn't the time that was exhausting him.

Rikku was sitting on the bench, and she smiled at him and stood up quickly.

"The nurse says he needs to sleep now," Rikku said, her voice in a whisper, "We're free to go to the hotel now. Where's Yunie?"

Tidus looked at the ground, and mumbled, "She went home."

"She went home?" Rikku cried, "Did she have something she had to do tomorrow?"

Tidus shook his head.

"I'll call her and tell her she can come back," Rikku said, smiling. She started to dial Yuna's number, but she then stopped, her smile wiping itself off of her face instantly.

"Wait a minute," she cried, staring at Tidus with alarmed eyes, "Yunie didn't…You two didn't…"

Tidus ignored her and walked back toward the exit. He was lucky the hotel was nearby, and within walking distance.

"How selfish of her!" Rikku was crying in the background, "Your best friend is in the hospital, and you're all beat up, and she just leaves like that? I'm going to call her right now and tell her…"

"Just leave her alone," Tidus said, surprised at how calm his voice was.

"Leave her alone?" Rikku cried, "Tidus, what did you even do?"

Tidus shrugged and said a muffled, "I don't know."

"How are we going to get home?" Rikku cried, "They said Gippal can probably be released tomorrow."

They stopped though, upon seeing Tidus' silver sportscar parked in the hotel parking lot. Tidus had to knaw hard on his lip to keep himself from losing it. Yuna had taken care of it, just as she'd said.

"Well, that answers that question," Rikku said, shrugging. She walked past Tidus, and toward the hotel.

"Tidus," she said, her voice full of concern, "Are you alright? You really look horrible."

Tidus didn't answer her. He simply walked back past her, and into the hotel, and walked up to the desk, ignoring the stares he was getting. The lady smiled at him, and handed him the key to both his room and Rikku's room. Tidus tossed Rikku her key, and started toward his room, not saying anything.

Rikku sighed, and followed him, her eyes on the ground.

-

"Hey Gippal, how are you feeling?" Rikku whispered.

Gippal's eyes fluttered open, and he smiled, and sat up, saying, "Much better."

Rikku smiled, and said, "The nurses say you can leave in a few hours."

"Good," Gippal said, "Spending the night here really sucked."

"I bet," Rikku said, and she leaned in to kiss him, "So you really feeling okay?"

"Yeah," Gippal said, nodding, "Where's Tidus?"

"He's still at the hotel," Rikku said, her smile fading.

"And Yuna?" Gippal asked, raising his eyebrows, as if thinking they were together.

Rikku's smile was now completely gone, and she said, "Gippal, Tidus and Yuna broke up."

"What?" Gippal asked, sitting up a little too fast, for it caused him to let out a soft "ow".

"Yeah, last night," Rikku said, "I don't know the details. All I know is that Yunie left and Tidus was kind of upset."

"Did he cry?" Gippal asked.

Rikku laughed and said, "No!"

"Dude, I'm surprised," Gippal said, "Why'd she leave?"

"I really don't know," Rikku said, "I wanted to call her, but Tidus told me not to. Do you think I should anyway?"

Gippal looked thoughtful, and he said, "Did Tidus seem upset?"

"Very," Rikku answered.

"That sucks," Gippal said, "I'm guessing it was her that dumped him? I mean, I figured it was going to happen eventually, but—"

"You thought she'd dump him?" Rikku asked, her voice suddenly of higher pitch.

"Well yeah. They kept having lame arguments and stuff…"

"But they were so cute together!" Rikku cried.

"Rikku, it's not all about cute," Gippal said, "Let's face it, they have nothing in common."

"Sure they do!" Rikku said surely.

"Like what?" Gippal questioned.

Rikku appeared deep in thought, but she finally sighed and said, "You're right…they don't. But that's what made them so cute!"

"Sorry to burst your bubble Rikku, but this isn't some fairytale. This is reality. Well, Tidus'll get over it fast enough."

"No he won't!" Rikku said, "Gippal, they're totally in love! He must be so heartbroken! I bet she is too."

Gippal laughed and said, "Nah, they'll both get over it soon."

"I'm positive Yunie is crushed," Rikku said, pulling out her cell phone, "I'm going to call her."

Gippal took Rikku's arm that held the cell phone in his hand, shaking his head. "Don't get involved," he warned.

"Gippal, I want them to be happy!" Rikku cried.

"I'll talk to Tidus, alright?" Gippal said.

"No," Rikku said, "I'm talking to them both. You're too cold-hearted."

Gippal laughed. "Cold-hearted, huh?"

"Yes," Rikku said, pecking him on the forehead, "I'm going to go call Yuna."

"I really don't think you should get involved," Gippal said, smiling wryly, "I'm sure they can work it out on their own."

"I guess…" Rikku said, "I'll give them a week. And if they don't fix it themselves, then I'm going to!"

Gippal laughed and said, "Fair enough."

At that moment, a nurse came in, and smiled at the two, and asked, "How are you feeling?"

"Great," Gippal answered, a charming smile spreading itself across his lips. Rikku wondered if Tidus was rubbing off of him, for the nurse seemed charmed, and she smiled back warmly.

"Everything appears to be in order," the nurse reported, "You're free to leave."

"Really?" Gippal asked, sitting up.

"Just give us a few seconds," the nurse said, looking at Rikku, "The doctor wants to take one last look."

Rikku smiled at Gippal, and then left, knowing that was her cue to leave. Rikku shut the door behind her and stopped, seeing a rather depressed-looking Tidus sitting on the bench.

"Good morning, Tidus!" Rikku said, attempting to be as peppy as she could be, "How are you?"

"Okay," came a muffled response from Tidus.

"Alright…" Rikku said, "The nurse says Gippal will be free to leave soon. Ready to go home?"

To this, Tidus looked at her with a vacant look in his normally bright blue eyes, and said, "Sure…"

"Hey, pep up," Rikku said, sitting next to him with a smile still across her face, "Everything's going to be just fine."

Tidus didn't say anything. He simply continued to stare at an imaginary item on the floor.

The nurse walked out then before Rikku could say anything else, and soon Gippal walked out too, a broad smile across his lips. Rikku ran up and hugged him.

Tidus watched them, his eyes blank and expressionless. What made them still together? Gippal was the one that was in the accident, wasn't he? Was wasn't Rikku upset? Tidus sighed. Rikku wasn't upset because she had no idea what Gippal was doing. Tidus suddenly found himself glaring at his friend. So it was Gippal's lies that held the relationship together.

"Come on," Tidus said, standing up, and pulling his keys out of his pocket, "Let's get going."

Gippal and Rikku gave each other questioning looks, but they sighed and followed Tidus out of the hospital.

-

It was mid-afternoon by the time Tidus pulled in his driveway. Rikku and Gippal had begged him to have lunch with them, but he'd turned them down, and had dropped them off at Rikku's house, and then left. He wasn't in the mood to eat.

With a quick pound on the 'power' button, the sphere flashed on, but the images that appeared didn't distract Tidus. He seemed to look straight through them, his mind everywhere, unable to focus.

He didn't understand. What had he done wrong? He had told Yuna the truth. He'd told her that he was going to fight. He hadn't been in the accident. He wasn't dead. Shouldn't she be happy? And he wasn't in horrible shape after that fight. He could have had it much worse.

Did bit his lip hard in thought. Didn't Yuna realize that he was a boy? Boys fought. It was how things were.

Tidus sighed and walked over to his window, his hands stuffed absent-mindedly in his pockets. His eyes wandered over the house that was next door to his own. Sitting on the balcony was Yuna, looking intrigued by whatever she was reading.

Tidus' eyes were on her for some time, before he finally closed the blinds. He watched as they fell almost slowly, covering Yuna from his view. He stared at them for some time, realizing how dusty they were. He hadn't used them in years.

He stared at them for about ten seconds, before hastily pulling them back up. Already, he wanted to see her again.

When he raised them, however, she was gone. Tidus caught her just as her sliding door shut completely, signaling that she'd gone back into her house. Whether she'd gone inside on purpose or not was beyond him, but with the way he was feeling, he could only figure the worst.

He walked outside of his house, exiting via the back door, and walked toward his pool. He glanced over at Yuna's house hastily, but it was very quiet, almost as if she wasn't home.

-

"I told Rikku not to get involved, and this totally makes me a hypocrite, but get a grip, Tidus!" Gippal cried, "What the hell have you been doing the last few days, just sitting here and eating?"

Tidus simply grabbed another handful of chips and shoved them into his mouth, and took a giant chug of beer to wash them down.

"You're going to be an alcoholic if you don't knock it off!" Gippal cried, grabbing the can of beer from Tidus, "There's a good ten empty beer cans, and what, twenty empty pop cans?"

Tidus didn't answer him. He just continued to stare blankly at the sphere.

"Yuna's doing just fine," Gippal said, "I saw her the other day helping out with some charity art show."

Tidus still didn't say a word.

"She looks healthy, she's not developing a beer belly, and she still had some life left in her," Gippal said, "Unlike you.

"Dude, it's ten o'clock in the morning. Have you even slept? What'd you do to break it off, anyway?"

Tidus shrugged.

"Did you even talk to? Have you even talked to her since she broke up with you?"

Tidus shook his head.

"Why the hell not? Chase her, Tidus! You have to do something, instead of sitting around here. Either go fight to get her back, or go clubbing and get wasted there. At least then there's hope of you finding a new girl or something…"

Noticing Tidus' continued silence, Gippal continued. "Our birthdays are in a little over a week. If you don't get off your ass and help me plan the party, I'm just not celebrating with you. And what's more important? The ninth anniversary of us celebrating our b-days together, or some stupid chick?"

"The stupid chick," Tidus mumbled.

"Yevon, get a grip!" Gippal cried, "And I thought I was whipped. That's it, I'm marching over to Yuna's and getting her over here to talk to you."

Tidus said nothing.

"I'm out," Gippal said, shaking his head, "If you want to mess your life up over some girl, go for it. Seriously Tidus, I wouldn't have a problem with it, but have you even tried to get her back? You're Tidus. You can get anyone to fall in love with you. So what the hell is your problem? March right over to her and sweep her off of her feet. Of course, you might want to sober up a bit and shower, and shave off that beard you've got going on. Facial hair isn't your thing. A change of clothes might be good too, since you're still wearing those clothes from the party. Tidus, seriously, now I'm sounding like a girl, but that's gross. There's blood all over and it's ripped and… Man, just go get cleaned up.

"If you like her that much, go get her back. Girls just like to be apologized to. She's probably over there right now, waiting for you to come. Alright? Stop being a baby. Go apologize."

Seeing that Tidus was still not reacting, Gippal finally sighed and said, "Tidus, pick your Yevon-damned self up! She's just some girl! If she means—"

Tidus suddenly stood up, knocking his bag of chips to the floor.

"You're right Gip!" he said, a smile spreading across his face, "She's just some girl. She's not even a fun girl! I mean, we went out for—what, two weeks?—and we barely kissed! And if we did kiss, it was rarely with tongue. I thought I was becoming a better guy and stuff, but who wants that? I'm Tidus, the blitz player. Not some whipped puppy! See you 'round Gip. I'm gonna go clubbing, like you said."

"W-Wait Tidus!" Gippal called after his friend, who was already halfway upstairs heading toward the bathroom, "Shouldn't you discuss some things with Yuna first? You know, just to clear things up?"

"Nah," came Tidus' response, "Thanks Gip, I owe you a beer or something." With that, Tidus slammed the door to his bathroom, and Gippal heard water running and Tidus whistling.

Gippal's phone vibrated in his pocket, and he knew without answering who it was.

"How'd it go? Have they made up yet?" it was of course Rikku.

Gippal sighed and said, "I think I gave Tidus the wrong idea. He's heading out to go clubbing."

"Clubbing?" Rikku cried, "That's it, I'm taking care of things."

"Fine," Gippal said, "I give up."

"I'm going to talk to Yunie right now!" Rikku just said in a sing-song voice, "I promise, I'll be more successful than you!" With that, Rikku hung up, leaving Gippal alone in Tidus' living room, listening as his friend whistled a happy tune upstairs.

-

"Hey Yunie, long time no see!" Rikku said, walking in, although Yuna was looking rather confused.

"Where's Gippal?" Yuna questioned suspiciously.

"I don't know," Rikku answered with a shrug, "Where's Tidus?"

"Tidus?" Yuna asked, sighing loudly, "Didn't he tell you? I broke up with him?"

Rikku faked a gasp of horror. "You did what?" she cried, "But you two were totally in love!"

"I know…" Yuna simply mused softly to herself.

"I bet he misses you so much," Rikku continued.

"I haven't seen him," Yuna said, shrugging.

"Let's go see him right now then," Rikku said, pushing Yuna toward the door.

"Rikku!" Yuna said, her tone angry, "I don't want to see him."

"What did he do anyways?" Rikku cried, her voice becoming whiny.

Yuna hugged her arms and said, "You had to be there, Rikku. I can't explain it."

"Try," Rikku pushed, "Maybe if I just understood…"

"It's just…He was always so gentle, you know? I felt so safe in his arms, and I didn't want to be anywhere else."

"Great!" Rikku chirped, "Come on, go over there right now and tell him that!"

"You don't get it," Yuna said, her eyes downcast, "I was so happy to see him, alive. I just wanted to feel his arms around me, and feel that safety that I thought was gone."

"Go right now," Rikku cried, "Let him wrap his arms around you, and—"

"Instead though, he just pushed me. He didn't even care about what I had to tell him! He didn't even care that I fell over when he pushed me. He didn't care that I had to watch him as they beat him up, feeling completely helpless!" Yuna was now crying, and Rikku was standing there, completely dumbfounded.

"And then," Yuna continued, "When we were finally free, I didn't get any 'thanks for your help', or 'sorry I pushed you', or 'I'm sorry you had to see that'! Instead, I just got a stupid half-ass 'sorry'".

Rikku jumped at Yuna's choice in words, and swallowed saying, "Tidus is really upset, Yuna."

"So what, he sent you over here?" Yuna asked, giving her cousin a glare.

"No, I came on my own," Rikku said, "I wanted to see how you were doing."

"I'm doing just fine," Yuna said, wiping her tears quickly, "As long as I don't have to see him, that is."

"Yuna, be forgiving," Rikku said, "I'm sure Tidus didn't mean for things to happen the way they happened."

Yuna sighed and said, "It's just that…I really thought that Tidus could protect me from anything. Almost like he was Yevon, or something. You know? An angel. But when I saw him get beat up like that…"

"We're all human," Rikku reminded her cousin.

"But Tidus really led me to believe that he could do no wrong," Yuna said, "Even though I knew he wasn't, I somehow thought that was completely innocent. And I thought that he would forget all of his stupid ways and become that perfect, flawless boyfriend that I wanted."

"Even Tidus has flaws," Rikku said, "You have to be forgiving, Yunie!"

"Maybe you're right," Yuna mumbled softly, "It's just the look in his eyes that night, the tone of his voice…it frightened me. He's from a world completely unlike my own. A world where sex and drinking are okay, fighting is the norm… Things I'm totally against, you know?"

"But you guys were doing so good to get around that stuff!" Rikku protested.

Yuna shrugged and looked out the window toward Tidus' house. "It's better this way," she said, "I'm sure of it."

"But Tidus is so depressed!" Rikku cried.

Suddenly, a loud blast went through Yuna's house, and Yuna recognized it immediately as the sound of Tidus' speakers.

"He sounds really depressed," Yuna said, annoyed, for she had forgotten how much she hated his speaker system. She felt something swarm around her. Hatred. She hated him, just as she had earlier that summer.

"It was stupid," Yuna cried then, "I fell into his trap, and now I'm getting out of it. It was stupid. Stupid of me, stupid of Tidus, and we both know that now!"

"Yunie…" Rikku said, her voice soft, "That's not how it is…"

"It is too," Yuna said surely, "Now if you don't mind, I have to read. Do me a favor and tell Tidus to turn his music down?"

"Do it yourself," Rikku said, sounding angry.

Yuna opened her mouth to say something, but Tidus' speakers turned off then. The girls looked out the window, just in time to see Tidus—looking rather nicely dressed—laugh into his phone, "Oh yeah, they still work!"

"Oh, he seems super depressed," Yuna said, rolling her eyes, "See you around, Rikku."

"Yunie, he is depressed!" Rikku cried, "That's just how he handles depression!"

Yuna peeked out the window just in time to see Tidus laughing at whoever he was talking to's joke.

"No man, I'm getting wasted tonight," Tidus was saying loudly, "You know that hot dark-haired chick at Rin's Bar? Yeah, I'm hooking with her. Of course I know she's twenty-two! Why the hell does that matter?"

"Yeah, really depressed," Yuna said again, and with that, slammed her curtains shut, blocking the view to the outside.

"He really was…" Rikku mumbled, "Fine Yunie, you can just let Tidus walk out of your life! I don't care. I'm going to be with Gippal. See you around, I guess."

"Sure, bye," Yuna said, picking up her book.

Rikku let out a low sigh of defeat, and headed out the door.

-

"I almost had her!" Rikku said, leaning back in the passenger seat of Gippal's car, "But then Tidus comes outside all happy. What did you say to him anyway? Did you tell him to forget about Yuna?"

"No, he's just being an idiot," Gippal said, sighing loudly, "This really sucks, you know. Seriously, Tidus needs to grow up, and Yuna was perfect for him. Now he's back to his old ways."

"And Yunie seriously needs to get out," Rikku added, rolling her eyes, "A guy like Tidus is perfect for her!"

Gippal laughed and said, "So this whole time, Yuna's all worried about not having anything in common. But that's what makes them so perfect for each other."

"Exactly," Rikku said, "But how do we make them realize it?"

Gippal sighed and gave Rikku a small smile, "We can't make them realize it. They have to realize it on their own."

"Can't we help?" Rikku questioned.

Gippal simply continued to smile, and he shook his head. "I'm afraid not," he said, "All we can do is hope that with time, they'll come to their senses."

Rikku nodded slowly, and let out yet another sigh. "I guess we have to be patient then?"

Gippal nodded, and added, "And hope for the best."

Rikku simply smiled, and nodded.

"Do you think they'll ever get back together?" Rikku asked, lying her head on Gippal's shoulder.

"It's hard to say," Gippal said, "Yuna's stubborn, so it'll take a lot for her to budge. And Tidus is stubborn too, but in a different kind of way. He gets wrapped up in things easily."

Gippal's eyes were suddenly somewhat dim though, for he sighed and said, "But to be honest, I wondered if the relationship would last long. Tidus only has a week or so before he heads off to school. And when he leaves, he won't be coming back. He pulls this whole 'I-don't-know-what-school I'm going to stunt just to see how much he can get. He's off to Zanarkand."

"Oh…" Rikku said, softly, "Maybe this is for the better then."

Gippal sighed and said, a soft, "Yeah…"

The two rode the rest of the way in silence.