Ten years later

The bay of Luca was cool on Rikku's bare feet that day, with the clouds running fleetly overhead in fluffy patterns. Swinging her feet in the bay, she watched the people on the other docks as they ran to and fro, making ready for the ships full of blitzball players to arrive the next day. Rumor had it that the Aurochs from the tiny island of Besaid, far off in the Southern Archipelago, had something special planned for this year's tournament. Of course, they were no matches for the Psyches.

"Go Psyches!" She laughed happily as she flicked a little of the water up from the surface and onto her bare legs. Despite their upcoming job, she preferred to remain out of her wetsuit- it was constricting and looked gross on her. She would have rather spent time in her favorite green shorts and old orange shirt. She'd had it lengthened and expanded as she grew- it had a special memory for her. The day she'd met Auron in the desert, for the first and last time, he'd held her up in the air in a gentle yet firm grip by the back of her neck.

She could just hear her father's voice. "You need new clothes!" He'd barked at her in his imposing voice. "You need to look like a gosh-darn woman now. What with Keyakku knocking at my door to marry you and every other Al Bhed male-"

"Chill out, Pops." She'd flicked him in the nose, which always disoriented him, and then walked away while he mumbled more protests to himself. True, she like Keyakku, and he obviously really liked her, but she didn't feel like getting married or dating just now. There was too much fun to be had!

And now that Yuna was…

She tried to put out of her mind what Cid and her brother were planning to do with Yuna and other summoners to protect them. She agreed with them- summoners shouldn't have to go and die to give the rest of the selfish Yevonites ten years of peace- but she thought that maybe if they just talked the summoners out of it… then they'd see that there was another way. Operation Mi'ihen had hope. And there had to be another way.

"Rikku!" Ciku addressed her in Al Bhed from the nearby ship. "Come and get these crates. We need to get ready to go!"

"Yeah, yeah," she said, lazily standing, her goggles dangling from around her neck. Her legs had lengthened nicely, even though she was still short. Her hands were gloved with the typical Al Bhed mechanical gloves, but she had painted her fingernails a bright, iridescent yellow in defiance. Cid had had a fit, but Rikku was the best there was with machina, so he couldn't complain too much. She meandered lazily over to the dock where Keyakku, Ciku, Heid, and Ulell worked, loading and unloading the ship with things for the tournament, the job, and the escape. They had plans.

"It's okay, Rikku," said Keyakku, smiling at her with his bright green eyes. "We can handle the crates." His hand brushed hers, and he blushed shyly. She smiled back at him.

"I'll go and get some more supplies for the outfitting, then." She waved at the four men- her brother pouting, Ulell shaking his head, Heid working silently, and Keyakku waving awkwardly back at her, gripping a smaller crate against his hip. Ciku smacked him, said something coarse, and Keyakku blushed bright red and continued loading.

Wandering off into Luca, Rikku brushed her blonde bangs in front of her eyes, tucked her hands behind her back, and walked blissfully through the pre-tournament crowds. For some reason, the crowds in Luca always seemed friendlier before a tournament. Less hostile to people who were different, somehow. Guado mixed with Ronso who talked affably to Kilikans who smiled at Al Bhed. Everyone seemed connected by a simple game with a ball. Rikku loved it.

She grinned at a little boy with a bright red balloon, and he gave her a shy smile and ran back to his mother's skirt. Walking a little further, Rikku wound up at the little landing before the Mi'ihen Highroad, peaceful and quiet today, as all the visitors for the tournament had already arrived from that direction. The ancient stones beneath her feet seemed content somehow, like they were rejoicing with the rest of the city. She leaned on the railing and looked down over the buildings and the roaming people. Yevonites, all of them.

She didn't hate them, but they were wrong. And dogmatic. And irritating in their own hate. The fact that the Al Bhed weren't allowed to partake in the hope that the rest of Spira so longed for was a thorn in their side, driven deeper by the fact that Sin was the cause for many of their difficulties. Why, only two weeks ago, on a job in Baaj, the creator of the spiral of death had surfaced near them, dragging someone that they'd rescued underwater with it.

Pity. Rikku had liked him- something about him seemed mysterious. Sure, the toxin had a harder effect on him than on anybody she'd ever met, but underneath all that prattle about Zanarkand- of all places- she could tell that he was a truly good person. Tidus, he said his name was. And he did have the physique of the blitzball player he claimed to be. Maybe, just maybe he'd be here… but he was probably dead. Almost no one survived one encounter with Sin, let alone two.

His bright blue eyes had seemed to pierce her. And the fact that he didn't care about her being Al Bhed had been sweet. He seemed grateful for the simplest things. He was a good fighter, too- wielding a sword, even underwater, had been effortless for him. Fiends had fallen before him, and despite his strength, he had a cool demeanor. Even though it could never have been- she was sure that he was some kind of Yevonite from Luca, in the way that he talked- she had, for only a second, seen a future with him.

Scuffling behind her drew her attention. She turned slowly, still hiding her eyes for fear of being discovered an Al Bhed, and saw someone she'd never expected to see again before the Farplane.

He was older, his shoulders sloped with long days and nights, but it was definitely Auron. She'd have recognized crystal-clear, sharp brown gaze anywhere. He moved slowly toward the balcony, dressed in the same clothes she'd last seen him in, but with his left arm resting inside of his jacket like a sling. He didn't seem to recognize her. Of course not. It's been a really long time.

Finally, he drew up next to her, a small distance away, and rested on the railing. She could hear him breathing- or was that just her own heart racing? She drew a deep breath.

"Excuse me… Auron?"

Slowly, like an ice age melting, his head turned to face her. "What?"

"You are Auron!" Breathing a sigh of relief, she let loose her permanent grin. "Do you remember me? You saved me from a fiend in the desert once, a long time ago."

He took a moment, a long pause, staring into her eyes. Now that she knew him, she wasn't afraid to be proud of the green iris, penetrated by the black swirl of her pupil. He seemed to be judging her critically, debating whether to own to their acquaintance or not. Her heart palpitated, but she couldn't find the words to say among her own jumbled thoughts. Surprisingly, she wasn't afraid- just nervous. Excitedly nervous.

"Yes, I remember." As if this admission were an entire conversation, he turned back to his perusal of the city. After a long pause, he spoke softly again. "You haven't changed much in ten years."

"I have too!" She pouted, trying to treat him like an old friend. Ciku always said she made friends too quickly, but she ignored him, as usual. "I'm a good deal taller now. But you haven't changed much either. You look just like the last time I saw you."

He chuckled under his breath, a sound like rushing water. The ocean breeze ruffled his hair, tossing his long ponytail against his wide shoulder blade. He stood near her, nearly a foot taller. But Rikku, in her constant way, had no fear. "Much has happened. But all for good reason."

"What have you been doing?" She tried to make conversation, like a family friend long gone on a trip. "Seen anything cool?"

"Traveling. Fulfilling a promise to a friend." He looked down at her, close now. His black chestplate nearly brushed her, his muscular arms near enough to touch. She now noticed how heavily coated with scars they were. "I'm still working on it."

"What promise takes ten years?" Without thinking about it, Rikku raised a finger to her cheek in a motion of perplexity. Keyakku always told her it was cute, but he thought anything she did was cute.

"You'll find out eventually, I'm sure. He's wild."

"He?" She looked up at him now, his face casting a shadow down on her. Suddenly, an urge took her. She tried to find an excuse, but in her usual impulsive manner, she acted first and thought later. Without explanation, she wrapped her arms around his waist and hugged him.

"I wanted to thank you for saving my brother and I that day," she rushed, blushing as she scrambled for an explanation for this behavior. "After we took you back Home, you just disappeared without ever saying goodbye-"

For a few awful seconds, she was sure he was going to shove her away like a petulant child and stalk off, never to be seen again. But to her surprise and relief, she suddenly felt his strong hands around her back in a return of the embrace. Legends were human, too.

"You're welcome," he returned softly, his fingers barely touching the bare skin of her arm.

After a little bit, they separated again, and he straightened. "I'm going now," he said, as if in substitute for a goodbye. He straightened his crimson-red coat and turned quickly toward the stairway to go.

"Wait," she said, her entire body tingling from his warmth. "Will I ever see you again?"

He turned his head back over his shoulder with a small smile, barely visible over the top of his grey collar. "What do you think?"

She bit her lip and lowered her gaze for a second, then brought it back up cheerfully. "Maybe if I steal your sphere again?"

He chuckled before turning away. "Write your own story. I'm already in it."