Oh, I'm gonna buy this place and start a fire.

Stand here until I fill all your heart's desires.

Because I'm gonna buy this place and see it burn,

and do back the things they did to you in return.

So meet me by the bridge, meet me by the lane.

When am I gonna see that pretty face again?

Coldplay - A Rush Of Blood To The Head

Chapter 3

Coming Home

It was a gloomy and restless afternoon. The sky was a cloudless gray and rain poured down on the city as the storm flooded everything in its wake. He ran after her, soaked in his own tears and the mercilessly cold rain. She continued down the sidewalk without notice, wiping the water in her eyes every now and again while clutching onto her sack.

"WAIT!" He screamed.

She stopped dead in her tracks, unwilling to turn around.

"HOW CAN YOU DO THIS? HOW CAN YOU THROW US AWAY LIKE THIS?" He said. "TELL ME! I DON'T UNDERSTAND YOU!" He had never yelled so fiercely in his life until now.

And although his words were broken by the clatter of rain, she could pick out every word. More tears streaked her face as she dropped her belongings and turned around.

"DON'T YOU SEE? I DON'T HAVE A CHOICE! WHY WON'T YOU LET ME GO? IF I DON'T LEAVE, WE'LL BOTH DIE!" She screamed back. "HOW CAN YOU BE SO BLIND?" She clenched her fists in the hopes of numbing the pain.

She had to do this. It was the only way to save her world and she couldn't do it with love. Love was too much. The warmth and intimacy she knew with him was too much. She had to be ruthless and force an unthinkable truth on him whether or not he agreed. Pieces of her shattered inside when she looked at him and saw the resentful sadness in his eyes, the tears and the anger that gnawed at him. It wasn't fair, not now, not ever.

"I WON'T LET YOU DO THIS, LENNE!" He yelled in protest. "YOU'RE GOING TO DIE FOR A WORTHLESS CAUSE! NO ONE WILL TAKE THE BLAME AND YOU'LL DIE FOR THEIR MISTAKES!" He fell to his knees in exhaustion.

Lenne immediately dropped her sack and raced over to him, cupping his face in her hands. It was too late to turn back now; she wouldn't be able to let go of him a second time.

"I love you!" He panted. "I can't lose you! Damnit, I can't!"

The rain poured down harder, flooding the city in its misery. Lenne looked into the desperate eyes of her lover and kissed him forcefully, refusing to let the miserable state of the weather ruin the only good thing in her life. They stood there in the middle of the sidewalk, arms wrapped tightly around each other, unable to let go. They were hopeless without each other. There was no way they could walk away now, it was too late. As they spent the last of their energy, they slowly pulled away just far enough to look at each other.

"Shuyin, I have to do this," she said, her voice shaking.

Shuyin refused to look at her and instead kept his gaze fixed to the sidewalk floor.

"Damnit, Lenne," he said after a moment, readjusting himself to sit on the edge of the sidewalk. "Don't you see what they're doing to you? Do you think they care if you live or die? This is a war of hatred, it's always been that way. Why don't you see that?" He flashed a scolding glance at Lenne and finally looked at her. She looked at the ground now, wiping the water out of her eyes. He shifted closer and tore the hand away from her face.

"Look at me," he said. He lifted her chin up as she looked at him. Her eyes were bloodshot, from the crying and the cold rain that continued to bite at her bare skin, making her sick. He immediately threw his arms around her and held her close. After a few minutes, he let go.

She seemed more lifeless by the second as she sat there and looked at him. There were no more words she could say that would comfort him. There was nothing left.

"Please, Lenne," he said desperately, "look at me and tell me you're fighting for something. You know this isn't right and you've known it since the beginning. You and I aren't stupid. We're the only ones who aren't blinded by the corruption and hatred that's gotten a hold of everyone else."

"I... have... to do-" Lenne collapsed before she could finish the sentence. Shuyin caught her just in time as he frantically examined her. He knew they had been in the rain for too long.

"There's nothing to worry about," he said as he looked at her one last time. "I'm taking you home." He mustered all the strength he had left and carried her back to the apartment.

After setting a fire that blazed in the room, the place finally managed to shut the cold out. Lenne was set on a long couch, sound asleep. Shuyin sat below her on the ground, leaning against the side of the couch. He was exhausted but he wasn't finished with the matter. This war couldn't take the only person he had ever loved in his life. As he starred into the flames, his eyes burned with resolve. His fists clenched as his thoughts got the best of him. Alas, he came to a resolution.

"They can't have you," he said quietly. "They just can't have you."

Yuna had been having too many dreams lately. All of it connected to her search for Tidus... and Shuyin. The Gullwings had also realized that because of Yuna's songstress dressphere, she was able to see Lenne's past and actually get inside Lenne's psyche. Sphere waves had carried emotions and memories across generations and Yuna was the recipient of this transference.

After Djose, they had decided to go to Besaid to celebrate the arrival of Wakka and Lulu's newborn. Yuna couldn't wait to see little Vidina, the child of her two former guardians, both of whom she would have never guessed would become parents. Regardless, it was refreshing to know that life still blossomed in a place she considered to be somewhat forgotten by the rest of the world. It wasn't until she realized how beautiful and timeless Besaid was that she began to appreciate it and consider it sacred rather than forgotten. It was where she grew up and became a summoner. It was where she met him. It was the beginning of a journey that marked the history books of Spira. Above all, it was home. There was no place like home.

While Paine and Rikku occupied themselves with Buddy's tutorial on navigational tips and tricks, Yuna looked at the sphere map located in the center of the bridge. She looked around at the islands that surrounded Besaid and started to feel a little homesick. Shinra approached her and stood silent for a while, observing her reaction.

"Care to tell me about Besaid?" He interrupted after a moment. "Although I have to say how disappointed I was when I discovered the existence of technology on that island, or lack thereof really."

Yuna laughed and drew her head out of the map to face Shinra.

"It's true, " she began. "You tend to lose a sense of time and responsibility in Besaid. There's rarely any technology around the island because people there claim that it would ruin their peaceful lives. You can't blame them, can you?" She smiled. "And to be honest, I can't wait till we arrive. I think I'm actually homesick."

"Being homesick after numerous trips to your hometown?" Shinra asked, more to himself than to her. "Interesting," concluded the wunderkind. He then buried his head into the sphere map to look at what Yuna was previously exploring. After seconds of scanning the island he began to theorize.

"Ooooh," he said. "With such a remote location, Besaid looks like a perfect spot for clear reception on my commsphere network. If I were to set up a network on the island, there would be no interference whatsoever." He was gleeful. "Finally! Demographics are treating my technology with the reception it deserves, heheh."

"That sounds like a good idea," said Yuna.

"Huh?" Replied Shinra, his head still glued halfway inside the holographic map.

"It's time we give Besaid a taste of Shinra's technology, right?" She smiled.

"You betcha." As he pulled his head out of the sphere map and made his way back to his station, he sang one of two chants that he used whenever something made him exuberant.

"Gullwings, GO! La-la-la-la-la. Gullwings, FIGHT! La-la-la-laaaaa..."

As she watched Shinra plant himself back into his seat, Yuna sighed and looked at the map one last time. She then moved her eyes to Brother, who had been driving for the past three hours without uttering a word to anyone. Her attention suddenly steered to her two fellow sphere hunters, whose conversation started to become louder than usual.

"Let it go, Rikku," Paine said, irritated. "I'm not telling you now and I won't tell you tomorrow. In fact, because you've been so persistent in nagging me, I might not tell you at all." She folded her arms over her chest in a victorious smirk. For the millionth time, Rikku begged her to explain how she knew Gippal, Baralai and Nooj. Paine nodded in disbelief and walked over to Yuna, leaving Rikku to sigh in defeat and drag behind.

"Staying here is killing me. Are we there yet?" Asked Paine.

"We are," replied Buddy. "Gullwings, get ready for a landing. We have arrived at Besaid."

Author's Note:

I wanted to share more between Shuyin and Lenne than what was shared in the game, just cause their relationship was so heartbreaking. To love someone and then lose them to a war (or something of the sort) is tragic. It's no shock that Shuyin went maniacal and wanted to strangle the world in his misery. Also, I had to put Shinra's little song in there because it's so awesome. Why don't our whiz kids look like him? Hmph.