Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Until The Day I Die: A Squikku and Tiduna Story ❯ End of the Year Camp ( Chapter 17 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: rikku-squall4eva 
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.05.2006 | Pages: 8 | Words: 6.7K | Visits: 286 | Status: Completed
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance | Type: Crossover | Uploaded On: 06.05.2006 | Pages: 8 | Words: 6.7K | Visits: 286 | Status: Completed
CHAPTER 16: END OF THE YEAR CAMP
"Gonna tell us your plan anytime soon, Tidus?" Lulu asked, staring at him from across the table.
"I don't wanna." He muttered stubbornly.
"Oh come on! It'll be fun with us helping you!" Yuna smiled, hugging him. He brightened up alittle, wrapping an arm around her.
"You guys just invite yourself into all our plans don't you?" Squall asked, sharpening his gunblade.
"Yup." They all said, smiling happily.
Squall rolled his eyes, glancing up to see Principal Percy making his way to them. 'What's this?' He thought, 'We didn't do anything yet. Why's he coming to talk to us? Unless....Rikku..." He looked at her, knowing something was up. She was always doing something, and they called him secretive and sneaky?
"So when we gonna do this prank?" Rikku asked, not noticing the looks everyone was giving her.
"Prank?" Principal Percy asked, looking at Wakka, Tidus, and Squall angrily, "Not another one of your pranks! It took a whole month to get that dead fiend smell out the school last year."
"That was priceless." Wakka smiled, clapping hands with Tidus. They stopped laughing, their smiles disappearing from their faces as they seen Principal give them a disapproving glare.
"There's a end of the year camp coming up, you know."
"Yeah!" Rikku spoke up happily, "I heard about that! Students get to go to some fun camp thingy for the last day...sounds fun!"
"And it will be." Principal Percy agreed, "For all of you."
Squall sat up, giving him an angry glare, "What are you talking about? We didn't sign up for it!" He glanced around at the faces at his table. Tidus and Wakka looked back at him in confusion. He knew it was Rikku when he noticed her avoiding his gaze, looking entirely too innocent.
Principal Percy smiled, "I know...but to assure the school will be in good shape, I volunteered you."
"Cool!" Yuna and Rikku shrieked.
"Nuh huh." Lulu shook her head, disapproving, "Pregnant woman here, remember? I don't do outdoors and bugs anymore."
"C'mon, Lu, it'll do you good to get some fresh air." Yuna said, patting her comfortingly on the back.
"See you all at the bus later." Principal Percy said, giving them a last smile as he turned to walk away.
"Bus? Later?" Wakka asked in confusion, "I haven't even packed, brudda!"
"Yeah! And don't you need like a guardian's permission or something?" Tidus asked.
Squall rolled his eyes, "You don't need to pack because we're not going." He sat back and crossed his arms, silently saying that the discussion was over.
Rikku glared angrily at him, "Yes we are! We're not going to that party...and now we can't do that prank! We have to do something together before this school year ends!"
Squall looked at her, "Rikku...there's plenty of things we all can do together. And if you were more careful, maybe Principal Percy wouldn't have heard our plan."
"Oooh." Wakka and Tidus said, looking back and forth at Rikku and Squall. They new an argument was coming, they hoped Squall would win this one. The girls were winning by too many points.
"5 gil says Rikku punches him." Lulu smiled, knowing Rikku wouldn't do that but she was hoping she would.
"10 gil that Squall wins the whole argument." Tidus reached into his pocket and pulled out some gil.
"You guys are horrible." Yuna sighed, watching Lulu and Wakka get their gil too.
"You're saying this is my fault?" Rikku asked with an offended look.
Squall didn't say anything, he didn't have to. Rikku knew he was blaming this all on her...and it's true, it was her fault.
She smirked, "You got me. You're right, it is my fault, buster!" She leaned across the table giving him a stern glare, "And I'd do it again!"
Wakka and Tidus gasped, glaring at Rikku, then at Squall to see his response to her confession.
He showed no emotion, like he already knew that she did that on purpose, "Why?" He simply asked.
"Yeah, Rikku, why'd you ruin a perfectly good prank?" Tidus asked, him and Wakka wanting to know more then Squall.
"Perfectly good prank?" Lulu asked outraged, "You didn't even have a plan, idiot!"
"Did too!" Tidus replied, looking at her with a hurt expression.
"Oh sure...Yuna." Lulu glanced at Yuna, She nodded and pulled out a paper.
"Tidus's plan: Get gasoline..."
"I said no gasoline!" Squall interrupted, watching as Yuna read the paper.
"And make a fire...that's all he gots." Yuna finished, folding the paper back up, handing it back to a shocked Tidus.
"Never figured you a thief, Yuna." He muttered, stuffing the paper back into his pocket.
Yuna looked down with embarassment, "Sorry, Tidus, they told me to."
Lulu and Rikku gasped in horror, looking at Yuna. Oh sure they told her to steal it over a million times but it was Yuna who brought up the plan to actually do it. You make the plan, you do the job. That was a rule they made a long time ago.
"Liar!"
Yuna squirmed in her chair, "Ok...I wanted to do it. And I was the one that told Principal Percy to come to our table at lunch."
"Yuna!" Tidus and Wakka looked at her in confusion and shock. It wasn't like her to betray them. Maybe Rikku, and possibly Lulu, but not Yuna.
"Why?" Tidus asked, feeling betrayed. He looked forward to the annual prank. It was traditon! 'Was' being the keyword.
Yuna sighed sadly, knowing Tidus wasn't very happy with her right now. She wasn't very proud of herself at the moment either, "I did it the same reason Rikku did."
"Which is?" Tidus asked, not taking his eyes off her as Rikku began to speak.
"Come on, you guys. How many pranks are you going to do before you get caught? You already did one, obviously Principal Percy knows it was you guys. You do another one, you get caught. And you know what happens then? You guys are in big poo-poo."
Rikku looked at them to see that Squall was the only one looking back at her. Wakka and Tidus's heads were down in shame, knowing she was right.
"It was gonna be fun though." Wakka muttered stubbornly.
"We know, Wakka, we know." Lulu smiled. She placed an arm around him as he leaned his head on her shoulder, "But we want to end this school year on a good note...after all the drama we went through."
"Yeah, a prank ain't a good way to go." Yuna agreed, giving Tidus a sorry look. She did it to protect him from getting into trouble.
"And camp is?" Tidus asked, forgiving Yuna. He understood why she did it. She didn't want their last time together to be sneaking around the school, planning childish things. She wanted it to be romantic, he did still owe her a date.
"We'll be away from everyone for a day." Yuna smiled, pulling Tidus into an embrace, "Just us in the woods...stars...fire..."
"Ok, ok, I get it." He smiled, "Let me pack."
Rikku glanced at Squall, "What do you say, Squallie?"
He shrugged, smirking, "All you had to do was ask."
She hugged him tightly, briefly kissing him on the cheek, "Where's the fun in that, huh?"
PHONE CALL
"You knew, didn't you?" Laguna asked, watching Squall pack his things for camp. It wasn't a lot of things because he wouldn't be there for long.
"Knew what?" Squall asked innocently. He knew what Laguna was talking about but he didn't want to answer him, playing stupid usually helped.
Laguna sighed, looking around Squall's packed up room, "That Rikku was going to take you with her to this camp thing."
Squall shrugged, his attention on folding his clothes, "So what if I did? Are we in a rush to leave?"
"Dammit, Squall! You know we are! Why are you making things more difficult for me?" Laguna yelled angrily.
"Because it's fun." Squall smirked.
Laguna sighed out in frustration. Squall was being a bigger pain then usual and he knew why too. He didn't want to leave, not now that he had friends and a girlfriend, not when his life was starting again. Laguna wished he didn't have to leave either but this place wasn't good enough to train Squall, he needs to go to a great SeeD school.
"You're so fucking stubborn."
Squall gave him a look of amusement and anger, "Am I?" He asked incredulously, "I'm stubborn because I want to stay here and live a good life with friends and Rikku, a girl I'm in love with?"
Laguna glared at him, shaking his head slightly, "Yes."
Squall snorted, turning his attention back to his things, "Then I'm very stubborn, Laguna. So stubborn that I'm going along with your dumbass plan to let Rikku go..." He stopped, closing his eyes tightly to control his emotions. He couldn't even say those words out loud. '...let Rikku go...' those words sounded so wrong together.
"Watch your mouth..." Laguna stopped too, staring at him in shock, "Wait, you're going to go along with my plan? Are you serious? I thought you said that was completely out of the question!"
Squall barely heard him as he rubbed his eyes, "I'm gonna do it. For her...she may hate me forever after it but...at least she'll move on."
"It won't be so bad, Squall." Laguna said, trying to comfort him with words, "It isn't like you slept with the girl..."
Squall glanced at him, then he continued packing silently.
"You did!" Laguna yelled, it wasn't a question. It was written all over Squall's features, "You and Rikku had sex!"
"That's really none of your business." Squall replied.
"The hell it ain't! Do you know how much you screwed up? Man, stupidity must run through this family."
"I got it from you." He snorted, "And she and I felt it was the right time. We were both ready."
Laguna sighed with disapprovement, "It doesn't matter if everyone in the worlds says you guys were ready, you knew you were leaving! Why would you take a girl's virginity if you knew you had to leave later on?"
Squall thought about what he said carefully. He was right, he was being stupid and stubborn. But you know what? He would do it over again because that was the best moment in his life. The most greatest thing he's ever felt too, complete heaven. Being with her like that made them even more connected. To tell the truth he didn't want her to forget him, even if she was going to hate him later.
"I am stubborn." He admitted, "But you're forgetting something else."
"What?" Laguna asked, wanting to know what else was going through this crazy boy's mind.
"I'm also in love, and love causes you to do stupid and crazy things."
"Who told you that?" Laguna asked, shocked that his son said something very sweet.
"Rikku." Squall replied, grabbing his bag and walking out the door.
Squall was almost to his car when his cell rang, "Hello?" He answered, not even bothering to look at the number.
"Hey Squall!" A cheerful voice said, it sounded somewhat like Rikku's voice but somehow different.
"No way." Squall said, disbelieving, he knew this voice. It may have been years but this voice would stick in his head like Rikku's. It wasn't easy living next door to a crazy hyperactive ninja and forgetting her voice, "Yuffie?"
"Whoa, dude, you remembered me! I knew you loved me!"
Squall sat down in his car, trying to clear his head. Once he recovered from his shock he asked, "How the hell did you manage to call me?"
"Ok, maybe you don't love me! You're still a big jerk, huh?" Yuffie joked, "But seriously, the King gave me this phone thingy to call people in other worlds. Cool, huh?"
Squall could tell she was bragging, "Oh really?"
"Really! And I got your email."
"Email? I didn't send you an email? I sent one to Aeris." Squall responded. It took him a long time and lots of computer hacking to find out who had Aeris as a penpal and get her email.
Yuffie became quiet at the mention of Aeris's name.
"Yuffie, you still there?" Squall asked.
"Huh? Oh...yeah." Her cheerful voice came back, "Anyways I sent the thing you wanted. So who's the special person you're sharing it with?"
"That's none of your business." Squall responded, "So it's going to be there when I get there right?"
"Yessir, Lionheart, sir!" Yuffie said, laughing, "Hey, you are a Lionheart now right?"
"Yup."
"That's good. I remember you never would play or even talk to us because you were too good for us, Mr. Lionheart. Now you're speaking sentences! Only if I can get Vinnie to do that..."
"Vinnie?" Squall asked curiously.
"It's nothing...he's gone now. They're all gone now." Squall heard the sadness in her voice. The old Squall would just ignore it and say good-bye but he was different now.
"What's wrong, Yuffie?"
"Whoa...you actually care?" She asked shocked, alittle bit of happiness in her voice, "This girl really did a number on you, huh?"
"Yuffie." Squall said in a warning tone.
"Sorry." She apologized, sadness back in her voice, "But seriously, Squall, something...something terrible happened....Squall, Aeris is dead. She was murdered."
Squall almost dropped his cell in shock. Aeris? Dead? She was a sweet girl, also an orphan. He remembered envying her as a child because even though she was an orphan and not so wealthy she still had a happy outlook on life, like Rikku. That's when he remembered Cloud, his penpal. He knew an Aeris, Squall never actually considered that they knew the same Aeris.
"Cloud...Cloud Strife..."
"Cloud? How do you know Cloud, Squall?" Yuffie asked, confused.
"My...I can't tell you, but Cloud...did he do it?" Squall asked, anger rising in him. Aeris didn't deserve to die, let alone be murdered.
"No!" Yuffie gasped, "Why would you even think that? It was some other guy...Sephiroth. Look, I don't wanna talk about it. It was a very painful day, it still is very painful...I'm on my way back home. I just called to tell you that your fruit is on it's way."
"Thanks, Yuffie." Squall said, not getting over the fact Aeris was dead.
"Your welcome, buddy!" She replied happily, "See you soon."
"Bye." Squall hung up his cell and put it away. Aeris was dead, and what Squall could remember Cloud had real deep feelings for her. It must be like hell for him, losing the one you love. "It's going to be like that for me." Squall said softly to himself. He was going to lose Rikku, but not to death like Aeris, to his own destiny. He glanced at his gunblade case in his car, "You're going to be the end of me."
CAMP
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Do you think we'll sing camp songs?" Rikku asked, jumping up and down excitedly.
"Oh, please no!" Lulu muttered. It took a lot of convincing and chocolate to get her to agree to come, but if there was singing involved she would leave now.
"You're no fun." Yuna pouted. Rikku grabbed both of their hands, running onto the bus.
"Aren't we gonna wait for the guys?" Lulu asked, flopping into a seat as Yuna settled infront of her and Rikku settled behind her.
"Just saving seats, Lu!" Rikku replied cheekily.
Wakka, Tidus, and Squall were about to enter the bus until Tidus spoke up.
"Last day, guys."
They looked at him, seeing him stare at the bus sadly.
"Sorry you guys gotta go through this. Especially you, Squall." Wakka said sympathically.
"Yeah." Tidus didn't take his eyes off the bus, "Isn't it funny how your life can change in one little year?"
"Yeah, a lot of things changed in that year, brudda." Wakka responded, looking at Squall.
"Are you guys going to tease me now?" Squall asked, alittle exasperated with glaring and hitting them, "Because my hand is hurting from hitting your hard ass heads."
"We're not gonna tease you, man." Tidus smiled, patting him on the back, "We're just saying, we're glad to get to know you...the real you before you left."
Squall smirked, "It wasn't so bad meeting you guys either. You two may be complete dumbasses and wusses but your good and loyal friends."
Tidus and Wakka looked at him with sad smiles. Squall could see their eyes becoming watery.
"Oh come on!" He looked at them in amusement, "You guys aren't gonna start crying on me and telling me you love me are you?"
Wakka and Tidus quickly wiped their eyes, cursing themselves for acting like girls.
"No!"
"Nuh huh!"
"Good." Squall smiled, "Let's go get our seats."
Tidus nodded in agreement, "Oh, and remember I have that romantic date planned for Yuna. Don't say a thing to anyone about it."
"Who would we tell?" Wakka asked, walking onto the bus.
"I have two guesses." Tidus replied.
MACALANIA CAMPGROUNDS
"Oh! This is great!" Rikku ran off the the bus as soon as the doors opened.
"Be careful, Riks, don't hurt yourself." Yuna said, following her off and looking around, "I never been in this part of Macalania Woods before. It's brighter then the other parts."
"Of course you haven't." Yuna turned to see Dona, Calli, and a big muscular guy get off the bus, "This part is only for camping. Fiendless."
"Oh." Yuna replied, turning to look back at the woods. It was also more peaceful then the other parts. But no matter how better it was, it didn't have the Springs like Yuna liked. She had no reason why, but those Springs made her feel good. Relaxed.
"Why did you guys come again?" Lulu asked, trying not to fall down the bus steps. It was the first time they've ever been on a bus and Lulu kept complaining about the steps being too dangerous, "And where's that big-boobed freak friend of yours?"
"Lu!" Yuna said, "Please let's not start anything."
"I'm not." Lulu shrugged.
"Leblanc stayed behind. She signed up for a new summer hobby." Calli said, ignoring Lulu's remark about Leblanc.
"Yeah, and I wouldn't be talking about big-boobed freaks if I were you, Tubby." Dona added snottily.
Lulu gasped in anger, "I'm pregnant you Kilika Port bitch!"
"Tubby's Wakka's name." Rikku said, not even hearing the rest of the conversation. She was too busy exploring.
"You guys...not now, please?" Tidus said, stepping between the two girls, "Don't wanna ruin a good day do you?"
Dona rolled her eyes in aggravation. She grabbed Barthello and Calli, dragging them to another part of the woods.
"Let's make camp, shall we?" Tidus said, grabbing their supplies.
"Sure." Yuna smiled, grabbing his hand. They walked down a trail with Wakka and Lulu following behind.
Squall was about to follow until he noticed Rikku checking out flowers and trees, "Coming?" He asked.
"Huh?" Rikku looked at him in confusion, "Where'd everyone go?"
Squall chuckled, picking her up, "Come on, explorer. We wouldn't want you to get lost now would we?"
"I wasn't!" Rikku smiled, knowing she was probably going to end up wandering off.
Tidus, Squall, and Wakka began setting up camp as the girls found something to occupy themselves. Lulu was sitting down complaining about her sore feet and back, Yuna took pictures of exotic-looking bugs, and Rikku layed on the ground looking up at the sky.
"Are you guys done yet? I'm tired." Lulu said, yawning.
"Next time your staying home little lady." Wakka replied, holding up the tent for Tidus.
"Thanks." Lulu replied. She looked at Rikku who was laying on the grass, "Rikku, you're gonna get all dirty."
Rikku didn't hear her, she was too busy looking at a suspicious star in the sky, "Guys?" She asked, alittle concern in her voice, "are stars suppose to blink?"
Squall stopped what he was doing to look up at it too, "No...It's probably a ship."
"Oh." She nodded, not believing it was a ship. No ship she ever heard of can be up that high. It was impossible.
"What we got planned for tonight?" Yuna asked, "What's for dinner?"
Wakka and Squall looked at Tidus, waiting for him to respond. When he took too long Wakka answered for him.
"Tidus wants to take ya somewhere, Yuna."
"Huh?" Yuna asked, surprised, "Take me somewhere? Where, Tidus?"
Tidus fiddled with his hands nervously, "Well...I, uh, owe you a romantic date...remember?"
"Oh!" Yuna remembered the bet, "You're going to take me somewhere romantic?" She asked with a big smile.
Tidus smiled bashfully, nodding.
"Aw, Chocobo-hair, you're sweet when you're not being stupid." Rikku commented.
"Be quiet, Rikku!" Tidus replied, "Plus you and Squall have some training to do."
"Syh! (Man!)" Rikku sighed, sitting up, "Do we have to, Squallie, we've been training so much at home...I just wanna rest!"
"A bet's a bet." He smiled, "Be careful what you wish for next time."
Yuna began picking the grass and twigs out of Rikku's hair, "At least your getting better, Rikku. You'll be a good warrior in no time."
"Yeah, with Squall's brutal training." Rikku muttered.
"It's not that bad." Squall smirked.
"I wasn't allowed to have water until I got the move down perfectly. If that isn't brutal, then that just makes you mean."
He shrugged, handing his gunblade to her, "Then I'm mean."
Rikku grabbed it reluctantly, standing up, "When can I use it on someone?" She asked, excited.
"Never." Everyone except Squall replied.
She stuck her tongue out at all of them, turning to Squall to wait for his reply.
"When you're ready." He replied.
"Which is...?"
"When I say so."
"Lniam! Lniam! Oui kioc yna ymm ykyehcd sa! (Cruel! Cruel! You guys are all against me!)" Rikku complained, she stood infront of him, "Ok, Teach! Let's get started."
Tidus looked up, seeing it was getting dark. It was time for him and Yuna to get going so they could make it there before it got too dark.
"Come on, Yuna, we need to get going." Tidus said, grabbing her hand.
Yuna smiled, "Really? Now?"
"Breathe, Yuna, breathe." Lulu said, noticing Yuna was about to faint from excitement.
Yuna did as she said as they walked out into the woods.
"Don't you guys have something 'romantic' you guys wanna do too?" Squall asked, looking at Wakka and Lulu.
"You trying to get rid of us, Squall?" Lulu asked curiously.
"Yes." Squall replied. No use in beating around the bush.
"Fine." Lulu smiled, grabbing Wakka's hand to get up, "We're going. But don't start crying when you start missing us."
"We won't." Squall replied, turning back to watch Rikku practice her swinging.
******************************************************** *************************************************************
"Alm ost there." Tidus said. He continued walking through the woods. He knew it was a long walk to get to where they were going but Yuna didn't seem to mind. She was actually being very quiet about it.
There was a loud howl. "Shit, there must be wolf fiends out." Tidus cursed, reaching behind him to grab Yuna's hand to notice that Yuna wasn't behind him.
"Yuna?" He asked, turning around. Nothing. Nothing but woods and darkness. "Yuna!" He became more panicked. How long has she been gone? He could of sworn she was behind him 5 minutes ago. He began running to the Springs, she must be there.
Yuna continued walking through the woods, following the little bug-like creature she saw. It wasn't a fiend, she knew that for sure. It was pitch black with big bug-like eyes. She also knew it wasn't very smart of her to run off alone following something that can be very dangerous but it could be a new creature people should know about.
It ran behind a tree, blending in with the darkness. Yuna bent down, smiling warmly at it, "Hi, there. I'm not gonna hurt you."
She could tell the creature was looking at her in uncertainty. It's big yellow eyes scanned her, checking to see if she had any threatening weapons on her. She didn't either, she left her guns back at camp.
"Come out, I'm not going to hurt you."
The creature obeyed, slowly walking out the darkness.
Lenne?
Yuna looked at it in shock. Did it just say Lenne? "Lenne? Lenne...she was my penpal! How do you know Lenne?"
The creature got a good view of Yuna's face, snarling angrily.
You're not Lenne!
"I'm..." Yuna grabbed her chest in pain. Her heart, there was something wrong with her heart. The creature's eyes began glowing brighter as Yuna fell to her knees, "Stop...stop it, please!" She cried out.
There was a loud, high-pitched sound that echoed throughout the woods. The creature cried out then disappeared into the ground.
Yuna slowly got up, breathing hard. What was that thing doing to her heart? And what was that amazing sound? She ran towards it, determined to find out who was the owner of it.
************************************************************** ******************************************************
Squall and Rikku laid in the tent under the covers. Rikku's head was settled on his chest as he stroked her hair.
"That wasn't part of the training was it?" Rikku asked, smiling, "Because if it is, then I'm gonna start loving it."
Squall smiled and kissed her forehead, "You and me both."
"Squall...I've been having bad dreams lately." Rikku said softly, "Weird dreams." She felt like this was the right time to tell them. They were alone.
Squall looked at her in concern, "Like what?"
Rikku shrugged nonchantantly, not wanting to worry him with some dream she had, "Uh, it was nothing. Silly things."
"You're doing it again, Rikku." He replied, "Tell me, I won't get worried. Promise."
"Promise?" She asked, "You won't get all weird on me?"
He looked at the top of the tent, thinking. He wasn't going to get weird, worried maybe, but not weird. "Promise. Tell me."
"Ok." Rikku sat up alittle, "I'm in this really scary dark room. I see figures of people but I can't actually see their faces. Then there's this blonde guy, but I can't see his face."
Squall looked at her in confusion, waiting for her to continue.
"That's all, I usually wake up after that." She finished, "I told you it was nothing."
Squall shoke his head, "No...it's definitely something." He replied, falling into deep thoughts.
Rikku watched him in concern, "What...what do you think it means, Squallie?" She didn't want to ask, didn't even want to know the answer. She didn't like these dreams.
"..." Squall was still in thought mode and Rikku knew once he was there was no getting him out of it.
"Something bad's gonna happen." She said softly, not noticing him look at her.
"Nothing bad's gonna happen, Rikku." He said, cradling her face to look at her, "I promise."
"Promise?" She smiled, calming down. She hugged him tightly, "I know, Squallie. With you with me, nothing bad can happen."
"Right." He gulped, not liking the guilt and sorrow he was feeling now. How was he suppose to tell her? Would she understand? She probably would if he explained it to her in a nice, calm, loving way but that's not what Laguna wanted to do. He wanted Squall to be cold and heartless like he was before he came to Spira.
"Something wrong?" Rikku asked, feeling him tense up.
"Uh...nothing. I got something to show you." He said, sitting up.
"A present?" She asked with a huge smile.
"Something like that." He replied, reaching for his clothes. He hoped Yuffie sent the package to the right location.
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Yuna made her way to the Springs where she heard the sound. 'The Springs? Why is it coming from the Springs?' She continued walking, making her way to Tidus.
He whistled once more, hoping Yuna heard it. "Where are you, Yuna?" He asked himself, looking around.
"That was amazing, Tidus!" Yuna smiled, "How do you make that sound?"
"Oh thank Yevon!" Tidus sighed in relief, pulling Yuna into a tight embrace, "Don't ever wander off like that! I nearly had a heart attack!"
"Sorry." Yuna said, her face crushed into his chest, "Tidus, I can't breathe."
"Oh!" He let go of her, smiling sheepishly.
Yuna looked behind him to see a blanket with candles and food on the ground.
"Oh my!" She gasped, "This...this for me?"
Tidus scratched his head nervously, "Er...yeah."
Yuna looked at him, happiness in her eyes, "I love it, Tidus!"
Tidus looked down and blushed, causing Yuna to giggle.
"Come on!" Yuna grabbed his hand and led him towards the blanket, "You have to teach me how to whistle like that!"
*********************************************************** *************************************************************************** *******
Rikku followed Squall through the woods, watching him in curiousity. He's been acting so weird lately, which has been concerning her. Yet he had enough time to surprise her with presents.
Squall stopped, looking around the woods for the package. 'It should be somewhere around here....there it is!' He smiled as he picked up a star-shaped package.
Rikku examined it with curiousity, "What is that?"
He opened it, revealing a small yellow fruit.
"Fruit?" She smiled, "How'd you know I was hungry?"
"Not just any fruit, Rikku." He began cutting it in half, leaving Rikku to look at him in even more confusion. This fruit seemed very important to him.
"It has special powers or something?" She asked, taking half of the fruit into her own hand.
"You can say that. It's called a Paopu Fruit. If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what." He explained.
"Aw, Squallie!" Rikku threw herself into his arms, "This is so sweet...that's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. I'd never thought you of all people would wanna be connected to someone for the rest of their life. But you do, and that someone happens to be me!"
Squall smiled, feeling her cry into his shoulder. He knew it was tears of happiness, but if she knew the real reason he was doing this she wouldn't be as happy.
Rikku released him, "So what do we do? Just eat them?"
Squall nodded, "Yeah, I think that's how it goes."
"Ok!" Rikku smiled anxiously, "Let's do it!"
"Ready?"
She nodded as they both bit into the fruit.
**************************************************************** *************************************************************************** **
Yuna blew on her fingers a couple more times, giving Tidus a helpless look as he smiled encouragingly.
"I suck, don't I? I'll never learn to whistle like you."
"You don't suck, Yuna. You just need practice, that's all." Tidus replied.
"So...when I learn how to whistle like that...and I do whistle. Will you come to me?" She asked.
Tidus looked down, "I can't make any promises, Yuna. But I will try."
Yuna nodded, not fully satisfied with his answer. She knew it was impossible for him to always be there for her, but she loved believing he always will. When she believed that she felt safe.
Tidus watched her watch the Springs. 'It's now or never Tidus. You have to tell her before tomorrow or you'll never get the chance.'
"Yuna, what if I were to disappear one day?"
Yuna looked at him, an amused smile on her face, "Didn't we have this conversation on the mountains?"
Tidus smiled alittle, "Yeah...yeah we did. But...this time it's different."
Yuna's smile quickly faded, she knew something was wrong. It was written all over his face.
"From Spira or my life?"
Tidus sighed, "Both."
"That'll be horrible, Tidus. I don't think I could bare it...are you going to?"
Tidus didn't look up at her. It was now or never...
"Tidus," Yuna lifted his chin up, "Please...tell me you aren't going to disappear out of my life. Tell me you're going to stay with me forever."
"I wish I could, Yuna." He replied quietly, "I'm...leaving...tomorrow."
"Leaving?" Yuna asked, "Y-you're leaving?" She quickly got up and walked towards the Springs, crossing her arms over her chest. She tried to understand what he just said. She heard him, knew what the words meant, but she didn't understand.
"Yuna." Tidus got up and stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders "I...I have to."
"Why?" She asked, closing her eyes as tears formed in them, "Just tell me why."
"I...can't."
She couldn't hold it in anymore, falling to the ground in sobs. He kneeled next to her, hugging her tightly.
"I'll be back though. That I can tell you. I just can't say when." He whispered as she continued sobbing.
"Where are you going, Tidus?" She asked after she controlled herself alittle.
"I can't say that either." He replied.
Yuna pushed herself away from him, "You can't or you don't want to?" She asked angrily.
"Yuna, don't be that way." He begged, he could tell she was upset. She had a right to be. Tidus wasn't exactly happy with her about the whole Seymour thing, he didn't expect her to be happy about the leaving thing.
"You knew didn't you?" She got up and glared down at him, "You knew you were going to be leaving a long time ago. Before you met me?"
Tidus looked at her in shock. How'd she know that? He nodded, "Right when I arrived in Spira."
Her anger turned to confusion. "Arrived in Spira? Weren't you born in Spira?"
He sighed. Now she was really going to be pissed at him. "No...I was born on Destiny Islands. I moved to this world when I was around 15."
"Destiny Islands? World?" Yuna ran her hand through her hair in frustration, "What are you talking about? What's going on around here? TALK TO ME, TIDUS!"
Tidus got off the ground and stood infront of her, "Yuna, I'm not from this world. I was sent her for awhile...now I have to go home to see how things are..."
"You're an alien?!" She exclaimed. She began pacing back and forth, "This is unbelievable..."
"Yuna." He touched her shoulder, giving her a sad look.
She stopped to look at him, "I don't care what you are, Tidus...just don't go." Her voice sounded so hurt and broken that Tidus felt his own heart break even more.
"I...have to go, Yuna." He replied softly, not looking at her hurt expression anymore.
"Excuse me." She replied, running off into the woods. Tidus wanted to run after her but he knew there was nothing he could do or say to make her feel better.
*************************************************************** *********************************************
"Lay with me one last time." Squall said as they made their way back to camp.
Rikku gave him a weird look, hugging his arm, "What do you mean 'one last time', Squallie? There'll be plenty of other times. Especially this summer."
"...Right." Squall said, realizing what he just said, "I meant here. This is our only night we can spend together at a...camp."
"Oh." Rikku nodded, "Sure thing, Squallie. Never thought you were a cuddler though."
Squall smirked as Rikku crawled back into the tent. 'Tomorrow's the big day, Leonheart.' He sighed to himself.
There was a movement in the bushes. Squall quickly grabbed his gunblade, ready to attack whatever it was.
"Squallie, what's wrong?" Rikku peeked her head out the tent.
"Shh." Squall said, slowly walking towards a bush.
Rikku climbed back out the tent, walking infront of Squall.
"Rikku!" Squall said, about to grab her.
"There's suppose to be no fiends out here, Squallie." Rikku replied as she got closer to the bush, "Which means it's probably just Dona and her beefhead boyfriend trying to prank us."
"Rikku..."
A figure jumped out the bush, landing on Rikku. She let out a shriek as Squall ran forward to slash whatever it was in half.
"Squallie, stop!" Rikku said, turning around to reveal Ghiki, "He must've followed us here."
Squall sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Ghiki."
Ghiki squealed happily, jumping onto Squall's shoulders.
"I guess we have an extra bed buddy." Rikku smiled happily as Ghiki tugged at Squall's hair, "He couldn't wait to see his daddy!"
"Gonna tell us your plan anytime soon, Tidus?" Lulu asked, staring at him from across the table.
"I don't wanna." He muttered stubbornly.
"Oh come on! It'll be fun with us helping you!" Yuna smiled, hugging him. He brightened up alittle, wrapping an arm around her.
"You guys just invite yourself into all our plans don't you?" Squall asked, sharpening his gunblade.
"Yup." They all said, smiling happily.
Squall rolled his eyes, glancing up to see Principal Percy making his way to them. 'What's this?' He thought, 'We didn't do anything yet. Why's he coming to talk to us? Unless....Rikku..." He looked at her, knowing something was up. She was always doing something, and they called him secretive and sneaky?
"So when we gonna do this prank?" Rikku asked, not noticing the looks everyone was giving her.
"Prank?" Principal Percy asked, looking at Wakka, Tidus, and Squall angrily, "Not another one of your pranks! It took a whole month to get that dead fiend smell out the school last year."
"That was priceless." Wakka smiled, clapping hands with Tidus. They stopped laughing, their smiles disappearing from their faces as they seen Principal give them a disapproving glare.
"There's a end of the year camp coming up, you know."
"Yeah!" Rikku spoke up happily, "I heard about that! Students get to go to some fun camp thingy for the last day...sounds fun!"
"And it will be." Principal Percy agreed, "For all of you."
Squall sat up, giving him an angry glare, "What are you talking about? We didn't sign up for it!" He glanced around at the faces at his table. Tidus and Wakka looked back at him in confusion. He knew it was Rikku when he noticed her avoiding his gaze, looking entirely too innocent.
Principal Percy smiled, "I know...but to assure the school will be in good shape, I volunteered you."
"Cool!" Yuna and Rikku shrieked.
"Nuh huh." Lulu shook her head, disapproving, "Pregnant woman here, remember? I don't do outdoors and bugs anymore."
"C'mon, Lu, it'll do you good to get some fresh air." Yuna said, patting her comfortingly on the back.
"See you all at the bus later." Principal Percy said, giving them a last smile as he turned to walk away.
"Bus? Later?" Wakka asked in confusion, "I haven't even packed, brudda!"
"Yeah! And don't you need like a guardian's permission or something?" Tidus asked.
Squall rolled his eyes, "You don't need to pack because we're not going." He sat back and crossed his arms, silently saying that the discussion was over.
Rikku glared angrily at him, "Yes we are! We're not going to that party...and now we can't do that prank! We have to do something together before this school year ends!"
Squall looked at her, "Rikku...there's plenty of things we all can do together. And if you were more careful, maybe Principal Percy wouldn't have heard our plan."
"Oooh." Wakka and Tidus said, looking back and forth at Rikku and Squall. They new an argument was coming, they hoped Squall would win this one. The girls were winning by too many points.
"5 gil says Rikku punches him." Lulu smiled, knowing Rikku wouldn't do that but she was hoping she would.
"10 gil that Squall wins the whole argument." Tidus reached into his pocket and pulled out some gil.
"You guys are horrible." Yuna sighed, watching Lulu and Wakka get their gil too.
"You're saying this is my fault?" Rikku asked with an offended look.
Squall didn't say anything, he didn't have to. Rikku knew he was blaming this all on her...and it's true, it was her fault.
She smirked, "You got me. You're right, it is my fault, buster!" She leaned across the table giving him a stern glare, "And I'd do it again!"
Wakka and Tidus gasped, glaring at Rikku, then at Squall to see his response to her confession.
He showed no emotion, like he already knew that she did that on purpose, "Why?" He simply asked.
"Yeah, Rikku, why'd you ruin a perfectly good prank?" Tidus asked, him and Wakka wanting to know more then Squall.
"Perfectly good prank?" Lulu asked outraged, "You didn't even have a plan, idiot!"
"Did too!" Tidus replied, looking at her with a hurt expression.
"Oh sure...Yuna." Lulu glanced at Yuna, She nodded and pulled out a paper.
"Tidus's plan: Get gasoline..."
"I said no gasoline!" Squall interrupted, watching as Yuna read the paper.
"And make a fire...that's all he gots." Yuna finished, folding the paper back up, handing it back to a shocked Tidus.
"Never figured you a thief, Yuna." He muttered, stuffing the paper back into his pocket.
Yuna looked down with embarassment, "Sorry, Tidus, they told me to."
Lulu and Rikku gasped in horror, looking at Yuna. Oh sure they told her to steal it over a million times but it was Yuna who brought up the plan to actually do it. You make the plan, you do the job. That was a rule they made a long time ago.
"Liar!"
Yuna squirmed in her chair, "Ok...I wanted to do it. And I was the one that told Principal Percy to come to our table at lunch."
"Yuna!" Tidus and Wakka looked at her in confusion and shock. It wasn't like her to betray them. Maybe Rikku, and possibly Lulu, but not Yuna.
"Why?" Tidus asked, feeling betrayed. He looked forward to the annual prank. It was traditon! 'Was' being the keyword.
Yuna sighed sadly, knowing Tidus wasn't very happy with her right now. She wasn't very proud of herself at the moment either, "I did it the same reason Rikku did."
"Which is?" Tidus asked, not taking his eyes off her as Rikku began to speak.
"Come on, you guys. How many pranks are you going to do before you get caught? You already did one, obviously Principal Percy knows it was you guys. You do another one, you get caught. And you know what happens then? You guys are in big poo-poo."
Rikku looked at them to see that Squall was the only one looking back at her. Wakka and Tidus's heads were down in shame, knowing she was right.
"It was gonna be fun though." Wakka muttered stubbornly.
"We know, Wakka, we know." Lulu smiled. She placed an arm around him as he leaned his head on her shoulder, "But we want to end this school year on a good note...after all the drama we went through."
"Yeah, a prank ain't a good way to go." Yuna agreed, giving Tidus a sorry look. She did it to protect him from getting into trouble.
"And camp is?" Tidus asked, forgiving Yuna. He understood why she did it. She didn't want their last time together to be sneaking around the school, planning childish things. She wanted it to be romantic, he did still owe her a date.
"We'll be away from everyone for a day." Yuna smiled, pulling Tidus into an embrace, "Just us in the woods...stars...fire..."
"Ok, ok, I get it." He smiled, "Let me pack."
Rikku glanced at Squall, "What do you say, Squallie?"
He shrugged, smirking, "All you had to do was ask."
She hugged him tightly, briefly kissing him on the cheek, "Where's the fun in that, huh?"
PHONE CALL
"You knew, didn't you?" Laguna asked, watching Squall pack his things for camp. It wasn't a lot of things because he wouldn't be there for long.
"Knew what?" Squall asked innocently. He knew what Laguna was talking about but he didn't want to answer him, playing stupid usually helped.
Laguna sighed, looking around Squall's packed up room, "That Rikku was going to take you with her to this camp thing."
Squall shrugged, his attention on folding his clothes, "So what if I did? Are we in a rush to leave?"
"Dammit, Squall! You know we are! Why are you making things more difficult for me?" Laguna yelled angrily.
"Because it's fun." Squall smirked.
Laguna sighed out in frustration. Squall was being a bigger pain then usual and he knew why too. He didn't want to leave, not now that he had friends and a girlfriend, not when his life was starting again. Laguna wished he didn't have to leave either but this place wasn't good enough to train Squall, he needs to go to a great SeeD school.
"You're so fucking stubborn."
Squall gave him a look of amusement and anger, "Am I?" He asked incredulously, "I'm stubborn because I want to stay here and live a good life with friends and Rikku, a girl I'm in love with?"
Laguna glared at him, shaking his head slightly, "Yes."
Squall snorted, turning his attention back to his things, "Then I'm very stubborn, Laguna. So stubborn that I'm going along with your dumbass plan to let Rikku go..." He stopped, closing his eyes tightly to control his emotions. He couldn't even say those words out loud. '...let Rikku go...' those words sounded so wrong together.
"Watch your mouth..." Laguna stopped too, staring at him in shock, "Wait, you're going to go along with my plan? Are you serious? I thought you said that was completely out of the question!"
Squall barely heard him as he rubbed his eyes, "I'm gonna do it. For her...she may hate me forever after it but...at least she'll move on."
"It won't be so bad, Squall." Laguna said, trying to comfort him with words, "It isn't like you slept with the girl..."
Squall glanced at him, then he continued packing silently.
"You did!" Laguna yelled, it wasn't a question. It was written all over Squall's features, "You and Rikku had sex!"
"That's really none of your business." Squall replied.
"The hell it ain't! Do you know how much you screwed up? Man, stupidity must run through this family."
"I got it from you." He snorted, "And she and I felt it was the right time. We were both ready."
Laguna sighed with disapprovement, "It doesn't matter if everyone in the worlds says you guys were ready, you knew you were leaving! Why would you take a girl's virginity if you knew you had to leave later on?"
Squall thought about what he said carefully. He was right, he was being stupid and stubborn. But you know what? He would do it over again because that was the best moment in his life. The most greatest thing he's ever felt too, complete heaven. Being with her like that made them even more connected. To tell the truth he didn't want her to forget him, even if she was going to hate him later.
"I am stubborn." He admitted, "But you're forgetting something else."
"What?" Laguna asked, wanting to know what else was going through this crazy boy's mind.
"I'm also in love, and love causes you to do stupid and crazy things."
"Who told you that?" Laguna asked, shocked that his son said something very sweet.
"Rikku." Squall replied, grabbing his bag and walking out the door.
Squall was almost to his car when his cell rang, "Hello?" He answered, not even bothering to look at the number.
"Hey Squall!" A cheerful voice said, it sounded somewhat like Rikku's voice but somehow different.
"No way." Squall said, disbelieving, he knew this voice. It may have been years but this voice would stick in his head like Rikku's. It wasn't easy living next door to a crazy hyperactive ninja and forgetting her voice, "Yuffie?"
"Whoa, dude, you remembered me! I knew you loved me!"
Squall sat down in his car, trying to clear his head. Once he recovered from his shock he asked, "How the hell did you manage to call me?"
"Ok, maybe you don't love me! You're still a big jerk, huh?" Yuffie joked, "But seriously, the King gave me this phone thingy to call people in other worlds. Cool, huh?"
Squall could tell she was bragging, "Oh really?"
"Really! And I got your email."
"Email? I didn't send you an email? I sent one to Aeris." Squall responded. It took him a long time and lots of computer hacking to find out who had Aeris as a penpal and get her email.
Yuffie became quiet at the mention of Aeris's name.
"Yuffie, you still there?" Squall asked.
"Huh? Oh...yeah." Her cheerful voice came back, "Anyways I sent the thing you wanted. So who's the special person you're sharing it with?"
"That's none of your business." Squall responded, "So it's going to be there when I get there right?"
"Yessir, Lionheart, sir!" Yuffie said, laughing, "Hey, you are a Lionheart now right?"
"Yup."
"That's good. I remember you never would play or even talk to us because you were too good for us, Mr. Lionheart. Now you're speaking sentences! Only if I can get Vinnie to do that..."
"Vinnie?" Squall asked curiously.
"It's nothing...he's gone now. They're all gone now." Squall heard the sadness in her voice. The old Squall would just ignore it and say good-bye but he was different now.
"What's wrong, Yuffie?"
"Whoa...you actually care?" She asked shocked, alittle bit of happiness in her voice, "This girl really did a number on you, huh?"
"Yuffie." Squall said in a warning tone.
"Sorry." She apologized, sadness back in her voice, "But seriously, Squall, something...something terrible happened....Squall, Aeris is dead. She was murdered."
Squall almost dropped his cell in shock. Aeris? Dead? She was a sweet girl, also an orphan. He remembered envying her as a child because even though she was an orphan and not so wealthy she still had a happy outlook on life, like Rikku. That's when he remembered Cloud, his penpal. He knew an Aeris, Squall never actually considered that they knew the same Aeris.
"Cloud...Cloud Strife..."
"Cloud? How do you know Cloud, Squall?" Yuffie asked, confused.
"My...I can't tell you, but Cloud...did he do it?" Squall asked, anger rising in him. Aeris didn't deserve to die, let alone be murdered.
"No!" Yuffie gasped, "Why would you even think that? It was some other guy...Sephiroth. Look, I don't wanna talk about it. It was a very painful day, it still is very painful...I'm on my way back home. I just called to tell you that your fruit is on it's way."
"Thanks, Yuffie." Squall said, not getting over the fact Aeris was dead.
"Your welcome, buddy!" She replied happily, "See you soon."
"Bye." Squall hung up his cell and put it away. Aeris was dead, and what Squall could remember Cloud had real deep feelings for her. It must be like hell for him, losing the one you love. "It's going to be like that for me." Squall said softly to himself. He was going to lose Rikku, but not to death like Aeris, to his own destiny. He glanced at his gunblade case in his car, "You're going to be the end of me."
CAMP
"Oh! Oh! Oh! Do you think we'll sing camp songs?" Rikku asked, jumping up and down excitedly.
"Oh, please no!" Lulu muttered. It took a lot of convincing and chocolate to get her to agree to come, but if there was singing involved she would leave now.
"You're no fun." Yuna pouted. Rikku grabbed both of their hands, running onto the bus.
"Aren't we gonna wait for the guys?" Lulu asked, flopping into a seat as Yuna settled infront of her and Rikku settled behind her.
"Just saving seats, Lu!" Rikku replied cheekily.
Wakka, Tidus, and Squall were about to enter the bus until Tidus spoke up.
"Last day, guys."
They looked at him, seeing him stare at the bus sadly.
"Sorry you guys gotta go through this. Especially you, Squall." Wakka said sympathically.
"Yeah." Tidus didn't take his eyes off the bus, "Isn't it funny how your life can change in one little year?"
"Yeah, a lot of things changed in that year, brudda." Wakka responded, looking at Squall.
"Are you guys going to tease me now?" Squall asked, alittle exasperated with glaring and hitting them, "Because my hand is hurting from hitting your hard ass heads."
"We're not gonna tease you, man." Tidus smiled, patting him on the back, "We're just saying, we're glad to get to know you...the real you before you left."
Squall smirked, "It wasn't so bad meeting you guys either. You two may be complete dumbasses and wusses but your good and loyal friends."
Tidus and Wakka looked at him with sad smiles. Squall could see their eyes becoming watery.
"Oh come on!" He looked at them in amusement, "You guys aren't gonna start crying on me and telling me you love me are you?"
Wakka and Tidus quickly wiped their eyes, cursing themselves for acting like girls.
"No!"
"Nuh huh!"
"Good." Squall smiled, "Let's go get our seats."
Tidus nodded in agreement, "Oh, and remember I have that romantic date planned for Yuna. Don't say a thing to anyone about it."
"Who would we tell?" Wakka asked, walking onto the bus.
"I have two guesses." Tidus replied.
MACALANIA CAMPGROUNDS
"Oh! This is great!" Rikku ran off the the bus as soon as the doors opened.
"Be careful, Riks, don't hurt yourself." Yuna said, following her off and looking around, "I never been in this part of Macalania Woods before. It's brighter then the other parts."
"Of course you haven't." Yuna turned to see Dona, Calli, and a big muscular guy get off the bus, "This part is only for camping. Fiendless."
"Oh." Yuna replied, turning to look back at the woods. It was also more peaceful then the other parts. But no matter how better it was, it didn't have the Springs like Yuna liked. She had no reason why, but those Springs made her feel good. Relaxed.
"Why did you guys come again?" Lulu asked, trying not to fall down the bus steps. It was the first time they've ever been on a bus and Lulu kept complaining about the steps being too dangerous, "And where's that big-boobed freak friend of yours?"
"Lu!" Yuna said, "Please let's not start anything."
"I'm not." Lulu shrugged.
"Leblanc stayed behind. She signed up for a new summer hobby." Calli said, ignoring Lulu's remark about Leblanc.
"Yeah, and I wouldn't be talking about big-boobed freaks if I were you, Tubby." Dona added snottily.
Lulu gasped in anger, "I'm pregnant you Kilika Port bitch!"
"Tubby's Wakka's name." Rikku said, not even hearing the rest of the conversation. She was too busy exploring.
"You guys...not now, please?" Tidus said, stepping between the two girls, "Don't wanna ruin a good day do you?"
Dona rolled her eyes in aggravation. She grabbed Barthello and Calli, dragging them to another part of the woods.
"Let's make camp, shall we?" Tidus said, grabbing their supplies.
"Sure." Yuna smiled, grabbing his hand. They walked down a trail with Wakka and Lulu following behind.
Squall was about to follow until he noticed Rikku checking out flowers and trees, "Coming?" He asked.
"Huh?" Rikku looked at him in confusion, "Where'd everyone go?"
Squall chuckled, picking her up, "Come on, explorer. We wouldn't want you to get lost now would we?"
"I wasn't!" Rikku smiled, knowing she was probably going to end up wandering off.
Tidus, Squall, and Wakka began setting up camp as the girls found something to occupy themselves. Lulu was sitting down complaining about her sore feet and back, Yuna took pictures of exotic-looking bugs, and Rikku layed on the ground looking up at the sky.
"Are you guys done yet? I'm tired." Lulu said, yawning.
"Next time your staying home little lady." Wakka replied, holding up the tent for Tidus.
"Thanks." Lulu replied. She looked at Rikku who was laying on the grass, "Rikku, you're gonna get all dirty."
Rikku didn't hear her, she was too busy looking at a suspicious star in the sky, "Guys?" She asked, alittle concern in her voice, "are stars suppose to blink?"
Squall stopped what he was doing to look up at it too, "No...It's probably a ship."
"Oh." She nodded, not believing it was a ship. No ship she ever heard of can be up that high. It was impossible.
"What we got planned for tonight?" Yuna asked, "What's for dinner?"
Wakka and Squall looked at Tidus, waiting for him to respond. When he took too long Wakka answered for him.
"Tidus wants to take ya somewhere, Yuna."
"Huh?" Yuna asked, surprised, "Take me somewhere? Where, Tidus?"
Tidus fiddled with his hands nervously, "Well...I, uh, owe you a romantic date...remember?"
"Oh!" Yuna remembered the bet, "You're going to take me somewhere romantic?" She asked with a big smile.
Tidus smiled bashfully, nodding.
"Aw, Chocobo-hair, you're sweet when you're not being stupid." Rikku commented.
"Be quiet, Rikku!" Tidus replied, "Plus you and Squall have some training to do."
"Syh! (Man!)" Rikku sighed, sitting up, "Do we have to, Squallie, we've been training so much at home...I just wanna rest!"
"A bet's a bet." He smiled, "Be careful what you wish for next time."
Yuna began picking the grass and twigs out of Rikku's hair, "At least your getting better, Rikku. You'll be a good warrior in no time."
"Yeah, with Squall's brutal training." Rikku muttered.
"It's not that bad." Squall smirked.
"I wasn't allowed to have water until I got the move down perfectly. If that isn't brutal, then that just makes you mean."
He shrugged, handing his gunblade to her, "Then I'm mean."
Rikku grabbed it reluctantly, standing up, "When can I use it on someone?" She asked, excited.
"Never." Everyone except Squall replied.
She stuck her tongue out at all of them, turning to Squall to wait for his reply.
"When you're ready." He replied.
"Which is...?"
"When I say so."
"Lniam! Lniam! Oui kioc yna ymm ykyehcd sa! (Cruel! Cruel! You guys are all against me!)" Rikku complained, she stood infront of him, "Ok, Teach! Let's get started."
Tidus looked up, seeing it was getting dark. It was time for him and Yuna to get going so they could make it there before it got too dark.
"Come on, Yuna, we need to get going." Tidus said, grabbing her hand.
Yuna smiled, "Really? Now?"
"Breathe, Yuna, breathe." Lulu said, noticing Yuna was about to faint from excitement.
Yuna did as she said as they walked out into the woods.
"Don't you guys have something 'romantic' you guys wanna do too?" Squall asked, looking at Wakka and Lulu.
"You trying to get rid of us, Squall?" Lulu asked curiously.
"Yes." Squall replied. No use in beating around the bush.
"Fine." Lulu smiled, grabbing Wakka's hand to get up, "We're going. But don't start crying when you start missing us."
"We won't." Squall replied, turning back to watch Rikku practice her swinging.
******************************************************** *************************************************************
"Alm ost there." Tidus said. He continued walking through the woods. He knew it was a long walk to get to where they were going but Yuna didn't seem to mind. She was actually being very quiet about it.
There was a loud howl. "Shit, there must be wolf fiends out." Tidus cursed, reaching behind him to grab Yuna's hand to notice that Yuna wasn't behind him.
"Yuna?" He asked, turning around. Nothing. Nothing but woods and darkness. "Yuna!" He became more panicked. How long has she been gone? He could of sworn she was behind him 5 minutes ago. He began running to the Springs, she must be there.
Yuna continued walking through the woods, following the little bug-like creature she saw. It wasn't a fiend, she knew that for sure. It was pitch black with big bug-like eyes. She also knew it wasn't very smart of her to run off alone following something that can be very dangerous but it could be a new creature people should know about.
It ran behind a tree, blending in with the darkness. Yuna bent down, smiling warmly at it, "Hi, there. I'm not gonna hurt you."
She could tell the creature was looking at her in uncertainty. It's big yellow eyes scanned her, checking to see if she had any threatening weapons on her. She didn't either, she left her guns back at camp.
"Come out, I'm not going to hurt you."
The creature obeyed, slowly walking out the darkness.
Lenne?
Yuna looked at it in shock. Did it just say Lenne? "Lenne? Lenne...she was my penpal! How do you know Lenne?"
The creature got a good view of Yuna's face, snarling angrily.
You're not Lenne!
"I'm..." Yuna grabbed her chest in pain. Her heart, there was something wrong with her heart. The creature's eyes began glowing brighter as Yuna fell to her knees, "Stop...stop it, please!" She cried out.
There was a loud, high-pitched sound that echoed throughout the woods. The creature cried out then disappeared into the ground.
Yuna slowly got up, breathing hard. What was that thing doing to her heart? And what was that amazing sound? She ran towards it, determined to find out who was the owner of it.
************************************************************** ******************************************************
Squall and Rikku laid in the tent under the covers. Rikku's head was settled on his chest as he stroked her hair.
"That wasn't part of the training was it?" Rikku asked, smiling, "Because if it is, then I'm gonna start loving it."
Squall smiled and kissed her forehead, "You and me both."
"Squall...I've been having bad dreams lately." Rikku said softly, "Weird dreams." She felt like this was the right time to tell them. They were alone.
Squall looked at her in concern, "Like what?"
Rikku shrugged nonchantantly, not wanting to worry him with some dream she had, "Uh, it was nothing. Silly things."
"You're doing it again, Rikku." He replied, "Tell me, I won't get worried. Promise."
"Promise?" She asked, "You won't get all weird on me?"
He looked at the top of the tent, thinking. He wasn't going to get weird, worried maybe, but not weird. "Promise. Tell me."
"Ok." Rikku sat up alittle, "I'm in this really scary dark room. I see figures of people but I can't actually see their faces. Then there's this blonde guy, but I can't see his face."
Squall looked at her in confusion, waiting for her to continue.
"That's all, I usually wake up after that." She finished, "I told you it was nothing."
Squall shoke his head, "No...it's definitely something." He replied, falling into deep thoughts.
Rikku watched him in concern, "What...what do you think it means, Squallie?" She didn't want to ask, didn't even want to know the answer. She didn't like these dreams.
"..." Squall was still in thought mode and Rikku knew once he was there was no getting him out of it.
"Something bad's gonna happen." She said softly, not noticing him look at her.
"Nothing bad's gonna happen, Rikku." He said, cradling her face to look at her, "I promise."
"Promise?" She smiled, calming down. She hugged him tightly, "I know, Squallie. With you with me, nothing bad can happen."
"Right." He gulped, not liking the guilt and sorrow he was feeling now. How was he suppose to tell her? Would she understand? She probably would if he explained it to her in a nice, calm, loving way but that's not what Laguna wanted to do. He wanted Squall to be cold and heartless like he was before he came to Spira.
"Something wrong?" Rikku asked, feeling him tense up.
"Uh...nothing. I got something to show you." He said, sitting up.
"A present?" She asked with a huge smile.
"Something like that." He replied, reaching for his clothes. He hoped Yuffie sent the package to the right location.
******************************************************** *************************************************************************** ******
Yuna made her way to the Springs where she heard the sound. 'The Springs? Why is it coming from the Springs?' She continued walking, making her way to Tidus.
He whistled once more, hoping Yuna heard it. "Where are you, Yuna?" He asked himself, looking around.
"That was amazing, Tidus!" Yuna smiled, "How do you make that sound?"
"Oh thank Yevon!" Tidus sighed in relief, pulling Yuna into a tight embrace, "Don't ever wander off like that! I nearly had a heart attack!"
"Sorry." Yuna said, her face crushed into his chest, "Tidus, I can't breathe."
"Oh!" He let go of her, smiling sheepishly.
Yuna looked behind him to see a blanket with candles and food on the ground.
"Oh my!" She gasped, "This...this for me?"
Tidus scratched his head nervously, "Er...yeah."
Yuna looked at him, happiness in her eyes, "I love it, Tidus!"
Tidus looked down and blushed, causing Yuna to giggle.
"Come on!" Yuna grabbed his hand and led him towards the blanket, "You have to teach me how to whistle like that!"
*********************************************************** *************************************************************************** *******
Rikku followed Squall through the woods, watching him in curiousity. He's been acting so weird lately, which has been concerning her. Yet he had enough time to surprise her with presents.
Squall stopped, looking around the woods for the package. 'It should be somewhere around here....there it is!' He smiled as he picked up a star-shaped package.
Rikku examined it with curiousity, "What is that?"
He opened it, revealing a small yellow fruit.
"Fruit?" She smiled, "How'd you know I was hungry?"
"Not just any fruit, Rikku." He began cutting it in half, leaving Rikku to look at him in even more confusion. This fruit seemed very important to him.
"It has special powers or something?" She asked, taking half of the fruit into her own hand.
"You can say that. It's called a Paopu Fruit. If two people share one, their destinies become intertwined. They'll remain a part of each other's lives, no matter what." He explained.
"Aw, Squallie!" Rikku threw herself into his arms, "This is so sweet...that's the most beautiful thing I've ever heard. I'd never thought you of all people would wanna be connected to someone for the rest of their life. But you do, and that someone happens to be me!"
Squall smiled, feeling her cry into his shoulder. He knew it was tears of happiness, but if she knew the real reason he was doing this she wouldn't be as happy.
Rikku released him, "So what do we do? Just eat them?"
Squall nodded, "Yeah, I think that's how it goes."
"Ok!" Rikku smiled anxiously, "Let's do it!"
"Ready?"
She nodded as they both bit into the fruit.
**************************************************************** *************************************************************************** **
Yuna blew on her fingers a couple more times, giving Tidus a helpless look as he smiled encouragingly.
"I suck, don't I? I'll never learn to whistle like you."
"You don't suck, Yuna. You just need practice, that's all." Tidus replied.
"So...when I learn how to whistle like that...and I do whistle. Will you come to me?" She asked.
Tidus looked down, "I can't make any promises, Yuna. But I will try."
Yuna nodded, not fully satisfied with his answer. She knew it was impossible for him to always be there for her, but she loved believing he always will. When she believed that she felt safe.
Tidus watched her watch the Springs. 'It's now or never Tidus. You have to tell her before tomorrow or you'll never get the chance.'
"Yuna, what if I were to disappear one day?"
Yuna looked at him, an amused smile on her face, "Didn't we have this conversation on the mountains?"
Tidus smiled alittle, "Yeah...yeah we did. But...this time it's different."
Yuna's smile quickly faded, she knew something was wrong. It was written all over his face.
"From Spira or my life?"
Tidus sighed, "Both."
"That'll be horrible, Tidus. I don't think I could bare it...are you going to?"
Tidus didn't look up at her. It was now or never...
"Tidus," Yuna lifted his chin up, "Please...tell me you aren't going to disappear out of my life. Tell me you're going to stay with me forever."
"I wish I could, Yuna." He replied quietly, "I'm...leaving...tomorrow."
"Leaving?" Yuna asked, "Y-you're leaving?" She quickly got up and walked towards the Springs, crossing her arms over her chest. She tried to understand what he just said. She heard him, knew what the words meant, but she didn't understand.
"Yuna." Tidus got up and stood behind her, placing his hands on her shoulders "I...I have to."
"Why?" She asked, closing her eyes as tears formed in them, "Just tell me why."
"I...can't."
She couldn't hold it in anymore, falling to the ground in sobs. He kneeled next to her, hugging her tightly.
"I'll be back though. That I can tell you. I just can't say when." He whispered as she continued sobbing.
"Where are you going, Tidus?" She asked after she controlled herself alittle.
"I can't say that either." He replied.
Yuna pushed herself away from him, "You can't or you don't want to?" She asked angrily.
"Yuna, don't be that way." He begged, he could tell she was upset. She had a right to be. Tidus wasn't exactly happy with her about the whole Seymour thing, he didn't expect her to be happy about the leaving thing.
"You knew didn't you?" She got up and glared down at him, "You knew you were going to be leaving a long time ago. Before you met me?"
Tidus looked at her in shock. How'd she know that? He nodded, "Right when I arrived in Spira."
Her anger turned to confusion. "Arrived in Spira? Weren't you born in Spira?"
He sighed. Now she was really going to be pissed at him. "No...I was born on Destiny Islands. I moved to this world when I was around 15."
"Destiny Islands? World?" Yuna ran her hand through her hair in frustration, "What are you talking about? What's going on around here? TALK TO ME, TIDUS!"
Tidus got off the ground and stood infront of her, "Yuna, I'm not from this world. I was sent her for awhile...now I have to go home to see how things are..."
"You're an alien?!" She exclaimed. She began pacing back and forth, "This is unbelievable..."
"Yuna." He touched her shoulder, giving her a sad look.
She stopped to look at him, "I don't care what you are, Tidus...just don't go." Her voice sounded so hurt and broken that Tidus felt his own heart break even more.
"I...have to go, Yuna." He replied softly, not looking at her hurt expression anymore.
"Excuse me." She replied, running off into the woods. Tidus wanted to run after her but he knew there was nothing he could do or say to make her feel better.
*************************************************************** *********************************************
"Lay with me one last time." Squall said as they made their way back to camp.
Rikku gave him a weird look, hugging his arm, "What do you mean 'one last time', Squallie? There'll be plenty of other times. Especially this summer."
"...Right." Squall said, realizing what he just said, "I meant here. This is our only night we can spend together at a...camp."
"Oh." Rikku nodded, "Sure thing, Squallie. Never thought you were a cuddler though."
Squall smirked as Rikku crawled back into the tent. 'Tomorrow's the big day, Leonheart.' He sighed to himself.
There was a movement in the bushes. Squall quickly grabbed his gunblade, ready to attack whatever it was.
"Squallie, what's wrong?" Rikku peeked her head out the tent.
"Shh." Squall said, slowly walking towards a bush.
Rikku climbed back out the tent, walking infront of Squall.
"Rikku!" Squall said, about to grab her.
"There's suppose to be no fiends out here, Squallie." Rikku replied as she got closer to the bush, "Which means it's probably just Dona and her beefhead boyfriend trying to prank us."
"Rikku..."
A figure jumped out the bush, landing on Rikku. She let out a shriek as Squall ran forward to slash whatever it was in half.
"Squallie, stop!" Rikku said, turning around to reveal Ghiki, "He must've followed us here."
Squall sighed, running a hand through his hair, "Ghiki."
Ghiki squealed happily, jumping onto Squall's shoulders.
"I guess we have an extra bed buddy." Rikku smiled happily as Ghiki tugged at Squall's hair, "He couldn't wait to see his daddy!"