Author's Note: Ok, Ok, I lied... Months passed, no new chapter... but I am still working on it when I can. I founda couple errors, so I might go back and change a few tiny details in the story... but nothing major. Xtreme Nuisance... cookie points for you, that is exactly what it relates to.

Oh right... and my sister wanted me to thank her... for being a muse or something... so thanks... and thank you everyone for the reviews, they make me happy :D... and my sister too. Hopefully I will update quicker next time... I have ideas for the next chapter so that is likely.

Chapter Eleven: A Game of Inquiry

"Sometimes the questions are complicated and the answers are simple."

-Dr. Seuss

The moon was full in the sky, shining down brightly and illuminating Rikku's delicate features with a soft glow. Riku didn't need the light to see the startled expression on her face, but it meant that she could see him as well. She was dressed differently then before and Riku wasn't quite sure what to make of her. They stared at each other in silence for a moment, both still in the places where they had fallen. Riku was still trying to puzzle out why he'd gone and saved her a second time. Just chance, instinct had kicked in, or maybe he just liked complications.

Makes things more interesting.

He was lying to himself. Really, he should be done with all of this. He didn't know what he was trying to achieve when he saved her that first time. It was all based on a feeling, an instinct. True, Riku had his suspicions about what had happened, with the keyblade, the hearts, with everything, but that didn't explain his actions. No wait, he knew why. Riku just liked to piss them off. He did his job, he was good at it, but he couldn't deny that it was amusing to see the others screw up. This would certainly put a hinge into their plans if he was right. He told himself that it wasn't because he actually cared about the outcome. It was just that he wasn't going to do them any favors

The girl though, she was a puzzle. There was something odd about everything that had happened in Spira, something he couldn't quite grasp and she was at the center of it all. Rikku. There was irony to the name that Riku couldn't deny. And the girl herself, well that was what he had come to Cocytus to find out about… to see if there were any developments. He'd been there earlier in the week, but he'd been there for other reasons. Any prolonged visit to Cocytus that wasn't a direct order would cause suspicion. Still, he'd been able to meet with Leon and Julia very briefly. He found out a little about the girl then, but not much.

Riku didn't have time to think on it further though because as they both got their feet, Rikku suddenly yelled in her language before lunging at him.

"Ed'c ymm ouin vyimd! Oui gemmat dras! Veaht! Sintanan! Oui pnuikrd dras! Yuna, Tidus, ajanouha! Frana ec Cbeny!" Riku wasn't versed in gibberish and he had no idea what she was saying, though he was able to pick out the name of the summoner woman, Yuna. He could deduce easily enough what she was talking about from that alone, though even without it, her anger was clear and Riku stepped quickly to the side as she moved for him. He wasn't particularly concerned. She was a lot shorter than he was and didn't look that strong. Besides, anger made most people stupid when they fought. Turning as she did, he inclined his head slightly.

"I'm sorry, you're going to have to speak more clearly for me to understand." He smirked at her, his voice taunting. It was a test of sorts. He needed to know what he was dealing with. Actually, the fact that she spoke a different language was unique. Since all worlds were linked, there were as many similarities as there were divergences. It was rare to come across a world that didn't speak Common and her world for the most part had. The blonde's face flushed slightly in anger, a reaction that amused him. Then she attacked again, this time reverting back to the commontongue.

"It's your fault their dead! What happened to my world?" Riku was certain that she had gotten some version of the truth anyway, but apparently she needed to hear it from him. While she tried to wound or kill him, apparently. Jumping back again as she swung at him, he couldn't completely avoid it when she swung at him again, her fist grazing the side of his cheek right before she aimed an extremely unfriendly kick at him, one clearly intended for maximum pain. Riku wasn't about to take that kick and he caught her foot before it could make impact. He wasn't actually trying to hurt her, or at least there was no need to yet, so he hadn't been fighting back, but continuing with these attack and dodge plays were not going to accomplish anything. Rikku glared at him, but he just shook his head keeping a hold of her foot. It amused him to see her hopping around on the one foot anyway as she tried to keep her balance.

"You want some answers or do you want to keep fighting?"

"Both!" She shouted back at him somewhat childishly, making Riku grin.

"Fine." Then he used the foot he still held in his hands to flip her backwards. Surprisingly though, she was able to twist in the air and instead of falling on her back in the sand, she landed in a crouch, springing to her feet again in a matter of seconds. Riku was right, her blows weren't very strong, but she was fast, maybe even faster than he was. She also knew how to fight, which he didn't really expect given his first impression of her, but it made it more interesting even if it didn't serve any purpose.

Rikku leaned in to throw another blow at him, but he blocked grabbing her arm, twisting it and whirling her around so her back was to him and she was much closer then before as he gripped her wrist so her arm was locked across her stomach and immobile. To an outside observer, it almost looked like they were dancing. Any fighter with some skill would know better. Riku could have gone higher into a necklock, but he just wanted her to stay still and listen without him having to stave off any blows. Riku moved his head a little lower, since she barely came up to his shoulder, his voice low and clear.

"Your world was consumed by the darkness and would have been whether I was there or not." Rikku tilted her head back so she could look up at him and he was close enough to see the emerald swirls in her eyes darken with the fierceness in her gaze.

"Liar!" The blonde elbowed him hard in the gut and his grip loosened enough for her to slip away. Riku shrugged, barely registering the blow.

"Sometimes." He acknowledged with a smirk. "But not about this and fighting now isn't going to get your world back." Riku also knew from bitter experience that nothing would bring them back. It probably wasn't the best idea to inform her of that though, not at the moment anyway.

"It might make me feel better!" She shouted back at him, braids flying as she lashed out at him again. She was clearly getting tired though. After all she had been running from the heartless when he pulled her through the portal. Riku decided that this had gone on long enough.

"You know this is hardly the kind of grateful attitude one would expect someone to have towards the person who saved their life. Twice, I might add." Riku told her, exasperation finally leaking into his voice and as he spoke, he blocked her arm, hooking it with his as she moved to elbow him in the face and finally managed to sweep her legs out from under her. Following her down, he moved his grip on her arm to her wrist pushing it to the ground as he pressed his knee against her stomach and the top of her legs to prevent her from kicking him. Angrier than before, she yelled at him, slipping back into her native tongue again. "Sintanehk pycdynt, cdibet cuh uv y cruubivv, cehcbyfh!"

"Now, that didn't sound very complimentary." Shaking his head at her he was about to grab her other hand so she couldn't hit him either when he felt the sharp prick of a knife against his neck.

"Good, it wasn't supposed to. Now let me up or I am going to cut you and it will hurt lots."

Riku took it as a good sign that she hadn't pulled out the knife before. She wanted her answers just as he wanted his. She might have been venting her anger, but he didn't think she was actually going to try and slit his throat. Riku just stared at her, their faces were close, and Riku knew he had the habit of unsettling people with just a look, because of his glowing eyes. Hopefully that would work to his advantage.

"No you won't."

"I will! Just try me!" She scowled at him, but still didn't move the knife any deeper.

"I am."

"Well ok then! Cause I'm gonna do it!"

Riku smirked. "Do what you have to do." Riku's cool blue eyes locked with Rikku's swirly green ones and a minute passed as they engaged in a silent battle of wills. She wasn't going to cut him, he knew it and so did she. He also wasn't going to let her up until he knew she wasn't going to immediately try and hit him again. The result was that they were at an impasse and it was all a matter of who caved first.

Riku was more patient then she was though and eventually she released an exaggerated sigh of exasperation, letting her drop back onto the sand, though the knife was still at his throat. Almost immediately, Rikku lifted her head up again giving him a glare.

"You are a slimy son of a samalander, do you know that?" She sighed again. "Fine fine, what do you want, meanie?" Riku decided just to ignore the odd insults, moving his face a little closer to hers as he looked into her eyes.

"Just don't try to hit me again if I let you up, I just want to talk to you. You want answers don't you?" Then without waiting for the response, Riku released her wrist and stood up. After a moment, Rikku did the same, tossing her long braids back from her face before speaking, the defiant glare still on her face.

"I would have you know… anyway, what is your proposal then? I want to know why you were in Spira, why… it happened."

Riku had no intention of telling her everything, but some things were common knowledge and other things wouldn't matter. "I'm suggesting an exchange of knowledge. A question for a question?"

"Can that count as your first question?" Rikku asked him, somehow managing to make her gaze simultaneously serious and mischeivous. He shrugged lightly at her. It wouldn't matter much.

"Why not."

"Good, my turn. Who are you really?"

"I'm really… Riku." Admittedly, Riku knew she was asking for more than that, but he wasn't eager to reveal much about his past. Not yet anyway…

She frowned at him.

"What you can't just say your name, that's cheating and I already know it!" Riku just looked at her and finally she sighed.

"Fine. Where are you from?"

Riku shook his head "That's your second question; it's my turn to ask one."

"What? That's not fair! That one didn't count!"

"I answered didn't I?" He watched as she grudgingly nodded. "Then I guess it counts." Then he nodded his head slightly down the beach. "Come on. We'll talk while we walk." Without waiting for a response, he began to head down the beach, expecting her to follow.

"No way! I'm not going anywhere with you." Riku sighed and turned back to look at her. She hadn't moved from her spot though her arms were now crossed and she had a defiant expression on her face.

"Too late. Do you want to stay out here forever?"

"No. I want to go back… if not to my own world then to Cocytus." She turned away stubbornly.

"Your world's gone and it won't come back. You're going to have to face up to that sooner or later." Riku wasn't saying this to be cruel, but because it was the truth. As far as Riku knew, everyone in that particular world, except for the girl in front of him, was dead. Especially since Mikael had not sent a group in. Even though Leon probably thought Riku had no idea the king was alive and behind all these efforts, Riku wasn't an idiot. Riku just wasn't positive where he was. Breaking out of his thoughts he nodded slightly at Rikku. He still needed his answers. "I'll take you back to Cocytus. Just not yet."

Rikku looked at him silently for a moment then stubbornly shook her head. "How about I walk."

Riku sighed. "You can't just walk from here. Haven't you been paying attention? You went through a portal. We're in another world." Actually this wasn't the complete truth, but he wasn't about to tell her that. Instead of growing even more agitated at his words, as Riku had supposed she would, curiosity gleamed in the blonde's green, the darker strands of emerald seeming to brighten with the emotion.

"Just like that?" Riku nodded slightly in response.

"More or less."

"So… could I travel through or open a portal, or whatever it is, by myself?"

Riku smirked slightly. "You're turn to answer a question first." Riku started walking again and by this time the blonde had caught up to him and was walking alongside him. Rikku gave him a dismissive hand gesture.

"Veha, fine, ask away. But only one mind you and I'm paying close attention so don't try to be sneaky and slip in even more." As Rikku spoke, she lifted her finger up in the air to indicate one along with hers statement before twirling the same finger in a circle in front of his face.

Riku shook his head at her as he caught the hand she was waving in front of his face. Keeping it as gazed at her for a moment in faint exasperation

"Don't do that."

There was no harshness in Riku's voice, but immediately she tried to yank her hand away, her hair falling across her face in the process. Riku let go of her hand and watched her in bemusement as she made a futile attempt to blow the hair off of her face. Unconsciously lifting his hand again, he moved it to brush away the lock of blonde hair that obscured one of her eyes, his knuckles brushing against her cheek for a brief instant. Rikku appeared as startled by the gesture as he felt and Riku realized that they had come to a full stop. Shoving his hand forcefully into his pocket, Riku began to walk again, faster then before, not checking to see if she was following though after a moment he could feel her beside him. They walked in silence for a minute or two, before Riku abruptly turned to look at her again.

"What exactly is a summoner?" Riku knew that they had been sent for the summoner's heart. Ultimately, it hadn't been the one they were looking for, but there was something on that world, something that was throwing everything off. He could sense it, but he couldn't place his finger on what it was.

Pain flickered across Rikku's face, but disappeared with in the blink of an eye, her features composed as if it never even happened. She remained silent for a moment and Riku thought that she wasn't going to answer, but then she began to speak, her words pouring out with no need for prompting. "My world has been through a lot…" Rikku shook her head, correcting herself by switching to the past tense. It was clearly an effort to do so. "Went through a lot… The very name, Spira, is named for the spiral of death… a cycle that started over a thousand years ago when two of the greatest cities warred with one another. There was always a lot of debate about what happened… but I guess the reasons are not important. A thousand years ago, a great fiend called Sin appeared and destroyed the great city of Zanarkand. That was only the beginning. Whether the punishment was deserved or not, Sin was responsible for all the death… It was literally the incarnation of death and destruction and no matter how many times it was defeated it always came back… the summoners were people willing to sacrifice their lives to give the people just a little peace.

"They prayed to the fayth, those who essentially died at Zanarkand… and were granted the power of aeons. All summoners underwent a pilgrimage to the ruins of Zanarkand, praying to the fayth all around Spira in order to get all the aeons so they could get the final aeon. By summoning this aeon, they would then be able to defeated Sin… but would also die in the process… and the guardians, the men and women who traveled with them to protect the summoner on their journey… well when the final aeon defeated Sin, would be transformed into a new sin… in hibernation I guess you could call it, for about ten years or so, before causing havoc again. It was just pain and suffering over and over… and the only people who could help calm that pain, the summoners, were destined to die if they wanted to bring the Calm… They also preformed sendings you see… sending the spirits of those killed by sin on, so they didn't become fiends. I never believed in Yevon or its teachings… I am after all an Al Bhed… and the people in the farplane were anything more than images from memory… but the fiends were real enough… without the summoners there would have been even more death caused by the unsent. When Yunie danced it was…"

By this time Riku could clearly see her eyes were wet with tears and she abruptly stopped talking. He almost felt badly for asking, but his interest far outweighed any minute concern. Riku couldn't yet figure out how it all connected, though people willing to sacrifice themselves for others or at least most of them anyway were probably a little more likely to be pure of heart. It wasn't a guarantee. Sometimes people acted in a self-sacrificing manner solely because they had a death wish. Still, her explanation proved that the summoner was the most likely candidate on the world… which only muddled things further. There was much in her explanation that he didn't understand, such as her reference to the far plane… in fact each word she uttered only seemed to create more questions, but she clearly wasn't going to continue to go on as she had. At the very least, her words seemed to indicate that there were other summoners or had been. It still didn't explain what was so different about Rikku though. Before he could try to push another question, she spoke again. "Anyway, it's my question now… About those portals? Can I create them or travel through them on my own? "

"No." Riku's response was only a half-truth. Mostpeople couldn't open portals… though some could and he suspected that she might be one of them. Furthermore, anyone though could travel through an open portal. That was how the Hoi Polloi got the people out before their worlds succumbed completely to the darkness. It was in everyone's best interest that Rikku was not aware of this right now though. It would be a bad idea to set her loose on the worlds, she seemed to attract trouble, and furthermore, Riku knew she was going to be important to both sides. He could sense it. It still bothered him that he couldn't sense much more then that. For most people, Riku could get an immediate read. He knew the scent of darkness. A person's aura was a reflection of what was in their heart. Riku's own was blackened long ago or maybe had never had the light.

Rikku's tear stained eyes seemed to dry immediately at his response as she gave him an incredulous look. "No? That's it! Care to elaborate!" Riku considered this for a moment before shaking his head slightly,

"No." She scowled at him again, an expression he was getting used to. He ignored it and pushed on. "How did you know the summoner?"

"What you didn't do research before you killed everyone?"

"I didn't kill them; the heartless did and would have even if I were not present. This is getting tedious, just answer the question." At this point, a small structure was evident just off the beach and Riku began to head for it. Watching her out of the corner of his eye, he watched the expressions warring on her face as she struggled with her irritation and whether she wanted to answer him or not. Reaching the porch, he pushed open the sturdy wooden door, holding it so Rikku could head in. The door hadn't been locked. Few people knew about this place and it wasn't as if there was much of value. It was just where Riku came when he wanted to disappear for a while. The island reminded him of his old home, the one he'd flooded in darkness by opening a door.

Rikku paused outside the door, without going in and impatiently began to tap her foot. Riku gave her a questioning look and she shook her head vehemently.

"I'm not going in there." Releasing an exasperated sigh, Riku leaned forward so the door closed, leaving his hand resting against it.

"Why not? You've come this far. It's just a place to stay for the night. It's not safe to go back to Cocytus now." That's when Riku realized she was doing it deliberately. She wasn't afraid, though she probably should be. She was just trying to be annoying. Shaking his head slightly he smirked and leaned down, until his face was close to hers.

"Fine. Stay out here." Straightening up, he gestured slightly with his head towards the beach.

"Just keep a watch out for the sandleeches." Riku walked inside and closed the door firmly and flicked the lock. If she wanted to stay out there then she could, but if she wanted inside, she'd have to beg. He'd only been partly joking about the leeches. Since she was being stubborn, he didn't think he'd get any more answers tonight anyway. So he decided he might as well go ahead and get some sleep. Kicking off his shoes, he undid the buckle that held the belt with the keyblade sheathes and set it on the floor by the hammock. Pulling of his shirt, he just tossed it over towards the table in the center of the room and it hooked around one of the chairs. Then climbing into the hammock, he waited for a moment, listening for Rikku, before falling asleep in about ten seconds flat.

Perhaps an hour later, though it only felt like moments, Riku awoke to the sound of repeated knocking and Rikku's muffled voice frantically calling on the other side of the door.