Hi there! And again I start another FFX-2 story. Seems like I have been playing this game far too much during the last few days... hehe... I really like Gippal/Rikku stories (I'm writing one by myself – please, read this story as well!) but I couldn't resist to write another story about Rikku (who knows my stories will have guessed that she's my favourite FFX character). Well, let's say this is a Rikku/Shuyin story – ouch, don't be mad at me for that! Please, though this is a strange couple and the characters will mostly be out of character and I may change some facts of the game to make this story work, read and review! I'm glad to hear what you think, what you want to read about...

I'd say I better start with chapter one now...

(Prologue in Rikku's point of view!)

Our story started a thousand years ago

Proglogue

When I saw him for the first time in that ruin where he was fighting some fiends on his own and he wasn't more than just a stranger... I guess my heart played a trick on me because I defended him against my own people.

They all thought he were a monster, another fiend but after all I was Cid's daughter, the leader's daughter and that was why they took him along. I still regret that I had to beat him up. I know he would have stopped me doing it if he had guessed that I was going to hit him.

I could tell that he expected everything but that by the way his eyes grew wide and he gasped for air. His face looked so familiar and I felt like there was a connection, a long lost memory or something like that. All I knew was that this was important, that I should remember.

When he told me about Zanarkand, about the Zanarkand Abes and everything I wanted to believe him but on the other hand... he had been so close to Sin's toxic that I thought this was the reason for his story. And I wanted to help him though I didn't know much about him.

He was still a stranger – but he didn't seem to hate me because I was an Al Bhed and that made it easy for me to tell everyone that I only wanted to help him because he had been friendly.

See, now I am blushing because I remember my heart beating like a drum and... well, I asked him if he wanted to stay with us, didn't I? My mouth worked faster than my mind, I guess. And when we lost him to the sea when Sin attacked I ran around the whole time, trying to convince Brother that we had to look for him.

Well, but I had to give in. We knew that there was a mission waiting for us. As he found out Yuna is my cousin and we wanted to save her from what she was going to do.

Oh, I remember everything, you know. Even the day I became a guardian, the day he beat me up. Remember, I was the one inside of that machine! But then he smiled at me and I can't tell you how I felt when he remembered my name.

He didn't forget me and then I thought that I was in love with him. I had been looking for a reason during the whole pilgrimage but the more I thought about it the more I got confused. There were pictures in my mind of places I had never seen before...

It was strange and I was scared because I thought that this was driving me mad. And then he seemed to fall for Yunie and I did everything to hide my feelings for him. I was nothing more but a close friend, someone who was struggling – just like him – to save Yunie.

You know what happened. He were a dream and disappeared. I joined the Gullwings and became a sphere hunter. Sounds good, doesn't it? Yunie was looking for him since he had disappeared and when I saw this other guy... looking just like Tidus I thought this was really supposed to drive me into madness.

If I had know that there was a real difference between Tidus and Shuyin all this wouldn't have been so hard. Tidus was a dream and Shuyin was someone from the past. I still didn't get the whole thing because the borders of reality can heardly be seen in Spira. Does it matter at all?

Now, you'll probable want to know what all this is about? Well, after the fight against Vegnagun everything seemed to become clearer. Tidus was back, he was with Yunie and I was happy for both of them but still... it felt like something was missing.

Strange dreams made me become afraid to fall asleep sometimes and then I just wanted to fall asleep to see Shuyin again. The way he looked at me in some dreams. I didn't see myself in all those dreams, I was just there but never saw myself. Sometimes, he looked at me like he was the happiest guy and then he was mad.

I remember one dream that made me wake up in the middle of the night. He was shouting something and I could hardly understand a word that he was shouting but he glared at me and stood in the doorway.

"I won't let you go!" was all I understood before I woke up. I sat in my bed, shivering and trying to figure out what to do. Somehow I thought I was just a little jeaulous because of my 'crush' on Tidus and everything.

And then, I found myself again looking into Shuyin's eyes while he whispered: "I love you, Lenne."

Wow, I guess that that was the last straw. I must have woken everybody in the whole airship up when I ran throught the corridors, trying to figure out what to do.

I couldn't have been the summoner that Shuyin had loved a thousand years ago, could I? Right, I, an Al Bhed would have been a summoner so many years ago.

But that would explain a lot, would answer a lot of my questions. The whole cursh on Tidus when I met him, the dreams and everything.

Later, hours later, I think, I got back to bed because I was so tired that I didn't think I would ever be able to dream again. All I wanted to do was to rest.

dream

"Lenne?" his soft voice asked as he got closer. I sighed and then turned around to face him.

"What's bothering you, Lenne?"

"I'm not Lenne." I whispered this time. I had dreamed this dream before, each time it ended with a kiss from him. And every time I had tried to say something but failed. I wanted to feel his lips on mine but my mind seemed to work this time.

'Good, Rikku. Finally growing up, aren't you?' a tiny voice in my head asked snickering and I wanted to shake my head until this voice faded.

"Lenne?" His voice again... Why do I love him even if I didn't know him for real? Because we met in an earlier life? Because we fell in love then? When I was Lenne?

"I'm not Lenne." I repeated and this time I made sure he got every word.

"What are you talking about, Lenne? Come here, did you catch a cold?" He stepped closer and I knew he wanted to touch me.

"I said that I am NOT Lenne! I'm RIKKU!" I shouted this time and his eyes grew wide. No matter who I was a thousand years ago, now I am Rikku and not Lenne!"

I walked through the room we were standing in and I noticed for the first time that there were armchairs, a TV and other stuff. This seemed to be a living room. And there was a mirror right next to me; a woman stared back at me, her brown hair reaching her hips and I almost fainted.

"This is me..." I whispered and touched the mirror to make sure I wans't dreaming. The surface under my palm was cold and I started to shiver.

I felt Shuyin's hand on my shoulder and turned around to face him.

"This is me." I repeated though I couldn't believe it.

He didn't seem to know what to say because he just hugged me. And then everything around me changed. Shuyin still hugged me but we were standing on a hill and I could see the lights of a huge city nearby.

I remembered the stories about Zanarkand, building next to building, lights everywhere and the stadium...

Shuyin was shivering and it took a few seconds until I realized that he was crying. I hadn't seen many men cry in front of someone and I hugged him back, stroking his hair automatically.

"Don't go." he whsipered and tried to supress his sobbing.

Tears were running down my cheeks as well because I knew that I had to go. They needed every summoner and I couldn't just stay while others were fighting.

'Hey, you're not a summoner.' hissed the voice inside my head but it slowly faded. Maybe I just accepted that this was my past. A long forgotten story...

end of dream

Brother and Buddy were staring at me when we had breakfast but I didn't care. They asked if I was ill or something but I just shook my head. How could I tell them that I maybe had been the summoner that got killed a thousand years ago.

And Shuyin... I wondered what happened to him after we defeated Vegnagung and why my past was haunting me in my dreams a thousand years later.

"I'm going to visit LeBlanc." I said before I even thought about it. Not that I wanted to see her or her strange friends so again so soon but the Farplane was near her house and I could hardly tell Brother that I wanted to visit the Farplane to check if Shuyin was in there.

"LeBlanc?" Brother coughed and looked at me like I was crazy.

"Yes, I visited Yunie and Paine a few days ago and now I want to see how she's doing. I can show her all the spheres I found! She'll be so mad!" I grinned and hoped that he would believe me.

And it worked: Brother couldn't wait to see the look on LeBlanc's face when she saw all the spheres we had found. Well, I can admit that I am high-spirrited but not like Brother. Brother is almost... crazy...

TBC

Did you like it a little bit? Strange couple, strange story but... review, please!!!

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