Welp, last chapter and I am very pleased how it turned out. Though I'm sad this story is over, I loved writing every bit of it. And since it's been a while since I said this, I do not own the characters withing, merely the idea I put them into.

--

"Are you sure the letter wasn't some hoax?" Yuna asked again for the fifth time since they left. She was worried that maybe someone managed to get a hold of the singer's album, make a bootleg copy, and was trying to trick them into some trap. "I mean, last I heard she was supposed to be in Luca."

"Yuna, don't worry about it. I'm sure it was real. Did you see how the note and album signature matched? It was real, I know it was."

"'Ey, I'm just excited. We get to meet a real star! Imagine what her house must look like!" Wakka added to try and ease Yuna's mind.

"It did seen rather genuine. But what I don't understand is why she would send five tickets for all this. Unless she knew Auron was there on the island as well." Lulu added.

"Yeah, but he refused to come with us. I know he used to love listening to her, I wonder what could have happened." Yuna tapped her chin in thought.

"Well I'm not about to guess, that's for sure. I say we let him do his own thing. I got pushed once, I don't want to be on the ground again."

Wakka leaned in his seat trying to get a better look at the city around them. The carriage they sat in was coming to a halt. Outside they could see a huge mansion just ahead. "Akane lives in that huge place?" His eyes bugged out as he tried to take it all in.

"I suppose she does. Just don't do anything stupid when we get there, Wakka." Lulu said.

He pouted before joining in the laughter caused at his expense.

The carriage stopped and the door opened soon afterward. They were led to the main doors and told to wait in the foyer for now. They each glanced around in awe of the place around them. The foyer alone was as big as two huts back in Besaid.

"I'm so glad you were able to come so quickly!" Someone said forcing them to turn their attention to the set of stairs in front of them. "My manager wasn't too happy with what I did, but he understood." They stared at the singer in shock as she slowly made her way down the stairs. An older man walked beside her making sure she would not fall. She carried a cane in her hand to help her walk, but one could see how she hated to depend on it to get around.

"Wow, I can't believe this is real, ya." Wakka gasped.

Akane laughed lightly as she came closer. "Believe it. Your things should be in your rooms already." She glanced at the group before frowning. "I know I sent five tickets, how come there is only four of you?"

Yuna answered her question, "We could not get anyone else to come with us." She made sure not to mention names just in case they had supposed wrong.

"Oh, I see. I was kinda hoping Auron would have joined you." She appeared saddened by the fact he was not there but quickly brushed it aside. "Oh well! I'm sure I'll see him another time!" She turned and hobbled back to the stairs. "If you will come with me, I'll show you where your rooms will be." She stumbled once at the first step and her bodyguard was quick to catch her so she did not fall.

They followed along behind her as she continued in light conversation trying to make them feel more at ease. "This is your room, Tidus. I hope you enjoy it!" She opened the door so he could see inside. Moving on, she did the same for each of the others. But she waited until last to show Yuna hers. "I hope you really like this one. I made sure that it was extra special. If you need anything at all, don't hesitate to let me know." Leaving Yuna behind to inspect her room, Akane limped away.

Yuna gasped as she gazed around the room. It was as if it was decorated just for her. She wondered if the others were the same way. Leaving her room, Yuna went to see. She stopped at Lulu's door first. Each one was the same. The rooms were done in such a way that each friend knew they were decorated just for them.

"Ah, here you are." A man said from the open door of Wakka's room where they had gathered. "Miss Akane sends her apologies, but you are all invited for dinner in the dining room in the next hour. You are free to explore the grounds before then, but she asks that you do not go much farther then that."

"Thank you very much, sir. We will be sure to do that." Yuna bowed as the servant left. "Well, what do we want to do first?"

"I say we explore outside." Tidus cheered. "I think I saw a maze outback through my window. I want to explore it."

"Ya! Let's go brudda!" Wakka quickly agreed.

"You boys have fun. Yuna and I will stay up here."

"Suit yourself. Come one, Wakka. Let's go!" The two guys ran from the room eager to see who could beat the other in a race through the shrub maze.

The girls laughed at them before going back to Yuna's room. They sat on the bed and talked as they waited for dinner.

"Lulu, do you think this is odd?"

"You mean the fact that Akane seemed to know just what we would like?" She guessed.

"Yes, exactly. I was worried at first that maybe this was a hoax, but now I can tell it's not. But what I want to know is how can someone as famous as her know all about us?"

"That is what I have been trying to figure out since Tidus received that letter from her. It's like she's the stalker and we are the celebrities."

--

Dark hair swayed back and forth as she paced in front of the two men. They were worried about her, and for good reason. "Look, Pops, Rin. You have to trust me on this. I don't think Auron told them anything, so I have to do it myself before he does. But I have to make sure the timing is right. Besides, it's not like I invited any strange stalkers in. These are my friends. Yunie is your niece, pops."

"You think I don't know that?" Cid shouted. "But why did you have to do it this way? You couldn't tell them as yourself?"

Rikku held up the cane in her hand as if to ask what she was going to do with it.

"No, I think Rikku has a point. They would never have accepted her otherwise. Anyone can put on a wig and say they are Akane. But no one can take off the wig and say they are truly Rikku."

Cid sighed as he flopped down into a leather chair. "Fine, do it how you want. But don't come crying to me when you have no one left."

"Pops! That's why I have to tell them now!" Rikku whined. "I don't want them to find out like Auron had to!"

A knock on the door stopped them from saying more. A servant peeked in. "Miss Akane? Dinner is just finishing, you want me to call your guests now?"

"Yes, please. I will be along shortly." She answered. When he was gone, she turned back to her father and manager. "I know what I'm doing. I may be Akane now, but I will always be Rikku inside. Holding tight to her cane, she limped out of the room where her bodyguard waited for her.

Her mind wandered as she made her way to the dining room. By the time she arrived, her friends were already there. "Sorry I'm late. It's not so easy to get around sometimes." She took a seat at the head of the table as they were beginning to get served.

"If you don't mind my asking, how did you get injured?" Lulu asked. "You seemed well when we saw you in concert."

Akane scratched her cheek. "Well I'm sure you heard how I was attacked, right?" They all nodded. "My bodyguard at the time tried to protect me, and he did, kinda. When they guy who attacked me ran off, I got thrown over the edge of the bridge in Luca park. My doctors said I hit my head on a rock, but as I floated downstream, my back slammed into another rock twisting my spine."

Tidus stopped and quickly swallowed the bite in his mouth before asking the question that nagged him since she mentioned it. "What did you mean bodyguard at the time? Wasn't it the same one you have now? Or was he fired for not doing his job?"

At Akane's sad expression the others groaned at how tactless he was. "No, it's okay. He wasn't fired. He did his job, but I'm afraid he was upset because I lied to him."

Wakka turned as he heard Lulu's small intake of breath. "What is it, Lu?"

Everyone waited for her to explain, "So you are the one. I talked to him shortly after he returned to Besaid. He was quite upset at the time. I didn't think much of it at the time though."

Akane played with the food on her plate as she asked her question. "Did he happen to mention what happened?"

"Only pieces. But now is not the time, is it? We have this wonderful food in front of us. Let's not ruin it with talk like this."

"I agree. I'm sure you can tell us later, ya?"

Akane smiled sadly at her friends. She would tell them, but Lulu was right, now wasn't the time. Tidus managed to quickly turn the somber time to something much better. He seemed to be the best at cheering people up when they were upset.

Talk continued on, and everyone ate until they felt they were too full to have any more. "Why don't we move to the parlor?" Akane suggested. "I can have dessert brought out later. We can talk more in there."

They all readily agreed, as they each wanted to know more about what was started at dinner.

Akane stood on shaky legs and was the first to leave the room, her bodyguard close behind. The four left behind silently stood and followed behind them. Akane hobbled over until she found the one seat she wanted. It was a single overstuffed chair upholstered in a pale wine color. The others took seats around the room, but all centered so they could still see one another.

"Not that I want to be rude, but do you mind if we continue the conversation we started at dinner?" Lulu asked. Akane nodded and she began with the first question. "You said you lied to your last bodyguard. He wouldn't perchance to have been Auron, would it? That was why you asked about him when we arrived."

"Yes, it was. My manager actually hired him but didn't tell me until he began working for the first time. I was surprised at first, because I always did like him since I was little. They knew each other for a long time, but I only found that out recently. I thought he finally started to feel the same way about me when we went out one night. It was the night I was attacked."

"Wait, I don't get it." Tidus spoke up. "You said you lied to him. Was it by not telling how you feel?" He scratched the back of his head in confusion.

"I wish it was as simple as that. But to be honest, I also lied to all of you too."

"I'm not getting this either, ya."

"I agree. I'm lost now as well." Yuna said. "You didn't even know us, and this is the first time we have met."

Akane waved off her bodyguard and waited until he was gone before she answered. "That's not entirely correct. What if I told you I can't stand Akane?"

They stared at her even more confused then ever. "How can you hate yourself? Everyone we know loves Akane." Tidus protested.

"Except one." Yuna noted quietly. "Rikku."

Akane stood up and used one hand to grab hold of the edge of her hair. It slowly slid off revealing blond hair hidden underneath. Her green eyes were moist as if she was trying not to cry. Yuna leaped from her seat and embraced her cousin in a tight hug. "Rikku? Is it really you? But why? Why did you never tell us?"

"How could I? You all thought Akane was perfect, that she was this wonderful person. If I had told you then, you would have said I was making up stories. I hated Akane because she had everything I always wanted. Everyone always hated me." Tears streamed down her cheeks and Lulu stood as well to try and offer consolation.

"There now, we never hated you. Perhaps we thought you were a little childish at times, but we never hated you."

"Yeah, you were our friend!" Tidus supported. "We like you just the way you are!"

"Maybe you do now." Rikku protested. "But what am I going to do about Auron? He probably hates me and will never talk to me again."

"That's not entirely true." Rin answered her question. He had been standing in the doorway waiting for his chance to make his presence known. "It took some work, but I finally convinced him to come." He moved aside and gave room for the aforementioned person to enter.

Lulu and Yuna moved back to give them room. But the couple stood in place staring at one another. "Auron, I-"

He held one hand up and shook his head. "You look well."

"You saved my life, you know."

"So it would seem."

"You left before I could explain anything."

"I was angry."

"I don't blame you. I shouldn't have done what I did."

"It's in the past. I would rather not dwell on it."

Heads went back and forth between the two as they exchanged snippets of information.

"Rin told me I should not be angry at you."

"Yeah, he explained what he said to you."

"I took it out on him instead." All heads turned to the man in question hoping that he would explain. Quiet giggles were heard as he shrugged. His right eye was sporting a nice sized shiner.

"You hit him?" Rikku asked as she tried to move closer and see for herself.

"I deserved it." Rin told her as she traced one hand gently over the black eye.

"But he hit you!" She exclaimed.

"It was worth it. It brought him back, did it not?"

Lulu and Yuna took their chance and tried to herd the men from the room. "But I want to stay and see what happens!" Tidus argued.

"I'm sure they will tell us later." Yuna assured him as she pushed.

When they were gone, Rikku turned to face Auron once more. "Look, Auron. I just want to say..."

He held his hand up once more. "Don't say a word. Rin told me everything. I was hurt at first, yes. But then I realized how foolish I acted. The more I thought about it, the more something else occurred to me. You said once that you loved me. Is that still true?

"You say still as if I stopped. Auron, why did you think I felt so depressed after you left? Just before I was attacked, I was going to tell you. That was why I was so happy that night. I was finally going to rid myself of that burden. All my songs I wrote, each one was written to or about you."

"What if I had never heard them? What would you have done then?"

"I suppose I would have kept singing. You would have to hear them eventually." Rikku confessed.

Auron nodded as if he understood. She had such determination for one so young. "You are more mature then I thought."

"That's right! And don't you forget it!" She playfully teased him. "Look, can we start over?" She asked as she turned somber. "Why don't we act like this is our first meeting?"

"I would like that." He turned and left the room as her jaw dropped. She couldn't believe he was leaving her behind. Rikku understood what he was doing seconds later when he reentered. Hastily, she tried to put the dark wig back on. Auron had to suppress a laugh as he saw it settle on her head very akimbo showing lots of her real hair from under it.

"Miss Akane, what a pleasure it is to get to meet you in person." He greeted in false pleasantries.

Rikku played along also trying not to laugh. "Please, don't call me that. There is something I have to tell you." The wig slid off on it's own making her laugh out loud. "Um, ta-da! It's me, Rikku!"

Auron stared at her in mock anger. "All this time, why did you never tell me?"

"If I had, what would you have done? I could never tell you how I felt. You would have said I was just an immature child."

Auron froze. Even though they were pretending to start over, her words held a ring of truth. His smile slid away from his face as it dawned on him. "You're right. You're absolutely right, Rikku. I would have done just that."

Rikku realized that playtime was now over. She took his hand in her own as she gripped her cane tightly in the other. "Why don't we take a walk outside? It's still light out enough to see. We can talk more without anyone listening in."

As they left the room hand in hand, they found out how true what she said was. Six people stood at the door trying to listen in. Rikku looked to each one of them in turn. "My bodyguard and I have things we must discuss. If you don't mind, we desire privacy for our discussions." She told them before walking out.

--

Two months later Akane's next album was released and received with much eagerness from her fans. She traveled Spira going to interviews and explaining about what happened during her attack. She refused to allow the public to know her true identity (for all they knew, this was her identity), but when she wasn't on the island of Besaid, four extra people would visit the mansion in Bevelle often.

Her recovery came quickly now that she had support of all her friends. And she was eager to perform once more. A concert was lined up to coincide one year from her first. But this time, she wasn't as nervous as she was the first time, and there would be no surprise guests.

Four spots were reserved in the front row for her friends. They cheered the loudest as the performance went on into the night. If one looked close enough, they could see as Akane would keep peeking to the side of the stage at a figure hidden in the shadows. No, not Rin, but another man that she had been able to grow closer to during the year. She was never seen without her bodyguard, and rumors flew about them, but Rin was good at keeping secrets, even if they weren't his. He wasn't about to let the girl he helped develop to be ruined by naysayers.

Akane's smile grew as she sang and danced to the music. The words flowed from her lips exciting the crowd.

I'm living again,

The storm I felt inside,

The sun has chased the clouds away.

You know that I could never hide,

When you weren't there, all the pain.

But now, I'm living again.

I'm living again!