FicWad

Disclaimer: I own nothing of the Final Fantasy game worlds and will not make any financial gain from what I write. It is all for my own insane self-indulgence.

Author's Note: Some of the dialogue is of course from the game so I did not want to mess around with it but also did not want to skip the scene.

Chapter Five: Laughter and Reunions

The morning following the disastrous mission of Al-Bhed and Crusaders began with a freshness that carried no reminder of the gloomy day before. The sun was peeking through the clouds that hugged the coastline, promising a brighter day. Auron exited the nearby inn and took a deep breath, inhaling the salty sea air with a flavor of electricity. Auron knew the current in the surrounding vicinity was due to the fayth in the temple and he enjoyed the unique feel of the region to any other. The sensation made one feel alive to the very core, living or Unsent.

Kimahri was already awake since he had been on guard the last half of the night. The Ronso stood as still as the Temple's statues while he waited for Yuna to awaken. Auron had heard both Tidus and Wakka snoring heavily but they would be awake soon enough. Glancing down the pathway back to the road, Auron noticed a familiar black mage sitting on the wall of one of the bridges.

"Rest well?" Auron asked as he stepped up behind Lulu.

"Enough to make it through the day," Lu answered.

"I saw you were up with Yuna far into the night," he commented. "Both of you need as much rest as you can get to be ready for the journey."

"There was a lot to do," Lu said. "It is expected of Yuna to work tirelessly for hours then be ready on her feet in no time to take on Sin. Such is the way of the Summoner."

Auron nodded then added, "At least she was able to sleep in the temple. Wakka's snoring is loud enough to reach Bevelle."

The corner of Lu's mouth turned up slightly.

"Sir Auron, were you making a joke?" she asked. "One can hardly tell with how serious you are."

"Maybe I was," he said in a deadpan manner.

"There's always a first time," she replied, then turned back to watching the stream flow beneath them. "However, I assume we cannot expect humor from riffraff such as yourself."

Lu smiled to herself as she heard Auron chuckle before he took a seat next to her.

"Dona was talking about you as well," he said.

"We can be humorless together then," she answered.

Lu watched as Auron leaned closer to her, his musky scent wafting around her.

"Becoming greater bores to the others than we already are?" he asked.

A soft chuckled escaped her lips and an off-balance grin spread across his face as the swordsman stood and walked toward the temple again where Wakka now stood, stretching his tired muscles and talking to Tidus. By the time she got to where everyone stood, the young blond had already run inside the temple doors.

"He's going to check if Yuna's awake," Wakka informed her. "Then we can get going."

"Tidus should let her rest, she worked hard all night long," Lu said with a bit of annoyance.

"He won't wake Yuna! Don't worry, Lu. He's just seein' if she's up already," Wakka explained.

Lu sighed and walked off to the side to wait. A few minutes later, Yuna came rushing out of the temple with worry and anxiousness written across her face.

"Sorry! I'm so sorry!" she cried then turned to Auron. "Please, forgive me."

Lu went to her and turned Yuna to face her. She could not help but smile at her adopted sister who was working herself into a fretful mood.

"Really, there's no rush... Here, your hair," she said as she helped Yuna smooth out the tangles of sleep.

Despite the events of the day before, everyone seemed to be in a lighter mood and Lu was glad for that because Yuna especially needed it. Even she felt in the mood to tease the young summoner a little with some light joking after Wakka chipped in a few pokes.

"A summoner with bed hair! What's this world coming to?" Wakka exclaimed.

"You could have woken me up!"

"We called to you but with all that snoring..." Lu added and did not miss the slight smirk from Auron to her left.

Lu had to hold in an actual laugh as she witnessed Yuna's frustration at being picked on by all her guardians. She stopped herself to ponder a moment that it had been a while since she had felt like laughing in the way she felt. It was the type where one feels the laughter rumbling up from deep inside as it escapes. Yet, even as it is let loose, the feeling remains for a long time.

"You too, Sir Auron?"

"Once Lady Yuna fixes her hair, we leave!" he said, joining in with the others.

As they all filed out to leave the temple grounds, Lu swept up to Auron for a moment.

"That's twice in one morning," she said with a hint of amusement. "Should I be expecting more to come?"

Auron gave a slight shrug before hefting his sword on his shoulder.

"I was right," he said as she passed by him.

"About what?" she asked, turning around.

"Death doesn't suit you," he said as he motioned for her to follow over the bridge. "Let's get moving, Yuna's bed hair has already held us up long enough."

"I heard that, Sir Auron!"
*

Lulu sat calmly in her seat on the ride over the Moonflow. The shoopuf crossing always seemed to ease her mind as she watched the serene world pass slowly by. It could also have been the view of the machina city below the water's surface, a reminder to Lu about the purpose of the pilgrimage. It was that way when she was on her first two pilgrimages but this time she was more distracted. Biran and Yenke's warning along the road sobered the high she had from that morning. The thought of summoners disappearing did not bode well for them and she made note to keep her senses aware of any little problems.

While describing Spira's history of wars involving machina to Tidus while on the shoopuf ride, Lu did not let herself get too distracted. At the same time as the storytelling, she left her ears open to any and all sounds. Her eyes scanned the horizon as well. However, while doing this she became acutely aware of the closeness of Auron sitting next to her in the cabin. She wondered why it was that he seemed sincerely interested in her stories of the past, certainly a guardian and former warrior monk educated in Bevelle's monastery would already be knowledgeable of what she was telling. It had been the same before when she explained the itinerary to him or when explaining details of Spira to Tidus when the uninformed teen asked questions.

Typically Lu would only tolerate someone being near to her with permission or situations where nearness to another was unavoidable. This was one such case where she had to sit closely with others but she did not feel violated or overwhelmed by Auron's presence close to her. With every breath in, Lu could catch his scent, the same aroma she noticed when speaking to him in front of Djose Temple. It had a muskiness that reminded her of the outdoors mixed with a hint of the sweetness of jasmine blossoms that only grew in Bevelle's gardens tended by the monks. It was soothing and made Lu relax a little more from her heightened anxiety.

Lu had enjoyed the earlier discussion she had with Auron and felt comfortable around him after he gave a little comfort on the beach. Lu wanted no pity from anyone. Nor did she want hugs and words of reassurance from those who could never understand the depth of her love and loss. Auron had it right and even surprised her a little with knowing the boundaries.

Shaking her head a moment, Lu came back to reality. Lu was about to ward off another Al-Bhed bashing spree of Wakka's but before she could speak, the shoopuf stumbled and shuddered. She heard Auron's voice telling them to stay put and she grabbed onto one of the railings to avoid being thrown overboard. However, no one was quick enough to yell a warning to Yuna as a figure took her and fell to the water below.

Everyone clamored to the edge in an attempt to stop them but only caught empty air. Without a second to lose, Wakka and Tidus dove into the water after her. Lulu could only watch from above as they swam ever deeper and eventually out of sight. Her magic was of no use to them from her distance and place. Kimahri was not exactly a swimmer and neither was Auron. The three of them would have to leave it to the two who were the best in the water, and who better than two blitzball players?

Lu decided Auron must have noticed her unease in being unable to go to Yuna's aid by the way he took her arm to turn her to face him. It was probably the lightning sparks at her fingertips that gave her away.

"They'll get her back," he assured her. "You said it yourself, Wakka would never let anything harm Yuna."

"I know," she said, cracking her knuckles absentmindedly. "It would be much easier if I could see them better."

"I would be more worried about Wakka," Auron said, catching her gaze. "That was an Al-Bhed who took Yuna."

"Wakka take out anger by saving Yuna," Kimahri added in suddenly. "Tidus help Wakka, too."

Lu nodded to her old friend, "Hopefully you're right. He's been quite on edge more than usual about the Al-Bhed."

At that moment, a red head of hair broke the surface of the water soon followed by a brunette and blond. Carefully, Wakka and Tidus boosted Yuna up the side of the shoopuf's leg back to the cabin and Kimahri quickly took her hand to bring her inside. The other two swiftly followed her up and the three stood on the wood deck soaked and dripping, but safe. Kimahri shuffled in a bag nearby and wrapped a towel around Yuna to dry her off as Lu tried to brush Yuna's matted hair out of her face.

"Are you hurt?"

"No, I'm fine."

Lu sighed as Wakka lit into his expected Al-Bhed rant and turned red with anger. The reminder of the summoners disappearing made too much sense though to ignore. She expressed her thoughts out loud but no one seemed to have an explanation as to why the Al-Bhed were taking summoners. As they all settled in again, Auron yelled at Yuna to sit down. Lu grimaced but knew it was needed. The poor girl was naïve at times with a few moments of air-headedness and needed reminding of how to keep herself safe. They did not need another Al-Bhed kidnapping attempt again. Luckily Tidus was able to divert attention, as he always did, and get onto a better subject without Wakka continuing to blow steam.

Not much later, the shoopuf made it to the other side of the Moonflow and they disembarked. Lu took Yuna aside as Wakka went off to check out the Guado delicacies at a nearby shop and Tidus wandered down the shore a ways. The mage took the towel and refolded it before turning to Yuna again, helping her with her now dried clothes.

"Do you want to change?" she asked.

"It's okay, I should be good until we stop at an inn again or in Guadosalam," Yuna answered as she smoothed out her skirt and arm robes.

Lu could tell there was something else bothering Yuna by her downcast eyes. She began to comb Yuna's hair to fix it while also getting Yuna's attention.

"Don't listen to Wakka," she whispered. "He doesn't know any better."

"I know, Lulu," the summoner sighed then giggled a little. "At least Tidus can keep his mind on other things."

"Yes, he is good about deflecting Wakka's anger," Lu agreed as she put her hands on Yuna's shoulders. "Yuna, don't get yourself into anything you don't need right now."

The summoner blinked in surprise at Lu but smiled to hide any sadness she might have had.

"He's just a good friend, that's all," she told her friend and guardian. "He's just like me, right Lu? Sir Jecht's son and Lord Braska's daughter fighting side by side against Sin just like our fathers!"

"Right," Lu nodded solemnly, knowing truthfully that Yuna may have some traces of feelings developing for the young man supposedly from Zanarkand. "Come on, we should get going."

Yuna followed Lu as they gathered together Wakka, Auron and Kimahri. They had seen that Tidus had already begun walking down the path to Guadosalam so they knew they would run into him on the way. However, Lu knew things would change as she saw the girl standing next to Tidus. It was subtle but Lu could see the slight family resemblance between Yuna and the Al-Bhed girl standing before them. Her suspicions were confirmed after Tidus introduced the girl as Rikku, the name Yuna had given to Lu of a cousin from her mother's side.

"Uh, Wakka..."

"Huh? What?" he asked looking confused.

"There's something we need to discuss," Yuna added.

Lu had to laugh to herself on the inside at dear Wakka's confusion and obliviousness to Rikku's race. Lu knew Yuna recognized her cousin and wished to speak with her but privacy would be best so that Wakka did not overhear exactly how they were related. Lu led the cousins away to a nearby clearing so they could be alone.

"It is so wonderful to see you again, Rikku," Yuna said happily once they were out of hearing range of the others.

"Totally!" the perky girl said with an arm in the air before hugging Yuna gladly.

"This is Lulu, she's one of my guardians and best friends," Yuna introduced the mage.

"Nice to meet ya!"

"Likewise," Lu replied.

"So I guess you're on your pilgrimage, huh?" Rikku asked turning back to Yuna.

"Yes, we're on our way to Guadosalam," the summoner told her.
Rikku made a slight face, "You know how I probably feel about the whole pilgrimage thing, right?"

"I had a feeling you might not approve," Yuna said softly. "But I have to do this. It is my decision."

"Well, in that case, I better keep an eye on you so you don't get yourself hurt or killed on the way, ya know?" Rikku said then looked to Lulu who was taking it all in word for word.

"Oh, Lulu! Do you think Rikku could be one of my guardians?" Yuna asked.

"It is up to you, Yuna," she said with a soft smile. "I don't think it should be a problem with Wakka. If he hasn't figured out Rikku's an Al-Bhed yet, then I don't think he will any time soon."
"What about Sir Auron, though?" Yuna looked at her hopefully.

"Well, he did travel with Sir Braska who wedded your mother," Lu explained. "I don't think he'll be too surprised or bothered. You can still ask him if you'd like."

"I will," Yuna said then nodded to both of them.

They walked back to the group of guardians waiting and Lu crossed her arms as she watched Yuna come up to Auron to ask his permission. He was hardly the leader of the group, but was the oldest and the one who oversaw and made many decisions on the pilgrimage. Lu smirked slightly as she watched Auron inspect Rikku, forcing her to open her eye wide to get a good look at her swirled pupils. /You can't get anything past him/, Lu thought as he gave his approval.