"Yuna, you like him or not," Paine said.

"I don’t know, Yuna said.

"Yuna, that’s what I’ve been saying for the last fifteen minutes—since I got here—hell since you married the fucker," Paine said.

"Paine!"

"Yes or no, simple question. If it’s ‘yes’ I’ll go along with this, if it’s ‘no’ I’m slapping some damn sense into you."

"It’s not simple—"

"Duck!" Paine yelled.

"Du—"

Paine kicked Yuna in the stomach, sending her to the floor as something zoomed over Yuna’s head, grazing her hair.

Paine was lucky she always had her sword in her hands. She swung it right at the flying object, knocking it back out the window.

Before she sighed in relief, the tree outside exploded.

"Shit, that was a grenade!" Paine said.

"The fuck?" Wakka yelled, opening the door.

"Is anyone hurt?" Lulu asked.

"What the fuck did you just do?" Jyscal asked.

"Hey, they’re good, ya?" Wakka said to Jyscal.

"The tree is on fire!" Jyscal said.

"Yeah, but they aren’t," Wakka said.

"Hey! Get back in there!" they heard Rikku yelled down the hallway.

"Hey!" they heard Auron say.

"You let Auron watch them?" Yuna asked, getting up off the floor.

"Ahh! Put me down, owie!" Rikku shouted. "I’m telling!"

"Hey!" Wakka yelled as Seymour pushed him aside to stagger into the room.

"What are you doing?" Jyscal asked Seymour, who just wandered over to Yuna before his chest muscles gave out and he landed on his knees on the floor.

"I wanted to know Yuna was unhurt," he answered. "What’s on fire outside?"

"It was either the tree or Yuna," Paine said.

"Seymour!" Rikku yelled as she and Auron arrived followed by Anzi a minute later. "Get back in—what’s on fire?"

"I told you to leave him alone," Anzi said, shoving past everyone. "What’s he going to do when he’s like this?"

"Well he knocked Auron over," Rikku said. "And picked me up and tossed me."

"Back to bed," Anzi said, picking up Seymour.

"But—"

"She’s fine. Come on, you nearly fell on Auron fighting with him. You’ll can go wandering wherever you want in a day or two."

Rikku and Auron moved away, giving her room to lead Seymour out of the room.

"Come on Sweetie, don’t make me pick you up and carry you, because I can," Anzi said. "And you know it."

"Anzi," Jyscal said, following her.

"YOU go away," she said. "You’re the last thing he needs around here."

"Anzi, wait—"

"I said go away," she said angrily. "He’s had enough of you bitching at him Jyscal, and I don’t need it either. You threw me away like a dishtowel with too many holes in it. You ditched me like I was nothing and I’ve stuck with you acting like a complete dick for more than thirty years. Either grow up or I am resigning when this damn mess is over!"

Even Seymour was stunned at her outburst. The shy little woman who had practically been a nanny to him and Yuna had just insulted his father, and by the looks of it, had an actual affect.

"Come on, and if you get up again, I’m tying you to the bed," she said, and led him back to his room.

Jyscal followed after her, keeping his distance. Wakka gently elbowed Lulu and made a gesture for her to follow quietly.

Jyscal stayed out in the hall as Anzi put Seymour back on the bed and patted his head.

She walked out of the room, pushing past Jyscal, but he grabbed her shoulder and turned her to face her.

"Anzi, please," he said, softly. "Anzi, I wanted you safe. Please, I am sorry for the insults I called you. I never meant them and I never could. You’re all I have, Anzi. Please understand that. If anyone ever threatened Juuno, I’d kill them, and I’d do the same for you. If you ever left… I don’t know what I’d do. You’re what kept me going after Juuno died. I can’t bear to lose both of you."

"Jyscal, I’ve never said this to anyone, but... piss off."

"Anzi, please," he pleaded, genuinely pleaded. "I am not asking for your forgiveness… I’m asking you to stay. I lost her already, I couldn’t bear the thought of ever losing you as well."

"Let go of me," she said.

He obediently took his hands away, holding them in a sign of surrender.

"I can’t make any promises," she said. "I’ll think it over. Do not test me in the meantime."

Jyscal silently watched her walk down the hall.

Wakka looked at Jyscal, who had his tail between his legs and it showed, then at Anzi, who had won against him and was proud of it.

"Anzi, wait for me—" Rikku shouted.

"Uh, uh," Wakka said. "I’ll take this shift."

"Huh?" Rikku asked, watching him race after her. "Awww, I don’ wanna watch Seymour."

"Then don’t," Auron said.

"YOU are not allowed near him," Lulu said. "Not without someone watching you."

"Fine," Auron said. "I’m watching Yuna."

"Fine, but I’m going shopping. If I’m wearing traditional clothes around here when people stop trying to kill me, I’m getting something that fits."

"Shopping?" Rikku asked. "Me too, Yunie!"

"Then I quit," Auron said.

"Tough, you volunteered," Yuna said. "Besides I’m not leaving you in here alone. Coming, Paine?"

"Nah, I’m gonna watch Seymour."

"And I’m gonna watch you," Lulu said. "He is not a footrest."

"He didn’t mind."

"He was unconscious for almost and entire day."

"Well he wasn’t complaining," Paine said. "At least not about my feet on him."

………………………………………………………………………………………….

"Hey, can I ask you a question?" Paine asked Seymour, who was no longer feeling tired—in fact he felt like he didn’t want to sleep until next week.

"No, you cannot put your feet on me," he answered.

"It’s about Yuna," Paine said, glancing at Lulu for half a second.

Lulu stood in the corner, watching both of them like a cat: observing everything while doing her best to become part of the scenery.

So far, Lulu was making no move to reprimand Paine, or Seymour.

"It’s complicated, and I doubt you want to sit through it all," he said. "Whatever this is about, though, I apologize for."

"Do you like her?"

"Of course I like her, don’t be daft," he said, not looking up from his book. "There are just things she doesn’t understand."

"Like what?"

"You clearly specified one question."

"I never said I didn’t have more after it."

"Touché," he said. "She understands nothing of politics. She doesn’t even understand why there is a faction out to get both of us. She doesn’t really understand the power of scandals, that’s all. I hope she doesn’t learn the hard way.

"She also doesn’t understand that I am not a puppy. I don’t need pity and an occasional bone thrown to me. You wouldn’t understand."

"I would," Lulu said.

"Then please do me a favor and tell her to go back to Beseid… after getting a divorce."

"Strange coming from the man who threatened to kill her guardians if she did not follow through with the wedding," Paine said.

"Here, I’ll kill you and we’ll see how your thinking is affected," Seymour said. "As much as love her, it is… difficult to live with her when she does not reciprocate my feelings. I’d rather she left than she stay here and ruin her life."

"You don’t need a bodyguard, you need a therapist," Paine said. "She married you, quit whining."

"I’ve ruined enough lives in my previous one," he said, absent-mindedly fingering his necklace.

"Yuna does not deny she has feelings for you, Seymour," Lulu said. "She is merely… confused about how much."

"That would be because her heart belongs to Tidus," he said. "Had I known she was already attached, I would have realized my place in the world."

"What are you bitching about now?" Paine asked.

"As much as you think it is, your past is not s different from others’," Lulu said.

"Last I knew, you were worried about Yuna’s life ending the same way my father’s did and you taught me a lesson about it. I do not understand your need to give me consolation, Lulu. All my life, everything has become some sort of punishment, especially when I tried to change all that. I learned that the world would be a better place without me a long time ago. I want you to take Yuna back to Beseid. I want you all to stop looking down at me, if I wanted that I’d take a walk outside. I think I’ve been humiliated enough, but apparently I’ve been outvoted on that matter."

"You heard the man, let’s get Yuna in the airship and blow this joint," Paine said.

"Paine, be reasonable," Lulu said.

""Fine, we leave Auron here and take Anzi with us. The three of them can kill each other and will leave everyone else alone."

"Interesting plan," Seymour said. "But when I decided the world was better off without my father in it, look what happened to me."

"Yeah, you lived a life of luxury," Paine said.

"Until I was killed."

" Stop it, both of you!" Lulu said. "If it's what it takes to keep two people from going at each other’s throats ever ten minutes, then I’m knocking you both unconscious."

"Yes mom," Paine said sarcastically.

Seymour snarled at Paine.

"What?" she asked.

"Paine!" Lulu exclaimed without losing her proud and cool demeanor. "Out!"

"What did I do?" she asked. "He’s the one impersonating a mad dog!"

"Out. Now. Go watch someone else."

"Why?"

"Here, I’ll leave," Seymour said, starting to get up and regretting it as his wound gave an adamant argument against it. "It’ not like I live here or anything."

"You stay," Lulu said, shoving him back down. "You go," Lulu said, pointing to Paine. "I’ll explain later."

Paine stormed out of the room, slamming the door behind her.

"Let me guess," he said. "I’m an idiot and I need to learn when to keep my mouth shut."

"No," Lulu said, her response startling him into complete bafflement. "You need to learn to speak up at the right time and not get so angry."

"And to think I wanted to keep from being like my father."

"Anzi told me a little about your mother," Lulu said, sitting on the bed. "She didn’t want to talk about, but she told me you were devastated over what happened."

"And you’re going to rub it in after all I’ve done. Using her against me is a rather low level to sink to."

"I don’t want to insult you, Seymour."

"You must have been spending a long time with Anzi."

"I’ll admit she helped me through a lot," Lulu said. "But it’s my decision entirely to ask this. Possibly because I’m the only one who’s been a mother."

"You have my condolences for Vidina."

"Thank you," she said. "Strangely I’m not sure if anyone else’s sympathy has been as heartfelt. I wanted to know, though, what happened to your mother?"

"She died," he said. "On Baaj."

"Seymour," she said, putting her hand on his shoulder. "I was prepared to see Yuna die as a summoner; I have lost my child and my fiancée. I held my baby in my arms and refused to let it be sent because I couldn’t bear losing him again. I held Chappu in my arms after he came back from the farplane and after everything I did to recover from losing him I lost him again. Do not assume I would not understand your heartbreak."

"I was six. I already understood that my father hated me, I wasn’t stupid… not that stupid." He turned his head to look at her, wondering if he could trust her. Yes, she had lost almost her entire family. Still, he’d seen humans just as devastated spit at his feet when he was Maester and was there to offer comfort and hope. "She had shut herself in the chamber of the Fayth. She told me it was rude to enter there unless in deep meditation or trying to acquire summons. I stopped caring after two days; no one else would ever see the temple and I’d rather be in the arms of my mother than keep Yevon happy…"

Her hand was still on his shoulder. She wasn’t calling him spoiled. She wasn’t giving empty sympathy. She wasn’t blaming him or claiming either of them deserved it.

He released the blankets slightly from his tight grip—which he hadn’t noticed, despite the fact that he had nearly pierced his own skin with his nails from holding them so tight.

"What?" she whispered, seeing him look at the door apprehensively.

"If my father were to come by, we would have heard Paine… ‘bitching’ at him as she would say."

"Yes."

"Then I’m safe."

"What do you mean?" she asked, taking her hand away from his shoulder. Was there more to this than any of them had let on? He had murdered his own father. How HAD his mother died?

"Under my bed there is a box. It contains a small picture of my mother, the bouquet she had at her wedding that she had pressed and dried and gave to me—since I was born before then. Underneath all of that is the letter she received from my father two days before she died on Baaj. When my father came and found that I had survived, he was furious. He wanted to know if I had read the letter and I lied; I told him I hadn’t and that it had been destroyed."

"What did it say?" Lulu asked.

"It said that I had to die. She was so distraught over it… I opened the door to the chamber of the Fayth… she had the letter in one hand… and a knife in the other… and threw her stomach. I was so scared I didn’t go near the room for three days… then it drove me crazy that I could hear her singing the hymn of the Fayth."

"She became and Aeon."

"I believe you two have met," he said, dryly.

"She was Anima?"

"I never prayed for her as a summon. I just wished with all my heart to have her back… and then I felt something strange. One time when I was little, my father scared me so much I summoned right in front of him… it actually scared the hell out of me worse than it did him."

"You never told Yuna about her, or your father when she was a summoner"

"I was never given the chance. I’ve learned a death threat is better countered with another, rather than an excuse. Besides, I was determined to leave everything I had ever known before I became Maester behind me. I wanted to start over. Ironic that after trying so hard, everything just starts over again."

"I was willing to defend my child with my life, Seymour," Lulu said, gently tracing down his sleeve with her fingers. "Just like your mother."

"I never once in my life ever accused her of abandoning me," he said, getting up.

"And where do you think you’re going?’ she asked.

"The bathroom," he said. "I’ve been sick for over a week. I want a shower. If you want to watch, keep your comments to yourself."

"Actually, let me use it first. Go get Paine and try to keep her from killing you for a few minutes."

…………………………………………………………………………………….

"You’re not really leaving, are you?" Yuna asked. "I mean, you’ve been her for what?"

"I’ve been here for thirty two years," Anzi said, yanking the bedspread off the bed and bundling it up. She sniffed it and then thrust it away from her face. "Ugh! I am teaching Seymour how to do laundry before I leave."

"Where are ya gonna go?" Wakka asked.

"What, you think this is the only place that falls apart without someone to do the housework?" Anzi asked. "How long have you been wearing that?"

"This is my lucky Blitzball jacket!" Wakka protested. "You can’t take this!"

"Well, considering your team’s luck, I’d say you guys couldn’t get any worse if I washed it once."

"Nothing’ doin’"

"You are just like Auron," she said, taking the folded clean sheet from the table and spreading it over the mattress.

"I am not!" Wakka said. "I just… don’t actually have any other clothes."

"You can borrow some of Seymour’s for a day."

"Bleh!" Wakka said. "I’ll stick with these, thanks."

"Well, Jyscal's too tall, and I wouldn’t trust you to wear anything of us girls' and I doubt Auron has anything that doesn’t smell like a wet dog."

Rikku giggled. "Come on, I wanna see what you look like as a guado!"

"You first," he said.

"If you don’t mind, the one of us here who is a guado is still in the room," Anzi warned. "You’re not helping by making fun of me and I’ve made up my mind anyway."

"Well, I thought Yuna made a sexy guado," Rikku said. "But I think Wakka’d look all silly in a dress."

"Well, he will is he doesn’t wear pants under it," Anzi said. "I guess I’ll have to find some human clothes."

"No you’re not, ‘cause you ain’t leaving," Wakka said.

"Yes I am," Anzi said, finishing with the sheet and tossing new blankets on the bed without bothering to arrange them. "I’ve had it around here. I’ve been insulted long enough, and if I can’t get those two to stop trying to kill each other, I’m not going to be in the middle of it."

"But if you leave, they WILL kill each other," Wakka said.

"No, they won’t," Anzi said, tossing pillows back on the bed once she had changed the cases. "Trust me. It’d make Jyscal look bad."

"And Seymour?" Wakka asked.

"Yuna, do me a favor," Anzi said, going over to the dresser an shooing Rikku off of it. "Move dear."

"What?" Yuna asked.

"Other side," Anzi said, putting her elbow on the dresser. "Come on."

"What’s arm wrestling gonna solve?" Yuna asked.

"Come on, just do it, Anzi said.

"Okay but—OW!" Yuna said as the second she took Anzi’s hand it was slammed down on the dresser. "I wasn’t ready!"

"Good. Don’t you dare let my poor sweetie get hurt again, you hear me?"

"But—"

"Next time Jyscal decides to go insulting Seymour about what goes on in the bedroom you either stand up for the poor boy or you hit Jyscal over the head with something heavy. And don’t let me find out you let him down again."

"Or you’ll armwrestle me again?" Yuna asked, rubbing her arm.

"You wanna save innocent lives Yuna, save his and you save mine. Before I come over and hurt you again for letting me down."

"Anzi!" Yuna said. "You’re crazy."

"I helped your damn black mage over losing her lover and her child. Jyrrin left me less than a year after Seymour was brought back. Without Juuno, all I had was Seymour. Lulu was suffering from grief and I helped her, he helped me. She said she didn’t know what to do with both of them taken away from her, and I don’t know what I’d do if I lost him—even if I wasn’t there for him. Here’s your clothes, I know you don’t fold spheres, but try and make them fit in the drawer."

Back