Chapter Eight � The Thief

Cloud and Hikaru flew back to Morpheus and Yuna�s cabin silently. Both of them were exhausted, and they both had their reasons for not wanting to talk. Cloud was trying to organize his feelings while Hikaru was trying to figure out what was up with him. Hikaru didn�t bring up the courage to ask anything.

They finally reached home and Cloud followed a few feet behind Hikaru as they walked toward the door. Hikaru knocked, while Cloud told her they should just go on in. But Hikaru wanted to be polite. Soon enough, the door creaked open, revealing Yuna. She immediately flew her arms around Hikaru and hugged her tight.

�What the hell happened to you two?! I was so worried something bad might�ve happened to you guys!� exclaimed Yuna.

Yuna was about to hug Cloud too, when he said, �Doesn�t Morpheus know everything? Why couldn�t you just ask him to do some psychic-reading or something?�

Yuna stared at him and put her hands on her hips. She turned to Hikaru. �Jeez, did the sarcastic monster eat his heart or what?�

�I�m just tired,� Cloud lied. He then walked into the house and up the stairs to his new bedroom.

Hikaru walked in as Yuna shut the front door. �So, what happened?� she asked anxiously.

Hikaru smiled at her impatient behavior. �Long story short, we saved a girl from some psycho old man from Cloud�s past, for her boyfriend.�

Yuna rolled her eyes. �Oh, God, don�t tell me it was Squall Leonhart,� she said as she started to walk to the living room.

Hikaru gave her a quick look and followed her. �Wait, you know him?�

�Unfortunately,� Yuna snorted. �He used to like me I guess? Oh, whatever, I knew it was just a rumor. He just hated me grieving over Tidus and�� she stopped and sighed. �He wanted me to stop feeling sorry for myself,� she sat down in a couch in the living room.

Hikaru sat next to her. �So, what happened to Tidus that you thought it was your fault?�

Yuna looked down at her hands in her lap. �See, all summoners were supposed to go on a pilgrimage to pray at every temple in Spira, and to stop the death Sin brings. Sin was a creature that was known as Spira�s punishment for our vanity. Guardians were to protect the summoners on their journey. I had many, as you�ve seen from my photographs in my scrapbook. Whenever I prayed at temples in Spira, the Fayth I had prayed to sent me an aeon, a mythical being with extraordinary powers. The Fayth are human souls imprisoned by Yevon rights. Yevon is Spira�s god. The Final Summoning was the summoning of the Final Aeon, and the summoner who calls it would die. With this aeon, Sin was to be destroyed. When Sin died, it was reborn. When my pilgrimage took place, Tidus�s father, Jecht, was Sin because he sacrificed his life for Lord Braska, my late father who died after the summoning, and Auron, another dream of the Fayth, who was in my scrapbook.� Yuna sighed deeply. �You see, Tidus, and also Auron, were from a thousand years into the past.�

Hikaru�s eyes widened. �What? They were from the past?�

Yuna nodded. �They were from Zanarkand, a place everyone I knew thought as ruins. But they weren�t from the actual ruins; they were from the actual city that had been destroyed by Sin. That was the last day of at least Tidus�s life there, and somehow he came to be with us, since he became a dream of the Fayth.�

Hikaru was confused. �So, with the help of the Fayth, he traveled to the future?�

Yuna smiled. �Right! Yes. See, there was a war between Zanarkand and Bevelle. It was with machina, a complex machine material used for lots of things. In this case, it was used to destroy the city of Bevelle. Bevelle�s machina assured their victory from the start. Spira had never seen such power. The summoners of Zanarkand didn�t stand a chance. Zanarkand was doomed. The Fayth wanted to save it in a memory. The remaining summoners and the townspeople that survived the war�they all became Fayth for summoning. Summoning for a Zanarkand that would never die. The dreams of the Fayth summoned the memories of the city. They summoned all the buildings, and all the people who lived there. They Fayth were growing tired as I was on my pilgrimage, and talked to Tidus about this war. They wanted him to end their pain and suffering. Lady Yunalesca, the guard that we met at the ruins of Zanarkand, told us that someone was to be chosen to become the Final Aeon, and then they would fuse to become Sin. That is how Tidus�s father Jecht became Sin. We defeated Lady Yunalesca though, and we found our own way. But�it would cost Tidus his life.�

Hikaru nodded. �So how did he�die?�

�We fought Yu Yevon, a man who was once a summoner. He lived for only one purpose: to summon. He was neither good, nor evil. He was awake, yet he dreamed. He was the one who was forcing Sin to come back every time he was destroyed. Sin was his shell, his armor. When it was all over, every single Fayth woke up. And that was the end of the dreaming�the end of Auron�and Tidus.�

Hikaru blinked. That was a lot of information to absorb in only a few minutes. She felt sad, and put her hand on Yuna�s shoulder. �I�m sorry.�

Yuna nodded. �So am I. Rikku, Paine, and I, we thought we could find him while we were with the Gullwings, helping people all over Spira. We found a sphere, a video device, of someone that we thought was Tidus. But in the end, I never did see him again.�

Hikaru squeezed her shoulder. �You�ll see him again, trust me. Right in there,� she pointed to Yuna�s forehead. �In your dreams.�

Yuna looked at Hikaru, and smiled. She nodded in agreement. �Thanks.�

Hikaru smiled back. �You�re welcome.� Hikaru knew that she and Yuna would become close friends.

� � �

A few awkward days had passed. Cloud rarely talked to Hikaru, Yuna, or Morpheus at all. Yuna and Hikaru were starting to become extremely good friends, and Hikaru finally told Yuna about herself and Cloud, and what had happened with Kotake. Morpheus found out too, but Hikaru figured that he�d known from the beginning.

One night, Hikaru couldn�t fall asleep. She was thinking of Sephiroth, and how scared he�d made her, even if she didn�t show it that night. She kept seeing him in her dreams, until she suddenly heard noise from downstairs.

�Ugh, it�s probably just Yuna or Morpheus rearranging things�� Hikaru tried to turn over in her bed and fall asleep. But then the noise got louder.

Hikaru turned on the light on the nightstand next to her bed, She swung her legs over the bed and stood up. She walked to the door slowly and opened it.

She walked across the hall silently, barefoot, and reached the balcony railing in front of her. Looking down, she saw the living room furniture changed around, and papers and objects scattered everywhere. The piles and piles of things just kept getting bigger as she watched in horror. There was someone else down there.

She crept over to the stairs, near Yuna�s room, and walked down them without a sound. She took a deep breath, then turned the corner to find the back of a man who was rummaging through everything he could get his hands on.

He suddenly stopped. Hikaru noticed his coat, with white fur on the collar, which seemed vaguely familiar to her. He stood up, and turned around slowly. He jumped. �Hikaru!�

Hikaru flinched. �Squall?! What�are you doing here?!�

Immediately Hikaru saw a flash of green shoot down the stairs and onto the floor in front of Squall. In less than a second, the green flash changed into Morpheus, who punched Squall directly in the face, sending him flying into the pile of objects he was looking through.

Squall grunted and moaned. He sat up slowly and touched the bottom of his nose. He then looked at his finger, which was dabbed with blood. He started breathing more heavily and glared at Morpheus with rage. �What�s the big idea?!�

�No, Squall. I think I should be the one to ask you that,� Morpheus crossed his arms.

Squall tried to get up, but failed. �Don�t you know everything? Why would you even ask me that?!�

Hikaru�s gaze went from Squall to Cloud and Yuna, both running down the stairs.

�What the hell is going on?!� yelled Yuna. �What are you doing here Squall?!�

Squall stared at Yuna and suddenly got up. He walked over to her, and Hikaru put a hand on her shoulder, pulling her back. Cloud had his sword in his hand and tightened his grip on it.

Squall stopped right in front of Yuna. He gaped into her eyes with anger. �Where is it?�

Yuna stayed calm. �Where�s what?�

Squall got even more furious. �Don�t play dumb with me! Where�s your scrapbook?!�

Yuna�s jaw dropped a little. �Why would you want my scrapbook?�

Squall shook his head and laughed quietly to himself. He backed off a few inches and paced around the room. �You�re ruining your life, you know. Everyone else here would agree, except they don�t have the guts to tell it to your face. Face it Yuna, Tidus is dead. Okay? DEAD. He�s not coming back, and you�re literally killing yourself with the guilt. Just because it was your journey doesn�t mean he died because of you! It was because of Sin!� He walked to her again and pointed at her. �I don�t know much about this whole Spira and Zanarkand thing but I�ve heard about it from you. Don�t you know that I�m sick and tired of hearing about Tidus over and over again?�

Yuna laughed with tears in her eyes. �Wow, Squall, it�s not like you�re my boyfriend. Why don�t you go back to your precious Rinoa and yell at her instead of me?!�

Squall sighed. �You really don�t get it do you? If you want to destroy your life so much by ruining it with memories of him for all these years, I could literally just kill you right now!�

Cloud couldn�t take it anymore. Before Squall did something completely and utterly stupid, he knocked Squall out with the butt of his sword. He fell to the floor.

As if on cue, the front door suddenly swung open with a huge thud when it hit the wall. Rinoa came running in.

�Oh, God, where is he?� She then saw Squall on the floor and kneeled down beside him. �I knew he�d do something like this when I noticed he left.� She looked up to Yuna. �I�ll apologize for him. I�m really sorry. Tidus is none of his business.� She started to pick him up to put him on the couch, when Cloud helped her.

When he was on the couch, Hikaru, Cloud, Morpheus, Yuna, and Rinoa just stared at him.

Hikaru shook her head sympathetically and crossed her rms. �Talk about de-ja-vu,� she looked at Cloud.

Rinoa gasped. �What? He was unconscious before too?!� She let out a huge sigh and fell into the couch beside Squall�s feet. She put her head in her hands. �Sometimes he just loses it. I really thought it was over with the whole Tidus thing, but I guess not.�

Yuna rolled her eyes. �Okay, I�ve had enough. I�m going back to bed.�

Everyone looked at Yuna.

Yuna clenched her fists. �What?! This is completely pointless! Clearly, Squall has some issues. I think he needs help, but that�s just me. Now before all of you try to stop me, I�m going to bed.� She continued to walk to the stairs.

Morpheus vanished into thin air, and teleported to his room. Hikaru nodded to Cloud and Rinoa and started to follow Yuna.

Cloud crossed his arms and looked at Squall. �How can you even like this guy?� he sat down next to Rinoa, a good few inches away. �He�s pathetic. He loses his temper constantly, and he�s in danger with so many people�I think I agree with Yuna when she says he needs help.�

Rinoa also looked at Squall sympathetically. �I kept telling myself it was completely pointless, and I shouldn�t worry about his actions.� She looked back at Cloud. �I wanted to thank you for saving me today.� She moved closer to him. �I really appreciate it, seeing as Squall didn�t have the courage to save me himself.� Rinoa touched Cloud�s hand. Cloud looked down at it and flinched.

Hikaru was on the balcony about to open her door. Yuna already went into her own room. She heard every word that Rinoa had said, and when it became silent, she stared at the doorknob, trying to decide weather to turn around or not. With her curiosity though, she forced herself to look at them. Rinoa was extremely close to Cloud now, trying to kiss him.

Cloud pushed Rinoa away eventually, and looked up at the balcony. Hikaru was there, staring at him. He immediately got up while Hikaru ran into her room and slammed the door. Cloud put a hand on his forehead, and wiped his face in irritation. He looked at Rinoa, who was still on the couch at Squall�s feet. �Why the hell did you do that?�

She ran a hand through her hair. �Sorry�I didn�t realize you liked her.�

Cloud instantaneously got defensive. �I don�t! It�s just�� he sighed. �I don�t know how I feel. I never did, even when we were little,� he looked up to the empty balcony.

Rinoa shook her head. �You should go and talk to her.�

Cloud breathed heavily and started to sweat. �What? No, maybe I should wait��

�Now! Go, come on,� Rinoa encouraged him seriously.

Cloud gave into his feelings and started to walk up the stairs.

Rinoa got off the couch and went over to the other side, where Squall�s head was. She knelt down on the carpet and stroked his hair.

It was then, while Cloud walked up the stairs and saw her do this, he knew she kissed him for a reason, She didn�t like him at all, she wanted Cloud to face his feelings for Hikaru and tell her how he really felt.

Cloud focused again on wondering what he should say to Hikaru as he walked up the stairs. But suddenly there were no stairs. He�d reached the balcony, and as he looked up, he stared longingly at Hikaru�s closed door.

He slowly walked over to it. Without thinking, and without any plans of what to say, he just knocked.

Hikaru, on the other side in her new room, had had her back on the door, sitting on the carpet, crying. She knew then that she definitely had feelings for her best friend, and that now she wouldn�t be able to tell him. But when she heard the knock behind her, she quickly got to her feet, wiped her tear-stained cheeks, and opened the door cautiously.

Already knowing that it was Cloud, she opened it more, letting him come in. He shut the door behind him for privacy purposes. He didn�t want any of the others hearing what he had to say.

Hikaru stared at him, a couple feet away. He stared back at her, trying to think of something to say.

�I�m�sorry,� he spat out. �I really am.�

�What? What the hell was that, Cloud?� Cloud thought to himself. �God, now she�s really going to hate you.�

Hikaru just slowly nodded. �It�s okay.�

�What? What the hell was that, Hikaru?� Hikaru jabbed at her mind. �God, I should hate his guts, but then, why is he even up here apologizing?�

Cloud�s eyes dilated a little as he noticed how simple it was. But he knew Hikaru wasn�t finished yet. Swiftly though, he nodded, turned around, and started to open the bedroom door.

Hikaru couldn�t let him leave yet. �Wait, Cloud.�

�There it is,� Cloud thought, as he dropped his head, and his hand. He turned back and looked at her again.

Hikaru sighed and broke their eye contact. �Why did you let her kiss you?� She had to ask it. She then wished she�d never see it happen.

Cloud hesitated. �Why did I let Rinoa kiss me?� he wondered. �Well, the good thing was that I didn�t kiss her back, but I�m not going to say that. That is the worst possible excuse I could ever say. Besides, she might not even believe me. Or maybe she would��

Instead of taking the risk, Cloud gave an honest answer nonetheless. �I don�t know.�

Hikaru nodded. She truly believed him. �It�s really all right. I don�t even know why you�re up here apologizing.� She was about to add, �I really wasn�t upset about it,� but she, and even Cloud, knew that she was.

Cloud surprisingly shook his head. �No, it�s not all right. I wouldn�t blame you if you hated me for a while, or be mad at me for a very long time��

Hikaru looked at him confused. �Why would I ever hate my best friend?�

Cloud flinched. She was right. What he said implied the fact that Hikaru really did have feelings for him. He didn�t even know if that was true. But Hikaru knew then that Cloud had feelings for her. Why else would he assume about her feelings? In any case though, Cloud assumed correct.

Hikaru rushed into saying something when silence filled the room. �Sorry,� she said. She really didn�t know what she was sorry for.

Cloud looked down. �Don�t be.�

But as he looked down, he could see Hikaru�s feet walk closer to him. He slowly looked up until he saw her face directly in front of his.

Hikaru didn�t know what came over her. She looked into his brilliant azure eyes, then closed her own. Soon enough, their lips met.

Cloud, of course, didn�t push her away like he did Rinoa, but instead put his hands on her face, and carefully pulled his head away from hers. He quietly laughed.

Hikaru tilted her head to one side.

Cloud gazed at her. �Want to know what I felt when Rinoa kissed me?�

Hikaru just looked at him.

Cloud smiled. �Nothing.�

Hikaru smiled back. �Well, how about now?�

Cloud stroked some of her hair back that fell into her face. �'Mind if I show you?�

Hikaru shook her head. �Not at all.�

Then, Cloud kissed Hikaru.