Rikku shook her head. "Is she okay? I mean ... that would be a lot, to adjust to. I mean, for anybody, but especially, you know, with your dad being, uh. The whole he-went-evil thing?"

She bit her lip and looked down. "It's ... I probably sound so stupid. I mean, I'm fif-- well, sixteen, now, and we've only been together a few months and all. I guess it's just ... you know, I always have this ... with Yunie, saving the world, it was, okay, I'm gonna be the cheerful one, no matter what. I'll be strong, for Yunie. I'm not gonna break down and show how scared I am or how much I want to sit on the ground and cry and not do this. I ... I keep that up a lot, with most people, you know?"

She smiled, a little wryly. "It took him, like, a week to just ... step around that. And go, okay, that's fine. But I'm gonna put my arms around you anyway, so if you wanted to let that down, you could, I wouldn't tell anybody." She waved a bit. "I mean, not that he said ... you know what I mean. Right?"