Yuffie and Sephiroth were from the same world? Blonde eyebrows arch upwards with intrigue. So Rikku would get her story, as the only logical conclusion to the young Spiran who saw the best in everyone of the man who had stepped in with quiet nobility and offered a selfless hand to her, was that the two had a romantic past. Clearly one that ended in heartbreak for her fellow thief. Rikku acknowledged the warning with a noncommittal "mmm," and slight bob of the head.

"You know that people care about you, are worried anyway, right? I bet the silence worries them lots, it's scarier when you don't know things. Silence makes things worse a lot of times."

There's a moments pause, she's clearly puzzled by the apology. When she speaks, it's with soft sincerity. "Yuffie, it's not your job to protect me. It was my job to protect Yunie...I couldn't even manage that. We were all helpless." Her gaze drifts down in shame, failing as a Guardian was something that haunted her every day. "For what it's worth, if I could have, I would have helped you both. We were just...all so powerless."

Her voice trembles slightly, but there's marked determination as she adds, "But I'm not gonna be that way, not ever again."