"Come on, Auron, we know each other for what, five, six years? I can tell when you don't approve of something."
"..."
Braska smiled softly at Auron's rigid back. The ship rocked back and forth softly.
"It's Jecht, isn't it?"
Auron burst with anger, shifting from the ever-honorable warrior-monk to a normal, if somewhat furious young man.
"Of course it's him!" He threw his hands in the air with frustration, "It's always him! I can't believe you'd let that wretched drunkard become one of your guardians!"
Braska chuckled softly, never the one to be taken with Auron's tantrums. The young warrior was usually stoic and cold; however, those who came to really know him could tell that he was actually hot tempered as a wild cat. One of the only things that could make Auron this angry was his concern for his sometimes all-too-trusting friend. Braska knew this, and cherished Auron's steel resolve and care well.
When Jecht came, Auron's world of honor and discipline was shaken. He did not like the new guardian, not one bit.
"Please calm down..." Braska begged, still smiling.
"I will not!" Auron stomped angrily back and forth on the deck of the ship, "I will not! This man will bring us nothing but trouble- and he claims to be from Zanarkand!"
Braska gave Auron a strange look,
"But we know him to be telling the truth."
Auron stopped a short moment to shake a finger at Braska, "That's beside the point, milord."
Braska shook his head; Auron was in one of those moods.
"Besides...!" The guardian started, then hesitated and turned away, back to standing quietly besides the railing. It looked as if he had never just thrown a fit.
"'Besides' what?" Braska knew his guardian too well not to know that something important was not said.
But Auron was rigid. Hands crossed over his chest, intense brown eyes fixed on the horizon. He would say no more.
Braska placed a hand on his shoulder, and was about to
try and press the matter farther- it seemed to disturb Auron deeply- when they
heard;
"Hey, hey! Are we there yet?"
Braska turned to the new guardian. He was a tall man, by all means, and masculine, as only the truly tenacious Blitzball players are. He wasn't wearing a whole lot, but what little he did wear was made out of foreign cloth, with a tag clearly stating in readable type: Made in Zanerkand.
There could be no doubt.
This man was from the sacred place.
Braska thought he was a pleasant man. Sure, he was loud and drank a lot and since he joined them he managed to cause a lot of trouble, yet Braska was fond of him.
Auron, on the other hand, was on the brink of throwing him to a hungry pack of wolves or maybe just slash him through with his sword.
This made Braska notice two strange occurrences: The first; Auron's obvious disapproval of Jecht did not seem to be so obvious to Jecht himself, as the latter seemed to think of Auron as his 'buddy', much to the latter's annoyance.
The second thing was the curious fact that Jecht was still alive. If Auron hated something, he wasn't the one to just talk and complain, and Braska had seen enough people die at Auron's blade to learn that he will take no disrespect towards 'his lord', or tolerate anything that seemed to have such and extreme effect of him.
These two facts were very strange to Braska, especially the second one.
"Are we there yet?"
"Not yet."
"..."
"..."
"..."
"Are we there yet?"
Auron turned around and left, face stern as usual, but hands twitching to the hilt of his massive sword.
"What's with him?" Jecht asked, sincerely not understanding what had vexed the warrior so. Braska simply shrugged, that gentle smile never fading from his lips.
Later:
Auron sat in the sleeping quarters of the ship, sword leaning on him. He never let go of his sword- you'd have to kill him to make him let go of it. He was drowsing. He didn't mean to start sleeping now. Still, it was getting late and Braska still hadn't come to sleep. Auron was getting worried.
Sure, nothing bad could happen that could go unnoticed; Braska wouldn't fall off the ship without it raising some alarms, and there wasn't a chance Sin could attack without anybody noticing.
Maybe he was kidnapped?
Nah, that was illogical. No matter how sweet and kind his demeanor was, Braska was a strong fighter.
Maybe even strong enough to get along just fine
without his first guardian...?
He sure was stronger spiritually than Auron; Braska was Auron's sole reason to
live...
Sounds of rouady laughter shook him from his half-slumbering state. He had to quell his anger when Jecht sauntered in. After him came a softly laughing Braska.
Auron's eyes widened ever so slightly; He could never
make Braska laugh. He could never bring a smile to his lips, never. Braska
would often chuckle, but only because he was such a good man. Such a great
man...
Auron could say that he loved him. Not the type of love a man has to a woman,
the kind of love a man has to his king, when the king is also his best and only
friend.
"...Auron?"
He shook his head with a "Milord?"
"He asked 'are you okay, Auron?'" Jecht explained.
Auron shot him a stern look before turning to the summoner,
"I'm fine, milord. You're late, is all well?"
"I am okay, Auron, thank you."
"Sure he's fine!" Jecht announced in his loud voice, "Hanging out with a star like me can do only good!"
"A 'Shooting Star' will do you some good..." Auron grumbled.
"Now, now, Auron." Braska gave him a reproachful smile.
The guardian bowed his head slightly, "My apologies, Milord."
Jecht, who hadn't a clue what a Shooting Star was, and how painful it could be said,
"Braska, What's with him and all this 'Milord' stuff? Are you royalty or somethin'?"
"His is my lord." The sternness in Auron's voice surprised even Braska, "I would suggest that you keep your tongue in check, if you don't want it cut off."
"Ooo... Is that a threat?"
Braska intervened before anything bad might happen. Auron was both a man to stand by his threats to the end, and, it would seem, slightly overly protective of his summoner. Jecht, on the other hand, was a capable fighter himself, not to mention that he hadn't a clue how powerful Auron could be when he's irritated enough.
Besides, Braska was a peaceful man who would never see his friends get hurt or fight meaninglessly.
"Now, now, Auron! It was your choice to call me the way you do. There is nothing offensive in calling me by my name."
Auron was about to say something, but Braska insisted, "No. He is one of my guardians now, you just have to accept it!"
Auron, despite his anger and feeling of slight humiliation bowed his head,
"Yes, Milord."
Jecht laughed,
"Good boy."
Braska then shook his head in dismay after Auron stormed silently, yet very meaningfully, out of the room.
"That guy just can't take a joke!"
Braska gave him a hard look, "Please don't tease him too much. You won't take a joke, too, if you passed in life all that he passed."
"Huh?"
The young summoner sighed heavily,
"He doesn't talk about it much, but, once, I managed to hear from him the full story...
When he very little, his village was attacked and destroyed by Sin. His whole family was killed, but he managed to escape.
He lived on his own for a few years before he was picked up by the warrior-monks of Yevon. You know how hard their trainings are, especially on children."
"I do?"
Braska continued,
"He was considered a prodigy child with the broad sword. After some time he became so good and known within the temple that he engaged to the daughter of the second to the Mayster."
"And that's a good thing, is it?" Jecht was trying to keep up with the story.
Braska nodded, "A very good thing; it's considered a great honor to be offered that."
"You wanna tell me that that stiff is married?"
"No. He refused to marry her. Not only was she in love with a Crusader, he wasn't in love with her at all. He told them that each man must follow his heart, and that it's wrong to force them to marry against their wills."
"Good for him."
"Not at all." The summoner said seriously, "They don't work like that. He was accused of treason and undermining the teachings of Yevon and was to be executed."
"What?!" Jecht then burst with laughter, "That is so Spira. Everything eventually leads to death."
Braska frowned at this remark, but continued with his story,
"He escaped, but they chased him. Refusing to fight his old friends, he got very badly wounded. Not only that, but the temples refused to give him refuge.
I met him in Macalania forest. He was badly wounded, almost dead, and I offered him my help. He refused it, and then both of us were attacked by more of those who chased him. I tried to calm them and said that he is wounded, and is in no shape to continue fighting them. They said that it was irrelevant, and that he is to be killed even in dishonorable ways. You can imagine his shock and disbelief at that announcement."
Jecht was, surprisingly enough, listening quietly up till now.
"What happened then?"
"I saw no other way than to summon Ixion. He collapsed after that, and I treated him. When he woke up and discovered that I was a banished summoner myself, he said that I was a man of honor that followed his heart. He said that I own his life now, and that he shall protect me wherever I go from now."
Jecht was silent a long moment,
"Not a lot of people were nice to him, eh?"
Braska nodded gravely, and was surprised when Jecht started laughing again,
"Well, he won't have anything to complain about now that I'm here! I have a feeling that we're gonna be great buddies!"
Braska smiled, but was slightly scared of Auron's reaction to this optimistic statement.
Auron was staring off into the distance on the deck of the ship. It must have been very long after midnight by now, he gathered.
He heard the cabin door opening softly and then shutting. He didn't need to look back to know was coming by his side, the smell of alcohol spoke for itself.
"What is it?"
Jecht positioned himself beside the warrior.
"If you're not a monk no more, then what are ya?"
Auron didn't move a muscle,
"I'm a guardian."
The two were silent a long moment, then Jecht said,
"Well, I guess I'm one too, now, eh?"
Auron frowned,
"It takes more than a simple statement," He said, "It takes courage and valor, not to mention honor and sacrifice."
"Are you saying I don't have all those?" The challenge in his voice was unmistakable.
"No." Replied Auron, "If Milord Braska thinks you're fit to be his guardian, then you must have something. It's just that..."
"What?"
It would have been interesting to know what Auron wanted to say, however Sin had other plans.
As the ship was knocked violently to one side by a tidal waved, the two guardians were thrown against the cabin's outer wall.
Auron, used to the sight of Sin, came to his senses first. He leapt towards the cabin door, rushing as fast as he could to the sleeping quarters.
That was the first time Jecht ever saw Sin, and he was transfixed by the sight of the massive creature. It was disgusting and beautiful at the same time. Dangerous and inviting in a strange mixture.
People around Jecht were shouting and running from side to side of the ship, people were rushing up from the lower decks, as instructed in case of a Sin attack. It was unwise to stay below- you would be better off falling from the ship into the raging sea than getting trapped in a sinking room.
Speaking of which, Auron wasn't coming back.
And neither was Braska coming up the stairs along with all the other people.
Cursing under his breath, he shoved through the panicking people and made his way down into the cabin.
Most of the people had already evacuated, and the narrow hall was empty. Jecht had to spread his arms to the walls as to not be thrown by the ship's convulsions.
"Auron! Braska!"
"Jecht!" He heard the summoner shout, "Over here! Hurry!"
He followed the voice until he reached their room. He found both of his companions in quite a predicament; the ceiling of the room had partially caved in. Now not only was the room being slowly flooded, but Braska's leg was caught under a piece of debris and Auron was keeping the rest of the ceiling from falling down on his summoner with his broad shoulders against half-falling ceiling's planks. It was obvious that in the battle between Auron's shoulders and the ceiling, the ceiling was having the upper hand.
The water was nearly waist high, by now.
"Help him! Take him out of here!" Auron bellowed, clearly straining his last strength.
Jecht didn't have time to complain. He tossed the beam from Braska's leg and hoisted him under his armpit.
"Hang on!" He called to Auron before bolting out the door.
Braska was placed on the upper deck, where he wasn't actually any safer, with Sin still in the waters around them.
Jecht was torn a moment between protecting the summoner or retrieving the knight, but the distressed and anxious look on Braska's face made it clear that Auron better be alright.
Jecht rushed back into the slowly flooding cabin.
Just as he entered the corridor, a mighty crash was sounded from the room and Jecht was nearly blown away by a wave of water. By chance he managed to grab a doorway. When the entire place was filled with water, the Blitzer managed to open his eyes again.
He could hold his breath for about three to five minutes of intense activity. He was a star Blitzer.
Auron, however, didn't even know how to swim.
With swift and confident motions he slid into the room; the ceiling had finally collapsed, and there was a pretty big hole in the ship now.
With only one pump working the ship won't sink, but it doesn't mean that it's going to float easy.
Auron was nowhere to be found. Something tugged at Jecht's mind, and he noticed that the water floating through the pile of wreckage on the floor was coming out a different color. In the dark, it took him a moment to realize that they were coming out red.
He started to dig viciously through the planks of wood and pieces of metal. He dug, ignoring the cuts and bruises from the debris, ignoring the moaning of the ship or the cries from the deck. After what seemed like an eternity, something warm wrapped itself around his wrist, surprised, he drew his hand back.
It was very surprising that Auron was still conscious in the state he was in.
Apart from having no air, he was bleeding severely from a deep gash in his side.
Jecht managed to yank him free of his watery prison and started to swim like a man possessed to the air. It would seem that he got to dry deck just in time, since Auron hardly had the strength in him to breath anymore. He laid bonelessy on his back on the deck, concentrating on breathing for now. His eyes were closed tight and his hand was clutched to his injured side.
"Geesh, you idiot, you still alive?" Jecht frowned at the ugly wound in the guardian's side. Auron's eyes flashed open and he looked around. He ignored Jecht's concern.
"Where's Braska?"
"He's over there, coming now."
Auron coughed a few times, entire body shaking with pain each time. He rolled to his side and tried to get up.
"...You left him alone against Sin?!" His strength failed him and he plopped down on the floor.
"Stop wriggling!" Jecht angrily barked at his continuing attempts to get up, "You're wounded, if ya didn't notice!"
Auron managed to sit up on his knees and ankles. The bleeding didn't seem to slow down.
"Forget about me." Auron growled, continuing to try and stand up, "You're Lord Braska's guardian, not mine! It doesn't matter what happens to me!" He twitched as fierce pain bit his side.
"You're wrong, Auron." the two guardians looked up in surprise at Braska. The storm and chaos was starting to subside; Sin had left. Braska looked grave- graver than Auron had seen the cheerful man in a long time.
"Jecht."
"Hm?"
"Please go and bring me bandages."
"Uhhh..." He preferred not to face Braska's anger, "Okay!" He practically ran.
"Milord," Auron tried one last time to raise, "Praise Yevon that you're unharmed...!" He crumbled back to the floor, clutching at his side.
"Do not move so much, Auron!" Braska commanded, and the knight immediately stopped all movement. The sternness in Braska's voice surprising him. The summoner then kneeled beside Auron and started to treat the wound.
"Don't move now..." He said before yanking something. Auron's eyes widened briefly as amazing pain shot through his whole body. He then stared at the fist-sized splinter. It dripped blood on Braska's arm.
"This would have killed you if you continued to move...!" He waved it in front of Auron's face, "And you're still bleeding!"
"I..." Auron shook his head, still slightly intimidated by Braska's anger, "It is more important to me that you'll be safe, Milord."
Braska's face contorted with emotion for a flash; something between rage and despair, and he sighed heavily.
"Auron... What need I do in order to get through to you? I don't need you with me as my guardian."
Auron stared at him with utter shock. Braska smiled his soft smile, placing his hand on Auron's shoulders. But before he could say anything, Auron bolted up to his feet. His face was strained and beads of sweat were at his brow. It wasn't only the physical pain hurting him.
Braska tried to speak, but Auron wouldn't listen. He turned around, hand still clutching at his heavily bleeding side,
"That is exactly why... I did not approve of this... Jecht..."
He left to the other side of the deck.
He knew, or more correctly, feared all along that this would happen if Braska were ever to take another guardian.
Now... He wasn't needed anymore. Thrown aside, just like the temple did...
Braska shook his head in dismay before starting after Auron.
It wasn't hard to find him, since he was huddled on the floor in the middle of the deck. He seemed barely conscious, and Braska felt bad that he neglected Auron's injury. The knight had more stamina than an ox, but he was still human, and that splinter had to cause significant damage.
Again he kneeled beside Auron.
"..." Auron opened one eye halfway to look at Braska. He didn't seem to have a lot of strength beyond that. The look he gave Braska was a look of a kicked wolf-cub.
"Stupid." Braska said. Auron seemed to try to get up again, but it was clear was he too wounded. Braska smiled at him again,
"If you would just listen to what I have to say to the end...!" He inhaled deeply, hands working silently and knowingly to stop the severe bleeding. "I meant what I said about you being my guardian-however! I want you to be my friend first, then my guardian." He sighed, "I knew some feelings of jealousy might arise if I were to take another guardian, and I meant to talk to you in private before anything drastic might happen... But Auron..." He gave the barely awake man a stern look, "Do you really think that if something were to happen to you, I wouldn't be sad? Are you insane? A part of me will die if some harm would come to you, my friend."
Auron closed his eyes and drifted into unconsciousness, but his breathing was calm.
Or maybe it was because of the blood loss...?
End.
My first FFX fic, written in two very
boring military days.
What do you think?
I'm not especially proud of this, but I kainda like it. I was never good with
short stories, but I'm trying to get better.
I'd love to know what you think!