Suteki Da Ne
By: Helxine
*These characters belong to FFX and Square Enix.
In the near darkness, the young guardian hesitantly approached the summoner as feelings of dread and hopelessness battered the walls of his heart. He then abruptly stopped in his tracks, thinking what words of comfort he could offer her. How could he rid himself of the sadness and melancholy that lingered in his own cobalt eyes? Could he really even begin to convince her that everything would be all right when unknown painful feelings whirled inside of him?
The revered daughter of high summoner Braska was now a traitor to what she had feverishly been devoted to- to bringing the dratted Calm. She stood half immersed in the gentle water, her eyes were turned towards the bright stars. Perhaps she was praying to an unknown deity for guidance, although what or who she prayed to, the guardian never knew. All the beliefs she had held on to so dearly were shattered in a single moment of truth.
He finally waded into the water to the summoner, gathering his courage and the heavy words in his heart that felt like lead.
"They told me. Everything." Despite himself, the guardian's voice could barely conceal the flame of anguish that burned bright in his mind.
Meanwhile, Macalania lake shimmered in all its translucent, crystalline beauty, shedding all its light on the summoner who turned to face him. There an expression of surprise on her face…and something else.
"Everything" her voice was unreadable as those beautiful mismatched eyes (one jade, another sapphire), looked at him.
"Everything," he answered. Something flickered in her eyes.
She shivered from the impenetrable cold that emanated from the freezing water and the cold that ranged and threatened to break her fragile composure. "So you know then," she said, looking away from his gaze.
"I just wanted to say I'm sorry, you know about 'let's go to Zanarkand' or 'let's go beat Sin'," he paused, "I didn't know what would happen to you Yuna." Finding her unresponsive, he continued, not wanting to be the cause of the silence that would soon follow.
"Forget being a summoner, forget all that." Tidus said, determination creeping into his voice and pushing away all the doubt and bleakness of the situation. He was her guardian and he had to be strong... for both of them.
"Maybe I will," she answered softly as a feeling of hope and elation began to fill the guardian's heart.
But deep within the confines of her heart, the summoner knew differently. She and her guardians had undergone so many challenges in her pilgrimage. She remembered Bevelle vividly- the seemingly endless running and the fear. How her beliefs and dreams of fulfilling her roles as a summoner began to crumble with each step she took. She was so ready for death, to sacrifice herself so she could bring the calm.
She remembered the numb, blank pain she had felt when she thought she had lost her guardians. These were her family, the people she cherished, the ones she looked up for strength. They would give their life for her if needed be.
As the young summoner replayed the recent events in her mind, she finally woke from the paralyzing slumber of helplessness. It was no use getting angry at the events that had already transpired.
Her guardian told her, reassured her that the others would stand by her decision no matter what it was. Yet it felt...wrong to abandon what she had already started. Yet defiling Yevon and being called traitor to Spira had utterly destroyed her.
Yevon was merely the accursed religion of Spira that preached false teachings and beliefs into the hearts of the people. Yevon and all its maesters corrupted Spira, ensuring that Spira aptly reflected its name: to be an everlasting spiral of suffering.
It would be much easier if she quit now...
"What would I do if I quit my pilgrimage?" she asked.
"We can go to Zanarkand, not the one in Spira, the one where I'm from..." He began to describe his Zanarkand. It sounded so beautiful, Yuna thought, especially when he described how the city looked like it was on fire when the sun was setting.
It was so tempting but she would stand by her decision. Tears gathered in her eyes and coursed down her cheekbones. She emptied all the doubt and anguish that was gathering inside of her.
The summoner's soft, muffled sobs drew the guardian to her. It pained him to see her cry. Tidus placed a bronze arm on her shoulder and their gazes met. His unspoken words reached her. He didn't have to say the words outloud. He was proud of her for staying strong even when there seemed no hope.
He also knew that he loved her. He finally understood the unfamiliar jarring emotions he felt when she smiled. How his world came to a standstill when she was around, why he had the constant urge to protect her, why he nearly fell apart when he thought she was considering marrying Seymour...he understood that it was love.
Time ceased to exist as his arms encircled her shivering body. He brought warmth to her coldness and she light to her darkness. His lips met hers as a passionate rush of warmth as desire coursed through the both of them. Soft, soothing music began to play in the background as they fell in the shimmering late. He then vowed that he would never let her go. He would never allow her to die.
They travelled, entwined in each other's arms deeper and deeper into crystal lake. Time came to a standstill as it made way for their moment. All their doubts and hopelessness vanished into the darkness that threatened to swallow them only moments ago. In that moment, she was not Yevon's traitor, she was not a summoner that lived only for a brief while, only to die soon after. She was only a girl experiencing love for the first time. It was like she was waking up to the real world in the first time. Realizing this, she began to shake. How could she be so blind all her life?
He took her hand into hers and his lips finally found hers, ending her turmoil. She yielded to him so tenderly and sweetly that he wondered why they never thought of doing this before. It didn't matter though, as they had all the time in the world. He didn't know that that would be the last time that he could hold her that way. But that didn't matter now. Now was perfect and nothing could take that moment away from them. In the lake, they sailed together, one perfect fit and two halves of a whole. They sailed through the vastness of time. They flickered through hundreds and thousands of lifetimes. Sometimes they were different people from different worlds. They lived only to die again, but they always meet time and time again.
Peace settled over two young lovers as they sit side by side, watching the fading stars in the darkness. She was no longer afraid of the future because no matter what happened, he would always be with her.
"Stay with me, until the end," she tells him, but even without telling him, she knew what he would say.
"No not until the end. Forever."