An Attoangstrom Away
Auron decided that he didn't like Luca.
Or the fact that there were a few hundred fiends terrorizing the Blitzball fans crowded in the stadium.
People stumbled past him, rushing for the exits. Auron walked in calmly, Masamune rested on his shoulder. He licked the roof of his mouth, catching the aftertaste of the rice wine held in his hip flask. He carried his left arm close to his body, inside his jacket, and he kept it there despite the discomfort it caused by producing excess heat in the noonday sun. It was a solemn testament to his charge, High Summoner Braska, who'd died under Auron's less-than-watchful gaze. He wasn't the only one, the ex-Guardian mused.
A dragon-like beast crashed through a doorway, sending the innocent bystanders fleeing the scene, a sea of bodies trying to sweep Auron away. Fat chance.
He waited for all the noncoms to leave, but some stayed to watch what he was about to do. He smiled, closing his one good eye and inhaling deeply. He opened his eye and dropped his gaze to the fiend before him. It was time.
Auron sat into a deep seuchin stance, shooting his arm out from under his jacket and performing a circular, sweeping block. The thing roared at him, thirsty for blood.
Showing incredible speed and strength for a man his age, the former Guardian rushed the fiend, the sharp sword sweeping from Auron's shoulder and down through the body, actually nicking the stone floor after it came out. It came to rest once again on his shoulder, completing a full circuit. He inhaled deeply, blood and Pyreflies filling the air. He looked over his shoulder before Wakka even had time to call out to him.
"Sir Auron!"
Wakka stopped short, breathing heavily, Tidus on his heels. "Auron?" the blonde-haired boy wondered aloud. "What are you -- "
"No time," Auron interrupted. "Turn around!"
Three more fiends were grouping together for an assault from the rear. Tidus drew his sword and Wakka limbered up, stretching his arm in preparation for battle. Auron cut through one, Tidus another, and Wakka managed to blind the third with his Bliztball long enough for the elder Guardian to dispatch it.
"C'mon, let's go!" Tidus whined. "We cannot run," the warrior explained calmly. "We must fight." Tidus heaved his hands into the air out of pure frustration. "Argh, give me a break!" he complained as more monsters approached, sandwhiching the group in.
No one except Auron noticed Maester Seymour begin summoning his Aeon. He waved his hands about, chanting rhythmically, and it came.
It was ugly, huge, and dark. A fish-like head sat atop a body confined in impossible chains, its eyes bleeding from pain and misery millennia old. It simply willed the fiends to cease their existence, and they did so, albeit unwilling. It then retreated into the floor of the stadium.
"Well I'll be a son of a -- "
"Shut up, Tidus. We're gonna be late."
He motioned for his two comrades to follow him, and began walking back through the bar.
That's when he saw her. Yuna.
The young Summoner, much like her father, stood out in a crowd. He could see that she had the same wiry strength he'd had as a young boy. She held herself with humility, but also with pride. There was something about her that he couldn't quite place a finger on.
His trio approached the Lady Summoner, and he noticed how she carefully masked all her worries and anxieties behind a light and carefree mask. It broke when he approached.
"Sir Auron!" she exclaimed, almost breathless.
Yuna stopped in her tracks when she saw Auron for the first time in ten years. Despite his age, he maintained his dignity, strength, and speed, making him an excellent veteran Guardian. The girl also noticed how he had something of a sex appeal about him, an aura of mystery and strength that undoubtedly attracted more than a few women in his earlier days.
"It is an honor to meet you, Lady Yuna." Auron bowed crisply, but Yuna sensed that the act was purely ceremonial; he'd given up on the ways of Yevon long ago. She answered him, cheerfully, "It's my pleasure, I assure you." Pleasure .
"Lady Yuna, are you alright?" Lulu pressed a hand to Yuna's head. "You just got very red, and very hot." The Summoner shooed her off. "I'm fine," she insisted.
Auron's gaze wandered just far enough to catch a glimpse of how her sweat had saturated her white shirt, enough for -
He tore his eye away, looking down at his boots. His right hand found the flask at his hip, and he took another swig of the stuff inside. "Tidus," he called gruffly. "Come with me." He grabbed his adoptive son by the scruff of his neck, and dragged him away from the group.
Yuna watched it all happen. His voice had changed since she'd last heard it. It was no longer its usual, light self. Something had transformed it into a dark, harsh bark. At first she mourned the loss of that Auron she knew and loved, but then she realized something else; she liked this one better.
Auron and Tidus rejoined the group a few minutes later, the latter looking fairly disgruntled.
"Lady Yuna?" Auron called.
"Yes, Sir Auron?" the girl asked politely. She turned her whole body to face him.
"I'd like to become your Guardian," he explained. Yuna stared for a moment, then laughed.
Auron turned away. "You refuse?"
Yuna put a hand on his shoulder and wheeled him around. "No, it's just that, well." She laughed again. "I feel like I'd need to beg you to become my Guardian!"
Auron turned up the corners of his mouth ever so slightly. "Such behavior would not be fitting for a lovely Summoner such as yourself." He suddenly had an idea, and threw Tidus into the conversation with a rough tug of his collar. "He comes too," he decided for his "son". Yuna nodded. "So be it. I'm so flattered that one of my father's best Guardians would wish to join me."
The man winced a bit at the mention of Braska, and he shifted his arm inside of his shirt. "Think nothing of it, Lady Yuna," he insisted.
The party started out for the Djose Shrine.
Chapter 2
"Lady Summoner!"
The entire group looked up ahead to see three chocobos galloping down the Mi'ihen Highway. "Yes?" Yuna inquired.
A woman atop the lead animal drew herself up. "I am Lucil, captain of the Djose Chocobo Knights. There have been reports of a fiend with a taste for chocobos, so do take care should you happen to rent any."
"Thank you, Lucil," Yuna bowed. The trio of knights bowed in return before continuing their patrol.
"A fiend, huh?" Tidus spoke up. "We should go get him!"
"Why?"
The entire group turned to Auron. "Why? Because it's the right thing to do!" Tidus complained.
The elder Guardian chuckled privately. "Oh, great," Tidus whined. "What did Isay now?"
"Jecht used to say that a lot. Every time he did, it meant trouble for Braska and me." Auron sighed at the mention of his friends whom he'd lost to Sin. It was then that Yuna realized what attracted her to Auron; his cool, calm demeanor. He was always logical, levelheaded. Sure, Tidus was pretty easy on the eyes, but he whined constantly and always pressed for action. Auron was always patient and thoughtful, something she sensed Tidus had yet to learn.
"I have an idea," Yuna offered. Tidus looked at her skeptically. "We travel on, but if we come across the fiend, we shall do battle and kill it. Everyone happy?"
"As you wish, Lady Yuna," Auron replied.
"Are you a Summoner?"
For a moment, everyone looked around to try and locate the source of the voice. It was, again, Auron who had the sense to look down. "Yuna, child at seven o'clock," he whispered.
Yuna spun, pointing herself in the right direction, and she saw a toddler at her feet who had escaped her mother. The lady knelt down and brought herself face-to-face with the child. "In fact, I am. My name is Yuna."
"A Summoner, then?" the girl's mother asked. "Well, we look forward to your Calm season."
"You're going to bring the Calm season?" the little girl asked.
Yuna smiled. "Just you wait."
"The Calm?" Tidus wondered aloud. The entire grouped shook their heads in shame at their companion's stupidity. Lulu explained the concept of the Calm to their idiotic charge. Like every child who is first being taught about the Calm, he came upon that most awful of ideas, but Yuna stopped him before he voiced his thoughts.
"Don't say it isn't worth it, because it is."
Auron smiled inwardly at Yuna's anticipation of Tidus' mouth. It had taken him a year to learn when to shut the boy up before he said something stupid, or worse, dangerous. He admired her for it, then shook off his emotions as soon as they began. "Let's get going, shall we?" It wasn't a question, it was an order. They fell in step with the Guardian one by one.
Two of the Crusaders approached the group, obviously hoping to initiate conversation, but Lucil halted them, insisting they get back to work for the "big operation".
"I won't complain if Sin is defeated!"
"But Yevon's teachings -- "
"Argh, you're so persistent!"
"Am I? Well screw you!"
The sounds of an argument echoed across the road. The team checked up on the two, making sure they were keeping it nonviolent. "What's going on here?" Yuna asked.
"Lady Summoner?" the woman asked. "I'm Shelinda. Doesn't Yevon forbid the use of machina?"
"But Lady Summoner," the man shouted. "Shouldn't we do anything and all in our power to defeat Sin?"
Yuna thought for a moment. This would require tact. She composed her thoughts, then spoke.
"I agree, we should do all in our power to defeat Sin. However, we should not go so far as to not observe the teachings of Yevon, for it is for Yevon that we defeat Sin. Think about that, and try to come to an agreement."
Auron watched silently. She had potential. Maybe even more than Braska did, he wouldn't know. He mused to himself, reminiscing about his last Pilgrimage. Those were the days.
He spotted a small building. "Let's rest here," he said.
"But this is a shop owned by the Al Bhed!" Wakka argued.
"So?" Auron asked matter-of-factly.
"Well, they kidnapped Yuna in Luca -- "
"Because the Guardians got sloppy!" Auron shot back.
"I-I -- " Wakka argued weakly.
Yuna stepped in. "Please consider Wakka's physical condition."
"I'm just fine!" Wakka yelled. "I, for one, am tired," Auron decided. The rest of the group kind of shrugged and looked down as Wakka searched for support. It had been a long walk .
"Fine," Wakka surrendered, throwing his arms into the air.
Auron decided that he didn't like Luca.
Or the fact that there were a few hundred fiends terrorizing the Blitzball fans crowded in the stadium.
People stumbled past him, rushing for the exits. Auron walked in calmly, Masamune rested on his shoulder. He licked the roof of his mouth, catching the aftertaste of the rice wine held in his hip flask. He carried his left arm close to his body, inside his jacket, and he kept it there despite the discomfort it caused by producing excess heat in the noonday sun. It was a solemn testament to his charge, High Summoner Braska, who'd died under Auron's less-than-watchful gaze. He wasn't the only one, the ex-Guardian mused.
A dragon-like beast crashed through a doorway, sending the innocent bystanders fleeing the scene, a sea of bodies trying to sweep Auron away. Fat chance.
He waited for all the noncoms to leave, but some stayed to watch what he was about to do. He smiled, closing his one good eye and inhaling deeply. He opened his eye and dropped his gaze to the fiend before him. It was time.
Auron sat into a deep seuchin stance, shooting his arm out from under his jacket and performing a circular, sweeping block. The thing roared at him, thirsty for blood.
Showing incredible speed and strength for a man his age, the former Guardian rushed the fiend, the sharp sword sweeping from Auron's shoulder and down through the body, actually nicking the stone floor after it came out. It came to rest once again on his shoulder, completing a full circuit. He inhaled deeply, blood and Pyreflies filling the air. He looked over his shoulder before Wakka even had time to call out to him.
"Sir Auron!"
Wakka stopped short, breathing heavily, Tidus on his heels. "Auron?" the blonde-haired boy wondered aloud. "What are you -- "
"No time," Auron interrupted. "Turn around!"
Three more fiends were grouping together for an assault from the rear. Tidus drew his sword and Wakka limbered up, stretching his arm in preparation for battle. Auron cut through one, Tidus another, and Wakka managed to blind the third with his Bliztball long enough for the elder Guardian to dispatch it.
"C'mon, let's go!" Tidus whined. "We cannot run," the warrior explained calmly. "We must fight." Tidus heaved his hands into the air out of pure frustration. "Argh, give me a break!" he complained as more monsters approached, sandwhiching the group in.
No one except Auron noticed Maester Seymour begin summoning his Aeon. He waved his hands about, chanting rhythmically, and it came.
It was ugly, huge, and dark. A fish-like head sat atop a body confined in impossible chains, its eyes bleeding from pain and misery millennia old. It simply willed the fiends to cease their existence, and they did so, albeit unwilling. It then retreated into the floor of the stadium.
"Well I'll be a son of a -- "
"Shut up, Tidus. We're gonna be late."
He motioned for his two comrades to follow him, and began walking back through the bar.
That's when he saw her. Yuna.
The young Summoner, much like her father, stood out in a crowd. He could see that she had the same wiry strength he'd had as a young boy. She held herself with humility, but also with pride. There was something about her that he couldn't quite place a finger on.
His trio approached the Lady Summoner, and he noticed how she carefully masked all her worries and anxieties behind a light and carefree mask. It broke when he approached.
"Sir Auron!" she exclaimed, almost breathless.
Yuna stopped in her tracks when she saw Auron for the first time in ten years. Despite his age, he maintained his dignity, strength, and speed, making him an excellent veteran Guardian. The girl also noticed how he had something of a sex appeal about him, an aura of mystery and strength that undoubtedly attracted more than a few women in his earlier days.
"It is an honor to meet you, Lady Yuna." Auron bowed crisply, but Yuna sensed that the act was purely ceremonial; he'd given up on the ways of Yevon long ago. She answered him, cheerfully, "It's my pleasure, I assure you." Pleasure .
"Lady Yuna, are you alright?" Lulu pressed a hand to Yuna's head. "You just got very red, and very hot." The Summoner shooed her off. "I'm fine," she insisted.
Auron's gaze wandered just far enough to catch a glimpse of how her sweat had saturated her white shirt, enough for -
He tore his eye away, looking down at his boots. His right hand found the flask at his hip, and he took another swig of the stuff inside. "Tidus," he called gruffly. "Come with me." He grabbed his adoptive son by the scruff of his neck, and dragged him away from the group.
Yuna watched it all happen. His voice had changed since she'd last heard it. It was no longer its usual, light self. Something had transformed it into a dark, harsh bark. At first she mourned the loss of that Auron she knew and loved, but then she realized something else; she liked this one better.
Auron and Tidus rejoined the group a few minutes later, the latter looking fairly disgruntled.
"Lady Yuna?" Auron called.
"Yes, Sir Auron?" the girl asked politely. She turned her whole body to face him.
"I'd like to become your Guardian," he explained. Yuna stared for a moment, then laughed.
Auron turned away. "You refuse?"
Yuna put a hand on his shoulder and wheeled him around. "No, it's just that, well." She laughed again. "I feel like I'd need to beg you to become my Guardian!"
Auron turned up the corners of his mouth ever so slightly. "Such behavior would not be fitting for a lovely Summoner such as yourself." He suddenly had an idea, and threw Tidus into the conversation with a rough tug of his collar. "He comes too," he decided for his "son". Yuna nodded. "So be it. I'm so flattered that one of my father's best Guardians would wish to join me."
The man winced a bit at the mention of Braska, and he shifted his arm inside of his shirt. "Think nothing of it, Lady Yuna," he insisted.
The party started out for the Djose Shrine.
Chapter 2
"Lady Summoner!"
The entire group looked up ahead to see three chocobos galloping down the Mi'ihen Highway. "Yes?" Yuna inquired.
A woman atop the lead animal drew herself up. "I am Lucil, captain of the Djose Chocobo Knights. There have been reports of a fiend with a taste for chocobos, so do take care should you happen to rent any."
"Thank you, Lucil," Yuna bowed. The trio of knights bowed in return before continuing their patrol.
"A fiend, huh?" Tidus spoke up. "We should go get him!"
"Why?"
The entire group turned to Auron. "Why? Because it's the right thing to do!" Tidus complained.
The elder Guardian chuckled privately. "Oh, great," Tidus whined. "What did Isay now?"
"Jecht used to say that a lot. Every time he did, it meant trouble for Braska and me." Auron sighed at the mention of his friends whom he'd lost to Sin. It was then that Yuna realized what attracted her to Auron; his cool, calm demeanor. He was always logical, levelheaded. Sure, Tidus was pretty easy on the eyes, but he whined constantly and always pressed for action. Auron was always patient and thoughtful, something she sensed Tidus had yet to learn.
"I have an idea," Yuna offered. Tidus looked at her skeptically. "We travel on, but if we come across the fiend, we shall do battle and kill it. Everyone happy?"
"As you wish, Lady Yuna," Auron replied.
"Are you a Summoner?"
For a moment, everyone looked around to try and locate the source of the voice. It was, again, Auron who had the sense to look down. "Yuna, child at seven o'clock," he whispered.
Yuna spun, pointing herself in the right direction, and she saw a toddler at her feet who had escaped her mother. The lady knelt down and brought herself face-to-face with the child. "In fact, I am. My name is Yuna."
"A Summoner, then?" the girl's mother asked. "Well, we look forward to your Calm season."
"You're going to bring the Calm season?" the little girl asked.
Yuna smiled. "Just you wait."
"The Calm?" Tidus wondered aloud. The entire grouped shook their heads in shame at their companion's stupidity. Lulu explained the concept of the Calm to their idiotic charge. Like every child who is first being taught about the Calm, he came upon that most awful of ideas, but Yuna stopped him before he voiced his thoughts.
"Don't say it isn't worth it, because it is."
Auron smiled inwardly at Yuna's anticipation of Tidus' mouth. It had taken him a year to learn when to shut the boy up before he said something stupid, or worse, dangerous. He admired her for it, then shook off his emotions as soon as they began. "Let's get going, shall we?" It wasn't a question, it was an order. They fell in step with the Guardian one by one.
Two of the Crusaders approached the group, obviously hoping to initiate conversation, but Lucil halted them, insisting they get back to work for the "big operation".
"I won't complain if Sin is defeated!"
"But Yevon's teachings -- "
"Argh, you're so persistent!"
"Am I? Well screw you!"
The sounds of an argument echoed across the road. The team checked up on the two, making sure they were keeping it nonviolent. "What's going on here?" Yuna asked.
"Lady Summoner?" the woman asked. "I'm Shelinda. Doesn't Yevon forbid the use of machina?"
"But Lady Summoner," the man shouted. "Shouldn't we do anything and all in our power to defeat Sin?"
Yuna thought for a moment. This would require tact. She composed her thoughts, then spoke.
"I agree, we should do all in our power to defeat Sin. However, we should not go so far as to not observe the teachings of Yevon, for it is for Yevon that we defeat Sin. Think about that, and try to come to an agreement."
Auron watched silently. She had potential. Maybe even more than Braska did, he wouldn't know. He mused to himself, reminiscing about his last Pilgrimage. Those were the days.
He spotted a small building. "Let's rest here," he said.
"But this is a shop owned by the Al Bhed!" Wakka argued.
"So?" Auron asked matter-of-factly.
"Well, they kidnapped Yuna in Luca -- "
"Because the Guardians got sloppy!" Auron shot back.
"I-I -- " Wakka argued weakly.
Yuna stepped in. "Please consider Wakka's physical condition."
"I'm just fine!" Wakka yelled. "I, for one, am tired," Auron decided. The rest of the group kind of shrugged and looked down as Wakka searched for support. It had been a long walk .
"Fine," Wakka surrendered, throwing his arms into the air.