Author's Note: It is totally necessary for you to go back and read the pilot to this story if you have not already! It sets the background for the story's main character and will become increasingly MORE important as the story goes on. If you want to be confused, be my guest. Now that that is out of the way... Please enjoy the first chapter to this story! I'm pushing this to be a fairly long story with chapters no longer than 5000 words. Once the views start to pick up and the reviews start occurring (ahem), we'll get into a more regular schedule with an update every week most likely. Thanks again!

Disclaimer: I do not own Final Fantasy X in any way, shape, or form. The characters, plotlines, made up words, etc. belong to Square Enix and their respective partners. Certain elements have been modified to allow for an original character.

Some days, it felt like I'd been here forever. Time was a continuous stream of motion darting in between current and past events that my mind couldn't seem to piece together fully. Others I wasn't so sure. An empty beach was the first thing I remember waking up to. The sand was painful against my skin, dried up and scraping as I attempted to at least get on my hands and knees. The headache was monstrous and tearing, causing dizziness and nausea worse than I'd ever remembered experiencing. The place was vacant save for the sound of ocean waves and any possible animals that may have inhabited the forest that stood not too far from the edge of the sand. It was dark, after all. I'd wondered a while after finally finding my footing. A group of people training a ways from the village had found me starving and dehydrated.

This place had been home for years, Besaid. It was a small, tight-knit community where everyone knew each other. For a few days I had felt like more of an outsider, but once they realized I had no memories of my past the village elders and priests had taken it upon themselves to make my welcoming more… Welcoming. So, I'd taken up rounds to help clean the temple on a regular basis, attended any village celebration, and started working as an apprentice under the village healer.

All of these things felt natural to me. Even though I could not remember my original home village, it was like continuing my old life here. It wasn't long after coming here that I was introduced to the local religion and decided to become a Yevonite myself. It seemed the most natural decision to make at the time and I would never regret that decision. I was able to meet our temple's summoner in training not long ago, and join her party a few times on training runs through the island. Although it was only practice and my fighting skills were slim to none, I was able to sit back and admire the guardians while also healing them when needed.

I felt a duty and not only to Yevon, but to these people who were leaving in a few short hours to begin a pilgrimage that could possibly alter the future of Spira. It was during the bonfire party after our summoner Yuna was able to call on the first aeon that I confronted her. "Lady Yuna," I stared into her eyes that were directly parallel to my own so she knew I was serious, "I know you have a lot of very capable guardians, but you are the only one who has any sort of specialization in white magic. Am I wrong?"

"No, I mean-"

I sighed, "Then please allow me to come on your pilgrimage with you and lift a burden from your shoulders. With a white mage, the pilgrimage will surely be easier and a burden lifted from your shoulders."

"Hana, I would love to-"

I cut her off again, "I mean, I don't know you as well as Khimari or Lulu, and I'm not as good at fighting when compared to any of them. But I feel like this is how I'm supposed to serve Yevon, and I would worry since-"

"Hana!" Yuna started laughing uncontrollably, "I was going to ask you to come with me… As a guardian, if that is what you want."

My mouth fell open as my eyes widened. I preformed a short prayer and wasted no time in crushing Yuna with a hug. "Thanks, Yuna!"

She laughed out loud and I savored it a bit longer than necessary. If I had to explain my actions, I would say they were appropriate. Once a summoner's journey started, happiness was a rare commodity and laughter virtually unheard of. "Don't mention it, really! Also, you didn't have to talk like that, Hana."

I rubbed the back of my head and skipped off to my hut, "Oh, yeah?"

My home here was small like the others, but it was mine and so were the few objects in it. From the decorative tapestry on the far right wall to the fruit on the fruit by my bed, I had all earned it or made it myself. Self-sufficiency wasn't something I had much of when I first came here, but I learned quickly. Six years later in a foreign land and body and mind and I was thriving in my own little part of Spira. In truth I rarely wandered back to think about what my life might have been like before I washed up on the beach. There wasn't much of a reminder left anymore. What few things came with me that day sat in a small box; a pair of long pants that seemed to have been soft at one point, an oversized t-shirt, and a broken doll that resembled some sort of … fiend? Oh, and a necklace. It was pretty nice, silver with a jewel in the center on a flower. The center was only welded to one petal and moved just a bit, separate from the rest. When I got nervous I discovered the habit of moving it side to side. It created a high-pitched chinking noise that often annoyed Wakka. It helped with the nerves…

The day had been long but as I lay down for the night, I couldn't help but run it through in my head a few times. Someone not unlike me had appeared in the ocean early in the day. He wore strange clothing like me, but different. It was more ornate, definitely. He was a blitzer who supposedly played for the Zanarkand Abes.

When I first got here, everyone was really helpful in trying to find out who I was. When it became clear that I wasn't going anywhere they took it upon themselves to educate me on the inner workings and history of the land. In a very important history lesson taught by one of the monks in the temple, we were told that the world basically ended because people relied too heavily on machina, so Sin was sent as punishment. At first it was puzzling to think that the world would be turned upside-down just because of objects. But after a while of thinking on my own, I began to consider the fact that the machina could have been hurting the planet. Pollution from light and waste, cities built over water, levelling land to build the next stadium … At some level of consciousness, humans were out to prove that they were better than the planet. That spelled straight disaster in my mind. Helping the planet was one of the main reasons why I decided to become a Yevonite.

Zanarkand had been one of the larger machina cities that had been destroyed in one of the first waves of Sin's attacks. The destruction was terrible and even now littered with fiends. Only summoners that make it through to the end of their pilgrimage even consider going there for any reason. We all chalked it down to "Sin toxin" and told him to be more careful with his words, then sent him off with Wakka for some food. They'd said the same to me six years ago when I couldn't remember anything at all, coming up with not even a single memory replaced or real. And even then, could I have told the difference?

"Can you tell me your name? Yuna, bring the healing herbs! This one's bad off!"

I looked around the beach, trying to claw my way off the sand. Where was this place?

Where am I? Who am I? "My name… My name I Ah…"

"Aara?"

I shook my head, "No."

"Arabel, Abel…?"

The old woman kept listing off names until I felt I was going to be nauseous. For someone who seemed to be trying to help… "Hana?"

I looked up at her. I seemed familiar, wrong but familiar. So I nodded, eager to be rid of her voice for a while.

Tidus, the one who came in today, would be travelling with us to Luca. We were hoping that someone there would know him or be looking for him. Since he seemed to be big with blitzball and the tournament was in for a bit, it seemed likely that if he had a team or had friends who were into it… Someone would see him and take him home. I didn't have a lot of hope for that, but it was more of a lead when they found me. I didn't even have a fake name or age or anything. I didn't know what I liked or hated. I didn't have hobbies or dreams and goals for the future. The concepts were understood, they just didn't mean anything in a personal sense.

Since my "zombie-days", I've become a well-rounded individual. I like weaving, bonfires, soft blankets, healing, and fruit. I strongly dislike large fiends and using weapons. The thrill of blitzball must be beyond my comprehension, because I don't really even like watching the Aurochs practice. In my free time I lay in the sand and watch he tide pull in. I never swim though, because I'm afraid of drowning. I'm in my mid-twenties, but Yuna likes to tell everyone I'm twenty-one because I looked fifteen to her when I first got here. For all I know, she could be right.