A/N: I don't own anything that relates to Final Fantasy X or Square Soft/Enix unless you count the game disc.
Pyreflies swarmed everywhere.
It was just as he said- Zanarkand truly was a city of the dead.
We stood with Yuna at the top of the stairs leading into the demolished blitzball stadium. The tears were visible on her face as she performed the Final Sending, sending Spira into the Eternal Calm and ending the terror that Sin had caused. Yuna would go back to Besaid, and mourn her loss.
The price had to be paid, and they both knew it. Sin was Jecht. Sin wanted Tidus. He helped Yuna achieve what she had wanted her entire life and gave her the chance to think of her future. But she wouldn't do it, and everyone knew. After this was over, Yuna wouldn't want a future if Tidus wasn't in it.
The legendary katana of Sir Auron lay at the bottom of the stairs. He wouldn't need it anymore. With both promises fulfilled, he could finally depart for the Farplane.
I looked at my hands, covered in blood. One of the fiends sliced every finger open, rendering me useless. The blood mixed with tears and both flowed freely. I didn't care anymore. He was fading away.
He turned around and faced me one more time, and I couldn't help myself. I reached out carefully, but only grabbed the crystal that hung from his jacket. It pulled off and I held onto it.
He disappeared, and I fell to my knees. Kimahri took Yuna away, probably to get some rest. Rikku followed slowly, and I couldn't see the slightest trace of a smile on her face, which was unusual. Wakka sat at the bottom of the stairs, holding Tidus', once Chappu's, sword in his lap. His fingers glided lightly across the smooth blue surface, and tears dropped lightly.
When I finally found the strength to stand up, Wakka was still at the bottom of the stairs. I walked over to the katana, and placed two fingers on it. It shrank, and I placed it in the pocket concealed in my sleeve, along with the jacket Auron had given me on Mt. Gazaget.
Wakka looked up. "Lu! Your hands…"
"They're all right."
"Uh…They don't look all right. They're all bloody and cut. You can't cast magic right now, can you?" I shook my head and a small amount of water doused my hands, washing the blood away. Wakka could cast some small spells, but he'd never be as apt at it as I was. "It's time to go home, Lu."
"I know."
Back in Besaid, I placed the shrunken katana and jacket in a drawer of my desk.
A year of calm passed, but there were still people rejoicing at the permanent destruction of Sin. Those who knew the price of that destruction still mourned. As the Summoner and her Guardians who defeated Sin and I started taking frequent trips to the mainland- taking a boat to Luca and then a hover (machina were no longer forbidden) to the edge of Guadosalam.
I entered the Farplane. Pyreflies are fluttering everywhere, ready to form into the next visitor's memory. I wasn't surprised when black appeared, then red. A face formed, and I wasn't surprised to see that either.
He was back for now, and I knew he wouldn't fade for a while.