What He Brought Back
When Tidus came back to her, Yuna didn't sense anything unusual at the time, but after a few weeks, something was different. She would catch him up late at night, talking to himself in a strange way, his voice sounding more proper and cool than usual. There were other instances, where they'd be cuddling on the couch together in her home on Besaid, and his touch would suddenly feel colder. His eyes would hold a different gleam to them as well, as if holding an unkind secret.
She loved Tidus, and wanted nothing more than to think it was all in her head, that she had a wild imagination, but one night changed her self doubt.
Almost asleep and with her eyes closed, she felt her bed partner reach out and touch her arm softly, then his voice spoke in a soft manner.
"Lady Yuna, how slender your body has become, so much has changed about your appearance, but I wonder. Has your ability to sense a spiritual presence lessened with the time that has passed?" Then an odd chuckle was made, before she felt his hands leave her, his body shifting so that it faced the opposite way from her.
Tidus had never spoken her name so formally before, his speech pattern in general was off...and why would Tidus have said anything about spiritual presences? It was all too strange, whatever had spoken those words, had not been her boyfriend.
Tidus had brought something back with him when he returned, and Yuna was going to find out what or who it was.
-0-0-
"Wait a minute, so you're telling me, that you think Tidus is possessed by something?" Rikku eyed her cousin carefully, she had already felt Yunas forehead twice to make sure the former summoner didn't have a fever.
This idea that their mutual friend, Yuna's lover, was possessed by a spirit was hard for Rikku to take seriously. She had seen her fair share of the unsent messing with humans, like Baralai with that whole disaster they had just barely dodged a few months back, but he had shown signs of acting...weird. Tidus was completely normal and healthy looking when everyone was around, the only person claiming to see a change in him was Yuna. Rikku had to silently wonder if Yuna was just overly paranoid, she had dealt with a lot of crap lately and maybe her mind was slipping a bit...
"Listen, I love ya Yunie, but no one else has seen him acting weird. Maybe if I stayed the night, proved to you that he's just his normal self, then you'd relax and get over this...worry." She had offered, Yuna had a somewhat annoyed look on her face.
"I'm not crazy, and I'm not making things up, Rikku. When you spend the night, you gotta stay up and keep your ears and eyes sharp. No falling asleep if you want your proof." Yuna really wanted to prove herself, so Rikku went along with the plan. It wasn't like staying up all night could be that hard.
-0-0-
Rikku had eaten dinner with the couple, had sat around the living room area and talked with them casually, now it was nearing midnight, and she was all alone on Yuna's couch. Tucked under soft blankets her cousin had given her, the blonde young woman was having a hard time keeping her eyes open when she felt so comfy.
Slowly, her green orbs eased closed, her mind reassuring herself that she was only resting her eyes for a moment, that her ears were still working to listen for strange conversation. Like Tidus was really going to say anything odd anyway...
She was almost asleep when her ears picked up the sound of foot beats, coming down the hall and towards her. Keeping her eyes closed to look the part of a sleeping friend, Rikku kept her ears on high alert as footsteps echoed past her towards the kitchen. The sound of the sink turning on calmed her a bit, she had been holding herself in a tense manner, as if Yunas worry had been justified. All she was hearing was Tidus, for his footsteps were heavier than Yunas, probably getting a glass of water. Nothing strange about that.
Her body relaxing more, Rikku started to let her mind calm itself too, her closed lids relaxing as she slowly let true sleep take her.
-0-0-
That morning, Yuna woke up to find that her cousin had already left. Tidus assured her that the blonde probably just had a call from her dad or something, that she just was off to take care of an Al Bhed matter.
Yuna stared blankly at her eggs and bacon he had cooked her, her stomach feeling unsettled as she silently worried about her cousin. Rikku hadn't left like that, without a note or anything, not with Yuna. Sure, Rikku would do that to her brother, but she knew how Yuna worried for her. The former summoner had a bad feeling about this, maybe she shouldn't invite anyone else over till she figured out her lovers condition.
-0-0-
Final Fantasy 10-2 belongs to Square Enix.
