Spira's Sphere Search
A FFX-2 Fan Fiction by: ArcaneWeapon
Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters depicted in this story, Square does and I'm just borrowing them.
A/N: This is NOT a Baralai/Leblanc romance fic! They are just working together! This fic takes place six months after the events of X-2.
Chapter 1: A Prophecy
Baralai stepped off the boat and walked down the wooden ramp to the dock, the salty breeze gently blowing his short white hair back. His robes flapped gently against his legs as he walked down the ramp gazing out at the beach before him. He was wearing his typical outfit; a white shirt under green robes with a red string thread though the neck, orange x's down to his waist, and yellow and blue striped cuffs. Loose green pants allowed for quick, easy movement and a blue bandanna kept his hair out of his amber eyes. The staff he carried over his shoulder with one well-muscled arm showed that he wasn't a man one wanted to mess with. As he stepped out of the shade provided by the sail of the ship, the heat of the sun beat down and he quickened his pace so he could reach his destination and a cold glass of water.
He had been traveling for several days from Bevelle sometimes on foot, sometimes on a chocobo, and sometimes by boat. He wished he had an airship to make the journey faster but the only one he knew about, the Celsius, was currently at Bikanel Island helping the Al Bhed rebuild Home. The exercise felt good on his legs, however, since he was used to sitting in his study and reading reports. As he walked across the beach toward the narrow opening that led to the village he smiled at the kids playing on the shoreline and the blitzers practicing in the water. He felt a little stiff from the boat trip so he decided to do some staff exercises in the shade before leaving the beach.
He planted his feet shoulder length apart and held his staff out vertically with both hands. After several deep breaths he let go with his left hand and started slowly spinning the staff around his body with one hand. The staff started moving faster and faster as he got warmed up and soon he was passing it from hand to hand never stopping the spinning as it flipped around his waist and even his neck. He stopped the spinning all of a sudden as he held the staff with both hands at a 45-degree angle in front of him. After catching his breath he started his attack forms, lashing out at a palm tree. When he finished his exercises he was breathing hard and the ache had left his arms. He turned around to continue on his way to the village when he realized that everyone on the beach was staring at him, several of the women with longing in their eyes.
His cheeks reddened at the attention and he quickly tossed his staff over his shoulder and walked off towards the village. There was only one woman who could call his heart hers, and he hoped she was at his journeys end. He took a short break on the bridge by the waterfall enjoying the feeling of the mist on his hot skin. After he finished cooling off he continued on his way.
"I'm surprised there aren't any fiends," he thought, "Yuna, Tidus, Wakka, and Lulu must have cleared them all out so the children could get the beach safely."
He walked past the white walls and looked around the village in surprise. It was almost hard to recognize since it had practically doubled in size and the houses looked much nicer. He spotted the one he was looking for, the largest and nicest looking one, and rapped the door twice with his staff to announce himself.
After a short time the door opened and a young woman with shoulder length brown hair opened the door. She had just entered her early twenties and she was more beautiful now then he had ever seen her before. Her eyes, one blue the other green, sparkled with pleasure when she recognized him and she opened the door the rest of the way before running out and giving him a big hug. The sent of her perfume filled his nose with the smell of orchids.
"It's so good to see you Baralai," Yuna said cheerfully, "I'm so glad you decided to show up for the wedding! We were afraid you might not be able to make it. Paine will be glad to know you're here."
She let go of him and stepped back to smile up at him. She was wearing a beautiful blue dress and had Tidus' necklace around her neck. As if thinking about him summoned him, Tidus stepped out of the doorway. He was wearing almost identical clothes as Shuyin, which caused Baralai to shiver slightly. He too walked up to Baralai but shook his hand instead of hugging him.
"Baralai! It's great that you could show up for our wedding! We're so glad you could make it," Tidus said, almost perfectly mirroring Yuna. He stepped away from Baralai and wrapped his arm around Yuna's waist, drawing her into a hug.
Before the two of them could start kissing Baralai spoke up, "Actually I'm not here for the wedding… sorry."
That got their attention. Two heads whipped around at the same time and Tidus and Yuna cried out, "WHAT!"
"I'm really sorry, I am. While I was doing research in Bevelle I found mentions of a great evil spoken of in prophecy. I came here because I need a sphere you found Yuna, MY sphere. I believe the key to understanding this prophecy is hidden in that sphere and I need to examine it." "And is Paine here somewhere?" he added as a side note.
Tidus and Yuna were still looking at him in shock and Yuna faintly nodded her head before going back inside the house to look for the sphere, leaving Tidus to angrily glare at Baralai.
"Paine is over on the north shore of the island fighting fiends, it's the only place that still has them," Tidus muttered angrily. "We were hoping that you would perform the service for us Baralai. You just really hurt Yuna, I hope this sphere is very valuable to you," he said with disappointment.
Tidus turned on his heel in disgust and went inside to comfort Yuna and help her find the sphere. He remembered the one Baralai was talking about, it had Baralai and Seymour speaking together just before Yuna walked in the room to meet Seymour for the first time.
Baralai was surprised to find that he was glad to see Tidus walk away from him. The man reminded him too much of his unpleasant encounter with Shuyin. He turned away from the house, saddened that he ruined his friend's hopes but he was sure that it was for a good purpose. The prophecies he had been reading greatly scared him and he was willing to do anything to prevent them from occurring. He started walking towards the west side of the island while thinking about what the prophecy could mean. As he walked out on a cliff to look down at the beach below he heard a woman scream out in pain, causing him to snap out of his contemplations.
On the beach below fiends were swarming around a woman dressed completely in black and wielding a large sword. While they weren't particularly strong there were enough to take down any well-trained warrior despite their skill. Without thinking about his safety, Baralai leaped off the fifty-foot cliff and impacted into the sand below, rolling to minimize the shock of impact. As soon as he caught his breath he leaped to his feet and charged into the circle of fiends, staff whirling. He caught them off guard, and between the two warriors they were able to drive the fiends off. The two of them took a moment of silence to catch their breaths before the woman spoke up first.
"Baralai, I never expected to see you jumping off a cliff to save me from my own stupidity," Paine said nervously. It had been a month since he had last seen her in Bevelle, and when they parted he was confused by his feelings for her.
Baralai nervously brushed his hand through his hair before gazing into her deep red eyes and responding. "I never thought I would be jumping off a cliff to save you either, Paine. Let's try to not let it happen again okay? I'm surprised I survived that fall. If it hadn't been sand I was landing on I wouldn't have been able to save you. It would make me so sad if you died… Could you bring someone with you in the future to watch your back?" "And could that person be me?" he thought to himself.
"We should head back to the village soon, Yuna will be wondering what happened to me. Did you talk to them about the marriage? They are so excited for you to be the one to wed them!" Paine exclaimed.
"Yah… I talked to them. I told them I couldn't do it," Baralai said quietly.
"You what?" Paine screamed, violently sheathing her sword. "How could you do that to them? Why can't you do it?"
"Like I told them, there's something wrong in Spira… something very wrong. I've found mentions of some great evil in the books I've been reading and I need to stop it from happening. Help me do it Paine!" he said excitedly, grabbing her arm.
"I don't know what's gotten into you Baralai, but I don't like it. I thought your friends meant more to you then your books did but I guess I was wrong!" she cried, storming off in the direction of the village.
Baralai watched Paine run off in sadness and tears formed in his eyes. "I love you so much Paine and I'm sorry to hurt you in this way, but the books state how dangerous this threat is."
Baralai slowly walked back to the village, allowing Paine to have time to compose herself before he arrived. When he finally did make it back, Paine was nowhere to be found and Yuna was standing outside her house looking at him with worry filled eyes. She ran up to him when she caught sight of him and started talking immediately.
"I searched through our entire sphere collection and several of our spheres are missing! One of them is yours!" Yuna blurted out concern filling her voice. "Tidus and I haven't left the house in two days," Yuna said blushing, "and neither of us heard anyone enter the house,"
"No surprise there," Baralai thought, raising his eyebrows and slightly smirking. "This is very bad news indeed. It makes me fear this prophecy even more… Do you know where Paine is?" Baralai asked. "I need to talk to her."
"She just got back from the beach a few minutes ago, I'm surprised the two of you didn't run into each other. She's upstairs in the guest bedroom" Yuna said distractedly. "Are you sure you cant be here for our wedding?" she pleaded.
"Please Yuna, you have to understand that I can't… I'm so sorry but this is too important," he said regretfully as he walked past her and entered the house.
Upon entering the house he found himself in a hallway with a staircase to his right. Figuring that the guest bedroom would be upstairs he turned to climb the stairs, leaving his staff by the door. He saw Tidus sitting in the kitchen at the end of the hallway looking at him with sadness in his eyes. As he climbed the stairs he examined the pictures on the wall depicting Yuna and her guardians from two years ago. When he reached the top he heard a noise coming from the room directly to his right so he gently knocked on the door.
"Paine? It's me, Baralai… Can I come in?" he asked tentatively.
The door burst open and before he realized what was happening Paine was pressed up against him, hugging him tightly. The smell of her perfume filled his nose and he relaxed, enjoying the feeling of her body pressed into his. He was surprised by the blend of hardness and softness in her body as he gently stroked her hair.
"Just hold me," Paine whispered, "Hold me tight and never let go. I understand that you feel this is very important, just promise me you will come back."
Baralai was only too happy to comply with her request as he folded her deeply into his arms. "I love you Paine," he whispered back, "Once I find the sphere I promise I will come back to you." After several minutes of holding her he felt her breathing start to slow and he picked her up in both arms. Her carried her into her room and gently laid her down on the bed before lightly kissing her forehead. She smiled in her sleep and rolled over on her side. Baralai smiled at how beautiful she looked before he left the room, closing the door behind him, and walked down the stairs.
He found Yuna waiting for him in the kitchen, the noise coming from outside indicated that Tidus was practicing his sword exercises. Yuna handed him a steaming cup of coffee, which he graciously accepted.
"I need to leave soon Yuna," Baralai said sadly taking a sip of his coffee, "I hate to leave Paine without saying goodbye but my quest is too important." "With your wedding going on, Rikku and Gippal rebuilding Home, and Nooj off exploring some island I can only think of one person to ask for help… Can I borrow your CommSphere?" he asked.
Yuna nodded her head and walked over to cabinet and grabbed the CommSphere off the top before handing it to Baralai. He thought for a second, trying to recall the number, before he hesitantly input what he thought was correct. After several rings someone picked up and a voice came from the sphere.
"Hello love! Leblanc at your service, how can I help you?" Yuna looked at Baralai in shock as she recognized whom he had called.
"Leblanc!" Yuna mouthed in horror.
Baralai shuddered at the sound of her voice before he replied, "Leblanc, it's Baralai, I need your help tracking down a stolen sphere."
"Oh I'd love to help you, love! Where are you, I don't recognize the number your calling from," Leblanc asked.
"That would be because I've never spoken to her since the Farplane," Yuna muttered, not happy that Leblanc now had her number.
"Don't worry where I am, just meet me in Luca. I'll be there sometime tomorrow, meet me in the bar," Baralai said quickly before hanging up.
"What have I gotten myself into?" he asked Yuna. "I can't stand Leblanc but she is a sphere thief and she's the only one who can help me," he sighed in dismay.
Yuna just shook her head and sipped her coffee as she watched Baralai pick up his staff from next to the door and walk out.
"Good luck Baralai, I hope you know what your doing," she whispered.
A/N: Longest thing I've written yet but I am trying to pay a lot of attention to details in this fic. I wasn't sure when I started but this IS going to be a Baralai Paine romance. I'm already planning a sequel, which will have that in it. I'm going to put all my thanks at the end of the final chapter of this fic just to make things easier. You guys know who you are anyways :)