We all had to be ready early the next morning, so everyone was pretty tired and groggy when we met up for breakfast. Excluding Yuna of course, practically bouncing around everywhere she went. She served as a mediator between the tired guardians and the villagers who had gotten up as early as we had to see the young summoner off. It was hard not to act a little cheerful though, especially when the children would run up to us wet faces and wish us good luck. I wanted to reassure them that we would all return safely after the pilgrimage was over, but a look from Lulu kept me from saying much at all to anyone. We knew the chances of us all coming back were close to impossible. Not even a party of five-hundred guardians could protect Yuna from her final task. What chance did our little band of well-loved misfits have? I pushed back the negativity from my face and waved as the boat moved from the island.
Once everyone settled on the boat, I had hoped we'd all get some rest. Unfortunately, that didn't seem to be the plan for any of the crew or any of the guardians for that matter. So we all stayed up on deck, watching Yuna while she was being doted on by everyone else. She couldn't stand to say no to anyone. It was one of her many charming faults that led to her current career path. "Hana," Wakka stood next to me while I sat on the deck by his feet, "What do you think of the new guy?"
I looked over to where he nodded, noticing Tidus had stolen some binoculars from one of the crew members. He was certainly goofy enough to be around us for the time allotted but again, he was leaving once we hit Luca. Drop him off and let him figure it out himself, right? I offer a slight smile to Wakka, "I don't see the point in warming up to him, right? He's leaving soon anyway so won't have to worry about it too much longer."
Although Wakka had been pretty welcoming to Tidus in the beginning, his patience for the guy was starting to dwindle already. We lived on a small island and visitors were few. Most people didn't stay very long if they didn't fit in. Tidus definitely didn't fit in and if what Wakka told me about Tidus claiming to come from Zanarkand—well, let's just say no one in Besaid would have been happy about that. Sin toxin or not, Zanarkand was a holy place. It made me grateful that I had arrived on Besaid without fake memories or even a past to hold on to. I loved my life with these people.
The boat seemed to suddenly shift and rock violently to one side, then another. I slid quite a bit but grabbed onto a post to keep from falling off the edge. Water washed over me and I panicked, remembering my inability to swim. I wanted to call for help, but who wasn't fighting to stay on board right now? The boat seemed to stop rocked but I held my spot for a while afterwards, wanting to make sure it would be still for a while. Running over the front of the deck I spotted the top of Sin, purposefully headed in the same direction we were. "It's headed for Kilika! "
"My family!"
"We have to do something!"
There like this were continued to be spoken by crew members. Only one ran from the group and frantically grabbed the harpoon. Wakka protested loudly, saying he could get us all killed. "Lady Summoner, I apologize but this is something I must do. I cannot let Sin get too close to Kilika. My family is there!"
Yuna nodded without hesitation. She had just sealed the fate of the entire ship. Of course, I couldn't blame her. As a summoner she was required by title and moral obligation to sacrifice her own life for the lives of others. And if she went down, there was no way any of us were leaving her behind. I grinned and placed a hand on her shoulder, "Yuna, you made the right choice!" I tried to sound determined, but I think my fear of drowning may have caused my voice to quiver a bit.
We turned back to watch the harpoon rise into the air and hit its mark along Sin's topmost fin. There was a sudden, sharp jerk forward and then we all felt the sensation of being pulled along, almost in circles as the large fiend realized we had a hold on it. Wakka looked around at us all but only addressed our summoner, "Yuna, now!"
We all got into a fitting formation at Wakka and Lulu took the lead, being the only ones with a specialization in long-range attacks. I stood behind everyone with Yuna, healing as needed and paying close attention to my own footing as the boat rocked back and forth. As much as the Sin spawn quickly came back one after the other, it was good that they were focused on just getting as much damage done to Sin as possible. If we were able to injure him even a bit, then maybe he wouldn't get some close to Kilika. At least, that's what we were all thinking.
Suddenly, he boat lurched again but harder than before. The harpoon mechanism launched itself off the boat and into the water, bringing Tidus with him. Sin was lost as well, heading in the same direction as before. Without warning, Wakka jumped into the ocean and forced us all to watch as he swam deeper and deeper in search of Tidus. I admired his value for the life of someone he barely knew, but found myself also cursing his stupidity. I shook the thought from my head as the seconds ticked by. These thoughts could not be my own, so I urged myself into a mental cheer for the two companions that hadn't surfaced yet. When they were finally pulled onto the boat, they both looked pretty well beaten up and defeated. There must have been fiends fairly close if they were attacked so heavily. But perhaps, it could also be the nagging fact that we'd failed to protect Kilika and so the rest of the short ride was spent in silence as we watched the dilapidated horizon rise with the falling sun.
The island was nearly completely destroyed. Wooden boards floated along the top of the water, along with the personal belongings of many islanders. I couldn't help but wonder if the owners of any of these things could still possibly be alive. A small group of people met us as the boat docked at a harbor that had been saved only by its close proximity to the mainland. The eyes of our party were kept downcast as the whole feeling of the place reached into us, bringing out the dark side of our minds that told us it was our fault that so many lives had been lost. What more could I have done?
Locals lead us to a side of the island that had been mostly boarded pathways over the water. Now, more of the beach was exposed. We were greeted warmly despite the circumstances, which startled me a bit. Although they should feel grateful that a summoner arrived exactly when they needed one, how could they smile at a time like this? Maybe it was a part of Yevon's teachings I had yet to master.
Instead of holding up my place in the back like usual, I stood on the edge of the beach and viewed all of the caskets holding the bodies of the dead. Some of them were smaller than others. I felt my heart rip in two at that moment; Children had died today. How could we have allowed this to happen? Yuna walked past me and over the waters, her bare feet only causing lightly ripples as she began the sending. Although funeral ceremonies seemed to be a village event there had only been a couple in my time at Besaid and I had attended neither, so I was unfamiliar with the customs. I wondered if a summoner had to perform a sending every time a person died or just when Sin attacked. Another question to ask Yuna later on.
When the dance picked up the water seemed to raise up to my ankles and I felt something bump up against my leg. Peering down cautiously, I knelt down on my knees and grasped the object in both hands, staring with unblinking eyes. A child's doll stitched together by hand and the fabric of her skin was dark as if sun-kissed, highlighted by the red sundress it wore and the wet, matching liquid that covered and stained it's whole right side. Yuna's dance had ended as the sun sank deeper into the ocean, but my grasp on the toy only served to distract me as Lulu walked to stand beside me. The tide had drawn back in and would no longer drench the hem of her dress. "Hana," she leaned over me to place a hand on my shoulder, "It's time to go in now."
I nodded and stood, clutching the doll to my chest with both hands now as Lulu realized what it was. She led me all the way back to the inn, where I sat soundlessly with the doll until I fell asleep against the headboard.
The energy of the whole island was nearly completely from before when morning came. The locals were already rebuilding their homes and paths with help from the crusaders. Although the whole lot of them seemed much too focused on battle for their own good, doing things like this to help the island restored a small bit of faith in them as a whole. After leaving the inn, I'd decided to walk around a bit to see if anyone needed my help. To be honest, I wasn't sure what I could do. Anything I built would surely fall over in short time and emotions were never my strongest point of control. I spotted a pair of girls who seemed to be my supposed age. They stood chatting about something that seemed to be fairly serious, so I walked over to them. "Hello there," I smiled tentatively as they turned around to stare blankly at me.
One of the girls was taller than the other and seemed a little lighter in personality with a mop of blond hair and a slight smile dancing on her lips. The other had long, light blonde hair tied up in a fairly large bun at the top of her head. Her eyes seemed fairly blank, but her mouth stretched unpleasantly from one corner to the other. I felt very unwelcome. "Hey," the blonde one exaggerated her smile a bit more, "I don't recognize you. Are you from around here? I'm Mariko and this is my sister, Kami. Nice to meet you!"
I nodded and showed off my own grin before preforming the prayer, "And you too. My name is Hana, guardian of the summoner Yuna, daughter of High Summoner, Lord Braska."
Mariko's eyes widened a fraction and glanced over to her sister's before returning to her original facial expression. It was not an action I missed. She laughed lightly, "Oh, really? I had heard that Lady Yuna had only one female guardian."
"Yeah," I nodded, "I only decided to join right before the pilgrimage started. I hope to offer my skills as a white mage to Lady Yuna for as long as she'll have me."
I felt these two must be very distraught as having their homes demolished. Perhaps Yuna had even sent some of their family members the day before. I decided this would be a good opportunity to inspire some hope and gain some points for Yuna, and told them of how they'd discovered me and saved me from dehydration the day I washed up on Besaid's shores. They both seemed genuinely interested awed by my tale of how I'd become a guardian. Even Kami who had kept a clean façade appeared to be paying close attention. But as soon as I was done talking, they both seemed in a hurry to race off. "My…" Mariko sighed heavily, "That is quite the story! It was wonderful, but I'm afraid we'll have to be going now."
I wave the odd pair off as they powerwalked off the beach and into the forest. An urge overcame me to follow them, realizing that there were probably fiends and possible Sin spawn running about. Then again, they could probably hold their own if they were able to walk so confidently into danger. Dismissing it, I took off my sandals and allowed my feet to soak into the wet sand. It was quiet here.
