Okay, I don't own the characters, they're mostly from FFX. Thanks for all of the reviews, and I hope you enjoy this chapter!
Chapter 3: So This is Where You've Been
Yuna hit her head on something, but was unable to open her eyes to figure out what it was
that her head had hit upon. There was loud noise everywhere, surrounding her.
"Where am I?" she questioned to herself.
Finally, her eyes were forced open, and she stood up.
"Did I like hit my head or something?" she questioned herself, for unless her eyes were
mistaken, she was in a giant metropolis. There were machina buildings everywhere, as well as
people everywhere as well. It was dark, and Yuna could just barely make out the stars.
Shaking, Yuna looked up and down the streets, trying to figure out where she was. She
knew where she was, though. She just couldn't seem to admit it to herself.
"Zanarkand?" she questioned herself, "I must be dreaming!"
Yuna spun around, looking about her, feeling herself smile. "Zanarkand, Zanarkand,
Zanarkand!" raced through her head over and over.
People were everywhere in the streets, talking excitedly, and many of them were carrying
blitzballs under their arms.
"Hear about that game against the Abes?" a girl said, as she passed Yuna.
"The Abes...?" Yuna thought, "I must be in Zanarkand!"
Then, without thinking, she ran up to the girl and said, "Excuse me, but, you were talking
about the Abes?"
"Who else would we be talking about?" the girl's friend said, snorting as she said this.
"Tell me, please," Yuna said, trying not to sound too terribly desperate, "Who is their star
player?"
Another snort passed through the girl's friend.
"Tidus, who else?" the girl said, and her friend's eyes rolled dreamily.
Yuna had hoped for her to say this, but something about it didn't sound right.
"Tell me," Yuna said, "Has Sin attacked?"
"Sin?" the girl said, "Are you a nut or something?"
"Uh..." Yuna was speechless. She didn't understand what had happened. Everything was
so confusing. The last thing she remembered was that sphere. The sphere! She reached in her
pocket, trying hopelessly to find the sphere.
The two girls looked at her with puzzled stares, and finally went on with their business.
Unable to find the sphere, Yuna decided to at least try to find Tidus.
"Hey!" she asked the two girls who were now walking away from her, "Where can I find
the Abes? Do you know?"
"Believe me, if we knew," the first girl said, "We'd be there right now with them." The
two rolled their eyes then, and walked away.
"No..." Yuna sighed.
"Tidus has to be here!" Yuna thought excitedly, "This must be where he's been.
Hmm...That sphere must have somehow transported me here! I have to find Tidus!"
Yuna's heart had lifted, and all she could think about was finding Tidus, even if she had
no idea of the first place to look for him.
Biting her lip, in a rather non giving up way, she found herself wandering the city,
amazed at everything about it.
She was so into wandering around, that she wasn't even really paying attention to where
she was going. All of a sudden, something hit her in the head with a pretty good force.
"Uh..." she said, rubbing the area. She looked on the ground and noticed a blitzball that
was sitting there, guessing that it must have been the ball that had hit her in the head.
"Hey, mind giving us that back?" a voice said.
"Oh, sorry," Yuna said, feeling too flustered to look up. She scooped down and picked
the ball up. "Here, sorry," she said, and looked up, to throw the ball over to its own. However,
before she could do so, her mouth dropped open.
"You giving me the ball or what?" It was Tidus. He stood there, his hand reached in
front of him waiting for the ball, and was surrounded by a group of people. Two of them were
guys, wearing similar clothing to Tidus', and the others were all girls.
"Tidus!" Yuna cried, dropping the ball and running up to him, "I can't believe it's really
you! And in Zanarkand of all places! Just wait until I..." Yuna stopped. Tidus had backed up
and was giving her the strangest look.
"Some fans," one of the guys whispered to Tidus.
"The ball?" Tidus said again, hiding a laugh.
"But...But...Tidus?" Yuna said, doing the best to hide the disappointment in her voice.
"Forget it, I'll get it..." Tidus said, and went past Yuna and picked up the ball, spinning it
on his finger, "See you later, Chicky."
"Chicky?" Yuna cried, "What...What's wrong with you?"
"Oh, want an autograph?" Tidus said, taking a pen out of his pocket, "Where do you want
it?"
The group laughed, and Tidus' eyes rolled. Finally, he signed the ball he had in his hand,
and said, "Here ya go, you can brag to your friends about this, I guess."
He handed the ball to Yuna with a cheeky smile.
"But Tidus!" Yuna said, "You...I..."
"Whatever," Tidus said, making a strange mimic to his friends, "Come on guys, we can
go over to my place!"
Yuna just stood, clenching the ball and watching as the one she'd spent so long searching
for left, with his entourage following him, all of them laughing at Yuna.
Finally, Yuna dropped to her knees and sobbed into her ball.
"What's wrong with you?" she cried into the ball, "Why don't you remember me?
"Why doesn't Tidus remember me?" Yuna continued her sobbing, but then stopped.
"Wait a minute! I can't lose track of him!" She stood up then, still clinging the ball, and ran
after him, although she decided to stay a little farther behind.
Tidus was making all kinds of show-off movements, whether he was doing some sort of
aerobics trick, or just laughing out loud, he was definitely doing it all to show off.
Yuna watched from a distance, not wanting Tidus to make a fool out of her.
"It can't really be you, can it?" she asked in her head. He seemed so much different. He
looked basically the same, just slightly older looking. He still had the same sparkle in his eyes,
and the same quirky smile. Everything else, however, seemed so much more different.
People were all over him, and now he was making some fighting moves, laughing as he
did so.
Yuna looked up and saw giant spheres hanging from buildings, each of them showing
Tidus' smiling face.
"Why is this making me somewhat sick?" Yuna said softly to herself.
"Sh!" she heard Tidus say loudly to his group, "My interview is on!"
Everyone was silent, and sure enough Yuna looked up at the sphere to see that it was
some interview with Tidus.
"It's been thirteen years since your father died," the newscaster was saying, "How are you
handling it?"
The Tidus on the sphere leaned back. "Aw, just fine," he said, "Never cared much for my
old man."
"You didn't care much for your old man?" the newscaster said, "But Jecht was amazing!
Incredible! How could you not care for him?"
Yuna looked back down at the Tidus who was in front of her. He was glaring at the
sphere and had his lip sticking out in a kind of angry pout.
"Come on guys," he said, lifting his right nostril in disgust, "I'm sure you'll be able to
buy a copy of my interview."
"It's as if nothing ever happened with Tidus in Spira. Am I dreaming?"
Everybody nodded and smiled, and the group continued their way to Tidus' house, with
Yuna still following behind.
Finally, they reached the end of the docks, and it was now that Yuna realized that most of
Zanarkand was built on bridges across the river.
"Strange," she said softly, "Everything Yevon went against..."
"Welcome everybody!" Tidus said, opening the door to the strangest looking house she'd
seen in her life.
Everybody went in, following Tidus, and Yuna cautiously followed behind.
People were everywhere, but Yuna was too busy taking in her surroundings. The house
was amazing. Machina was everywhere, there were sphere screens everywhere, music was being
pumped out of a machina contraption, and people were dancing everywhere. It was something
like Yuna had never seen in her entire life.
"Oh wow," she said out loud, forgetting for a while where she was, "This is amazing!"
Yuna finally stopped her gawking, and decided the best thing to do would be to find
Tidus and talk to him alone, without his million friends surrounding him.
She snuck up the table area, which was surrounded by spheres, where Tidus was talking
to a bunch of people who surrounded him. Yuna hid in the background, hoping the many
people would begin to disperse. They did, and soon it was just Tidus and five others, all sitting
there talking and laughing.
"Hear what Lea's been up to lately?" one of the other guys asked Tidus, "Seems to me
she's found a new guy."
Tidus smiled. "Whatever, she always comes crawling back to me."
"And you take her back?" another guy asked Tidus, and Yuna wondered what they were
talking about.
"'Course I do," Tidus said, a strange smile popping on his face, "Of course, after I have
some fun!"
"Ha!" the guy at his right said, slapping a high-five to Tidus, "Definitely know what
you're talkin' 'bout!"
"Who doesn't?" Tidus said, giving a high-five to the guy on his left.
"Hey guys!" two girls came up to the table, after pushing Yuna to the side.
"Hey!" the guys greeted them.
"Where's Lea?" Tidus asked, smiling as he did so.
"You know her," a girl with reddish-blonde hair said, "She's out. She tries to make you
jealous."
"Maybe if you make her jealous in return..." the black-haired girl said, "Then she'd stop
her running around?"
"What are they talking about?" Yuna wondered to herself.
Tidus looked up at the ceiling as in thought. He smiled, and shook his head. Then, the
two girls giggled and were off.
"So, you gonna go out with someone new?" one of Tidus' friends asked, looking quite
interested in the subject.
"Naw..." Tidus said, "I've got better things to worry 'bout."
"You gonna dance with someone?" Tidus' other friend asked as he eyed a girl who
walked past.
"Naw," came Tidus' reply, "Go ahead."
His two remaining friends looked at each other and smiled, and then left, to Yuna's relief,
Tidus was now alone.
Dropping Tidus' autographed ball that she still clung in her hands, Yuna found herself
slowly going up to where Tidus was sitting, and taking the seat next to him.
He was reading a magazine titled, "Blitzball of Today," and wasn't really paying any
attention to Yuna.
"Uhm, hi," Yuna said, smiling, "Remember me?"
Tidus just barely glanced over his magazine, and rolled his eyes.
"You're just another weird obsessed fan," he said, and looked back at his magazine,
"Might as well just leave, you. I can call security at any time."
"No, uh, Tidus," Yuna said as Tidus returned to his magazine, "There's something you
and I need to discuss."
"Want another autograph?" Tidus said, acting quite uninterested.
"No...uh..." Yuna tried to decide where to start, "My name is Yuna," she finally said,
deciding that at least saying her name would be a start, "And your name is Tidus."
"Yeah, yeah...Whatever," Tidus said, flipping the page of his magazine.
"We met each other in Besaid, in the temple, remember?" Yuna continued.
Tidus put down his magazine and looked at her.
"You some sort of nut?" he asked, shaking his head, "Because I sure as hell haven't ever
heard of Besaid. That some sort of District?"
"Uh..." Yuna didn't know how she could ever convince a non-remembering Tidus that
they knew each other.
"You and I met three years ago...but I've known about you for thirteen years. I met your
father."
"My old man died thirteen years ago," Tidus said, turning back to his magazine, reading
an article about himself.
"No," Yuna said, "He didn't die until three years ago. He was in Spira. That's where I'm
from. We met each other, and...we went on a journey to defeat your father, who had become a
monster, and..."
"You obsessed fans get weirder and weirder," Tidus said, not looking up from his
magazine as he said this.
Rolling her eyes, Yuna was feeling somewhat defeated. Finally, she sighed, and put her
thumb and fore finger in her mouth, creating a high, shrill whistle.
This actually startled Tidus, and he turned around swiftly and stared at her. She lowered
her hand from her mouth slowly, praying to see some sort of recognition in his eyes.
Tidus' eyes looked Yuna over slowly, and Yuna wondered what it was he was thinking.
"You're not from this district, are you?" he asked, laying his magazine down.
"No...I'm not from Zanarkand," Yuna said, feeling somewhat uneasy as Tidus' eyes
continued looking her over.
"Not from Zanarkand," Tidus said slowly, "So where are you from?"
"Spira, Besaid, where you and I first met."
"Spira...Uh..." Tidus quit eyeing Yuna and looked her in the eyes, "Can't say I've heard
of that District."
"I told you, I'm not from Zanarkand." Yuna was wondering if she was really getting
anywhere, "Are you even listening?"
"Yeah," Tidus said, and eyed her over again, "Sure am."
"Anyway," Yuna continued, "So we went on this journey. And you told me you hated
your father, and..."
"How'd you know that?" Tidus looked up at her startled, "I don't usually tell the press
that I hate my dad! Oh sure, I may say I don't like him..."
"You told me yourself!" Yuna said, wondering just how much attention he was paying
her.
"Oh, sure, continue," Tidus said, smiling, and looking her in the eyes again.
"So, anyway, you and your father reunited, and then we killed him."
"I killed my old man!" Tidus said loudly, interrupting Yuna, "That rocks, then what'd I
do?"
"Uh...We had to send Sir Auron..."
"Auron? You know Auron too? Hey, where is that big goof?" Tidus smiled to himself,
"Was kind of fond of him..."
"He's sent. He's...Dead."
"Sent where?" Tidus said, as if he hadn't heard Yuna's last few words, "On vacation or
something? Ooh, did he check out District 7? I tell you that place rocks!"
"No Tidus," Yuna said, "he's...dead."
"Dead? Did I kill him too?"
"No, he's been dead all..." Yuna was beginning to wonder what the use was of explaining
everything to Tidus.
"So, you traveled here, from your weird district, to find me and tell me all of this?" Tidus
finally cut her story straight, "But why don't I remember?"
"I don't know," Yuna said, "I was hoping you could tell me."
"So what, uh, we dated or something?" Tidus was eyeing Yuna now with a strange smile
spreading onto his lips.
"Well...uh..." Yuna couldn't believe this. It was as if the one she loved was a complete
stranger. Could this really be him?
"Well in that case," Tidus said, a strange glow in his eyes and smile, "I'll be happy to get
to know you...er...again."
"Really? You believe me?" she should have known. This was Tidus after all. Surely
he'd remember soon enough.
"Of course I believe you! Whatdya think I am, some kind of non-caring jerk?" Tidus
leaned back and rested his head in his arms. "So, like, have we kissed or anything? Or have we
done more than that?"
"Uh..." Yuna leaned back from Tidus, who was glancing her over yet again.
"Anyway," Tidus finally said, "Wanna dance or something?"
Yuna smiled. The first real smile she'd smiled in a while.
"I'd love to!" she exclaimed happily.
"Great," Tidus said, casting a quick glance at his unread magazine, and then held out his
arm for Yuna to take.
Yuna took his arm, and he led the way onto the dance floor, in Tidus' rather large house.
Yuna studied the way the people around them were dancing, being that it was a little different
than what it was in Spira.
She finally gave a somewhat weary smile and danced along, trying to watch the others so
that she would fit in a little better.
"So this is Zanarkand!" she thought, somewhat happily as she danced, "I'm finally here,
with Tidus, even if he doesn't remember me..."
It was getting extremely late, Yuna noticed as she danced to a couple of songs, but Tidus
and the rest didn't appear the least bit tired.
A slower song came on, and Yuna looked around to see what the rest were doing. Not
that it mattered, however, as Tidus just put his arms around Yuna's waist and pulled her near to
him, as if it were nothing at all.
Yuna's head rested on his shoulder, and it was then that she noticed the many glares she
was getting from the rest of the girls who looked over their dates' shoulders. She was slightly
surprised at this, but was really too tired to care.
"When do we sleep?" she asked Tidus sleepily.
"There'll be plenty of time for sleep later," Tidus replied, not the least bit tired.
"Later?" Yuna sighed, feeling her eyelids grow heavy, "Oh, right, Zanarkand never
sleeps..."
"Got that right," Tidus murmured almost to himself and looked around the room, as if
looking for someone.
"Who're you looking for?" Yuna asked, looking over at Tidus.
"No one," Tidus replied bluntly, but loosened his grip on Yuna as he said it.
Pretty soon the slow dance ended, as well as a few others. The night was beginning to get
extremely late, with Yuna growing more and more tired.
Before she knew it, she had danced the night away, and the sun was coming up, blinding
her already tired eyes.
People were leaving, and Yuna noticed that there were far less people then there had been
before.
Tidus excused himself when there were four people left and went and talked to them.
Feeling awkward, Yuna migrated to a couch and sat down, trying hard not to fall asleep.
"Yeah, see ya," she heard Tidus say from the other side of the room, but found she
couldn't really place where he was.
The next thing she knew he was standing in front of her, and the room was suddenly
empty and silent.
"Well," he said, sounding somewhat bored, "Party's over."
"Uh..." Yuna mumbled, trying to think of something to say.
"Lemme guess," Tidus said, "A fan as obsessed as you has no place to stay."
"But..." Yuna started, and looked away from Tidus' eyes, "I thought you believed me
when I told you my story!"
"Oh, you mean the one where I killed my dad and Auron?"
"Uh, you didn't kill Auron..." Yuna said, only to be interrupted by Tidus.
"Whatever," he said, looking quite uninterested, "The point is, I get a two hour rest, and
then I have Blitz practice, so, I'll see you around, okay?"
"But Tidus," Yuna said looking around, "I'm not from Zanarkand! Where do you expect
me to stay?"
Tidus' eyes rolled.
"I don't know...Outside on a bench or something?"
"But!" Yuna's eyebrows were scrunched, and she was feeling angry. Here she had
thought that she had managed to get through to him.
"Okay, fine," Tidus said, as his eyes gave a slight roll, "I suppose...uh..." He appeared
deep in though for a slight time, and then a smile crept onto his face. "Why don't you just make
yourself nice and comfy on the couch for now, and...and I'll see you a little later, okay?"
"Uh...sure," Yuna said, giving a queasy smile, for she wasn't quite sure what had
convinced Tidus to let her stay.
"Hey, and look," Tidus continued, taking a seat next to her with a cheeky little smile, "I
want you and me to date, you know, since we killed Auron and my old man together..."
"Uh?" Yuna was feeling more and more confused. One minute he wants her out, and the
next they're dating, "Oh, and Tidus," she said, as he slipped his arm around her, "We didn't kill
Auron."
"Right, we sent him on vacation."