Chapter six
"Can we go get ice cream, please?" Yuna begged as she gave Tidus a pout.
"Yuna I'm running out of money that I have on me," Tidus said looking away.
"Please?" She asked again pouting.
"No, Yuna," Tidus said shaking his head.
"Pretty please, I've only had ice cream a few times, please?" Yuna begged again.
"Fine," Tidus said as he stood behind her and then gave her a smile as he opened the door. "Let's go."
They left the hotel room and decided to walk to the Shiva's Ice Cream stand, which was a few blocks down from the hotel. When they got there, Tidus let Yuna take his wallet while he went to go look at something near the lake that was across the street. Yuna bought her ice cream and then went across the street and sat next to Tidus, who had lay down on the grass.
"What kind you get?" Tidus asked her as he continued to look up at the stars.
"Strawberry, why?" Yuna asked licking some of the ice cream from the side of the cone. "I was going to get you one, but I didn't know what to get you, you didn't tell me."
"That's okay, you can share," Tidus said leaning over to Yuna and holding the cone still while he licked some off the top.
"No, stop!" Yuna said moving it away from him.
"Fine, be that way…I'm the one who bought it for you," Tidus said with a smile as he looked away from Yuna.
Guilt flowed through Yuna and she held out the ice cream to Tidus.
"Yuna I was kidding, I just wanted to get a taste," Tidus said with a smile as he pushed her outstretched arm away from him. "I knew I could make you feel guilty."
Yuna just shook her head and ate some of her ice cream, after she had eaten half of it; she gave the rest to Tidus. Yuna then thought of something, school…
"Tidus, what will I do about school?" Yuna asked him as she lay down now.
"I told you, my old school or you can get a private tutor," Tidus told her as he finished off the ice cream and lay down next to Yuna.
"What if I chose to go to your old school, I'd have to transfer," Yuna said.
"Yeah, so, you'd still have most of your credits," Tidus said with a shrug.
"My parents would have to sign me in to that school and what about all of the papers that have to be signed, remember?" Yuna said making her point.
"Any papers that have to be signed, I'll forge your dad's handwriting, okay?" Tidus said putting his hands under his head. "How did you go on school trips?"
"Shuyin would forge his name," Yuna said as she put her head on Tidus's chest instead of the ground.
Tidus looked at his watch. "It's about seven thirty so let's head back okay?"
"I'm not sleepy though," Yuna whined. "Can't we do something else?"
"What do you want to do?" Tidus asked giving in though he sounded slightly annoyed .
Yuna was silent for a while; Tidus closed his eyes, waiting for her answer.
"Can't we just talk some more?" Yuna asked closing her eyes as well.
"We could…What about though?" Tidus asked placing a hand on her back making her jump.
"Um…I want to know more about Zanarkand, like, what do you do when you're not playing blitzball?" Yuna said leaning on his chest with one arm as she sat up.
"Oww," Tidus said as he sat up as well. "Well…Besides talking to you when I got home and going to a few parties every now and then, nothing much," Tidus said with a shrug.
"Really? But…With me living with you…Will I be in your way?" Yuna asked him leaning on his shoulder.
"Nah, I don't think so," Tidus said with a smile. "But I'm going to have a lot of games, and games mean after parties!"
"Where will I be when you're there?" Yuna asked looking at the lake.
"With me, where else?" Tidus said, "You can come with me to all of 'em and we'll have loads of fun! Zanarkand's parties are the best in Spira, second to none for sure."
"Oh…Yeah, but…Never mind. That sounds great!" Yuna said with a smile as she pushed him back down as she lay on his chest.
"Come on, let's head back," Tidus said trying to sit up but Yuna held him down. "Come on get up."
"I don't want to go yet!" Yuna said as she continued to lie on his chest.
"Yuna, you're going to end up falling asleep and I'm going to have to carry you all the way back to the hotel," Tidus complained. "Again!"
"No I won't, and if I do you can just wake me up, okay?" Yuna said as she continued to watch the stars on the lake.
Tidus and Yuna lay on the grass for another half an hour, and just like Tidus predicted, Yuna had fallen asleep. He sighed as he picked her up and carried her back to the hotel. When they got back to the hotel, Tidus got Yuna in the bed and then lay down on the floor and set his watch again only he gave them a little more time to sleep, which meant they wouldn't be able to waste anytime in the morning.
-
Tidus stretched as his watch went off, he quickly stood and sat on the bed. Yuna was facing him and she was breathing hard, like she had to tell herself to breathe.
"Yuna?" Tidus said shaking her. "Yuna, you okay?"
Yuna grabbed Tidus's arm with one hand weakly, making him pull back. Yuna slowly opened her eyes and gave him a pained look as her eyes began to tear up..
"Tidus…I need my medicine…now!" Yuna whined through tears.
"What?" Tidus asked confused.
"It's in my bookbag!" Yuna said clutching her stomach. "Please it hurts really bad."
Tidus ran over to the door and got Yuna's bookbag and dug through it. He found a little orange bottle with her name on it and ran over to her.
"Okay, what do I do?" Tidus asked franticly.
"Water," Yuna said through tears as she stood and grabbed the bottle from Tidus and ran into the bathroom, shutting the door behind her.
Tidus slowly walked over to the door and leaned against it.
"Yuna?" Tidus said uneasily, "You okay?"
He heard the water running for a few moments, and then it turned off. Tidus knocked, and Yuna let out a whine. He opened the door and saw her leaning over the sink. She looked up at him and then turned back to the sink.
"Yuna?" Tidus said walking over and putting an arm on her back. "What's wrong?"
"Nothing, I'm fine now," Yuna said sniffling as she looked up at him with a smile.
"What's the medicine for?" He asked her grabbing the bottle on the sink and reading the label. "Stomach pains?"
"Sort of…The doctor said it had something to do with how weak my immune system is. And then something about how I don't usually have that much energy because I've never had a lot to eat," Yuna said taking the bottle from Tidus, and opening it, showing him the pills. "I'm supposed to take these twice a day, but when I don't…"
"What just happened happens?" Tidus said finishing for her.
"Right," Yuna said closing the bottle and putting it on the counter. "I'm going to get ready," Yuna went outside the bathroom and got some clothes out of her suitcase.
"So you're on drugs?" He asked crossing his arms.
"Prescription," Yuna said with a smile as she came back to the bathroom and stood next to Tidus.
"So, if your old man didn't do to you what he did, you wouldn't be on 'em, right?" Tidus said sounding slightly angry.
"Tidus, after I start eating regularly, I shouldn't have to take it so much," Yuna explained.
"But, you'll still be on them," Tidus said frowning.
"Because of my immune system, it's not something I can help," Yuna said still smiling. "Now I need to get ready."
"Does it still hurt?" Tidus asked as Yuna held one arm over her stomach.
"Yeah, but it'll stop soon," Yuna said with a small smile. "Now leave."
Tidus walked out of the bathroom and let her take a quick shower while he went to go get their breakfast; he basically got the same as yesterday. When he got back, he got ready; they ate and then took a cab to Yuna's school.
Tidus again got out of the cab with Yuna. She turned to him when he grabbed her hand.
"Go to the office and tell them you need transfer papers, or whatever okay?" He said letting go and walking down the street. "I'll meet you out here around lunch time, okay, I'll bring you something."
"Okay see you later!" Yuna called after him and he just waved at her and continued walking down the street.
Yuna walked into the building and then she went to her locker, remembering she had forgotten she had homework. She got her stuff and then rushed to homeroom. She quickly did all her homework and then put it all up as the teacher walked into the room. Dona turned and looked at Yuna as she sat down. She smiled at Yuna making her feel uneasy.
"Alright, we'll begin today by taking a pop quiz on what we studied yesterday, if you did your homework, you should do well," the teacher said passing out the quizzes.
"Yuna," the teacher said handing out the paper to her. Yuna looked up at him. "I need to see you after class," He walked away handing out the rest of the papers to the class.
Yuna had finished her homework in a rush and hadn't really paid attention to what it was really asking. She finished the quiz with what she figured would be not many correct answers.
After class, Yuna walked up to her teacher, Mr. Uematsu, and waited as he handed a paper to Dona, who walked by pushing Yuna with a smirk. Mr. Uematsu turned and gave Yuna a disappointed look.
"Sir?" Yuna said looking down at her feet.
"You've been doing well on homework and classwork, but you've been doing horrible on the last few tests, do you need help?" He asked holding out a test paper to Yuna.
Yuna took the paper and let out a sigh as she saw the grade, a forty-three.
"I'm sorry Yuna," He said giving her a reassuring smile, "But we can get someone to help you."
"Um, actually, I don't think you can," Yuna said politely, "I might be transferring to a different school…Today."
"Really? Where to? Did Braska get a new job of some sort?" He asked crossing his arms as he leaned back on his desk.
"No sir, he…I'm going to stay with relatives," Yuna said, using the first excuse that she could think of.
"Ah, well just remember Yuna, keep up your studies and you should be fine at any school you go to," He said to her with a smile.
"Thank you," Yuna said giving a slight bow as she turned and left the room.
When study period finally came around, Yuna went to the office, explaining that her father couldn't come get the transfer papers so she came and got them. After that, she decided she'd study for the test she had later, even though she doubted it would matter considering she was leaving for Zanarkand in a matter of hours. She walked towards the library and as soon as she entered through the glass doors, she saw Shuyin look up at her from the couch, and then walk over to her.
"I didn't see you at your locker," He said with a smile, "Where were you?"
"In the office getting some papers for my father to sign," Yuna said truthfully without thinking as she stepped around him and went to sit down at a table
"What for? You get in trouble or something?" Shuyin asked following her.
"No, um… Never mind, they're nothing really," Yuna said quickly as she sat down and gave him an innocent look.
"Do you want me to sign them?" He asked giving her a suspicious look.
"No!" Yuna said shaking her head. "I just…He'll sign them."
"Yuna you do remember what happened the last time you tried to get your father to sign something?" He asked.
She remembered perfectly. Shuyin and his father had gone on vacation and Yuna had needed a fundraiser paper signed. She had been fourteen, and the beatings she received back then were not as rough but triple the amount she received now. She had walked into the living room, fundraiser paper in hand, and stood beside his chair as he watched a blitzball game.
"Daddy?" She asked softly.
He looked up at her as he put down the beer bottle he held to his mouth.
"What?" He asked. "What do need that's so damn important that you have to come and interrupt this game for?" He practically screamed.
"Sorry…I just…Can you sign this?" She asked, her hand shaking as she held out the paper.
"You bothered me to get me to sign a damn paper?!" He yelled as he stood, causing Yuna to back away from him.
"S-Sorry…" Yuna said, her eyes tearing up as he stood and pushed her over to the wall.
That was pretty much all she remembered considering he had then knocked her to the ground, hitting her head, knocking her unconscious while he continued kicking her in the stomach and everywhere else. She remembered waking up, body aching, and saw the paper ripped to shreds, lying on the floor.
"Yeah, but…This time will be different, I…Forget it okay?" She said shaking her head.
Shuyin sighed as he grabbed her bag and dug through her things, while she just stood watching him, knowing she couldn't stop him. After a few moments of digging, he brought out the papers. He looked at them in silence for a few minutes and then he looked up at her.
"Transfer papers?" He asked letting them fall to the floor.
Yuna bent down and picked them up, avoiding eye contact with him. Shuyin grabbed her by the arm and pulled her up next to him.
"Where are you going?" Shuyin asked, "And with who?"
Yuna jerked her arm away, pushing Shuyin and then grabbing her things and turned to head for the exit.He looked around to make sure no one was looking and then he grabbed her around her neck and then pulled her to the back of the library before they were caught. He let her go and held her up against the wall in the very back.
"Yuna, I thought I told you, no more Tidus," Shuyin whispered in her ear. "You've been staying with him?"
Yuna lied and shook her head.
"You weren't at home last night," He said with a smirk. "You're father told me you hadn't been home in two days."
"Why were you there?" She asked.
"Does it matter? The point is that you weren't there," Shuyin said with an annoyed look on his face as Yuna turned away from him.
"I've been at work a lot," Yuna lied again.
"You work Thursdays through Saturdays not on Mondays and Tuesdays, you don't think I know by now?" He said angrily. "You were with Tidus."
"What's with you? Why do you feel so threatened by him? He's not a bad person, in fact, you've hurt me more than he has, which for the record he hasn't at all!" Yuna whispered through tears.
Shuyin backed off of her and took a few steps back.
Yuna was losing trust in him, this couldn't happen, not yet. He wanted his share too. He had to act fast.
"Yuna…" Shuyin said giving her a fake, pleading look. "I'm sorry, really I am, I'm just jealous, that's all."
"Jealous?" She asked. "Of Tidus?"
"I don't like him around, I just feel like he's going to become your boyfriend at any time. I don't want that," Shuyin said with a shrug.
"He's a friend, that's all, just like you," Yuna said crossing her arms in front of her chest.
"But…I don't want to just be your friend, I want to be more than that," He said stepping towards her, a smile on his face.
"But…" Yuna said feeling uneasy, "Don't I get a say in this?" Something then crossed her mind, something she couldn't believe she didn't see earlier. "You don't really care do you? He cares more."
"Of course I do," Shuyin said putting his arms around her waist. "He's the one who doesn't care, really."
"Then how come he's helping me?" She asked softly, scared of someone overhearing them now that she finally remembered where they were. She pushed him away, and gave him a confused look. "He's making me stay with him or he'll tell them about my father!"
"See, he obviously doesn't really care, he just wants you," Shuyin said misunderstanding where she was going with this, or at least pretending he was.
"That's not what I mean, he doesn't want me with my father, so he'd offering me a place to stay," Yuna said putting emphasis on 'offering.' "You just let me stay there with him, no matter how bad it gets!"
"You told me not to tell anyone!" He whispered harshly.
"So, if you really care like Tidus, you would have told, no matter what I said, or at least let me stay with you like he's going to." Yuna said shaking her head.
"Fine, do you want to stay with me?" He asked annoyed.
"No," Yuna said simply.
"I did what you told me to do!" Shuyin said grabbing her arm.
"I told Tidus over and over," Yuna whined trying to get her arm out of his grip. "It didn't stop him!"
"Whatever Yuna," Shuyin said slamming her up against the wall. "If I see or hear that you were with him, I'll tell someone about your father.And if I tell your father about Tidus, he'll be out of the picture permanently."
A single tear fell down her face as she shook her head.
"GET OFF OF ME!" Yuna yelled causing Shuyin put a hand over her mouth and pulled her down to the floor. He pulled them into a storage room.
Shuyin landed on top of her, his elbow hitting her stomach. He felt tears on his hand that was over her mouth, as he waited for the librarian who was walking past the room looking for the source of the interruption, to leave. Yuna was constantly trying to push him off of her, but he continued to lie on top of her. Once he was sure the librarian had moved on, he got off of her, though he still held her with one hand and the other over her mouth.
"Listen, study period's almost over, so meet me after school. And if you tell anyone about this you'll pay dearly, got it." He said harshly letting go and walking out of the room leaving her on the floor.
Yuna placed her hand on the bruises on her face, and was silent until reality hit. Everything had been a lie. A game to him. Shuyin had never cared; he was as he had called Tidus, untrustworthy. This was going to be harder than she had expected. Getting to Zanarkand was going to take a lot of effort.
