Author's Note: I do not own Final Fantasy X or anything affiliated with it. The rights to it belong solely to their respective owners.

Ch. 8 Disaster at Sea

While Wakka, Lulu, and Yuna kept on going to catch the boat to leave Besaid, Tidus and I were a bit slower and ended up falling behind. We were just passing a huge set of ruins when I heard a lion roar above us. We looked up to see the other of Yuna's guardians, Kimahri jumping down from the ruins to land in front of us. He was crouched low with his hands and feet on the ground. He punched a fist into the ground and stood up before roaring at us. We both took a step back in fear, and he drew a spear longer than his body.

The moment I saw that spear my fear dissipated. This guy wanted a fight; we'll give him a fight. I looked at Tidus and although I didn't speak, he knew what I was thinking and nodded. He drew Brotherhood while I unsheathed Selini. For a moment none of us moved, until Kimahri charged forward and swung his spear at me. I blocked the attack with my blade, but I could feel the power behind the attack, and I could tell those muscles Kimahri had weren't unused.

I responded with a slash to the chest, but he blocked the attack and tried to jab me in the ribs, but Tidus knocked the point of the spear away. I nodded my thanks and attacked his unprotected legs, but he crouched low and blocked the move with his armlet before hitting me in the chest with an uppercut. The wind was knocked out of me and I was sent up into the air before flying back and landing on the ground.

I groaned and shook my head, trying to clear the cobwebs and picking myself back. Tidus was going full on against Kimahri, and they ended up with the weapons locked together. Now the two of them were pushing against each other, but Kimahri was both bigger and stronger, and I could see Tidus being slowly pushed back. Tightening my grip on Selini, I charged forward and swung at Kimahri's arm while he was locked in with Tidus.

He roared and shoved Tidus back just in time to block my strike. He pushed me back, and we stood there for a moment. This guy was strong, and he knew how to fight. Tidus and I had the advantage in numbers, but even together Kimahri was proving a challenge. Still, those numbers could help us pull out a victory. We both looked at each other and nodded, and we were about to charge forward when I heard someone call "That's enough!"

I looked over to see it was Wakka, standing with the others. Kimahri stopped and stood before turning to walk away. "What's his problem?" Tidus asked. "Kimahri Ronso, of the Ronso tribe. He's learned the fiend's way of fighting," Lulu explained. "That's not what I meant," Tidus asked. "He's another of Yuna's guardians," Wakka told him. Tidus still looked confused, and Yuna laughed. "Sometimes we don't understand him either. Kimahri doesn't talk much anyway."

I "hmph"ed and Yuna continued "But he had protected me ever since I was a child." I nodded; maybe that was why he attacked us. He didn't know who we were and possibly thought we would try to hurt Yuna, so he made to stop us. Satisfied with my own explanation, I continued with Tidus and the others until we reached the shore of Besaid.

A small congregation of people had arrived to see Yuna's departure, and once they saw her they all began tearing up. One of them approached me and said "We'll miss Lady Yuna. Please use this to keep her safe." He handed me a Potion, and for a second I couldn't think of anything to say, until I said "Thank you; I will," and put it in my pocket. The guy from the temple in the orange robes said "We are sad to see our lady summoner departing. Here, this is a gift from the temple." And he handed me a small bag full of coins, a total of 100 munny.

I stared at the munny, unable to believe it. They really must be going to miss Yuna. So, I smiled and performed the prayer of Yevon before bowing and saying "Thank you. I really appreciate it." I took the munny and placed it in my coat pocket, before turning and getting on the boat. The moment I did the horn sounded, the bridge was lifted, and the boat slowly began to leave the harbor.

People from the village crowded and the pier, some waving and smiling sadly, some of the kids flat out crying. Yuna stood by the edge of the ship to get a last look at them, and performed the prayer at all of them. "Goodbye," she said.

And the boat pulled went out to sea.

xxx

I walked across the deck of the ship, still getting used to the floor moving beneath my feet. Before he had disappeared, my father Alexander had taken me on a few fishing trips when we lived back in Alaska. I had never gotten what people called "sea legs" and before I could my father had indeed disappeared, and I went to live in the orphanage in San Francisco until about a year ago. Now I was really regretting not trying to gain my balance on those fishing trips. I could barely walk without falling.

I looked over to see Tidus slowly approaching a guy with binoculars. Then suddenly he jumped on top of his shoulders and said "Boo!" the guy grunted and spun around, trying to knock him off. Tidus kicked his legs up and did a hand stand on the guy's shoulders before jumping off, running over and snatching the binoculars away. He stood on the edge of the ship and looked around through the binoculars.

He looked at Wakka and then at Lulu, seeming to linger a moment until she looked at him, then at Kimahri, then me and finally Yuna. She walked across the deck of the ship until she realized Tidus was looking at her and she waved. Tidus waved back and the guy from before managed to take the binoculars back. He rubbed the back of his head and laughed a little guiltily before jumping off the edge off the edge on the ship and back on deck.

I smiled and shook my head; the guy was energetic to say the least. I placed my head on the edge of the rail and closed my eyes for a second to feel the wind on my face. It was cool and smelled of salt, which wasn't surprising since we were at sea. I could feel the sun on me, but I had left my coat below deck, leaving me in just red T-shirt on top, and I let my hair fall out down to my waist, so I couldn't complain about the heat. According to Wakka, we were heading for a village called Kilika to go see a temple, and then we would go to a city called Luca where the blitzball tournament would be held.

Eventually I was done enjoying the wind and walked around a little. Yuna was standing at the front of the ship with a small crowd around her, and as I passed by I heard a few word like "daughter of Lord Braska…" and "noble legacy". I stopped and looked back at the crowd. Since when had Yuna been of nobility? I walked over to Lulu and asked "Is Yuna famous for something besides being a summoner?" She raised an eyebrow at me, but explained "Her father is High Summoner Braska, the man who defeated Sin ten years ago.

"For that alone Yuna is already seen with reverence, and her becoming a summoner shall increase that so. She is the heir to great legacy, and she plans to carry that legacy as best she can." I nodded and "Okay, thanks for explaining." This made Lulu's eyebrow rise even higher, but she said nothing and I walked off. The crowd dispersed and Tidus moved forward to talk with Yuna.

Curious, I walked close enough to hear what they were saying, to a point, and I heard the two of them talking about someone called Jecht. From what I could perceive, he was Tidus's father, and he had died a long time ago. I felt sympathy rise up within me. So had had lost his father too, and from the looks of it he had lost him even earlier than I had. But I could detect a tone of anger in his voice, and I looked to see that when he said "Jecht," his lip curled in hatred. Did Tidus hate his father?

The two of them stopped talking, and I thought about that for a second. What would a father have to do to you in order to make you even hate his memory? My mother had died giving birth to me, and growing up my father had been the only person close to me I really had. I couldn't even begin to think of him doing anything to make me hate him. Before I could think much further down that bath, there was a crash, and the whole boat shook.

"Whoa!" I called, grabbing the edge of the ship for support as it tilted sharply to the side. I looked over to see that Tidus was holding Yuna's hand, but it was slipping. He ended up letting go, and for a second I thought that Yuna was going to go over the edge, until Kimahri jumped forward, balancing himself on the deck and caught her. I sighed in momentary relief and looked out to sea to see what had hit us.

A huge gray-blue fin shot out of the water, easily the size of a building. I had never seen a creature that huge before, and I was only looking at the fin. That could only mean that the fin belonged to one thing. A guy to my left yelled "Sin!" He ran over and grabbed a mounted harpoon gun, taking aim at the fin. "What are you doing?! Stick a harpoon in it, and we'll all be dragged under!" Wakka called. "Sin is going for Kilika! We've got to distract it!" one guy said, taking aim with the other harpoon. The one in front of us said "Our families are in Kilika! Forgive us, Lady Summoner!"

Yuna was silent for a moment before nodding. "Wait! Oh boy," Wakka said. The two guys at the harpoons took a second to take aim before firing. One of them missed, but the other connected and immediately pulled. The boat was towed like a cart by a horse, and buckets of water splashed onto the deck. Then I saw a trio of small projectiles fly toward us from Sin's fin, landing and imbedding themselves on the deck in front of us.

Then the things shuddered and began to unravel, revealing themselves to be the same Sinscales that had attacked San Francisco. I was shocked, and then a boiling anger filled me. These things came from Sin, and it was Sin that had taken me from my home and thrust me into this world. I hadn't asked for this, had never contemplated it, had never even thought of it, and yet it happened. Now these things were here again, and it was high time I got some payback.

Then a wave of them landed on the back of the ship and a few people began screaming. Yuna immediately looked back, a look of worry on her face. I did a quick count; there were a total of six of us. "Yuna!" I called. "We need to protect the people on the boat! You, Kimahri and Tidus guard the back of the boat while Wakka, Lulu and I take the front!" She looked at me for a moment, before she nodded and ran to the back with Tidus and Kimahri.

That left me with Wakka and Lulu, and while Wakka got out his ball and Lulu readied her spells, I had already unsheathed Selini and charged forward.

xxx

Uh-oh, now a real battle is about to start. How will things go, and can Sofia and company defeat the endless army of Sinscales?

Please review! (Flames will be ignored)