Hey! I'm back and I come bearing a new chapter! Woo - hoo!!! Finally - this one took me forever to write, but this one is definitely the crapest one I've written, cos I didn't plan it out before hand and I'm writing it now at about 1 am on Saturday! So sorry if I misspell anything, or if everything doesn't make sense.

Thanks for all the reviews! As usual I did my little impression of the snoopy dance much to the enjoyment of my brother who was rolling all over the floor at my stupidity...Anyways, chapter 11 - nuff said!

Chapter 11

Closing the large brown door behind him and leaving Yuna's comforting presence behind, Tidus looked over his shoulder to see Auron facing away from him, staring passively out an open window surveying the entire grounds. Unsure of why he was here, the blonde took a cautious step forward and stood behind the Head's desk. Waiting for any movement from the headmaster he began to look around the grandly furnished room awkwardly, wishing he was anywhere but here.

'Tidus'.

'Uh -' turning his face back to the taller man's Tidus looked into his stern face, feeling Auron's one good eye scanning over him,' yes sir?'

'How do you know Yuna?'

'Er...' Tidus faltered. Wasn't that a bit of a personal question? Why did he care?

'Don't get so defensive, it's just a question', Tidus thought to himself.

'She lives with me and some friends in an apartment not far from the stadium...I'm sorry sir, but what has this got to do with anything?' he asked confusedly.

'I saw what happened between you, Seymour and Yuna today, when you stopped him before anything could get too out of hand', Auron growled in his deep, throaty voice that seemed to echo all around the large room the two stood in.

'Ah,' was all Tidus could make out. Had he really seen it all?

'I also saw how you weren't willing to just leave and let Seymour get away with it, and the way you showed mercy on him when Yuna intervened. Then Paine and Lulu came to help - you truly have good friends if they were willing to do such things even though they were at risk', he continued, gesturing for Tidus to seat himself in an empty chair in front of his desk. Obeying, Tidus took his place, studying Auron's face in the same time. It had softened at his last comment. This was not what Tidus had expected of the fearless headmaster. Where was this leading?

'Thankyou sir'.

A silence filled the room as neither knew what to say.

Clearing his throat Auron turned and began looking out the window again. Fearing that the head was going to forget about him, Tidus was about to ask whether he was longer needed just as the man continued.

'I know that Yuna is capable of taking care of herself, but after that little incident today, I have something I would like you to do for me,' he paused, searching for words hidden from his mind,' I would like you to watch over her,' anticipating Tidus' mixed reaction he held a hand up to the blonde's confused face,' I know you already do - it is quite obvious when you see the two of you together.'

Tidus' face took on a strange flustered expression as he looked down into his lap. Was it really that obvious?

'This is different. I would like you to protect her, from Seymour, from other people who would seek to harm her. You are both very gifted, and I would prefer to know that she is being taken care of until she can defend herself properly,' Auron stated turning away from the window to look at Tidus who sat fidgeting in his chair. 'I will organise Lulu and Paine to help, since they are friends of yours, with some 'private tuition'. Meanwhile I would like you to just watch over Yuna, and make sure she is okay. Think of it as being her undercover guardian...' he chuckled.

Unable to sit down anymore, Tidus rose to his full height and continued to look Auron straight in the face. He wanted him to become her what?

'She is very talented, and I do not want anything to happen to her, or any of my students for that matter,' Auron explained.

'So...if I do this, I won't get in trouble for earlier?' Tidus asked hopefully.

Laughing now, Auron smiled crookedly down at the innocent young man's face, 'I simply want you to watch over her. Seymour may have to deal with some faculty detentions for a while though...' the older man hinted, a mysterious glint shining in his dark eye.

Smiling, Tidus felt as if he had known this man all his life - why was he being so nice when he obviously should be doing exactly the same thing as Seymour? Did it really matter if all Auron wanted him to do was watch Yuna - like that was going to be hard.

'Alright, I'll do it,' Tidus finally decided, glad for an extra excuse to be near her,' you don't want me to tell her anything do you? Bout what you're doing?'

'No, keep this between you Lulu and Paine. I will be around the grounds more often, so if you're having any problems come to me immediately'.

Sensing there was nothing left to be said, Tidus rose to his feet and began to head towards the door. Pausing, he turned around to see Auron already looking out his window again. 'Thankyou sir.'

Looking over his shoulder, Auron saw the door close behind the youth.

School had droned on slowly and by the time it had ended Tidus was exhausted. Upon reaching the apartment he staggered into his room and collapsed onto the soft bed in front of him face first. Exhaling slowly, he heard a faint knock on the door.

'Yeah', he called muffledly through the covers.

Hearing the noisy door creak open, a friendly voice surprised him with it's presence,' Hi, oh - I can see that you're busy,' Yuna laughed and began to head back out as Tidus looked up to see her, a strange smile creeping across his face.

'No, wait Yuna. Come in', he said as he shoved himself off his bed and into a standing position. Seeing her pause at the door and turn back to face him with an amused smile on her face, he gestured for her to come in. Nodding, she returned back over the threshold, closing the door behind her. Allowing her to pass and sit on a nearby bed, he breathed in her scent as she walked mere inches from him. She was captivating the way she walked into a place and completely filled it up with smile. Maybe Auron was right - Yuna was special, and she needed protecting.

'Erm, I never got a chance to thankyou before...about earlier. If you hadn't come, I don't know what could have happened -' Yuna said unable to carry on as Tidus came up to her, wary of her still shocked form.

'It's okay, I was there and you needed help. Plus y'know I don't like Seymour, he's...' As if he had said something distressing to the tawny haired girl, she looked down at her feet.

'Y..Yuna?'

'It's nothing, don't worry,' she said quickly covering it up with a friendly smile. The images of what had happened to her clearly still fresh in her mind. Taking a step closer to her, Tidus looked at her deeply, unsure of what to say.

'I'm sorry. I didn't mean to say - I mean, uh,' God, why was this so hard?

Looking up to his flustered face, she saw the sincerity there and felt overwhelmed with emotion. A single tear ran down her cheek as he watched her helplessly. Cupping her face with one hand he used his finger to wipe it away, absorbing the moisture. Smiling gently up at him, Yuna took another step towards Tidus, noting how close he already was. Reaching her arms up around him, she pulled him into an affectionate hug that he immediately responded to. Holding her close she rested her head against his chest, hearing the rhythmic pounding of his heart speed up. Resting his hands on the small of her back and her waist, Tidus inhaled her scent again as he lay his head against the crown of her head.

No more tears came, but just the simple pleasure of Tidus holding her so protectively made her want to stay there forever. Time flew past her as she stood there being rocked gently from side to side in Tidus' embrace, warmth surrounding her.

Feeling herself pull away from him slightly, Yuna looked up to Tidus' cerulean eyes, wanting to swim in them forever.

'Thankyou,' she whispered up to him, a stray lock of hair falling into her eyes.

Tucking the hair behind her ear, Tidus looked down at her, his eyes caressing her face, 'don't worry about it'.

Smiling, the realisation at how close they were dawned on Yuna. They were standing so near to eachother that she could see all the colours in his eyes, hear the ragged sound of his breathing as he also comprehend their situation. Distantly Yuna heard her name being called from outside, but she didn't seem to care. She wanted to stay with him, just his presence making her feel safe and protected.

'Yuna'.

'Yes?' she breathed unable to draw her eyes away.

'Paine wants you...' Tidus smiled down, noticing her lost expression.

Kicking herself mentally, Yuna nodded slowly and drew away from him reluctantly. Heading for the door she took one last look at Tidus, who stood watching her, longing for her to ignore her friend's calls and return to him. But she knew that she couldn't. Giving him a last smile, Yuna left him alone and walked back down the hall and into the living room to find Paine's slightly irked form, hands on hips, still calling her name.

'What's up Paine?' Yuna asked coming to stand beside her tall friend.

Focusing her ruby red eyes on Yuna, Paine muttered,' come with me', before walking up the hall towards the girl's rooms. Following her silently Yuna noticed that when they reached her room they did not stop, but continued up the hall to Paine and Lulu's room. Confused, Yuna didn't ask even as Paine shoved open the door and passed through, holding it open for her. Looking inside Yuna saw two beds which obviously belonged to the girls, the windows had shades that blocked the afternoon sunlight from entering the lonely room, and the smell of incense and other magical smells danced around Yuna's head. Passing through, Paine shut the door behind the other girl then sat down on her bed.

'Hello Yuna,' Lulu smiled calmly.

'Hi Lulu...er, what's this all about?' Yuna asked warily.

'Seymour', Paine answered instantly.

Looking at the taller woman Yuna saw Paine's eyes staring right back at her unemotionally.

'We know what happened. We know why Tidus was fighting him when we arrived,' Lulu stated walking up to Yuna who stood uncomfortably in her spot in the middle of their room, stroking her arm in a sisterly fashion. 'It's okay, we understand'.

'And that's why we want to help you. In case he ever does something like that again', Paine said standing and also walking towards her.

'What do you mean help me?'

Turning to eachother, the two girls' wine red eyes met, pondering how to say what they had to without giving anything away.

'Lulu can teach you some basic spells and I could show you some moves for self defence. It really isn't that hard to learn, but it will take some time. What do you say?' Paine asked in her calm and concentrated voice.

Considering her options Yuna thought to herself. If Seymour really did come back and try to do anything she had no way to protect herself, the only magic she knew was white - what could she do with that? Knowing some black magic would help a lot, and even the moves Paine was offering were beginning to sound good.

'When do I start?'

Showing the first smiles Yuna had ever seen from the girls she couldn't help but smile aswell.

Days flew by quickly, and soon it was only a few weeks before the holidays. This got all the students at Zanarkand very excited. It would be the first time since the start of the year that they would be able to go home and see their family and friends. For Yuna it was the same, not because she was going home, but because she would be able to have a long break from studying, school and her 'extra - curricular activities'. The lessons that Paine and Lulu had described had been everything they'd said. Yuna spent nearly all her spare time practising the things that the two girls had shown her - in her room before she went to bed, anytime when she wasn't spending in Paine and Lulu's room in the actual 'lesson time' as they called it and even when she was at school.

Today happened to be one of those days when all her friends had yet again gone to see Shuyin play Spherebreak (he was becoming quite good at it too) and she was left to wait by herself. But since her last encounter with Seymour she had tended to stay away from sitting alone and had ventured inside the school. Wandering aimlessly, she entered the empty gym hall she normally came to when she was in this situation. No - one ever came down here so she was safe to practice her magic without anyone seeing her.

Sitting herself down on a tall pile of gym mats she hung her legs over the edge and began to concentrate. Today she was going to attempt another fire spell. She had been an instant success at getting the other three basic spells right - water, lightening and ice, but was having trouble with fire. Somehow, she wasn't able to generate enough energy to bring it into a tight enough ball of flames. Everytime she tried the flickering flames appeared for a few seconds before fizzing out before her annoyed eyes. However many times she tried the spell she couldn't get it right.

Focusing on her hand held out in front of her, she began to feel the familiar crackle of energy flowing to her fingertips. Envisioning, as Lulu had said, a tennis sized ball of fire, Yuna felt the heat beat down upon her palm as the heat radiated from it. As the ball became corporeal, Yuna smiled broadly. This was the furthest she had even been able to manage.

And it was to stay that way, because no sooner had she thought this the light died and the heat dissipated from her senses.

'Oh come on!' Yuna cried in frustration, lifting her hands into the air above her head, then letting them fall down beside her legs. Closing her eyes, Yuna fell backwards onto the mats behind her, letting her head fall hard against the padded surface. Why couldn't she do this?

'Hey'.

Jumping up from her position, Yuna looked suprisedly into Tidus' friendly eyes. He seemed amused by her currently awkward situation and smiled at her.

'Well I'm glad you find this funny!' Yuna smiled back at him placing her hands on her hips,' How did you find me? No - one ever comes here'.

Smiling shyly, Tidus looked away at a nearby piece of gym equipment and then back to Yuna's mock serious face,' I followed you,' he confessed,' you looked kinda lonely, and I wanted to see how you were doing. You've been pretty busy lately'. Shrugging he walked over to her and stood by the mats, not wanting to tell her that he was just doing like Auron asked. Watching over her.

Sitting back down on the pile of soft mats, Yuna made space for Tidus to seat himself beside her. Doing so he made sure he wasn't sitting too close yet too far away from her.

'Well...ever since the thing with Seymour I've been having lessons with Lulu and Paine. They're helping me learn to do magic and Kung - fu stuff. I've just been practicing a lot lately. But I'm having trouble with the fire spell lately, I can't get it right', Yuna explained.

Chuckling, Tidus looked to her,' it's a good thing I followed you then!'

'How? I mean, I'm glad you're here, but, well, I mean... erm...' Yuna tried explaining.

'S'okay. I get what you mean. Which part are you stuck on?'

'Uh, all of it. I can get the flames to form, but they die before I can do anything...' seeing him nod his head in understanding and then close his eyes, Yuna watched Tidus curiously. Still unsure of why he was here, she was just about to ask what he was doing when he held his hand out in front of him and a ball of flames appeared hovering above his fingertips. Yuna gasped, speechless. It always amazed her when people were able to do such amazing things that seemed impossible to anyone else.

Opening his eyes, Tidus looked to Yuna serenely,' that's how it's done. It's not that hard'. Slowly he began to weave the spell between his fingers, looking into Yuna's dazzling eyes as she watched the fire dance above his hand. Finally letting the ball extinguish, Tidus' hand fell into his lap.

'How do you know how to do that?'

'We did it ages ago at school. One of the teachers was a mage and taught us some of the basics. Did you want me to help you get it right?' Tidus explained hoping to spend a little longer in her presence.

'That would be great,' Yuna smiled excitedly.

'Okay, close you're eyes and take deep breaths,' doing as she had been instructed and relaxed in her seat.

'Now imagine a ball of fire, like the one I just showed you. Let yourself feel the heat above you're hand'. Obeying, Yuna formed the tennis ball in her mind.

'Wait a second,' he told her. Yuna felt a warm hand grasp her own, lifting it up in the air in front of her. His skin was warm to the touch and sent tingles through her body.

'Now let the fire become real, make it real', he whispered. Yuna could feel the mats shift underneath her as Tidus edged closer to her. She could feel his breath on her cheek, tickling her features. Feeling the need to turn to him, Yuna surprised herself when she felt the spell erupt in front of her. She could hear the flames licking the air and feel the energy crackling through her fingers. Smiling Yuna opened her eyes to see a perfect ball of fire, orange and bright, illuminating the dimming light around them.

'I did it!' she smiled happily turning to Tidus, whose cerulean eyes poured into her mismatched ones. Forgetting the spell, Yuna forced her attention to him. Closing her eyes again, she felt her pulse race as she anticipated his reaction when he inched nearer to her.

His nose rubbing against hers made Yuna smile as butterflies rushed through her stomach. His lips brushed over hers ever so softly and she realised how much she wanted to close the gap between them. How many times had she been given the chance to get this close to him and was unable to get any further? How many times had he not retracted away from her whenever they had gotten this close? Did he want this as much as she -

'Yuna?' Tidus murmured breathily.

'Yeah?' she opened her eyes to see his deep blue ones peering at her amusedly. Suddenly smelling something burning nearby, Yuna looked towards her feet and realised she had dropped the spell. It was now in process of eating away at one of the mats.

'Oh, crap!' she cried jumping up and stepping on the flames with her trainer.

'Step back', Tidus muttered to her.

Dazed, Yuna looked up to him frantically to see Tidus now holding a water spell in his hand. Moving away, she allowed the blonde to do what she could not. Effortlessly tossing it on the mat the couple watched as the flames extinguished, leaving the smell of burnt rubber and an awkward silence between the two.

'Are you okay?' his voice sounded full of concern as Tidus moved towards her again.

'Yeah, you?'

'I'm fine, are you sure you're okay?' Tidus persisted.

'Just a bit shocked! But I'm fine', Yuna laughed.

'Alright. So...what now?' Tidus said pretending there had been no awkward moment between them only moments ago.

'Well, controlling my spells may be a good place to start,' Yuna teased.

'Okay,' Tidus smiled,' lets do this again'.

End of Chapter 11

I'm outta here - I need sleep!!! Seeya soon.