AUTHOR'S NOTE: Sorry that this chapter is shorter than the others; I just really wanted to get it up. Hope you still like it! Please read and review!

Sorry that I didn't send this to you Joey! Please let me know if you spot any mistakes.

DISCLAIMER: Final Fantasy X, its characters, locations and plotlines are owned by Square Enix. I do not claim to own any of these. However, I do own my original character Sakura, also known as Suki. If you wish to use her in any form of media then please ask my permission first.

Chapter 11 – Dancing for the Dead

I think everyone had hoped that the damage to Kilika wouldn't look as bad up close as it did from far away, but unfortunately it looked just as bad, if not worse.

As soon as the S.S. Liki came to a stop, the men from the island got off as fast as they could to try and find their families.

Yuna also ran off the boat with the rest of us following behind her, stopping when she got onto the dock.

"Greetings," she said to the people waiting on the docks. "I am the summoner Yuna. I have come from the temple in Besaid."

She bowed to the people, and some of the people ran up to her, crying, "My Lady summoner!"

"If there is no other summoner here," Yuna continued, "please allow me to perform the sending."

One of the men sighed in relief. "Thanks be to you," he said, smiling sadly.

"Our loved ones," a woman said tearfully, "We fear they would become fiends!"

"Please, take me to them?" Yuna asked gently.

They both nodded and headed towards the village, followed by Yuna, Lulu and Kimahri. Tidus and I walked off the boat, watching them go. Wakka walked up behind us.

"We'll go see what we can do to help in town," Wakka said, motioning to the blitz team.

We nodded as Wakka and the rest of the team ran towards the village. We were about to follow them when we spotted a crowd gathering near the other side of the docks.

"What're they doing?" Tidus asked, and I sighed sadly.

"Yuna's gonna perform the sending," I told him.

He frowned as we walked over. "What's a sending?" he asked. "Are we going somewhere?"

Lulu heard us and sighed loudly. "You truly are clueless. Are you sure it's just your memory that's the problem?"

Under better circumstances, I'd have laughed. After a few moments of awkward silence, Lulu continued.

"The dead need guidance," she said as I turned to face Yuna. "Filled with grief over their own death, they refuse to face their fate. They yearn to live on, and resent those still alive. You see, they envy the living. And in time, that envy turns to anger, even hate. Should these souls remain in Spira, they become fiends that prey on the living."

Tidus seemed dumbstruck. I still wasn't looking at Lulu, not really wanting to acknowledge what she had just said, although I'd been taught about it since I was a child.

"Sad, isn't it?" Lulu said, partly to Tidus, partly to me. "The sending takes them to the Farplane, where they may rest in peace."

"Summoners do this?" Tidus asked, and Lulu nodded, before they too turned to face Yuna.

She was talking to someone who looked like he could be the elder of the village, or maybe the priest of the temple. Kimahri was standing behind them, looking as protective as always. Yuna bowed to the old man and started walking towards the water. I saw Tidus frown out of the corner of my eye, and I very nearly cracked a smile. I'd heard of summoners doing this but I'd never seen it myself.

As I suspected, Yuna started to walk on the water and Tidus' mouth dropped open. Her staff appeared in her hand as she walked over the deeper water where the villagers had placed the dead bodies, covered over with white sheets with red flowers scattered around them. She stopped in the centre of the circle the bodies made underwater. That's when Yuna started to dance.

As the villagers began to weep for their friends and family, translucent lights began to rise out of their bodies towards Yuna. The flames on stands surrounding the docks suddenly turned from orange to blue as the water Yuna was dancing on started to spin upwards, taking Yuna with it until she was standing on a podium of water dancing for the dead. The lights of the deceased started to rise up to the sky, going to the Farplane. I glanced over at Tidus and saw that he couldn't tear his eyes away from her.

It wasn't too long before Yuna was back on the dock, the villagers gathering around to thank her.

"It must be tough being a summoner," Tidus remarked.

"Yuna chose her own path," Lulu told him. "She knew from the beginning what it meant. All we can do is protect her along the way until the end."

"Until the…end?" he asked nervously. "What's 'the end'?"

Lulu shook her head at him pityingly. "Until she defeats Sin," she sighed, before walking over to Yuna and Kimahri.

"Oh…"

Yuna walked quickly up to Lulu. "I hope…I hope I did okay…" she said anxiously.

Lulu smiled at her and laid her hands on Yuna's shoulders. "You did very well," she assured her. "They've reached the Farplane by now. But…no tears next time, hmm?"

Yuna let out a small chuckle.

"Why does there have to be a next time?" Tidus asked me quietly.

I sighed. "I know. I wish there wouldn't be a next time. No more people being killed by Sin."

"No more sendings for Yuna," Tidus continued. "Everyone was just standing there watching her…"

I knew what he meant. It was horrible seeing everyone stare at Yuna guiding the dead to the Farplane. I never wanted to see it again, and I could tell that Tidus didn't want to either.

That night we stayed in a hut that was used as an inn. As seemed to now be tradition, we were all up way before Tidus, so Yuna, Lulu and Kimahri started to head towards Kilika temple, leaving Wakka, myself and the Aurochs to wait for him to get up. As we waited the boys and I started to fix up a broken bit of docking while Wakka directed us. The guys were a bit nervous about letting me on, but after I glared at them and gave them the sexism lecture that Rikku and I had used on Brother countless times, they shut up about it and let me help.

About half an hour after we'd started we'd managed to fix up quite a bit of the dock. Tidus decided to turn up and Wakka called us over.

"On to the temple," he told us, "where we pray for victory!"

The team cheered and ran off in the direction of the temple, leaving me, Wakka and the still half-asleep Tidus.

"High Summoner Ohalland used to live in the Kilika temple here," Wakka told us as we started to follow them. "Yup, Lord Ohalland was once a great blitzer ya know."

"Wakka?" Tidus asked suddenly, causing Wakka and I to stop walking.

"Praying for victory's all good…" he continued, "but is this right?"

I knew where Tidus was coming from. After the tragedy that had happened only yesterday, it felt like all we should be praying for, if anything, should be the people of Kilika.

Wakka however had other ideas. "Something wrong with enjoying blitzball?" he asked.

"Is this really the time though?" I pointed out, agreeing with Tidus.

"This is the only time," Wakka replied as we started to walk again. "The players fight with all their strength. The fans cheer for their favourite team. They forget pain and suffering; only the game matters. That's why blitz has been around for so long." He turned back to us, "At least that's what I think."

"Whatever you say," Tidus sighed.

"Let's play and win," Wakka smiled. "Right?"

Tidus gave himself a shake and nodded determinedly, "Right."

Wakka turned to me. "Suki, you in?"

I grinned. "You bet!"

He smiled, as did Tidus, and pointed in the direction the rest of the Aurochs had headed in.

"The temple's behind that jungle there," he told us. "Let's go."

When we got to the edge of the forest we saw that Yuna, Lulu and Kimahri had waited for us. Yuna looked nervous. Lulu looked agitated. Kimahri…well, you never could tell with Kimahri.

"What's up?" Wakka asked Lulu when we walked up.

She sighed. "Yuna's saying…"she said to Tidus and me, "she wants you both with us."

Tidus and I both whipped our heads round to face Yuna. "Huh?"

"I want…to ask you…" she started shyly, looking at Tidus, "to be my guardian."

Tidus mouth dropped open as Yuna turned to me.

"And Suki...I'd feel better if you came too…" she smiled.

Wakka walked over to Yuna, shaking his head. "Yuna, what? This is no time for jokes, ya? Tidus may be a blitzball whiz-kid, and Sakura may be your childhood friend, but up against fiends they're both newbies."

She turned to face Wakka who had moved to stand behind her. "Not a guardian then," she concluded. "I just want him nearby."

Wakka looked shocked. Lulu rolled her eyes. I smirked, Kimahri's expression didn't change, and Tidus' mouth dropped even further open.

"What?" he cried, voicing both his and Wakka's thoughts. "What d'you mean?"

Yuna turned to him, looking embarrassed. "It's just that…well…"

Lulu walked over. "We're all going to the temple anyway. Can't this wait till later?"

Yuna nodded apologetically before turning back to Tidus. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have…"

"There's nothing to be sorry about," Tidus assured her. "I'm just not really sure what's going on."

Yuna's face fell for a moment, not meeting Tidus' eyes. "I apologise," she said quietly, before Kimahri walked over, motioning towards the temple, and ending the conversation.

Yuna and Lulu led the party through the woods, followed by Wakka and Kimahri, then Tidus and me.

"What're you gonna do?" Tidus asked me quietly.

I shrugged. "I don't know. I think I'll carry on with you guys to Luca. The Al Bhed Psyches'll be playing there, so maybe Brother and Rikku will go to watch them. I might be able to meet up with them there."

Tidus nodded. "What about you?" I asked.

He shrugged too. "I've got absolutely no idea." He ran his hand through his hair. "I guess I'll stick with Yuna and Wakka, if Lulu'll let me. I don't really know what else to do to be honest…"

I smiled. "I'm sure Lulu will let you stay if Yuna says she wants you too."

He smiled back. "I hope you're right…"

I smirked. "You really do like her, don't you?"

He blushed and didn't say anything, making me laugh even more. But before Tidus could tell me to shut up, three fiends appeared in front of us.

"Tidus! Suki!" Wakka called, and we ran up to the front of the group, our weapons ready. It looked like this journey was going to be a long one…