Sorry it took me a while to update-I got a case of mild writer's block halfway through this chapter! Oh well, right? Okay, here's chapter thirteen, and from the looks of things, chapter fourteen is going to be the last chapter! And as for the sequel...It might be a while 'till I get that out, being that I still need to come up with a plot! (Think, think, think!!!:) Anyway, here's chapter 13, enjoy!

Chapter 13: One Last Tear

Yuna lowered herself into the salty water, not really wanting to die from drowning

herself, but felt that it was truly the only way.

Pictures flashed through her mind, of Tidus and her first kiss, His disappearance the first

time, his reappearance, his second disappearance, seeing him again, and finally, him kissing Lea.

She held her breath, and ducked her head underwater, opening her eyes although the salt

stung. She didn't want to die in complete darkness, after all.

She knew that tears were slipping down her face, even though she was underwater. They

were making her vision even more blurred, and she prepared to breath in the salty water,

preparing to die.

She was just about to take that underwater breath, her last breath, when she noticed

something sparkle as the setting sun.

"What's that?" Yuna thought, noticing the sparkle. She forgot all about what it was she

was doing in the water, and she swam down to the sparkle, and noticed that it was a sphere.

She picked it up carefully, almost afraid to push the play-back button, because she knew

exactly what sphere it was. It was the same kind that had transferred her to Zanarkand in the first

place. This would be the one that would transfer her back to Spira. She was too certain of it.

Feeling herself suddenly grow in need of air, Yuna surfaced, suddenly feeling glad that

she hadn't done anything drastic or rash. What if she had really gone with killing herself? She

shuddered at the idea and walked onto the beach, plopping herself down in the sand, and looking

the sphere over, afraid of it transporting her back to Spira. She didn't know why it mattered, it

wasn't as if she would be getting Tidus back, no matter how close they had come.

How could Tidus really be so selfish? Yuna dug into the sand angrily with her hand, and

carefully tucked the sphere away with her, deciding that she wasn't ready to go back to Spira.

Whether she was with Tidus or not, she wanted desperately to see the sunrise, even if it would be

basically her way of saying goodbye to Tidus.

It was now dark, and Yuna hugged, herself, rocking in a slightly chilly wind, realizing

how much it truly reminded her of being home in Besaid, when she whistled every night for

Tidus.

Tears slipped slowly down her cheeks for what seemed like the hundredth time of the

day.

"Welcome to your life," she told herself, as she rocked, "It's going to be a lonely one."

Again, terrible thoughts spewed into her sad head, as she wondered if Seymour's words

really would be true, that death was the only way to escape sorrow.

She lay her head on her knees, staring into the darkness, trying hard not to think of how

much she was reminding herself of how she spent her evenings in Besaid.

More tears came, and she tried hard to ignore them, to forget about Tidus. To forget

about everything.

But how could she? She couldn't, and she never would be able to. No matter what

happened, she would never be able to forget Tidus. Even when he was a total jerk, she couldn't

just forget about him.

Without even realizing it, she began to sing the hymn again, the one that she seemed to

hate so much.

She hummed it somewhat loud, as if trying to let the hymn soak out all of her feelings.

However, like it usually did, the hymn only brought more tears.

She closed her eyes, letting tears stream, but jumped when she felt someone wipe them

off with a soft swipe of their finger.

Her eyes burst open, to see Tidus kneeling next to her.

"Get away from me!" she screamed.

"Hey!" he said, holding her flailing arms down, "I just wanted to talk, okay?"

"I'm tired of it!" Yuna yelled, standing up, "Your lies, your...your..."

"Sh..." Tidus said, taking her hand, and pulling her into an embrace, "I told Lea to get

lost. I'm not kidding. You can go ask her for yourself, if you don't believe me."

"I'm not falling for it!" Yuna said loudly, although she didn't try to pull away from him.

"It's true though," Tidus said softly, "In fact, it's going to take a bit of makeup to cover

the mark I probably left on her face..."

"You hit her?" Yuna asked, feeling alarmed.

"Yeah, after she slapped me," Tidus said, rubbing his cheek, and Yuna could just barely

make out a red mark across Tidus' cheek, "But man, she really deserved it!"

"Oh..." Yuna said, rubbing Tidus' cheek gently.

"Anyway," Tidus said, "I came back to say that I'm sorry. Even if you are a fan...And

even if you are a..." Yuna knew he was going to say "nut", but he stopped, and looked her in the

eyes.

"I know you're not making Spira up," he finally said, "That song you were humming. It's

really familiar."

"Do you remember it from Spira?" Yuna asked anxiously.

"No, my old man used to sing it," Tidus said, "But I know I've heard it from somewhere

else, I just can't remember where."

Yuna felt tears threatening to fall. Was Tidus saying that he could vaguely remember

hearing the hymn of the Fayth in Spira?

"Anyway," Tidus said, shaking his head, "The truth of the matter is, is that I love you. I

have since earlier today. I mean, you're right, at first I was just pretending to like you, 'cause I

wanted to make Lea jealous. But you know, I don't know, I felt, different, around you. And

then, when I was on my way to Lea's earlier, I realized that I liked you more than just...Than just

like. And so I traced you down. But then...I let my stupid ego get the best of me, and...And I

chose Lea over you."

"Then what?" Yuna asked him.

"I told her that I loved you," Tidus said, smiling, "And then she slapped me, so I hit her.

Not that hard or anything...Just hard enough."

The two stood there for some time, Tidus' arms around her waist and her right arm

around his neck, while her left hand was still on his cheek.

Then, as if they were making sure there were no interruptions, they leaned in for a kiss,

and as their lips met, Yuna felt one last tear slip down her cheek.

Their kiss was a simple one, but definitely the most magical one Yuna had ever shared

with Tidus. The two separated, and Tidus stared into Yuna's eyes for some time, and Yuna had

basically even forgotten that he didn't remember Spira.

Tidus stared at her for some time, and then Yuna saw tears stream from his face, and he

embraced her hard.

"Yuna!" he said, holding her tight, "I...I remember! I mean, it's all like back to me!

Everything! I...Whoa, I am so sorry!" he let go of her, and Yuna stared at him, not knowing what

to say. He remembered. It was the moment she had been waiting for since she had arrived in

Zanarkand. He really did remember.

"I'm sorry," Tidus finally said, sitting down on the sand, "I acted like a total jerk."

"You did," Yuna said, sitting down, "But I knew the real Tidus was in there someplace."

"Naw," Tidus said, "The Tidus you saw was the real Tidus. I don't know, I guess that's

what happens when you let fame go to your head, know what I mean?"

Yuna nodded, as if she understood. "Did you know that when you disappeared, you

wouldn't remember me?" Yuna asked, looking into the water that crashed onto the shore.

"Yeah. I...I tried to tell you, but then I..." Tidus looked straight ahead, as if in thought,

"You know, the first time I saw you, here in Zanarkand, I thought you looked kind of familiar,

but pushed that thought out of my head, and continued on being a jerk. And then when you

whistled...It made me feel like I was supposed to be somewhere, like I was supposed to be

protecting someone. Again, I just pushed that thought out of my head too."

Tidus smiled at her, and Yuna smiled back at him. She couldn't help but realize how

even though Tidus could remember everything, there was still a strange awkwardness between

the two.

"So, what are you doing here?" Tidus finally asked, after a moment of silence.

Yuna wondered for a few seconds if she should allow Tidus to know what her true

intentions had been, but then decided against it.

"Well, I found this," Yuna said, bringing out the sphere carefully, "I believe this is what

could get us back to Zanarkand. And then, I decided I'd watch the sunrise, as a way of saying

"goodbye" to you before I left."

"The sunrise, huh?" Tidus asked, smiling, "You know why I ever brought that up?"

"Why?" Yuna asked.

"'Cause at the Mi'ihen Highroad, you know, after I first became your guardian, you were

watching the sunset, and you said how it was peaceful. After that I tried to think of how

Zanarkand was ever peaceful. And then I remembered watching the sunrise. So, that night at

Macalania, I told you about it."

Yuna smiled, and pretty soon the two were engulfed in a conversation about their journey

to defeat Sin, and Yuna told Tidus of her life after he disappeared the second time, and Tidus told

her his.

"When I disappeared, I awoke here, and it was as if nothing had even happened over the

years I was gone. No Sin attacked, no nothing. Not that I even remembered Sin's attack or

anything..." Tidus said, looking up at the sky. He stared up at the sky thoughtfully and said,

"Wanna know my favorite thing about Spira? I like how you can always see the stars. The only

time we get to see 'em in Zanarkand is right before the lights go off. But in Spira, they're always

there."

"I love Zanarkand," Yuna said after another moment of silence, "But you know what?

Shinra was talking about how in generations to come, Spira could be just like Zanarkand. But I

don't know if I want that. Especially now that Sin's gone, everything seems so...peaceful."

"Yeah, I know what you mean," Tidus said, "Spira's nice in that sense. Everything's not

so much of a city bustle."

Yuna nodded her agreement, feeling glad that Tidus agreed with her.

Tidus continued chatting away about other things, about the Blitzball game the night

before, and what Yuna thought about the stadium. Yuna admitted that being in Zanarkand was

seriously a dream come true, even if Tidus had acted like a total jerk the entire time.

Tidus continually apologized, and Yuna accepted his apology each and every time, even

though it still bugged her that he had caused her to almost end her life.

"Something the matter?" Tidus asked, as he noticed Yuna had a morbid look in her eyes.

"No, it's nothing," Yuna said, not really wanting Tidus to even know that if it hadn't been

for the sphere, she wouldn't be sitting there now.

"You sure?" Tidus asked, and Yuna looked into his caring face.

"No, nothing's wrong," Yuna said, and as she looked at his face, she really could believe

those words.

"Okay, if you're sure," Tidus said slowly, and looked around, and Yuna guessed he was

growing bored of sitting there, waiting patiently for the sunrise.

"How much longer?" Yuna asked, deciding that they must have talked for quite some

time, and that the sunrise couldn't be too far off.

"Don't know," Tidus said, lying back in the sand, and lying his head in his arms, "Wake

me up when it comes, okay?"

"No, you wake me up!" Yuna argued jokingly, as she too lay back into the sand, "You're

the one who lives in a city that never sleeps!"

"Not my fault," Tidus yawned, "Besides, I'm tired and I've had a long day."

"Oh sure, and I haven't!" Yuna said, staring up at the sky, not knowing how she would

possibly be able to fall asleep if she tried with the many lights that lit up the sky. She yawned

too, deciding that she was extremely tired, but was afraid to fall asleep. After all, now she was

beginning to grow truly concerned that everything had been a dream after all.

"Do you think it will be soon?" Yuna asked, staring hopelessly toward the dark horizon,

as if growing impatient herself. She looked over at Tidus, who had been lying there soundless,

and wondered if he had truly fallen asleep.

"Uhh..." Tidus made a grunting noise, as if he was trying to block her out, "Don't

know..."

"Are you really going to sleep?" Yuna asked, wondering how he did it with the many

lights.

"You bet I am," Tidus answered drowsily.

Smiling to herself, Yuna gathered up a handful of sand, and dumped it all over his head,

causing him to sit up quickly and shake his head.

"Hey! What was that for?" he asked, trying to shake the sand out of his blonde hair,

"What'd I ever do to you?"

"To many things," Yuna reminded him jokingly, as he grabbed a fistful of sand and flung

it at her, although it missed her completely.

"Good thing your aim is better in Blitzball!" Yuna teased him, as she scooped up some

more sand and threw it at him, causing him to stand up quickly. He bent down, scooping up

more sand, and ran after Yuna, threatening to throw it.

"Ha! Gotchya!" Tidus said, laughing as the many sand particles landed in Yuna's hair.

"You Meanie!" Yuna yelled at him, surprised at how often she used Rikku's words.

However, as she was scooping down to get more sand, a large sound was heard as one of the

giant machina buildings turned off its lights.

"Hey, it's almost time!" Tidus shouted, dropping the sand that was clenched in his fist

and running over to Yuna, "Come on!" He grabbed her hand and the two made their way over to

the water's edge, just as another light went out.

"Look," Tidus said, pointing to the sky, "See how you can see the stars now?"

"Oh yeah!" Yuna said, staring at the stars, wondering if they were the exact same stars

that were seen in Spira.

More lights went out, one-by-one, revealing more and more glittering stars. However,

just as the last lights went out, the stars also began to fade, and the sky relit itself.

The horizon began to glow a pinkish color, which in return caused the few remaining

stars to disappear. Pretty soon, the rose-color reached its way into the sky, and very soon the

entire city was hit by the gorgeous light, causing the entire city to glow and sparkle, which was

even more amazing than the stars.

"It's so beautiful," Yuna exclaimed dreamily, as the bright sun began to rise in the sky.

She leaned back, but the sphere that was tucked away slipped out and began to roll ominously

toward the water.

"Oh no!" Yuna shouted, and leapt on top of the sphere to keep it from rolling. However,

without meaning to, she leant on the play-back button, and was again blinded by a white light.

She closed her eyes to shield them from the light, and she knew what was happening. She was

being transferred back to Spira. But Tidus...He had been so far away when she had pressed the

button.

Uttering a terrified scream, Yuna went deeper into the light, feeling almost certain that

the Blitzball player hadn't made it with her.