An Unheeded Warning

For being the newest world champion, star of the Besaid Aurochs going undefeated ten games in a row with a tremendous following, he was unusually nervous as he stared out into an invisible audience.

His chills and cold feet could have been from the island's change of the season. Perhaps he'd been coming down with a cold; it happened more and more in the past few months than in his entire life. Regardless of the reason, the star of the Zanarkand Abes was giving into insecurities he never knew he had about his beloved sport. A few fortunate plays against his fellow Aurochs, and his worries faded away, but only slightly. He could understand if he'd lost against a team as ambitious as the Luca Goers, who once ruled the scoreboard. But a loss against the Besaid Aurochs would make anyone question reality. Maybe he should have prayed at the temple. As he held the blitzball in place, he at least hoped his good luck charm would be there with him. She would brighten his spirits regardless of the outcome.

He held the blitzball under his shoe, waiting for the right moment. It seemed he'd been waiting all night, with how rapidly the sun sank below the ocean. Sunsets on Besaid were always captivating and moving. Sometimes, it seemed they had a kind of invigorating magic; it was the kind that could make an old man feel young again, and with how much older he was feeling that evening, he was more than glad he stayed well past warm-up hours. He kicked the ball upward and bounced it on his knee. A simple trick, but without the right amount of concentration, he could lose it. He forced the ball high into the air with his head and jumped with extremely tired limbs to kick it. Before his foot could connect with the ball, he heard a familiar call from the distance. He'd recognize the voice anywhere and was used to it by now, but it caused him to miss his opportunity and both he and the ball landed heavily against the ground. He sighed and rested his hands on his squatting knees. Since when had he been receiving pain in his calves?

"Yo!" Wakka said to him. "Practice ended like five hours ago, ya? Why you still out here?" The older man was standing only a few feet away from him, arms folded as usual, the sun shining down on his overgrown face. He was grinning to himself while Tidus heaved exhausted pants.

"Why not?" Tidus answered. He wiped the sweat from his brow.

"Hours of practice and you ain't tired? Man, you got balls." Wakka went to pick up the lonely blitzball.

"Nah, I gotta be ready for the game tomorrow," Tidus said. "Besides, no pain, no gain, remember?" He would learn to regret that lesson.

Wakka laughed at him. "Bro, you haven't stopped blitzing all week. You're more than ready and you haven't lost a game yet. Why you getting all antsy now?"

Tidus looked at the sky where the sun finally made itself scarce. The last time he'd noticed, the sun was gloating about its powerful shine, peering down on him with burning intensity. Yuna once told him he could practice himself to death if he kept going at the rate he was. Now he was starting to believe it.

"What else am I gonna do?" Tidus said.

"Go hang out with Yuna." Wakka told him. "She's been pacing around the island all night. I think she's been making new trails."

"Yeah…" Tidus said, thinking of the overeager crowd of anxious visitors that arrived that day. "I don't think that's gonna happen tonight."

"Then you better hang out with her tomorrow when she comes to the game."

Tidus sat down on the cool sand. "You mean if she comes to the game..." he said, glumly.

"As a matter of fact," Wakka told him. "I did some negotiating and got her schedule all cleared up!" He grinned at the blonde's wide eyes. "Don't say I never did anything for ya!"

Tidus lept into the air in excitement. "Seriously?! Right on!" He held his fist in the air, but immediately let it fall to his side and his expression went grim. "What's the catch?" He hung his head. "Don't tell me I gotta get on my knees in front of the temple and beg for forgiveness..."

Another hearty laugh. "Where'd you get an idea like that?" Wakka scratched his stubble. "Nah, there's no catch. Think we're all starting to feel sorry about keeping her all cooped up here. She's a grown woman now..." His last were that of a father's.

"Well, I'm glad you've all noticed," Tidus remarked. "I've only been saying that forever."

The older man shrugged. "Hey, if it were up to me, I'd let her go wherever she wants, ya?" He started back up towards the village. "I'm trying to keep her out of politics as much as I can." He scratched the back of his head. "But it ain't easy. People rely on her, still."

"They act as if they don't have two perfectly functioning adults to handle things on this tiny-ass island." Tidus didn't immediately get to his feet. His soreness was keeping him low.

"Me and Lu?" Wakka asked. "We've got our own stuff to take care of. That's why Yuna's always looking after the people. Lu's got her hands full, 'specially with Vidina learning to walk..." Now he sounded brokenhearted.

The blonde man didn't argue. He'd already had this conversation with his two friends before. It always came back around in a circle. There was no point pushing, just let it happen on its own. He was glad that he had someone who understood his frustration, however.

"You coming up, or you waiting for me to carry you?"

Tidus got up, his upper jaw putting much pressure on his lower. "I'm fine." He exhaled sharply. "I don't know why, but my legs are killing me." He felt twenty years older than he actually was.

"Arthritis at your age?" Wakka shook his head. "Man, you really are getting older than me."

"Hey," Tidus stood up straight. "I may be getting older, but I'm still gonna outlive you."

They walked back towards civilization, where Tidus was keeping his pain to himself. He didn't want to fuel his worries about how well he'd perform the following day.

"I'm assuming you accompanying me wasn't part of the deal?" Tidus said as he held his hands behind his head.

Wakka sighed. "I... didn't bring that up. I don't wanna upset Lulu."

Tidus took a break from walking. "Why would she be upset?" He knew she had a short temper, but her tolerance and patience had grown since Tidus had seen her last. Being with Wakka and a child was probably the reason.

"I don't want her to think I'm... ya know." He began. "Running away."

"She knows you're not," Tidus responded. "You'll go to the game, be gone for a couple days, and come back." Tidus crossed his arms across his cold chest. "Unless Sin decides to pay us a visit and trash our boat..." He could tell from the sickened expression the older man gave that such topics couldn't be joked about even in this age. "Uh... just tell her you'd be going so you could guard us. Ya know, good ol' guardian Wakka. Making sure we don't get trampled by the crowds."

The man smiled. "Alright, I'll think about asking."

When the two arrived back at the village, Tidus saw Yuna had been waiting at the bonfire and ran to him as she saw him. She really had been making trails in her steps. He hadn't been gone that long, he told himself.

"Where have you been?" she said in a lighthearted tone, a large grin appearing on her face. "You're late."

"Heh, I know…" Tidus said, hoping the aches in his legs weren't obvious. "Sorry."

Each night had been breathtaking since the dawn of a new peace had swept across Spira, but this one felt especially so as Tidus tightened his grip around Yuna's slender hand. He had been living a much slower-paced life than he was used to and aside from basket-weaving, praying at the temple, and playing blitzball, there wasn't much else to do as an activity on Besaid. But he was happy. He was with the people that cared about him most, even if they had their own lives to look after. It had been rocky in the beginning. Yuna had been gone for days without much of a response to him and he still anticipated her return. He was just glad he was able to be by her side again. And he knew she felt the same.

"So… what did the old folks have to say?" Tidus asked while they walked together.

"Sometimes it feels as though they will never heal," she replied. "They talk of Sin and Yevon and how they should live in this time."

"It must get old real fast, huh?" Tidus said. "Talking to those people about the same things over and over.

"It would seem so," she continued. "But it's difficult for them. They're older and are looking for a new path and someone to guide them. I'm trying my best to be that for them as much as I could."

"Right," was all he could manage. "I don't think I'd be able to handle that."

"It's... not an easy task," she told him. "Some days, I feel as though I could cry their tears for them. I feel their pain as they talk with me about their pasts. The world once believed that one day, all of our troubles would be gone as soon as we atone for our sins. But many of them ask what sins are left to atone for. There seems to be none left than the ones in the past."

"Well... sure, but isn't that a good thing?" He said. "Why do they want to feel guilty about their past?" His arms folded across his chest. "Can't they find another purpose in life?"

"That's just it," Yuna told him. "To them, there is no purpose for them without atonement."

"I don't get it," His blue eyes shifted to the floor. "There's more to life than regrets." When she didn't respond he sighed and hugged his arms closer to his chest. "It sounds like torture... having to take in all their pain..."

He knew her silence meant that she agreed with him, but wouldn't say it. She, too, had her own guilt about being the one to cause them to question everything that was once important to him. Despite him telling her multiple times that she had nothing to be sorry about.

"Why don't we..." He tried to change the subject. "Take a vacation?"

She perked her head up. "Where would we go?"

"Anywhere!" He held his arms up in the air. "We could explore all corners of the world together like in the old days! It'd be fun!"

"I'd love to!" Her smile faded. "But... I couldn't..."

"Why not?"

"Well..." Her hands were fidgeting. "I can't leave them to fend for themselves."

"But you deserve a break," he told her. "And you're not leaving them to fend for themselves. There's other people that can watch over them. Besides, they don't need a babysitter."

"That's not it." she said. "The last time I left without a word, everyone was running around like crazy. They must have thought I was lost at sea."

"But that was a year ago!" His hands were curled up in fists. "Can't you just have some time for yourself once in a while? Time for me, maybe?"

He knew when she lowered her eyes and leered at the ground, she was done with the conversation. When the subject was brought up, he always reminded her he was only looking out for her. Seeing how heavy the weight of other people's issues dragged her down each day killed him, and though he knew it was selfish of him, the past couple of weeks had him feeling the least bit neglected. He, too, had his own problems he wanted to put in perspective. People have said many times that absence made the heart grow fonder, but the more time they'd spend apart, the more he was feeling less like he knew her. But he shook the troubles out of his head and put on a softer expression for her sake.

"I get it," Tidus said, wrapping his arms around her. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have pushed you like that."

She rested her chin on his shoulder in silence.

"Just promise me you'll remember one thing," he asked.

"Hm?"

"This is your story," he told her. "Never let anyone tell you any different."

Her head lifted off his shoulder and she looked at him, then nodded softly.

His fingertips lightly brushed her cheek and under her chin, bringing her in close for a deep and passionate kiss. She pulled away and her eyes turned frantic as she looked around to be sure they were alone. They had wandered to the peak of the mountain where the only source of light was the full moon.

"It's okay, Yuna," he assured her. He pushed all aspects of pain, emotionally and physically, out of his mind as he focused on moving his lips against hers. She ran her fingers through his hair and pulled his chest against hers. She could feel something between them that wasn't there before. Eagerness. Her hands desperately pulled at her clothing until she was wearing nothing but the illuminated smile on her face. He had taken off his shirt and removed the remainder of his uniform, panting with shaking arms as he hovered over her. No matter how many times they'd done this, he would always feel the same anxiousness and shyness he'd felt when he'd first seen her this way. The way she used to cover her chest with embarrassment and looked away with a face as red as a beet was now a memory. Her confidence had risen.

"Are you sure?" he asked, always wanting to be sure. She nodded to him and squeezed him with her legs as he pressed his hips against hers.

The fayth hadn't been seen nor heard in at least three years. The temple was now without the Hymn that comforted the hearts of the faithful. And instead of going to the temple to hear it, Wakka was looking in the vanity at his overgrown stubble, listening to his wife humming the Hymn, quietly. She had been lulling Vidina to sleep, but sometimes he would hear the tune from her at random times during the day. Mainly, when she'd been focusing on something that would peak her nerves if it had been out of hand.

"Damn, I really need to shave…" Wakka mumbled to himself. He was delaying asking her for permission to accompany his friend to the game. Of course he wanted her to come as well, but blitzball hadn't been her favorite sport to watch. Not that she was much of a sports fan anyways.

He reached into one of the drawers and held a straight razor over his face. Lulu always believed he was too clumsy to do it properly by himself, but he always protested, telling her that he would get it just right, someday. Unfortunately, that day would have to wait because he felt a sting on the corner of his chin.

"You shouldn't hold the blade at that angle," Lulu said to him. "I told you I'd have to do it for you."

"I'll get it, someday," he said. He was trying to hide the fact that he would ask - tell - her he'd be going to the game, and that he was nervous about it. He'd faced many fiends, monsters, and traitors in his lifetime. But facing his wife when she was angry was another story, entirely.

"Let me do it," she said. "I have a steadier hand anyway."

It was always like this, her doing something for him that he couldn't have done without disastrous results. Like the time he tried cooking when she'd been away. She told him he should have been grateful she was glad he and the baby were safe, otherwise she'd given him the scolding of a lifetime and the coldest shoulder she'd ever given anyone.

"What are you looking at?" she said, annoyed. "My eyes are up here."

He'd been thinking hard enough that he was staring at her chest. Typical Wakka, always staring at her body. But he was trying to play the scene with him asking her without setting her off in his head. So far, it wasn't happening.

"Uh... so, Tidus is going to that game, ya?" he began, cautiously. "But... I don't think his hearts in it."

"Why?" she said, gently running the blade along his jaw. "Is he getting bored? I know I would if I'd been playing for a large portion of my life."

"Well no," he went through his head for the next words. "I think he's been... I don't know, depressed."

She paused and gave him a look of sudden realization as she cleaned the razor with a damp towel. "Hmm."

He raised an eyebrow. "You noticed?"

"I noticed he and Yuna aren't as... lively, as they had been before," she told him. "Maybe the infatuation has worn off..."

He stood up straight. "D'you think they're having... problems?"

"Well, no..." she didn't sound very sure of herself. "But I think it would help to have her support him at this major event happening tomorrow." She studied his now only slightly stubbled face. "You're lucky I managed to pull a few strings to make that happen."

"Heh heh... yeah..." he scratched the back of his head. "But, uh... what I was gonna say was that I was thinking 'bout going, too."

There it was. The death stare.

"As... as uh... as a bodyguard!" he laughed nervously. "You know, like the old days! I'll be back before you know it! And I'll do whatever it is you ask of me when I'm back. I'll watch over Vidina all day! And I'll make dinner-"

"No," she replied and thought for a moment. "Alright, I guess it would make sense to have someone that those two both know and trust to keep an eye on them while this fiasco is going on." She rubbed at her temple. "But, you will owe me when the time comes for doing this for you."

"Yes, ma'am..." he said and added, sheepishly. "You could come too, ya?"

"As much as I would love to do that," she remarked. "Someone needs to stay on this island to entertain these people. I'll have to make sure to maintain the peace here." She lowered her braided hair down. "Which is another thing you will compensate for."

"Right..." he grinned at her. "Thanks. Uh... love you."

She grinned back, a rare sight. "I know."

If Tidus hadn't been feeling very much in the active blitzball spirit the night before, he definitely wasn't feeling it when he'd woken up the next morning. His sore muscles had stiffened his limbs to the point where he could barely move out of bed. A few quick stretches had at least distracted himself from the feeling and gotten him the least bit pumped for the tournament. He hoped they would play against some of the lower-ranking teams. When he left his tent, he was forcing a smile on his face and a cheery attitude for his teammates. If he wasn't at his best for playing, the rest of the Aurochs would have been nervous and panicky. Tidus was the new heart and soul of the team since his impressive win against the Goers. If the heart and soul wasn't completely functional, the rest of the body would most likely collapse.

He wasn't feeling much better as they road the rickety boat to Luca. For the first time in his life, he felt nauseous as the vessel swayed side to side on unsteady tides. He was sitting at the edge of the boat away from the noisy crowd as they attempted to pull off the Jecht Shot in front of Yuna. Even though she seemed preoccupied with the rest of the team at the moment, he could feel her eyes and attention on him. All he wanted for only five seconds was to be left alone, but it had taken, he assumed, a lot of energy and persuasion to get her to come with him, and he felt guilty for wasting it on keeping his chin up for the game.

"Are you okay?" she asked him. He jumped. She had moved to him so silently he didn't even notice. Or maybe his head was that much in the clouds.

"Me? Yeah, I'm perfectly perfect." his tone said otherwise.

"Are you sure?" she said. "It's not like you to not show them how the Jecht Shot is done."

She was trying to be funny to lighten him up. Sadly, it wasn't working.

"I'm just not feeling like myself today." That was putting it lightly and she seemed to notice. He was aware she knew him better than that. She sat on her knees and laid a gentle hand on his.

"Is that all?" she asked. "Do you want to talk about it?"

"Nah," he turned his head away. "I'm good."

"Are you sure?" she asked again.

"Yes." his voice was starting to show his irritation.

"But..." her voice was weak. "If you're not feeling like yourself, you know... you can tell me what's troubling you."

He held his knees to his chest. "I know. I'm just not feeling like talking about it, okay?"

He didn't mean to sound as sharp as he did then and he immediately regretted it when he saw her get up and walk away. His mind was telling him to go after her, but his body was keeping him glued to the floor.

It wasn't any better when he arrived in the overpopulated city of Luca. Never before has he ever wished so many people would just vanish into thin air. The crowd of fans was annoying him so much he would start casting all forgotten spells and magic on them. Like before, he put on a crooked grin and did his best to accept the current situation.

"Cheer for me!" he told them.

"You rock, man!"

Tidus didn't feel he should be receiving so much praise when he was only doing this as a job, now. The passion had seemed to drain out of him in the past few weeks, and he blamed it on practicing every single second every day. But it wasn't as if he could do anything else equally entertaining on the island. With Yuna away, and he knew it wasn't entirely her fault, he didn't have any other achievement for himself. This was his purposes. His life.

"Tidus, we're rooting for you!"

"Yup, yup." he said, without giving much thought into how he sounded that time.

Yuna was being showered with attention as well. Her fans were respecting her boundaries and keeping their distance. It looked like she was trying to keep some of his crowd away from him, another thing Tidus would feel guilty about later on.

When they had reached the stadium, Yuna had given him a peck on his cheek for luck and went to find her place in the bleachers. He mentally kicked himself for not saying anything more to her. Here she was, taking time out of her busy schedule, to make all of this easier on him and he was blowing it. Now he really didn't feel like himself.

The former coach was giving a pep talk to the entire team in the locker room as he had in many previous games. Tidus remembered the real reason he wanted Wakka to come, which was to help give him the motivation to win this game. Wakka would slap him awake, pour water on him, and shake him until his teeth rattled to avoid letting his team down, and that was what Tidus wanted. He needed an energy boost to keep him going past this unusual pain in his arms and legs. But Wakka was telling the entire team to do their best, again, which sounded more reasonable to Tidus in that moment than trying to win. And Wakka wasn't playing favorites this time. He might have known there was something off about Tidus and tried to lift some of the pressure of being the team's star from his shoulders. It wasn't easy to tell.

Luck wasn't in his favor today. The Aurochs were playing against the Ronso Fangs, one of the better teams in Spira. Tidus put all thoughts that weren't blitzball-related away and gave everything he had into the game. For once, his team matched the audacity and potential of the opposing. The Ronso were a tribe of strength and raging fury. They never apologized for defeating another, even if that meant severely injuring a player. Tidus's head hadn't entirely been in the game and he missed one of the players that launched themself directly at him. He heard the crowd gasp. But it didn't stop him.

Something had stopped him, however. He had prepared himself to intersect a pass to another Ronso, but as he eyed the blitzball, the entire world stopping for a moment. He heard something much louder than the entire world screaming at him. Something that violently shook him and his concentration. His eyes flashed with white and his ears rang. Something had exploded into his head. When he came to, the blitzball traveling almost as fast as an airship hit him hard enough in the head that his body went limp and he slipped into a sea of blackness.

He awoke to the sound of his teammates calling to him and forced his eyes open. He shook himself back to reality, grabbed the ball, and ran for the opposite team's goal. The goalee looked completely astonished by his resilience and made very little effort to stop the ball from hitting the goal. That broke the tie between the teams and the score read 3:4. The entire crowd erupted into cheers for the Aurochs and Tidus turned his head around to observe all of the people that attended. He spotted Yuna at the top of the bleachers, her eyes in a state of shock. Tidus didn't stay to receive any sort of congratulations from the rest of his team and he left the sphere pool for the locker room.

Though he was utterly humiliated at the fact that he'd blacked out in front of practically the entire world, he maintained a positive outlook. The Aurochs had won despite all doubts he had that morning. And despite the throbbing aches in his joints. He apologized to Yuna for his behavior and that he should not have worried about anything.

"I had everything under control!" he told her. "I can't believe I was doubting my one talent."

Her concern was completely obvious in her face for a second, but she lifted her head and beamed.

"I knew you could do it."

"Yo, you sure you're okay, bro?" Wakka asked him.

Tidus waved a dismissive hand. "Totally. All better."

His pain migrated up to his head, but that didn't matter now. The Aurochs had broken yet another winning streak record thanks to his efforts. He hadn't lost himself yet.

They had traveled back to the island the next day, with Tidus having a clearer mind and a happier expression on his face.

"Did you see how I pulled that off?" He asked Yuna, referring to his pretend blackout.

"I did," there was a hint of shakiness in her voice and Tidus knew he couldn't fool her. What happened in that sphere pool was much too real to even joke about being fake.

The water was much less rigorous that late afternoon when they'd arrived on Besaid island and Tidus hopped off the boat and landed on pain-free legs.

"Well, I don't know about you guys," he said, stretching his arms. "But I'm ready to call it a night right-"

He was cut off as he ran into someone's tall body. Wakka had his eyes completely focused on something. As did everyone else.

"Uh, Wakka?" Tidus said. He turned to what had him and each of the other team members frozen in space. Lying on the sand, half buried by the tide and the dampened surface was an unconscious woman, looking as if she'd been there for some time.