"To Cosette it seemed that Marius wore a crown, and to Marius Cosette bore a halo."

- Book Eight: Enchantment and Despair, I: Broad Daylight

Les Misérables – Victor Hugo

CHAPTER FIVE: Waking Dreams

Tidus

"It's an hibiscus flower," she told him, when he asked. "It only blooms at night."

He watched her pat the earth with tiny motions of her fingertips and wondered faintly why he was asking some girl about the name of a flower instead of going to Blitzball practise.

Tidus had never been inclined towards religion. Before the Eternal Calm, he had prayed to Yu Yevon with his mother in little sessions of devotion and gentle singing that he locked deep in his memory. When his mother died, he had stopped believing in much of anything, be it gods, stars, or a love that was unbreakable.

Later, concerned by his lack of faith, Lulu and Wakka had tried hard to encourage him to return to the temples. By then, of course, it was too late – the Al Bhed philosophies of Rikku and Gippal had already burrowed beneath his skin - philosophies which involved less effort, less trust, and less heartbreak.

No, he had never invested belief in the kindness of Gods, in benevolent spirits, nor even in the simple goodness of a human being. Yet he thought that if he'd ever seen anything that came close to any, it was Yuna.

She looked almost saintly sitting there, treating every one of her flowers with the same care a mother might bestow upon their child. Her bare feet were entangled in the green grass, skirts fanned around her in blue splendour. Tidus had never seen anything half so innocent.

Somehow, it comforted him.

"They only show themselves at night, huh?" he heard himself say, indulging her. "Kinda like Zanarkand?"

Yuna smiled, a little amused smile that curled the corners of her lips upwards.

"Kind-a," she said, her eyes sparkling at him. "But… to me, Zanarkand is always in bloom. Even in the day." She blushed when she said it, shy doing even that. When is she ever not shy? he asked himself, not without fondness.

Yet even as the words settled in his mind, a brief memory of her surfaced; Yuna leaning over a piece of railing on a starry blue night, wild, thoughtless, her unbound hair falling over her face.

"'Always in bloom,'" he quoted. "Do you always see the world that way?" It was meant to tease, but when she turned her eyes to the ground, he saw that he had missed the mark.

"Not always," she said softly.

Tidus shifted closer to the gate, studying her face turned uncharacteristically solemn. He remembered their conversation the night before. "Why not, Yuna?" he prompted gently. "Your old man?"

"No," said Yuna, shaking her russet head. "My father… brings me lots of happiness."

Tidus couldn't tell if she was lying or not, but somehow he didn't think lying was in Yuna's veins. He let them lapse into silence for a while, waiting for her to talk. When she didn't, he thought I should go to Blitz practise.

"Yuna-"

"You should come," she interrupted. Bravely she smiled, but even he could tell that her heart was not in it. "Tonight," she clarified. "To watch the flowers bloom."

Flowers. Tidus, very aware that she was changing the subject, and rather grateful for it, wondered what Gippal would say about that. But the truth was he had other plans.

"Yuna, I can't. I have a game tonight."

"Oh." Hurt bloomed on her face, though she tried hard to hide it. "I'm sorry."

"Don't be." He had to grin - he couldn't help it. "You're coming."

Yuna

As starlight plucked open the petals of her hibiscus flowers, Yuna sat alone in by her garden gate and wondered if she was in danger with this Zanarkand boy.

What am I to him? she agonized. It was a question she had been asking herself more and more often of late. He had come, a burst of laughter into the quiet of her life, and begun to mean so much to her in so short a time that she worried for herself. He sits outside with his laughs and his smiles, but he has a whole life out there that I don't know about, Yuna reminded herself. What if I'm only a girl in a garden somewhere, who he meets on his way to Blitzball games?

It was a discouraging thought, and it clawed desperately at her even as she awaited his next visit. I'll come get you when the lamp lights are lit, he had promised, ignoring her protests. Don't sweat it, Yuna. It'll be a blast.

And so silently and with a world of patience, Yuna had placed her hope in each passerby, hoping every moment to hear the crunch of his yellow sneakers, to see the gleam of his golden-blonde hair or the strange cut of his Blitzball uniform. But by the time the sun had sunken and the night was blue, Yuna had misplaced that hope twenty times or more. Could it be that he's forgotten? she wondered.

Sighing, Yuna rested her head against the garden gate, snaking her arms around herself in an attempt to evade the evening's chill. When the lamp lights are lit, he'll come. Minutes passed, and her eyelids fluttered. He has a whole life that I don't know about, she thought again, but the words tumbled through her mind like grains of sand.

Her thoughts wandered, teetering on the brink of sleep.

Somewhere Yuna waded deep into the centre of a silver pool, tracing the ripples with her fingertips. Tidus was waiting for her there, so beautiful that she thought her heart would burst. But when she waded towards him she saw that he wasn't really Tidus at all, that his hair was as dark as midnight, as dark as her own. His eyes were sadder than she could have believed and as he bent towards her she knew he would tell her that—

"Hey there! Hey! Can't watch Blitzball with your eyes closed!"

Yuna's eyes snapped open. She almost cried out in alarm before she realised her intruder was less than five foot tall, and not the threatening type. Rather, a small girl blinked through the iron gate at her, cute in her curiousity.

Yuna stumbled to her feet ungracefully, her body heavy with drowsiness.

"I'm Rikku!" the girl blundered on, with a voice so loud that Yuna feared Shelinda might wake. Yuna tried desperately to collect her thoughts – any thoughts. What time is it? Rikku the stranger grinned and grinned and her eyes swirled green. Yuna had only time to wonder briefly an Al Bhed? before the younger girl snaked an arm through the bars between them, holding her hand face up like an expectant child. "Put her there!"

She must want money, Yuna realised. Are the Al Bhed so poor here? Shestared at the proffered palm tentatively. "I'm so sorry," she apologised. "I don't…"

"Oh boy! You really aren't from around here, are you?" Rikku cocked her head and tapped a fingertip on her chin. "Well, Tidus did warn me to be gentle."

"Tidus sent you?" Yuna blurted. Her brow wrinkled in confusion. "I don't understand. Who are you?"

"Don't you remember me? I saw you in the street that time." She giggled, biting her lip. "I remember 'cause your cheeks turned so red!"

Yuna blushed at that, as though to colour herself guilty. Frantically, she searched her memories of that day in the alleyway. It was difficult to remember anything but him, but somewhere in the back of her mind a young girl's voice called out to her.

"Wakka wouldn't let Tidus go after practise," Rikku was telling her. "They had a last minute strategy meeting. So he sent me to come getcha, instead!"

Yuna found herself torn between anxiety and amazement at this revelation. Anxiety that he was not here to reassure her, and amazement that he had sent a friend to meet her finally. Did this mean she was finally important enough for his friends to know about?

For the first time, Yuna smiled at her new companion – she had to admit, the young girl's vivacity was something infectious. And her voice was so full of sunshine, her hair even more so, that Yuna could have mistaken her for Tidus' sister. Of course, Tidus had never mentioned a sister. But then… He has a whole life that you don't know about.

"Thankyou, Rikku," she said, as warmly as she could. The Zanarkand name sounded strange on her tongue. "Please forgive my rudeness." Then she added, almost as an afterthought, "… Bmaycat du saad oui."

As soon as she said it, Yuna felt strangely pleased at the shock in Rikku's green eyes. It was nice to know she was still capable of being the one who surprised others from time to time, and not the other way around.

"Heyyy! You can speak Al Bhed!"

Yuna gave a little laugh. "Only a few words, you know? My father taught me."

"Well, you're pretty good!"

"Oh, I'm not," Yuna insisted. "My accent is a horror."

"Hey, if I say you're pretty good, then you're pretty good, okay?"

"Um, okay."

"Good. I am the expert after all!" Rikku flashed her a toothy smile, then appraised her outfit, smiling. "Your clothes are so pretty! Though they kinda make you look like an Acolyte. You're not an Acolyte, are you?"

"A Sender," Yuna offered, amused.

"Really? Do you guys have to wear that stuff all the time?"

"Well," said Yuna, hesitantly. "No. I suppose not. It's just… tradition." In truth, Yuna had never given thought to dressing any other way. Ever since she was a little girl, she had tried to copy her teacher, Belgemine's, style of dress. Everything was chosen carefully for the Sending. The sweeping sleeves Yuna wore were more for balance than for beauty, and the slit in her skirt was only long enough to give her room for freedom of movement in the Dance.

Rikku's values in that area, she suspected, were a little different. Modesty certainly was not one of them. The Al Bhed had always been a highly unconventional race, but back in Besaid their style of clothing might have been considered scandalous. Rikku's green shorts barely reached halfway down her thighs!

"I'll find you something new," Rikku promised, apparently misreading Yuna's uneasy facial expression. "Something cool."

Yuna didn't argue with her, but horror swept through her mind at the thought of being forced to bear so much skin. Not for the first time, she wished Tidus were here. His friend Rikku was charming, but she didn't seem to understand Yuna's situation entirely.

In that sense, it was not surprising that Yuna followed her to the Blitzball stadium tremendously ill at ease. Yet if there was awkwardness in the air, Rikku certainly did not seem to feel it. Yuna suspected that all such feelings simply bounced off the young girl's shiny exterior. The Al Bhed skipped along, childlike, bombarding Yuna with constant questions. Yuna just wanted to talk about Tidus.

"How did you meet him?" Rikku wanted to know as they walked. "Was it that time we saw you in A-East?"

"He didn't tell you?" Yuna asked, brow wrinkling.

"Are you kidding? I didn't know anything about you 'til tonight. And Wakka's been asking why he's been late for Blitzball practise for weeks. You're his big secret."

Yuna didn't know what that meant. She was unsure whether she should be pleased or not. Was he embarrassed about their friendship? Or was she just not important enough to be a topic of conversation? She hoped neither.

Nevertheless, Yuna was pleased at finding an opportunity to finally share her adventures in Zanarkand. So she told Rikku about the day that Tidus had passed by her garden and all the days since, though she left out the night at the Blitzball Stadium, as well as other details that she kept so close to her heart - the way his smile so often affected her own, the way his golden hair had felt the day she fell from the garden gate. By the time the two girls reached the statue of Lord Ohalland, Yuna learned that Rikku, given the chance, could be as good a listener as she was a talker.

Yuna learned something else on reaching Lord Ohalland, which was the sheer popularity of Blitzball in the city. Zanarkand was built on Blitzball, Tidus had told her once, but she had never fully understood the truth of that statement until now. Only moments after entering the arena, she and Rikku could scarcely move in a great sea of Zanarkanders, and had to employ hands and elbows and more in order to move at all.

Yuna's eyes were opened for the first time. The chaos of the city had seemed little more than intriguing when hanging on the arm of her father, and inviting when she thought of going with Tidus. But now…

Somehow Rikku managed to reach above the heads and point out to Yuna the banners showings the symbols of the respective teams. The Zanarkand Abes had a wicked-looking triangular symbol and the opposing team fashioned some sort of slender seabird, poised to dive.

Pulling her through the crowds with an unnerving show of strength for someone her size, Rikku gestured towards a merchant stall selling some sort of strange blue liquid.

"It's for energy," Rikku explained. "Want some?"

"I'll be sick," Yuna protested.

She was forced to wait on the sidelines while Rikku barked some Al-Bhed words at the merchant, seemingly trying to barter down the price. Yuna took the opportunity to gauge her new surroundings. Despite every fear, every misgiving, she felt that a new kind of emotion was beginning to soak into her. Bodies brushed by her, trying to pull her resistant form into the throng. Limbs pressed against limbs, skin pushed against skin, sweat and perfume and the smell of foreign food twined together until Yuna felt hopelessly and exquisitely lost. She closed her eyes and for a brief moment she was not herself; she was one of them, she was like him, a real Zanarkander.

When her eyes snapped open again there was a wall of strangers around her. Where's Rikku? she wondered. She found to her dismay that the Al Bhed stall was no longer in sight. Keeping her forearms raised to protect herself, Yuna tried to manoeuvre her way to the place she had last seen the little Al Bhed. Yuna tried calling out but it had no more effect than taking a breath in the din. How could you let this happen again? she chided herself. She tried to bring her fingers to her mouth to whistle, even though she knew it was a foolish idea; Tidus wasn't even here. Instead, she was jerked backwards as a large, booming voice from the tannoy announced the beginning of the game.

The crowd surged forward in excitement, animalistic, and Yuna and several others were knocked roughly to the ground as Blitzball fans poured over them in a wild rush towards the stadium.

"Rikku?" Yuna called again, struggling to her feet with some difficulty.

Just then a strong hand took hold of her upper arm and in one effortless movement hauled her to her feet. Yuna froze at the touch, remembering the warnings Tidus had once given her in an alleyway.

"Hey, hey, I'm not gonna hurt you," a boy's voice said in amused tones. "Did you just say Rikku?"

Yuna blinked up into his face. A handsome face, with a self-assured voice that seemed to fit. His hair was the same style as Tidus', gold and spiky. Yet what drew her eye the most was his studded black eyepatch, though somehow that seemed as fashionable as the rest of him.

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Well? Do you speak? I said, were you looking for Rikku?"

"Rikku," Yuna repeated, stupidly. "Yes. I was looking for Rikku."

"Which means you'll be sitting up in the West block with the rest of Tidus' buddies, am I correct?"

"Oh!" Yuna said. She felt like she might collapse with relief. "Yes, that's right! We were going to watch the Blitzball together."

"Uh-huh."

"I'm Yuna," she said helpfully.

"Gippal," he said, looking at her as though she was crazy. People were still roughly bulling past them, but it was Gippal who took the full force of the swarm as he kept an arm around her shoulders.

"Are you one of Tidus' friends?" she asked him.

"His role model," the boy answered distractedly. "Listen, why don't we chat later… for now, let's just see if we can get you to your seat without someone stepping on you first." He glanced impatiently at a machina contraption tied to his wrist. "And in time for the game, shit! We have about two minutes. Let's go!"

To Yuna's surprise and delight, Rikku was already there, waiting to throw her arms tightly around Yuna's neck. The hug Yuna gave her in return was timid, to say the least - closeness with strangers was still a foreign thing to her – but she was glad Rikku was there, all the same.

"I'm so sorry, Rikku," she apologised, as she disentangled herself from the Al Bhed girl. "One minute you were there, and the next-"

"Oh Yuna, do you think I care?" blurted the Al Bhed girl. "I'm just happy you're okay!"

"I think Lady Yuna needs a babysitter," muttered Gippal from the sidelines. Yuna felt stung and ashamed at the same time, not knowing quite what she wanted to say, but Rikku came to her rescue.

"Don't be like that!" she admonished the taller boy, waving a finger in his face. "She's never been to Zanarkand before, okay?"

"Would never have guessed…" he said dryly, and turned around to watch the stadium.

Yuna followed his gaze, and found that she could hardly recognise the Blitzball field. Tidus' words filled her head, a gentle reminder. See all those benches? he had told her, that night under the stars. When they're filled with screaming Blitzball fans… you get so caught up in the moment. There are so many people that you just feel like a part of everything. Like you're all one person.

The fond memory was shattered when Rikku thrust something at her. A robe of some kind?

"What's this?" Yuna asked her.

"A Zanarkand Abes tshirt! Got it for ya at the stalls."

Yuna took it from Rikku's hands. It looked very pretty at first glance, as her fingers smoothed over its layers of white and rose and yellow, but there was something strange about the sleeves.

"How do I put my arm through this?"

"You don't, silly!" giggled Rikku. "That's the front, see? With the Abes symbol."

Yuna swallowed uneasily.

"Hey Yuna," said Rikku, with an unashamed tug to her sleeve. "There's someone else you've gotta meet. This is Lulu."

It was only then that Yuna realised that they were no longer alone in their suite of seats. Lulu stepped forward – a tall, voluptuous woman with a fall of jet black hair and an elegant dress that reminded Yuna of some of the old Mages of Besaid. And underneath a serious façade, she could also sense a great strength and compassion in this woman. It made her feel comforted in a way that she had not felt when meeting Rikku or indeed, Gippal.

"A pleasure to finally meet you, Yuna," said Lulu, reaching out to shake her hand gently. "I once guarded a summoner from your Isle, Lady Ginnem. She spoke to me of Besaid often."

"You were a Guardian?" Yuna asked, astonished. She had never known Lady Ginnem, but the regal woman standing in front of her certainly had the airs and graces of a Guardian. "I'm most honoured to meet you, my Lady," Yuna said, bowing to her in the proper fashion, causing Rikku and Gippal to exchange glances.

Lulu dismissed her with a wave. "No, Yuna, I don't deserve the title. That journey failed, as did all my others."

For words so strong, Yuna was troubled by the lack of expression on Lulu's beautiful face. It was a face which belied nothing – a face which Yuna herself had been taught to wear long ago. She frowned, and opened her mouth to say something when an ear-splitting roar suddenly erupted from all around her. Lights brighter than Yuna could believe flashed on, bathing the Stadium in an unearthly glow.

For an instant, she found herself blinded.

When the white fog cleared before her eyes, everything seemed to happen at once. A man's voice filled the stadium - louder than Rikku's had ever dreamed of – and a cacophony of machina squirmed into place in the centre of the field. Water came gushing in so violently that Yuna feared it would break from its bounds and drown them all. Tidus warned me it would be like this, but I never thought, I never imagined, I never dreamed… She could barely hear her own thoughts over the screams and cheers and her own thudding heartbeat. The noise was so exquisite that she thought her ears might burst from the force of it.

And then came the announcement of the Zanarkand Abes. The screams grew even louder, if that were possible, as the grand digital screens flashed on and the Blitzers took position.

Immediately Yuna noticed the screen that featured only him. A wave of emotions swept over her at seeing his familiar face – relief, longing, and she could not have said what else. Yet the boy on the screen was a far cry from the boy that Yuna knew – he seemed foreign somehow, more unapproachable. His easy smile was gone; a look of deep concentration replaced it. Beside her, Rikku whooped and shouted out his name.

The game was all but impossible to follow. Yuna only had a brief understanding of the rules, passed on from Tidus, but her eyes darted from player to player in terrible confusion. It was all she could do to keep her focus on Tidus.

It was so… brutal. She never thought it would be like that. Her father would have called her foolish for thinking so, but how could she have known? She was never allowed to watch the games in her girlhood. And somehow she thought that the boys in Besaid had never played so violently as this. No doubt their mothers would put them over their knees if they came home with as many bruises.

If she had thought Tidus would stay out of all the brutality, she was wrong. On the contrary, he always seemed in the thick of the action, quick as lightening, throwing his share of strikes and blows, stealing and somersaulting and diving between players.

One particularly brutal strike by the opposing team sent him reeling back into the water, spinning, and Yuna jerked forward in fear. She watched as he shook his head, disorientated. Her hand clutched Rikku's arm involuntarily. "Will he be okay?" she asked shakily.

It was Gippal that leaned in close to answer. "No worries, my Lady. Tidus gives as good as he gets. Watch."

True to his word, a few seconds later, the offending player had been pushed violently out of the pool and into the stands. And in the place he had occupied – Tidus, suspended in the water, smiling wickedly. Under his arm the blitzball was tucked neatly, looking as though it had finally returned to its rightful place. He was, quite clearly, a natural.

By the end of the match, all her qualms about the game being 'brutal' had dissipated into thin air, and she was shouting things as bad as the rest of them. Even Gippal looked at her askance when she shouted something particularly nasty at someone who had just elbowed Tidus in the chest.

Yuna was half a world away from the beaches of Besaid and she felt shy and lonely and exhilarated all at once.

The arrival of Tidus did not improve Yuna's post-Blitzball daze. When they finally stumbled upon him he was patting dry his tousled golden-blonde hair while beads of water dripped from his face. He was also wearing a silver earring that she had never seen before, and it glittered beneath the orange lights.

"Gods, Yuna!" was the first thing he said when he reached her. "What happened to you?" He took her by the shoulders and inspected the bruises on her arms, looking at her with visible concern. But all Yuna could do was stare dazedly beyond him, grinning like a fool.

"That was the most fun I have ever had in my entire life," she told him breathlessly, and had never been so happy to hear his returning warm laughter flooding through her.

Gippal had raised an eyebrow in Tidus' direction, she noticed, an eyebrow that said 'is she for real?', but Yuna was so dizzy with happiness that she could not bring herself to care.

Lulu came forward, her hand resting lightly on the arm of a man Yuna had sometimes seen with Tidus. His hair was as red and unruly as a wild flame dancing in the fires of Besaid, and his grin was large enough to rival Rikku's. "Yuna," said Lulu. "May I present Wakka to you. My husband."

Yuna liked him instantly. She shook Wakka's hand and nodded her head vigorously to the sound of him asking if she had enjoyed the game. She had to admit that he and Lulu seemed an odd sort of couple – though she would not dare to remark on such a thing.

"Come on guys, let's get out of here," said Tidus, amusement still evident in his voice. "I think Yuna might need some air."

Once they were out of earshot of the others, Tidus was quick to apologise for his absence. "I'm real sorry, Yuna. I couldn't find a way out of it. I hope Rikku didn't scare you." He put his hand on her shoulder apologetically, and Yuna was so pleased at the touch that she couldn't even bring herself to pretend to be angry.

"The game was so short," she gushed. "Did it feel short to you? I never thought it would be like that! Did the water spray you, like you said? Before the game, I mean?" She could not seem to stop talking. "You were amazing! And that awful boy that hurt your leg! How does it feel?"

"I'm fine, Yuna." His eyes sparkled at her. "I've had worse."

"Did you see us? Could you see us from where you were?"

"Actually," he said casually, "I was too busy looking at the pretty girl sitting in west block A."

"Oh."

It was all Yuna could think to say. A sudden sense of something close to despair welled up inside her. Of course he would be looking at the other girls… what's wrong with me? Despite herself, Yuna pulled away from him the slightest bit. "Who… I mean… who was she?"

There was a terrible pause. They walked on side by side, Yuna's heart thudding in her chest. But when he answered his voice was soft, a serious contrast with the boyish smile he wore.

"I was talking about you, Yuna."

She stopped so abruptly that Gippal walked into her back with a curse.

Tidus

Tidus released a yawn worthy of a sleepy lion, stretching his arms and torso to their limit. Nothing like a good game. He was pleased with tonight's results, and so was Wakka. The path to the Blitz Tournament Final had never looked clearer.

"What are we going to do now?"

Tidus looked down at the owner of the soft, quiet voice – the southern girl at his side. It had taken all his strength to put thoughts of her aside and concentrate on the game. In retrospect, sending Rikku hadn't been his best idea ever – Lulu might have been more discreet.

"Go have fun," he told her.

"But, it's past midnight." The expression she bore was so genuinely distressed that he had to laugh. Yuna had been surprising him since the day he first met her, but it was always in the sweetest, most innocent of ways. It was kind of adorable, actually.

"No problem!" he winked at her. "Zanarkand never sleeps!"

"Let's go to Silverwings for drinks, Tidus is buying!" Gippal called out.

Tidus opened his mouth to tell Gippal exactly what he thought of that idea, but Rikku got there first. "No, that's boring!" She stuck her tongue out at Gippal, who promptly rolled his eyes.

"How about we ask Yuna what she wants to do," Lulu said meaningfully, causing Rikku and Gippal to blush simultaneously.

"No, please don't let me ruin your plans," Yuna protested modestly.

"Not at all, Yuna," Tidus told her. An idea came to him. "There's a nice spot at the harbour. I think you'd like it. We could stay until sunrise."

"I would like that," smiled Yuna shyly.

"Sounds wonderful," Lulu put in. "It's nice to have some new company for a change, Yuna. The boys usually outnumber us three to one, and the Gods know we're all fed up of watching Tidus and Gippal drink themselves silly at Silverwings." She slipped her arm through Yuna's, and they walked along like two ladies at a ball. Rikku ran to catch up with them, giddy as a schoolgirl.

Wakka started after them too, but not before he nudged Tidus in the side with a significant glance in Yuna's direction.

Gippal came up beside him and grinned too. "She's cute," he smirked. "Weird, but cute."

"Don't get any ideas," Tidus said quickly.

Gippal quirked an eyebrow and Tidus found himself wishing he could eat his words. He had not meant for his voice to be so rough.

"Is that right? Well just for that, Ti, I'm gonna have to put the moves on her," he said evilly, and whisked away before Tidus could say anything else.

He's not her type, Tidus thought, glaring at the Al Bhed's retreating back. Yuna seemed so fragile sometimes, and the truth was… he didn't want to see her break.

He sat close to her for the rest of the night, an apology for breaking his promise to fetch her. Of course, if it happened that he liked sitting by her more so than the others, it was pure coincidence.

His friends talked noisily and feverishly, their conversation punctuated with loud bursts of raucous laughter and high-pitched exclamations from Rikku and Wakka. It was a sharp contrast from the quiet intimacy of his conversation with Yuna. She, of course, was content to sit and listen unless directly addressed, her cheeks flushed in the light of the crackling red fire that Wakka had started for them.

"So like… what did you do for fun in Besaid, Yunie?"

Rikku never failed to amaze Tidus. She'd known Yuna for one day and already she'd manufactured a nickname for her. If nothing else though, it made Yuna smile, and that was a thing worth seeing.

"Well…" Yuna began, averting her eyes shyly, "We told stories, and songs. There was dancing, too."

Gippal pulled a face which Tidus hoped Yuna didn't notice.

Rikku said, "Songs huh? You mean concerts, and stuff? Not like… sitting round a campfire singing songs kinda stuff?"

The awkward silence was enough to let even Rikku know that she'd hit the mark.

"I know what you mean by 'concert'," Yuna said patiently, "but… in Besaid, there is nowhere big enough to host such a thing." She smiled apologetically.

Tidus' voice came in gentle. "Are there songs about Zanarkand?"

"Of course!" she said instantly, her face brightening. "Those were my…" she blushed prettily, "my favourite."

Sometimes Yuna felt like something out of a song herself. She's beautiful, and she doesn't even seem to know it, he thought, which was more than he could say for some other girls he knew.

Everything about her was a lyric, infinitely feminine. The honey-coloured hair, the porcelain white skin, the big, innocent eyes. And yet there was something of a lament in her song, something tragic and untouchable. There was always a measure of sadness in her smile.

Wakka spoke up. "So you gonna sing us one?"

Yuna looked terrified. "Oh no, I couldn't!"

"Come on," Tidus coaxed. He knew how new this was for her, knew how scared she was, but he had vowed to break her out of her shell, and he was determined to see it through. "You do it back home, why not here?"

Rikku nodded excitedly, while Gippal looked disinterested until Tidus elbowed him in the side sharply.

"Why not?" the Al Bhed boy shrugged eventually, with less expression on his face than a fence post.

"Well, perhaps one verse," said Yuna uncertainly. But still she hesitated.

"Close your eyes," said Tidus, beside her, "If it helps."

She did.

The Zanarkand song was romanticised, of course. Yuna's crystal clear voice sang of the lights and laughter of Zanarkand, of the peaks of its clouds and the depths of its oceans, but never touched upon the city slums in C-south, or the dark back-alleys of A-East where the street thieves lingered.

The words were meant to flatter and enchant, yet Tidus did not doubt that Yuna believed every single word.

Yuna

"That was very beautiful, Yuna," said Lulu, who had her arms folder lightly in her lap. Yuna looked down bashfully and felt a wave of gratitude towards the older woman.

"Oh Yunie," put in Rikku dreamily. "I have to take you to a Lenne concert someday. She has lots of stories in her songs too. I bet you'd really like her."

A synchronized groan went round the group. Even Lulu rolled her red eyes.

"Whaaaat?" exclaimed Rikku, in offended tones. "Lenne's really good – her last Sphere went platinum, you know!"

"That's 'cause you bought them all, Rikku," Tidus deadpanned.

"What can I do for you," she began to sing, until Gippal clamped a hand over her mouth and the rest became a mumble.

"Lenne makes noise, not music, Yuna," he said, "and you seem to like lyrics that actually mean something."

It was the first compliment Gippal had given her, and Yuna did not know quite what to say. When Rikku slapped his hand away with a sour face, she couldn't help but giggle.

"I'd love to go to a Lenne concert with you one day, Rikku," she told her gently. Despite earlier misgivings, she had taken a shine to the bubbly young Al Bhed.

Rikku stuck her tongue out at Gippal, and got a disdainful look for her troubles.

In the laughter that resounded, Yuna took the opportunity to look around at her new friends. The first signs of sunlight began to flicker on the horizon, bathing their faces in a sweet golden glow. Something inside her was changing; she could feel it as surely as she felt Tidus' warmth as he sat at her side, so close. In Besaid I closed my eyes when I sang, she remembered. Because when I closed my eyes, I was in Zanarkand.

But that was only a dream. And now, I'm here.