"Meanwhile the clouds drifted above their heads. When the wind blows it blows away more human dreams than clouds in the sky."
Part Four, Book Eight: Enchantment and Despair, I: Broad Daylight
Les Misérables – Victor Hugo
CHAPTER NINE: Risking The Tale
--
Lulu
--
The long-anticipated match between the Zanarkand Abes and the Bevelle Bells had left the great stadium packed full to bursting, and Lulu's box was no exception.
Rikku had opted to bring her brother along for starters, an excitable young man who spoke in a near incoherent hybrid language of Al-Bhed and mispronounced Spiran. Gippal had also made a reappearance – after some coaxing from Rikku, no doubt – and had even recruited some friends from his old New Yevon days. There was Baralai, a handsome young noble who swept back his silvery-bright hair with a blue bandana, soft-spoken Isaaru who lingered at his friend's shoulder like a nervous shadow, and Barthello, a blocky ex-Guardian who Lulu knew from her travels as a girl.
Yuna came prepared this time, looking every bit the zealous Blitz enthusiast. Her modest outfit had been cobbled together by Rikku; a summer-light Abes shirt with layers of white and rose and a pair of dark blue capris. Not only did she look the part, but she played it too, wildly waving the cheap paper flag that Rikku had bought her, and whistling with her fingers noisily and often. A cheer taught to her by Tidus, Lulu had later learned.
"Oh! Oh!" chirped Rikku, bouncing on her toes, barely able to rein in her excitement. "Did you see that wither shot?"
"That was definitely a five-pointer!" Yuna celebrated at her side.
That amused Lulu. "Shouldn't you be cheering for the Bevelle Bells, Yuna?" she pointed out. "You were born there, were you not?"
Yuna had the grace to blush while she fumbled helplessly for a reply, but Rikku saved her, in any case.
"Nah, she's one of us now!" the Al-Bhed announced, favouring the older girl with a healthy slap on the back. Anyone who witnessed the tremulous smile Yuna gave her in return would have known that Rikku could have bestowed no greater compliment.
It is lovely to see her eyes so bright. Not unlike Tidus, Lulu had felt a natural protectiveness of the young Sender from the first. Yuna carried all the grief of a Summoner; Lulu had once shared that burden, and the Guardian in her understood the measure of sadness in the girl's eyes. Her young heart is filled with life, Lulu knew, yet she dances to the tune of the Dead. It made for an exceptional kind of person, and Yuna was just that.
Brother and Baralai seemed to think so too, taking every opportunity to engage the mysterious young foreigner in conversation. But though she spoke politely to them, Yuna could rarely be appealed upon to divert her attention from the Blitzball field, and in particular the star of the Zanarkand Abes.
Oh, Lulu could see what was happening there. Any fool could. The light and laughter that drove the sadness from the Sender's fair face when he was near to her was as plain as day. The whiteness of a young girl's soul resembles snow: it melts in the warmth of love, which is its sun, Lulu remembered. She had read that once, not in the scrolls of Yevon, but in the travel diaries of a Lucan Guardian who lived hundreds of years ago. He had watched his young Summoner abandon her pilgrimage for love, and never once blamed her for it. When Lulu was a Guardian girl in training, she had thought it a fool thing to do, fool and selfish, but after Lady Ginnem died she understood in a heartbeat. The understanding came too late, though, far too late…
The crowd roared, shattering Lulu's melancholy, and she returned to herself just in time to catch the Abes scoring the winning goal. Rikku launched herself at Yuna in a golden blur, wrapping her in a great thundering bear hug which Brother did his best to breach. Barthello was cheering too, an inarticulate masculine roar which drowned out the two young girls both. Isaaru was less pleased; he was not from Zanarkand and favoured the Bevelle Bells. But when the Praetor laid a hand on his shoulder he seemed to concede defeat gracefully. Baralai has a calming affect, it seems, the mage observed, not unlike our Yuna.
Lulu turned to Gippal beside her, who was taking pains to keep that trademark smirk off his face, no doubt happy for the ace of the Zanarkand Abes but unwilling to show it so soon after their quarrel.
"You should make amends with him," Lulu advised the Al-Bhed, though quietly enough so that only he could hear. "I'm going to see Wakka now. Perhaps you would like to accompany me?"
For a split second Gippal seemed to truly contemplate it, a rare solemnity visible in the swirls of his green eyes, but finally he seemed to think better of the idea and went to join Baralai and Isaaru.
Very well, Lulu conceded as she watched him walk away. She did not intend to push him further than he was ready for. It was not her way.
"Girls," she called instead, and smiled when the twin happy faces of Rikku and Yuna turned to meet her. They are growing more alike every day. "Wait here in the box. I'm going to see if the boys are ready to go."
Lulu found her husband in the dressing rooms of the Zanarkand Abes. A mob of miniature Zanarkanders had besieged him, begging for autographs and spheres and even future places on Spira's legendary team. She watched with a strange and tempered longing in her heart as Wakka ruffled tiny blonde heads and handed out blue-and-gold Blitzballs peppered with the Abes insignia. The starstruck mob brushed past Lulu's skirts as they spilled from the room and left her alone with her husband at last.
"One step closer to the Finals," she told him when she reached his side. Lulu was not given to public affection, but in the privacy of his dressing room she bestowed a soft kiss on her husband's cheek. Wakka accepted gracefully and was about to return the gesture with enthusiasm when another intruder appeared at the door.
"Hey, Lulu," Tidus interrupted carelessly, oblivious to the glare he was receiving from his Coach. "The girls enjoy the game?"
"I can no longer tell Yuna apart from Rikku," Lulu told him dryly, and watched as he grinned like a fool.
Lulu contemplated the shape of his smile, wondering what thoughts might lie behind that handsome young face. Yuna was all for him, that was clear, but Tidus' feelings were less transparent. Sometimes he treated the girl like a child, the next he played the jealous lover. He had called her "just a friend", but he gazed at her like she was some cherished possession. Perhaps it is time for a litte push in the right direction.
"Listen," Tidus was saying, "We're gonna have a quick strategy meeting since it looks like we'll be playing the Psyches next. Plus, I gotta catch a shower before I go. Can you take the girls into A-East and we'll meet you there?"
"As you wish," Lulu accepted, leaving her husband's embrace to glide towards the door. "But don't keep Yuna waiting too long. She's gained a few more admirers tonight, I fear."
"What?" The smile slithered from the Blitzer's face. "What admirers?"
Lulu smiled, and shut the door behind her. There had been a rather satisfying hint of alarm in his voice, she decided. Yes, very satisfying indeed...
--
Yuna
--
"Well? What do we think, ladies?"
"I don't know, Lulu." Rikku seemed skeptical, squinting suspiciously at a sign that read, 'The future laid bare! Have your fortune read by our Hypello soothsayer!' "Do you really believe in that stuff?"
Yuna herself was enchanted by the idea. The Hypello's den seemed infinitely charming, surrounded by a splendour of cloth that seemed to welcome every corner of Spira. She spotted rich Bevellian drapes overlapping simple Kilikan weaves and Lucan crochets mingling with wisps of silk the colour of a Maclanian lake. Yuna even noticed a star-shaped creation of Besaidian coloured beads amongst all the finery, the same kind she wore in her hair.
"I am never certain of anything," Lulu replied simply.
Yuna did not miss the way Lulu's hand brushed her black-clad stomach. She wants to know if her child is coming, Yuna realised, remembering the mage's words that starry and unfortunate evening outside Rin's Tavern. Wakka and I are hoping for a child someday, she had said. That made Yuna's mind up.
"I will go," she announced, surprising her two companions with her sudden show of audacity. "But… I think you should go first, Lulu. To give me courage."
Lulu gave her a knowing look, as though she had guessed exactly what Yuna's true reasoning might be. The black mage could be very perceptive. "Very well," the older woman conceded, the shadow of a smile on her lips. "The eldest should lead the way, after all."
Yuna and Rikku lingered outside while Lulu sought her fortune. They had parted ways with Gippal and his friends back at the stadium; Yuna suspected the Al-Bhed boy hadn't yet made amends with Tidus. Watching Tidus play from a distance is one thing, but a closer meeting is quite another. Brother had gone too, though only after some shooing from his little sister, who had insisted they were going to do "girl stuff." He was a sweet boy, really, though half the time Yuna did not understand what he was saying, and he did have the most disconcerting tendancy to stare.
Yuna, reclining on the carpeted canvas, glanced upwards at the skinny Al-Bhed at her side, searching her face for a sibling resemblance. Rikku was on her feet, looking suspiciously at the curtain behind which Lulu had disappeared.
"Will you have your fortune told too, Rikku?" Yuna asked.
"… Nah," Rikku said after a thoughtful pause. "Pops never liked all that magical stuff. I guess it rubbed off on me. Do you believe in it, Yunie?"
Yuna smiled fondly. "You know," she told the younger girl, taking her hand and tugging her gently down beside her on the patchwork of colours, "They say the Hypello came from the sea, thousands of years ago. Magic flowed through their blue veins and they saw the future as easily as we see the sun and sky. They lived in an ancient underwater palace, and were ruled over by a great Queen."
"Queen?" Rikku seemed unconvinced as she pulled her knees to her chest and wrapped her arms around them. "Not a King?"
"Of course a Queen!" teased Yuna. "Why should it be a King?"
"Because it's always a King," Rikku protested. "Yu Yevon was a King. He fought against a King. And it was Lord Braska who defeated Sin."
"Well, this one was a Queen," Yuna assured her. "Now, the Queen had two sons, who both deeply revered the human world. The eldest Prince envied the wealth of the humans on the land, their precious stones and polished gold coins. But the other son, the youngest, loved them for their beauty, and was brought to his doom by a human girl. Every night she would sit by the river and wash her hair with the dust of golden moonlillies."
"Was she from Macalania?" Rikku wanted to know. Macalania was where most of Spira's Hypellos had settled, the wet climate suited to their slick scaly skin. But Yuna could not answer.
"The lands had different names in those days," she explained. "But it may be so, because her hair was as dark as cinders. She sang while she washed it, and her song was said to be so lovely that every night the young Hypello Prince came to the surface to hear it, though it was forbidden."
"He fell in lovvve!" Rikku chimed, clapping her hands together in delight.
"Just so. Now, the Queen was a shrewd and sympathetic creature, and she could sense each of her sons' pain deeply. She summoned them to her, and told them she would grant each of them passage to the human world, but only if their motives were pure. Both sons accepted her offer."
Rikku chewed her bottom lip, frowning thoughtfully. "Not good," she decided. "The old Prince only wanted to go up there for money and jewels. What happened when he accepted?"
"He became the first Shoopuff," Yuna revealed, "forced to become a beast of burden, to carry the humans and their wealth he envied so foolishly across the Moonflow forever. That is why to this day the Hypello ride them, carrying out the ancient punishment of their Queen."
"But the other Prince got his wish, right? 'Cause his reasons were all pure and shiny!"
Yuna nodded. "She granted his wish, and gifted him with breath to taste the air and strong legs to walk on land. But to pay for it she took from him his clairvoyance, for she did not want him to see his future."
"Why? What was his future? Did the girl fall in love with him too? She did, right?"
"That's another story," Yuna said, "You wouldn't like it. It's too sad."
"But… but what happened to the rest of the Hypello?" Rikku asked.
Yuna was considering how to answer when another voice interjected. "Some followed the youngest son," it said, "rising into the land for love of the human world and those who lived in it."
"Lulu!"
The ex-Guardian emerged into the evening light, her black dress harsh against the vibrance of the curtain at her back. "But those who went for the wrong reasons became Shoopuff. The others…" She shrugged a graceful shoulder. "Some say they still live in the Moonflow, invisible to the human eye." The mage turned to Yuna, a smile tickling at her lips. "Well, Yuna, it is your turn. You had best make haste. I told him a lovely young girl was his next customer."
Yuna hesitated as Rikku began to bombard Lulu with questions about her reading. She wanted to know what the mage had learned, too. Her face was as beautiful and as unreadable as ever, her scarlet eyes revealing neither pain nor pleasure. Whatever she was told, it is for her to know, and her alone, she decided finally, and abandoned Lulu to Rikku's inquisition.
As soon as Yuna ducked beneath the Hypello's curtain, a plethora of scents enveloped her. A half-circle of candles glittered softly in a small grotto, smelling like sea salt and musty books, like fresh rain and naked steel, rotting leaves and old perfume. All the scents that Yuna knew, and too many that she didn't. In the midst of it all sat a wizened old Hypello, cross-legged and swaying back and forth like a wave on a gentle summer's sea. His arms and legs were as skinny as a needle, and the puff of his cheeks set his face in a permenent serene smile. There was a Sphere set before him, shimmering with shadows.
When Yuna took a tentative step forward, the little beast blinked his filmy yellow eyes curiously at her. "Yesh, yesh," it said in a weathered, otherworldly voice. "Come forward, little moon."
Yuna knelt before him on the patchwork cloth almost reverently, stretching out her hands for him to take before she even realised what she had done. It was something akin to what she had felt in the presence of Belgemine; the far-reaching wisdom in that old woman's eyes had never failed to stir Yuna's heart. The Fayth have gone from Spira, and the majesty of the Aeons too, but there are still things of wonder here, she realised. It seemed to Yuna that a tremble of magic ran through her hands under the unearthly cold of the Hypello's long fingers. All of a sudden the fanciful tale she had taught Rikku did not seem so unlikely.
"Ah, yesh, yesh,"the old Hypello murmured as his rubbery fingers danced across her palms. "The Shummoner's blood in her."
"I'm a Sender," Yuna replied, confused. How is this supposed to work? she wondered. Perhaps I should ask him a question first. "Can you tell me about my mother?" she blurted, the words spilling from her lips before she had a chance to check them. Half of her felt instantly as though she was betraying her father just by asking, but she wanted to know so sorely.
The Hypello only blinked at her, that unsettling little smile still fixed upon his face. His hands led hers to the Sphere, and together they looked down into it.
At first Yuna saw only shadows, a thunderstorm trapped in glass. But then the shadows parted, and Yuna leaned towards the Sphere to see a sun rising over a deep silvery lake, and an inexorable surge of joy rose in her heart. Then the sun fled and she glimpsed a little boy all in blue, sobbing, his tears running ragged and terrible. When Yuna looked into his eyes she knew that his heart was broken.
Soon the images were moving too fast for her to follow; she saw a monk drinking greedily from a Sphere then shattering it in his fist, saw a withered flower thrown upon a woman's grave, and a child crush a patch of hibiscus underfoot. She saw Tidus smiling sweetly, saw thunder splitting the sky, saw her father with two eyes, one warm and brown and loving and the other dark and clouded and full of sorrows. She saw places that were as familiar to her as the sun and as distant to her as the moon; she saw a Blitzball washing up on Besaid sands, saw a Summoning Staff falling in a grand green field, saw a broken harp in a dark forest, and the lights blinking on one by one in the Great Stadium.
Then the torrent ebbed… and a single blurred face remained. A man's face, with features vaguely familiar to Yuna; kind eyes, long dark hair and splendid robes of plum and crimson. I should know him, Yuna thought, he looks almost like… but when he opened his lips to speak his secrets, the Hypello's withered fingers closed over the Sphere and the man vanished.
Yuna pulled her hands away, nerves aflutter. "Why?" she asked the little beast. "Why did you do that?" Suddenly she remembered the story she had told Rikku, about the Hypello Queen not wishing her son to know his future, and felt a shiver run through her.
The Hypello tilted his head, contemplating her. "Little moon," he said simply. "Big cloud."
When the creature resumed its hypnotic swaying, Yuna knew that it was time for her to leave.
Outside the grotto, Tidus was waiting for her, smiling. He was still decked out in full Blitz uniform; arm-guard, black leather gloves and a silver Abes chain faithfully around his neck. His hair looked newly towel-dried, too, rogue beads of water still clinging to it tenaciously. Yuna could feel her cheeks warm. There was something intimidating about him when he came to her like this, still with that dangerous Blitzer edge.
"So what's in your cards, Yuna?" he asked casually, one foot propped up against the wall behind him. "Fame, fortune, a tall handsome stranger?"
I've already met one of those, she thought, but what she said was, "None of those things."
"You sure about that?" One slim blonde eyebrow lifted. "I heard you met some of Gippal's friends."
"Oh," she blurted. "Yes." In truth, Yuna had quite forgotten them. Isaaru had seemed too shy to converse with her, and Barthello by nature seemed a man of few words. The Praetor had been handsome and softly-spoken, and even said that her calling as a Sender was "most noble", but compared to the sunshine of Tidus' smile, Baralai's seemed a mere candle. In the Sphere, I saw Tidus smiling… does that mean he is in my future?
"New Yevon are bad news," he told her, pushing away from the wall. "You should be careful around them."
Now he sounds like father. "Is Brother dangerous too?" she teased.
Tidus snorted. "Only to himself."
Yuna clasped her hands behind her back, watching him. "The game was wonderful. That shot in the third quarter was amazing!"
"Oh… Yeah." As quickly as that, Tidus' confidence fled and became bashfulness as he ran a hand through the gold confusion of his hair. "That was actually, uh… that was my Dad's shot. I mean, my old man's." He barked a laugh. "He used to call it 'The Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III.'"
Yuna smiled, knowing his sudden shyness was connected with his father. They hadn't talked about the evening that Auron came home, though Yuna thought of it near every night. Tidus seemed embarassed by his outburst, and though Yuna knew that tears were no shame, she had no desire to broach such a delicate topic when his feelings were still in danger of being bruised.
No, she was content just to keep his company, staying close to his side as they sampled the delights of the A-East Plaza, Rikku skipping ahead of them and Wakka and Lulu tailing behind, arm in arm.
Infact, Lulu seemed more affectionate with her husband than ever, and Yuna found herself wondering for the second time that evening what her friend might have seen in the Hypello's Sphere. And Lulu might understand what I saw if I told her. The mage seemed to have a deep sight. Her father did, too, but it was unlikely that she'd ever have an opportunity to put the mystery to him.
While Rikku had a temporary tattoo painted on her wrist with Lulu overseeing, and Wakka appraised a set of spiked Blitzballs in a Lucan stall, Yuna and Tidus sat on the edge of Shiva's fountain watching the world go by.
Tidus bought her a spicy Djose pasty to try, but it set fire to her tongue and he was forced to finish it himself, though only after subjecting her to some merciless ribbing. Whattya know, Besaidian girls can't handle the heat, he'd teased, eyes full of laughter, and received a swat to the shoulder for his troubles.
They watched the lights play upon the canvas of Zanarkand; the red neon blur of transport machina, the brilliant pulsing amber of streetlamps, and the sweet yellow twinkle of stallside candles.
"I still can't believe how much technology there is here," Yuna admitted.
Beside her, Tidus stretched lazily then dusted his hands, freeing them of clinging pasty crumbs. "Wasn't like this before the Calm. You used to be able to see the sea from East-A. Now the buildings block it out."
"I wonder what it will be like ten years from now," Yuna mused. "Are you worried?"
"Huh?"
"Worried that Zanarkand will change, you know?"
"Nah," Tidus said thoughtfully. "That's just the way Zanarkand is. It's the sleepless city, right? It can't stay the same forever. Why, Yuna? Are you worried that Besaid will change?"
A nostalgic smile touched Yuna's lips at the memory of her home. "I cannot imagine Besaid ever changing," she told him.
Yet even so, she wondered… would dull brick buildings one day replace the beautiful coloured huts of her village? Would they sweep away the crumbling ruins of the Temple and put machina in its place? Will you still hear the waves of the southern ocean when a dozen ships fill the harbour?
Tidus must have read her face. "Everything changes, Yuna," he said gently, his hand brushing her shoulder like a fall of warm rain against her skin.
Everything changes, she agreed silently, thinking of the old Hypello and her own clouded future. But I don't have to want it to.
--
Tidus
--
He hadn't meant to stay.
I meant to walk her home and say goodbye, that's all. Yet somehow Tidus had found himself stretched out amongst the flowers of Yuna's garden instead, staring up at a night sky soaked with stars.
It wasn't even as though going home was the nightmare it had once been. He and Jecht had even sat in the same room last night, watching an old Lucan Blitz game – almost, Tidus reflected, like a real father and son. But after the Bells match and the night on the town that followed it, he had been so exhausted that it seemed so right to collapse on Yuna's lawn and just keep talking.
They spoke in fevered bursts, of Blizball and Besaid, of Wakka and Lulu, of Hypello and Al-Bhed, laughing childishly then lapsing into silences which never felt uncomfortable. The air was hot and flowery, clinging comforting to his skin, and Kimahri was curled up at his feet, sleeping on his sneakers.
Yuna, ever-faithful, was not far from his side, lying on her stomach with her legs kicked up behind her like a child. She seemed thoughtful, idly fingering the end of the pretty silver necklace she always wore. She looked vaguely un-Yuna-ish in her Al-Bhed style clothes. Tidus was grateful to Rikku for getting her the outfit, not least because like most guys he appreciated a pair of pretty legs, but mostly because she seemed like less of a foreigner. Just like she had wanted. Do you think I can? Fit in? some girl had asked him once, sad and shy, a thousand years ago.
And now… now she looked like part of them, like she had been a Zanarkander all her life. Everytime he glanced at her, Tidus felt a helpless pride take him.
Pillowing his head on one muscled arm, the Blitzer marvelled at the diamond sharpness of the stars and wondered when he had last known peace like this. It reminds me of…
"Yes?" Yuna had turned on her side, and was watching him quizzically. "Tidus?" she prompted.
"Huh? Did I say that out loud?"
She laughed at him. "Yes, you did. What were you thinking about?"
Tidus hesitated, wondering whether to risk the tale. Not that he was afraid of telling Yuna, never that, but digging up old memories was dangerous.
"I was just thinking about… back when Mom was still alive. We'd go on walks sometimes, just the three of us. This one time… my old man took us to this Sphere garden."
It had been a glorious night. Jecht has just led the Abes to an unforgettable victory against the Ronso Fangs in the Spiran cup finals. His swagger had been indestructible; boasting, bragging, commentating on his own prowess in the match, and kissing his wife tenderly and often. Once he had even ruffled Tidus' hair, and never known how the simple gesture had made his son's heart swell with joy.
"Go on," Yuna urged. Her voice was a whisper, as though she were afraid that if she spoke a note louder the fragile memory would burst and scatter, lost forever.
"I wanted to show my old man that I could hold my breath for two minutes – that was a long time for me back then - so I went swimming in the Sphere pool. But Sphere water is different… I stayed down for too long, got lost somehow."
It was strange how clearly he remembered the silvered water even now; the shifting shadows, the pull of the deep. The faint lament of pyreflies…
"My Mom said they found me on the bank, stretched out like a star, staring up at the sky. My old man went crazy, shook me like a ragdoll." Tidus smiled then, thinking about Yuna's words to him. Some people just express their affection in strange ways. "Now that I look back on it, maybe he was just worried I'd catch a chill."
Yuna was smiling too now, no doubt for his sake. Tidus himself had never been one to ride the tails of other people's happiness… until she came along. Now he found himself vying for those rare smiles of hers, watching for every blush of happiness and every sigh of sadness.
"What was your mother like?" she asked suddenly. When he didn't answer, she seemed all at once to shrink from him, pulling her hands protectively to her chest; a night flower locking its petals away from the sun. "I'm sorry," she said softly. "You don't have to answer."
It was painful to think of his mother, and the way she used to stroke his mop of golden hair, so like her own… painful to think of the times she'd nudge him from her lap the moment his old man came home. And yet… "Pretty," Tidus found himself saying at last. "She liked dancing. And Blitzball. She was a great cook too, made the best kymadda in the whole of Spira." His mother would sometimes feed him the hot flaky morsels while he waited at her heels like a pitiful pup. "She even went to a contest in Luca."
He could feel his heart beginning to falter. But Yuna was watching, all the kindness and innocence in the world waiting in her eyes. Tidus had to look away from them, and steel himself, to somewhere find the strength to say, "That was the day Sin got her."
--
Rin
--
Deep, deep down in the Zanarkand south, business was thriving, and Rin was there to reap the benefits. While other merchants set up in the fashionable east end, near the great stadium, or attempted to cheat the northern elite of their wealth, Rin had always known where the real hotspot was.
For weary travellers descending Mount Gagazet, the south was the first sign of a warm meal and a soft bed. For those who were to drawn to drink, the south offered the lowest-priced hangover. For the business-minded, the south was a place of growth and investment, with hundreds of machina workshops sprouting up as well as excavation ships leaving from the port every day to dig in Bikanel and the ruins of Omega.
Rin was a businessman too, of course, and could sniff out a profit like a fiend could hound out fear. He already owned shares in a healthy handful of up-and-coming machina companies, as well as managing Al-Bhed travel agencies all across the country. His Kilikan hostel housed adventureres and sphere-hunters, his lodge in the Calm Lands sheltered floods of tourists seeking the final battleground of Sin and Lord Braska, and his luxury apartments in Bevelle were much sought after by the aristocracy.
His Zanarkand Tavern, by contrast, had seen better days; the lettering on the wooden sign was fading fast, and a splash of new paint was long past due on the inner walls. And yet it was the place closest to Rin's heart. It reminded him of where he had began, and what he had managed to make of himself, back when the south was nothing more than a ghetto for the most despised race in Spira.
At Rin's the wine flowed at all hours and half-a-hundred shady deals were done and bargains made before the day was black. Rumours began there, arguments were settled, and relationships brutally broken. And unlike the stiff upper-class bars of the north, the company always proved to be entertaining.
Not tonight, though, Rin thought, somewhat ruefully. Blitzball had stolen away most of his regulars, the match between the Abes and the Bells drawing thousands to the stadium.
Tonight an assembly of Al-Bhed businessmen huddled in a corner booth with a pitcher of iced Bikanel shandy, two Machine faction floor workers were playing chuugan and across the counter a fat man in a cowled robe sipped a glass of Bevellian wine. It was one of the few times when Rin could count his customers on both hands.
Jecht had been by earlier, though, looking for answers. The old Blitzer rarely sought Rin out; indeed, he seemed to take great pains to avoid him if he could. Bad memories, I suppose. Rin could hardly blame him for some nights ago Jecht's houseboat had been broken into – Al-Bhed spherehunters, by the sounds of things – and incurred Jecht's wrath by whisking away some treasured posession or other. Rin did not want to wonder at what that might be. Jecht could not have been so foolish as to keep memoirs of his journey, he thought suddenly, and felt a dull dread seize him.
At the same moment a draft of hot, balmy air reached and curled into the tavern; the heralding of another customer. Heads always turned when a pretty girl came into the tavern, but Rin knew this one. Her name was Dona. Dark-skinned and slender with a tumble of jet black hair, she was a regular drinker and a regular flirt, thriving on the smiles men gave her.
Yet she ignored them utterly as she sashayed towards the bar counter and, to the surprise of all, perched herself on the tall stool directly next to the fat Bevellian wine-drinker.
She ordered her usual, a cactaur juice and tonic water. By the time Rin brought it to her, she and the fat man had begun to converse, albeit in hushed, careful voices. So careful, infact, that Rin couldn't help but keep an ear pricked their way as he started work on a sink of soiled glasses.
"I must admit, I'm surprised you agreed to a meeting," the wine-drinker was saying, smiling under the cowl of his cloak, "I understood you were a member of the Youth League. I thought your group did not condone bribery and secrecy."
Dona sniffed. "I work only for myself. I admit, sometimes I wear the Youth League badge. It can provide… opportunities."
"I see." He swirled the wine in its glass, considered it, then took a sip. "One can envision the advantages of freelance sphere-hunting. Gil is more nourishing than pride, one would imagine."
As he talked, Rin tried to place the fat man's accent – a skill the old Al-Bhed excelled at; a gift of his travels. It has a hint of Guadosalem, he decided, intrigued, but no one truly lives there anymore. That race had fallen hard after the death of Jyscal.
Dona, meanwhile, had not missed the insult in her companion's words, a sudden scowl marring her pretty features. "Just talk, little man," she snapped at him, visibly out of patience.
"Very well," her companion replied midly, seemingly unfazed by the address. "To whom else did you advertise your… wares?"
"Oh, some contacts in the Youth League."
"They were not interested?"
"Oh, they were very interested. 'For Spira's greater good.' I confess I was looking for a more appealing price."
"Then, you are the only one who has seen these recordings?"
"Yes."
The fat man seemed pleased by the revelation, nodding to himself just slightly under his cloak. "You retrieved the Spheres yourself?"
She laughed throatily, clearly amused by the notion. "Of course not. I had some men do it for me."
"I assume they covered their tracks?"
Again the disdainful snort. "Men are fools, but they are not quite so foolish as that."
"And their contents?"
"From the ones I've seen… all the secrets of the High Summoner's lost Pilgrimage," she taunted. "That's what you wanted, isn't it? I'm sure it's pretty eye-opening stuff if you care about that sort of thing."
"And you do not?"
Dona shrugged, reaching again for the cactaur juice bottle to refill her glass. "I care about a new homestead in the Golden Tower that's just gone up in C-East. Fully furnished. Nice area... Great view of the sea."
"I'm sure we can come to some arrangement. Indeed, the price means little to me."
Rin did not know whether it was the look in the man's eyes or something in his voice that suddenly made Dona's tenacity falter. The spherehunter rolled one shoulder, almost nervously, opening her mouth then closed it again. The gesture did not suit her. "What… what do you want them for, anyway?" she said finally. "Not that I care."
"As it happens, I have a dear friend who is not as enamoured with Braska as the rest of Spira." The fat man had finished his glass, and licked the last drops of red from his lips. "He may have been the downfall of a very great man. Indeed, a man far greater than himself."
"Fine," said Dona, visibly uncomfortable now. "Whatever you want." Rin suspected she was eager to have her reward, and dust her hands of the situation. "You said you'd give me what I asked for on the day, so wh-"
"And so I will, my friend. And so I will. But not here. I will take you."
The sphere hunter hesitated then, which seemed to amuse her companion. "Please, are you afraid of an old fat man?" he said, and then more gently, "Come, come, we shall not go far."
Rin's scattered customers sniggered when they saw Dona leave with the fat man, but Rin only felt that all too familiar dread return to sicken his stomach. He had understood every word they said.
Wheels were turning, that much were certain, and he could not see to what end. But it had begun with that girl coming to the bar, he knew. The girl with Amanecera's face. How many times had he stayed at that old Inn, how many times had he sat by Cid's sister's sickbed, urging her to return to her brother at last? How many times had he passed that little girl sitting outside the room, barefoot and solemn? Bevellian by birth, bi-coloured eyes, plucked from the haven of Besaid, and with a warrior monk for a guardian… she could not possibly be anybody else. Yuna, named for the first High Summoner, by the last.
When the door swung open once more, Rin looked up expecting to see the spherehunter girl, but it was Cid's kid instead. Brother. The boy with so many tattoos that it was hard to know where they ended and he began. They were a stark contrast to his big bottle-green eyes, wide and watery. All in all, his expression was so pathetic that Rin had to take pity on him.
"What's your trouble, Brother?" he asked the boy in rasping Al-Bhed as he pushed a fresh pint glass under the taps.
"I have met," Brother began in a dramatic voice, "the woman of my dreams."
Rin tipped the glass to shave off the foam and slid it across the counter. "That so?" he said distractedly, his mind still reeling from Dona and the fat man and the Spheres, and a Bevellian girl with blue and green eyes.
The boy stared deeply into the swirling brown liquid but made no attempt to drink it. The Kilikan beer had been watered down, but someone like Brother was hardly like to notice. "She has eyes like the two sides of the moon," he told his glass in lovelorn tones, "and her hair… it is like spilled autumn honey."
Rin rolled his eyes. It must be a woman, right enough. Cid would give him a hiding if he heard such sissy bhyco talk. "You got it bad, kid. What's her name?"
"Yuna. The most beautiful name in all of Spira."
AUTHOR'S NOTES
Would you believe that was probably my quickest update ever? Don't kill me.
This chapter read like filler, I think. To tell you the truth, I felt as though it was just me stretching my wings a bit, trying some different moods, like Yuna and the Hypello, or her folk tale, or the shadowy corner that is Rin's Tavern. The fortune stuff was so much fun. I can't believe I wrote six pages of Yuna-ramblings, but only had it in me to write two of Tidus-ramblings. Guys are so difficult to write!
Next chapter: I hope you've all had your fill of fluff. Because that's the last you're going to get for a while. This chapter's quote is not just for show, you know!
REVIEW REPLIES
CrimsonOkami – THANKYOU! Whenever I get a new reviewer it gives me so much more enthusiasm to continue, you can't even begin to know! And I actually go back and perfect little details and re-write little passages that I wouldn't usually rewrite and just. Yes. Thankyou!
MinnieMouse8990 – I'm glad you liked Yuna's story, it encouraged me to keep the one she tells in this chapter. Auron's secrets are out in the open in a sense… just not to Yuna! Thankyou for reviewing!
Kahoko – Thankyou, I'm glad my Yuna is coming across that way to you, that's how I hoped to portray her. Your sentiment about Auron is lovely, I just hope Yuna feels the same way…
Hotfudgesundae – One of your predictions is spot on. But probably not in the way you think. Mwahaha. Thanks for giving me your thoughts!
Thepenandthesword – I'm glad I've made someone sympathetic to Auron! Yuna has a young heart and needs lots of people to fill it, but for Auron, she is his whole world. But yes, badness is definitely in his future.
Hurricane-5 – Haha, Kimahri has lots of little things to do in this story. He's handy to have around! Thanks for the review, have some more chapter!
Sam – Please, don't erupt into happy bubbly fuzzies, I need you in solid form so I can continue reading your wonderful reviews! YES, "finding their way to one another" is EXACTLY how I wanted it, so well put! I'm glad developing the others is helping the story rather than hurting it, Rikku will be the next persona to have a fleshing out perspective. Thankyou so much for reviewing every single time, it makes me want to hug you. Seriously, go back to being solid.
H-bomber – Thankyou, please keep reading!
Aimedmischief – Glad to hear it – have some more!
ShinigamiLenne – Yes, I liked Jecht playing 'good dad' too, I wanted to give him some growth in this universe. Hope you enjoy the T/Y fluffiness in this chapter because soon… well… *runs away*
Anonymous – Ooh, there's definite Rippal hintage throughout this fic. Though she is fifteen here so it will only be developed to a point… Sometimes I wish I'd made her older because now I really enjoy writing the hintage. THANKYOU for the way you write about the characters, you 'get' them on just the level I wanted them to come across, Tidus' cockiness and Yuna's shy and kinda wild side. I hope you give me more of your thoughts!
androk1 – Yes! Tidus definitely feels more comfortable around Yuna than any of his other friends, he just hasn't realised it yet. Because's he's male. I'm so happy that you like and follow the fluff and conflict, because there's a whole lot of it to come! Thankyou!
.thepiratejilt. – Thanks again for the push. Honestly, they really motivate me! Sorry about the wait and thankyou for sticking with me. I'm so glad you like my Zanarkand – I try hard to keep it going, I have a little reference file for all the a-easts and c-souths and b-norths and whats in them!
whitephoenix33 – Ha ha, I'm sorry that my updates cause such agony! To answer your question; save the Sending, Yuna doesn't know any magic at this point. Not many people do in this alternate Spira. Infact, my Auron muses in chapter two or three that swordsmanship and magic are dying out because of the Eternal Calm. Plus I can't give her too many excuses to get her hands on Tidus, that would just make it too easy!
Midnight Phase – Thankyou, I'm always grateful to have new readers who review! So I'm very glad you picked my story too.
chipmouskin – When will Yuna discover that Auron isn't her father? Why, that happens in chapter--oh look at the time, must go. Mwahahahaha.