They had managed to return it to its former glory. Maybe not entirely, but the wondrous city of Zanarkand had been rebuilt, nonetheless. No machina were used, since the Grand Maester had forbidden it. It definitely wasn't the technologically advanced city it had been a thousand years ago, or even the version that the fayth and Yu Yevon had dreamed to recreate and preserve its memory, but it would have made Tidus proud. Yuna was sure of it.
The High Summoner had started this project in dedication of her lost love. That was how she had met Adonijah. All four maesters were gone, so Yevon desperately rallied for support, and appointed him, a devout monk who firmly believed the teachings and was oblivious to the secrets the four had kept, as the new Grand Maester. He had been astonished when he had learned the truth about Yu Yevon, the maesters, the machina in Bevelle Temple, among other things.
He immediately went public, revealing the evil and hypocrisy committed by those who had been in charge before him. He had vowed to change those things, and return Yevon to what it was supposed to be: a religion endowed with the truth, and to use it for the good of Spira and its people.
After hearing about how the Yevonites had treated them and lied to them, the people were naturally skeptical of Adonijah's intentions. To gain favor and to prove he was planning to do what he had said, he had all the machina found inside the temple at Bevelle removed and destroyed. It cut off access to much of the inside area, including the Chamber of the Fayth, but it wasn't like that portion was needed anymore.
Then Adonijah undertook a journey to Zanarkand to overlook the construction. He was very eager to meet High Summoner Yuna, the savior of Spira. The first time he laid eyes on her had nearly left the Grand Maester breathless. She was absolutely gorgeous to behold, but he found it hard to believe someone as frail as she was had defeated Sin. However, Yuna was stronger than she appeared at first glance.
They both made a great impression on each other. During his stay, he spent a majority of his time with her. She had told him the whole story about Tidus, and he attempted to comfort her. That was when each of them had begun to believe they had feelings for the other. It had happened months after their original meeting, having already forged a solid friendship. At first, it gave Yuna some doubts about whether he was the right one for her since she had felt like Tidus was the one soon after they met. Then she tried to shake it off and carry on with her life.
Adonijah had also gained the trust and respect of her guardians. After their engagement, his popularity and approval ratings soared throughout Spira. They figured if a summoner that had once been branded a heretic and traitor by Yevon could love a Grand Maester, they had nothing to fear.
At the end of the construction period, three enormous statues of Tidus, Auron, and Jecht were erected outside of the Zanarkand Dome, which was basically its temple. Yuna stood before them silently with Adonijah at her side. She looked over at him and smiled happily, which he immediately returned with one of his own.
He was a very tall man, at least a foot higher than Yuna. He possessed thoughtful light brown eyes with spiked hair of the same shade. Adonijah was pale, but not nearly as much as his fiancée. He still wore the traditional Yevon robe of the maesters.
Wakka approached them slowly from behind. "Hey Yuna." The couple turned around to face him. "Hello, sir," the blitzball captain greeted formally, saluting with the prayer gesture.
"Wakka…You needn't be so formal with me. I told you that you didn't have to do that. We're friends," Adonijah reminded.
He scratched the top of his head and chuckled somewhat embarrassedly. "Oh yeah, sorry. I keep forgetting, ya?" Wakka had cut off the large red spike of hair, and the rest of it was shorter as well. Other than that, he remained the same physically.
"No need to apologize," the Grand Maester said.
"It's just I'm so nervous, you know? I've been pacin' the city all day. I wonder how the Aurochs did without me," he confessed.
"We'll find out when we get back, but I am sure they did well," Yuna said.
The Besaid native grinned and then looked up at the statue of Tidus. He wasn't sure how he would feel about all that was going on if he was here, but he didn't dare bring it up in front of Yuna. He knew it was still a fragile subject, but knew she was doing the right thing by moving on. Wakka felt she couldn't have done it without Adonijah, remembering how depressed she had been the short while after he had faded away. She was marrying the right person. He had completely restored his faith in Yevon by his noble actions. Maybe even the Al Bhed would be able to unite with the people of Yevon and they could live in peace, but not by forcing them to follow their ways. Wakka had realized that would never resolve anything after hanging around Rikku for so long. He no longer held a grudge against them either.
He walked away from them wordlessly, electing to give them some privacy. He spotted Lulu standing with her back to him in the place where they had gathered around a small fire upon their first arrival in Zanarkand. Wakka went over to her and initiated the conversation. "What are you doin' here?" he asked curiously.
"As if it were any of your business," Lulu replied coldly. The blitzball captain remained silent, wondering if something was bothering her. Then she turned around when she noticed he was still standing there. "What do you want?"
"Oh, I…I just wanted…to talk, I guess," Wakka stuttered nervously.
"So talk."
"Well…Uhh…What do you think of Yuna getting married?" he blurted out, having no real topic of discussion in mind beforehand.
"Why do you ask now?" Lulu inquired, perplexed.
"Well, I mean, it's so close and all. I was thinkin' maybe seeing that statue of Tidus might give her second thoughts, ya?" Wakka replied.
"She seems happy. I think that if she wanted to back out of it, she already would have," she stated.
"Wait…Didn't you once say that if she wanted to marry the one she loves, you would have to object?" the Besaid native asked.
"I only said that because of what the outcome of her pilgrimage would be," Lulu answered.
"Oh, right."
"…Are you, of all people, having doubts about her marrying Grand Maester Adonijah?"
"I dunno. It's probably just somethin' stupid, ya? I mean, he's a good guy, but I can't help thinkin' about what Yevon did to us," Wakka admitted.
"It's only natural. I'm sure Yuna has had those same feelings at one time, too," Lulu said.
"So you really think it'll be okay?" he asked curiously.
"Honestly, I don't know. But if something happens…That's what we are here for," the guardian responded.
"Yeah, you're right."
Meanwhile, Rikku was exploring the newly rebuilt Zanarkand in awe of its beauty. "It's so pretty…" she said aloud to herself. Pyreflies still floated around and lingered in the holy city, lighting up the sky brightly at night. "I wish Tidus could see it. He would've been so happy to see Zanarkand like this…"
Then she thought about Yuna's upcoming marriage to the Grand Maester of Yevon. He seemed like a nice guy on the outside, but she couldn't be sure. All of his predecessors had been the same way. Rikku had thought that Tidus was the one for Yuna, but knew it was pointless for the High Summoner to hold back because of that. Even still, the Al Bhed felt presentiments about Adonijah. She had good reasons to feel that way due to the superficiality of the previous maesters. Regardless of the outcome, she would completely support Yuna to the fullest.
As Rikku strolled throughout the city, not paying attention, she walked right into Kimahri. The Ronso was not budged at all, but she was bounced back a step. "Whoa! Sorry, Kimahri. Didn't see ya there!" she apologized.
He looked down at her wordlessly. "You really need to talk more, you know? You shouldn't be quiet all the time," Rikku commented. The towering guardian still remained silent. The Al Bhed sighed in frustration. "I can see you're not gonna say anything, as usual!" she exclaimed. "Do you have something against me?"
The Ronso shook his head, still preferring not to speak. "Giving me an answer with words would be nice, you know!"
"Ronso say much without words. Kimahri not need them," he stated.
"What do you mean, you don't need words?! Everybody's got somethin' to say, and we can't understand what you're thinking unless you talk to us, you know?"
He still said nothing in reply. She rolled her eyes in annoyance. "Just forget it then. I guess you'll never understand us and we'll never understand you." Then she walked off on her own, continuing to travel around Zanarkand.
Author's Notes: I apologize that it took me so long to get the next chapter out. I had been working fervently on another story trying to get it finished. It's finally done, and I can concentrate on this one more. I also apologize that this chapter sucked, too. It probably wasn't what you would have expected or wanted after so long. Anyway, just let me know what you thought in a review.