Disclaimer: Heh… I just realized that I've never bothered to put a disclaimer in any of my writing. Better late than never, ehh? Okay… umm, Squaresoft? I'm poor. Dirt poor. Poorer than poor. So, if you were to get all mad at me and decide to sue or something, I think you'd be out of luck. In other words, don't sue the poor fanboy!

Chapter VIII: Distance

I wanna be with you now
Futari de distance chijimete
Ima nara maniau kara

- Utada Hikaru, Distance

"Kaemon… how goes everything? You look troubled."

Kaemon looked up at his master with fright written on his face. "Not good."

"What is that supposed to mean?"

His voice cracked ever so slightly. "The Ronso… it got away."

The fuzzy image of the entity scowled harshly at Kaemon. "Do you realize what you have just done?"

"Yes… forgive me."

"You were the one who suggested we test him instead of killing him outright. That Ronso knows too much!" Kaemon looked at him fearfully.

"My lord… I only wanted to test the serum on a living entity. I was going to…"

"Silence! I will deal with your idiocy later. Find and destroy that Ronso… that boy and his companions probably already know too much now."

"Shall I kill them as well?"

"No, you bumbling fool! I've told you before that I have plans for Tidus. Because of you, we may have to take care of his wife sooner than planned."

"Yes, Master."

"That's all," the entity boomed, startling Kaemon. "Get out of my sight."

Kaemon bowed slightly and stormed away from the portal.

He cursed harshly to himself.

"What have I done?"

He had no input on the matter… he was now trained for badness, and he could not change his path.

Or could he?

He hadn't any time to think of it at the moment. The dark dictator set about gathering soldiers… a regiment of darkness whose target was Besaid Island.

________________________________________________________________

Radiant sunlight filtered through the sheer curtains, urging the slumbering young woman to awaken.

"Mmn," she sighed happily, turning over in bed to grasp… wait.

She opened her eyes quickly, remembering that he wasn't there. Her sleepy smile turned into a sad frown, and she exhaled sharply. Closing her eyes once again, she buried her head deeply into the soft feather pillow. Tidus' pillow... it still smelled like him.

"Such a good dream," she whispered sadly into the pillow, the only pillar of support that was comforting her shaky nerves at that moment.

"Such a wonderful dream," she groaned lustfully, with more than a hint of anguish mixed with the lust. Quickly pushing the erotic memories of her dream out of mind, she buried her head still deeper into the pillow, fighting the tears.

She had greeted the past three mornings without him. When she could escape her problems with sleep, life seemed okay… she dreamt of him often.

Yuna frowned… her lips curved downward in such fashion, the foul look contradicting how she had felt for over a year. The world had brutally crushed her happiness just a few days prior, and she was attempting to pick up the pieces.

"I don't even remember falling asleep… Lulu must have put a strong one on me this time."

No matter how hard she tried, sleep wouldn't claim Yuna. So, every night Lulu would come in as Yuna cried and gently cast a powerful sleep spell on her. It was the only way she was keeping her health. She had to keep her health… there was only a couple of months to go.

As if knowing that she was thinking of it, the baby inside of her kicked lightly, demanding her mother's attention. Yuna smiled, despite her gloomy aura.

"Hi there… you hungry?"

"I haven't been feeding myself like I should. Tidus… wouldn't be happy with me right now."

She stood up arduously from her bed, the weight of a seven month old child hindering her efforts. She walked up to the large mirror on her dresser and frowned more, if such a thing were possible.

"I look horrible."

"Tidus definitely wouldn't be happy with me."

She picked up a brush from atop the dresser and started slowly undoing the tangles in her hair that restless sleep had caused. As she went through the repetitive task, she took a glance at the picture sitting upon the wooden dresser.

One of her and Tidus' wedding pictures.

She put down her brush and placed a shaky hand on her mouth, trying to hold back the sobs that threatened to envelope her. Her other hand moved to the picture and stroked the image of Tidus' face. Her fingerprints left a lasting impression upon the glass, leaving a smudge on his piercing blue eyes.

The tears came.

"Tidus… oh how I dream about you." They were always such good dreams.

"I miss touching you, living with you, loving you… making love to you. And it's only been three days." It seemed like such a long time.

"If three days is this bad, how can I live like this? I need you… I can't raise a child alone."

The tears continued.

"Just… let me know if you're alive, at least. Let me… I need you."

She wiped her eyes roughly. Not wanting to wake Lulu, she walked quietly down the hall to the kitchen. Hot tears relentlessly ran down her face as sad thoughts racked her brain."

"It's like history is repeating itself all over. It's like he jumped off the airship again…"

And it felt like her heart was getting trampled on mercilessly. She looked around the kitchen, trying to remember what she was in there for. Her thoughts were overwhelming her.

"I don't want history to repeat itself! I don't want to wait another six months for you! What if you don't come back this time? Then what will I do?"

The coffee pot… that's what she was there for. She started a pot of strong black java, the aroma filling her nose.

"Just the way Tidus likes it."

Her shoulders drooped, remembering the pregnancy.

"Too bad I can only have decaf."

She smiled when she thought of Tidus… he had insisted to drink decaf along with her.

"Hey, it's my baby too! If you have to drink that nasty stuff because you're pregnant, I drink it too!"

Yuna went about cooking some eggs. She thought it would be best to eat that morning… not because she was hungry, but because the baby was. Yuna promised herself that she was going to keep her baby healthy.

Her and Tidus' baby… it was ironic, actually. It seemed as if Tidus' family legacy stretched further than just his father and mother. Anya, Jecht's love and loyal wife… she died because she missed her husband immensely. She left poor Tidus in the shadows as she drowned in her sorrow, making him an orphan in the process. All because her love for Jecht was so strong that she could not go on without him.

"Tidus really got the short end of the stick…"

Now, Tidus and Yuna… the father and mother of their future child were in the same predicament. The baby didn't have a father, and Yuna felt like she wanted to die. It was as if they were a modern day Jecht and Anya tragedy.

"No…"

Yuna wasn't going to let it happen. She put her hand gently to her stomach as if letting her little one know of the reassurance of its mother.

"I'm not going to wither away for you, I promise. Tidus… he would be so mad at me if I did."

She sighed as she took her first sip of morning coffee. It never tasted as good without the caffeine. She looked out the kitchen window, staring wondrously at the breathtaking sunrise. Her eyes took on a look of firm resolution, and she once again put a gentle hand on her belly.

"You'll always have a mother. And I'll tell you stories about daddy, and how much of a hero your daddy was, and…"

Upon realizing what she was implying... that she was talking like he was already gone, Yuna shook her head decisively.

"What am I saying? I'll let you meet Daddy yourself."

As Yuna continued to watch the brilliant sunrise, she had to smile in spite of herself; naughty thoughts about her gorgeous husband had been getting the best of her.

"Such a *wonderful* dream. Felt so… real."

________________________________________________________________

Tidus woke up with a start… a dream, it was only a dream.

"Yuna. Not pregnant any more… very naked, very much with me." He smiled a little.

"Very… naked."

Tidus sighed loudly as he rolled to his side. "Just a dream. Yuna... damn I miss you."

He stood up laboriously, trying to shake off his melancholy and weariness. He caught a glimpse of Rikku cooking something on the fire and walked over to her.

Rikku smiled brightly as she saw the blonde haired man walking tiredly over to her.

"Morning Tidus! I found some chocobo eggs this morning… thought it'd be better than our nasty rations." Tidus nodded in agreement and took a seat on the ground beside her. Rikku shriveled her nose for a second and looked at Tidus nervously.

"Say… these are Farplane eggs!"

Tidus smiled and ran a hand through his unruly hair. "Yeah… so?"

Rikku stared at the eggs crackling happily on the large rock being used as a frying pan and sighed. She turned her attention back to Tidus. "I'm not… I'm not gonna die or become undead or anything if I eat them!" She looked nervously at him and then stole a glance back at the eggs. Tidus smiled humorously as he watched her confidence crumble. Rikku looked back at Tidus.

"Right?"

Tidus laughed softly at her nervousness and shrugged. "Rikku… I'm sure it'll be perfectly safe." He looked at her, noticing that she wasn't convinced. Tidus sighed.

"Okay… I'll eat the first egg, if it'll make you feel any better." Rikku nodded and put the cooked egg on a small paper plate, handing it to Tidus.

Tidus took a piece of the egg off with his hand and started eating. Rikku looked relieved when she saw that her friend didn't keel over dead and Tidus smiled slightly. "You see… nothing will happen to you." Rikku nodded and started to put an egg on her own plate.

Noting Rikku's evident relief about the egg situation, an absolutely wicked idea formed in Tidus' mind. He reasoned that he shouldn't do such a thing, but he found it increasingly harder to resist. He grinned slightly as he took another bite of his egg.

Meanwhile, Rikku was about to start eating, until…

"Oh my God! Tidus, what's wrong?" Rikku shrieked, standing up quickly to check out her friend. Tidus was gagging and coughing, and his face was bright red.

"Eggs… the eggs, don't eat," Tidus wheezed loudly. Rikku yelled frantically for help as Tidus continued to gag and moan and cough…

And laugh.

Tidus started rolling around on the ground as uncontrollable laughter overcame him. Rikku looked confused for a moment, until she shot him an evil death glare.

"You…!"

Rikku's lip twitched in anger upon realizing what he had done to her.

"You…!"

She was speechless, trying to think of all the horrible things she could say to him and all the horrible things that she *would* do to him. Rikku stomped loudly over to where Tidus was laughing and starting kicking him ruthlessly on his right leg.

"Ha ha… hey, oww!"

"You… you meanie! I thought you were dying or something!" Tidus stood up quickly and dusted himself off. Laughter still escaped his lips as he looked at a very pissed off Rikku. It caused Tidus to rupture into even heavier laughter.

"Oh… the look on your face!" Tidus proclaimed brightly, gasping for air in between ragged laughter. "It was priceless!" Rikku kicked him on the shin, and Tidus yelped in pain. He scurried out of kicking range and looked back at Rikku. He laughed even harder as he humorously imagined steam coming out of Rikku's ears and nose.

"Ha ha… I'm sorry Rikku. Heh, I just could *not* resist that one." Rikku turned away and scoffed. Wakka walked up to them with a perplexed look on his face.

"Hey, I heard a scream of death, ya? What's going on?" Rikku shot daggers at Tidus and glared at Wakka.

"Nothing… Tidus is just a big stupid meanie head jerk is all!" Wakka gave Tidus a confused glance as his friend continued to laugh. Tidus walked up to him and relayed the story, and Wakka chuckled loudly with his friend.

"Hey Rikku," Wakka said in between his laughter. "You gotta admit… he got you good, heh." Rikku turned around and couldn't help but smile herself.

"Hehe… yeah, I guess you're right." She sent another wicked glare in Tidus' direction. "But I am *so* gonna get you back for that one!" Tidus gave her a mock salute.

"Give it your best shot!"

Rikku smiled, regardless of Tidus' cruel joke. At least he was joking again. "Hey, it's a start."

Tidus and Wakka's laughter eventually subsided and an uncomfortable silence came over the three of them. Rikku fidgeted nervously at the silence and started walking in the direction of Kimahri's tent.

"Say, I'm going to check on Kimahri." Tidus shrugged and waved her off. His gaze followed Rikku until she crawled into the small tent and then he turned his attention to Wakka.

"How's he doing, by the way?"

Wakka shrugged as he haphazardly kicked a rock. "Still sleeping… they really did a number on him, brudda." Tidus nodded in agreement.

"Yeah… I wasn't expecting for us to have to use an X-potion so quickly." Wakka sighed in response.

"Yeah… but it's the potion that probably saved his life. It was worth it, ya?" Once again, Tidus had to nod in agreement.

"Definitely."

"Hey guys!" Rikku proclaimed loudly as she ran up to them. "It's Kimahri… he's waking up."

Tidus and Wakka nodded sternly and headed in the direction of the small tent. It was an extremely tight fit, but they all managed to get inside the tent to see Kimahri. Their blue haired friend was rustling the covers as his tired eyes opened. He immediately shut them again, the light of day making him wince. He slowly opened them once more and looked at his friends. His voice was weak and raspy.

"Kimahri… hurts." Rikku looked sadly at him.

"You don't have to say anything, Kimmie." She smiled inwardly at what she had just called him. Under normal circumstances, he would have killed her for calling him that. Instead, Kimahri simply smiled at the young woman and looked at Wakka and Tidus.

"I'm, uhh, glad you're okay Kimahri. We found you just in time," Tidus proclaimed nervously. Kimahri nodded and tried to lean up. He immediately grunted in pain and recoiled back onto the thin sleeping bag. Rikku touched his shoulder gently and muttered incoherently as he was blessed with yet another Curaga spell.

"Thank you," Kimahri said quietly. Rikku nodded and looked at him expectantly.

"You need more sleep… it's an order, Mister Blue. Get some rest." Kimahri gave his best Ronso grin as Rikku put a small sleep spell on him. Kimahri groggily watched as his friends clumsily filed out of the small tent.

"Kimahri have good friends," he muttered quietly. As sleep was beginning to claim him, his mind jumped harshly at the remembrance of something incredibly important.

"Yuna!"

________________________________________________________________

"Say, Tidus?" Wakka proclaimed questioningly as they scavenged more firewood for the evening.

"Yeah?"

"You think they'll find us, the way we're all staying in one spot like this?"

Tidus shrugged in reply. "I have no idea. I really don't like doing this anymore than you do." He sighed loudly as he leaned up against a tall oak tree. "But I don't see how we have much of a choice, with Kimahri and everything."

Wakka nodded angrily. "You know they're just playing with us, ya? The way they just opened the door to the cave like that… It's like they don't think we're even gonna be a challenge or something!" Tidus nodded and chuckled a little.

"They'll see soon enough how much of a challenge we can be, huh?"

Wakka laughed. "You betcha! Say, don't you think you should help me out with this stupid thing?" Wakka asked as he pulled his sword out of the scabbard.

"Yeah, I guess you're right. Don't tell me no one ever taught you anything about swords." Wakka shook his head.

"No… my father taught me a bunch when I was really little. But after my parents were killed by Sin, all I really cared about was blitz ball. Then I found out that they made a pretty good weapon, ya?"

Tidus nodded as he pulled Caladbolg out. "Yeah, World Champion is pretty scary…"

Wakka looked at him thoughtfully for a second. "But…?"

Tidus laughed softly. "But… I'm expecting a whole lot of really close range fighting here. A blitz ball wouldn't work for that, no matter how scary it might look."

"So that's why you and Lulu made me use a sword… I think I understand now."

Tidus swung his sword back and forth. "Yep, you'll thank me in the end. Now, let's go!"

Tidus jumped haphazardly to Wakka and swung Caladbolg ruthlessly at him. Wakka parried with Avenger at the very last moment, the reverberation of the two blades' collision echoing loudly.

Wakka jumped a few feet back and nervously held up his sword. "What the hell was that, Tidus? That was my neck you were aiming for! You could've killed me!"

"Lesson one!" Tidus proclaimed as he attacked Wakka once again. "Never get caught by surprise. Always expect the impossible. Don't let anything catch you off guard!" Tidus yelled as Wakka retreated deeper into the woods. Tidus leaped quickly to the side as Wakka's blade hit thin air. He craftily stuck his foot out in front of Wakka, causing him to stumble ineptly.

"This is *not* a lesson, Tidus! This is a schoolyard bully stealing the little guy's lunch money!" Wakka lunged for Tidus angrily, sword in hand flailing about clumsily. Tidus merely stepped to the side as Wakka fell to the ground. The blonde haired warrior casually stepped up to his friend and pointed the blade at Wakka's chest.

"Lesson two," Tidus stated dryly, looking down at his angry friend. "Never let unchecked emotions control you in battle. Never. It doesn't work." Tidus reached a hand out to help his friend up.

Tidus patted Wakka on the back. "That's really all I can teach you… I know that you have a good grasp on sword technique. It's the strategy that's going to be important," Tidus said as he bonked Wakka lightly on the head, as if to engrain the information in his mind.

"You're cold," Wakka said loudly as he dusted himself off. "But you make some good points."

Tidus sighed and sat on large tree stump nearby. "Yeah, I just need to follow my own advice now." Wakka looked at him for a moment.

"Whaddya mean?"

Tidus clenched his fist and gritted his teeth. "I dunno. It's just… every time I think about being here, I get so pissed off. Yuna… she needs me more than this place. I'm afraid that since my heart isn't in this, it'll affect my fighting."

Wakka sighed and sat down beside him. "I know what you mean…"

Tidus smiled. "But…?"

"But… are you sure that Yuna needs you more right now?" Tidus looked upset by the comment, but Wakka continued.

"I mean… who knows what could happen if we just decide we don't want to fight anymore. Yuna… and everyone else in Spira could be dead if we don't do anything, ya?" Tidus nodded sadly.

"I guess you have a point."

Wakka nodded. "Do it for Yuna and the baby. That should be your reason to fight. Everyone has to have a reason to fight."

"What's yours?"

Wakka looked slightly bewildered at the question and turned to face Tidus. "Huh?"

Tidus looked at his friend solemnly. "What's your reason to fight? Who are you fighting for?"

Wakka gave Tidus a far away look and sighed. "I'm… I'm doing this for Lulu. I want Lulu to be safe, ya?"

Tidus nodded slightly. "Yeah, I think I feel just about the same way with Yuna. I just wanna protect her… always."

Wakka smiled at him warmly as Tidus' face turned a bright shade of red. His blonde haired friend turned away quickly. Wakka sighed.

"Brudda, you don't have to be embarrassed about anything. I've seen the love you and Yuna have for each other; it's nothing short of beautiful, man. I… hope one day me and Lulu could be like that. I don't know about you, but I'm going the distance on this one… for Lulu."

It was Tidus' turn to smile and Wakka's turn to blush. "Come on," he said softly as he stood up and stretched. "If we're gonna go the distance, we have to be prepared! Let's spar… I won't steal your lunch money this time."

Wakka laughed as he sprung into action, catching Tidus off guard. "No, but I might steal yours!" The sound of clanging metal reverberated harmoniously throughout the dreary Farplane forest, as two individuals trained for the safety of Spira… and for the safety of the ones they loved.

________________________________________________________________

Howling, ear piercing laughter filled the air of the makeshift campsite. Rikku, her face red from amusement, pointed mockingly at Wakka and put her other free hand up to her face in a poor attempt to try to hold back more giggles. It didn't work, and she delved into another riotous giggle-fit.

"How… how did you do *that*!" Rikku asked breathlessly, as Tidus joined her in laughter.

Wakka sat on a nearby rock, his face buried shamefully in one of his hands, and… his cowlick dangling limply in the other.

Tidus interjected in between his chuckles and looked at Rikku. "We were, uhh, sparring and… ehehe." Wakka gave him an evil stare as he interrupted him.

"I was excited because I beat him once, ya?" Tidus laughed.

"Yeah, so he did this little victory jig, all swinging his sword around…!"

Wakka glared at him. "Shut up! You don't have to make your swords so sharp, Tidus!"

Tidus laughed even harder. "My swords are meant for the battlefields, not the barber shop!"

Rikku couldn't contain herself… she collapsed on the ground in laughter, squirming around as she worked to get all the giggles out of her system. Wakka grunted as he stood up.

"Yeah… laugh it up, you guys, laugh it up! Look at me! What am I gonna do with my hair?" Tidus surveyed him for a moment and grinned.

"I dunno Wakka, I think it's somewhat of an improvement if you ask me. What do you think, Rikku?"

Rikku stole a glance at Wakka's butchered hair. "I think so too… but, we're going to hafta trim it up now." Wakka backed up nervously.

"Whoa there… no one's gonna touch my hair. I think I'd rather glue it back on!" he said enthusiastically, holding up his cowlick for emphasis."

Rikku giggled. "Ohh, come on Wakka. I used to cut hair for my family all the time, it'll be fine."

Tidus couldn't help but poke fun at that statement. "So that explains your brother's funky hair style!" Rikku stuck his tongue out at him and rummaged through her bag. She produced a pair of scissors and started walking up to Wakka.

"Did you put a shoopuf in that bag of yours too? Geez, you're a heavy packer!" Wakka grumbled as Rikku approached him.

"No, I just put in stuff I thought might come in handy." Rikku looked in Tidus' direction. "How do you think I should cut it, Tidus?"

Tidus looked at her as he thought what might look alright on Wakka. Rikku smiled and Tidus grinned widely.

"Crew cut!" they bother cheered in unison. Wakka once again sat down, accepting defeat and mumbling sadly about his precious hair.

"Tidus…"

All three of them turned quickly to face the direction the voice came from. Kimahri stood weakly at the tent and looked nervously at Tidus.

"Kimmie!" Rikku called loudly. "You shouldn't be up right now… you're still too weak."

Kimahri ignored Rikku's pleas and continued to look at Tidus. "Kimahri needs to talk to Tidus… alone."

Rikku started to interject, but Tidus put his hand on her shoulder to urge her not to.

"I'll be right there." Kimahri nodded and stumbled back into the tent. Tidus looked at his friends. "Well, maybe you two should get started on Wakka's new hair style?"

Rikku nodded and waved Tidus off. "Yep... go talk to Kimahri… it sounds important."

"Alright… I'll be right back." With that, Tidus walked to the tent and entered. Wakka breathed heavily and looked at Rikku.

"I wonder what that's all about?" he asked nervously.

"Yeah," Rikku chided. "Kimahri looked really disturbed." Rikku looked at Wakka's hair.

"Hmm, let's see what I can do about this mop. It'll be harder with out electric clippers, but I think I can get the job done."

Rikku set about cutting Wakka's unruly hair, but it was not long until Tidus came stumbling out of the tent. She dropped her scissors on the hard ground upon seeing her friend collapse onto his knees. He was white as a sheet and shaking uncontrollably. Rikku quickly ran up to him and put a gentle hand on his shoulder. Tidus looked up at her with frantic, tear stained eyes.

"Oh my God, Tidus! What's wrong?" Rikku looked at him harshly, remembering the prank he had pulled on her earlier in the day.

"Say, this isn't some kind of joke again, is it?" Tidus looked back to the ground… his companions barely heard his reply as he spoke at a volume just slightly above a whisper.

"Yuna… they're coming for Yuna."

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Author's Notes: Geez, I don't really know where to begin with these ANs. I guess number one on the list should be in the form of an apology, I think. Yeah, I'm really sorry for not updating in so long. Actually, I was considering putting this story on hiatus for a while. I just have not been getting good writing vibes from this story. Every single word I wrote in this chapter, I struggled with. You may or may not have noticed the writer's block in this chapter, but I've never had such an incredibly hard time writing something before. So, for those of you who actually remember this story, I'm so very, very sorry for the wait. I promise I'll try to do better.

Not only has writer's block been a problem, but I've also been incredibly busy. First off, I had school, but there was also the Christmas break. Well, the break was essentially one big social thing for me. My wife and I have made some awesome friends in the past couple of months, and we've been spending a lot of time with various people. Oh, and I also discovered DDR. (Dance Dance Revolution) The fact that I seem to be a natural at it, and that I'm keeping pace with people who have been playing it for years has also been a big reason for my not writing. That game is just so much fun! :D

So anyway, I just wanted to give you a little info about my life as of late. I want to try to finish this before FFX-2 is released in the states. Who needs a fan based continuation when we're going to be blessed with an official one, ehh? Please review! I really need the encouragement. You should expect more from me a little sooner, so don't give up on me just yet, okay? Thanks everyone.

Fire Rules