Final Fantasy 10

Guilt

By Selina

Warnings: Rated R for later chapters.

Pairing: Tidus/Lulu, maybe others later I haven't thought that far ahead.

Disclaimers: Characters and places from the game mentioned in my story are from FFX belonging to Squaresoft not me. So don't sue me.

Setting: S.S.Winno is approaching Luca.

Author's Quick Note: There's brief harmless bit of nudity in this chapter and also a lot blood. You've been warned. Enjoy!

Chapter Three - Losing

Lulu moaned and slightly opened her eyes almost blinded as the rays of sunlight casting down on her. She blinked a few times but then realised that she was on someone's shoulder. She turned her head slightly and looked up at Tidus, who was grinning down at her, his arm wrapped safely around her bare shoulders.

They were sitting on the deck of the S.S.Winno under the canopy. There was a cool morning breeze coming for the ocean that gave her goose bumps.

"How long have I been asleep?" She asked making no attempt to move.

Tidus yawned. "About six hours, I think."

"Why didn't you wake me?" Lulu enquired.

"Didn't have the heart to. You looked like you needed the rest." He squeezed her shoulder. "You feeling better now?"

"I am." She nodded then looked around. "Are we in Luca yet?"

"No but the Captain said we'd get there in just under an hour." Tidus said rubbing her shoulders. "Cold?"

"A little." Lulu sighed. She'd almost forgotten what it felt like to be in someone's arms like this. She was enjoying it. "Did you stay up all night?"

"No. I just woke up a little while ago myself." Tidus said while yawning.

Lulu looked up at him and smiled. Slowly she eased away from his shoulder and stood up. She stretched a little, arching her back. "I'm going to freshen up before we reach Luca." She stated gazing down at him. "But first I'd like to thank you for last night. It did me a lot of good."

Tidus smiled back at her rubbing the back of his head. "Anytime. I'm just glad I could help." He jumped to his feet.

"I'll see you later then." Lulu turned and headed down the stairs to the lower deck.

Tidus stretched then folded his arms. To tell the truth he hardly slept a wink that night, he couldn't stop looking at her while she slept. He had brushed away all her tears and watched her for hours, trying to understand why he was feeling this way towards a woman he'd only know for three days.

He really felt it for her when he saw how much pain she was in. All the tears she'd kept inside of her had now evaporated into the air. She could have gone to Wakka, who'd she's known for years and talked to him about it but she chose to stay with Tidus.

Tidus grinned. Maybe after the tournament he could talk to her some more, just casual chat, to get to know her a little better. Tidus was definitely looking forward to that.

*

Lulu unhinged the back of her dress and slipped her arms out. Then she slid the rest of the dress over her milky thighs and placed one foot into the bath. She sighed with pleasure then put the other foot in. Gradually she eased herself into the piping hot water and rested back. She gently brushed the bubbles up so they rested against her large breasts that bobbed to the surface of the water. Grinning slightly she then proceeded to unplait her hair.

Lulu hummed the Hymn of the Fayth to herself. She hadn't felt so good in such a long time. Finally she had let Chappu go and even though she still loved him, she felt as though she could move on.

Just as Lulu finished undoing her hair there was a gentle knock on the door. She shook her hair out and glanced at the door. "Someone's in here." She said abruptly brushing her hair away from her face.

"I know. Can I speak with you?" Yuna asked from the other side of the door.

"Hold on." Lulu quickly hopped out of the bath then grabbed a towel to wrap around her dripping body. She walked to the door and unlocked it. Lulu pulled the door open and smiled at the young summoner.

"Sorry to bother you." Yuna bowed her head.

"It's no bother. Come in." Lulu stepped aside to let the summoner pass then closed the door behind her. "What's the matter?"

"Well…I…" Yuna turned to Lulu holding her hands behind her back.

"Umm?" Lulu waited patiently for the daughter of Braska to continue.

Lulu had always thought of Yuna as a younger sister since she came to Besaid ten years ago. She could always tell if Yuna was uncomfortable with something by her simple gestures. Especially when she didn't look at you straight in the eye that was a sure sign she felt uneasy about something.

Yuna glanced over to the bath. "I wanted to ask about Tidus."

Suddenly Lulu was the one to feel uneasy. She shifted her weight onto one foot and folded her arms under her chest. "What about him?" She asked calmly.

"Well…do you believe that he's from Zanarkand?" Yuna asked looking directly at Lulu.

Lulu let out a breath. "I don't know."

"Well do you believe that he's Sir Jechts son?"

"Could be. It's hard to tell." Lulu said. "Maybe he's still effected by Sins toxins."

"But don't you think if Sins toxins effected him it should have worn off by now?" Yuna asked leaning forward slightly.

"Maybe, I really can't say."

Yuna sighed. "I really hope he finds someone he knows in Luca. Then at least he'd have a home to go back to."

Lulu looked down.

"But what if Sin didn't effect him? What if he's really from another world altogether? That means he's all alone in a world he knows nothing about." Yuna said solemnly.

Lulu's heart clenched. She couldn't believe that she'd been so selfish! She'd only been thinking about her pain, her suffering. She didn't think to herself that he's suffering too. That he was lonely as well. Maybe he felt like crying or at least talking about it last night and she just fell asleep on him.

"Lulu? Are you okay?" Yuna stepped towards her guardian.

Lulu looked up at Yuna and managed to smile as she put her hand on her shoulder. "It's best not to think like that. I'm sure he'll be fine when he gets to Luca."

Yuna shrugged. "I guess you're right."

Lulu nodded. "Right. Make sure you keep focused on our journey Yuna. Remember you have something very important to do."

"I know. I haven't forgotten." Yuna smiled. "Sorry if I interrupted you. I'm going to find Wakka so I'll be on my way."

Lulu watched silently as Yuna headed for the door. Yuna looked back at Lulu, waved then walked out of the door leaving Lulu alone with her thoughts.

*

Yuna grinned at her guardians, as they were about to leave Luca. They had managed to find someone Tidus knew all right, the famous guardian Sir Auron. Both Tidus and Auron had offered their services to Yuna and she accepted gratefully.

"Okay we're going to take the Mi'ihen Highroad north towards Djose Temple. And guardians don't forget to smile." Yuna bowed then headed up the steps leading to the Highroad.

Tidus sighed and followed her up the stairs. Right now he didn't feel like smiling at all, not after finding out that his own father was Sin. The very creature Yuna was out to destroy. He still didn't understand it properly but Auron said that in time he would. But Tidus didn't think that he'd understand it at all.

Why would his father do such terrible things? Tidus knew his father wasn't the best person in the world but he didn't think that he'd just go around killing people and destroying villages and towns everywhere. And how did he get to Spira in the first place?

Lulu stepped beside Tidus and gave him a concerned look. "Are you okay?" She asked.

Tidus feigned a smile but she could tell he was straining himself to pull it off. "I'm fine."

She regarded him a little longer. "You sure?"

"Of course." Tidus flexed his muscles for her and smiled.

Lulu raised an eyebrow then turned away from him. "You're a real guardian now so no mistakes understood?"

"Yes ma'am." Tidus grinned after her as she walked down the Highroad. That woman will never change! Still has that cold attitude but I guess I'll have to work around that, Tidus thought walking after her.

*

The group travelled down the Highroad for what seemed too long for Tidus. They'd been walking for way over an hour fighting the fiends as they came. The fights seemed a little easier with Auron with them but the creatures on this road were very strong and Tidus didn't know how much more he could take.

"Hey guys!" He was trailing behind so they had to look back at him. Tidus stopped and put his hands on his knees breathing heavily. "Can't we take a break?"

"We should keep moving." Auron said calmly.

Tidus looked at him. "But I'm exhausted. I need a moment to catch my breath. Remember I'm new at this fighting thing."

Auron stepped forward. "It's dangerous to stay in one place."

"But Auron…."

Yuna walked toward Auron. "Can't we rest a little? I'm kind of tired too."

Auron let out a moan and shook his head. "Okay we'll rest there." He gestured in the direction of a small shelter. "But not for long. We need to get to the inn before nightfall. We'd never survive a night out here."

"Great!" Tidus jogged to the shelter and sprawled out on the grass staring at the setting sun.

Wakka came up beside him and smiled. "I wanted to thank you earlier."

"What for?"

"For being in my team at the tournament."

Tidus turned his head toward the older man. "Why? I said to you we'd win but we lost."

Wakka sat next to him. "That doesn't matter to me. It's just that even though we lost against the Goers, we've never lasted that long with them and never scored a goal. But you scored two! That was amazing brudda."

Tidus smiled. "Thanks. But you came through for the team in the start against the Al Bhed Psyches."

"I know. Maybe…when all this is over I'll join the team again." Wakka said more to himself than to Tidus.

Tidus sat up. "I'll join too."

Wakka was delighted. "Really?"

Tidus gave him the thumbs up. "Really. We could rematch against the Goers and make the Goers goners!"

"That would be great." Said a voice from behind.

Tidus and Wakka both turned to see Yuna smiling at them. "Score one for me, okay Wakka?"

Wakka looked sadly at Yuna. "I will."

Tidus frowned not knowing why Wakka seemed so downhearted. Tidus looked over at Lulu who stood a little way from them by Kimarhi. She looked up at Tidus as if sensing him watching her. She just stared at him for a while, an expressionless look on her face. Tidus smiled and winked at her. She blinked then slowly gave him a beautiful smile.

Tidus loved it when she smiled. It's like her whole face changed. His heart skipped a beat, he didn't know how much longer he could resist grabbing her and crushing her in his arms. The night before when she slept on him was so nice and peaceful it made him feel like he…

Suddenly out of nowhere a Dual Horn came crashing out of the bushes behind Lulu. She turned around just in time and moved out of the way of the ferocious fiend just as the creature blew a ball of fire at her. Quickly she cast Blizzard on the attack freezing the fireball before it reached her.

Tidus and the others jumped to their feet and rushed toward the beast. Wakka, Yuna, and Kimahri stayed back. Auron stood closest to the beast. "Be careful. This fiend is the strongest on this road. Don't take stupid risks."

Tidus stood by Lulu, his sword drawn. "Are you okay?" He asked staring at the beast that was growling at them.

"I'm fine." She said readying herself to perform another spell.

The beast Dual Horn stood about nine feet tall and was a dog type creature. Two large horns stuck out from its back and it had large and powerful paws. It glared at them with fierce yellow eyes and blood dripped from its large nasty fangs suggesting that it'd had its starter and was now after the main course.

Tidus lunged forward slicing the creature with a range of sword attacks while avoiding its sharp horns. Auron ran up to the beast cutting up its flesh and drawing its attention from Tidus. Wakka proceeded to throw his ball at the beast and Lulu used her magic to try and slow down the creature a little. Yuna stood further back with Kimarhi casting her healing spells when they were needed.

Tidus jumped on the beasts' back and lifted his sword to plunge it into the top of the beasts' head. But the Dual Horn shook violently causing Tidus to stumble, fall and hit the ground right by its paw.

"Damn!" He cried feeling slightly disorientated.

"Tidus get up!" Lulu cried.

The Dual Horn rose on its two back legs and let out a deafening roar. Tidus looked up just to see the paw coming right down toward his face. He rolled out of the way just in time and jumped to his feet only to be knocked down by the other claw causing a huge gash across his chest.

Tidus fell back again howling in pain. The creature stepped toward him but then Auron stood in the way and continued to slash at the fiend. Lulu rushed over to Tidus and crouched by his side so her back was facing the beast. She grabbed his hand then looked over at the summoner who was staring at the beast in fear.

"Yuna!!" Lulu yelled glaring at her.

Yuna looked over and saw that Tidus was in need of her help. "Sorry!" Quickly Yuna healed Tidus and Lulu saw his wound close before her very eyes.

Tidus opened his eyes and looked up at her. "Hi." He said with a lazy grin.

"You okay?" Lulu asked, her voice and face full of worry.

He nodded. He then looked down at his hand in hers and smiled. She smiled back then what Tidus saw next horrified him.

"Lu!" Wakka cried but it was too late.

The beast appeared right behind Lulu then sunk its teeth into the soft skin of her neck and shoulder. Blood squirted from her wound and into Tidus's face as he stared at her in shock. Her eyes were wide open and her pupils had dilated, he was sure that she was dead.

The beast lifted her so her feet were no longer touching the ground then threw her aside. Her body flew up into the air and crashed hard into the ground surely breaking some bones.

Anger blinded Tidus as he lunged at the creature by passing Auron that lay on the floor being healed by Yuna. Tidus screamed as he slashed the creature with amazing force. He didn't stop until all it's limb were separated from its torso.

Tidus was breathing heavily as he pulled his sword out of the Dual Horns back. He looked over to Yuna that was crouched by Lulu's side. Tidus slowly walked to her, covered in blood and dragging the sword behind him.

"Will she be okay?" Tidus asked breathlessly.

"I...I don't know." Yuna sobbed her tears falling down her face. "My magic's not working."

"She'll be alright though?" Wakka asked with tears in his eyes too.

Auron stepped forward. "Not if we stay out here. We need to get to the shelter, they may have medical supplies we could use."

Tidus stared down at Lulu. Her eyes were closed but there were splashes of blood across her face. Her skin was paler than before and he would have thought she was dead if he didn't hear her hoarse breathing.

Tidus looked down at her neck and shoulder where the skin was torn and turned away quickly. The wound was serious and he knew that if they didn't get to the inn soon she would die.

To Be Continued…

Author's Notes

I'm really glad with the responses I have received. Thanks to those of you who reviewed my earlier chapters, it's really boosted my confidence. I've found that I really enjoyed myself writing this story. But if you have any suggestions at all or know anyway that I can improve, then let me know. Also if you liked this chapter or even if you didn't then submit a review.

^_^

Thanks for Reading!