Chapter Two

*Swish Swish*

*Swish Swish*

What's that sound, he thought to himself.

*Swish Swish*

Is that water?  Why can I hear?

*Swish Swish*

Why is it so cold here?

*Swish Swish*

Why am I feeling?

*Swish Swish*

If I can feel…then can I see too?

With an extraordinary amount of effort, Tidus forced his eyes open. 

Where am I?

He gathered all of his energy and fully extended himself.  As he did, he felt all of his bones pop and all of his tendons stretch. 

Aaahhhhhh, he screamed to himself.

*Swish Swish*

I am most definitely underwater, he mused to himself.  With a sense of determination, he started kicking his legs forward and rose to the top of the water.  When he broke through, he had to shield his eyes from the blinding light of the sun.  After a few moments his pupils started to adjust.  As he looked around to try and get his bearings, he saw a piece of land out of the corner of his eyes.  He didn't know why he should swim there, or what or whom he will meet.  He just took a breath and started swimming ashore.

------

"Yunie!!"

A young blonde girl came rushing up through the crowded streets of Besaid, nearly knocking over a couple of the market shoppers in the process.  The small village has seemingly erupted in the past two years.  The population of Besaid has almost tripled, now that the threat of Sin was no longer.  People who lived far inland, trying to get out from the veil of Sin's shadow are now able to migrate to the seaside towns and villages.  Besaid, especially, had become a tropical hotspot over the years.

"Yunie!!" came the voice of the Al Bhed, even louder this time.

This time Yuna heard her cousin and long-time friend.  She turned around just in time to receive a big hug from Rikku.  "Hey Rikku," she said, still in the embrace.  "It's good to see you."

As they finished their hug, Rikku asked "How ya been?"

"Oh I'm fine," Yuna replied in a monotonous tone.  Obviously, Yuna still wasn't fine.  She may never be fine.  But she will continue to put on a front for her friends and her family, Rikku being both.   "What brings you to Besaid?" she asked, trying to keep the subject away from her well-being.

"Well," Rikku said, placing a hand on her hip.  "It's a little bit personal, and a little bit professional."

"Go on," Yuna said, sitting down on a chair outside her hut.

"We'll, I had to go to Kilika because Jarvis, you've met him right?"

Yuna nodded.  At one point or another, she had met all of Rikku's entourage.  Being the Al Bhed representative to the Assembly of Spira required a lot of staff.  I should know, Yuna thought to herself.

"We'll, he's from Kilika," Rikku continued.   "And his dad passed away, so I gave him a weak of leave.  I felt bad so I thought that I should stop by and pay respects to the rest of his family.  So while Jarvis is there, I thought I would stop in and see my favorite cousin."  Rikku's words came off of her tongue a million miles a second, as she couldn't contain her excitement over seeing Yuna.

By then the rest of Rikku's crew, which she jokingly called "The Boys" caught up with her. 

"Lady Yuna," the first one said, while showing a little bow of respect. 

"Hey," she replied, while desperately trying to remember his name. Garis? Or was it Gavin?  "You are all welcome here," she said.  "Welcome to Besaid."

"All right boys," Rikku said as she turned to her crew.  "You're dismissed.  Me and Yunnie have some girl talk to take care of."    With that, everyone dispersed around town.  Seeing that scene made Yuna slightly regret leaving her position as Besaid Representative.  "My heart wasn't in it," she had once said.  That comment struck most of the elders as being ironic, because it was her idea for the United Government of Spira. 

"Spira is free," she remembered saying to the assembled Maesters of Bevelle those long two years ago.  "But it is in disarray.  It is obvious now that Yevon cannot control the people.  What we need, is one central government.  We need to come together, not as Al Bhed, Yevonites, Lucans, but as the people of Spira.  We need to all be as one, and only then can we move on.  Only then, can we bring Spira back to the magnificent and beautiful world it once was."

Everyone loved it. 

Over the next few days, all of the head Maesters, elders, and politicians worked hard on a plan to unite Spira.  When they had finished, a blueprint for United Government of Spira was born. 

There were to be ten representatives and a central figurehead to be placed on a Board of Assembly.  Each representative came from each of the major parts in Spira: Besaid, Kilika, Luca, Djose, Guadosalam, Macalania, Bevelle, Al Bhed, and Gagazet.  The central figurehead, called the Grand Marshall, is voted every five years.  Although the position is the highest ranking one in the government, it has really no peacetime power.  Many of the elders still were hesitant to offer somebody full reign of Spira.  At first, the position was offered to Yuna, who accepted it initially.  However after a few days she had changed her mind.  Her official excuse:

"My heart isn't in it."

But really, she couldn't focus.  Her mind kept drifting away, always to him.  So she stepped down and voted Luzzu in her place.  Luzzu was a wise man that she trusted to do the right thing.  The fact that he was a Crusader gave him even more appeal.  It was around that time is when she first started to look older, more mature.  Stress, worry, and heartbreak finally began to take its toll on her.  She looked as if Father Time had a grudge against her.  Often, she looked the way she felt.  And she felt like part of her soul had been ripped out the instant Tidus leapt off of the edge of the Airship. 

-----

Rikku also had another reason for coming to Besaid.  The warm beaches of Besaid were an excellent place to clear your head.  She had been sitting out here on the same pier that Yuna had used yesterday for a couple of hours now.  She had her feet dangling over the side, just letting her mind rest.  Now that the tide is up, the water is close enough so that when a big wave came along it would reach up and kiss the young Al Bhed's feet.  When she first came out here, the sun was setting.  It was beautiful seeing the reds and oranges sparkle off of the horizon.  She could hear a flock of gulls somewhere crying out in the late evening.  It was very relaxing. 

Today had been a day of mixed emotions for her.  Although it was great seeing everybody, and seeing how far along Lulu was, she couldn't help but think about Yuna.  She's not even the same person she once was.  Rikku said something today to Lulu that she regretted, even though it was true.  Truth hurts sometimes, she thought.  Even when it is about family; No, especially when it is about family.   They were discussing how much Yuna has changed when Rikku said:  "You know, if I didn't know her, and if she wasn't my family and friend, then I wouldn't hang out with her.  I don't like the person she is becoming."

Immediately she scolded herself.  But it's the truth, she later thought.

"Oh well," she said aloud as she got up and dusted herself off.  "She'll come out of this someday."

After a few seconds pause she added, "I hope," and then turned to walk back towards the village.

Rikku had almost left the beach when she heard something.  It was nothing more than a faint noise being carried by the soft night breeze.  She wouldn't have stopped if she didn't hear it again.  It sounded like somebody, way over in the dense jungle.  It sounded like a slight moan.

"Hmmm.  I wonder what that could be," she thought aloud putting her finger up to her lips.

"Hey!!" she yelled.  "Is anybody over there."

After a moment of no reply, she took a precarious step into the jungle, and then disappeared into the darkness. 

"Eww," she said as her hand touched something moist.  "You better be glad I'm coming over here buster," she said aloud.

That time she got a response. 

"Mmmmmm-uahhhhhh."

It sounded close by, and it sounded somehow familiar.  She took a few steps in that direction before she cracked her shin on a branch.  "Ow!" she screamed in pain.

Almost in reply, came another faint groan.

"Allright, allright.  Geesh."

She actually didn't know how much farther she had to go.  That is, until she stepped on something that moved.  At first she screamed, thinking it was a snake, or some kind of fiend.  But then she realized it was far too big to be a fiend.  She then looked down, and after a few moments of staring, she was able to make out a vague human shape, curled up into the fetal position.

"Are you all right," she asked bending over to attend to the figure.  It was then that she realized that the figure was none other than Tidus.  Her knees buckled and she felt dizzy.  She had to reach out and grab a tree for support.

"Tidus!!"

"Tidus!!" she called again, almost screaming.

Her only reply was another deep rumbling moan.

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Author's notes

1—Will Tidus be ok? What will Yuna do now that the man of her dreams is back? Will the chaos ever end? Stay tuned for the next chapter.

2—All names, characters, places, and events referred to are copyrighted by Squaresoft.

3—Again, I have ABSOLUTELY no idea where this story is headed. I just had a couple of ideas and I'm running with them. So any ideas or feedback would really be awesome.

4—Recommended reading: Otherworld, by Blithering Bard. No this isn't a paid advertisement, it's just a really, REALLY good fic. Probably the best I've read. It's long, but well worth it.