Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters. I *do* own the cool two poster set of Yuna and Tidus though! Wow...so pretty...*sparklesparkle*
Character thoughts are in "italics." Mirai e tsuzuiteru...
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She asked me if would stay till the end.
The end? There is no end for us. There never will be.
No, not till the end.
Always.
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Final Fantasy X: Beginnings
Chapter Six: Endless Road
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"This is our story now. We live it...together." Tidus said, a firm resolution in his voice.
"Tidus..." Yuna was at loss for words. She hugged him tenderly from their position on the floor. "Tell me if you feel this, ok?" She closed her eyes and concentrated, her body beginning to glow a faint green. In time, both of their bodies we surrounded by the warm glow.
Tidus could feel the warmth of her curative spell, but none of its healing effects. He slowly began to panic. "Yuna...it's not working..." he managed to get out between breaths. He could feel something within him, preventing the spell from doing its work. He could tell Yuna was starting to panic as well, a look of fear was apparent in her eyes.
"What can I do for you? You just came back and I can't do anything! I--I can't...I won't let it end this way!" Yuna cried, her voice rising.
"It won't end. Not now." His resolution was still firm. "Yuna...the bullet. There's something different about it," he moved a bit to feel his own wound, causing a sharp pain to shoot up his side. "Aaah! I-it's got to have a shell on it or something...!"
Yuna, seeing Tidus in pain, regained her composure quickly. "Don't move Tidus! Let me take care of it..." She looked up towards her other guardians. "Help me get him up! Quick!"
Kimahri was the first to move, the other guardians were still in shock from the events that had just unfolded before them. He gently picked Tidus up, getting him into a sitting position against the balcony wall. He paused and turned to Yuna before leaving Tidus there. "Yuna. Kimahri smell magic; bad magic."
"Yes...this is too strange..." Yuna got up as Tidus was lifted off from her, she was about to brush a few strands of hair from her face, but upon noticing the deep blood stains on her sleeves, she decided against it. She looked up to Kimahri. "Kimahri! Try to find that bullet! We're going to get it out!" She looked back towards Tidus, slumped over in the corner, but still holding on. He still seemed in apparent pain.
"Aaah!" Every time Tidus attempted to move, he lost a little energy as he did so.
"Tidus! Don't move!" Yuna immediately came by his side, her hands taking his jacket out of the way to see the wound. "Looks like it's got a poison spell attached to it..."
Rikku came to kneel down beside Yuna, her hands searching through her pockets, and handed something to Yuna. "Yunie, let him drink this, it should help." She smiled at her; a gentle reassurance that things would be ok.
Yuna looked down at what she had given her. It was an Elixir, something she hadn't had the need to use since... back then. "Thanks..." her voice sounded far away, even to herself. She snapped out of it quickly however, and turned her attention toward Tidus. She brushed a few strands of hair from his face and lifted his chin up slightly. "Here...drink this," she said gently.
"Sure thing, Grand Maestress..." he said and grinned his distinctive smile; even in his current state. He let Yuna pour the potent potion into his mouth, and immediately began to notice his wound closing up as he drank more. His energy came back little by little as his wound slowly disappeared, and the poison with it. The bullet made an audible clank on the stone surface of the balcony as it was ejected from his body. His head shot up suddenly; his whole body rejuvenated, and his senses restored. "Gaaaaah!"
Yuna and Kimahri were still by his side, both breathing audible sighs of relief.
"Tidus! We were worried, ya?" Wakka said worriedly. Lulu nodded in agreement.
Rikku smiled widely. "The special Al Bhed blend really does the trick huh?" She was happy for his recovery as well.
Tidus still couldn't believe his encounter. He checked under his bloodstained jacket to find his skin smooth and unscarred. He looked up to see all of his friends over him. "I'm ok...I think?"
Yuna hugged him tightly. "Thank goodness."
"He's ok, ya?!" Wakka yelled to the people in the stadium, and they started applauding.
Tidus was awed that everyone cared for him so much. He stood up slowly to wave to the people and to meet the eyes of his friends.
"So this is what it feels like to have family, huh? It's kinda...nice."
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As Yuna and her guardians walked out of the stadium, they were greeted suddenly by a worried Yeivel.
"Grand Maestress! Are you okay? How is Sir Tidus? Do you want me to find out who did this? What will you do about the speech on Zanarkand? And what about..." He was going hysterical; how was he going to get Yuna to join the Alliance if he couldn't do anything for her?
"Umm..." Yuna was at a loss for words, she was still frazzled from the whole thing. Her hand was intertwined with Tidus', she didn't want to lose sight of him...especially now.
"Hey..." Tidus started, he could see Yuna was beginning to become distressed.
Wakka butted in. "Just go away, ya?!"
Yeivel saluted them (though slightly discouraged). "Yes sir! I'll find out as much as I can!!!!" With that he ran off.
Wakka shook his head. "Weird kid...he never changes." He turned back towards the group. "Hey, let's all go home, whaddaya say?"
As soon as he said this, Kimahri quickly walked past all of them and on to the waiting ferry. He silently turned around, crossed his arms and...stood there. This earned him a weird look from Tidus, he still wasn't used to the Ronso's way of doing things. Yuna laughed. Same old Kimahri, always looking out for her.
"Yes...let's go home." Yuna tugged on Tidus' hand, and Wakka, Lulu and Rikku followed right behind her.
Tidus could've swore he saw the Ronso smile as he passed him by to enter the boat. It was a funny smile, but he liked the thought that the usually unemotional Kimahri had been worried about him too.
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The whole boat ride had been uneventful, as everyone had been silent the whole trip. Tidus understood...maybe. He had almost died. Again. His aquamarine eyes passed over the calm waters, spotting Besaid in the distance. He looked next to him to see Yuna lost in thought, her eyes looking nowhere in particular. He noted sadly that her sleeves were still stained with his blood. *Why do I always make her worry so much without meaning to? I have to make it up to her somehow...* Tidus was soon lost in thought himself, thinking of things that would cheer Yuna up to take her mind off of things.
Lulu came from behind the couple and was about to announce their arrival to the island, when the boat suddenly jolted at the dock, sending people flying down the deck...literally.
Lulu ended up bowling over Wakka in a big heap. "Hey Lu! How's it going, love?" Wakka smiled goofily at her. His arms wrapped protectively around her waist. "You gotta be more careful these days, ya?"
"Ow..." She rubbed a sore spot on her hip. "It's not like I can help it," she joked back. She really couldn't help being pregnant...that was more *his* fault, wasn't it? "Anyway, what just hap--*?"
She was interrupted as Rikku rolled into them, eliciting a collected "Oof!" from the two.
"Wakka, Lulu! I'm so sorry!"
Lulu, now sandwiched between two people, wasn't feeling in the best of moods. Thankfully, Kimahri didn't follow; he had found his balance on a nearby harpoon. Lulu, Wakka, and Rikku breathed a sign of relief.
"Hey, where's Yunie?" Rikku asked in her odd position.
"Right here." Yuna had landed right next to the trio, with a flustered Tidus in her arms. She had apparently acted faster than he did this time, as she took the brunt of the fall. It made an odd picture to say the least.
"She must've gotten faster from blitzball...or something..." Tidus thought, it was still hard for him to imagine Yuna attempting heroics.
"Tidus, you ok?" Yuna asked softly.
"Yeah, I'll be fine." He smiled at her. "Thanks."
Yuna blushed a bit at this. His smile still took some getting used to. It just made her feel...*The word? I...can't think of it. But, that's ok.* She smiled back at him, and the trio next to them all made faces at witnessing their lovey-dovey moment.
A loud "SORRY!" came from the captain after the boat stopped moving. He came out and ran up to Yuna, who was still sitting on the boat's deck.
"Lady Yuna, I'm so sorry! I'm kinda new at this and I misjudged the distance to the dock..."
"Hey mister! We could've been seriously injured y'know?" Rikku voiced. "And to top it all off, Yunie's been having a REALLY bad day! And..."
Lulu was about to say something, but being sandwiched between two people had its disadvantages after all.
Yuna waved her hand towards Rikku's direction, effectively stopping her rant. She looked up towards the captain. "Everyone's fine, that's all that matters. But sir, please be more careful next time, ok?" She slowly got up on her feet, as did everyone else.
"Yes m'lady!" He saluted. "Umm...now that we've stopped, you can get off now. The ramp has been prepared for you and your party." He bowed deeply and pointed the way.
Tidus trailed behind Yuna as they walked off the ship. He stared at her bare shoulders, and the her honey brown hair that barely brushed them. "The one on whom all Spira depends, huh? It's still really hard for me to believe."
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After the short walk to the village, everyone stepped into Yuna's hut, still in silence. There really wasn't much to talk about...without raising up touchy subjects, that is. Yuna sighed and sat down abruptly on one of the couches in the living room, leaned her head back, and covered her eyes with the back of her hand. The rest of her guardians seemed to understand her feelings and left her alone to do their own business. Everyone, except for Tidus that was.
Tidus sat down next to her. "Hey, rough day, huh?"
Yuna turned her head slightly and uncovered her eyes to look at him. "Yeah, I guess you could say that."
"Need a hug?" Tidus smiled and extended his arms out to her.
Yuna giggled despite herself. "You know, that's the best thing anyone's said to me all day." She leaned forward into his arms and wrapped her arms around his waist, relaxing her tense muscles as she did so.
"Hey, I've got an idea to take your mind off of things..." Tidus said after a short while.
"Hmm? Like what?" Yuna's head was still nuzzled in the crook of his neck.
"How does blitzball sound to you?" He grinned extra big, trying to convince her.
Yuna sat up. "Good idea, but...you just want to see me in that outfit, don't you?" she joked.
"And what if I do?" He pretended to look thoughtful.
"Shush you! I'm going to get changed!" With that, Yuna stood up, cheerfully walked to her room and shut the door.
"Looks like it worked," He sighed. Tidus was relieved that Yuna was in a better mood. If possible, he wanted to make her smile everyday. After all, that's part of a guardian's job, isn't it? It was true that he was looking forward to seeing Yuna in her form-fitting blitzball outfit, but that wasn't the only thing. Considering her lightning quick movements back on the boat, it made him wonder just how good at blitzball she had become.
The door to Yuna's room opened, revealing the bright yellow uniform that matched Tidus' own. "I'm ready, let's go!"
"Only one way to find out..." He picked up one of Wakka's blitzballs and walked out with Yuna toward the Besaid shoreline.
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Still in the hut, Wakka was bored. Rikku had gone back out to the Al Bhed Salvage ship to check up on things, Kimahri was outside doing...stuff, that left only one other person in the hut. Wakka smiled at the implication. He walked over to one of the rooms and opened the door slowly, peeking in. Lulu was currently sitting at a desk, obviously in deep thought. Wakka tiptoed in, planning to surprise her. He got as close as the back of her chair when he noticed her (flaming) right index finger.
"Remember the last time you tried to do that I almost burned the house down?" She extinguished the flame and went back to looking at her work.
"Aw, Lu. You know I'm just jokin'..." he looked over her shoulder. "Whatcha workin' on, love?" He saw a lone bullet on the desk, with some cloth under it. He gulped nervously. "Uh...Lu? How'd you...?"
She was still studying it. "Wakka. Something's not right about it." She turned it over, her eyes and hands working in unison.
"What do you mean?"
"This person meant business. So far, I've found Bio, Silence, Shell, Reflect and...Doom attached to this bullet." She sighed. "This was meant for Yuna, and if Rikku hadn't acted as fast as she did well..."
"But who would want Yuna dead?" Wakka was puzzled.
"It is inevitable that someone would be displeased with the current leadership...but judging from this, whoever it is, this person's got a deep grudge against her." Lulu said thoughtfully.
"Hmm. At least that Yeivel guy's working on it. As much as I dislike that kid..."
"I'll have to ask Tidus about what he saw later," she stood up, stretched her arms and let out a yawn.
"You work too hard Lu!" He put his hand on her shoulder. "Since blitzball practice is canceled today, how about you and me go out for the night?"
"Wait, before we go, do you think we have any pickles and ice cream around here?" Lulu rubbed her stomach. "I've got the weirdest craving..."
Wakka slapped his forehead. "Not again," he groaned jokingly.
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Yuna's legs splashed water up as she literally swam circles around Tidus. She surfaced suddenly, took his head in both of her hands, and dragged him underwater. She was expecting him to surface quickly, but he just smiled at her from underwater. "Oops...forgot about that..." She eventually had to surface for air.
Tidus tossed her the ball, and she bounced it a few times on her head, laughing as she did so. "Hey, that's pretty good!" he shouted out to her.
"I feel... like a seal... or something!" she said in between bounces. "Get ready!" She leaned her head back and started a back somersault.
Tidus was mesmerized by her skill. "In two years she's become *this* good? Playing alongside Yuna would be interesting to say the least..."
Yuna continued her back somersault, her head becoming partially submerged in the water, and her foot just barely making contact with the ball.
"She'll be like one of the 'guys'! Heh." He laughed to himself. Yuna? Going out to bars and fending off screaming fan girls? "Wait, fan boys..." It made him a bit jealous at the thought.
"POW!" Yuna's foot connected with the ball, sending it flying toward Tidus' direction. After landing and realizing that he wasn't really paying attention, she attempted to warn him. "Tidus! Watch out!"
"Huh?" Yuna's voice jolted him out of his straying thoughts, though a little too late. The ball made contact with his face, sending him splashing into the water, and the ball bouncing back to Yuna. She swam quickly to where he was.
She pulled him up out of the water. "Are you ok?" she asked worriedly, a bit embarrassed. It was her fault, after all.
He rubbed his forehead tenderly. "Whoa, I think you'd give Keepa a run for his money the way you shoot!"
"You really think so?" This was the first time he'd complimented her, and it felt...nice.
He smiled at her. "Yup."
She blushed at his compliment, and also at his smile. He had smiled like that on the boat before, and every time he did, it caught her off guard. She handed him the ball slowly, as a sort of apology, and smiled a little guiltily as she did so.
Little did she know, that he was thrown off guard every time she smiled as well. It just didn't show as much. He wondered if he was obvious about it on the pilgrimage...but shook the thought out of his mind quickly. "Hey, you wanna work on holding your breath today?"
"I thought you'd never ask!"
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Back on the beach, The corners of Kimahri's mouth upturned slightly as he watched the splashing couple. Some things never change.
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Author's notes:
Wow. A big sorry (again) for the long wait! I've been really busy at school, seeing as things are winding down to the final weeks. Chances are, with finals coming up for me and all, you won't see another update until my summer vacation. But let's hope not, ok? If you're still following this story, thanks! I'm SO glad my slow updating methods haven't driven you away...yet.
Now for story stuff, I was really diggin' out of a hat trying to come up with a chapter name. So if it doesn't make sense, now you know why. Same with the opening quote. And most of the chapter. Um. My groove WILL come back soon! Something pretty trippy (I think) is that most of the individual scenes were done on different days of the week. Cool, huh?
The Japanese at the top is from Tidus and Yuna's song Endless Love, Endless Road. "It continues into the future..."
Keep those reviews coming in, and *please* be constructive! Ideas for upcoming chapters wouldn't hurt either...*winkwinknudgenudge* and by all means, feel free to bother me by email or IM if I'm really pissing you off by not updating within the same month. (Hehehehe...) ;-)
Till next time everyone! Love ya all. :-)
*Update (5/28/02) Fixed a little grammatical thing. Thanks for pointing it out Fire Rules! :-)
