Disclaimer: I don't own FFX or any of its characters. But hey! At least I can draw (eeer...doodle) them! It's a start. ;-)
Character thoughts in "italics." Suteki da ne?
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Yuna found herself walking on the streets of Luca, her black boots making echoing sounds on the pavement. She stopped and looked up to the clear blue sky, shielding her eyes from the sun.
"Spira has been given the Eternal Calm, but..." Talking to no one in particular she whispered, her features bittersweet.
"My life seems anything *but* calm these days..."
**************
Final Fantasy X: Beginnings
Chapter Seven: Hope Eternal
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Yuna felt a tap on her shoulder, making her jump.
Tidus came to stand next her, and also looked up to the sky where Yuna had been looking. "Something up there?" he asked curiously.
"No, just...thinking." She replied a bit hesitantly. She smiled up at him, trying not to make him worry about her.
"Haha. Ok. I'll let you keep your thoughts to yourself. But if you ever want to talk about it..." Tidus grinned and pointed his thumb at himself.
Yuna laughed at his antics. "Alright. I'll keep that in mind," she said as she smiled sweetly at him. "Ready to go?"
He looked over to their destination. "Yeah. Who would've thought we'd be coming back here so soon?" Yuna looked over there as well, thinking the same thing. Somehow, she'd have to get over these bad memories like she had to do with so many others in the past.
They both started walking towards the Blitzball stadium, Yuna's fingers eventually intertwining with Tidus' as they did.
***************
At the gate of Guadosalam, two other guardians were also searching for answers.
"Just because Tidus said it was a Guado who shot the bullet doesn't mean they're in Guadosalam...does it?" Wakka scratched the back of his head. "Um... that's a bit racist, ya?"
"Wakka. You never cease to amaze me," Lulu said sarcastically, her braids flowing in the wind. "I know you're trying to be open-minded, but this is a logical place to look for clues about that matter."
"Well, just sayin' my bit. Don't want to start any conflicts unnecessarily, ya?"
Lulu turned to face him and smiled, just a little. "Rikku would be proud to hear you say such things."
"Hey, speaking of Rikku, where'd you send her off to Miss Leader?" He said jokingly.
Lulu smiled and paid no attention to the comment. "Rikku and Kimahri are out on the Al Bhed Salvage Boat to find out info where ever they can, and I also sent off Yuna and Tidus to Luca to see if they can find anything over there."
"Gotcha." Wakka motioned to the city. "Well. Since we're here, let's get this over with."
"My thoughts exactly."
***************
On the Al bhed salvage ship, another search was going underway.
"So...Kimahri? Um. Where do you want to start looking?" Rikku asked, standing behind Brother at the helm.
"....."
"Oook... no suggestions at all? Because if we don't find anything I don't want it to be all my fault you know!" She playfully hit his shoulder, but immediately regretted it.
Kimahri sighed, then finally spoke. "Kimahri think that Bevelle is a good place to start. The court of New Yevon is there."
"OK! There we go! Now that wasn't so hard, was it?" Rikku beamed, Kimahri just stood there, and Brother started the ship on its course to Bevelle.
***************
Back at Luca, Yuna and Tidus had already searched the balcony of the stadium, only to find nothing. The people who cleaned up after the fiasco did *too* good of a job apparently. Asking the people on the streets of Luca was out of the question as well, since people were constantly coming in and out of the bustling city. Eyewitnesses to the event would have been long gone.
"Wanna call it a day? Maybe the others found something huh?" Tidus said, trying to cheer Yuna up.
"Yes. I think that would be for the best," Yuna replied, looking up to meet his gaze. "And thanks for being here for me all this time...it means a lot."
Tidus leaned his head in closer to whisper, "When I said 'always' I meant it," He grinned and patted the top of her head. "...though I think that you, Grand Maestress, can handle anything!"
Yuna laughed. "Heeeey... I'm not a superwoman, you know! It's not like I can fly through the air and walk on water!"
Tidus looked at her incredulously.
"Well...maybe the walking on water part. Sometimes."
They both started giggling just a bit when suddenly, a man came from behind Yuna. With his hand stretching out slowly towards her, it looked like he was reaching for the money purse that hung from her obi. Tidus saw this, and dashed to try and stop him when Yuna just as suddenly whipped out her staff, spun it out behind her, then turned around, yelled, and gave the man a good whack on the head. She looked down at the dazed man, proud of her work, then looked up to a surprised Tidus.
"Yuna...?" He looked into her eyes. He couldn't believe what he just saw. Yuna just gave him an innocent smile.
" LADY YUUUUUUUUUNA!!!!" Another man was running towards them, with increasing speed. Tidus turned around and tried to figure out just what the heck was going on as Yuna readied herself once more for the oncoming attack, her staff poised and ready. When the man got within distance, Tidus dashed out to take care of him, not noticing Yuna's look of recognition.
"Leave it to me!" Tidus yelled, throwing his body into the attack.
"Tidus NO! That's..!" She flinched as she heard Tidus' punch connect. The man fell to the ground with a thud, and Yuna immediately ran to his side and knelt down to have a good look at his face. "You're...you're Yeivel, aren't you?"
Yeivel groaned and opened his eyes to look up at her. "Yes...and the other guy you knocked out over there was one of us too."
Yuna looked up at Tidus, and he looked back down at her.
"Whoops."
***************
Back at Guadosalam, Lulu and Wakka were getting nowhere... or so it seemed. Once in the town, the Guado recognized them as the Grand Maestress' guardians and kept their distance. This, of course caused Lulu to become suspicious. None of this kept Wakka from doing what they came to do, however. He pulled aside Guado after Guado on the street to question them.
"Hi! Do you know anything about..." Wakka started cheerfully.
"NO." A door was slammed in his face.
"We were wondering if you could help us with..." He motioned with his hands.
"I'm sorry, but I really can't help you." Another door slammed.
"Come on! Can't you tell me anything?!" Wakka said frustrated, his voice rising.
"I have no idea what you're talking about." The Guado then went back to his blitzball conditioning.
Wakka slumped his shoulders in defeat after about the tenth rejection. "...well. At least I tried."
Lulu leaned her head on his shoulder. "You tried your hardest, that's enough. And anyway, you've given me the best clue to this puzzle yet."
"What's that?" He asked, confused.
"This people's reluctance. There must be some reason behind it, am I right? And it definitely has something to do with Yunaaa...AAAAH!" Lulu suddenly keeled over in pain.
Wakka supported her in his strong arms. "Lu! What's wrong? What do you want me to do?"
Lulu's breathing became shallow and uneven. "Pray that this is another false alarm, or get me back to Besaid. NOW."
Wakka's eyes widened at his realization of the situation. He picked Lulu up in his arms and raced to the nearest save point he could find.
***************
At the gates of Bevelle, Rikku and Kimahri were at least having a more pleasant experience. The New Yevonites there couldn't tell them anything of significance, though they had said so in an excessively pleasant manner. Rikku, not one to be discouraged, continued to ask around the city only to find many people who supported Yuna as the Grand Maestress. Well, if she decided to join their group that is.
Rikku turned to Kimahri. "I guess we're just gonna have to just go home and see what the others got, huh?"
"...." It was Kimahri's usual reply.
Rikku shook her head. "With him, why do I always feel like I'm talking to a brick wall?"
A New Yevonite came up from behind Rikku to bid them farewell. "Thank you for coming to visit us. And please, send our regards to Lady Yuna."
"Will do! But this still doesn't mean she's going to join you guys you know." Rikku blurted out, her mouth running off before she had the chance to think about it. Kimahri frowned a bit when he heard this coming from her.
"Yes. Of course." The New Yevonite bowed, his voice becoming softer. "We hope to see you again." With that, he departed from them.
"Hmph! TOLD him! Didn't I?" Rikku boasted.
"....." Kimahri paused for a bit in thought then started to walk back to the ship.
"HEY! What's that supposed to mean?!"
***************
Everyone eventually made their way back to Besaid. Yuna and Tidus walked off of the S.S. Likki and started to head back to the village.
"Hey Yuna?"
"Yes?" She turned to face him.
Tidus appeared deep in thought. "You know, those people back at Luca were acting a bit strange you think? I mean, if the guy just wanted to talk to you, he coulda made it look like he wasn't trying to attack you... right?"
"I agree. I thought we wouldn't find anything there, but this certainly raises some suspicions. I know Yeivel means well, but New Yevon still wants to gain my support or..." her brows furrowed in worry. "...take my place?"
"We'll tell Lulu about this, she might be able to put everything together." He smiled reassuringly.
"Yes. You're right. At least we're getting somewhere with this..."
Before they knew it, they had arrived at the village, and they both started walking towards Yuna's hut.
"Yuna? One more question." Tidus asked.
"Sure. What is it?"
"Where did you learn to do that thing with your staff? You...you've really changed you know?" Yuna looked puzzled after he said this. "... And not in a bad way!" He waved his hands back and forth in the air as a way to emphasize his point.
Yuna pulled aside the curtain of the hut, having already arrived. She gave him a small smile. "Let me just say that after a while I realized that I can't depend on my guardians for everything." She turned away for a moment, talking under her breath. "I guess...your leaving taught me a few things. It was for the best really..."
Tidus pulled her into a hug and kissed the top of her forehead. "Yeah. The lady summoner turned into a real superwoman while I was gone," He laughed a bit at Yuna's expression when he said this. "I'm proud of you, you know? Coming this far I mean."
Yuna, still in his arms, opened her mouth to speak but was interrupted as a whirlwind that was Wakka (with Lulu) rushed past the both of them standing in the doorway.
"Yuna! Tidus! Help me out, ya?!" Wakka yelled as he ran past them and into one of the bedrooms.
The both of them, still in the doorway just stood there with puzzled looks on their faces. Then, the realization hit. Tidus heard Yuna's sharp intake of breath as she clutched at his arms. "She's...she's having the baby!"
"WHAT?" Tidus' said, unbelieving. "So soon?!"
"For you it hasn't been too long, but for the rest of us, it's been a long time!" Rikku chided. She had come into the hut from behind them. She pushed at the couple in front of her. "Hurry you two! Help Wakka out!" With that, they all started running all over the hut, gathering things that Lulu might need.
Kimahri walked past all of them and into the bedroom where Wakka and Lulu were. Wakka was holding Lulu's hand, trying to calm her. Her breathing was labored, and she was starting to sweat.
"Just take it a little at a time, Lu, you can do it..."
Lulu tightened her grip on Wakka's hand as the contractions came with more force. She cried out, the pain becoming too much for her. Kimahri came to Lulu's side. "Kimahri can help." he said, his deep voice booming.
Lulu was confused. "...How?" She said breathlessly.
"Kimahri deliver many Ronsos on Mt. Gagazet." He looked like he was recalling some bad memory. "Make Little Ronso do many things."
Tidus, Yuna and Rikku had walked in the room at this moment, and everyone looked at Kimahri, surprised. Who knew Kimahri had potential as a midwife? After a moment, Yuna remembered the situation and went over to Lulu to put a wet towel on her forehead. "Hang in there Lulu, you'll be fine. Especially with Kimahri here!"
"Thanks Yuna." Lulu hugged her when she came in close, and Yuna hugged her back. "You're the best little sister I've ever had," She smiled at Yuna and put a hand up to stroke her face.
Realization hit Yuna as she was witnessed this coming of new life. She thoughts went back to her vow to Yunalesca, her namesake. It became clear, what she must do now to achieve calm for herself, for Spira... she looked up to meet everyone's gaze. And... for her friends.
"I will defeat sorrow.
I will stand my ground and be strong.
I don't know when it will be, but someday, I will conquer it.
And, I will do it without... false hope."
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Author's notes:
Hello! I'm back! And so is ff.net! Well, summer vacation time (till summer school) so hopefully I can write write, and write some more!
As you can probably tell, I love my tough girl heroines. Since Yuna has been on her own for two years, she's gotta put that staff to another kind of use, right? Hehe. Or maybe it's 'cause I have experience swinging one around as well. ;-) Expect Yuna to have more cool moments, I just love her character too much to leave her alone.
Also, if you thought the pairing up of Rikku and Kimahri for the search was a bit weird, I thought so too. I'm thinking of writing an all Rikku chapter one of these days (or a one-shot). Rikku needs someone to pair up with someone too, gosh darnit! Auron's out of the question, he's kinda dead at the moment, if you know what I mean.
Random bit: Did you know that in the Japanese version of FFX (just got the video DVD in the mail!) Yuna says "Thank You," instead of "I love you," to Tidus in the game's ending? Wow. This is one time I'm actually proud of getting an American end product!
As always, if you've read this far, go ahead and drop me a review! Tell me what you think of this chapter, other chapters, and future chapters! Ideas and constructive criticism are always welcome.
Till next time! Ja mata.~
