Chapter Two: The Accident
"Man, Chemistry was tougher than I thought!" Tidus told himself. Finally, his first day was over. Next stop is The Flowing Moon. He was wondering whether Wakka and the others are already there waiting for him or wondering if Rikku DOES have a craving for those muffins. Tidus happily imagined Rikku devouring muffin after muffin without even stopping to chew them properly.
Since it's still quite a long way to the coffee shop, he simply just walked on and chose this moment as the perfect time to talk to himself…
"I'm glad my first day here in Zanarkand High turned out well. Rikku sure is a fire-starter. Wakka's whole self is into Blitz and Lulu…nah, she hardly ever talks about Blitz---only assignments and tests. Why does she have to take schoolwork so seriously??? Well, maybe she lets herself loose and have fun once in a while….
Speaking of schoolwork, wonder what's in store for us tomorrow?"
He opened the main compartment of his backpack and took out his class schedule.
"So, Music comes in after lunch…"
He continued reading the schedule. He read the list of the names of his classmates…
"Hmmm…they're all pretty much the same---huh? Who's this?"
A certain name caught his attention…
"…Yuna? Who could this be?" He asked himself. "Nah, guess I'll also know tomorrow. So' I'll be with Wakka and Rikku in Math, not to mention Auron being our teacher. Why does he have to be so obsessed with assignments anyway? Even Rikku's being lured to use a calculator."
He continued reading his schedule until he folded it and stuffed it back in his backpack. "I might as well worry about that tomorrow…"
He walked on to FlowingMoon.
"Hey Rikku!" Wakka called out to her as she was skipping to the counter with some money in her hand. "That's already your fourth order of chocolate muffin!"
Rikku ignored him and ordered two more of those muffins. "At times like this, I have a big appetite!" She then snatched her Muffins and took a large bite out of one of them.
Lulu sighed and went on studying her Biology Book. She had just ordered a regular Tuna Sandwich and a Fruit Latte.
Wakka turned back from Rikku to Lulu's assignment. He got himself four brownies and iced-coffee. "Man, guess it's better if we just postpone the meeting. All the others are busy with their personal problems."
Rikku quickly paid her money and ran back to their table. She was halfway through munching on her muffin. "I'm sure Tidus would understand. Besides, I just wanna spend this afternoon with no one but us!" she leaned on the table where Wakka and Lulu were sitting facing each other. Rikku didn't bother to sit down. She prefers standing up so she can easily run from one place to another. "You know, I think I better get four more of these tasty muffins." She then ran back to the counter…
The bell hanging at the top of the door rang…Tidus has just entered the coffee shop.
"Hey! Right on!" Rikku shouted.
"Hey man, good to see you!" Wakka waved at him.
Lulu just smiled at him and continued reading her book. She took a bite out of her sandwich and sipped her latte.
Tidus walked towards them. He placed his backpack beside an empty chair. "So, where's the team?"
"Sorry brother, but they got a few problems to settle. Anyway, meeting was postponed tomorrow. Come sit with us!" Wakka happily said as he gestured Tidus to sit on the empty chair beside him.
Tidus first ordered himself cookies 'n' cream flavored iced-coffee then sat beside Wakka. Rikku ran back to them holding a plastic bag containing half-dozen chocolate muffins…
"You know Wakka? You make a pretty good fortune-teller." Tidus said after sipping his iced-coffee.
Wakka stopped chewing on his brownie and looked strangely at Tidus. "And what made you say that?"
Tidus heaved a sigh. "Just take a look at Rikku and find out for yourself…"
Wakka did what he was told and he automatically dropped his brownie…Rikku just devoured the half-dozen muffins and ordered one more dozen.
"Hi! These are really yummy muffins! Want some?" she offered them her half-eaten muffin.
"Uh…no thanks! I'm okay with my cookies 'n' cream!" Tidus nervously rejected.
"I'm---full with my brownies!" Wakka quickly exclaimed.
Lulu still kept a serious face and said "I'm on a diet…"
After rejecting Rikku's fifth muffin offer, they just sat down and talked, and talked, and talked……Rikku can be heard humming a tune…
"Hmmm hmmm….Hmmm hmmm…Hmmm hmmm…."
"Hey Rikku! What are you humming?" Tidus asked her.
Rikku immediately snapped out of her own world and answered Tidus. "That was Suteki Dane! You know, the hit song the most popular female singer, Rikki, sang!
Her face softened as she closed her eyes and hummed the part If we could walk holding hands together……after she did, she sang the rest of the lyrics.
"I want to go to your town…
Into your arms…"
Wakka and Lulu were busy with something else so they didn't bother to listen. Since Tidus had no one to talk to right now, he just relaxed himself and listened to Suteki Dane. He was quite surprised that Rikku can carry a tune…
…He listened on…the song was beautiful…
"That heart held within your body…"
In those confusing nights I dream…"
Tidus closed his eyes and slowly rocked his head in tune with the melody…...the song seemed to remind him of someone……someone with a face as beautiful as an angel's……someone with long, soft hair flowing gracefully……someone like…someone like that brown-haired girl with an emerald-colored left eye and the right one being sapphire-colored…her touch…her voice…he could feel it all come back to him…he could remember exactly how she looked like when he accidentally made her stumble……
"HEY TIDUS!!!"
The image of that girl with mismatched eyes swiftly shattered the moment someone called him and at exactly the same time, he jumped in his seat in surprise. "Wh-Wh-What!!!?"
Everyone was watching him daydream all along! They were all looking at him with worried looks on their faces.
"Hey man, what were you doing?" Wakka anxiously asked him.
Lulu closed her book and looked at him like a concerned big sister. "You weren't yourself the last few minutes."
"Maybe it was something you ate!" Rikku guessed while touching his forehead.
"No, I just need to go out for a while….I-I mean, Auron wants me home early tonight so I gotta go home now. I'll see you all tomorrow." He added before swinging his backpack to his shoulders. He then stepped out of the Flowing Moon and made his way home.
"See 'ya tomorrow in Math!" Rikku called after him…
Tidus walked out of the coffee shop then down to the streets of the city and headed for the apartment he and Auron are living in right now. As he walked on, something in his mind was constantly bothering him.
"That girl I bumped into this morning……I can't stop thinking about her!" His mind screamed. "…Damn, I forgot to ask Rikku about her too…"
He took a deep breath and kicked a can of soda lying on the road. No matter what he does, he just can't get her out of his head. Her face, her mismatched eyes, her voice, and her touch when he unintentionally touched her---they were all hard to erase.
"Tidus, snap out of it!" his mind shouted to himself. "There's no way she'll fall for a guy like you! She's pretty and all and you're just the…the new kid…"
He was probably thinking too much…
"Just forget about her and go on!"
He kept on walking, and thinking. And whatever he thought about, it was always the same image that he hallucinated back in The Flowing Moon. He wildly shook his head, trying to put her aside but he just ended up letting her image dwell in his mind…
As he walked on until he already couldn't see Zanarkand High behind him, he saw an enormous building under construction on the other side of the street. At the base of that building, he also saw someone walking who was very familiar…someone with brown hair and mismatched eyes…
"Th-That's her!!!"
Tidus immediately stopped and stared at her. He felt his heartbeat go double the speed as he stared at her more, her short brown hair, her long blue tinkling earring and her clothes being blown gently by the wind.
He tried to approach her and say "hi" but he couldn't even step forward. Heck, he felt as though his whole body went numb, as if he was completely paralyzed. All he could do was stare…
"Wow…she's pretty…" he gladly said without removing his eyes from her.
He continued staring at her as she walked….strangely, it was quiet…too quiet…only to be broken by a loud, snapping noise which Tidus heard from above.
He looked up and the very moment he did, he let out a loud gasp. A cable holding a dozen large steel pipes forty storeys high snapped closely above the brown-haired girl---she was gonna get smashed.
"Hey! Above you!" He yelled to her.
"Wh-What…?" She noticed a large shadow around her growing larger and larger every second. She looked up and the moment she did, she froze with fear...
Tidus forgot the fact that he was paralyzed and dashed to her. He didn't want something like this to happen. No way. Especially on his first day in Zanarkand High and especially not to her.
He was only a few feet away from her-----
"Gotcha!"
-----He flung his arms around her waist and dived out of the way right before the massive steel pipes crashed to the concrete ground. He held her tight as a loud, booming sound spread to the whole city. Strong wind caused by the impact was blowing against them. He held her tighter as clouds of dust swept past them. He kept holding on to her, trying to keep her safe from harm until finally, the deafening sound faded away
"Are you alright?" Tidus asked her. He held her arms and got her on her feet.
"Yes…" She weakly answered.
"That was really close…" He said as he straightened himself up. "You're the girl I bumped into this morning, right? Didn't catch your name. What is it anyway?"
"……Yuna….." she answered in almost a whisper. Her body was slowly growing weaker…
"Oh, so Yuna's your name. That's a nice one! My name's-----huh!?"
Yuna slowly closed her eyes and lost consciousness.
"Whoa!"
She collapsed but Tidus was there to catch her on time. He put her in a resting position, her head resting on his arm. He shook her lightly, trying to bring her back to consciousness.
"Hey! Yuna! Wake up! Open your eyes!" He pleaded, still shaking her.
In just a short time, the whole area was already crowded with police cars, vans transmitting reporters and journalists and some bystanders and witnesses. The police stepped out of their cars and surrounded the construction site. Swarms of reporters advanced to Tidus and assaulted him with overlapping questions.
"At exactly what time did this atrocious incident occur?"
"Were there any casualties when this occurrence took place?"
"What happened to that young woman you're holding, boy?"
They simultaneously asked, their mics pointed at him. Before Tidus could answer, he was always broken off with more questions. Camera's flashed everywhere he looked. He and Yuna were completely surrounded by these persistent reporters.
He already wanted to get out of there so he decided on squeezing his way out. He put his arm under Yuna's knees and the other around her shoulders and lifted her up, carrying her. He pushed his way out. He managed to get out of the ring of reporters…only to be blocked by a few more…
"Get out of my way!!!" Tidus shouted at them. His anger was now nearing its limit.
"Sir, just please answer our questions first. We need this for our report---"
"SHUT UP!!!"
Tidus was so furious that he couldn't control his anger any longer. He raised his fist and punched the nearest reporter straight on the face. Almost everyone in the area was confounded by what Tidus did. The rest of the reporters and journalists stepped back, not wanting to be knocked out.
"I don't care about your damn report!!!"
After that, he looked ahead and ran on, carrying Yuna in his arms.
Auron was in the kitchen cooking crab soup and tofu. The TV in the living room was turned on. It was reporting about the accident that happened at the construction site near Zanarkand High.
"Two High School students were almost killed during the---"
Auron clicked the remote control, turning the TV off. He didn't want to listen to anymore of this. He was about to set the plates when the front door burst open. He saw Tidus standing wearily by the doorframe. He was breathing hard and fast and was carrying an unconscious woman.
"Tidus, it's late. Where have you been and isn't SHE one of my students!? What kind of trouble did you get into this time!?"
Auron's voice was fixed but heated. He was predicting that Tidus got himself fixed into trouble.
"Auron, I didn't get into trouble! It's a long story but I'll tell you later. Hurry and clear the couch!"
Without a word, he removed all the pillows on the couch and placed them on the other one. He then went into the kitchen to get a basin of warm water and a soft piece of white cloth. Tidus gently laid Yuna on the emptied couch. He took some pillows and inserted them under her head. He then went to his room and came back with blankets to cover her in case she got cold.
"What happened to her?" Auron asked as he placed the basin on the table at the center of the living room between the two couches. Though he sounded worried, Tidus could sense that he was still suspicious.
Tidus soaked the cloth into the water, rinsed it and put it on her forehead. "She must've fainted from shock." He said as he held her wrist to check her pulse. It was still beating…
"Don't worry Auron, she'll be alright. She just passed out." He said with relief. "Help me here, will 'ya?"
He lifted Yuna by her shoulders and put her in a sitting position. Auron took her pink sweater off and hanged it behind the front door. Tidus then unfolded the blanket and covered her with it, making sure that she's warm and comfortable.
"Now tell me exactly what happened." Auron told him.
Tidus took a deep breath and started…
"Well, she was about to be crushed by these steel pipes then I saved her in time. It was so close, Auron. You should've seen it!"
Steel pipes……Auron's mind suddenly went back to the news…was he talking about the accident…?
"Then why didn't you come home early like what I told you before you left for school!? I want a very reasonable answer for this one, Tidus!" Auron asked him. His voice was severe this time…
"Relax, old man! It's just that carrying her all the way here isn't as easy as you think!" He impatiently answered his protective father figure. "You know I can't just leave her there, especially with her unconscious! And those damn reporters won't stop pestering me!"
"Then why didn't you just bring her to her home?"
"Heck, I don't even know where she lives……and besides, I want her to stay here for a while…"
"---And what do you mean by THAT!?" Now Auron was really suspicious. What exactly is he intending with "I want her to stay here for a while."?
"Uhh----nothing!" He quickly countered, trying to take back what he said.
Auron sighed…then he gestured Tidus to the kitchen.
"Come, let us have dinner."
They both walked to the kitchen and took their places on the table. Tidus helped himself with a bowl of steaming rice and some crab soup. Auron sat across Tidus and put a few pieces of Tofu on his plate. He was reading the class schedule for tomorrow.
"So, you, Rikku and Wakka will be in my class tomorrow before lunch. Just make sure you pass your assignment."
The assignment…he forgot about doing it but he didn't feel like answering all those complex problems right now…
"You're not eating, my boy." Auron said as he put down the schedule.
Tidus also didn't feel like eating right now. He hardly touched his rice. Just small sips of crab soup. He took occasional glances at the living room wondering when Yuna will wake up.
"You're worried about her, aren't you?" He asked but this time, it was full of concern.
"Yeah…" Tidus quietly answered. So many things have happened…and all those so many things happened just today…especially the time when fate led him to come face to face with his archenemy---Seymour…and most especially when he bumped into Yuna…then he just risked his life to save her from a near-death experience just a while ago…it's really getting weird...
Auron stood up and took Tidus's untouched bowl of rice and his half-sipped crab soup and placed them by the sink.
"Hey, I'm not finished with those yet!" Tidus said as he hurriedly stood up.
Auron turned to face him. "Then why are you not eating?"
Tidus paused..."I'm not hungry..." That made sense though, why eat when not hungry?
They both walked back to the living room. Yuna was till asleep but somehow calmer now. She looks like she was just sleeping peacefully without any fears or worries.
"Look after her." Auron told him.
"What about you?" Tidus asked him as he opened a door on the other side of the room.
"I'll be in my room preparing your lessons in Trigonometry for tomorrow. Call me when she wakes up." He said and before he closed the door, he added a few more words.
"Keep her safe..."
"Okay, I will..." Tidus answered him and afterwards, he shut the door.
Tidus removed his eyes from Auron's room then fixed them on the girl sleeping on the couch beside him.
"It's gonna be a long night..."
He removed his dark-blue jacket and hanged it behind the front door beside Yuna's pink sweater. He had been wearing it the whole day for he felt kind of cool after taking it off, leaving only his shaded yellow shirt with long sleeves that are bright blue in color. He threw himself down the other couch. It was already nine-thirty at night.
"It's late..."
He just lied there with his arms under his head and just thought about anything...but whatever appeared in his head, it was always that girl who was sleeping on the couch just a few feet across him. He turned to look at her...and smiled...
"She's so beautiful...even when she's sleeping..."
Quite a few minutes passed...
An idea popped in his head...he ran to his room and walked back holding a Chocobo doll his mom gave him a year before she passed away. He snuggled it between her arms and to his surprise, she let out a small purr and cuddled the doll. The Chocobo's head was resting on her cheek.
A soft, gentle smile was formed on his face...even she liked the stuffed toy that he used to play with ten years ago...
She shifted into another position which made a few strands of her hazel-colored hair fall on her face. He knelt down beside her and tenderly put those strands behind her ear...it felt soft...just like silk...
He threw himself back down on the other couch again...it was hard to believe that he was actually with her tonight. So far, all he could is wait for her to regain consciousness.
He looked at his watch...it was now ten p.m.
"It's really late...wonder if her family's worrying about her?" He asked himself. "Let's just hope she wakes up soon..."
For the second time that night, he lied back down on the couch and waited...he closed his eyes...he almost fell asleep until...
"Hmm...."
He heard a sound that he was eagerly waiting for...
"Yuna!"
Tidus wholeheartedly scampered towards her. He sat beside her while she was still lying down.
Yuna slowly and weakly got up. She touched her forehead for she still felt sleepy with a bit of dizziness. She faintly opened her eyes...everything was blurry...
"Yuna! Are you alright now?"
That voice...the same one she heard when she was about to be taken away from Earth...if it wasn't for the man with that voice then she wouldn't be here right now...
"Wh-Where...am I...?"
Tidus took her by her shoulders and laid her back down.
"You need to rest first, Yuna. Wait here while I call Auron."
He stood up and entered Auron's room and shut the door behind him. After Auron mistakenly accused Tidus of trying to take a peek at their test for tomorrow, he stepped out of his room and walked towards Yuna. Tidus went to the kitchen to get her a glass of water.
"Here." He said as he handed her the glass. She took it and took a small sip from it.
A soundless, yet, grateful "Thanks" was all she could mutter.
Auron settled himself with a small stool. He was greatly relieved that Yuna's come back to awareness. Tidus just stood there with his arms crossed but took occasional secret glances at Yuna.
"S-Sir Auron!" Yuna was deeply taken aback when she saw her Math teacher right in front of her. "What...what happened to me...?"
Auron put a hand on her shoulder. "You fell asleep...you must've been so terrified that you lost consciousness." Auron moved his gaze from Yuna to the stuffed yellow bird she was unconsciously hugging. "How did you get that?"
"Oh!" She squeaked as she looked at it. "I don't know. I wasn't even aware that I had this but..." She sit the Chocobo on her lap and stroked its head. "...he's kind of soft and cuddly..."
Tidus felt himself blush. If Yuna finds that out, she might think that he still plays with stuffed animals.
She got up without delay. "Sir Auron, what time is it!?"
"Fifteen minutes past ten." Tidus immediately answered, looking at his watch, right before Auron could say anything.
Yuna gasped and got to her feet. The blanket that was covering her slid down from her waist to the floor.
"Oh no! I can't believe it's already this late!"
She turned to face Auron and bowed down. "Sir Auron, thank you so much for looking after me but I have to go now." She thanked him and walked to the front door but before she could even take a step forward, Tidus grabbed her arm and stopped her.
"Wait." He said, keeping a firm grip around her arm. "I'll go with you. It's too dangerous to go out at this time at night, especially for a girl like you." He determinedly said while trying to force himself deep down inside to let go of her. "That is, if you don't mind."
"No, not at all!" She exclaimed. "I--I was going to ask you to accompany me anyway."
Although he hated to do it, he released her. "Here, your sweater..." He said as he took her pink sweater from behind the front door and handed it to her.
"Oh, um...thanks." She smiled sweetly at him. "What's your name?"
"It's Tidus." Tidus answered in a charming way, which somewhat made Yuna feel warm inside...
He helped her put her sweater on and put on his dark-blue jacket.
"Tidus, be home early. And make sure you bring her home safely" Auron called after them as they walked into the quiet heart of the city...
The city of Spiralis is completely different from its daytime counterpart. It was absolutely quiet and serene, not to mention windy and cold. One thing Tidus loved about this kind of set-up is that the cool and gentle breeze seemed to calm him down a little, now that he was actually walking Yuna home.
"Almost forgot!" His mind suddenly remembered. "I don't even know where she lives. I'll just probably ask her. Might be the perfect time to get to know her better..."
Surprisingly, Yuna also had her thoughts on something else...
"I know we just met but...why do I feel safe whenever I'm around him? Why can't I act as normally as I usually do? And also...why did he save me...even if he had to risk his life...?
After that brief thinking, she took a breath of courage and asked him...
"Um...Tidus?"
"Yeah?" He coolly asked, looking at her.
"Um..." She paused, trying to think of the right words to say.
They both stopped in the middle of the path. The wind was blowing harder and stronger than ever.
"Why...why did you save me...even if the chances are you're going to lose your life...?" She quietly asked.
Tidus too paused, thinking even harder and deeper for a good and 'not so obvious' answer.
"Well you see..." He started, "It's just...it's just...it's just that I didn't want something like that to happen! I mean, I dunno..." He trailed off, feeling like a stuttering jackass who couldn't even say what he really meant.
They walked on...not daring to start a conversation.
"Say Yuna!" Tidus abruptly asked. "Where do you live anyway? What I mean is, how can I take you home if I don't know your address?"
"It's not very far away." She quietly answered.
Tidus just noticed, her voice was small but sweet at the same time. He also noticed that she was so nice and gentle that she wouldn't hurt a fly. As she walked, she kept her hands together and she always had her head down. She seemed to be in deep thought... It was already past quarter to eleven until...
"Yuna?"
She immediately jumped the moment Tidus called her name. Tidus was surprised at this and he put a hand on her shoulder.
"Sorry, I didn't mean to startle you. I just wanted to tell you that we're already here---"
Yuna didn't realize that they already stopped in front of a small house unit located halfway past Zanarkand High.
"---that is, if this is the place." Tidus finished, sounding unsure. "You said that it's not very far away, right?" he added thoughtfully.
Yuna looked at her small home and smiled a small smile...it felt so good to be back home...
"Yes, this is it." She happily said. "And..."
Yuna paused and was silent for a moment. Tidus was surprised. "Huh...? A-And what?" He wondered, trying to finish the sentence for her.
He was still keenly waiting for a reply until she looked back up to face him...
"Thank you." She smiled sweetly at him. Tidus just smiled back and raised his hand, bidding her goodnight.
He turned and made his way back home. Yuna remained standing by the front door and watched him walk away...not realizing she was absent-mindedly wearing a soft smile until finally, he walked out of sight...
She took a deep breath and knocked on the door. After a quite a few seconds, she was greeted by her cousin who was a year younger than her. She had blonde hair tied in a ponytail and her eyes were green. She was wearing green PJ's and was holding a Moomba doll around her arm.
"YUNIE!!!"
Yuna was slightly pushed back as Rikku leapt and threw her arms around her neck.
"Yunie! I was so worried about you! Why didn't you come home so soon? I was scared...wondering what could've happened to you!" She cried has she hugged her cousin tighter.
Yuna kept her warm smile and stroked her younger cousin's hair. On the contrary, they were more like sisters. "Rikku..."
Rikku finally stepped back and led Yuna to their living room.
"You better rest, Yunie." She said as she prepared a mug of hot chocolate for her. "What happened to you anyway?"
After taking the hot mug from Rikku, Yuna started to tell her everything from the time she was almost killed by those enormous steel pipes---
"Yunie!" She gasped as she clasped her mouth with her hands. "I can't believe that almost happened to you! Are you hurt? Should I call a doctor---?"
"It's okay, Rikku. I'm alright." She stood up as she put her mug down and patted Rikku on her shoulder. "You still haven't heard the good parts."
Rikku's face brightened as she sat back down and leaned closer to Yuna, wanting to know the "good part" of the story. "What happened next then!?" She excitedly asked, eagerness shown on her face.
"Well..." Yuna started but she trailed off...
Rikku leaned closer. "Well what!?"
Yuna's eyes softened as she continued "Just when I thought everything was over...someone saved me."
"Who?" Rikku impatiently asked, leaning even closer.
"After that, I passed out and he---"
"Caught you, right?" Rikku finished the sentence for her.
"Yes, and then I slept for what seemed like hours then I woke up, and found myself in his house. The funny thing is, I was also hugging a yellow Chocobo doll."
Rikku's face brightened even more. "Wow! What happened next?"
"It turned out that the person who saved me happened to be someone I bumped into this morning..."
Rikku pressed on "And then...?"
Yuna was almost finished... "And then he walked me home..."
She sighed and drank all of her hot chocolate. Rikku was somehow affected with Yuna's story but she missed an important point.
"Yunie!" Rikku cried out. "You haven't even told me who your hero was. Is he someone I know? What's his name?"
Yuna put her mug back down and looked straightly at her cousin. "Tidus..."
Rikku was happily shocked when she heard one of her best friends' names. A small and mischievous grin formed itself on her face.
"...Wow..." She distractedly blurted out, meaning that she can't wait a minute to play her most favorite game...
"Rikku?"
Rikku snapped back to reality the second Yuna called her. "Is something wrong?"
"N-Nothing Yunie!" She said, standing up and stretching herself. "You know, it's really late. We should go to sleep soon. You should brush your teeth and change into your PJ's. We've got a long day ahead of us!"
Yuna agreed and nodded her head and finally went upstairs. Although she did get enough sleep back at Tidus's home, the events of the day somehow made her tired and sleepy once more. She could still remember how that cuddly Chocobo doll felt like...