A/N: Ah, Christmas. The day was great overall, and I received gifts I never
thought people would give me. ^^; The family get-together was also fun.
I've been working on the story on and off, so here we go. I know many of
you have been waiting for this one, but I'm hoping to make Chapter 12 or 13
the peak of the story.
Ok, here we go! ^^
** Chapter 11 **
The air seemed to halt all around them as Yuna stared into his face with a mixture of fear and disbelief. Tidus smirked at her as his eyes watched her every expression. He stood straight and tall, both his arms held out at his sides, as he suddenly took a step towards her.
A small voice echoed in the back of her mind.
"Don't be afraid, Yuna."
She shook her head, trying to ignore the voice that she had heard right then. 'What was that voice?'
"Yes, Yuna. Recognize me?" his voice asked, taking another step towards her.
Yuna raised a hand to her mouth, a look of fear crossing her face as she took a step backwards. Her eyes darted around the village, seeing if any of the villagers were awake to see them. But there was no one. Besides, the villagers wouldn't think anything of it. He was still himself on the outside. They were all alone now. She looked at him again, seeing him standing before her.
"I told you we'd meet again. The boy was too weak to fight me off," he spoke in amusement.
Yuna felt a weight in her hands as she remembered that she was still clutching her guns. Eyes blazing with fury, she raised the guns at him again, crossing them over each other as she held them steady this time, her hands no longer shaking.
"Shuyin, get out of him now!!"
He laughed, Shuyin's voice completely taking over the voice Yuna once knew.
"It's actually quite amusing," Shuyin spoke, voice sounding too much like his. He waved a gloved hand through the air as he slowly walked towards her. It was Shuyin's voice speaking from his body. Yuna shivered at the sight. He continued to speak, his voice low and threatening.
"Everyone thought I was him. They never suspected a thing from me," Shuyin laughed. "Of course I've pretended I was him for a few days now." He smiled darkly at her. "Even you. It was quite amusing to know that you were not aware I was so close to you. Even when we slept in the same bed-"
"That's enough," Yuna cut him off, her voice shaking slightly. With her hands still holding the guns, she summoned up her courage and took a step towards him, still pointing her weapon at him. "It's me you want, right?" she asked slowly.
He stared at her some more before looking down at the ground chuckling lightly, the chain and pendant around his neck jangling with his movements.
"Yes, but I thought it would be fun to see what it was like to be him for a while. To think that's he's actually really ME! Amusing, isn't it?" Shuyin laughed.
Yuna froze, dropping her arms to her sides as she stared at him in shock.
"W-What did you say?" her voice asked quietly.
Shuyin stopped laughing and regarded her with cold blue eyes. "That's right. I speak the truth. He is really ME."
Yuna shielded her eyes as a fierce gust of wind blew right at that moment, making the sand beneath her feet come up in a cloud of dust. As the dirt cleared, he still stood there, continuing to smirk at her through his eyes.
"Heeeyyy!!! Yunie!! Hurry up, will ya?" a female voice suddenly called from behind her.
Yuna spun around quickly, seeing the familiar yellow form of her cousin running towards her from the dirt trail outside the village.
"R-Rikku?!" Yuna gasped. She watched her cousin's expression. Rikku was smiling at her with a confused expression wondering why they were late.
"Hey! What's taking you guys so long?" Rikku asked, her eyes darting between him and Yuna slowly. A confused expression crossed the girl's features. "I-Is something wrong?" Rikku asked hesitantly when she noticed the troubled expression on her cousin's face.
"Nothing is wrong. Sorry for the delay," Yuna heard Shuyin's voice speak from behind her. Her eyes followed him as he walked over to Rikku and began to exit the village.
Rikku looked after him then back at Yuna, who was standing there motionless. "Well Yunie, what're we waitin' for? Let's go already! Paine's waiting on the airship," the Al Bhed said.
Yuna stood her ground for another moment, watching Rikku run off after him and towards the airship. Her legs felt weak as she took a shaky step towards the direction they went off to. Finally steadying herself and snapping out of her shock, she sprinted after them, the wind blowing her hair fiercely.
'You can't get away with this, Shuyin. They'll all find out about you once I tell them.'
***
"You're late, Yuna."
She entered the bridge area, eyes never leaving his back. He walked slightly ahead of her and when he turned to face her, she saw him smirk. Yuna barely heard Paine's words. Instead, her expression was serious and she watched Shuyin carefully, their eyes never leaving each other's.
"Alright ladies. Where to?" Yuna heard Buddy's voice ask from the pilot seat.
"Zanarkand," Paine replied, her voice even. The warrior's ruby eyes were locked on Yuna, wondering why the girl was looking so serious.
Yuna managed to hear this and she looked at Paine in confusion. "What? Zanarkand? Why there?"
Paine said nothing, but turned her back to them all, a troubled expression evident on her face. Rikku looked between Yuna and Paine with unease.
"Uh, you'll see Yunie," Rikku replied in place of Paine. The Al Bhed walked over to the stairs and sat down, trying to avoid her cousin's stare.
Yuna paused, a sudden realization occurring to her. 'Zanarkand. Maybe the answer lies there.' Her eyes drifted over to "Shuyin," who was staring back at her intensely, yet she noticed his expression was no longer cold. Rather, it seemed like his mind was elsewhere. Yuna frowned when she caught a small smile on his face, right as his eyes drifted over to lock on hers.
Her eyes darted around to look at Paine and Rikku. They didn't seem like they knew anything was wrong here. They both thought Shuyin was him. Yuna frowned and started for the steps. She knew it was unwise to leave Shuyin alone with them, but being there with him watching her so closely started to anger her. After all, Shuyin was inside him and Yuna could not handle that fact.
With Rikku's eyes following her, she mumbled a short apology and left the bridge towards the elevator, hoping no one would follow her. For now anyway, she needed to think of a plan before the airship arrived to Zanarkand.
***
"You sure we aren't too early?" Gippal asked, tucking his gun away from the previous battle with the fiends.
"No, I think it's fine," Nooj replied.
"The village doesn't seem to be awake yet," Baralai observed thoughtfully, his eyes scanning the huts. The village remained quiet as a gentle breeze caused his collar to ruffle gently. He straightened it once again.
"Hm, so which hut is there's?" Gippal asked, heading towards the nearest hut. He looked back at the other two for a response.
"Well we don't want to disturb any of the villagers here," Baralai replied. Taking a step towards the village center, he observed the nearby huts carefully before spotting one in the back, a dog sleeping outside the entrance. He faintly recognized the dog as Yuna's pet. Baralai remembered that the dog had fought alongside Yuna when the girls had first fought him.
"Over there," Baralai pointed, as Nooj and Gippal's gazes spotted the shelter.
Gippal scratched the back of his head as the trio began heading in the direction. "Hm? How do you know?"
Baralai chuckled softly at the other man's confused expression. "I remember seeing Yuna with the dog a while back," he replied, motioning to the animal sleeping at the door.
"Good, let's go then," Nooj said, his stick scraping the ground softly as they walked over to the doorway of the hut.
"So, we just go in?" Gippal offered when they were all standing outside the door.
"I suppose so, but don't you think it's-" Baralai began but was cut off when Nooj walked over to the entrance. Pulling back the flaps slowly he poked his head in. After a moment, he looked back at the other two.
"It appears that no one is home," Nooj said.
***
Yuna sat on the deck of the Celsius, her eyes staring out into the horizon. Her hair flapped in the wind, slightly soaked from the rain that had begun to fall outside. Her clothes were damp as well, yet she didn't care.
Looking up at the sky, she saw the sun peeking out from behind the white clouds, even if it was raining. The water fell down around her in a brilliant shimmer of light, the sunlight reflecting in the raindrops. The sound of the airlock behind her opened suddenly. Startled, she turned around to face the person when she heard footsteps approach her.
"Is there a reason why you left us down there?" she heard a male voice ask, walking over to her. She spotted him. The rain fell on him as well, causing his hair to fall limply because of the water.
Yuna turned her face away, still angry and frustrated at his presence. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest and kept her eyes ahead as the soft sound of the rain beat down on the metal surface of the airship.
She saw him sit down next to her out of the corner of her eye.
"What do you want?" she finally asked, her face still turned away from him.
He said nothing, but she promptly felt his gloved hand grasp her chin gently, turning her to face him. Tiny droplets of water ran down his face, the hair on his head wet as well. She kept her eyes turned to the side, refusing to look at him in the eye. She couldn't bring herself to look into his face; the same face that she had wished for that day on the Farplane Glen. 'Even if he's Tidus on the outside, he's not. He's Shuyin deep down.'
"You know - there's nothing you can do. Even if you tell them, it's not going to change anything," Yuna heard him speak softly, interrupting her thoughts.
Her eyes flew to his. "What does he have to do with any of this? He's not the one you want!" Yuna exclaimed at him, the sparkling rain continuing to fall all around them.
Shuyin laughed. "That's where you are mistaken. You shall soon see. Once we reach Zanarkand, you will see."
Yuna froze at his words. "Wh-what do you mean?" she heard herself whisper, tearing her eyes away from his once more.
He stopped laughing and regarded her with a solemn stare. "That's because Zanarkand is the place where everything is connected to."
"Connected to?" she echoed in disbelief after a moment of silence had passed between them.
She saw him scoot closer to her, a hand raising itself to stroke the side of her face gently. His face neared hers so that it was directly next to her ear. He whispered to her, warm breath teasing her skin.
"I acknowledge your skill in finding out I wasn't him, yet do you know who Tidus really is?" Yuna heard him whisper softly, breath warm. She narrowed her eyes.
"I-I don't-" Yuna began but was cut off when she felt his tongue gently tease the side of her face. Trying to suppress a shiver, she tried squirming out of his grasp but he held her firmly in place with one of his arms wrapped around her waist.
He smirked at her reaction to his touch, and continued on.
"He's really the dream of ME, and when we reach Zanarkand, both you and him shall help Lenne and I be reborn," Shuyin whispered to her lowly, causing a shiver to run through her body. She froze at his words.
"No..."
***
"Someone come quick! A fayth has appeared at the temple!"
Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal froze and quickly spun around at the voice. A man came running down the temple steps, gasping for breath.
Gippal and Baralai ran ahead of Nooj towards the man, trying to calm him.
"What did you say?" Gippal asked him, his good eye peering out at the man in concern.
The man panted for breath, clutching his chest. "Th-there's a fayth inside the temple! A small child..with a hood.." the man managed to speak.
Nooj looked at the man, his eyebrows knit together in concern. Turning to Baralai and Gippal, he nodded to them.
Baralai saw Nooj's expression and turned to the man. "Sir, we'll go inside the temple and check it," his voice spoke softly.
The man nodded and sat down on the ground. As the trio began to walk up the temple steps, he grasped Gippal's hand suddenly. "Young man, you are an Al Bhed, correct?" he asked, his breath slowly returning.
Gippal paused and chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah, but it doesn't matter these days anymore, does it?" he asked.
Nooj and Baralai stopped at the top of the steps, waiting for Gippal to follow.
The man smiled after some time. "I suppose you are right. But be careful in there, you hear me?"
"Yessir," Gippal replied, as the man let go of his arm.
***
"Where did they go off to?" Paine asked the Al Bhed.
Rikku looked up from her position on the stairs and looked at Paine with a concerned expression, biting her lip gently. "I think they went out to the deck."
Paine began walking in Rikku's direction but paused, thinking for a moment. "Maybe they just want to be alone. They'll be back later," she said, her decision of going up to the deck changing.
"Paine, can I ask you something?" the Al Bhed suddenly asked, causing Paine's gaze to drift over to her.
"What is it?"
Rikku looked away for a moment, her brows knitting together in worry. "Have you...noticed anything strange between those two?" she asked, referring to Yuna and him.
Paine paused, her gaze lingering on Rikku for a moment before finally speaking. "Why, is there something wrong?"
There was another moment of silence from Rikku before she spoke again. "I dunno, Paine. It just seems different."
"Different how?" Paine asked, crossing her arms as she walked over to the girl, now curious in what Rikku was saying.
"It's just that..when I saw them together two years ago on the pilgrimage, they seemed so warm together and it just seemed right. Now...I dunno. It seems like they're uneasy with each other or something," Rikku admitted, her eyes on the ground.
Paine listened to her carefully, thinking over her words. "When did you notice a change?" she asked slowly.
Rikku looked down at her hands. "When I went to go get them before we left earlier, it seemed as if they were having an argument. I ran up to Yunie with a smile, but I knew something was wrong. But it wasn't just then either. I've seen them like that other times too."
Silence.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," Buddy's voice suddenly interjected from behind Paine. He had left the airship on autopilot to walk over to the girls.
The two girls turned around, seeing the Al Bhed walk over to them.
"Hey Buddy," Rikku spoke, standing up from the steps to meet with him.
"I uh, guess it's time I tell you guys something that's been bothering me for a while now," Buddy said hesitantly.
Paine raised an eyebrow at him.
"What is it?" Rikku asked.
They watched as Buddy reached into his pocket and pulled out a sphere. Rikku instantly recognized it as a recording sphere from the CommSphere system.
Paine raised her eyes from the sphere to Buddy. "What's on there?" she asked quietly.
Buddy sighed as he held up the sphere in front of him. "Brother found this the other day. He said he was just looking at the CommSphere near the waterfall on Besaid, when he happened to record a moment between Yuna and..him," the Al Bhed admitted, as if regretting what he was saying.
Rikku raised an eyebrow. "A recording of Yunie and Tidus? So
what's on it?" she asked, beginning to
worry because of the Al Bhed's serious tone.
Clicking on the sphere, Buddy held it up for the two girls as the image began to take form.
"I think you two deserve to know what Brother and I saw on this sphere the other day. There's something that happened here that I can't explain-oh wait, here we go! This is it," Buddy began but stopped when Yuna finally ran on the screen.
Paine watched the scene closely. It seemed as if Yuna came from somewhere under the bridge, as if she was running away from something. After another moment, Paine recognized the figure of Tidus walk onto the screen. She watched as he and Yuna stood still for a while before she finally went over to him for an embrace.
"How sweet," Rikku's voice spoke softly, her eyes still on the sphere. "What's the big deal about that?"
"Wait, here it is. Watch him closely," Buddy interrupted, directing their attention towards the man Yuna was hugging.
The two girls watched the scene quietly as the sphere's contents flashed before their eyes, causing both Rikku and Paine to gasp in disbelief.
** End of Chapter 11 **
A/N: I know you must hate me for leaving you on yet another cliffhanger, but I noticed that I've been doing that anyway for a lot of chapters. ^^; I'm looking forward to starting Chapter 12, because it's really going to fulfill the "Action/Adventure" genre of this story now. .
I'll try to have it up soon, ok? Thanks everyone for your reviews. =)
Ok, here we go! ^^
** Chapter 11 **
The air seemed to halt all around them as Yuna stared into his face with a mixture of fear and disbelief. Tidus smirked at her as his eyes watched her every expression. He stood straight and tall, both his arms held out at his sides, as he suddenly took a step towards her.
A small voice echoed in the back of her mind.
"Don't be afraid, Yuna."
She shook her head, trying to ignore the voice that she had heard right then. 'What was that voice?'
"Yes, Yuna. Recognize me?" his voice asked, taking another step towards her.
Yuna raised a hand to her mouth, a look of fear crossing her face as she took a step backwards. Her eyes darted around the village, seeing if any of the villagers were awake to see them. But there was no one. Besides, the villagers wouldn't think anything of it. He was still himself on the outside. They were all alone now. She looked at him again, seeing him standing before her.
"I told you we'd meet again. The boy was too weak to fight me off," he spoke in amusement.
Yuna felt a weight in her hands as she remembered that she was still clutching her guns. Eyes blazing with fury, she raised the guns at him again, crossing them over each other as she held them steady this time, her hands no longer shaking.
"Shuyin, get out of him now!!"
He laughed, Shuyin's voice completely taking over the voice Yuna once knew.
"It's actually quite amusing," Shuyin spoke, voice sounding too much like his. He waved a gloved hand through the air as he slowly walked towards her. It was Shuyin's voice speaking from his body. Yuna shivered at the sight. He continued to speak, his voice low and threatening.
"Everyone thought I was him. They never suspected a thing from me," Shuyin laughed. "Of course I've pretended I was him for a few days now." He smiled darkly at her. "Even you. It was quite amusing to know that you were not aware I was so close to you. Even when we slept in the same bed-"
"That's enough," Yuna cut him off, her voice shaking slightly. With her hands still holding the guns, she summoned up her courage and took a step towards him, still pointing her weapon at him. "It's me you want, right?" she asked slowly.
He stared at her some more before looking down at the ground chuckling lightly, the chain and pendant around his neck jangling with his movements.
"Yes, but I thought it would be fun to see what it was like to be him for a while. To think that's he's actually really ME! Amusing, isn't it?" Shuyin laughed.
Yuna froze, dropping her arms to her sides as she stared at him in shock.
"W-What did you say?" her voice asked quietly.
Shuyin stopped laughing and regarded her with cold blue eyes. "That's right. I speak the truth. He is really ME."
Yuna shielded her eyes as a fierce gust of wind blew right at that moment, making the sand beneath her feet come up in a cloud of dust. As the dirt cleared, he still stood there, continuing to smirk at her through his eyes.
"Heeeyyy!!! Yunie!! Hurry up, will ya?" a female voice suddenly called from behind her.
Yuna spun around quickly, seeing the familiar yellow form of her cousin running towards her from the dirt trail outside the village.
"R-Rikku?!" Yuna gasped. She watched her cousin's expression. Rikku was smiling at her with a confused expression wondering why they were late.
"Hey! What's taking you guys so long?" Rikku asked, her eyes darting between him and Yuna slowly. A confused expression crossed the girl's features. "I-Is something wrong?" Rikku asked hesitantly when she noticed the troubled expression on her cousin's face.
"Nothing is wrong. Sorry for the delay," Yuna heard Shuyin's voice speak from behind her. Her eyes followed him as he walked over to Rikku and began to exit the village.
Rikku looked after him then back at Yuna, who was standing there motionless. "Well Yunie, what're we waitin' for? Let's go already! Paine's waiting on the airship," the Al Bhed said.
Yuna stood her ground for another moment, watching Rikku run off after him and towards the airship. Her legs felt weak as she took a shaky step towards the direction they went off to. Finally steadying herself and snapping out of her shock, she sprinted after them, the wind blowing her hair fiercely.
'You can't get away with this, Shuyin. They'll all find out about you once I tell them.'
***
"You're late, Yuna."
She entered the bridge area, eyes never leaving his back. He walked slightly ahead of her and when he turned to face her, she saw him smirk. Yuna barely heard Paine's words. Instead, her expression was serious and she watched Shuyin carefully, their eyes never leaving each other's.
"Alright ladies. Where to?" Yuna heard Buddy's voice ask from the pilot seat.
"Zanarkand," Paine replied, her voice even. The warrior's ruby eyes were locked on Yuna, wondering why the girl was looking so serious.
Yuna managed to hear this and she looked at Paine in confusion. "What? Zanarkand? Why there?"
Paine said nothing, but turned her back to them all, a troubled expression evident on her face. Rikku looked between Yuna and Paine with unease.
"Uh, you'll see Yunie," Rikku replied in place of Paine. The Al Bhed walked over to the stairs and sat down, trying to avoid her cousin's stare.
Yuna paused, a sudden realization occurring to her. 'Zanarkand. Maybe the answer lies there.' Her eyes drifted over to "Shuyin," who was staring back at her intensely, yet she noticed his expression was no longer cold. Rather, it seemed like his mind was elsewhere. Yuna frowned when she caught a small smile on his face, right as his eyes drifted over to lock on hers.
Her eyes darted around to look at Paine and Rikku. They didn't seem like they knew anything was wrong here. They both thought Shuyin was him. Yuna frowned and started for the steps. She knew it was unwise to leave Shuyin alone with them, but being there with him watching her so closely started to anger her. After all, Shuyin was inside him and Yuna could not handle that fact.
With Rikku's eyes following her, she mumbled a short apology and left the bridge towards the elevator, hoping no one would follow her. For now anyway, she needed to think of a plan before the airship arrived to Zanarkand.
***
"You sure we aren't too early?" Gippal asked, tucking his gun away from the previous battle with the fiends.
"No, I think it's fine," Nooj replied.
"The village doesn't seem to be awake yet," Baralai observed thoughtfully, his eyes scanning the huts. The village remained quiet as a gentle breeze caused his collar to ruffle gently. He straightened it once again.
"Hm, so which hut is there's?" Gippal asked, heading towards the nearest hut. He looked back at the other two for a response.
"Well we don't want to disturb any of the villagers here," Baralai replied. Taking a step towards the village center, he observed the nearby huts carefully before spotting one in the back, a dog sleeping outside the entrance. He faintly recognized the dog as Yuna's pet. Baralai remembered that the dog had fought alongside Yuna when the girls had first fought him.
"Over there," Baralai pointed, as Nooj and Gippal's gazes spotted the shelter.
Gippal scratched the back of his head as the trio began heading in the direction. "Hm? How do you know?"
Baralai chuckled softly at the other man's confused expression. "I remember seeing Yuna with the dog a while back," he replied, motioning to the animal sleeping at the door.
"Good, let's go then," Nooj said, his stick scraping the ground softly as they walked over to the doorway of the hut.
"So, we just go in?" Gippal offered when they were all standing outside the door.
"I suppose so, but don't you think it's-" Baralai began but was cut off when Nooj walked over to the entrance. Pulling back the flaps slowly he poked his head in. After a moment, he looked back at the other two.
"It appears that no one is home," Nooj said.
***
Yuna sat on the deck of the Celsius, her eyes staring out into the horizon. Her hair flapped in the wind, slightly soaked from the rain that had begun to fall outside. Her clothes were damp as well, yet she didn't care.
Looking up at the sky, she saw the sun peeking out from behind the white clouds, even if it was raining. The water fell down around her in a brilliant shimmer of light, the sunlight reflecting in the raindrops. The sound of the airlock behind her opened suddenly. Startled, she turned around to face the person when she heard footsteps approach her.
"Is there a reason why you left us down there?" she heard a male voice ask, walking over to her. She spotted him. The rain fell on him as well, causing his hair to fall limply because of the water.
Yuna turned her face away, still angry and frustrated at his presence. She hugged her knees tightly to her chest and kept her eyes ahead as the soft sound of the rain beat down on the metal surface of the airship.
She saw him sit down next to her out of the corner of her eye.
"What do you want?" she finally asked, her face still turned away from him.
He said nothing, but she promptly felt his gloved hand grasp her chin gently, turning her to face him. Tiny droplets of water ran down his face, the hair on his head wet as well. She kept her eyes turned to the side, refusing to look at him in the eye. She couldn't bring herself to look into his face; the same face that she had wished for that day on the Farplane Glen. 'Even if he's Tidus on the outside, he's not. He's Shuyin deep down.'
"You know - there's nothing you can do. Even if you tell them, it's not going to change anything," Yuna heard him speak softly, interrupting her thoughts.
Her eyes flew to his. "What does he have to do with any of this? He's not the one you want!" Yuna exclaimed at him, the sparkling rain continuing to fall all around them.
Shuyin laughed. "That's where you are mistaken. You shall soon see. Once we reach Zanarkand, you will see."
Yuna froze at his words. "Wh-what do you mean?" she heard herself whisper, tearing her eyes away from his once more.
He stopped laughing and regarded her with a solemn stare. "That's because Zanarkand is the place where everything is connected to."
"Connected to?" she echoed in disbelief after a moment of silence had passed between them.
She saw him scoot closer to her, a hand raising itself to stroke the side of her face gently. His face neared hers so that it was directly next to her ear. He whispered to her, warm breath teasing her skin.
"I acknowledge your skill in finding out I wasn't him, yet do you know who Tidus really is?" Yuna heard him whisper softly, breath warm. She narrowed her eyes.
"I-I don't-" Yuna began but was cut off when she felt his tongue gently tease the side of her face. Trying to suppress a shiver, she tried squirming out of his grasp but he held her firmly in place with one of his arms wrapped around her waist.
He smirked at her reaction to his touch, and continued on.
"He's really the dream of ME, and when we reach Zanarkand, both you and him shall help Lenne and I be reborn," Shuyin whispered to her lowly, causing a shiver to run through her body. She froze at his words.
"No..."
***
"Someone come quick! A fayth has appeared at the temple!"
Nooj, Baralai, and Gippal froze and quickly spun around at the voice. A man came running down the temple steps, gasping for breath.
Gippal and Baralai ran ahead of Nooj towards the man, trying to calm him.
"What did you say?" Gippal asked him, his good eye peering out at the man in concern.
The man panted for breath, clutching his chest. "Th-there's a fayth inside the temple! A small child..with a hood.." the man managed to speak.
Nooj looked at the man, his eyebrows knit together in concern. Turning to Baralai and Gippal, he nodded to them.
Baralai saw Nooj's expression and turned to the man. "Sir, we'll go inside the temple and check it," his voice spoke softly.
The man nodded and sat down on the ground. As the trio began to walk up the temple steps, he grasped Gippal's hand suddenly. "Young man, you are an Al Bhed, correct?" he asked, his breath slowly returning.
Gippal paused and chuckled nervously. "Uh, yeah, but it doesn't matter these days anymore, does it?" he asked.
Nooj and Baralai stopped at the top of the steps, waiting for Gippal to follow.
The man smiled after some time. "I suppose you are right. But be careful in there, you hear me?"
"Yessir," Gippal replied, as the man let go of his arm.
***
"Where did they go off to?" Paine asked the Al Bhed.
Rikku looked up from her position on the stairs and looked at Paine with a concerned expression, biting her lip gently. "I think they went out to the deck."
Paine began walking in Rikku's direction but paused, thinking for a moment. "Maybe they just want to be alone. They'll be back later," she said, her decision of going up to the deck changing.
"Paine, can I ask you something?" the Al Bhed suddenly asked, causing Paine's gaze to drift over to her.
"What is it?"
Rikku looked away for a moment, her brows knitting together in worry. "Have you...noticed anything strange between those two?" she asked, referring to Yuna and him.
Paine paused, her gaze lingering on Rikku for a moment before finally speaking. "Why, is there something wrong?"
There was another moment of silence from Rikku before she spoke again. "I dunno, Paine. It just seems different."
"Different how?" Paine asked, crossing her arms as she walked over to the girl, now curious in what Rikku was saying.
"It's just that..when I saw them together two years ago on the pilgrimage, they seemed so warm together and it just seemed right. Now...I dunno. It seems like they're uneasy with each other or something," Rikku admitted, her eyes on the ground.
Paine listened to her carefully, thinking over her words. "When did you notice a change?" she asked slowly.
Rikku looked down at her hands. "When I went to go get them before we left earlier, it seemed as if they were having an argument. I ran up to Yunie with a smile, but I knew something was wrong. But it wasn't just then either. I've seen them like that other times too."
Silence.
"Uh, sorry to interrupt, but I couldn't help but overhear your conversation," Buddy's voice suddenly interjected from behind Paine. He had left the airship on autopilot to walk over to the girls.
The two girls turned around, seeing the Al Bhed walk over to them.
"Hey Buddy," Rikku spoke, standing up from the steps to meet with him.
"I uh, guess it's time I tell you guys something that's been bothering me for a while now," Buddy said hesitantly.
Paine raised an eyebrow at him.
"What is it?" Rikku asked.
They watched as Buddy reached into his pocket and pulled out a sphere. Rikku instantly recognized it as a recording sphere from the CommSphere system.
Paine raised her eyes from the sphere to Buddy. "What's on there?" she asked quietly.
Buddy sighed as he held up the sphere in front of him. "Brother found this the other day. He said he was just looking at the CommSphere near the waterfall on Besaid, when he happened to record a moment between Yuna and..him," the Al Bhed admitted, as if regretting what he was saying.
Rikku raised an eyebrow. "A recording of Yunie and Tidus? So
what's on it?" she asked, beginning to
worry because of the Al Bhed's serious tone.
Clicking on the sphere, Buddy held it up for the two girls as the image began to take form.
"I think you two deserve to know what Brother and I saw on this sphere the other day. There's something that happened here that I can't explain-oh wait, here we go! This is it," Buddy began but stopped when Yuna finally ran on the screen.
Paine watched the scene closely. It seemed as if Yuna came from somewhere under the bridge, as if she was running away from something. After another moment, Paine recognized the figure of Tidus walk onto the screen. She watched as he and Yuna stood still for a while before she finally went over to him for an embrace.
"How sweet," Rikku's voice spoke softly, her eyes still on the sphere. "What's the big deal about that?"
"Wait, here it is. Watch him closely," Buddy interrupted, directing their attention towards the man Yuna was hugging.
The two girls watched the scene quietly as the sphere's contents flashed before their eyes, causing both Rikku and Paine to gasp in disbelief.
** End of Chapter 11 **
A/N: I know you must hate me for leaving you on yet another cliffhanger, but I noticed that I've been doing that anyway for a lot of chapters. ^^; I'm looking forward to starting Chapter 12, because it's really going to fulfill the "Action/Adventure" genre of this story now. .
I'll try to have it up soon, ok? Thanks everyone for your reviews. =)