Return of Light
Yuna strode out the doors at the back of the manor, shielding her eyes for moment from the dazzling fiery Zanarkand sun. She quickly spotted the blond-headed woman she called her cousin sitting on a blanket, her long legs pulled to her chest, arms wrapped around her knees. She appeared to be focused on the waves crashing on the shore and the gentle sea breeze was blowing a few strand tresses around softly.
Shaking her head, Yuna gathered up her rose pink skirt in her hands and kicked off her sandals before stepping down onto the white sand of the beach. She picked her way through the sand, careful to avoid stabbing her bare foot with a broken shell fragment.
"What's wrong, Rikku?" Yuna asked softly, settling down on the blanket alongside the younger woman. Rikku blinked and brushed away a few teardrops.
"Just thinking about Tida," Rikku sighed, bowing her head for moment before looking back out over the water, tears once again evident in the swirled orbs of her bright green Al Bhed eyes. "That's about all I can think about. Yunie… it's… coming up, ya know?"
Yuna was silent, her own colored eyes traveling to the ocean's depths. She narrowed her eyes as if in deep thought, and then shook her head to clear it.
"Yes, Rikku, I know. It's hard for all of us. We… lost her, only to lose her again." Yuna said, her voice mellifluous and delicate to the ear. "But we have to go on. Tida gave her life in return for ours."
"I wish you wouldn't say that, Yunie," Rikku murmured, squeezing her legs for a second before sniffling and impatiently swatting at the tears running down her cheeks.
"I have to, Rikku. It's the truth." This time, Yuna's voice was flat.
"But, Yunie, she—she just died! And we didn't do anything to stop it!" Rikku burst out, her hands forming tight fists that she slammed into the ground on either side of her.
"Nothing!" she burst out again, pounding once more.
Yuna didn't say anything; didn't move. How could she counter that? It was true, every damn word of it. Tears appeared in her own eyes and she and Rikku, as one, reached for each other, each starting to sob and wail in mourning and now in guilt for Tida.
—
Inside, Zeoron watched the women from behind the glass of a window, one hand coming up to press against the cold windowpane. How could they, after three years, still be so grieved by the loss of Tida?
"I know why," Zeoron muttered angrily, "because we're all too damn selfish to let her go! We can't forgive ourselves no matter what the hell we fucking say!"
Zeoron swung; a ball of raging fire appeared in her hand and she flung it as hard as she could at the far wall; the worn old tapestry burst into flame as ice seeped into Zeoron's eyes, making them colder than the harshest winter of Mt. Gagazet.
"How can we be so selfish?" she hissed, clenching one fist furiously, her sharp nails digging into the soft flesh of her palm. She ignored the searing pain and the blood that suddenly appeared like a beacon within her being.
Zeoron fell her knees, hands coming to her face, tears and blood mixing as one as she began wailing for her friend, her summoner… Tida.
—
"I get the feeling we should have stayed back at the house, Wakka," Tidus said, finishing the lace on one yellow and black boot. He stamped it on the floor of the locker room a few times before nodding to the red-haired older man.
"It's fine, ya? Besides, you owe me this one." Wakka said, brushing away Tidus's remark. He grinned and tossed the blitzball in one handing, spinning it on one finger.
"Let's blitz!" he said, leading the way out into the Zanarkand Dome, whistling. Tidus, pushing aside his worries, shook his head and smiled, an almost smirk, his eyes giving away the tenseness he was experiencing and the seriousness of the concentration he was beginning to gather.
Wakka entered the sphere, closely followed by the tall blond man. Tidus swam swiftly to one end, Wakka to the other. Wakka nodded his head and the blitzball shot into the center of the sphere and both men kicked off the sides hard, swimming furiously for the prize.
By some miracle, Wakka managed to snag the blue-and-white ball first and Tidus was forced to chase him down. Before Wakka could pull off a shot, Tidus tackled him from behind and took the ball, laughing to himself as Wakka's face contorted in anger and he pursued Tidus.
Tidus rolled over in the water to avoid Wakka's own lunge for him and kicked, sending the ball sailing straight and fast into the goal. The siren wailed piercingly and Wakka swore an oath under his breath. He grit his teeth.
This was far from over.
* * *
Traveling through Macalania had turned out to be a lot more difficult than Chappu had expected. It seemed that since there were now more acceptable ways to travel, the fiend population had spread like wildfire through the crystalline wood.
Chappu clenched his teeth and let out a battle cry. The Spirit Keeper flashed a brilliant shade of blue and a wave of power swept out from him in rippled waves, killing the fiends rapidly closing in on him.
Chappu fell to one knee, gasping for air. He leaned on the blade for support as sweat rolled his face and dripped from a few strands of tousled black hair. Exhaling, Chappu pushed himself up heavily, brushing his bangs from his eyes. He grunted as he stretched his black-encased legs.
Sovereign watched him placidly, chomping on some greens and looking as if he hadn't even noticed the onslaught of fiends that had attacked just moments before.
Chappu blinking; the salty sweat had run into his eyes and was now starting to burn—just a little.
"Ow! Shit!" Chappu dropped the Spirit Keeper and stumbled for his water jug, flinging things aside left and right as he wildly felt around for it. The gold chocobo took a step aside as Chappu at last found the jug. He fumbled in pulling the cork out but wasted no time whatsoever in tilted his head back and dumping nearly all the water in the jug on his face and into his eyes.
Chappu choked—some of the water had gone up his nose—and he sputtered coughing. This time it was his nose that was burning. He could see now, but it was clear his eyes were red and puffy.
"Fuck!" he gasped, shaking his head. Sovereign chirped.
He glared at the chocobo and could have sworn that had it been given voice, it would have been laughing. Growling, Chappu scowled and slipped a boot under the Spirit Keeper near the hilt. He jerked and sent it flipping into the air, rays of sun bouncing of its gleaming steel majestically. Chappu caught it by the help and spun in his hand a few times before sheathing it on his back.
Sovereign blinked.
"Stupid choco," Chappu muttered, beginning to gather his belongings and stuffing them into his sack. He put the cork back into the water jug and shook it, sighing. A spring was on the other side and he judged that he was somewhere in the middle—and if that idiot bird-man or whatever started bugging him about the damn butterflies again… well, best not to think about that.
Chappu sighed as he tied the bag on Sovereign and took up the reins. He clucked to the gold and began walking forward, eyes moving around to take in all sides at once, it seemed.
The journey was more complicated than he'd imagined when Chappu had decided to make it. There were even new types of fiends to deal with. And yet… No, he was beginning to feel the changes.
And, without competition the best news so far, the Farplane was growing closer.
* * *
Yuna lay in bed, tucked securely against Tidus's bare chest with his strong arms holding her close, safe. But somehow, she couldn't embrace sleep. Tidus snored then, causing her to jump slightly and she blushed in embarrassment, being startled by a mere snore.
Yuna sighed softly, her thoughts roaming to Chappu, and, of course, her daughter. Chappu had gone off to "find himself," she believed, or tried to force herself to believe but her heart told her he was searching for Tida just as she had searched for Tidus.
She smiled, recalling how she had always gone to a pier at sunset and spent a good half an hour just whistling, over and over again, never losing the hope that he would come.
But when Tida had vanished, she'd given up all hope of having him back. It seemed as if fate had not wanted her to ever be happy. And then, just when she truly was with her newfound family, one of the members was ripped away.
And here she was: a mother, then not, and then again, and then suddenly not a mother again. She wouldn't have any more children. It wasn't that it was too late. It was just that she felt she couldn't love them as well as she had Tida. She would only be able to give them half her heart… a small part, to be honest. Tida had all of her heart, as well as Tidus. There was no more room; she could tell.
Despite herself, Yuna felt hot tears spill from her eyes and turned into Tidus's chest, seeking comfort. Tidus murmured in his sleep and squeezed her gently and warmth spread through her body like a river of love.
Yuna sighed contentedly and pushed her thoughts away, tucking them into the back of her mind to think about later, when sleep wasn't so close now.
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