Return of Light
"Zeo?"
A sickening retching sound answered Chappu and he winced, taking a step back. "I thought you said you were over seasickness. I thought you'd grown out of it."
"I lied, okay!" Zeoron moaned back, standing straight long enough to glare at him before hurriedly returning to leaning over the rail and vomiting noisily again. Chappu sighed and shook his head.
"Did you ask Yuna or Rikku if they had anything for you?"
"Yes! And no!"
"They didn't? Light, I thought women carried everything with them for their time of the—Hey, Rikku, what's up?" Chappu said, chuckling nervously and running a hand through his midnight locks. Rikku shot him a suspicious look as she walked past him. She stopped next to Zeoron and patted her back.
"Come on, Zeo," she soothed. "I've made you a bed down below. Yuna's gonna put you to sleep so you won't have to—ah, well, you know," Rikku said, taking Zeoron's hand and leading her away from the railing.
Chappu rolled his eyes. "Women—OW!"
Chappu staggered sideways as something slammed into the side of his head. Grimacing, he gripped the rail and with one hand and rubbed his head with the other. With one eye open, he spotted the blue and white ball rolling around near his feet.
"Sorry, Chappu! Didn't mean to throw it that hard, ya?" Wakka grinned apologetically, waving at Chappu. Chappu fixed him with a dead stare.
"Come on, Chappu. We're just foolin' around," Tidus said. He grinned and took up a goalie stance, hands up and palms facing out. "Show me what ya got!"
Chappu rolled his eyes again and rested one foot on top of the blitzball. "Okay." He frowned and rolled his foot back sharply on the ball before he brought it down underneath, kicking the ball into the air and catching it in his hand. Idly, he spun the ball on one finger before taking it in both hands and starting toward the elder men.
"You think you can handle it?" he asked, smirking as he stopped, positioning the ball under one arm, the other angling as his hand landed on his hip.
Tidus nodded and laughed. "All right, all right. A couple of old geezers like us don't want to pull something, break something, or lose something, so we'll step down graciously." Part of his ego screamed in outrage at him and he reconsidered. "But I could still win. No one else can do the Jecht Shot."
"Tida could. It was pretty awesome," Chappu said, a quick chuckle leaving his lips.
"What?!" Tidus's jaw dropped and his eyes widened. "I don't believe that!"
"What do you expect? Jecht did, you can, so what shouldn't Tida be able to? Looks like it passes from blood to blood," Chappu said, shrugging.
"I don't believe it. A girl can do the Jecht Shot? What about my Sphere Shot?"
"Yep."
"Damn. Well, I'm screwed. My career ends on that note. I was the best until my kid beat me at my own game. Oh well. I'll retire and entertain Yuna all the time," Tidus said, sighing.
"Kid, give me the ball. I think I might've missed my original target," Wakka said, glaring at Tidus, who laughed and grinned back at him.
"Come on, Wakka!" Tidus said, slapping Wakka on the shoulder. "You know I can't do that! It's just not possible for a blitz star like me!"
"I still feel like hitting you with the ball."
"Well, that's your problem and luckily for me, Chappu still has—Chappu, no! Aw, man!" Tidus ducked as Wakka sent the ball flying for his head. Tidus rolled over and shot back up to watch the blitzball sail and bounce off the railing and roll back to them.
Chappu whistled. "Nice hit."
"Die, Chappu."
* * *
"Okay, guys, here's the plan," Tidus said, drawing everyone around him as they stepped off the S.S. Liki and onto the Kilika docks. He clapped his hands and rubbed them together briskly.
"All right. Chappu, you take the west part of town. Zeo, you check out the eastern. After you're done, meet at the fire sphere outside the temple. Ask the people hanging out around there—and inside. Wakka, Lulu, Rikku, we're on guard, so watch your back. Yuna… do whatever you do, hon," he said, chuckling nervously at her glare. Tidus reached his right arm back and scratched the back of his head—purely a Tidus movement.
"Let's go!" Chappu said, nodding sharply to Zeoron, who took off in the opposite direction of him. The summoner and guardians headed in the direction of the temple.
"At least this time Sin didn't beat us here," Wakka commented, glancing around the town/city of Kilika. He smiled as three children ran past, shouting and kicking along a blitzball in front of them.
"Kilika has more to it than Besaid. But I suppose that's because it's a larger island," Lulu remarked, shaking her head. "No harm in it, though."
"We'll catch up eventually. We Besaidians are more laid back, ya?" Wakka protested, tilting his head back and gazing up at a cloudless, brilliant blue sky. "Beautiful day. What could go—?"
Tidus jerked to a halt and hurriedly slammed a hand over Wakka's mouth. "You will not jinx the hell out of us, okay?" he said, shooting Wakka a death glare, one eye twitching for effect.
"Yeah, sure."
—
"Find anything?" Zeoron asked breathlessly as she joined Chappu near the entrance to the Kilika Temple. She slumped over, hands resting on her knees and she tried to catch her breath.
"Stairs too much for ya, Zeo?" Chappu said, grinning.
"No, I'm fine. I'm just not used to this stuff anymore. I mean, the last time I did things such as this was when I was guardian to Tida," Zeoron huffed back, turning her head just in time to miss the shadows cross through Chappu's eyes.
Zeoron stood straight up, hands on her hips as she still breathed laboriously. "Should we go inside? I'm not sure how long Yuna's gonna take. How long did Tida take?"
"A few hours, usually. Except for this one time. I forget where, though," Chappu said, rubbing the back of his neck with hand as he squinted at the temple in the bright sunlight. He shrugged. "Well, let's get to it. We've only got about a half hour left. Kilika sure has gotten bigger since I was here last. And I mean in population."
"Believe me, I noticed."
Chappu laughed and lead the way to the doors to the temple.
—
"Go do your thing, Yuna," Tidus said, nudging Yuna forward. Yuna glanced back over her shoulder at him and smiled, nodding.
"Okay."
She stepped up and into the Chamber of the Fayth, holding her head up high. The door slid down shut behind her, its stone grating as it moved to block the entrance—and her only exit.
As she normally did, Yuna got down on her knees and clasped her hands, waiting for the fayth to appear. She closed her eyes and exhaled, feeling as though something had been lifted off her.
"Relaxing, isn't it? So calming."
Yuna unclasped her hands and opened her eyes, tilting her head back to look up. She smiled and stood, giving a quick bow in respect to the fayth's appearance.
"Hello. And yes, it really is," she greeted.
"Did you have a safe journey, Lady Yuna?"
"Yes, yes we did…except for Zeoron becoming ill with seasickness. But other than that, it was quite a smooth trip, I think," Yuna answered.
The fayth chuckled. "Not everyone was born to the sea, you know. Well," the fayth sighed, "I can't keep you here all day. You've to get some rest and then head on to Luca tomorrow. I hear the Blitzball Tournament was cancelled."
"Was it really? Wakka and Tidus will be so disappointed," Yuna said, shaking her head and sighing. "They were really looking forward to seeing some of it."
"There will be another, to make up for this cancellation, I'm sure," the fayth murmured. The fayth smiled and gazed down at Yuna.
"It is time for you to go, I believe. You've got so much ground to cover. Another month and a half, I think, before you are ready to reach Zanarkand and accept your honor."
"Yes—thank you," Yuna said, bowing quickly.
"Good day, Lady Yuna. Go in the Light."
"Goodbye," Yuna said softly, and turned to leave.
The fayth's eyes flickered and she smiled. "I'm sure it will be helpful… yes…"
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