Yuna kept her eyes open for hours after everyone else had fallen asleep. Glancing around at the small camp of people she could see Lulu resting her head on Wakka's shoulder and Wakka leaning back on a large boulder. Auron was sitting opposite them with his sword in his hand, Kimahri and Rikku were sat down leaning on a large tree and Tidus was sitting just a few feet away from where Yuna was.
His eyes were open.
Yuna gasped and looked the other way. Tidus stood up and walked over to her.
"That was a very brave thing of you to do." Tidus said and he sat down with Yuna and took her hand in his. "I hope you don't think I forced you in to saying it." Yuna looked at Tidus with a tear in her eye.
"I thought maybe it would have been easier somehow to tell them, knowing that I had your support but it still felt hard. Wrong somehow." Yuna said. Tidus nodded and wiped her tear away for her.
"It would have been hard anyway, but who knows what else will await you in the future." Yuna shook her head.
"My mind is foggy, I can't seem to see past the present, the right now." Yuna took her hand away from Tidus and placed it in her own. "All I used to be able to see was me, carrying on my Pilgrimage, people greeting me, recognizing me. But now, with what has happened to Maester Seymour, it wouldn't surprise me if everyone hated me."
"It won't be like that, I'm sure." Tidus said trying to convince Yuna with a line that he didn't believe. She could tell by his voice.
"You know as well as I do. We are traitors to Yevon, there is no way we cannot escape that." Tidus hit his hand down on to the floor.
"Well even if you carried on your Pilgrimage wouldn't it be the same?" Yuna shook her head.
"No, I could carry on praying and worshipping, maybe even..." She broke off and another tear trickled down her pale cheek. Tidus stood up and held out his hands. Yuna gave Tidus her hands and he pulled her up.
"Where are we..." Tidus loosened one of his hands and put a finger to Yuna's lip to quieten her. He then turned around and walked down a foot path still holding Yuna's right hand in his. They walked for a few minutes in the calm and yet someone chilling Macalania Woods. The tree leaves glistened but not with moisture but by some unknown power that the tree's had. Yuna gasped and stopped.
"Bevelle? We can't go back there!"She pulled her hand free from Tidus. He turned around and looked at her. Her eyes were gleaming and her usual perfectly complexion was slightly red and blotchy. He shook his head.
"No, we aren't going back there, just follow me." Yuna didn't move for a few seconds then she started to turn around. "Please?" Tidus asked quietly. She turned around again, her hair flicking in front of her face. She smiled slightly and nodded.
They walked for a few more minutes and then Tidus stopped and crouched down.
"What are you doing?" Yuna asked and she crouched down to join Tidus. He pointed through a thin layers of shrubs and bushes and other growths.
"I noticed it before when we were on our way to Bevelle first time. I thought it was nothing but it just kept playing on my mind." Tidus started to pull away at branches and twigs and then Yuna joined him. They were soon in a clearing surrounded by small purple lights and dark blue flowers and in the centre was a small swirl of misty green light.
"What do you think it could be?" Tidus asked, trying not to get too close to the green light as he stepped around it.
"I-I'm not sure," Yuna said, stepping closer to it. "Lulu would know and Sir Auron knows these woods well." Yuna then walked around the light and stood next to Tidus, taking his hand in hers. "It's so mystifying."
"It's definitely interesting." Tidus said. "It reminds me of..."
I didn't want to say what it reminded me of but something about it looked familiar. I had a feeling in my stomach that this wasn't just some strange freak of nature.
"Do you think we should touch it?" Yuna asked, stepping a bit closer and reaching out with her spare hand.
"No." Tidus said quickly and he pulled Yuna back. "We don't know what it is, but if you touch it first and something happens to you I'll never forgive myself."
"Do you think things could get any worse?" Yuna asked quietly, looking down.
"Definitely." Tidus said, "We'll touch it together okay?" Yuna looked at Tidus and smiled. She reached out her right hand while he reached out his left and there fingertips both touched the green swirls of light at the same time...
***
Lulu awoke with a start and looked around at the camp. The small camp fire had gone out leaving nothing but a faint orange glow about it. She waved her hand towards the small pile of logs and they became alight again with a comforting warm crackle. Wakka had just opened his eyes.
"Impressive." He smiled, "Usually I only see you do that when we're in a battle." Lulu nodded.
"It was getting too cold." Wakka nodded.
"Mmm hmm." He said and he looked around him and then up at the sky. "She's gone." Lulu looked puzzled and instantly looked at where Yuna was supposed to be.
"I was sure she was there just then, I just looked around the camp." She got up quickly and looked around the camp. "Everyone Yuna's gone, so has Tidus." She said it loudly enough so that everyone woke up suddenly.
"How could that happen?!" Auron shouted. "I told him to make sure she didn't go anywhere."
"If this is Tidus you're talking about then it doesn't surprise me that they went somewhere together." Rikku chipped in.
"Tidus and Yuna kiss." Kimahri said. Everyone looked at Kimahri. Lulu sighed,
"When I asked Tidus before how he felt about Yuna he said that we had nothing to worry about."
"Why don't we just look for then both? If we find Tidus we're sure to find Yuna." Wakka said.
"Unless Yuna run off upset?" Kimahri said. "Yuna upset that Guardians not agree. Kimahri could tell by Yuna's eyes."
"What did she expect?" Auron said and we swung his sword round and hit a tree, cutting nearly half way through.
"You guys could have been a bit nicer about it." Rikku said. "It must have been the hardest decision she ever had to make. You could have maybe supported her."
"No, the hardest decision would have been for her to make up her mind whether to become a Summoner or not." Auron said, looking at Rikku. "Someone can say that they quit but regret it."
"Then maybe she's just gone off thinking." Rikku said.
"Well, with Tidus with her he'll definitely tell her that she's doing the right thing."
"Then maybe she is." Lulu butted in to the argument. Auron then looked at Lulu but said nothing. There was an uncomfortable silence between the five Guardians but then there was a brilliant blue light that lit up the whole camp area and even further. Everyone shone a bright blue colour and had to squint at first because of the intensity of the light.
Lulu turned around to find out where the light was coming from.
"A good few minutes walk from here." She said and she looked back at the other four. She then looked directly at Kimahri. He nodded and began to run in the direction of the light.