Oh no! What do you know, the end is drawing near folks! I think there may be at least two or
three more chapters following this one, and this story is going to end slightly different than I had
originally planned, but oh well, right? Not only that, but I'm kind of attached to this story.
Maybe I really will make a sequel....? Actually, I'd love to make a sequel, but what in the world of Spira will it be about??? Oh well, I guess I'll just have to come up with something, right? :)Anyway, enjoy!

Chapter 12: Utterly Close...Too Close

Yuna decided to try to scream, but before she could, something hit the leader in the back

of the head and he dropped Yuna's arm. The rest of the group turned and faced toward where

theobject had come from.

There, with a cheeky smile on his face, stood Tidus.

"Hey Carrot-Top," Tidus yelled, grabbing the red-haired one by the shirt collar and

pulling him back, "What were you planning on doing to her?"

Yuna smiled at seeing Tidus, and then noticed that the rest of the group had turned

around and taken off, leaving their leader behind.

The red-haired one must have decided to cheek off to Tidus, for he said, "We were gonna

kill her, just like we plan to kill all Abe fans."

Yuna gulped, wondering if what he said was true.

"Oh yeah?" Tidus said, pulling him close to his face, "You better not mess with her

again."

"And you better not enter our territory again," the red-haired boy said, but Yuna could see

him trembling.

"I'm not going to hurt you," Tidus said, smiling, and Yuna saw the red-haired boy relax,

"Badly, anyway."

Tidus slugged the boy then, hard, and the red-haired leader staggered backwards and fell

on the ground, babying the area that Tidus had hurt him. He whimpered, looked up at Tidus and

then at Yuna and then ran the same way his group had, as fast as he could

Yuna turned and faced the smiling blonde, surprised that he was there, not to mention

grateful. Who knew what that group would have done to her. Her heart quickened at seeing his

smiling face, but only to remember that he was just a lying player.

"I think you owe me a thanks," Tidus just said, almost cooly.

"Thank you," Yuna just said, looking at the ground, and then wondered how he had even

found her. She didn't dare ask him, though, and, being that she was feeling in a rather stubborn

mood, she decided to just be cold back to him.

"Well, yeah," Tidus just said, shrugging, as if he just didn't like the silence.

"Why did you come after me?" Yuna finally asked, being that she couldn't stand not

knowing.

"Who says I came after you," Tidus snapped at Yuna, and she saw him start to walk

away.

"Wait!" Yuna said, running after him, forgetting everything bad he had ever done to her,

"I...Thank you again for rescuing me."

Tidus looked at her, and then just shook his head. "It was nothing," he said flatly. He

sighed then, and said, "I actually did come after you. Uh...I actually had to seriously track you

down. Man, did you have to cover so much ground? You know how long I've been looking for

you? Not only that, but Yuna, this city isn't exactly safe if you go in the wrong areas!"

"I'm sorry," Yuna just said, but wondered why she was apologizing. If anyone deserved

an apology, it was her, and she was sticking to that.

"Look, it's all my fault," Tidus said, which amazed Yuna, "And besides, this isn't really a

bad part of the city." Tidus smiled to himself, and Yuna wondered why. It was the same smile

she had seen him smile numerous times, and Yuna wondered what it was he was even smiling

about.

"Anyway," Tidus said finally, after shaking off the smile, "That red-haired guy. Do you

even know who he is?"

Yuna shook her head. Of course she didn't know who he was!

"That's this leader of some anti-Abes clan. But beyond that..." Tidus stopped, and looked

Yuna over, as if debating on something, "He doesn't usually patrol this area. I don't think he just

decided to kill you on the spot. He was sent by somebody." Tidus laughed, "Or maybe I'm just

paranoid!"

"What do you mean?" Yuna asked. He was sent by somebody? Tidus wasn't making any

sense at all.

"Look," Tidus finally continued, "That red-haired guy. That's Lea's cousin. Unless I

truly am some paranoid freak, which I guess could be right, I think Lea sent him."

Yuna shivered. What if Tidus hadn't come? That group obviously had been following

her for a while, for she suddenly recalled feeling as if someone was following. They must have

just been waiting for a deserted area to do their deed in.

Tidus sighed, as if wishing he didn't have to say something, but said it anyway.

"Yuna, are you okay?"

She hadn't noticed until then that she was crying, and that she wanted to run up to Tidus,

throw her arms around him and let him kiss away all of her fears. She couldn't though, and it

was tearing her heart up.

"I didn't think Lea would sink that low," Tidus said then, and blushed, "You see, I was on

my way to see her, actually, but...Well..."

"Well what?" Yuna asked through her tears, wondering if Tidus' rambles were supposed

to make sense to her.

"I kind of was...Worried about you, Yuna," Tidus said, and blushed again, as if ashamed

by his words, "So, I decided to try and find you, to you know, make sure you were okay."

"Well thank you," Yuna said cooly, forgetting her tears, "But I must be off again. I need

to find a way back to my home." She didn't know what she was doing. How could she still be

angry at Tidus? She knew that no matter what he did, she would always love him. No, she

wouldn't! Turning away from him, she continued on.

Tidus watched her, he blue eyes never leaving her, and Yuna could feel his stare at her

back. Biting her lip to keep from crying, she continued walking away from him, praying that

Tidus would call her back, something.

He didn't do anything, just continued to stare at her, as if expecting her to come back to

him. Little did she know that waiting for her to turn around was exactly what he was doing.

Sighing, she just continued walking, and finally turned around, only to see him walking

away from him. She turned back around, just as he turned around to look at her again. The two

continued this for a while, each walking and turning, just as soon as the other turned back from

them.

Finally, Yuna turned around again, but Tidus was no longer in sight. He was gone.

Forever.

Tears spewed from Yuna's eyes, and without even meaning to, she ran back in the

direction Tidus was heading.

SLAM! The next thing she knew, she ran into something, and was about knocked over

backwards when strong arms caught her behind the back and kept her from hitting the ground.

"Watch where you're running!" she heard a voice say with laughter in it. Her heart leapt

at the owner of the voice. It was Tidus.

"You watch it!" she smiled at the laughter in his voice, and he pulled her up, being that

she was leaning far into his arms, almost touching the ground.

"Well, I wasn't really running back for you..." Tidus said, but Yuna saw that he had a

smile on his face.

"And I wasn't running back for you," Yuna said, smiling also.

"Yeah, sure," Tidus just said.

"Are you sure you weren't running back for me?" Yuna asked, concealing a smile. She

had forgotten that she was terribly angry at him, and she was now more determined than ever not

to lose him. He had changed already, she could tell. He no longer gazed at her as if he was

planning something, but gazed at her somewhat affectionately. Still, Yuna could sense that

something about his gaze was off.

"Yuna," he said, in the most serious tone she had ever heard from him, as he ran his

fingers through her silky hair, "You know I could never love you..."

Of course, she had been expecting something from him.

"Just because I'm "a fan"?" Yuna asked, feeling annoyed, backing away from him,

feeling all of her anger return.

Tidus bowed his head. "Yeah. I mean, it just can't happen."

"What about your mom?" Yuna asked, "Was she some Lea? Didn't your parents love

each other?"

Tidus gave her the strangest look, as if saying, "How dare you bring them up!", but then

just looked away from her.

"Things were different then," he finally said, although he still didn't look back at her.

"How so?" Yuna asked, crossing her arms, trying hard to conceal her annoyance with the

Blitzer.

"They just were!" he said, making Yuna feel even more annoyed with his attitude. And

here she had thought that she had finally won him.

"Are you sure it's not all in your head?" Yuna snapped at him, finally allowing her

annoyance to show.

"Look, popularity is everything to me!" Tidus said, crossing his arms stubbornly.

"Oh, I understand," Yuna said, turning away from him and walking, "You're just some

stuck-up jock who thinks the world revolves around you, right? But yet you can't go out with

just anybody, because it'll ruin your reputation. But you don't even know if it will? So the press

likes it with you're with Lea because of who-knows-why, but that's what makes you happy.

Tidus, I really thought you'd changed. I mean," Yuna began to tear again, "You did come

running back for me."

Tidus looked somewhat hurt, as if what Yuna said had stabbed him in the back.

"I didn't want to be like this," he said, "But...Things happen. Goodbye Yuna."

"Goodbye Tidus," Yuna said, deciding that she would just have to get used to that

loneliness that was forever in her heart, because even if Tidus did love her, he was never going to

admit it. No matter what happened.

Tidus nodded to her, and looked surprisingly sad, almost anguished. He just stood there,

watching her as she left again, as if thinking to himself.

"You know you're doing the wrong thing, don't you?" Yuna had to ask him, as she turned

around, staring into his eyes.

Tidus looked at the ground, but Yuna could tell that he had given her a nod. He agreed

with her.

Suddenly, Yuna got an idea. She ran up to him, and took his hands, looking into his

sorrowful eyes.

"Tidus," she said, almost breathless, being that she was in such deep hope, "I love you.

And...I understand that you can't be with me. But, can we just kiss? Just one last time, before I

leave?"

She knew he loved her. He had to love her. And she knew, that with just one kiss that

was full of love, he would remember. And if he remembered, she knew he'd forget his

selfishness, and find a way back to Spira with her.

Tidus looked into her eyes for a while, and then closed his eyes. She closed hers, and the

two leant together, Yuna waiting to feel his lips against hers. Her heart was throbbing. She was

sure this would be it. This would be the last kiss they would need before Tidus would remember

everything.

"Oh Tidus!" a sweet voice said, causing Tidus to bring his head back just as their lips

were about to meet.

Yuna's eyes flashed open, and she felt terribly angry for having their kiss interrupted.

This was going to be it! She was so sure of it, and now she had been interrupted.

Without even looking at the voice's owner, she knew who it was, though. It was Lea,

who else?

"Oh Tidus!" she cooed, "I thought we were back together? Or is this just one of your

stupid plots?"

Tidus stared at Lea, and then back at Yuna, who was giving him an imploring look, as if

begging him to forget Lea and kiss her.

"Oh, and Yuna," Lea said, walking between Yuna and Tidus, "I heard that my cousin

threatened you earlier? I'm so sorry about that! What can I say, not everybody can be perfect,

even if they are in my family!" Lea laughed, and put her arms around Tidus, making Yuna feel

sick.

Tidus continued staring at Yuna, however, as in thought. Yuna watched him back, still

giving him the same imploring look.

However, completely smashing all of Yuna's hopes, Tidus in return put his arms around

Lea, and broke his gaze off of Yuna.

Lea gave Yuna her winning smile, and Yuna watched as the two kissed, a kiss that Tidus

and Yuna should have shared.

With tears streaming down her face, Yuna stole one glance at Tidus, who was too busy

kissing Lea to even know, and then Yuna ran off toward the sea, deciding she knew exactly what

it was she was going to do.

If she couldn't have Tidus, then there would be no more reason for her to go on. What

would be the need to go back to Spira, to the loneliness of life there? Words spoken three years

ago by the one she hated the most crept into her brain, as she continued running toward the sea,

knowing that she had indeed lost.

"Death is a sweet slumber...Death is where I can be happy!" Yuna thought, as she made

her way closer and closer to the sea, "Seymour, who would have thought you were right? Death

really would be sweet..."