"Geez, Wakka, calm down." Tidus was saying to his brother as the red head continued pacing the house as though he has finally lost coherent thought. "You're getting married, not facing a war."
She knew it was cruel to even say it, but she couldn't help herself. "Yeah, Lulu loves you… though she didn't express it so passionately. She ain't running out on you or anything." Yuffie said, as she was now thinking what he would be like if ever they got children. Wakka would be most likely a serious tangle of nerves in that rate.
"Kids," Wakka said calmly, and with wise patience. "When the day comes that you two marry… you'll understand what I've been going through, and I'll make sure I'll be there to tease you when it happens."
"It's very nice that you postponed your wedding so that Yuna can give you the blessing." Tidus said quickly, attempting to change the subject.
Yuffie merely laughed out loud by the silliness of it all.
It was a private ceremony… the sort of important occasion where only close friends and family were the only ones invited. And as the Chieftain had declared them married, and seeing her two friends shared a very nice and gentle kiss must have made Yuna happier, as her song to bless the newlyweds was more vibrant than before.
As soon as the bride managed to break free from the older women congratulating her, she went to Yuna and Yuffie to give them gifts for the journey as tradition dictates her to.
"Wow!" Yuna said, holding the Cait Sith doll, one of Lulu's most prized possessions. "Are you sure I can have this?"
"Yes, I can only wish the best of your journey. It's the least I can do…"
Yuffie only looked at Lulu with a raised eyebrow, as she held up her gift: the rather unattractive green prickly (complete with needles) Cactuar with one hand. "And I suppose you hate me then?" she inquired.
Lulu favored the girl with a small smile. "It doesn't look much, but Cactuars are quite powerful. You'll find it useful someday." But Yuffie was more worried where on the Planet she is going to carry it.
Tidus got from his brother his own Blitzball. In a way Wakka was passing on all his possessions to him, to allow him a new start of life as a husband. The brothers embraced, wishing each other luck and their swift reunion.
Yuffie was still trying to find a way to stuff the Cactuar without damaging her other possessions in her knapsack as Yuna personally said her goodbyes to the other villagers, all who were there to eagerly see their young promising Songstress off.
"Hey!" Tidus said suddenly, making Yuffie forget her battle for a moment and smile at the three kids who were waiting patiently for them.
Riku, Kairi and Sora were the ones they usually babysit whenever their parents goes away for work. And in a strange way, they all became peers.
"Just you wait. Three years from now, we're going to a journey farther than you've ever been!" Sora was saying.
"Sure you will, squirt." Tidus gave Riku a stare in which the latter calmly returned. "And you keep training with your sword; I'll show you a thing or two when I get back…"
Yuffie poked her friend at the back. "Ti, stop acting so cool. You know Riku beat you up in that sparring practice a couple of times for the past week." Riku and Sora were naturals with the sword… they can go a long way.
"Gee, thanks, I know I can always count on you." Tidus replied as Kairi laughed. Yuna has finally disengaged with the villagers, and allowed her to take the lead to the road.
Leon was already waiting for them by the gate; lazily propping himself against the wall, eyes closed, and seemed to be thinking about something else. But as soon as he heard footsteps he straightened up, waited for the Songstress to move ahead, and followed her. Tidus kept his distance from him though, he was still sore from their last conversation. And Yuffie was tailing behind, cursing as the Cactuar doll made a hole in her bag.
And so this group of four began their journey for the Mainland. They rode the first ship docked at shore that will take them in that country.
The trip lasted for three whole days. And because of the recent Gi attacks on the ships, Yuna volunteered to erect a barrier of protection for them as soon as she boarded their transportation, so she never had the chance to even stay in their room. Yuffie mostly spent the whole trip asleep as soon as they got onboard… without the use of any drugs. She had learned her lesson from last time. But doing so made Tidus spend his hours alone with Leon. The two men were now staring at each other with a slight tinge of hostility.
"…"
"…"
"…"
Damn, Tidus finds himself losing with this game. So with an annoyed snort he stood up and left the room, deciding to practice with the Blitzball Wakka gave him.
Leon continued his brooding for a while as well… but suddenly felt uncomfortable staying in the room alone with Yuffie. So he quietly left the room, not wanting to wake her.
He shouldn't have bothered, for as soon as he closed the door, Yuffie was crying in her sleep again.
"Phew…" Yuna said, sitting down in a small bench at the starboard of the boat, feeling refreshed by the ocean breeze. She saw Tidus was giving her a warm glass of water in which she gratefully accepted.
"It must be tough…" he told her. "You've been doing this since this morning."
"I'm actually feeling tired because I'm still new to this." Yuna said. "There are techniques in which a singer can do this for hours and couldn't be exhausted."
"Still, you shouldn't push yourself."
"I know." Yuna sighed. "I hope I get a lot of experience from the journey."
The two teenagers went silent, both unable to think up of any conversation to tell until the songstress decided to take the initiative. "When you and Yuffie go out… what do you two always do?" she inquired. In a way, Yuna was envious every time the two of them would bolt out of the village in some crazy adventure they just thought of impulsively. True they both always ended up in trouble and getting themselves injured, but there was something to be said by the closeness they made through those treks.
Tidus snorted, "We pass time using me as a training dummy."
"Excuse me?"
The blonde man sighed, "You know, she makes me hide an object, I hid it behind her back, she takes them under my nose and shows it to me. Her fingers were so fast it was amazing. Anyway, Yuffie told me it's for exercise. We did ask her not to steal stuff the first time she came to Besaid."
Yuna nodded, prodding him to continue.
"She's now practicing to steal accessories... stuff you actually wear in your person." Tidus said. "It's quite hard, she still hasn't mastered it yet, but she can pull it off provided she concentrated hard enough."
It struck Yuna how relaxed Tidus was concerning the other girl…he never talked the opposite gender so easily if he gives his opinion to Lulu…. Or to herself. "You really like her, don't you?"
"She's a best friend I could ever want." Tidus said, "Thanks for bringing her along, Yuna."
Yuna smiled, she felt the same as well. "You're welcome."
Tidus continued, clearly warming up for a lengthy conversation. "Hey, since this is your first time adventuring, I could give you some tips I picked up on the road."
"I'm listening with outmost attention, sir!" Yuna replied cheerfully.
Suddenly, Tidus decided he really liked boat trips.
Leon was leaning on the wall, lost in thought, or so what any casual onlooker would assume when they walked past him.
Well, I'm in.
Good. Anything we should know about?
The songstress has two guardians with her. Though they probably won't cause any problems…one of them is familiar with the area we're heading.
And that would cause any complications?
Leon hesitated, No. No complications.
You know what you have to do. Just be careful there, alright?
Roger.
Yuffie sighed as she was once again executing the head stand. Although she had to admit, things that looked mundane and ordinary when she was standing upright was definitely something else entirely from a new point of view. She could see lots of dust balls forming out in different sizes from the corners of the bed.
She never did the headstand before in a boat, afraid that it will only aggravate her motion sickness. To her surprise, it seemed that it somehow help her to fight if off.
Wow, Cloud wasn't kidding when he told me exercise was just the thing…her thoughts were interrupted as she sneezed, lost her balance, and hit the back of her head on the wall when she landed hard on her back.
As the girl continued cursing under her breath, rubbing a small bump forming in her scalp, she couldn't help but laugh at herself. Real graceful, Yuffie. And your class is a ninja too, that's SO weird. She also learned, the hard way, that there were some girls who were innately infused with such grace and poise it wasn't even funny… and there were those who were ridiculously clumsy. She finds herself leaning in the latter.
Although to be fair, she did took pride that no one, be it male and female, can jump from high places as she did. She remembered Wakka and Tidus turning green when she made her first successful jump at the gorge in Besaid. Though admittedly it had taken her some broken bones and months of practice to do it. She enjoyed the experience so much; she would jump from that gorge in an almost daily basis. Yuna was impressed by this and wanted to jump as well. And it took Tidus and Wakka short from manhandling her to prevent her from doing so.
Yuna always commented jokingly that she was always a very bad influence to her; Yuffie immediately took it as a compliment.
She sighed as she found herself playing with the Shiva materia in the palm of her hand. She never had the heart to sell it as she had planned, she always has issues on letting go, even if it was unhealthy… she stood up just as Tidus entered the room, surprised to see her awake, but quickly said that their ship was finally going to land.
She was still rubbing the back of her head, but she was glad the trip had been uneventful this time around. Perhaps their luck was finally picking up.
Yuna decided to walk the road instead of riding a chocobo like the rest of the people. Yuffie suspected that it was because all three of them were inexperienced riders on the said creatures, as there were no chocobos in Besaid. Leon was definitely not talking anything if he has proficiency on it either.
And so they walked. Drawing stares and whispers from the people nearby. Somehow, Yuna's identity as Braska's daughter managed to come up, and they flocked nearby as if the spirit energy of her father might somehow manifest itself and give them good fortune. Yuna looked incredibly embarrassed by how everyone were staring at her, and her three companions spread out as to prevent people from coming too close.
Soon they were in the open road again, breaking away from the rest of the populace. Yuna slowly exhaled… she didn't realized that she was holding her breath.
"You shouldn't be so nervous." Leon said briskly, surprising all three of them, he never said much during their trip, so it felt alien to hear him speak again. "We've barely begun."
Yuna nodded slowly, "Yes. I understand."
Yuffie nodded, "I remember the monsters here are pretty tough."
Tidus frowned. "Yu, stop doing that. It's not reassuring."
Yuffie stared at him. "It's the truth. Well, maybe because I was only eleven back then, and the monsters look bigger than usual in that age. Yeah, maybe that's it."
"If you two don't mind…?" Leon interrupted, and they realized that a random monster was approaching them. Yuna readied her staff, this was technically her first battle, and she would have to rely on the three more seasoned fighters to help her. The giant crablike monster attacked…
"Holy…" Tidus stopped himself from cursing anything in front of Yuna as she was using her Song of Healing to close the wounds. Even though the bleeding stopped, it didn't help that he can still feel the pain of an open wound in his arm. "Why didn't you tell me that thing hits hard as a giant rock?" he asked his friend in a tone as if she had just betrayed him.
Yuffie sighed in exasperation. "I told you the enemies here are tough! I remember running away in most of the encounters."
"I'm sorry." Yuna interrupted them, looking at Tidus in regret. She was the only one who never got wounded, "If I moved away fast enough, you shouldn't have taken that blow for me and gotten hurt."
"Oh don't worry about that, Yuna, Tidus would gladly give all his limbs for you as long as you say… OWWWCCCH!" The ninja hissed in pain when Tidus poke her at her recently healed rib, successfully shutting her up.
Yuna laughed, even after Yuffie was now stomping at Tidus' (who was now moving away from her as fast as he could) feet shouting "What was that for!" she then turn her attention to Leon, who was tending his own wounds in the other side of the camp. "Here, let me…" she began.
The older man shrugged her off. "No thanks," he said calmly. "I can manage."
"But at least to stop the bleeding." The songstress began. Leon simply grunted under his breath and stood up. "I don't need your help. The healing doesn't seem to work." Ignoring Yuna's distress on his assessment on her work, he began to walk away.
Then something hit the back of his head, Leon looked down and saw a banana lying on the ground, and an angry ninja stomping towards him. "That's rude, and you know it!" she shouted at him. "Apologize to her this instant!"
"Yu?" Tidus asked in confusion when he saw his friend suddenly abandoning her revenge like that. Yuna was shocked to realize her friend has a very strong sense of hearing. "Yuffie," she began, the last thing she wanted was to have friction in their small group. "It's fine."
"No, it's not!" Yuffie retorted, forgetting her place. Switching her angry gaze at Leon she continued, "I don't know who raised you like that. But don't treat people who's gonna waste their spirit energy to fix your sorry butt like a brick wall!"
Leon looked annoyed, but surprisingly he relented. "I'm sorry." He said to Yuna, and then he looked back at Yuffie, an eyebrow raised, waiting for her to say something. When she didn't Leon walked away without looking back.
Yuna went to her, "I think you made him mad." She said quietly.
"Good. Coz I am." Yuffie replied, clearly not in the mood to yield. She walked to the spot where the banana was lying, picked it up, and began peeling it as she walked away at the opposite direction with a huff.
Tidus looked at the two girls. "What's that about?" he asked her. Yuna shrugged helplessly.
"Well, I'm going up ahead." Yuffie told them. The group has reached a rather tall hill in the road. Yuna communicated to the woodland spirits through her song, in which she was informed that this was the safest place to go if they don't want to spent the next three days fighting off monsters in the forest before they reached the nearest town.
Leon gave her a very long rope and some metal spikes to be used as footholds. "We'll be waiting here. Give us a whistle once you secure a route." Tidus found himself mentally scratching the back of his head in puzzlement. Leon and Yuffie were talking to each other as if the little episode yesterday didn't happen.
"Got it." Yuffie handed over her things to Tidus took the ones Leon gave her and began the long climb. If she was climbing, that is. She was literally jumping from ledge to ledge, as though this was her element. If she found any smooth surfaces that would cause the other three some trouble, she would pause to put on the magical spikes that immediately embedded onto the rock before continuing her trek.
Tidus muttered. "Show off."
Soon enough, they heard Yuffie whistle, a signal she had reached the top of the hill safely, as the other end of the rope came falling to the ground. Leon tugged at it hard, determining if it was strong enough, then nodded at Tidus saying, "Now carry the songstress and I'll follow you."
"Wh…what!" Tidus burst out in shock. He looked at Yuna and looked at Leon, clearly expecting him to say he was kidding.
"I have to take off the spikes Yuffie put in, I'll carry our baggage." The older man told him patiently as though he was instructing a five year old. "And I don't think she has the experience enough to climb something this high."
"Yes, I do." Yuna said, feeling slightly offended. "I've done my treks on the mountain in Besaid."
But not in climbing at vertical surfaces. Leon then added, "If you don't want to, I'll carry her."
Tidus sighed, knowing that he definitely wouldn't let Leon do that. "I won't mind if you don't mind, Yuna."
Yuna was silent for a moment before she answered slowly, "I don't mind." She looked at him evenly. "I don't mind at all."
And so, despite it was awkward at first, feeling Yuna's body pressed against his back so tightly… and that they moved a little slowly and draining his constitution, Tidus was touched that Yuna trusted him so wholeheartedly. And that alone gave him the resolve to reach the top without any mishap. He was so tried he didn't notice Yuffie helping him up, and that she was giving him a knowing smile.
He lied down on his back, trying to catch his breath as Yuna quickly gave him a flask of water in which he gladly accepted. "I guess I've gained weight, huh?" she asked him sheepishly.
"Nah, you're OK. Yu was the one who was a lot heavier, if I have my say on the matter." He assured her.
"I heard that, Ti!" Yuffie shouted back, she was at the ledge watching Leon's progress. "I'm gonna get you for that."
Yuna giggled. Those two were always so silly.
Yuna completed her song, and the barrier was erected as the four of them gathered at the small bonfire in the cave Leon found where they could spend the night.
"Poor Ti." Yuffie said, looking in amusement as her friend was snoring as soon as they finished dinner. "You're too much for him."
Yuna gently blushed that greatly accented her cheekbones. Yuffie was oddly fascinated by that, everytime she felt red in the face people pointed out she looked like a tomato. "I was scared at first," the young songstress admitted. "But I realized that Tidus would feel afraid if I am. I trust him he won't let me fall." She looked sad… "If only…"
But both Tidus and Yuna knew the real reason why they can never make that move that could change their course of friendship forever. And Yuffie felt the unfairness of it all, in her opinion it was a silly tradition that shouldn't even be practiced. The two of them clearly cared for each other, evolved beyond caring even… why should society dictate them otherwise?
Yuna bravely smiled, even though Yuffie knew her friend was sobbing quietly in the back of her mind. "We should get some rest, my feet are killing me."
"I think I'll keep Leon company for a bit." Yuffie said. "We may actually have a conversation."
"I think you're being unfair. He certainly doesn't say much… but he is a nice man."
Yuffie looked at her as though she had just grown a new head, "Yuna, you called pirates nice men."
"I'm sure some of them were." Yuna protested.
Yuffie laughed, "Well I can't judge, since I never really met one. But let's do that debate in some other time. Try to rest Yuna, we still have to walk quite a distance."
Yuna pouted, but at least she complied, she was not kidding when she admitted that her legs ache. She fell asleep immediately.
"I can keep watch," Leon said, as if he just sensed her approaching. "You should get some sleep." He told her shortly.
"I think I had too much sleep back at that ship." Yuffie answered. "I'm not tired at all."
"…"
"Actually I wouldn't mind taking the first watch," Yuffie said, "You carried our bags on the way up, and I'm sure it's heavier than carrying Yuna."
"…"
"Ergo you're tired."
"I'm not tired."
"Yes you are."
"No, I'm not."
"You need to sleep a few hours."
"I'm fine."
"How old are you?"
This threw Leon off the loop. Looking at her in suspicion he said, "Twenty seven."
"Then how come you're acting like you're six?"
"You're not the person I'd exactly call mature either."
"I'm childish and obnoxious by nature. That's my excuse. Yours?"
Leon glared at her. Any other people would have been intimidated by his expression, but Yuffie only stared him back. "You don't think so highly of yourself." He replied quietly.
"I disagree with that." Yuffie sighed. "Look, Leon… I know you've been a big help, and I'm being very nice."
"You're not doing a good job on it." Leon said his eyebrow raising.
"And that I want you to get at least a few hours of sleep." She continued, ignoring his remark. "We can be jerks again first thing in the morning. What d'you say?"
Leon felt really exhausted. "Fine." He conceded. "But wake me up as soon as you find yourself getting tired."
"I will."
Even when Leon closed his eyes, immediately falling off to sleep surprising him, he could still barely see Yuffie sitting on the rock he just vacated, watching the mountains with a strange quiet expression.
Leon woke up by the smell of eggs and bacon. And he suddenly sat up in shock.
"Hey!" Tidus said, surprised by his sudden movement, almost dropping his plate. Leon looked at the cave's entrance and saw sunshine streaming in. "About time. We left your share over there," Tidus explained.
"I've been asleep the whole time?" Leon demanded.
"Well." Tidus was taken aback by his tone of voice; even Yuna stopped her cooking to look at them. "Yuffie told us to let you sleep because you were late up guarding us."
"The hell she did." Leon muttered under his breath as he stormed off. Tidus grumbled something about him definitely waking up at the wrong side of the bed roll.
Yuffie was tying up her shoe securely when she felt someone approaching her. She straightened up and saw Leon frowning in extreme displeasure towards her.
"What?" she asked him.
"Why didn't you wake me up?"
"Because you're tired."
"And you didn't sleep the whole night!" Leon hissed. Though he could see some eye bags under her eyes, she looked alert and wide awake enough.
"What are you, my dad?" Yuffie demanded. "I told you before I'm not tired."
"Your childish and obnoxious nature is stirring up."
"It won't affect my performance even if I don't sleep in five days! That's one of the perks I got from training as a ninja." Yuffie said, "So ease up! I won't faint on you guys in the road."
"That's not what I meant." Leon said. "Why didn't you wake Tidus at least?"
"Because he's tired too."
"And you're not?"
"Well, like, YEAH!" Yuffie replied, getting exasperated. What's his problem?
"I'll tell the others we leave later until you get a few hours sleep." Leon said in finality, turning away.
This stopped her. "You musn't!" she gasped, horrified.
"Well, you better have a good excuse then." Leon retorted as he began to walk away, apparently finished with this conversation.
Who died and made him king? Yuffie was literally seething when she relented, "FINE! I'll give you an excuse if you want one so badly! I have insomnia!" the girl almost yelled. "That good enough for you!"
That stopped him, and upon closer inpection from his posture, Leon was genuinely stunned. "What?" he asked slowly as he turned around to look at her.
Yuffie was clenching her teeth in obvious irritation, wondering why the hell she was telling this to Leon. "I have insomnia." She repeated in an almost whisper as if Tidus could overhear them, "I can't sleep properly even if I tried. I had it since I was nine." Seeing the man in complete shock, Yuffie realized he looked cute in that expression. She should surprise him more often.
"Why didn't you get help?" he asked her quietly.
"Because I don't need it. And I don't want anyone's pity like what you're doing now." Yuffie waved a hand, "And really being able to sleep in two hours isn't such a bad thing."
"You should know I'm capable of keeping the camp safe."
"It's not the Gi that's keeping me awake."
"What is it?"
A pause. And Yuffie turned away… "Nothing." She replied. Leon looked at her back for a moment, and then returned slowly back to camp.
And for once in her life, she felt really terrible.
