Author's Note: Part two. This story will be complete in three chapters; it's just broken up for length.
Disclaimer -- All characters, locations, and concepts copyright Square Enix. If you recognize it, I don't own it.
Two days later, a loud knock on the door woke me. "We'll be docking in Luca in 20 minutes," a sailor called out. I opened my eyes and rolled out of my bunk. I hadn't arrived in Luca by water in years. "Okay," I said to the empty cabin, "let's go see." Stretching, I grabbed my bag, exited the cabin, and walked up the stairs to the roof of the ferry. I took a place at the railing, watching as the blitzball stadium appeared in the distance.
It was a perfectly gorgeous Spira summer morning. The sky was a brilliant blue, only a few wisps of cloud floating in the distance. My childhood had been filled with such days; too bad we were too busy worrying about Sin to enjoy them. I found myself wondering how it would feel to be a child today.
Watching the port was fascinating, and I spent the rest of the trip just looking. The blitz stadium was filling with water, glistening with colors in the sun, as blitzers waited and stretched in preparation for the first practice of the day. Ships danced in and out of the docks, sailors flying over their riggings. A few airships floated in the sky, and I wondered at how much Spira had changed in just two years. I could have gotten a ride here from Buddy and Brother, but I wanted to experience the sea. Also, the Celsius would have gotten me here in a matter of hours, and it had been good to have time to think on the trip.
Eventually the ship docked. All right, I thought. No more putting it off. I raised my bag to my shoulder and walked off the ferry. A guard in old warrior monk garb stood at the end of the dock, and I went over to him. "Which way to the offices of the provisional government?" I asked. He pointed to his left, and I was on my way.
I'd found a room at an inn, dropped my bag, and ate a light lunch at the blitzer pub. I'd spoken to no one, and no one had talked to me. Now, fortified by food and solitude, I silently approached the entrance to Nooj's office and paused, taking in the scene. There he sat, facing the doorway, at a table littered with spheres and papers, engrossed in a document. His long brown bangs fell into his face as he concentrated. He was a breathtaking sight, and I realized at that moment just how much I had missed him.
I took a deep breath and, heart in my throat, rapped on the doorframe. Startled, Nooj looked up from the table. "Paine!" he said, placing his hands on the armrests of his chair, preparing to rise.
"No need to get up," I said, entering the room. "May I join you?"
"Please," he responded, reaching across the table to gesture at an empty chair. "Have a seat."
Slowly, I walked toward the chair and sat. Nooj put down the document he'd been reading and watched me, a thoughtful look on his face. "What brings you to Luca?" he asked. "Looking to help us put Spira back together? We could sure use your mind, your drive."
I laughed. "Me, a politician? Please. And I'd be an even worse diplomat. Need some ass kicked? I'm your girl. But I'll leave the talking and arguing to others more suited for the job. Like Baralai, and Yuna, and you."
He smiled. "I'm not sure I agree, but I won't argue with you. Anyway. How have you been since you took off before our big assembly?"
"Well enough," I said. "You probably heard that we went back to Besaid and found quite a surprise there."
"Of course, although I've mostly been hearing gossip, not much in the way of hard facts. For one thing, no one seems to know his name."
I thought for a moment. "You know, not only did I meet him, I spent a day with him on the ferry from Besaid to Kilika. But I never learned his name either. Somehow we never got a formal introduction, and no one ever seems to use it in conversation. So strange that I didn't notice that. I'll have to ask Yuna the next time I see her."
Nooj chucked. "So he remains a man of mystery, then."
"Well, we did talk quite a bit on the ferry -- he told me about his life in the dream Zanarkand and his battle against Sin."
"Is he very much like Shuyin?" Nooj asked.
"Physically, yes. They couldn't quite be identical twins, but the resemblance is strong -- same blitzer physique, blue eyes, bleached-blond hair. The facial features are startlingly similar. It's pretty clear why Yuna thought that he might have been the person in those spheres. They even have near-identical voices. It's also obvious that he loves Yuna as much as Shuyin loved Lenne, maybe even more." I paused for a moment, considering. "Yes, because Shuyin wanted to kill to save Lenne, but Yuna's man was willing to die to save her."
"Hmm. Deep," said Nooj.
I looked over at him and smiled. "I know, corny. But no less true. Maybe that nails down the personality difference between Shuyin and the new boy: he's a genuinely good person. Fun, too. I gather he's an excellent fighter as well as a blitzball star, although I haven't gotten much opportunity to see him in action."
"What do you think he'll do now?"
"When I left them, he and Yuna were planning to do the grand tour of Spira. The long way, on foot, no airships if they can help it. He's seen it all before, of course, but mostly while rushing through on the way to Zanarkand, fighting fiends all the way. They want to do things like see the Moonflow at sunset, camp on the Thunder Plains, really talk to all their old friends. That's why we were on the ferry together, but only as far as Kilika -- they're going to wander the forest, see the temple. It sounds like a blast, frankly. Then they'll decide what they want to do next."
"Well, I'm jealous." Nooj sighed. "I can't remember the last time I had the chance to just travel for fun. Or relax in any way, for that matter."
I gave him a wry grin. "Keeping you busy, are they?"
"You have no idea. Baralai deals with most of the meetings and negotiations, and I depend a lot on Lucil, but it still seems like there's always someone wanting me to talk with them or make a decision. That first day, half of them wanted me to run the whole show, and the other half wouldn't trust me to make dinner. We're making progress, but sometimes..." He trailed off. Then he chuckled. "You think Yuna's man would make a politician?"
"Not really," I said. "I see the appeal -- bring in someone new, with no ties to New Yevon or the Youth League -- but I don't think he's the type. I got the impression that he's a bit of a hothead. For another thing, he's not really neutral. Since he wasn't raised on Spira, he never had any loyalty to the temples anyway, and then he and his friends were betrayed and hunted by Yevon at every turn. He'd have no sympathy for Bevelle or its supporters. I bet he'd have been Youth League all the way if he'd been here a year ago."
"Interesting observation," Nooj said. "See, you are good at this."
"Being a good judge of character isn't the only requirement for being in politics," I replied. "And I'm not always right, that's for sure." That was dangerous ground and we both knew it, so I quickly changed the subject. "How are Baralai and Gippal? I haven't seen either of them yet."
"Well, Gippal's not here -- he's off on Bikanel, where he's been spending most of his time lately. He's supposed to be coming back tonight, although probably not for long. Supposedly he's helping analyze a big find they made recently, but we all know why he's really there." I raised an eyebrow and shook my head. Nooj grinned. "He's taken up with Nhadala. Pitched his tent with hers, so to speak. Apparently he's quite serious about her. Can you see that? Gippal, settling down?"
I laughed. "Well, if so, Nhadala's a more likely candidate than most. She won't take any crap from him, that's for sure. Might chap Rikku's hide a little, though."
"Oh?"
"She's never said anything definite, but I get the feeling she has a thing for him, or used to. Gippal dropped some hints, too, that they might have been together once. They're both pretty vague about it, but Rikku's pretty easy to read. Anyway, I'm not really worried about her -- Rikku'll bounce back, she's good at that."
Nooj nodded. "As for Baralai, he's in a meeting. Which is where he spends most of his time, since he's probably the best negotiator in Spira. Right now he's leading long discussions with the Ronso and the Guado. Making a lasting peace between them might be the most important piece of this whole puzzle. Fortunately, Kimahri and Trommell have already laid the groundwork; getting their people to go along with it is the tricky part. Tough as it is, I think Baralai is enjoying it. But you know him, throwing himself into his work to distract himself from his life."
This caught my attention. "What's wrong with his life? I hadn't heard..."
Nooj peered over his glasses, his brown eyes serious. "Well. He's more than half in love with Yuna, you know, and he's pretty depressed that she's off the market, presumably for good." My eyebrows shot up again -- this was new, and surprising, information. "Yes, well, he'd always admired her, but he felt guilty about it, too, because he used to work for Seymour."
"I know. We had words about it, once."
"So that's what happened between you two," said Nooj, thoughtful. "I wondered. But you know, we all did things we regretted, after the cave." He paused, as if considering whether to continue on that topic. Fortunately, he decided not to. "Anyway. Did Yuna tell you what happened to her when we met on the Farplane, gave her the old Crimson Squad recordings we found?"
"She said she met Shuyin, possessing Baralai, and he thought she was Lenne. That was the first time she knew for certain that Shuyin wasn't the man she was searching for."
Nooj slowly nodded. "Did anyone tell you what it was like, being possessed by Shuyin?" I shook my head. "Well, I won't go into too many details now, but let's just say I felt like myself, most of the time. My mind was usually my own. Occasionally Shuyin would talk to me, make suggestions, and they always seemed like good ones so I went along. I did do things I otherwise wouldn't have done, but I only really became Shuyin when I shot the three of you on the Highroad, and during the confrontation in Bevelle. It was different for Baralai. He was Shuyin, from the moment Shuyin took possession beneath Bevelle until you fought them on the Farplane. Everything Shuyin thought and felt, Baralai thought and felt. So now imagine that you're Baralai, feeling Shuyin's emotions as if they were your own, and you meet his long-lost true love on the Farplane, who happens to be someone that you've also had feelings for."
I began to realize what Nooj was getting at. "So a mild crush..."
"Explodes into what feels true love denied for centuries," Nooj finished.
"Yikes." I shuddered a little.
He nodded again. "On an intellectual level, he knows that he's confusing Shuyin's feelings with his own, and that he needs to sort out the difference. But he still took it pretty hard when we heard about the return of... damn, we really need a name for this guy."
"I'll find out," I promised. "Anyway, no wonder Baralai is throwing himself into his work."
"Yes. I don't blame him. And it's important work, and he's good at it. Right now the stickiest point is allowing free passage for all the Guado back to Guadosalam. Most of them took refuge in Macalania, so that's not a problem, but others fled to Baaj, and we want to make sure that the Ronso don't bother their ships. Trommell's already moved back into the palace, so that will help stabilize things there."
Finally, the opportunity to ask the question I had been dying to ask, to get the answer I had been dreading. "So," I said, keeping my voice as casual as I could manage, "where will Leblanc go then?"
"She's here in Luca. Has been ever since the battle for VegnaGun. The Syndicate is effectively disbanded, although we've been talking about bringing it back together as an information network. I'm a little worried about those lieutenants of hers, but they want to help out and that seems the best use for them. She wants to be involved, too."
"Involved in what way?" I asked, still playing nonchalant.
But Nooj saw through me. He'd always been good at that. "Paine--"
I stood abruptly, pushing my chair back from the table. "I take it back," I said. "Never mind, it doesn't matter, I don't want to know."
"Paine. I know you may not want to hear this. Lord knows I don't want to tell you about it. But I can't keep putting it off." Nooj reached for his cane and leaned on it as he raised himself from the chair. He walked slowly over to the window and, gazing out at his view of the sea, began to speak.
