Chapter 14: Confusion

Warning: This chapter may contain some adult themes. Once again I dont think it does. But I would rather be on the safe side. I might even have to end up rating this story M soon if I feel the need to.

I was nearing the edge of the crowd, which consisted of people who seemed rather high on the heat and beat of the night. I was feeling quite exhausted myself, as I reached up to wipe away the sweat dripping slowly down over my eyelashes. The voices in my head that had first started to talk to me during my time in the cell, had come back.

They told me to head back into the forest and not to turn back. I decided that it was probably best anyway. I needed to hide somewhere for the time being anyway. It wasn't wise to be out at this time of the morning, especially when I had a heap of sentinels after me. The moon still shone brightly above, but I knew that in less then two hours the sun would start to rise over Zanarkand. I knew that it would be much easier for them to spot me in the light.

I took one last look back at the cluster of people and wished I could be as simple as them, without a care in the world. I longed to be one of them…dancing with Tidus by my side and not thinking about anything but him. My life was too complicated to be granted such a wonderful gift though. I sighed a breath of the unfamiliar Zanarkand air and proceeded to make my way back to the forest. I couldn't stay here. Tidus was here and I had already caused a few faces to turn my way. I needed to be as discreet as possible.

I decided to walk through the shadows of the buildings towering over me, so as to be as unnoticeable as I could. I suddenly heard a pair of voices laughing happily behind me. I turned to see that it was a young black-haired boy and blonde-headed girl, no older then Tidus and I had been when we first met. I crept over to lean my cheek against a pole, a fair distance away from them, looking on with a feeling of yearning, as the boy led the girl by the hand to a small gap in the wall and started to kiss her affectionately. I smiled thinking of the first time Tidus and I had kissed.

Their bodies slowly beginning to give in, as they lost all consciousness of the world around them.

I decided to give them their privacy and moved on again through the shadows, feeling tears seep out of the corners of my eyes. I suddenly stopped once more but more abruptly and turned to look at the mass of people I had just emerged from. I raised my fingernails to my teeth and bit down on them gently, thinking of how much I just wanted to run back and embrace Tidus and for him to do the same. A voice in my mind convinced me that it was a preposterous idea and I turned around again. However my mind flew back to the thought and I stepped back a few steps slowly, increasing my steps to a running pace, as I turned back towards the crowd.

No Yuna don't.

The voice in my head forced me to stop against my will. My arms waved out in front of me, as I tried to catch my balance and I was practically standing on the tips of my toes, not being able to take another step forward, that's how controlling the voice in my head had been.

I finally regained control of my body and fell back onto my feet lightly, standing in the middle of the road, in a sentinel uniform, with my hood no longer covering up my face. A few people stopped their conversations on the side of the road, just metres away from the partying bodies, to stare at me with curious glances. I looked at them with fearful eyes, (with my hair swept over my face thank Yevon.)

One girl leaning on a cement wall on the side of the road, who was dressed in a rather shameful short skirt and top, wondered over to me and said, "Cute outfit. How'd you get it?"

I remained quiet and began to panic a little, feeling my heart race faster then the wings of a humming bird.

She folded her arms, raised one eyebrow and said, "I bet you had to play really rough to get this outfit off whichever sentinel you got it from."

I smiled a bit thinking, she was kind of right, but not in the way she was thinking.

However I had to focus on what her game was exactly.

Was she simply admiring me or did she have a purpose for this conversation?

I began to walk back the way I should have kept walking in the first place, but I was stopped by a man standing in front of me. I looked up past his torso, to see two green eyes staring back greedily.

I went to move around him but he was quick to stand in front of me once more.

"Let me pass." I growled quietly.

"I don't think so little miss. You're quite a catch if I do say so myself." he said brushing the hair out of my face.

I stood back not liking the way his fingers lingered just above my top, after he had finished running over my face. He frowned, annoyed that I didn't seem somewhat pleased at his unnecessary move.

The girl came over to stand by the man and looked me up and down. "She'll do just fine I'd say. She looks untouched. People pay for that kind of thing." She said leaning comfortably on the man's chest.

"If she was untouched how did she get the uniform?' he asked confused.

"Obviously she has some good qualities for this kind of work. We should take her." She replied. "I mean, if she can get one of their uniforms that easy, imagine what she can give them when using her all. We'd make good money." She said rubbing his chest affectionately.

They were both talking as if I was an object to be played with and I still had no idea what they were talking about.

Suddenly my mind processed all the information and I realised in shock that they were people, who were payed by ordinary people for a simple night of pleasure.

They actually even guessed that I was untouched. I began to inch my way around the right side of the man, only to feel his firm grasp on my arms, which were cut and bruised. I cringed in pain, trying not to give him the satisfaction of knowing that he had hurt me.

"You're not going anywhere. We could have some great use for you." He said eyeing me up and down hungrily.

I had grown angry and upset at the thought that they thought that I was that kind of person, and slapped him across the face hard, causing an instant red mark to form upon his left cheek.

He slowly brought his face to look at me again and smiled, "Well you're going to need some taming first."

He raised his right hand to hit me and I looked away trying to shield myself from the blow. However a few seconds passed and he had not yet made contact with my face. I looked up to see his raised arm being held by no other then Seraph. The sentinel who had taken me to my cell.

Oh great. See what happens when you don't trust your instincts Yuna. You would have had a chance if you hadn't of come back here.

"I'll take over from here." Seraph stated calmly as he lowered the man's arm.

The man shook his arm out of Seraph's grasp and gave me one last look of anger, as he straightened out his short dark blue chemise, which floated around his waist and walked off with the girl, who had already started to make her way back to the wall she had come from. Pretending that she had nothing to do with the situation at hand.

I turned to Seraph who looked at me concerned and asked, "Are you alright young miss?"

I looked around cautiously to see if any other sentinels would pop out from around me and pounce on me while Seraph kept me occupied. After looking over my surroundings and presuming it was safe, I turned back to Seraph and said, "I am now…I think." Giving him a look of suspicion.

He may have saved me from that man, but he was after me himself.

I stepped back a bit hesitantly as he made his way towards me.

He stopped as I did so and said, "Young miss I am not here to hurt you. I promise. I want to help."

I didn't see any reason to trust him, so I began to run away into the crowd once more hoping to lose him. But he was too quick for me.

He grabbed onto my arm and swung me around to face him. I became scared. I thought that he was going to take me back to the others.

However, he seemed to answer my worries for me.

"Young miss. I am trying to help. You must hide in the forest where it's safe." He explained trying to make his voice heard over the loud music.

I heard him loud and clear and my ears ached from the loudness of his voice. I thought that even if he had of spoken in a whisper I would have heard him. But something told me that it wasn't his voice that was the problem, it was me.

I reached my hands up to cover my ears from the music around me, which had become increasingly louder and it left my head buzzing in confusion and pain.

I scrunched my eyes closed in unison with the sudden throbbing I had experienced.

Another mistake.

I felt my bare feet leave the hard asphalt road below, as I was being slung over a broad shoulder and being taken away from the crowd around me. I opened my eyes to see that it was Seraph heading away from the city with me. I didn't know what to do. What could I do? So I let him take me. Too tired to go on.

A/N: There you go. Read and enjoy people.

Yunie Tidus