"What are you doing here, Rikku?" Tidus inquired, gazing at the golden locks gleaming under the sun light, and beaming at the twilight smile that played in the fresh, young lips.
"I met Yuna on the deck, and she told me to come!" Rikku explained with her active and euphoric personality.
"I would like to give her something, but that would be after." Yuna said with a calm smile, which was slightly tense and nervous.
"After what?" Tidus was curious, and Rikku was simply oblivious and waited patiently.
"I'd like you to draw me wearing this." Yuna explained, her arm lifted from the hidden position she kept it behind the folds of her skirt, revealing the sparkling, blue pendant.
"Sure, no problem!" Tidus exclaimed with a shrug, staring at the jewel with hungry eyes.
"Wearing only this!" Yuna's voice was firm and strict this time, making her greatest effort to pronounce this last words than to summon the great Bahamut.
"ah…all right!" the man's voice was strangled and rasped, his eyes widened upon receiving the request.
Rikku gazed at the woman with startled eyes, her spiralled orbs sparkling with disbelief. Thoughts of purity had stricken her upon seeing the Summoner, so sure and secure of her faith in Yevon. Now she was pleading Tidus for a nude picture of herself, and her purity seemed to be vanishing and crumbling. What had happened to her? Rikku knew Tidus might have had some sort of influence over her, she could almost affirm it, or maybe it was the air of Spira's ocean. Whatever it was, Yuna had changed and would never be the same.
Tidus, with the help of Rikku, placed a sofa on the room, situated in such way the light rained upon it. The boy called the muse gently, and in a matter of instants brief like a breath, Yuna had arrived, engulfed in a gown of pure silk. It was silver, semi transparent, and Tidus saw through the shadow her body casted upon the cloth that her body was bare as if she had just been born. An innocent, shy smile seemed to play within the girl's lips, and a deep breath forced her to gather all her courage in order of doing what she had planned. The gleaming stone hanged from her neck with that gentle, mystical glow.
"Lay…lay there!" Tidus said with a gulp, swallowing his awkward sensations.
Yuna proceeded, releasing the gown and letting it fall cleanly at her feet, revealing the nude body, the thin waist and milky skin.
"Like this?" she inquired, laying down, crossing her legs so her noble parts were hidden.
"Put your hand there, under your face…perfect!" Tidus was regaining his comfort as his professionalism grew. Rikku sat next to Tidus, eager to see the first sketches and the culmination of the art.
And then it began, charcoal with swift moves to define the situation of the figure, posture, and proportions. Inmediatly, Tidus, content with the result of the first try, and happy with the way the sizes were, began to define the details, the shape. Hands, fingers, the round, calm face, the curved waist, the folded knees, and the short hair. Hands moved as free as if they were doing nothing at all, but the result was so exquisite Rikku couldn't help feel a slight twinge of jealousy at the beauty of the picture. Shadows, the features, the darkest areas and the various glows and sparkles of the jewel, hair and skin. Yuna was a perfect model, used to remain impassive in the most drastic situations, and Rikku was a tranquil observant, too delighted with the perfection Tidus could cast to even breathe for fear of tearing the magick.
"There, finished!" Tidus smiled pleased at the way the picture had turned so realistic, placing his signature in the lower right corner, as it was usual.
Yuna placed the gown back over her figure, and took a peek at the drawing. She seemed impressed, and couldn't vocalize a word. After taking in a deep breath, the Summoner turned towards Rikku, holding the picture and smiling at Tidus in her act.
"I want to give you something, like I promised!" Yuna explained, staring at the woman as if she was her younger sister.
"You don't need to give me anything!" Rikku recoiled slightly awkward and startled at the woman's confidence in her.
"I know, but I have a feeling you will make a greater use of it than I will." Yuna explained, unchaining the pendant and placing it on Rikku's hand.
The girl was bewildered, staring at the costly jewel resting on her hand, the magical glow beating inside it like a heart. Tidus was equally surprised, staring at the scene with interest, without intervening, and curious about the outcome.
"It is called the Star of Spira, and it is very powerful. If you ever need help, just plead the spirit inside it to come into your aid." Yuna smiled at the woman with calm.
"I can't accept it, I would never know how to make it work!" Rikku complained, extending her hand and motioning at the Summoner to take it back.
"Just take it, please!" the way Yuna closed Rikku's fingers around the stone, the way her voice was so pleading and desperate, even if it was a small hint, ended up convincing Rikku to take the mysterious item.
"Ok!" Rikku smiled reassuringly at the girl, and hanged the pendant around her neck, feeling the weigh of its force almost immediately.
Tidus walked forward, wanting to speak, but his action and intentions were interrupted by an alarmed hiss, and an unexpected entry of someone they had forgotten about.
"Yuna, Lord Seymour is arriving, walking from the end of the corridor. You have about five minutes to get rid of your visits!" Auron poked his head into the room, his voice seemed calm but was urgent.
Everyone knew Seymour might seemed enamoured of the woman, but everyone knew as well he was a jealous and violent man if the things he loved were touched. Yuna was a thing he loved, and as such was an item that belonged to him, and could not be touched without permission.
"Oh my, I'll never have time to get dressed, my suits are very complicated!" Yuna gasped rather nervous at the event.
"Get dressed on my suit, will help you pass unnoticed, and anyways I can flee to my chambers without being seen, even in underwear." Rikku sparked animated, getting rid of her clothes as quickly as she could, remaining on her tight bra, and comfortable panties, designed for a more accurate movement.
"There is a back door right?" Tidus inquired, not liking the idea of being pursued through the corridors of first class.
"Through the balcony, it leads directly to the higher deck through a door!" Yuna explained agitated while placing the tight pants and loose shirt on her body, seeing as it didn't cover her stomach made her feel slightly pleased with herself.
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Seymour passed by Auron without saying a word to the guardian. There was no way of communication between the two, and nothing interesting could come from the lips of a man who had been designed to protect a Summoner. The guado entered the room, followed by Cid closely. Mysterious eyes scanned the place carefully, landing with some suspicion over the fallen gown, and crashing with rage upon the picture that rested on the very same sofa where it was drawn.
"Damn it Yuna, you will pay!" snapped the man angrily, his mortified his kept as a mutter to his own person.
"Is everything ok?" inquired Cid curiously, catching a stray glimpse from the picture, and frowning clearly disgusted at the indecorous manifestation.
"No, everything is not ok, my Fiancee if gone, and so is that damned jewel!" snapped Seymour clearly enraged, facing Cid with the anger of someone who has found his woman cheating on him.
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The afternoon sun caressed their cheeks, tinting them golden and bright orange, slightly flushed from the emotion of the escape and the running across the balcony and up the stairs. Tidus gripped Yuna's hand with strength and care, and his pearly teeth flashed in a radiating smile as he rememoured catching a very brief glimpse of the guado's screwed up face.
"That was fun!" gasped Tidus in a laboured breath.
"Yeah!" Yuna agreed, her breathing so hard it was all she could vocalize.
Then if appeared before his eyes like an altar for his prayers. That only part of the ship that would change his life more than this machina had already. The very front of the ship with a barrier that formed a three stair climbing ladder, perfect for his imaginative purpose.
"Come, I want to show you something!" Tidus beamed pulling the girl along, and beaming as if it was his first time at an amusement park.
"Come on, don't run, weren't we supposed to wait for Rikku here?" gasped Yuna feeling her weight being dragged with apparent ease, and remembering the girl who had sneaked away to gather some clothing to cover her skin more decorously.
"It'll be a moment Yuna!" Tidus beamed with equal illusion.
As the two had reached, the boy took in a deep breath, feeling the refreshing, afternoon air filling his lungs with the salty scent of the ocean's waters accompanying it. Both feet placed over the railing, Tidus stood, his hand extended, his eyes eager, and his smile pleading. Yuna accepted, and she was pulled into a safe balance onto the barrier.
"Extend your arms…" Tidus whispered so sweetly, so gently, placing both hands intertwined with the Summoner's hands.
"I'm…I'm flying!" Yuna gasped with that same emotion that seemed to fill Tidus and make him so drunken of secret emotions.
Indeed, her eyes gazed upon the horizon from such a height, her eyes casted nothing but the presence of water, and the wind caressed her hair and face, passing between her arms and shaking the wide, white shirt. The only way Yuna could have contact with the ground was the way her feet were placed on the railing, such that the feeling she got was of a flight, using her imagination of course.
"Come Josephine, in my flying machine, and it's up she goes, up she goes…" Tidus sang gently into her ear, softly and almost lovingly.
Yuna turned around and smiled at him softly, her lips pursed eagerly, hungrily, and her eyes gleamed into the eyes of the boy. Tidus smiled back at her, not with half the passion she felt burning within her heart, but more in a friendly way. At first he had wanted to kiss her, he had felt it right, but a mysterious pang in his heart kept teasing him, forcing him to admit he was not so sure of his feelings for the woman. He had felt his ambition, his lust, but now he knew the girl and admired her for who she was, hence by no means he would lie to her with false illusions.
"Yuna…" Tidus breathed, turning away to avoid the woman's lips to contact his. "Yuna, sorry, I just don't feel that way about you!" he admitted looking visibly hurt.
"I know!" Yuna didn't seem impressed, and although she was disappointed, she kept a calm smile and a rather placid sensation swimming within herself.
"Will I ever see you again?" Tidus asked as he accompanied the girl towards the entrance to the ship's guts.
"Always Tidus, for I'm never going back!" Yuna smiled pleased, delighted, her face illuminated with that spark, that light of joy that could only mean she was dreaming, she was visualizing a reality, an expectation.
"Take care! I'll always remember you!" Tidus waved his hand gently as the woman vanished, and with a peace and a slight shot of nostalgia in his heart, he turned around to find Rikku and continue the journey as it had began. They would be arriving the next morning, or so he thought.
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The Al Bhed had seen everything. She had seen the scene of the railing, the way they hugged, they way Tidus whispered gentle words in Yuna's ear, the way he retreated with the woman smiling like the stars had summoned themselves to her. Now, crystal tears streaked past the cheeks, trailing humid rivers of sparkling fluid which itched at her dry skin.
Rikku basically stumbled blindly towards the railing, avoiding collision with the blurry images that glided before her. She sobbed silently, she felt miserable, and now she knew why. Admitting that fact had taken all her integrity, all her courage, and the careful analysis of the feelings of grief she had been developing for the past days. Now she had reached a diagnosis, and that made her feel worse than she had ever felt in her life, for such unknown sensations attacked her cruelly.
She was in love…with Tidus.
The girl climbed carefully upon the railing, her hands clearing the tears off such that she would be able to admire the beauty of flight with her very own eyes. She extended her arms like wings, and felt a twinge of an emotive and excite smile tugging at the corner of her lips.
"Come Josephine, in my flying machine…!" she began singing with her gentle sobbing that one song which Tidus always chimed.
"…and it's up she goes, up she goes!" a voice said behind her, gripping her hands ever so delicately and feeling the warmth of a body pressing at her back gently.
The girl almost fell forward, had it not been for the presence that gripped her hand, that murmured in her ear, that whispered in a husky voice words that meant nothing, but which's tone meant everything. As she leapt, startled, the balance was broken and lost, so the presence tugged at her hands, using the weight of the body to throw the both off the railing and into the safety of the deck. Rikku turned around sharply, wanting to kick the person's ass for scaring her so much, but immediately feeling startled, confused.
"Asking you what you are doing here would sound monotonous, wouldn't it?" Rikku said with a gentle smile, but the mischievous sparkle in her eyes revealed her delight and excitement.
To Be Continued…
AN: Ok, driving to a close end, I am sure many of you will adore the next page, or maybe not. Anyways, I won't reveal anything beforehand so please, read and review to motivate me so I finish this faster, and the faster I finish, the faster you get to know what happens at the end, which will be surprising, I hope.