Drumroll please. DRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR! Chapter 3 is here! Sorry it took so long. I went to Texas and lost 5 days. Sorry! Thnx for your continuing support, and for all you new readers, REVIEW. Trust me, I don't bite.

Disclaimer: I do not own the characters, monsters, songs, and places in this fanfic. SquareEnix' owns them.

Chapter 3: Soul Searching

Our souls entwine,

For you are forever mine,

When you cry,

So will I,

And if you grin,

I will laugh from within,

Our bond is love,

A gift from above,

No matter the hardship,

I will catch you if you slip,

Because you are me and I am you,

For I love you and you love me too.

- fluffyisgod

Auron's eyes followed the blonde haired girl as she made her way up to the trial platform. He watched her thighs sway back and forth in a hypnotizing rhythm. She had excellent physique not to mention a godly tight ass. A voice in his head snapped him back to reality, Pfffffft! Yeah right! That girl is barley 16 and you're 40. Fat chance Mr. Pedifile!, it snapped."Well, I got the right to look don't I?," he said to the voice, then he chuckled. Auron found it funny that he often had conversations with himself. He turned his attention back to the girl. He was now certain she was al bhed because she produced some goggles and a bomb pouch. He noticed that her weapon was a razor sharp claw that glowed a firey red. He smiled, this was a spunky girl, going into battle with an element already set. However, he felt a strange aura of confidence emanating from the girl, determination he did not expect from one of such a young age. It kind of turned him on for a reason he could not explain. As the girl mounted the platform and readied herself, Auron found himself hoping with all his might that the girl might pass so that he could talk to her. The pyreflies gathered in the center of the ring, then formed to become a.......Mandragora. Auron smiled, Don't argue with a women's intuition. The Mandragora wasted no time in unleashing a cloud of bad breath from it's gaping mouth, but the al bhed girl quickly pushed a button on her goggles and a breather came down over her mouth just as the gas enveloped her. The cloud stayed there for a moment, then evaporated. The girl was gone. The Mandragora began to look around quickly with it's many eyes, trying in vain to find it's prey. Auron was fascinated at how quickly the girl had moved, he had barley felt her presence move from the gas cloud to the fiends blind spot. He now saw her claw appear from behind the Mandragora's head. With brilliant speed she stabbed down and flames flew into the fiends tough, stringy hide. The Mandragora's head burst into flame as it screeched in pain, it's various arms flailed wildly about it's body. Auron felt the urge to laugh at this comical sight, but stifled it. The girl pulled a grenade from her pocket, pulled the pin, and jumped off the Mandragora's head while throwing the grenade all in one fluid motion. The grenade flew into the Mandragora's mouth just as the girl hit the ground. BOOM! "Passed!," yelled the man at the entrance to the platform as pyreflies sailed towards the sky. Auron crossed his legs. Never in his life would he admit to anyone that he had gotten his first boner in 10 years from watching Rikku fight that day.

Break:

Lulu, Riku, and Yuna were in high spirits. They had all passed with flying colors and could now go back to their cabin for a nice rest. Lulu sighed dreamily at the thought of a nice bed after a warm bath. She had not been in a good mood when the pyreflies had begun to gather into the fiend that she would fight. She hadn't slept or bathed for a whole day. To make matters worse, the entire male population in the hallways seemed to have had their eyes magnetized to her breasts. So when the Chimera that had appeared before her tried to cook her with a Meggido Flame, she sent it to the farplane faster than a chocobo with it's tail on fire. Needless to say that everybody thought that using Thundaga 3 times on it was unnecessary overkill. Now she smiled as they neared the cabin, "Last one there showers last!," she called as she grabbed her moogle and sprinted forward. In the end, Yuna went first because according to her she had a date. Lulu didn't pry, but offered to help her spruce up. As Yuna showered she also debated whether or not to give her the "good man, bad man" talk. She decided against it though, Yuna was grown up and, from what she saw, strong enough to beat any man if he tried to do something to her. Between herself and Rikku they managed to ready Yuna an outfit consisting of a black v-neck shirt, a pink miniskirt (Rikku's), and a silver chain for her neck. Yuna looked extremely cute in this outfit and blushed when Rikku announced the fact. Promptly at 7:00, the man arrived at the cabin door. He introduced himself as Tidus Remming and shook Lulu's hand firmly. Lulu smiled when she noticed that his eyes had not gone down to her breasts. He must be completely swooned by Yuna, she thought. She disapproved of his outfit a little bit though. He wore a white "Besaid Aurochs" shirt with faded blue jeans and a weird necklace with a shape she could not make out. She later told Rikku that she thought this outfit was too casual. As Yuna and Tidus walked off, Rikku took possession of the shower. Lulu sat on her bed and waited for her to finish. When Rikku did not show for 20 minutes, Lulu walked over to the screen and touched it. It blinked on and said," Hello Ms.Heller. You have one message." Lulu pressed her finger on the envelope icon that appeared and it opened to show a letter. It read:

Dear Ms. HELLER,

We congratulate you on passing the trials and have now mailed you to inform you of your opponent in tomorrow's 1st round fights. Your opponent will be one KITAR OMMUNIN. Thank you for entering our competition.

Sincerely,

The Tournament officials

Lulu closed the message and sat back in the chair. "You can find out more about your opponent by clicking here," said the computer as if reading her mind. Lulu pressed on the link that showed up. A page opened in front of her and she began to read.

Break:

Yuna walked with Tidus towards a small restaurant on the other side of the stadium. "You look very pretty Yuna," said Tidus in a soft voice.

Yuna blushed and turned her face away," Really? I mean, Lulu and Rikku chose it out for me. I-I didn't know what you'd think," she said shakily.

Tidus took her hand and smiled," You don't have to be so shy around me Yuna. Just know that I like you and nothing can change that."

Yuna smiled," Oh stop it! Your making me blush."

Tidus laughed and Yuna laughed too.

The restaurant was called The Nook and looked nice and homely. They were seated very quickly and their orders had been taken care of with the same celerity. A Fishy Wishy salad for Yuna and a slab of Shoopuff Steak for Tidus. As they waited for their meals to be served, Tidus praised Yuna for her beautiful performance in the trials. "You saw me?!," she gasped.

"How could I not. I want to see how my lady fights before anything else. You can tell a lot by the way someone fights," Tidus explained.

Yuna smiled," And what can you tell about me oh great battle analyzer, hmmmmm?"

Tidus donned a fake professor's voice and began to stroke his chin," By looking at your body stature and watching your composition in the midst of mass clamor I have deduced, milady, that you are calm when needed, but when in a situation, you can unleash a serious can of asswhoop."

Yuna cracked up and had to take a long sip of water to stop the hiccups that followed. Their food was delicious and Yuna commented this along with the question of how he knew of the place. "Had lunch here earlier," was his response. After they finished and Tidus paid the check, (Ladies never pay unless her man's away), he said to her," Come with me. I got to show you something."

Tidus lead them to the seats and slipped them through the ropes, which signaled you not to enter. They walked to the highest point and Tidus helped her up onto the wall. She gasped as she saw the lights glow in little clusters," It's beautiful," she murmured.

" I know," he said. They sat there for a while, feeling the cool breeze against their faces, watching it blow back their hair. At one point Yuna shivered and Tidus wrapped his arm around her and pulled her to his side. Yuna smiled as his warmth seeped into her. Oooooooooo. He's muscular, she thought as his arm muscles brushed against her skin. "Better?," he asked.

"Mmmmmmm," she responded. He laughed. They sat in silence for a few more minutes, then Yuna spoke," Earlier you said you understood my pain. What did you mean?" She had pondered on this since they had met and felt that now was the right time to ask him. She felt his muscles stiffen under his shirt and sensed immediate discomfort. She quickly shot," Ummm, you don't have to tell me if y-," Tidus put a finger on her lips.

"Shhhh. It's fine," said soothingly," I've been waiting to share it somebody.......special."

Yuna put her arm around his waist and pulled him closer to her," I'm listening," she whispered. Tidus began to speak.

It was actually kind of a happy moment for Tidus as he recounted his stories of life with his father. He felt he could speak freely with her and not get hurt. He explained to her how his life had been hell when his father was there, with his mother ignoring him and his constant picking on him, and then the greater hell when his father disappeared and his mother had had a mental breakdown, which ultimately led to her demise. He explained his fury while he trained, his anger at his father getting high on his fame and pushing him around. He played blitzball for two reasons, 1. For the game and 2. To beat his father's spirit when he finally did make something of himself. "And I will do that," he said," that's why I'm here. Not for the money, but to finally beat my dad in something. He won't stop haunting me until I do."

He turned to see Yuna crying. Big, wet, sad tears that streamed down her face and plopped to the ground with a small splash. "I-I-I've been s-s-so s-selfish," she cried," A-all th-this t-time I've been f-feeling s-sorry for myself and m-my heritage, w-when you've gone through so much a-and........oh god I'm so sorry."

Tidus wrapped her in his arms and hugged her to his chest as she cried into his shirt," It's okay Yuna, I live with it because I want to do something about it. Whenever it puts me down I just remember that I'm gonna beat it. And don't feel bad about it Yuna. We all have those feelings, we can't help it, but as long as you have someone to talk to and help you through it it'll be okay."

Yuna stopped crying and hugged him tighter," I must look so childish," she laughed.

Tidus chuckled with her," No. It takes a woman to start crying on the first date. I want to thank you for listening to me Yuna. I've never been able to talk like this before. Thank you."

They sat and hugged each other for a little while longer, listening to the wind fly across their faces. Tidus smiled, Thanks Mom.

Cabin #64 loomed into sight and Yuna smiled at the welcome party of Rikku and Lulu holding grenades. Shit, thought Tidus, Yuna's face was still streaky from her tears and her eyes were puffy. Rikku noticed and was about to pull the clip on her grenade when Yuna smiled and started to laugh. That broke the silence and everybody began to crack up. "You guys are so embarrassing," laughed Yuna," grenades? Yevon! You guys worry to much."

Tidus smiled," I'm gonna have to treat you like fine Macalania glass my dear or else I go boom."

This excited more hysterical laughter from the girls. Finally, then group pulled themselves together and Tidus turned to Yuna," Thank you for a lovely night milady," he took her hand and kissed it," may we meet again soon."

Yuna giggled happily and he thought he heard Rikku groan. "Tomorrow for dinner after the competition then? Say, sixish?," he said.

"Of course," said Yuna smiling.

Tidus turned around and walked away with a woozy feeling in his toes.

When he got to his cabin he knocked on the door. It opened and Tidus opened his eyes in shock. There stood a man in a red coat.

Break:

Wakka thought that Tidus looked like a blitzer who had just got nailed in the gnads by a miss thrown pass. He just stood at the door gawking at the man who had just introduced himself as Auron. "Yo Tidus. You cool man?," he asked in a concerned voice.

"Yeah....yeah I'm fine, um, I don't believe we've met. I'm-," Tidus was cut off by Auron's deep voice.

"Tidus. Yeah I know. I'm Auron. You're Jecht's boy," said Auron.

Wakka flinched; Tidus' dad was a touchy subject. In all the time that he had known Tidus, he had learned that Tidus held his dad in very low regards. He had found Tidus floating in the ocean while he had been training on Besaid Island. He had kept him in his hut while he dressed some minor wounds on the Tidus' arms and legs. When Tidus had come to he had began babbling about Zanarkand and Wakka had to hit him with a blitzball to calm him down. When Tidus had calmed he learned that Tidus came from Zanarkand. He explained to him that Zanarkand was a dead city and that it was impossible for him to be from there, but the boy would not have it. After coming to the conclusion that he had come to close to Sin's toxin, Wakka began to learn more about him. He played blitz, and pretty damn good too, he also knew how to use a sword. Wakka had then decided to take him to Luca to see if he could find someone he knew. At Luca they parted ways, but had always kept in touch. Wakka snapped out of his flashback to see that Tidus had come in and was staring at Auron hotly. Kimahri went to the computer and turned it on. It welcomed him in a cheerful voice and then announced that he had mail. Wakka called to him," Who's your opponent."

Kimahri seemed to ignore him for a moment then responded," Some man named Zulu Ascot, The Bear."

Wakka frowned," Don't know him, but he's probably pretty big if he's called the bear, ya?"

Tidus jumped out of his bed and sprinted over to the screen," Let's see who I'm fighting," he said.

The computer opened his mail and Tidus read the name. aloud," Orri, the Shadow. Wow, pretty cool, huh Wakka.....Wakka?"

But Wakka felt queasy inside," Tidus man, I heard about that guy. He's deadly, ya. They say he's won more than 500 tournaments. I heard he even killed a guy in the semi-finals of a tournament up in Gagazet," Wakka explained.

Tidus seemed to look scared for a moment, but then he hardened. "I'll do whatever it takes to win. I've got a debt to myself and I'm not backing out until it's paid," he said in a cold voice.

Auron chuckled and flopped down on his bed," Some debts are hard to repay. They sometimes get you killed. You'll need more than that to get through this."

Wakka could sense Tidus' anger from across the room and was amazed that he didn't say anything. Wakka got into bed and decided to ask Tidus about his date later, now didn't feel like a good time.

Break:

Rikku snuggled under her covers and smiled. She had had fun today. Killing that Mandragora had let out a lot of stress and now she felt happier than ever. Her opponent was a woman named Yea Unther. She thought it sounded masculine, but she didn't joke about it to much. Rikku could also be a masculine name. Yuna had come back completely woozy and light headed. Lulu had suggested they pop her, but that just made them laugh some more. The one thing that had bothered Rikku since she had seen Yuna come back was how happy she had been. Rikku had never felt the warm affection that Yuna had come back with. And deep inside herself she felt pain because her heart ached for a man, one that could console her and love her until the day she died. She had known many men in her life, but most of them had been after her body or her virginity (still intact by the by). She had never truly looked into a man's eyes and seen a true lover, one that was true to her soul and not her tits. She sighed a deep sigh," Humor me prince charming," she murmured before she nodded off into deep sleep.

Break:

Kimahri had followed Tidus and Yuna the entire date. He had to struggle to keep himself from laughing at most parts of it, but overall nothing had gone wrong. He decided it was good for Yuna to have man like Tidus, after all, he also doubled as a bodyguard. Makes my job easier, he thought. Now as he lay in his bed, he contemplated the events so far. Nothing had happened that was out of the ordinary, nothing at all. But his head kept telling him, Something is going to happen, just you see. There's evil afoot and it could very possibly end in many deaths. Kimahri furled his brow in deep thought, this feeling is what disturbed him the most and it wasn't going away. He decided to sleep on it and wait until tomorrow to see what would happen.

Tidus looked upon the small, purple-cloaked child with confusion. "Who are you?," he asked.

The small child began to speak in an ethereal voice," You do not know your coming peril Dream Walker. Your future is shrouded in an inky blackness that not even us fayth can pierce."

Tidus frowned," Yeah right! How do you know? You're just a kid."

The fayth smiled," Dream Walker, you do not know what I am, but when the time comes you will remember these words: The dream is nothing, but it's soul is something."

Witn those final words the fayth vanished and Tidus was back into sound sleep. He would not remember the dream in the morning, but he would later.

Break:

Preview of Chapter 4

The crowd was roaring and the noise rocked the entire stadium. Tidus clutched his sword and took a deep breath, exhaling it slowly. He saw Wakka turn to him," You okay, ya?," he asked in a concerned voice.

Tidus smiled," I play all day and I fight all night and when the time comes I'm gonna do it right," he recited. It was a blitzer game chant. Wakka smiled. The doors to the arena opened with a loud DUM! Tidus began to walk forward with the other fighters. The game is on!, was his final thought before the cheers hit him.

Post Story Session

How'd u like? For any suggestions e-mail me at .

If you didn't like my mush scenes I apologize because I'm the kind of guy that sucks at writing romance. Okay! Expect Chapter 4 soon!