Beast of Blood

Chapter 4: Grave of the Living

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Ooh, its rather short, isnt it? Im sorry...I dont know what it is with me and this horribly short chapters! Well, this little mini section of the story is almost over...So itll go back to the whole Yuna and Tidus thing soon. Well, enjoy!

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"That's when you stabbed yourself," Yuna said, her eyes downcast. Her eyes looked distant, and misted over.

"Do you believe it?" Tidus asked, stretching, "The story, I mean?"

"I have to," Yuna said, "Everything else is pretty much unbelievable, about you being what you are and everything...But then, did you really die?"

"When Nooj killed me," Tidus explained, "I did die. Then, he got mixed up with Bevelle and its side, and he went against Zanarkand. He betrayed them. Just like I did. It was I that destroyed Zanarkand. I, and I alone. There was nothing I could do to stop it..."

With that, he continued his story.

-

It wasn't long before he couldn't think straight. Everything became a blur. It was far more than once where he would feel the familiar sensation of losing himself, only to wake up with his hands covered in blood. It seemed like blood was everywhere. He constantly tasted it. He wanted his own blood to be spewing.

In a sense, he was jealous of all those he killed. They were better off, anyhow. He wanted to join them so badly.

There were times when he would sit there, in his dark cell, staring off into space, wondering if he had died at all. He was sure he had, but there was no proof.

"Nooj says he wants you to see something," it was Leblanc, and she turned around the corner, interrupting his thoughts.

Tidus jumped up, curious as to what Leblanc was talking about.

"I'm not going anywhere," Tidus said stubbornly, as Leblanc unlocked his cell.

"Please, you're one of the highest ranked members of the Bevelle army," Leblanc said, rolling her eyes, "You're higher up than me. Nooj says it's fine for you to take a look around. He says things have changed a lot since you were last seen. Zanarkand's nothing but ruins, now."

"That's not true," Tidus said quickly, "Why are we still fighting?"

"We want to kill them all," Leblanc just said, smiling, "But it is true, love. I hate to tell you, but it's nothing but shambles. It's all gone."

"Is that what he wants me to see?" Tidus asked, glaring at Leblanc.

"No, it's something else," Leblanc said calmly, "Nooj says he wants you to go out into the courtyard. If you go north for a while, you'll come across an empty field. It's the path that leads to Zanarkand. Keep traveling north, and you'll see something that Nooj feels you need to see."

"And what if I don't come back?" Tidus questioned.

"You'll come back," Leblanc said, smiling an evil smile, "Besides, whether you like it or not, you're one of us now, love. Your uniform says it enough. It was your desire to be a soldier, was it not? Nooj told me he and you used to play war all of the time. Surely you think the uniform looks nice?"

Tidus almost lost it and punched her. How he wanted to. Yet, she was right. He did look absolutely smashing in the uniform. It was something he had always wanted. He wanted to be someone prestigious, up there in the ranks. Only, he wanted it for Zanarkand, not Bevelle.

"What's going to happen to me when this bloody thing is over?" Tidus demanded, narrowing his eyes.

Leblanc shrugged, and said, "Who knows? Oh, and love, take these." He hadn't noticed until then, but Leblanc was cradling a bouquet of roses in her arms. She placed them into Tidus', and said, "Nooj says you'll probably want these."

Tidus didn't ask. He just stared at her, and then at the beautiful red roses, speechless.

At that, she made room for Tidus to leave, and he did. He had every intention of just leaving. He felt as if he had to, after all. They were basically telling him he could. He didn't want to do any more damage than he already had, anyway.

He realized right away that it was day, and it took a long time for his eyes to adjust to the light, as he stepped outside of his prison. It was raining out, and the sun was no where to be seen. All he would have to do would be to wait for the sun to appear. Then, he could go in peace.

For some reason though, Leblanc's words were bothering him terribly. He stared at the uniform. It was made of heavy wool and was a navy blue color. The thread was red, and there was a patch on his arm with Bevelle's symbol, a "B" with a cross through it. The cape that was across his shoulders was long and navy, with red satin underneath. It was by far the nicest thing he'd ever worn. His pants were navy and tucked into spotless black boots. It was all gorgeous.

"What's wrong with me?" he questioned himself as he started off north, toward Zanarkand, as Leblanc had directed. He did want to go back. Sure, he didn't want to be trapped in the cell, but perhaps if he agreed to turn to Bevelle, they would make him even higher. Perhaps he could be Nooj's right-hand man, as if they were friends again.

Tidus immediately wiped that thought out of his head. Hatred consumed him, and he spat at the thought of Nooj and him becoming friends again. There was no way that would ever happen. Ever.

Tidus stopped, realizing for the first time that his beautiful uniform was becoming soaked. It didn't seem to matter too much though. The roses dripped with water, and he stared at them for some time. They were as red as the thread on his uniform. The color of blood.

His eyes went up again, and he saw something through the rain. It looked like a stone, jutting out of the ground.

Walking slowly toward it, Tidus stopped, staring at the stone. He swallowed hard, realizing what it was.

It was a gravestone. Not just any gravestone, however, but his own.

The dirt around it was very moist, and not just from the rain. It was obvious that they had dug him back up.

For a while, he felt sick. He was seeing his own grave, where his own body had lay. That's when it hit.

He'd always felt anger and hatred before, but not nearly as much as he did at that moment. Staring at his grave, cradling the red roses, he knew whose fault it all was.

It wasn't his father's, it wasn't his family's. It was Nooj's. He was fine being dead. Sure, he hadn't been at the time, but it was the one favor Nooj had done for him. Killing him, that was. He just had to ruin it.

Tidus didn't want to die though. Death wasn't sweet enough. He had destroyed his homeland, and he didn't need to see it to believe it. He just knew.

With that, he dropped the roses at his grave, and knew exactly what he was going to do.

-

Acquiring the pistol wasn't difficult. Getting there wasn't difficult. It seemed as if everything was open to him. He could do as he pleased. That's how he knew it was all over. He'd destroyed his homeland, and now he was free to go. He couldn't go though, until his work was finished.

Nooj was old, and sick. Tidus didn't realize until he was staring at the old man's dead body, as he slept. It was an evil way to do it, a cowardly way. In Tidus' eyes though, this death fit his cowardly victim. A cowardly death for a cowardly man. It fit fine.

With that, Tidus lifted the pistol, aimed it at the old man's head, and with a rang of sound, drove a bullet into Nooj's wrinkled forehead.
The door opened behind him, and two soldiers came walking in, and stared at Tidus from behind, as if they'd known all along he was going to end the life of their leader.

A/N: I'd like to take this oppurtunity for some major apologizing. My computer's settingsare on Japanese text currently, so that's why when I try to type something like this: "I'm cool," Tidus said, it turns out like this:AI'mcool, Tidus said. Heck, there might not even be a comma. I just now realized that it's been doing this. Also, for some reason, the ending paragraphs of this chapter had been cut off. I don't know why this is, but I apologize.Hangs head in shame I'm sorry! Hopefully it's more enjoyable now, since I figured out the problem!

Tidus' eyes just slowly raised from the dead body of his friend, to the wall, where they then welled up with tears. It was over. It was all over.