Chapter Two: The Reunion (so cliché! )
Her body went limp in shock. He reached out to catch her, keeping her upright.
"No-no, you can't be…no, you're not…" she stammered. She stumbled backwards, jerking away from him. Then the noon sun caught his eyes and they glowed aqua. And she knew. She saw a glimpse of her beloved Tidus in this strange boy, not matter how fleeting. "But, how…?" she gasped.
"I'm not really sure myself. I was walking around the Farplane, and I met this woman. She told me that I still had business to do, and cast this spell on me, and I woke up as this guy! I'm just glad I found you." He stared at her, obviously ecstatic. She pressed herself up against his body, shivers of joy rippling up and down her spine. He held her close, his face buried in her light brown hair. –He still smells the same: like water and sky and light,–she thought.
"I missed you so much," she whispered.
"I missed you, too," he replied. He pulled away a little and took her hand. "C'mon. We've got a lot of time to make up for," he said, smiling. Yuna returned the smile, feeling truly happy for the first time in a year. They walked toward the shore, unaware that Wakka, Lulu, and Rikku were all staring at them from inside the hut.
"Oh, my God," Rikku whispered.
"I can't believe it. She acted as if he had become the love of her life in two seconds!" Lulu hissed.
"Somethin's not right," Wakka said.
Lulu turned to look at him. "What do you mean?" she asked.
"She couldn't gotten over Tidus that fast," Rikku answered for him. He nodded.
"Exactly. I mean, she's been wantin' him ta come back for a year now, ya? She couldn't have forgot about him that easily," he reasoned.
Lulu nodded, then looked back at the retreating couple. "It's just so strange…"
Tidus and Yuna sat on the shore, in the exact spot Yuna had been reminiscing in the day before. She snuggled against him, loving the warmth of his body next to hers again. The setting sun sent rays of red and gold light dancing across the surface of the water, and birds were settling in their nests for the night. She closed her eyes, never wanting the moment to end. Suddenly, she was startled out of her happiness by a loud voice demanding, "What do you think you're doing?" She turned. Rikku stood there, arms crossed over her chest and swirled eyes glaring fiercely.
"Rikku, I can explain-" Yuna began, but her cousin cut her off.
"Don't even start with me. I cannot believe that Tidus hasn't even been gone a year and already you're snuggling up to some other guy." She threw a withering glance at the dark-haired boy who was Tidus.
"Rikku, you've got the wrong idea-" he tried.
"Where do you come off trying to take advantage of her? What, she's on the rebound so you can just grab her and milk her for all she's worth! I don't think so, buddy boy. I'll wring your neck faster than you can say 'date'," Rikku snarled, turning her rage on Tidus.
"RIKKU!" he bellowed. She shut up for a minute. "I'm Tidus," he told her.
She gaped like a dying fish. "You-you're-what-huh!" she spluttered.
He nodded. "I'm not sure how, but I got…reincarnated as this kid," he explained. Yuna nodded, as if to back up his story. Then Tidus's eyes took on a fearful depth. "But you can't tell anyone! If I tell more than seven people, then I go back forever!" he pleaded.
Rikku nodded, pretending to zip her mouth shut. Then she turned and started walking back up the hill. She stopped suddenly and turned. "Can I tell Wakka and Lulu? They'll want to know," she asked.
Tidus bit his lip. "Let me tell them," he said finally. Rikku nodded and continued back over the hill. Yuna smiled at him and tucked herself back into his arms. He hugged her close and she felt the love between them that she'd been missing for so long. She didn't hear the high-pitched giggle from up on the rocks. She didn't notice that they weren't as alone as they seemed.
She fell asleep in his arms, and when she woke up, she was lying on the shore. She stood up and blinked, staring at her surroundings. It wasn't anything like the beach she knew. The waters were choppy and black, and the gulls cawed miserably. A cruel wind blew across the sand, throwing a bit of it into her eyes. She rubbed it out and looked around for Tidus, fearful that she'd lost him again.
"Tidus? Where'd you go? This isn't funny, you know!" she shouted, panic making her words come out harsher than she'd meant.
"I'm right here!" he exclaimed.
She looked around but saw no one. "Please! Come back!" she cried. Tears were choking her.
"Yuna, I'm right here!" he insisted. She twisted around, but saw no one.
Suddenly, Seymour Guado, ex-maester of Yevon, walked out of the dense fog that had rolled in. "Hello, Yuna. I've missed you," he said with a horrible grin.
"Get away from me!" she screamed, trying to run but finding that her feet wouldn't obey her. Seymour giggled in that horrifying way he had. He walked steadily closer until he was close enough to wrap his arms around her. "Get off!" she shrieked. She pushed at him, sobbing. "Tidus! Help me!" she shouted, trying frantically to push the Guado away. He held her firmly, refusing to let go.
"Yuna. Wake up! You're dreaming! Yuna, please wake up!" Tidus's worried voice floated to her from the sky.
"I'm dreaming?" she gasped. Seymour suddenly disappeared, along with the fog and the cries of the gulls. Yuna's eyes flew open. She was Tidus leaning over her, a concerned expression on his face. Rikku stood behind him, staring at Yuna. She felt the soft blankets beneath her and realized she was back home. She reached up and wrapped her arms around Tidus. He sat down next to her and held her, like her mother used to when she was very little. When she finally pulled away, she noticed that her cheeks were wet with tears. "What happened?" she asked.
"You fell asleep. I brought you back here, and then you started shouting and pushing at something. I tried to wake you up, but you wouldn't," he told her.
She wiped her face. "I'm sorry. I suppose I was dreaming. It was such a terrible dream…" She let her voice drift off, trying not to start crying again. She smiled at her.
Rikku stood, stretched, and hugged her cousin. "It's okay," she assured her, brushing a bit of hair off her face.
Yuna smiled and looked at her hands. She wrapped her arms around her knees and hugged them to her. She looked at what had become her family. She sighed happily. "Dreams are just that: dreams. I'll survive," she said, to restore confidence to herself as much as the rest. Tidus smiled at her.
Suddenly, Wakka and Lulu burst in, Wakka looking fit to bust. "Who're you?" he challenged Tidus. But before he could answer, Wakka just kept going. "I can't believe you'd try to do that to the summoner! She ain't ready for you yet, understand! So just back off!" Then he turned on Yuna. "And you! Tidus ain't been gone a year yet and already you done gone and found you another guy, ya? I don't believe this!" he shouted, waving his arms around and almost knocking over several objects in the process. After Rikku dove after something for the fourth time, she slapped his arm, irritated.
Even Lulu looked angry, which was unusual. "Yuna, if you were over him, why didn't you say so and stop moping around? Why didn't you just tell us instead of sneaking around behind us and getting some other guy?" she demanded.
"You don't understand-" Yuna began.
"Damn straight I don't understand! Just tell us the truth!" Wakka insisted. Silence filled the tiny room.
Yuna took a deep breath. "This is Tidus. He was somehow reincarnated as this boy," she explained.
Wakka's jaw dropped. "No way!" he exclaimed.
Yuna nodded.
"She's telling the truth," Rikku piped up.
Lulu still didn't believe them, however. She sat down in front of Tidus and narrowed her eyes suspiciously at him. "Maester Seymour. Mean anything to you?" she asked.
Tidus frowned darkly. "Of course. That ugly, two-faced, perverted, murdering-"
Yuna clamped one hand over his mouth before he could go on. "Thank you, Tidus!" she said before he could keep talking around her hand. "See? Why would anyone else think that?" she asked Lulu.
She shrugged, then hit Tidus with another question. "Where did you first meet Auron?"
Tidus thought for a moment. "After my dad left, he came to live with my mom and me. But I know him and my dad were friends before that," he replied.
She nodded slowly, then stood up. "I believe him," she consented.
Rikku jumped up and pumped her fist into the air. "All right!" she cheered.
Then Lulu looked at Yuna. "You don't look so good," she said, concerned.
Yuna shook her head. "I'm fine. I just had a bad dream." She waved off the concerns, not wanting anyone's pity.
"Dreams are just somethin' to do while you're sleepin', ya? So don't let it bug ya," Wakka told her.
"Exactly. But dreams, especially nightmares, have a tendency to wear out their welcome. So why don't we all go catch a ferry to Kilika and see what they're doing over there? Maybe we can even get a blitzball game going." Tidus snuck a sly look at Wakka, who grinned.
"Oh, no you don't. I'm not having you get hooked again. You'll just mope around for the next month, and I'll not have it," Lulu said firmly.
"What're we waitin' for? Let's got going!" he said loudly. But after Lulu had walked out, Yuna noticed that Wakka grabbed his blitzball off the shelf and handed it to Tidus. "Just in case," he whispered. Tidus grinned and Yuna smiled to herself. This was certainly going to be an interesting trip.