Yello! I'm updating! Whoa! Haha, well, a BIG THANKS to everyone who reviewed! You guys rock! And I bet you know that, don't' you? ;)
So, anyways …
Lucia – Wow, thanks! Sorry the next chapter took a while to get up, but it's here, right? Be happy:)
Zekes Girlfriend – Updating now! Thanks for your review!
Gurlo09 – Uhh … I think I took forever this time, too! Sorry about this! "
Zanymoose – That's okay, thanks for reviewing and reading the story:) I'm glad you didn't get confused, I was afraid everyone was confused! And you're welcome for the Al Bhed translations :)
Digitalgirl89 – Thanks! I'm 'keeping up the work!'
Wedding-Peach-Fan – Thank you so much! Well … I'm updating!
Selma – Nice to see you around, again! You really think my stories are still great? REALLY? THANKS:D
Disclaimer: Let's all remember what I say every chapter, hmm? I don't own Final Fantasy! Yay, we remembered! ;)
Notes: Another thing to remember! (Yes, again. Sorry.) All the words in 'italics' are thoughts of a character!
And on with the story! Enjoy the chapter!
"Hey, Yunie!"
Yuna, surprised, quickly looked around at her surroundings. There was nothing to the front of her, only houses and buildings. Nothing to the left of her, only children playing in the yards near their houses. There was nothing to the right of her, only empty yards and streets.
"Behind you, duh!" Rikku yelled.
"Rikku?" Yuna turned around, astonished to see her there. "What are you doing here? Weren't you following some guys around with Lulu?"
"Yes, I was," Rikku said. "Weren't you?"
Rikku was walking closer and closer to Yuna. Yuna raised an eyebrow, "Excuse me? I was in the shop all day! I ran out … because … because my mom gave me a break!" Yuna turned around, her back facing Rikku. She started to walk forward again.
"Yeah, right, Yunie," Rikku rolled her eyes. "I saw you. Don't even try to lie!"
Yuna stopped in her tracks. She turned around, "What were you doing following me?"
"So how was it with Tidus? Was he nice?" Rikku would not stop teasing poor Yuna.
"Rikku, I –"
"Too bad he forgot the food, huh?" Rikku said, crossing her arms.
Yuna changed the subject, "Rikku, do you know where Lulu is?"
"Nope, I –" Rikku eyes widened. "Hey! Don't change the subject!"
Yuna shook her head, "I really need to know."
"Fine! We discuss later!" Rikku said, giving up. There was no persuading Yuna -- she obviously didn't want to talk about Tidus anymore. If Rikku had pressed on, asking more questions, she might as well have gone to talk to a wall.
"So you don't know where Lulu is?" Yuna asked again.
"Nope! I've been too busy following you and Tidus around!" Rikku said, grinning. "Gippal was with me all the time!"
"Gippal?" Yuna was puzzled. She didn't know anyone by the name of Gippal.
Rikku waved her hand in the air, "Oh. He was a friend of Tidus'."
Rikku and Yuna were now walking side by side, watching out for any sign of Lulu.
Yuna was staring at the ground, remembering the past day's events.
Tidus being lost … Tidus agreeing to go to lunch with her … Tidus looking around for food … Tidus searching for his friends … Tidus eventually giving up and going back to his hotel ... Yevon! The only thing on her mind was Tidus! A guy she had only met today! But, something about him was so familiar, so peaceful, so … damn attractive!
"I bet you are, Yunie! Do you? Don't lie!" Rikku was talking on, not noticing that Yuna wasn't even paying attention to her. "Well?"
"Huh? Oh. Yeah," Yuna said, then turned back to her thoughts.
"What! You are in love with Tidus?" Rikku said, taken aback. Of course, she thought Yuna liked Tidus, yes, but she didn't expect her to love him straight away. And she also didn't expect Yuna to talk about it so openly, so soon!
"What!" Yuna's jaw dropped down. "I … I wasn't paying attention to what you were saying, Rikku! Sorry! No! I'm not in love with him!"
Rikku gave a smile. That was the Yuna she knew, "Oh. Okay, then."
"But … I guess I do like him … a little, at least," Yuna said, blushing and looking down again.
"That's the spirit, Yunie! Maybe he'll come back later!"
"Hmph. They walk too fast. Or maybe they ran."
She walked around the little village of Zanarkand. The street she was currently on was empty of the other girl that she was looking for. And the girl's supposedly new boyfriend. They were gone. She had been down this street two times before! She already looked through here!
Dona wasn't actually sure why she had started stalking Yuna and … whatever his name was. It was probably because Dona wanted revenge against Yuna. Yuna stole something from her, and it only made sense to Dona that she should steal something from her, too …
Flashback
"How's it going with you and your new booooyyfriend, Dona?" Fourteen-year-old Yuna Lesca asked. She drawled out their word 'boyfriend', just to teaser her best firned.
Dona rolled her eyes, "Yuna, can't you just stop asking that every single day?" Dona shut her locker, after pulling out her science books. But, they still had a lot of time to talk before their first class started.
"Sorry! Just wanted to know," Yuna grinned sheepishly. She, too, shut her locker, pulling out English books instead. The two friends had been lucky for their ninth grade year, and they had lockers that were close to each other.
"Well, everything's fine, thank you," Dona said, walking nearer to Yuna.
"Oh, look! He's there …" Yuna pointed over.
Dona started to walk over to her boyfriend, smiling. She always enjoyed his company.
He noticed Yuna and Dona standing near his locker, "Oh, hey Dona." He glanced at Dona briefly. "Hello, Yuna." He started longer into Yuna's eyes.
End Flashback
Dona gritted her teeth and clenched her fists at the memory.
"Well, here it is. The path up the hill," Lulu said, pointing.
"Hey! Thanks, ya!" Wakka held out his hand for a shake, but he didn't get one in return. Confused, he put his hand back down. "Uh … thanks again."
"Your welcome," and with that, Lulu turned away. She started to walk back from where she came from. Back where she belonged.
Leaving a very confused Wakka behind her.
Why the hell did she just waste her time? She could've been doing a lot of other things, but no, she had to escort some tourist back to his hotel. What had made her do this? This wasn't like her … 'Because Rikku made me …' she mumbled to herself. Was it really Rikku? Or did she let herself do it? Lulu wasn't sure about the answers to all these questions.
"Lulu! There you are!" screamed a voice, taking her away from her own thoughts.
Lulu looked up expectantly, she knew that voice. Only Rikku could scream that high, and still be very loud. Rikku certainly had a big set of lungs …
"We've been looking all over for you, Lulu! Where have you been?" Yuna said, in a much quietr voice. They were nearing her, so Yuna had no reason to scream out loud.
They were suddenly right in front of her. "I've just been walking around," she answered. "I was looking for you guys as well."
Well, that wasn't a complete lie. She was looking for them when she was escorting Wakka around. Maybe she didn't have her mind directly on it, but she was looking for them.
"Oh! Hey, what happened to Wakka?" Rikku asked, remembering that Lulu and Wakka had left to go search for Tidus in Yaibal's Exotic Foods. "Did you find anything in the restaurant? You probably didn't, huh?"
Yuna shot a confused look at Lulu. Of course, Yuna didn't know who Wakka was. She also didn't know why Lulu and this … Wakka fellow would go to a restaurant … alone. 'So I guess while I was with Tidus many things happened between Rikku and Lulu, too.' Yuna thought to herself.
"I –" Lulu had seen Yuna's puzzled face, and she wanted to clear things up, but before she got a chance to …
"You probably didn't, 'cause Yunie was with Tidus the whole time!" Rikku finished. "Yunie was with Tidus. I was with Gippal. You were with Wakka. Isn't that funny?"
Now it was Lulu's turn to be confused. Actually, Yuna was still perplexed herself. Rikku was making everyone confused except herself. The trio must've looked stupid from afar, three girls just standing staring at each other in puzzlement.
Yuna spoke, hesitantly, "Um … Rikku. Care to explain that all again?"
"What's so confusing about it?" she asked.
"All of it," Lulu said, sighing.
"Just tell me what you want me to say! I'm not gonna say the whole thing all over again!" she demanded.
"All right," Yuna said, giving in. "First of all, who's Wakka? Second of all, I still don't know that much about Gippal. Care to tell more about him? And lastly, how are Wakka, Gippal, and Tidus connected?"
"Oh, those are all easy questions," Rikku said, breezily.
Lulu shifted a glance at her, "For you, maybe."
Rikku ignored her, "Yunie, remember how I said Gippal is a friend of Tidus? Well, Wakka is a friend of Tidus, too. Hmm … what should I say about Gippal? Oh! He's an Al Bhed, too! He has an eye patch over one eye … um, and that's it, I guess. Wakka, Gippal, and Tidus are all friends, so, that's how they know each other!"
Yuna simply nodded her head, trying to take all of that information in. She tried to understand the situation, but Rikku had already stared speaking again. Only this time, she was talking to Lulu.
"And your questions, Lulu?"
"Actually, my question is for Yuna," Lulu replied. "How did you meet Tidus?"
Yuna had heard the question, but was instantly swept into a flashback that was only hours ago. When she and Tidus had met. She liked the memory, and a silly smile came upon her face.
"Uh, hello, Spira to Yuna?" Rikku said, waving a hand in front of Yuna's face. "Is there anyone there?"
"Huh? Oh, sorry, Lulu."
"That's all right. But … can you tell us? How did you meet Tidus?" Lulu repeated.
With that, Yuna explained the long story to her friends. It only had happened a few hours ago, so the memory of meeting Tidus was still fresh in her mind. She remembered the confused look in his eyes as he opened the door to the shop for the first time. She remembered Tidus' hesistance as he admitted to her that he was lost. She remembered dragging him along to her lunch break. She remembered … everything, it seemed.
"Hmm … very romantic," Rikku teased, after hearing Yuna's story.
Yuna smiled, "I know, isn't it?" she said, sarcastically.
Tidus sighed as he was walking back down the hill, this time, with no one beside him. After seeing that Tidus had come back with no food at all in his hands, his mother had pracitically pushed him out of the village in which they lived back down into the hill.
"And you better be back with food this time, young man!" she had screamed at the top of her lungs as he was walking down.
Before he had left, he saw Roxxane cast a sympathetic look on him. But when he saw Gippal's face, Tidus could still tell that Gippal was asking for Tidus' guitar, only silently. 'I got to kill him someday …' Tidus had murmered to himself.
"I wonder if I'm going to know the way around again the town again …" Tidus had said out loud. "This time I don't have Yuna to guide me around. I'll probably get lost, and mom's going to call the police to find me, and …"
Tidus realized how much of an idiot he sounded like. From then on, he told himself to calm down.
The three girls had stayed at the same place even when everyone was done asking questions. They were all discussing the day's events, since the weren't together. They were all doing their own little things. Before they knew it, so much time had passed by, and Rikku noticed.
"Hey, I'm gonna head home!" she announced. "My stomach can't wait all day for dinner!"
Lulu rolled her eyes, but agreed, "I think I'll return home, as well."
"I'm going to stay here for a while. I'll watch the sunset … you guys will be missing it!" Yuna told them.
But, Lulu and Rikku had still waved good-bye, leaving Yuna behind.
"See ya tomorrow!" she had called after them.
She turned back around and walked forward a little bit to see the sun in a better view. When she walked forward, she noticed another figure in the distance. It was walking towards her. But Yuna paid no attention to it. She loved watching sunsets, and kept her mind focused on it. She found a flat rock conviently on the ground, and sat on it. She continued to watch the sunset.
Tidus saw someone ahead of him sitting down on a rock, seemingly staring off into the distance. Even though he was far away, he tried to follow their gaze to see what he or she was staring at. He turned around and saw the sun. Shrugging, he looked forward again. 'It's just a sunset …'
He continued walking, closer to the person who was sitting on the rock. He was just about to pass her, but something out of the corner of his eye stopped him. Shoulder-length brown hair that stopped him …
He couldn't see the face of the person, only the back. He tapped the person on the shoulder, and out of curiosity, asked, "Um … do I know you?"
The person turned around, and gave a look of surprise, "Tidus?"
"Yuna!" Tidus said, recognizing her. "It's been one whole hour since we've seen each other, huh?"
"Sure is a long time," Yuna said, giggling. "Why did you come back here?"
"Oh … uh … the food."
Yuna rolled her eyes, "You sure were smart – forgetting about the food."
"Hey, you could've reminded me, you know," Tidus retorted.
"That's true," Yuna said.
"So can you take me back to your shop so I can pick up the food?" Tidus asked. "I, uh, really need it."
"Sure," she answered. But then she turned her back on him and continued watching the sunset. "Let me just watch this …"
"What's so special about it? It's just a sunset."
Yuna didn't answer him.
Tidus looked back at the sun once again. He never really paid attention to sunsets or sunrises – they just happened, and he never thought more about it. But not that he was looking at it, he began to become interested. It was … quiet. Almost … gentle. As if the sun was telling everyone in a quiet voice that night was coming. He watched the sun seem to dip under the horizon slowly.
"Okay … we can go back now," Yuna said after the moment's silence. "Thanks for waiting."
"No problem," Tidus started following her back down the hill once again. He looked over his shoulder, and gazed at the fading sun once again.
"Tidus is in for it, ya? Wheather he comes back with food in his hands or not, his mother is gonna be furious at him," Wakka said, while hitting a punching bag.
"His mom is mad at him because she had to reschedule the party one whole hour later," Gippal said, playing a guitar. "That women could be so overly-proper …"
Both Wakka and Gippal were in Gippal's room. Their families had been invited to Tidus' mom's party, and they were being dragged along as well. Selena had not let the boys come into her house, let alone Tidus' room.
"Man, I could've gotten the guitar …" Gippal complained.
"Stop complaining, ya? You got tons of guitars here," Wakka took a break, catching his breath.
"Yeah … but Tidus' guitar would add to the collection," Gippal said, staring at the guitars covering the room.
"GIPPAL!" a voice came from downstairs. " Fa'na kuehk du mayja yd 7! Oui paddan pa nayto po drah!" ("We're going to leave at 7! You better be ready by then!")
"Cina, frydajan ..." Gippal yelled back downstairs. ("Sure, whatever …")
"I got to get ready else my mom will kill me," Gippal said. "Get out. And plus, don't you need to get ready yourself?"
"Probably, ya? See ya later," Wakka left.
Gippal got a tuxedo out of his closet. Because of Selena's extremely proper ways, she made everyone dress up formally if they were invited to her parties. Anyone who was wearing jeans or anything of that matter were promptly thrown out. Gippal hated going to her parties, but the food made up for it …
"Tidus, E't ryda ryjehk y sudran mega ouinc ...," Gippal muttered to himself. ("Tidus, I'd hate having a mother like yours.")
And that's it for this chapter! Thank you all for waiting!
Next chapter, will Tidus make it back on time? Or will Selena be forced to reschedule her party yet again?
What's Dona up to?
Thank you all for re adding – and don't forget, please review! (And also, if you haven't already, check out my other story, Amnesia. Review on that if you can!)
Till then, see ya next time!