A/n: not much to say here this time. Just read, enjoy, and leave a review on your way out.

--

They slept soundly until a crash woke Jecht up. He used one hand to rub his face and find out what had made the noise. He couldn't see anything at first, so he turned on a small sphere for some light. On the floor was a broken vase that had been sitting on the side table. Flowers and water were rolling along the wooden floor. Jecht sighed as he got out of bed and put on a pair of pants. He took once glance at his still sleeping wife before heading up to see what was going on.

Waves rocked the small boat as angry clouds boomed overhead. Sailors ran around trying to keep it together. Passengers lay in cabins sleeping, oblivious to the turmoil above, except one. Jecht watched as men tried valiantly to prevent the ship from falling apart. Several had tried to swim under it dragging ropes behind them to tie it. They all had come back saying it couldn't be done. One even had to be drug back after almost drowning in the sea.

Another crack sounded and Jecht knew that if he didn't do something they were all going to drown anyway. He stepped over to the captain and tapped his shoulder.

"What is it? Can't you see we're busy?" Captain Stiller shouted to be heard above the thunder.

"Yeah, and I also know if you don't let me help, we will all drown." A rough voice answered.

The captain turned to face a dark skinned man standing behind him in nothing more then a pair of black pants with one orange line down one leg. "Get below deck. It's dangerous out here. My men can handle this just fine."

"Right." Obviously he didn't believe him. "I've been watching them, and I know I can do what none of these men can't. They are trying to swim under the boat to tie it together, right?"

"And you think you can do it." Captain Stiller stated.

"No, I know I can do it." Jecht said as he puffed his chest out a little.

"I can't let you do that, civilian." Another crack sounded as Jecht gave a smirk.

"They can't do it, only I can. I can swim better then all these men put together."

Lightning flashed and they could see a man being pulled on board as he coughed and struggled to breath. "Alright. But I will not be held responsible if anything happens." A shrill whistle sounded and men stood at attention.

Captain Stiller shouted the orders over the waves and thunder, and they all rushed to comply.

Jecht held onto the rope as he dove under the water. This was great, he was able to feel the rush that came with the challenge. His strong legs pushed him through the sea as he went under the boat and up on the other side. Sailors stood waiting for him, before they pulled up the rope he held, and threw him another. Four more times he did this, as waves swelled around him. He was starting to hit the end of his strength by the fifth time. His head came up out of the water just as another wave splashed down on him. Under the water he tossed and tumbled as he searched for what was up. Relaxing, he allowed his body to float. It quickly began to go up and he used his legs and arms to help him get there faster.

He was spotted about ten yards from port side. A rope was thrown to him and he quickly grabbed hold of it. Together the sailors fought against waves and body weight to pull him back on deck. His job had been complete. The ship would be able to make it to Besaid. Jecht felt himself being pulled from the water and sighed in relief. Lightning flashed and the men on board flinched at the severness of it. A few lost their grip on the rope leaving Jecht to hit against the hull of the ship.

"Hey, quite fooling around up there, and pull me up!" He shouted, but wind pulled his voice away just as quickly as he could get the words out. He heard a snap as his body hit the hull once again. He fell into the sea.

The rope was pulled quickly now. Thinking that the man one the other end must have been helping, they cheered when the end was in view, but stopped when they saw no one there. The end had been frayed, as if it snapped in the middle. They rushed as one to the edge for signs of the Blitz star. Unfortunately, Jecht was gone...

--

"I'm sorry, ma'am. There have been no sign of him anywhere. We have searched all night."

"You have to keep looking. Jecht was a strong swimmer. There is no way he could have drown. Oh, please you have to search again." Clarise cried.

Captain Stiller looked the woman over. She was obviously upset at the loss of her husband. They all were. Jecht had single-handedly saved the entire ship, crew, and passengers. If he had not intervened when he did, they would surely have all died. The storm had calmed down since the night before, and he had dropped anchor to check over the cargo on board. Surprisingly, they had lost nothing.

The woman in front of him was still sobbing, and he knew he would have to do what he could to calm her down. "I'll have my men search again, but by now he would have floated either out to sea or to shore. But ma'am." She lifted her face to look up at him. "Your husband was a hero. Just wanted to let you know that." He patted her shoulder before walking away to give the order for another search.

Tidus stood around a corner listening to the whole thing. He waited till the older man had left before approaching his mother. He placed a hand on her shoulder and she turned to see who was there.

"Tidus, he's gone. Your father, he's, he's gone."

"I know." He said evenly.

"It doesn't, doesn't upset you?" She asked him wondering how he could remain so calm.

Tidus moved away from Clarise. "Why should it?" He shouted. "Why should I care what happens to him? He never cared about what happened to me!"

"You don't mean that."

"Yes I do. I'm glad he's gone! Now I don't have to worry about trying to make him happy anymore. It's not like I could anyway." Tidus said crossly before he stormed off.

Clarise watched him go before looking over the sea. "Don't be too upset, Jecht." She whispered softly. "I know he still loves you deep down."

--

The ship returned to normal after taking a day to recover and search. Nothing had been found. Nighttime came eventually, and a young looking woman came above deck. She dressed in a long dark blue nightgown, and held a single flower in her hand. She moved to the stern of the ship and stared down into the water as the rudders churned it behind them. It created a frothy foam as they headed to the next destination.

She dropped the flower into the water, and watched as it was soon overtaken by the small man-made waves. A tear fell from her cheek as she saw it disappear. Suddenly in a wave of longing she wished she were that flower. Able to join her husband in the sea. She had nothing left if she didn't have him.

The lookout in the crow's nest that night would say he heard nothing unusual. The night was peaceful and much calmer then the one before. The warm air as it passed over him relaxed his tense body as he looked around.

Without another thought, Clarise climbed the rail and jumped into the sea. Life without Jecht was no life at all.

--

Yuna had taken Rikku down to the beach so they could talk without being overheard. There was so much she wanted to know, but unfortunately, Rikku was unable to answer most of her questions. Even though Yuna now knew the truth about her, Auron still insisted that she keep calling her Riana. He told her there were many people who would jump at the chance to hurt her if they knew otherwise. No, an alias would help protect her, or so he said.

They sat in the shade of a Besaid Palm as the waves of the sea lapped just feet from where they were. Rikku had pulled a letter out of her pocket and seemed to be studying it intently. "I still don't know what to think of this. I mean for so long Auron, he..."

Yuna peered over her shoulder from her left. "You going to do it?" She asked.

"You mean about bringing my tribe back together?" Rikku asked as she stared at the paper in front of her.

"Yeah, that. He really seems to think you can do it." Yuna encouraged

"Well maybe. I don't know, I just.." A ship whistle sounded as it docked. Rikku used this chance to change the subject at hand. "A boat just came in. Let's go see the people come off!" She cheered as she shoved the letter in her pocket and raced for the dock. Yuna sighed before taking off after her blond cousin.

They watched together as the passengers all unboarded. There wasn't many, so they were able to see the single blond man step off looking forlorn. He wore a yellow half top, and black loose fitting leather shorts. His head was down and he carried a single bag over his shoulder.

Yuna stared as he slowly made his way to the village. She couldn't help but wonder what had made him so sad. Something in her wanted to help him, to heal his pain. But she didn't know how, or even why. Before she could follow, Rikku pulled her arm taking her elsewhere.

"Riana, where are we going?" She asked as she tried not to loose her footing.

"Don't worry. I have a plan, but we have to hurry for it to work." Rikku answered as she continued to run. She should have been watching where she was going, because she then tripped over a tree root and fell down a small incline. Both girls screamed as they tumbled down, only to land at a pair of yellow shoes.

Rikku was the first to look up. She giggled when she saw who it was. This may not have been how she wanted to get them to meet, but it worked. The guy stood and stared at them. Who were they, and just what did they want?

"Well, you going to help a lady up, or just going to stand there all day?" Rikku finally asked exasperated.

He leaned over and held his hand out to her. She slapped it away and pointed at Yuna. "Not me, her." She whispered. Shrugging, he did as she said.

Yuna was shocked to see him helping her. She glanced over to see Rikku already up and brushing dirt and leaves from her clothes. "Oh, I'm sorry." She said quickly when she realized what he was doing. He helped her to her feet before she too began brushing dirt from herself as well. "Sorry about that. We fell from up there. Didn't mean.." She tried to explain as she pointed where they had come from.

"It's ok. I saw." He interrupted.

Both girls blushed at having been caught. Yuna though couldn't take her eyes from his face. It was young looking, but with the bluest eyes she had ever seen. "Well nice to meetcha. I'm Riana, and that's Yuna." Rikku introduced having gotten over the embarrassment quickly.

The blond stared at Yuna after her introduction. "Yuna." He said as he tried the name out. "I like it, very nice. It fits you." Yuna blushed again at the complement. He then turned to the other girl. He took in her features a moment, before blurting out, "You're an Al Bhed!"

Pure terror filled her about that time. If he hadn't grabbed hold of her then, she would have run.

"No, let me go! I didn't do anything!" She shouted as she struggled to get away. Yuna watched in horror not knowing what to do.

"Stop it. I'm not going to hurt you." He eventually had to cover her mouth with a gloved hand to get her to listen to him. She tried to bite him, but was unable to through the thick leather. Admitting defeat, she stopped struggling. "I told you, I'm not going to hurt you."

"Oui on?" She asked.

He looked back to Yuna as if to ask what she said. Yuna shrugged and he removed his hand. "What?"

"I asked, you're not?" Rikku gasped.

"No, I'm not. I have no reason to. I'm Tidus, by the way." He said as he helped her to her feet.

Rikku could only gape in shock. He had only just met them, knew her heritage, and still wasn't going to say anything? "How did you know?" She asked him.

"In Zanarkand, where I'm from, everybody knows who they are. They make the best blitzers!"

"You said, you are from Zanarkand?" Yuna questioned. He nodded. "Could you, perhaps, tell me about it?"

His sullen disposition disappeared as he and Yuna began walking away for the village as he told her all about the great city from the north.

Rikku watched them go with a smile on her face. Her secret was still (somewhat) safe, Yuna found someone, and they managed to cheer the new person up. Things were looking up. Maybe living here wouldn't be so bad after all. She turned and saw a short yellow flower along the path. She picked and, and after giving it a sniff, gently placed it behind her ear.

--

Auron had been watching the sphere a lot more lately. He had been keeping track of the soon to be Potentate, Seymour. He knew the name, many years ago. The man was welcomed in every city he stopped in. Today he was to visit Kilika. He wondered how that visit would go. Kilikans never did have much to do with Bevelle. Granted though, they were in the process of building a temple there.

Frustrated, he turned it off. Never did he have as much hatred for one man as he did Seymour. What it was about him, he wasn't sure.

It was a shame he had turned it off so soon, for the very next report was about a tribe of Al Bhed outside Luca that had been found and killed. None from the village managed to make it out alive. Though few mourned for them. Auron would never learn of this tragedy for several more days. As Besaid wanted to be left to themselves, they didn't talk much about what was going on in the other cities around Spira.

He headed outside to let off some steam, only then remembering he didn't have his katana. He had left it at Yuna's when he ran out on Rikku. He cursed under his breath. He would have to get it back somehow.

"Ah, ah, ah." A feminine voice broke in. "You know better then to use words like that."

He looked up to see Rikku holding his weapon in front of her. The hilt of it was the same height as her head. How she had managed to carry it from Yuna's he would never know. He stepped forward to make a grab for it, but somehow she was quicker and pulled it back.

"I don't think so. Not just yet." She narrowed her eyes as if she had something planned.

He wondered what kind of game she was playing. "I'm not in the mood for this. Hand it over." He tried to reach out for the hilt only to come up with a handful of air once again.

"Not just yet. I have some questions for you, and the only way to get you to answer them is by keeping this from you." She replied as she pulled the weapon closer to her chest.

He sighed. "Very well. What do you want to know?" He unbuttoned his coat in preparation. This was going to be a training lesson for her whether she liked it or not.

She picked the weapon up and slung it over her shoulder. He could see her struggle at first just to stay upright, but she had more strength then he had thought. "I want to know why you kissed me yesterday."

Auron managed to hide his shock and hurt behind a well placed release of air. He should have known that subject would come up sooner or later. He was hoping it would be later though. "That was a mistake, nothing more." He deadpanned.

The sword dropped to the stony ground with a loud clatter. "You, you.. How can you say that? You have emotions in there somewhere. I know your hearts not dead yet." She whispered as tears tried to sting her eyes. She suppressed them as she rushed him. Anger was the better emotion right now.

He knew this was going to happen. He spun to avoid the attack as his coat tails spun outwards around him, and ending up next to his katana. Using one booted foot, he slid it under the hilt and kicked it up to where he could grab it with his hand. Holding it on his shoulder as she had tried to do he began the fight with three words. "The lesson begins."

Rikku didn't care about any lessons. She wanted answers. But if this was how she was going to get them, then so be it. He may have been stronger, but she was quicker and it took him time to prepare to swing his sword. She pulled out her claw and strapped it on her wrist. Quickly she ducked in and punched his side eliciting a small 'oof' from him in response . It was like this for the next fifteen minutes. If she stayed low, she could hit him before he was able to hit her.

Thinking that she had the advantage, she became more daring. She would go for shots she normally didn't think she would ever be able to against the guardian. She knew to stay to his right as the vision was limited on that side.

Auron let her believe he was unable to keep up. Then, after twenty minutes, he started the real lesson. She barely had time to defend before his sword would cut her in two. She rolled back away from him, but before she could stand up she was rolling again to avoid another blow. He waited till she was on her feet before swinging again. She ducked as it sailed harmlessly over her head.

Her eyes grew wide as pieces of yellow fell gently at her feet. Her left hand came up to inspect the damage he had done. He had come so close to her head, that the flower she had placed behind her ear, was now neatly cloven in two. Once again angered by this new information, she forgot all about defending and took to the offensive. Rolling and ducking she waited until she was close enough and used her claw to aim for his face. He stepped back, but not before she managed to get a small scratch on his left cheek. Continuing the attack, she spun behind him and punched his side and back. She did not notice the blood that ran down the side of his face even after jumping back to prepare for another triple attack.

Auron felt it, knew the blood was running along his skin and onto his shirt. To be honest, he had not expected her to aim for that height. The following he had anticipated. He quickly brought his sword in front of him to block another punch she had thrown. The two metals let out a screech in protest before he pushed her back.

"Why can't you just tell me things anymore?" She shouted as she adjusted the claw.

"I tell you what you need to know, when you need to." He answered calmly.

"Yeah, well I need to know why you think yesterday was a mistake. And I need to know now." She said before rushing in.

He easily blocked the attack, and using the flat of his blade, pushed her back onto the stone and dirt. She slid about a foot as the stone scraped up her hands, and the back of her legs. She ignored the pain for now. The pain in her heart was much more severe.

"It was wrong, you and I both know that. It should have never happened." He replied sadly as he reached a hand out to help her up. She slapped it away before standing and running off into the woods behind the Ronso's house.

Auron sighed as he watched her go. Nothing was the same anymore. Maybe he should have never brought her here, but where could he have gone? Besaid was the last place he knew of that wasn't influenced by the temples.

He turned to head back when he felt the presence of two people staring at him. One was the healer, Yuna. The other was a boy about her age with blond hair and lightly tanned skin. "What?" He snapped when they did not say anything.

"Aren't you going to go after her?" The boy asked.

"No, I'm not. What business is it of yours anyway?" He glared at him waiting for a response.

"Eh, none I guess. Just thought that maybe..." He trailed off as he scratched the back of his head.

Yuna let out a concerned 'oh' as she caught sight of his torn cheek. She stepped up to him, and cupped one hand over it to whisper a cure. The soreness of it disappeared almost immedently.

"Thank you. Now if you will excuse me, I have things I must get done." Auron stepped around them, not waiting for a response.