Tidus awoke in Yuna's arms. For a moment, he was confused. He did not understand why they were so close together, why her arms were around him so protectively. His head was resting against her chest, and her scent filled his nostrils. He breathed in deeply for a moment, wanting to drop off to sleep again. The morning sunlight was warm on their two bodies, and birds were beginning to trill. Everything felt fresh and new . . . like the calm after a raging storm.
And then his eyes fell to the faint bruises on each of her arms. They looked like hand marks. In an instant the events of last night came rushing back. The way he'd shaken her so brutally, the way he screamed at her in his own selfish anger; the terrified glint in her eyes, her shocked expression at his aggressive attack . . . but she'd forgiven him. It made his throat tighten to think of it all.
He must have fallen asleep before her, because the last thing he could remember was her voice telling him not to worry. In his mind he could picture her, lying awake as she held onto him. He thought of her lips placing delicate kisses on his face, in his hair . . .
Suddenly he felt Yuna stir next to him and moan once. Glancing up at her, he saw her eyes begin to flicker open, and gradually the misty drowsiness left them. Her gaze lowered to him, and for a second she merely stared at him.
"I didn't mean to fall asleep," she said softly. "It was my turn to keep watch, wasn't it?"
Tidus didn't say anything, although he knew she was referring to keeping watch for their new friend, the assassin. He merely smiled up at her warmly, too relaxed to worry about it.
They lay there for another few minutes in comfortable silence. Then Tidus felt the need to speak again.
"I am sorry," he told her quietly. "Last night was . . . unacceptable. I shouldn't have hurt you like that, when you were only trying to help."
It was difficult to say those words, but it was also in a way a relief. He had been unable to voice his apology when it mattered the most. Now it seemed so . . . inconsequential. She sighed against him, her breath ruffling his hair slightly.
"The fault is mine. I never should have pushed you like that. I'm sorry for upsetting you in the first place," she replied. Tidus began to protest, but her finger moved down to brush his lower lip, silencing him.
"I forgive you, all right?" she said firmly. Her eyes twinkled softly. "Please Tidus, stop worrying. It's all in the past now."
Touched by her words, Tidus could only nod silently.
"But, you can make it up to me by teaching me how to use that dagger you gave me," she added, somewhat mischievously. "I can't make you fight all my battles for me, now, can I?"
'I would do anything you ask of me,' he wanted to tell her.
Instead, he just grinned and rose to his feet, pulling her up with me. He walked over to Kyrida's saddle, which was slung over a tree branch, and pulled out Yuna's blade from its sheath. He tossed it to her, and she caught it deftly by the handle.
"All right," he said with a challenging flourish. "Let's see what you got!"
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Tidus was amazed. Over the course of two hours, Yuna's skill increased amazingly well. She was already moving with the grace and confidence of a moderately trained warrior, and she seemed to have little to no trouble blocking his outlined attacks. There were still a few areas she could improve on, like her slightly hesitant strikes, but her defensive manoeuvring was notably brilliant. At least she would be able to protect herself reasonably well, should the two of them ever be separated in the face of danger.
"Well done!" he panted, slightly out of breath. He lowered his sword, signalling a stop. "You're a fast learner."
She swelled at his compliment and saluted him.
"I have a good teacher," she said genially. He smiled back and went to the pond for a quick drink. When he reached the water's edge, he knelt down and was startled to see his reflection. He had not glanced into a mirror since he left Besaid with Yuna on the airship.
His hair was bleached an even lighter shade of gold, and his skin seemed to have tanned more. There were slight dark shadows under his eyes, making his stare look even more intense and alert. The faintest hint of stubble appeared along his jaw, but he did not need a shave any time soon. Still, he looked healthy enough, and he smiled vaguely at himself. Only a week had gone by, however. A lot more than appearances could change in any given matter of time.
"We should reach the Moonflow this evening if we leave now," Yuna said behind him, already saddling Kyrida. Tidus nodded and cupped a handful of water to his lips, drinking deeply.
"Then let's eat breakfast along the way," he offered.
"I thought you'd never ask," Yuna said with a blissful sigh. "The idea of food never sounded so good. I'm starving!"
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As the hours passed, Tidus became more and more aware that the forest was thinning out, that the earth was becoming much softer. There was less moss, but the dirt was somewhat moist underfoot. The horse's hooves made a faint squelching noise in the ground, and the air was getting slightly humid. Every now and then Tidus would feel a tingling nervousness, a sense of being watched. Grimly he remembered the assassin, who was no doubt tracking them close behind. To break away from another bout of anxiety, spoke to Yuna, who had been half dozing against his back.
"We must be getting close," he said to her. He felt her nod against him. She too must have noticed the geographical changes in their environment.
A few times other travellers would pass by, at which point Tidus and Yuna would pull out their cloaks from the haversack and shield their faces from sight, offering polite waves or nods of greeting to the strangers. Nobody stopped them or tried to get a closer look, thankfully.
Sometime in mid afternoon, they came to a crossroad section. There was a sign at the road fork, with different arrows pointing down different trails.
"There," Tidus muttered out loud to himself. He had spotted the sign that said 'To Moonflow River'.
The two of them had spent the day on horseback talking on and off, occasionally enjoying a temporary reign of quiet thought. The more time Tidus spent with Yuna, the more he came to realize how easy it was to talk to her. He could say something completely idle and irrelevant to her, but somehow it would turn into a full-fledged conversation that could last for over an hour. Growing up, Tidus had always been very friendly to other children, but he was cursed with awkwardness, especially during first introductions. Wakka was the one who was good at breaking the ice. People naturally were drawn to him, and part of his charm worked its way onto Tidus. As he grew older it became somewhat easier to talk to people, but there was still a constant air of stiffness, a sort of uncertainty that he could never seem to be rid of. It was more noticeable when he spoke to girls.
With Yuna, it never occurred to him that he should be embarrassed of saying anything. In fact, she seemed to even share the same sense of humour as him, the same opinions. Then they would debate about the things they disagreed on until they came to a satisfying compromise, which always ended in laughter. He found himself talking to her about things he'd never even told Wakka about. He spoke about the tension he felt between himself and his father, the pain of moving from Zanarkand to a small isolated island, the loneliness he felt during his Yevonite Warrior training . . . he opened up and shared his intimate secrets and innermost thoughts with her. It warmed him to know that she was doing the exact same thing.
He would lose himself talking to her. When there was a lull in conversation it shocked him how much time had flown by. Odd that he should bond so deeply with a girl he only knew for little more than a week. Vaguely he wondered if she noticed how close they were becoming as well.
"Do you hear that?" Yuna asked suddenly, cutting into his contemplative state. He jerked back into awareness and listened for the sound Yuna had discovered. After a moment of straining his ears, he realized that he was hearing running water.
"It's the river," she supplied, voicing his same conclusion. He could hear the smile in her voice. "I knew we'd make it before nightfall!"
The Moonflow was a popular place for tourists and picnics, so the two of them wisely pulled their hoods up over their faces once more. As Kyrida carried them through the ever thinning trees, Tidus frowned as a realization hit him. By now they should have seen running water, or heard the soft bellow of shoopuffs crossing to the other side. True, they could still hear the rushing water, and it was even growing louder, but why could they not see the river itself?
When at last they emerged from the now sparse forest, they found themselves standing on a rocky shelf protruding over the swirling waters. Tidus dismounted and walked towards the edge, confused. Carefully he peered over the ledge, and automatically wished he hadn't. His biggest fear had always been heights, and the drop below the ledge to the river was at least fifty or sixty feet. Swallowing, he tried to calm himself and assess the situation, taking a quick step back from the edge. He had never seen the river look so tumultuous . . . it was always known as a calm, placid waterway, perfect for holiday swimming. Perhaps they did take a wrong turn somewhere after the crossroad sign, but where?
"This doesn't feel right," Yuna muttered, coming to stand next to him. The wind from the turbulent river rushed upwards, pushing her hair around ethereally. Tidus sighed and shook his head.
"I guess this is a part of the Moonflow nobody ever comes to," he said lamely, his eyes resting on the other side of the river. He was met with another cold grey wall of rock, topped by another meagre forest. This section of the river was surprisingly narrow, but it would still take an incredibly strong swimmer to make it across without drifting too far down the powerful current. Yuna leaned far out over the edge to look for any sign of a bridge, below or on either side of them.
"I don't see any way to cross," she said at last with a frustrated sigh. Tidus wished she would step away from the ledge. The sight of her hair and dress whirling in the wind so close to plummeting down fifty feet made him feel ill.
"Yuna, would you mind, um . . . backing up a bit? Please?" he said pleadingly. Yuna blinked at him in surprise, and obeyed his request.
"Sorry," she said with a meek smile. "I forget it makes other people uncomfortable."
"Just don't want you to fall," Tidus said, blowing a sigh of relief. He paused in thought as Yuna moved away to tend to the horse. "Well, I guess we should turn around and find a way to cross over. At least there's nobody around here."
"Let's rest here for a while," she suggested, pulling the haversacks down to search for food. Tidus nodded and unsaddled Kyrida as Yuna found the smoke salt.
"Is it just me or does this stuff add a bit of flavour to the meat?" Yuna wondered out loud, holding the jar up to him.
"You know, I was just going to mention that myself. Kind of spicy, I think," he responded, grinning crookedly. She smiled back and nodded in agreement, striking up a flame.
They ate while discussing the strangest and most disgusting food they ever tried. Yuna was in the middle of describing a particularly nasty blend of goat meat cooked with raw brussel sprouts and anchovy oil when Tidus was struck with a fit of laughter.
"And you actually ate it?" he cackled, wrinkling his nose at the same time. She nodded and giggled along with him.
"I was nine," she said with helpless mirth. "The other children of the temple said I had to prove how brave I was! If I didn't eat it I would have 'shamed the name of my family'."
"Well, that can't have been as bad as the time I ate fried zucchini topped with caramel and mustard," he said triumphantly. Yuna gagged on her beef jerky and struggled between coughing and laughing incredulously.
"You didn't!" she hacked, pounding her chest to keep from choking.
"I did," he said, leering at her and licking his chops hungrily. She hurled a hunk of bread at him and it bounced off his nose. "Hey!" he cried, flinching as it made contact. "Oh, you'll pay for that . . ."
Yuna squealed as he squirted water at her from his water skin, and then retaliated by returning the favour with her own bag.
"Have a taste of your own medicine, mister!" she cried jumping to her feet, hitting him directly in the mouth. He coughed and spluttered dramatically, and then moaned as if in pain.
"Oh, curses!" he gasped in a mock wounded voice, crawling on his knees. "You have injured me beyond repair, woman! I'll never recover . . . agh! It . . . it burns . . ."
Yuna fell back to her rear end, clutching her sides as she laughed uncontrollably. She eventually 'took pity' on him after managing to regain some shred of composure.
"Well, you deserved it!" she said, scooting around the fire to grin down at him. "Didn't you ever learn not to hit a lady? I'm not sorry one bi- ack!"
Her taunt was cut short when Tidus reached up and flipped her onto her back, pinning her down by straddling her over the hips and holding her wrists together in one hand. In the other, he held his water skin over her, and promptly emptied its contents onto his victim's face.
"No! Ack! Stop!" she managed to gasp between coughing and laughter. "Tidus, cut it out! This is (giggle) completely (cough) undignified!"
At last the water was completely used up, and Tidus tossed the skin aside, almost weak from hilarity. It was a miracle he was able to hold onto her wrists so tightly.
When the laughter finally subsided and a new silence emerged from the fun, Tidus found himself still positioned conveniently on top of her, his hands clasping hers. The amused smile slowly faded from Yuna's expression. The dying light caught the water droplets sliding down her face and neck, and for a moment neither of them could think of anything to say to each other. The stillness was not uncomfortable, but it was . . . bizarre. It felt as if the world had stopped turning. It was like . . . the only thing that really existed anymore was right between the two of them.
Whatever it was that was happening, Tidus still felt no urge to move, and Yuna gave no sign of objection. She lay perfectly motionless under him, their eyes locked together, filled with countless unvoiced questions.
Then (and he would of course regret this), Tidus cleared his throat. Yuna bit her bottom lip and blinked for the first time since he cast aside his water bag. His face burning with mortification, Tidus slid off her and offered a quick hand to help her up as well. He noted that her face was also tinged with red, but she accepted his help and allowed him to pull her upright. Again their hands lingered together, and Tidus found himself mesmerized by the warmth of her flesh. He saw her swallow.
"Uh, I have to, um . . . I'll be right back," she said suddenly, breaking the tension. Tidus did not ask her where she was going, since he figured she was probably just going to relieve herself. Wishing for a landslide to crash on top of him, he watched her march quickly into the thin forest until she was out of sight. Unfortunately, because the trees were so few in number, Yuna had to walk far for privacy, and it did not occur to Tidus that the assassin could still be out there until she was gone.
He slid an agitated hand through his hair and blew a sigh of discontent. He was overreacting. She would be fine. After all, the assassin had come to him first, right? Maybe Yuna wasn't the one he was after in the first place.
At that thought, Tidus moved to pull out a weapon, just in case. One of Yuna's daggers was sticking up out from the haversack, and he quickly withdrew it, watching the light dance off the razor-sharp tip.
"Finally that insufferable woman is gone," came a chilling voice from behind. Tidus froze. That was certainly not Yuna at his back.
"Seymour sent you, didn't he," he said through clenched teeth, calming his racing heart. Slowly he turned around to see the tall, gaunt figure swimming in a black cloak. He caught a glimpse of two ghostly eyes piercing him eerily.
"Shrewd guess," the bounty hunter said in his infuriatingly soft manner. "Yes, it was he who paid me to kill you. You've become quite a thorn in Seymour's side."
Tidus gripped the dagger tightly. He knew the assassin could see it in his hand.
"It was you," he said suddenly, realization dawning on him. "You set us up! You led us here so you could kill us . . ."
"Very good. You are smarter than you look," the assassin purred. "I switched the signs at the crossroad so that you and the Lady Yuna would walk down the wrong path, and then I changed it back after you passed by. Nobody will arrive anytime soon to save you, I'm afraid. But I only intend to kill you, my boy. Tremath is a man of business. He only kills who he is paid to kill."
"What are you going to do with Yuna?" Tidus demanded. His skin crawled as the cloaked man voiced a hissing laugh.
"That, my boy, will be none of your concern when you are dead."
With that, the curved dagger whipped out from the assassin's robe and was hurled at Tidus' chest. Tidus, reacting swiftly, ducked and heard the knife whistle past him over the edge. He then realized that his back was to the cliff. Already the attacker was nearly upon him, having unsheathed a new dagger. He cut and hacked almost wildly at Tidus, but never did his movement seem desperate or angry. It was cool and calculated. Tidus felt the numbing twinges of fear. At least Yuna was away and safe for now. She could run on foot to find a crossing, make the trip to Bevelle alone. She knew the way . . .
"Tidus!" he heard her familiar voice cry. It echoed almost painfully throughout the narrow river canyon. Yuna had come back from her brief disappearance, and even as he dodged and parried ever blow from the assassin, Tidus could see the rage growing inside of her.
"Yuna, stay back!" he called, swinging viciously at the assassin's face. He managed to make a shallow hit in the man's cheek, earning him a hiss of indignant anger. The assassin pulled out a second hidden dagger and made a cheap shot towards Tidus' ribs while dually slashing at his throat. Tidus, momentarily confused by the ploy, did not notice Yuna rushing to his aid until she appeared out of no where, ramming into the bounty hunter's side and knocking him away from Tidus. Tremath the assassin grunted with surprise as he staggered backwards, being pummelled fiercely. Nobody seemed to realize that the two grappling opponents were moving far too close to the edge, but then Tremath gave a muted shriek of dismay as his foot went over the ledge. He clasped the front of Yuna's dress and pulled her down after him.