Chapter 2 – The Journey begins

Yuna awakened to the sound of birds squeaking. It felt so early, as she could still feel the coldness of the outside, but she didn't feel tired anymore. They would soon reach Kilika. Excited by the idea, she stood up quickly and went to open the window of her cabin: The sky was still pinkish, less clouded than before, much like her own mind. She quickly noticed Tidus, at the same spot he was yesterday—he really did like his spot, she thought—staring at the sky. She looked at him some more, wondering what he was thinking about. She wished she could creep up inside his head right then, so she'd know. She decided to join him and try to ask him. It was the next best thing.

- "Good morning! It's not like you to be up so early!"

- "Yeah…" he lazily replied. "I wasn't tired anymore, for some reason. I just feel like, now that I'm back, that I got this second chance at life, I wanna live it to the fullest, you know?"

Yuna slowly nodded. She closed her eyes for a second.

- "I know exactly what you mean", she said softly, the weight her words held perfectly understood by the both of them.

And just like the night before, they stared in silence at the sunrise. Tidus discreetly—or so he hoped—glanced at Yuna. It was her turn to be lost in thoughts now, and the view was breathtaking. He cleared his throat and turned his head back to the sky, narrowing his eyes. The view of the landscape was nice, that's what he had meant, of course.

Birds were flying by, squeaking happily. One great pinkish cloud was expending into the pale blue sky, growing so big the colors of the sky seemed to vary from pink to blue, stripped like a zebra. The sun appeared trapped inside of it, its light still strong enough to cast a bright, orange-pink reflect onto the surface of the sea. Far, far away, they were starting to see some mountains, and as they grew closer, swiftly sweeping across the sea, they began seeing trees, forming a big forest.

- "Land ahoy!" Yelled a member of the crew, slowly echoing by others.

People were slowly starting to wake up, and before they knew it, they weren't alone on the deck anymore. A few member of the group of young people, Laïla, Shun and Tekk, came to chat up with them, not even realizing they had just spoiled a moment Tidus and Yuna were having. Tidus was a bit bumped at first, but those people were so nice he quickly forgot about it.

First Stop: Kilika

As he set foot on the piles composing Kilika, Tidus felt how different the city was. Of course, the last time he had come was right after a brutal attack by Sin, that had left most of the village destroyed and its people devastated. Now, kids were running around, attracted by the animation their ship provided. Other were busy unloading other ships' cargos and carrying them to a market close by. Tidus could hear chatter, laughs, life. That was it. The city was full of life.

Yuna, studying his stunned face, said:

- "Fancy a little tour?"

- "Yeah!" He breathed out, mouth open, his eyes shining in excitement.

They walked around the market, composed by a multitude of little wooden huts. Some were selling freshly caught fish, other flowers and ointments that came most definitely from the forest. One that caught Tidus' attention had built those little figurines of Aons, and other little fiends out of wood, stone, and even cutlery. He was about to show one to Yuna when he abruptly stopped. One figurine was of Yuna. She noticed it too, and blushed.

- "Yeah, that is embarrassing…"

- "I like it!" He smiled. "How much is it?" He asked the broad smiling old man.

- "Tidus!" Yuna whined, a little annoyed he would even consider buying such a thing.

- "Relax!" He laughed. "I'm just kidding", he added, smiling apologetically at the seller as they strolled passed his hut onto the next ones.

He looked at her, and then he let his glance wonder around the huts full of knick-knacks and others trinkets, some more interesting than others. As he did so, he added softly:

- "I'm lucky enough to be with the real model, why would I need a bad copy?"

Yuna's heart skipped a beat, and she let out a small laugh so he wouldn't notice how much this had just affected her. Truth was, the comment was so sudden she felt a bit overwhelmed. What was she supposed to answer to that? "thanks"? She looked at him, and he was already looking at her, a soft smile on his face he seemed to have saved just for her. She smiled back, sighting a bit.

- "Look!" She said, pointing at one hut selling paintings. They were of all shapes and sizes, some representing breathtaking landscapes from all over Spira, other more abstract.

Tidus' gaze focused on one in particular. It was rather small, but so much seemed to be going on inside it, his eyes quickly got trapped in its contemplation. Blue, purple, pink and a little green seemed to mingle in a spiral on the left, while warmer colors, like red, orange and yellow, on the right side of the painting were exploding into so many different shades. The painting seemed to express so many emotions, from a sort of warm powerfulness with the bursting of the reds and yellows, to softer, calmer emotion, just as powerful, with the purples and blues. If Tidus had to guess, he would say it looked like the meeting of the moon with the sun, and they seem to fit well together. He looked at Yuna, and realized she was looking at the same painting.

- "I like this one."

- "Me, too", she replied.

She looked at him then, and it was as if, for a fleeting second, they could perfectly read into each other's eyes. Tidus could swore they were thinking the same thing, both lost in a perfect osmose.

- "It's 900 gils", the merchant said, and they both looked at him, attracted by the sound. Their connection got cut then, and yet they still felt warmer, their breaths heavier.

They both smiled at him, as a social mechanism, a sort of reflex when staring at someone for a beat too long. But truth was, neither of them had understood what he had said. So Tidus nodded, hoping it wasn't a question, and they kept walking.

Yuna could swore Tidus' fingers had brushed up against hers on purpose, but it had only happened once. Maybe she had imagined it, after all.

She really did like that painting.

They toured for a bit more around the city, and had lunch on a small Inn close by the port. They chatted, talking about distinct things they had liked about the small market, purposively omitting to talk about that painting. Tidus said he wanted to go back and buy that Tonberry fluff toy for her.

- "That thing has always given me major creeps!" He laughed.

- "Same here! It would always pop up in such creepy places, too! Like in the Cave of the Stolen Fayth, and Omega ruins, remember?"

- "Oh yeah, that's right! That Marlboro thing was ugly and creepy as hell, too", he replied, shivering at the thought of the gigantic green and blue spiky octopus fiend.

- "I know right! So hard to kill, too. I would have to cast so many Esuna to heal you guys."

Good times.

Yuna had a meeting with some important people—Tidus had forgotten their names and roles, though he vaguely remembered Yuna telling him—at the temple during the afternoon, so they crossed the forest to reach it, meeting a few fiends on their way. Tidus was a bit rusty, but Wakka had given him back his blue sword, Brotherwood, and his skills were quickly coming back to him. He had missed it. Yuna, was back to a more magical approach—she had grown sick of her two guns—but her staff was almost sword-shaped, so she could eventually wound the fiends using only her own strength—which Tidus was impressed by. She was so strong she barely even needed him there.

- "What will you do while I work?" She had asked, worried he'd get bored, as they finally reached the doors of the Kilika temple.

- "I'll find something, don't worry about me!"

Somehow, Yuna felt a bit relieved they were going to be apart for a while. Not because she was growing tired of Tidus, but more because it was draining to be with him. He was so much, in such a good way, she felt she needed time to reassess, to gain back some composure. Weirdly, it felt like they had just met—again. It all felt so new, so exiting, so—like two and a half years ago. How could she have forgotten how special he was?

- "Lady Yuna, are you listening?"

- "Oh yes, sorry Mr. Mep."

Phew, she needed to pay more attention. She put all her Tidus-related thoughts back in a little box, inside her head, and sealed it off. She couldn't wait to open it again, later tonight, to think about it some more, but it would have to wait for now.

Tidus walked around the temple, looking at people and smiling to himself. Seeing how happier people were made him so happy himself. He knew the Eternal calm was partly thanks to him, and he felt so proud. He had done his part well, as Yuna's guardian, and… friend. He sat on a bench, close to the temple. As he let his mind wander off, he suddenly felt a violent and sharp pain at the back of his head, accompanied by a loud "thud" that rang in his left ear.

- "Sorryyyyyyyy sir! I am so so so so sorry!"

Tidus, a bit confused, looked around him to see first a kid running in his direction, and second, a blitzball ball at his feet.

- "Aouch! Did you throw that?" He said, scratching the back of his head, where the ball had hit him.

- "Yes…" said the kid, now standing in front of him. "I am so sorry sir! I have to improve my aim."

- "That you do! But hey, you're strong for a kid your size! You must be good."

- "Actually… not really", the kid mumbled, embarrassed. "The other kids usually don't let me play…"

And with that, Tidus knew how he was going to spend his afternoon.

- "You're in luck kid!" He said, proudly jumping out of the bench. "I am a blitzball player myself. Well an ex one, anyway. Fancy a free class?"

- "Really? I-I would love to! Can I call my friends up to join? Do you mind?"

- "Not at all! The more, the merrier!"

Yuna was done around the late afternoon, and instantly saw Tidus. He was standing not too far away, on the Temple's paved place. He was surrounded by a group of kids looking up at him in awe, a blitzball ball in hand, explaining something to them and gesturing it slowly so they'd understand. As cute as the scene was, Yuna's first thought was that Tidus really seemed like one more child in this group. "It's true, he always was a bit immature.", she thought, a bit bummed at the realization.

Tidus, feeling a gaze on him, turned his head in Yuna's direction. Instantly, his face broke into his broadest, heart-stopping grin and waved at her.

Yuna's face softened and she returned his smile as she waved back at him. She felt butterflies in her stomach. His smile had always had such an effect on her, she couldn't seem to help it.

- "Sorry kids, your awesome teacher's got to go! It was fun though. Call me up when you become a champ, kid!" He said as he vigorously brushed the blitzball thrower's curly brown hair.

- "Thanks sir! Will do!"

- "You know Lady Yuna?" Asked another as he saw her approaching.

- "Course I do! I was one of her guardians", he replied proudly, his thumb directed at his face.

- "Whoaaaaaaa!" They all exclaimed at the same time after bowing to him. "Thank you for saving Spira, sir!"

Tidus scratched his head, suddenly feeling all embarrassed. He wasn't used to this. Well, he did have some fan and groupies back when he played blitzball for the Zanarkand Abes, but this was very different. A bunch of kids were thanking him for allowing them to go to bed at night without the fear of another Sin attack. It was big.

- "Oh... You know, it wasn't err... I mean, thanks… You… you can all stand up now."

Yuna, now caught up with him, laughed at him, both amused and touched by his reaction.

- "You're all red, Mr. Guardian."

- "Shut up!" He said, but instantly started laughing with her.

They slowly turned back to the port area. Tidus had his arms crossed at the back of his head, and he felt relaxed and good. He had a very good first day.

- "How were your meetings?" He asked.

- "Nice enough", she replied. "Mr. Lihnka, the new mayor, wanted my opinion on a few of his projects. I don't know if I'm allowed to tell you this, but he wants to build a new school, and maybe even a blitzball club, for instance."

- "Oh that's pretty cool! The kids back there seemed really into it. They could be good recruits, in a few years."

- "Yeah, I saw that. You seemed to be a really good teacher."

- "I guess you'll have to discover that for yourself, once I'll teach you the Jecht Shot", he replied, half teasing.

She laughed, nodding.

- "I guess so!"

The sun was almost done setting on the ocean in front of them, and the atmosphere was so peaceful. It always seemed to be this way when they were together lately.

- "Fancy a drink?" He asked.

- "Sure!"

They got into a small Inn, and sat at the bar. After a while, a few people, recognizing Yuna, came to ask if they could join them for a bit.

- "Do you mind?" Yuna asked Tidus.

- "No, come on! No problem!"

A lot of people seemed to enjoy talking about themselves. It didn't bother Tidus, though, and he really hoped it didn't bother Yuna, since that was basically what she did all day, listening to people's lives and problems.

Fyral, a 22 years old chef working at the place next door, was telling Yuna about her recipe made out of ice flan. The problem was that it was pretty expensive to make, since she had to order the ice flans all the way from Macalania. But she also made this incredible Ragora salad. She and Tidus were definitely invited at her restaurant tonight, if they were interested, of course.

Tidus, distractively looking at the front door, suddenly noticed a familiar figure: He was shirtless, expect for two leather stripes crossing in the middle of his chest, and a pair of high-waisted, quite large pants completed his outfit. His arms and shoulders were quite big, and you could say he was a muscled man. As the guy turned around, Tidus suddenly recalled who the guy was:

- "Barthello?"

He looked in his direction, and after a bit, his face lightened up. He ran to grab and hug Tidus so tight, the blond-haired man literally could feel all the air leave his lungs at once. He, quite pathetically, tried to move his hands up and down, for the mere reason that this was all he managed to move out of Barthello's firm grasp.

- "Tiduuuus! I heard about your return, but I can't believe you are actually here! I have to tell Dona. Oh! And Lady Yuna! What an honor!" He said, almost hyperventilating. He put Tidus down—to his greatest relief—and turned to bow in Yuna's direction. "Can I invite you both to dinner? Dona will be thrilled!"

- "Eeeerm", Tidus started, confused, "are we talking about the same Dona? Blacked-haired? A big red bow in her back? Always angry at something?"

Yuna laughed a bit, amused by Tidus quirky remarks, and nodded at Barthello.

- "We will be delighted, thanks Barthello."

- "If I may", Fyral started, "I can extend my invitation to my restaurant to the four of you, if you're interested. It's on the house!"

The diner was pleasant enough, although Dona had, as usual, to criticize every decision Yuna made. Tidus had to literally keep eating so he wouldn't be rude to her. He knew Yuna wouldn't like him defending her—she liked to fight her own battles, and he respected that. But still, he couldn't understand how she could just stand there, smiling and nodding, while Dona was talking about how Yuna's ex-outfit was way too revealing, with the big "T" shaped hole in her white shirt, and her skirt showing more than half her butt. Who was she to talk? Had she, like, looked in a freaking mirror lately?

He wished he could distract himself by talking with Barthello, but as sweet as the guy was, he was clearly not a talker. So he drank a lot of water, ate slowly, always making sure he had something to busy up his mouth so he wouldn't embarrass Yuna.

- "So, what's up with you two, anyway? Have you done the deed yet?" Dona asked, as if that was the most normal thing to say.

Yuna almost chocked on her water, and Tidus looked away, taking a bit of the ice flan—they took so long to chew, he was saved.

- "We… I mean, we…" Yuna started.

He felt so bad for letting her deal with the awkward question, so he quickly gulped down the thing and said:

- "Not sure that is your problem, Dona."

She looked at him, like a cow looks at a fly bothering her. He didn't regret one bit. She had gone too far, and he had said it in the nicest way possible. Yuna looked at Tidus, both relieved and chocked he would dare to say that. Dona shook her head, her hand covering her face.

- "Fine, fine. It was just a joke, don't get your panties in a knot, kid."

Barthello laughed, a bit too loud and too suddenly, at his girlfriend—wife? Tidus wasn't sure—"joke", but at least it efficiently broke the awkward silence that had installed. And Dona was back to talking, explaining to Yuna how she should try to control her boyfriend better—like she did, with Barthello.

- "I have my question", Tidus stated, as they were both walking below Kilika's starry night sky. They had decided to spend the night here, since Yuna had one more meeting early in the morning.

- "Shoot!" She said.

- "Why did you let Dona criticize you and said nothing?"

- "Hmm…" Yuna thought out loud. "Because… Because I don't mind her telling me what's on her mind. I'm sure she feels like she is helping me, because she wants me to be better, more like her vision of what is right. When she criticizes, I don't think it really is about me. It's about her own vision of life, of what one's has to do, and how I am far from her ideals. I think it's because she respects me, and bears an interest in me as a person, enough that she tells me all this. I understood that when I went to see her again with Rikku and Paine."

- "Hmm… I see", Tidus replied, reflecting. "I guess I understand."

They walked a bit in silence. Tidus admired Yuna's acceptance of Dona, which just seemed like a raging bitch to him. But as long as Yuna was ok with it—and didn't plan to become more like her—he was also fine with it.

- "I have mine too! What did you think of Kilika today?"

Tidus didn't have to think about his reply a lot. He had been thinking about it all day:

- "It has changed so much, so fast. I remember the last time I was here. Sin had just attacked and destroyed the village, and killed so many people. And you had done your sending. I still didn't really understand your world at that time. But I understood their suffering. And now... Now I couldn't see one bit of it. People were so happy, it seemed like this gigantic weight had been taken off of their shoulders. Now, Sin is gone, and they can finally live without fear. It is so different to know it, as a fact, than to see it in people's smiles."

- "Hm. My thoughts exactly", she said as she opened the door of their Inn.

- "Lady Yuna! Mr. guardian! Here is your key to your room", the Inn keeper brightly said.

- "One… One key?" Said Yuna as she grasped it, her eyes open wide, quickly blushing.

- "Oh! I-I just assumed... Oops! Sorry. I'll go fetch you a second one, we must have another room available."

Yuna looked away, but Tidus knew she was blushing hard. He also knew better than to say anything, and chose to respect her pride. Part of him wanted to laugh at the situation though. It was the second time people assumed that about them, just tonight. But he managed to stand there quietly, until the man was back with the second key.

Knock knock knock.

- "Tidus are you there?"

- "Hmmmm", he groaned, putting the pillow over his head to muffled the noises. "Mooom, let me sleep a bit more, please."

- "Moooom?" The voice exclaimed, a little mad, but mostly amused.

Tidus eyes sprung open, as he suddenly realized where he was. He clumsily got out of bed, his feet got caught up in the sheets and he almost fell over. He managed to get to the window and opened the curtains. The sun was far up in the sky. It was at least midday. Damn it, he had slept in!

- "Sorry! I'll be down in a sec!"

- "Ok, quickly though, please, or the boat will leave without us!"

As he got out, he found Yuna, sitting on a bench, her eyes closed. The sun was forming a veil over her soft, milky-like skin. Locks of her hair were lazily moving under the wind's will. She looked so at peace right there, right now, it took Tidus' breath away. She seemed to be meditating. He imagined her listening to the children's laughter, and taking it all in: the sun, the wind, the soft sea air.

But then her eyebrows furrowed a bit, as she sensed someone was watching her. She slowly opened her eyes, as if waking up from a dream, slowly setting foot into reality again. Tidus barely had time to close his mouth, which he hadn't realized had been opened until then, when her blue-green gaze fell on his. He instantly blushed, and so did she, under the intensity of his deep-blue eyed stare.

And then she slowly blinked once, as if choosing to forget to be ashamed for now, and softly smiled at him. Little creases formed below her eyes, a spark so genuinely sweet and soft dancing in them.

It was his turn to get the butterflies.

- "You must be excited to see Luca again!" Yuna said, just to say something.

They had barely said anything to each other, and it wasn't like the two other times, where the silent was pleasant, each simply enjoying the presence of the other. This silence seemed now charged with something different, something unsaid. The problem was, Yuna couldn't fully grasp what exactly it was.

Tidus just nodded, smiling at her.

- "I can't wait!"