Hey guys!

Just wanted to take a minute to thank fanficlove2014. I was starting to feel like this story wasn't getting a lot of feedback, and so maybe you guys didn't really like it, but I truly appreciate the time you took to let me know what you thought of it so far :)

If anyone else feels like it—as long as it's constructive criticism and not "hey your story sucks bye"—please do let me know what you think!

So here's chapter 4! I have a few more already written, but I haven't gotten the chance to write anything new in a bit. I really want to finish this though, so even though after like 4-5 chapters I stop updating for a bit, I promise you I'll come back to this once I'm threw with my finals and all the crappy school stuff I'm going to have to go through first.

Byeeee! :*

Chapter 4 – Let's Blitz!

Back at the stadium, as they queued to get the tickets—Yuna still wanted to wait behind everyone else, much to Tidus' disapproval, they were going to miss the game!—they heard familiar voices—man, were they popular in Spira.

- "Hey look", Tidus said, "it's the Besaid Aurochs."

They looked at them, and approached, surprised to see them here.

- "Tidus! Lady Yuna! That's such a cool surprise to see you here!" Jassu started, shaking Tidus' hand.

- "Same here, bro!"

- "Came to see us play, did ya?" Datto asked.

- "We did, actually!"

The team looked at one another, as if a silent message was going between them.

- "Say, we actually are short of one player tonight, Letty had a family obligation. We were going to ask one of the best recruits back at the bliztball club, but… Would you care to join us? The game starts in ten minutes, though."

Tidus couldn't believe it. He wanted to say yes right away, but he hadn't really played in a while, let along in a real game, with a real crowd. He scratched his head, hesitating.

- "You should go, Tidus!" Yuna nodded, a reassuring smile on her lips. "I am sure you'll do so great! And I'll cheer for you, just like I promised you."

She was referring to that time they had talked about her coming to see a game of his, with the Zanarkand Abes. He smiled, his confidence back, where it belonged.

- "Count me in!" He said with his signature "V" shaped gesture.

They all were in the locker, chatting, talking about what had been going on in their lives lately. Datto had gotten himself a girlfriend, and the others were teasing him, hard, but in a caring, loving way. Keepa, on the other hand, was a bit bummed to be still single, "at his age" he said. But he shook it off, saying the lucky girl hadn't had the pleasure of crossing his road yet. Tidus laughed, happy to be with his friends again.

- "You and Yuna seem to be getting along way better than last time", Botta said.

- "Yeah!" He grinned back, scratching his head. "We've really been reconnecting lately."

- "I'm glad for you guys," said Jassu, slapping his back.

"The Besaid Aurochs and the Luca Goers are needed at the stadium. The Game is going to start" A voice resonated.

- "Not those jerks!" Tidus whined.

- "Let's show them what we got. What are we playing for?" Jassu said, winking at Tidus.

- "Victory!" They all yelled, bringing their hands together.

Tidus swore a tear grew in his left eye. They were still using his motto! As they all were leaving the locker, someone knocked on the door. It was Yuna.

- "Hey, just wanted to wish you good luck, again." She said, timid.

He smiled, and she got to the tip of her toes, and planted a small kiss on his cheek.

- "So... Good luck", she said. And then she was gone, leaving him a bit stunned.

Botta and Jassu, not too far away, looked at him and laughed.

- "Hey man, get your head in the game, ya?" Jassu laughed, in his best Wakka voice.

Tidus laughed at himself and shook his head. It was showtime!

The Luca goers were wining them 2 goals to 1, and they had little time left. But Tidus still was confident they would make it. 3 minutes was plenty enough for two more goals. He was all fired up, tackling and passing up the ball, so active in that game he had missed so much.

Datto passed him the ball, he passed it to Botta, and then back to Jassu. But they lost the ball to another enemy player Tidus couldn't remember the name of. Datto was in a perfect position to mark a goal, so he tackled the guy, got the ball and threw it at Datto. Goaaaaaaal.

There they were. 2-2, and only 1 minute 30 left. The enemy had the ball, but Tidus wasn't having it. They were going to win. He was going to mark that last goal before the game would be over. They fought to get back the ball, but the Luca Goers were very good. Only, the Besaid Aurochs were better, Tidus knew that.

And then came his moment. Jassu threw him the ball he had finally managed to snatch out of the enemy's grasp. Tidus was close enough to the enemy's goal, but two people were blocking him the way. He didn't worry, though. He could take them, and still mark the victory goal. But he decided he wanted to make his moment even more special, to show off in front of Yuna. He was going to Jecht Shot the shit out of them all.

He took a long run-up, and jumped. He first eliminated the two players by throwing the ball at them, stunning them for a bit, he only needed a few seconds. The ball came back within his grasp, like a boomerang, and he threw it in the air, so high it left the water sphere. He followed, pressing his foot against the back of the stadium to give himself a bigger push. And then, in front of everyone's wide eyes and loud cheers, he did a perfect back flip, flying on top of the water, outside of the stadium. His head was down, his feet up. And he saw, during some fleeting second, the world upside down. It was weirdly reminding him of something, a long time ago. Except this time, fortunately, no Sin was planning to attack.

- "This one's for you, Yuna!" Was all he managed to yell before falling back into the stadium with the ball.

As he completed his circle, he gave the ball a perfectly oriented kick, and it flew inside of the goal, just as the clock showed 5 minutes. The crowd went crazy, everyone on their feet, screaming and chanting his name. The game was over, and they had won.

- "Tidus!" Jassu said as they left the stadium, hugging him. "You did so well man! Thanks for being there."

- "Hey, you weren't so bad yourself! Thanks for asking me, I had a blast!"

- "We have to go celebrate!" Screamed out Keepa, the goalkeeper. "I know of a great place around here. Find Yuna and meet us back there, ok? Here's the address."

- "Right on!" Tidus replied.

Linna was there, at the bar, and talking to Tidus. He didn't really seem to be into the conversation, though, and was scanning the crowd, hoping to see a glimpse of Yuna. They had gotten separated a while ago, when she had gone to the lady's room. They could spend a few moments apart, Tidus knew that, but he couldn't wait to share his victory with her. The Besaid Aurochs were doing shots at a table close by, and he excused himself from Linna to join them. That's when she saw her, sitting at the bar. She was talking with a bunch of people, and a guy in particular seemed to enjoy—a bit too much, if you asked Tidus—her company. It was not big deal. But as he got to the Aurochs' table, he heard her say:

- "No, I guess I'm free as a bird! Nothing special is going on in my life now."

He did not want to take it personally, but how could he not? He decided two could play this game. All he had to do was to stand for a few seconds, anyway, before some groupies came to him, asking for an autograph on their bliztball balls. They all claimed to remember him from back when Sin was still around. Tidus knew they didn't when one called him Tudis, and didn't seem to notice her mistake.

After, a while spent chatting with those women, he turned back, hoping to see Yuna. But she was gone, and so was that guy. Oh no she didn't. He tried to find her, but she was nowhere to be found. Not inside the bar, anyway. He walked outside, growing worrier. Yes, Yuna was a strong woman and could take care of herself, but he remembered clearly back when the Al-Bhed had kidnapped her, in Luca, as they were on Yuna's pilgrimage. And he wasn't going to let that happen twice.

And there she was, talking with that guy.

- "Yuna! I have been worrying sick! You could have warned me." He said, a little harsh.

- "Who's that? Your babysitter?" the guy said, mocking him. He looked at him, from top to bottom, in a despising way Tidus did not like one bit. But he chose to ignore the guy, and focused on Yuna, which he was a little mad at.

- "No, he's my... Friend", she replied, and suddenly, this appellation bothered him.

- "Friend, huh?" Tidus said, bummed out. "Ok. Well your friend is going to go to sleep, ok? Keepa has offered us to stay at his place. You can stay here if you want, I'll meet you at the front desk of the stadium tomorrow."

And he started to turn away. If she wanted to stay, fine. She could stay. She didn't belong to him, anyway.

- "No, wait, I'm coming with you!" She yelled after him. "Bye Ashrakk, it was very nice to meet you."

- "Right back at ya, Milady Yuna", he said in what Tidus thought was aspiring to be a "seductor's voice" and he winked at her. "I hope to see you around very soon."

Yuna nodded and waved at the guy. Tidus felt like he could vomit. But he just rolled his eyes and said nothing.

- "I have my question", Yuna stated in a sing-song voice, but Tidus didn't feel in the mood to talk.

- "What?" He snapped, a little harsher than he wanted to. He cleared his throat. She hadn't done anything wrong, really.

Yuna didn't seem to mind, or at least, she acted as if nothing was wrong.

- "Were you jealous, too, just then?" She had her head tilted in his way, her hands crossed behind her back and the upper part of her body a bit bended.

Tidus sighed, annoyed. Should he be honest? He had just blamed her before for her lack of honesty towards her feelings. He couldn't do the same now.

- "Well, yeah, a little." He said, looking at her. "I mean you practically spent the whole night with that guy!"

- "I know, I am sorry. I wanted to be with you, too. But he told me he knew Braska, my dad, back in the day." She said, looking a bit sorry. "He told me so many stories tonight, and it was nice to have some knew pieces of him, you know?"

Tidus believed her, as he could relate with that. But that didn't explain her hurtful statement.

- "Why did you say you were "free as a bird" then?"

- "Where you spying on us?" She said, though she didn't really seem angry about it. "Well I am. Traveling with you, I feel free as a bird." She smiled, her gaze telling him he really had nothing to worry about. You look cute when you are jealous, she added in a little laugh.

Yeah, but she had said there was "nothing special was going on in her life now". But he sighed, and chose to ignore that part. After all, if you compare what was going on with her now with her pilgrimage and hunting sphere adventures, this really wasn't anything special. And he knew she felt something for him, so he decided to let it go.

And then, she left, and caught up with the team walking a bit further, leaving him reflecting on what she had just said. He shook his head, laughing a bit for himself, and caught up with all of them. She really was a piece of work, that girl was.

On the next day, Yuna had agreed to participate in an interview Shelinda was throwing. He still couldn't believe that the woman, who used to be such a strong-driven priest, had decided to radically change career, and was now working in TV.

While Yuna was out being interviewed, Shelinda had let Tidus into the studio. She said he could video chat with Wakka and Lulu, if he wanted. He did want to know how their friends were doing, so he accepted. This was so weird, being able to see them and talk to them, even though they were pretty far away, on Besaid Island.

He pressed the button, and suddenly, Lulu's face appeared. Tidus looked at her, touched the screen, still unsure how this worked.

- "Hello. So, how is it going?" She said, her voice coming out of speakers behind Tidus. He looked at them, confused.

- "I'm good, thanks. How are you?" He replied, still looking at the celling. Those small machinas looked more complicated than the microphones he used to see in his Zanarkand.

- "I meant how is it going with Yuna..." She sighted, her hand in her face as she shook it.

- "Oh! Right. It's good, it's good. It's better," he added, smiling a little at her.

- "I'm glad", she nodded. "I hope you kids are using protection."

- "Luluuuuuuuuu!" Tidus screamed, outraged. He did not want to discuss this with her.

- "I meant using shields and armor, your dirty minded man."

- "Oh". He said, feeling dumb, but reassured.

- "…Or did I?" She said, as she winked one red eye, the one her black hair didn't hide. She let out a little laugh as she saw Tidus' confused face. That kid was so much fun to tease. And before he could say anything, she had left, and Wakka took her place.

- "Control your woman, Wakks!" Tidus said, still chocked at Lulu's outburst.

- "Hey hey! Keep your voice down, ya? I swear she'll curse you all the way from Besaid. Besides, she's been acting real crazy lately."

When didn't she? Tidus thought. But he decided to keep that comment for himself. What if she did curse him?

- "So how are things, man?" Tidus asked his best bud.

- "Good, it's very good, ya? You know what? We might get Chocobos around here soon! All of Spira seems to think it's a really fun and practical way of going places. And with Clasko's Chocobos breeding farm going so well, he said he'd consider sending us two of his best beasts soon enough."

- "How cool! Chocobo riding is super fun!"

- "Yeah!" Wakka looked at his left, and furrowed his brows. "Bud, I'm sorry but I got to go! Give a big kiss to Yuna from us both, ya? You both enjoy your journey. We'll send you a letter soon."

- "Alright Wakks, good luck with all your work!"

The communication got cut, and Tidus got out of the room, looking for Yuna's interview.

Shelinda was sitting in a small white chair, next to where Yuna sat, a few papers in her hands.

- "So, how has our favorite High summoner and ex-sphere huntress been doing lately?" Shelinda asked, a bright, genuine smile on her lips as she rose her nose from her papers and looked at Yuna.

- "I am good! I am great, actually. I have been travelling again, with someone who's very dear to me. And it is really nice, seeing how Spira is slowly growing stronger and bigger, one little idea at the time."

Tidus had arrived just in time. It turned out they had just started the interview a few minutes ago. He stood next to the camera guy, listening to Yuna, his arms crossed.

- "A special someone, huh? Could that be the blond-haired guy I saw earlier?" Shelinda said, when she perfectly knew who Tidus was.

Yuna blushed, and sighed. She couldn't escape talking about him on broad TV, she guessed. People were so curious about her things. She wasn't sure why she had accepted this interview anymore. Shelinda was her friend though, and she had told her she was on the verge of losing her job. Doing an interview about Yuna was really going to help out her carreer, and so Yuna had said yes. But right here, right now, she had to spill all her little secrets on live TV, when she wasn't usually a big sharer.

- "Yes", she said, letting out a small nervous laugh. "He was my guardian, while I was on my pilgrimage. Along with my dear friends Wakka, and Lulu, assistant mayor and mayor of Besaid; my dear Friend Kimhari, leader of the Ronsos; my father's long lost guardian, Auron, that I miss very much; and my best friend and cousin Rikku, with whom I also hunted spheres, a short while ago."

She had decided to mention all her friends, first because she wanted to state, as she always did, that she hadn't been alone when defeating Sin, but also because this way, she was hoping to avoid the "Tidus" talk. But boy was she wrong. Shelinda wanted to talk about Tidus, and of Tidus they were going to talk about.

- "Yes, of course we've all learned to know and love all your wonderful team of legendary guardians. I had the chance of meeting all you guys a few times, as you were travelling. And Lady Yuna, I remember you giving me guidance, it really helped me back then. Thank you again for that."

- "You are very welcome," Yuna stated.

- "But back to this mysterious guardian! If I understood correctly, he disappeared after your combat against Sin, right? And know he is back. So what happened to him?"

- "Well…" Yuna started, deep in thought. She didn't know what she could reveal, and it was a complicated story, that many could misinterpret. What if people began thinking that she could bring back their dead loved ones to life? That would cause a riot in Spira, to say the least.

Tidus was worried as well. What was she going to say? He could see she was lost, and they were directly broadcasting, if he recalled correctly. So he stepped in the range of shot, and sat next to the two girls.

- "Errm…Hey! Hope it's ok I'm interrupting."

Shelinda nodded, though a bit confused as to what he was doing here. He was there now, anyway, so she might as well run with it.

- "So hi… Guys," he said, looking and waving at the camera, unsure. "I'm Tidus. So yeah, I kinda had decided to lay low for a bit. I guess after all that went down with Sin, I needed my space, and my good friends respected that. But now I'm back! We were a bit bored in Besaid, so we decided to go travel for a bit, Yuna and I."

- "When he said we were bored", Yuna quickly added, correcting him. "He is kidding, really. As a counselor, I figured I could come to people wanting to meet with me, rather than waiting for them to come to me. This way, I could also travel, and see how special Spira is, again."

Shelinda nodded to the both of them, grabbing another piece of paper. Then she looked at them, screwing her eyes.

- "I see, I see. So, now let's address the shoopuf in the room, shall we? What is going on with you two?" She said, her eyes darting from Tidus', to Yuna's.

The crucial question had finally been asked. Tidus looked at Yuna, who looked back at him, and they smiled, equally embarrassed, unsure of what to say.

- "Well", Tidus started, scratching his blond haired head, still looking at Yuna, a lost look in his eyes. "We are close, you know? We've always been. But we are just good friends, for now. Two good friends travelling together!"

He had been honest, but his mistake was adding the "for now". Shelinda clearly didn't miss it:

- ""For now", huh? I see, so that's like, a travelling date or something?"

- "I mean", Yuna began, but she didn't know what to say after that. "We don't… We don't really see it that way. He is also there as my guardian... And you know, he really is like my brother." She finally added, panicking.

Aouch. Tidus kind of figured she was just saying that, so the questions would stop, but still, that statement hurt. Did a part of her saw Tidus as her brother? He certainly hoped not. As an only child, he didn't really know what having a sister was like, but he sure knew he wouldn't have had those kinds of feelings towards a sibling. Was that why she hadn't let him kiss her?

- "Oh! I see." Shelinda said, looking a bit disappointed. "Well, you sure look cute together, anyway. But hey! That's a good news for all of Spira, right? Lady Yuna is still single and ready to mingle!"

Yuna and Tidus shared a long, knowing and relieved look. One that did not seem like a sister looking at his brother.

- "So what about you Tidus, I heard you played blitzball in yesterday's tournament. You had also played, about two years ago, is that correct?"

- "It is, yeah! I had missed it, it felt good to be back with the rest of the Besaid Aurochs team!"

- "And you dedicated your last minute goal to Yuna! Wow, you must be touched, am I right?"

- "I was, very much so", she said, smiling at Tidus. "We had often talked about how I should come to a game of his, and cheer for him."

- "I see, I see. Well folks, thank you very much for joining us today! We are going to take a ten-minute break, and we will be right back with the rest of the Blitzball Tournament's scores. Stay tuned, Spirians!" She added, for the camera.

As soon as the broadcasting was cut, Shelinda looked at Yuna, embarrassed:

- "I am sorry, Lady Yuna, when my producers found out I was interviewing you, they forced me to ask those questions. I hope it wasn't too embarrassing for you."

- "No, don't worry Shelinda, it was alright. I am glad we could be of help."

- "Thank you so much, she said, and the ex-priestess bowed to her."

Tidus sighed, still a bit bummed by Yuna's statement. He smiled at Shelinda as they left, and wished her good luck with her career.

Back to Mi'hen Road

As it was the third time they were crossing this road, they didn't linger in too much. At Rin's Inn though, they stopped for a bit to have lunch and chat with the Al-Bhed in charge of the counter. Tidus's knowledge of the language was a bit rusty, but as he talked, it was slowly coming back to him. Yuna, as half Al-Bhed, on her mother side, had always loved the language, and although she hadn't spoken in quite some time, she managed alright. The pink haired girl was the daughter of a dear friend of Rin's, that's how she got the job, she confessed. She liked working here, although not a lot of people were stopping by, and she felt a bit bored.

When she offered them to try roasted Chocobo, Tidus thought Yuna was going to have a heart attack. But, when she realized it was just a joke, she relaxed, fake-lecturing the girl.

Speaking of the cute, fun, ostrich-chick birds, the young girl, Yahmina, asked them if they were interested in renting some. She would cut the prices off, for them. Yuna looked at Tidus, stars in her eyes, so excited in that moment she seemed to have lost a few years:

- "Can we?" She asked, as if it was up to him.

- "Of course!" He grinned. He had always loved Chocobo-riding.

They spend almost all afternoon, running around, each on one Chocobo's back. Tidus' bird wasn't tamed well, or so he used as an excuse, Yuna teased. It kept going left or right, following a butterfly or happily squeaking, running off of the road to eat some grass. Yuna, her hands in the reins of her Chocobo, perfectly in control of the bird, would just stand there, looking and laughing at him. Hadn't he spent a long time on a Chocobo, in the Calm Lands, before?

When after a while, he finally seemed to have gain some kind of control over the big yellow bird, they decided to have a little race off. It was Tidus' idea, of course, as he wanted to show Yuna how well he rode Chocobos. The Al-Bhed girl gave them the starting signal and off they went, both trying their best to win.

While Tidus was doing better on his Chocobo, Yuna was having trouble handling the "pressure" of the race. Tidus quickly caught up with her, winked at her in a show-offy way, and ran away on the bird, overtaking her. Yuna furrowed her brows. She wasn't going to lose, especially not after he had done that.

"Ya!" She yelled at her Chocobo, and gave it a small kick so it would speed up. The road was almost over, and Tidus still had a short advance on her. She could do it, she told herself. They had agreed beforehand that the first one crossing that healing sphere, next to the stairs, was the winner. And he was close now. But so was she, and in one last desperate movement, she made her Chocobo jump and his left foot made a print in the sand, barely one finger farther than Tidus' print. She had won.

- Wooooh! She yelled, screaming victory, both her hands above her head. The Chocobo victoriously squeaked, echoing her. You lost! You are a looser! She teased, laughing at his sad puppy face, pointing an accusing finger at his face.

He stood there, and said nothing, as she kept going, her Chocobo slowly trotting closer to his. And as she was right next to him, still laughing, he swiftly grasped her pointed finger, lacing his fingers with hers, and with his other hand, he grabbed the back of her neck, crushing his lips on hers, hard. He lingered for a few seconds, as her eyes were open wide, his upper lip smoothly brushing hers, and then he moved back a bit, and whispered against her lips:

- "Here's your prize, champ."

And he turned away on his Chocobo, feeling pretty proud of himself.

- "Hey Yuna! Double or quits, what do you say?" He yelled as he ran off, not even waiting for her reply.

She just stayed there, completely stunned, her cheeks burning, her breath heavy. Her hand was still hanging in the air, where Tidus' fingers had been seconds ago, and she seemed to look into some other dimension, her wide eyed gaze empty. What was it he had said, just then? She hadn't quite caught that.