Yuna tries on different garments for her Coronation.

Thank you for the follows/reviews.

italics = denotes thought or memory (for the most part)

Not Mine

Robes - 5 Days Until the Coronation

Shelinda sat in a chair pushed into the back of the room, head bowed - stylus annotating lightly against the surface of her tablet. Tidus glanced at her before glancing at back at Yuna as she stood in front of a three tiered mirror, people swarming around her like ents. One of them held up a long Maester robe that reminded him of something that Kinoc may had worn, had he been alive. Yuna shook her head and the woman put the robe down. He was glad she had said no - no one in their right mind would want to wear clothing that reminded them of someone who had oppressed a whole nation. Of course not everyone knew that, but the memory remained for those who did.

Another robe was held up, this one reminding him of ex-Maester Mika - who held within Tidus the same emotional response that Kinoc did. He along with Seymour, and Kinoc had done everything in their power to protect Sin and the cycle of death that had long haunted Spira. The three men had seen no way out of Sin's destructive pattern, and instead had embraced Sin as the element of chaos he was. He wondered what they would think of the world now if they were to be confronted with the truth of Sin, so human and so insignificant. A Sin that played blitzball and enjoyed surfing in his time off. Tidus hoped they would be horrified by him. Yuna shook her head again and Shelinda sighed, "My Lady Emissary you need to pick something to wear during the parade."

"I know." Yuna blew her hair out her face, "But none of these are what I want - they don't fit the message that I want to convey."

"She means she doesn't want to wear the clothing of old men." Tidus followed up.

As he spoke Shelinda glanced at him and sighed but didn't actually say anything, "We just thought people would be comforted by seeing Her Lady in clothes that were familiar to them." The man fitting the garments spoke.

"Maybe to some people." Yuna said softly, "But to others, like the Al Bhed - like my cousin, these people were their oppressors. Is this not a new age?"

"Her Lady Emissary is correct." Shelinda said while making marks on the tablet, "I have drawn up a catalog of few new shops that I think you might like." She held up her list and pointed to one, "How about this one next?"

"I suppose." Yuna answered but her heart was not in it.

Tidus could tell that Yuna was growing tired of shopping for clothing. This was not the first boutique in New Zanarkand that they had been in. Their group had already visited to two other small shops in the Garden District's famous Jinsa shopping zone with no better luck. Each person had these ideas of how they wanted Yuna to look. From dressing her in finery that dripped jewels to clothing inlaid with bright yellows, oranges, and greens as the makers attempted to mirror the colors of the island. That wasn't to say that the clothing wasn't beautiful - it was, but none of it so far had matched Yuna. Or had matched Yuna's Spira. And now with this shop, trying to dress her in old drudgeries - he could tell that her patience was almost at an end, "We can stop if you want to." Tidus told her.

"This is the only time I get to spend with you today, until the night. I didn't want to waste it."

"Don't shop and be miserable because of me. You'll find something - it doesn't have to be now."

"Are you sure?" Yuna asked.

"Yes. I'll see you at dinner."

"Alright."

Stepping off the platform Yuna let stretched briefly and smiled. Across from her Shelinda put her pad away, signaling that the mid-day's activities were at an end. From the way her brows knit Tidus knew that she was frustrated but would not say anything about it. More than anything Shelinda wanted the Coronation to go off without a hitch. She was very good at her job, Tidus would give her that - but sometimes he wished she was less good. The way she herded Yuna from place to place, meeting to meeting - made him think of chocobo ranches. He always had to remind himself that this was the path Yuna had chosen, and despite the endless day to day - she was happy somewhere down there.

Shelinda stood up to talk to the shopkeeper while Tidus and Yuna waited for them to finish their conversation. The shopkeeper seemed disappointed that Yuna would not be wearing any of his robes - almost to the point of throwing a fit, but Shelinda's soft voice and kind words helped calm him down. She promised that Yuna would return someday, and they would only speak highly of his products. That if they ever needed anything again they would consider returning to sample his wares. Finally she promised that when the spread of "what is her lady wearing" came out the day of the Coronation his name would be mentioned in the article as one of the places they had considered. Her words seemed to booster the man's confidence and by the time they were out of the shop Tidus could tell that even Shelinda was drained, "If it means anything to you My Lady, despite liking the idea behind his garments you were right - none of those robes fit you."

They stopped in front of a machina carriage, "It does mean quite a lot. Thank you for your honesty." Yuna turned to look at Tidus and kissed him briefly, "I'll see you at home tonight."

"I'll cook us something with island flair."

"I can't wait for it."

That was another thing he had discovered that he liked - cooking. Something about combining flavors to make something new, that tasted nothing like the starting product - was exciting to him. As Yuna got into the carriage she waved goodbye to him and he waved back. Then he turned down the street. A few more turns and about fifteen minutes later he found himself walking down one of the long piers that lead to the main island. Before he could reach the end of it he found a small child tugging at his sleeve and looked down to see two brown eyes staring up at his. The child cautiously offered up the blitzball that was carried in her arms and Tidus suddenly went through one of the most vivid flashbacks he had ever experienced. Of another world, where something so similar in scope had happened but in a different Zanarkand, in what only felt like a distant dream. It was jarring but left him as quickly as it had come, "Would you sign my ball mister?"

"Of course." He knelt down and used the pen the child had provided to sign the ball offered to him.

"Thank you!"

The child ran off in glee and Tidus continued his way down the wharf. At the end of the long pathway the beach waited for him. Here the true market began, stall owners selling their wares and yelling out to attract any customers they could. He walked over to his favorite stand and leaned over the counter to smile at the man who had been running this bit of property for over three years now. To go from weapons to fresh fruit and fish was a bit of a jump, but he had long ago promised to help the Lady Summoner in anyway that was needed and as the need for weapons had gone down and the need for better food options in a growing city had gone up - this had been the logical choice, "O'aka's food stall how may I help you?"

"Any tuna today?" Tidus asked, turning the magazine rack as he did.

"You're just in luck, got some fresh in this morning I did. Let me go into the back and get it for ya."

He disappeared into the back of his shop. As he did the title story of one of the magazines on the rack he was turning caught Tidus's eyes and he had to do a double take, "The Lady and the Idol: Should her Lady Reconsider?" On it was a picture of Yuna in her finest robes, stately and grand. And next to it was a very small picture of him in swim trunks coming out of the water, chest glimmering like some sort of teenage heartthrob. He was well past his teen years and articles like the one written about him had long outgrown him. Still, despite knowing it was a bad idea - he couldn't help but pick up the magazine and read: "The Lady's Coronation is not too far away, and while the rest of the world celebrates we here at Spira Now wish to ask the world a question we know has been on all our minds: Just what is Her Lady thinking? For eight years we have seen Her Lady grow into an impressive political figure, someone who we all look up to and admire. With this in mind we must seriously consider what it means that her chosen partner in life is the Blitzball Idol Star himself Tidus. Now while we're sure it's love and it's grand, we wonder what a man who plays games for a living and lounges on the beach has to offer her, or us -."

A noise altered him to O'aka's return and he hurried to put the magazine away, "Pretty scathing huh?" O'aka said gesturing the magazine, "I'm sure not everyone feels like that though. You got some supportas. No one gets The Lady like you do, ya?"

He put the fish on the table and weighted it. But the words of the magazine lingered. Tidus knew that Yuna loved him. He had always been secure in that. Her feelings would never waiver nor would his for her. But there was truth in what the magazine had said. No one would ever know that he was Sin or Yu Yevon. Those were secrets he would have to take with him to his grave. Not that he minded; it just meant that the only thing Tidus could be was… Tidus. And as Tidus he wasn't sure what he had to offer Spira. Like it or not by the end of the week he would be the partner of the most powerful woman in Spira. He didn't know anything about politics and mostly kept to himself at functions. All people outside his circle of friends really knew of him was that he played a mean game of blitz, and he would occasionally be featured giving his own insights into the sport on comm broadcasts or posing for body issues of magazines. Sometimes he accepted endorsements or put his money behind a good cause - currently he was supporting an Al Bhed orphan charity which Rikku had helped him pick out, but that was as far as it went. It made him feel a bit helpless. Supporting Yuna was good - but he worried if it was enough. The partner of The Emissary should do more - and he hadn't, "I should have done more." He told O'aka.

"No one was really expecting you too. Don't sweat it. One pound or two?"

That should have made him feel better, it didn't. For so long he had coasted on safe. He wondered if people bothered Yuna about it, but if they did she had never told him. More than that he wondered if people questioned her judgement because of him, because of the person she had chosen as her life partner. For the past eight years their souls had continued to blend and reflect on each other, but also find different paths. Yuna had given him more encouragement than he believed he deserved when he had decided to pursue blitzball, coming to games whenever she had spare time. But now he ruminate on what she was missing, what she could have been doing to better the country instead of watching his games. These reasons were not his biggest worry, but the other apprehension - well he tried to not dwell on that one too much. If he did it would serve to drive him crazy, "Two pounds." he would make what was perhaps the best fish dish in Spira tonight in an attempt to clear his head, "Got any mangoes and lime to go with it?"

"Ripe off the vine, that's the O'aka guarantee."

"I'll take a few of those as well."

O'aka bundled the fish up in a tree leave and tied it together with twine. The mangoes and lime he placed in a small paper bag. He handed his wares over to Tidus who counted out the correct gil amount and then paid in full. O'aka was the kind who allowed people a tab - Rikku had one for instance when she visited, and always eventually paid off - but Tidus thought his services were too good for him to not pay in full every time. As he packed up to leave O'aka gave him a serious look, "You still look a little nervous, put it outta ya mind. The High Master Summoner loves you."

"Thanks."

He turned and wandered up the path a little behind the shops. The dirt trail would take him inland, and to home. Today had brought more revelations than perhaps he had been expecting. He hoped, come dinner and the next day - he would at least have a small bit of clarity on what to do with his new self discovery.

A/N: O'aka runs the best goddamn food stall in the city.