Chapter 13

Finally finding her voice once again Yuna answered her father, her entire world spinning in confusion and disbelief. "Alright, I'll be there soon".

"Please, hurry home Yuna," was all she heard before she finally released the receiver, leaving it to dangle by the cord as she sprinted to her room.

Exchanging worried looks Rikku, Tidus and Paine got up from their seats and went after her. Entering the girl's room they all watched Yuna as she hurriedly shoved clothes and other essentials into her rucksack.

"Yunie?"

"What's going on?"

"Yuna what's wrong?"

Without looking at the gathering of friends crowding the doorway she rummaged around inside her bedside table for something. Eventually finding her diary she slipped it into her bag, trying to buy herself some time from telling the others why it looked like she was running away.

"That was my Dad. He told me to come back to Besaid. Now."

"Why? Can't it wait?" Rikku asked.

"No".

"Yuna", at the sound of his voice she faltered, her courage failing. Turning to face him, her eyes moist she saw her friend's concerned looks. "Why do you need to go back?" he asked calmly.

Sighing, Yuna whispered just audibly enough for them both to hear, "it's my mother...she's sick".

All three paused taking this in. Paine stood silently considering what to do, when the two blondes said at the same time, "I'll go with you".

Smiling feebly, Yuna protested, "it's okay. You don't have to - I'll be fine".

"Ha! But that's where you're wrong!" Rikku cackled, "YOU my dear cousin, have no mode of transport! A boat will take forever and those train things only go round Zanarkand. Unless you plan on swimming to Besaid, you are going to need me!"

Yuna smiled gratefully at her cousin and turning her friendly gaze to Paine she saw that the dark haired girl had already anticipated her reaction, "I always wanted to fly on an airship", she explained.

Finally Yuna's eyes fell on Tidus, his soft cerulean eyes gazing concernedly at her. "What's your excuse?"

"I've never been to Besaid before?" Tidus replied hopefully. He said this partly because it was true and also the fact that he didn't want Yuna to deal with this all by herself - not that her family and friends wouldn't be able to cope. But the fact that he wanted to be near her and to comfort her had overwhelmed all other commonsense.

Considering this, Yuna finally nodded, "alright, go get you're stuff. We could be there a while knowing my Dad!" she joked.

Paine nodded in understanding and headed swiftly out the room and Rikku saluted and ran to her own bed, grabbing up stuff she would need. Tidus lingered in his own spot for a moment longer, smiling sweetly at Yuna, then realising he had no time to waste, ran to his own room.

"Oh, Rikku", Yuna remembered, turning to her cousin, "when I said 'get you're stuff', I meant bare essentials - I am NOT carrying you're suitcases all the way back to Besaid! She laughed attempting to lighten the mood.

"I know!" Rikku giggled, "I'll go call Pops. Did you want me to tell him about your Mum?"

"I think he has a right to know. She is his daughter afterall," Yuna replied.

Just before Rikku left the room Yuna called after her.

"Rikku? Thanks...for doing this".

"Hey, she's my Aunt! You think I wouldn't care?" she called heading out the door and down the hall.

Yuna smiled after her cousin and then began to finish packing her bag hurriedly, not forgetting to tuck the watch Tidus gave her in one of the pockets.

Hopefully she wouldn't need to use everything she had packed.

Shuyin looked utterly confused. Yuna had obviously had a very serious phone call judging by the way she had just run off to her room closely followed by Rikku, Paine and his brother. As he pondered all possible reasons why she could have gotten so upset when Tidus returned, but continued along the hall to their room.

Rising from his seat Shuyin followed his brother, ignoring Wakka's protests as he had been talking to the blonde. Opening the door he saw Tidus shoving clothes into a bag.

"What are you doing?"

"I thought it was a bit obvious myself," Tidus replied.

"Alright, why are you packing your bag? Where are you going?" he felt his voice begin to shake with frustration.

"To Besaid with Rikku, Yuna and Paine."

"Again I ask 'why?'"

"I can't tell you."

Feeling his temper rise, Shuyin wasn't prepared to play this game for much longer, "why not?"

"It's personal to Yuna. If you want to know that bad ask her, not me."

"Then why are you going?"

Tidus stopped packing and turned to face his brother. "Are you jealous?"

"No", he replied sternly.

"Good. I don't know why you would be anyway. You've got Lenne, so leave Yuna alone". At that moment Tidus grabbed his bag and left the room, leaving Shuyin alone, hands balled into fists.

'Why was Shuyin being such a jerk?' Tidus thought as he left the room. He had a bad feeling it had something to do with Yuna leaving, but he didn't want to press the matter any more. Continuing along the hall he saw the three girls waiting for him by the door. Suprisingly all Rikku had brought was a large backpack, similar to Yuna's. He was just relieved that she hadn't thought to bring all her luggage with her again - it was hard enough the first time.

"My Dad should be able to pick us up at the docks, we'll meet him there in an hour," Rikku announced to Tidus who apparently becoming tour guide for the three girls.

Opening the door, the Al Bhed left the apartment followed by Paine and then Yuna. As Tidus closed the door after him he saw the look of contempt and annoyance etched into his brother's face. Shrugging it off, the blonde began to explain how they were going to reach the docks.

After about half an hour and one long trip on the monorail, the quartet arrived at the docks. It was already quite dark and seeing that they still had quite a while to wait before Cid arrived, Paine paced herself along the wooden planking while the other three sat side by side at the end of the pier.

"So, how long do you think we'll be gone?" Tidus asked.

"I don't know. You guys really didn't have to come you know. I'm not saying I don't appreciate it, but this is my problem," Yuna muttered.

"Our problem," Rikku corrected her. "Besides, were your friends and if stuff like this happens we'll be there just like that", she demonstrated by clicking her fingers.

"She's right Yuna", Paine called from her silent pacing to look at the brunette with understanding eyes.

"Don't tell yourself otherwise, or we'll have to think of a punishment," Tidus joined in.

Rikku looked at him and seeing the look on his face, instantly understood. "Yeah, something really embarrassing."

Yuna seemed unphased by their private joke as she stared down into the water, watching the ripples and gentle waves crashing into the wood.

"Maybe something like this?" Tidus continued, and with Rikku's help, they shoved Yuna into the lukewarm water just below the pier's edge. She crashed into the gentle surface with a loud splash and surfacing a few moments later laughing her head off. Tidus and Rikku couldn't help but join in as they saw how happy she was being drenched.

While Rikku was sniggering and shaking with hilarity, she never expected Tidus to switch sides on her. Seconds later the Al Bhed had join Yuna in the water, but instead of laughing she looked seriously annoyed. The look of contempt on her face made Tidus laugh even harder.

Yuna and Rikku looked at eachother, both expressions seemed devious and vengeful.

"Tidus, we give up. Help us out," Yuna smiled coyly up at him, "please?"

He did so by extending both arms out for the girls to latch onto. They did, but instead of letting him pull them out, they pulled him in headfirst.

"Oh brother", Paine sighed sarcastically as she turned away from the debacle before her.

Surfacing, Tidus replied to the girls by splashing them with face fulls of water. This triggered off a whole water fight that didn't stop till Cid came walking up the pier, surprising Paine. He coughed to signal to the three teens of his presence. They all stopped at the same time to stare up at his towering persona.

"Well, when you're ready", he growled impatiently.

Quickly, Rikku clambered up onto the pier, closely followed by Yuna and Tidus. Tey all apologised before grabbing up their stuff and following Cid to his airship.

Yuna was still grinning even though she was soaked. It had been one way to keep her mind away from the depressing issue of her mother's illness, and it had all been Tidus' idea. Slowly her gaze fell on him as he walked beside her. Just seeing him wet like on the first day they met made her breath catch in her throat. His golden hair let droplets of water trickle down his face and neck. The shirt he was wearing clung to the toned muscles of his stomach and slender back. He really was very handsome and Yuna found it suddenly very hard to take her eyes off him.

Looking up from the ground he was walking on Tidus noticed her staring at him. He smiled and wiped his face with the back of his hand. Yuna gave him an embarrassed half smile before looking down at her soaking sneakers making squelchy noises as she took each step.

Once they had boarded the airship, Cid told them to drop their stuff off in the smaller compartments used as rooms so the teens could dry off. They would arrive in Besaid later that evening.

Rikku led the rest of the group to two spare rooms on one of the lower levels of the ship. Tidus silently dried himself in one, while Paine headed up to the deck to give the two other girls time to do the same. Finishing first Yuna decided to head to the bridge.

Cid was standing in front of the sphere - oscilofinder as usual with Brother and a number of other Al Bhed standing at their stations.

"Uncle Cid?" He turned to face her when he heard his name. Apparently so did Brother who seemed very excited to see her.

"Ed ec Yuna! Cra ac rana!" he cried from his position.

"Hello Brother", she waved at him cheerfully and he muttered something secretly in Al Bhed. Although she had been studying the language for some time now, he spoke too fast for her to understand what he was on about most of the time. "Uh, okay...Uncle Cid, do you know what's wrong with my mother?"

Brother seemed to calm down upon hearing this and turned back to pilot the ship once more. Cid walked up to his niece and replied, "I haven't had a chance to see her yet. I only found out because of Rikku. You must have been the first to know".

Seeing Yuna worriedly look down to her feet, her uncle continued, "hey, don't worry kiddo! She'll be fine, she's a fighter," more encouragingly this time. Noting that she looked slightly happier he finished, "go be with your friends. They probably don't know where you are".

Yuna turned to leave like she had been told, but before she left she turned back to her uncle. "Thankyou Uncle Cid, for everything".

Before he could reply she was gone.

As Tidus finished pulling on a fresh shirt all he could do was think of Yuna.

'No surprise there,' he thought amusedly.

She had seemed so unhappy before and all he felt was the overpowering need to make her feel better. The idea of holding her had occurred to him, but he'd pushed that thought aside, feeling that because Rikku and Paine were there she would have objected. So he'd contented himself by shoving her into the sea - how had that worked out? Well however it had happened and however insane the idea had been it had succeeded in cheering her up.

What he hadn't expected was that both girls would actually pull him in too!

Doing up his shoelace, Tidus left the room and saw Rikku sitting on the floor with Paine standing besie her, waiting outside their room for him.

"Hey," he began searching for someone, "where's Yuna?"

"Present," she said just as she rounded a corner to meet them all, "so...what do you want to do now?"

End of Chapter 13

Al Bhed translations : "Ed ec Yuna! Cra ac rana!" = "It is Yuna! She is here!"

Hope that was okay - tell me if it sucked, please?