Chapter 3: Life Moves On
"His wings are gray and trailing,
Azrael, Angel of Death,
And yet the souls that Azrael brings
Across the dark and cold,
Look up beneath those folded wings,
And find them lined with gold"
-Robert Gilbert Welsh
"Think he'll ever wake up?"
"I can't say; he's been out for over a week." Two voices in Tidus' hospital room were deciding if their friend would ever wake up or not, and both had mixed feelings about his fate.
"You're right. But he'll wake up, I'm sure of it!" protested Rikku Bhedal, a good friend of Tidus who was sitting in a chair next to his comatose body. With Rikku's upbeat, outgoing personality, you would have thought she was a hyper-active electric energy ball.
"I don't know, Rik. He'd better wake up." Rikku and Tidus' friend Squall Leonhart answered. Squall and Tidus were best friends in high school and had gotten back together not long after Tidus' accident. He ran his hand through his dark brown hair, scanning the doorway for his sister to arrive. "Man, I hope Yuna shows up soon."
Rikku and Squall were also first cousins, and it was a weird coincidence that they were best friends with Tidus at the same time. However, personality-wise both were polar opposites; Rikku had her bubbly and energetic personality while Squall was more cool and collected, not to mention mature.
"Yeah, she said she'd be, like here ten minutes ago---"
"Hey, sorry I'm late!" An exhausted Yuna called out, stepping into the hospital room.
"U mdert syhhisdit." Rikku answered after seeing Yuna come in.
Yuna had changed a great deal the last time Tidus last saw her. Her coffee colored hair was not in pigtails like how Tidus used to see it, but medium in length so that it went past her ears. When Yuna and Tidus first met he used to make fun of her for her bicolored eyes, but later on he'd protect her from kids who'd tease her about them. They had continued to stay friends ever since.
"Well, somebody finally decided to show up!" Squall brought up impatiently. "I guess twin sisters can be that way."
"Cut it out, Squall!" Yuna answered defensively. "Rikku, am I really that late?"
"You betcha. But at least you're here, so you can see Tidus!" Yuna walked quickly over to the bed and stopped when she saw Tidus in bandages. She didn't expect the accident to be this bad. Seeing Yuna's upset expression, Rikku decided to leave her at peace.
"Uhhh...hey Yunie! Squall and I are gonna go to Food Unit in town, this hospital food really bugs me...right, Squall?" Rikku asked grabbing Squall's arm and leading him out of the room. "We'll bring back some stuff in half an hour or so!"
"Uh, yeah, Yuna! Catch you later!" Yuna didn't get to see the confused look on Squall's face; she was too busy staring at Tidus with deep sadness.
Meanwhile...
For the past eight hours, Tidus had been doing nothing but walking around aimlessly through the streets of Zanarkand, unseen by human eyes. Since that he didn't know how to teleport or float around like Azrael, Tidus had to walk everywhere until his Death List summoned him elsewhere. He was called to tend to the dead seven times already, and was sick of sending people to heaven or hell even though it was his first day on the job.
A bit after Tidus had his first mission with Rufus Shin-Ra, Azrael sent him a black cloak and matching gloves and boots to make him look more like the Angel of Death. Azrael must have felt that peole who were dying would not believe that Tidus was sending them to heaven or hell in a blitzball uniform.
"I sure hate life." Tidus said to himself, avoiding people in the streets, holding the Deathseeker in his right hand and the Death List on his left. "That is, if I even have one anymore." He didn't know what to do, and was still unsure why he accepted Azrael's offer. For a while, he thought he should have died. Ever since Tidus became a famous blitzball star he felt like he was at the top of the world. The attention was great at first until Tidus realized that everyone thought he was a showoff. It was as if he had worked hard to become a blitzball star for nothing. Tidus walked on farther, and eventually found himself in front of the Zanarkand Hospital where his unconscious body was. With nothing better to do, he decided to venture on in and visit himself for the time being.
It didn't take long for Tidus to get to his room, and he certainly did not expect for Yuna to be sitting by the side of his bed, crying softly.
"Yu...Yuna!" Tidus called out, but Yuna couldn't hear him. He knew it was pointless to try again, since that he was half-dead and she was still alive. Tidus tried to touch her with his gloved hand but it simply passed through Yuna's shoulder. If Tidus had to stay as the Angel of Death for a long time then he would be forced to watch Yuna do everything without him.
"Well, well, well." Azrael was standing opposite of Tidus' bed, looking smug. Tidus jumped up several feet; he thought Azrael was on vacation.
"H-hey! What are you doing here?" Tidus asked impatiently, turning around to see Azrael's sneering face. "Aren't you suppossed to be touring the world by now?"
"I decided to visit for the heck of it." Azrael answered, fiddling with the silver ankh around his neck. "So, you've come to visit your ex. girlfriend. No wonder she's crying her eyes out; you made her upset by leaving her."
"She is not my ex. girlfriend!" Tidus protested, his blood boiling. "Don't you ever say that again!"
"Hm, whatever. Oh look, we have another visitor." Azrael gestured his head in the direction of the doorway. Tidus' old man, Jecht, entered the room. Tidus grimaced slightly at the sight of him. He hated everything about him, from his scruffy brown beard to the boots he was wearing.
"What's he doing here?" Tidus asked Azrael with malice. "You didn't bring him here, did you?"
"I don't have the foggiest idea. Just watch and enjoy the show." Tidus focused his attention back on Jecht and Yuna, who quickly wiped her eyes and looked up at the middle-aged man.
"Sir...Sir Jecht! I didn't expect you!" Yuna told surprised at the famous blitzball star's appearance.
"I didn't think I'd see you here, Yuna. Hey, how's Braska, by the way?" Jecht asked, referring to Yuna's father.
"The same, as usual. Ever since my mother died he hasn't left our house much."
"Heh, the same old Braska; affected by anything." Jecht's attention then focused on his unconscious son's. Just then, Yuna began to cough hard. Jecht walked over to her and patted her on the back gently.
"Easy, there. Did you drink something funny?" A short while later, Yuna stopped hacking.
"No, this has been going on all week. I came here to see the doctor, and then heard that Tidus was here; I thought I'd come visit for the time being."
"What did the kid to this time? It must've been pretty stupid."
"Tidus was in a car accident, Sir Jecht. He has been out for about a week." Yuna's face became somber once more, her face looking at Jecht's with deep sorrow. "I...I don't know what's going to happen to him!"
"Don't worry, he's my son; the kid can get out of anything." Jecht answered, trying to console Yuna into believing everything would be better.
"Shut up, Dad!" Tidus thought angrily, his hands clenched. "You don't know anything!"
Jecht turned to leave. "Well, I just thought I'd stop in for a bit. And if he wakes up..." For a second there, Tidus thought his dad was going to say something meaningful for once, "Tell him that he owes me twenty bucks and a beer."
"What?" Tidus said out loud, watching Jecht as he walked out of the room. "That dick nosed, drunk-ass bastard..."
"That went well." Azrael told Tidus, amused. "Hey, you've got another place to go to." Azrael pointed at Tidus' staff, which was glowing brightly. Tidus snapped out of his 'I-hate-Jecht' trance and immediately took out of his Death List. He opened up the book to the latest entry, and saw two names written in white there. The names were slowly but surely fading to a light gray.
Hm...Lenne Darkanzan and Shuyin Abizcelt, car accident." Tidus read from his book. "Interesting names. Say, Azrael, why are the names fading?"
"I'm glad you asked. It means that they're not dead yet. By the time their names turn black, then they're gone for good. If a name started off as white and did not fade for a long time, then that person probably has some fatal disease. However, if the names started off black, then whoever has that name died instantly. Capiche?"
"Yeah, I think I get it." Tidus' body began to glow white. "I guess I'm off."
"Ciao, I'll see you soon." Azrael disappeared with a swish of his black cloak.
Seconds later, Tidus disappeared as well, heading off to find Lenne and Shuyin.
A/N: oO...Wow, I'm finally done. I started this chapter about a day after I finished the second, and I'm still surprised that I managed to finish within three days of the last update. Oh well. Expect me to update the fourth chapter within a week or so. Lastly, please R&R! I'm desperate, here!
-Abzanguinaut342
Note:
DarkanzanZanarkand in a different order
AbizceltBlitzace
U mdert syhhisditI stand corrected