Strange Spirits

Chapter 3

Yuna woke and saw that Squall had left her room. She felt kind of bad having him stay and keep her company, but there was something about him that reminder her of Tibus. He didn't seem like he belonged to this world, but unlike Tibus he was quiet and strong. He seemed like he was used to being alone. And it made her feel sad because no one should be left alone.

Suddenly, Lulu appeared by Yuna's bedroom door and, "Well, you certainly seemed attached to our new stranger. What's with you and strangers anyway?"

"What? I don't know what you're talking about."

Lulu laughed softly into her sleeve. She said, "Right, and that wasn't Squall I saw leaving your room earlier this morning. You're lucky it wasn't Wakka who came to check on you."

Yuna blushed and threw her blanket over her head. She could just die from embarrassment. She didn't know why she did what she'd done, but she just knew she could trust him.

"I don't know what's wrong with me, Lulu. I—I already have somebody special."

Tenderly, the older beauty sat on her bed and pulled back the sheet. She smiled and said, "It's ok to have a little crush, Yuna. Just don't do anything you'd regret."

Obediently, Yuna nodded her head. "Yeah, I know but I can't forget about him."

Lulu then patted her friend's head and rose to leave the room. "Ok, but you'd better get ready. We have to be prepared for a the worst when it comes to Sin."

"Right. I'll be out in a minute."

A second later, Yuna found herself alone in her room with her thoughts and contemplated again about what she needed to do. She had to stay focused. She had to think about defeating Sin again. It just didn't make any sense why Sin would reappear in the world when there were no aeons anymore—but that wasn't true anymore was it? Squall had an aeon. He called it Griever. There was something about that winged lion made of fire that bothered her like where did it come from? And was Squall really a summoner too?

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Once Yuna got outside she saw that Wakka, Squall and Lulu were waiting for hear in the early pre-dawn. It looked like they were set on an early start and that was fine with her. The sooner they dealt with Sin and defeated it the better.

Yuna gave her team a nod and said, "Right, ok lets get going."

She then gave her friends an encouraging smile and began to march out towards the path out of village. She figure the best thing they ought to do is head out where they had last seen Sin and ask what other people had seen to gather clues.

"Wakka, where do you think Sin landed?"

The wild-haired man crossed his arms over his chest and hummed. "Hmmmm…well, I think it landed somewhere near Luca, but I could be wrong. It was pretty dark last night and Sin was flying."

However, then Squall interrupted and said, "It doesn't matter. If we head towards the general direct then we're bound to locate it eventually and if this thing is dangerous than its important that we get there fast."

"Oh, so you're a Mr. Know-it-all now, huh?" replied Wakka.

Squall raised his head and gave Wakka a hard look that made him feel nervous. The scarred stranger seemed pretty intimated when he glared like that, but Wakka was determined not to fold. Though, after a long pause Squall finally relented and turned his head and sighed.

"Whatever. Do what you want. I'll just tag along."

The swordsmen then turned and began to head up the path alone. It wasn't his problem if the three of them weren't professionals. He figured that since this Sin-creature had appeared around the same time he did then, it was probably connected somehow. It couldn't be a coincidence.

"Yeah!" shouted Wakka. "You don't know where you're going. Don't be like that Squall."

The swordsmen didn't turn around. He kept walking and in a rush Yuna ran to catch up with him and quickly matched his pace while the others followed behind. Eventually, the two fell into a companionable silence as they walked through the tall tropical trees and rolling hills.

Yet, as time pass Yuna grew anxious and said, "Oh, uh thank you…for staying with me last night. I'm normally not so scared."

Cautiously, she looked up at Squall and gave him a bright smile though in response the scarred-man frowned. Yuna giggled at his odd reaction.

"What? Is there something on my face?"

Squall turned to look away from her and sighed in exasperation. He answered her while looking ahead and replied, "No. It's just weird that you keep smiling when you're not happy."

Stunned, Yuna paused but then moved to match his stride again and said, "That's because a good friend of mine told me that if I smile than I won't feel sad anymore."

In response, the swordsmen didn't say anything for a long stretch of road and Yuna got the impression he was thinking very deeply—or maybe he really didn't care. Though, out of nowhere he said, "That's…dumb."

"What?"

"That's dumb. You should be honest in how you really feel. You shouldn't pretend to be something you're not or you'll never really smile." Then, Squall stopped and stood rooted in place and looked down at Yuna unexpectedly and said, "You should only smile because your happy, Yuna. Don't smile for anybody else."

Yuna was surprised at how sincere Squall was being that she couldn't help but blush. Though, before she could utter a word he quickly turned and began to continue his walk down the path. Startled, she watched him go and wondered to herself how anybody could behave so serious and grumpy yet be so touching at the same time. It was like Squall was being romantic and didn't even realize.

"Hey, Yuna. Are you alright?" asked Lulu from behind.

"Oh…yes. I'm fine."

Wakka frowned and said, "Huh, you don't look fine. Did that big shot say something to upset you?"

Yuna grinned and replied, "No, actually he gave me some good advice."

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TBC

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Author's Note: Yes, well I'm back. I got some good feedback and I thought, why not. I'll give it another try. I think I have something in the shape of a plot that I outlined, but I'm kind of a Squall/Rinoa fan so I don't know which way the romance will go with this. Though it feels like a Squall/Yuna fic for now. Yet, I would like to add that my main story right now is my Star Wars fic "Match Maker" so I don't know how often I'm be able to update. I typically finish a story in a month, but who knows. Plus, I actually dug up my old cheat guide in order to get the name of the names right. (I can't believe I've been spelling Wakka's name wrong all this time)

Also to my reviewer goidan: Not to be mean or anything, but your spelling makes it hard for me to understand you. Though, thanks for liking my work. I appreciate it.

Please review. Thank you.