Strange Spirits

Chapter 8

Tidus could not believe that Yuna would sing Squall's song. He was such a jerk. He couldn't understand it. Tidus didn't know what was so special about that guy anyway. He was moody and dark and myst—oh—well, what did women know anyway? Squall was probably nothing, but trouble and as far as Tidus was concerned the sooner they went on their journey and beat Sin then the sooner they could part ways with the scarred stranger.

Tidus tried to ignore the shouts and the cheers from the audience after Yuna's performance, but it did look like she and Rikku pulled off a hit. Then, without warning Wakka firmly grabbed his back and gave him a shake.

"Hey man, wasn't Yuna great? She and Rikku are going to win this singer competition hands down."

"Hey, it was a good song."

Though, before Wakka could say more, Rikku and her gang of songstresses rushed backstage to their friends and way from the cheers. Rikku was practically beaming when she reached Wakka and the others and gave Tidus a hug.

Squealing, she said, "Oh yea! That was amazing! Did you see that crowd go wild? They love us. We are so going to win."

Paine walked back last off the stage as the next contestants prepared for their act and said, "Yeah, I guess, but your pitch was a little off, Rikku."

Rikku untangled herself off Tidus and stuck out her tongue at her friend. "No way! I was great. You agree, right Yunie?"

The former-summoner replied, "Oh—yes. Great. It was great since it was the last minute."

Rikku laughed and hug her cousin and said, "Nah, it was a piece of cake. We're defiantly going to win this Yunie and then we can use the prize money to buy some gear for the trip. But, where did you say you learned that song from again?"

"Oh, I didn't," said Yuna a little shy.

Yuna felt unsure if she should tell Rikku that it was actually Squall's song. It was such a sweat song. It was a lot more up beat than the hymns she learned as a summoner. And secretly the lyrics of Eyes of Me reminded Yuna of Squall's eye. He had such intense blue eyes that seemed to look right through her.

Yuna caught Squall looking at her from the end of the backstage. She quickly told Rikku and the others that she would be right back and rushed passed the other waiting contestants to see him, but he had already left. Puzzled, she thought she saw the end of his cloak glide across the floor near the exit. She decided to go take a look and walked outside into the night air.

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"Wait! Squall!"

The swordsman stopped and Yuna could see him bow his head and slowly turned around to face her. She could still hear the competition in the stadium. Soft, muffled music began to play in the background, but Yuna wasn't paying attention to the song. Instead, she was gazing at Squall and noticed that he seemed uncomfortable. He didn't say anything, but stared at her with his cool blue eyes. Behind him Yuna could see the stars twinkling in the night.

"Squall?"

"What is it? Spit it out."

Nervously, she said, "Squall…why did you leave?"

The swordsman sighed and turned to face away from her and looked up at the night sky. His gaze landed on the moon and a strange feeling of ease came over him. It gave him a little comfort in trying to explain to Yuna his feelings, but sometimes it was even hard for Squall to comprehend his own feelings. He felt so out of place lately that he wasn't sure where to begin.

"Didn't you like the song?"

Yuna's question brought him back from his thoughts and he glanced at her and said, "Yeah, it was my song. It was Eyes on Me."

She slowly walked up to him stared at his profile in the moonlight. "Are you angry with me for using your song?"

"No."

Yuna was relieved and asked, "Then, you didn't like my singing?"

"No."

Yuna was smiled at Squall's short answers and tilted her head to the side in amusement. She inched in closer and asked, "So, you liked it?"

Squall turned to her and noticed that she was standing right next to him. Squall was taken back at Yuna's new outfit. It didn't leave much to the imagination, but on the other hand it sort of suited her. She seemed less shy and more teasing.

Softly, he replied, "Yes. I like it. It was…different."

Yuna gasped. She saw that Squall was actually smiling. He had the gentlest smile she had ever seen on anyone's face. Yuna felt her heart pounding inside her chest. She felt like she should be looking somewhere else—anywhere else besides his face, but she couldn't bring herself to turn away. She knew she had been granted the rare glimpse into something she knew few had ever seen and it was amazing.

However, Squall was confused. He sensed that Yuna was being awfully quiet. His smile slipped away and morphed into a frown.

"Hey? Are you ok?"

"Hmm?"

Squall sighed deeply. He reached up to the tie on his cloak and began to pull it off. He then slide it off his shoulders and tossed it over Yuna's back and covered her head with the hood. Playfully, he yanked the edge of the hood down and blocked her view.

"Hey! Squall, what are you doing?" Yuna pulled the hood back and stared up at him.

"Aren't you cold?"

It was then that Yuna noticed that he did have a point. It was kind of cold at night and especially in the new costume that Rikku gave her. Pleased, Yuna pulled the dark red cloak closer to her body and breathed in Squall's scent and grinned.

"Yeah, a little. Thanks. You know, you're quite the gentleman, Squall."

"Whatever."

In response, Yuna began to giggle. She was starting to get used to her mysterious stranger. Though, a moment later they grew quiet again and continued to gaze up at the stars. Yet, the pair didn't know that they were being watched. Tidus stood behind them in silence and if he didn't like Squall before, he now disliked him without a doubt.

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Meanwhile, far away in an unknown location on Spira was Seifer. The blonde-gunblader marched through the deep snow on some mountaintop and spotted something weird. He saw that there was a body lying in the snow. It didn't look like a hiker or anybody he knew, but the poor sap was stretched out and looked dead.

Mentally, Seifer wondered if there was anything useful he could use on the body. He could really use a map or some supplies and it looked like the geezer wasn't going to miss it. He tentatively made his way though the snow and began to search through his pockets, but he practically didn't have anything on him expect a sword.

"Damn. Can't I get a break?"

"Uh…"

"What? This geezer is alive?"

"Uh…"

Seifer frowned. He didn't like wasting time on the weak, but a nagging voice in his head told him that he should try and help the old man. Also, Seifer figured that at the very least the old man could tell him where he was. He was sick of the mountains and needed to find a way out.

"Well, this better be worth it."

The knight then bent down and picked the man up by throwing him over his shoulder like a dead weight. Seifer hoped he was making the right decision and looked around until he spotted a cave. Seifer then began to march towards the cave and heard the geezer moan again.

"Well, old timer. It's lucky for you that I came along to save you. After all, I am a knight."

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TBC

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Author's Note: Yeah, I'm back from the dead. I hope you like the new chapter. I don't know if this story has a plot. It's a work in progress. Though, I love twists and happy endings. We'll all just have to wait and see.

Please review. Thank you.