21 Nervous Energy
When I woke up the next day, I looked around, confused for a minute, before remembering that we'd made it through the jungle, and we were safe. Well, as safe as we could get. I sat up, looking out over the sea through the broken glass of my window, noting how calm it looked.
I knew we'd be setting sail today, I just hoped Sin wasn't still out there, lurking in the depths, waiting for us. I rose, and made myself as presentable as possible, then left in search of food and water. In the lobby, there was a stash of food in packages, looking like it had only recently been delivered, probably by the crusaders.
I figured they'd be okay with me helping myself, and it looked like there was plenty to go around the whole village, so I dug out a small bag of dried fish and another of dried fruit. Though I was beginning to get tired of Kilika's not-so-delicious food, I knew it was better than going hungry, and soon, we'd be on to the next place, and the next new kinds of food.
I just hoped Luca had a more pleasant diet. As I was eating, Kimahri entered the room, coming to stand next to were I was seated on a lopsided chair. His face momentarily softened, giving me a fatherly look before taking on his usual blank, yet calculating frown.
Soon after I finished, Lulu came out, her eyes scanning the room before she relaxed, and got some rations for herself. Several minutes later, Wakka rose, and also ate. In the next half hour, we all reclined tiredly in the half-broken chairs, watching people come in and out, getting food and supplies. When it had been about thirty five minutes, Wakka let out a loud breath, rising and breaking the long silence. "I think I'm gonna go wake dat boy up."
I half smiled, as Wakka lumbered towards the hallway, just as Tidus stepped out of the doorway nearest to us, rubbing his eyes. When he realized we were all staring at him, he dropped his hands to his sides, offering an attempt at an appeasing smile, then mumbling, "What'd I do this time?" Lulu and I stood, and I led us all to the door.
"Nothing, you just slept in a bit. The ship's probably been ready for the last few days, so they'll be eager to leave." I had forgotten that he hadn't eaten, and wasn't about to leave without food. "Hey! Wait! What about breakfast?!" I glanced back, seeing him looking quite fixedly at the pile of boxes containing sustenance.
"Oh, sorry, we already ate." Wakka gave him a playful punch in the arm, making a half hearted attempt to be cheerful. "We ate, while you was sleep'n." Tidus rubbed his shoulder where Wakka had punched, then grabbing several packets of food and came out the door. "Sorry about that…I'm not used to waking up early after staying up half the night…"
He took in another breath as if to say more, but then thought the better of it. I led the group across the docks, the town already bustling with people, all seeming very busy, probably to keep their minds occupied, so they wouldn't have to spend much time thinking about the most recent tragedy.
When we arrived at the ship, the whole blitz team from Kilika, and ours from Besaid, where already on it, waiting along with a small party of islanders. Word must have gotten around quickly that we had arrived back at the village.
The captain of the ship, a different one than we had arrived on, bowed as we boarded, then pushing the ramp back onto the dock, and waving to a young woman in overalls, who then went below deck. There was a small group of people on the dock bidding us all goodbye, but mostly just passersby, because most of the village was currently working to put the town and their lives back together.
As I wandered around the ship, all of us going our separate ways, I was struck by a fantastic idea. This is the last boat ride on the pilgrimage. I might as well use the time wisely. So, I went below deck, found an empty hammock, and proceeded to get some well needed rest.
When I woke, I felt much stronger, and went quickly on deck, noticing Lulu sleeping in the hammock nearest to mine. She didn't wake, and I didn't bother her. When I left the cabin, I found that it was already dark outside, the stars shining brightly. After a few moments of searching the sparsely populated ship, I found the galley, where there was a mostly empty pot of something which resembled soup, simmering on the stove. T
here was a heavy man sitting snoring in the corner, a dirty ladle hanging limply in his hand. I shook him lightly, and he woke up, his pudgy face changing to a jovial grin. "Well hello there missy. Can ah help ya?" I was startled by his casual manner, but then remembered that my clothing did not reveal my status as summoner, so he didn't know.
I decided to leave it that way, preferring to maintain a friendly ease with people, instead of being constantly ooh and awed at, because of my rank. I smiled back, trying to reflect his jolliness. "Is that soup ready?" He laughed a deep, throaty laugh, and lifted himself to his feet with some difficulty.
"Ah served this two hours 'go! You musta been busy er something, cause the whole ship gathered in tha mess hall!" I followed him over to the pot where he scooped an enormous portion into a bowl which Lulu and I could have shared, and still had some left over, then handing it to me.
I smiled, trying to balance the near-over flowing dish with the rocking current. "Thank you!" He offered me the ladle, grinning. "We don't got any spoons." I smiled, turning it down, even though I couldn't have taken it if I wanted to, too busy keeping the soup from spilling all over me. "Oh, thank you, but I think I'll be fine without one." He turned and began to serve up another portion. "Alrighty then!"
I shuffled out of the room, sipping as I went. The soup was actually much better tasting than it looked, somewhat like tomatoes, except with some exotic seasoning. It warmed my insides, and went down smoothly, filling my empty stomach. After I had finished about a third of the bowl, sitting in the empty mess hall, I could eat no more, so I took it back to the galley, where the cook was slurping down the last remains of the pot.
I felt a little rude, having not finished, but I knew there was no way I would be able to, and I didn't just want to leave it in the mess hall to spill everywhere. He looked up, grinning. "Hey there! Ya want some more?" I offered him the bowl, smiling apologetically. "Thank you, it was good, but I can't eat anymore." "What? Can't eat anymore?" He waved his ladle at me. "Ya need ta get some fat on those bones, missy!"
I looked down at myself, realizing that I had indeed already shrunken during our jungle expedition, but there was nothing I could do about it, and I certainly couldn't eat another bite.
"Thank you for caring, but I'm stuffed." He resigned, taking the bowl while mumbling something about dying of starvation, and then began to eat the rest. I left, in search of someone else to talk to, back to the main deck of the ship. I heard Wakka's voice floating over from the other side of the ship, a pleasant laugh, accompanied by those of the Aurochs. As I rounded the corner, I saw Tidus standing facing the water, his back to me.
He had a blitz ball trapped beneath his foot, a hand on his hip, and was staring hard at the ground. I stood quietly, not sure if I should interrupt, and was actually curious to see if he would do anything. I also noticed that the Aurochs had grown quiet, and Tidus seemed to not have realized they were watching him. After a moment of just standing there, Tidus rolled the ball from beneath his foot, pulled back, and kicked it fiercely against the steps at the stern of the ship. When it came flying back, he kicked it again, hitting the same place, and when it came back for the second time, he leapt in the air, hitting it with his forehead, again striking the stairs and returning. This time he punched it, sending it again against the stairs, and as it came back to him for the last time, he leapt high into the air, higher than one would think is humanly possible, spinning rapidly, and kicking the ball with such power, it flew away, disappearing into the night, so far that I didn't even hear it splash into the sea.
Though it had been years since I'd seen it, I knew exactly what he'd just done. The "Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark Three". Just seeing it once again sparked up the longing for the city Zanarkand, a city where there is laughter, not fear. I felt my jaw going slack from the sheer astonishment seeing the shot brought on, and I hung back as I watched the Aurochs slowly creep up to him from the shadows, in complete awe. Tidus seemed almost surprised at his success, and then he began to laugh, but it was a bitter laugh, something different than happiness. "The best! Yeah RIGHT!" he said sarcastically to no one in particular.
At that moment, the Aurochs were standing right behind him, gazing in silent wonder. He suddenly became aware of their presence, spinning around, completely caught off guard. "W-Whoa! What's dat shot called?!" Wakka burst out. Tidus spent a split second longer than necessary to answer, averting his eyes for a second. "Doesn't have a name." After a second-long pause, he added, "Anyone can do it, if they try!"
I wondered why he'd lied, that it actually did have a name, guessing that he didn't want to speak of his father. I wondered why, but knew I would have to wait on him to open up about it, when he was ready. Wakka handed Tidus another blitz ball. "Show us again, ya?" Tidus took the ball, setting it on the ground as the Aurochs moved away slightly, giving him room. He turned around, walking away from the ball a bit, then noticing me. He looked a bit disconcerted, and I waved smiling, partially from just being nice, and also, I couldn't contain the excitement of seeing the shot again.
He turned back to the ball, scratching the back of his head self consciously before walking up to the ball, and doing the shot again, even more perfectly than the time before. The Aurochs chorused in "Wow!" gave various oohs and ahhs, and proceeded to try the shot. As they all fell over in failed attempts, he left them, meandering over to me.
I clasped my hands behind my back, squeezing them together in an effort to diffuse the jumpy-happy feeling seeing the shot gave me, not wanting to look like an idiot. "That was the Jecht shot!" Surprise registered on his face, than annoyance, and he turned from me, looking out over the sea. "How do you know that?" I followed him over, smiling at the memory, laughing a bit. "Sir Jecht showed it to me when I was a child." I knew talking about his Dad probably wasn't what he wanted to do, but I figured there was no turning back now.
"He called it the 'Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III.'" I mimicked Jecht's voice as best I could, which was not very well, as I said the name, trying not to laugh. Tidus turned facing me, though he didn't look at me. He sighed in irritation. "Stupid name, huh?" He hoisted himself onto the railing. "You know what? There is no mark I, or mark II! My old man said the name Mark III was just something to hook the crowd.
He said they'd come back every night expecting to see Mark I and Mark II." He spat out the names in disgust. "And, they really did come back…I used to…get so mad…" I couldn't hold back a small laugh at this, thinking it was a funny thing to get mad about, and he lowered his head in embarrassment when I did, making me regret it. After a moment of quiet, he looked up, a hard expression on his face and in his eyes. "Is he alive, you think?"
He looked almost as if he dreaded the answer. I though for a second, lowering my own head and shaking it. "I don't know…" Looking back up, I got a new resolve in my voice. "But, Sir Jecht WAS my father's guardian." Tidus interrupted with a truly exasperated voice. "So he's famous here, too?" I nodded. "Yes. So, if anything happened to him, I should think word would get around fast." He leaned forward slightly, resting his chin in his hand, looking intently at me, almost through me.
Curiosity got the best of me, and I asked a question perhaps better left unanswered. "What would you do, if you found him?" He pushed himself off the railing, squinting angrily. "Who knows? I thought he died ten years ago." He walked past me, looking out over the darkened horizon. "I'd probably smack him one!" He made a punching motion in the air, then hanging his head miserably, his voice growing soft. "After everything he put Mom and me through…"
I wondered what it was, but I stayed silent, letting him vent his emotions. "And because he was famous, I was always…" He turned around, gesturing at me. "Well, you should know, Yuna. Your father's famous, too. Everyone in Spira knows him, right? Ain't it tough?" I wasn't exactly sure what he was getting at, so I just carefully spoke, without saying too much. "It is hard…to follow in his footsteps, as a summoner…but, the honor of having a father like him surpasses all that, I think."
Tidus scoffed, but there was more pain behind his expression than he was trying let on. "Well, there wasn't much to honer about my old man, that's for sure." I was shocked at his lack of respect, and I reprimanded him for it before I gave myself a chance to consider the fact that he knew much more than I did, about Jecht. "You shouldn't say that about your father!" He frowned pointing to himself. "I got the right!"
Deciding that I couldn't change his opinion, I simply relented. "I guess you do…" At that point, a blitz ball hit Tidus in the shoulder, and Wakka called out, "Hey! Show me that move again!" Tidus went over, and spent the next hour coaching the pitiful blitzers on how to do the Jecht Shot, but none of them succeeded, or even got anywhere remotely close.
While they were nearing the end, Lulu came out, and stood next to me, her arms crossed. After a moment of uncomfortable silence, she spoke. "Why do you want him as a guardian?" I was a bit startled by her bluntness, though she was always like that, I never quite got used to it. I broke my hour-long gaze from the blitzball practice session, and looked straight at her. "I…well, he-he's Sir Jecht's son…Sir Jecht was one of my father's guardians. He also was from Zanarkand."
I didn't want to talk with her about my longing for a his Zanarkand, though I'd mentioned it before, I wanted to keep it low key, not knowing what she would think of my weakness. "Oh…" She said, her voice trailing off.
She turned her eyes to the blitzers, as I did, just in time to see Wakka take an embarrassing tumble onto the deck. Lulu winced a bit, and stayed quiet. Wakka sat up, but got comfortable, making it clear he didn't intend to stand anytime soon. The other blitzers, and Tidus, soon sat down around him, settling into a noisy but unintelligible conversation, probably about blitzball.
Lulu saw that I didn't want to talk about Tidus anymore, and she gave me a serious gaze before leaving. "It's your privilege, your choice. But I don't like being closed out." She left me to ponder that, heading off in another direction. I turned, leaning on the railing, letting the upper half of my body hang out over the sea, salty air playing through my hair. That's when I noticed, a long way off in the distance, a huge fin, with a harpoon sticking out of it, swimming away from us
TidusxYuna Always
