Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Dreams Come True ❯ Inhibitions ( Chapter 16 )

Wakka sat compliantly on the only surface available for sitting: the metal floor. Rikku trailed

close at his side, silently noting the rigid tension in her brother's posture. He was silent, which wasn't unusual, but he was never tense. Something had happened, and she'd missed it...

"It is fairly simple." Bahamut began, turning to face Jecht. "You. You will act as a lure."

"Told you I'd be bait," he grumbled to Amia. She was silent, but her hand found his arm, and her expression changed minutely. Tidus knew the expression all too well. Smothered pain. She was good at hiding pain.

But those who looked for it could still find it written clear as day in her eyes.

Why the hell does he have to keep pouring salt on those old wounds...?

"Yu Yevon will be attracted most because to him, mainly because he had claimed him once in the past. He will likely feel that his former host is weakened, and can be easily reclaimed. Which is likely true."

Tidus exhaled a long, tense sigh. "Okay, so Dad'll lure him. Where to? And what happens when he lures Yu Yevon close?"

Bahamut paused just a moment too long.

"You...don't know, do you." Amia's voice was dangerously soft. That was the voice that Tidus had feared during his childhood; one wrong step, one wrong breath and you would be swiftly obliterated. The Beyond-pissed PMS Rampage Extraordinaire Mark XVII, Jecht called it. Tidus remembered that his father had caught it a few times, as well.

"It is all speculation."

Tidus saw Jecht wince in anticipation. Amia jerked up immediately, eyes ablaze.

"That's bullshit! What, you think you can just prance in here with the first idea that comes to mind and throw him out onto the line without one goddamn idea as to what he should do once he gets face-to-face with that...that stupid bubble?!"

Bahamut's eyes remained ever-calm. "Do you have a plan of your own? Or may I finish?"

She stood there, towering over him, quivering in protective rage. Jecht touched her back lightly - that was enough. With a final glare that threatened death, she sat back down.

"I cannot say for sure what will happen once Yu Yevon is lured close. Our best guess would be to have our mages keep up a steady flow of Holy..."

"Whoa, hold on." Tidus cut in fiercely, realization hitting him. "You don't know how to kill him."

"Pyreflies are not invincible. There's simply just no known way to eliminate them."

"So what the hell're we doing this for?" Jecht demanded.

"Because we must do *something!*"

Lulu's expression deepened as she crossed her arms. Her tone surprised Tidus; he had not heard her speak so gently before.

"...Yu Yevon can still possess a living body. At that point, if he were to take control of a body....I think it would be possible to constantly feed a spell such as Holy to the body for such a long period that not only would it kill the individual, but...it would also keep the pyreflies trapped in the spell's field for so long that there's no way they could live."

"Perhaps that would work. One...cannot be sure of the effect that spells have on pyreflies however..."

The biting cold in Lulu's voice returned; it was almost welcome to Tidus, for a sentimental Lulu was somewhat disturbing.

"If it would work, the question would still remain. Who among us would be the one to die?"

There was a long, bitter silence in the room as everyone absorbed that question. After several uncomfortable moments, Yuna was the one to tentatively break it.

"It wouldn't need to be...any of us, in particular, would it...?" Yuna cut in. Tidus lay a hand on her shoulder, keeping carefully quiet.

"Perhaps not. But anyone here would certainly be a host of interest. Yu Yevon may well ignore a normal man...a host such as that is useless. He would seek someone powerful."

Tidus felt Yuna sigh, shiver slightly, and then shake her head. There was something about her in that moment that made it seem like they were all back on their pilgrimage. Something about her demeanor just sort of...saddened. She was always so melancholy, but hid it so well. Yuna was trying to hide it again - but alas, she seemed to have lost her touch a bit. "No, no...we can't do this..."

"We're painfully short on alternatives right now, Maestress."

"It's too much like history repeating itself, choosing a loved one as the Final Summoning, and I refuse...I refuse to." Something in her voice was shaky -- Tidus' arm slipped around her waist in silent consolation. Yuna leaned into the embrace almost invisibly, not daring to look at him. He didn't mind; he'd try to help all he could, but she had to deal with her ghosts on her own. There was little Tidus could do about that. "There was a way around that. There must be another way here, there must."

"Well if there is, nobody's seein' it, ya?"

In a startling display of activity, Kimahri grunted, eyes turning to lock onto Bahamut. "Fayth child tell what keeps pyrefly alive."

"...Nothing, really. They essentially don't *need* anything to survive. Not food, not drink. You cannot drown a pyrefly; they do not require air. It's simply their medium."

"Essentially?"

Tidus scratched the back of his head. "Well...pyreflies can die...but it's always more or less by their own choice..."

"Hmm?" Yuna turned her gaze to him, confused. "How do you...? ....Oh...well...what do you mean, by their own choice?"

"Do you remember...I told you that we never die...well, it's true most of the time. Pyreflies can die...but only once they become at peace, which only a few ever do. It's...sort of like choosing to hit the self-destruct button..."

Yuna just looked disturbed. "That's...terrible!"

"Yeah, well, how do you think we're gonna get our favorite pyrefly to decide that he's cool with everything? I betcha he's an angstful little guy..." piped Rikku.

"Can't exactly give him group therapy though, can we?" Jecht clipped, unamused.

"I do not think that persuading Yu Yevon to surrender his life is a possible course of action."

"Fa yna rana. ...We are...here." Brother called from the pilot's seat, his Spiran choppy and heavily accented. The distant whirring of engines had begun to soften; Brother silenced himself yet again, focusing on the landing. He had gotten quite good at it - Tidus hardly felt more than a very slight lurch when the airship touched down.

A group of Guados were already waiting at the foot of the airship's ramp when Yuna stepped down, the rest of her guardians following closely, and Jecht and Amia trailing last. Nav Guado was the first to approach her - they bowed, shook hands, and exchanged small talk and words of greeting. She patiently introduced Tidus, Jecht, Amia and Bahamut, pointedly overlooking the actual explanation of why they were present. Tidus had to admit that she had the nobility down pat -- she never once faltered in her aristocratic act. He stayed close at her side, silent, watching her move and learning by observation what he should do. Aristocracy and fame were two different things; both, he could tell, required an equal amount of patience. But fame was so...casual. This -- this was stiff and tense and I-hope-all-is-well-with-you-and-by-the-way-did-you-have-a-smooth-journey? and oh-yes,-certainly,-thank-you-very-much-and-I-hope-my-presence-is-not-an-inc onvenience. He didn't care for it at all, but it would have to be dealt with.

She explained to them that she would do her best to attend to the situation at the Farplane. At that, Nav seemed shocked.

"You know about it...? We were planning to ask your aid when you came, but how did you know beforehand, Lady Yuna?"

Yuna shook her head. "That is not important. I do not want anyone else involved. I regret it, but I must attend to this matter before we can commence our discussions..."

Nav bowed slightly. "Of course, Lady Yuna. We are ever grateful for your assistance. All of Guadosalam's services are at your command, Maestress."

"Thank you."

"Shall we escort you to the Farplane, Lady Yuna?"

"No, thank you. I appreciate the gesture, but it is unnecessary. Erh...I do ask that you go and make sure no one is present when we arrive..."

Nav, again, looked puzzled. "Maestress...at present, no one would dare go near the Farplane if we paid them."

Yuna exchanged a worried look with Tidus. "Is...? No, I'm sorry, never mind...Bahamut?" In response, the small fayth stepped smoothly up to Yuna's side, face deliberately wiped blank. That frightened her more than anything. If it was bad enough that he had to adopt his expressionless façade...well, he obviously realized something that she didn't. That frightened her too.

How ironic that your face says most when you mean it to say least, child...

"Let's go."

And so they did; the small cluster of Yuna's guardians had turned into a veritable swarm, but no one paid mind any longer.

Funny, Yuna thought, that I was the last summoner. And now that Sin is gone, the customs and precepts that summoners are expected to obey are virtually nonexistent.

No one spoke as they approached the Farplane, but Yuna mused that the tension in the air could have been sliced with a knife. Bahamut's motions were stiff, controlled; Tidus' hand clenched hers with an almost uncomfortably firm grip.

Yuna and her party had just reached the entry to the cavern when the fayth stopped abruptly, body instantly stiff as steel. She bent her head to look at him, frowning.

"Bahamut...?"

His eyes were wide; his voice, shockingly meek, startlingly small. Like a plea, servant to master. She didn't understand him; what he uttered was in the language of Zanarkand. And as quickly as he froze, he barked another unintelligible phrase - almost certainly an expletive - and bolted forward, up the long stairway to the Farplane.

Jecht in turn swore and ran after him. Tidus moved to do the same, but Yuna grabbed his arm swiftly. "What's wrong? What'd he say?"

There was a strangely disturbing, but not unfamiliar, expression on Tidus' face. "...It's not good. Hurry! Let's go!"

And so Yuna let him go, following a few paces behind.

She bounded upwards a few steps, then turned back to look at Amia, who was trailing behind her. "You ought to go back. Wait in the inn; the Guado will welcome you."

"Are you nuts, girl? What do you want me to do, sit in a bedroom and pace and worry like some obsessive housewife while Jecht goes off and gets hurt? I don't think so!"

Yuna found herself growing inexplicably short of patience. "You can't do anything, Amia! Go back. You'll be safe." And as if in afterthought, "Please."

"Where Jecht goes, I go. Period."

Amia said it harshly enough to almost annoy Yuna. But after a moment of thought, she decided to let it go, and so turned silently to continue the path upward.

When Yuna reached the top of the stairs, she was glad that Tidus took her and held her firmly against his side, for she did not know if she could have stood on her own. Everyone was silent with utter shock; even Bahamut, whose back was turned to the Farplane's entrance. He looked right through the group of her guardians.

He said nothing, but his expression said everything.

We're...

Too late?

How...?

How could we be too late...

She wanted to run to the child, embrace him, wipe off those tears of helpless rage on his face; even if he fought her, he would not be alone as he cried, for she knew she would end up weeping alongside him. But then she wanted to grab Tidus' hand and run, take them all away from this place, for Yuna had far too much to lose.

The Farplane was completely devoid of life.

Or death.

Completely. The usual shine and flow of the mass of pyreflies that were resident in the Farplane was entirely gone. Nothing moved. It was dead. As dead as death could be.

Save for him, of course.

And Yuna could see the monster that had caused it all, see his swollen spirit-body drifting in the open air of the Farplane, taunting her. Taunting them all.

Mocking her, because despite all she had lost to him, she was not done losing yet.

Bahamut was trembling now. Numbly, she did advance forward to him, kneeling down and resting her hands on his arms.

"Bahamut..."

"We're too late." He said simply, helplessly. As if he had already lost.

"I know."

"You're shaking."

"You as well."

He said nothing.

Afraid of his silence, Yuna asked, "So what happens now?"

"We wait."

"For what?"

Bahamut lowered his head, and spoke the words that Yuna least wanted to hear.

"For Sin."

"Can't we...do anything?"

"Not anymore."

"So..."

"There has to be something you can do."

Yuna kept her eyes off of Tidus, for the tone in his voice was dangerous. Frightening.

Threatening in a way she'd never even heard from him before.

"I can poison him. Curse him. It will not stop him; it will only buy us time. A month. Maybe two."

"Then do it."

"Isn't there anything more you can do, Bahamut? I'm sure we can find another way, if we have enough time..." Yuna found herself almost begging.

"The poison will slow his transformation into Sin. Once he dons his physical body, there is little I can do."

"But you're an aeon!" Tidus demanded angrily.

For the first time, Bahamut's eyes met Tidus'. "There is nothing I can do to permanently harm him while he's in this form. You would all die of mere exhaustion if you attempted to bring him down with spells now. I can do nothing. You all can do nothing. I cannot summon my aeon form, contrary to what you seem to assume - Yuna is no longer my host. An aeon cannot be summoned if its fayth is without a host."

"Then join with me again! I never minded it, Bahamut..."

"If I could have, I would not have given you a choice, Maestress."

"So what's the excuse now?" snapped Yuna's lover. Wincing inwardly, she turned her head slightly to him.

"Tidus..."

Her voice was soft, and her eyes met his for only a scant moment, but it said enough. Tidus paused, giving the child a dark glare, and almost refused her plea. But then she sighed, long and slow, softly enough so he didn't even hear it but saw it instead, and he came to realize that she too was bearing the brunt of his anger. He could have throttled the child Bahamut without a second thought -- but hurting Yuna?

Unthinkable. Yet somehow he was.

Tidus crossed his arms and, reluctantly, held his tongue.

"The excuse," Bahamut said softly, "is that I am no longer an aeon at all. That you assumed otherwise is not my fault."

"Hey, wait a minute..."

Yuna nodded. "I should have known. I sent you. As an aeon, I mean. Of course you wouldn't be able to become an aeon. That Bahamut is dead, in a sense, yes?"

"Yes. The beast Bahamut and the child Bahamut were inhabited by separate pyreflies. And beasts, save those fiends who were once human, do not reside in the Farplane. They are given immediate release from Spira. So...all that is left is...this."

"So exactly what're we gonna do? Leave a curse hanging over his head and hope we're all still alive by morning?"

"We can no longer do anything besides that. I can slow him down, but not stop him. To stop him, we'll simply have to wait until he takes on a physical form. There is a scant period of time when, summoning the energies needed to create a physical self, the pyrefly and its body-in-the-making are one - it is, perhaps, the only time a pyrefly is actually vulnerable."

"And what if we misjudge the time and he's already throwing this town or that city into chaos?"

"If we miss this chance, then it will have to be done the way that Lady Yuna did it once before. The hard way. Find Sin, kill him. And then we'll simply have to try to get the timing right the next time around."

"It's not like we can sit here for the next six months in paranoia..."

"I understand. I do not require food, drink, or rest - I shall stay and watch. And I will do what I can to slow him down along the way. When it looks as if the time draws near, I will go and tell you."

"Bahamut...."

"Maestress, before you protest, do not forget that this purpose is the sole reason I am here. My life is devoted to this cause. You surely have not forgotten your days as a summoner. You understand."

Silently, thoughtfully, Yuna nodded. "...Yes, I do...it's just, silly as it may sound, I still would like everyone to be happy. To be able to have a reason to smile...and -"

"Maestress."

"Hn?" The tone in his voice was strange to her; directed inward, contemplative.

"You overlook what I am, Lady Yuna. A fayth. We exist to bring peace. And nothing in this world would make us smile more than helping to achieve such a goal."

"That's remarkably valiant of you...but...you've been granted a life for the first time in a millenium, and..."

"And you do not wish me to waste such a thing?"

"I suppose that's the way you could say it," Yuna bowed her head.

"Again, Lady Yuna. This life is hardly being wasted. I am not so selfish as to think that my life matters over everyone else's. And aside from that -- again, this is my duty. A fayth lives to hope. To work, relentlessly, towards the Eternal Calm. We almost have it, Lady Yuna! Almost!" Bahamut was enthusiastic once more, eyes bright with possibility. "You cannot ask us to stop now. That - not denying me the normal existence you are all predestined to have, but that - would be cruelty. We're so close, Yuna. It'll take a little longer than we thought, but we can finish this. For good. There is nothing in existence that would make me so happy. We...we all want to stop this...stop dreaming. All of us. Desperately. We've had more than enough."

Yuna nodded in agreement, slowly, silently, never meeting the fayth's eyes; just absorbing what he had said. "That is...your path, then,"

"Yes. And he," said Bahamut of Tidus, with no particular enthusiasm, "is yours."

She smiled, if just for a moment. "I understand...I just...I need to be alone right now. I...need to think about all of this...we're several days ahead of schedule. I'm sure the Guado will not mind us occupying their inn for that time..."

Lulu understood that as a dismissal, and spoke first. "...Alright. ...You know where to find us, Yuna."

"Thank you," replied the Grand Maestress softly.

"Bahamut?" Lulu called. Wordlessly, he followed. So Yuna listened to their footsteps as they left, and when they were gone, stood up slowly.

She'd known Tidus would stay. And that, she didn't mind. She listened to his soft advance, comforted when his hands came to rest their warmth on her shoulders, and his breath was in her hair. Yuna leaned her back against his chest, sighing deeply.

"...That kid is nothing but trouble." Tidus murmured, and eked a short laugh out of her. "Yuna..."

She turned to face him. He frowned at what he saw, raising a hand to gently wipe away the streaks of moisture on her cheeks. She exhaled shakily in response, and to Tidus' mild surprise, promptly embraced him in something close to a deathgrip.

"Yuna?" He embraced her in return, a slightly perplexed look on his face. Yuna was trembling. She kept her forehead pressed against his shoulder, though, and her arms firmly around his waist.

"I'm...just so glad," Yuna answered, her voice unstable, "that you're here with me now."

Tidus stroked her hair, not quite understanding what she meant. She seemed to gather that, and after a moment, raised her head. "Look at it, Tidus...look at how empty it is."

With a horrified sense of comprehension, he came to realize what she meant.

If Bahamut had waited just a few more days....

If he had waited just that much longer, it could have been him, could have been his own spirit devoured by the abomination that loomed in the distance. He knew she was grieving for all the lives already lost - she knew that each pyrefly was once a life, vibrant in itself. But he also knew that out of all the lives subject to this fate, he was the one dearest to her, and if he had not escaped it...

No wonder she'd been so kind to Bahamut. He couldn't have foreseen how quickly Yevon would consume his fellows, but he had, indeed, spared Tidus' life, and at just the right time.

He enveloped her then in a deathgrip of his own, and he was not sure if the sound she made was a laugh or a sob. "Yuna..."

She did manage a soft chuckle that time, albeit a small one. "Can't you say anything else?"

"Yuna." he smirked.

"Oh, come on."

Tidus touched her cheek, stroking its soft skin with his thumb, eyes not once leaving hers. "I love you."

Yuna smiled, reaching up to kiss him softly. "Much better. Tidus...what's going to happen now? I mean...what're we going to do?"

"Well...we'll have a month or two, I think. At the least. I know you've got your treaties to seal and peace to secure and all that, but whether you like it or not, we're getting married."

Yuna laughed lightly, still sniffling a little. "Okay. And then?"

Tidus stepped back and threw a few punches at the air. "Then we'll kick that jerk Yu Yevon into last year!" He stopped, turned to the Farplane's entrance, and shook his fist. "Y'hear that, punk?! Your days are numbered!"

Yuna giggled, and Tidus found it contagious; he lowered his hand and laughed as well, pulling her close against him with one arm. "See, Yuna? Got you smiling again."

"You always do,"

"Yeah, it's my job!"

"So I see," mused Yuna. "And you do it very well."

"That's good."

"Now all you have to work on is being a little nicer to Bahamut."

Tidus sighed, sheepishly rubbing the back of his neck. "Heh. Guess I owe him one, huh?"

Yuna nodded. "We both do. We all do, really. It may not seem like it, but he's giving up a lot. I'm sure he'd like to live out a normal life. In fact I bet he'd love it. Do you notice how little he complains, for being such a little boy?"

"I still say he's an old guy in kid's clothing."

"Oh, Tidus...come on."

"Well he is! He's got a thousand years' experience behind him. You can't call somebody like that a kid."

"You can't call him an adult, either, Tidus..."

"Well...maybe you're right there."

"All I'm asking is that you give him a little credit. He's helping us. And without him, you wouldn't be here...so I owe him for that. I owe him a great deal..."

"Yeah, good point."

"You owe him an apology as well, Tidus,"

"What? Oh, come on, he has this total vendetta against me! Did you see the way he looked at me? And you want me to apologize?"

"Tidus...you weren't exactly friendly either, you know."

Tidus feigned a sigh and shook his head. "Fine, fine. But I'm only doing it for you..."

"I figured that," Yuna mused, kissing him lightly. "Thank you."

He smiled. "I'm gonna head down and get something to eat. I'm starved. Do you want to come, or d'you want to stay here and think some more?"

Looking away, she sighed, thinking for a moment. "I suppose I'll come with you...the view is a little depressing from here."

"Hm, you're right." Tidus' expression hardened slightly at that. "It'll be alright, Yuna. I promise. It'll all turn out just fine."

She sighed again, nodding. "We can only hope."

"Yuna, if hoping was all you did on your pilgrimage, then there must've been somebody who was awfully pleased with you up there, with all the miracles you got through."

Yuna smiled, if only a little. "Well then. We can do our best, too. Just like Wakka taught us."

"Wakka? Come on. Look at what that motto did for his team."

"It worked for us..."

"Yeah, that's right. Just don't count on it in blitz, though. Heh. Yuna, I promise it'll be alright. We'll make it alright. So don't worry like that..."

"I'm not worried!"

Tidus chuckled, giving her a teasing kiss. "You're not worried, but you're a liar." He stroked her hair. "Don't worry. I promised once, and I'll promise again, a million times. Always. Remember?"

She did smile then, a true smile that lit up her face in that rare, beautiful manner. "No, I completely forgot, Tidus. Why would I bother to remember such a perfect vow?"

He laughed. "Because you're mocking me, that's why!"

Tidus seized her swiftly and ruthlessly tickled her until she shrieked for mercy, laughing too hard to see past the delighted tears in her eyes.

He released her from his grasp only to have her lean right back into his arms, burying her last dying giggles into his shoulder. Tidus chuckled at her happiness, planting a kiss on her shoulder. "Now can we go? I'm still hungry."

"Okay."

With an exaggerated elegance that Yuna took as a mockery of the standards of her stature, he bowed and offered her his arm. Chuckling, she swatted at his elbow and took his hand, instead. He made a show of practically waltzing her back towards the Farplane's entrance, and Yuna merely laughed, not bothering to protest. He was in such moods as these only rarely.

They ate in amiable silence, and it was Tidus who forced the money for the food upon the flustered waiter. Yuna remarked that everyone she met tried to give her things for free. Normality was precious to her, and he knew it -- that was why he forced the money upon their waiter with a pointed glare. He didn't think Yuna had seen, and was grateful.

After lunch, they went to see the leader of the Guado. Yuna explained to Nav the plan that they had come up with, and she was pleased to see he was all too eager to help. Everyone was. It eased her unsettled heart, just a little.

Maybe...

Maybe this is the Eternal Calm, after all...maybe it doesn't have to be a perfect peacetime, like I thought. Troubles are bound to come along.

Yet maybe it's this, simply this -- setting aside fading lines of discrimination to reach out and help someone. Working together for a single goal - being able to give a smile of kinship to those who were once enemies. We're bridging the great trenches that we built between ourselves and others bit by bit...and if we can meet in the middle of that bridge and embrace as brothers, I've found all that I seek for Spira. And I know I'm not alone when I work towards a golden age for this world...

Maybe that's the Eternal Calm.

The Guado were kind enough to let her go on her way after that. They understood - this was difficult on her. So although the three remaining Guado youths found a way to approach her and speak to her without being noticed by their elders, she found that she could relax, just a little. And she found the children - Idd, Zasa, and Yiu - no less than delightful. Fondly, she remembered Adanna, her personal favorite of the Besaid children, and wondered how the young girl was doing.

For once in her life, Yuna had nothing to do. She ended up retiring to her room to take a short but surprisingly much-needed catnap. To her pleasant surprise she woke to find Tidus relaxing beside her, absorbed in some book or another. She smiled - he hadn't joined her in napping, had only gone off to find the others. But it was always wonderful to find him there next to her when she woke.

"How long did I sleep?"

He turned his head to her and stroked her cheek once in greeting. "Hey...you slept for a couple hours. You were out cold,"

"Really? What time is it?"

"Eh, I figure about eight or something."

A small, amused smile crossed her lips. "I missed dinner."

At that, Tidus chuckled. "You're still hungry after all that food?"

"A little."

"Hm, you must've slept it off."

"Maybe. What're you reading?"

"Just a little travelers' guide they had. It's about the Thunder Plains." he grinned. "Some of the advice they give is pathetic."

"Mm? Like what?" Yuna queried, sitting up and moving to his side.

"'Take care in crossing the Thunder Plains, for both the road and the great towers that reside there attract lightning. Keep moving at all times, and make sure to beware of the vicious Qactuar...'? This must've been written before the Qactuars were sealed...but Qactuars, vicious? Jeez. They're harmless. I just thought there were a lot of them back then..."

"They're not harmless, just outmatched. The poor things don't live long enough to do damage around you," Yuna reminded him smugly, poking his ribcage.

"Well, you're right, there...since you're so busy whacking them to pieces before I can!"

"Tidus, you know very well that's a flat-out lie." giggled Yuna. "I can zap almost anything into next week, but I can't whack them senseless. You and Auron were always best at that."

"You've gotten a lot better, y'know."

"Hardly! Besides, how can you expect me to hurt anything with something as weak as a stick?"

Tidus laughed, closing the book and setting it on the nightstand. "Well just wave it around a couple times and everything within a mile suffers Overkill...I tell you, that Holy is some deadly magic."

"That's because I'm a summoner!"

"You were a summoner..."

She considered that. "Yes, and now what am I?"

His blue eyes locked with hers, holding a sincerity that she found a little surprising. "A fantastic leader. Not to mention a wonderful woman...and...one I love more than life,"

In the back of her mind she noticed that he was blushing just the slightest bit, even as she slid her slender fingers around his neck to pull him close for a tender kiss. The most wonderful butterflies danced in her - he wasn't usually so straightforward, but oh, was it lovely when he was.

Their kiss was disappointingly brief - Tidus was the one to stop it, grinning at her in a patentedly mischevious manner.

"What're you up to this time?" asked Yuna, and he laughed.

"Here, get up." Tidus stood up and helped her up as well, taking her hand and heading for the door.

"Huh? Where're we going?"

Tidus turned his head to look back at her, the most delighted smile on his face. "You'll see! It's a surprise. Just come with me."

Yuna nodded, silently wondering what on earth he had planned.

As he led her out of Guadosalam and onto the dark Djose road, lit only by the starry sky above, she knew. She realized exactly where he was taking her, and the butterflies danced all over again.

Then, once we beat Sin, we're coming back...

__________________

Anyone remember *that* quote? ^_~

Announcement:

It's my birthday! Well...it'll be my birthday on the 4th. ^_^;; I'ma be fifteen! Wheeee. I feel...old.

Another Announcement:

In preparation for an upcoming (really big) fanfiction contest in November, I'm going to be focusing all my efforts on DCT. That means more chapters, and sooner - but unfortunately, I have to force myself to ignore my other fics. So no updates for them. But you DCT readers don't mind that much, do you? ^_~

Let me take a moment to be a FF.net traitor, as well. There's another fanfiction site out there that I've become involved with (*FF.net, with the crestfallen expression of a newly replaced lover, sobs and runs out of the room* XD ) called MediaMiner.org. Naturally, the address is http://www.mediaminer.org. =B It's got a decent fanfiction section, but it's just not as widely known as FF.net. And the forum people are really helpful too~! Just, in the introduction forums...beware of the newbie initiators. XD They're quite adamant in their initiations. It's all in fun, though. So if you get smacked with a big-screen TV or an iron sink, don't take it to heart!

^_^ Hehe, the next couple of chapters ought to be really fun...

They may take awhile, though. The next two are going to be very one-shotty...mucho descriptive and stuff. I hope you'll look forward to reading them as much as I'm lookin' forward to writing them ^_^

Jeez. I can't wait to finish DCT. (Then I can start editing my earlier chapters! Ugh, they're horrible!)

A quick music note (no pun intended): I don't know if I mentioned it last chapter, but Song of Mana from Legend of Mana is so the theme for the Rikku/Wakka pairing. :D Random note. Hehe. Lyrics available here. http://www.fflyrics.com/lom.html

I can safely say I'm at about the halfway point, if not past it.....

More to come soon. ^_~

Yet Another Announcement:

Yuna/Tidus lovers rejoice! The next few chapters will be all Yunis, all the time! :D Whoohoo! And major Yunis fluff in the next chapter. >D This one's been in the planning for a long time...*Cackle* In fact, as it stands right now (though it may change...) the next chapter will be *all* Yunis fluff. Rejoice! Celebrate! Party like it's...er...o-O What year is it in Spira?