Summoner's Will Chapter 1
By Lu
"Ugh......the Moonflow?"
Tidus looked around, a curious smile on his face. He remembered jumping off the airship, and seeing Braska, and Auron, and his father. After that, he poked his head out of the surface of the water to see the Moonflow. There could be no mistake; the pyreflies woke him up. He sighed.
"Yuna, everyone must think I'm gone."
He was gone for a time, about three months, though he did not know that at the time.
"I'm back, in Spira," he laughed as a sudden rush of giddy happiness overtook him. He could hardly believe it.
"I'm back in Spira! Yuna! I'll be there soon!"
He looked around. The moon lilies were swishing in the water, the sun was shining, and Sin was gone. He heard the shoopuf off in the distance. Judging his distance from the shore he guessed he was near the northern shore of the Moonflow.
"Hahaha! Just look how far I have to swim! I'm alive!"
He started out.
***
Walking through the forest, he encountered no fiends. His mind was racing, thinking of a thousand ways of how he could surprise Yuna with his return. Maybe I'll send her a letter, or I'll join a blitzball team and let her see me there, or just show up at her house...
He stopped.
"That's IT!"
***
Politics is a terrible chasm to avoid if one is akin to avoiding speeches, stages, and being a figurehead in general. But it is inevitable after saving the world. Yuna and her friends were now celebrities, and shortly after returning to Besaid the village grew in population tenfold. Larger houses and buildings started popping up like weeds, and the island was now a bustling and happily busy small city. The best of the best lived in penthouses on the water, with large rooms that let in the sunlight and the sunset with large windows.
Yuna of course was no exception. In fact she was the rule. After returning to Besaid, the whole crew was given a penthouse for each of them by the newly-elected mayor. Yuna chose the smallest one she could, though it was not small by any means. It was lofty; the rooms were big yet strewn about with curtains and large couches with large cushions. Her bedroom was fit for a queen, with a queen-size bed to boot.
"Too big for just me..." she had thought when she first saw it.
Yuna sighed and fell back onto her bed to gaze at the ceiling. Today was another day; between yesterday and tomorrow, between the day before yesterday and the day after tomorrow. It was a day just like any other day that would be in Spira: predictable and routine. Such was not the case during the days of Sin. That was probably the thing that stood out the most to Yuna. Nobody worried about what tomorrow would bring. They were excited, no, ecstatic. They couldn't wait.
Today in Besaid was sunny, with a light breeze; birds sang and children played and the sky was blue and spotted with puffy white clouds. No more chaos. Just bliss...and routine.
"Everyone is so happy now that Sin is gone, and I long for the days when it was still around," Yuna got up and went to the window, looking at all the commotion that was Besaid.
"I am not happy. I was happier when there was Sin in the sky. That is wrong. Why did he have to leave? Why did this happen to me? I don't deserve this!"
She screamed. Not for the first time either. Yuna had been subject to fits of anger and frustration at the loss of Tidus. She could not help it. The anger came in surges, quells, and she could do nothing to stop it, so she let it consume her. When she was done screaming she fell to the floor gasping and sobbing, uttering his name. She had always done this alone; if she was seen losing it in public there would be no end to the uproar. This time, Yuna hadn't been so careful.
"Yunie!" Rikku ran over to her crying friend. She made an effort into gathering the brown-haired girl into her arms, trying to soothe her in any way she could.
"Yunie...I know." Rikku tried as hard as she could to control herself. It ate her up inside to see her cousin like this. But she didn't want her to be left alone. That was why she had offered to room with Yuna, at the behest of Wakka and Lulu too. "Family should be close," she had said, and she was right of course.
After a little bit Yuna calmed down, and Rikku let her go.
"I never meant for you to, see me like this," Yuna said between sobs.
Rikku put on a good show of enthusiasm. "This is what family is for! We see you at your best and worst!"
Yuna looked out the window. "I hate it like this...Rikku, it's true, you never really do realize what you have..." Tears flowed freely down her cheeks. Tidus had seen her cry....
"...want me to whip up something to make you rest for a while?"
"...yes, please...."
***
Tidus made his way into Luca. He'd wanted to talk to Rin on the Mi'ihen Highroad, but Rin's absence made Tidus guess he was on Bikanel rebuilding Home. The city looked lively. He didn't get too far before he heard someone talking about summoner Yuna.
"...was a beaut, eh? Too bad though, killed Sin, and still wasn't happy."
Tidus turned around. "Excuse me? Ma'am? What did you say?"
The old woman turned around and looked scrutinizinly at Tidus.
"Uh, were you talking about Yuna?" He stammered.
"Yes I was blondie. What's it to ya?"
"Well, what was she so sad about?"
"Haven't you heard? Her love was killed by Sin."
"That's not true! I'm right here!"
The woman laughed. "I doubt a pretty girl like her would fall for a senseless guy like you. Where ya been? That's old news. But good luck kid."
Heaving a sigh of annoyance, Tidus turned and walked away. He stopped at the new post office. It was time to put his plan into motion. He wrote a note, put it in an envelope and had it mailed expressly to Summoner Yuna of Besaid. It was funny to him, he hadn't noticed any kind of mail system when Sin was here. Perhaps things had gotten more organized.
***
"To Rikku, Rikku, Rikku, how many boys send you letters Rikku? I mean really. Hey, here's one for me, with no name."
The envelope gave no indication of the mysterious sender, and neither did the note. "I have something to tell you, be there soon. Who could this be from?"
"Umm, Kimarhi's at Gagazet, Lulu is in Kilika and Wakka's at his house."
"It's from Luca..."
Rikku bit her lip. Someone was pulling a prank, she could tell. Anger simmered inside her and she fought to keep it down. Didn't anyone realize how much this stupid stuff hurt Yuna? Someone was trying to impersonate the "lost love" of Yuna's. Again. It didn't only hurt Yuna either. Everyone missed Tidus. They were all there when he jumped off the airship. They'd all hurt, but none as acutely as Yuna. She'd suffered alone. And, they all felt she'd suffered enough. She didn't need this!
"Hey! Wanna go to the beach?" She faked eagerness.
Yuna looked up from the letter and smiled. "Sure."
"We'll get Wakka too!"