FIC: Crooked Wings -- FFX-- Chapter 3 -- T

[batsutousai]

Title: Crooked Wings
Author: Batsutousai
Beta: Shara Lunison
Rating: T
Pairings: Tidus/Seymour
Warnings: AU, major canon-fuckery
Summary: On that fateful day when Yunalesca faced Sin, only part of her died, and the part that stayed alive finds itself in Spira a thousand years later.

-0-
Sometimes Good-Bye is a Second Chance
-0-

"It's going to be strange, not playing blitzball," Tidus commented the next morning as they drew into the Luca harbour.

Gina glanced at him. "Did you want to play?"

Tidus shrugged. "Who would I play with?"

"There are three teams on this boat, Tidus. You've got five minutes to ask around," Gina replied drily.

Tidus grinned and glanced back at where said three teams were glaring at each other across the deck. "Nah. Don't really want to get in the middle of all that. They're all three full-up for players, anyway." He returned his attention to his summoner. "I've been playing blitzball for years. I can sit one game out."

"If you're sure," Gina replied, sounding uncertain. "You're the one who's decided to 'live for the moment'."

"I've played blitzball. I'd rather have more time to try new things."

Rikku dashed up next to them and practically went flying over the railing. Tidus grabbed her belt at the last minute and pulled her back onto the boat, earning him a grin. "So, are we staying for the game?" the excitable Al Bhed asked. "Or are we straight on to Djose?"

Gina shrugged and glanced over at her two younger companions. "I don't care either way. If you two want to stay, we can."

Tidus grinned at Rikku. "I dunno, how do they play?"

Rikku bounced on the balls of her feet a bit. "The Goers are the reigning champions; they're jerks. The Aurochs always lose. Everyone else is okay." She grinned a bit wider. "The Al Bhed Psyches are pretty good, considering they come from a desert island."

"Do you know anyone on the Psyches?" Tidus asked.

Rikku shrugged. "Sure. My father's the leader of the Al Bhed, so I know all of the guys on the team. They're pretty cool, but they're all a bit stuck-up about blitzball." She eyed Tidus a bit suspiciously. "Most blitzball players are actually a bit stuck-up, now that I think about it."

Tidus let out a nervous laugh and rubbed the back of his head. "Sorry," he said. On their walk around Kilika, he'd geeked out about blitzball a bit and got a bit snobby when she didn't seem to care much for the game.

Gina shook her head and watched as the dock they were to stop at closed in. "Stay or go, kids?"

"Stop calling me a kid!" Tidus complained, making Rikku giggle.

Gina raised an eyebrow at the elder of her two guardians in response.

Tidus huffed. "Just for that, we're staying."

Rikku giggled some more and Gina rolled her eyes. "Very well. Rikku, will you be wanting to speak with the Psyches?"

Rikku forced herself to calm down a bit and nodded. "Should," she admitted. "Let Pops know I'll be travelling on my own for a bit."

"And that you survived Sin," Tidus agreed.

Rikku grimaced. "Oh. Yeah."

They all grabbed for the railing as the boat shuttered to a stop, then climbed off with the other two summoner groups. As they watched the teams disembark, Yuna and her two guardians approached; the third one was with his team still.

"Are you staying for the games?" Yuna asked.

"It seems we will be," Gina allowed, glancing sideways at Tidus, who grinned. "I assume you will be remaining, Lady Yuna?"

Yuna nodded. "Oh, yes. Wakka wants to play this one last game, so we'll stay until the end of the tournament. You're welcome to join us, if you'd like?"

Gina smiled. "I think I would enjoy having someone to talk to while Tidus goes mad."

"I'm not going to go mad!" Tidus snapped, scowling.

Gina smiled innocently at him and he huffed while Yuna and Rikku giggled.

Wakka and the Aurochs had just joined them when a number of excited people ran by, going on about Maester Mika's boat docking. The Maesters were something Tidus had learned about on Kilika and shared with Gina the evening before on the boat, so both had an idea what was going on. They also both understood that they should probably head over to see the old maester, since Gina was a summoner.

The two summoner parties made their way over to dock three together. Yuna's party had some excited words about seeing the maester, but Gina's party were all silent, Gina and Tidus drawing closer to Rikku protectively. The Al Bhed, for her part, looked nervous, but didn't make any moves to leave and avoid seeing and being seen by the maester.

At dock three, everyone crowded together to watch the small party from Bevelle disembark. First off the boat was the half-guado, Seymour, and Tidus found himself unable to look away from the man. Seymour was...sort of pretty. He looked like a guy, sure, but the way he moved was almost feminine, more so with the long hair and him wearing a robe. And when Seymour spoke, it was with a gentle voice, like someone who wasn't used to speaking much.

Before Seymour left, he looked straight at Yuna, making the younger summoner gasp. An ugly beast flared in Tidus' stomach and he wasn't quite sure why. He was saved from having to figure it out when Wakka loudly called for one last meeting.

"Let's go find seats," Lulu, one of Yuna's guardians, suggested as Wakka led the Aurochs away.

"Preferably before all the die-hard fans start flooding the area," Gina agreed drily. As they started towards the front of the stadium, she turned to Rikku and whispered, "Once we find some seats, why don't you go speak with the Psyches?"

"I could go now," Rikku whispered back.

"Better to wait until you know where we're sitting, so you don't have to search the entire stadium," Gina replied.

Rikku smiled and nodded. "Oh, yeah. Good point."

Gina turned to Tidus next, since the teen was frowning a bit. "What is it?" she asked.

Tidus shook his head. "Not sure," he admitted.

Gina hummed under her breath. "Those maesters gave me the creeps, a bit," she offered. "They reminded me of some of Papa's ministers; so busy climbing to the top that they couldn't care less about the people they step on on the way."

Tidus glanced at her. "If you say so," he replied. "Not really my sort of people to mingle with."

"No," Gina agreed, returning her attention to where Yuna's party had moved ahead, Rikku in tow, "I don't suppose you would."

Once they'd collected their seats and Rikku had hurried off, they found themselves surrounded by people intent on meeting Yuna. As both Gina and Tidus had lived famous lives, they were able to mostly ignore the crowds, but it was clear that Lulu and Kimahri, both of whom had spent the last ten years in an island village, weren't quite as comfortable and seemed a little twitchy at the crowds. Yuna, having endured this fame from before Besaid and during brief outings with her friends, was much more comfortable. Of course, the young summoner wasn't concerned with her own safety, since she trusted her guardians to watch her back.

"I understand not having a choice about her fame, but she's so careless about it," Gina grumbled to Tidus as they dodged an overzealous gawker.

Tidus snorted. "For all she intends to face Sin, she's still a bit young to the dangers of the world."

"Hm. She does have the air of someone who expects only fiends to be a danger to her."

Tidus leaned out of the way of another gawker. "Should we tell them about the Al Bhed, do you think?"

Gina shook her head. "If Rikku wants to tell Yuna, that's her choice. Perhaps getting caught by the Al Bhed will teach her to be a bit more careful."

Rikku slipped into the open chair next to Gina, ducking an elbow. "I love Yuna," she offered, rubbing at her arm, "but I'm not sure I'd want to travel with this. Are we going to have to travel together?"

Gina sighed. "I don't know," she admitted. "I have no need to visit Djose, but the road from here to Zanarkand has few alternate paths. Staying to watch this tournament means we're almost certain to end up together, at least until Djose."

Rikku let out a quiet moan and curled up in her chair.

Tidus looked at them a little helplessly. "We don't have to stay for the game," he offered. "It's not that important."

Rikku looked up over her knees, eyes hopeful. "Really?"

Tidus nodded. "Really. I didn't expect it to be this..." He glanced around them, not sure how to explain how this crowd lacked awareness of those around them. "Crowded, I suppose." He'd seen bigger crowds – waded through them himself, even – but that was no reason to make Rikku suffer through one.

Rikku thought about it, but before she could decide, the announcers called the first game, which was between the Aurochs and the Psyches. She looked down into the water and watched the teams swim out. "Let's...stay," she decided. "We'll see how this game turns out, then leave. The crowd is already thinning, and even if the Aurochs lose and they leave after this game, they'll have good-byes with the team. We can just leave."

"That's acceptable," Gina agreed. "Tidus?"

Tidus shrugged. "One game of blitzball is good enough for me," he replied. "We'll see how bad the Aurochs are, then scoot."

Rikku grinned, mischief returning to her as the crowds thinned. "They're bad enough we might have been better off just scooting before the game."

Tidus rolled his eyes and settled in for what would likely be his last game of blitzball.

-0-

Surprisingly, the Aurochs managed to beat the Psyches, but not by much. However, it meant that Yuna's party would be staying for the finals, so the two summoners and their guardians said their good-byes, wished each other good luck, and Gina, Tidus, and Rikku were on their way.

Once they reached the path over the city, Rikku sat down and let out a relieved breath. Although most people were still in the stadium, there were enough people running around in the city to crowd the through-ways.

Gina smiled at her youngest guardian and leaned against the railing, watching the distant stadium. "No more big cities until Bevelle," she offered.

"No more cities at all," Rikku replied. "The Moonflow and the temples will probably the most crowded places after this, not counting Bevelle. Just us and the open road."

"I'd prefer the cities," Tidus grumbled, resting next to Gina.

Gina smiled at him, understanding, then pushed off from the railing and pulled off her travel bag. "We won't be coming across a place to restock for a while. Check your provisions. I'd rather have to run back down to the city now, then realise somewhere down the road that we're low on potions."

"Potions are for humes," Rikku replied cheerfully, pulling off her own bag and opening it. "I can mix together way more useful things in the same amount of time it would take you to unbury a potion."

"Don't waste gil on potions," Tidus mumbled into his own bag. "Got it."

Gina rolled her eyes. "How about ethers?"

Rikku sighed. "Nope. Those you can buy."

"Why thank you for that, Minister Rikku."

Rikku shot the summoner a quick grin, then closed up her bag. "I'm good. Might need some more food, but there's an Al Bhed rest stop within a few days travel and what I've got will last me until then."

"Is this rest stop any good?" Gina asked, deciding she was sufficiently stocked.

"I've heard so," Rikku replied. "I've never been there, but Rin is a good businessman and all of his shops are of good quality. He always tries to keep them well-stocked with everything he can think of. Not a lot of humes use them, though, since they're run by an Al Bhed."

Gina nodded. "Well, I see no reason to avoid an Al Bhed shop, and it will be nice to sleep in a real bed after a few days on the road." She glanced over at their last companion. "Tidus? Are you okay to leave?"

"Hm?" Tidus glanced over from where he'd been watching the stadium. "Oh! Yeah, I'm pretty good. I might need a couple of things after a couple days, but since there's a shop..." He smiled. "Let's head out, then, before the game ends."

"Good point. This road will flood with people making their way north on foot," Gina agreed.

Tidus helped Rikku to her feet and they all made sure their bags and weapons were settled, then started up the stairs to the highroad.

-0-

Back at the stadium, the Guado set fiends on the watching crowd and Seymour saved them all with Anima. Auron joined Yuna and her party on their way north. A brief questioning told him that Tidus had gone off with another summoner and the unsent quietly cursed Jecht for separating him from the teen when they'd first arrived. If Tidus and Auron had remained together, Auron could have ensured that Tidus travelled with Yuna.

No matter, he decided. We'll catch up soon enough, and Tidus will join us for the familiar face and the questions I can answer. Everything will work out in time.

Little did Auron know that Tidus had found out far more of the truth than Auron would have liked, and the only questions he still had, Auron wasn't quite ready to answer.

-0-

The three travellers weren't overly conspicuous as a summoner and her party, since their summoner didn't carry the well-known staff; there hadn't been a summoner who used a spear since Yunalesca. Despite that, they occasionally met casual travellers who recognised the party for who they were. Those people often had gifts of medicine or food for the party, despite their attempts to refuse the charity.

"It's strange," Gina admitted their second night on the road around their campfire.

"What is?" Tidus asked. Rikku had wandered off to shuffle through the ruins they'd stopped next to for any goodies, and Tidus had been keeping an eye out for her.

"All these people," Gina replied, standing to join her guardian in watching Rikku's precarious exercises. "When I travelled last time, people didn't recognise me as a summoner, and those that did were more inclined to attack me, than give me gifts."

Tidus raised an eyebrow. "Why would they attack you? You were travelling to defeat Sin."

Gina snorted. "It was just after the war," she reminded him. "Summoners were from Zanarkand and meant bad news for the rest of Spira. Sin wasn't such a big deal back then, either. He wasn't much more than a tale passed from traveller to traveller."

Tidus nodded. "Makes sense. But, now, summoners are all the people have. A summoner means a few weeks of relief, not the possibility of an attack."

Gina sighed and nodded. "Yes, I suppose."

They were silent for a long while, watching Rikku whoop as she found some useful stuff.

"It's also strange, hearing my name everywhere," Gina finally added.

"Yunalesca?" Tidus enquired. He didn't remember hearing her birth name since they'd left the ruins they'd woken up on, but he hadn't been with Gina the whole time...

"Yevon," the summoner corrected. "It's my last name, but still..."

Tidus nodded in understanding. "Yeah, that would be odd. People like to praise you a lot." He grinned at her and she rolled her eyes. " 'May Yevon protect you, Lady Summoner,' " he added.

Gina punched his arm lightly, smiling. "Shut up, Tidus."

"On the other hand," Tidus continued, frowning as the thought occurred to him, "it's also a bit ironic. It's like they're asking Sin to protect you. Or, I don't know...praising him." He looked over at Gina's grim expression. "Do they realise they're praying to the very thing which is making their lives hell?"

"I don't believe so, no," Gina replied. "I don't think who Yevon was is even common knowledge, let alone what he is now. Perhaps the maesters know who Yu Yevon was, but whether they know that he's Sin or not..." She shrugged.

"I hope not," Tidus decided. "To work so hard and believe so much in something, only to find out it's the very thing you live in fear of? I don't think I would be able to manage."

Gina's lips quirked with a smile. "Tidus, you're from Zanarkand; the only thing you believe in is blitzball."

Tidus widened his eyes comically. "I know. Can you imagine suddenly finding out that blitzball is the entire reason for Sin? It would devastate all of Spira."

Gina's responding look of horror was equally comic. "What if that is the reason? Papa never was fond of blitzball!"

They continued staring at each other for half a minute, wearing equally horrified looks, before they burst out laughing.

Rikku climbed up between them, grinning. "What has you two in such a good mood?" she asked.

"The idea that Sin is only here because it hates blitzball," Tidus allowed.

Rikku snorted. "It is the only machina allowed by Yevon, and if you believe Yevon's teachings, the use of machina is why Sin is here."

Gina and Tidus traded sharp looks. Sin's creation had been, in part, because Zanarkand was being destroyed by Bevelle's machina.

Rikku started back towards the campfire, commenting, "I'd like to see you getting the Yevonites to believe blitzball is the problem, though. That could be fun to watch."

"And put an end to one of the few joys of life?" Tidus demanded. "Not on your life."

Gina rolled her eyes and turned Tidus back towards the campfire. "I have no intention in breaking anyone's bubble. Let's eat."

"I'm starved!" Rikku agreed, plopping down and reaching into the pot over their fire for some of the stew.

Tidus and Gina joined her and sat back to enjoy her discussing all the things she found.

-0-

They reached Rin's Travel Agency early the next afternoon.

"We can keep going," Gina commented once they'd all restocked, "or we could end here for the day. I'd like to sleep on a real bed for once, but I suspect we've only got about half a day's head start on the blitzball crowd. If we stop, we'll likely find them catching up to us by the morning."

Tidus and Rikku traded looks. Neither of them were used to roughing it like they had been doing, but they were young and plenty able to continue doing so for a while yet, if it came to it. A bed would be nice, but at the expense of dealing with crowds?

"I'm fine either way," Tidus decided. "Rikku?"

Rikku chewed her lower lip and stared around the Al Bhed shop they were in. "I think..." She trailed off and looked down at her new claw, then nodded to herself and looked back up. "Let's stay here tonight. It's an extra day's worth of provisions, and we can always take chocobos in the morning to shorten our journey a bit more, right?"

"Hm. I didn't think about utilising chocobos," Gina admitted.

Tidus coughed. "Not to sound stupid or anything, but... What's a chocobo?"

Rikku blinked in surprise, but Gina offered him a helpless smile. "They're giant birds you can ride. Come on, I'll show you." The summoner led the way outside and showed him to the chocobo corral, Rikku following them. "These are chocobos."

Tidus gave the giant yellow birds an odd look. "O...kay..."

Gina smiled. "They're not so bad."

Rikku poked Tidus' arm. "How can you not know what a chocobo is?" she wondered.

"Momentary stupidity," Gina supplied with an easy smile.

"Hey!"

Rikku giggled and skipped back towards the shop. "I'll get us rooms," she offered. "How many do we want?"

Gina tapped her chin and considered her two guardians. "Might as well get two. If it gets crowded, we can share, but I think we'll all be a bit more comfortable without the opposite sex snoring next to us."

"I don't snore," Tidus griped.

Rikku giggled again and nodded before skipping back into the shop.

Gina smiled at Tidus. "You don't," she agreed, "but I'd still like a night without you right across the fire. No offence, Tidus."

Tidus shrugged. "None taken. I'm sort of tired of having to duck Rikku when I need to take a leak."

Gina chuckled and leaned against the fence of the corral to pet a chocobo that had wandered over. "She adds excitement to the journey," she allowed.

Tidus leaned next to her, cautiously reaching out for another chocobo who'd wandered over. "She does," he agreed. "Uhm, not to pry, but..." He glanced over at her, embarrassed. "How does this journey, with Rikku and me, compare to travelling with Zaon?"

"Travelling with Zaon was warmer," Gina immediately supplied, then chuckled when Tidus flushed. "Oh, stop that. He was my husband, I shared a bedroll with him." She sighed and looked up at the sky. "We'd just come out of a war," she offered, "and a lot of people we loved had died. Neither of us were much inclined toward smiling, especially with fiends and other travellers to worry about." She shook her head and glanced over at Tidus, who was watching her with sad eyes. "I loved Zaon, but travelling with you and Rikku... You two make me laugh, and it makes everything just a little bit easier."

Tidus nodded and looked back at the chocobo, which was butting his head in a plea for more attention. "I'm glad."

Gina smiled. "Me too."

Rikku bounced back over then. "Hey! Rooms paid for. Do you want to go out on the path a bit more and fight some fiends? It'll help other travellers and the training's always good for us."

Tidus pushed off the fence. "Sounds good," he agreed. "No point in wasting the whole day petting the chocobos." One of said birds let out a pitiful sound behind him and he grinned back at it. "Not that there's anything wrong with paying attention to chocobos, it's just not my preferred way to spend my day.

Gina gave the chocobo she'd been petting one last pet and shoved away from the fence. "If we're going to spend tomorrow on chocobos, training today is probably a good idea," she agreed. "Let's go take out some fiends."

-0-

Yuna's party made it to the travel shop just before sunset. Tidus was outside, paying attention to the chocobos, while Gina was napping inside and Rikku was climbing in some ruins just over the ridge. (Gina had told the Al Bhed earlier that she didn't want her going down there, but since Gina was asleep, Rikku had gone anyway. Tidus had shaken his head and decided to not get involved.)

Tidus heard Yuna's party before he saw them; Wakka was loudly complaining about having to stay at an Al Bhed shop and Tidus peeked around the building, commenting, "Better a real bed than the ground, though."

"Oh, hey, Tidus," Wakka called, distracted from his complaining at the sight of the other guardian.

"You three are staying here?" Yuna wondered.

Tidus grinned. "Yeah. We stopped this afternoon and decided on the real beds."

"I'm unsurprised," a familiar voice intoned.

Tidus turned to demand what the speaker meant by that, but froze in surprise when it occurred to him that he hadn't seen the man since Zanarkand. After blinking a few times, he said, "Auron?!"

Auron quirked an eyebrow. "Tidus."

"What are you... How are you..." Tidus shook his head and scowled. "You bastard!"

Yuna and Wakka immediately told Tidus off for his disrespect, but Auron just chuckled and shook his head. "Go on in and get rooms," he told Yuna's group. "Tidus and I should catch up."

"So...you know each other?" Yuna asked, looking curious and young.

"In a manner of speaking," Auron agreed, leading Tidus away to the ridge.

Before Auron could speak, Tidus leaned over the edge of the ridge and waved at Rikku, who grinned up at him. "Hey, Rikku. Yuna and her guardians are here. You'd better get back up before one of them wakes Gina."

"Good point," Rikku agreed. She quickly scaled the ridge, then looked curiously towards Auron, who was watching them with a frown. "Who's tall, dark and grumpy?"

Tidus snickered. "Auron. He helped raise me."

Rikku shrugged. "Huh. Well, I'm gonna go say hi to Yunie."

"I shouldn't be long," Tidus agreed.

Rikku grinned and waved before running into the travel agency.

Tidus turned back towards Auron. "Okay, so... What the hell is going on? How is it possible for us to be in this world, do you know?"

Auron raised an eyebrow at that. " 'This world'?"

Tidus sighed and half-fell to the ground to sit. "The real one? As opposed to Zanarkand the dream?"

Auron looked surprised for a brief moment before he hid it. "Hmm. Sin brought us."

Tidus huffed. "What would Sin care for people in a dream?"

"Sin is Jecht," Auron replied evenly.

Tidus blinked at the man for a long moment, then intoned, "Jecht is dead."

Auron smiled crookedly. "You thought you were the first from the dream to be brought to the real world?" he asked. "Ten years ago, Jecht was brought to this world. He joined Lord Braska and myself on a pilgrimage."

Tidus frowned, working that into his knowledge of the world so far. It seemed possible, since he was here, that his old man could have been brought through and taken the same journey Tidus even now was on. But, then, how could he have become Sin? "Okay," he said, glancing back up at Auron, "I can accept that Jecht came here. But how the hell would he become Sin?"

Auron considered him for a long moment, then shook his head. "Jecht is Sin. That's all you need to know."

Tidus jumped to his feet, furious. "The hell is it! 'Jecht is Sin.' Sure, whatever you say, Auron. Except not! How can a dream become Sin? Yu Yevon is Sin!"

Auron had a bit more trouble controlling his surprise that time. After a long moment of Tidus glaring at him, he managed to master himself and cleared his throat. It appeared that he'd have to explain more to Tidus than he'd originally intended; the boy already knew a surprising amount. "Yu Yevon is Sin," he agreed, "but the armour which protects Yevon is a Final Aeon."

Tidus' eyes blanked as he assimilated that, then his eyes widened in horror. "The Final Aeon... But..." Gina had said she'd sacrificed Zaon to become her 'Final Aeon'. Tidus swallowed. "Braska sacrificed Jecht," he said out loud, seeing but not seeing Auron watch him work through everything. "Jecht became the Final Aeon. They faced Sin and...what?" His eyes focussed on Auron, dark with anger. "Tell me."

Auron considered him. "Jecht destroyed the shell, the last Final Aeon, and Yevon possessed him. He killed Braska, then left to create a new shell using Jecht."

Tidus turned away and stared into the sunset, sick. So, Yevon possessed the Final Aeon and turned it on the summoner.

"I can't describe it. It was like he was torn away from me. We had a bond, and then there was nothing. And Zaon turned to me and... I don't know. I woke in the ruins, with you." Gina had said.

Why isn't Gina dead? Tidus wondered. Was there still enough of her father in there that he couldn't use Zaon to kill her? Then why is she still here now? And younger?

For that matter, why am I here?

"Auron, why did Jecht or Yevon or whatever..." Tidus looked back at his old caretaker. "Why did he bring us here? Why not leave us in the dream?"

"Jecht wants you to destroy him," Auron supplied without hesitation. "He wants you to be the one to end his suffering."

Tidus looked away. "How like him," he whispered. "How so very like him."

Auron shrugged and cleared his throat. "I was surprised to find you travelling with another summoner," he commented.

Tidus frowned at him. "As opposed to who? Yuna?"

Auron nodded. "Yes."

Tidus huffed. "Well, no one told me I was supposed to be travelling with Yuna, and I met Gina first." He gave Auron a slightly suspicious look. "I'm not leaving Gina."

Auron frowned. "You have no interest in travelling with Yuna?"

Tidus waved his hand in front of his face. "Yuna's okay, but I don't know her all that well. Gina and I are friends." He turned back to the setting sun. "Of course, we'll probably end up travelling together from time to time. Rikku and Yuna are cousins, and she's not too bad, I suppose." He shrugged. "But I'm Gina's guardian now. I promised her that back when we first met. Back when we were both alone. I'm not going to leave her on her own just because you or Jecht say I should."

Auron grunted and turned towards the travel agency. "Do whatever you want. I travel with Yuna."

"Good," Tidus decided, turning to grin at Auron's raised eyebrow. "Yuna needs a guardian who's not afraid to tell her she's being stupid. You were always good at letting me know when I was being an idiot; I think you'll do Yuna some good."

Auron's lips, half hidden behind his collar, curled with a smile. "You're always an idiot, Tidus."

Tidus just grinned, more amused than offended.

Auron nodded and made his way inside.

After a few more moments of watching the setting sun, Tidus joined him. The two summoner parties had pulled a couple of tables together and were sharing the evening meal. Everyone seemed in good humour, but as Tidus took the open seat next to Gina, he realised she was tense and eyeing Auron with uncertainty.

"What is it?" Tidus whispered, dishing himself some food.

"The man in red," Gina whispered back, "when he first saw me, he looked a bit like he'd seen an unsent. Even now, he's watching me. I don't like it."

Tidus glanced over at Auron and saw that the man was watching the summoner. Ten years of living with Auron told Tidus the man recognised Gina, somehow, and it worried him. "Auron's completed the pilgrimage before," Tidus offered quietly. "It's possible there's something in Zanarkand that has your face on it?"

Gina poked at her food, frown making her forehead crinkle. "I would feel better if he didn't seem to hate me so much."

Tidus shook his head. "I can ask him about it, if you'd like?"

Gina glanced up at him, relief shining in her eyes. "Please?"

"Sure. I'll ask him after supper."

"Thanks, Tidus."

-0-

The conversation with Auron hadn't gone well. The older guardian seemed determined to keep things to himself, more so now that Tidus wanted answers for things. It was obnoxious.

"All I know is you remind him of someone he met on his travels who betrayed him," Tidus told Gina that evening, while they were sitting on the ridge. Most of the two parties had headed for bed twenty minutes ago, but Tidus insisted that he needed to talk with Gina that night. There wouldn't be many chances to talk alone once they were on the way again, especially since they'd be travelling with Yuna to Djose.

Gina sighed and stared up at the stars. "Well, we'll be travelling together for a couple of days. Maybe he'll decide I'm not so bad."

"You're not bad," Tidus insisted.

Gina smiled at him. "Thanks, Tidus."

Tidus huffed. "Just as long as you don't go calling me a kid again."

Gina chuckled. "I will attempt to refrain."

"Sure you will." Tidus rolled his eyes and stretched out next to her. "Auron told me some other things as well. Before dinner."

Gina sighed. "I get the sense I'm not going to like this."

Tidus grimaced. "No, I'm afraid not," he agreed, then told her about the Final Aeon being turned into Sin's armour.

Gina closed her eyes and took a moment to control her tears. Not only had her father been forced to ravage the world, but she'd cursed Zaon to do the same thing until some other summoner came along and freed him. "We were fools," she whispered.

Tidus shrugged. "You didn't know."

Gina allowed a bitter smile. "Yevon mocks us," she said to the stars.

Tidus snorted. "Yeah, I guess he does."

They lay in silence for a good ten minutes or so before Gina rose to her elbows.

"Thanks, Tidus. For telling me."

"You deserve to know," the teen replied.

Gina inclined her head. "Yeah. Well, I think I'll head in."

"Yeah, suppose we both should." Tidus sighed and forced himself to rise, reaching out to help Gina up once he was standing.

Once Gina was on her feet, she hugged Tidus, surprising him. "I'm sorry. About your father," she offered.

Tidus shrugged. "Thanks."

Gina smiled. "Do you still hate him?" she wondered as they started back towards the building.

Tidus snorted. "Oh, yeah. Always. Becoming a fayth to stop Sin doesn't absolve him of how much of an ass he was to Mom and me."

"Well, at least you've got your priorities in order," Gina decided.

Tidus grinned at her. "Good night, Gina."

"Good night, Tidus."

Chapters:
1 - Otherworld ||| 2 - Neither Friend Nor Foe ||| 3 - Sometimes Good-Bye is a Second Chance
4 - Heaven Sent a Hurricane ||| 5 - My Secrets Become Your Truth ||| 6 - Every Clap of Thunder
7 - Throw Your World Away (For Love) ||| 8 - Poisonous Drugs of Hate ||| 9 - Wisdom, Justice, & Love
10 - Turning on a Dime ||| 11 - Kings and Queens of Promise ||| 12 - Stepped Into a Cruel World
13 - ???
Incomplete

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Comments

[hekelachan.livejournal.com]

I'm starting to enjoy this more than I thought. Must be the Batsy-humor.

I've also realized that as much as I love Auron, from this perspective he can be as much as a "for your own good, do I not disclose information" bastard as Dumbledore.
huh.

[batsutousai]

LOL. Always happy to help. (And, yeah, tsuki_no_suzu had been determined to not have anything to do with this fic and I managed to talk her into being my beta. XD)

Ugh, yeah. Tell me about it. I love the dead guy and all, but when I brought him into this fic, he sort of wrote himself that way. And I was sitting there all, "Auron, no!! I love you! Don't be an ass!!" *sweatdrop* It was sad.