To Be A Guardian (Yuna) (Complete)

Yuna treaded softly along the cobblestoned streets of the Marketplace, her mind wandering as she let herself be guided by the familiar sights and smells of the town. The recent fine weather had spurred its residents into a flurry of activity; the tang of fresh paint still drifted through the air from a recent renovation. Radiant Garden was firmly pulling itself free from its period of darkness. It was a place for hope, now. And in her eyes that made its shabbier sites of reconstruction all the more beautiful. She couldn't help but wonder; Perhaps more so than before the place was torn into Hollow Bastion?

Shaking herself slightly, Yuna had to remind herself to stay focused. She had actual tasks at hand, and she really couldn't let herself get distracted. First things first - Rikku needed parts. Yuna hadn't been able to make heads or tails of the convoluted mess of component names her friend had listed for her, much less their purpose, but she'd written down the names of most of them. In town she would be very likely to find a Moogle mechanically gifted where she was utterly not.

And when that errand was run, she had a more personal purpose in mind. This one was much more vague, and one she felt she wanted to undertake alone.

A small and familiar something-or-other bobbed in the corner of Yuna's eye. She turned, smiling softly, and made her way up to an open storefront advertising metal goods, at the front of which floated a hologrammed Moogle.

Yuna swung her bag off her shoulder while her left hand searched absentmindedly for munny in her belt pouch. The bag was lightweight and made of simple black leather, but she had embellished it with a thin chain of beads and a single feather. The feather was a strange one to her; it was tawny and slender where a Chocobo's would have been thick yellow fluff. Both it and the bag had been newly acquired since arriving in the Garden.

Almost everything she was wearing right then was, now that she thought about it. She'd sewn her pale, loose blouse and flowing skirt herself. For once the nice weather had coaxed her out of boots and into an elegant pair of sandals. Except for the familiar weight of her belt pouch and the dresspheres within it, she could be almost another person entirely. . .

These troubling thoughts were interrupted by a surge of sounds in the nearby alleyway.

Yuna frowned and peered down the street, puzzled at the commotion. Her eyes widened as she caught a glimpse of a young man shooting by the narrow pass. At the sight of his dark pursuers, however, she sprang instinctively into motion. Throwing her bag onto the Moogle's counter, the fingers of her left hand stopped fumbling for munny and firmly grasped one of the spheres in her belt pouch instead. After extracting it, it took only a few practiced motions with her garment grid to activate her Gunner abilities, and she took off at a sprint down the alley.

As she ran, a few of her strides became little skips as she grasped for the single Tiny Bee pistol in the holster at her thigh. Yuna thanked whatever stars had inspired her to strap at least one of them on that morning.

Moments before she caught up with the young man, though, the Garden's defense mechanism activated, and his assailants were rendered into wisps of darkness. Yuna allowed herself to slow to a walk. "It's all right, they're gone!" She called out.

Once the boy had slowed his flight and was close enough to warrant her normal voice, she spoke again. "Are you all right?"

The running youth skidded to a halt and turned towards her. For a short moment their eyes locked and he was quiet, and Yuna's hand reached forward ever so slightly by an automatic impulse, concerned -

"'Your eyes are beautiful."

Yuna halted her advance, surprised. Then her lips curved into a gentle smile. "Thank you," she replied, heartbeats before blood flooded the young man's cheeks.

And his next words seemed to ring true – he didn’t seem hurt at all, and didn’t even display signs of much exertion. His eye caught on her belt pouch. Following that, his words took a different tone, one that Yuna observed curiously.

Was he. . . apologizing? What in the world for?

In any case, the boy was observant. Though. . . he seemed caught up in the notion that he owed her some small service. Yuna almost tripped over her words, certain she hadn't done anything worthy of it; she was realizing the boy must have known about the Claymores, and he couldn't have been in any real danger.

“Oh! I was hardly being productive anyway. And that is sweet of you –“

Suddenly Yuna had the strange and abrupt impulse to bow, as if her muscles retaining the memory of the old Yevon guesture demanded to be put to use again. Almost immediately she felt her new muscles – the ones built since joining the Gullwings, and honed since leaving Spira – combat the nostalgic pull. Their savagery astonished her.

The feeling came and swept away in a blink of an eye, and it left her shaken. But she remained upright.

“- but I actually only have one bag with me, and I don’t think a few gears will make it too heavy. Really.”

Only a small, nearly imperceptible break marked the disorienting moment. The rest of the sentence trailed flat in her ears. A small sigh. I think I just need some water.

She used to love water.

Yuna shook her head – second time that afternoon, what was up with her? – to focus it. The young man’s proposition did sound inviting. Yuna hadn’t given herself many opportunities to explore the Marketplace, and she would enjoy the company. And perhaps he would have heard of her.

She smiled again, but this time it was more relaxed, almost playful, her eyes bright with the idea. Already her body was turning around, to the point where her next words were almost spoken over her shoulder. “Oh! I’d love for you to join me for a bit, actually, if you'd want to. The Moogles I can handle. There’s just someone I’ve been looking for, and you may actually be a help figuring out who or where she is."

Her fine eyebrows flicked upward slightly as she recognized her lapse in courtesy, and she paused. Luckily the urge to bow was gone. "It's Yuna, by the way - my name.”

"Novi," Yuna tried the name on her tongue. It was pleasant sounding. She laughed with him, and found she was enjoying herself. They meandered their way out of the Garden's back streets. She was following him, entertained by his earnestness.

"Well, that's the thing. . . I haven't the slightest idea if they're common or not. They may not even all be gear parts. I don't even know how to pronounce a few of these, much less know what they are." She shrugged hopelessly. "When we get to my bag I'll show you the list. Maybe you'll recognize something."

As the approached the Moogle front where she had abandoned her bag, Yuna suddenly became conscious of the fact that she was still holding her pistol. Surprised, she moved to surreptitiously stuff it back into the holster at her thigh - and then remembered the accessory disappeared when she changed dresspheres. With a sigh she slipped it onto her belt instead. She disliked having the weapon in Novi's full view. It reminded her of the children before the horrid Operation Mi'ihen. . . sparring in the camp at Mushroom Rock, wielding weapons no child should in an attempt to save Spira. She had danced for their souls afterwards.

"Oh," Yuna said softly, remembering something when they reached her trusty leather carrier. She took it from the counter (a bit grateful nothing had been taken), led the way to a shaded wall a few feet away, extracted the list. "I completely forgot. You won't be able to read this, will you? It's not written with the letters of this world."

The paper was inked in Yuna's dark handwriting, and the familiar symbols were that of casual Spiran script. She had never thought to learn the writing systems in the Garden, since she understood nearly everyone's spoken word just fine.

Her brow creased slightly. "Hm. I guess I can just read it out loud. Gear components A and C, epicyclic gears, crankshaft, iron, spark plugs, um. . . small karborater, scratch that, karberator, . . . solenoid? I don't know, Novi, these really don't seem like things we can get here. Only other time I've been around these types of shops, I was looking for a sprocket, and the guy tried selling me a thunder gem."

Yuna sighed and reclined against the wall. She was starting to toy with the notion of sending Rikku after some of these parts herself. In any case, Yuna was much more interested in finding the flower girl.

She had caught word of a lovely young woman living in the Garden. As the birds told it, she sold beautiful flowers, many of which had begun to line the streets of town as they were renovated. Yuna had been curious towards the rumors of her for a while. And now's a good a time as any to look for her, I suppose. Novi seemed eager enough to help. But if our looking leads us out of the Claymores' range. . . . Who knows to what extent he's learned to protect himself?

 She smiled apologetically, then slung her bag over her shoulder in exasperation. "Uh, not a tank. I think - but, seriously? These things are that clunky?" Oh, I give up. 

Her bag wasn't tiny, really, and it was stronger than it looked, but Novi's reaction indicated even that didn't matter much.

 "I doubt a gummi engineer will help. Rikku's machina is a bit. . . different." And Yuna made no effort to embellish her words. Not only did she have very little understanding herself, but Al Bhed machinery still connotated dislike for her, and even though it no longer held fear she avoided it where she could.

Now that I think about it, Rikku never actually specified the things were going to be small. She sighed mentally. Next time I guess I'll bring a basket or a cart. Hopefully she won't be too upset about not getting it parts today. 

Though a little specificity would have helped.

Yuna recalled the key component her friend was looking for - an orichalcum, the star of whatever spectacle she was working on. It was known around here, and actually something she and Novi would be able to find from a Moogle. Problem was the price. Rikku and her were going to go hunt the thing down after she had returned, rather than waste a perfectly good arm and a leg for something they could fetch themselves. Wonder what world we would look for one on? If the Moogles' multiple digit prices were anything to go by, it wouldn't be an easy find. . .

Caught up in her musings, Yuna didn't catch Novi glancing at her from his peripherals. They were in a temporary stall. She had the strangest feeling something was about to be set into motion, and right then their lives were just in a temporary lull. The sun was growing brighter and warmer every passing minute; it felt nice with the breeze. Novi's company was pleasant.

Yuna addressed him then distractedly, light catching in her lashes as her gaze drifted along the line between marketplace and sky. Her voice was thoughtful. "Mm, Novi? Do you know where those flowers come from? The ones lining the streets - I haven't ever seen any like that growing here."

He probably thought she was speaking nonsense now. Ah well. It really was a lovely day.

Yuna blinked for a few seconds, and then blushed lightly. "Sorry," she shook her head, trying to dispel the warm fuzz and remind herself she just met this boy. "That probably sounded a bit out there -"

But he knew of her - the flower girl! Suddenly all of Yuna's attention was focused on the auburn-haired teen beside her, not too powerfully intent, but he had rekindled her curiosity. He fell silent, however, and Yuna found herself watching him think. He was definitely a thinker, she was starting to understand. Smart for his age. Or. . . maybe not just smart; perhaps he's seen more of the worlds.

Again, as if it was intended, she looked away and did not see him shift his gaze to contemplate her in turn. Her mind was starting to wander, a bit. She found herself questioning herself now. Why on earth do I want to meet this girl so badly? . . . It really is just because those flowers are so beautiful, isn't it? They almost symbolize the Garden's rebirth. I. . . have a feeling she realizes that. I want to meet someone like her.

Before her thoughts could drift too far from her again, though, Novi caught on to that very notion. Yuna's head whipped around.

"I do want to, as a matter of fact!" she smiled, then frowned, but her voice remained playful. "How did you know? I'm not that readable, am I?"

She laughed, nodded at his next words as he stretched, rising from the wall herself and straightening. As she did so she noticed she was still in her Gunner costume. Hmm, she thought. With the Claymores, this really ought not be necessary. "Wait just one second," she said to Novi, and her slim fingers reached for the pouch at her waist.

With a few familiar movements, Yuna successfully unlocked the Gunner sphere from the grid without so much as looking. In a whirl of color she was suddenly sporting the longer, flowing skirt, pale blouse, and sandals of the outfit she had been wearing that morning.

"Much better," she said cheerfully, stretching too.

Her pistol gently grazed her side as she did so. Yuna ignored it. She would slip it into the holster at her thigh when Novi was looking away.

They both began to head down the street. It then occurred to her for the first time that he had mentioned the Committee. The woman was on it, too? Why hadn't Yuna met her before?

"Do you know where we ought to start looking, Novi?" She looked at him curiously, questions suddenly dancing to her tongue. "And what were you doing, anyway, to get those Heartless on your trail?"

In a different part of her life, Yuna would have been embarrassed. She would have blushed lightly and stammered her next couple of polite sentences. As it was, years later, she was smiling from the comfort of her own skin, amused and highly interested in the words tumbling out of her new companion's mouth.

Only problem with the onslaught of queries was that she felt obligated to answer them all. Because she had been caught off guard by his sudden burst in enthusiasm, she was late in her replies, and found herself rushing through her words nearly as much as Novi was. Yuna's voice was naturally softer and lighter, tinged with laughter, his intent with discovery.

"I - oh, it's called a dressphere, see -," she held out one of the faintly glowing orbs. "Huh, totally rare? You could say that, I guess, here, but - um, I put it in this Garment Grid, and depending on which one I've got - that's a good question, I never really stopped to figure out how it worked. You should ask my friend Rikku, she'd know better than I -"

"That must be a form of magic from your home world!"

Her voice faltered at that one, but she recovered quickly. He didn't seem to notice as he continued his entranced study of her clothing. She smiled to herself. The funny thing is, these are my normal clothes - made from cloth I bought here. I'm sure he'd find the materials of my Gunner or Mage outfits much more interesting.

A second later he came to that conclusion himself. Yuna gave up and fell silent, settling on just listening to him talk, fascinated by his observations and marveling at the energy of the teen.

And then he came to his senses and recognized his subconscious invasion of her space, and his words reached another pitch altogether in energy, practically spilling over themselves in an awkward rush. Yuna started laughing. Even as he explained what he was doing in the castle. She couldn't stop.

Suddenly her hand was grabbed by his, and she found herself flying beside him towards the castle. Her breathless laughter echoed through the streets as they sprinted along their cobblestoned lengths.

Eventually they reached a ramshackle courtyard blatantly in construction. The efforts were going along well, however. It seemed the residents were intent on making the renovations just as beautiful, if not more so, than they had been before. A massive pile of whitewashed stones lay nearby. Yuna considered it curiously; were they planning to build a wall? A dam? The Garden still had strange water configurations about areas like the Castle. From what she had heard, they were remains of the mysterious waterworks of Hollow Bastion. Falls had fallen up, then.

They had slowed to a walk. Ambling up to the broken monument, Yuna found herself mulling over the flood of information exchanged a few moments ago, and something occured to her. "You like finding things from other worlds, Novi?" She asked curiously, with the slight feeling she was making a grand understatement. "Have you visited many?"

Yuna watched him with wide eyes. His words had effectively captured her imagination. After joining the Gullwings, she had relished the adventure every new place and world provided, and the emotions its people manipulated within her - but she had never felt as powerfully towards the world itself, its inner workings or its progress. Before the Gullwings. . . she couldn't have afforded to think in either way, assuming she was going to loose it all regardless.

Novi wouldn't give it up for the world.

What does he see?

Curiosity pulled her forward to follow him. His path confused her a bit, but she was able to jump and climb after him without too much physical difficulty. Her sandals' soles weren't as grippy as she would have preferred, but they were well wrapped around her feet and ankles, and didn't slip as she flew after her companion. They were also feather-light; compared to her boots, it was like leaping above the construction site barefoot. There was the small issue of wearing a skirt during this flight, but by the time it occurred to Yuna she didn't particularly care. There wasn't anyone below her. She'd just politely decline if Novi decided to be a gentleman and let her climb a ladder first, or something else of the sort.

Up until then she'd been too focused on the journey upward to remember the view. But when Novi mentioned it, it was all she could do not to swing around herself and steal a peek before she got to the top. When she reached the place Novi had called to her she refused to look, her jaw set, and continued upward. I'll save it, she thought to herself with determination.

At one point, high up, the various struts, rigs, supports, and catwalks ran out, and she reached a pale balcony part of the castle itself. The rail was above her head, and a small gap separated her from the wall. Novi was out of sight, but she assumed he'd gone over it - it was the only place to go. She shut her eyes briefly.

Then, she opened them, and jumped. He hands grasped the edge firmly. Her foot found friction as it hit the wall and gave her the boost to get her elbow over the rail, then her abdomen. . . and she swung over to land on her feet.

"Oooh man," she exclaimed the moment she felt solid ground under her feet. She was exhilarated, flooded with adrenaline. "Oookay, let's wait a bit before going back down, yes? Oh, I suppose I can - " Look now.

Her voice trailed off. Her impatient eyes had beat her to it.

It poured out in front of her, the whole, beautifully small city. . . the crystal ravines and the Great Maw. . . the crumbling, darkness-strewn remains of the Villian's Vale. . . a brilliant red horizon, the sun plunging downward, painting the lower sky rose even though it was early afternoon.

It took her a good couple of minutes before she spoke. It wasn't that she was entirely struck dumb; she just didn't want to be distracted from the sight by conversation. Eventually, though, her excess adrenaline won out, though her voice couldn't tear her eyes from the skyline.

"It's beautiful." Her forearms rested on the balcony edge, chin on the backs of her interlocked fingers. Her voice had adopted a contented hush, though her energy spike still caused the words to spill out much too incoherently. "Novi, you talk like that - about the worlds - with such familiarity. Can you tell me about another place where you've seen something like this?"