A New Story

Life had not been easy without him for a while. Without Tidus.

As soon as the two of them had finally gotten closer together, he vanished just like that… Or at least, that was how it felt like to her. The blond-haired boy hadn't been around long, yet it was hard to imagine Spira without him anymore.

But the more she thought about it, the more Yuna came to realize that Spira had changed… and now, though Tidus himself was gone, there was more of Tidus in every person.

There was actual hope and renewed vigor for life – a long, healthy life. Life without fear of the inevitable destruction that Sin wrought upon Spira. Life without the deeply ingrained belief that the constant grief and sorrow was just what everyone around her deserved.

It was funny thinking that she had once believed these things herself.

Blitzball wasn't merely a distraction anymore or something that the masses got into in order to forget how doomed they all were – even if it was for just a little while. It had grown into the sport people simply played to have fun like it always should have been.

A summoner's pilgrimage no longer ended in certain death, but it was a path to maturity and knowledge and a way to learn more about oneself and grow stronger while protecting the continent from the potential emergence of fiends. Thanks to Sin's defeat, however, the danger of fiends, although still present, was far smaller than it used to be. Blind faith and false hope in Yevon was no more, replaced by faith in this new chapter of humanity.

Prosperity awaited the cities of Spira and its people. Thanks to the Al Bhed's expertise in machina and the fact that they were no longer ostracized from society, but steadily accepted, technology thrived, and so did people's overall well-being and health.

The future was brighter for Spira than it ever had been. By all accounts, Yuna should have been happy. She eventually grew to be, but it took her a long time.

For the longest while, Yuna could not stop thinking about Tidus. She would visit him in the Farplane, but that hadn't been enough. She wanted to hold, caress and kiss him again. She wanted to relive that day in Macalania once more, but this time for even longer.

Sometimes, Yuna would catch herself thinking if she would be happier if the two of them had simply hidden and run away from Sin to spend as much time as they could together... and then immediately perished the thought. Despite knowing that their happiness together would be very brief, she just couldn't stop the thought from crossing her mind.

But in time, Yuna fell in love again. She got to experience what she couldn't with Tidus. She had a family and grew to see her daughter become a professional Blitzball player who quickly became almost as good as Wakka had been in his prime only in her teens. Parents seeing their children grow for as long as she had used to be a rarity.

Though Tidus would always hold a special place in her heart, Yuna could move on with a smile and wipe away the tears. She knew that was what he would want, despite how difficult it had proven to be.

Because now… Yuna still had life ahead of her. Life she could spend with her family and friends. There was more to experience, more to learn and more to savor.

"This… is my new story," she said to herself, softly smiling at a fond memory.

Author's Note: I love Final Fantasy X and I just felt like writing this short ficlet. Hope you've enjoyed it!