[Episode 166537] [Episode 166537]The town of Kilika is a little seaport with houses made of wood and straw roofs. It was a nice evening when the sun was slowly vanishing behind the horizon...
The adults were relaxing from their hard day's work, and the children were playing hide and seek, or blitzball.
But fate chose a hard path for the people of Kilika!
At first, it was just a small wind, but very quickly it intensified to a strong storm. Quickly, the parents called their children home... perhaps inside the huts, they were safe...
But this was no normal storm... this was a hurricane, caused by Sin!
When the strong wind currents began to rip apart the roofs, the citizens of the small seaport realized that their life was in grave danger, and they hurried to reach the safe jungle.
Most of them didn't make it!
The hurricane ripped apart the houses. He ripped apart the catwalks over the seawater, and he ripped apart the ships! Those people who didn't fall into the water to drown (or worse) were swept up by the deadly vortex of destruction.
And when Sin's colossal head rose out of the ocean, he contentedly admired his handiwork, while above his head, the air currents formed a spiral made of wooden planks and dead bodies.
A lonely blitzball drifted along the seawater, silently asking itself where his playmates have gone...
----
When the S.S. Liki arrived at Kilika, most of the seaport was destroyed. The houses were ripped apart by some invisible force, and although the surviving people managed to restore most of the destroyed catwalks, there still was much, much work to do until the little town someday will look like it does for half an hour...
When Yuna and her escorts disembarked from the ship, they were greeted by some of the older townspeople.
"Greetings," she said. "I am the summoner Yuna from the island of Besaid! Please, if there is no other summoner present, let me perform the sending!"
"Thanks be to ye," an old man answered.
"Our loved ones... we feared they would become fiends," his wife added.
"Please, take me to them," Yuna requested, and the townspeople lead her to the place where the lifeless bodies of the people were, that did not survive Sin's assault.
"What's a sending?" Tidus asked curiously. "Are we going somewhere?"
"Hey, that's nothing to joke around, ya?" Wakka frowned. "It's just that the souls of the dead need guidance! If Yuna doesn't perform her sending, they shortly will become fiends that prey on the living. But with her guidance, they will be able to reach the farplane. There they can rest in peace..."
"Must be tough being a summoner," Ranma sighed. Wakka nodded. "Yes, but she chose do do this. All we can do is to protect her. Until the end!"
"The end?" Tidus wanted to know. "What's the end?"
Wakka and the townspeople that were nearby seemed to stare him down.
"Did he say something wrong?" Ranma whispered towards Akane. She shrugged.
Wakka made a stern face. "Until... she defeats Sin!"
Tidus realized his mistake. "Oh..."
"Well, we'll look if we can help the villagers repair everything," Wakka said and called his teammates. "See? Their own team, the Kilika Beasts, are already doing hard work! Let's help them!" They ran off. And indeed, Ranma could see various men working on the repairs of the bridges and houses. They were wearing a similar uniform like the Aurochs, but their color was a dark green.
Tidus looked down. "I must have sounded like a biiiig idiot," he said.
"Hey, you didn't know, right?" Akane comforted him. "And besides, we're in the same boat. You just said it a little sooner than one of us!"
Ranma wanted to say something, but then he saw someone he didn't expect to meet here. "U... Ucchan!"
The okonomiyaki chef looked up from her work, then she dropped the hammer in surprise. She stood up and ran towards them.
When they met, she threw herself around Ranma's neck. "Whoa there," he shouted in surprise.
"Ranchan," she sobbed. "All these people... all these adults, children and old people... dead... They're all dead! And I... I couldn't save them!" She cried into Ranma's shoulder. "Some martial artist I am... Not even able to protect them from some... some... overgrown koi carp!" She let her tears flow freely.
"Hey, it's all right, Ucchan," Ranma comforted here. "It's all right, we're here... We'll find a way to beat that thing, I promise!"
Under normal circumstances, Akane would have boiled at the sight of Ukyo hanging around Ranma's body, and him, patting her on the head, his arms hugging her tight.
But this... this was a totally different situation they all were used to. In Nerima, there were fights going on almost every day, but... they were rarely more than just brawls between rivals and... and jealous fiancees. She gulped. But in Spira... death was the only daily thing...
So she did the only right thing: She went towards the two and embraced them in an additional hug. Ranma seemed surprised, but Ukyo only weeped and included Akane in her embrace...
----
After a few minutes, they were all sitting on one of the restored catwalks and watched Yuna while she was doing her sending. It was certainly some sight to behold, but at the same time, very sad...
Yuna was walking barefoot on the silent waters, the decorated coffins of the victims floating underneath her. She swung around her rod and began to dance. It was a slow dance, and Yuna was putting a lot of emotion in it. Then, a magical spout of water rose her into the air, where she continued to dance. Out of the coffins, pyreflies floated through the water, then through the air. These were the souls of the departed, which Yuna was trying to guide to the farplane...
"When I was separated from Akane and Kasumi," Ukyo told her friends. "I was afraid that they wouldn't made it. I was floating around the sea for a long time. The next day, I could see the outline of the coast. I used my last ounce of strength to finally reach Kilika. The people here were very nice. They gave me food and a place to stay, until I felt better. When I told them I was looking for my friends, they suggested going to Luca - I guess that's what happened to you, too, huh? Well, I was very grateful and I was thinking for a way of making it up to them... Then, their blitzball team watched me practice my okonomiyaki style of martial arts. They were so impressed by my performance that they asked me to play in their team. I was grateful, so I accepted, at least for this tournament. I learned the moves and rules pretty quickly, and I managed to develop my own blitzball style."
And indeed, Ukyo was wearing a female version of the uniform of the Kilika Beasts. Ranma smiled. "Looks like we're going to be rivals in the tournament, Ucchan!"
She returned the smile. "Yeah, I guess. But although I can't forgive myself for not being able to protect those that helped me before - I'm still glad that I survived Sin's attack, to see all of you again. I think I would even be glad to see Shampoo's face."
"Yeah, she's the last one we still couldn't find," Ranma nodded.
"Really?" Ukyo wondered. "What about Nabiki? Or Ry... um, um... I mean... I reeeaally wonder where she could be... Nabiki, I mean!"
"I met her recently," Ranma told her. "On some Al Bhed ship. I guess she's still with them."
"Hmm," Ukyo thought. "From what I heard, the Al Bhed are supposed to be a bunch of crude outlaws that are violating the laws of Spira's religion..."
Ranma sighed. "Ukyo, I met them! And you can believe me when I say: They aren't that bad! I guess they just have their reasons not to follow the path of this 'Yevon'. I got to know a girl, Rikku... And she's a really nice person, a fun girl to have around you, know what I mean?"
"I guess you're right..." she murmured.
And silently, they continued to watch Yuna's dancing...
See other episodes by Shritistrang
(Posted Fri, 14 Jul 2006 14:38)
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