Only Hope

Prologue- This is my Story

by Yuna

August 2002

Disclaimer: Yuna and all Final Fantasy X characters and the line “This is my story” (hehe) belong to Squaresoft, not me! This is a work of fiction, and is in no way meant to be taken as truth or fact.

Note: This fic and its different chapters will contain many important spoilers and scenes from the entire Final Fantasy X game! Please do not read this unless you have played and finished the game or do not care about being spoiled about the whole game, because it would ruin the story for you!! I will try to mark certain chapters that have extremely important spoilers for you.

Also, Italics represent what Yuna is saying into the spheres as she remembers her journey. The song that I will be using throughout this story is “Only Hope,” by Mandy Moore. Enjoy!

This is my story.

I am Yuna, the daughter of the late high summoner Lord Braska, and a summoner in my own right.

My story may not be that interesting compared to others’ stories, but is truly special to me. I want to record all my memories in these spheres so that they will be saved forever.

It is a story of quiet determination, of a desperate struggle, of stolen promises, of treasured love, of eternal hope, and of broken dreams…   

Our world, Spira, was crying out for forgiveness, for mercy, and for peace. My journey was never easy, to say the least. But, I always wanted it to be a happy one, even if the world around me was drowning in sadness.

And I think it was happy.

Even though some of the things that happened… I…

No. I have no regrets. I don’t think he has either…

Still, sometimes I wonder if it was my destiny for all of this to happen. Was everything merely what was meant to be, what the fates had in store for us? Were we merely acting out the roles that the spirits above wanted us to fulfill?

But… I don’t want to believe that.

I don’t want to believe that no matter what I or any of them did, everything would turn out the same. I want to believe that we have a choice in whatever we do, and that no matter how relevant or irrelevant our decisions may be, they all have their own power to change our futures.

I want to believe that there’s a reason that all of us are here, a reason that all of us have our own distinct personalities, our own personal morals, our own wills.

I guess I want to believe in people.

And I do… And I have.

I have met so many wonderful people, people who have shown me the strength and compassion that I needed to become a strong person. All of them gave me their courage, their trust, and their love to believe in.

I am so glad that I knew all of them. I felt like I could do anything with my friends beside me…  Sir Auron, Kimahri, Lulu, Rikku, Wakka…

And Tidus… I still don’t understand how one person could have changed me so much… He opened my eyes to so many sights, he opened my soul to so many dreams, and he opened my heart to so many feelings…

He touched my heart in a way that no one ever has before, and that no one ever will.

I’ll never forget any of them, or what they’ve done for me.

I’ve always had a reason to live, a purpose to achieve. I would defeat Sin, even if it only delayed the inevitable, for it would come back again. I would defeat it, even though it would cost me my life…

I never questioned my destiny. I knew what I must do, and the prices I must pay. Everything was simple to me, for I had one purpose to fulfill, and I needn’t question anything else.

But because of my friends, I had more than just a goal to accomplish. They gave me the greatest gift of all…

Hope.

Hope that maybe Sin wouldn’t come back again-- that the seemingly endless cycle of chaos and calm that consumes Spira would finally be broken. Hope that maybe I would live to see the world that I love flourish for years and years to come. Hope that all of us would be able to see a truly peaceful Spira together…

I allowed this quiet place in my heart to believe in those hopes, even as incredible and far-fetched as they were.

Maybe that’s the one thing that I’ve learned most of all from my journey. That no matter how sharply the pain wounds you, or how deeply the sorrow embraces you …

We can never be broken…

As long as we have hope.

Because in the end, in the beginning, and in the present…

There is only hope.

Now I will begin my story, even though it might be far from over… After all, who knows what the future may bring?

So please, remember all the ones you love, as I remember the ones I loved with all my heart…

~To be continued…~