Chapter 6 - Chapter Five-"The Wino"

“Off to Luca at last! The match starts soon as we get there, so rest up on the way, ya?” Wakka smiled, walking away from Tidus, leaving him alone on the deck of the S.S. Wino. Tidus looked around the crowded deck, spotting Yuna, surrounded by those blitzball creeps from Kilika, he slowly made his way over, leaning against the railing, he smiled to Yuna, and then looked to the guys. “What are you all talking about?” One of the men, whose name turned out to be Bickson, Tidus found out by Yuna pointing to him and mouthing his name, spoke up, “Who are you supposed to be?” the other guy, whose name was Graav (thanks Yuna), spoke up next, “Ah, I remember him. Guy from Kilika.”
Bickson looked over to his friend, “Hmm?” Graav laughed, “You know, one of the Besaid Aurochs, said somethin’ about winning the cup.” Bickson grinned, looking to Tidus, “Oh! Right, you’re the idiot.”

Yunas mouth dropped and she slapped Bicksons’ arm, “Don’t call him that!” Bickson rubbed his arm, looking to Yuna, “But he is an idiot, they don’t got what it takes to win the cup.” Tidus stepped up, crossing his arms, “Well, they do now that I’m here.” Yuna grinned, nodding, “Yes, the will win! He used to be the star player of the Zanarkand Abes!” Graav chuckled, looking to Yuna, “Yeah, as if anyone lived in those ruins.” Yuna gasped, shaking her head, “It’s not ruins, there’s a big city there!” Tidus looked at Yuna, his eyes big, he shook his head behind the back of the players, She looked to him, “There is!” The two men turned and looked to Tidus, “I-I got to close to Sin and-“ Yuna stepped to him, turning, she looked to the men, “There is a city! Really!” Bickson arched a brow, “Right, whatever your Ladyship says.” They turned and walked away, Yuna followed them, in pursuit of making them believe.

Tidus, left alone, turned and walked towards the stairs that led up to the upper deck, he climbed up them slowly, hearing voices, he sat on the stairs and listened to his two friends. “Well?” Lulu crossed her arms as Wakka sat down on the deck, he groaned, “Say something, you’ll take responsibility?” Wakka groaned again, “Relax! He’s bound to know someone in Luca.” Lulu growled resiliently, “And if not?” Wakka sighed, shaking his head, “He could always join a blitz team. Anyhow, its better than just leaving him in Besaid!” Lulu laughed, shaking her head, “What? Just leaving him in Luca?” Wakka sighed again, grumbling, “What do you want me to do?”

“Yuna wants to make him a guardian.” Lulu stepped towards Wakka, “Oh yeah, geez…there’s that too, eh?” Lulu nodded, “And whose fault is that?” Wakka jumped up, pointing to Lulu, “Not mine!” Lulu growled again, “It is mine, huh?” She nodded. “Why do you think she wants to make him a Guardian anyway?” Lulu sighed, “Because he’s Sir Jechts’ son.” Wakka nodded, “Oh…right…” Then he looked down, then back to Lulu, “You sure ‘bout that? He’s really Sir Jecht’s son?” Lulu shrugged, “It’s hard to say, but Yuna seems to believe so.” Wakka nodded, “Okay” Lulu threw up her arms, letting them drop right down, she growled again, “‘Okay’? ‘Okay’?! That’s all you have to say?”

“Well, yeah, I mean…he’s gotta decide for himself, ya? Well, him and Yuna, I guess.” Lulu nodded, smiling, “You’re right, for once.” Wakka scowled, “Ahem!” Lulu frowned, looking down, “I wonder which is best.” Wakka sat back down, looking up to Lulu, she looked back down, “Why don’t you tell him he should?” Wakka got a confused look on his face, “Should what?” Lulu sighed, rubbing her left temple, “Become Yuna’s Guardian.” Wakka blanched, “Why me?”, Lulu crossed her arms, looking at him with her angry stare, “Because Yuna can’t!” Wakka crossed his own arms, “Why not?” Lulu shook her head, “He hates his father-what he was, what he did. Do you really think she can possibly say to him ‘I want you to be my Guardian, like your father was to mine.’?”

“Aren’t you being over sensitive?” Lulu growls again, turning her back to Wakka, “Alright, alright, I’ll try talking to him after the tournament.” She turned back to him, her eyes full of caution, “Be discreet.” Wakka nods, “I know, its his decision.” Wakka sighed, looking to the sky, “He doesn’t like his father?” Lulu shook her head, “Apparently, he told Yuna as much.” Wakka sighed, “Hating your own father, huh? Sounds like a luxury to me. I don’t remember my parents. Can’t say I feel about ‘em.” Lulu nodded, looking down to the wooden floor, “I…I was five then, so I remember mine a little.” Wakka jumped up, angrily, “Damn it! Sin just takes everything away from us!”

Tidus walked up the rest of the way, he walked past Lulu to Wakka, Wakka looked to his face, smiling, “Go to bed, bud. Tournament starts tomorrow morning.” Tidus nodded and turned, heading for the stairs, Wakka called out to him, “Someone’s bound to recognize you when they see your moves out there.” Tidus nodded, he walked down the steps and out towards the main deck. A lone blitzball was illuminated by the moons silvery light. Tidus walked up to it, remembering when he was a child, he had tried to kick the ball. Jecht had taunted him, asking him if he wanted to follow in his foot steps, and that he usually charged for lessons.

Tidus kicked the ball up, leaping up into the air, spinning around, he turned to kick the ball while he was in the air, but the ball had already fallen back, slamming into his head, Tidus fell to the deck. He sat up slowly, rubbing his head. Yuna walked out onto the deck, laughing slightly, “That was the Jecht shot, wasn’t it?” Tidus stood up, he turned and looked to her, “How did you know?” Yuna smiled, “Sir Jecht showed it to me when I was a child. He called it the ‘Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III’” Tidus shook his head, leaning against the railing of the boat, “Stupid name, huh?” Yuna shrugged, smiling, “You know what? There is no Mark I or Mark II, you know?” Yuna shook her head, “My old man said the name ‘Mark III’ was just something to hook the crowd. He said they’d come back every night, expecting to see Mark I and Mark II. And they really did come back. I used to get so mad.”

Yuna giggled, rubbing her own arm, “Is he alive, you think?” Yuna shrugged, shaking her head, “I don’t know. But, Sir Jecht was my father’s Guardian.” Tidus sighed, “So he’s famous here, too?” Yuna nodded, “Yes. So if anything happened to him, I should think word would get around fast.” Tidus sighed, looking down into the water, “Uh huh.” Yuna stepped forward, looking around nervously, “What would you do, if you found him?” Tidus shrugged, “Who knows? I thought he died ten years ago. Well…I’d probably just smack him one. After everything he put mom and me through. And because he was famous, I was always…Well, you should know, Yuna. Your father’s famous too. Everyone in Spira knows him, right? Ain’t it tough?” Yuna shrugged yet again, looking down. “It is hard to follow in his footsteps, as a Summoner.”

“Sure.” Yuna sighed, looking back to Tidus, “But the honor of having a father like him surpasses all that, I think.” Tidus shook his head, “Well, there wasn’t much to honor about my old man.” Yunas jaw dropped, she shook her head, “You shouldn’t say that about your father!” Tidus stood up, stepping to the side, “I got the right!” Yuna sighed and nodded, “I guess you do.” A blitzball hit Tidus in the side of the head and Wakka called down from the upper deck, “Hey Kiddos! It’s bed time, ya? We all got a big day ahead of us tomorrow!” Tidus sighed and waved to Yuna, he walked slowly around the boat until he reached the stairs that lead down into its bowels. He entered the lodge of the boat and laid down in his bed, closing his eyes.

“I didn’t think my old man would come to Luca. He never did like watching other people play. But I couldn’t help feeling something bad was going to happen. And these feelings of mine are usually right. Sure, I had told Wakka I’d help him win the tournament. But I wasn’t sure I had it in me to play at all anymore.”

***

The S.S. Wino lazily sailed through the night, the next morning, as the sun rose, a large gush of wind kicked up the speed. The Wino speed towards Luca, a large dome was at the southern most tip of the city, surrounded by five points, each had a color of the rainbow on them, brilliant fires, each of the flames matched the color of their points. Tidus was holding onto the ropes of the Wino, his eyes bright as he saw the stadium. The boat docked slowly, coming to a stop, and the commentators started up. “Ah, over there! The ships carrying the players are arriving now! This would be dock number two. All the way from Kilika, the Kilika beasts!” Men stepped off of the boat, waving, their supporters cheered them on as they went. “High Summoner O’Halland used to play for them-a big name to live up to. Their home town was recently attacked by Sin. Isn’t that right, Jimma?”

“Yes, Bobba, they’re going to be pulling out all the stops to try and bring back the cup this year.” The Aurochs slowly, almost shamefully, stepped off the boat. “Exciting, isn’t it folks? Out next team off the ramp is…Well, Well, Well! If it isn’t the Besaid Aurochs!” Wakka and Tidus both stood proud as their teams name was announced, but the rest of the players just kind of shuffled their feet and looked down. “They’re a living, breathing, statistical impossibility! I’ve never seen a team this bad, folks! That’s right! In twenty-three years they’ve never made it past the first round! Only a few die-hard fans are in the audience today!” Several people were waiting on the dock, except they weren’t cheering, they looked nervous and unsure as to why they came. “Best of luck to them, and a safe journey back to Besaid.”

“Right Jimma. Moving right along.” The Luca Goers soon stepped off the boat, “Moving right along, our next team is…Hey there folks! Our very own Luca Goers!” The majority of the people on the dock jumped and cheered, pumping their fists into the air, whistling and crying out. “They’ve got power! They’ve got speed! They’ve got teamwork! They’re an all-around first-class team! And they’re back home in Luca!” Tidus was rolling his eyes all the way through, he watched the loud speaker, “Without a doubt, they are the favorite team this year, Bobba. And after the way they dominated last year, it’d take a miracle for them to lose today!” Their fans were cheering again, shoving aside the Aurochs fans, who seemed used to this treatment. “You can say that again, Jimma. Look at the crowd, folks! Look at the crowd! Looks like of all Luca has turned out to cheer the Goers on! They know, I know, and you know, folks, the Luca Goers are number one!”

After the commentary was over, Tidus sighed, looking over, he spotted a loose megaphone in a large crate of them. Wakka cuffed his hand on Tidus’ shoulder, “It’s like this every year, ya? Don’t let it bother you.” Tidus lunged forward, grabbing the megaphone, he climbed up a bunch of crates and cried out, pointing to the Goers, everyone turned and watched, “Stop right there, Goers! You guys are smilin’ now, but not for long! ‘Cause this year, us Aurochs are taking the cup! Ha ha!” Tidus leaped all the way back down, putting the megaphone back in its place. Wakka immediately walked to him, “What in Yevons name were you doing up there?!” One of the Aurochs stepped up, “We sure stood out, though!” another one walked up, grinning proudly, “We were on the sphere!” Wakka looked to his team-mates, “We were?!” Suddenly, a man bursts past, running at top speed, “Maester Mika is here!” A woman followed, “Already?” Another man burst past, “The number three dock!”

Tidus turned to Yuna, “What’s up now?” She was smiling widely, obviously excited, “Maester Mika has arrived, that’s what!” Tidus tilted his head to the side, “Mika? Maester?” Lulu stepped up, shaking her head in her disapproving way. “Maester Mika is the leader of all the people of Spira. He’s come all the way from Bevelle. The tournament is being held to honor his fifty years as Maester.” Tidus’ eyes went wide, he crossed his arms, giving Lulu a look, “Fifty years? Shouldn’t he be, uh, retired by now?” Wakka stepped up to Tidus, grabbing his arm. “Hey! Mind your mouth, now.” Yuna jumped with excitement, smiling widely still, “Let’s all go see him!” Tidus saw how excited she was and he immediately started off to the number three dock, everyone followed as he marched on, determined to let Yuna see this Maester.

They all stepped onto the dock, which was crowded with people, “I can’t see a thing!” Wakka shoved Tidus aside, “Shhh!” Music began to play loudly as a very tall man, with blue hair that spiked out in three places, and all came down in front of his face, his skin seemed to be cracked with blue scars on his forehead, his chest exposed, the skin folded over, he was not a handsome man. A man near the front leaned in to a woman and whispered, “That’s a Guado, right?” The woman nodded, “Who could it be?” Another man, who joined them, nodded towards the Guado, “Isn’t that Maester Seymour?” Seymour turned, going to his knees, he began to pray, everyone behind him did the same, Except for two people, Tidus and Lulu. Soon, an old man emerged from the boat, he held out his hands to the crowd.

“People of Spira, I thank you for your generous welcome.” He looked down to Seymour, “Rise, Maester Seymour. And all of you as well.” Seymour and the crowd all stood up, Mika walked down the ramp, Seymour turned and Mika put his hand on Seymour’s shoulder. “I present to you…the son of Maester Jyscal Guado, who departed for the far plane a fortnight past. As some of you already know, he has been officially ordained a Maester of Yevon.” Seymour looked around, smiling, he looked straight at Yuna, he seemed to speak to her directly, yet to the crowd at the same time. “I am Seymour Guado. I am honored to receive the title of Maester. In life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy, and to fulfill my duties as Maester to the best of my abilities.”

Everyone, even Lulu, bowed their head, all except for Tidus, “Hmph.” Wakka dug his elbow into Tidus’ side, “You, too! Bow your head!” Tidus growled and bowed his head. Seymour and Mika slowly left the dock, after shaking hands with many of the people. Wakka smiled, he turned to his team, “Really psyches you up, ya?” The team nodded, all grunting their responses. Wakka pointed all around, finally introducing the team completely to Tidus. A young guy with tanned skin and dark eyes nodded, “That’s Datto.” Another guy, around Wakka’s age, with red hair, who could have been Wakkas cousin, nodded, “That’s Letty.” Another guy, with light skin and blonde hair smiled at Tidus, he was obviously shy, “That’s Jessu, he’s really shy.” A large, corpulent man, with bright orange hair stepped forward, a turkeys leg in one hand, and cup of something in the other, he nodded as he tore another piece of turkey off of the leg, Wakka laughed, “That’s Keepa.”

After the Aurochs had all gotten settled in their locker room, Tidus stepped in, Wakka was no where to be seen, he stepped towards Datto. “Where’s Wakka?” Datto nodded, “At the match-up draws.” Letty sighed, looking down, “We had to play the Goers in the first match last year.” Jessu stepped up, stomping his left foot, “And the year before that! And the one before that, too!” Keepa waddled forth, shoving Letty aside, “Well, we would’ve lost to anyone, anyway.” Wakka stepped through the door, waving a piece of paper in his hand, “Cap’ n Wakka!” Datto grabbed the paper, reading it to himself, “We’re playin’ the Al Bhed Psyches first! If we win, we’re in the finals! That’s right, we got seeded! Two wins and we’re the champions!” The door creaked yet again and in came Yuna and Lulu.

Yuna quickly went over to Tidus, she smiled, taking both his hands, “There you are! Someone said they saw Sir Auron in a café!” Tidus stepped back, slipping his hands from hers, “A-Auron?” Yuna nodded, grinning, “Yes, Sir Auron! Let’s go find him!” Wakka walked up, shaking his head. “Hey! Hey, hey, hey, hey, hey! The game starts like…real soon!” Tidus looked to Wakka, he frowned, “C-come back real quick, ya?” Tidus smiled, nodding, “Hey, I’ll be back.” Wakka nodded back, “Yeah, Okay.” Tidus cocked his head to the side, “Hey, Wakka. You’re stiff, man.” Wakka began to rub his face, “No, no, not your face. Just breathe out, relax. Like this.” Tidus let his shoulders fall back, he breathed in deeply, relaxing his body. “Just breathe, yeah!” Wakka mimicked him, relaxing himself. Yuna giggled and turned, she waved to Tidus and he followed her out of the locker room.

They walked down the hall of the locker area and stepped out to a court yard, they walked down a set of stone steps and started off towards a large bridge, “Maybe now we can find Sir Jecht.” Tidus stopped walked, Kimahri joined them, his arms crossed over his chest as he watched them. “Huh? How?” Yuna smiled at him, “Sir Auron was also my father’s Guardian. So, he might know where Sir Jecht is. Let’s go now.” They continued walking down the bridge.

“It didn’t even occur to me to think that the Auron Yuna was talking about…and the one from Zanarkand could be two different people. I don’t know why, but I knew it was the same guy. I knew it was the same Auron.”

Tidus spotted two Al Bhed Psyches who were watching Yuna; they leaned in to each other, speaking in hushed tones. “E meto Summoner!” the other Al Bhed nodded, responding, “Fa sicd nabund.” Tidus walked up to them, grinning, “Hey! Al Bhed Psyches, right? Some Al Bhed saved me the other day, and…this girl Rikku gave me food and…uh…You don’t understand me, do you? Uh, anyway…If you meet Rikku, tell her thanks for me. Oh, and as for the first game? May the best team win!” Tidus looked around, realizing he had lost sight of Yuna and Kimahri, Tidus jogged up the bridge to see Yuna, a camera on her, and a woman trying to ask her questions, a crowd had formed. “I’m sorry, please let me through…” Yuna turned, spotting Tidus, “Hey! Let’s go.” Yuna began walking, thinking Tidus was beside her, “I hope we don’t get separated.” Someone called out to her from behind, “Yuna!”

Tidus was a few feet back, waving his arms; he put his fingers in his mouth and let out a loud, long whistle. He jogged up to her, she looked amazed. “What was that?” Tidus laughed slightly, “In Zanarkand, we do this to cheer on Blitzball players.” Tidus put his fingers back to his mouth, letting out another whistle. “You try it too! Put your fingers in your mouth like this.” Yuna put her fingers to her lips, “Like this?” Tidus shook his head, he put his fingers to his likes, “Uh-uh, not like that. Like this. Then, you just blow.” She tried to blow, no sound came out, she tried once again, and no sound came out. “Its not working.” She looked disheartened. Tidus smiled, “Practice!” Yuna nodded, smiling, “Okay.”

“Hey, use that if we get separated. Then, I’ll come running, okay? Well, guess we should stick together, then, till you can do it.” Yuna nodded, smiling broadly, “Yes, sir!” They continued walking across the bridge until they got to a large, circular market place. Tidus looked around, coming up to a large statue of pure crystal, reaching up at least ten feet. “Whoa! This is a pretty big town!” Yuna nodded, stepping up to the crystal, “Luca is the second largest city in Spira.” Tidus looked to her, grinning sheepishly, “I thought every town was little-you know, like Besaid and Kilika.” Yuna nodded, understanding, “Towns don’t usually get bigger than that. Because when a lot of people start to gather…” Tidus nodded, “Sin…? What about Luca? It’s safe here?” Yuna shook her head, “It’s not any different, but the stadium is here. The Crusaders fight to protect it with all their strength.”

Tidus cocked his head to the said, “They protect the stadium?” Yuna sighed, looking up to the clear blue sky, “Blitzball’s really the only entertainment that we have. Spira’s a little short on fun these days.” Tidus shook his head, pulling on his hair gently, “Whoa! Talk about pressure!” Yuna smiled, giggling softly. “That’s right! Is Zanarkand like this, too?” Tidus smiled widely, shaking his head, “Well, there are more buildings, all tall ones and cramped together.” Yuna grinned, looking all around her at the sky, “Oh! They must be so tall! Don’t you ever get dizzy?” Tidus laughed, grinning. Yuna pointed to a small café, “Lets go find Sir Auron!” They both walked to the Café, Kimahri behind them, as they stepped in, Kimahri walked off to the side. Tidus looked around, sighing heavily, “Aurons not here…”

Yuna walked over to a bunch of Al Bhed to talk to them, Tidus walked over to Kimahri, who was being confronted by two Ronso’s, both of them seem to tower over Kimahri, who was rather tall himself, each had a full horn on their head, one was grey furred and one was yellow. The yellow one spoke first, “Why not talk, Kimahri? Not see Yenke for ten years! Say something! Kimahri forget Yenke? Forget Biran?” the grey one stepped closer to Kimahri, “Leave Kimahri, Yenke. Kimahri is small Ronso. Kimahri so small can’t see Yenke and Biran’s faces.” Yenke crosses his arms over his large chest, shaking out his main. “Kimahri forget Ronso friends? We taught you much at time of horn-molt! Biran taught Kimahri to be strong Ronso!” Biran growled, “Maybe taught too much.” Tidus put his hand on Kimahri’s arm, “Take ‘em on!”

Yenke began laughing and Kimahri slammed his fist into Yenke’s chin, Yenke fell backwards. The bar-keep cried out, “Take it outside! The tournaments starting, you hear?” Biran goes after Kimahri, shoving him. Tidus turned around, looking the large screen behind the bar, “The game!” Maester Mika’s face appeared on screen, “Today, on the glorious day, players from all over Spira have assembled here...to participate in this great contest of bravery, skill, and strength. All of these fine teams, equally renowned, deserve to win the cup today. Such is the nature of this contest. Let us, the spectators, play our role accordingly. Let us sing to the glory of the winners, and applaud equally the valor of the defeated. Contestants, may Yevon be with you.”

People cheered and screamed at the top of their lungs as several cannons positioned themselves around the stadium, a great arch-way began to spin around the stadium as loud bangs signified the water being released into the sphere-pool. The water glistened in the mid-day sun, it soon filled the sphere-pool, creating a deep blue gem in the center of the Stadium. A large red fire burst out of the top of the stadium as horns were loudly played. The Aurochs and Psyches both leaped into the pool, taking position in the water, the Blitzball was released, Wakka and the Psyches front man both stretched out for the ball, as if in slow motion, then the screen went black, Tidus blinked. The bar-keep spoke up, “If you want to see the rest of the game, go to the stadium, you lookie-lu” Tidus grabbed Kimahri, “We have to get to that stadium.” And bolted out of the café’s doors.

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