Disclaimer 1: Final Fantasy and Final Fantasy X belong to Squaresoft. The world of Spira and all associated characters belong to Squaresoft. This story is written and published without permission or consent of Squaresoft. This is a fictional story made for purely entertainment purposes. The author of this story does not claim to own the world of Final Fantasy, or any characters or likenesses. Any relation to events or persons, living or dead, is purely coincidental.

Author's Note: The Al Bhed in this story are speaking Al Bhed, unless otherwise noted. While they have a language all of their own, all prose and dialogue will be in English (or Yevonite, if you prefer), with a few notable exceptions.

For Love Of The Game
(c) 2003, 2010 Mayumi.H

2 - One Of The Boys (Judda)

Judda swam forward, her shoulder angled toward Eigaar's chest. She connected with enough momentum to dizzy him, but he didn't let go of the ball. She threw a backward glance at him and cursed silently to herself. The guy had some luck. She watched as he took an open shot on their "goal" (which was, in actuality, just a portion of the hull of their transport ship), and she found herself wondering where her other defenseman was.

Nimrook arched up to grab the ball. He managed to get a hand on it, and it ricocheted toward the opposite side.

Judda took a moment to smile, but only for a moment. The ball was going toward Blappa's side, and Blappa was notorious for his volley shooting ability. Sure enough, the right forward twisted his body and gave the coming ball a hard smack with his foot. It flew back toward the goal area, and, though Nimrook tried to block it, the ball bounced off of the ship's hull with a muted thud. Score one for the forwards.

Judda was already swimming for the surface before Nimrook claimed the ball again. She took a gulp of air and wiped a hand through her short blonde hair. "Tysh," she swore.

Lakkam, the other defenseman and only other female on the Psyches, surfaced next to her. "Sorry," she murmured.

Judda scowled at her. "You need to pay less attention to Blappa and more attention to the game." Ever since Lakkam had signed on to the Psyches, Judda had noticed the girl giving the forward adoring looks and tentative smiles.

Lakkam lowered her chin below the water. "I thought he was too far away for a volley."

Judda shook her head. "Blappa'll do anything to show off," she said sourly. She should know; he had put his grandstanding moves on her two years ago, when he'd first joined the team. One rebuff and a particularly rough tackle later, Blappa had started looking for someone else. He hadn't really found anyone, until Lakkam had been recruited earlier this season.

The younger girl turned her head away. "I said I was sorry," she muttered again.

Judda smiled and splashed the girl good-naturedly. "Don't make that face," she chided.

A few meters away, the four men surfaced together. Nimrook started swimming toward the ship's ladder, and Berrik followed him. Blappa and Eigaar swam over to the two women.

"Not bad, eh?" Blappa said, nudging Lakkam with his elbow. If he hadn't been wearing his goggles, Judda would have sworn he'd winked at her. "We shouldn't have problems winning the Cup if the Ronsos play that well."

"Shut up," Judda sneered.

Eigaar rubbed his chest. "You make it sound like it was easy." He gave Judda a meaningful smile. "I'm surprised I held onto the ball there."

Judda laughed. "So am I!"

"Hey, muja-cfyhc!" Nimrook called from the bow of the ship. Beside him, Berrik snickered as he shook the water from his arms.

"He's joking, right?" Eigaar asked in a low voice, and Judda laughed again. The thought of them as a couple ("love-swans," Nimrook had called them) seemed rather silly.

"Out of the water!" Nimrook ordered. "I don't want anyone worn out for tomorrow."

Blappa waved back, and then extended his hand, palm up, toward the two women. "Ladies first," he said with a smile.

Lakkam returned the smile, and Judda splashed him in the face as she swam by. Against her better judgment, though, she found herself amused by Blappa's antics; he could be pretty charming when he wanted to be.

As she climbed the ladder behind Lakkam, she was surprised to realize that she was actually a little jealous of the younger girl. Lakkam was the baby of the team, and so naturally everyone tended to watch out for her, both in the arena and out of it. But, more than that, a lot of Al Bhed men found her attractive, and they didn't bother to hide it. Of course, Judda had had her share of admirers (even one brief tryst with Cid's son, but nothing else ever came out of that one), but she'd spent most of her time watching celebrations and courtships from the sidelines.

She was one of the best blitzball players around, which was what had earned her the right to call herself a Psyche, but that always seemed to make people forget that she was also a woman. A damn attractive woman, at that. But men didn't seem to notice anymore. So, whenever Nimrook or Berrik would tease her about romance, she laughed it off as ridiculous, but secretly she longed for a life like that.

She lingered on the bow of the ship, dragging her feet as the rest of the team started below decks. She hissed a breath through her teeth as a chilling wind drifted across the deck, and rubbed her arms. As she looked up, the twilight sky was slowly fading into night, coaxing stars into view.

She thought about Aniki, who had held her under the desert moon that one night, and she wished she could go back. They had grown apart since that time - she was always too busy with practice, and keeping his little sister out of trouble was almost a full-time occupation for him - but it had been nice while it lasted. Perhaps what she needed was someone more like her, someone as devoted to the game as she was.

Judda didn't even notice Berrik coming up to stand beside her, until he put a hand on her back, between her shoulder blades.

"Are you all right?" A frown creased his brow, causing Judda to smile. Berrik had always been a mother hen.

She shrugged him off. "Don't worry about me."

He nodded toward the ship's entrance. "Let's go before it gets cold."

Judda waved. "In a minute," she said softly. "It's quiet out here."

"Not too long," Berrik warned. He added with a grin, "Otherwise there might not be any food left for you."

She laughed, and waved him away again. "Go on. I'll be down in a bit."

He looked puzzled for a moment, as if in doubt. But then he stepped away from her, and gave her her space. "If you say so," he called, before disappearing inside the ship with the others.

Judda watched him go, then turned around to look out over the water. Across that sea lay Home, the only home she'd known. She had been to some other lands in Spira, but no place ever welcomed her like Home. When she was younger, she would sit in her room and watch the desert horizon, waiting for her man to come running up over the dunes. It was a childish dream, but it was one she always remembered fondly.

Perhaps, somewhere else, not so far away, there was someone watching the horizon for her, and he was only waiting to be found.

With a little smile, she turned back to the entrance. It opened for her, and she stepped into the darkness, and then into the light, where her friends were waiting for her.