Alright…so the first chapter is up now, not as long as the prologue, but the prologue was only long cause I didn't want it to be two parts. From here on, the story will only take place in the past, I don't think I'll switch back to the present with Paine and Maechen and everyone. Also, just so that you know, this story will have a lot to do with Shuyin and Lenne and how I figure I can weave Kijo and Majo into their story. I've got a few things planned out but I'd love to know what you guys want to see or what you like that's already there.

Disclaimer: Erm…I'm honestly not sure what I own in this fic. Do I own Kijo and Majo? I don't own Zanarkand or Jecht. Whatver…for safety's sake, I don't own anything that Square already owns. So there.

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Chapter 1

Stability in Small Things

A bright blue glow lit the stadium, brightening the water until it was almost too difficult to look at. The crackling of electricity was the only sound that could be heard in the wide arena. The stands were dead silent as they watched the roiling mass of water. Thousands upon thousands of eyes watched as the white and blue ball broke out from the chaos of the players inside the sphere. Thousands of knuckles whitened as their owners gripped their seats in anticipation. Time slowed nearly to a halt and it seemed as though the athletes in the water were hardly moving at all. Above it all, an enormous board displayed the score and time. Two to two. 4 minutes and 32 seconds. It seemed like an eternity before the clock could reach 33.

"Come on…"

A lone man whispered his encouragement from the stands quietly. He strained his eyes through his binoculars, focusing on the one man who could win it all. Only moments ago, one of his teammates had rushed the line, only to be thrown back by a brilliant defensive maneuver by his opposition. In a last ditch attempt, he had rid himself of the ball in his hands. Now it was loose in the swirling waters, floating slowly toward the center of the arena.

"Come one…just a little more and you can reach it first!"

Keeping his voice low, he murmured nearly silent support to his favorite player. Inside the aqua sphere, four hands stretched out desperately trying to grab the small blue and white ball. Four individuals gave their final burst of speed to reach the prize and assure themselves the victory, but only one man would be able to claim it for himself.

One finger, then another, then three more. A single hand closed over the rough edge of the blitzball. The tan arm instantly retracted and the long haired man smiled widely.

"YEA! GO JECHT!" The man in the stands leapt to his feet, signaling the end of the tension. The stadium roared to life with a mix of ecstatic cheers and gruesome threats. The score board above the sphere beeped loudly. 4 minutes and 45 seconds left now. The lone blitzer dove and evaded, losing himself in the water, becoming more like a fish than a man. With skill honed by years of practice, he evaded his three contestants for the ball and soared toward the opposite goal. When he was in range, he brought his arm back, ball in hand, and prepared to make the final shot.

Out of no where, the last line of defense swam into view. They took their place in front of the attacker with grim expressions on their faces. No matter what, they could not let him pass.

"Use the Sublimely Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III!" The ecstatic blitz fan screamed as loud as he could, sweating furiously at the passion of the match. Around him, a chorus of the shot name, rippled through the crowd. In the water, Jecht smiled widely and waved a reassuring hand. In a flash, the ball left his hand and smacked loudly into one of the defender's jaws. Shocked, the remaining defender glanced momentarily at his companion in worry. The blitzball, having rebounded back to the attacker, was immediately smashed back at the distracted guard, knocking him into a daze.

The screams and cheers were almost overwhelming, shaking the arena and causing the water to ripple loudly. Jecht shot upwards, spinning swiftly. The ball lazily arced up to meet him. The man was creating a small whirlpool in the sphere. The opposing team frantically swam to intercept the ball despite the impossibility of their endeavor. The clocked ticked ahead, racing the rapidly spinning man. 4 minutes and 56 seconds. For only a split second, the whirling man slowed, contorting his body and throwing all his momentum into his leg. With a last burst of speed, he whipped it forward and kicked mightily at the oncoming ball.

"Kijo!" The enthusiast in the stands turned away from the sphere too see another man, tall and dressed in the traditional black mage robes. "I thought I might find you h-"

The approaching man was silenced by a loud buzzer followed by another even louder beep. Silence crushed the voice out of every occupant of the dome. Kijo, who had diverted his attention from the game, turned back to the water as fast as he could. It felt like his head was encased in sap. As his eyes finally fell upon the large watery sphere, a deafening roar exploded in the stadium. The seats shook with the stomps and cheers and curses and raw emotion of thousands of men and women. Tears sprang willingly to the eyes of the fans and overjoyed embraces were exchanged as well as the enraged exchange of fists.

"I…missed…it?" Kijo fell back into his seat. His eyes felt like stone and his limbs were as heavy as lead. He slumped in his chair, nearly falling into the aisle. He felt hollow and heavy, crushed and battered, broken and defeated. A hand that felt heavy and hot came to rest on his shoulder.

"Kijo?" The man standing above him was tall. His clothes were a deep purple with swirling red designs that trailed into the deep yellow cuffs. Silver hair fell in gentle strands over his face and cascaded onto his back. His dark red eyes shone with concern for the fallen fan. "Are you ok?" Cautiously he shook the motionless man in the seat. When he received no response, he continued on with a sigh. "I figured I'd find you at the game. Don't you realize that we don't have time for this? There is an extremely important meeting scheduled in Central in ten minutes!" He shook his head in amazement. "I don't understand how you can be so…irresponsible…when your country is at war, Kijo." With a meaningful tug, he pulled Kijo to his feet. "Now let's get going. We're already late."

"Do you know what you…just did?" Kijo wobbled slightly on his unsteady feet. His head was spinning and he felt like he was in some kind of daze. With a stone expression on his face, he turned to the man who had interrupted him. "Do you realize…what I just missed?" He took a menacing step forward. "Do you comprehend the importance of this event?"

"Kijo, it's just a blitzball ga-" Kijo's face twitched violently and he grabbed his companion by the scruff of his neck and pulled him close, effectively interrupting the other man.

"It's just a what?" he asked, his voice laced with venom. "Were you going to say that it's…just a game!" Violently he shook the black mage. "You never understand these things! You're always so goddamned interested in politics that you never understand what the people want! This was the Championship. The Championship! And I…I missed the final shot!" Angrily he thrust the man away from himself and brushed his hand on his sleeve. "You know what? You suck, Majo."

"Oh come on." Majo rolled his eyes and straightened his robes. "I'd hardly call it a 'Championship,' we weren't even allowed to play against other countries. It's Abes vs. Abes. Not as good as it gets." Then, he turned a kind face toward the pouting man. "Look, I know you like to watch Jecht play…but there are more important matters here. Let's head out, I'll buy you a souvenir blitzball or something. We can get it signed by Jecht when we're done with the meeting alright?"

Grudgingly, Kijo came out of his pout. With a suspicious tone, he asked, "Get it signed? You can do that?"

"Yea, you can even meet him if you want, though I heard he's a bit of a dick."

Placing his arms on his hips with indignation, Kijo prodded Majo in the chest and replied, "Jecht is not a dick! He's awesome!"

"Alright alright…geez…why don't you get a room." Kijo gasped and crossed his arms. "I'm just messin with you man, seriously though, we gotta get going. I got transportation and everything; we'll only be ten minutes late if we take the express route."

"Yea, ok," mumbled Kijo, and the two set off toward the exit. Upon leaving the dome, they were immediately met with bright neon lights from every direction. In spite of the small sliver of moon hanging above the city, it was lit up as bright as day. All around the pair, enormous billboards and electric signs glowed abrasively, hanging from enormous buildings. It was truly an epic sight. Kijo however, stared at the ground and thrust his hands into his pockets sulkily. He kicked briefly at the ground before Majo gave him a sharp look.

"We don't have time for you to be dawdling around in a sulk."

"Oh shut the hell up, Majo," he replied angrily. "I'm coming. Don't rush me." And sure enough, Kijo sped up and passed Majo in few annoyed strides. Taking the lead, he straightened his shirt with a grunt and hurried to the small vehicle at the edge of the street. When he reached the machine he pointed to it and grunted, "This it?"

"Yea," Majo frowned slightly and walked to the other side, hopping into the driver's seat. "You're…really upset about this aren't you?"

"Finally caught on, did you?"

"But it's not just the game is it?"

As Majo turned the power on and started off down the road, silence settled inside the small vehicle. Kijo stared out the side window while Majo looked over the dashboard intently. With a sigh, Kijo drummed his fingers impatiently on the window sill.

"No, it's not just the game," he mumbled quietly. "Or…rather, it is just the game," his forehead creased while he tried to wrap his mind around the thought. Majo remained silent, focusing on the road ahead and making the turn into the express lane. If Kijo was going to tell him personal matters, it was best for him to remain silent until he was finished. "I mean…like you said, our country's at war, right?" Majo nodded quietly, applying the brake slightly as another machine pulled in front of him. "And…I know that I'm going out there to fight; gonna be right on the front lines. So…" he paused and ran his finger over the glass of the window. "I dunno…I just want to experience all these things one last time, you know?"

Majo smiled warmly and said quietly, "Yea, I know."

"The little stuff, the mundane things. Watchin' the Zanarkand Abes, buying something in a Zanarkand store, seeing a songstress perform in Zanarkand, drinking in a Zanarkand pub. Just the small things, stuff that…I might never get to do again if I…you know…die out there. Nothing big, nothing I haven't done before. Nothing I can't get easily, just…the little details. I wanna be woken up by my neighbor's jerk kid playin' his music too loud again. Cause you just…start taking it all for granted until you lose 'em. The little stuff. The things that make your life stable."

"You were pretty high up in the stands today," Majo's comment seemed to unlock something else Kijo.

"Yea…" Kijo smiled gravely and made a sour face. "When I tried to give in my ticket, some bastard tried to lead me to the executive box." He let his finger fall from the glass and into his lap. "He was all like, 'Oh! Kijo sir, wouldn't you like a better seat than this? I can arrange something for you right away sir.' I mean… come on. Sir, for crying out loud. So he ran off and I just slipped inside and sat in the seat that I had bought. It's stuff like that…just…makes things seem stable, right?"

"You should become an orator, you know that?" Majo smiled mischeviously toward his friend who looked up, bewildered.

"Aah shut the hell up you bastard, what do you know!" he let loose a light punch to the mage's shoulder which caused the vehicle to swerve dangerously to the side. Majo shouted and straightened the steering wheel. Once the vehicle was under control, he let go of the wheel with one hand and pointed towards the hem of Kijo's sleeve.

"Uh-oh, looks like your sleeve is on fire!" Tiny red flames exploded from Kijo's sleeve who yelped and shook it violently, rubbing it furiously against the seat and eventually smothering the tiny flame.

"Magical bastard."

"Knucklehead"

"MP whore."

"Meat shield."

For a second, Majo's eyes left the road to meet Kijo's already established glare. They eyed each other for a moment, growling softly before Kijo's lips twitched involuntarily into straining smile. Like an enormous wave washing over him, Kijo was overtaken by a roaring laughter and was soon followed by Majo who returned his attention to the road just in time to avoid running into the guard rail. When Kijo, stomach finally stopped hurting from the heaves of laughter, he straightened himself up and smiled widely.

Majo looked at him out of the corner of his eye and smiled back. "You broke first, again."

"What's the score then?"

"Like 56 to 0."

Kijo laughed again. "I'll get you one of these times!" when his giggling died down, he returned his gaze to the window and watched the tall buildings rush by. After several minutes in silence, he sighed deeply and turned to Majo with warm smile on his face.

"Thank you, Majo."

Majo let out a sigh and turned away from the road to look his friend in the eye. "Kijo…what are you being so serious for?"

"For being something stable…thank you."

Majo turned back to the road ahead and with a good natured smile said, "Aw come on, stop being so emotional, you're gonna make me cry and I won't be able to see the road."

Kijo smacked his hands down on the dashboard and let out a loud bark of laughter. "You'll never change, will you Majo?"

Majo smiled, "Not if I have anything to do with it!"

Kijo pushed a strand of hair away from his face and looked through the windshield. Up ahead, the building everyone knew as 'central' loomed. Kijo smiled and turned his attention briefly toward Majo. "Good," he whispered. "That's perfect."

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Ok…so one thing I'm a bit worried about. Did Tidus and Jecht actually exist ever? Is that clear and I just haven't noticed? I would really appreciate someone explaining this to me at some point. The history of Spira is cool but hard to follow so if someone can explain it to me or point me toward someone who can I would be grateful. I don't wanna step on any toes here. I assume that Jecht did exist and why shouldn't he be alive around the time of the Machina War?

Oh! Also…did Zanarkand really have that much Machina way back when? Or was it Bevelle that had the Machina? Did both sides have summoners? Or just Zanarkand. Once again, I would appreciate someone explaining at least those key points.

Thanks a bunch to jen0va (that is a zero right?) and thewierdperson for reviews. I appreciate it very much. Hope you keep reading.