Tidus stood on the edge of the hill looking down at the little village. The homes looked like tents and at the rear, looming over all, was what looked like a giant temple or church. The stone it was constructed of was a gorgeous blue that almost matched the sky. The inhabitants of the little utopia were going about their daily business. Tidus had never seen a place so small. He'd only ever seen Zanarkand and that was well over a hundred times larger in comparison.
"This is where I was born," Wakka said stepping up beside him. "I started blitz when I was five. I joined the Aurochs at thirteen... ten years ago. Ten years... and we never won a game." Wakka sighed. "Well, after last year's tournament, I quit. Time seemed right." Wakka began to walk down the hill.
Tidus's stomach growled violently. Tidus groaned in response. "Quiet, you. There's probably food in the village," he thought to himself. Excited by the thought, Tidus caught up to Wakka.
As they walked, Wakka kept talking. "So, after quitting, I got this new job, ya? But every time my wandered, I thought about the game."
"Ten years without a single win'll do that," Tidus said only half jokingly.
Wakka still smiled. "My first match last year was my big chance. But something else was on my mind. I couldn't focus."
"Nice excuse," Tidus laughed.
Wakka raised his hands defensively, laughing along with him. "Hey, hey!"
Tidus put his right hand on his hip. He moved his left as he talked. "So you want to win the next tournament...go out with a bang." Wakka nodded. Tidus grinned. "So, what's our goal?"
"I don't care how we do. Long as we play our best. If we give it our all, I can walk away happy."
Tidus shook his head. "No, no, no, no, no. If I say, 'What's our goal?' then you say, 'Victory!' When you play in a blitzball tournament, you play to win!"
Wakka shrugged his shoulders. He looked confused and a bit shocked. "Victory? You serious?"
Tidus nodded confidently.
"Alright!" Wakka looked thrilled. Tidus was glad to have made his day. Together, they walked down to the village. When they were almost there, two men that Tidus recognized from a glimpse on the beach ran up to them. The taller one was red-haired. His shoulders and elbows were adorned with leather plates. He had long black sleeves coming from the elbow plates. His shirt was green. Tidus thought it looked very odd. Even his purple pants had huge cloth stitching up the sides. His companion was no better. The dark-haired man had a ponytail, but the sides and back of his head were shaved short. He also wore shoulder and elbow pads, but the shoulder pads were silver, while his elbows were simply thick cloth. His shirt was green and he had a leather plate over his abdomen, strapped on with cord. His shorts were cloth, but they looked quite a bit like they were made of dried grass. His boots were knee high and brown with black knee plates. The red-haired man's deep voice shocked Tidus out of staring at them.
"Ah, the one from the sea!"
"Be on your guard! They're fiends on the road today!" The black-haired man's voice didn't hold the same strength and confidence of his companion's.
"After surviving your run-in with Sin, 'twould be a shame if something happened now."
The two of them turned and ran off before Tidus even had a chance to reply to them. "Eh..." He turned to Wakka entirely confused. "Who were they?"
"Luzzu and Gatta. Crusaders."
Tidus scratched his head. "Crews of what?"
Wakka gave a look of utter defeat. "What, you forgot that, too?" He felt bad seeing Tidus hang his head in despair. "Hey, sorry. Don't worry about it, I'll help you out." Tidus's head raised again.
"Cool. In return, come tournament time, I'll make sure we take the cup!" He resolutely made a fist.
"Cool. About the crusaders, you can ask them yourself. They've got a lodge in the village." Together, they finish the walk down the hill. Outside the village entrance which was two cloth walls on each side of a stone path, they stopped.
"Besaid Village," Wakka said looking very sentimental.
"They got any food there?"
Wakka gestured with his pointer finger. "We'll get you something over there later. Take a look around first."
Tidus was disappointed to hear that, but at least the promise of food was in the near future.
"Let's see... The Crusader's lodge is over yonder. Luzzu and Gatta are usually there." He pointed to a blue tent. The blue tent was a similar color to the temple. It seemed that the colors blue, green, and brown were everywhere. The sky, the water, the buildings, and the flowers were all blue. The foliage was green along with some people's clothes. The earth and the skin of the villager's were a rich brown. The landscape was a peaceful, beautiful scene right out of a painting. "Oh, right. Over here!"
Wakka pulled him off to the side behind one of the entrance barriers. "Huh? What's up?" he asked.
"You do remember the prayer, right?"
Tidus stuttered for an answer. "Erm... I don't remember."
Tidus thought inwardly to himself that he didn't even know any prayers to start with. Still, he felt bad telling Wakka that he didn't pray.
"Man, that's like the basic of basics. Alright, I'll show you." Wakka repeated the same gesture that they had done on the beach. Tidus recognized it instantly and repeated it for Wakka so he could reaffirm his knowledge. Tidus grinned to himself. It was the blitzball player's sign for victory. "Hey, not bad. Okay, now go present yourself to the temple summoner."
Wakka walked away. The impact of being alone again wasn't as harsh. He knew that Wakka would only be a couple of tents away. Tidus stepped into the strange village and wondered where to go. He wanted to explore, but wasn't sure if he could. Feeling bold, and knowing that he could claim the toxin as the cause for his intrusions, he decided to make it an adventure.