Chapter 20: Calm Before the Storm
"Hello, Tidus." Areth purred, glancing at me before returning to Lenne. Gently kissing her hand, he continued to say, "M'lady…" "But how? Why?" I muttered, surprised that the one I thought was my enemy had just saved the woman I loved. "Always ready to help a friend in need." He simply replied, looking at me with confident and calm eyes. I still couldn't believe it. Areth was apart of Bevelle. He should have been helping those soldiers kill Lenne and Kirin, yet he saved them. He killed his own to save an enemy. "So, I'm sure you're very confused at seeing the two of us, eh?" A voice sounded in the distance. I turned to meet its owner and saw another familiar face, this one being the one who'd told me of Areth's instability. "Kai? What's going on? Why are you guys helping us stay alive?" I asked the blitzer. "Well, it was Areth's idea. He said he didn't want to see Zanarkand fall. He said that Bevelle wasn't doing the right thing and I agreed with him. That's why we're here. We wanna help." He explained. I uneasily nodded, still not fully believing their story. I made my way over to Kirin and helped her to her feet. "Are you okay?" I asked her. She nodded and looked past me, sharing my confusion. "Yea, they said they're here to help." I told her. "Aren't those two from Bevelle?" She asked. "Yea. The guy with the blue hair is Areth and the other guy is Kai. Apparently, they don't like this war as much as we don't." I replied. Soon after, we were rejoined by the two of them, Lenne following suit. "So, you trust us?" Kai asked. "For now, I don't see a reason why not." I offered, extending my hand to welcome them.
Together, the five of us reentered the battlefield. After Areth and Kai had taken down those other guys, none had come to take their place. We actually had to travel some distance in order to find anybody else to fight. Both of our new Bevelle allies wielded gunblades that were more on the blade side than the rest. The two of them made short work of their former side and it seemed that they were trustworthy. Kai had nothing for me to mistrust and he seemed to have renewed faith in his best friend. I felt there was no need to be cautious about the sudden desertion. Some minutes into the battle, I chose to stop standing there like an idiot and help out. As if to follow my lead, Lenne began to summon something and Kirin ran with me to help out the two. Kai began having trouble with a few of his foes, being that they were starting to fire at him. He was hit in the leg and fell to the ground, effectively slowing his counterattacks. I moved in and deflected what would have been a fatal shot to my new friend, swatting it to another soldier standing close-by, ready to cut into Kai should the shot not do him in. "Thanks, Tidus. I didn't want my debut on your side to end that quickly." He said, allowing me to get him back to his feet. Lenne cast a Cura spell on his leg injury and returned to casting Black Magic on other nearby aggressors. She had summoned Kinok to help out and the earth-element Aeon made quite the impact on Bevelle. Using its various spells, Kinok buried a group of soldiers in a chasm and smacked whoever else was left with its armored tail. It didn't take too long for us to remove the threat to Zanarkand.
Later on, after Bevelle had retreated for the second time I'd seen, the remaining troops of Zanarkand set up camp to rest up until the next attack. Kirin had gone to find Ju and the others. Meanwhile, in the distance, I could here many voices singing what Lenne had taught them before. "I e yu i, No bo me no, Re n mi ni, Yo ju yo go, Ha se te ka na e, Ku ta ma e." "What is that?" Areth asked. "Yea, what are those guys singing over there?" Kai added, not knowing that it was our way of making fun of Bevelle's losses. "I hope you guys don't take offense, but…" I started to say. "I made it up to celebrate Zanarkand's victories. It pays respect to those lost in battle and gives hope to those still living that Zanarkand has a chance." Lenne finished. "It sounds lovely, m'lady." Areth purred, making a slight smile at Lenne. I didn't expect Kai or Areth to feel comfortable about that song. It was being sung to spite Bevelle, their home. "Guys, you don't have to listen if you don't want to. We could leave right now." I offered. "Nah, it's catchy." Kai insisted, a hint of melancholy in his voice as he tried to smile. "I e yu i…" He began to sing. "Are you sure about this?" Lenne and I asked together. With a reassuring smile, both Areth and Kai sang the rest of the song happily, celebrating Zanarkand's victory as their own victory. They had truly become one of us.
When it got into the afternoon hours, we went to find Kirin, Rothel, Ju, Damu, Larea, and Galte so that we could all go hang out for the rest of the day. At first, Galte didn't accept the two deserters of Bevelle. He said, "Galte not trust Bevelle. Areth and Kai from Bevelle. Galte not trust Areth and Kai." However, Areth found a way to ease the Ronso's hard heart with his smooth words, saying, "I know Bevelle hasn't exactly been up to anything good. Just trust in this: Me and Kai here, we are Bevelle no more. You can just call us a couple of Zanarkand's, because that's what we'd rather be." Not even Galte's stubbornness could keep up after those words. Areth just sounded too sincere and the way he had sung Zanarkand's victory song from before, he couldn't possibly be untrustworthy. Not only that, but Kai trusted him and I had no doubt in my mind that Kai was trustable. The last time we spoke, he gave me nothing to doubt in his sincerity.
"So what ya guys wanna do? I'ma bit hungry, ya know? You guys up for some grub?" Rothel asked as we continued walking around. "I'm a little hungry myself." Kai added. "Yea, me too." Kirin followed, putting a hand on her stomach. "So let's stop talking about our hunger and go get something to eat already." I suggested. We found some fast food place and went inside.
To tell the truth, I really had no hunger in me then. I was too preoccupied with the day's prior events. First and foremost was Lenne and Kirin's near death experience. I still couldn't shake the fear and despair I felt when I thought they were about to die. Kirin meant everything to me. When my mother died, not long after my father, it was Kirin who got me out of depression. I hated my father, yes, but I loved my mother. She was all I really had growing up. When she died, I threw all that on Kirin. If I were to lose her, I'd probably go back to sulking and hating the world. Then, there was Lenne. I loved her. If she was taken from me, well, the reaction in my first dream looked accurate enough. I'd go ballistic. I think I'd lose my mind. Those two, they were all that kept me the kind of person I am. To lose them, I could never forgive myself. Secondly, those newcomers. I didn't know what was going on in their minds, but I was sure they'd need a friend. I knew that if situations were reversed, I'd really appreciate someone there to help me ease in the nuances of being in a foreign land.
"I'll have the fish sandwich." Ju said, pointing at a picture of the item. I suddenly realized I'd been staring at Areth the whole time I was thinking about Lenne and Kirin. "Oh sorry, Areth." I apologized, "Didn't mean to stare at you like that." "Hey, T, you're up!" Kirin chirped. "Thanks for the secrecy." I whispered to Kirin, realizing that both Areth and Kai still knew me to be Tidus and Tidus alone. I probably would want to wait until later on to tell them that I was really Shuyin. Areth gazed at us and I thought he might have overheard, but brushed it off. "Uh, I'll take the Puzina." I said, pointing that the stuffed roll. It was one of my favorites when it came to fast food. "Is that all you're gonna eat?" Lenne asked, forever concerned about my well-being. "Why? It's enough." I replied, looking at her. I knew it really wasn't enough and normally, when I had the chance to sit and eat, I'd eat a lot more, but again, I really wasn't thinking about food. "Okay, add on an order of Hai Ze Pi and an alchem-cola." I said, giving in. After all, if I didn't eat, Lenne would be thinking about me too much and she'd follow suit with not eating.
"So what made you guys switch sides? Bevelle couldn'ta treated ya that bad, ya know? What got you guys out?" Rothel asked while stuffing his face full. "Hey, Bevelle can kiss my ass for all I care about it anymore. I mean, I loved it before, but starting up a war because Zanarkand was flashier than us? That's just stupid and I wouldn't have anymore of it." Kai explained. Figured I was right about Bevelle. They were jealous of the grand look Zanarkand had. It was the city that never slept. There was entertainment wherever you looked. And not only that, but the entire city was prosperous. Even our poorest areas were richer than some cities on Spira. It didn't surprise me a bit that a cold city like Bevelle would be a little envious. "So, they started this war because Zanarkand is more attractive of a city?" I asked, rhetorically. "Bevelle doesn't major its funding on its commercial aspect. Bevelle puts more of its resources into arms technology. When it comes to brute strength, Bevelle is top gun." Areth inputted. "Yea, well, that don't give them the right ta pound on us wit them war machina. Zanarkand's a peaceful city. We haven't been ta war in how many centuries? Now, those bozos wanna start wit us?" Rothel growled angrily, crushing his sandwich. "Take it easy, bro. Bevelle chose to attack us on their own accord. We can't think about it like they're Zanarkand's people. That city loves war. It thrives on it. Now, it's our turn to face off against them. Let's just try and teach them a lesson about picking on others, k?" I offered, trying to calm my best friend. "Yea, you right, Tidus. So, what's up wit the rest of ya?" Rothel said. "Huh? Oh, like I'm paying attention to your grumbling. I'm chatting with Ju and Damu." Kirin responded. "Larea was just telling me about her latest Aeon." Lenne added, "That's why we weren't taking part in your discussion. I'm sorry if we missed anything important." "Nah, you didn't miss anything except Rothel getting sandwich stuffing all over his hand." I replied with a laugh. Rothel looked to the hand that crushed his sandwich and groaned. It was covered in all the sauces, meat, and veggies that used to reside in those two slices of bread. "You overreact just a tad too much." I mused, putting out my fingers and sizing up the amount of his over-exaggerated behavior. We all laughed and joked for about an hour and finally headed out.
I figured Areth and Kai would be pretty lost, what with being in Zanarkand on the level of a tourist. They'd have to get used to the new surroundings and I figured that me and Lenne could show them around. "So how about it? If you guys are gonna be sticking around, you might wanna get to know this place a little better, right?" I asked. "I would love to." Areth replied with a nod. "Well, I guess if it isn't any trouble, sure! All I know is where the blitz stadium is. Six years ago, we had a game with you guys here. Unless you guys moved it, I think I can find it." Kai added. "So you want to see the blitz stadium first?" I asked. "Sure, let's check it out." He answered. "I could show them the Jecht Shot!" Lenne suggested. "Yea! Hey, you guys are in for a treat. Lenne can do the Jecht Shot, too! If you want, maybe we could get in a two on two blitz game." I said. "That would be wonderful." Areth purred, giving Lenne that familiar smirk. I still didn't like that smirk of his. Something about it just sent me the wrong message.
We got to the blitz stadium rather quickly, Kai leading the way quite confidently. "Yup, still the same place. You know, this'll be the first time Areth here's seen this. He was injured when we had that game back then." He said, recounting on past years. We entered the building and ran into that rookie, Haru. "Hey there! You just finished training?" I asked. "Uh, yea…" He stammered, glancing at Areth and then at Kai. He must have been confused about why two people dressed in Bevelle garb were here. I think that earlier, Kirin had explained to the guy at the fast food place that they were on our side, but Haru wouldn't know anything about that. "Don't worry about it. These guys are on our side now." I informed. "Yes, we're all on the same side here." Areth added smoothly, looking at Haru. Kai had a funny look on his face, but I brushed it off as a simple case of mistaken identity. And who knows, maybe Kai had seen Haru someplace. As large as Spira was, it wasn't that big. "Well, I don't wanna keep you. I'll see ya around, Haru." I said with a wave and proceeded to the Sphere Pool. I hoped Haru left it on. Although, why would he if he didn't know we were coming. Luckily, though, the pool was up and running. The guy must have just forgot to shut it off before he left.
I walked over first and noticed some clothing thrown across the floor. "Oh great… Please tell me no one is using that thing for… other… kinds… of… practice…" I groaned, looking away with a sigh. "I think I see somebody in there. Maybe we should come back a little later." Lenne suggested, cheeks colored a beet red. Kai and Areth just snickered and walked back out with the two of us. "Guess we'll just have to wait for them to finish." I said, hanging my head as the mental pictures together with mental sounds started to play in my mind. "Guess so." Lenne followed up shyly. Kai patted me on the back and said, "Well, seems to me, we better go somewhere a little less hardcore." I nodded with a blush.
We made our way to a lounge that the guys and I usually hung around when we were done with practice or sometimes for pep talks before a really tough game. Lenne went to go change into some blitz gear so that she wouldn't get her regular stuff wet. "So, how long you think they'll be?" Kai asked with a snicker. "Please… I'd rather not think about it if you wouldn't mind." I groaned. "Tidus, don't tell me you're a virgin. I would have never guessed it." Areth said with a wide grin. "Hey, I'll be a virgin that can wipe the floor with you at blitz any day!" I exclaimed, giving him a smirk. "Is that so?" Areth answered, returning with a smirk of his own. It was the same as always, but I guess that the guy just always smiled that way. I'd just have to get used to it. "Me and my boy, Areth here, we'll beat you two. I mean, after all, your last victory was just a fluke." Kai chimed in. "A fluke, eh? Lenne, we'll show them a fluke, right?" I stated, turning to her when I noticed her return. This was all familiar to me, being that a part of the Tidus personality I'd made had extreme braggart confidence; however, Lenne wasn't one to realize this. "Uh, well, maybe…" She shyly replied. I smiled at her. This wasn't her forte. "Eh, no problem. We'll beat them." I said to cover.
After a few more minutes, we finally decided that we should see if whoever it was was done with the Sphere Pool. "Hey T-man!" Kion said, as he put his shirt back on. "You know, the Sphere Pool isn't meant for what you were doing in there." I said, my cheeks still faintly red. "Don't worry, I cleaned my mess." He said with a chuckle. I noticed that someone else was on the other side of the stadium and decided to get Kion's new girlfriend to come out of hiding. When I reached the other side, my jaw dropped at the sight. Vena was sitting over a few feet, pulling on her boots. "Don't tell me…" I started. "Yea, me and Kion are dating." She replied with a sigh. "You and Kion? I'd never think that… and you guys… with the… No! Mental picture!" I shouted, smacking the side of my head to get the image of Kion and Vena together out of my mind. "Oh grow up, Tidus. You're dating that Lenne. Did you think everybody just lived by themselves and only you could find love?" She said with much exasperation. I apologized and added, "It's not that. I just never thought it would be you and Kion. The two of you are polar opposites and I just never would have coupled you two." Vena got her boot on and I offered a hand. "Plus, I've never had that thing with Lenne yet." I continued, while pulling her up. "You mean to tell me that a guy like you hasn't…" She started to say, but then saying, "Oh wow, you really haven't." She noticed how I was blushing again. "Don't worry, Tidus. It should happen naturally. Besides, this means you really love this girl. I mean Rothel's got that other summoner girl… I really should get to know her a little better. Anyway, he's told me that they've never been together and you know how Rothel is." Vena said in an attempt to comfort me. Personally, I didn't really care about that stuff. I guess that when you fake your life to so many people, it just ends up making people think you're someone you aren't. "Well, I gotta get going. Me and Kion are checking out this new movie at the Sphere Dome." She said and walked away. I stood there for a little bit, taking in what had happened and what kind of person my friends thought of me.
A few minutes later, the four of us, Areth, Kai, Lenne, and me, were swimming in the Sphere Pool. "Are you ready, Tidus?" Areth asked, smirking. "Don't worry about me; I'm always ready." I returned, sending my own smirk his way. The blitzball was shot up and both of us swam to grab it. This time, Areth got the ball. Quickly, he rocketed towards the goal. Lenne decided to stop him in his tracks, swimming up right in front of him and trying to steal the ball. Unfortunately, her idea of stealing the ball wasn't very productive. I smiled as she tried to grab the ball from Areth, the star of Bevelle maneuvering around each attempt. At least she got the guy distracted. Kai tried to keep me from interfering with Areth and Lenne, but I easily moved around his block, my agility being much more honed than his. I got to Areth and as he moved away from another of Lenne's grabs, I reached out and took the ball. "Lenne! Show 'em what you can do!" I exclaimed, passing her the ball. Quickly she swam upward, spun sideways in a dance-like manner, and kicked the ball at the goal. With me near Areth, I kept him from doing anything to catch the ball. However, Kai was aware of my plan and got to position just as the ball came, pegging it with a back-arm. It came toward his partner, but with me around, it was difficult for him to secure a catch and so I took the opportunity to catch the pass for him. So far, we'd been near our goal so I made a flip and sent the ball soaring as I came back around, giving the ball all of my momentum. It sped towards the goal, but Areth had taken his open position to swim to the goal and catch my shot. The sheer momentum sent him back some, but his mass was enough to stop a goal from being made. "You're good Tidus, but we're no amateurs." Kai said, swimming toward his goal and looking back for the pass. Areth swam to a clear enough area and sent the ball on its way, finally completing a pass for his team as Kai caught it and went in for the goal. Lenne went in, again trying to grab the ball. This time, she accidentally kicked him in the gut on one of her attempts and slowed him down. However, with the stamina he had, a simple kick wouldn't cause him to forfeit the possible goal. He ducked under Lenne and kept going. As much as my love wanted, she couldn't stop him from getting in the first goal. The score was a 1-0 starter.
The next blitz off, Lenne took my place and Kai did the same for Areth. Surprisingly, although she was the underdog, she managed to take the ball from Kai. Of course, I think I saw Kai purposely slip-up to help out my songstress. She swam over toward our goal as fast as she could, but Areth caught up and blocked her path. Fortunately, I was also around and made a pass right on her left side, getting the ball and slipping past the best of Bevelle. "Too slow, Areth ol' boy." I mocked, looking back. He started coming toward me, but I tossed the ball over his head and got it back to Lenne. "Lenne! Jecht Shot!" I suggested, going back into a defensive position to keep Areth away. Lenne bumped the ball with her head and soared over the Sphere Pool, starting a back-flip. She hit the Jecht Shot perfectly once more and it went sailing into our goal. Kai tried to pull off my move, but on the spin-kick, he missed the ball and it landed us a 1-1 score. Continuing off, me and Kai were at it, going for the ball. I swatted it away and into Lenne's arms and she started swimming to the goal. I kept Kai busy, circling around him every now and then. He was too pre-occupied with me to even think about getting to my partner. Lenne somehow dodged Areth's tackle, something I was glad about. If he hit her, I'd have to kill him. She got in a diagonally upward position from the goal. Areth came up from behind and she quickly pushed off him with her hands, allowing the ball to float to her feet. Using Areth, she sprung forth and struck the ball with her legs. "Kirin's move?" I asked no one in particular. I didn't know that Kirin had taught Lenne that move. In any case, it sank us a second goal.
"Hey how about one more and we call it a day?" Kai asked as the two of us watched Lenne and Areth ready themselves face-to-face, waiting for the ball to be launched. "What, you're tired already?" I mused, smirking at him with my head held high. "Well, I figure that being around a half hour to seven, you'd wanna call it a day." He replied. "It's how late?" I asked, not realizing that we'd spent so much of the afternoon waltzing up to the stadium and then waiting for Kion and Vena in the lounge. Each day passed so quickly. It was already nearing time to pack it in. I decided to agree with Kai and finish up the game with this next point. I noticed that Areth got the ball and was swimming towards the goal. Kai started following so I decided that I'd rather end this little game on a 3-1 rather than on a tie. Using my speed, I got in front of Areth and Lenne was slowly coming up behind Kai. While making my way in front of Areth, I grabbed the ball and started spinning it on my finger, the spin slowed by the water. "Tidus, why don't you try something original? I've seen the Jecht Shot so many times, frankly, it's become a bore to watch." Areth goaded, giving me a look of mock boredom. "Oh, so you want something surprising, eh?" I said with a fiendish smirk, "How's about this!" I dropped the ball and performed a typical kick. It hit straight into Kai, bounced off and came back to me. I punched it at Areth, letting it bounce off his arm and back to me. Finally, I kicked it up and spin around. "No it can't be! It's your father's move! It's the Sublimely Magnificent…" Kai stammered, gawking once he got his bearings back. "… Jecht Shot…" Areth continued, equally dazed. I kicked the ball and it zoomed right past Areth and into the goal, "… Mark III." The score finished at my desired 3-1.
"I didn't know you could do that." Kai said to me as we exited the Sphere Pool. "I'm just full of surprises." I replied with a smile. "You sure are…" Areth purred, sauntering up behind us. Lenne had gone ahead to shower and get her normal clothing back on. "Besides, if my old man can, why shouldn't I be able to?" I asked, wanting to know just what the big deal was about that dumb third-rate shot I pulled off from earlier. "Well, it is the single most legendary shot to ever grace blitzball." Kai said in a very matter-of-factly tone. "Untrue. There was that other Jecht Shot that could make the ball invisible and therefore, completely unblockable." Areth informed, looking at me from the corner of his eye. I grunted. Those two were just as bad as any of my dad's old fans. I mean they knew there was no Mark I or II, but they paid hundreds of thousands of gil just to make it to the games live to see if he'd use a Mark I or II. As for me, my fans come to see me because I'm the absolute best around. Even my father lost his earlier games. When I joined up, the Zanarkand Abes were invincible. Of course, it wasn't all me, but I helped some. Plus, unlike my father, my performance of the Jecht Shot was never blocked. His rookie move, but it did score him a few victories early on. However, the speed he got on the ball was nothing compared to the speed I could give it. In fact, his speed would probably be that of Lenne's and she's no blitzer.
"Well, it's getting to a quarter to eight. We should probably start looking for a hotel or something to stay at." Kai said, ready to wave goodbye to me and Lenne. "Hold on a second. You guys are permanent residents to Zanarkand now. What say you stay with me for the time being? I mean, even a five star hotel can't beat a star blitzer's home, right?" I asked, looking towards Areth. If anyone knew that, he did. I remember going to his house and seeing all that decorum. Areth's house was much flashier than mine, but regardless, the luxuries were most likely the same. "Tidus is right. My house is a lot better than even the highest quality hotels in Bevelle." He said to his friend. "Yea, but our hotels really blow." Came the response. "Yea, well, trust me. As good as the Zanarkand hotels are, my home's accommodations are that much better." I suggested with a pat to his shoulder.
At long last, he gave in. We walked Lenne back home and we said our goodbyes. The walk back to my house was short and pretty quiet. My guess was that those two former citizens of Bevelle were a little homesick. It didn't surprise me. I don't think I'd like to be away from Zanarkand and totally abandon it to side with its sworn enemy. "We're here!" I announced, displaying my home for the two of them to see. "C'mon, I'm beat. From the battle this morning to the blitz game just an hour before, I'm really drained." I continued, taking off my shirt and heading for my shower, "You two can roam around and find any guest room that you think you'd like to stay in." Reaching my shower, I threw my shirt into the hamper and got my pants in, too. I had an entire closet full of that garment and it was about time I washed that set. I turned on the water and entered, washing my hair and such. Mostly, I was just taking a shower because those images of Kion and Vena weren't going away, and we were swimming around in the pool and all. I finished up, dried off, and opened the door. "Oh hi Areth. You want to use the shower?" I asked, not expecting to open the door to anyone. "Uh, yes. I think I am in need of some cleaning." He said, a weird smile on his face. It was just strange because it was a little goofy looking, but reserved at the same time. In any case, I thought it looked strange. "It's all yours." I waved, walking past him to my bedroom.
I fell asleep rather quickly, the fatigue of the days events seeping my consciousness into the world of dreams. I found myself in Bevelle, sword in hand and in the dark. Areth was opposite me, his gunblade glimmering off the moonlight. We were face to face and in a light fog. Suddenly, he raised his weapon and fired one single shot at me. I lifted my arm to block the shot with my sword, but found my own weapon had vanished. Wide-eyed, I watched the bullet enter my chest, and spat out blood. I sank to one knee, clutching the wound and breathing raggedly. Areth walked up to me and smirked his usual smirk. My vision began to cloud, further covering my surroundings in fog. "I win…" He said to me as I blacked out.