The alarm didn't ring on my last morning in Luca, but I got up too early anyway - conditioned response. As soon as I gained consciousness, I knew that if I wanted to see the sun rise over the city, this was my last chance, and I got up and went out on the balcony. I'm usually not sentimental about things like that, but...well, you know. It had been a crazy few days.
My bare feet made slapping sounds on the patio as I stepped out and slid the door behind me. It was still dark, and I leaned against the railing to watch the first edges of the sun surface over the sea, casting a pale pink shadow on the waves. Damn, I hadn't gone to the beach once.
But then again, if this league thing worked out, I'd have other chances to catch the Lucan waves.
"Good morning, Linna," Miyu called softly. I turned to see her standing on her balcony, a long white nightgown wrapped around her. It was the first time I'd seen her in anything other than her Crusader uniform (I'd honestly figured maybe she slept in it), and the effect of seeing the dark hair curling around her shoulders and the face that was normally hidden behind the severe mask reminded me that she couldn't be all that much older than I was.
"Hey, Miyu. Come out for one last chance at seeing the sunrise?" I asked.
She smiled and leaned against her own railing. "I've come out every morning. Once I went for a walk along the beach. The city looks so peaceful at dawn." Her voice trailed off as we watched the sun, golden-red, finally burst all the way above the horizon. "In these moments, it seems as if Sin has never existed," she said finally.
The sun began to trace a slow arc into the sky. Gradually, the city caught the light and gleamed with pale pink and orange and yellow. A tiny breeze rippled through the streets, swaying the blitzball banners. They and the waves lapping at the shoreline were the only things that moved.
"You're going back, aren't you?" I asked.
"Yes. I must remain in Guadosalam to train for the upcoming league season, and...I could never leave the Farplane.
"Also," she added after a minute, "I must fight. Operation Mi'ihen failed, leaving your people and mine in disgrace, but we will redeem ourselves, Linna. Someday, Sin will be defeated forever. Until then, there will always be something else I can do."
The dawn finally broke and cracked like an eggshell, opening up to the morning inside. The sky had turned blue. The sun was a brilliant gold.
Something struck me. "This is what you're fighting for. You and Yuna and the others. To destroy Sin so we'll live to see another morning like this. And all the mornings after that one."
"Yes. But until that day, we must keep blitzing as well."
"Always nice to have an excuse." I stretched. Needed to get moving if I was going to get breakfast and meet with Tidus before catching my boat. It'd be a long swim back to Bikanel Island if I missed it. "Well, you up for one last crappy breakfast?"
"Of course. Give me just a few moments to get dressed." Miyu turned to go, and then stopped. "Forgive me for the odd question, but there wasn't anyone else there with you last night, was there?"
"Why would you think that?" I asked.
"It's just that I thought I heard - well, I must have imagined it. I'll see you shortly," she said, stepping back through the door into her room. The lock clicked behind her.
I went back inside and locked my own door. "Hey, blue eyes," I said quietly as I got close to the bed. "Rise and shine."
I checked out of the hotel on my way out. As soon as Miyu and I made it into the cafeteria, Tidus caught me - he'd been waiting by the door - and said, "Hey, sorry to grab you before breakfast, but could Wakka and I talk to you now? We gotta leave pretty soon."
Here it came. My tournament: some beautiful shots punctuated by some colossally stupid errors. High reward, high risk. I was hoping making MVP would make up for the latter, but you never knew. Maybe they'd want to go with someone who had less potential to be a liability - or not quite as big a mouth. Vilucha was probably available.
"Grab a seat, Linna," Tidus offered once we made it into the locker room office. Wakka was already there, rolling a ball around on the table while he waited for us. By now, the smell of sweat was ingrained in the walls. I realized I was actually gonna miss this place. "Oh. But before we do anything else, you'll probably want this." He pushed an envelope across the table at me. I opened it and counted. 3000 gil in all - 900 for each of the three games plus a bonus. Not bad for four days' work.
"We gotta get out of here same as you, so let's get to the point, ya?" Ahh, good old Wakka, always so succinct. "We wanna sign you for the next league season."
"Wait, don't talk, lemme finish," Tidus said before I could get a word in edgewise. "It's a little more than that. Wakka and I are heading off again to keep going with Yuna on her pilgrimage, and we don't know when we're gonna be back."
"Could be a while, ya know?" Wakka said. He was trying to sound cheerful, but it didn't quite come off. Apparently he knew what Tidus didn't: at least two of the people in their group wouldn't be coming back at all.
"Yeah," agreed Tidus. "So we need someone to be captain while we're gone."
Yep, that did sound like a problem. I tried to remember when Nimrook's contract was up; maybe they could hire him. "And you're picking..." I trailed off deliberately, prompting them to finish the thought.
Wakka leaned forward. "We were thinking, uh, maybe you might want to do it."
What.
"Me?" I pointed to myself, in case I'd made a mistake and they were talking to the other only other person in the room. They both nodded. "Wow. Why?"
"Because you know all those stats and stuff. And our guys - they're a good bunch, but they need a leader. And a shooter."
A leader? I thought about Bickson, the king of charisma; the Old Man; eternally-calm Nimrook; Wakka and Tidus and all the admiration they inspired. Hard to picture how I fit in with a group like that.
"I'm flattered, but I don't know shit about captaining a blitz team."
"I kinda figured." Tidus rubbed the back of his head. "So here's the plan I came up with. While we were gone, Letty's been kind of running the practices anyway, but he really doesn't want to be the captain."
"Says he wants to have some kinda free time," grumbled Wakka.
"So anyway, we figured he could...show you the ropes, you know? And then you can take over," Tidus finished.
"Did you talk to the rest of the team about this?"
Wakka nodded. "First thing this morning. They were good with it. You made some bad mistakes this tournament, but you know how to fight. You use it against the other team instead'a our guys, and you might turn into a decent leader, ya?"
It wasn't a bad assessment. For all his stupid hairstyle and blundering around yelling and bad attitude about the Al Bhed, Wakka could surprise you sometimes with his sharpness. And if the Aurochs ever got to be half as loyal to me as they were to him, I knew I'd be a damn good captain.
I was still kinda waiting for one of them to say gotcha!, but when they didn't, there was really only one answer I could give. "Well...yeah, then. Can't wait."
Tidus grinned. "Thanks. That's a big load off our shoulders. Play to win!" he ordered, slapping me on the shoulder. About halfway through the motion, he looked up and over my head. I followed his gaze and saw the summoner waiting in the locker room. She was hanging back from the door, trying not to pressure them, but she didn't have to. They reacted to her every move like she was yelling. No wonder this one was so hard to kidnap.
Wakka was on his feet instantly. "Time to go, Brudda. Linna, go get some breakfast and have a talk with the guys before you leave town, ya?"
"You got it," I said, getting up too. "Good luck, you two. Take care of yourselves out there."
"Hey, Linna?" he interrupted me. I stopped. "Thanks. Even if you are an Al Bhed, you still got a mean Nap Shot, ya know?"
I smiled. "Thanks, man. Even if you are a Yevonite, you still got a mean way with words." We clapped each other on the back in a jockish kind of way.
"I'm the one who needs to thank you," I said to Tidus when Wakka let me go. "This was my big break. You'd better come back when you're done beating the shit out of Sin, got it?"
"Sure." He didn't know it might be an empty promise, and I kept smiling like I didn't know it either. He gave me a hug, too, and then I turned and headed for the door. I took one last look back around the locker room as on my way out, but that was all. I'd be back here soon enough.
The rest of the Aurochs were all at our usual table when I got back to the cafeteria. I loaded up a tray - finally, now that the games were over, they'd started serving a decent breakfast - and circled around to join them.
"Hey, Linna! You gonna do it?" Botta asked. Straight to the point.
"Yeah. I am."
"Heyyyyy!" they all cheered, smacking me on the back. Letty let out a sigh of relief. "Whew. Glad someone else wants to be captain. I'd rather just focus on playing and let someone else handle the strategy, ya?"
"Good to have another shooter," Botta said. "That was our problem during the regular season. That sailor we hired at right forward wasn't bad overall, but her leg was the worst."
"You comin' to Besaid back with us, then?" Jassu asked.
I shook my head through a mouthful of toast. "I'm going Home for a while. I'll catch up with you guys before the season starts."
The table went silent.
Apparently they'd been expecting me just to pack up and move in with them. I wanted to explain: I had overdue bills to pay and a kid sister to look out for, and I'd need to find a lot of work between now and the start of the next season if I planned to take care of both those things. 3000 gil would only last so long, especially if I was supposed to pay these guys out of pocket - too late, I realized I'd forgotten to ask. I had a life at Home, not to mention a garden that must desperately need tending by someone competent by now.
But I figured it'd sound like a bunch of excuses, so all I said was, "I've got some stuff to take care of there." That didn't end up sounding much better, even to me. Privately, I thought Besaid might be a nice place to practice during the season. But actually living there?
"Well, come when you get a chance, ya?" Letty said, trying to make the best of it. "You can stay with me if you need."
"How come Letty gets all the girls?" Botta complained. "Don't listen to that nerd, Linna. My hut's bigger than his anyway."
"Your hut sucks," Letty shot back.
"Dude, Botta, ya built the frame, like, sideways. One more storm and it'll cave in on that round head a'yours and you'll have to wear two bandages on your nose." Jassu put his hands together and let them drop to demonstrate how that would work.
"Uh, Jassu? Didn't Botta, uh, build your frame too?" Keepa asked.
"Shut up."
"Besaid sounds so dramatic! Sorry to miss it right now," I cracked. "But I've gotta get going. Got a reservation on the next ferry for Bikanel."
"Since when is there a ferry for Bikanel?" Letty wanted to know.
"Since the Psyches chartered it."
I got up. Took a look around the table at them all - my team. My new team.
"It's been an honor so far, guys," I said. "Glad we're gonna get to keep it going."
"Yeah," Datto said. It was the first word he'd uttered since I'd been at the table. "So're we."
And every one of them stood up and shook the Al Bhed's hand, right in front of everyone else in the room. It wasn't the way they must've said goodbye to Wakka, or even Tidus. But it was something. As Bickson might say, it could be the start of something good.
I managed to catch Miyu's ferry just before it left and give her one last hug, with promises of letters and spheres and get-togethers for lemonade, that kind of thing. She and the other Glories were heading back toward the south bank of the Moonflow, where they'd catch a Shoopuf and then hike to Guadosalam.
Rin and the Psyches were already waiting onboard our charter boat when I got there, and the Aurochs were standing on the dock to see us off before heading to the ferry they were taking back to Kilika with the Beasts. But I was still waiting for one more person I'd been hoping to catch again before I left.
The captain was about to pull up the ramp when he charged out to the dock, shoving his slipping bandana back into place. "Looking for someone, Bickson?" I called, vaulting over the side of the boat onto the dock to meet him. The captain protested, and Rin's eyebrows shot up to his hairline, but maybe the people who've called me a showoff weren't wrong.
"Yeah, some blitzer with green eyes. Real bombshell, and I hear she just won the Cup. You know her?"
"I dunno. Does she hang around with an arrogant jerk with improbably red hair and pecs to die for?" I laughed.
"That's the one." He caught me around the waist. "You didn't think I'd let you run off without saying goodbye, did you?"
"Didn't this morning count?"
"I was still half-asleep. Late night."
The ferry whistle blew impatiently. "Guess they weren't kidding about that departure time," I said.
"Doesn't look like it." He leaned in to kiss me. "Get out of here, take your vacation."
"Practice hard, Goer. I'll see you in the sphere when I get back."
"I'm counting on it."
I headed back up the gangplank and it folded up behind me. As we set sail, the Besaiders cheered. The Aurochs bowed their goodbyes. I bowed back and then waved. "See you soon," Bickson called with a grin.
For once, he was even more right than he thought.
