Chapter 10: Star Struck
The next night when Shuyin came out of the locker room after a late evening, he was surprised to find Lenne waiting for him outside the backroom door. Hair up in the puffy hat again, she didn't need the sunglasses because her features were hidden by dark shadows. There was no crowd because it wasn't a game night, but this time not even her little brother was present. Greeting him with an uncertain smile, she stood from where she sat on a low wall, listening to some music, and draped her headphones behind her neck before turning the music off.
Wary of her unexpected appearance, Shuyin half-expected Koji to appear from around the corner.
"I saw you leave the concert."
"I wanted to stay, but something came—"
"I asked Koji what upset you. He said you used to be friends but don't get along now. I'm sorry. I didn't realize seating you together would put you both in an uncomfortable situation."
Shuyin doubted that was all that Koji told her. "You don't need to apologize. You didn't do anything wrong."
"If I had known, I would have invited you on a different night. I'm willing to offer you another seat when he's not there."
"Thanks, but he probably wouldn't like that." Shuyin walked around her and toward the stadium exit.
Lenne walked with him. "It's just a concert. And it's my concert, so I can invite whoever I want. It can be our little secret."
He winced as if hearing Kaila's words again. For once, he reminded himself to think of the consequences of an impulse before following it. "Nah, I'll just pay for my tickets like everyone else. It's best if I stay clear of any suspect favors."
"But, there must be some way I can make it up to you. I feel terrible about this."
"It's no big deal, okay? Really." He continued to walk, crossing one of the many floating bridges of Zanarkand that led to the docks.
"If you say so." She gave up trying to press another concert on him. "Do you always work this late?"
"Extra hours in the gym lately. I've been ordered to put some weight on so I don't get knocked senseless in the pool by someone twice my size. Everyone on the team seems to think I'm as a stringy as a piece of seaweed."
"Seaweed has its uses." She smiled. "It can't push back, but it tangles around your feet, feeling all slimy. That alone can be very distracting and annoying."
He quirked a brow. "So, I'm a slimy idiot pervert now?"
She chuckled. "I think what I'm trying to say is you're agile. You swim fast and are all over the other players for that ball. Can't be fast if you're heavy."
He couldn't help but smirk at her response. "How would you know how I play? You don't watch blitzball."
"I watched you while I was sitting with my brother."
"And now you're a fan of the game?"
"No. But I can appreciate the difficulty of moving underwater like that. After all, Koji plays blitzball, too. He's still on his school team until he graduates, which is soon. But he has his heart set on going professional. I don't like the sport, but I like him. So, I'm not going to stand in his way."
Shuyin nodded in quiet agreement. "I guess Bahamut got interested in blitzball after watching Koji's games, then."
"No, he doesn't really connect with Koji that well. I don't know why he preferred to see the Abes play instead of asking to go to one of Koji's games."
"Maybe it's something to do with the grand spectacle of a pro game."
"Maybe."
"And what about you? Are you still in school?" he asked, curious.
"I went to school at the temple, but I've already finished."
"The temple? You're a ..."
"Summoner," she answered with a proud smile.
Shuyin was impressed. "Wow. You work with dead people. That's … kinda gross, actually."
Lenne laughed. "Well, at least I'm not slimy."
"I thought all summoners were old geezers. Now I kinda wish I'd chosen to stay at the temple's boarding school." He grinned playfully. "Doesn't it creep you out, though? Working with dead people, ghosts?"
"Death is just another part of life." Lenne shrugged. "Sometimes, when restless souls become tainted with their own sorrow and hate and turn into fiends, they become a problem for the living. Sometimes, a tainted soul must be forced to leave this world for the Farplane before it can rest in peace. Before High Summoner Yu Yevon established his temples to teach the Rites of Sending, our only defense was to fight them. But they often came back, and more people got hurt in those kinds of encounters. It's better to help the dead find their rest peacefully … before they can harm the living, ne? In this way, I protect life by tending to the dead."
Shuyin grew quiet as they crossed toward the end of the large bridge. "I remember watching them send my mom. All those pyreflies breaking apart and floating away to the Farplane while her body sank into the ocean ..."
Lenne nodded. "Well, at least watching a sending isn't as uncomfortable as watching someone call the dead back to life."
He stopped and blinked at her. "You're kidding, right? They can do that?"
"Some summoners with a strong awareness of the spirit world can draw pyreflies from the plane of magic and use them to temporarily revive the souls of the dead. And if the summoner is very strong, he can draw enough pyreflies together to resurrect the soul as an aeon."
Shuyin made a face. "What's an ... aeon?"
"It comes from an old word from Earth. An eon kinda means forever. Aeons are immortal, like all spirits. But they're different because they're pure. They haven't been tainted with vengeance. They're good fiends, if you like. Aeons can be banished like ordinary fiends," she explained, "but once an aeon has been created, other summoners can ask for its aid again and again. Aeons can help summoners defeat the tainted fiends to send them to the Farplane."
"And here I thought summoners were only good for summoning white magic, sending dead people, and telling us to sit up straight during prayers." Shuyin changed his expression and voice to mimic that of an old priest. "There are many mysteries in magic you couldn't possibly understand. You are not a summoner, my child. All you need to know is how to bow to Yevon. He is your god."
Lenne chuckled at his imitation, even if his comments bordered on sacrilege. "Well, he is capable of bringing the dead back to life. Not many people can claim to do such miracles. But that's why he built temples all over Spira to train new summoners—so more souls could be peacefully put to rest. They say he started as a precocious child with strong magic, like Bahamut. The souls of the dead always answer Bahamut's call. I saw him draw pyreflies over a butterfly once to bring it back for a moment, even though he was very young. If Bahamut's summoning magic grows with him, someday he might rival High Summoner Yevon himself. I'm very proud of him but concerned, as well. That's why I'm thankful you were able to make him laugh and feel included in something." She paused for a moment. "Is it possible for you to continue speaking to him at your games like that? Even if I take him to other games now, they won't mean half as much as your invitation did. Our parents divorced right after he was born, and we don't really have a relationship with our father anymore. So, as Bahamut gets older, having a friend like you to look up to would really mean a lot to him."
"He seems like a good kid, but … I'm not really the best role model for anyone."
"You don't have to babysit him or anything like that," she quickly added. "Just keep talking to him. And I'll try harder to bring him to more games like I promised."
Shuyin shook his head. "I don't think my getting involved with you guys would be a good idea. I'd better be going home. It was nice talking to you, though ... Lenne." Walking away, Shuyin left the bridge and road for a grassy hill that overlooked the harbor in one direction and the rest of the city toward Mt. Gagazet in the other. There, he dropped his duffle bag on the ground and sat down in the dark, cool grass to stretch out with his hands behind his head. Then, he drew one knee across the opposite ankle to stretch a sore muscle.
Lenne sat down in the grass beside him, almost startling him. "You don't have to give him special treatment like last time. I understand taking him through the locker room was against regulations. But would it be so hard to take five minutes to acknowledge him before a game now and then? You go outside to sign autographs at that time anyway."
"But when I talk to him now, I'll think of you. And I can't be thinking of you, okay?"
"This has nothing to do with me."
Shuyin pushed himself up on one elbow to face her. "It does now."
"Because of Koji?" she guessed.
"Bahamut should be doing big brother things with him, instead of me. If I get involved, Koji will think I'm making a move on you behind his back. There's too much resentment between us for me to be anywhere near you or your brother."
"So my brother should expect a cold shoulder from you at the next game?"
Shuyin shook his head in pathetic amusement as he looked at the ground. "No guilt trip there."
"That's how he'll interpret your silence after being so friendly before, especially if he sees you being friendly with other fans."
Sighing, he looked over his shoulder at her. "I'm not going to ignore your brother. If he's there, I'll talk. But no more concerts or notes or anything like that. Just an occasional game at the stadium."
"That's all I ask." She smiled, knowing that would have to do. With that settled, Lenne looked around at the location where he settled. "Interesting place to stop for the night. Do you live in a hole in the ground?"
Shuyin smirked and lay back on the grass again. "I live on the docks in a houseboat, but I usually stop here for a few minutes on my way home. Helps me sleep better if I can relax under the stars for a few minutes."
"A houseboat? I've never known anyone who lives on one of those. Can I see it?"
He was hesitant. "I guess, but ... "
"But …" She copied the undecided way that he said it.
"Well, it is where I live."
"Are you afraid I'm going to sneak over in the middle of the night and summon an aeon down on you?"
He chuckled. "Yes. That's exactly what keeps me awake at night—an unhealthy fear of summoners and their creepy, dead fiends."
Lenne laughed and faced the snow-covered mountain beyond the city. Wrapping her arms around her knees, she flexed the toes of her boots up with a light tapping motion. "This is a beautiful spot. I never paid much attention to it before. I used to live by the harbor, too, you know. My mother and Bahamut live just down that way about five blocks inland. I live on the mainland now, in the middle of everything, but it's so much more relaxed out here."
"I've lived my whole life on that boat, but I don't remember seeing you in the neighborhood before."
"We probably would have gone to the same school if I hadn't gone to the temple instead."
"Yeah? I could've thrown rubber snakes in your face and stuff."
Lenne quirked a brow. "In other words, you were a brat."
"Well, no. Okay, maybe a little." He gave a guilty shrug that made her laugh. "But I found this place when I was a kid because it helped me calm down. I used to stare at Mt. Gagazet and try to see where our campsite was. Then I'd count the stars until I got sleepy. Guess I never got over the counting thing to help me sleep, even when I'm dead tired like tonight."
"You used to camp on Gagazet? In all that snow?"
"There's a hot spring up there where the ronso live. They like to keep it a secret, but my old man knew about it. He used to take us camping up there all the time. We'd freeze our butts off in the snow and then run into the hot springs to warm up … which would make us even colder when we ran back out into the snow." He laughed, and she laughed with him. "So, we'd have to go back into the hot springs."
"Perhaps you should have just set up a tent over the hot springs."
"Are you kidding? Half the fun of being up there was digging out after a big snowfall. I remember once when I was about three, the snowfall overnight was nearly up to my chest. My old man was trying to dig out our campsite, and I kept trying to jump on his snow shovel for a ride—because I did stupid stuff like that when I was little. So, he picked me up and threw me into the huge pile of snow that he'd been stacking. Fwoomp!" With an animated gesture, he demonstrated being tossed and buried in a deep snow mound. "Swallowed me whole." He chuckled at the memory. "But it kept me out of his hair for a few minutes."
Lenne laughed with him again. "Only a few minutes? And now that you're older, you've outgrown the urge to do stupid stuff. Except when it comes to monkeys spanking themselves on notes to people you don't know."
Humored, Shuyin shrugged it off. "Okay, so I still do stupid stuff on occasion."
"Jecht sounds like he must have been an interesting person. Do you miss him?"
He shrugged. "If he had always been like that, I might. But he was a lot more difficult to be around than most people believe. He had a bad temper and drank too much. He always made fun of me because I wasn't as good as him. Even now that he's gone, I'm nothing more than Jecht Jr. to most people. I'm expected to play ball like him, even though I'm Shuyin. I guess that's why it's easier for me to go by Tidus sometimes. It's not my real name, but at least it's not his name, either. Tidus is the son he wished he could have had. Or maybe he's the person I wish I could be." Shuyin grew quiet.
"Oh, I don't know. This Shuyin character doesn't seem all that bad. He writes awful poetry, but I think he has a good heart based on what I know about him so far." Lenne smiled and rocked a little in her curled position on the grass.
"Are you really going to talk about me in third-person when I'm right here? Really?"
"Only when I have juicy gossip to share."
"Hm, juicy is usually bad."
"But even Jecht had good attributes despite the bad, right?"
He shrugged. "I guess so. I mean, when he was fun, he was a blast. But when he was pissed off, all you could do was get out of his way. I spent a lot of time getting out of his way and trying to get out from under his shadow. So, mostly I just stay mad at him." He looked at her, surprised she was listening to his drivel.
"None of us are perfect, Shuyin. We are all capable of doing good and bad things."
"You wouldn't have jumped out of his way." He smirked. "The way you slammed me for three little notes, I can only imagine what you would have come back at him with. You would have smacked him around with an aeon, right?"
She laughed at his teasing for her overreaction regarding the notes. "You had no right to talk to me that way, and I thought you were using my brother to try to meet me. Some people aren't above doing that, you know." She rested her chin in her fists with her elbows on her knees, and she tapped the toe of her boot lightly on the grass, watching it spring back every time she mashed it.
Shuyin thought of how Koji used Kaila and Birana toward his own goals last spring, and he wondered if his childhood friend was using Lenne now for similar reasons. As he studied the singer's profile beneath the moonlight, he found himself wondering how long she and Koji had been seeing each other, and if they were serious in their relationship. Then he felt bad for letting his mind wander. He decided he should leave.
Sitting up, Shuyin grabbed his duffle bag. "Well, that's enough time under the stars for one night." He started to stand, but fell back with a wince and favored his right foot. "Ouch-ch-ch-ch!"
"Did you hurt yourself? I can summon white magic, you know. I could—"
"No, it's nothing. My foot fell asleep because of how I had it propped on my knee at an angle."
A slow smirk curled the corner of her lips. "Well, I can fix that, too, if you like?"
"It's no big deal. Really. It just needs a minute before I stand on it."
Lenne took his ankle and gently squeezed around the bones as if feeling for an injury. "Does it hurt when I do this?" she asked, tapping one side of his athletic shoe.
He sucked air through his teeth and tried to pull his foot away, but her grip held firm.
"Hold still. I'm not done yet." She tugged his ankle to straighten his leg back out. "What about when I do this?" She tapped the other side of his shoe.
Shuyin winced and reflexively tried to pull away again. "Yes! It hurts!"
"What about now?" Still holding his ankle, she repeated the action but was unable to keep from snickering any more.
"You're doing that on purpose!" he finally realized.
Since she had already milked the stinging sensation for as much as it was worth, Lenne released his ankle but snickered and laughed that he had been so gullible.
"I can't believe you did that to me!" Shuyin tested his foot on solid ground as he stood. "You're one of those sadistic healers that rips off hair and skin along with bandages, aren't you? You know, the ones that tell you you're going to feel a little pinch before they jab you with a big, fat needle?"
"I can't believe you fell for it!" Still laughing, she stood beside him.
Shuyin shook his head at her prank and his own folly, but he enjoyed seeing her laugh, even if it had been at his expense. Lenne was … fun. She was beautiful, intelligent, determined, and sincere, as well. But she was Koji's girl—not just someone else's girl—Koji's. "Yeah, I fell alright," he admitted, but he wasn't referring to her joke.
"Aww, you're such a good sport." She consoled him with a light hug.
He returned the hug, but then made himself step back and shifted his duffle bag to his shoulder. "Well, I think that's enough shooting stars for one night."
"Are you going home? To the houseboat that I asked to see? I promise I'll leave all my creepy, dead fiends behind if you let me see it."
He knew he should have made up some excuse to make her go away, but he was tired and had no willpower left tonight. "Fine. You can come see the houseboat."
With a grin, she scurried to his side, and together they walked down the hill toward the harbor.
"Well, here we are," he announced when they crossed the pier to where his houseboat was docked.
Lenne stepped onto the deck and strolled from one side to the other, taking in the view of the harbor. "Oh, this is wonderful! How many rooms does it have?"
"Living room, kitchen, two bedrooms, bath and half-bath, engine room, cabin. They're all small, though. It's always been here, except when my old man took it fishing. Someday, I'll trade it for one of those really ritzy skyline apartments overlooking the bay, but for now, it's better than a boarding school."
"Why would you want to do that? It's perfect being small and cozy like this." She went to the rail to look down at the dark water gently rocking the boat, then turned to face him. "That's twice that you mentioned boarding school. I thought you looked younger than the rest of the team, but … how old are you?"
"Soon to be seventeen."
"Almost legal by Zanarkand standards. How soon?"
"Next week."
She smiled and nodded, storing that information away as she continued up the stairs to the top deck. There, she gazed out to where the black sea's horizon met the sparkling, indigo sky. Not having to hide from anyone here, she removed her hat and let her hair cascade down her back. The night breeze lifted a few strands and teased them into ghostly wisps. Smiling at how peaceful it was, she rubbed a chill from her arms and looked down at the moonlight's reflection on the water's surface. "I'll bet those gentle waves make a good lullaby at night. This is amazing, Shuyin. Don't ever trade it for an apartment in the center of the city."
As Lenne took in the view of the Zanarkand shore at night, Shuyin resisted the urge to stand near enough to chase away that chill. It did feel peaceful here. But he wondered why he never noticed it before. It was probably because, until now, the houseboat just felt … empty. Or maybe it was something more. No, it was definitely something more. Climbing the steps to join her on the upper deck, he drew close to her shoulder. He wanted to invite her to stay for a while, but he made himself say something completely different. "I think ... you should go now."
Lenne faced him with quiet surprise. She seemed to be trying to think of something else to say, but after a moment, she gave up and nodded in agreement. "Well, then …" She smiled. "Goodnight. And … thanks again ... about my brother. The invitation to another concert is still open if you want it."
He accepted that. Then he watched her descend the stairs and twist her hair back under her hat after she left the pier. As the singer walked home alone, Shuyin sighed and returned to the lower deck. He let his head thud heavily against the door for a minute, but then unlocked it and went in for the night.
