Chapter Three

Three Weeks Later

Neirana walked down the cobblestone streets of the residential section of Luca. It was dark, the sun was not yet up, and the occasional bum—however, Luca managed its homeless problem quite well—was sprawled on the sidewalk. The girl, who had exchanged her normal casual wear for an outfit that was entirely tri-chromatic: blue sneakers, green shorts, a blue jacket over a golden top, and a green, blue, and gold bandanna around her neck with the logo of the Kilika Beasts blitzball team on it. Matching her outfit was her face, which she had painted over with her team's colors.

The street she was on was not one of the bigger roads in Luca. It was a narrow side street by the ocean, and as far away from the center of Luca and the blitzball stadium as it was as possible to be. However, cramped though it was, it was clean, and the soft torches flaming on the lampposts provided warm, flickering light. House after house was crammed in tight along the sides of the street, and it would be easy for a stranger to get lost. Neirana had been coming here every day for a long, long, time, ever since Kecci's family had moved, and she knew exactly where she was going.

Stopping in front of a small yet welcoming house, Neirana whispered loudly at a window on the second floor. "Hey, Kecci! Time to go!"

There was no response.

The girl called again, this time in a soft shout. "Kecci! Come on!"

Again, the window she was calling to showed no sign of reaction from within.

Frustrated this time, Neirana pounded on the wall and shouted. "Kecci, we're gonna be late if you don't move your sorry lazy butt RIGHT NOW!" A bum passing by on the street shot her a weird glance but said nothing.           

This time, Neirana got a reaction. The door opened a crack, and Kecci's mother poked her head out. "Oh, Neirana! Come in, come in! You'll catch your death of cold out there!" Neirana tried to protest, but she was cut off and led inside the house to the small kitchen that the family used. What seemed like hundreds of drawings Kecci had done as a child and as a teenager adorned the walls of the small room. Aside from a cooking unit, a sink, a pantry, and a lone table in the middle of the kitchen, there was nothing else in there. But then again, there was nothing more they needed.

Mrs. Hayado was decidedly unlike the 'plain yet sufficient' motto that her kitchen seemed to go by. She was one of the most striking women Neirana had ever seen, tall, dark-skinned, and beautiful, with long, curly hair, a flair for showmanship, and one of the kindest hearts possessed by anyone in Spira. Mrs. Hayado would always tell Neirana that she needed to bulk up some, that she needed to eat more. And then she would pile never-ending amounts of seconds and thirds and fourths on the girl's plate.

"Now then, dear," she was saying, as she went to the pantry. "Is there anything I can get you while we're waiting for Kecci to get dressed? Food, drink, anything?"

Neirana laughed. "No thank you, Mrs. Hayado. I already ate." She sat down at the table, and leaned back, as Mrs. Hayado quickly put together a ham sandwich and set it in front of her, nevertheless. She picked up half of it and began to nibble at it, mockingly protesting, "Mrs. Hayado, you're going to ruin my figure!"

Smiling, Kecci's mother responded, "Well, not if you keep eating like that!" The two women shared a laugh before Kecci came downstairs, looking oddly like he wanted to go back to bed. However, when he saw Neirana fully dressed in the colors of the Kilika Beasts, a large grin crept on to his face and it looked like he was going to burst into laughter at any second, but he contained it successfully.

"'Mornin'." Yawned her best friend, sliding out one of the wooden chairs and plopping down in it. His mother quickly set a plateful of steaming pancakes in front of him, and the teenage boy tore at them eagerly. Despite everything, Kecci was still small for his age.  "More, please?" He held up his plate to his mother, an eager look on his face, but was cut off by an impatient glare from Neirana. Kecci sighed. "Sorry, 'Rana. But I'm hungry!"

Neirana stood up from the table, and took another bite of her sandwich, before handing it to Kecci. "You can eat that on the way! But we have to hurry! Otherwise, we're not gonna make it before tickets go on sale!"

Her friend fought the need to roll his eyes. "Seriously, 'Rana… are front-row seats THAT important?"

"Yes!"

"Well… then let's go!" Kecci smiled at her.

The two friends thanked Mrs. Hayado much, and she gave her son a big hug and kiss on the forehead, which made him blush in embarrassment. And then they were off to the blitzball tournament.

* * *

Slowly, the sun crept from its hiding place behind the horizon, its golden fingers streaming over the ocean. The light washed over the skyline of Luca, the buildings and homes that were the biggest city in Spira. The most prominent structure on the skyline was not a house or anything of the sort, however. It was a large, bowl-shaped structure, with docks and piers protruding from it into the blue sea like spokes on a tire. Luca's famous blitzball stadium was an absolutely massive structure, easily dominating the rest of the skyline with its huge bulk.

On most days, at sunrise, the stadium would be empty, deserted except for several janitors and the like. Today, however was different. Even at this early hour, a crowd was forming outside the main entrances to the building. Their voices merged together to create an incessant buzz, as they all talked about their favorite teams, the best players, and who would take the Crystal Cup this time around.

The line went halfway around the immense stadium, and it was steadily growing. At the beginning, there were several ticket booths, none of which were open. Behind the booths were the gates to the interior of the stadium itself. Once one was in the stadium, they could either go around to the various docks, or go through the main passage into the stadium.

Seating in the gigantic stadium was done by sections, which were circles arranged in a concentric pattern. The section closest to the blitzball arena was Section A, behind that was Section B, and so on. There were also four levels for each of those sections.

All of those sections, all the way up to Section M, were going to be full on this occasion. Today was the biggest blitzball tournament of the year, and Neirana Sutir was absolutely not going to miss it. The girl, decked out in the colors of her favorite team—the Kilika Beasts—was near the front of the line for tickets, barely able to contain her excitement. "Kecci, here he comes!" she whispered excitedly to her best friend, as the man who wore a badge proclaiming him as part of the stadium staff approached to unlock the gates.

The minute the gates were open, the crowd let loose a loud cheer, and frantic blitzball fans pushed forward, eager to get their hands on the magic slips of paper that would allow them to get the best seats possible. Neirana edged her way through two slightly overweight fans dressed in the colors of the Luca Goers, and grinned at the man behind the ticket counter. "Two tickets for Section A, Level Two, Goalside, please!"

After the man printed the tickets out, Neirana's grin grew wider, and she paid, taking the tickets. "Kecci, come on!" She said, taking her best friend's hand and pulling the sleepy boy out of the line, which was quickly losing all pretense at order. Blitzball fans could be downright crazy when it came down to it.

Kecci yawned—he still wasn't completely awake. "Did you get the tickets, 'Rana?" he asked sleepily.

She smiled, waving the two 'Section A' tickets in front of his face. "You better believe it! We're gonna have the best seats in the…" her voice trailed off and her face grew concerned. "Kecci, are you okay?"

Her best friend was completely silent, staring off into the distance, past the crowd. Neirana followed his gaze to see the Crusaders, looking sharp in their red and blue uniforms, patrolling the gates, helping to keep order.

One of the Crusaders had a little boy with him, obviously his son. The child was staring up at his father, in total admiration, watching his father keep the peace.

Kecci shut his eyes, wanting to block that vision from his mind. 'That was me…' he thought to himself. A sudden stab of sadness shot through his heart, and he clenched his fists together. 'Dad… why'd you have to…'

Then, he felt a soft, warm hand on his arm, and opened his eyes. Neirana was staring at him, worry and caring evident on her face. "Kecci… are you okay?"

The boy nodded, closing his eyes once more to try and collect himself. He looked up at his best friend—Kecci was still short for his age, and probably would be forever—and gave her a soft smile. "Yeah. I guess I just saw that… and missed my dad. I used to come here all the time when he was stationed in Luca. I was so proud of him… I admired him so much."

His father had been a Crusader, one of the warriors dedicated to protect the people of Spira from Sin. Rikai Hayado was one of the best, people still said. With his phenomenal strength, unmatchable courage, and unsurpassable compassion and selflessness, he quickly rose through the ranks of the Crusaders. Unfortunately, his high rank meant that he would have to command different groups of the soldiers—and that meant he had to move all through Spira frequently. Kecci had been eight when his father had started to transfer.

Rikai had been unwilling to uproot his family so frequently, so he sent his Crusaders' paycheck home to them in Luca, and came to visit whenever he could. Then, when Kecci was eleven, the Crusaders clashed with Sin near the holy city of Bevelle. Rikai Hayado had lead a regiment of the soldiers in that battle, and they had been key in driving Sin away.

During the confrontation, Kecci's father came quite close to death, and afterwards, made the promise that he would go back to leading the Luca branch of the Crusaders. He went to one last post, on a peaceful island called Besaid, promising himself and his family that it would be his last.

He had been patrolling the beach one morning, before any of his men were awake, when he saw the telltale churning and wake, the bulge of water offshore that meant only one thing: Sin.

Rikai ran back to the settlement on Besaid, and awoke the group of Crusaders there. They were hopelessly outmatched against the fury of Sin, but nevertheless, the 31st Crusader unit fought bravely, and managed to save the people of Besaid, driving the monster away. However, their victory came at a cost. Nothing was found of any of the 31st, and they lived on only through tales, becoming known as heroes throughout Spira.

That was little comfort to Kecci or his mother. 

Kecci remembered the night he and his mother had received the notice. He had run out of the house, screaming and crying. He didn't know where he was running to, he just wanted to get away from the news, to pretend it didn't exist, to pretend it was yesterday. His father was okay; everything would be okay.

The young Kecci had ran all the way to the shore, where the cobblestone streets of Luca gave way to warm yellow sand. That late at night, it had been empty, the only beings on the sand seagulls. And then, too tired to run any more, he had collapsed on the sand, his wails ringing out over the dark water. Kecci had prayed for Sin to come, to take him to be with his father… but someone else had come instead.

His eyes snapped open, as the taller girl wrapping her arms around him, enfolding him in a warm hug, and jerked him from his reverie. "I'm sorry, Kecci…" Neirana whispered, totally turning out the noise of the blitzball crowd. "I know how much you were hurt…"

Blinking, Kecci looked up at his best friend's face, filled with concern. Neirana's tan forehead was wrinkled as she worried, her green eyes stared at him, caring evident in the emerald irises. And he remembered a scene oddly like this, four years before…

It had been her, hadn't it? Kecci had lived right next to her family's house and shop then… Neirana had heard him and had ran after him to find what was wrong. Her friend had been hurt, and she was going to help him, no matter what it took… She had come to him, and he had told her everything. They stayed on the beach that night, and had been found by Masa Sutir at dawn. Neirana and Kecci were sleeping side by side; the shorter boy nestled in his best friend's arms…

Kecci wiped some moisture from his eyes, blinked, and then smiled up at her. "It's okay… it's passed. I'm okay now. I guess I just couldn't help but remember."

"You sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine… come on, let's go get our seats!" Kecci wriggled his way out of Neirana's arms, took his ticket from her, and led the way into the stadium, followed by a still-concerned best friend.

As he handed the ticket to the man at the entrance, and took the clipped stub back, Kecci couldn't help looking back at Neirana, and whispering, "Thank you…"

Neirana looked up at him. "Did you say something, Kecci?"

A smile found its way onto Kecci's face, and he shook his head. "Nope, nothing at all."

* * *

"These seats are great!" shouted Kecci, grinning at his best friend. The two of them were slightly above and to the right of one of the blitzball goals. There were only four rows in front of them, as well.

Neirana turned to him and cupped a hand behind her ear. "What?" she responded, straining to hear him over the roar of the crowd.

Kecci laughed, and then leaned in close to her. "I said, these seats are great!" Neirana turned to him, and opened her mouth to respond. However, her reply was drowned out by a hugely loud whooshing noise.

Water was squirting from the gigantic pipes that were attached to the bottom of the clear sphere that formed the blitzball arena, with a deafening noise. The liquid spurted out, spraying all over the sides, slowly filling the huge sphere. The only other openings on the arena were the entrances and exits for the players. They were triangle-shaped airlocks, and the doors were closed now. Only when the players entered the arena would they open.

Neirana shook her head and laughed, pantomiming eating motions, telling Kecci that she was going to get up and go get some food. Her best friend nodded, and got up to join her. They left their bags on their seats, and went into the corridors of the stadium. Once they were far enough away from the noise that they could actually hear each other, Neirana tugged on her friend's arm, leading him down to the main level.

Raising an eyebrow, Kecci tugged the other way. "'Rana, all the food vendors are on this level! Why do you want to go down there?"

The taller girl laughed, throwing her blonde ponytail over her shoulder. "Kecci, I come here all the time, trust me on this one! There's a great vendor down by the locker rooms for the players!"

Her best friend chuckled. "Oh, and you aren't leading me down there just to get autographs from the players?"

She threw a grin at him, her green eyes sparkling with mischief. "Oh, Yevon forbid!"

The two of them went down to the main level, and turned to the right, heading to a cart that bore the name, 'Choco-Bob's Big Ones.' Kecci fought back the urge to laugh out loud at the absurdity of the name. With a grin on his face, he turned to his best friend, who cut him off with a look. "Okay, I KNOW it's a stupid name, but he makes REALLY good food!"

"I'll take your word for it, 'Rana." Kecci snickered.

Neirana ordered a meatball sandwich from the man at the stand, who was presumably the 'Choco-Bob' mentioned on the sign. After looking at the menu and pondering his choices, her best friend decided to go with the Chocobo on rye. Choco-Bob turned and began making their sandwiches.

As she began to say something, Neirana was faintly aware of pounding footsteps coming up from around the corner behind her, yet she paid no attention to them. The next thing she knew, her world spun around her as someone collided with her from behind, sending her sprawling.

Neirana landed hard on her elbow, sending a jolt of pain shooting up through her body. Wincing, she stood up and began to yell at the person who had knocked her down, when her jaw dropped.

The man who had knocked her down was tall, very well built, and strikingly handsome, with a chiseled, square jaw, wavy, short, dirty blonde hair, and sapphire eyes. A small white birthmark below his right eye was the only thing marring his visage. The man's outfit was clearly a uniform of some sort. There was a brown band around his waist, with a gold stripe in the middle of that. Below the brown band, he was wearing green shorts, with a blue, brown, and gold triangle pattern at the bottom. His sandals, which went up and covered his shins as well, were a rich blue. The gloves that the man wore matched the sandals perfectly. Above the brown band was a blue band, which attached to the red shoulder straps that helped hold the shirt up. Neirana knew this man—his image was on several posters around her room.

"Are you all right?" He said in a warm, deep, voice that made the awestruck girl think of chocolate of some sort. Neirana felt her knees grow weak, and a blush colored her tan cheeks as she flipped her ponytail over her shoulder. Unable to speak, she merely nodded.

Finally, Neirana found her voice. "Olawa… Olawa… Andresen…?" she managed to croak out. "The… star forward of the Kilika Beasts?"

The man grinned at her, displaying pearly white teeth. "That's me," he laughed in his wonderful bass. "I take it you're a fan?

The verbal dam that seemed to be holding Neirana back suddenly broke. "Holy-Yevon-I-am-such-a-fan-of-yours-can-I-have-your-autograph-I-love-your-playing-you're-my-favorite-blitzer-ever!" she burst out, stringing it all together as if it were one word.

Andresen laughed again. "Sure, you can have my autograph! Do you have a pen and a piece of paper?"

Neirana fumbled in her pockets and then, finding her autograph book and a pencil, handed both to the blitzball player with unsteady hands.

"'Rana, are you all right?" Kecci stepped over to her side. "You're acting all weird like…" he whispered to her.

"And who's this?" asked Andresen, as he signed Neirana's book, 'With love—Olawa', "Your boyfriend?"

The flustered girl shook her head vehemently, nudging Kecci away. "N-no! He's nothing like that!" She didn't notice the hurt look on her best friend's face, however, Kecci DID notice that Andresen's grin grew a bit wider.

"Well, too bad for you, pal, you're missing out on a fine lady!" The handsome blitzer winked at Kecci, then turned back to Neirana. "Well…" he paused, waiting for her name.

"Ne-Neirana!" she quickly supplied, her cheeks red.

"Okay then!" He laughed again. Kecci clenched his fists. This man's laugh was getting on his nerves… "Well, Neirana, I'll go out there and score one for you, how does that sound?"

The girl looked as if she was going to faint any second now. "I-I'm sitting in… S-section A… Level T-two… Ne-near the n-north goal." She stammered.

Andresen's alreadywide smirk grew even wider, and he nodded. "North goal? Well, that's where all my shots'll be headed, so that makes it even easier! When I score, I'll point to you! That way, you'll know it's for you! But I'm afraid you'll have to wait until the second round, since me 'n the Beasts have been seeded!"

Suddenly, a loud buzzer could be heard from inside the arena, and Olawa Andresen grinned at the pair. "Well, that means I have to go! …Say, 'Rana-babe, after the tourney, come down to the locker room! I'll see to it that you get in… oh, and you can bring your little friend, too," he said, throwing a nod at the fuming Kecci. "Enjoy the tournament!" With that, he ran off, heading down the stairs into the area reserved for players only.

Dizzily, as if she were in another plane of existence, the girl staggered over to the food cart, where she paid for her sandwich, and walked to the stairs leading up to the arena, gradually returning to normal. Kecci did the same, and stormed over to her. "I don't like him." He muttered, once he was at her side.

Neirana blinked, looking at him. "Don't like him? But he was so friendly!"

Her best friend frowned. "Maybe to you. But not to your 'little friend'. And also, it's TOTALLY obvious that he's one of those guys who only are into fangirls because they'll be willing to sleep with him. That man is obviously a total pervert."

"Kecci Hayado!" Neirana, holding her sandwich safely in one hand, put the other on her hip. "You don't even know him, and I think you're just assuming the worst! I think that's very unfair of you!"

Kecci sighed, and unwrapped his sandwich, taking a bite of it. She had been right, this WAS good food. "Sorry…" he said once he had swallowed his bite. "You're right… I'll try not to judge him, okay?"

The roar of the crowd ahead grew to hugely loud levels, and Neirana's eyes went wide. "It's starting! Come on, let's go!"