Chapter Seven (7.2)
Seagulls screeched, waves crashed against the shore, and the wooden deck creaked beneath Kecci as he walked toward the bow. It was early in the morning; the sun was just over the horizon, yet he could already tell it would be a beautiful day. The island of Kilika loomed directly in front of him, growing steadily larger every second as the ship sailed in.
From this distance, Kecci could only see a few things on the island. That structure at the top of the mountain would surely be the temple, of course. he couldn't see the winding path that lead up through the jungle to the sacred place, but he knew it was there. Much closer to sea level was the tiny group of huts that made up one of the smaller towns on Kilika. The main port was on the other side of the island, a fairly large town-for Spira, at least.
However small the village they were sailing to was, it was a very important one. Not only did the wide, flat expanses of beach nearby provide a perfect training ground for up-and-coming blitzball players, the small village was the closest settlement to the Kilika Temple. All the summoners coming to the island came through this tiny hamlet. The full-fledged summoners would sail in, make their pilgrimage to the temple, then leave. Apprentice summoners and their guardians who were studying in Kilika-like Kecci and Neirana-would live in the small village for the duration of their training.
The young man turned around and made his way back to his small cabin. They would be docking in a few minutes. Kecci closed the door behind him and sat down on his neatly made bunk. For the next minute or so, he remained deep in thought. Jumbles of words, pictures, and emotions kept flashing through his mind. He didn't know if he should be happy, nervous, scared, excited, or if he should simply just break down crying. At long last, things seemed to sort themselves out in his mind, and he stood up again.
It was at that very moment that the bell on the top of the ship began to ring, signaling the beginning of the docking process. Kecci rubbed his eyes to clear them, then leaned down and slung his bag over his shoulder. With that, he looked around the small cabin to make sure he hadn't left anything behind. After his inspection, Kecci walked out the door into the sunlight, to meet whatever lay in wait.
Kecci stepped out on the deck, blinked several times to adapt his eyes to the sudden glare of light, and then turned towards the bow of the ship. Looking out over the water, he frowned. Kilika seemed a whole lot closer now than it had a scant few minutes ago. probably just a trick of the light, though.
He turned as he heard footsteps from behind him, to see Neirana briskly walking down the deck from her own cabin, her bag over her shoulder and Quicksilver at her side. She smiled at him, not a trace of the previous night's tears on her face. "You ready?" She asked him as she reached his side, setting her sea-green sack down at her feet.
The shorter boy managed a wan smile before turning to look at the rapidly approaching island town. "Do I have to answer that honestly?" Now, he could make out a crowd of people on the docks. they were waiting for them. Kecci felt a lump rise in his throat. 'I can't do this.' he thought to himself. 'There's no way I can do this.'
"Don't worry about it." Neirana squeezed his hand reassuringly. "We'll do just fine." The next moment, she dropped Kecci's hand, eyes wide, and began to wave excitedly to the people on the shore. "Kecci, it's the Beasts! The Kilika Beasts are training there!"
Confused, her best friend squinted as he tried to see the crowd better. and then he saw a blitzball bounce of the water, accompanied by a cheer from the crowd. They weren't there for the two kids from Luca, after all. they were there to watch the Beasts train. Kecci wasn't sure if he felt chagrined or relieved. Or maybe both.
Kilika was far too close, now. as Kecci watched, a tall muscular man in the uniform of the Kilika Beasts climbed out of the water onto the docks, and flashed a too-white grin that was visible from out on the boat. Inwardly, Kecci groaned, as Neirana waved even more excitedly. That was Olawa Andresen, in the flesh. The blitzball star pointed out at the ocean, at the approaching boat, and another cheer went up from the crowd. And this time, Kecci realized, they were actually cheering for him.
Five minutes passed in an instant, and before the apprentice summoner knew it, the boat gently bumped its side up against the dock, the ropes were tied, and the gangplank was lowered with an earsplitting creak. The crowd was still cheering. and amidst the haze in Kecci's head, he realized that he was picking up his bag and staff, and walking towards the plankway. Captain Brand was standing there, and smiled at the two teenagers. His lips moved, but Kecci didn't hear a thing, and simply nodded. 'I can't do this, oh Yevon, I can't do this, why am I doing this?'
Yet despite the protests of Kecci's brain, his legs kept moving of their own accord. three more steps down the wooden plank. two more. one more. Kecci's feet touched the wooden dock of Kilika, with an impossibly loud thud.
In that instant, the fogginess surrounding his mind evaporated, leaving only the harsh light of reality. There were only about twenty or thirty people there, but the sound they made seemed louder than the deafening roar of the blitzball stadium. Kecci was suddenly stricken by an overwhelming desire to jump into the ocean and sink from sight. They weren't cheering for him. They were cheering for the summoner-to-be.
One voice in particular cut through the din like a knife. "Well if it isn't little Nei!" the booming laugh echoed in Kecci's ears, and the crowd quickly became subdued. Olawa Andresen, water dripping from his muscular body, stepped into view, flashing his trademark grin at the blushing girl who had just walked off the gangplank behind Kecci. "You came all the way to Luca just to watch the Beasts training in our off-season? That's the mark of a pretty devoted fan."
Neirana shook her head, her face dark red. "N-no, Olawa. I'm. I'm here as a guardian." At that moment, the noise of the crowd stopped completely, and Olawa frowned.
"A guardian? To who? Where's the summoner that was supposed to be traveling on this ship anyway?"
A blush colored Kecci's dark cheeks, and he looked up to fix Andresen with a stare. "I'm the summoner. Well. apprentice summoner, anyway. She's my guardian."
As he said that, Kecci could feel the gaze of the crowd focusing on him as one, as if taking notice of him for the first time. He imagined he could hear whispers from the back, remarking that he didn't seem like much of a summoner. Yet Kecci fought the urge to look at his feet, and met the stare of the crowd. They were looking at him with curiosity, wonder, a bit of disbelief. Olawa just seemed confused.
There was one pair of eyes in particular that caught Kecci's attention. A girl, with an oddly pale face and long dark hair was staring at him, coolly evaluating him. Kecci didn't know why. but her eyes, her light green eyes, seemed to radiate a sense of incredible power. As he met her stare, a shiver ran up and down his spine, and he reflexively looked away.
"Well, well, well. a summoner, huh?" Andresen's voice was quieter, less mirthful. "That's a pretty big responsibility." His eyes seemed to harden. "I don't believe I ever caught your name."
Olawa Andresen was a very athletic person, quite strong and muscular. yet when Kecci looked into his sapphire eyes, he didn't even feel a fraction of the power that the girl had radiated. "My name is Kecci Hayado." He said with the same quiet tone that the blitzball star had used. Now, Kecci could definitely hear whispers coming from the crowd. Rikai Hayado had been a famous Crusader.
A momentary expression of shock passed over Andresen's face as he silently mouthed 'Hayado' to himself. but then he laughed again. "Well, then, Kecci, pleased to meet you! And you certainly are a lucky summoner, to have such a beautiful and talented guardian!" He walked over to where Kecci and Neirana were standing and extended his hand to the much shorter boy. Unsure of what to do, Kecci hesitantly took it and shook it.
Andresen turned and looked over his shoulder, and called out, "Hey, Jike, pass that up here, will ya?" A blitzball came sailing over the crowd, and the jock caught it in one massive hand. Turning back to Kecci, he grinned. "Well, Kecci, I hope you have fun training to be a summoner. the temple messenger isn't here yet, so while you're waiting. care to have a little dryland game?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to a wide expanse of beach where two goals had been set up some distance apart.
Loud laughter split the air, and everybody turned, startled. The pale girl with the black hair, giggling madly, ran away down the dock and into one of the huts above the water. As the crowd tried to figure out what her deal was, Olawa turned back to Kecci. "Well, what do you say?"
"I'm not an idiot, Andresen." Kecci tried to keep all traces of bitterness from his voice, but wasn't entirely sure that he had succeeded. "You're a professional blitzball player, and a star one at that. Even on dry land, you'll still beat me. Why subject myself to humiliation?"
The grin on Andresen's face grew wider. "Aww, come on. Okay, how about this? I need to score five times, you only need to score once. And if you want, anybody who wants to can help you out." Andresen fixed his grin on Neirana. "What do you say, do you want to help your pal Kecci here?"
Flushing bright red, Neirana shook her head. "N-no, I think I'll pass. sorry, Kecci," she said abashedly. "I'm going to sit this one out." Kecci felt a stab of pain but refused to let her see.
"Oh well. guess it's just you and me then." Andresen smiled that smile that Kecci wanted to hit. "But come on. five goals to one, I think that's a pretty fair set up, don't you?"
"Yeah, come on! Let's see some blitzball!" shouted someone from the throng of onlookers, setting off a torrent of shouts, egging Kecci on. The boy from Luca sighed. Even if he did say no, no one would hear him now. so despite what his best judgment told him to do, he nodded.
A minute or so later, Kecci found himself barefoot on the beach, facing down the star player of the Kilika Beasts, with a steadily growing crowd of about fifty people watching from the docks. The two opponents were about twenty feet apart, with a blitzball in the middle of them. Andresen's teammates were standing off to the side, snickering at the boy who was surely about to be humiliated. Kecci tried to ignore them, and failed. Most of the crowd seemed to be rooting for their homegrown hero, but there were a few who seemed to be cheering him on. Thankfully, Neirana was one of them.
There were two people who didn't seem to be cheering at all, however. One of them was the pale girl from before, having returned, and who was pointing straight at him. Right beside her was a man who was absolutely huge, dwarfing her. he had long, flowing red hair that reached all the way down to the center of his back. He seemed to be laughing.
He was so absorbed in his examination of the two that he almost missed Sena Kukata blowing the whistle that would start the impromptu match. Startled, Kecci's reaction time was slightly less than spectacular. He had barely started running for the ball when Andresen slid into the sand, kicking the ball with extreme force directly at Kecci. The shorter boy quickly changed direction, diving out of the path of the ball with inches to spare. and the blitzball went straight into the net. Andresen laughed, as did most of the onlookers. Kecci felt anger begin to build deep inside.
The next time the whistle blew, Kecci was ready, and sprinted for the ball. Thanks to a miracle of some sort (or maybe Andresen was going easy on him) he made it before the blitzball star, and scooped the ball up. In the next moment, he had fumbled it, and the jock booted it into the goal once more.
Kecci didn't even touch the ball the next two times, both of which were flashy over the head kicks straight into the goal. the fire burning within the apprentice summoner was raging now, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't win. Kecci was glad that this wasn't in the water, because his cheeks were so hot that he felt that he would be steaming were that the case. Resigning himself to humiliation, Kecci got down in preparation for the final blow of the whistle.
When it finally came, he took off, yet Andresen was quicker once more. The blitzball star scooped it up and tossed it into the air. Yet before the jock could kick it into the goal, a fiery blur smashed into him, sending him flying.
The blitzball fell out of the air, unkicked, with a dull 'thud', and lay there. Before Kecci knew what he was doing, he dashed forward and booted the ball with all of his might. surprisingly enough, it sailed across the sand and into the goal. The crowd immediately stopped cheering and laughing, stunned at this unexpected turn of events.
Kecci turned to see what had happened to Andresen, and started. The hugely muscular man with the long red hair was standing over the jock's prone body. From this close up, Kecci could see that he was about twenty, with a neatly trimmed goatee just as red as his hair.
With a face as red as the larger man's hair, Andresen climbed to his feet, obviously furious. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you stupid oaf? Who told you to butt in!"
The bigger man stared at the blitzball player calmly, and said, in an accented voice. "You did say that anyone who wanted could help him out. I wanted to help."
Andresen's eyes bulged at this, and as he heard the man's accent, began to rant again. "Oh, now I understand. you're a filthy Nagijin! No better than those heathen Al Bhed! So you come here with your prehistoric ways and think you can butt in to the affairs of your superiors? Go back to your cave!" Ranting and raving, Olawa Andresen didn't seem to notice the growing anger on the larger man's face. "Do you know who I am? I'm the star forward of the Kilika Beasts! I could have you arrested and sent back from the hell- "
In the blink of an eye, the Nagijin's massive fist had blasted out, socking the jock in the face. Andresen's eyes crossed as blood began to trickle from his nose, and then he sunk to the sand, unmoving. "Yes, I know who you are." the other man continued as if nothing had happened. "Oh, and by the way. go Fangs," he added, almost as an afterthought. The crowd began to murmur to itself. not only had this foreigner knocked their hero cold, but he had dared to root for another blitzball team in front of them. he was definitely a hair's breadth from crossing the line.
The Nagijin turned to Kecci, and grinned. "Interesting game, huh?" Kecci found himself unable to speak, and merely nodded. The taller man brushed his scorching hair behind his shoulder, walked over to Kecci, and shook his hand. "You're an apprentice summoner, eh? My name's Roth. I'm here with Nesici, the girl over there." As he said her name, he sighed, and Kecci got a suspicious feeling that the relationship between the two was more than friendly. "She's also training to be a summoner, and I'm her guardian."
So the girl that radiated power was going to be a summoner. made sense. and this Goliath was a guardian. "Impressive team you've got there." Kecci whispered, awestruck. These two would surely defeat Sin, he knew it. With such raw talent. the monster would never stand a chance. "I'm Kecci. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you indeed." Roth smiled. "So, let's go up to the temple, shall we? Then you can find where you'll be staying. it's definitely going to be an interesting few months, I can tell you that." And the two of them climbed onto the docks, ignoring the horrified stares of the onlookers as the remaining Beasts made sure that Olawa Andresen was okay.
Neirana was waiting for the two boys on the dock, with Kecci's bag and staff in her hand. She threw them down on the ground as he approached, anger on her face. "Nice game," she said icily. "Too bad you had to win by cheating." With that, she spun around and stalked off, carrying her own bag.
Scratching his head, Roth looked at her retreating back. "Who's that and what's her problem?" He asked, puzzled.
Kecci leaned down to pick up his stuff, a bit stunned by Neirana's cold attitude. "That's Neirana. my best friend and guardian. She's got a crush on Andresen, so you know." 'A stupid, stupid, naïve crush.' Kecci thought to himself.
"Wow. That's a bigger problem than I would've imagined. so, she's probably not very happy with us right now, huh?"
"You could say that." Kecci sighed as he watched Nei walking away in a huff. These were definitely going to be an interesting few months.
Seagulls screeched, waves crashed against the shore, and the wooden deck creaked beneath Kecci as he walked toward the bow. It was early in the morning; the sun was just over the horizon, yet he could already tell it would be a beautiful day. The island of Kilika loomed directly in front of him, growing steadily larger every second as the ship sailed in.
From this distance, Kecci could only see a few things on the island. That structure at the top of the mountain would surely be the temple, of course. he couldn't see the winding path that lead up through the jungle to the sacred place, but he knew it was there. Much closer to sea level was the tiny group of huts that made up one of the smaller towns on Kilika. The main port was on the other side of the island, a fairly large town-for Spira, at least.
However small the village they were sailing to was, it was a very important one. Not only did the wide, flat expanses of beach nearby provide a perfect training ground for up-and-coming blitzball players, the small village was the closest settlement to the Kilika Temple. All the summoners coming to the island came through this tiny hamlet. The full-fledged summoners would sail in, make their pilgrimage to the temple, then leave. Apprentice summoners and their guardians who were studying in Kilika-like Kecci and Neirana-would live in the small village for the duration of their training.
The young man turned around and made his way back to his small cabin. They would be docking in a few minutes. Kecci closed the door behind him and sat down on his neatly made bunk. For the next minute or so, he remained deep in thought. Jumbles of words, pictures, and emotions kept flashing through his mind. He didn't know if he should be happy, nervous, scared, excited, or if he should simply just break down crying. At long last, things seemed to sort themselves out in his mind, and he stood up again.
It was at that very moment that the bell on the top of the ship began to ring, signaling the beginning of the docking process. Kecci rubbed his eyes to clear them, then leaned down and slung his bag over his shoulder. With that, he looked around the small cabin to make sure he hadn't left anything behind. After his inspection, Kecci walked out the door into the sunlight, to meet whatever lay in wait.
Kecci stepped out on the deck, blinked several times to adapt his eyes to the sudden glare of light, and then turned towards the bow of the ship. Looking out over the water, he frowned. Kilika seemed a whole lot closer now than it had a scant few minutes ago. probably just a trick of the light, though.
He turned as he heard footsteps from behind him, to see Neirana briskly walking down the deck from her own cabin, her bag over her shoulder and Quicksilver at her side. She smiled at him, not a trace of the previous night's tears on her face. "You ready?" She asked him as she reached his side, setting her sea-green sack down at her feet.
The shorter boy managed a wan smile before turning to look at the rapidly approaching island town. "Do I have to answer that honestly?" Now, he could make out a crowd of people on the docks. they were waiting for them. Kecci felt a lump rise in his throat. 'I can't do this.' he thought to himself. 'There's no way I can do this.'
"Don't worry about it." Neirana squeezed his hand reassuringly. "We'll do just fine." The next moment, she dropped Kecci's hand, eyes wide, and began to wave excitedly to the people on the shore. "Kecci, it's the Beasts! The Kilika Beasts are training there!"
Confused, her best friend squinted as he tried to see the crowd better. and then he saw a blitzball bounce of the water, accompanied by a cheer from the crowd. They weren't there for the two kids from Luca, after all. they were there to watch the Beasts train. Kecci wasn't sure if he felt chagrined or relieved. Or maybe both.
Kilika was far too close, now. as Kecci watched, a tall muscular man in the uniform of the Kilika Beasts climbed out of the water onto the docks, and flashed a too-white grin that was visible from out on the boat. Inwardly, Kecci groaned, as Neirana waved even more excitedly. That was Olawa Andresen, in the flesh. The blitzball star pointed out at the ocean, at the approaching boat, and another cheer went up from the crowd. And this time, Kecci realized, they were actually cheering for him.
Five minutes passed in an instant, and before the apprentice summoner knew it, the boat gently bumped its side up against the dock, the ropes were tied, and the gangplank was lowered with an earsplitting creak. The crowd was still cheering. and amidst the haze in Kecci's head, he realized that he was picking up his bag and staff, and walking towards the plankway. Captain Brand was standing there, and smiled at the two teenagers. His lips moved, but Kecci didn't hear a thing, and simply nodded. 'I can't do this, oh Yevon, I can't do this, why am I doing this?'
Yet despite the protests of Kecci's brain, his legs kept moving of their own accord. three more steps down the wooden plank. two more. one more. Kecci's feet touched the wooden dock of Kilika, with an impossibly loud thud.
In that instant, the fogginess surrounding his mind evaporated, leaving only the harsh light of reality. There were only about twenty or thirty people there, but the sound they made seemed louder than the deafening roar of the blitzball stadium. Kecci was suddenly stricken by an overwhelming desire to jump into the ocean and sink from sight. They weren't cheering for him. They were cheering for the summoner-to-be.
One voice in particular cut through the din like a knife. "Well if it isn't little Nei!" the booming laugh echoed in Kecci's ears, and the crowd quickly became subdued. Olawa Andresen, water dripping from his muscular body, stepped into view, flashing his trademark grin at the blushing girl who had just walked off the gangplank behind Kecci. "You came all the way to Luca just to watch the Beasts training in our off-season? That's the mark of a pretty devoted fan."
Neirana shook her head, her face dark red. "N-no, Olawa. I'm. I'm here as a guardian." At that moment, the noise of the crowd stopped completely, and Olawa frowned.
"A guardian? To who? Where's the summoner that was supposed to be traveling on this ship anyway?"
A blush colored Kecci's dark cheeks, and he looked up to fix Andresen with a stare. "I'm the summoner. Well. apprentice summoner, anyway. She's my guardian."
As he said that, Kecci could feel the gaze of the crowd focusing on him as one, as if taking notice of him for the first time. He imagined he could hear whispers from the back, remarking that he didn't seem like much of a summoner. Yet Kecci fought the urge to look at his feet, and met the stare of the crowd. They were looking at him with curiosity, wonder, a bit of disbelief. Olawa just seemed confused.
There was one pair of eyes in particular that caught Kecci's attention. A girl, with an oddly pale face and long dark hair was staring at him, coolly evaluating him. Kecci didn't know why. but her eyes, her light green eyes, seemed to radiate a sense of incredible power. As he met her stare, a shiver ran up and down his spine, and he reflexively looked away.
"Well, well, well. a summoner, huh?" Andresen's voice was quieter, less mirthful. "That's a pretty big responsibility." His eyes seemed to harden. "I don't believe I ever caught your name."
Olawa Andresen was a very athletic person, quite strong and muscular. yet when Kecci looked into his sapphire eyes, he didn't even feel a fraction of the power that the girl had radiated. "My name is Kecci Hayado." He said with the same quiet tone that the blitzball star had used. Now, Kecci could definitely hear whispers coming from the crowd. Rikai Hayado had been a famous Crusader.
A momentary expression of shock passed over Andresen's face as he silently mouthed 'Hayado' to himself. but then he laughed again. "Well, then, Kecci, pleased to meet you! And you certainly are a lucky summoner, to have such a beautiful and talented guardian!" He walked over to where Kecci and Neirana were standing and extended his hand to the much shorter boy. Unsure of what to do, Kecci hesitantly took it and shook it.
Andresen turned and looked over his shoulder, and called out, "Hey, Jike, pass that up here, will ya?" A blitzball came sailing over the crowd, and the jock caught it in one massive hand. Turning back to Kecci, he grinned. "Well, Kecci, I hope you have fun training to be a summoner. the temple messenger isn't here yet, so while you're waiting. care to have a little dryland game?" He jerked his thumb over his shoulder to a wide expanse of beach where two goals had been set up some distance apart.
Loud laughter split the air, and everybody turned, startled. The pale girl with the black hair, giggling madly, ran away down the dock and into one of the huts above the water. As the crowd tried to figure out what her deal was, Olawa turned back to Kecci. "Well, what do you say?"
"I'm not an idiot, Andresen." Kecci tried to keep all traces of bitterness from his voice, but wasn't entirely sure that he had succeeded. "You're a professional blitzball player, and a star one at that. Even on dry land, you'll still beat me. Why subject myself to humiliation?"
The grin on Andresen's face grew wider. "Aww, come on. Okay, how about this? I need to score five times, you only need to score once. And if you want, anybody who wants to can help you out." Andresen fixed his grin on Neirana. "What do you say, do you want to help your pal Kecci here?"
Flushing bright red, Neirana shook her head. "N-no, I think I'll pass. sorry, Kecci," she said abashedly. "I'm going to sit this one out." Kecci felt a stab of pain but refused to let her see.
"Oh well. guess it's just you and me then." Andresen smiled that smile that Kecci wanted to hit. "But come on. five goals to one, I think that's a pretty fair set up, don't you?"
"Yeah, come on! Let's see some blitzball!" shouted someone from the throng of onlookers, setting off a torrent of shouts, egging Kecci on. The boy from Luca sighed. Even if he did say no, no one would hear him now. so despite what his best judgment told him to do, he nodded.
A minute or so later, Kecci found himself barefoot on the beach, facing down the star player of the Kilika Beasts, with a steadily growing crowd of about fifty people watching from the docks. The two opponents were about twenty feet apart, with a blitzball in the middle of them. Andresen's teammates were standing off to the side, snickering at the boy who was surely about to be humiliated. Kecci tried to ignore them, and failed. Most of the crowd seemed to be rooting for their homegrown hero, but there were a few who seemed to be cheering him on. Thankfully, Neirana was one of them.
There were two people who didn't seem to be cheering at all, however. One of them was the pale girl from before, having returned, and who was pointing straight at him. Right beside her was a man who was absolutely huge, dwarfing her. he had long, flowing red hair that reached all the way down to the center of his back. He seemed to be laughing.
He was so absorbed in his examination of the two that he almost missed Sena Kukata blowing the whistle that would start the impromptu match. Startled, Kecci's reaction time was slightly less than spectacular. He had barely started running for the ball when Andresen slid into the sand, kicking the ball with extreme force directly at Kecci. The shorter boy quickly changed direction, diving out of the path of the ball with inches to spare. and the blitzball went straight into the net. Andresen laughed, as did most of the onlookers. Kecci felt anger begin to build deep inside.
The next time the whistle blew, Kecci was ready, and sprinted for the ball. Thanks to a miracle of some sort (or maybe Andresen was going easy on him) he made it before the blitzball star, and scooped the ball up. In the next moment, he had fumbled it, and the jock booted it into the goal once more.
Kecci didn't even touch the ball the next two times, both of which were flashy over the head kicks straight into the goal. the fire burning within the apprentice summoner was raging now, but no matter how much he tried, he couldn't win. Kecci was glad that this wasn't in the water, because his cheeks were so hot that he felt that he would be steaming were that the case. Resigning himself to humiliation, Kecci got down in preparation for the final blow of the whistle.
When it finally came, he took off, yet Andresen was quicker once more. The blitzball star scooped it up and tossed it into the air. Yet before the jock could kick it into the goal, a fiery blur smashed into him, sending him flying.
The blitzball fell out of the air, unkicked, with a dull 'thud', and lay there. Before Kecci knew what he was doing, he dashed forward and booted the ball with all of his might. surprisingly enough, it sailed across the sand and into the goal. The crowd immediately stopped cheering and laughing, stunned at this unexpected turn of events.
Kecci turned to see what had happened to Andresen, and started. The hugely muscular man with the long red hair was standing over the jock's prone body. From this close up, Kecci could see that he was about twenty, with a neatly trimmed goatee just as red as his hair.
With a face as red as the larger man's hair, Andresen climbed to his feet, obviously furious. "What the hell do you think you're doing, you stupid oaf? Who told you to butt in!"
The bigger man stared at the blitzball player calmly, and said, in an accented voice. "You did say that anyone who wanted could help him out. I wanted to help."
Andresen's eyes bulged at this, and as he heard the man's accent, began to rant again. "Oh, now I understand. you're a filthy Nagijin! No better than those heathen Al Bhed! So you come here with your prehistoric ways and think you can butt in to the affairs of your superiors? Go back to your cave!" Ranting and raving, Olawa Andresen didn't seem to notice the growing anger on the larger man's face. "Do you know who I am? I'm the star forward of the Kilika Beasts! I could have you arrested and sent back from the hell- "
In the blink of an eye, the Nagijin's massive fist had blasted out, socking the jock in the face. Andresen's eyes crossed as blood began to trickle from his nose, and then he sunk to the sand, unmoving. "Yes, I know who you are." the other man continued as if nothing had happened. "Oh, and by the way. go Fangs," he added, almost as an afterthought. The crowd began to murmur to itself. not only had this foreigner knocked their hero cold, but he had dared to root for another blitzball team in front of them. he was definitely a hair's breadth from crossing the line.
The Nagijin turned to Kecci, and grinned. "Interesting game, huh?" Kecci found himself unable to speak, and merely nodded. The taller man brushed his scorching hair behind his shoulder, walked over to Kecci, and shook his hand. "You're an apprentice summoner, eh? My name's Roth. I'm here with Nesici, the girl over there." As he said her name, he sighed, and Kecci got a suspicious feeling that the relationship between the two was more than friendly. "She's also training to be a summoner, and I'm her guardian."
So the girl that radiated power was going to be a summoner. made sense. and this Goliath was a guardian. "Impressive team you've got there." Kecci whispered, awestruck. These two would surely defeat Sin, he knew it. With such raw talent. the monster would never stand a chance. "I'm Kecci. Nice to meet you."
"Nice to meet you indeed." Roth smiled. "So, let's go up to the temple, shall we? Then you can find where you'll be staying. it's definitely going to be an interesting few months, I can tell you that." And the two of them climbed onto the docks, ignoring the horrified stares of the onlookers as the remaining Beasts made sure that Olawa Andresen was okay.
Neirana was waiting for the two boys on the dock, with Kecci's bag and staff in her hand. She threw them down on the ground as he approached, anger on her face. "Nice game," she said icily. "Too bad you had to win by cheating." With that, she spun around and stalked off, carrying her own bag.
Scratching his head, Roth looked at her retreating back. "Who's that and what's her problem?" He asked, puzzled.
Kecci leaned down to pick up his stuff, a bit stunned by Neirana's cold attitude. "That's Neirana. my best friend and guardian. She's got a crush on Andresen, so you know." 'A stupid, stupid, naïve crush.' Kecci thought to himself.
"Wow. That's a bigger problem than I would've imagined. so, she's probably not very happy with us right now, huh?"
"You could say that." Kecci sighed as he watched Nei walking away in a huff. These were definitely going to be an interesting few months.
