Yay! Done with the first chapter. This is just to introduce Ku, really. And there's a cameo! TWO cameos! Ha ha ha.

I can't write introductions. I need to hurry up and get to the next chapter. I really don't like this that much… and it feels like I'm copying from the game a little. It might just be me though. I always over-criticize my work.

Still, I'm too lazy to really fix this chapter. By the way, there really is a team called the Zanarkand Duggles. It's the one in FFX. I guess Spira-related things just like to happen when the Duggles are around.

Duggles makes me think of something fuzzy. With big googly eyes. I don't think I've ever used the word googly before in my life. Is it even a word?


Kirei na Kanjou

It was the last day of the blitzball tournament. The Abes from A-East had won all their previous games, and their final match was against the Duggles from C-South. The game was in its third quarter, leaving the score at 5-3, the Abes in the lead.

Ku watched the game from a distant seat in the far right of the 15th row. The seat was very far from the actual playing field and she could barely see anything, apart from the unlucky crowd members being hit by blitzballs and, from time to time, blitzball players. The whole stadium, both seats and aisles, were filled with people. It always was during blitzball games.

"Wow! Another perfect shot from the crowd favorite, Tidus!" The announcer's voice did not waver in the least, despite having said about 50 phrases already, all containing the words "Wow", "perfect", and "Tidus".

Tidus was the aspiring player of the Abes. His father, Jecht, had been the star player of the Zanarkand Abes before, but because of his death 9 years ago, his son had replaced him. In just one year, Tidus had become one of the best the team had ever had. It was obvious he had inherited talent from his predecessor.

Ugh… Ku thought. It's so crowded. I can barely breathe.

She got up out of her seat and moved into the aisle of bustling people. A small child instantly took her previously occupied place on the bench. Pushing forcefully through the thick crowd, she managed to make it outside to the unusually vacant streets.

"So everyone's inside the stadium today," Ku muttered quietly to herself. "No wonder it's so crowded."

She walked farther down the road and leaned over the edge of the street, her long black hair resting gently on her shoulders. Zanarkand always amazed her. Even though she had lived here all her life, she couldn't help but stare at the vast city. The sky was covered with streets that seemed to levitate above the surface. Streets were everywhere, no matter where you looked in Zanarkand. Down below, a wide plain of concrete was visible. Embedded into the concrete were the large metal beams that held the city up. Around her, Ku could see tall buildings that seemed to reach farther than the sky. They were all crammed tightly together.

"Funny. Most people I've seen don't look down in Zanarkand."

Ku was startled by the statement. Turning around, she saw a man with graying hair looking at her over his dark sunglasses. A scar ran over his right eye. One hand was hanging out of the center of his deep-red coat.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"No one you need to know," he replied.

Ku turned back to the city scene she had been previously viewing. "Everyone's in the stadium. You don't like blitzball or something?"

The man gave a short laugh as a small grin escaped his otherwise expressionless face. "I watch things from a distance. And it's not his time… yet."

She glanced over her shoulder at the mysterious man. "I guess I can understand that. I don't like crowded places very much… that's why it's so nice to have the streets to myself sometimes." She turned around and leaned against the siding of the street. Slumping to the ground, she questioned, "What do you mean, 'it's not his time'?"

He laughed once again, the same laugh he had done before, which was starting to annoy Ku a little. It was a discerning laugh, one that implied that one knew more than the other. That the other was missing something so obvious and all one could do was laugh at it. Added into it was the pain of remorse. "Just a promise I've been keeping for a friend."

"…Oh." The two stayed silent for a few minutes. Ku moved a few miscellaneous pebbles with her fingers while the red-clad man stood silently, staring at the horizon.

"He is waiting," he said suddenly. Ku looked up at him, puzzled.

"What? Who's waiting?" It was becoming unnerving being near him.

The man didn't answer. Instead, he said, "Be careful you don't get taken in by him. You are not the one he is waiting for. It is not yet time."

Ku put a hand to her forehead and turned around for a moment to think. Just when she was about to ask the man another question, she turned around to find he wasn't there. It was as if he had just disappeared; no one could be seen on the streets anywhere, other than a few scattered couples.

That's… weird, Ku thought. Who was that? Hmm?

Ku saw a metallic glint from one of the nearby alleyways. She looked over and saw nothing else. Trying to ignore it, the light came again, only showing itself for half a second before leaving. She walked cautiously over, sure someone was going to jump out at her. Peeking around the corner, she saw nothing. Silently, she walked into the alley, inspecting the objects inside. A dirty trashcan, a few broken cement blocks, and some fish bones were the only things present. She was about to leave when she saw the same flash behind her. She spun around to be met, once again, with nothing.

Ku walked deeper into the alley and started to run her hand across the rough surface of the bricks. Finally, she reached the back, the only place she had not looked at.

Touching it, she felt a strange sensation enter her, like she was being sucked into a vacuum, only the feeling was inside her body. When she looked behind her, she could see the city of Zanarkand, except it was very distant, and seemed to be drifting away from her. She tried to yell out, only to have her voice forced back into her throat. Facing frontward again, all Ku could see was darkness.

Although it was hard to tell, it felt like she was slowing down, and the feeling inside of her was getting less noticeable. Time seemed to stop altogether until a constant throbbing entered her head. Finally, the pain became too much for her. Everything went black.


Is it possible for everything to go black when you're in complete darkness? I guess it could happen…

I hope most of the characters are somewhat in-character… I think I made Rikku a little too… er, I don't know, happy, I guess? I'll try to make her sound more Rikku-like next time. Auron sounds so boring. Blargh. Oh well. He's out of the story now. HA HA HA, Auron! You can't be boring and weird (in a supposedly 'mysterious' way which didn't quite work) in my story anymore.

Y'know what I realized? 1) I write way too much in these italicized parts and 2) This story has a very cliché idea. It's probably the one most people would think of so no one writes about it. Therefore, no one writes it. And so, my story is still somewhat unique. And it has Brother in it. Which just makes it all so much better. 'Cause we all know that Brother should have been the main character in FFX. ^^

By the way, this story is probably going to be one of those really long ones. After all, I have to go through a whole pilgrimage… But hopefully it won't be so long that it's repetitive and boring. And that it gets so long I stop writing it out of laziness.