Disclaimer: I don't own Final Fantasy X or any of its characters. But I DO want to own FFX-2 one of these days! (The game, yeah. I still won't own the characters, ok?!)

Character thoughts are in "italics." Eiga no renshuu!!!

************

"Am I real?"

I think I'm way past that thought from all that I've been though.

The real question is: "Is this real?"

It's like... living in a dream. Ironic, don't you think?

***************

Final Fantasy X: Beginnings

Chapter Ten: Recollection

**************

The bright Besaid sun beat down mercilessly on the Aurochs, who were practicing in the shallow waters near the beach. Tidus had finished all he needed to do, and just sat on the shore, watching Wakka and his teammates perfect yet another play.

"Today is the start of Blitzball season; and our big game against the Goers. Apparently, since that last match I played in two years ago, a rivalry developed. Guess they couldn't take losing to us underdogs. Wonder if those jerks have changed any?"

He looked behind him to check if Kimahri and the girls had arrived yet. The S.S. Likki was all set to go, all it needed were its passengers. Seeing no one there, he turned back around into his cross-legged position on the rock he was sitting on. He sighed, and looked up at the clouds to pass the time. Minutes passed and...

"Hey Tidus! It's time to get goin', ya?" Wakka had gotten out of the water and was shouting from across the pier.

He felt a tap on his shoulder and looked up to see Yuna smiling down at him, offering her hand to him. He took it, and got up; their hands staying a little longer than usual. They walked together with Rikku, Kimahri and Lulu to the ship, where the Aurochs had already boarded, stepping up on its familiar wooden planks.

"It helps that since Yuna's the Grand Maestress now, we get free rides almost everywhere. At least we don't have to bother Cid all the time, he's got that whole business of keeping the Al Bhed together, and helping Rikku with supplies for her machina lessons..." He looked over to where Rikku was; leaning over the rail, she stared out into the ocean while the ship started to move away from the dock. "Wonder how things went with her and Yuna the other day? She seems ok... I guess. Never really have been that great with girls and their complicated moods and things."

He sat down on the deck, near the bow of the boat, so he could watch the waves go by. Behind him, he could hear Yuna practicing her shield casting with Lulu. He turned around to watch her.

"Ok... go!" Lulu held a stopwatch, the same one used for Yuna's breathing practice.

Yuna extended her hands. "WALL!" Two barriers came up, surrounding both her and Lulu.

Lulu stopped it. "Nice, two people in two seconds," she said, smiling. The green glow of the barriers reflected off her pale skin. "You're getting to be pretty good at this."

Yuna relaxed a bit. "Thanks, I try." She looked away from Lulu for a second, her eyes locking briefly with Tidus' before she released the spell.

"It became really commonplace for Yuna to be practicing... especially after the assassination attempt. I mean, you never know when it could happen again. 'Course, not everyone can be happy with how a country is run... such is life. And there could also be more of Seymour's followers out there. It just seemed that taking down Tromell was just a bit too... easy. Guess us guardians really have our jobs back..."

Tidus stretched from his cross-legged position, letting out a long yawn. The Aurochs took their practice seriously apparently, and waking up early in the mornings was part of it. He walked down to the ships' cabin, he could probably get a good nap in by the time they arrived in Luca.

************

Tidus woke up to someone tapping on his shoulder. "Yeah, I'm awake, I'm awake..." he rubbed his eyes and looked up, surprised to find that it was Kimahri who woke him.

"Hey!" He made a waving motion with his hand, grinning at the blue guardian.

"...."

"Right... I guess we're here, huh?" He got up and started walking up to the deck, following Kimahri's lead.

************

The hustle and bustle of Luca was the same as always, and especially so because of the official start of Blitzball season. Tidus walked around with the rest of the group, taking in the city; it's sounds, the sights, and the people. Just being here reminded him of the first time he came here on the pilgrimage, telling the Goers off; something he was thinking of doing this year if Wakka didn't stop him first. It also reminded him of the first time he found Yuna after he had left Spira.

"The cameras, the crowding people, and all that sound... with Wakka and Lulu trying to desperately push them back. You know, I wouldn't mind some of the spotlight like back in Zanarkand... I kinda miss it. Guess I could make a name for myself with the Aurochs, who knows? Or maybe with that 'legendary guardian thing'..."

Tidus, lost in thought, almost walked into one of the purple-clad Goers if it wasn't for Yuna pulling him to a stop.

"Hey! Watch where you're going....?!" The Goer's angry tone changed markedly when he realized who he was talking to.

"This again, huh?" Tidus thought with amusement. He put his hands up in defense. "Sorry, I wasn't paying attention." He looked a little more closely at the player's face. "Hair's a bit different but..." Hey, you're Bickson, aren't you?"

"Yeah, you remember me?" He smiled, aloof.

"Boy do I ever..." Thoughts of the taunting in the sphere pool two years ago filled Tidus' memory. He was about to go mouthing off about how the Aurochs were about to trounce the Goers again, but decided against it, after looking at Yuna for a second. Her eyes told him that she knew what he was thinking. Sighing, he faced Bickson again. "Well, good luck in the game today."

"You too. It'll be tough beating a team with the legendary guardian in it and all." He "hmphed" and walked away towards the Goers locker room.

"Thanks." Yuna said, soft enough so that only he could hear.

"No problem." He whispered back. "Guess it's time I started acting more like my age... I'm not seventeen anymore." He smiled. "At least I'm not getting all rude and pompous like my old man... Well, hopefully."

The party walked down the left side into the stadium toward the Aurochs' locker room, making the game all the more real to Tidus. He could even feel the familiar pre-game rush of adrenaline.

"Tidus?" It was Yuna.

"Yeah. What's up?" He turned around, while Wakka opened the door for the rest of the Aurochs.

"We're going to go find our seats now," she pointed towards the others. "Good luck today, okay?" She got on her tiptoes and gave him a quick kiss on the cheek.

"Aww... we don't have time for the mushy stuff Yunie!" Rikku teased.

Tidus smiled. "Thanks."

Just then, the speakers blared with the commentators' voices, signaling the start of the festivities.

"Yes Jimma, this is a great day for Blitzball!"

"You said it Bobba! And we've got a real treat today! The Besaid Aurochs and the Goers will go at it for the first game of the season!

"Wow. I'm getting all excited from the anticipation!"

Wakka shouted at Tidus from inside. "Hey brudda, hurry up! That means the game's gonna start soon!"

Tidus rushed in after a quick goodbye to Yuna and the others. The problem wasn't in changing into his uniform, it was going over some of Wakka's plays and assigning players to them for the half. Amusingly, part of his part to play was still to "shoot like crazy."

"Well, if it works, it works, right?"

************

The crowd roared upon spotting both of the teams entering the sphere pool. Tidus looked up in the stands, spotting a glimpse of Yuna waving to him before turning to face Bickson across from him.

The buzzer blared, loud and clear in his ears.

Blitz Off! The sphere pool instantly became a whirlpool of moving bodies and water trails.

Tidus leapt for the ball, using his speed to help him to the target. Bickson looked as if he was closing in fast, so Tidus executed a quick flip to throw him off guard and kick the ball over to Letty, who immediately went into the right side formation to throw the defense off. Jassu came up the left side, with Tidus in tow, to take advantage of their distraction. The Goers had apparently forgot to take Tidus into account this game, because all of the defenders were doubling up on Wakka, the Aurochs' current primary shooter. "Besides, they still don't know I what I can really do..." He grinned as Letty neared the center, and he neared the goal.

"GURBLE!" Graav's yelp was muffled by the water. Letty had just thrown a wither pass right through him and straight to Jassu, who had no defenders around him. Staying still a moment, he attracted a few, then threw over all their heads to Tidus, swimming up behind him. "Here goes..." Even through there were no defenders around him thanks to Wakka's planned out play, Tidus decided to make the first goal a stylish one. He tossed the ball up, then spiked it off the goal keep's head, then kicked it off of the goalpost sending the trajectory high up in the water above him.

Back in the stands, Yuna held her breath. "He's gonna do it... the Magnificent Jecht Shot Mark III!"

Rikku was amazed. "Wow, you can recognize that from here?!"

Lulu laughed a bit. "Now if Wakka could ever do one of those... I'd certainly be impressed."

All the girls' eyes watched as Tidus' body began to spin faster and faster; ascending to catch up with the rapidly approaching blitzball. His eyes locked on, he did a final spin for momentum, and his right leg whipped out to send the ball flying towards the goal. Since the goalie was a bit dazed from the last strike to his head, his attempt to stop Tidus' shot wasn't even close; the ball sped in to the goal; stretching the net as far as it could go. Aurochs 1, Goers, 0. Now it was Goers' possession, though the moment they got up to the goal, a well placed Nap Shot from Botta put their shooter out of commission.

The Aurochs' point early in the first half had the Goers working extra hard on defense for the next three minutes. A lot of the Goers teamed up on Tidus, now that they saw him as a threat. Tidus grinned as he swam, seeing the strongest defenders on their team assigned to him. "Heh. NOW I got their respect... but this sure isn't a one man show..." With all the defenders on Tidus, the rest of the Aurochs had gone into a center attack formation, with the ball getting passed up to Wakka in the lead. Just against Abus, the goalie, Wakka shot it in from right in front of the goal lines. Aurochs 2, Goers 0.

Right as Bickson received the ball on Goers' possession after the blitz off, the buzzer rang for Halftime.

********

"Wow you guys! You're AWESOME!" Rikku bounded into the Aurochs' locker room, followed by Lulu and Yuna.

Wakka rubbed the back of his head. "Hehe. We try. But if weren't for Tidus here...ya? It wouldn't be so easy!"

"Aww Wakka... cut it out!" Tidus answered, embarrassed. Yuna and Rikku giggled a bit at his reaction, since of course they were expecting something along the lines of "Of course! I'm the star of the Zanarkand Abes!" Tidus could see it in their faces. And of course, Yuna was always easy to read.

"I guess I've changed... from then. I guess I've grown, just a bit. Two years can do that to you, even if they pass literally in an instant."

Out of the corner of his eye Tidus saw a nameplate on one of the lockers he hadn't noticed from before. "Yu...Yuna?!"

"What is it?" Yuna peeked her head around several Aurochs to see him.

"Come on over here, I wanna ask you something."

"Ok. hold on." She walked over to where she was, passing through Wakka, Jassu, and Datto on the way.

Tidus ran his fingers over her name on the locker. "So... you play?"

Yuna looked to where his fingers were. "Oh... that? I just have my stuff here for practice here once in while, you know? To be in a real sphere pool feels really different from at the beach! Wakka was trying to get me used to the feeling so he got a locker for me..."

While she was talking, Tidus got an idea, and grinned at Yuna, though this one looked a bit unusual.

"Uh... Tidus?" Yuna got a little nervous under his gaze.

He leaned in closer to whisper to her. "What would you say if...

"...No! I can't even hold my breath for that long!"

"... I'll tell you how! Come on!"

"..."

"Pleeeease? We'll all help you out!"

"... that means I have to change, right?" she blushed.

"O-oh yeah. Hold on."

Tidus looked up to see Wakka focused in on their conversation. "I was going to tell you the plays we have set up for the next half, but this sure seems a lot more interestin'..." He looked back and forth between the two, not knowing who was going to spill the beans first.

Tidus looked at Yuna for a second for a final approval of sorts, then turned to Wakka. "What do you think about subbing in Yuna for the next half of the game?"

Wakka grinned. "Weell, little Yuna's got to get out there some time and we've got a good lead so...LET'S DO IT!"

The Aurochs all gasped in surprise, except Botta.

"Am I on the bench?"

"No! I'm on the bench, man!" Wakka said, jokingly. He patted Yuna on the head playfully. "Make me proud, ya?"

Yuna giggled nervously, feeling a familiar flush come to her cheeks. Next to her, Tidus was all smiles.

"For Yuna, this is nothing. If she can beat Sin and save Spira, this game'll be a piece of cake! And besides... she's really cute when she gets embarrassed..." He thought, glancing at her once more.

***************

"Alright Jimma! This is it! The deciding half of the game!"

"And here come the teams Bobba! The Goers look determined to win!"

"Wait Jimma, is that who I think it is on the Aurochs?!"

"....it can't be!"

"G-Grand Maestress Yuna is on the starting lineup for this half, folks! We're in for a real treat today!"

"Uh huh... you said it Bobba."

Tidus was in awe of the crowd's reaction to Yuna's presence in the sphere pool, as were the surprised Goers. Yuna would've been too, but she was currently waving frantically at Tidus and alternately pointing to her puffed out cheeks.

"Oops. Time limit on the air! I almost forgot!" He waved at her to show he understood, and got the rest of the Aurochs into position for the Blitz off, forcing the Goers to get into formation as well.

Yuna, now the middle forward, put her knee down on the platform, ready to jump against Bickson for the ball. A few seconds counted down to the toss, and more time lost from her precious air supply.

The buzzer sounded, activating her quick reflexes.

Blitz Off! Yuna shot up to the ball, so fast that Bickson had barely leapt from starting position when Yuna passed the ball immediately to Datto to her right. Yuna smiled smugly at his expression for an instant before swimming off to her position for the upcoming play.

Tidus knew she had the speed, ever since she broke his fall on the S.S. Winno back then. "She must have been working really hard this whole time to get *this* good!"

Yuna swam straight down the center of the playing field, with the Goers distracted by Datto swimming with the ball to the extreme right of the pool. After a short encounter, Datto got through the defense with a Nap Pass, knocking out Balgerda in the process. He aimed the ball high above the sphere pool, in the air above.

Yuna propelled herself up and out of the sphere pool to catch it; grabbing a quick breath before she was submerged in the water once again. Her time limit had been reset. The Goer defense was quickly catching up to her position, and since no one was around Tidus over to the left of the goal, she wound up and threw it to him before she got caught up in the big mess.

Tidus caught it, and immediately readied himself for a Sphere Shot, bouncing the ball on top of his head, and then slamming into the goal with a vicious bicycle kick. Aurochs up one more, 3-0.

The crowd cheered wildly. Even the Goers' fans couldn't help cheering for Spira's Grand Maestress.

The teams got back into formation for Blitz Off for the change in possession, with Yuna smiling all the way there.

************

Up in the stands, Rikku, Wakka, Lulu, and Kimahri were watching the game with much interest.

"See, I told you she'd be ok!" Wakka said, putting his hand on one of Lulu's shoulders.

Lulu laughed a little. "Yeah, guess I was wrong about her."

"Hey Wakka, I could probably play blitzball too, huh?" Rikku grinned at him extra big.

Wakka rubbed his scruffy chin. "Hmm... maaaaybe. I'll think about it. But it'll take a lot of work, ya?!"

Rikku nodded. "Ok, ok, I got it. But Yunie's just so cool out there that I want to try it!"

"Kimahri never like water. Can't swim."

All three of them looked at Kimahri strangely, since he hadn't said a word the whole time until now. Lulu opened her mouth to say something back, but Kimahri just crossed his arms and looked intently back at the game, obviously not wanting to take the subject any further.

Rikku and Wakka edged in closer toward Lulu, who was in between them. "Scary..." she whispered. Wakka nodded in agreement.

Lulu shook her head. "I still don't get how Yuna understands him so well."

************

Back in the sphere pool, it was the Goers' possession, with a little under three minutes left in the half. Graav had just gotten a successful pass, after a nap shot had gone straight through Botta. The Aurochs were down one defender, so some defensive formations were in order. As Graav sped down the middle of the sphere pool, all of the Aurochs ganged up on him using a center attack. Graav managed to get through most of the defense, leaving him pitted against Yuna and Tidus. Tidus, with the higher attack, tackled him first, though it wasn't enough to get him to fumble the ball. Seeing this, Yuna tensed up, and executed a poison tackle on him, upping her attack, and allowing her to take possession of the ball. Now she had the ball, but all the physical exertion to get it took a toll on her air supply. Time was running out for her, so she motioned to Tidus in order to make the play they had talked about earlier.

"If you ever feel like you're about to run out of air, just call me..."

Tidus swam alongside her, so she could hand him the ball easily.

"I'll make sure you get a breath of fresh air."

Tidus swam off diagonally, and Yuna started to ascend in the sphere pool, her legs kicking up a trail of bubbles in her wake. She swam as fast as she could, breaking the surface of the water and flying up so high, she caught a glance of the crowds, before catching sight of a spinning blitzball coming into her field of vision.

"I promise."

Tidus, his work done, just sat back and watched Yuna, his Yuna, arch backwards in order to do a sphere kick, not unlike those he had done back in Zanarkand. Actually, that's where he got the idea for solving her little "breathing under water" problem. He grinned. "It's a wonder how she can make almost *anything* graceful..."

Yuna's foot connected with the ball cleanly, sending it through the air, into the water, and right past Abus, who couldn't see where the ball was coming from the distorted view underwater. Goal! Yuna fell, back first into the water, with Tidus there to catch her. She settled gently in his arms, finally relaxing for the first time in the game. She smiled up at him, and he smiled back.

Score up for Aurochs, and the game ended in the 10 seconds that followed. The buzzer rang, signaling the end of the game. The crowds were cheering wildly in the stands.

"Wow Jimma! A total shut-out by the Aurochs! The Goers must be crushed!"

"Looks like the Aurochs have been working really hard for this season, Bobba."

"Yeah, that with the Grand Maestress and the Legendary Guardian are on their team, they'll be a tough team to beat!"

"This is going to be an exciting season..."

"Yup, you said it."

*************

Down at the Aurochs' locker room, and on the whole way back to Besaid, everyone congratulated Yuna and Tidus on the game just played. After a while, the whole giving autographs thing and talking to fans came to the point of being exhausting. It was a thing that both of them had gotten used to, to a point. Especially after a blitzball game, being bombarded by so many people wasn't exactly the most pleasant of things.

After finally reaching Besaid and back to the hut, the two of them walked sluggishly and plopped down together on the couch in unison, both with the same expression on their faces. The rest of the group went off in different directions; Wakka and Lulu to the crusader's lodge, Rikku to the Al Bhed ship, and Kimahri to who knows where.

"Wow. I'm tired..." Tidus said, grinning. "Though it's a little of a thrill too."

"Mhmm..." Yuna closed her eyes and rested her head on his shoulder.

"You did good today. I'm really proud of you."

"Thanks," she giggled. "It was all because of your idea, you know."

"I was actually thinking of a different plan, but I don't think you would've liked it...."

"Really? How come?" Yuna opened her eyes and looked up at him, curious.

Tidus moved closer to her. "Just because..." his mischievous eyes locked with hers for a second, before catching her lips up in a short kiss, and at the same time, pushing a bit of air into her lungs. When the kiss ended, he looked at Yuna for her response.

"What do you mean I wouldn't like it? I...kinda did though..." Yuna blushed, and she attempted to hide it by looking down. "I-If you got your idea from Zanarkand, where did you get this idea from?"

Tidus sat up. "Did you ever wonder how you stayed underwater so long back when we were in Macalania?"

Yuna thought for a little. "So that's how... hmm. I really lost track of time then anyway..." she said, her blush returning.

Just then, Lulu came into the room, Chappu in her arms. She looked at the two on the couch. " I get tired just looking at you," she joked.

Yuna turned in her position to face her. "Oh, hi Lulu!" she smiled cutely.

"My, you're in a good mood today... feel like going to a party?"

Tidus and Yuna answered at the same time. "Party?"

"I went to pick up Chappu from the babysitter, and I heard they're throwing a celebration party for the first win of the season. I promise it won't be too hectic, Wakka and I will be there to help you out if you need us."

Yuna spoke up first. "I guess... a party sounds kind of fun."

"Wait, what about you, Lulu? Won't that be a burden for you?" Tidus asked.

"No, I've been doing this for Yuna for years already. Besides, would you rather have Wakka cook something to eat?"

"Ehh... probably not." Tidus said, a sour expression on his face.

"You two can probably come as you are, it's a pretty informal thing." Lulu adjusted her hold on Chappu, and turned to walk back out of the hut. "Just meet us out in front of the temple, ok?" She smiled, waving to someone as she walked outside.

Tidus stood up and stretched, and Yuna followed suit. "I'm glad she said it was an informal thing," Tidus said while yawning.

"Why's that? So you wouldn't have to wear Chappu's clothes again?"

"No, it's not that, I just like how you look in your blitzball uniform is all," he grinned and blushed, embarrassed.

Yuna smiled and took his hand. "Thanks..." she tiptoed to kiss him on the lips. "Let's get going to the party, shall we?"

The walked hand in hand out of the hut, and off to the celebration. On they way there, Tidus thought about all the things that had happened in the short time he had been back. It boggled his mind, how Yuna had kept her feelings for him this whole time he had been gone. He was glad for it; that she hadn't forgotten about him. But if he was to be put in the same position, he was sure that he'd probably act the same way.

"Hey Yuna."

"Yeah, Tidus?"

"I love you."

Yuna smiled inwardly before answering,

"...I love you too."

*******************

Author's Notes:

Whew! I finally got this chapter finished! (Imagine, this whole thing started out in... September?!) It's just that school has been totally been eating up ALL my free time this whole quarter. Argh. Well, no guarantees on when the next chapter is coming out, though having all this vacation coming up is going to help it. Oh yeah, sorry. But I think the next chapter is going to be the last. Though, I do have an idea for a new FFX story that actually has a plot! Look forward to it... sometime. :-)

Oh, about the content of the chapter? Sorry if there's too much blitzball for you, but I thought it would be cool to see Yuna in action for once. "Yuna in action..." contradiction for FFX, not so for FFX-2. Waaah. Makes me want the game even more. Oh yeah, randomness. Up at the top, "Eiga no renshuu," is literally, "smiling practice." It's what Yuna tells Tidus to do before they start laughing all weird.

And hey, notice the date? (11/23) it's my birthday! That makes me...twenty! Geez. It's so weird not being a teenager anymore when you've been one for so long. ;-) So here ya go. It's all backwards! A present from me to you.

Wait, I know! Perfect B-day gift! Leave a review! Now those make me pretty darn happy. :-)