Not only did I update on time for once, but I also have an extra long chapter for all of you! Yay! And all in celebration of receiving 100 reviews! Thank you so much everybody, and I just hope that you keep reading and enjoying my story! I honestly found this chapter okay, it's not overly exciting or anything, but I think it will really lead into the story! Well, enjoy! (By the way, I just wanted you all to know that I'm sad 'cause my mom made me get rid of my pet ferret!!) Sorry, I know you're not here to hear me complain about the loss of my ferret, so, what are you waiting for? Enjoy!
Chapter 16: Troubling Attention
Tidus couldn't help but completely smirk as he sped down the road through the thunder plains and watch as Yuna jumped every time a bolt of lightning either came shockingly near the speeding car or a loud rumble of thunder was heard throughout the sky. Her eyes were open wide, and she was leaning completely far back in the seat, her hands still folded neatly in her lap, obviously trying not to jump.
"Storms scare you?" Tidus asked, his eyes side-glancing at Yuna as she gave another jump.
"Uh..." Yuna said, looking out the window, but then, shifting her eyes back straight ahead, "No, not really...It's just that, well, it rarely storms in Bevelle, as you probably realize, so I've never really been anywhere near this kind of weather before. Not only that, but Rikku has this huge fear of lightning, because her brother accidentally hit her with a thunder spell once when she was swimming. She used to live on an island known as Bikanel Island, back when Al Bhed people were still considered sacrilegious and not meant to live in a Yevon Society."
"So, you are scared of it too?" Tidus asked.
"Let's just say Rikku told me how terrible it was, and I really don't want any lightning to hit me."
Tidus laughed, "Haven't you ever been here before?"
"No, my father and I always travel by airship," Yuna explained, "And usually we only travel to our vacation home in Besaid."
It was fairly silent then, besides the constant sound of rain on the windshield, and the sound of thunder and lightning. However, it was already beginning to lighten up, and Yuna sighed out of relief as she noticed that they were completely avoiding Guadosalam. After all, that was where her father happened to be at the moment.
"Have you ever even been to Luca before for a major Blitz tourney?" Tidus asked Yuna, as they rain finally stopped, as they pulled out of the Thunder Plains.
"No, never," Yuna said, her eyes suddenly sparkling with excitement, "What's it like?"
"Well," Tidus said, not even bothering to hide the cockiness in his voice, "I've never seen one as a spectator's point of view, but from what I've seen, they're pretty incredible. People are everywhere, practically attacking their favorite Blitzers as they leave their locker rooms. The stadium will be completely full, and even outside of the stadium will be full. It's awesome! The best part, though, is being an actual player!"
"It sounds pretty incredible," Yuna said, thinking of how incredible it probably was.
The last week had flown by, from the time Yuna had first opened her eyes to realize she was at Tidus', to lying to the school headmaster that she was going to be with her father, to packing her bags and talking excitedly to Rikku, all the way until now, where she was sitting comfortably in Tidus' newest car, smiling to herself. Her smile grew even larger, for she knew that it was only a matter of time before they reached Luca.
She didn't know what was really the most exciting part of the trip, but she did know one thing: thinking of how much she'd disobeyed her father sent shivers through her. And not shivers of fear, but shivers of excitement. She was finally on her own, finally able to make decisions for herself. Her smile grew even wider yet as she suddenly recalled something.
"Tidus!" she said happily, turning to the driver, "You'll never believe what I did!"
"What?" Tidus asked, wondering what it was she was suddenly so excited over.
"I tried out for our ballet production," Yuna said, smiling to herself, as she recalled the event.
"You did?" Tidus asked, looking amazed, as if he didn't think she would.
"Yes, I did!" Yuna said, looking pleased with herself, "I was thinking of what you had said, and I decided to give it a try."
"How'd you do?" Tidus asked.
"Well," Yuna explained, "I had to try out late, being that I missed the official tryouts, but my instructor allowed me to try out as it were. However, Dona wasn't at all pleased...but I just thought of what you said about jealousy. I still don't know if that's what Dona's problem is, but I just did my routine anyway, not caring what Dona said or thought. We still haven't received word on who's to have the lead, but that's okay. It doesn't matter who gets it."
"That's great," Tidus said, smiling, "But I think I know who's going to get it!"
"Dona?" Yuna asked, amazed that he'd think such a thing.
"No! Of course not!" Tidus said, "You will."
Yuna just smiled, although quite a bit of self-doubt still remained in her. "Me? Yeah right..."
They rode along in silence for quite some time, not counting Tidus' sad attempts at singing to the radio, which only caused Yuna to have to stare out the window so that he wouldn't see her trying to conceal smiles.
Finally, they ran into quite a lot of traffic, which caused Yuna to moan, but caused Tidus to go, "YES!"
"How long are we going to be sitting here?" Yuna asked, ignoring Tidus' strange pleasure at seeing traffic.
"Not long at all," Tidus said, "See, we're almost to Luca!"
"You mean all these people are here for the tournament?" Yuna asked, her eyes growing wide, as she mentally counted the many cars that were spread ahead of them and behind them.
"Once we get there," Tidus said, "We'll go check into the hotel–by the way, you and I are sharing a suite, 'cause I got it so that I didn't have to share with any of my teammates!–and then after checking in, we'll head over to the stadium, and I'll show you the awesome box seats I scored for you! After that, we'll get something to eat, and then I'll show you the docks, and then—."
He continued on, telling her of all the things they would do, and then how the next day would be the first major day, and how many games she'd attend, and so forth, and before long, they were pulling into Luca.
Yuna watched the city as it passed by, through the window, enjoying herself. Her father had always assured her that Blitzball was just a game to entertain the people, something he himself need not be involved with. He also had assured Yuna that Luca was where a bunch of rebellious good-for-nothings lived, and wasn't a nice place. However, from what Yuna could see, Luca wasn't at all as gorgeous as Bevelle, nor as elegant, but it had such a sweet, old-fashioned yet youthful feel to it. The buildings seemed so old, and many were from the time of machina, while Bevelle's buildings were all much newer, minus the old-fashioned bits of machina that used to dot Spira. However, the crowd was a mixture of all ages, but Yuna noted right away that the majority was definitely that of youth.
"What do you think?" Tidus asked, as they pulled into the parking lot of a very large, and much more modern looking building.
"It's wonderful!" Yuna said, her eyes still glued to her many surroundings.
"It's just a big Blitz town!" Tidus said, "If the Goers weren't such bloody losers, I'd definitely be here."
"What about Zanarkand?" Yuna asked, as she stepped out and helped Tidus unload the luggage from the trunk, "I've heard that there are numerous sections, each with their own sphere pool! And there are parties every night, everywhere! And everybody has fun twenty-four seven, and—."
"—And that's not true," Tidus said, through gritted teeth as he slammed the trunk lid down hard, "Believe me, I know."
"Oh, sorry," Yuna just said, thinking back to the time that Rikku and her family had gone on vacation to Zanarkand. All Rikku had talked about was how cool it was.
"The people in Zanarkand are..." Tidus paused, as if looking for the right word, "Selfish. I mean, if you think I'm selfish, then you're wrong. People in Zanarkand know nothing but Blitzball, and they never leave Zanarkand. They wouldn't be caught dead in Luca, not even to watch their favorite teams compete."
"How many teams does Zanarkand have?" Yuna asked, her eyes certainly dimming. She'd always wanted to go to Zanarkand for as long as she could remember, and now Tidus was sitting there telling her only of horrible things. After all, Tidus would probably know, too, being that he'd lived there...
"Zanarkand has four teams," Tidus answered, "But they don't compete a whole lot, besides amongst themselves, which is a good thing, because they're the best there are. Only the top thirty or so Blitzers in Spira can play for a Zanarkand team, especially the Abes."
"Your father must have been pretty good, then, huh?" Yuna asked, remembering that he had played for the Abes.
"Yeah," Tidus said, nodding, "He's considered some kind of 'legend', or something like that. In fact, most of my teammates are convinced that the only reason I made the team was because of who my old man is. But that's not true."
"I know," Yuna said, and said quickly, "You play so well, I mean. Don't they realize that?"
"They're too jealous to see with their eyes," Tidus just said, shaking his head. They walked into the hotel, and the doors swished open, and they walked in to the large lobby, which said, "WELCOME BLITZERS!" in huge words across the ceiling. Overall, it was extremely elegant, not something Yuna would have expected for a bunch of Blitzball players, but more like something her father would stay in.
"Tidus, Bevelle Brutes," Tidus said, smiling at the young desk clerk, who looked ready to die as it were. Yuna smiled, realizing how much the desk clerk honestly looked as if she'd already managed to reach the farplane.
"Room 129!" the clerk gasped, and said, "You're the first from Bevelle to arrive! I hope it's okay though that you're rooming right next door to the Aurochs from Besaid."
"The Aurochs are going to be here?" Yuna asked, smiling, "I know a lot of them!"
Tidus let out a laugh, "You know them?"
"Yeah! The village of Besaid is rather small, so I know everybody basically who lives there!"
Tidus snorted. "You do know that Besaid's team...sucks...don't you?"
Yuna's smile faded, and she nodded, but then said, "At least they're nice guys."
"Whatever," Tidus just said, as a bell-boy took the luggage from him, "They still suck. Although they've got a new captain this year I hear."
As if seeing that Yuna looked somewhat hurt by his remark, Tidus just smiled, and led the way to the elevator, as if dropping the subject, although he knew as well as anybody else that the Aurochs' chance of winning was slim, and that was at most.
Tidus clicked the 'one' button, and the two waited as the elevator made its way slowly to the room.
"Our rooms are top-notch," Tidus said, "They're all enormous, with two bedrooms, a living room, and a kitchen. Most of the time, after the game, we have a huge party up on our floor, but that kind of sucks that the Aurochs are going to be there..."
"Yeah, but I'm sure they won't mind partying with you guys!" Yuna said with a smile.
"Uh, yeah, sure," Tidus just said, looking away. Yuna just didn't understand that the teams just didn't mingle with each other.
"Yuna," Tidus said, "For instance, my best friend is Al Bhed, so, naturally, he plays on the Al Bhed team. But the entire time we're here, we don't utter a word to each other. We pretend like we hate each other."
"How come?" Yuna asked, as Tidus unlocked the door to their room.
"Because, teams just don't intermix," Tidus said, shaking his head, "It just doesn't happen. The only time we talk to each other is on the off-season, get it? So, naturally, we're going to be sort of mean to the Aurochs. Not because we have anything against them, but that's just how it is. Of course, we won't waste our time on a team as bad as them, but we'll save it more for the Goers. Still, the Aurochs aren't going to party with us."
"Oh," Yuna just said, as Tidus slid open the door. Tidus felt kind of bad, noticing that Yuna's eyes were downcast, but he smiled as they brightened at seeing the room.
"Wow!" she said, as if forgetting what had just happened, "This is so neat!"
"Yeah," Tidus said, shutting the door behind him as they entered.
"Which room will be yours?" Yuna asked, staring into the rooms, both large, with huge king-size beds.
"Don't care," Tidus just said with a shrug, "We'll be so busy partying, there'll be little time for sleep!"
Yuna smiled brighter, still staring at the bedrooms, as if trying to make up her mind which one she wanted.
"But if you think this is cool," Tidus said, his eyes bright, "Just wait until you see the stadium! It's totally old-fashioned, but definitely awesome! Especially the seats I scored for you!"
"Let's go see them now!" Yuna said, hardly able to contain her excitement. Here she was, in a city she'd never dreamed of even seeing, with Tidus, the star-player of the Bevelle Brutes at her side, and finally by herself, finally able to make her own decisions.
Tidus smiled at her, took her hand, and started running down the hallway, with Yuna running along. Really, they probably appeared as two careless teens, just loving life and enjoying themselves, which as far as Yuna could tell, was what they were. Just two average, normal teens. Not Yuna, daughter of Braska, not Tidus, star-player of the Bevelle Brutes. Just two average, normal teenagers, here to enjoy themselves.
"We're not going to take the car," Tidus explained, "It's like way more fun to walk! You should see all of the colorful people we'll see!"
Yuna just smiled, her eyes obviously wide with excitement, as she allowed Tidus to led her through the excitement-packed streets, all while her smile never faded.
"You know," Tidus said, in an unintentional smug tone, "Someone may just stop me and ask for my autograph."
"Really?" Yuna said, figuring she probably sounded clueless. She really never thought of Tidus as famous, really, but she had to remind herself that really, Tidus was probably one of the most famous people in all of Spira! Well, at least to Blitz freaks.
"Yeah," Tidus said, smiling at Yuna, as if to say, 'what can I say? I am just too cool!'
Yuna just smiled back knowingly at Tidus, rolling her eyes, however, as she did so.
They were walking, Tidus practically having to drag Yuna along, for her eyes were so glued on all of her many surroundings that she would barely walk, when a man with a hat on suddenly said, "Look there!"
Everybody turned their heads and stared at the couple, making Yuna blush, although she figured the attention was on Tidus. Tidus just smiled, obviously sucking in the attention, and enjoying it as well.
Suddenly, however, a camera crew was suddenly there, and the crowd surrounded Tidus and Yuna, shoving microphones in their faces, yelling, "Lady Yuna and Tidus of the Bevelle Brutes, together? The son of legend Jecht dates Lord Braska's Daughter!"
Tidus just smiled, still enjoying the attention, but all Yuna could do was stare at the camera, her eyes wide in fear.
"How did you two meet? How long have you been together?" reporters were suddenly everywhere, and Tidus was beginning to grow somewhat uncomfortable, only to look at Yuna, who's eyes were wide with shock.
"Tidus!" Yuna said, clenching his shoulder, and staring at him with her wide eyes, "If my father sees this, we're both dead!"
Tidus looked over nervously at the camera, only to see the words "LIVE" flashing.
"Come on!" Tidus said, clenching Yuna' s hand and pushing his way through the crowd, dragging Yuna along with him, "Let's just get to the stadium!"
Yuna ran along, looking back at the curious looking reporters, all too excited to come after them.
"Tidus!" Yuna said as they ran, "My father will see this, and there'll be Yevonites after me in a heartbeat!"
"Just relax," Tidus said, still pulling her along, "I promise, I won't let them take you if they come! Besides, how are they going to find us?"
"It'll be easy!" Yuna moaned, but stopped as soon as the large stadium came into sight. She felt her eyes grow wide, as she stared at it. It was definitely old-fashioned, as Tidus had said before, but she couldn't help but feel enchanted by it. It had such a certain beauty to it.
Tidus smiled, noticing that their dilemma of the camera cast was already coming to an end for Yuna, although he still knew the threat of being seen on the screen.
"Come on, I'll show you to your seats!" Tidus said cheerfully, nodding at Yuna and smiling, before dragging her indoors. Normally at this time, the stadium was off limits to spectators, but for Tidus, anything was possible, or so he explained to Yuna, as he flashed an IP badge to one of the guards.
"Hey! Wait a second!" the guard said, grabbing Yuna's arm, "Ain't you Lord Braska's Daughter?"
Yuna stopped, looking at the guard fearfully. Was he already after her? Had her father already sent word that she was to be brought back to Bevelle?
"Uh...," Yuna only stuttered, all while Tidus himself looked nervously at the guard.
"Can I have your guys' autograph?" the guard just said, pulling out a Blitzball.
"Sure!" Tidus said, being that he was first to recover, as he took a pen from the guard and scrawled out his name, and then handed the pen to Yuna.
Yuna gave a shaky smile and signed the ball, before giving a little nod out of politeness, and bidding the guard farewell.
Tidus laughed as soon as they were away from the guard before saying, "Man, that was close, eh?"
"Too close!" Yuna said, and she started to fidget nervously with her hair.
"Hey, relax!" Tidus said again, "I told you, no one will take you away from me!"
"'Cept for maybe someone like me!"
Both turned around, fear in their eyes, to see Bickson, and the rest of the Goers, standing behind them, snickering.
Tidus just shook his head, anger replacing the fearfulness in his eyes.
"Come on Yuna, just ignore them," Tidus said, turning around and walking away.
"Not so cool without your teammates, eh?" Bickson taunted, and grabbed Tidus and pulled him back around, "You too chicken to fight me?"
"Ha!" Tidus just said, "As if!"
"Then go for it," Bickson said, putting his arms out as to say 'come on!'
Two other members of the team just crossed their arms, and two girls just snickered, all who looked Yuna over, their eyes looking at her quizzically.
"I'll save that for the game," Tidus just said, shaking his head, and then looked at Yuna, who returned his look with a nervous gleam in her eyes.
Bickson just rolled his eyes and said, "You must think you're pretty special, goin' out with Lord Braska's daughter. I don't know what she was thinking to go out with a loser like yourself!"
"Yeah Honey, wouldn't you rather go out with me?" one of Bickson's teammates said, flexing his muscles, while the two girls just scrunched their eyebrows, snickering at Yuna, as if telling her she wasn't good enough for anybody like Tidus, nor a member of the Goers.
Yuna sighed. She was really getting tired of this.
Serenely, Yuna walked up to the member who had referred to her as 'Honey', which caused Tidus to look nervous. She walked up to him, wearing a sweet and innocent smile, and said, "You know, maybe you're right! I would rather go out with you..."
Tidus' eyes opened, and Bickson snickered at Tidus.
Then, however, quicker than a Blitzball can even travel, Yuna smacked the member of the Goers and said, "If I was a complete slut!"
Then, putting her chin up, she marched over to Tidus, linked arms with him, and led the way down the walkway, all while the Goers just stared at them, all looking too confused and startled to make any movements.
"Yuna!" Tidus said, a smile creeping on his face as they got down a ways, "That was great! I didn't know you could be so...mean..."
"Well, they were being rude, and..." Yuna stopped, and flashed a smile at Tidus, "And you helped me once, so now I've helped you! I really would've liked to take care of that slimeball Bickson guy."
"Don't worry, I'll hit 'im hard for ya in the sphere pool!" Tidus said, his eyes lighting up as he led Yuna up some stairs, "And here," he then said, pointing toward a door, "These are your seats!"
He opened the door, to a small little room that was open, and that was basically all to itself. A large seat was there, as well as two little sphere screens in the corners, and then of course the big opening for viewing.
"It's lovely," Yuna said, smiling, realizing she'd have an entire box all to herself.
"And if you want," Tidus said, "You can call up some friends at the end of the week, and they can come watch the final game with you!"
Yuna smiled, her eyes focused at the empty sphere ahead of her. There were cleaners scrubbing it down for the big tournament, and all Yuna could do was sit down, and lean back in the chair, smiling at everything.
Tidus sat down next to her, leaning forward, staring at the sphere as if it were the most interesting thing in the world.
Without warning, Yuna smiled wide, and wrapped her arms around Tidus' neck, whispering, "Thank you for everything! You have no idea how much this means to me!"
"You're welcome," Tidus just said, returning Yuna's embrace. The two just sat there, soaking everything in, both with their eyes closed, knowing that this week was to be the best of their lives...