Chapter 6—Beginnings
Feint. Elbow smash. Spin kick. High kick.
My body was a blur of motion as I went through my daily routine, practicing some of my martial arts skills. Nothing taught, mind you. Just various things I've picked up through watching others, and also trial and error. I always figured, relying too heavily on what you've been shown would only lead to defeat. My style has always been to adjust to the opponent, and take opportunities when they arise. As I finished with a jumping roundhouse kick, I heard someone clapping behind me. Whirling around, I see Tidus leaning against a tree, a small smile on his face.
"You liked my demonstration, I take it?" I ask him, a small smirk crossing my features. Nodding, he walked over to me.
"Well, least I know now you won't be in as much trouble if you drop your sword or something!" he says, laughing. Grinning, I start to laugh too, as Tidus turns and speaks again.
"Come on, the party's about to start!" he says, running back towards Besaid. Looking up, I frown. The sun was about to go down. In the heat of training, I hadn't noticed it getting dark. Turning towards the village, I run as fast as I can, hoping to make it back to civilization before dark, so as to avoid any fiends that might appear.
As I arrive at the village, I look on in amazement. Everyone is out, talking and laughing, with lanterns everywhere to light the surroundings. I glance around, hoping to find someone I recognize, and spot Tidus and Wakka, talking nearby. The rest of the Aurochs are a few feet from them, conversing among themselves I assume. Walking over, I catch the last half of their conversation.
"...a little fuzzy, so don't mind him if he says anything odd. Come on, say hi."Wakka says, shoving Tidus forward.
"Uh...Hi, guys." he says, obviously nervous. "So, what's our goal?"
"To do our best!" the other Aurochs reply. Wakka cuts in a second later, shaking his head.
"Nope, we got a new goal now!Our new goal...is victory! To win every match, defeat every opposing team! To bring the Crystal Cup back to our island! That's all we need to do to win! Easy, ya?" he says, pumping a hand into the air. The Aurochs look a little unsure of this, muttering 'Victory?' among themselves for a moment, before breaking out into shouts.
"Victory! Victory!"
I smile a little at Wakka's pep talk, and look around some more, spotting the summoner a few yards away, talking to someone. I decide to go over and introduce myself, seeing as how I will be traveling with her and everything. Walking over, I notice just how pretty she looks, standing in the light of a lantern.
'Come on now, Ben. Pull yourself together. You're not here to examine her, you came to introduce yourself.' I say to myself.
"Uh...hi." I say, awkwardly trying to introduce myself.
She simply smiles back, seemingly noticing my unease. "Hello. What's your name, if you don't mind my asking?" she says, folding her hands in front of her.
"Ben. And you are?"
"Yuna. Very nice to meet you, Ben." she replies, doing the prayer gesture as an offer of greeting. I smile, before mimicking the movement.
"Same. So, you're leaving on your pilgrimage soon, I hear?" I say, looking back at Tidus for a split second, who's still talking to Wakka and the Aurochs.
Yuna nods, before smiling. "Yes. You've met my guardians, I believe?"
"Yes, I believe I have, but didn't catch their names. Besides Wakka." I answer, continuing my feigned ignorance.
"The woman over there is Lulu." she says, pointing to the woman dressed in black. "And that is Kimahri. He's a Ronso, from Mount Gagazet." she says, pointing to the blue lion creature.
"I see. Well, it was nice meeting you Yuna, and I hope to see you again." I say, deciding to make a hasty exit upon seeing Tidus approaching the two of us.
"It was nice to meet you too. Goodbye!" she says, as I hurriedly exit before Tidus approaches. I can't help but frown, overhearing several comments as Tidus approaches Yuna.
"You heathen!"
"Stay away from the summoner!"
"You're a bad man!"
'Boy, friendly bunch, aren't they...' I think to myself. Walking a slight distance away, I silently listen in on Tidus and Yuna's conversation, from the cover of a duo of palm trees.
"I'm Yuna. Thank you so much for your help earlier." she says, smiling at Tidus, who places a hand behind his head, slightly blushing.
"I'm sorry about that. Wasn't that...Wasn't I not supposed to...Guess I...kind of overreacted." he says, fumbling for words. I stifle a giggle, before continuing to listen.
"Oh, no. I was...overconfident." she replies.
Tidus scuffs a toe into the dirt for a moment, before speaking again.
"Um, I saw that aeon thing. That's amazing!" he says.
Yuna gets a broad grin on her face, clasping her hands in front of her happily.
"Really? Do you think I can become high summoner?"
Tidus nods. I almost laugh again, thinking to myself about how he probably has no clue what a high summoner is. Suddenly, a kid walks up, and tugs slightly on Yuna's skirt.
"Lady Yuna, come play with me some more!" the kid says, voice exuberant with happiness.
Yuna nods, before turning back to Tidus.
"So, tomorrow, then."
"Tomorrow?" Tidus asks.
"We're going on the same boat, aren't we?"
"Oh, really?" Tidus replies, having not known about it.
"We can talk more. You can tell me all about Zanarkand!" she says, before walking off to play with the kid.
'Now how did she know Tidus was from Zanarkand?' I think, utterly dumbfounded by Yuna's final words. 'Oh well. Don't ask, just accept.'
Walking back out from behind my hiding place, I walk up to Tidus just in time to see Wakka approach, shoving an elbow into Tidus' side playfully.
"She's cute, ya?" he says, grinning broadly at the smaller boy.
"Yeah!" Tidus says, making me smile.
'And so the romance begins...' I say to myself silently, before Wakka speaks up again.
"Don't get no ideas."
Tidus holds his hands up in a gesture of mock surrender. "No promises there, big guy. Hey, but what if she, like, comes on to me?" he asks. Wakka frowns slightly, before smiling again.
"That's not going to happen." he says, turning to look at the both of us now. "If you two get tired, let me know. I had some beds made up for you."
Yawning a little, I now realize just how tired I am. And with no way to tell how late it is, I decide I better get some sleep, just in case.
"I think I'll take that offer right now, Wakka. What about you?" I ask Tidus. Nodding, he turns to Wakka.
"Yea, I'm pretty tired myself." he says, stretching to emphasize the point. "Where are we sleeping?" Turning, Wakka walks back to the hut where Tidus was at earlier.
"Right here. Sleep tight, you two." he says, before walking away, presumably back to the others.
Entering the hut, I notice what appears to be our beds, one in each corner of the room. Walking over to one, I pause long enough to take my pants off, fold them, and place them on the table next to me, before climbing into the bed. Closing my eyes, I begin to drift off into a dreamless slumber.
"I hate you!"
Those words are the alarm clock that jolts me out of my sleep, causing me to almost fall out of the bed. Sitting up, I notice Tidus sitting straight up in the bed, breathing heavily, and looking as if he'd just come face to face with the one thing that he wanted to kill most in the world. Which, now that I think about it, he probably had. Suddenly, I hear a pair of voices outside. Throwing a finger over my lips to signal Tidus to stay quiet, we sneak over to the door, in the hopes of eavesdropping on this conversation. Peering out the door, I notice Lulu and Wakka, who appear to be having an argument.
"He does look a lot like Chappu. I was surprised, too, the first time I saw him. But no matter what he looks like, he isn't Chappu." she says, her voice calm. Suddenly, her voice changes, becoming laced with anger. "You shouldn't have brought him here in the first place!" she hisses at Wakka. Wakka looks chastised for a moment, before replying in an equally persuasive tone.
"Yea, but...he needed our help!"
"Excuses again?" she says.
"Yeah, but..." Wakka says, trying to find a way to calm his fellow guardian down. Lulu, however, would have none of it.
"That's it. No more. Enough, Wakka!" she says, making Wakka cringe, before she walks away, leaving Wakka to his own devices. Wakka simply sighs, before turning back to walk in the tent, and coming face to face with Tidus.
"Ah! Scare me half to death, why don't ya?" he says, jumping back. Tidus apparently doesn't care that he just scared Wakka, because he just starts to speak without asking him if he's okay, or anything.
"So, who's Chappu?" The look on Wakka's face flashes to anger for a moment, as he realizes that Tidus was listening, then to sorrow as he starts to explain.
"My little brother, Chappu. He looked like you."
Giving a small nod of acknowledgment, Tidus speaks again."He's dead?"
Wakka flinches a moment, before answering. "He was with the Crusaders when they fought Sin last year. He didn't make it." he says, hanging his head. "I first heard on the day of the tournament."
Looking over at Wakka, I begin to speak for the first time since awakening. "Man, bet that was tough. Having one of the most anticipated days of your career shattered by the news that your brother died to Sin..."
"Yeah. It was tough. But, I had my team there for support, and I'm glad I did. Made it a lot easier to deal with, you know?"
Smiling, I nod. "I've been there. I know how it feels to lose a loved one..."I trail off, lowering my head.
"I became a guardian to fight Sin, ya?" Tidus frowns at this.
"Revenge, then?" Wakka nods.
"That was the idea. But now, I'm more worried about a stupid game then avenging my brother. Well, after the next tournament, I'll be a guardian full time." Hanging his head again for a moment, he continues. "I know it looks like I'm using you, but I'm not."
Tidus smiles, and shrugs before replying. "Don't worry. I mean, I owe you a lot. You really helped me out, you know? What I mean is...thanks, Wakka." he says, extending his hand for Wakka to shake. Wakka lifts his hand, but then pulls away, shaking his head slightly.
"Stop, you're embarassing me!"
Yawning, I decide to speak up once again, just to remind them of the current time.
"You know, it's sometime around 2 in the morning or something. Shouldn't we be getting some rest for tomorrow?" I ask, scanning the other 2 intently. Nods from both follow, and all 3 of us return to our respective tents, soon to drift back into slumber. As I lay there, I can't help but think about what's to come.
"Still have yet to meet Seymour, and all the other major enemies and such. Wonder if that'll be any different, now that I'm actually here and not just looking through an outside view?"
Soon, I fall asleep again, still pondering the events yet to happen.
The next morning, I awaken to find Tidus still asleep, and look around for a moment to make sure that all of my stuff is still with me before we leave. Katana, check. Sphere Grid, check. Suddenly, I realize another thing I hadn't quite thought of yet. I didn't have any money. How could I buy food and other things without any money? For that matter, where could I get any? Dismissing the thought, I notice that Tidus is beginning to wake up.
"Morning. Sleep well?" I ask, stifling a yawn. Tidus yawns, and stand up before answering.
"Yeah. You?"
"Fine, I guess. Not much of a heavy sleeper. Come on, let's go find the others before they take off without us." I reply, walking out the tent, Tidus right behind me. Looking down the village trail, lit by the rising sun, I notice Wakka and Lulu standing near the village entrance. Tidus bounds over to them intent on starting a conversation, but Wakka beats him to it.
"Hey! Sleepyhead! Something I want to give you." he says, drawing out from behind his back what appears to be a sword made out of fine blue crystal, glimmering in the early morning sunlight. Lulu seems to be in a small bit of shock over this fact.
"Whoa! You're giving this...to me?" Tidus says, taking the sword and examining it. I simply stand there, doing much the same at a slightly greater distance.
"Yeah, use it well!" Lulu seems to have finally gotten over her initial shock, and starts to speak.
"That's the sword you gave Chappu." she says, making Wakka turn to her, a tinge of anger on his face.
"Well, he never used it." he says, face going back to a normal expression. "Where's Yuna?"
"We're taking the same boat as Yuna, right? Why do we gotta wait here?" Tidus asks.
"Yuna came to this village ten years ago, when the last Calm started." Wakka explains.
"The Calm?" Tidus interrupts, a confused expression returning to his face once again. Wakka just continues, ignoring Tidus' query for the moment.
"Since then, she's been like a little sister to me and Lulu. But she had the talent...she became an apprentice. Now, today, she leaves as a summoner."
"This is our journey...we should leave together." Lulu finishes. Turning around, I notice Yuna coming down the stairs of the temple, with several bags dangling from her hands. As she gets closer to us, Lulu yells out to her.
"You really don't need all that luggage." she says, causing Yuna to stop.
"They're not really my things. They're gifts for the temples we're to visit." she explains, causing a small look of disapproval to cross Wakka's features.
"This isn't a vacation, Yuna." he says, as Yuna slowly nods, placing the bags down beside Wakka's hut.
"I guess...I guess you're right." As she walks up to the four of us, I smile, realizing just how much she means to Wakka and Lulu now.
"Okay! Off we go!" Wakka says, turning to leave. The rest of us do the same, except for Yuna, who spares a small glance backward at the temple, and the place she calls home, before turning to follow us.
As we walk along the path leading back to the harbor, I look around, admiring the lush scenery, the clear blue water, the fierce looking Coyote fiends heading for us...
"Wait a minute, Coyotes?!" I exclaim, shaken out of my reverie. Wakka spins, seeing 3 of the Coyote fiends we fought earlier heading right for us. Drawing our weapons, we prepare for a fight. Yuna and Lulu stand back, deciding to let the 3 of us handle them. Tidus starts, seemingly eager to fight once again. Running up to the first, he swings the sword in a cleaving downward arc, only to have the creature dodge and bite him on the arm, causing him to drop the sword. As the fiend jumps back, it's hit in the head with a blitzball, thrown by Wakka.
"Cure!" Yuna waves her staff, and a wave of white and blue sparkles overtake Tidus, healing up the bite he just received.
The other two fiends head straight for me, and I hold my sword tight, waiting for the right moment. As the first jumps for my face, I duck, sending it sailing over my head to land behind me. The second, though, crashes straight into my gut, sending me flying back, with the wind knocked out of me as well. As I try to clear my head from the disorienting tackle, the fiend is suddenly impaled from the side by Tidus' new sword, and bursts into pyreflies. The second, that was behind me, jumps for me again, clawing me in the shoulder before Wakka crushes its ribcage with the blitzball.Yuna casts another Cure spell, and I blink a little as the wave of healing washes over me. It's a strangely warm feeling, but makes you flinch a little when it first hits you. As I saw the gashes heal up before my eyes, however, I decide not to complain and run back to help Wakka and Tidus dispose of the third fiend.
This one proves to be a menace, though. Lunging at Tidus with claws outstretched, it twists its body to avoid Wakka's blitzball, and slashes across. The only thing it hits, though, is the metal of Tidus' sword. Taking advantage of the moment of distraction, I try to decapitate the creature, but it jumps back and tries to snap at my ankles. Jumping up, I kick it in mid air, but having no footing, the kick is relatively weak. The fiend turns back to Wakka, and gets nailed full on in the face by the ball this time, crushing its skull in, causing it to dissipate into pyreflies. As the others regroup and turn to continue, something shiny catches my eye. Two small spheres, both red in color, are lying where one of the wolves was killed. Noticing a small 'P' on one, and 'M' on the other, I pocket them, realizing what they are, and run to catch up with the others.
Continuing down the path, we suddenly hear a screech, and look up, noticing two small seagull things diving down at us from the heavens.
"Divebeaks! Leave them to me and Lu!" Wakka yells, pulling his blitzball out again, as Lulu gets ready to cast a spell.
"Thunder!" Lulu cries, gesturing at the first Divebeak, as a bolt of electrical magic comes down on it, frying it instantly. Wakka takes the initiative then, hurling the ball at the other with all his might. Slamming into the chest of the creature, it falls to the ground, where Tidus quickly decapitates it. Wakka kneels down, picking up something from the body of the creature, before we all move on.
Rounding a bend in the road, we find ourselves back at a familiar spot. To be precise, the cliff that Tidus and I first saw the village from. Lulu and Yuna walk over to the edge, Yuna seeming a bit reluctant to leave her home of ten years. Lulu seems to notice this, and puts her hand on Yuna's shoulder, trying to calm her uneasiness.
"Take your time." she says, and Yuna nods. Giving one last look at her home, she turns and walks back down the incline, towards the rest of us. Tidus, however, seems to be getting slightly impatient.
"Let's get going, man!" he says, turning to Wakka.
"Tidus, chill. Yuna's about to leave her home, and go all over the world. Wouldn't you want to stay as long as you could?" I interrupt, a little annoyed at his childish behavior. Of course, I can't tell him the real reason that Yuna seems hesitant to start her pilgrimage. Yuna doesn't seem to have heard us, as she walks past us, and approaches a stone statue that is a few yards from us. Lulu and Wakka follow her, and I shrug, deciding to go as well. The 3 of them bow down and begin to pray, so I do the same out of respect. Tidus walks over, and queries as to what we're doing.
"What's going on?" he asks, causing Wakka to pause for a moment to explain.
"It's an ancient custom. People leaving the island pray here for a safe trip. Chappu didn't pray that day. Said he'd miss his boat." Tidus seems to understand, and after a moment's hesitance, joins us in prayer.
"That should do it!" Wakka says, standing up after a minute. Turning away the rest of us, he begins to walk down the trail towards the harbor again, quickly followed by Yuna and Lulu. Tidus and myself rush after them, not wanting to be left behind. As we near a group of old ruins, a low growl catches my attention, and I look up just in time to see Kimahri leap down from a high pillar, right in front of Tidus and I. And right now, he doesn't look like he wants to talk. Leaving my sword sheathed, I take up a defensive stance. Kimahri is one of Yuna's guardians, after all, and I don't want to unintentionally hurt him. Tidus, however, doesn't seem to care about that, and holds his sword at the ready.
Kimahri makes the first move, whipping the dull end of his polearm around in an arc, hoping to catch me in the side. Ducking, I let the polearm whiz overhead, and Tidus jumps in, slashing downward. Kimahri brings the weapon up to block, however, and twists it, knocking Tidus' sword aside and smacking him in the side of the head as well. Charging in, I throw a right punch, followed by a left high kick. Kimahri dodges the punch, then ducks under the kick, swiping my legs out from under me as he ducks. Slamming my back into the ground, I roll away just as the pole comes down where my neck was. Tidus leaps up, and smashes the flat of the blade into Kimahri's side, earning a grunt from the Ronso for his efforts. Kimahri holds his hand up to his face, before jumping on his polearm like a pogo stick, and bounding into the air.
"Uh-oh. His overdrive..." I think, just before he lands in between the two of us, sending us both flying a few feet with the shockwave of the impact. Determined not to lose that easily, I struggle to my feet, and run at Kimahri again, throwing a feinted left hook, before stopping and spinning the opposite way in a roundhouse kick. The kick lands on the left side of Kimahri's head, dazing the Ronso for a minute. Wakka jumps in at this, sensing the need to end the fight before Kimahri decides to go all out on us.
"That's enough!" he yells, causing Tidus to stop moving, as well as Kimahri, who wanders off again. Shaking his head, Tidus speaks up.
"What's with that guy?"
"Kimahri Ronso, of the Ronso tribe. He's learned the fiends' way of fighting." Lulu answers, misinterpreting Tidus' inquiry, on purpose, I believe.
"That's not what I meant!"
"He's another of Yuna's guardians." Wakka replies, causing Tidus to go 'Huh?' yet again. A laugh from Yuna catches my attention, and I turn to see her walk up to Tidus.
"Sometimes we don't understand him much either. Kimahri doesn't talk much anyway. But, he has protected me since I was a child!" she says.
Tidus simply nods, and continues to walk down to the harbor.
As we approach the port, I look up at the ship that we're going to be taking. It's a rather normal ship, about the size of an ocean fishing boat, but without all the nets and such. It almost reminds me of a pirate ship, and I stifle a chuckle. Walking onto the deck, Yuna looks around to the pier, where many people are gathered to see her off. Many of them are smiling and waving, and others are crying. Yuna faces them, and does the prayer gesture several times, as the boat begins to leave the harbor.
As the boat finally pulls away from the pier, Yuna says one word, before turning to walk inside the cabin.
"Goodbye." she says, waving one final time to the crowd, as the ship sails slowly away from her home, and into the first part of her journey as a summoner.
So, how was this chapter? Good? Bad? I want to know what you think, so as always, please read and review!
