Hey everyone! I've updated again (of course you should know that if you're reading this right now) I'm very sorry this story is so late but I have several very good reasons why. Number one: I-
Tidus: -covers Veronia's mouth with hand- Just shut up and get on with the story! Your intro's are to long anyway. People don't care about the reason!
Veronia: -breaks free-
Bonk!
T: Ow! -rubs new bump on head-
V: Fine! Long story short, I don't feel as inspired about this story as I used to. There's nothing to worry about. I will not just abandon the story like so many others have done. I will write this story to the very end! It's just that it will take much longer for me to write out decent chapters. Sorry for any inconvenience. Now enjoy Chapter 9!
T: Legal writings?
V: Forget about the legal writings! On with the story!
T: Enjoy.
Chapter 9: Abes vs. AurochsToday was the day of the big blitzball game and every one of the Abes was ready for it. Zen had kept the team members practicing nearly nonstop for the few days before the match, preparing them for almost anything that could happen. They were practicing so long that Tidus barely had any time to tell Yuna about the chance of finding Wakka and the rest of the Aurochs, let alone tried to make contact with any of them. So during the game would be the first time the two of them were to meet.
Tidus couldn't wait to see the look on Wakka's face when they met in the blitzball sphere. It would defiantly be a shock for him. There was no denying that.
"I hope all of you people out there are prepared to see one heck of a game. This is a match between, of course, the Abes from A-East and the Aurochs. A team that nobody seems to know anything about. Can the Abes compete against this unknown force after having lost in the finals? Will their number one player be able to succeed after the humiliation of what happened in the last game? Will the Abes be beaten or will they rein supreme? Only this match will tell."
"Gee, that announcer just keeps going." Tidus said to himself. He hated the way this announcer would seem to talk forever about nothing important just to hype up the crowds. He didn't care about what was said about him. He knew the truth about what had happened.
He waited with the rest of the Abes in front of the portal that would take them into the playing sphere. He was pacing back and fourth, having a hard time waiting for the talking to be finished so the game could begin.
"Hey, take it easy." Zen said as he approached. "Save your strength for when you're playing."
Tidus tried to settle down, but as soon as he sat on a bench with the other team members he jumped back onto his feet. He hated waiting.
"I though that all that practicing could have worn you out," Zen joked, "not rile you up."
Tidus noticed that the announcer had ended his inane chatter and prepared to lead the rest into the sphere. Zen got ahead of him though, and jumped through the portal first. Tidus hurried after him and saw the grin plastered over Zen's face as he floated in the water.
Tidus swam passed him and started towards the center of the arena. He wanted to be the first to see if Wakka was there or not. Before he got far he felt a hand grab onto his ankle and pull him back.
Zen moved in front of him and wagged his finger back and fourth as if he was chastising him, but the grin on his face took away the affect. Tidus then remembered the formation that had been assigned to him. Zen was the center fielder so he would lead the rest forward.
Tidus would have to go over to the left of the sphere. He had argued with Zen about his placement earlier, but Zen would just bring up what had happened in the last game when he had been knocked out of the sphere.
He moved over to his position and looked over to the center. His mood brightened when he saw the familiar form swimming towards the center of the sphere. Orange hair stood out against the blue water he was floating in along with his bright yellow uniform. Wakka, captain of the Aurochs.
Tidus could tell from the look of grim determination on Wakka's face that he had no idea Tidus was so close by. He couldn't wait for the game to begin so he could get over to him and see his reaction.
Now we'll see who really is the better player. Tidus thought as he finished preparing himself for the match.
Blitz off!
The game began and Zen was the first to grab onto the ball. Wakka charged forward and pulled it from his grasp.
Not bad. Tidus thought as he sped forward to intercept him. But not good enough.
He wanted to be the first to catch him and he used everything he had to do it. He stopped his charge as soon as he came within a few yards and stopped his forward momentum to end up only a few feet away. The smile on his face grew as he watched Wakka's reaction.
Wakka's eyes widened so much the white in them would have been visible for several yards away. He had a confused look on his face like he was trying to figure out if this was a dream or not. This wasn't real. This couldn't be real.
Tidus picked the ball up right out of Wakka's hands before giving a slight salute and swimming off towards the Aurochs' goal. There would be plenty of time to talk after the game was over.
"What in the world is going on?!" The announcer shouted as he watched the action from above the sphere. "The captain of the Aurochs seemed to have just given the ball to the Abes!"
Tidus swam straight to the Aurochs' goal without one person trying to stop him. All of the Auroch members seemed to be in the same state Wakka was in.
Did they all have the dream? Tidus wondered as he neared the goal.
Things were just becoming more fun as a thought entered Tidus's head. He moved close to every Auroch member he passed and just gave them a slight wave as he passed by. He moved casually towards the goal until he was just a few feet away from the goalie. With a wink he tossed the ball to him and started swimming away.
"Unbelievable!" The announcer shouted as he jumped up from his seat. "Never before has anything like this happen! What in they world could they be thinking?!"
Tidus swam over to Zen and had to repress his laughter when he saw the look on his face. There was a look of complete shock and his mouth hung wide open. Tidus pointed towards his own mouth to signal to him what he was doing.
Zen immediately closed his mouth but the look still remained. He wanted to shout at Tidus. To figure out why he would have done such a thing. That, however, was impossible to do underwater.
Tidus swam away when he saw that the Aurochs were coming back to their senses. All would have to be explained later. Before any questions were answered the game would have to be won by someone.
The game slowly became more normal. No points were scored from either side when halftime came.
"What the hell were you thinking!?" Zen cried as soon as they had left the sphere.
"Relax. I was just having a little fun." Tidus said as he tried to ignore Zen's yelling. He wasn't going to let Zen's temper ruin his good mood.
"Do you know what kind of risk you were putting us into?" Zen moved closer to Tidus's face to get some kind of reaction from him.
"Yeah." Tidus answered. "No risk at all."
"What!?" Zen was furious and was having a hard time controlling himself.
He was just moments away from slamming Tidus in the face with his fist. Not really because of what he had done in the sphere but because of the way he was acting so damn casual about it.
"I know the team." Tidus answered as he crossed his arms over his chest. "Why do you think I was so insistent about knowing who they were and who their captain was?"
Zen was dumbstruck. How could he know anything about the team when nobody else in Zanarkand does? He opened his mouth to respond but another team member interrupted.
"Hey you guys... There'll be plenty of time for your squabbles when the game is over, but our time here is limited. The game is halfway over already and we haven't made any headway."
Zen started grumbling, knowing that the blitzer was right. "It's because of their defenses." He looked back over to Tidus and saw that he wasn't really paying any attention. "You say you know about these Aurochs. What do you think we should do?"
"Well," Tidus started, ignoring the sarcasm in Zen's words, "they'll probably just keep their strengths in their defenses until the very end of the game. Then go all out on a full offensive play. I don't know if that's what they're going to do but with the way this game is playing out that's probably what's going to happen."
"If you had just scored us a point when you had the chance we wouldn't have to worry about this." Zen mumbled.
Tidus ignored him and continued on. "If you want my opinion I think we should go full force in the beginning of the last half and try and score, but as soon as the game comes to the end we must go fully defensive."
The rest of the team just looked at him, confused. "Won't that be a big risk?" One of them asked.
"Yeah." Another said. "What if you're wrong and they try to score in the beginning?"
"You'll just have to trust me on this." Tidus said as he walked back towards the portal. "Now that you know what they'll probably do you can figure out positions." He said as he looked back over to Zen.
Zen just nodded and started preparing everyone for the second half of the game. The fighting earlier had cost them more time then intended and they were still finishing preparations as they were entering the sphere.
Tidus swam towards the center of the arena and watched as the Aurochs were still finishing their preparations as they entered.
Seeing me probably brought up quite a stir with them. Tidus thought as he moved over to his position.
Zen had placed him in the center field, knowing that he was still the best player for an offensive attack despite what had happened in the last game. Tidus smiled and waved again when he saw Wakka moving back to his position.
Wakka looked away from Tidus's smiling face, trying to dismiss his memories of him as merely a dream.
Just a coincidence. He thought as he shook those thoughts from his head. He had to focus on blitzball and nothing else.
Blitz off!
The ball was up again and Tidus charged forward. He snatched the ball and darted away just in time to avoid Wakka's advance. He swam around Wakka and planted his feet against his upper back before pushing himself forward. Not in a way to hurt Wakka. Just to disorientate him. Wakka was the best player of the team and if Tidus could keep him away for a few minutes he'd have a better chance at scoring.
He moved closer to the Aurochs goal while Wakka spun out of control for a few minutes before he gained back his sense of surrounding. By that time several more of the Abes had swum passed him.
Tidus propelled himself forward. Dodging every confrontation he could and just taking the hits on the ones he couldn't. He was glad that he had been right in his assumption of how poorly the Aurochs really played and was nearing the goal without much hindrance. He stopped several feet away from the goalie when three of the Aurochs had somehow managed to get in front of him.
Come on guys, do you really think you can stop me? He thought as he prepared to make a shot.
One of the Aurochs charged forward unexpectedly, almost causing Tidus to loose the ball. He kept a firm hold on it though and dodged to the side just as the second one charged at him. Now only one of the Aurochs remained to block him. This would make the shot easier.
Tidus tossed the ball above him before flipping over and kicking a sphere shot at the goal. The blitzball passed right in-between the Aurochs upheld arms and easily made its way into goal.
BEEP! BEEP!
The scoreboard above the playing sphere flashed and a number one appeared right next to the Abes logo.
"Oh this game just keeps getting more intense!" The announcer yelled as he watched the action. He shouted everything to make the game seem more exciting. "The Abes are now leading and the Aurochs have less then two minutes to score!"
Everyone moved to their positions and put their full attention on the game. This was it. These last two minutes would decide who was the better team. The ball was launched up and Wakka was the first to grab it. He motioned to the rest of the team and they all started a charge forward.
"What's this?!" The announcer was back up out of his seat. "It looks like the Aurochs are going for one desperate act to win this game! They are going on an all out offence on the Abes!"
Wakka charged down the center of the arena while all of the other Aurochs helped keep back the Abes. There was very little time left and if he didn't score then the game would be lost.
You're not going to win without a fight. Tidus thought as he broke free from the hold of another Auroch.
He swam as fast as he could. Moving full speed towards Wakka, who was getting closer to the goal with each passing second. Tidus was able to move faster though and got ahead of him just before he prepared his shot.
Wakka swung his arm back and hurled the ball forward right at Tidus. Tidus recognized the type of shot and was quick to move out of its way. That was the type of shot Wakka used to kill fiends. Tidus was not going to risk himself for a shot that would only tie the score.
The blitzball passed right by his head and slammed into the corner of the goal.
BEEP! BEEP!
The point was scored, the teams were tied, and there was no time left.
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T: What do you mean you don't feel inspired to work on this anymore?!
V: Exactly what I mean.
T: Then what am I doing here? I thought that I was your muse.
V: Well, it's just like I'm used to you being around, you know? Kind of like a ringing in your ears that seems to disappear after a while.
T: Is that all I am to you now!?
V: I guess so.
T: Well, if that's how you feel I'm leaving.
V: Not so fast! -grabs onto Tidus's shirt and pulls him back- Your sticking with me until the very end of this so just sit down and be quiet.
T: -drops down into a nearby chair and grumbles to self-
V: See you all later -continues typing like mad-
T: Yeah, see ya...whatever
End Transmission