A/N:This chapter was written a super long time ago and was part of a story I had brilliant ideas for but just never seemed to update. Anyways, you'll see as you read future chapters that my writing has improved and matured over time. It should also be noted that this fic used to be called the Water's Beloved but I changed it to Genesis; which ultimately means new beginning. It's fitting as this is Hanna's tale and not Yuna nor Tidus' and therefore a beginning of something new.
Disclaimer:Characters that originally appeared in the Final Fantasy games are not mine, however, the original characters are and therefore are copyrited to me, the writer. Please do not steal!
Chapter One; Pandemonium
The Besaid Aurochs were losing three to two as they continued to compete against the Kilika Beasts. Hysterical fans bounced in the stands of Luca's Blitzball Stadium, cheering for their favorite teams while to players toughed it out in the sphere pool. Though it wasn't looking too good for the Aurochs this time for many of their players were either injured or knocked out completely. Substitutes were ushered into the madness but the fans still cheered on faithfully. They weren't there, cheering on the Aurochs for their older players…but for a new player that had potential. Her name? Her name was Hanna and she was the daughter of the High Summoner Yuna and the famous Guardian and blitzball player, Tidus.
" Time out!" The coach bellowed from the side just as another horrifying goal was scored on the Aurochs. The players exited the sphere to get the 411 on what the coach wanted to be done. Wakka rubbed his temples gingerly before looking back at his drenched and out of breath players. " You guys suck out there ya! We came here for one thing and that is winning! I mean, if the Kilika Beasts can beat us…then there isn't any hope in facing the Luca Goers this year!"
" Hanna, pass the ball ya? Your teammates are there to help you too, use 'em!" Wakka stressed at his niece, (well sort of). She cringed; her cheeks flushed bright red with embarrassment and humiliation as Wakka ranted on about all her faults. Her bright blue eyes narrowed slightly as he then pushed her back in the sphere.
She let out a sigh as the water closed in around her and took her place for the Blitz off. Tense and ready, she waited for the machina to shoot the ball up so that she snatch it away. It was hard being on the team, it was hard being the only girl on the team and it was hard to live up to her father's reputation in blitzball as well but Hanna wouldn't rather be anywhere else at this moment. She darted up, kicking her legs furiously as the ball was shot up and she wormed her way so that she shielded the ball from the other player, making it easy to grab.
She dribbled left and upon seeing Wakka's son, Vidina, she threw a short pass to him and followed after him in close range in case he ran into trouble. The defense men of the Kilika Beasts swam up and instantly blocked Vidina, making Hanna howl with frustration inside. Vidina was strong with guarding though, so Hanna wasn't too worried that the ball would be taken away from him. She slipped around one of the defense men and got open for a pass. Vidina flung the ball her way once one of the defense men gave him an opening and she caught it. Hanna spurted forwards and set her self up to attempt to kick a goal but then she was caught from behind.
One of the players had rammed into her, causing her to drop the ball and be hurtled right out of the sphere! She was sent crashing into the bleachers while the fans, instead of trying to catch her, frantically scurried to get out of the way. Hanna groaned and could faintly hear the announcer's voice.
" And Hanna has taken a brutal hit from Ricardo Junior! Oh I can tell you all now, she's going to feel that one in the morning folks! "
She smirked to herself as she heard her name over the loud speaker and slowly she rose, wincing as her back gave a twinge of pain in protest of her movements.
" She's up folks, she's up and no doubt going back into that sphere to play. Hanna is as tough as nails folks, tough as nails!" The announcer's voice boomed. Besaid Aurochs fans cheered and wildly pumped their fists into the air.
Hanna made her way up to the diving ledge and leaped off the ledge, doing a couple rotations to show off. She was just like her father, Tidus, always making a show to keep everyone entertained! Though she was very talented as well for only being eighteen years old. She took a look at the scoreboard and saw that they were tied four on four with a minute left in the game. Hanna wiggled her way into the heat of the game, her mind set strictly on winning but getting her revenge on Ricardo while doing it!
" Just look at her speed and endurance folks, oh Hanna has got to be the Aurochs' pride and joy! I'm sure if her father is watching now, he would be proud!" Came the announcers voice again.
Hanna darted left to intercept the player on the opposing team with the ball. She charged, kicking madly with her legs to propel herself forward powerfully before she twisted so that she kicked the ball out of the players' hand. She reached up and snatched the ball from its isolation and started off across the field once more. No one was open, she couldn't pass to anyone to make ball move quicker across the sphere! With only thirty seconds left, Akira threw the ball up and wiggled her way up after to ball so that they were both out of the sphere.
" Look now folks, Hanna is going to attempt the legendary Jecht shot!" The announcer cried excitedly. The fans roared with delight.
Then with cat-like grace and power, she flipped and smashed the top of her foot onto the ball to send it spiraling downwards at a deadly pace towards the goalkeeper. She sucked in a breath as she began falling back towards the sphere, crying victoriously as the goalkeeper was completely oblivious to catching her shot. The ball flew through the goal posts, earning the Besaid Aurochs the winning point!
" She's done it, Hanna has perfectly displayed the Jecht shot and has won the game for her team! They'll face our very own Luca Goers in the championship game next week folks!"
Hanna fell back into the sphere with a definite splash; her golden blonde hair swirled around her almost majestically. Vidina and the rest of the team led her out of the sphere and hoisted her up onto their shoulders in spite of their victory. They all showed good sportsmanship when they congratulated the Kilika Beasts on a well played game. Then it came to one of the most horrifying parts of being a blitzball player. Signing autographs…
" I won't let them take me alive!" Hanna joked as she entered a changing stall to slide out of her wet uniform and into her regular clothes which consisted of short beige shorts with a green and pink wrap tied on the side. Her shirt was white and tied up around her neck and back, showing off her well toned stomach. She wore a necklace with a Macalania crystal bound to it and an armband that possessed the Zanarkand Abes symbol on it. Hanna didn't have time to do her hair, and frankly she didn't really want to. It was a pain to twist up in its usual fashion that her mother insisted she wear it in.
After lacing up her boots, she finally was able to walk out into the open to breathe some fresh air. But her space was invaded almost instantly with awe-struck fans and various blitzballs, papers, hats, gloves, books and more were shoved at her and demanded that they be signed. Grinning her million-dollar grin, she obliged to signing almost everything that was thrust at her until her hand began to ache.
" C'mon guys, I got to get back to the Aurochs' docking bay and onto the airship. You all do know that rest is a necessity for me? Otherwise you won't get another game of blitzball out of me! " Hanna exclaimed loudly over the chattering people. They hesitantly began to filter out to let Hanna go and she took off at a run because she was already late for a meeting with the team and would surely get a lecture from Wakka.
" Sorry I'm late, I got swamped with people!" Hanna sputtered as she charged up the ramp of the boat her team was on. Vidina chuckled and ruffled her hair, making it fly astray and become static-y. Shooing his hand away, she waited for the punishment of her absence.
" That's fifty sit-ups young lady! It'll be good for your stomach anyways, ya?" Wakka said. " Get to it and join us back at the stadium for a party when you're done ya?"
Hanna's jaw dropped and she grumbled sourly, but nonetheless, she began her sit-ups. She wasn't about to let her attitude get her kicked off the team. 'One, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve.' She kept count of each sit-up she did, not pausing for even a second. Hanna was in the best physical shape of her life and a measly fifty sit-ups wasn't enough to burn her out. 'Thirteen, fourteen, fifteen, sixteen, seventeen, eighteen, nineteen, twenty'
Footsteps coming up the ramp of the boat caught her attention and she paused momentarily to glance behind her. It was her dad. She continued with her sit-ups once more. 'Damn it, I lost count!' She gritted her teeth and started over.
" Hey, daddy. " She managed to get out before she started another sit-up.
Tidus chuckled and sat down on a stool nearby. " You played great today, I didn't know you could do the Jecht shot that easily." He informed after a short period of time.
Hanna shrugged in mid sit-up. " Well, you've been busy with the increase in fiends on Besaid, I know it's harder for you to help uncle Wakka coach practices and stuff."
Hanna caught his frown from the corner of her eye. " Hey, don't worry about it, it's cool. I'm a big girl, I can handle my dad not coming to a few practices." She reassured, grinning as she realized that her sit-ups were almost finished. ' Forty-one, forty-two, forty-three, forty-four, forty-five, forty-six, forty seven, forty-eight, forty-nine…and…'
" Fifty!" Hanna jumped up and rubbed her burning muscles tenderly, blonde hair tumbled down her back to her waist and was slightly wavy from air-drying. Tidus looked at her questioningly, and offered his arm to his daughter.
" Mind if I escort you?"
" Nah, just don't do anything embarrassing…I've got my rep to uphold you know!" Hanna bantered good-naturedly. She looped her arm through her father's and together they headed down the docking ramp.
The stadium was packed with people from all over Spira! Music spheres blared and lights flashed wildly. Since Yevon was no more, Spira was becoming more comfortable with different types of machina since it wasn't taboo any longer. Hanna chatted with fans and people she didn't know…but the funny thing was, was that they seemed to know everything about her! Did she give that nosey journalist, Shelinda more than she needed to know? Or maybe they stalked her! It wasn't like Hanna wasn't used to the attention…but this year when she had brought all the trick shots out to show all the spectators loved it! Not to mention it was loads of fun for Hanna to perform them.
She slid out of the crowd and half danced, half walked over to the Aurochs, who were sitting dully on the benches. Now why would they be sitting on the benches when there's a whole field to play on? She did another little dance, making them all crack a smile of amusement.
" We're supposed to be the life of the party, go on and live a little!" Once she was satisfied they were all going around and doing something, Hanna made her way over to dance. She shook her hips fluidly, her stomach rolled enticingly as she moved to the beat of the music. She was having a great time, until something, or rather, someone caught her attention.
He was standing in a darker corner of the stadium, alone. No one really seemed to notice him, or if they did they just didn't bother with him. He seemed to be around her age, maybe a little older but there was something about him that made Hanna's skin prickle. She had stopped dancing by now, and was still peering curiously at the guy when a shrill scream interrupted her train of thought.
" Fiends! Help, someone!"
There were fiends in Luca? Hanna couldn't fathom why they would want to come here! It was much too lively and all the machina was most likely to scare them off. It then occurred to her that something, or someone might be driving them here. She suddenly looked back to where the guy had been standing…he was gone. Frantic people began pouring as quickly as possible out of the exits that weren't infested with fiends while Hanna ran in search of uncle Wakka, her dad and the team.
She skidded to a stop; a rasping, spitting noise came from behind her. Slowly turning, her eyes fixed on a reptilian fiend but to be more specific, a Skink. Although it isn't generally a very strong fiend, Hanna had no weapons; which generally wouldn't have been a problem if she'd worn gloves; but the Skink's hard scales would make it nearly impossible to grapple with it without damaging her hands.
'This is just what I need, where's dad?'Hanna thought bitterly as she dodged another lunge from the Skink. Oozing saliva dripped from its mouth, a sure sign it was angry, or possibly felt threatened by her. If she was bitten, she'd be poisoned and Hanna didn't have any remedies or antidotes. It lunged again, though caught Hanna off guard. She flung herself to the right, hoping to escape the gnashing teeth. She missed being bitten, through the Skink's claws dug neatly into her arm. She kicked out, catching the reptile square and in the face and forced him to recoil in pain.
"Get out of the way!" Came a voice from behind her. It was the guy that she had spotted earlier! He swung his sword and sliced the Skink in half, instantly killing it. Though as more fiends poured into the stadium, Hanna couldn't help feeling that maybe they were after something? A flan stood facing the guy and Hanna groaned. Physical attacks are weak against them, but maybe if he'd be open to some co-operation, this could work.
" Distract it!" Hanna called and now faced a withering glare from the guy. She glared back stubbornly and pointed to the Flan. " Distract it, now!"
Hanna grunted with satisfaction as he turned back towards the fiend and began slashing ferociously at it. Thinking as quickly as she could, she spread her arms wide and screamed: " Firaga!" Its shrill screech of pain signified it had been killed. She turned to cast her gaze on the guy, her eyebrows rose delicately. The fiends were starting to become fewer in numbers and she could see that her mother, father, uncle Wakka and aunt Lulu, were taking care of the small number that remained.
" Who are you?" Hanna demanded, her voice was intense and strong. Perspiration littered her forehead. She swiped the stickiness away with her arm. Her arm was bleeding and hurt like hell, but she ignored the cutting pain and put her hand over it to stop the flow.
His eyes seemed to flash dangerously and Hanna shuddered at sensing malice radiating off his very being. Scruffy looking brown hair hung stubbornly in front of his eyes, which Hanna soon discovered were a vivid emerald green. His face was chiseled to perfection and Hanna noted the broad shoulders and toned, muscular body he had. Even though she was getting bad vibes from this guy, she couldn't help but check him out. Damn hormones! She shook her head slightly a blinked twice.
" Lerion, " He replied gruffly, a smug, cocky smirk settled on his lips. He knew she was attracted to his looks. " Now, who the hell are you?"
She snorted, her head raised indignantly. Just who did he think he was! No matter, he had helped her and despite the vibes she got from this guy…she would be nice and thank him properly. " My name's Hanna…and, umm, thanks for helping me back there." She sighed and brushed her hair away from her face, cringing as she realized it was sticky and filled with a gooey substance. Most likely caused by the death of that Flan.
Hanna narrowed her gaze as began to walk away. " Hey, wait up!" She called and sprinted towards him to catch him arm. " Were are you headed?"
He scowled, " What's with you, how can you trust a complete stranger?"
Hanna was taken back, she snorted again. " I don't trust you, but I was going to invite you to ride on the Aurochs' airship and give you a lift where ever you were headed to show my appreciation. But seeing as though you've proved that I can't trust you…."
" How have I proven you can't trust me?" He snapped back, flicking his hair back and sending a sour, intolerant look at Hanna
" You've proved that by jumping to conclusions that I think you're suspicious, you've proved that you've got things, bad things, that you're hiding." She retorted theoretically.
He smirked. " You're annoying."
Hanna scoffed. " You're an arrogant jerk."
Lerion sighed, she could see the corners of his mouth start to tip up. Amusement shone vibrantly in his green eyes. He thought this was funny? " Alright, if you'll shut-up I'll accept your offer for a ride."
"Deal."