TWO
Luzzu stepped off of the deck and onto the hot sands of the Besaid beach. He had changed clothing, his others having been totally drenched in the blood of the Sinscales that he had massacred.
Now the red-haired man stood in the outfit he would be most recognized in: brown shoulder guards, black, green, and orange sleeve-like cloths hanging around his forearms, and baggy purple pants with a yellow "X" pattern embroidered on either pant leg to complete the look.
No longer in the old leather boots, his toes were now exposed to the grains of the sand and the heat of the sun in brown sandals. He had also removed his shirt, bearing most of his torso to the tropical weather with only his abs and nipples hidden behind the now distinctive armor plating.
"Father!" a familiar young voice sobbed and Luzzu watched as the young girl ran past him into the arms of a tanned, muscled man in what appeared to be Crusader issue armor.
"Jina…" the man said, his relief apparent in his voice as he scooped up the girl into his arms, "Praise be to Yevon that you are all right…"
Luzzu sighed and began to walk away but noticed a hand grasping his left one. He turned and looked down at the boy that he had ordered to go below earlier.
"Thank you, mister…" the youth said and instantly let go of Luzzu's hand and did the sacred prayer of the Yevon religion before running to join his sister and father in their reunion.
Luzzu nodded and began to walk again.
"I've got it!" the teen called as he watched the blue and white blitzball cease its ascent in the air. He ran under it and, anticipating its exact descent point, jumped into the air and…
"GATTA!!" another teenager with red hair screamed.
The dark-skinned teen's attention instantly shifted from the ball and onto the other teen calling his name from the ground…and he watched as the ball smacked him in the face, sending his graceful reception of the ball into a total chaotic mess.
The redheaded teen watched Gatta fall to the ground on his behind that sent up a cloud of dust, emitting an uncontrollable burst of laughter that sent Chappu falling to the ground himself.
Gatta, however, was not amused and stood up quickly, his serious expression back on his face as he tried hard not to be affected by his "best friend", Chappu's, laughter.
"That wasn't very fair, you know." Gatta complained as he kicked the blitzball in Chappu's direction, hoping, praying that the ball might strike the teen in the head. But no such luck.
Chappu, still laughing, replied, "Y-you should'a seen your face! I-it was priceless, brudda!" Chappu said in his heavy Besaid accent.
"I could have had that shot if it weren't for you, Chappu." Gatta replied, still very upset but not willing to express it fully.
Chappu sighed, taking the blitzball under his arm before standing up again, "Aw, excuses, excuses, man! If you're ever gonna blitz with the best, you gotta know how to focus! How do you think you're gonna get anywhere on the team if you don't pay attention to the ball, ya?"
"I don't think something like that could've happened during a tournament," Gatta replied, crossing his arms over his chest.
"Hey, you never know, man. All that there IS to know though is the game." Chappu lifted the ball into his right hand and tossed it high into the air before catching it with his left. He smiled, his perfect row of white teeth showing amidst a boyish tanned face. A couple of red locks of hair fell in front of his face and he used a free hand to tuck them back behind his bandanna.
"No," Gatta replied turning around, "That's not all there is…and you and I both know it."
"Huh?" Chappu questioned. He placed a hand on his hip and began to follow Gatta out of the small clearing that they were practicing in, "Whaddya mean?"
"Well…you know that your brother Wakka's toying with the idea of becoming a guardian, right?"
"Yah?"
"Well, its just got me thinking lately…all we ever do is play blitzball. Now I love it and all but I think I'm ready for something…more."
"Huh? More than blitzball? Like what?"
Gatta pushed back a flexible branch from a nearby bush and let it go just in time to watch it smack Chappu in the face. Gatta chuckled.
"Hey!" Chappu pushed the branch back to face Gatta once again, "Like what, ya?"
"I think…I want to become a Crusader."
Chappu looked at Gatta for a moment before turning his back on his friend. He sighed and placed the ball on his head, his hands on top of the ball.
Gatta's face held puzzlement and he wondered why the sudden silence from Chappu. "Uh, what's wrong?"
Chappu closed his eyes, his brow furrowed in slight worry. He spoke softly.
"You know…my parents died because of Sin…just like your father, ya? And they were just mindin' their own business in the village, ya?! Then Sin…he comes and takes it all away from us…Bein' in the Crusaders, fighting Sin…that just makes your chance of dying even greater!"
Gatta sighed but nodded. Yeah, he remembered. Remembered how big and strong he thought his father was. Thought that the old man could survive anything…until he was sitting on the sands of the Besaid shores at only ten years old, sobbing as he watched a nameless summoner perform the sending for him and about twenty others who had died that day when the wave of Sin's flare decimated the village and many of its people.
"I know…but I'm not gonna let that stop me. A good portion of my family's been in the Crusaders. And even though many of them died…some went on to become commanders, generals, even apart of the personal guard for Yevon's Maesters. It's something…that I've been looking forward to for sometime now…but I haven't had the guts until only recently…"
"When Captain Ralfnor died, huh?"
"Yeah. He was…a good man. I really wish I could have gotten to know him better. I…was planning on joining the Crusaders when he was still alive but…"
"But you choked, ya? I guess things like that shouldn't wait, ya? I knew how much you…"
"All right, Chappu. Let's…not get into that, right now. My feelings aren't really important right now. What I DO want to know though is what do you think?"
Chappu sighed, turning back around and walking in front of Gatta, the ball still being held on his head by his hands. "What do you want me to think?"
Gatta huffed.
"Don't be stupid, Chappu. This is serious! I need your honest opinion."
"Well…in my opinion, I really don't think you should. I mean, being a blitzer is so much safer, ya? And at the same time you get to have fun."
"If you haven't noticed, Chappu, life isn't always about fun and games. Sin will always be a threat whether you face it or not."
"I wasn't finished yet…I was gonna say that I feel the need to be a blitzer…if not to win any games, then to just make the people of Spira happy, ya? It's so cool ta' see all those people's faces when they're cheering for their favorite team! I like knowing that I'm a part of that."
"I think…I understand." Gatta replied, "But I still think being a Crusader is more useful."
"Heh, I don't know about you, brudda, but I got a lot to lose right now…the game, my bro…Lulu."
Gatta smiled at the mention of the woman's name and crept up behind Chappu, nudging him playfully in the side with his elbow.
"Here it comes! The big softie's gonna let it all go! Tell me again how many ways you love Lulu?"
"Oh! Bro, I couldn't count the ways even if I wanted to, ya? I'd grow old and die before I finished!" With that comment, Chappu laughed and let the ball set back under his right arm, "Praise be to Yevon that I snagged her when I did. I never thought I'd…"
But as Chappu left, still going on about how he adored Lulu, Gatta chuckled and shook his head, wondering how long the big dope would keep walking, talking to himself about Lulu this time around. His current record was a full ten minutes.
Guess that's what happens when a guy's in love, Gatta thought and was preparing to go after Chappu's trailing voice instead until he spotted an unfamiliar man walking uphill past some of the old ruins of Besaid cities past.
The man had an old duffle bag slung across his right shoulder and was walking slowly as if he were lost or had no idea where he was going.
Gatta, being the helpful person that he was, decided to walk over and introduce himself and offer his help.
Little did he know that it would be the beginning of the greatest—and final—years of his life…
