"This is where I was born," Wakka said as he pointed down to a village at the bottom of a cliff. "I started blitz when I was five. I joined the Aurochs at thirteen... ten years ago."

"Ten years?" I repeated.

"Yeah, ten years, and we never won a game." I felt kinda bad for him. Ten years without a single win? "Well, after last years tournament, I quit. Time seemed right."

We followed him down the road as he kept talking. "So, after quitting, I got this new job, ya? But every time my mind wandered, I thought about the game."

"Ten years without a single win'll do that," Tidus commented.

Wakka shrugged his shoulders some. "My first match last year was my big chance, but something else was on my mind. I couldn't focus."

"Nice excuse."

"Tidus!" I yelled. I didn't find that right.

"It's alright, Jeena," Wakka assured me. "Tidus may be right."

He took his side? "Well, I just didn't find it very nice."

"So, you want to win the next tournament," Tidus said, most likely changing the subject. "Go out with a bang." Wakka turned to him and nodded. "So, what's our goal?"

"I don't care how we do," Wakka stated. "Long as we play our best. If we give it out all, I can walk away happy." I heard my brother sigh half way through it.

"No, no, no, no, no! If I say, 'What's our goal?' you say, 'Victory!'" Oh, no. Here he goes again. "When you play in a blitzball tournament, you play to win!"

"Victory? You serious?"

I couldn't help but keep looking back and forth between the two. Was the sport really worth this much to get hyped over? 'Boys,' I thought.

While walking down the road more, the two still kept talking about the game. I wished there was something that would pop up to change the subject. My wish came true as two men came by. "Ah, the ones from the sea," the taller one said.

"Be on guard," the other warned "There're fiends on the road today!"

"After surviving your run in with Sin, 'twould be a shame if something happened now." After that, they continued down to the village. Who were those two?

"Who were they?" Tidus spoke my question.

"Luzzu and Gatta, Crusaders," Wakka answered.

"Huh? Crews of what?"

"What? You forgot that, too?" That made me feel bad. Not knowing anything made me feel kind of small. "Hey, sorry. Don't worry about it. I'll help you out."

"Okay," I replied, trying to smile some to make him feel better.

"And in return, come tournament time, I'll make sure we take the cup!" Tidus mentioned.

"Cool!" Wakka sounded convinced. "About the Crusaders, you can ask them yourself. They've got a lodge in the village."

As we came up to the village, it looked smaller than at the top of the cliff. However, it gave me a sense of comfort. Must be a humble place to give me such a feeling. "Besaid Village." Wakka announced behind us.

"They got any food there?" Tidus asked, desperately.

"We'll get you something over there later." Wakka pointed to a tent at the right. "Take a look around first." I did just that. Again, it looked small, but humble. "Let's see... The Crusaders Lodge is over yonder." He pointed to the biggest tent in the area. "Luzzu and Gatta are usually there." We started to go separate ways, but then Wakka stopped. "Oh, right." He motioned us over. "Over here!"

"Huh? What's up?" Tidus asked as we followed yet again.

We went behind the wall of the village. "You do remember the prayer, right?"

"Prayer?" I couldn't hold that question in. "What prayer?"

"Aw man, that's like the basics of the basics. Alright, I'll show you." Wakka took a step back, stretched out his arms and then brought his hands to form a circle, bowing. "Go ahead, you try." Tidus and I tried to imitate as best as we could. I felt confident in mine. "Hey, not bad. Okay, now go present yourself to the temple summoner."

That when he finally left. I didn't really like the idea of being in a place alone, so I just stuck with Tidus. The first place we headed to was the lodge. I was guessing Tidus was wondering who Luzzu and Gatta was.

As we entered the tent, it felt like I came into an interrogation room, cause this was what I first heard. "Hey, you! You two were attacked by Sin, right? Recently, was it?" The smaller one did most of the questioning.

"I think so," Tidus answered.

"So, Sin can't be far, right? You two aren't hiding anything, are you?"

"Why would we?"

"If Sin is nearby," the other came in, "it'll attack the island for sure, but it hasn't. I wonder why?"

"Well, sorry. We really don't know anything." Tidus tried to get me to speak, but I just shook my head. Being questioned right off the bat didn't exactly make me feel welcome. "To tell the truth, we don't really know what the Crusaders are."

"You're kidding, right?" the smaller one snapped.

"Sin! The toxin!" The taller one said. "Gatta, tell them who we are!"

"Yes, sir!" Gatta stood up and placed his fist on his chest. "The Crusaders are sworn to battle Sin! We have chapters throughout Spira, accepting all who wish to join our struggle! The hero Mi'ihen formed the Crusaders eight hundred years ago as the Crimson Blades. Later, our ranks grew and we called ourselves the Crusaders. We've been fighting Sin ever since!"

"What, you've been fighting eight hundred years and you still haven't beat it?" Tidus questioned. That left Gatta speechless.

"Well, we've steered Sin away from towns many times!" I'm guessing Luzzu said. "And that's all we can do. Nobody's ever been able to defeat it. Our mission as Crusaders is to protect the temples, towns, villages, and people of Spira."

"So, then whose job is it to defeat Sin?" Tidus still questioned.

"Is Sin's toxin really this bad, sir?" Gatta asked Luzzu.

"It does seem rather bad..." Luzzu seemed to be in thought. "We could just tell you, but I think it better for you to try and remember. Go pray at the temple. Perhaps Yevon will help you regain your memory." As we started to exit, Luzzu called. "You there! Girl!" I turned to face him. "Sorry for the sudden questioning. I hope it didn't lessen your trust towards us." I just smiled and nodded, leaving the tent and following my brother.

I was starting to get tired, after all that has gone by. I looked over at the place Wakka pointed out before and started to go there. "Hey, where are you going?" Tidus called, stopping me in my tracks.

"I'm heading over to Wakka's," I answered. "I'm just tired and want to rest a bit."

"Oh, alright. I'm gonna check out the temple place and meet ya." He didn't even give me time to respond and left. I just shrugged my shoulders and went inside Wakka's tent, finding him sitting on the floor around a table.

"Hey there," he greeted, cheerfully. "The food's not ready yet, if that's what you're wondering."

"No, no, that's not it. I just wanted to rest for a while," I said.

"Where's your brother?"

"He headed for the temple. Is it okay if I relax a bit before I go myself?"

"Yeah, I think that's alright. The bed's right here if you want to take a nap."

I took the offer and laid myself on the bed. It didn't take long until I felt myself start drift off. The most I heard was someone come in, most likely my brother, but after that, I was out.