Proverbial Revitalization

Written by Whimsical Symphony

This fic has been revitalized! I plan to power through it and finish it. I had a multitude of health problems which I'm trying to sort out at the moment. I remembered how much I enjoyed this story I've written and never really intended on abandoning it. I actually want to go back and revamp parts of it, since I believe my writing has really improved. I'm also playing FFX again just to get a feel for Tidus' narration, because he's so casual.

Let me know what you think! The first game with the Abes should be the next chapter or the one after.

Chapter 12 - Bad Influences

"See, when I got drafted to the Abes from the feeder team, a lot of rumours were started up that I just got there 'cause my old man's famous," Tidus began slowly, remembering the nasty whispers, the shame. "No one in the public really cared, but a lot of the players were pissed off at me. The feeder team 'specially, because a lot of them thought they'd been passed over just because I'm Jecht's kid."

"Surely they know how you play? I watch you… and it couldn't have been just because of that!" Yuna exclaimed, clutching her skirt tightly in her palms. "I saw you… and…"

Tidus was kind of flattered she'd stuck up for him; it made his heart beat a little faster, made him again feel like he'd been years younger, made him feel that his story hadn't been as stupid as he thought it was. Whenever he talked about shit like this, he always thought that he sounded like an arrogant S.O.B, but Yuna always listened, never made him feel like that.

Tidus shook his head and laughed a little. "They were jealous." Remembering it kind of made him feel crappy inside, right down to the bone. He remembered how those guys, people he thought of as teammates, suddenly didn't want to have anything to do with the guy who got promoted on connections. Shaking his head, he continued, "But anyway, with all those rumours around, I joined the Abes. I was kind of shocked, since none of the guys mentioned a word for it. Well, Cetan would, but I didn't meet him at first, you know? He was on vacation when I got in."

"They seemed nice, all of them," Yuna told him with a smile. "I'm glad you have such good teammates."

And he was happy he had a cute girl like Yuna to talk to.

Tidus took a sip of his beer and then put it down on the table. "Well we didn't all get along at first. I hated Suzam and thought he was an asshole – you heard how that guy speaks. Until I learned he's that way with everyone, and we had a lot in common." Like shitty old men, he thought. "But otherwise, we got along for the most part. Kiryl was really welcoming too. I kind of forgot about the old rumours that people kept spreading about why I'd been drafted. After all, I thought I had the skills to go pro, and it was my dream to play Blitzball."

He forgot about it all, until Cetan reminded him. That guy always had it out for him, even more after learning about the fact that he was Jecht's son. The guy never gave it up, that kind of weird envy mixed with hatred. It kind of made him not want to play Blitzball for a bit; and that was the first time he ever thought something like that, considering how much he loved Blitzball.

The fact he even considered giving up his dream for a jerk like Cetan made him angrier at himself.

Yuna listened to him patiently, never taking her eyes off him. Tidus didn't really want to look at her, not when he thought of how wimpy he sounded. Even if he knew Yuna wouldn't think less of him, it didn't make it any less embarrassing.

Maybe he'd start crying. It wouldn't be the first time. His old man never failed to remind him how much of a crybaby he was.

"Then I met Cetan. Came back from vacation and sauntered in the locker room like he owned the place one day before practice. I learned from Kiryl that he was the captain, and so I had to greet him right? So I did. And you know what he said to me, 'Let's hope Jecht's kid is as good as his dad. Well, probably not'." Those words that day honestly made him simultaneously want to punch Cetan in the face and go home after throwing in the towel and passing in a colourful resignation letter. "And then I remembered that everyone was comparing me to my dad, even when I didn't want it. It kind of sucked. I could tell that Cetan really hated me, even on the first day I ever saw the guy. I don't remember doing anything to piss him off, and then I learned that the guy's a huge fan of Jecht – you know, one of those guys who had tons of Abes merchandise from back in the day, about ten autographs from my old man, all his old games on the sphere and his interviews too – that sort of thing."

Cetan did collect everything with Jecht in it, and in all honesty it kind of disturbed Tidus a bit, mostly because it didn't sit right with him to the day that everyone in Zanarkand loved his dad. But still, remembering just how much Jecht merchandise he had, made Tidus think Cetan was one of those obsessive fans he always complained about, being a gigantic hypocrite.

"Shouldn't he have liked you… if you're his son?" Yuna added curiously. "Instead of disliking you."

Yeah, normal fans maybe. But not Cetan who acted too much like his old man for it to be funny. He wanted everything to revolve around him, the ass.

"He likes my old man, sure but that doesn't mean he'd like me. I'm… really different from him. And Cetan, he acts too much like him, to the point where it's kind of eerie. Maybe a dumber version of my old man, but they have the same habits, both think that they're the most important people ever." He tried not to sound bitter when talking about the guy, but it was his fault his childhood went to hell. "It didn't help that I stole some of the limelight he liked so much when I got drafted, especially after I played to prove my skill. It took me about a year to become the star player, and since then, Cetan's hatred's only grown. But my first game as a member of the Abes was where it started."

That last shot in the sphere pool, right before time ran out, ensured that Tidus got the win over the Duggles, the final point in his first game as a member of the Abes. The crowd roared when the Abes broke the tie and won, calling 'Tidus, Tidus, Tidus!' loudly, full of cheer.

Tidus listened to the sports commentary the next couple days, feeling all beaten up from the games still. The Duggles got a couple rough fouls in and even injured Kiryl pretty bad so he had to rest up in the hospital with a cracked rib. That was the only reason the game had been so close. Kiryl, he learned, was a real passing genius even if he rarely shot. Without his maneuverability in the water, the game cut close.

Not to mention Cetan still acted like a prick to Tidus when he tried to suggest plans to make up for their missing member. They got a newbie in from the feeder team to make up for Kiryl being missing, but they needed a new strategy. The new guy couldn't pass like him.

"The up and coming celebrity, Tidus, son of Jecht, took the final shot and won the game for the Abes! The whole team will be real proud of him. On the other hand, the public is concerned with Cetan's performance after Kiryl was taken out of the sphere pool due to injury. His play was really in the shadow of Tidus' don't you think, Bobba?"

"You're definitely right, Jimma. I think it was that Tidus' really shaped up from the kid he once was. He's got real talent, so it's only expected people can't keep up. Jecht brought a new age of Blitzball to us, so we can expect his son to do the same."

Tidus hoped to Yevon that Cetan didn't hear the commentary on the sphere. If he did, he knew that he'd have an even harder time being around him without getting glared daggers at.

"On the plus side, it seems that Kiryl's only got a cracked rib, so while he'll be out for the next few games, he'll be well enough to play soon enough."

Well at least he could celebrate that. Out of all his team members, he got along with Kiryl most. It was impossible not to like someone like that. He acted so nice that even the snobbiest people living up in Bevelle would've liked him.

"I didn't want him to hear what they said about him. Cetan would've tried to screw me over 'cause I stole away all his attention. And he didn't think I was as good as my old man. In that way, both of them thought the same thing," Tidus explained, to a confused looking Yuna. Maybe it sounded petty to her, getting like this all over something that should've been a game. He thought about it too, what set Cetan on this route. "I mean, he was nice enough, tried to act like my friend, but I knew he wanted to screw me over the first chance he got."

Tidus could see the question in her eyes, asking him did he? Cetan really did try, over three times. Maybe sharing one would get it off his chest. He hated being on the same team as him. Didn't teammates stick by each other through thick and thin? Cetan sure didn't.

"Practices were changed last minute so I didn't know all the time. It made me look like I had no work ethic. Kiryl eventually let me know what was happening once he found out what Cetan'd been doing." He remembered how guilty he felt for not going to practices or showing up when no one was there. "You know, Rikku really hates him – started swearing at him in Al Bhed, and only then did he stop acting like an asshole and sent me the right information."

"That's horrible… don't you need to practice with your team so you can win?" Yuna asked, frowning.

"That's why the rest of the team got pissed at him. Suzam had a few colourful words for him. But that didn't stop Cetan really. Whenever I'd get a girlfriend, Cetan'd try his damndest to take her away, just to prove he was better. Dona probably heard about that recently. That's probably why she warned me. She doesn't like being used or cheated on, not that she didn't play into his hands by cheating on me; that was the reason Cetan went after her." And then he remembered what Cetan tried to do once. "Then, he reported me to administration because I'd been missing practice a lot to try to kick me off the team. Thankfully, the rest of them defended me and told them what Cetan was doing. He ended up getting a suspension. It all seems really immature when you think about it though."

"I don't understand why he dislikes you so much. He didn't even… give you a chance," Yuna exclaimed, saddened by the turn of events clearly.

Tidus could hear it in her voice and see it on her face really clearly. She never tried to hide her emotions, not like he tried to stop people from seeing he was crying a lot of the time.

"He took a page from my old man's book too. Saw how he treats me, which isn't good at all – always taunts me and says crap like, 'I'm the best' while mocking his kid. Cetan wants to act like him too, and so you get that sort of attitude out of him. If he can help it, he'll always have a bone to pick with me," Tidus explained, remembering when he met Jecht when his old man went to go make fun of him at one of his games. Cetan acted more like a jerk after that since he was an idiot and respected his old man, drunk off his ass all the time. "Cetan pretty much fits the mould for the playboy, rude-as-hell athlete to the T, while the rest of us don't want him there. Luperis gets real angry sometimes but tunes him out mostly. It's impossible to get him so angry he'd yell, but Cetan's done it a couple times. Naya and Toma say he'd be better off with those dirty-playing Zanarkand Duggles, since he acts the same way."

Yuna sobered, and looked down at the ground. Tidus didn't know what to think about her expression; was she angry that he'd gone and insulted Cetan since he was rude, or was it more like she took pity on him? Even though she seemed simple enough to understand, every so often she pulled out an expression that he had no clue how to read. It reminded him a lot of when he was learning how to do algebra and couldn't understand no matter how much he stared at the letters and numbers.

"I think that Cetan is wrong about you. He doesn't know what kind of friend he's passing by, and it saddens me," Yuna told him earnestly, a bright smile on her face. "You'll just have to show him you don't care about what he does, that no matter what you'll be better, because you are, Tidus. You don't treat people like he does. And the strongest people always treat others with respect."

Normally, Tidus would've thought that sounded like some sort of mumbo-jumbo coming from some kind of fortune cookie like one he remembered well enough: "the tall grass sways in the wind", as if it was supposed to be deep, but also sounded more like it was full of crap. But Yuna made perfect sense and Tidus knew she was way smarter than him, no joking in that. So he believed her. Yuna was plenty wise, not like a randomized fortune cookie.

After all, if he were more of a failure than Cetan as a human being, he really didn't deserve to complain about him. He may have had his flaws, but he did think he treated people a lot better at the least.

"Thanks Yuna," he said sincerely. Looking at how late it'd gotten, he thought that maybe it'd be better if he got Yuna back to Braska soon. He really didn't want to lose brownie points with him, on the slim chance that Yuna actually cared for him that way, and got the same mushy, sappy feeling in her chest too. Even if he knew that he was probably the only one feeling that inside, acting totally uncool and awkward, just like a schoolboy who acted painfully embarrassing around his crush. "Hey I should take you back now, right? Your dad's probably worrying."

Yuna nodded, feeling significantly better than when they started talking. He could see it. Maybe it was unfair of him to talk that long, to tell her so much about him and Cetan. With a few choice omissions on how dumb his old dating habits used to be, with what Riku called floozies. Yuna would just think of him as an asshole athlete stereotype too then, and he wouldn't be able to take that.

Nah, he'd probably cry if she thought less of him for that. He could almost hear his old man laughing at him in his head.

"You know, Tidus, I'm happy you talked to me. I know that was hard for you, and you're definitely strong for that," Yuna told him, staring at him with sincerity, that he couldn't help but get flustered. She really didn't know what she did to him. "I hope I'll be here to listen when you have a problem."

"I hope so," Tidus murmured quietly, before shaking his head. Her words stuck with him like glue, all the time.

He rose from the couch and moved to put Yuna's glass in the sink, really needing to get away from her for a second before he overheated or did something stupid in his embarrassment. That happened a lot, now that he thought about it.

When he returned, he reached out a hand for Yuna to take, which she did, and he pulled her off the couch. Thinking about it for a second, he said, "How do you feel about going to the Machina tomorrow. Rikku, Lulu, and Wakka'll be there, and you can meet Gippal. I think our friend Baralai's going to be there too; that guy's from Bevelle too, like you. And Gippal's Al-Bhed so you guys can talk."

Yuna needed more friends to talk to. It would've been lonely, being in a place like Zanarkand without knowing anyone. He was glad she bumped into him on the street that day.

But he hoped to Yevon she didn't say no. He wanted to see her tomorrow, spend more time with her before his first game.

"You can meet them before the Abes' first game. They're all pretty good friends of mine and I know that whoever you've met likes you. You've made a good impression, Yuna," he joked trying to stave off his nervousness.

Why did he feel so nervous anyway? It kind of felt like it did when he was forced to sit through something important like team strategy meetings, but really had to use the bathroom. Talking to Yuna shouldn't have been as shitty, of a situation. And he didn't really need to make puns in front of her, since she listened to his whining just fine.

"Really?" Yuna's eyes were bright, those eyes of blue and green, and it reminded Tidus a lot of the lights of the city in Zanarkand reflected off of the surface of the water near his house. He couldn't not be cheesy about it; Yuna was pretty… really pretty. "I can come?"

"Yeah, we'll all be meeting up in the evening if that's okay with you. We'll all eat dinner over there around six. It'd be… really great if you were there," Tidus managed, before grinning and saying. "I'd really like a bnaddo kenm there with us, and I'm sure they'd all like it too."

Yuna looked at him in awe. "You can say it properly now!" Then, she flushed, slapping a hand over her mouth, looking apologetic before spluttering, "I-I'm sorry."

"It's alright. Like Wakka said, my Al-Bhed can scare away a Shoopuf."

When they both laughed, before heading out the door to drop Yuna off at home, Tidus could be sure he felt good for once, even if he had to talk about no-good, drunk off-his-ass, loafer Cetan, and all the bullshit people said about him without even knowing him before he played for the Abes. Even if he had to mention his old man mocking him and making fun of him, and he basically was the bad influence on easily-impressionable Cetan like peer pressure to do drugs was to kids, he felt loads of pounds lighter.

Yuna was his good influence, a reminder why he shouldn't ever live the way he used to. Even if he knew it well enough on his own, she pretty much confirmed it. If Yuna said he was strong, part of the reason was because of her.

Yuna made her way to the Machina the next day around dinner time after informing her father. She couldn't wait to see Tidus again, and Rikku, Lulu and Wakka. If his friends she hadn't yet met were as kind and bright as them, she didn't imagine she would have any problems. She knew most of them too, which would make it all a little easier for her. Sometimes, having too many unknown people around made immediately wilt like a flower, staring at the ground, shy, unable to talk.

Rikku had been the one to meet her out front, grinning brightly after seeing her on the street, approaching the store. "Oui lysa, Yunie! Tidus teth'd mea frah ra cyet oui't pa lusehk!"

After seeing Rikku's smile, she lost all the hesitation she may have had about going, her nervousness, how she walked around the evening streets, lively in Zanarkand, with some thoughts that maybe Gippal and Baralai wouldn't like her. The chill of the air felt cool on her skin, a whisper and small touch, daunted her in a way. But seeing Rikku reminded her of how kind Tidus' friends were, how kind the man himself was. Yuna truly didn't know how luck served her so well, meeting Tidus in Zanarkand at a time when she panicked, felt lost.

"Rikku, I hope it's alright if I come. Tidus invited me. I heard there are people I don't know… so…" Yuna said, a little flustered and tongue-tied. "I wanted to spend time with you all though."

"Yunie, no need to be so formal! Gippal and Baralai will love you. Someone like you can't ever make a bad impression, you're just too nice!" Rikku joked, and led her inside. "See I'm just happy I have a night off to spend with you all. It gets tiring having to deal with customers all the time."

"And I'm happy that you're spending time with us too," Yuna admitted, giving her a small smile, and willingly going wherever Rikku led her.

They reached a nice long wooden table, which Yuna recognized some of the occupants. Lulu and Wakka sat beside each other, the latter talking about Blitzball with Tidus. But they were joined by two men she didn't recognize, one a handsome, tanned blonde with a smirk on his face, wearing an eyepatch, curiously enough, and another with snow white hair, wearing traditional Bevellian clothing, she could see. The latter must have been Baralai, and the former, Gippal.

Perhaps this would have been all fine. She shared a smile with Tidus, feeling the warmth build up in her chest when she did.

"So I'm guessing this is Yuna, Tidus? Didn't tell me the girl you were bringing would be a babe." Much to her shock and embarrassment, Gippal winked at her.

Tidus scowled at him even if he was used to his behaviour and Wakka looked to be in shock that Gippal could say that without feeling mortified, Baralai just looked embarrassed for his friend's behaviour and Rikku just sighed like she was used to it. To her credit, Lulu didn't have any reaction at all and calmly sipped on a cocktail she ordered, all the while gesturing for Yuna to sit beside her on her left side, in between her and Tidus.

Yuna did so, averting her gaze so that she wouldn't lock eyes with Gippal of all people, who seemed rather determined to embarrass her.

Al-Bhed Translations:

Oui lysa, Yunie! Tidus teth'd mea frah ra cyet oui't pa lusehk! / You came, Yunie! Tidus didn't lie when he said you'd be coming!