(A/N): Yay! I uploaded another chapter! This time covering Chuami's first meeting with Tidus (and a gratuitous character study of our underrated new heroine!) Let's give the austere 17-year-old with daddy issues some love. :D

Her faithful and ever loyal sidekick Kurgum makes an adorkable as well. I swear, those kids are so under-appreciated. Very fun to write, I can't wait to flush out the next three chapters!

UPDATE: Edited as of April 2nd, 2024.


Chapter 2

~Blitzball Superstar~


After a quick stop to the pharmacy, they head out into the bustling thoroughfares of Bevelle's western districts, intending to pack a few days worth of clothing and other essentials for the trip. Kurgum suggested shopping for apparel more suitable for the tropical weather of the southern islands and Chuami agreed, knowing frock dresses and winter boots won't cut it past the Djose continent. So they visit Stadium Road to check out this year's selection of out-of-season summer clothes, eager to thrift the racks for some nice steals.

Sitting outside in front of a juice shop now, Chuami waits for Kurgum to pay inside the store across the street while she enjoys a blueberry pomegranate smoothie, feeling bored out of her mind. 'What's taking him so long…?'

She watches contract workers haul around steel scaffolding and cement buggies throughout the street, the harsh sounds of heavy construction prevalent in the air. This part of the shopping district used to be called Mika's Road after the late Grand Maester Yo Mika, boasting a plethora of theaters, antique shops, boutiques, high-end restaurants, five-star hotels, art galleries, concert halls, the kind of fancy-shmancy entertainment you would only ever find in the largest city of Spira. For a man who preached the importance of spiritual enlightenment, Mika sure loved to dabble in cultural amenities.

Mika's Road has always stood as an international marvel worthy of everyone's bucket list, if not serving as the favorite haunt of the social elite. Soon, its newly christened successor, Stadium Road, shall experience an even greater influx of tourists after the blitzball stadium's completion. Book cafes and tailor businesses have closed down in recent years as a result of this eventual change, erasing competition for the prosperous few and making way for hip new apparel stores and oriental restaurants to liven the plaza. Since the Yevon Church fell out of power three years ago, people began to move on from its strict stipulations, living life however way they want to now, riding the tidal waves of freedom.

Chuami does not complain when she sees the younger crowd start to trickle in, overshadowing the voices of the older generation, along with the occasional bright blonde Al Bhed and giant blue Ronso traipsing the streets, even spying some tall slender Guado skulking about with their pale, vein-riddled faces shoved in a scroll or text. Those people are never in a hurry to be anywhere, always taking their time. Not unlike a certain someone she knew.

'Kurgum's taking forever. Ugh... What's the hold up?'

Chuami glances at her sundial wristwatch, frustrated to confirm what she already knew. Spying him through the glass wall of the illuminated store, the chatty clerk appears to be trying to shove some fancy credit sphere down his throat, no doubt an exclusive Limitless G or store equivalent. Does she really have to go and step in to bail him out again?

She opts to wait for another five minutes, hoping this will teach him a lesson.

Peering up at the stadium that still bears its skeleton, Chuami wonders if the tournament will really take place here. How will the Council take responsibility if it doesn't? Gulping down the dregs of her drink, she sighs in content, satiated. Baralai better have a cool contingency plan in case the public starts pouring onto his doorstep, waving torches and shoddy weapons against the stuffy politicians whose only war crime happens to be 'most unsatisfactory performance in office history.'

It does not really matter to her either way, since it holds no bearing on her personal life.

Still...

Thinking back on how Baralai scolded her to mind her place as Kurgum's assistant, knowing full well how she tends to boss him around, Chuami pinches her face. Does he honestly expect her to wait on Kurgum hand and foot like a chocobo-brain? That boy can't do anything on his own, let alone think for himself. He's always hated confrontations, scared witless by the mere thought of them, preferring more peaceful solutions to conflict instead of "senseless" violence. Someone had to take charge, and it couldn't be the sweet little boy who always cowered behind her whenever the schoolyard bullies picked on him.

They have known each other their whole lives. It comes with the status of being childhood friends.

If all had been right in the world, Kurgum would have completed his Summoner apprenticeship, but with things as they are now on the cusp of a golden age, an era without Sin, or as the historians love to sing "after the Eternal Calm"― officially ratified on the new celestial calendar as of 003 AEC― Kurgum chose to enlist in the service of the Council as an authorized "Sender," an officer responsible for ushering in souls to the Farplane, a right once conducted by Summoners. Baralai had personally assigned her to Kurgum as his assistant, but anyone could tell just by looking at them who really called the shots.

Because they were always stuck together, their teachers and classmates, even the gossipy old housewives and giggling young clerics, often mistook them for sweethearts. Kids constantly teased them, mocking their friendship with stupid pranks and silly nursery rhymes, but really, they couldn't have been further from the truth.

As Chuami spots Kurgum exit the store with a heftier knapsack than when he first entered, catching himself upon tripping over an empty potion bottle, Chuami knows without a doubt that their relationship will never amount to anything more than friendship. Uncertain though the future may be, she knows this for certain.

If anyone heard her say that, they would laugh at her and call it an ironic lead-in.

Again. Not a lead-in.

Chuami stands at long last to stretch her limbs, proceeding to toss her cup in a nearby trashcan while waiting for him to reach her side. Aside from Council-related responsibilities and the dubious nature of boy-girl relationships, the real issue that demands her attention happens to be the large crowd up ahead blocking the quickest route back to the airship terminal in the temple. Given the extremely high mortality rate during Sin's thousand-year reign, these old, narrow roads were never constructed with a large, thriving populace in mind.

Chuami huffs, crossing her arms. 'What're they all doing...?'

And then she sees him, the new celebrity resident of Bevelle. Tidus.

She recognizes the handsome young athlete by his spiky mess of sun-bleached hair, trademark black dungarees, and bright red headband flaring in the ocean breeze. He stops in the middle of his jog to greet everyone, yielding to the congestion of blitzball fans eager to invade his personal space. Even from a distance, his brilliant smile lures her in, and Chuami starts wandering off in his direction, forcing Kurgum to catch up.

"Hey, Chuami, not that way! We gotta hurry."

"Waiting on you, so we might as well just be late. Anyway, look. Isn't that Tidus?"

"Huh?" He slows to a stop beside her, looking to where she points. "Wow, it is him!"

Chuami smirks. "Let's go take a closer look."

"Um, okay…"

"What, are you nervous?"

Kurgum laughs, caught guilty, opting to follow as she leads the way.

Chuami understands why he would feel nervous. Not because of Tidus's status as a blitzball celebrity, but for his reputation as one of the Legendary Guardians. Alongside High Summoner Yuna, he had literally saved Spira from annihilation. Even she cannot deny feeling nervous, her reason being that Tidus knew her father. Chuami teeters on the edge of her curiosity, hovering behind the back of the crowd as the collective voice of his overzealous entourage eclipses the sound of her pounding heartbeat.

"We always root for you!"

"Go get 'em!"

"It's so awesome to finally meet you!"

"Hey~! Thanks." Tidus stretches his smile, waving to everyone. "Cheer for me, okay?"

A man about five years older than him scavenges the courage to step closer, holding out a blitzball for him to sign. "Um, can I have your autograph?"

"Yeaaah~!" Tidus bellows his excitement, scooping up the proffered item with a deft sweep of his hand, before twirling it on the tip of his finger, stalling the ball in hand to scrawl his signature in swift cursive; a skill he must have toiled to perfect in moments of idle boredom or leisure. Once he hands it back, the guy looks about ready to spazz out from pure bliss.

"Thank you! Ooh, that's so great!"

Tidus laughs, soaking up the attention. "Thank you, thank you!"

Now more people start tossing caution out into the wind as they scramble for items on their person, scraps of paper or a souvenir, even holding out parts of their body for a chance to receive his signature. Chuami cringes from the embarrassing display. 'Ugh, laaame~' At least Kurgum never fails to entertain, blushing when some of the women act bold enough to flash Tidus a bit of their cleavage.

"Hey, shake my hand, man!"

"You're my hero!"

"I've been your fan forever~!"

Tired of listening to everyone sing their eternal praises, Chuami huffs and gathers the courage to jostle through the crowd. They throw her the stink eye as she passes, but she ignores their eloquent slew of complaints in favor of closing the distance, jabbing her sharp toes against the back of their ankles to pave a path no matter how narrow it yielded to her. Once she emerges breathless from the stifling hot pit of people, she shouts his name.

"Tidus! We're rooting for you!"

"Yup, yup…"

He reaches out to shake her hand, sparing a small, cursory glance in her direction before moving on, and Chuami quirks an eyebrow, unimpressed by his lack of enthusiasm. Couldn't he have put up with it by the time she got to him? Rude. Not what she expected in her first close-up impression of him. And yet... His words rang hollow in her ears, and his grip felt weak in her own. 'What's up with that? Are you not feeling well or something?'

"Okay, well… I gotta get going." Before everyone can rise together in vocal protest, Tidus musters the energy to wave, appeasing their complaints and disappointment with a flash of his dimples. "I'll see you all at the stadium!" And then he departs like the wind, resuming his run and sucking out all the excitement from the street like a vacuum. Now the crowd disperses, leaving Kurgum and Chuami alone in the middle of the road.

"Now that is what you call a star…" Kurgum mumbles in awe, eyes transfixed on his receding back.

"That I cannot deny, but…" She trails off, pensive.

"What is it?"

"I think he's injured. Or maybe he's sick or something."

Chuami pauses, recalling how he seemed normal on the surface. Nothing looked wrong about him as far as visible wounds go, but she cannot be too sure unless she had definitive proof, so she drops the matter for now and sighs. If it were really that serious, Tidus wouldn't be getting busy prepping for the upcoming tournament. "Hey, Kurgum, which team is favored to win it all?"

"Probably the Besaid Aurochs."

The underdog favorite, huh? She hums, mulling it over. "And after them?"

"The Al Bhed Psyches, maybe?" He shrugs, falling into step beside her as she takes the lead.

"Okay. Let's find a betting parlor. We might make a fortune." Chuami grins, her eyes already perusing the district. It wouldn't surprise her at all if all manner of vendors and stalls have begun taking up shop due to the feverish anticipation of the blitzball season being hosted for the first time on Bevellian waters. No businessman in their right mind would pass up the chance to dip their pretty, little ring fingers into that goldmine of an opportunity.

"Chuami, is that really… you know…"

Kurgum sighs from her blithe remark, giving her another one of his insufferable knowing looks. True to his religious upbringing, he never approved of activities such as gambling, calling it a 'sin of luxury facilitated by greed.' Sometimes Kurgum can out-preach a Yevon textbook worse than Baralai, and she pouts. Party-pooper. "C'mon, let's go."

"Alright, alright…" She concedes, but only because Baralai expects them to do their job.