Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction ❯ Final Fantasy X - This is Our Story ❯ Luca ( Chapter 6 )
[ T - Teen: Not suitable for readers under 13 ]
By: Koujis Wolf 
"I’m glad you got the chance to meet my girlfriend, Shana."
". . .Girlfriend?"
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.08.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.4K | Visits: 299 | Status: Completed
"I’m glad you got the chance to meet my girlfriend, Shana."
". . .Girlfriend?"
Non Anime: Final Fantasy - All Series Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Romance / Fantasy / Adventure | Type: Alternate Universe | Uploaded On: 04.08.2005 | Pages: 2 | Words: 6.4K | Visits: 299 | Status: Completed
‘After Shana’s new Aeon killed the fiend, we ran as quickly as possible back to Kilika. We just caught the ship headed for Luca. It was pretty boring, but, with our group, interesting things tend to happen . . .’
The door into one of the below-deck rooms opened squeakily, causing Bilus to cringe as he exited the doorway. He had tried to go to sleep, but, all the day’s excitement was keeping him from getting any shuteye. That’s what he hoped, anyway. He really didn’t need another case of insomnia, especially while on the pilgrimage.
He looked about the corridor, and found it was mostly deserted. Candle flames along the wooden walls scintillated, barely illuminated the dark hallway of the S.S. Winno. Luckily, Bilus’s eyes were used to the dark, so he wasn’t terribly handicapped by the poor lighting. He was about to go into the lounge when someone grabbed onto his sleeve, tugging forcefully.
Bilus’s Crusader instincts said ‘fight’, but, his better sense told him to turn around. He was glad he didn’t listen to his training, for once, or he would’ve decked some redhead, who didn’t look the least bit threatening. “Pardon me, luv, but coudja spare meh some gil,” the red-haired man asked, looking at the Crusader pitifully. “I’m flat broke, I am.”
Bilus shook his head his head, and became slightly amused when the beggar became angry. “And why the bloody hell not? Doncha have aneh compassion? Ya blasted sod!”The redhead’s yelling was beginning to annoy Bilus, but it was still amusing how he hopped around in a temper-tantrum. The Crusader felt for any of the passengers being awoken by the beggar’s fury.
“Because,” Bilus began, attempting to contain his laughter, “I don’t have any gil to give.”
The pauper’s features softened a little, and he quit stomping about like a toddler. He was still pouting, though. “Ah, terribleh sorreh then, luv. Meh name’s Roper, Roper tha twenty-fourth. I’m a merchant, but, I happen ta be a bit . . . Stockless.” The merchant’s expression brightened a bit, and he seemed to have a glimmer of hope sparkling in his green eyes. “I won’t be broke for much longer, I won’t! They’re having this fightin’ tournament in Luca, luv. Big reward for tha winner!”
Bilus was intrigued now. He’d definitely have to tell his companions about this tournament. Bilus was about to ask the merchant more about the Lucan competition, but the redhead was already gone. The Crusader entertained the thought that the red-haired learned to run so fast because people don’t tend to like beggars very much, but, he pushed it aside.
He walked down the creaky floors of the hall, and finally made it into the lounge. The spacious room was usually a gathering place for passengers of the ship, and, sure enough, Bilus found some familiar faces. Toward the back of the room was Alex and Zane, seeming to be standing guard over a large door.
“Hey!” Bilus shouted, walking toward the two Crusaders. Zane waved to the shorter man, but, Alex failed to respond. When he got closer, he realized the shorter Crusader was asleep, resting against Zane. Bilus smiled, causing Zane to blush and lower his partner, cautiously, to the floor. The boy whimpered, taking the taller man’s hand in his own. Bilus almost broke into a fit of laughter when Alex groggily brought Zane’s hand to his groin, sighing happily as he went back to snoring. Zane jerked his hand back, turning a brighter shade of red than he was previously.
Bilus decided to be gracious to his brother-in-arms, and broke the tension with a question. “So . . . You and Zane are guarding the ‘cargo’, right?” The Crusader-guardian knew exactly what the cargo was, but, he wasn’t at liberty to speak it aloud, just incase someone was listening.
Zane nodded, thankful the guardian hadn’t decided to tease him about Alex’s sleepy antics. “Yes. I trust you were told everything about the operation before leaving Luca, correct?” Bilus nodded, and Zane sighed, as if something was bothering him.
“Something wrong?”
Zane leaned against the large door which led to the cargo room, closing his eyes. “I’m . . . I’m worried about the mission,” Zane opened his eyes and looked down to his partner asleep on the floor. “I’m scared something’s going to happen to him . . .”
Bilus felt for his fellow Crusader. He knew exactly how Zane felt, but, he also knew he had to accept the fact that Alex knew what he was getting into. “Zane, I’m sure Alex is worried about you, too. You’ll just have to have faith in him, like he does for you,” the guardian said, pleased that his words were seeming to lift the taller man’s spirits some. “I’ve been in the same place. You’ve just gotta trust him to be able to handle himself.”
Zane brought his gaze up to the shaggy haired guardian, growing curious. Folding his sleeved arms across his tattooed chest, he decided to be bold. “Do you have feelings for Shana?” Zane asked, eying the guardian, once again taking in his body language and reactions like he did that day in Besaid.
Before Bilus could answer, a shrill voice pierced the night. “Well! If it ain’t Shana!” That drawling accent left no doubt in his mind about just whom it was. It had to be Sadiea. No doubt, the summoner had to be bothering his charge, so he decided to go do his job as guardian.
“Oop, gotta go. My summoner needs me,” the Crusader-guardian said, smirking. Zane tried to get his attention, but the shaggy haired guardian was already running up the stairs to the deck. Amidst the shouts of his fellow Crusader, Bilus was quite happy duty called. He didn’t want to leave that question looming over his head for too long.
The cool night air stung at Bilus’s cheeks. He could feel the salty, damp breeze of the ocean placing a chill on him. Bilus couldn’t wait until they were on an actual continent, so they wouldn’t have to sail around so much. He liked the sea, and all that, but, one can only take so much rocking.
Sure enough, there was the blonde-haired summoner. She had to be freezing with her robe only half on like that. Bilus was almost in earshot of the conversation. Shana had his arms folded, leaning against the rope rail of the ship as his rival to defeat Sin continued to speak. The guardian felt sorry for the poor summoner, having to listen to the girl blather on like that.
“What are you all talking about?” the Crusader asked, interrupting the summoner girl. He couldn’t keep from grinning when Shana’s face lit up to see him, and Sadiea’s attitude was turned on him.
The buxom summoner swung her head around to face the guardian, glaring at him angrily. She crossed her arms, staring him down like she was prepared to jump on him at any minute. “Who the hell are you supposed ta be?” she questioned, her voice laced with malice.
Before Bilus could answer, Sadiea’s guardian piped in. For the first time since Shana, Bilus, or their companions had met their competition, Jeremellow spoke. “I remembah him,” he said. “He’s tha shrimp that tried ta get all up in mah face.” The muscle-bound guardian stepped closer to his summoner, placing one beefed-up arm on her shoulder. The blonde girl looked up at him, not quite sure who he meant. “You know. Tha dude that got all pissed when you was talkin’ ‘bout him,” Jeremellow said, pointing behind him at Shana.
“Oh, riate. Yer that faggot.”
Shana walked over to the scantily-clad summoner and turned her around harshly, her arm captured in the cleric’s tight grip. “Don’t call him that!” Shana growled between clinched teeth, his eyes burning with anger, as was his face.
“But he is a faggot,” Sadiea spat. “He don’t got the balls to handle ah real woman like me,” she continued, placing her hands on her hips and thrusting her chest out to get the point that she was ‘sexy’ across. Shana balled his hands into shaking little fists, ready to smack the stuck-up summoner right in the jaw. Jeremellow interfered, though, stepping between them. Shana doubted he was a match for the wall of muscle and leather before him.
“Yeah, as ifah queer like you got any place saying who’s what,” Jeremellow sneered, smirking smugly down at the smaller man. Sadiea peeked around her brutish guardian to smile with satisfaction over the burn.
Shana stepped back, as if he had been physically shoved. “I-I’m not gay . . .” Shana said weakly, continuing to retreat until he felt the safety of the rail press against the small of his back. “I’m not!”
Bilus couldn’t stand to see the boy like this. Unarmed, he doubted he could take the massive Jeremellow, but, with his sword, he doubted the behemoth would survive, either. “Why don’t you two go back to your crypts and gnaw on some bones,” Bilus taunted, trying to draw the couple’s verbal attacks away from Shana.
“. . .I’m not gay! Really!” Shana urged, turning his back on the others. He hung his head, leaning against the rail, grasping the ropes tightly as he continued to mumble arguments. Sadiea seemed to be satisfied with her minor victory, turning her back on the summoner as well.
“Some people can be sooo rude,” she teased, flicking her long blonde hair at the boy. “Jeremellow, we’re leavin’,” she drawled, walking toward the staircase leading below deck. Jeremellow took a moment longer to amuse himself with the sight of guardian and summoner before quickly following after Sadiea.
With the harpy queen and her man-servant gone, Bilus was finally able to walk over to the summoner. “Hey,” he said, wrapping his warm arms around the shaken boy, “it’s okay. Don’t let that crusty-pussy bitch get to you.” Shana let out a deep baritone laugh, despite how angry and mortified he felt.
“She, she really is a bitch, isn’t she?” Shana commented, very much amused. He turned around to bury himself in the solace Bilus was offering him, nuzzling his face into the shaggy-haired guardian’s sweater. “A dumb one, at that . . . Lord Way had just as many guardians as I do! FOUR!”
Both of the men laughed, not minding that their loudness was echoing into the starry night sky. Bilus suddenly remembered the news he had to share with the summoner. “I almost forgot,” the Crusader said, slowly letting the boy out of the embrace. “I learned there’s this competition thing in Luca. We should enter, so we can get some gil,” Bilus stated, leaning against the rail beside Shana.
“That’s a good idea! And you can show me around the city!” Shana exclaimed, turning to face the guardian. The boy’s face was no longer contorted with anger or humiliation. Instead, he had a big, dorky smile stretched from ear to ear. “I’d really love to see it.”
Bilus scratched the back of his head bashfully. “Yeah!”
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The sun was just beginning to shed its light on the city of Luca when the S.S. Winno pulled into the large harbor. Bilus and his traveling companions were all very happy to see land, or more importantly, the home of their gil-making opportunity. As the first few rays of daylight danced on the shimmering, calm ocean-waters, the shaggy-haired swordsman hopped onto the rail of the ship, securing his balance by clinging to one of the sail’s ropes.
‘It hadn’t been that long since I left Luca. A week, at the least. I could spot all my old hangouts from the ship . . . The stadium, where the tournament is probably gonna be held . . . The marketplace . . . Even the Crusader Headquarters! Oh, that reminds me . . .’
Shana ran excitedly toward the edge of the ship. He had a spring in his step that made it very apparent that he was happy to see Luca. He leaned against the railing of the Winno, giggling with glee as seagulls flew by, threatening to smack into his mess of brown hair. Briruru wasn’t too far behind, with Juliette held tightly in her arms.
“Bilus! Do you want me to go wake up Aar and Kim?” Shana shouted to the hanging Crusader as he began to climb the rope, looking upward to the wavy-haired brunette. Bilus shouted ‘yeah’ back down to him, letting go of the rope and landing gracefully on the ship’s deck.
“Bravo! Bravo!” Briruru said dryly, clapping without very much enthusiasm. “Or . . . Bravado. Yeah! Bravado!” Bilus mock-glared at the black mage, dusting off his jeans as Shana giggled and went below deck to find the other two travelers. Briruru slowly walked toward the man, her heels causing an unhurried clicking of shoe against floor.
Bilus leaned against the railing of the ship, looking over to the shorter girl. Her short black hair was whipping about in the wind, which made her look less dignified and imposing as usual. “Are going to enter the tournament?” he asked nonchalantly, closing his eyes and relaxing. Briruru laughed, leaning against the ship’s rail as well.
“Why waste my time? There’s no one better at magic in all of Spira!” Briruru scoffed, holding her head high. The sorceress definitely had an air of strength around her, but Bilus doubted the honesty in her claim. He wasn’t saying Briruru wasn’t as good at black magic as she said, only that he was sure there was someone out there with better abilities than she.
Feeling up to a good show, he decided to ask her a few questions. “Do you know any second level spells?” the dark-haired Crusader asked, opening one eye to look over at the sexily dressed spell caster. The shorter girl glared at him from the corner of her eye, hitting him in the thigh with a forceful shove of her hip.
“No . . . But I’m learning! I are smart, dammit,” she cursed, tapping her feet rhythmically on the deck of the ship. Bilus laughed, never ceasing to be amazed by the younger guardian. “I heard from some dude in the lounge that people come from all over Spira to participate,” she remarked, turning to face the slightly taller boy. “He even said Sir Jet might be there! Eee!”
Bilus had to rub his ear from the girl’s squealing. It was then that Shana came walking toward the pair, with Aaroka and Kimari not too far behind. Aaroka’s dew-rag was wrinkled, and his clothes weren’t looking any better. Kimari looked quite similar; her feathers in her hair weren’t even in the right order they usually were. Obviously, both of the guardians had just awoken.
“Damn . . . Why do we gotta go into Luca now?” Aaroka demanded, groggily. The dark-skinned gunslinger rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned, stretching his mouth wide as he took in a large breath of air.
Shana smacked the taller man on the back of the head, causing an outcry of ‘ouch’ on the guardian’s part. “Because we need to register for the fighting thing in Luca!” Shana chided, trying to refresh the man’s memory, “it starts tomorrow, so we need to H-U-R-R-Y.” The summoner shook his head with disappointment as the guardian tried to piece the letters together.
“Shana,” Kimari said, getting the shorter boy’s attention. “Boat has docked. We leave now?” Shana nodded, running briskly down the gangplank, with Kimari not too far behind. Briruru sighed, rubbing her temples as she and Bilus chased after them.
“Son of a–” Aaroka began, but stopped as he broke off into a sprint to catch up with his friends. He finally reached his four companions on the spacious, even if a little bit crowded, Lucan dock. The dew-ragged man looked around the port, wondering why it was so packed.
“Awful lot of people . . .” the gunner remarked, whistling as he lost count of the vast amount of people. People of all shapes, sizes and races were walking around the harbour – Roselletti, Ebon, Human, and everything in between.
Shana tried to push himself higher into the air by attempting to climb up Kimari, but he failed. The tall Ebon warrior growled in annoyance, while the cleric chuckled nervously. “I wonder why there’s such a turn out . . . Surely not because of us . . .” Shana wondered aloud, looking around from his place on the ground. Suddenly, someone ran right by the summoner, a man wearing a blue coat and shorts with bushy blonde hair.
“Grand Maester Dupuy is here!” the blonde shouted, quickly disappearing from view in the sea of bodies.
A girl dressed in red not too far away gasped, before breaking off into a run as well. “Already? Where?” she shouted. Someone answered back, in the crowd, saying ‘dock 3'. The entire multitude of people stampeded for dock 3, looking like a herd of Shoopuff . Shana was glad he was still on the walkway, and not the main part of the port.
“Move-move-move-move-MOVE!”
Both Shana and Bilus were rudely knocked to the ground. A woman with her hair up in a bun, wearing what Bilus had to admit was the ugliest looking sun-dress he had ever seen, ran by, with a mic in her hand. The two boys didn’t even get to stand up before someone else charged past them, stepping on both of their hands.
“Hey!” Bilus shouted sharply, shaking his sore fingers.
“Excuse you!” Shana yelled, rubbing his poor, abused hand.
The person stopped, and turned to look at them. He was wearing a backwards cap, and had tanned skin like Bilus. He was toting a sphere-camera, a machina allowed by the church, because it’s purpose wasn’t dangerous. “Oh, I’m sorry!” the man said, lowering the camera. He smiled apologetically, placing the camera in his fanny-pack and reaching to help the two boys up.
“It’s okay . . . But what’s going on?” Bilus asked, after he and Shana had safely been aided to their feet.
“Maester Dupuy has arrived, that’s what!” the man said, finally remembering he had a job to do. He ran as quickly as his legs would carry him, fighting to catch up with the microphone-carrying woman.
Briruru was tending to Shana’s injured hand when she looked up, watching the cameraman run out of view. “Ah, it makes sense . . . Today marks Dupuy’s fiftieth year in office, so, that must be why their having this tournament,” the mage figured. “He is the leader of everyone in Spira. Makes sense for them to do something big in his honor.”
“Let’s all go see him!” Shana declared, clapping. He regretted it, afterwards, though. His hand was still aching from being stepped on so harshly. Briruru and Bilus snickered as he grimaced in pain, which soon turned into a glare when he saw his guardians taking amusement in his pain. “Fine! Me, Kim, and Aar will go! C’mon . . .” he said, walking hastily toward dock 3.
“Ha-ha, I’m tha favorite, biotch!” Aaroka taunted, sticking his tongue out at the two dark-haired guardians left uninvited. As he turned to follow after the summoner, he received a sharp kick to the shin. Two of them, actually. Kimari made a sound that would sound like a giggle if it didn’t sound so menacing. Aaroka limped as fast as he could after the tall girl.
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‘I’d never really seen any of the Maesters before. I’d seen Maester Justoc, once or twice, but that was before he was promoted to Maester. I’d never think I’d get to see GRAND Maester Dupuy Innocent! Sure, I might have been ex-communicated from Yevon because I was a Crusader, but it was still quite an experience.’
“Kimari can’t see.”
“Shhhhh! Be quiet, trick!”
“Shush, both of you.”
Shana was failing to keep his guardians quiet as they tried to find a place in the crowd to behold the Maester. Shana wasn’t tall enough to see anything over the giant Ebon standing in front of him, partly because of the dark-skinned giant’s height, and partly because of the muscles that made the Ebon so wide. Kimari was probably tall enough to see, but the poor girl was standing right behind a pillar, preventing any advantage she had because of her race. Aaroka didn’t seem to mind not being able to see anything, because he did have a nice view . . . Not of the Maester; he had a nice view of some tightly dressed girl’s rear. Shana finally found a spot between the Ebon and a short girl, and was content enough with his little window to view the Maester's arrival.
Meanwhile, Bilus and Briruru had found a very nice spot to watch Dupuy arrive. There was a bit of empty space up close, and, thanks to some pushing and shoving, they made it, securing a place with a good view. Bilus was trying to see if anyone was coming out of the large ship covered in Yevon-Script, but all he could see was a few armored guys with guns. ‘Must be Warrior Monks,’ he thought.
Loud, joyous music began playing. Trumpets, harps, and every other instrument that could inspire happiness in someone’s soul began playing, heralding the approach of the Maester. The plank leading off of the ship lowered to the port, but, the person at the top was not Grand Maester Dupuy. Where as Dupuy was supposed to be short, round, and old, this person was tall, in-shape, and young. He also had features that seemed very . . . Roselletti. He had stiff, plant-like blonde hair that was soft and human-like when it began, but grew to look like a tree root as it went on. When Bilus looked closer, he could see unusual veins going down the man’s slightly plump face; that was another sign of the Roselletti.
The crowd of people was now whispering, instantly gossiping about the stranger on the boat. Bilus could make out only a little bit of the several conversations, losing track of most of them because of the countless hushed little voices all around him.
“That’s a Roselletti, isn’t it?”
“Who could it be, I wonder . . .”
“Isn’t that Maester Keetmour?”
‘I’d never seen many Roselletti, either. I knew about them, though. They’re all plant-like people, with pointy ears, and sharp claws. The thing that sticks out the most about Roselletti, though, is their hair. It always has this weird look to it, like it’s made of wood. Roselletti are supposed to be able to hear the dead, and all other sorts of things related to the dead, because of their close ties to nature.’
The Roselletti-like man looked down into the crowd, scanning his audience carefully as he stood at the beginning of the gangplank. Smiling, he bent down, and performed the prayer of Yevon gracefully. His long, storm-colored robe swished about as he performed the movements that went along with the prayer, whereas his hair did not, thanks to his Roselletti-blood.
The people in the crowd all snapped to attention, performing the prayer. Bilus mentally noted how they all seemed like machina, with how they moved so systematically. Even Briruru performed the prayer. He guessed it didn’t seem so out-of-character, since she was a priest’s daughter, but she just didn’t seem like the type to take part in any religious action.
The Roselletti walked down the gangboard, stopping at the end to await Grand Maester Dupuy. The next to leave the ship was another Roselletti. It had darker skin than the previous one, and had on a white tunic with pink flames that made him really stand out. “Ohmigod, Lord Keeetmour, you SO hafta not run off without me,” the Roselletti lisped, running quickly down the plank to meet his fellow Roselletti.
Finally, Dupuy appeared. Being a very feeble man, he had to move slowly and cautiously to the gangboard’s edge. His large, white and golden hat signified his papacy, and the many chains and rings of gold ornamenting his robes showed just how important of a man he was. He smiled paternally down at the masses, his bushy, steel-colored mustache twitching upward as he did so. The two Roselletti bowed to the Grand Maester, as did the crowd. Even Bilus did, out of sheer respect of the aged man.
“I thank you, people of Spira,” Dupuy began, performing the prayer of Yevon, “for your most gracious welcoming. Arise, Maester Keetmour, Sir Jesse, and the rest of you, as well.” The Grand Maester moved unhurriedly down the plank, and stopped once he reached Maester Keetmour. “I present to you all, Maester Keetmour Roselletti, son of Maester Lotus Roselletti, who left for the Farplane a fortnight ago.”
Maester Keetmour turned to face the crowd, nodding his head. “I am Keetmour Roselletti. I am honored, beyond words, to receive the title of Maester.” The servant of Yevon performed the prayer once again, before continuing. “My father devoted his life to further the ties between Man and Roselletti, and I promise to continue his work to the best of my abilities.”
The crowd, again, bowed to the man, except for Bilus. Dupuy Innocent performed the prayer and bowed, causing Bilus to wonder how his large, wide-brimmed hat stayed on his head. Keetmour and his fellow Roselletti performed the prayer, as well, before all three of them turned to leave. No farther than two steps behind them was a small battalion of armored men carrying rifles.
‘Warrior Monks, no doubt.’
Bilus was aroused from his thoughts when he noticed Maester Keetmour had mysteriously stopped walking like the rest of his companions, and was looking at something, or someone, in the crowd. He tried to follow the Maester’s gaze, but the only thing he could’ve been looking at was . . . Shana? No way. Either way, the shorter Roselletti nudged him with his elbow, stemming his staring for the moment.
“Mmm. I think Maester’s fuckin’ the stump,” Briruru said vulgarly, motioning to the Roselletti in the white tunic. Bilus shook his head, before turning to face the girl. She grinned impishly, like a child reciting something she heard on the playground. Bilus was about to ask her where she coined such a darling word for a Roselletti when the other half of their gang arrived.
Shana was very much pleased to have seen the Maesters. His eyes were gleaming with awe as he spun around on the heel of his boot once he reached the shaggy haired guardian and the sexily-dressed mage. “Did you see? Did you? Maester Dupuy is so magisterial and distinguished!” the summoner exclaimed, still gushing with happiness over seeing the leader of the Yevonites. “Really psyches ya up, huh?”
“He has a big hat . . .” Briruru noted thoughtfully, touching one gloved hand to her full lips, lost in her own little world.
Aaroka was snickering to himself, for some reason. “Maester Keetmour looks funny,” he said in between chuckles. Shana sighed, hanging his head in defeat. Aaroka cleared his throat, before crossing his arms. “Anyway . . . We better go register for the tournament now. We hafta H-U-R-R-Y, like you said, remember?” Aaroka commented, directing it toward Shana.
“Hey! How many times do you get to meet High Maester Dupuy Innocent?” Shana replied.
Of course, the gunner was right. They had to sign up very soon, before registration was over. Bilus figured that it would be held at the stadium, so more than likely that was where registration was. He led the others around Luca Harbor, which circled the stadium. It was virtually impossible to get lost, since you just had to keep following the linear path.
“You serious?” someone on one of the docks asked, sounding as if the other person had just said the saw Yevon jumping on a pogo-stick out in the sea.
“Yep. A ‘Sir Jet’ definately entered, but I don’t think it’s the right one. Said his name was ‘Tonan Jet’.”
Bilus, as well as his companions, all stopped when they heard the conversation going on between the stadium workers. It must’ve been pretty suspicious to see them all standing around, staying as quiet as possible.
“And Sir Jet’s name was ‘Jet Roque’. Right?”
Shana tugged on Bilus’s shoulder, causing the shorter boy to turn and face him. “You don’t think it’s the same Jet, do you?” The summoner’s face was filled with some kind of emotion Bilus couldn’t quite pin down. He figured the cleric was anxious to meet someone who had traveled with his father. But since the two ‘Jets’ had different full names, it was a slim chance they were the same person.
“I dunno,” Bilus replied, not wanting to crush his charge’s hopes, if he was correct as to why Shana looked so down.
“H-U-R-R-Y,” Aaroka chimed melodiously. Shana smacked his chest with the back of his hand, not attempting to do so softly. The poor abused guardian didn’t bother spelling anymore.
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“Name?”
They had made it to the registering booth. Luckily, there was still time to sign up, according to the girl in glasses on the other side of the glass. Her dark skin accented her curly black hair perfectly, and it seemed to appeal to Aaroka, who shoved Bilus out of the way.
“Aaroka Ridgedell, Miss . . . ?” Aaroka trailed off, prompting the receptionist to offer her name.
“Amelia,” the girl replied, forcing an uncomfortable smile. “Are you going in alone, or with a partner?” she pressed, trying to stick to formalities.
“I’m enterin’ with my boy Bilus, here,” he said, pulling the wavy haired guardian over. “N-not that I need help, ya know. I’d shoot down any trick in my way, if it’d make you smile again . . .” the dark-skinned guardian said cheesily, causing the girl to sigh with frustration.
The girl turned from Aaroka to Bilus, not dignifying his pick-up line with a response. “Full name?”
“Bilus Dracon.”
The receptionist wrote some things down on the little sign-up sheet, before continuing. “Okay, you’re ready. The tournament begins tomorrow at noon. Don’t be late.”
Aaroka continued to chat the poor receptionist up, while Shana pulled Bilus away playfully. “You promised to show me around, remember?” he stated, smiling elfishly as he clasped his hands together behind his back and swayed rhythmically.
“Oh, yeah,” Bilus said. He was more than happy to show the summoner around the city, and was just about to leave the stadium lobby when a large shadow loomed over him. He turned to find Kimari scowling down at him, not looking very happy. “Uh . . . Wanna come?”
Briruru and Aaroka had to say something. The impulse to do so was far to great for them to suppress it. “Have F-U-N!”
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The trio had left the stadium area, and they were now traveling the bridge-like walkway that led to the heart of the city. The ocean below roared and crashed into the pillars holding the bridge up, and the gulls cawed loudly, adding to the ‘sea-side city’ vibe of Luca. Shana was taking in the sights like a kid, running around happily, while Kimari grudgingly followed.
“Having fun?” Bilus inquired, amused. Shana turned around, nodding while the wind moved his long brown hair about. Kimari merely growled, indicating that she wasn’t having very much fun. Bilus was pleased that Shana seemed to be coming out of his shell some. He was different now from the shy, soft-spoken summoner he had first met in Besaid. He wondered if this was just because they hadn’t really met anyone new aside from Sadiea and her manslave, or because going into the world was causing him to grow as a person.
Shana stopped abruptly, turning to face his Crusader-guardian in a whirl of red and white.
“What is it?” Bilus asked, concerned.
Shana was kicking at the ground, with his hands once again behind his back. “What if . . . What if we get separated, hmm?” Shana mused, as if he was tossing the idea around in his mind. Bilus laughed, entertaining the thought of having to hold the summoner’s hand around Luca, before he came up with a better solution.
A loud whistle piercing the cawing of the gulls and crashing of the ocean, causing Shana and Kimari to look at the man, both of them startled. “Do that. If we get separated, I mean,” Bilus declared. Shana smiled in return, and attempted to whistle. He accomplished it, and soon, he was whistling some tune Bilus didn’t recognize. It sounded very melancholy, however.
Finally, they reached the central point of the city. Bilus could always tell when he was in the heart of Luca, because it was marked with a large, crystalline-like statue of a blade. It signified the Crusader’s Headquarters, which was located not too far from the sword-like monument.
“Wow!” Shana gasped, turning in full circle as he took in the size of Luca. “Luca’s really big!” he proclaimed.
“Yeah,” Bilus agreed, grinning as Shana continued to gaze at the generously sized buildings of Luca. “Don’t stare at them too long. You’ll get dizzy,” Bilus teased, earning a giggle or two from the brunette cleric. Kimari rolled her eyes, not amused in the slightest.
A scream pierced the normal sounds of the city, causing Bilus to instinctively reach for Fraternity. The shocked cry that came afterwards, however, put his worries at ease. “Oh! My! Gosh!”
Bilus already knew who it was. He didn’t even have to turn around and look. Shana did, however. He looked over his shoulder, and, returning to shyness, casually moved closer to Kimari. Both of them took in the sight of the person standing beside the glassy monument. It was a woman, who didn’t seem to be much older than Shana or Briruru, with short brown hair, streaked with blonde. She had on a blue top that clung to her figure, with unattached matching blue sleeves not too far beneath her shoulder armor. At her side was a sword-sheath, hanging from a belt around her white skirt in a similar fashion to Bilus.
“Hey! Is this the summoner?” she asked, walking over excitedly. Much like Briruru, her stilettos clicked when she walked, but there was something perkier about her clicking. When Briruru moved, her footfalls seemed intimidating. This girl’s seemed . . . giddy.
“Yeah,” Bilus replied, walking towards the girl in blue. “This is Shana,” he said, nodding his head in Shana’s direction, “and Kimari, his other guardian.” Bilus was smiling ear to ear, and his smile seemed to grow every time he got closer to this woman.
The girl waved at the two outsiders, smiling sweetly. “Hi!” The girl returned her attention to Bilus before neither Shana nor Kimari could return the gesture. “I went out to pick up Sisterhood – she had to get sharpened, her edge was getting dull – and I bumped into you! How cool!” She clapped her hands together in glee, very much excited to find the Crusader.
“Uhm? Hello, Miss,” Shana said shyly, trying to recapture the girl’s attention. He assumed ‘Sisterhood’ was her sword, since he couldn’t gather why she’d go sharpen anything else. Bilus and the girl both turned to face Shana, and Shana felt even more out of place when the tried to answer at the same time, for some reason.
“This is Hail.” “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Hail!”
The summoner laughed uneasily, looking sidewards to Kimari, who wasn’t looking very pleased. He extended his hand to Hail, and laughed with more feeling when she returned the handshake. The girl smiled cheerfully at the summoner, looking the utmost picture of happiness, while, for one reason or another, Shana was looking more and more the splitting image of anxiety.
‘I’d been dying to introduce my new friends to Hail. She was a Crusader, too. Our swords were even forged from the same ore, which is why they have such similar names. ‘Fraternity’ and ‘Sisterhood’. We started going together about a week before I’d been told the church at Besaid had hired me as a guardian, so it felt really good to see her again.’
“I’m glad you got the chance to meet my girlfriend, Shana.”
Shana’s face went pale, and his mouth hung open for a brief moment before he managed to push the word out of his throat. “Girlfriend?”Top of Form 1Bottom of Form 1
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The door into one of the below-deck rooms opened squeakily, causing Bilus to cringe as he exited the doorway. He had tried to go to sleep, but, all the day’s excitement was keeping him from getting any shuteye. That’s what he hoped, anyway. He really didn’t need another case of insomnia, especially while on the pilgrimage.
He looked about the corridor, and found it was mostly deserted. Candle flames along the wooden walls scintillated, barely illuminated the dark hallway of the S.S. Winno. Luckily, Bilus’s eyes were used to the dark, so he wasn’t terribly handicapped by the poor lighting. He was about to go into the lounge when someone grabbed onto his sleeve, tugging forcefully.
Bilus’s Crusader instincts said ‘fight’, but, his better sense told him to turn around. He was glad he didn’t listen to his training, for once, or he would’ve decked some redhead, who didn’t look the least bit threatening. “Pardon me, luv, but coudja spare meh some gil,” the red-haired man asked, looking at the Crusader pitifully. “I’m flat broke, I am.”
Bilus shook his head his head, and became slightly amused when the beggar became angry. “And why the bloody hell not? Doncha have aneh compassion? Ya blasted sod!”The redhead’s yelling was beginning to annoy Bilus, but it was still amusing how he hopped around in a temper-tantrum. The Crusader felt for any of the passengers being awoken by the beggar’s fury.
“Because,” Bilus began, attempting to contain his laughter, “I don’t have any gil to give.”
The pauper’s features softened a little, and he quit stomping about like a toddler. He was still pouting, though. “Ah, terribleh sorreh then, luv. Meh name’s Roper, Roper tha twenty-fourth. I’m a merchant, but, I happen ta be a bit . . . Stockless.” The merchant’s expression brightened a bit, and he seemed to have a glimmer of hope sparkling in his green eyes. “I won’t be broke for much longer, I won’t! They’re having this fightin’ tournament in Luca, luv. Big reward for tha winner!”
Bilus was intrigued now. He’d definitely have to tell his companions about this tournament. Bilus was about to ask the merchant more about the Lucan competition, but the redhead was already gone. The Crusader entertained the thought that the red-haired learned to run so fast because people don’t tend to like beggars very much, but, he pushed it aside.
He walked down the creaky floors of the hall, and finally made it into the lounge. The spacious room was usually a gathering place for passengers of the ship, and, sure enough, Bilus found some familiar faces. Toward the back of the room was Alex and Zane, seeming to be standing guard over a large door.
“Hey!” Bilus shouted, walking toward the two Crusaders. Zane waved to the shorter man, but, Alex failed to respond. When he got closer, he realized the shorter Crusader was asleep, resting against Zane. Bilus smiled, causing Zane to blush and lower his partner, cautiously, to the floor. The boy whimpered, taking the taller man’s hand in his own. Bilus almost broke into a fit of laughter when Alex groggily brought Zane’s hand to his groin, sighing happily as he went back to snoring. Zane jerked his hand back, turning a brighter shade of red than he was previously.
Bilus decided to be gracious to his brother-in-arms, and broke the tension with a question. “So . . . You and Zane are guarding the ‘cargo’, right?” The Crusader-guardian knew exactly what the cargo was, but, he wasn’t at liberty to speak it aloud, just incase someone was listening.
Zane nodded, thankful the guardian hadn’t decided to tease him about Alex’s sleepy antics. “Yes. I trust you were told everything about the operation before leaving Luca, correct?” Bilus nodded, and Zane sighed, as if something was bothering him.
“Something wrong?”
Zane leaned against the large door which led to the cargo room, closing his eyes. “I’m . . . I’m worried about the mission,” Zane opened his eyes and looked down to his partner asleep on the floor. “I’m scared something’s going to happen to him . . .”
Bilus felt for his fellow Crusader. He knew exactly how Zane felt, but, he also knew he had to accept the fact that Alex knew what he was getting into. “Zane, I’m sure Alex is worried about you, too. You’ll just have to have faith in him, like he does for you,” the guardian said, pleased that his words were seeming to lift the taller man’s spirits some. “I’ve been in the same place. You’ve just gotta trust him to be able to handle himself.”
Zane brought his gaze up to the shaggy haired guardian, growing curious. Folding his sleeved arms across his tattooed chest, he decided to be bold. “Do you have feelings for Shana?” Zane asked, eying the guardian, once again taking in his body language and reactions like he did that day in Besaid.
Before Bilus could answer, a shrill voice pierced the night. “Well! If it ain’t Shana!” That drawling accent left no doubt in his mind about just whom it was. It had to be Sadiea. No doubt, the summoner had to be bothering his charge, so he decided to go do his job as guardian.
“Oop, gotta go. My summoner needs me,” the Crusader-guardian said, smirking. Zane tried to get his attention, but the shaggy haired guardian was already running up the stairs to the deck. Amidst the shouts of his fellow Crusader, Bilus was quite happy duty called. He didn’t want to leave that question looming over his head for too long.
The cool night air stung at Bilus’s cheeks. He could feel the salty, damp breeze of the ocean placing a chill on him. Bilus couldn’t wait until they were on an actual continent, so they wouldn’t have to sail around so much. He liked the sea, and all that, but, one can only take so much rocking.
Sure enough, there was the blonde-haired summoner. She had to be freezing with her robe only half on like that. Bilus was almost in earshot of the conversation. Shana had his arms folded, leaning against the rope rail of the ship as his rival to defeat Sin continued to speak. The guardian felt sorry for the poor summoner, having to listen to the girl blather on like that.
“What are you all talking about?” the Crusader asked, interrupting the summoner girl. He couldn’t keep from grinning when Shana’s face lit up to see him, and Sadiea’s attitude was turned on him.
The buxom summoner swung her head around to face the guardian, glaring at him angrily. She crossed her arms, staring him down like she was prepared to jump on him at any minute. “Who the hell are you supposed ta be?” she questioned, her voice laced with malice.
Before Bilus could answer, Sadiea’s guardian piped in. For the first time since Shana, Bilus, or their companions had met their competition, Jeremellow spoke. “I remembah him,” he said. “He’s tha shrimp that tried ta get all up in mah face.” The muscle-bound guardian stepped closer to his summoner, placing one beefed-up arm on her shoulder. The blonde girl looked up at him, not quite sure who he meant. “You know. Tha dude that got all pissed when you was talkin’ ‘bout him,” Jeremellow said, pointing behind him at Shana.
“Oh, riate. Yer that faggot.”
Shana walked over to the scantily-clad summoner and turned her around harshly, her arm captured in the cleric’s tight grip. “Don’t call him that!” Shana growled between clinched teeth, his eyes burning with anger, as was his face.
“But he is a faggot,” Sadiea spat. “He don’t got the balls to handle ah real woman like me,” she continued, placing her hands on her hips and thrusting her chest out to get the point that she was ‘sexy’ across. Shana balled his hands into shaking little fists, ready to smack the stuck-up summoner right in the jaw. Jeremellow interfered, though, stepping between them. Shana doubted he was a match for the wall of muscle and leather before him.
“Yeah, as ifah queer like you got any place saying who’s what,” Jeremellow sneered, smirking smugly down at the smaller man. Sadiea peeked around her brutish guardian to smile with satisfaction over the burn.
Shana stepped back, as if he had been physically shoved. “I-I’m not gay . . .” Shana said weakly, continuing to retreat until he felt the safety of the rail press against the small of his back. “I’m not!”
Bilus couldn’t stand to see the boy like this. Unarmed, he doubted he could take the massive Jeremellow, but, with his sword, he doubted the behemoth would survive, either. “Why don’t you two go back to your crypts and gnaw on some bones,” Bilus taunted, trying to draw the couple’s verbal attacks away from Shana.
“. . .I’m not gay! Really!” Shana urged, turning his back on the others. He hung his head, leaning against the rail, grasping the ropes tightly as he continued to mumble arguments. Sadiea seemed to be satisfied with her minor victory, turning her back on the summoner as well.
“Some people can be sooo rude,” she teased, flicking her long blonde hair at the boy. “Jeremellow, we’re leavin’,” she drawled, walking toward the staircase leading below deck. Jeremellow took a moment longer to amuse himself with the sight of guardian and summoner before quickly following after Sadiea.
With the harpy queen and her man-servant gone, Bilus was finally able to walk over to the summoner. “Hey,” he said, wrapping his warm arms around the shaken boy, “it’s okay. Don’t let that crusty-pussy bitch get to you.” Shana let out a deep baritone laugh, despite how angry and mortified he felt.
“She, she really is a bitch, isn’t she?” Shana commented, very much amused. He turned around to bury himself in the solace Bilus was offering him, nuzzling his face into the shaggy-haired guardian’s sweater. “A dumb one, at that . . . Lord Way had just as many guardians as I do! FOUR!”
Both of the men laughed, not minding that their loudness was echoing into the starry night sky. Bilus suddenly remembered the news he had to share with the summoner. “I almost forgot,” the Crusader said, slowly letting the boy out of the embrace. “I learned there’s this competition thing in Luca. We should enter, so we can get some gil,” Bilus stated, leaning against the rail beside Shana.
“That’s a good idea! And you can show me around the city!” Shana exclaimed, turning to face the guardian. The boy’s face was no longer contorted with anger or humiliation. Instead, he had a big, dorky smile stretched from ear to ear. “I’d really love to see it.”
Bilus scratched the back of his head bashfully. “Yeah!”
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The sun was just beginning to shed its light on the city of Luca when the S.S. Winno pulled into the large harbor. Bilus and his traveling companions were all very happy to see land, or more importantly, the home of their gil-making opportunity. As the first few rays of daylight danced on the shimmering, calm ocean-waters, the shaggy-haired swordsman hopped onto the rail of the ship, securing his balance by clinging to one of the sail’s ropes.
‘It hadn’t been that long since I left Luca. A week, at the least. I could spot all my old hangouts from the ship . . . The stadium, where the tournament is probably gonna be held . . . The marketplace . . . Even the Crusader Headquarters! Oh, that reminds me . . .’
Shana ran excitedly toward the edge of the ship. He had a spring in his step that made it very apparent that he was happy to see Luca. He leaned against the railing of the Winno, giggling with glee as seagulls flew by, threatening to smack into his mess of brown hair. Briruru wasn’t too far behind, with Juliette held tightly in her arms.
“Bilus! Do you want me to go wake up Aar and Kim?” Shana shouted to the hanging Crusader as he began to climb the rope, looking upward to the wavy-haired brunette. Bilus shouted ‘yeah’ back down to him, letting go of the rope and landing gracefully on the ship’s deck.
“Bravo! Bravo!” Briruru said dryly, clapping without very much enthusiasm. “Or . . . Bravado. Yeah! Bravado!” Bilus mock-glared at the black mage, dusting off his jeans as Shana giggled and went below deck to find the other two travelers. Briruru slowly walked toward the man, her heels causing an unhurried clicking of shoe against floor.
Bilus leaned against the railing of the ship, looking over to the shorter girl. Her short black hair was whipping about in the wind, which made her look less dignified and imposing as usual. “Are going to enter the tournament?” he asked nonchalantly, closing his eyes and relaxing. Briruru laughed, leaning against the ship’s rail as well.
“Why waste my time? There’s no one better at magic in all of Spira!” Briruru scoffed, holding her head high. The sorceress definitely had an air of strength around her, but Bilus doubted the honesty in her claim. He wasn’t saying Briruru wasn’t as good at black magic as she said, only that he was sure there was someone out there with better abilities than she.
Feeling up to a good show, he decided to ask her a few questions. “Do you know any second level spells?” the dark-haired Crusader asked, opening one eye to look over at the sexily dressed spell caster. The shorter girl glared at him from the corner of her eye, hitting him in the thigh with a forceful shove of her hip.
“No . . . But I’m learning! I are smart, dammit,” she cursed, tapping her feet rhythmically on the deck of the ship. Bilus laughed, never ceasing to be amazed by the younger guardian. “I heard from some dude in the lounge that people come from all over Spira to participate,” she remarked, turning to face the slightly taller boy. “He even said Sir Jet might be there! Eee!”
Bilus had to rub his ear from the girl’s squealing. It was then that Shana came walking toward the pair, with Aaroka and Kimari not too far behind. Aaroka’s dew-rag was wrinkled, and his clothes weren’t looking any better. Kimari looked quite similar; her feathers in her hair weren’t even in the right order they usually were. Obviously, both of the guardians had just awoken.
“Damn . . . Why do we gotta go into Luca now?” Aaroka demanded, groggily. The dark-skinned gunslinger rubbed his eyes sleepily and yawned, stretching his mouth wide as he took in a large breath of air.
Shana smacked the taller man on the back of the head, causing an outcry of ‘ouch’ on the guardian’s part. “Because we need to register for the fighting thing in Luca!” Shana chided, trying to refresh the man’s memory, “it starts tomorrow, so we need to H-U-R-R-Y.” The summoner shook his head with disappointment as the guardian tried to piece the letters together.
“Shana,” Kimari said, getting the shorter boy’s attention. “Boat has docked. We leave now?” Shana nodded, running briskly down the gangplank, with Kimari not too far behind. Briruru sighed, rubbing her temples as she and Bilus chased after them.
“Son of a–” Aaroka began, but stopped as he broke off into a sprint to catch up with his friends. He finally reached his four companions on the spacious, even if a little bit crowded, Lucan dock. The dew-ragged man looked around the port, wondering why it was so packed.
“Awful lot of people . . .” the gunner remarked, whistling as he lost count of the vast amount of people. People of all shapes, sizes and races were walking around the harbour – Roselletti, Ebon, Human, and everything in between.
Shana tried to push himself higher into the air by attempting to climb up Kimari, but he failed. The tall Ebon warrior growled in annoyance, while the cleric chuckled nervously. “I wonder why there’s such a turn out . . . Surely not because of us . . .” Shana wondered aloud, looking around from his place on the ground. Suddenly, someone ran right by the summoner, a man wearing a blue coat and shorts with bushy blonde hair.
“Grand Maester Dupuy is here!” the blonde shouted, quickly disappearing from view in the sea of bodies.
A girl dressed in red not too far away gasped, before breaking off into a run as well. “Already? Where?” she shouted. Someone answered back, in the crowd, saying ‘dock 3'. The entire multitude of people stampeded for dock 3, looking like a herd of Shoopuff . Shana was glad he was still on the walkway, and not the main part of the port.
“Move-move-move-move-MOVE!”
Both Shana and Bilus were rudely knocked to the ground. A woman with her hair up in a bun, wearing what Bilus had to admit was the ugliest looking sun-dress he had ever seen, ran by, with a mic in her hand. The two boys didn’t even get to stand up before someone else charged past them, stepping on both of their hands.
“Hey!” Bilus shouted sharply, shaking his sore fingers.
“Excuse you!” Shana yelled, rubbing his poor, abused hand.
The person stopped, and turned to look at them. He was wearing a backwards cap, and had tanned skin like Bilus. He was toting a sphere-camera, a machina allowed by the church, because it’s purpose wasn’t dangerous. “Oh, I’m sorry!” the man said, lowering the camera. He smiled apologetically, placing the camera in his fanny-pack and reaching to help the two boys up.
“It’s okay . . . But what’s going on?” Bilus asked, after he and Shana had safely been aided to their feet.
“Maester Dupuy has arrived, that’s what!” the man said, finally remembering he had a job to do. He ran as quickly as his legs would carry him, fighting to catch up with the microphone-carrying woman.
Briruru was tending to Shana’s injured hand when she looked up, watching the cameraman run out of view. “Ah, it makes sense . . . Today marks Dupuy’s fiftieth year in office, so, that must be why their having this tournament,” the mage figured. “He is the leader of everyone in Spira. Makes sense for them to do something big in his honor.”
“Let’s all go see him!” Shana declared, clapping. He regretted it, afterwards, though. His hand was still aching from being stepped on so harshly. Briruru and Bilus snickered as he grimaced in pain, which soon turned into a glare when he saw his guardians taking amusement in his pain. “Fine! Me, Kim, and Aar will go! C’mon . . .” he said, walking hastily toward dock 3.
“Ha-ha, I’m tha favorite, biotch!” Aaroka taunted, sticking his tongue out at the two dark-haired guardians left uninvited. As he turned to follow after the summoner, he received a sharp kick to the shin. Two of them, actually. Kimari made a sound that would sound like a giggle if it didn’t sound so menacing. Aaroka limped as fast as he could after the tall girl.
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‘I’d never really seen any of the Maesters before. I’d seen Maester Justoc, once or twice, but that was before he was promoted to Maester. I’d never think I’d get to see GRAND Maester Dupuy Innocent! Sure, I might have been ex-communicated from Yevon because I was a Crusader, but it was still quite an experience.’
“Kimari can’t see.”
“Shhhhh! Be quiet, trick!”
“Shush, both of you.”
Shana was failing to keep his guardians quiet as they tried to find a place in the crowd to behold the Maester. Shana wasn’t tall enough to see anything over the giant Ebon standing in front of him, partly because of the dark-skinned giant’s height, and partly because of the muscles that made the Ebon so wide. Kimari was probably tall enough to see, but the poor girl was standing right behind a pillar, preventing any advantage she had because of her race. Aaroka didn’t seem to mind not being able to see anything, because he did have a nice view . . . Not of the Maester; he had a nice view of some tightly dressed girl’s rear. Shana finally found a spot between the Ebon and a short girl, and was content enough with his little window to view the Maester's arrival.
Meanwhile, Bilus and Briruru had found a very nice spot to watch Dupuy arrive. There was a bit of empty space up close, and, thanks to some pushing and shoving, they made it, securing a place with a good view. Bilus was trying to see if anyone was coming out of the large ship covered in Yevon-Script, but all he could see was a few armored guys with guns. ‘Must be Warrior Monks,’ he thought.
Loud, joyous music began playing. Trumpets, harps, and every other instrument that could inspire happiness in someone’s soul began playing, heralding the approach of the Maester. The plank leading off of the ship lowered to the port, but, the person at the top was not Grand Maester Dupuy. Where as Dupuy was supposed to be short, round, and old, this person was tall, in-shape, and young. He also had features that seemed very . . . Roselletti. He had stiff, plant-like blonde hair that was soft and human-like when it began, but grew to look like a tree root as it went on. When Bilus looked closer, he could see unusual veins going down the man’s slightly plump face; that was another sign of the Roselletti.
The crowd of people was now whispering, instantly gossiping about the stranger on the boat. Bilus could make out only a little bit of the several conversations, losing track of most of them because of the countless hushed little voices all around him.
“That’s a Roselletti, isn’t it?”
“Who could it be, I wonder . . .”
“Isn’t that Maester Keetmour?”
‘I’d never seen many Roselletti, either. I knew about them, though. They’re all plant-like people, with pointy ears, and sharp claws. The thing that sticks out the most about Roselletti, though, is their hair. It always has this weird look to it, like it’s made of wood. Roselletti are supposed to be able to hear the dead, and all other sorts of things related to the dead, because of their close ties to nature.’
The Roselletti-like man looked down into the crowd, scanning his audience carefully as he stood at the beginning of the gangplank. Smiling, he bent down, and performed the prayer of Yevon gracefully. His long, storm-colored robe swished about as he performed the movements that went along with the prayer, whereas his hair did not, thanks to his Roselletti-blood.
The people in the crowd all snapped to attention, performing the prayer. Bilus mentally noted how they all seemed like machina, with how they moved so systematically. Even Briruru performed the prayer. He guessed it didn’t seem so out-of-character, since she was a priest’s daughter, but she just didn’t seem like the type to take part in any religious action.
The Roselletti walked down the gangboard, stopping at the end to await Grand Maester Dupuy. The next to leave the ship was another Roselletti. It had darker skin than the previous one, and had on a white tunic with pink flames that made him really stand out. “Ohmigod, Lord Keeetmour, you SO hafta not run off without me,” the Roselletti lisped, running quickly down the plank to meet his fellow Roselletti.
Finally, Dupuy appeared. Being a very feeble man, he had to move slowly and cautiously to the gangboard’s edge. His large, white and golden hat signified his papacy, and the many chains and rings of gold ornamenting his robes showed just how important of a man he was. He smiled paternally down at the masses, his bushy, steel-colored mustache twitching upward as he did so. The two Roselletti bowed to the Grand Maester, as did the crowd. Even Bilus did, out of sheer respect of the aged man.
“I thank you, people of Spira,” Dupuy began, performing the prayer of Yevon, “for your most gracious welcoming. Arise, Maester Keetmour, Sir Jesse, and the rest of you, as well.” The Grand Maester moved unhurriedly down the plank, and stopped once he reached Maester Keetmour. “I present to you all, Maester Keetmour Roselletti, son of Maester Lotus Roselletti, who left for the Farplane a fortnight ago.”
Maester Keetmour turned to face the crowd, nodding his head. “I am Keetmour Roselletti. I am honored, beyond words, to receive the title of Maester.” The servant of Yevon performed the prayer once again, before continuing. “My father devoted his life to further the ties between Man and Roselletti, and I promise to continue his work to the best of my abilities.”
The crowd, again, bowed to the man, except for Bilus. Dupuy Innocent performed the prayer and bowed, causing Bilus to wonder how his large, wide-brimmed hat stayed on his head. Keetmour and his fellow Roselletti performed the prayer, as well, before all three of them turned to leave. No farther than two steps behind them was a small battalion of armored men carrying rifles.
‘Warrior Monks, no doubt.’
Bilus was aroused from his thoughts when he noticed Maester Keetmour had mysteriously stopped walking like the rest of his companions, and was looking at something, or someone, in the crowd. He tried to follow the Maester’s gaze, but the only thing he could’ve been looking at was . . . Shana? No way. Either way, the shorter Roselletti nudged him with his elbow, stemming his staring for the moment.
“Mmm. I think Maester’s fuckin’ the stump,” Briruru said vulgarly, motioning to the Roselletti in the white tunic. Bilus shook his head, before turning to face the girl. She grinned impishly, like a child reciting something she heard on the playground. Bilus was about to ask her where she coined such a darling word for a Roselletti when the other half of their gang arrived.
Shana was very much pleased to have seen the Maesters. His eyes were gleaming with awe as he spun around on the heel of his boot once he reached the shaggy haired guardian and the sexily-dressed mage. “Did you see? Did you? Maester Dupuy is so magisterial and distinguished!” the summoner exclaimed, still gushing with happiness over seeing the leader of the Yevonites. “Really psyches ya up, huh?”
“He has a big hat . . .” Briruru noted thoughtfully, touching one gloved hand to her full lips, lost in her own little world.
Aaroka was snickering to himself, for some reason. “Maester Keetmour looks funny,” he said in between chuckles. Shana sighed, hanging his head in defeat. Aaroka cleared his throat, before crossing his arms. “Anyway . . . We better go register for the tournament now. We hafta H-U-R-R-Y, like you said, remember?” Aaroka commented, directing it toward Shana.
“Hey! How many times do you get to meet High Maester Dupuy Innocent?” Shana replied.
Of course, the gunner was right. They had to sign up very soon, before registration was over. Bilus figured that it would be held at the stadium, so more than likely that was where registration was. He led the others around Luca Harbor, which circled the stadium. It was virtually impossible to get lost, since you just had to keep following the linear path.
“You serious?” someone on one of the docks asked, sounding as if the other person had just said the saw Yevon jumping on a pogo-stick out in the sea.
“Yep. A ‘Sir Jet’ definately entered, but I don’t think it’s the right one. Said his name was ‘Tonan Jet’.”
Bilus, as well as his companions, all stopped when they heard the conversation going on between the stadium workers. It must’ve been pretty suspicious to see them all standing around, staying as quiet as possible.
“And Sir Jet’s name was ‘Jet Roque’. Right?”
Shana tugged on Bilus’s shoulder, causing the shorter boy to turn and face him. “You don’t think it’s the same Jet, do you?” The summoner’s face was filled with some kind of emotion Bilus couldn’t quite pin down. He figured the cleric was anxious to meet someone who had traveled with his father. But since the two ‘Jets’ had different full names, it was a slim chance they were the same person.
“I dunno,” Bilus replied, not wanting to crush his charge’s hopes, if he was correct as to why Shana looked so down.
“H-U-R-R-Y,” Aaroka chimed melodiously. Shana smacked his chest with the back of his hand, not attempting to do so softly. The poor abused guardian didn’t bother spelling anymore.
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“Name?”
They had made it to the registering booth. Luckily, there was still time to sign up, according to the girl in glasses on the other side of the glass. Her dark skin accented her curly black hair perfectly, and it seemed to appeal to Aaroka, who shoved Bilus out of the way.
“Aaroka Ridgedell, Miss . . . ?” Aaroka trailed off, prompting the receptionist to offer her name.
“Amelia,” the girl replied, forcing an uncomfortable smile. “Are you going in alone, or with a partner?” she pressed, trying to stick to formalities.
“I’m enterin’ with my boy Bilus, here,” he said, pulling the wavy haired guardian over. “N-not that I need help, ya know. I’d shoot down any trick in my way, if it’d make you smile again . . .” the dark-skinned guardian said cheesily, causing the girl to sigh with frustration.
The girl turned from Aaroka to Bilus, not dignifying his pick-up line with a response. “Full name?”
“Bilus Dracon.”
The receptionist wrote some things down on the little sign-up sheet, before continuing. “Okay, you’re ready. The tournament begins tomorrow at noon. Don’t be late.”
Aaroka continued to chat the poor receptionist up, while Shana pulled Bilus away playfully. “You promised to show me around, remember?” he stated, smiling elfishly as he clasped his hands together behind his back and swayed rhythmically.
“Oh, yeah,” Bilus said. He was more than happy to show the summoner around the city, and was just about to leave the stadium lobby when a large shadow loomed over him. He turned to find Kimari scowling down at him, not looking very happy. “Uh . . . Wanna come?”
Briruru and Aaroka had to say something. The impulse to do so was far to great for them to suppress it. “Have F-U-N!”
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The trio had left the stadium area, and they were now traveling the bridge-like walkway that led to the heart of the city. The ocean below roared and crashed into the pillars holding the bridge up, and the gulls cawed loudly, adding to the ‘sea-side city’ vibe of Luca. Shana was taking in the sights like a kid, running around happily, while Kimari grudgingly followed.
“Having fun?” Bilus inquired, amused. Shana turned around, nodding while the wind moved his long brown hair about. Kimari merely growled, indicating that she wasn’t having very much fun. Bilus was pleased that Shana seemed to be coming out of his shell some. He was different now from the shy, soft-spoken summoner he had first met in Besaid. He wondered if this was just because they hadn’t really met anyone new aside from Sadiea and her manslave, or because going into the world was causing him to grow as a person.
Shana stopped abruptly, turning to face his Crusader-guardian in a whirl of red and white.
“What is it?” Bilus asked, concerned.
Shana was kicking at the ground, with his hands once again behind his back. “What if . . . What if we get separated, hmm?” Shana mused, as if he was tossing the idea around in his mind. Bilus laughed, entertaining the thought of having to hold the summoner’s hand around Luca, before he came up with a better solution.
A loud whistle piercing the cawing of the gulls and crashing of the ocean, causing Shana and Kimari to look at the man, both of them startled. “Do that. If we get separated, I mean,” Bilus declared. Shana smiled in return, and attempted to whistle. He accomplished it, and soon, he was whistling some tune Bilus didn’t recognize. It sounded very melancholy, however.
Finally, they reached the central point of the city. Bilus could always tell when he was in the heart of Luca, because it was marked with a large, crystalline-like statue of a blade. It signified the Crusader’s Headquarters, which was located not too far from the sword-like monument.
“Wow!” Shana gasped, turning in full circle as he took in the size of Luca. “Luca’s really big!” he proclaimed.
“Yeah,” Bilus agreed, grinning as Shana continued to gaze at the generously sized buildings of Luca. “Don’t stare at them too long. You’ll get dizzy,” Bilus teased, earning a giggle or two from the brunette cleric. Kimari rolled her eyes, not amused in the slightest.
A scream pierced the normal sounds of the city, causing Bilus to instinctively reach for Fraternity. The shocked cry that came afterwards, however, put his worries at ease. “Oh! My! Gosh!”
Bilus already knew who it was. He didn’t even have to turn around and look. Shana did, however. He looked over his shoulder, and, returning to shyness, casually moved closer to Kimari. Both of them took in the sight of the person standing beside the glassy monument. It was a woman, who didn’t seem to be much older than Shana or Briruru, with short brown hair, streaked with blonde. She had on a blue top that clung to her figure, with unattached matching blue sleeves not too far beneath her shoulder armor. At her side was a sword-sheath, hanging from a belt around her white skirt in a similar fashion to Bilus.
“Hey! Is this the summoner?” she asked, walking over excitedly. Much like Briruru, her stilettos clicked when she walked, but there was something perkier about her clicking. When Briruru moved, her footfalls seemed intimidating. This girl’s seemed . . . giddy.
“Yeah,” Bilus replied, walking towards the girl in blue. “This is Shana,” he said, nodding his head in Shana’s direction, “and Kimari, his other guardian.” Bilus was smiling ear to ear, and his smile seemed to grow every time he got closer to this woman.
The girl waved at the two outsiders, smiling sweetly. “Hi!” The girl returned her attention to Bilus before neither Shana nor Kimari could return the gesture. “I went out to pick up Sisterhood – she had to get sharpened, her edge was getting dull – and I bumped into you! How cool!” She clapped her hands together in glee, very much excited to find the Crusader.
“Uhm? Hello, Miss,” Shana said shyly, trying to recapture the girl’s attention. He assumed ‘Sisterhood’ was her sword, since he couldn’t gather why she’d go sharpen anything else. Bilus and the girl both turned to face Shana, and Shana felt even more out of place when the tried to answer at the same time, for some reason.
“This is Hail.” “Oh, I’m sorry, I’m Hail!”
The summoner laughed uneasily, looking sidewards to Kimari, who wasn’t looking very pleased. He extended his hand to Hail, and laughed with more feeling when she returned the handshake. The girl smiled cheerfully at the summoner, looking the utmost picture of happiness, while, for one reason or another, Shana was looking more and more the splitting image of anxiety.
‘I’d been dying to introduce my new friends to Hail. She was a Crusader, too. Our swords were even forged from the same ore, which is why they have such similar names. ‘Fraternity’ and ‘Sisterhood’. We started going together about a week before I’d been told the church at Besaid had hired me as a guardian, so it felt really good to see her again.’
“I’m glad you got the chance to meet my girlfriend, Shana.”
Shana’s face went pale, and his mouth hung open for a brief moment before he managed to push the word out of his throat. “Girlfriend?”Top of Form 1Bottom of Form 1
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