Fanfares were being blown, as Grand Maester Mika's vessel arrived at dock 3.
A gangway was being extended, and the Maester's honor guard, consisting of four Elite Warrior Monks, were positioning themselves along the pier.
A tall man, dressed into the robes of a high priest, came walking down the gangway, followed by two Guados.
Yuna's party was standing behind the crowd and were watching the whole scene.
"That's a Guado, right?" one man in front of them said.
"Who could it be?" a woman wondered.
"Isn't that... Maester Seymour?" the man replied.
The leader of the Guado stepped onto the stone pier and turned around, while his bodyguards were stepping aside. Seymour knelt down on the ground and lowered his head.
That's when a small, old man appeared on the ship's deck, accompanied by two priests!
When the people of Spira saw the man, they instantly copied Seymour's action, kneeling down and praying before the Grand Maester.
Akane, Kasumi and Ranma quickly caught up with Yuna's and Wakka's movements, but Tidus was a little slow.
"You too," Wakka whispered. "Bow your head!"
----
There he is, the old fool, Seymour thought. You think you can fool around Spira's people, but you do not recognize that it is you who has been fooled. When my plan is complete, I will be the controlling force in Spira, and Yevon and its precious disciples will be nothing bust dust in my hands...
----
Maester Mika raised his hands. "People of Spira, I thank you for your generous welcome! Rise, Maester Seymour! And all of you as well!"
When the crowd stood up, Seymour turned around and took his place to the right of the Grand Maester.
Mika continued: "I present to you: The son of Jyscal Guado, who departed to the farplane not long ago. As some of you already know, he has been officially obtained the title of a Maester of Yevon."
Seymour seemed to smile in a charming way. "I am Seymour Guado," he introduced himself. I am honored to receive the title of Maester. In life, my father Jyscal worked to foster friendship between man and Guado. I vow to carry on his legacy and to fulfill my duties as Maester to the best of my abilities."
Yuna and Wakka seemed to be overwhelmed by his personality, but Tidus didn't seem to be too impressed. And Ranma could understand him. There was just something about that Seymour... something that gave her the creeps.
'It's his eyes,' Ranma thought. "They remind me of Saffron... exactly as cold and unforgiving as his!'
'Do not judge a person just by his appearance, Ranma,' Carbuncle advised.
'I know! It's just... it's not just his appearance! I have a bad feeling about this guy.'
'Well, then we just have to be careful, right?' Fenrir said. 'Watch your back, Ranma!'
'Yeah, I will!'
----
Later, in the dressing rooms, Tidus and Ranma entered where the other Aurochs were waiting.
"Where's Wakka?" Tidus wanted to know.
"At the match-up draws," Datto answered.
Letty sighed. "We had to play the Goers in the first match last year. The year before that, and the one before that, too."
Keepa shrugged. "Well, we would've lost to anyone anyway."
"Hey," Ranma sternly said. "What did I tell you about being doomsayers? We WILL win today, and that's that! Got it?"
The Aurochs sighed. "Yes, ma'am..."
"And don't call me that!"
Suddenly, Wakka came into the room from the other side. He had a wide grin on his face.
"Cap'n Wakka!" Datto said.
"We're playing the Al Bhed psyches first," Wakka said. "If we win, we're in the finals! That's right, we got seeded! Two wins and we're the champions!"
"What about Ukyo?" Ranma asked. "Who has she to play against first?"
"Her team is going against the Goers," Wakka said. "I feel sorry for her... I mean, I can see she's pretty good, but... The Goers are no pushovers. Her team will have a hard time against them. Besides, the Kilika Beasts always were average at most."
"She'll do it!" Ranma said confidently. "She'll beat 'em! She has to stuff it down their captain's yapping throat!"
"I'd rather worry about ourselves," Wakka said. "The Al Bhed Psyches are not the Luca Goers, but they're pretty good as well. We have to be careful..."
At that time, Yuna and Akane came into the room.
"There you are," she excitedly said. "Someone said they saw Sir Auron in a cafe!"
"Auron?" Tidus asked. "Really?"
"Hey, isn't he the guy that first told you about Sin?" Ranma asked. Tidus nodded.
"Let's go find him," Yuna suggested.
"Hey," Wakka interjected. "Heyheyheyheyhey! The game starts like real soon! C-Come back quick, ya?"
Tidus reassured him: "Hey, I'll be back!"
Ranma gave him a thumbs up. "Don't worry! I've got it under control! Take your time! In the final, you can show what you got!"
Tidus smirked. "You better hope so! Go get 'em!"
"You got it!"
"Maybe now we can find Sir Jecht," Yuna said.
"What do you mean?" Akane asked.
"Sir Auron also was my father's guardian! So, he might know where Sir Jecht is. Let's go!"
"Wait a minute," Akane said. "I'll go with you! I'm your guardian, after all, right?"
"Hey Akane," Ranma called. "By the way, where is Kasumi?"
Akane smiled. "She found herself a seat in the stadium! She didn't want to miss seeing you play! I would have watched too, you know..." Her face grew a little sad. "But, you know..."
"Yeah, I understand," Ranma said. "Go with Tidus and Yuna! Go, protect her!"
"Good luck!" Akane cheered her currently female fiance on. "Show them some blitzball playing anything-goes-style!"
And she gave her a quick hug!
"You know, if I didn't knew that Ranma really was a boy, this would seriously creep me out," Wakka said to Tidus while gesturing towards the two embracing girls.
Akane ran out with Tidus and Yuna. Ranma saw that Kimahri was waiting for them outside.
'All right,' she nervously thought. 'Here we go!'
----
First, the Ronso Fangs were playing against the Guado Glories! The Guado were pretty good, but they couldn't hold themselves against the brute strength of the Ronso.
'Kimahri can be proud of his tribesmen,' Ranma thought.
After that, the stadium speaker's voice called: "And next are playing: The mysterious Al Bhed Psyches and the horrendously ill-fated Besaid Aurochs!"
'Well, here goes nothing,' Ranma thought and breathed in.
Together with Wakka and the other players, she entered the water-filled sphere stadium. Datto was going to warm the bench.
----
Meanwhile, the others had entered the cafe.
"Looks like he's not here," Akane said.
"Let's ask around," Yuna suggested.
Kimahri was standing near two Ronso that were even bigger than himself. One of them had black fur, the other one was blue like Kimahri himself.
"Why not talk, Kimahri?" one of them wanted to know. "Not seen Yenke in ten years! Say something! Kimahri forget Yenke? Forget Biran?"
"Leave Kimahri, Yenke," the one called Biran said. "Kimahri is small Ronso! Kimahri so small can't see Yenke and Biran's faces!"
Kimahri didn't answer, but angrily looked at the ground.
"Kimahri forget Ronso friends?" Yenke asked in rage. We taught you much at time of horn-molt! Biran taught Kimahri to be strong Ronso!"
"Maybe taught too much," Biran mocked.
That was enough for Akane. She knew Kimahri probably could handle the problem by herself, but she wasn't a girl that just let some jerks like that do what they want.
"Hey, leave him alone, you big bully-heads," she shouted.
"Look, Biran," Yenke roared in laughter. "Kimahri has little girlfriend! Is just as small as him! Buahahahahahaah!"
Akane growled. Then she yelled: "RONSO NO BAKA!" and pulled out her mallet.
One 'WHAM' later, Yenke was smashed into the ground, with only his head sticking out. He was seeing stars. His friend and Kimahri were watching the absurd scene in bewilderment.
"Whoohoo," Tidus cheered. "That was sweet, Akane! Way to go!"
----
Meanwhile, Yuna was pushing herself through the crowded back room of the cafe. Perhaps here she found someone who knew anything about Sir Auron.
What she didn't know was...
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(Posted Sat, 15 Jul 2006 13:53)
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