Demi Gods [Final Fantasy X, Yojimbo/Bahamut, PG]
Even before the whistle was blown, Bahamut would always be sitting on the top row that overlooked the whole stadium, watching as the players scramble to their positions. He needed to be there, drinking in the view of the spectators, the excited shout, adrenaline rush and endless cheering.
No other Aeon was interested long enough to organize two major blitz ball tournament every year, it was grunt work that required a keen interest, more than advanced understanding of the rules and gained almost no respect. It's too long and tedious to keep up, and Bahamut only maintained the persistence through pure love for the game. That, and the thought of Shuyin's dream-clone might be the one that will change their world.
Yojimbo was sitting at the frontmost seat when Tidus hurled the ball pass the Duggle player, patting Daigoro's head in satisfaction when the Duggles scored.
Much later that night, after Jecht-Sin finally left the ruined city in his wake, Bahamut scanned the stadium from his favorite seat again, taking in the view of wreckage and broken buildings, and the remains of Sin spawn etched on their streets. They'd put the whole town to sleep, and the next morning will be just another day in clean and orderly Zanarkand, and the dreams' only memory of the night would be the disappearance of Abes' Ace before the game.
Even with his hood on, he didn't need to spare a glance to find Yojimbo wobbling toward him, his faithful canine hot in his trails. They were fully awake in their dreams, and no sleep was required when the soul was bind to practice violence for every believer that entered the Chamber of the Fayth.
"You could have told me Sin was coming," The man tossed a bag of coin in his right hand, and stopped before Bahamut, "I lost quite a fortune tonight, thanks to you."
There were glass shards and shrapnels digging into the bare palms of his feet when the boy slid down from his seat. Inwardly he winced, although he had been practicing to ignore it, especially when summoners expected him to incinerate all creations to ashes almost hourly. "I wonder if Shiva knew how to whip up margarita."
Yojimbo snorted, and slid his coin bag into his pocket. "Couldn't be too hard. I thought you enjoyed blitz ball more." he crouched down and signaled Bahamut to climb aboard his back.
Sighing to himself and noting the cuts on his feet, Bahamut grumpily agreed. "Don't think that by doing this," he swung his feet to Yojimbo's side, "I'm letting the Duggles win next time. You'll learn to bet in the next game fair and square."
"Never crossed my mind," the older man snorted, casting a gaze at the view before them. "Dang, no wonder you're always sitting here."
Yojimbo was strangely chatty tonight, and losing the grouchy edge that always seemed to be his trade. Bahamut shifted his hold on the man's shoulder, pondering on his next words. "My father's favorite seat."
The man pulled himself up, and whistled for Daigoro to follow. "Speaking about that--Valefor said that Braska's daughter has entered the Cloister of Trials."
Finding himself bereft of any coherent reply, the boy resolved to nodding, resting his chin on top of Yojimbo's shoulder.
"She'll reach Bevelle," Yojimbo adjusted his hold on the boy as he padded down the stadium's stairs. "although it might take a while."
"We could only hope."
They dare not say it, only allowed the city's faint noise filling their silence.
"Why are you doing this?" The boy regarded his fellow Fayth with a strangely steady voice, unrattled with the out of character, sudden action.
"Because you're the first to admit aloud that this life was fake, and moving on was the right thing to do."
Bahamut made a mental note not to hold on tighter to Yojimbo's neck, as enticing it may seem.
"You've done well, kid, and deserved more than a pat on the back."
For the first time in many years, he didn't feel like the thousand year old Aeon encased in a child's body, and sobbed like a human.