This story is set during the actual game..kinda like a side-story, yeah? It's about the characters you don't know THAT well, but once you get into the game of Blitzball, you gotta love 'em. That's right, guys- I'm talkin' about the Besaid Aurochs! Them, and the girl they recruit for the team, Naida. She's the "Lady Auroch," in my game, and I thought I'd write a little story about it... hope you like it!

"As time goes by, you will see, That we're going to be free,
You and me, we'll touch the sky, Can you see in your mind's eye..
That we are one, We're all the same, And life is just a simple game..."
-A Simple Game
Moody Blues

"...She plays Center and Guard...and she's an Al Bhed." -Letty Smithson

xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

"'Ey now, red-head! Why the long face?"

Botta Trapper looked up from his seat against the wall at his brown-skinned best friend, Jassu Korbit.

"Nothin'," He said, looking around the hallway, "I'm just bored."
"Oh really?" Jassu said, taking a seat next to him, "You look like you just lost a race to a Ronso."
Botta looked at him, "Man, Keepa could beat a Ronso in a race."
Jassu shrugged, "That's my point. I'm just sayin'- you look down in the dumps, ya?"

Botta looked at him, then shook his head. "It's just... I don't know about this 'Let's ride on the airship' business. I mean, it's cool and all, but..."he looked around, then leaned closer to Jassu, whispering, "It's machina, Jassu.. machina. .it isn't right..."

Jassu looked at him and leaned back."You really need to relax, Red,"He said calmly, "Wakka said it's ok, and you know how uptight about the teachings he is."

Botta paused, then sighed, relaxing a little, "Ya...I guess your right."

They sat in silence for a minute, before Jassu turned to him. "Yo man, have you seen Letty anywhere?"

Botta nodded, just minutes ago, Kimahri had walked in and told Letty that Wakka needed to talk to him, and he'd been gone ever since. "Yeah, he went to go talk to Wakka 'bout somethin'."

"Hmmmm..."Jassu said leaning back again,"He's talked to Keepa and Datto already too, an' they've been quiet ever since."
Botta looked at him for a moment, then stared at the ground, confused. "Wonder what it's about..."
"I dunno,"Jassu said, resting his head on the wall, "He's already quit the team once, so I don't think it's that...but whatever it is..if it's
makin' Datto shut up, then it can't be good."

Botta chuckled, then noddedand fell silent,but moments latertheir tense quiet was interrupted by the sound of the door opening and closing up to see Letty Smithson walk through the door, a slightly worried andconfused look on his face.

"Botta," He said, "Your turn. He's on the bridge."

Hesitantly, Botta looked at Letty, then to Jassu, who shrugged. He stood up, then walked past Letty and out the door, Letty closing it behind him. Jassu looked up at his tattoo-ridden friend, raising an eyebrow.

"I guess I'm next, eh?"
Letty nodded, sliding down on the wall opposite his dark teammate, "S'pose so."
"So," he said, almost cautiously, "What's this all about?"
Letty shook his head, "Somethin' about a new member on the team."
Jassu looked at him, "That it? I figured it'd be somethin' bad, ya?"
"Well," Letty said, looking at him, "I think some people would have a hard time with it, ya?"

Jassu tilted his head to the side, a little confused, "Huh? Well where's he from? What position does he play?"

Letty sighed, leaning his head back against the wall and gazing at the shiny metal ceiling, looking at his reflection.

"...She plays Center and Guard...and she's an Al Bhed."

xxxxxx

"Say WHAT!"

Botta stood in the small hallway in front of the control room with his captain, Wakka. His mouth hung open, and his arms- which moments ago had been folded casually across his chest- were now tense at his sides.

Wakka scratched the back of his neck, "I knew you'd be mad."
Botta looked at him, "Me? Mad? I'm surprised you even thought about it!"

The orange-haired man shook his head, "Look, Botta. I've been doin' some thinkin'..ya? And-"

"Lemme guess," Botta cut in angrily, "You accept the Al Bhed now. It's because of that fruity little kid, ain't it? She's messin' with yer
head, isn't she?"
Wakka looked at him, "Rikku? Now hey, you watch it, Botta..."
Botta turned to him, shaking his head, "Look, she's cute an' all, but seriously Wakka, yer 23!"

At this Wakka stepped foreward, fists bunched together anddark eyes shining with anger that threatened to boil over should he be provoked.
"Now you listen 'ere, Trapper, an' you listen good," He leaned in close to Botta, who had backed against the wall, and stared at him
solemly, face neutral. "..This ain't got nothin' to do with Rikku," He said quietly, "An' you know that..." He sighed, stepping back,"This is about the team.. I want you guys to expand...get to know people, ya? No more bein' prejudice... This girl, she's good. Doesn't have much experience, but she's a natural for passin' I hear. She'll be good for the team ya?"

Botta looked at him a moment longer, before looking down. "...Sorry Wakka." He said honestly, "I shouldn'ta said that."

Wakka smiled, putting his hand on Botta's shoulder." 'ey..no worries, ya? We all get carried away sometimes."

Botta looked at him, then smiled and nodded, "Yeah... Now...uhh..where is this girl..?"
Wakka stood back with a grin, "The Calm Lands. She's the store clerk for Rin's Agency there."
"Rin's Agency..." Botta echoed, looking down thoughtfully...

( I remeber that place...when we went to Thunder Plains to get somethin' for Lulu...That guy with the blonde hair.. Rin.. yeah.. he was there... I think he was the only Al Bhed I've ever come close to likin'...)

"Hey Botta."

Botta looked up to see Wakka standing at the door, arms folded.

"Yeah?"
"You...you gonna be okay with this?"
Botta raised an eyebrow, "Sure..why wouldn't I be...?"
"I mean..." He scratched the back of his neck, "We're recruitin' a girl, ya? I know you...just got out of a rough time..."

Botta looked at him, then looked away.

"Viranda was...my past..ya?...I ain't worried about her no more...She chose her way.. a long time ago.."

Wakka nodded, feeling bad for even bringing up the thought of Botta's ex-girlfriend. "Well..." He said, a little uneasy, "..We'd better go on back...get the rest of the guys.. and go get her."
Botta looked at him, "What about Jassu?"
The blitzball masterlaughed, "I put Letty right before you for a reason, ya? You know the boy can' keep his mouth shut. Jassu probably knows all he needs to."
Botta laughed as the two walked out toward the hallway. As they travelled, Botta looked around, thinking.

(..He knew I was gonna be mad about it...and I am... a little.. it's bad enough he picked an Al Bhed.. but it's a girl...) He looked up at Wakka, who looked at him and smiled. Botta smiled back, then continued thinking.
(Well...I guess if the rest of the guys like her..then I will too.)

They walked in through the automatic doors to find the rest of the team scattered across the hallway; Keepa asleep, Datto talking-as usual, and Letty and Jassu sitting in silence. When they walked in, Datto immedietly got up and walked over to Keepa, waking him up. Letty and Jassu stood up quietly, and waited for an explanation.

"Well..." Wakka started, clearing his throat, "You guys all know.. that we're lookin' for a new team member...and I told all of you about
her..she's in the Calm Lands..she works as a clerk there, ya? Well, we're goin' to get her now...so be prepared. Try to make her feel
welcome!" He looked around at the group, who stood quietly until Datto spoke up.

"I'll try my hardest, Cap'n!"
"Me too, Cap'n Wakka," Keepa said nodding.
"I ain't got nothin' against it." Letty said, leaning against the wall.
"I guess I'm in too," Jassu said, sitting back down,"...An' in case you forgot Cap'n, you didn't say anythin' to me about the girl."
The Auroch Captain laughed, "I didn't have to, I talked to Letty first, didn't I?"

Gentle laughter broke out among the team as Letty feigned offense, sliding to sit down next to Jassu. After a moment, everyone turned and looked at Botta, who had yet to say something. Hestood, staring off into space, but suddenly, he jolted upright, looking around.

"Oh...yeah.. count me in too."
Wakka smiled, then nodded, "Well guys, let's go get our new Auroch."

Within minutes they were in the Calm Lands, a place only Wakka had been before. As the ship began to land, something caught the eye of the team goalie that almost gave him a heart-attack.

"Chocobos!" Keepalooked down at them like a kid in a toy shop.
Datto laughed and walked up next to him. "This place it pretty famous for 'em, Keep. Maybe you could ride one."
"Yeah!" He said excitedly, turning to Wakka, "Could I, Cap'n? Just for a few minutes?"
Wakka laughed, "Yeah, Keepa, I guess it'd be alright. But not until you meet the new girl, a'ight?"
"YEAAHHHH!" Keepa yelled, jumping up and down. After a moment, he returned to watching the beautiful birds, browneyes the size of dinner plates.

Botta stood on the other side of the deck, looking down across the endless plains of green. Never had he been anywhere so huge. Not even in the Blitzball Stadium in Luca. This place was far bigger, covered with grass and chocobos almost as far as his eyes could see...

Almost out of nowhere, Jassu appeared beside him. "...You okay?"
He looked at him, "I'm fine, why?"
The guardshook his head, leaning against the rail and looking at the plains through the thick glass. "Just checkin', ya know? You seemed a little.. I dunno.. hesitant back there..when he asked us if it was okay.."
"I was caught offguard, " He covered, looking away, "I'd beendaydreaming."
"Oh?" Jassu said, turning so his back was leaning against the rail and he was looking at Botta, "About what?"

Botta stopped. He new he'd been caught, so he just shook his head. Jassu grinned, his white teeth shining from his black skin.

"That's what I thought...So you gonna tell me now?"
Botta sighed, "It's just...She's Al Bhed, Jassu."
"Yeah, so?"
"So..?" Botta looked at him, "So.. she's an Al Bhed. She talks different... how are we gonna understand her?"
Jassu laughed, "Botta, bro. She works with the Travel Agency..she's got to know our language."

Botta didn't look up, and Jassu tilted his head to the side.

"This isn't justabout race, is it Botta?"
Botta looked away, Jassu shook his head.
"Man...it's been 2 months...let it go."
The other guardlooked back at him, then nodded slowly.

"Yer right...it's just..." He looked back out the window, "...She always told me she wanted to play on the team...be a Guard with me when you couldn't, ya?...and now we really have a girl on the team...but it's not her."

Jassu put a hand on his shoulder, gripping slightly, "It's her loss, Red. You'll find someone else..."

Botta paused, then nodded again, allowing Jassu a silent answer, butthe moment was soonbroken off when the Airship shook and Cid's loud voice came over the intercom.

"Alright now, boys! Go do what ya came here to do! We'll be waitin' for ya when you're ready!"

With that said, the doors opened, and Wakka ran out ahead of everyone. A few minutes later, they were in the Travel Agency
safehaven, away from monsters and everything else.
The first thing Botta noticed were all the chocobos, which Keepabegan drooling over almost immediately- They were everywhere. For a minute, he thought he could see a coat-clad lady in the midst of them, but decided he was seeing things after a second thing he noticed, was that there weren't many people around.

(Not many anything really...) He thought, (Besides chocobos..)

The third thing he noticed was a young woman who stood in the middle of the area, sorting things. She wore a dark purple-blue 2-piece that clashed beautifully with her bright blonde hair. She had on tight black gloves that stretched up to the middle of her upper arm, and brown boots that stopped right above her knees, but had chaps that strapped to thesides of her bikini bottoms. She turned to Wakka, and immedietly Botta noticed the crop-circletattoos running down from her chest to her stomache. Her well-defined curves fit in perfectly with her build; she was slim, but strong, nonetheless.

She was by far-in Botta's opinion- one of the skankiest things he'd ever seen

Wakka talked to her for a moment, and she stood, looking at him through her dark goggles, saying something and nodding every now and then. Finally, theCaptainturned and walked to the rest of the team, who stood waiting expectantly. The girl followed close behind, calm they stopped, the group turned to them, and Wakka pushed the girl out in front of him.

Botta shook his head. (This can't be her...)

"Guys," Wakka said in his thick Besaid accent with a grin, "This, is Naida Dark. She'll be our subsitute Center and Guard for this season."

The group was silent, and Naida looked around, smiling slightly, but Botta could tell she was nervous.

Luckily, Letty could too."Nice tattoos," He said, stepping foreward, hand extended, "Names Letty Smithson, Center."
"Nice to meet you," She said shyly, a happy smile on her face.
Next came Datto, hyper as ever. "Datto Perigan," He said, shaking her hand, "Front Shooter."
"Hi..."
"Keepa Newman, Goalie. Say, do you by any chance own the chocobos around here?"
"Ummm..no.. but I know who does..her name is Svanda, she's over there in the tan coat."
"Wow, thanks!"
Next came Jassu, huge grin on his handsome face. "Jassu Korbit, Guard, good ta meet ya."
She laughed a little, "You too."

Last was Botta, who stood, arms crossed. The rest of the team had alreadyscattered, Keepa talking to the tan-coated lady, Datto talking to the man out by the information center, Letty and Wakka looking at store items, and Jassu...well.. Jassu was close by, watching red-headlooked at him, and he nodded, then sat back on a stack of crates, waiting.
Botta looked at the girl..Naida, who was looking down, rubbing one arm nervously. He studied her for a minute, noting that she was actually rather short for a Blitzer. The shortest one he'd seen was around 5'5", and that was Datto. This girl looked around 5'3" or 5'4", and she had pale skin, not stark white, just...peach-colored- which wasn't uncommon for someone who lived so close to a snowy mountain.

(Her skin is just like Viranda's...) He thought for a moment, before shaking it out of his head. (No. She's nothing like her.)

Finally, she looked up at him, black-tinted goggles hiding her bright eyes. He caught her gaze and held it. After a moment of nervous silence, he extended his hand.

"Botta Trapper," He said, gripping her hand slightly, "Guard."
She nodded, gripping back a little, "Naida Dark, nice to meet you."

He nodded back, releasing her hand. After a moment of staring at her, she became uneasy and walked back behind her store counter, where she must havefelt safe. Botta looked to Jassu, who walked up to him.

"Man, was that so hard? You looked like you were tryin' to pass a kidney stone or somthin'."
Botta shook his head, "I don't like her, Jassu."
The dyed-blonderolled his eyes, "I know you don't, Botta, but yer gonna haveta deal with it for the season, ya? So take it like a man."

Suddenly, a yelp was heard outside the safehaven. They turned to see Keepa on a chocobo, the lady..Svanda, close behind him, laughing.

"Don't kick him so hard, Keepa!" She said through her giggles, "He'll take it the wrong way and get mad!"
"Oh...well o-Whhhoooa!"

Before he could finish his sentence, the bird took off again. Jassu laughed and looked backat Botta.

"Man, I think I'm gonna go try that! Stay outta trouble!"

With that, he slapped Botta on the back and ran out of the safehaven toward the chocobo lady. Botta stood in silence, looking around. His gaze finally stopped back on Naida, who was busy taking care of LadyYuna, Lulu and Rikku as they bought supplies for their next journey. He sighed.

It was going to be a long season.

xxxxxxxxxxxx

Authors Note: Okay...I doubt anyone is reading this, but hey! I've had this fanfic idea stuck in my head for forever now, and I really wanted to do this, so! I know so far I'd like to thank Tio, because she's the only one who's ever read anything of mine (even thought it sucked!) and reviewed it!
Okay I know alot of you (well I hope alot grins) Are thinking: What the-? Where's Tidus? He's on the team too! ...okay I didn't forget about him, just give me a little while, and I'll get him here, alright?
Thanks!
-Keepin' it "Real"
Arietti