The beach finds him first, though, or at least something does. The something is a blitz ball to the face, and its angular momentum makes it bounce up into the air then fall back onto the water with a soft splash.

He rubs his forehead and treads over to where the ball is to make sure it doesn't escape to sea. From the direction the ball came from also comes a shout of "Hey! You okay?" from one of a small group of—probably players? They're all wearing nearly-identical yellow uniforms with sandals, looking out at him.

This is a much nicer place for Sin to have taken him to than the previous one.

...also he wants to prove to himself that he really is a blitzball player and didn't make that memory up.

Tōkan sinks down into the water, getting entirely submerged and leaving the blitz ball floating lazily above his head. Then he propels himself up with enough force that the ball is shot even farther up, and as his whole body emerges from the water he twists midair so his back is to the beach and then flips upside down with enough force to—

—yeah, kick the blitz ball all the way back to the beach and then some, he calculated it right and there's no way he has that kind of muscle memory if he isn't a blitzball player.

He falls back down into the water and starts swimming towards the shore, where the other players are all making extremely surprised and impressed faces at his shot.

Okay, he wanted to show off a little bit, sue him.

"Hey!" greets the one who's most likely the captain of the team once Tōkan is close enough. "You wanna show us that move again?"

Tōkan laughs and shakes his head. "Sure." One of the players had already grabbed the ball from where it landed. Once Tōkan takes it back, he starts spinning it vertically in his hands, faster and faster, until he throws it up and jumps, nine, ten feet into the air, twisting around and turning just in time to shoot the ball back towards the beach.

He finishes rotating in the air and lands on his feet with a grin.

The captain whistles while the other players cheer and clap. "I've never seen anything like that. Who'd you play for and how can we poach you?"

Aaand gone is the smile. "Uh—complicated—I guess the short answer is I got exposed to Sin's toxin when it decided it was going to take me along for a ride so now I have no idea... where I'm from or where we are, right now. I do know I'm a blitzball player."

The players all sober up at that, and the captain says, "At least you're still alive, praise be to Yevon." He extends his arms out to both sides then pulls them back into his chest, making a gesture with one hand above the other as if he's holding a sphere between them, and he bows slightly. The other players mimic his gesture half a second later.

That... is the "good luck" gesture people use (used?) in Zanarkand before blitzball games.

So, Zanarkand is a holy place and actually this gesture is some sort of symbol related to someone who is and also is not a person called Yevon.

What the fuck ever.

"This is the isle of Besaid," the guy continues, "and I am Wakka, coach and captain of the Besaid Aurochs. These are Letty, Jassu, Keepa, Datto, and Botta," he says, gesturing at each of the other players in turn. "Now boys, back to practice! I'll help 'im out."

The others mumble and mutter about having to practice even when the coach isn't there to watch but an order is an order.

"I'm Tōkan," he introduces himself. "A pleasure to meet you."

"Come on, I'll show ya the way," he says, and starts leading the way further into the island, in between two smooth rock formations twice as tall as they are.

Tōkan follows, taking this moment to properly look around at the beach and island. It seems to also have some ruined constructions here and there—but only a few, the ones tall enough that they haven't gotten completely engulfed by the sea and the sand over the past thousand years. Who knows what they all are, but Tōkan is starting to feel like ruins of ancient tech will be the norm, here.

He's right, for what it's worth. The tropical jungle that the sand gives way to is peppered with pieces of things that are probably manmade, although the ones that are visible are all covered in moss and overgrowth and probably much less well-preserved than the ruins Rikku and the other Al Bhed found. They're practically petrified by the time, a natural part of the scenery that doesn't even stand out, if you're not looking for it.

Wakka leads Tōkan all the way to the top of a short fall into a river, and says, "Look over there," pointing at the water.

Tōkan knows where this is going, but he walks closer to the edge of the rock to look at something that certainly does not exist.

Wakka takes a surreptitious step back and...

...claps Tōkan's back, pushing him into the water.

Yyyyep.

He points his feet down to break the fall and iiiinto the river he goes. It's a very slow-moving river, and he has no trouble staying in place while he waits for Wakka to dive after him. When Wakka emerges from the water, he raises a questioning eyebrow, but he's grinning.

Wakka laughs. "Faster this way, if you can swim. The walk's long." He nods ahead. "Up river."

Up river!

The various ruins don't stop existing, here, and also decorate both the surroundings and the body of the river itself. Probably most of this island shifted over time—who knows how weather patterns and whatnot could have changed over a thousand years.

They swim in silence for a bit, not rushing or trying to be extra fast or anything. It's relaxing.

After a few minutes Wakka speaks up again. "So, there's a blitzball tournament soon, in Luca. The Aurochs will be competing—most teams in Spira will be there. Ya wanna come with us?"

Tōkan looks at Wakka out the corner of his eyes. "That sounds like a good idea." Something tells him he should not mention the Al Bhed right now, or the way Rikku offered to do the same for him before Sin showed up again. "If it's that big a tournament maybe I'll find someone who knows me."

"Yeah!" Pause. "'Specially if you play. Then you'll show up on the screen up there for eeeeveryone to see."

"Uh huh. If only I had a team to join so that I could show up there."

Rather than responding to that, Wakka swims up to Tōkan and grabs him in a headlock. "Come ooooon. You know you want it."

Tōkan laughs as he tries to stay afloat and escape from Wakka's grip. "Fine, fine. You could've just asked."

"I'm askin'!" But he lets go of Tōkan's head with a grin on his face and dives down into the water to lead the way into an underwater tunnel.

Oh, alright. Underwater tunnel it is.

The other side of the tunnel leads to a small but deep pool. Wakka swims back up and then gets out of the water to lead the way up a beaten path on the side of a hill.

Soon they reach a zenith with a stone monument off to a corner and other paths leading up to it. "Over here," Wakka says, walking to an edge which overlooks the other side of the island from where they came from. Short wooden poles are stuck to the ground with a rope stretched between them, serving as a fence of sorts. More the kind that warns you that if you keep going that way you may fall than the kind that can actually prevent the fall.

And from up there, they can see a small village, with one large stone building at one and and various smaller wood and stone cabins and huts along the rest of its area. "That's Besaid Village. I was born there, and lived here all my life. But we're leaving tomorrow, for the tournament, and then for the pilgrimage."

"The... pilgrimage."

Is... is Wakka lonely? Is that why he's telling Tōkan all of that? That's kind of sad but it also pulls at all of Tōkan's heartstrings.

He shakes his head. "Hoped it'd shake your memories up."

"Sorry," Tōkan says with a small shrug, but then he reprocesses something Wakka said. "Wait, with all of the players back on the beach plus you, that's a full team... which means the only way I could help you guys out would be if one of you guys isn't actually part of the team. You?"

"Caught that, did ya," Wakka says with some mirth, but then he sighs. "Yeah, I quit after last year's tournament. Hoped someone would step up and replace me, but no one wants ta join the team. Bit of a cursed team, I guess. We've, ah, never actually won the Spiran Tournament."

"I see."

Wakka's turn to look at Tōkan out of the corner of his eyes. "I have a—friend—who was gonna play if we never found anyone else. And then you show up, a day before we leave. I like to think... Yevon may have answered my prayers, you know?"

Yyyyeahhhh not touching that one with a ten-foot pole.

"Your friend will be okay if I play instead of them?"

"Oh, yeah, Zei doesn't really play that much. Kid's good, got instincts, but it wasn't really his thing. He, ah, if I say he's tryin' to be a summoner does that shake any marbles?"

Tōkan shakes his head. "Sorry."

"'S fine. If nothin' else, we can just teach ya all of it all over again."

Onwards towards the village.

"Oh hey Wakka, how would one to about acquiring a permanent warming spell?"

That takes him by surprise. "You... don't have one already? Then how are you—guess you won't remember, huh?"

How to say this without lying.

"I was already naked when I woke up by the beach there. My bag has stuff that I know is mine and recognise and I have shoes in there but nothing else. Or, I mean, not any more clothes; I have a sword and some Potions and stuff."

"Huh. The shop might have some, but if not I can get 'Lu to make ya one. Do you want any clothes?"

"Think so? Uh, at least shorts or something more substantial to hold my belongings, and maybe sandals. Oh and I probably want a scabbard for the sword. But I don't have—" Pause. "I may have money. What's the local currency?"

"...gil?"

"Okay, I do have money." Unless his coins aren't accepted, but he'll cross that bridge when he gets to it.

"You're a funny one, aren'tcha?"

"You show up naked with no memories and try to figure stuff out, then."

Wakka waves a hand and laughs. "Okay, okay, I guess!"

Tōkan eyes him up and down and adds, "Or maybe you could just get naked and we take it from there."

He laughs again and shrugs. "Don't play for that team, sorry kid."

"Had to try."

"Think you'll get along fine with Zei."

"Does he play for that team?"

"He plays for all teams," Wakka says with a sigh and a shake of his head. "Boy had a tough time growing up."

...the fuck is that non-sequitur. "Oh?"

"Not my story to tell. You'll meet 'im soon enough."

"I await our encounter with bated breath."

They walk a while longer in companionable silence, but after a few minutes they run into two men—or rather, one man and one boy, the younger one can't possibly be older than sixteen—in similar light armour that leaves the sides of their pecs and torso and parts of their arms exposed. They both look like they're taking a break from the walk, sitting in a shaded area and drinking water. When they spot Wakka and Tōkan they raise their hands in greeting, and Wakka calls, "Gatta! Luzzu! Good to see you."

    "Hello, Wakka," says the older one, climbing to his feet as the other two approach. "Who's your friend?"

"I'm Tōkan," he introduces himself, "recent immigrant from I have no idea where by way of Sin and its toxin."

    "Ah. It's... fortunate you survived your encounter," says the older one. "I'm Luzzu, and this is Gatta. We're the Crusaders stationed here in Besaid."

"Whatcha doin' out there?"

        Gatta stands up, too, and salutes. "We've been on patrol for fiends! They have been more active than normal today so we have been clearing them out of the roads."

"Ahhh, so that's why we didn't find any," nods Wakka.

"'Crusaders'?"

    Gatta's chin drops, but Luzzu nods. "Sin's toxin hit you harder than most people, I see. Gatta, do you want to explain?"

        "Yes, sir!" He turns to look at Tōkan specifically and begins: "The Crusaders are sworn to battle Sin! We have chapters throughout Spira, accepting all who wish to join our struggle! The hero Mi'ihen formed the Crusaders eight hundred years ago as the Crimson Blades; later, our ranks grew and we started calling ourselves the Crusaders. We've been fighting Sin ever since!"

"Sounds like you have your work cut out for you. I wouldn't have expected people to be able to make any headway on... that," says Tōkan.

    "The Crusaders' main job is to protect cities and towns from Sin and its Sinspawn with our lives if need be. Sin may be powerful, but it is not very smart, and it is possible to steer Sin away to buy settlements time to evacuate," says Luzzu, but he shakes his head. "And that's all we can do. Summoners are the only ones who stand a chance."

"Well, but no more of this depressin' talk. We're on our way back to the village. Wanna come with?"

    "We may as well," says Luzzu. "We were just taking a break between patrols, and were about to resume our trek back."

        "So you don't remember anything?" asks Gatta after they've been walking for a few minutes.

"Bits and pieces. I remember I was a blitzball player. I..." Pause. "I remember Zanarkand. It was destroyed by Sin, right? A thousand years ago?"

    Luzzu nods. "You would be best served asking questions at the temple, and perhaps praying to Yevon to regain your memories. But yes, Zanarkand was the first of the machina cities to be destroyed."

"Sin targets cities with... technology... in particular?"

"A thousand years ago," says Wakka in the tones of someone who has heard this told a million times, "people were growin' decadent. Lazy. Machina did all the work, and all everyone did was play all day and have no responsibilities. Sin was our reward..." He scrunches his hands up into fists. "But I don't get why we gotta be punished by what a buncha goofheads did a thousand years ago!"

Tōkan does not ask what the problem is with playing all day and leaving machines to do heavy work. Clearly it's meant to be self-evident somehow.

"Yevon teaches that once we atone for our sins, then we will be forever rid of Sin," he continues, shaking his head and regaining his calm. "So that's what we try, day in day out, to live better accordin' to Yevon's teachings so that one day we may be free."

Bullllllllshit.

"I see."

"The ruins are a reminder," Wakka continues, gesturing at one of them off to the side. "Of what we let ourselves do, when we had no checks on it. So we never forget."

Tōkan really has no idea how to engage with this whole... ideology. And it's, you know, not wrong that Zanarkand was a utopia where no one needed to work for a living and everyone could just do whatever they wanted, but...

Well. If he's honest with himself, he was personally deeply unhappy there, but he's not sure that's the same as it being bad. Other people weren't unhappy.

And he feels a sudden sharp stab of realisation that he'll never return. Either his Zanarkand was destroyed a thousand years ago, or his memories were made up by a neurotoxin, but in none of those cases will he... see his friends again. His team again. He's never going to stop at the bakery between his place and the beach again, never going to teach little Zanarkandite kids how to play blitzball again, never going to take Inochi or Yama or Hitomi or Sayu to dinner again. He'll never see his room and his boat again, never go back, go back home...

He stops, his legs almost giving out from under him as he staggers to a nearby tree to hold his weight. He's hyperventilating but he can't focus, can't think, can't pay attention to the voices of the other three trying to talk to him as the enormity of his loss hits him like, like, like over thirty thousand tonnes of water from a destroyed blitzball stadium. He doesn't notice when a fiend appears out of the woods and the other three have to protect him while he has a little moment.

Tōkan did not use to think of himself as a person who has moments. He'd rather not have moments, he'd rather not—there's no point, he should just keep going and not think about everyone he's lost, who's dead or never existed—

"Hey! Snap out of it!" Wakka says, shaking Tōkan by the shoulders.

He blinks, the ringing in his ears fading to nothingness as he looks back up and sees the characteristic evaporation of fiends happening over there where Luzzu and Gatta are watching for more enemies. He blinks more, looking at Wakka like he doesn't quite understand what's being said to him.

    Determining that there aren't any more fiends nearby, Luzzu turns around and walks over to Tōkan. "Are you feeling alright, friend?"

"Yeah," Tōkan hears himself say. "Yeah, I'm. I'm fine. I just." What did he just. "I think the toxin is still messing with my head," which he doesn't really but it's the explanation they'll accept.

"We're almost there, then we can get you a bed in the Crusaders' lodge."

    "Or maybe one of the priests could have something for him," says Luzzu. "They might have more experience with that."

Tōkan nods and tries to return more fully to his body. He does not need to think about how his whole life has been suddenly yanked out from under him right now. He can do that later. Or never, maybe never is better, it's not like he can do anything about it.

"I'm fine," he repeats, straightening up and clearing his throat. "I can walk."

    "You're sure?" asks Luzzu.

"Yeah. Sorry about that. Let's keep going."

They keep going. A few more fiends show up to stop them—apparently their prior scarcity had in fact been because of Gatta and Luzzu's efforts—but none of them are particularly troublesome. Tōkan stays out of the encounters as he's not really trained in combat and with his sword stuck inside his bag, no scabbard, and no clothes, he'd probably be more likely to accidentally castrate himself than actually contribute to the fights.

Eventually they get to the village, and the Crusaders excuse themselves to go to their barracks while Wakka slows down to show Tōkan around.

It's not a very big place. There's a central plaza of sorts around which the village is arranged, and the houses aren't professionally built, more like spruced up cabins and huts than anything. But it's very homey and welcoming for all of that, and it's easy to remember where the few public places are. Most importantly, the temple.

"So, this is Besaid Village," Wakka concludes. "Luzzu had the right idea, ya might want ta go into the temple and talk to one of the priests there, maybe they'll be able to help."

"So here's where you discharge your duty towards me?" asks Tōkan archly.

"You tryina make me feel bad?" he says, with an easy grin. "You'll be fine. The Crusader barracks and the temple will have a bed and food if ya need, but I should be lookin' into some last minute things for the trip."

"Well, thank you very much for your hospitality, Wakka. I'll see you around."

Off goes Wakka, and Tōkan decides that the temple is in fact probably his best bet for next place to go. He's not actually feeling tired per se, but he is hungry, and the temple is meant to help with the more metaphysical issues he's having. Two fish with one spear and all that.

It's the largest building in the village by far, visible from everywhere even though it's off to a corner. The patio outside it is raised above the ground by a little, flat white stone on top of rock and dirt. But the more interesting bit is inside. Seeing this place, he understands that the ruins where he met the Al Bhed share a theme with it. A circular room with a very high ceiling, Tōkan suspects that the feeling of vertigo the room induces is on purpose.

On elevated steps following the curve of the walls to both sides are numerous statues of people wearing the same attire with the same face-covering paper seal. They're clearly meant to be different people, but the uniform must be meaningful. Across the room from the entrance there are stairs leading high up to a set of double doors, and to either side of the steps are two hallways leading to doors that are substantially less imposing.

Also, four statues stand out, two to either side of the hallways. They're much taller than the numerous other ones, and wearing different clothes besides. They also don't have the face-covering seal, so they can be readily recognised as representing different people.

And finally, two more statues, larger than all of the other ones, attached to the walls at the waist as if the people they represent were emerging from the walls and trying to reach for each other. A man and a woman, and the detail on their faces makes it obvious they're lovers, with the intensity of the look they share.

(In the background, a soft song can be heard, in a woman's voice. Tōkan can't identify its source, though.)

The temple has various people in it, most of them knelt in front of one or another statue, heads bowed in prayer, candles lit by the feet of the silent stone figures. It's quiet enough inside that Tōkan is sure his steps would echo were he wearing any shoes as he walks further in and examines all of the figures from afar. Looking up at the man and woman up above as he walks under them, he almost trips and falls from the dizzying sense of smallness, but he recovers his balance and finally stops in front of one of the four distinguished figures there to read the inscription.

    "Lord Braska," says the aged voice of a priest walking over to Tōkan. That's indeed what the inscription by the statue's feet says. "He was made High Summoner ten years ago, but it was only recently that we finally got his statue."

Tōkan looks at the priest and bows, the good luck sign that's apparently become religious.

    "Something tells me you're lost," the priest says.

"Is it the nudity?" asks Tōkan. "I bet it's the nudity."

    "That has something to do with it," he admits. "But it's mostly your eyes."

Tōkan smiles. "Long story short, I had a run-in with Sin, and when I woke up floating by the beach I had no knowledge of... almost anything." The priest gasps, and the people who are close enough to overheat it also seem shocked. "Crusader Luzzu suggested a priest might have a better idea on what to do about that."

    The priest thinks about it for a moment, then shakes his head. "Prayer, and time. I know not of other treatments for Sin's toxin."

"Well... maybe you could answers some questions I have and that could help? Also, ah, someone mentioned the temple might have food, and I'm rather starving."

    He nods. "Yes, that could help. Come, I'll get you some food and we can converse in more privacy."

Tōkan is led through one of the side doors into a small mess hall. The priest excuses himself to fetch Tōkan something to eat, and returns with a serving of beans and meat and bread and a glass of fruit juice. Tōkan thanks him and gets to eating.

    "So, you had questions?"

He finishes chewing and nods. "Uh, I guess a big one is, what's a summoner?"

    The priest doesn't gasp this time, opting to merely do the prayer gesture. "You must have been exposed to Sin for very long, to have forgotten this much."

A thousand years, Tōkan doesn't say, choosing to just nod instead.

    "Summoners are practitioners of a sacred art, sworn to help and protect all who need aid. Only a select few people can learn this art, and they gain the power to summon forth creatures of great power, which we call aeons," he explains. "Aeons are Yevon's blessing, answering the summoner's prayers to help them fulfill their duties."

"And what's a high summoner?"

    The priest nods. "The highest calling of a summoner is the pilgrimage. They travel across Spira and pray at multiple temples to compact with the fayth and receive the blessings of the aeons. Once they feel prepared, they travel all the way to the ruins of Zanarkand, where they learn how to perform the Final Summoning."

...so that's why it's sacred. Also, Tōkan has literally never heard of this summoning thing. Or any magic, really. This does make it more likely his own Zanarkand is made up, if it's so different from what this place is like. And yet...

    "A summoner who successfully completes their pilgrimage in that way can use the Final Aeon to defeat Sin, thus earning the title of High Summoner."

"Wait, defeat it? But—then how is it still around?"

    "Summoners give us reprieves, periods of calm during which Sin is gone. But it returns, after a while. As Yevon teaches us, we will only be rid of Sin when we have fully atoned for our sins and attained purity."

Wow that sure sounds like a load of bollocks. "Wakka—uh, he's—"

    "I know him. We all know each other, here," says the priest, smiling.

"Right. He mentioned there was someone called Zei who was trying to become a summoner?"

    The smile vanishes. "Lord Zei is High Summoner Braska's only child, and he recently decided to follow in his father's footsteps. He's in the chamber of the fayth as we speak, praying to be granted his first aeon."

"But?"

    The priest sighs and shakes his head. "Lord Zei is a bit unconventional."

"Unconventional how?"

    "It is not my place. He holds some unorthodox views... but then again, so did his father. And none can doubt his devotion; not even Lord Braska had such fire in his heart."

"Buuuuuut?"

    He sighs again. "He's been in the chamber for over a day. I... worry... that he may not be sufficiently spiritually aligned with Yevon to become a summoner. Or maybe just not have the ability. It would crush him, if so; it has been his dream and only purpose since he was old enough to understand what it meant."

Zei is totally the protagonist, isn't he? Mysterious purple hoodie ghost child said Tōkan wasn't, but this dude is giving off mad protagonist vibes and Tōkan hasn't even met him yet. "I think... he'll be fine."

    The priest raises an eyebrow.

"Call it a hunch," he shrugs. "Something tells me it will work out for him."

    That gives the priest some pause. "I pray that you're right, mister, ah..."

"Tōkan," he provides.

    "And I am Kahli. Our meeting may have been willed by Yevon."

Once again, not touching that one with a ten-foot pole. But, hmm... "So, uh, who or what exactly is Yevon?"

    "Ah... that one is a deeper question than you realise, and I believe you should instead rest a bit before engaging with such theology."

Ominous. "Alright. You have been very informative, and I thank you. Thank you also for the food."

    "As it is a summoner's duty to protect the people of Spira, so it is mine as a humble priest to offer aid and succor to the extent that I can. Think nothing of it. And if you wish, you may claim any of the rooms in the temple for sleep; all of the unlocked ones should be clean and fit for a weary traveler."

"You know, I might take you up on that. I think—" But before he can hurt himself further by trying to think the priest looks up in the direction of the door, and at the edge of Tōkan's hearing he too notices the vague echoes of loud conversation, probably coming from the temple's main chamber. "I think that might be our young summoner," is what he says instead.

It is, indeed, the young summoner. Not that Tōkan had been told Zei's age, but he is somehow entirely unsurprised to find a boy about the same age as he is in the middle of a small group of people when he and the priest return to the temple's main chamber. He seems to have come from the imposing double doors atop the imposing stairs, confirming Tōkan's guess that that's where the chamber of the fayth would be, and he looks...

...happy.

He's trying to not let his exhaustion show, but the way he's leaning on the tall blue humanoid lion-person for support reveals it anyway. To his other side is a busty woman wearing a fluffy black dress that not only defies gravity but also any conventional wisdom about the number of belts people are meant to wear, or what they're meant to be attached to. They hadn't been in the room before, so probably they were with Zei while he prayed or whatever it is they do.

Zei himself seems to break the convention of dress of the priests Tōkan's seen in the temple—although it's not like anyone had said the long body-covering robes with strange symbols were an actual uniform or anything—but he nevertheless seems to follow a similar fashion tradition, if much more elaborate and ceremonial-looking. His arms are covered from the biceps down by an intricate spiralling armwrap that ends in half gloves encrusted with small gems, and his legs and feet are adorned by sandals in a similar style. He's wearing a white and dark blue skirt that goes almost all the way to his knees, and his torso is bare except for a series of silver necklaces that grow in diameter until the largest one reaches the middle of his chest. He also seems to be wearing a cloth harness of some sort with a long metal staff attached to its back, a staff that somehow communicates both "weapon" and "ceremonial tool".

The boy seems to be in the middle of being congratulated by everyone, and while it's clear (at least to Tōkan) that he'd much rather take a minute or two to himself he's weathering the attention with dignity. His gaze moves over to Tōkan and Kahli when he hears the steps, and it stops on Tōkan for long enough to register the confusion at the new face before returning to the well-wishers.

Okay but most important of all—and a small, traitorous part of Tōkan's brain realises this is not most important of all, but still—the three of them are really fucking hot. He's not sure which of them is hottest, the woman whose dress is somehow made indecent by how little of her boobs it covers and with the airs of someone who could set you on fire with a look, the lion dude over a head taller than Tōkan himself (who is pretty tall for a human, not that that sentence had ever had cause to be produced in his brain before) and who's awakening furry thoughts Tōkan never had before, or the quiet fit boy who nevertheless is probably the protagonist and also looks like a being of power somehow. It's probably the lion dude? Just for sheer novelty. Tōkan is finding himself very very curious about what he looks like without the loincloth.

He's glad he's in the back of the crowd so that he can very unobtrusively cover his dick with his hands in something he hopes looks just casual and not like he's trying to keep an erection down.

Lion dude expressionlessly stands there, arms folded in a stoic body guard stance, looking like he's ready to skewer anyone with the lance attached to his back if they push their luck.

(Which does not help.)

The summoner talks to the people around him a bit more, and beyond the congratulations the conversation moves to people wanting to see his new aeon. Eventually he agrees, and starts moving out of the building in quick strides.

    "Come," says the priest, "maybe seeing a summoner in action will help."

They follow after the group and eventually get to the plaza, the center of which seems to have been cleared of everyone except for the summoner himself.

The ground and the air start glowing around him, then. Faintly at first, but quickly growing bright enough to illuminate the surroundings entirely. The staff that had been attached to the harness at his back is held in his right hand, and he extends his arms to the sides, the right arm tilted diagonally up at the sky and the left arm down at the floor.

Four mystical symbols appear in the light, rotating around Zei and emiting more light, going 'round once, then twice, before stopping and sending four flashes of light into the heavens. They spiral towards each other, and when they meet, they join into a single bright source of light which takes the form of... a bird?

Not quite. The creature flies down from the light, wings hugged close to its body for extra momentum, before it extends them so it can glide and land heavily in front of Zei, the wind nearly pushing the summoner off his feet. It is twice as tall as he is, but it leans down forward until its eyes are level with his.

Zei manages to keep his composure, but by the way his fingers fidget and the corners of his lips twitch trying to become a smile it's clear he's very excited. He takes a step closer to the aeon and reaches up, slowly and tentatively at first, but more courageously when the creature leans closer, and pets the side of its neck.

    "Valefor," says the priest, joining the rest of the crowd in applauding the display. "She's the aeon of the temple of Besaid. Zei will be able to call upon her until the day he dies; their bond is eternal."

Tōkan has managed to control himself by then, and his emotions have been almost entirely replaced by pure awe. It's one thing to have a small sphere made of magic water go into him and drive the cold away, and it's a whole nother to see something like—like that. It's genuinely a genre shift, it's the kind of magic you can't help but be impressed by.

He really, really is not in Zanarkand anymore. He doesn't let the feelings bubble up to his head this time, but... this is somewhere else. Another world.

The woman that had accompanied Zei inside the temple walks up to him, followed by... Wakka, apparently.

Zei turns around to look at the two of them, and smiles widely. "I did it," Tōkan can hear him say. "I'm a summoner." And he lets his joy show, now, as he hugs Lulu and the rest of the crowd comes closer again to offer more congratulations.

At a minute nod from Zei, Valefor straightens up and jumps into the air, flying away to who knows where.

Tōkan feels like...

...like he should take people up on their offers and maybe go sleep and then, uh, try to be less of the local naked cryptid who's just kind of following other people around. Although, well, this story is shaping up to be one where he's gonna follow Zei around, but he can get to that part later.

He quietly slips away from the crowd.

He takes a short nap, then decides to check whether his currency is acceptable. It does turn out to be such, so he gets himself a permanent warming spell (and a permanent cooling spell which also protects against sunburn), a leather harness he can attach his sword to (they couldn't find a scabbard that would fit the sword's peculiar shape), a pair of sandals, and something that looks sort of like a combination of a skirt and a loincloth in a local style, blue on the sides and black on the front with bronze medals sewn onto the skirt itself and hanging from its edge. It goes down to his knees, loose and light enough that it doesn't really interfere with movement, which is fairly relevant—if he doesn't miss his guess there's going to be a lot of physical fighting here. It's different from his usual style, but you know, what are the odds he'd find exactly the same kind of thing he used to wear back in Zanarkand? And he can get used to this.

The shopkeep gave him an odd look when he asked for other possible stuff to wear, and that was how he found out that they have cheap and easy laundry magic so most people have One Outfit that they always wear, which strikes him as pretty damn odd but he supposes if laundry is cheaper and faster than actually making clothes by enough this makes any amount of sense. Another world, and all that. He supposes his style will henceforth be This Here Skirt And Sandals.

And now he... doesn't really know what to do next. The trek back to the beach is not so short that he can go and do anything there and then return, because it'll be sundown soonish and he has a mighty suspicion that these people who have no electricity are going to want to leave for their boat trip at dawn. Also he doesn't actually know the way back; he could follow the river and it would probably eventually lead him to the ocean but he didn't pay enough attention to remember whether there were any rivers close to the beach, and he might end up stranded who knows where. So he has a couple of hours to kill until he has to sleep again.

Maybe he could go look for the protagonist, get to know him before the actual boat trip. That sounds like a reasonable idea.

After asking around, no one knows for sure where Zei is but a reasonable guess is the nearby lake; he's known to enjoy going there to relax, and Yevon knows he needs some relaxation after getting his first aeon. Tōkan gets directions and sets off.

The lake is right next to a hill, with waterfalls at one end and a small outlet at the other serving as the water's renewal valves. Tōkan was told that this was one of a handful of small streams that feed into the larger river he swam in earlier.

And as luck would have it, Zei is indeed there. His clothes and staff are on a rock a few feet away from the waterfall so that the water doesn't hit them, and the summoner himself is sitting cross-legged under the waterfall, his body half submerged and his eyes closed. It's not clear whether he's sleeping or just resting, but he sure does look much more relaxed than he did around the crowd from earlier.

Tōkan finds a nice tree to lean against and watches Zei. He's not sure if this is rude but waking the boy up in case he's sleeping definitely would be, and he doesn't really have any excuses that aren't bothersome for why he's here.

After a couple of minutes of this Zei's lips quiver into a smile. "You gonna just stand there all evening? A boy will start to question your intentions that way," he calls without opening his eyes.

Tōkan is taken by surprise—Zei had been so still and quiet that he'd convinced himself the summoner was actually asleep—and grins sheepishly even though Zei's eyes are still closed. "I was enjoying the view."

Now he opens his eyes to look at Tōkan. "There are stranger and less strange ways to enjoy the view, and creeping up on me silently is one of the stranger ones." He doesn't sound or look upset, though; if anything, it sounds like the kind of tone of voice one might use to tease a friend.

"Guilty," Tōkan admits. "I just didn't want to wake you up."

"I don't think I could actually fall asleep here."

"No? I thought you could breathe underwater." 'Cause otherwise how was he meant to sub in for Wakka in the tournament?

"Oh, I can, but the feeling of the water hitting my back is too distracting. Which is kind of the point, here, I get to forget everything else and not have any thoughts while just focusing on the water."

"You had some thoughts, if you noticed my arrival."

"Maybe you should try not being so loud."

"I was not!"

"So how did I hear you?"

"Magic. Superhearing. Magical superhearing."

"Or maybe you were very loud."

"If I were in the water I would splash you about now."

"No one's stopping you."

"A boy will start to question your intentions."

"So you're saying you're not flirting with me right now."

"I guess a boy is not questioning your intentions anymore," he says as he strips and steps over to get into the lake.

The water's nice. Not warm, but with the afternoon heat the chill is pleasant.

"Should I try to play coy?"

"Absolutely not." And because he said he would: he splashes Zei. This is not at all effective, due to the fact that he's already being heavily splashed by the waterfall, but it's the thought that counts.

"Didn't think so." Zei motions in the direction of a rock next to him, also under the waterfall. It's wide and flat enough Tōkan can easily sit.

So he sits.

"It's not much flirting when we both know that's what we're doing, you know."

"Well, call it flirty banter, then. I still don't know you at all, really, do I?"

"You're the protagonist. I'm probably a future addition to the supporting cast."

"...I'm not sure if that's meant to be flattering or what but I think I'm gonna go ahead and feel flattered?"

Tōkan grins, and immediately shakes his head and spits out some of the water that got into his mouth at that. "I wouldn't dream of stopping you."

"Dare I ask what in Yevon's name that means?"

He waves a dismissive hand. "I'm being silly."

"Zei mentally adds 'silly' to his mental model of the boy who has not yet introduced himself."

"Are you saying I'm not the talk of the village? Would've thought someone would've told you my name by now."

"Bit full of yourself, huh? I became a summoner today! I'm clearly much more interesting news. And besides, even if someone had told me your name, it would be rude to just start out by knowing it."

"Call me rude, then, because I know yours."

"And there we go, yet more proof that I'm the more interesting news."

He splashes Zei some more, for all the good that does.

"I think that's two-naught."

"Beg pardon?"

"Twice that I won the banter game versus your zero."

"You did not win anything!"

"If I say something to you and your best response is trying to splash me with water I'm pretty sure an impartial judge would say I won that round."

"...damn it."

"So. Two-naught."

"I don't like this game. Let's play a different game."

"Sure! Should we go light and fluffy like asking you what your favourite colour is or try to get deeper and heavier like why don't you actually tell me what you really remember rather than pretending you're amnesiac?"

Tōkan lifts both eyebrows in surprise. "Ouch."

"I'm serious! We can go with the light and fluffy thing. But I just figured, if you wanted to actually talk about it..."

"Honestly I'm most curious about what gave me away."

"That's just not how Sin's toxin works. When it does amnesia, which is rare in itself, it does only short-term amnesia and definitely doesn't affect things like remembering where you're from. And the less rare symptoms are aphasia, persistent terrifying hallucinations, loss of motor coordination, face blindness, and difficulty forming—but not inability to form—short-term memories. All of those temporary.

"Now, of course, maybe Sin just got a new ability recently and you're the first one to present such comprehensive absence of all of the common symptoms plus very thorough amnesia but one does wonder."

...holy shit that was kinda hot?

"And other people didn't know this because..."

"Most people are not as—thorough—as I am, in studying my enemy. Even the priests. I also notice you didn't contradict me."

"It's very difficult to know what lies I gotta tell to fool someone who knows a lot more than me about what the truth really is!"

"That it is. But I can pretend, if it'd make you more comfortable. I realise this is a bit much for our first conversation right after I won twice."

"Nah, the protagonist gets to know my tragic backstory."

"Still feeling oddly flattered, still not sure what that means."

Another dismissive handwave. "Rikku told me other people would not react so well..."

"—wait hold on Rikku? Blond Al Bhed girl? Bit younger than we are, has a cranky older brother?"

"...okay if you want to know a bit of what I mean when I say protagonist, this. This is what I mean. This kind of ridiculous coincidence. How do you know her?"

"She's, ah, my cousin. On my mother's side. I haven't seen her in over a decade, but..."

"Your cousin. The first person I met in Spira just randomly happened to be your cousin."

"...coincidences happen?"

"No, no, this was no coincidence, this was—oh, I am going to guess that you know him, too—this was fucking Auron."

Zei shivers, and it has nothing to do with the water or the breeze. "That's the name of my father's guardian. He died ten years ago."

"Uh huh. —sorry, I don't mean to take this out on you. Are you sure you don't want me to just give you a blowjob? It only gets weirder from here."

—Zei cracks up. "I, uh, I'm not saying no to the blowjob but this seems kind of important?"

"Important, sure, but I doubt it's urgent."

"And giving me a blowjob is?"

"Maybe I cope with high stakes by fucking hot boys."

"You and everyone else. Well, some people don't like men, but you know what I mean."

"—no! I actually don't! It was a joke!"

"...I feel like this says something but fucked if I know what."

"...okay, you know what? Changed my mind. I feel like the narrative's had too much exposition over the last few pages and we need to space it out or the readers are gonna get bored."

"Uh... huh?"

"By which I mean, I'll tell you my tragic backstory later, maybe when we get to the boat, that's gonna be a nice uneventful narrative moment for us all so it's a good place for the denouement of this particular scene. For now, I want to actually forget where I'm from for a little bit longer."

"...alright. Sorry for, uh—"

"No no no it's fine, don't worry about it. Not your fault."

"Okay."

And Tōkan almost breaks his rule of no exposition by asking what the hell a "guardian" is but he thinks he knows enough to get by for now and can move on with the relationship building subplot.

"So, blowjob or no blowjob?"

"You know, I kinda do wanna kiss you and maybe let my hand wander a bit but let's take a raincheck on the blowjob. It'll be sundown soon and the village's preparing a farewell bonfire and barbecue."

"Makeouts and handjobs sound just swell to me."

But maybe not directly under the waterfall. They can have their fun with each other in the calmer parts of the lake instead.

But soon the sun gets low enough that it's actually just cold in the water, and although both of them can cast the warming spell on themselves they should probably just get going.

"Don't suppose you have a spell for getting us dry?"

"...'course I do. Did you expect me to just shake myself like a wet dog and call it a day?"

"—okay! This whole 'magic' thing just sounds better and better all the time, honestly."

Zei casts a powered-up version of the warming spell that gets them dry in short order so they can put their clothes back on and start on their way back to the village.

"You're not making me any less curious by saying stuff like that."

"Yes but you see, the audience already knows what my tragic backstory is so I'm just teasing you instead of the readers. Which is a lot more fun."

"Your putative readers are missing a lot of context from the native Spiran!"

"So now you're claiming I'm not a native to anywhere here at all?"

"Yep. —wait, if you don't have magic how do you use that sword?"

"...I swing it? Not very well? Am I about to learn something fascinating?"

"Hoo boy you will not be able to keep up if you don't enhance your body at all—wait. You're pulling my leg."

"I am?"

"You can breathe underwater, of course you know magic."

???????????

"...okay I'm going to need more to go on than just your face of absolute confusion here."

"Nope! No exposition. Tell me about, uh, tell me about Wakka and the lady with the belts and the lion guy."

Zei chokes on his spit. "Do not," he says in between gasping breaths, "call him that out loud. He is going to cut you and I'm going to have to heal you."

"Sure, I did not imagine that was the best term, but it got the meaning across."

"His name is Kimahri and his species is ronso. And the woman with the belts is Lulu."

"Presumably human."

"Yes she is. She and Wakka and Kimahri are my guardians—that means they've pledged their lives to me and my pilgrimage, and it is their duty to be to me what I am to the people of Spira."

"...to protect you and guide you and support you and comfort you. To be your light when you're in darkness and your lifeline when you're drowning."

"That's—yeah. Very poetic, but it gets to the core of it. I'm guessing no one actually put it to you that way."

"No, but I can see your shape. A thousand years of Sin, summoners being the only ones who have a chance to stop it however briefly. Everyone looks up to you and expects you to be strong for them and never falter, because if you lose it what else do they have?"

"Not... that dramatic. Most summoners don't complete the pilgrimage and it's understood that they're people and that the weight of the expectations is not light."

"Doesn't change what I said. Even if people know you can fail—you still need to act like you won't. And the guardians are the people you show your true self to, the ones who are allowed to understand the burden and share it."

"I guess you're more than a pretty face, huh?"

"Yep. I'm also great hair, a carefully cultivated physique, and a set of hard won skills in bed."

Zei snorts but doesn't respond, as they're just arriving back at the village. The sun is almost entirely gone, now, and there is indeed a bonfire in the middle of the village's central plaza.

Tōkan hangs back after Zei excuses himself to go mingle. Wakka makes sure to properly introduce him to the rest of his blitzball team, and Tōkan once again notices himself not really chatting much.

Which he feels is uncharacteristic as hell. It's a party, why is he not partying?

Well, he's not the only one hanging back and not partying, if that helps.

It does, actually. He walks over to her to share in companionable silence.

She looks at him from the corners of her eyes and looks almost ready to be mad at him for it, but when he doesn't actually start any conversations or try to interact with her in any way she... relaxes. And gets back to watching the other people have their food and fun and chats. In companionable silence.

Zei meanwhile is a little social butterfly, trying to make sure to get some time with pretty much everyone there. He plays tag with the kids and he listens to the stories the elders have to tell and he reassures the adults who collectively helped raise him and he trades banter with the blitzball team (even though they're going on the same boat later) and he helps with cooking and distributing the food around.

It looks like he's having fun.

Except it... actually doesn't? It looks like Zei is trying to look like he's having fun, and it looks like something heavy is on his mind, and it makes Tōkan wonder about how... dangerous... this pilgrimage is.

It looks like Zei is saying goodbye.

Lord Braska succeeded at killing Sin ten years ago. That's how he became high summoner. And now he's... dead? And so is his guardian Auron?

Tōkan does not like the shape of this.

The bonfire party eventually winds down and people start going back home, one by one or in small groups.

Eventually the only ones left are Zei, Wakka, Lulu, and Tōkan. Wakka declares that the party is over, and marches Tōkan over to the Crusader barracks so he can sleep; they have an early day tomorrow.

Are they going out at sunup? Of course they are. Mad people.

Good night!