Author's Notes: Written for the 50episodes comm at livejournal.
Speed
by: butterflie
"You see, Yuna, blitzball is all about balance." Tidus crossed his hands behind his head and leaned back, using the old pillar for support.
"Balance?"
"Yeah. When you're doing a shot that takes you up out of the sphere, you need to have perfect balance to time the kick and the landing just right. Otherwise you'll just crash back into the sphere and embarrass yourself."
"I see," she said, nodding her head as she thought about that.
"But it's more than just physical balance. Blitzball needs balance in all different areas of the game."
"Like what?"
"Like--? Well, take your team, for example. You need to have a good balance among the players in your team, otherwise your team won't perform as well," he pointed out. He turned his head to look at her. "If a player has a weakness in something, and it isn't counteracted by another player's strength, then your whole team has a weakness, no matter how good the rest of them may be."
She smiled. "Makes sense."
"Of course, it'd be best if every player had a decent balance of blitz skills, but that's not very realistic. Some are naturally going to be good at offense, while others are best at defense. Some might be skilled in throwing a long pass, but also horrible at catching any pass. Some may be good at dodging the opposing team's tackles. Some may be born to catch. The trick is to know all of your player's strengths and weakness, and have an even balance that will all play off against each other."
She laughed gently, and looked out to the sky at the fading sunlight. "It sounds similar to a summoner's team."
"Summon--huh?"
"Summoners need a good team with balance as well."
"What do you mean?" he asked. He was curious. How can a summoner's team and a blitzer's team have anything in common? he wondered.
"In order to have the best chance of making it through their pilgramage, summoners need guardians with a good balance of skills," she explained.
Tidus was still confused, and it must have shown on his face, because after a moment of silence Yuna looked back at him and began to elaborate.
"A guardian team made up of nothing but brute force will have a tough time against fiends resistant to physical attacks, and a team of magic users will have trouble defeating fiends resistant to magic-based attacks. You need a good balance of both of those types of guardians to have the most chance of survival." She paused, and then smiled. "I'm lucky to have such a well-balanced team."
"But were you well-balanced when you started out? Before Auron and I came along?"
"Mostly, I think."
"Mostly?"
"Yes." She came over to him, and carefully arranged her robes to sit down next to him. She then laid her staff across her lap, and Tidus absently wondered if she ever went anywhere without that thing in her hands.
"What was weak about it?" He thought about it. "It seemed pretty solid to me... Summoning, healing, magic, phsyical strength, piercing... what were you lacking?"
She smiled again. "Speed."