A/N: Hey all my readers. ^_^. Sorry Chapter Six was a long time coming, but the facts of life have taken a toll on my writing time... I'm sure you don't want to hear little details of my life (infact, I beat you're shouting 'shut up, damn author!' right now... wouldn't blame you) and without furthur ado...actually, one more thing: this was a hard chapter for me to write, since I think i've been repeating the same things over and over and...anyway, the next few chapters will see a change in pace and you're guarenteed atleast 3 more chapters...I hope I can keep your interest with each one...and NOW without furthur ado...chapter six:

-- Chapter Six --

Rikku waited until the door to the inn closed behind Tidus, then started sadly down the lonly road. The rain continued to pour down on her, a never ending reminder of her depression. She pulled the band out of her hair, letting the blonde locks fall down. The dampness weighed the strands down, and they fell in her face, and down her back, the actual legnth of her hair being below her shoulders. She kicked at a stray pebble on the paved street, sending it into a door as a bolt of thunder souded overhead. Her only reaction to the thunder was a shiver from the rain. The clothes of the Al Bhed were not accustomed to rainy weather.

She made her way slowly to the blitzball stadium, grasping the goggles that hung around her neck, the only thing that would serve as comfort at the moment. As she passed by the rained on, but nonstopping, celebrations, she pulled the goggles over her eyes, hiding and yet announcing her heritage at the same time. The gray tint of the lenses turned the world even darker then it had been before.

Stopping outside the entrance to the stadium, Rikku took a moment to look at the huge structure around her. She didn't understand why these people refused to use machina, yet they could build stadiums of enormous size. The game being open, she walked through the curved hallway that led into the bleachers, and stopped at the exit. Despite pouring rain she couldn't see more then five seats that had been abandoned. The players in the sphere continued playing, not even noticing the storm.

Rikku walked down the stairs until she got to the ground level, where the onlookers now stood in groups instead of sitting. Being small, she was able to push her way through to the front of the crowd, and replaced the goggles ontop of her head to see the game better. The score was 5 - 4, and Wakka's team was losing. Her eyes scanned the sphere until she found Wakka, holding the ball and swimming quickly towards the opposite goal. He was blocked but Wakka tackled his way through them and threw towards the goal. The throw was good.

The entire stadium erupted in cheers and Rikku bent down covering her ears. The crowd remindered her of loud thunder and she guessed a part of her was still nervous of it. She straightened herself so she didn't get trampled and looked back to the game. Now tied, the two teams had to try and score a goal in two minutes. The ball went to the other team and they made an immediate play for the goal, but the goalie caught it and threw it out. The player went half court before being blocked and passed it over to Wakka. Rikku thought she'd never see someone swim that fast, but the other team found two players to block him. He passed, then broke through, and got the ball again. The entire stadium paused as he threw at the goal. The goalie caught an edge on the ball... but it was good. The cheering was even louder this time as the clock ran out.

Despite the fact that Wakka had won, Rikku couldn't bring a smile to her face. Recent events had weighed her heart down so heavily. She knew it, she felt it... that after Tidus had reunited with Yuna, his feelings would return. Rikku actually hoped, deep down, that he would remember he loved her, because then only she herself would be hurt, not Yuna, not Tidus. One's pain was a lesser price then that of three.

And yet, everything seemed like a dream. Maybe, it was. Maybe she was still at Home, and she'd never helped defeat Sin... Maybe Tidus's return was a dream, and they'd all be a little happier, not knowing the heartache his return would eventually cause Yuna, and herself... if it was a dream, she wished she would wake up. But still, it wasn't a dream, because she knew the pain she felt in her heart had to be real. Couldn't she carry that pain for all three of them? Couldn't atleast two of them have a happy ending?

iShe awoke from a dream and leapt into a nightmare.../i

She waited outside the locker room, staring intently at the floor, until Wakka emerged. " 'ey, Rikku! You catch the game?" he asked her, smiling brightly.

Rikku nodded and started smiling happily, though it was an act. After being known as a hyper little girl for quite some time, she was able to fake it half the time, so others wouldn't know what she was feeling, truly. It was her own mask to the world. "Heeey, guess what Wakka!"

"Uh...," he looked completly clueless and scratched his head.

She grinned. "Yeah, I knew you wouldn't guess! I guess...I could give you a hint..." She balanced herself on her heels, swaying back and forth. "Oooh, I'll just tell ya! Tidus is back!"

"Whoa..." Wakka's eyes went wide and then he started laughing. "He he he...I knew he wouldn't stay away for long. Where is he, eh?" He looked overly excited to go find his old Bltizball-friend.

"At the inn, with Yunie. I hafta go get Lulu too."

" 'Ey, I'll come with you... c'mon, Rikku!" he started out of the hallway outside the locker room, running as fast as he could after the intense blitzball game into the murky weather of the afternoon, the shorter Al Bhed following behind at a noticably slow pace.

---

Tidus shut the door of the inn behind him and followed Yuna into the empty reception room in the front, over to the table she had probably been sitting at before he had arrived. He sat down in one the chairs awkwardly, and looked at Yuna who was slowly coming out of her sobs, yet she continued to smile. She always smiled...

"Where did you go, Tidus?" Yuna asked after a moment of silence. "Didn't the Fayth say... and you were fading... "

"Ya know, I really don't know. The Fayth... they told me I was a dream. That my Zanarkand and the people who lived there and everything I knew... was all a dream. Their dream, and when you defeated Sin and Yevon... they would stop dreaming."

"You mean, it's all my fault that you..." she paused there, not actually knowing what had happened to Tidus after he had jumped from the airship, and because her tears were returning.

"No!" Tidus said quickly. "No, don't blame yourself, Yuna. I would have disappeared sometime anyway."

Yuna sniffled and his eyes locked on hers when she brought her head up. They sat in silence for a moment, staring into each others eyes, before Tidus slowly forced himself up from the table. He walked over to the larger window and looked out into the storm, closing his eyes tightly and sighing. Deep down, he had hoped... hoped that when he saw Yuna again, as it had been before, his heart would open to her, again. But the truth was, he no longer felt for her, anything more then a friend. He would always love her as a friend, and as one of those people who saved him, but at that point, he couldn't feel anymore.

Tidus decided that he couldn't lead Yuna on too long, or he'd loose her as a friend. He had to tell her soon... now... he wondered if she'd ever look at him as a friend again...

He felt Yuna walking up behind him, leaning her head on his shoulder, and wrapping her arms around his waist. Tidus just stood still, and stared out the window. Why did everything have to be so hard?

"Everything's so hard so you know you're still alive."

Tidus turned at the voice, twisting out of Yuna's grip to look at the room. What the hell? He hadn't said that... was sure Yuna hadn't... was he hearing things?

"Heh heh, looks like I popped up in time. You were about to cry again, weren'tcha?"

Tidus blinked. "D-dad?"

Yuna glanced at him, placing a hand gently on his shoulder. "Tidus... are you okay?"

He his head for a brief moment to look at her confused face, then turned back to where the voice had come from, but the room was silent. "Uh...yeah." I think, he added silently.

The young summoner walked to face Tidus, taking his hands in hers and stared up at his wandering, confused blue eyes, with a smile. "I still can't believe you're back. I thought the world had begun and ended at the same time. I thought-- I thought I had lost my heart. Thank you, for coming back."

She hugged him tightly and all Tidus could do was stand there and stare, his arms loosely encircling her. He hated himself and he hated the world.

Yuna drew back when she heard something from outside and walked over to the window. "Rikku's back with Wakka and Lulu!" she laughed, and opened the door to go greet them.

Tidus sighed and leaned against the wall. He couldn't keep Yuna hanging like this. If there was one thing he'd learned from having a father like Jecht, it was to show compassion, and not act like a jerk towards someone you cared about.

"Hey, thanks for the kind words."

Tidus jumped up. Where were the damn voices coming from?! Was he going crazy or...

He gasped and took a step back when the ghostly-appariton of his father appeared before him. "What...wha--" Tidus shook his head. "What's going on!?"

"I thought you'd be happy to see me, eh? Thought we were all father and son, happy family like now."

"Dad? No, no... you're dead! You vanished... like me."

"Yeah well, you seem to be doing pretty good." Jecht laughed and paced on the air. "You wanna know what I'm doing here? Here's the deal... eh... the Fayth felt kinda bad, with you disappearing and all... so..." he scratched his head, finding it weird to be explaining this. "So, the Fayth, they came and visited me on the Farplane... well, not really visited, them being dead, too, and all... anyway, it was me, Auron and Braska who brought you back. See, Tidus... we are you."

"What?" Tidus asked in a whisper. Whatever happened to the simplicity of Zanarkand?

"Our spirit orbs joined and brought you back, as a person." Jecht looked down at himself. "Guess we kinda stayed with you, too, huh?"

"Whoa, whoa." Tidus backed up more, until he hit the wall. "That's...that's just not possible!"

"You're living proof."

Tidus hung his head and sighed. His thoughts were so confused. Nothing was simple, nothing was easy. His dad was him...? He started shaking, ever so slightly. Thing were so different, for his mind, his heart, his soul. If he even had a soul... Was he still Tidus? Was he just a body, a vessel, that happened to have the memories of a long forgotten Tidus? No, he thought, no, I am Tidus, star of the Zanarkand Abes... I helped defeat Sin... and now... I'm not a dream. I'm a person.

For the first time i'm........ alive.

"Tidus, where are you?" He heard Yuna calling and he picked up his head. "I'm coming." He looked back at his father to find that he was no longer there. Tidus closed his eyes for a second, taking a deep, storm scented, rain rich breath and thought with his heart: 'Thank you... Dad. I love you.'

He then walked to the door, ready to take responsibility for his actions, for his feelings... for his life.