Chapter 12: Troubled Waters

The brilliant glow of the afternoon sun had dipped below the horizon, giving way to pink and purple ribbons of light in what looked like paint fanned across an artist's canvas.

Tidus checked his blind spot before changing lanes to the first off-ramp exit to Luca. They had made it back to the city in what he considered to be record timing. For the most part, the drive home was shrouded in awkward silence, which he suspected was attributed more to the revelation of his lineage than anything else. They had briefly discussed a battle plan and how long they should wait before confronting Spira's keepers, but Yuna had made no mention of his relation to Nymeia the entire ride. Honestly, he wasn't surprised by her silence on the matter. Even he was still having difficulty digesting that piece of information. He could only imagine what his wife was thinking, but nevertheless, they had to discuss it at some point.

"Yuna?"

"Yeah?"

"I don't think we should tell the kids about…well, you know…how I'm related to a god."

"They'll need to know at some point. But for now, I agree. We should keep this just between us."

Her response surprised him a little. He really hadn't expected her to go along with his suggestion so easily, especially when she detested keeping secrets ever since it landed her into trouble on her pilgrimage. "So…why are you in agreement with me on this?"

"Plausible deniability. If one of those keepers gets to Trista or Zak, them knowing of your connection to Nymeia could botch the entire operation and even put their lives in danger. We can't risk that."

A smirk crept up on his lips. It had been a long time since he had seen this side of his wife. She was thinking strategically, but in a much more competent way than she had in the past. Then again, Yuna was no longer a naïve teenager. She had come a long way since the days of her pilgrimage. "How do you feel about all this?"

"What? How you're related to a god?"

"Yeah."

"I'll admit, it's a lot to take in. This doesn't change how I feel about you, if that's what you're hinting at. For the longest time, I thought you were a dream. If I can accept that scenario then this should be a much easier potion to swallow."

He chuckled at her words, finding them quite amusing. "Yeah, I guess."

When they finally arrived home, Tidus expected everything to appear somewhat normal with Rikku stretched out on the sofa, watching the spherevision and his teenage kids hiding out in their respected rooms—fate, however, had other things in mind. Instead, he was faced with the chaotic scene of his wife's cousin kneeling beside the couch, looking spent as the bright light of healing magic poured out of her hands into Vidina's writhing body.

"What the hell?!" Tidus boomed, hurrying over to the sofa. "What's going on here?"

Rikku slumped back on her legs, breathing heavily. "That's what I'd like to know."

His children traded conspiratorial glances as they stood by the coffee table hugging their arms, clearly nervous about responding to his question.

"It's complicated," Trista replied, now staring down at the floor.

From the stern look on his wife's face, he could sense she was equally displeased with their daughter's response. "What's Vidina doing here? And more importantly, what happened to him?"

"We were just hanging out," Zak explained. "Then outta nowhere he started screaming about pain in his head and feeling hot. That's when Rikku showed up. She's been using healing magic on him for the past two hours."

Just then, Vidina groaned and began to stir. "Don't…please…don't let him kill me."

Rikku skeptically narrowed her eyes at the young man. "Kill you? Who do you think's gonna kill you?"

"B-Bahamut."

Tidus' eyes grew wide at Vidina's answer, surprised he would make such a claim, since the boy's family still very much revered what they believed were the fayth, which led Tidus to suspect he may know something to the contrary.

"Why would Bahamut try to kill you?" Rikku asked.

"He's just rambling," Zak interjected, waving a dismissive hand in front as if Vidina's claim was unimportant. "You know how a good dose of healing magic can dope you up after."

Judging from the way his son was trying to curtail Rikku from questioning the matter any further, all but confirmed Tidus' suspicion. His children really had betrayed his trust. In an effort to distract his cousin-in-law's inquisitive nature, he helped Rikku to her feet and forced a smile. "Thanks for coming over to check on the kids. We'll take it from here."

The blond Al Bhed avoided his eyes and shifted her attention over to his wife. "You wouldn't be keeping anything from me, would you, Yunie?"

This was exactly the kind of scenario he feared—Rikku attempting to extract the truth out of Yuna.

"After all we've been through…why would I do something like that?"

His wife had never been a good liar. Even with the few times she had attempted to pull it off in the past, it was obvious from the guilty gleam in her eyes. However, this time, her expression remained serious without a hint of regret on her face. He was amazed at the seemingly flawless way she had executed the lie to the point he would've been convinced had he not known otherwise.

Rikku rubbed her chin in the way she would when she suspected something odd. "I dunno. Something awfully fishy is going on here."

Dammit. He had to think of something fast. "What's the situation with Vidina? Was your treatment successful or should Yuna take over?"

"Vidina's stable and he'll recover with some rest, but he should still go to an infirmary. We still don't know what happened to him."

"And we'll be sure to get him to one," Yuna lied—again.

"I get the feeling you're trying to get rid of me."

Some things never change. Rikku had always been persistent, especially when she suspected something was amiss. He had to get her out of there before she decided to unleash a full blown interrogation on them. His wife may have been successful lying a couple times, but that didn't mean her resolve wouldn't waver under pressure from the woman she viewed more as a sister than a cousin.

"We need to have a little chat with our kids. I'm sure you can appreciate that," Tidus said, carefully guiding the blond Al Bhed over to the door. "Besides, I'm sure Gippal is wondering what's keeping you. You know how he gets when he's left alone with those little rascals for too long."

Rikku frowned. "My kids aren't rascals. They're just rambunctious."

"We'll keep you posted," Yuna smiled.

"I'll hold you to that."

The second his wife's animated cousin pulled out of the driveway, Tidus slammed the door and stormed over to the sofa to confront his teenage children. "Start talking!"

It was evident from the way his daughter's mouth was opening and closing like a fish, she was guilty and afraid to admit it. "I-I'm sorry, Daddy. I-I didn't mean for this to happen."

"Does Vidina know!?" Yuna roared.

"I-I can explain."

Tidus huffed, impatiently waiting for his daughter to continue. "We're all ears, Tris."

In the past few years, he and Yuna had been faced more times than he could count with scolding their children, but never on this kind of level. His daughter's defiance this time could cost lives. He wasn't just furious by her actions, but disappointed in her serious lack of judgement. And her explanation of things only confirmed what he feared—she was just as immature and reckless as he had been at her age. It was like staring into a mirror, which only pissed him off even more. He didn't want her to make the same mistakes he had in life.

"I get why you'd cut class to try summoning that thing," Tidus began, folding his arms across his chest in an effort to control his temper, "but I still don't understand why you mentioned anything to Vidina in the first place."

The fierce blush spreading across her cheeks made the answer rather obvious. Vidina was more than just a friend to his daughter. Now, it made sense to him. And he was even more disappointed in her than before, realizing how selfish her motives had been. "How long?"

"I—uh—what do you mean?" Trista stammered.

"How long have you two been romantically involved?"

Her eyes refused to meet his as she focused on twisting the hem of her halter-top. "About eight months."

Damn. How the hell had he not seen this before? All this time she had been sneaking around and he hadn't the slightest clue. He had always been very intuitive, and yet, somehow it failed him on this matter. What else had she been doing in secret? Something told him he didn't want to know the answer to that question, but somehow, it managed to escape his lips anyway. "Just how close are you two?"

"Tidus!"

"C'mon Dad, we need to focus on more important things!" Zak implored. "Like what we're gonna do about Vidina. And if you and Mom found Maechen."

Judging from how his daughter's cheeks turned an even a deeper shade of pink, he already knew the answer to his question. "Nevermind. The look on your face says it all."

The gentle squeeze Yuna gave his wrist served as a warning for him to drop the subject. His wife then let out a long breath, indicating she was just as frustrated with the whole situation. "Considering everything you told us…we can't let him leave. It's too dangerous. I guess that means he'll have to stay here for now."

As much as he wanted to protest her proposal, he knew Vidina was safer with them. It didn't mean had to be happy about the arrangement. The small smile creeping up on his daughter's lips, prompted him to give her a stern look. "He'll be staying in the guest bedroom, of course."

"Tidus, really! Drop it for now."

The room suddenly felt stuffy. He had to get out of there and clear his mind. "Your mother can fill you in on what we learned today. I—I need some air."

Without giving his family a second glance, he retreated from the house and out back onto the rocks overlooking the ocean.

The moon's soft glow reflected against the dark lapping waters, making the sea shimmer with a kind of beauty he often relished in. It were times like these when Tidus would often reminisce about his carefree days back in lap-of-leisure Zanarkand, fondly remembering the adventures he had with his best friend, Trin—the closest thing he had to a sister. He was curious as to what had become of her life after he was ripped away from that world. Not once had he mentioned her to Yuna—afraid she may get the wrong idea—but her well-being had weighed heavily on him over the years and it had been one of the main reasons he had initially sided with Zanarkand's keepers. She had always managed to put his mind at ease, strangely enough, by her blunt responses. He wished she were around to give him some sound advice like the countless times she had in Zanarkand.

"Daddy?"

His daughter's voice anchored him back to reality. He didn't know how long he had been standing out there, but he knew for certain, he hadn't cooled down enough to engage in a conversation with her. "I came out here to be alone. Can you not respect that?"

When he heard her sniffle from behind, his heart sank. Dammit. He hadn't intended to make her cry.

"Do you really hate me that much?"

The absurdity of her question prompted him to turn and face her. "I could never hate you. You're my daughter. I'll always love you, no matter what."

"You're still disappointed in me, though," she said, wiping the tears from her eyes.

Wow, she really was just like him—sensitive to a fault. "Yeah, I am. There's a reason your mother and I told you to keep this quiet. Someone could get hurt. I'm sure you're aware of that now."

"You won't let him die, will you?"

He didn't think it was possible to hear a more insulting question leave his daughter's lips. Did she really view him as someone with such a cold heart? "No, I'm not gonna let him die. You really think I'd do that?"

"I'm sorry. It's just—I really love him."

"I can see that. I'm just concerned." With a heavy sigh, he looked up at the sky as he prepared to choose his words wisely. "You know, your mother and I were barely twenty when we had you and your brother."

"Oh, Dad—No! Please stop!" Even the shadows of the night couldn't hide the embarrassing blush lighting up her cheeks. She looked completely mortified.

"Look, being a parent is a huge responsibility. One you're certainly not ready for. You're only seventeen. Just use some common sense, please. And that's all I'll say on the matter."

The awkward silence following his lecture was short lived when a bright light flashed in the distance over the ocean, drawing his attention. At first, he thought an unexpected storm had rolled in, but when he spotted a purple beam of light flowing out of the clouds into the sea, he knew it was no bizarre weather system.

"What on Spira is that thing?" Trista asked in awe.

Tidus' eyes stayed glued on the mysterious beam, sensing a malevolent force behind it. "I dunno, but it can't be good."

Whatever had produced the strange phenomenon must've ceased from how quickly the light had faded, returning the sky and sea to its previous tranquil state.

"Maybe we should go out there and investigate," Trista suggested.

"No, that's foolish! Never dive head first into anything without taking precautions." Great, now he was starting to sound like Auron.

"Aren't you at all curious?"

"Our curiosity can wait until morning. We're not going out there tonight. So, get it outta your head."

"But, Dad—"

"I said, no! Besides, after everything that's happened, I thought you'd wanna check on…your boyfriend." Those last two words were almost painful for him to spit out. He was certain they sounded bitter as well from the way his daughter huffed and rolled her eyes before walking away. At least he managed to direct her attention elsewhere. The last thing he needed was her charging out to sea and into whatever trouble lurked in its depths.

With a heavy sigh, he followed his daughter inside the house and prepared for what would surely be a sleepless night.