Chapter 25: Harvest

Tidus slept long and hard, but when he finally woke and stretched, the three women he shared the loft with stopped chatting on their beds and watched him with concern. Their attention was so intense that he wondered what was wrong. Scratching his head, he looked down at the old, long-sleeved Abes shirt. Okay, so it wasn't in the best condition with the holes, bloodstains, and sea muck, but at least it was dry now. He patted his chest to make sure he hadn't half-faded and hesitantly looked behind him wondering if something was there. "What are you staring at?"

Rikku giggled. "You, silly. We were beginning to think you were going to sleep all day."

"How do you feel?" Yuna retrieved his necklace and earring from her dresser.

"Tired, but okay… I guess."

Paine brought Brotherhood to the futon, standing it carefully against the side of the frame. "You left this outside."

"This too." Rikku placed his discarded sphere grid near it. Then, leaning forward, hands on her knees, she studied his face.

"Stop staring at him like that. It's him." Paine smacked Rikku's ponytail and used it to pull her back a step.

Tidus accepted the grid and slowly, carefully sat up. After rubbing a thumb over the sphere that would change him into guardian mode, he stood, winced at the unusual stiffness of certain muscles and joints, and replaced Brotherhood in its sheath.

"Are you sore?" Yuna brought his jewelry back to him. "I can use some more cure spells for minor injuries."

"Nah, I'll be okay. I just feel like I was stampeded by a herd of chimeras."

"Well, welcome back." Rikku reached to hug his neck. "We were all really worried about you."

"Thanks." He returned the hug, then lifted his eyes to Paine and met her sad gaze. What could he say about his behavior under Shuyin's influence? She already carried so many scars because of the renegade spirit. "I am... so sorry."

"He did what he had to do to bring you back." She surprised him with a hug as well. "I'm just glad you're back to being yourself." Withdrawing, she gave Rikku's shoulder a subtle tap to indicate that they should give Yuna and Tidus some time alone. Rikku nodded and followed the warrior down the stairs.

Tidus snorted in light amusement. "Now, why can't they do that when I actually want some privacy?"

Yuna smiled at his attempt to joke, in spite of his discomfort. His countenance still betrayed his weariness, and she hated to bring it up, but there was no point in putting off inevitable questions. "Are you still you?"

He wanted to say "yes" but knew there was no turning back from what had happened. "I know things now that I didn't before. Memories. I guess I have to admit I'm a little of both of us now."

She tried not to seem disappointed to hear that and returned a hopeful smile. "Well, you're back, and that's what matters."

He saw her worry behind the smile. Facing her as he had when they reunited on the beach of Besaid, he placed his hands on her arms and searched her eyes for signs of fear or disgust. "Am I still… okay?" he asked, unsure he wanted to hear her answer.

The question cut Yuna like a knife. "You're perfect," she whispered, raising a hand to his cheek. "I never meant to hurt you when I told Shuyin he wasn't good enough. I'm so sorry."

Eyes closing in relief, Tidus rested his head on her shoulder, and his arms encircled her waist. "I know you don't like him, but I can't really make him go away because... "

"Because he is a part of you." Yuna rested her ear against his golden head. "Wakka and Nooj were right. I was in denial because I was afraid of how he might change you. But I think I understand him better now."

"I can summon him if I need his magic. But, it will probably always put me at risk to let him take control enough to use it."

"Don't you dare use his magic again," she scolded but then paused. "But, he did save your life. I guess if you have to, I can always have my cure spells ready."

Tidus smiled and raised his head at her mixed reaction. He couldn't blame her for feeling that way. It had been a scary experience. "Life or death last resort, okay?"

"Okay." She seemed comforted by that condition. "Can I ask you something else?"

"Anything," he quietly agreed.

"There is one thing that still puzzles me. Shuyin said 'Tidus' was his nickname. Now that you have some of his memories..."

Tidus laughed with mild embarrassment. "It's a really stupid story."

"I'd like to hear it." She smiled with hope. "I thought it was your real name."

"Well, it is for me, anyway." Standing, he reached out his hand. "There's something I can show you that will help explain it - if it's still there."

She quirked a curious brow, took his hand, and rose with him.

))((

Tidus took Yuna out for a swim above and around the sunken ruins. "This was sector A-East. It's where I used to live. I can remember things like this now. That down there was a theater. And just behind it was a book store." He swam a little further, and Yuna followed. "This was my school and that building beside it... That's the library." He swam until he was treading water above the library.

Yuna was excited to hear how much he knew about this place now, and as she swam around the dome of the ancient library, she tried to see through the water to the crumbled building below. "This is the Zanarkand library? Do you think it has spheres in it?"

"Jackpot spheres! There's spheres on the Founders and Earth and everything. Not sure how many survived the explosions and collapse, but this is where we need to start digging if you want to fill your new memorial library with Spira's lost past."

Yuna laughed with delight and grinned so big that she nearly grew dimples the size of Rikku's. "When I asked you to show me your Zanarkand someday, I had no idea it would be as amazing as this."

He laughed with her at the memory of his promise. "Well, it's not exactly what I had in mind, but there is one more place I want to show you." Turning away, he swam further out over the sunken city. Along the way, he rolled onto his back to see if she was keeping up. Then, diving under, he quickly swam beneath her and grabbed her ankle as a prank. When she dove under to try to pry her foot free, he darted away with a backward somersault, then opened his arms with a grin and waved at her to catch up before surfacing again.

Yuna broke the surface to find him chuckling at her.

"Come on, poky. It'll take us all day at the rate you're moving."

Normally, she would have fussed at him for going too fast and playing around too much, but this dolphin-like behavior was further indication that it really was him. Happy and grateful for that, she giggled and splashed a large spray of water in his face instead.

He squinted at his punishment, but then blinked the water away and grinned again. "Okay, we're going to have to go deep for this next one. So if you can't hold your breath, use your air supply. I'll try not to go so fast, but you have to keep up. There's a lot of wreckage down there, and it would be easy to get lost or trapped in it." Having said that, he drew a breath and dove under to lead the way.

Yuna decided to trust the blitzball skills she worked so hard to learn in his absence, to conserve her air pack on her back for an emergency. Following him, she swam closer to the large ghostly ruins shrouded in flickering rays of sunlight until they came to a maze of collapsed piers that trapped a sunken houseboat. She followed him through a broken window into the living room, where she was astonished to see a trunk full of spheres. Some had been scattered and crushed, but most looked whole.

Tidus looked over his shoulder to see how she was handling the depth so far, then he grinned and took her hand, leading her into the room at the back. There, he pointed to the keyboard, then released her hand and opened his arms with a dramatic swirl.

Yuna understood. This had been his home. Looking around at the horrible wreckage, she was glad he had not been here when it happened. She ran her fingers over the keyboard and accidentally knocked over a holograph of Lenne. It hurt a bit to see it, but when she picked it up to put it back, Tidus swam behind her, plucked it from her fingers, and tossed it behind him to give her a kiss. She started to laugh and indicated she needed her air tank now.

Shaking his head at her lack of iron lungs, he directed her attention to an Abe's portrait. Then, passing it to her, he dug through a pile of debris to find a couple more spheres and passed those to her as well. After one last look around what used to be his bedroom, he swam back into the living room and began collecting spheres that could be salvaged from the floor.

Yuna added the other two spheres to the trunk, then helped him collect as many as were worth saving. When she spotted one near a large, broken piece of furniture that might have been a sofa, she reached for it only to drop it again in shock when a pale hand fell on top of hers. Kyudou stared back at her from under the wreckage of his fight with Meimo, but there was no life there.

Tidus saw her sudden reaction and swam to her side to see the gruesome discovery for himself. Picking up the sphere she had dropped, he ushered her away from the body and placed the sphere in the trunk. Lifting the handle on one side, he indicated he was ready to go.

Yuna lifted the other handle, and together they transported the ancient spheres out of the houseboat toward the surface. Then, they struggled with towing it back to shore.

"Find anything good?" Rikku called as she ran to meet them at the water's edge.

Once they were ashore, they set the heavy, old chest down with a thud. It immediately fell apart, spilling its contents as if it were a harvest of large clams.

Rikku gasped as Yuna and Tidus fought to catch their breath. "Wow! Oh, wow! Wow!" She bounced with glee. "You found a whole bunch! Where did you find them?"

"My home," Tidus answered with a hint of pride. "And there's probably a lot more buried under the library."

"You found a library down there!"

"You never told me your home was a houseboat," Yuna said after removing her air tank.

"A houseboat?" Rikku picked up one of the spheres and polished it with her sleeve. "We never would have found all that! Guess it's a good thing Shuyin helped after all."

"And look!" Yuna showed Rikku the holographic portrait of the blitzball team. "The Zanarkand Abes! All of them!"

"Guess we'd better pop some popcorn, huh? We've got a lot of spheres to watch tonight!" Rikku grinned and elbowed Tidus.

Wincing at that idea, he took his sphere back from her. "No offense, Rikku, but... I'd like to watch them first and decide which ones to share. These aren't some stranger's memories this time. They're mine."

"Okay!" Rikku nodded, still excited about the discovery. "I'll go get something to carry them in," she offered before running back to the airship.

))((

Tidus straightened to stretch his sore arms when he spotted Nooj heading their way. "Kyaaaah," he complained. "I don't want to talk to him. He's going to knock me from here to Besaid after what happened this morning."

Yuna's brows rose at how different his reaction was from Shuyin's about meeting Nooj.

Nooj approached with his familiar limp, though he moved a little more slowly than normal, too. Ignoring Tidus, he nodded to Yuna and turned his attention to the collection of spheres spilled at their feet. "Looks like the fish are really biting."

Tidus lowered his gaze, not sure what to say. He still ached all over and carried numerous bruises from their unfortunate encounter, including the one on his jaw, but he chose to let the minor wounds heal naturally, figuring he deserved some discomfort for what Shuyin did to the meyvn.

"They're Tidus's spheres recovered from his home," Yuna announced. "He remembers where the Zanarkand library used to be and says there should be lots more spheres there. Oh, and... I don't think we have to worry about the Echo Alliance anymore. We found Kyudou's body."

"What about Meimo?" Nooj asked.

With furrowed brows, she looked to Tidus.

He shook his head and shrugged, so she shook her head, too.

"No unusually big fiends? Nothing? That's not good." Nooj panned the sea. "Meimo is the one with teleportation skills, so that means he could have escaped. And now we have no idea where to find him if he did. I'd better go warn Baralai."

"Do you want me to be the one to explain what happened?" Tidus knew that he could do a better job explaining the ordeal with Shuyin, even if it did mean having to tell Baralai that he was now able to summon the spirit that once possessed him.

"That might be best." Nooj paused for a minute. "Are you as sore as I am?"

Tidus looked up in surprise but then snorted. "Half of your body is made of built-in armor. I haven't hurt this bad since my first-ever blitzball training camp." He held up a fist to compare his flesh and bone hand to Nooj's machina.

"Yeah, but you only think you feel pain, so that doesn't count." Nooj allowed himself a reluctant smile. "I strongly suggest that you don't lay into me like that again. Truce?" He offered his hand.

Tidus accepted and shook on it. "Truce."

Rikku came running back with a laundry basket and set it down in front of the spilled spheres. As she and Yuna transferred the spheres into the basket, Rikku paused over one and started to touch the activation button.

Tidus swiped it away from her but then spoke to Nooj. "Ah, I'll be along in a minute."

Nooj nodded and walked away without him.

Rikku already had another sphere and was searching for the button to activate it.

"Cut it out!" Tidus grabbed the second sphere like the first. "That's private stuff in there."

"Oooh. You mean like embarrassing stuff?" She grinned.

"Stuff I shouldn't have to show you. I don't read your diary, do I?"

"I don't keep a diary."

"What-ever! I don't go through your personal stuff, so don't go through mine."

Rikku leaned toward Yuna as they deposited more spheres into the basket. "He probably just doesn't want us to see any naked baby pictures."

"Shut up already!" Tidus threw a piece of seaweed from the trunk at her, but then a smirk broke through his frown. "Just help me get them inside without breaking them, okay?"

))((

The next morning, Tidus rapped a knuckle against the door frame of Wakka's small hut and peered between the breezy curtains to call for him.

Wakka had been lying on the floor, trying to keep cool in the summer heat when he heard the familiar voice. Immediately rolling over and pulling himself to his feet, the large man reached for the curtain and jerked it open. "You're back! How'd you come back? Why didn't you tell someone you were back!"

"That's... what I'm doing right now," Tidus answered before he was crushed in a strong hug. He was used to Wakka's rough handling, but his body was still sore this time. Upon being released, he made a pained face and put a hand to his abdomen and chest, only to be pulled into another hug by Lulu. Fortunately, Lulu's hug was less brutal.

"Welcome back - again." She smiled warmly as she drew back in disbelief. "What happened? We thought you were gone for sure this time."

"It was a teleportation spell." Tidus proceeded to explain as much as he could about what had happened after he and Wakka were separated before the game.

"Wow. You've been through a lot, ya? The game was called after that because of the mob situation," Wakka informed him. "They might reschedule it, but the officials are going to want to talk to you if they see that you're back."

"Think they'll still let me play?"

"You didn't do anything wrong, but if they still think you're unsent..."

"Yeah, I know." Tidus sighed. "Hey, I got a favor to ask." Stepping outside of the tent, he returned seconds later, carrying the laundry basket full of spheres.

"What's that? Don't tell me you're moving in with us. Living with three women finally drove you crazy, ya?" He chuckled, but then caught Lulu's questioning expression. "Ah, not that living with that one, special woman of your dreams would ever cause a man to go insane."

Folding her arms at her chest, Lulu approved of his effort to correct himself. Then, she returned to where she had been changing Vidina.

"They hog the shower, stick their noses into my business, and steal the food right off my plate," Tidus answered the question anyway. "Rikku never shuts up, and Paine is always kicking my butt just to prove she can. And they leave lacy-stringy things hanging around that I really don't need to see if you know what I mean."

Wakka chuckled at Tidus's complaints and accepted Vidina from Lulu, propping the baby over his shoulder while she cleaned up the baby supplies. "What about Yuna?"

"She steals my blanket and worries too much about her hair."

"Why don't you move out?"

"Because… they're family now, you know? Like us when we traveled together before, on our way to defeat Sin. It's warped, but it works for me because I never had that kind of thing until I came here."

"Well, don't look at us to start doing your laundry," Lulu cooly warned as she eyed the basket.

"Oh, it's not laundry." Tidus set the basket down and pulled the protective blanket back to show them the memory spheres.

"Suuuuwaaaa." Wakka crouched in admiration for a better look. "That many? Where'd you get all these?"

"They're mine. I found my old home in Zanarkand, and I'd like to review them. But I don't really have a private place to do that on the airship."

Wakka chuckled deeply. "You don't want the girls seeing nekkid baby things, ya?"

"Would you people stop saying that? Maybe I just have stuff I don't want everyone to see, okay?"

"Like nekkid baby things."

Tidus rolled his eyes.

"Here, hold this." Wakka passed Vidina into Tidus's hands and pulled Lulu aside to speak with her in hushed tones.

Tidus's eyes widened at the baby boy he held at arm's length. "Uh... Wakka?" Whatever they were talking about, they both seemed to be in agreement.

When they were done whispering, Wakka approached Tidus again. "Okay. You can use our place to watch your spheres in private. Just keep an eye on Vidina for us while we go check something out, okay? We'll come back for him, and then we'll spend the rest of the day in Luca, so you can have as much time as you need."

"But... I don't know anything about babies. What do I do if he cries?"

"It will only be a few minutes."

Wakka held the curtain open for Lulu to leave the hut, then he paused and returned to Tidus, lowering his voice. "Hey, uh, about those women issues… If you ever need, you know, older brotherly advice -"

"No!" Tidus quickly answered. "I've already had that lecture three times!"

"Three?"

"My old man, Auron, and Cid."

"Cid!" Wakka laughed out loud. "Okay, well, I'm here for you, all right?" He gave him a slap on the back. "Neither of us has fathers, so we gotta look out for each other." With a grin, he exited the tent behind Lulu.

Tidus sighed, relieved to have escaped a fourth lecture on girls. "Looks like it's just you and me, kid." Sitting down cross-legged on the floor, he set the baby in his lap, then reached to the basket for a sphere. "No dirtying diapers while I'm in charge, okay?"

Vidina cooed in response and grabbed the sphere into his mouth.

"Uwaaa..." Tidus made a face. "Don't slobber my spheres. So gross. No drooling, either. That's very uncool. No girl is ever going to want to kiss you until you learn to control that." Drawing the sphere away from the baby's grasp, however, he considered the number of women that snuggled, hugged, and kissed the baby when Lulu brought him out. "On second thought, you might have the right idea."

Vidina reached for the sphere again and began to get cranky about being denied the interesting new object. His crankiness easily turned into a cry.

"Aw, man. No crying, either. See, I told them you would cry!" He looked around the room for something that might pacify the baby, but then gave up and held the sphere in front of him again. "Look! Ssshh. Watch what it does." Pulling Vidina into a semi-seated position, he touched the activation button.

It was a sphere of Jecht practicing his notorious shot in the ocean with some of his teammates. Tidus stared at the man with mixed emotions. He was just as he remembered - loud, crass, and obnoxious. But, in all fairness, he knew things now he didn't know then. As the baby continued to wail above the recorded sound, Tidus turned off the sphere and lifted the baby to his shoulder. "You know what? You just go ahead and cry, little man, all right? I can't blame you for being ticked off at them for leaving you with me."