Author: Katma (kawaiikatma@hotmail.com)
Summary: Sin has been gone for two years now, and Yuna has just started to move on with her life. But a new evil has risen from the sidelines. Will Tidus be able to return and protect the Summoner he loves?
Rating: PG-13 (some violence and romance, but nothing graphic ;-) )
Disclaimer: Tidus, Yuna, and other recognizable characters are not mine. I only wish they were. They belong to Squaresoft and many other people too numerous to name here. I'm only borrowing the characters so that I can mess with their lives. Power, MWAHAHA! So… please don't sue me!! I'm a college student (ie, NO money).
Author's note, yet again. First of all, thanks to everyone who reviewed. Hugs to you all J . Second, a few notes about this chapter. My brother put a cheat in my game, so I didn't learn all the Al Bhed language, so anything spoken in Al Bhed is put in bold, like this. And I couldn't find out definitively how old Rikku was in the game, so for the purposes of my story she was 16 during the game, 18 in my story timeline. Um, I think that's it. Enjoy, and please review and let me know what you think!
Chapter 4:
Return to Spira
Tidus gained consciousness in stages. Dimly, he became aware that his arms and legs were cramped from holding his position for so long. Well, he thought with an internal groan, I guess if I can feel pain, the Fayth must have brought me back. It took a moment for that thought to fully register. I'm back?!?! Tidus' eyes snapped open and his head raised. He quickly glanced around, noticing he was under water. Then he stretched fully, releasing his body from the cramped fetal position. With a huge smile on his face, Tidus swam up and broke the surface of the water.
Shaking his head violently to clear his wet hair from his eyes, Tidus glanced eagerly around him, expecting to see the shores of Besaid or something similar. There was nothing, however, in any direction Tidus looked.
"Hey!" Tidus shouted to the sky, "What's the big idea? Are you just going to leave me here to die?"
Tidus groaned and flipped over backward. He floated lazily, staring at the clear blue sky. A knot formed in his stomach. He hoped someone would come and find him out here. He didn't feel like dying so soon. He needed to find Yuna again. Tidus lay there, bobbing up and down with the waves, waiting for something to happen. He was sure the Fayth wouldn't let him die now. It certainly wouldn't solve their problem if he did. Gradually, he fell asleep, lulled by the gentle lapping of the water.
The low hum of a motor approaching snapped Tidus awake. He began treading water, looking around frantically until he saw a ship, distant yet approaching fast.
"Yeah, right on!" Tidus shouted, pumping his fist. He waited impatiently until the ship moved within hearing distance. Then he began yelling, splashing, and waving his arms, trying desperately to gain the attention of someone on board.
"Hey! Over here! Hey!"
A group of men gathered at the railing on deck as they registered the shouting. They watched Tidus splashing around, talking quietly among themselves. Tidus noticed they were in no hurry to help him.
"Argh!" he yelled, frustrated, and let himself sink for a moment, irritation filling him. He held his breath for a long moment, the surfaced again. As he tossed his wet hair out of his eyes with a flick of his head, Tidus noticed the sudden flurry of activity on board the ship. The men who had once been watching him coolly were now running around crazily. The ship seemed to be moving closer to Tidus, as well. Tidus blinked, then snorted as he realized what was going on. They think I'm drowning! It hurt his pride to go along with this idea… after all, a blitzball player prided himself on the ability to hold his breath for long periods of time, but he wanted on that ship. If he had to play an idiot to get on that ship, he would.
Rolling his eyes, Tidus again submerged himself, this time for a much longer period of time. When he emerged again, with a gasp that wasn't totally faked, he noticed with satisfaction how much closer the ship had come to his position. He flailed about a bit more for effect. As he shouted, "Help! Help!" he observed one of the men escorting a slender, petite, obviously female figure to the ship's railing. Tidus almost forgot to continue his performance as he looked on in fascination. The woman shielded her eyes against the sun's glare, stared at Tidus for a moment, then nodded her head sharply.
In response to her signal, one of the men threw a weighted rope out to Tidus. It landed almost directly in front of him, and he grasped it gladly. Slowly but surely, Tidus was hauled to the ship's side and then dragged aboard. Tidus collapsed bonelessly on deck, relief making his knees weak. Although he wouldn't allow himself to worry while out to sea, the fear that he wouldn't be found had still been present. Now he had a chance. He would see his Yuna again.
Tidus slowly became aware of tiny feet approaching him. Shod in heavy black boots, they stopped at the edge of his vision. A soft, feminine chuckle filled the air, and two small fingers slipped under Tidus' chin, tilting his head up.
"Well, well," said the woman in an amused voice, "What have we here?"
Tidus barely had time to register the woman was speaking in Al Bhed before his head was forced up. The woman was standing with her back to the sun. Tidus could only make out the vague outline of the woman's face and the goggles she was wearing.
"Um, hey!" Tidus said weakly, remembering his last encounter with an Al Bhed ship. He suddenly realized he hadn't spoken to the girl in Al Bhed. Whoops. "Um, sorry 'bout that. I meant, hello."
The woman's fingers jerked and then stiffened at the sound of Tidus' voice. She pulled away a bit.
"What is your name?" she asked, her voice shaking.
"I'm Tidus," he responded, surprised but willing to answer the question nevertheless. The woman's voice sounded oddly familiar.
The woman gave a sharp gasp and her hands flew up to her mouth. She began to shake. Tidus watched her worriedly.
"Hey, are you okay?" he asked her tentatively.
In response, the woman pulled her goggles off and knelt by Tidus. She was now no longer backlit, and Tidus could finally see her features clearly.
"Rikku?" Tidus almost squeaked, disbelief tightening his vocal cords.
Rikku made a sound that was half-laugh, half-sob and launched herself into his arms. She hugged him tightly as Tidus shifted awkwardly, then pulled away. Her green eyes were bright with tears.
"Tidus! You came back! I can't believe it. How long have you been back?"
"Uh, a few hours, I guess. I sorta fell asleep, so I dunno."
Rikku blinked.
"You just came back? Well, that's, um, good timing. So Yuna doesn't know?"
"Nope. I need to get back to her. Is there any way you can take me to her, Rikku?"
Rikku looked away, her eyes distant. Tidus felt a sudden knot form in his stomach. Something was wrong.
"Rikku?" he asked, an edge to his voice.
"Yeah," she said. "Yeah. I can take you to her."
Rikku abruptly stood. She grabbed the first man she saw and barked a command at him, too fast for Tidus to catch it. Then, in the midst of the sudden action her command had provoked, Rikku stood in front of Tidus again and offered him her hand. He allowed her to pull him up, but when she would have walked away, he stopped her with an uncomfortable hand on her shoulder.
"Rikku, what's going on?" Tidus was panicking. The last time Rikku had acted like this, it was because of Tidus' ignorance about the final fate of a summoner. What if there was something wrong with Yuna again?
Rikku refused to meet his eyes. She shrugged Tidus' hand off her shoulder, but caught it in her own before it could drop back to Tidus' side.
"Come with me," she said, tugging on his hand. "You must be hungry." Tidus' stomach chose that second to interrupt, growling loudly. Rikku giggled, and the tension was broken for a moment.
"Yup! You're hungry. I'll get you some food, and then we'll talk about what's going on, okay?"
"Yeah, okay," Tidus sighed, following Rikku down to the galley. When they got there, Rikku let go of Tidus' hand and flung herself on the tall, burly cook who was cleaning up the galley.
"Ahh, Rikku," the man laughed. "What do you need now?"
"You know me too well," Rikku said, planting a kiss on his cheek. "I need lunch. We have an unexpected guest today."
"So I heard." The man glanced curiously at Tidus. "What do you want me to fix him?"
Rikku shrugged. "He's a guy. He'll eat anything. Make him whatever you want."
"Hey!" Tidus exclaimed, insulted. Rikku giggled.
"Wait here," she said. "I'm going to change, and when I come back, we'll talk."
Tidus nodded and plunked noisily into a seat. He jiggled his feet up and down, glancing around the galley in order to distract himself. He had a very bad feeling about this talk. Suddenly, Tidus felt a presence behind him. Whirling around, Tidus came smack up against the cook's huge chest.
"Ahh!" he yelled, leaping backwards. He forgot his was in a chair, however, and tipped the chair backward, spilling himself on the floor. Tidus leapt up quickly, face red. The cook looked at him impassively, then thrust a plate of steaming hot food at Tidus. Tidus took it eagerly.
"Right on! Hey, thanks!" Tidus said, righting his chair. He sat down and began to shovel food into his mouth, barely pausing to chew. Rikku walked in right at that moment. She stopped for a moment, watching Tidus. An amused smile crossed her lips.
"Haven't changed much, huh?" she said. Tidus grinned up at her.
"Uh-uh," he responded cheerily. Then the expression in his eyes abruptly sobered. "So what's up, Rikku?"
"Do you know how long you've been gone?" Rikku asked in a serious tone.
"Not really," Tidus shrugged, bringing another bite of food to his mouth. "Time didn't have much meaning on the Farplane, you know?"
"It's been two years, Tidus."
Tidus choked. "Two years?"
"Yup. A lot has changed since you left. It was really hard on Yuna, you know? She missed you so much, but people kept expecting her to be normal, even happy. We'd defeated Sin, right?
"So Yuna decided that she needed a distraction. Something to concentrate on so she could act happy."
"What'd she decide to do?" Tidus asked curiously.
"Well, Yuna asked Isaaru for help…"
"Isaaru?" Tidus interrupted. "You mean that summoner guy? The one with the brother?"
"Mmhmm."
"What'd she need his help for?" Tidus asked a little jealously.
"If you'd quit interrupting, I'd tell you!" Rikku cried, exasperated.
"Sorry," Tidus mumbled.
"Good. So Yuna asked Isaaru for help…" Rikku paused, but when there was no interruption from Tidus she continued, "And the two of them began to rebuild Yevon."
"Rebuild Yevon? Why'd she wanna do that?"
"Cuz Yuna knows her people. She knew they still needed something to believe in. But she changed Yevon a lot, you know? She and Isaaru worked to get the Al Bhed included and accepted. Yuna purged the ranks of Yevon of anyone who was corrupt. Now Yevon is a form of ancestor/spirit worship, guided by a few important moral precepts."
Tidus looked very confused. Rikku smiled slightly.
"So," Tidus said hesitantly, "Yevon now worships the dead?"
"Not quite… Yevon honors the dead and asks them for guidance in their lives. But they don't worship them as gods."
"Okay… are machina still forbidden, then?"
"No, but weapons of mass destruction are. Yevon's few rules are about treating people right. Don't kill, treat others the way you want to be treated, stuff like that."
"Oh." Tidus digested this. "So Yuna's the head of Yevon now?"
"Nuh-uh. Isaaru is. Yuna didn't want the position."
"So is that all Yuna's been doing lately?"
"Wellllll," Rikku drew the word out. She really didn't want to tell Tidus this next bit.
"Well what, Rikku?"
"Um, she's… she's… kindaengagedtoIsaaru."
Tidus fell out of the chair again. This time, however, he did not get back up. He just sat there, staring blankly at the underside of the table.
"Tidus?" Rikku asked. Tidus didn't answer. "Tidus!" Rikku hurried around the table and knelt in front of Tidus, slowly reaching out and touching his shoulder.
"Does she love him?" Tidus asked, his voice sounding strange to his own ears.
"I don't think so. She didn't before I left. She still loves you. She just… You've been gone for two years, Tidus! I think she thought you weren't ever coming back."
Tidus' eyes slowly refocused. He looked at Rikku, finally seeing her again. She smiled in relief.
"Does, uh, everyone know about Yuna and Isaaru yet?"
"Nope. See, that's the plan. In five days, Yunie and Isaaru are having a party to announce their engagement. I'm invited, and you're coming with me as my date. Then you can find Yunie and convince her to marry you!"
"That's the plan?"
"Yup!"
"Do you think it's going to work?"
"I sure hope so!"
"Okay! Let's do it!"
Rikku opened her mouth to say something, but was interrupted by the wail of a baby. She whirled around. Another young Al Bhed female walked into the galley, cradling a tiny baby.
"She is hungry," the girl said quietly. "She wants you."
Rikku held out her arms and received the crying bundle. Bouncing the baby and cooing to it, she soon calmed it down. Tidus stared at her, puzzled.
"Does someone on the ship have a baby?" Tidus asked.
"Obviously!" Rikku responded. She was turning slightly red, but Tidus didn't notice.
"So, um, why do you take care of it?"
"Her," Rikku corrected, then blushed even harder. "Tidus, meet Izareinna. Iza, meet Tidus. And I take care of her because, uh… she's my daughter."