Disclaimer: I do not own Kingdom Hearts. Well, I do own the game, just not the idea or any of its characters nor did I create it. They belong to Squaresoft and Disney.
Title: Gone Too Far
Beginning Notes: Mostly a Tidus story about him trying to escape an arranged marriage. I don't know where that idea came from, I just thought of it one day and needed to get it out of my head. I know what you're thinking. "If it's about Tidus why not make this a FFX fic rather than a KH fic? Well it started out as a FFX fic, but then I realized this would probably work better in the Kingdom Hearts universe. Besides, Sora and Riku play a major part in this anyway. Not to mention in KH, Tidus is...kinda adorable. ^_^;
I hope I don't make the characters act to OOC. I've been informed I have a problem with that. -_- I'll try my best.
For the most part this story is comical, but might have some angst here and there. Anyway, enough of my rambling. On with the story.
WARNING: I will attempt to write Wakka's accent. ^_~
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"CATCH ME IF YOU CAN!!!" Brown hair whipped across Sora's face as he turned around and looked back at his friend. Sora and Riku had engaged in another one of their races and Sora was leaving Riku well behind in the dust. A look of determination spread across Riku's features.
"I'm just going easy on you, Sora. But if you want to make this serious..."
He quickly sped up and was soon close to Sora.
"No you don't!" Sora taunted. Riku used to beat him all the time in these rivalry matches with Sora's victories being few and far in-between. But lately, Sora's strength and endurance had increased exponentially. Riku had increased in strength and endurance, but apparently not to Sora's caliber. He didn't like it. But he had to admit, it was nice having a challenge somewhere in Destiny Islands once again.
"Alright, Riku, prepare to literally eat my dust!" Sora stopped, pivoted, and kicked a wave of sand in Riku's face. Riku stopped and gagged as he spit out the sand from his mouth.
"Now that's just playing dirty." He growled. Sora laughed playfully as he continued running and looked back to see his handywork. Riku smiled, glad that despite all that's happened, nothing had changed between the two.
After looking back at Riku for a while, Sora turned his head forward. Tidus was practicing kendo directly in his path. Uh-oh, Sora thought, at the speed he was going, a collision with Tidus seemed imminent.
"Tidus! Watch out!" he called, flailing his arms.
"Huh?"
Tidus turned around and saw Sora getting closer and closer. Before he could react, Sora crashed into him, toppling them both over and plunging them deep into the sand.
Tidus squirmed under Sora's body. Riku ran up to them and chuckled.
"You guys all right?" he asked after a few bouts of laughter. Sora pouted and looked at him.
"It wasn't funny." he muttered. He got up and dusted himself off. Riku extended his hand and helped Tidus up. Tidus rubbed sand out of eyes, which caused his eyes to water.
"Sorry about that." Sora apologized. "Riku and I were having a race and I..."
Tidus brushed it off. "Don't worry about it. It happens." He assured them by flashing a smile.
"Hey, what's happenin', ya?" said a voice. They all turned around to see their friend Wakka, resident Blitzball player and Tidus' best friend.
"Hi, Wakka!" Tidus greeted cheerfully. "I was gonna look for you. Wanna play Blitzball? You and me against Sora and Riku."
Wakka shook his head. "Sorry, man. I was jus' ova at your house an' your fatha' was there. He asked me to get you immediately. Could be in trouble, ya."
Tidus' cheerful expression devolved into a scowl. Riku and Sora exchanged pitiful glances. Everyone knew the type of relationship Tidus had with his father.
Tidus sighed. "Fine. I'll go see what he wants." He strolled by Wakka, and turned to look at his friends, "I guess I'll see you guys later." Then continued on his way.
Tidus walked into his house and saw his father sitting in the den. Tidus walked up to him, put his hands behind his head and tapped his foot.
"What do you want, old man?" Tidus asked, making it no secret that he could care less.
Tidus' father looked into his eyes.
"You're eyes are red. Have you been cryin' again?" he said in his gruff voice.
"No." Tidus said defensively, "I just got sand in my eyes."
"You always use that excuse." His father laughed and stood up. "I bet that Riku kid beat you in a fight again. Face it, you'll never be as strong as him."
"I will to." Tidus countered.
"You keep saying that, yet you never do anything to prove me wrong. Therefore, I must be right." Tidus' father smirked. Tidus scowled.
"If you only called me to make fun of me, then I'll just go back to my friends, Jecht." He said.
"Oh I have a reason for bringing you here." Jecht walked up to an ancestral painting of a figure from long past. From ancient times.
"You know what's wrong with people today?" he asked rhetorically. Tidus rolled his eyes.
"Nobody's willing to uphold traditions. They're all to busy embracing this 'new millenium.'" He looked at Tidus. "Nobody takes pride in their nationality or culture. They're like, 'yeah, I'm a member of that group. So what?' They don't seem to give a damn about the values and morals upheld by their elders."
"Where are you going with this?" Tidus asked, bored already.
"I'm giving you an opportunity to revitalize an old tradition on Destiny Islands that has long since died out."
"Oh really?" Tidus asked sarcastically. Jecht sneered.
"Yeah. Really." He walked back up to Tidus and put his hand on his shoulders. Tidus looked at it and wondered what he was up to.
"A good buddy of mine...a _rich_ buddy of mine...likes you."
"Um...that's...good?" Tidus raised an eyebrow.
"Yup, told him all about my only son. Says you seem to be a real good guy, even though you cry a lot, act like a kid even though you're *supposed* to be fourteen, and aren't really good at anything."
"Shut up, old man." Tidus clenched his teeth. Jecht always seemed to make sure everyone knew the worst about him.
"Not to mention respect issues with his own father." Jecht gave him a not-so-light shove, sending him into a couch. "But despite all that crap, he still took a likin' to ya. So he made a proposal, no pun intended." A real smile of satisfaction spread across Jecht's features. Tidus wondered what he meant by "proposal" and "no pun intended."
Jecht cleared his throat. "He asked me if he would like have an arranged marriage between you and his daughter. I said yes."
"WHAT?!" Tidus screamed. Jecht laughed.
"Think of all the money we'll get out of this, boy. It's the chance of a lifetime! Besides, he's a real traditionalist. It was bound to come up."
"This is not legal!" Tidus cried.
"It isn't illegal, either." Jecht countered. "I don't see what your screamin' about. She's a real cutie. Saw her picture."
"But aren't these supposed to be decided before birth?" Tidus rationalized.
"Oh it can be done after birth. Provided the person ain't eighteen."
Tidus growled. "But you can't do this without asking me! Didn't you care what'd I think?!"
"Yeah, I thought about that. Then I remembered, I don't give a damn what you think!" Jecht roared into laughter.
"Well I don't want to marry the daughter of one of your drinking buddies." Tidus said defiantly.
"Oh you will. And this friend of mind doesn't drink. Just to let you know. Plus, you're mother and I are counting on it."
"Even Mom is in on this?" Tidus may not of thought much of his dad. But he loved his mom. He thought at least she would stand up for him.
"Well she will be once I tell her." Tidus sighed.
"I'm not doing it." Tidus said.
"Yes you will." Jecht said, just as sternly. "What do you have going for you? A great fighter? That Riku kid will cut you in spades. A great Blitzball player? You'll never reach the caliber of your friend Wakka. You'll never be as smart as those girls Kairi and Selphie. And you'll never be a big hero like Sora. So what do you have going for you, huh?"
Tidus kept quiet. Jecht's words were like daggers piercing his skin. Jecht shook his head.
"Thought so. So you will make your daddy proud at least once in his life. Take this marriage and make your family happy. Now go back outside. I've seen enough of your face for one day." Jecht turned around and walked out of the room. Tears were slowly making their way to Tidus's eyes as pure anger spread across his features.
"Damn you, Jecht." He cursed under his breath and ran out of the house.
"And don't you dare cry. Try and be a man for once!"
Tidus sat by the small waterfall next to the Secret Cave, kicking water lightly with his feet. Tears slid down Tidus' face. He hated that. He hated being known as a crybaby, but it was pretty much all he could do at this point.
"Why does Jecht always do this too me? Why?" he asked himself. "What did I do to ever deserve him as a father? Damn him. He just...goes too far." He watched as his tears fell into the water. He heard someone cough. His head snapped back to find Riku standing behind him. Riku smiled uneasily and raised his hand.
"Uh, hey there, um, Tidus." He greeted.
Tidus sniffed and looked away, narrowing his brows. "How long have you been standing there?" He demanded.
Riku sat down next to him. "Long enough." The next few moments were filled with silence with Tidus not looking at Riku. He didn't want him seeing him like this. Riku finally decided to break the ice.
"If you're wondering why I'm here, it's because I'm supposed to meet Sora here. So if there's anything you want to talk about, you might want to say it now before he shows up. Lord knows what a big mouth he has." Riku chuckled. Unfortunately, Tidus wasn't in the mood for jokes.
"Or maybe I could just not talk at all."
"Tidus." Riku said softly, "I heard you talking about your dad. Tell me, what's wrong?"
"He's wrong. Everything about him is wrong. I hate him." Tidus said icily.
"Yeah, we've been down that path before. But what's he done this time?" Riku asked thoughtfully.
"You'll never believe this, but here goes..."
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I shall end it here! Anyway, I'm sorry this fic turned out more angsty that humourous, like I intended. So I guess I'll try that for chapter 2. For those who have played Final Fantasy X, you will notice I am keeping the relationship between Tidus and Jecht (though I may have exaggerated Jecht a bit). For those who haven't played, I suggest you search FFX websites to find a picture of him if you desperately need a mental picture. No description of mine can do him justice. And it's time I admit, that I really have no idea how arranged marriages work. So I just went with what (little) I knew and rolled with it. Hope no one minds, especially peoples who have arranged marriages as part of their culture. Anyway, review, flame, or whatever. I don't really don't mind. Later.