Chapter Seven

A Few Days Later

Nobody spoke.  The two once powerful warriors stood there staring at each other, faces locked in determination.  If any passerby or other ship passenger saw the scene, many would think that a brawl was about to begin.  One looked at the other, and the other looked back.  One had a look on its face of intimidation, but that was nothing new to the blue Ronso.  The other had a strange look of recognition, which surprised everyone, including himself.

Finally Tidus spoke:  "Kimahri."

The tall, brute warrior descended down the ramp of the SS Liki onto the pier.  "Kimahri glad to see you again."  Kimahri then balled his fist up, and tapped Tidus on the shoulder.  "Good to know you still live."

"Thanks Kimahri."

At this point, Lulu intervened.  Her face was more pale than usual, and her brow was coated in sweat.  Wakka had told her that she shouldn't have came to the docks, that Kimahri would stop by their hut when he arrived.  He almost insisted that she go back when she repeatedly had to rest on the trail to the beach.  However even that couldn't sway Lulu from trudging out to see her old friend from Gagazet. 

"Did you recognize him?" she asked Tidus.

"No, I knew him from the story," Tidus answered.  "The big and powerful blue fighter," he quoted.  "He just looked like that type."

"Oh," she said obviously disheartened.

It's been a rough few days for Tidus.  He has been trying to remember things that were once his past.  At some times, he almost seemed as if he could snag an elusive memory, but soon the moment passes and he comes up empty handed.  Another thing that has been bothering him recently is expectations.  His first thought after hearing the Legend of the Eternal Calm was: Oh wow, I'm a hero. 

It's kind of hard to live up to that, especially when you don't even know how to start.  Usually he has been trying to be himself, to act on his own feelings and do what feels natural.  But often he feels as if those actions fall short.  Now Tidus is at the point that if he passes the statue of himself, he is convinced that isn't him, just merely someone who resembles him. 

And then there's Yuna.  He knew that at some point his old self felt attraction, and maybe even love towards the ex-summoner.  But he is having a hard time feeling that now.  Whenever they go out, the appear just like they are now: Yuna is holding onto his hand.  Part of him enjoys it, but still part of him doesn't really know how to feel about it, or her for that matter.  Whenever Tidus looks into those blue and green eyes, something inside of him is pulled towards her as if a magnet started pulling a piece of metal.  That feeling tells him that once, at some point, he had to have loved her.  She still loves him, but he doesn't know if he should love her.  After all, he thought, I don't really know a thing about her.

Still though, he has no major complaints about the life that is set before him.  He has a pretty girl who loves him, friends who are more like family, he is adored by women, respected by most men, and his home, Besaid, is the best small-town (or village) life he could ever want.  But something deep down inside still tells him that he shouldn't get too complacent. 

And here on a dock with Kimahri, a new best friend who came all the way down from come place called Gagazet to see him, made things all the better.

Suddenly a group of people rushed by him and his old friend to form a cheering crowd.  As he looked past Kimahri's shoulders he heard Yuna gasp.

"Woah," Tidus heard Wakka say in his distinct island accent.  "It's Luzzu."  As Tidus stepped to the side he could see a group of eight people walking down the boat ramp.  The man in the middle was tall, dressed in a black robe, and had a strong presence about him.  He also had his eyes fixated on Tidus, but Tidus did not waver. 

"Ah, Sir Tidus," the figure started.  "I cannot explain how great it is to see you alive again.  Surely the world turns in your favor right?"

Tidus waited a few seconds before responding, with his eyes still in a deadlock with Luzzu's.

"I'm afraid I don't know you," he finally said.  "Tidus," he said as he extended his hand to introduce himself.  This was a reaction that Luzzu or the crowd obviously didn't expect. 

"Tidus," Yuna said with a hint of surprise in her voice.  "This is Luzzu, remember?"

"No I don't," was his harsh response.  "But it's nice to meet you."

"It's nice to meet you as well," Luzzu said taking his hand and shaking.  His palm is warm and sweaty, Tidus thought to himself.  Is this a way that the Grand Marshall is supposed to be when he is introduced?   He must be a poor politician.

"What brings you back to Besaid," Yuna said, obviously trying to ease the tension.

"I had to see Tidus with my own eyes." Luzzu said.  "I still couldn't believe that he was alive, after all everyone has been through.  But it seems as if all of the rumors are true.  Also I…"

"Ahh!!" Lulu screamed as her knees buckled, and then slowly sank to the sandy dock. 

"Lu, wha's wrong?" Wakka asked immediately coming up to her side.

"I think," she said in between gasps.  "I think its time Wakka."

"What you mean?" he said a moment before a light went off in Wakka's head.  "Oh the baby??"

"What else do you think I mean?" Lulu answered, practically sitting on the sandy dock.   "Yes.  You're about to become a dad."

"Quick," Luzzu said turning to one of his aides.  "Mangus, you're a doctor.  Help her if you can."

The stern, balding man, who looked more like a mercenary than a doctor stepped forward to examine Lulu.  There was something intimidating about this man, Tidus thought.  Something deep inside of his soul already didn't trust him. "Her water broke," Mangus finally said in a gruff voice.  "We have to get her laying down."

"We'll let's get her to the village," Wakka said leaning down to attend to his wife, nervousness ringing in his voice.   He was a little shaky and seemed to be going a million miles a second. Everyone motioned around Lulu, who just started the first part of a very long labor.  Everyone except Tidus, who remained in the back, still looking at Luzzu from a short distance.  He didn't know why, but a thought hung around in the back of his mind he couldn't avoid and he had to come back to.  I don't trust him.  It was ludicrous he knew, because he had only met the guy.  But there still was that voice in his head, which really didn't sound much like his voice.  It sounded older, more mature, and raspier.  It sounded like his….father? he thought.  But I don't remember my father.  But still, it was a thought he couldn't shake.

Thirty-three hours later

There were screams that flowed from the next room.  Tidus tried to not think about them, instead he looked around the room to take his mind off what was going on.  The waiting area was pretty small, even for a village this size.  He saw Yuna in the chair next to him, with her head placed on his shoulder sleeping soundly.  He saw Wakka laying down in the floor, lack of sleep and nervousness finally forcing him to succumb to sleep about an hour ago.  He was completely oblivious to the screams.  The more Tidus tried to not think about them, the more he couldn't help it.  The screams came from Lulu.

She had been in labor for thirty-three hours now.  It took the doctor from Kilika thirteen of those hours to get here, and for the past twenty hours he and that Mangus guy has been coaching her through a tough labor.  At one point, he decided to go ahead with a C-section birth.  He quickly shied away from that when he got a blast of Thundaga when his surgical knife touched her skin.  Although Lulu repeatedly apologized, claiming that it was just innate reflexes that came out, the doctor still opted for natural childbirth.

And now, many hours later, he was starting to regret that decision.  And when things seemed their bleakest, the contractions started varying signaling that something different was about to happen.

But Tidus was still hearing the screaming.  However this time it seemed different.  It seemed as if there were two screams:  Lulu's, and another higher pitched screaming.  Or more like crying, he thought.  He immediately kicked Wakka's shoulder lightly with his foot.

"Wakka," he said.  The coach didn't move or even show any signs of being awake.

"Wakka!" he said louder this time while tapping his head with his foot.  Yuna stirred, raising up from his shoulder.

"Hmmm?" Wakka said as he raised his head up off of the floor.  "Ya?"

"It's happening man, get in there."

For a few seconds Wakka's expression didn't change.  But then his eyes lit up and he jumped up as quickly as he could.  "Wha?  Now?"

"Yeah," Tidus replied.  "Get in there."

Wakka scurried into the room as fast as he could, waking Yuna up in the process.

"What's going on?" she asked still dreary and disoriented from waking up.

"I think Lulu and Wakka are now parents," he responded.

As Wakka walked in to the delivery room he saw Lulu, with the lower half or her body spotted in blood.  He saw a nurse trying to clean the place up.  He saw the doctor asking Lulu some questions.  And he saw his wife, glaring at him as he walked in.  She had a bundle in her arms.

Chappu came into the world at a healthy twelve pounds and 17 ounces at 6:30 in the morning.

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Author's notes:

1—As I was trying to brainstorm for names for Wakka and Lulu's child, it only seemed natural that they would name their child after Chappu.

2—All names, characters, places, and events referred to are copyrighted by Squaresoft.

3—Sorry about the lack of updates, that whole holiday stuff really threw my free time into a loop.  But I'll keep the chapters churning out.

4—Told you Kimahri was in here.

6—Thanks again for the support people.