Disclaimer: The characters used in this fic are the sole property of Square-Enix, Tetsuya Nomura, and anyone else with copyright on the Final Fantasy series and characters. I own nothing, save it be my own plot ideas and original characters.

Day 4: Trouble

A/N: Humor, humor, and more humor. That pretty much sums up this chapter.

Blue eyes peeked through the large window, searching the darkened front room for any sign of Auron before nervous hands unlocked the front door. Tidus leaned quietly against the door frame, pulling off his boots before entering the house. He turned and eased the door shut so as to not awaken his guardian. From the looks of things, Auron had long-since retired to bed. The teen mutely crept across the room towards the kitchen. He glanced at the clock on the wall as he placed a hand on the handle of the refrigerator door: 2:00 AM.

A smug grin crossed his face. There was no way Auron would still be awake, which saved Tidus from having to talk about how the party had gone down. Namely the little episode with the rabid girl who had assaulted him. Personally, he'd rather torture his guardian later on with talk of how wonderful his life was now that he had managed to score a date with Kahra. But then again, perhaps not. Talk like that usually led to a lecture about not doing "anything too reckless."

He'd keep the previous night's events to himself, instead.

The teen's gloved hand yanked the refrigerator door open, causing the various glass bottles of sauces and condiments to rattle against each other. Tidus clamped his eyes shut, fearing that Auron would abruptly appear behind him with a disapproving look in his eye. The giddy teen turned around and breathed a sigh of relief. He was still alone. He reached into the refrigerator, yanking out a container that held the remains of the pizza he and his friends had ordered three nights earlier.

With the container and a can of soda firmly in hand, Tidus turned, kicking the refrigerator door shut out of habit. The door slam, med and Tidus flinched, mutely cursing himself for being so careless. Aside from the sound of the teen's own fearful breathing, not a sound could be heard in the house. Placing the pizza container on the counter, Tidus popped open the soda can as he smiled to himself, failing to notice the wave of carbonated liquid that fell to the floor. Not noticing the sticky feeling that now covered his hand, Tidus smirked to himself and headed for his room where he would enjoy his late-night snack before lulling himself to sleep with thoughts of his conversation with Kahra.

The teen waltzed happily into his room, dropping his boots into the closet before tossing the pizza container on the bed. He popped open the soda can and took a swig, relishing in the feeling of the bubbly liquid running down his throat. Deciding it would be more comfortable to enjoy his meal in his boxer, Tidus quickly undressed, throwing his clothes to the floor. He glanced over his shoulder as he nudged his shirt with a toe. Was Auron really asleep?

Soda can still in hand, Tidus walked out of his room and down the hall towards the small flight of stairs that led down to the room that Auron had decided to occupy upon his arrival ten years earlier. The teen had always found comfort in the fact that his guardian had left his mother's room untouched. The knowledge that a part of his beloved mother was still present in the house gave Tidus a constant sense of peace.

As his foot hit the first step down, he stopped, turning back to peek into his mother's room. His hand touched the doorknob, almost as if it were something sacred. But in the teenager's mindset, his mother's room was sacred. It had been where she had taken her last breath of life, where she had murmured his bastard father's name before she begged Auron to take care of her son. The thought brought tears to the teen's eyes, and he turned away, deciding that he'd rather not disturb the peace within his mother's room.

He headed down the small flight of stairs and crept towards the door of his guardian's room. He grasped the doorknob quietly, turning it slowly as he pushed the door open a crack wide enough to see through. Tidus poked his head into the room, his eyes falling upon the sleeping form of his guardian. He glanced at the bedside table and spotted the dark glasses that Auron always wore. Tidus smirked to himself. For several years, he'd wondered if the glasses had stayed plastered to his guardian's face all the time. Apparently not.

A devious thought crossed the teenager's mind as he stared at the glasses. Just what would happen if Auron were to awaken to discover that the glasses had suddenly vanished. Deciding to try out his little experiment, Tidus stole into the room and approached the table. He laughed inwardly as his hand closed around the glasses. Something told him that this was a bad idea, but his desire to test the waters of Auron's patience won through.

Tidus closed the door quietly and retreated back up the stairs to his own room. He closed his bedroom door behind him, stashing Auron's glasses in his nightstand drawer before grabbing the remote to turn on the sphere, being sure to keep the volume low. The teen opened the pizza container and began to eat as his eyes were glued to the local sports station. He would have to eat quickly, he decided as he tore another piece off of the pizza. Blitzball practice against the Orettes would be starting in another six hours or so, and he would need all his strength to take them down.

0 - + - 0 - + - 0

The loud ringing of the alarm clock penetrated the dream world in which Tidus had been immersed. The teen rolled over, smacking the snooze button with a fist as he sat up and yawned. He rolled out of bed and trudged to the door, not bothering to look at the clock. Sleep still evident in his eyes, Tidus wandered out into the front room where Auron sat on the couch, glowering at the teen with that eagle-like gaze of his.

With a loud yawn, Tidus glanced sleepily at his guardian. Something was different about the man today. But what? Slowly, Tidus realized that his guardian wasn't wearing his trademark red coat or the collar that usually obscured his face. But something was still off. Tidus shrugged and headed straight for the refrigerator, deciding that a little food in his gut would get his mind working properly. The sleepy blond began rummaging through the contents of the refrigerator, tossing a bag of bagels and a carton of orange juice onto the counter.

He turned and grabbed a glass out of the cupboard, setting it on the counter beside the juice. Feeling like he was being watched, Tidus glanced up, noting that Auron was still glowering at him. The teen frowned slightly, trying to figure out what his guardian's issue was. He shrugged yet again as he tore into the bagels, taking a large bite out of one before shoving the rest of them back into the cold confines of the refrigerator.

Forgetting completely about his juice, Tidus trudged around the kitchen bar and into the front room where he plopped down on the couch on the opposite side of the room from Auron. Tidus chewed his bagel absentmindedly, little crumbs falling onto his chest every so often. Slowly, his eyelids began to drop again, as his mind went blank. A low growl and the sound of heavy footsteps yanked the teen back to alertness. His eyes popped open when Auron's hands grabbed him by the shoulders, lifting him right off the couch with ease.

"What the hell?" Tidus said, trying to wriggle out of his guardian's grasp. "What's your deal, Auron?"

Without so much as a word, Auron dragged the teen into the bedroom before sending him to the floor. Tidus stared up at the older man in shock. What the hell was his problem? But as Tidus studied the bitter look on his guardian's face, everything came flooding back. He'd snuck into Auron's room at 2:00 AM and swiped the man's glasses. Tidus's eyes widened with fear as he looked up at his guardian. Auron had his arms folded over his chest as usual, but the look in his eye was anything but friendly.

Deciding that it would be in his best interest to return the glasses, Tidus scooted over to his nightstand and opened the top drawer, keeping his eyes on Auron the entire time. His hand rummaged through the contents of the drawer, finally coming to rest on the cold metal frames of the glasses. Quickly, Tidus pulled them out, tossing them to his guardian and praying that he wouldn't end up like the fiends that Auron hunted throughout the city.

"Next time you do this," Auron said as he put the glasses in their rightful place, "I won't be so nice about it."

Tidus opened his mouth to retort, but Auron had already left the room. The teen got to his feet, determined to give his guardian a piece of his mind. He stormed out of his room to find Auron brewing up that foul concoction of alcohol and coffee. The bitter scent made Tidus grimace, and he covered his nose with a hand to spare himself from the torture. As he approached his guardian, he realized that Auron was humming that familiar tune that Tidus had, unfortunately, picked up from his old man.

The teen rolled his eyes, wondering if Auron had picked it up from Jecht as well. But that was irrelevant at the moment. Tidus had a bone to pick with Auron, and he wouldn't be distracted. He tapped his guardian on the shoulder, holding his breath as the alcohol/coffee scent smacked him in the face again.

"What?" Auron said without turning.

Tidus let out an exasperated sigh. He hated it when Auron didn't look at him while he was talking. It was just annoying. Realizing that Auron wasn't going to cooperate, Tidus waltzed down the hallway, down the small flight of stairs, and right into Auron's room. The teen looked around, trying to find something to hold hostage until his guardian cooperated willingly. His eyes darted to the massive blade that sat propped up against the wall. But that wouldn't do. The sword probably weighed about as much as Tidus did, if not more.

His eyes wandered, landing squarely on the large ceramic sake jug that Auron carried around on his belt. A devious grin crossed Tidus's face as he grabbed it, tucking the thing under his arm. He darted out of the room and back to the kitchen where he stood smugly behind his guardian. The blond raised the jug and shook it, listening to the swishing of the liquid inside. Auron immediately dropped what he was doing and spun around, clearly surprised to see Tidus with yet something else of his.

The older man sighed and stared at the teen. "What are you doing?" he said, raising an eyebrow at Tidus as if he were eight again.

"What's it look like?" Tidus shot back as he backed towards the front door.

Auron took a step forward, his boot hitting something sticky. He glanced to the floor, taking note of the now dried puddle of soda. The man glanced over his glasses at Tidus as he pointed to the floor. "Clean it up," he said flatly. "Now."

Tidus sighed, bitterly acknowledging that he'd screwed up. He rolled his eyes, tossing the ceramic jug to Auron, who caught it easily. The teen wandered into the laundry room and returned with a rag that he soaked in the kitchen sink before getting to work on the sticky, yet practically invisible, puddle of soda pop.

"And just so we're clear," Auron said, taking a seat on the couch, "you're not leaving this house until you're finished there. So don't even think about skipping out."

The blond sighed as he mopped up the mess, stopping only to mutter a single word under his breath: "Bastard."

0 - + - 0 - + - 0

"Yo, T! What the hell took you so long?" Teyron shouted from the opposite side of the locker room as he yanked on his team uniform. "Coach thought you'd ditched us."

Tidus sauntered in, dropping his duffel bag onto one of the benches as his teammates surrounded him and slapped him on the back. He smiled, glad that he had been able to make it to the practice game after all. Fortunately, he'd been smarter than Auron had expected. The teen had taken a few minutes to wipe up the mess before crawling into his room to get dressed and grab his things. Only then did he sneak out the back door and run down the docks towards the practice stadium.

Several loud voices echoed throughout the locker room, making their way out into the sidelines of the sphere pool where their coach, Jaris, stood. At the mention of the star player's name, Coach Jaris rushed into the locker room with wide eyes, earning the amused laughs of several of the players.

"Oh, God!" the man shouted, grabbing Tidus in a bone-crushing, one-armed hug. "I thought you'd skipped out on us, boy! What took you so long, eh?"

Tidus' face turned pale as his teammates gathered around to listen in. He sighed and opened his mouth. "Er... Auron wouldn't let me leave until I cleaned up the kitchen," he said sourly, avoiding the gazes of his teammates. Teyron and Arlan in particular.

Arlan's face lit up at Tidus' words. "Ohhhh!" he laughed, nudging the team's goalie playfully in the ribs. "Tiddy's guardian made him do chores!"

The group of boys roared with laughter as Tidus' spirits began to sink. Goddammit, he mused, making a mental note to beat Arlan later. You're gonna get it later pal.

"All right, that's enough!" Coach Jaris shouted, giving Arlan a punch in the shoulder. "Next time you feel like complaining about your folks, you can expect to be the hind-end of the joke," the man said sternly, giving Arlan his eagle-eyed glare. "Now, shut up and get dressed! If you lot aren't out there in the next minute, you're gonna run laps! Now, get moving!"

The laughter immediately died down as the boys darted out into the sphere pool to await further instruction. The three girls on the team, including Szera, were leaning against the wall outside the girl's locker room when the yammering group of boys ran out in a hurry, running into each other as they tried to avoid falling into the sphere pool before Coach Jaris gave them the cue. The girls laughed, pointing at the boys and whispering to each other.

Szera stepped forward as Arlan stared into the sphere pool as the Orettes went through their drill. A devious grin crossed her face, and she turned to Tidus, her red ponytail swinging to the side. The blond nodded, deciding that watching Arlan fall into the sphere pool would be a bonus to the payback that he had planned for his friend. With a mighty shove from Szera, Arlan tumbled head-first into the sphere pool, earning his own mass of laughter from his teammates.

"What the hell are you doing?" Coach Jaris shouted, catching Szera red-handed. "What're you trying to say? That you want to run laps? Is that it?"

The redhead stifled a laugh as she tried to keep a straight face. "Sorry, Coach," she said, feigning sorrow. "It won't happen again."

Coach Jaris eyed her for a moment before turning to yank Arlan out of the pool. "Listen up!" he shouted. "If we lose here, the Duggles are out of our reach. I want the lot of you to get in there and play like this is the Jecht Cup! Understand? Now, move!"

A fit of giggles from behind him caught the star player's attention. "What the hell?" he muttered as Teyron and the other boys laughed.

Unable to respond without choking, Teyron pointed through the sphere pool towards the bleachers that sat opposite the locker room. Tidus followed his friend's finger, his eyes widening with shock and embarrassment.

Oh, shit, he thought as his blue eyes came to rest upon the subject of interest. He sighed and hung his head. Auron had unexpectedly shown up. The only thing that made the situation even slightly humorous, was the fact that the man was surrounded by a group of young children who were clearly interested in him and the large blade that sat beside him.

"Didn't you boys hear me?" Coach Jaris bellowed. "Move it!"

The team abruptly leaped into the pool, swimming about and high-fiving one another as the Orettes ended their drill. Tidus swam around, taking his position at the front of the team. The whistle blew, and the blitzball shot up from the middle of the sphere pool. Tidus and the Orettes forward player shot up, grappling for the ball. Tidus managed to get a hand on it, only to earn a kick in the groin from his opponent. The whistle blew again as Tidus doubled over in the pool.

"Foul!" one of the coaches shouted from the box.

Tidus' vision began to fade as he felt himself being dragged out of the sphere pool. His blue eyes crossed and uncrossed as his fuzzy mind fought with the dizziness that had overcome him. As the ceiling of the practice arena came into focus, a sharp pain made itself known in his lower stomach. The teen grimaced as he felt himself being set down on the cold metal bleachers. So far, his day was shaping out to be horrid.

He closed his eyes, trying to think of a way to numb the stabbing pain. When his eyes opened again, he gasped as Auron stared down at him. "Oh, God," Tidus muttered.

"That's pleasant," Auron replied, a slight hint of sarcasm in his voice.

Tidus grunted when he felt something hot and bitter course down his throat. He sat up and sputtered, "What the hell is that?"

Auron shoved him down with a grimace. "For the pain," he said, avoiding the question. "Just shut up and drink it."

Reluctantly, Tidus obeyed, and eventually felt the pain numb to a dull ache. His eyes crossed again and he felt himself sink into a deep sleep.

0 - + - 0 - + - 0

When Tidus opened his eyes again, he was lying on the couch at home, staring up at the ceiling. With a start, the teen shot upright and glanced around the house. Auron was nowhere in sight. His heart racing, Tidus began to explore the house, intent on finding out how the game had ended and how he had ended up at home.

"What are you doing?" Auron said from behind as Tidus entered the laundry room. "You're supposed to be resting."

Tidus scowled and turned, glowering at his guardian. "What the hell happened? What did you give me? How did the game end? Tell me, dammit!" Tidus shouted, grabbing his guardian by the coat.

The older man pushed Tidus away with ease before grabbing the boy's wrist and leading him back to the couch. "Down," he said simply, giving Tidus a shove. "And stay there."

"Make me!" Tidus shot back with defiance. "I'm not doing anything until you tell me what happened!"

Auron sighed and leaned against the wall. "You passed out," he said, starting with the teen's first question. "As for what I gave you..." Auron unhooked the ceramic jug that hung from his belt and tossed it to Tidus. "Sake. And, as expected, your team won. Naturally," he added.

Tidus sighed and fell back onto the couch, a sigh of relief escaping his lips. So the Abes had obliterated the Orettes after all. And that meant that they'd be going to the finals to play the Duggles from C-South in another three days.

"Three days..." Tidus said. "And then the Summer season ends..."

Auron scoffed, earning a glare from the displeased blond. "That's irrelevant," he said, staring blankly at the images on the sphere. "In three days, everything you know won't matter anymore."

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