"Bloom Tender" (Star Ocean: The Last Hope)

Author's Notes: It's been a while since I've written anything for Star Ocean, so here's something new to munch on. No, not a cookie! A story! Go away, Meracle!

There was a single shape that interrupted the steady shine of stars in the eternal darkness of space: an artificial presence, a spacecraft. It was a Morphus exploration vessel, and within it was a single Morphus by the name of Bacchus, who was eagerly awaiting setting foot on his space station home of En II once again. Controlling the systems of his ship with cold, efficient ease, Bacchus' mind had been greatly occupied with thoughts of the past few weeks of his life. Never had he thought that he'd meet such an eye-opening bunch as the crew of the SRF Calnus, but it had happened. Being with them, and saving the universe from the horrific Missing Procedure and Grigori besides, had been some of the best times of his life. And now, he was even entertaining thoughts of returning to a body of warm flesh and bone, after years of his machine body. It both excited and frightened his almost robotic mind. But he would manage.

"Welcome back, Bacchus," the voice of Giotto greeted Bacchus as his ship slipped into a docking bay in En II's mammoth hull. "I didn't think you'd be returning to us so soon. I imagine that your time fighting the Grigori would give you much reason to explore new territory and find conclusive answers to the questions your travels must have raised."

"It is the opposite, in fact, Mr. Giotto," Bacchus responded in his deep voice as his ship settled onto the docking floor with a lurch and hiss of its engines powering down. "I believe there are questions to be answered, but not the same questions I set out with when I left En II for scientific study."

"Indeed? I never thought you'd break away from science, Bacchus," Giotto's voice said with apparent surprise. "Change of heart?"

That last word resonated in Bacchus' ears and mind. Heart? Yes, it was matters of the heart that were driving him, though he hadn't forsaken the pursuit of knowledge either. He strove to prove that one could both learn facts of the universe, and love others. Why not have both? It only made sense, the logic perfect. No, not logic. Bacchus knew it, in his heart. Whether it was made of metal or flesh.

"You could say that," Bacchus said as he disembarked from his ship, using a communication device in his head linked to Giotto's channel. "But I have not forsaken science either. I seek... common ground between that and family. It will be a challenge, and an unfamiliar one, but I have learned to relish such things. I've learned that from Mr. Edge Maverick and the other individuals I spent my most recent few weeks with. Serving on the Calnus has... taught me things I never thought I'd know."

Giotto's disembodied chuckle was an amused one, Bacchus could tell as he entered the Centropolis. "You're a changed man, Bacchus," he commented. "And... it's good to have you back."

"I feel much the same. I no longer with to be alone," Bacchus said with conviction as he wandered about the Centropolis, experimenting to see what acting without an end goal was like. Perhaps seeing te everyday people of his home would set him at ease before he reported to the science division to impart valuable data he had collected while fighting the Grigori on such worlds as Aeos and here on En II. The Morphus science teams would have much use for such data.

Bacchus had wandered onto the grassy fields of the Centropolis, past the various flower patches and bushes to be found there, away from the thronging traffic. His large metal foot planted itself on the soft dirt, not far from where a small girl, perhaps eight years old, was seated.

"Why are you here, young lady? You're too young to be one of the gardeners, I'm sure," Bacchus said as he knelt besides the youngster, studying what she was doing. The girl had rich green hair, not unlike that Faize lad's own verde locks. Right now, she was seated before a mound of dirt, with dirt on her hands as she gripped one of those small shovels used in gardening. A watering can sat nearby, along with an open packet of seeds that must have been purchased from one of the shops around here.

The girl looked up. "You're big, but I can tell you're nice, too, so I'll tell you," the girl said with a smile. "I'm planting a flower, one of my mommy's favorite kinds! No one ever goes here to plant anything new, so I thought I'd be the first. But it's been pretty hard. This is my third flower and it's not working any better than the last two."

Bacchus knew that kids weren't really allowed to mess with the greenery here, but he didn't mind at all. "What procedure have you been using, may I ask?" he inquired. The girl showed him, and Bacchus' suspicions were correct: she was planting the seed too deep, using the wrong kind of fertilizer; she was using the shrub kind, but she needed the generic flower type instead. He demonstrated the correct method of gardening, and before long the girl was satisfied, standing over a new patch of dirt where new life was already taking root.

"With that growth formula, it'll be blooming within a week, right?" the little girl asked triumphantly, fists on her hips as she looked up at Bacchus.

The cyborg nodded. "Without a doubt, it'll bloom within two weeks. You only need to water it daily."

With that, Bacchus set off again, feeling a little accomplished, before he realized that he hadn't even asked the girl's name, or even the species of flower she was growing. Perhaps he could ask later, once his business with the science team was concluded.

*o*o*o*o*

"Thank you very much for all this data, Bacchus," a young man of the science team said with gratitude as Bacchus boarded an elevator back to the Centropolis, from where he would return to his docked ship. "This past week, we've really made some progress on the nature of the Grigori and all the other topics you've given us. The Grigori threat is over, but this is invaluable data you've provided us. I think we're going to need some more time to mull this over, but thanks."

"My thanks are to you all for your enthusiasm," Bacchus told the scientists who had followed him to the elevator. "I must continue my journeys, but you can expect regular returns from me. I have... others I wish to see here, too, before I go." My wife awaits.

"Of course, Bacchus. We'll see you another time," the young scientist bowed, and Bacchus closed the doors of the elevator, returning to the Centropolis' bright light and energetic crowds. He made a beeline for the apartments where his wife awaited him, but something stopped him partway there.

"Wait! Big guy! I've done it!" a voice cheered, and Bacchus stopped to see the young girl from last week running up to him.

"What have you done?" Bacchus asked, even though he knew the answer. The girl led him to the familiar patch of grass, where a single white daffodil was growing, full-sized. Already? Bacchus knelt before the much smaller life-form... no, the flower, in awe of its natural beauty.

"I... kinda cheated and used the super-growth formulas the agricultural corps uses," the girl admitted bashfully, then brightened. "But it worked! This is a daffodil, my mommy's favorite kind of flower."

"I commend your successful effort. It is a most beautiful flower," Bacchus told the girl, standing back to his full height. "What is your name, young lady? My apologies, but I did not ask last time I saw you."

"It's Narima," the girl answered.

"Well, Miss Narima, be sure to give that flower to your mother, all right? I must be going," Bacchus said in farewell, starting to walk away toward his apartment. "It was a pleasure making your acquaintance."

"Wait!" Narima cried, grabbing Bacchus' leg to stop him. He halted, looking down at her. "I can plant another by myself for my mommy, but this was my and your flower, see?" she told him.

"Well, yes, I did help you..." Bacchus added slowly.

"So you take it. It's for you, all right?" Narima said, going back over to it. "I brought a pot for that very reason. Here." She dug up the daffodil and carefully placed it, dirt and all, into an ordinary clay flower pot and offered it to the giant cyborg.

"But..." Bacchus protested.

Narima shook her head, offering the potted daffodil with insistence. "No, it's yours to keep," she said intently on tip-toes. "Mr. Giant --"

"I am Bacchus," he interrupted, not unkindly.

"Mr. Bacchus, I'm sure that even a big metal guy like you has a woman in his life, right?" Narima asked. "Give it to her, then! I bet she'll be impressed. Please?"

Bacchus was astounded. How did this girl know exactly how to strike the chords of his re-awakening living heart? Daffodils were even his wife's favorite kind of flower! There was only one option to take, Bacchus knew. He accepted the potted daffodil, carrying it tenderly in his giant hands. "I thank you for this gift, Miss Narima," he said with sincerity, the prospect of his delighted and beaming wife making him eager to see her again. "I will most certainly offer this as a gift to my wife, who was on my way to visit. She will be delighted."

"And let that be a lesson. No matter what, you always have to care about the gentler, softer side of all things," Narima said in finality. "Too few people realize this."

"Your wisdom humbles me as much as your generosity and capacity for work," Bacchus noted. "I hope to meet many more bright youngsters such as yourself in my travels. Farewell."

"Bye bye!" Narima waved, before dashing off. Bacchus once again set off for his and his wife's apartment, his head once again abuzz with thoughts he had once believed lost.