A/N: Hey all! Sorry that last chapter was so short. It looked a lot longer on Word, lemme tell ya. But at least it got posted, and it had a very important part of the plot in it. But why am I rambling like this? No one complained… Anyway! I guess I'll be moving on then, hehe.

A/N 2: Oh! One more thing, and this is pretty important. This chapter will delve into the more psychotic side of Tidus. I know Rikku's been talking to him and nothing about the murders has been said, but in this chapter, I promise a very deep, horrible discussion between them, for all you horror/gore lovers such as myself. ; ) Let me know what you think of how I put the mind of a killer on paper, er… screen, lol.

~*Responses to Reviewers*~

Baby Rose - I really don't know why the Author Alerts weren't working. Like I said, my Review Alert wasn't working up until 2 or 3 days ago either. Oh well, everything seems to be okay now. = D

Neko Kuroban - I don't wanna give too much away, but to clear it up for you, it was Jecht who was withdrawing the money. And I'll also tell you you're on the right track, hehe.

The Jack of Spades - I actually forgot about the other characters up until now. Yeah, I'll squeeze an Auron appearance in here somewhere. And don't worry, no Lulu/Wakka romance. You probably won't be seeing much more of either of them, anyway. Auron I'll try to make a little more of a static character, although I can't promise anything for the sake of the plot.

Cryptic Dragon - I'm sure psycho Tidus would love you too. ; )

Saturday, August 11th, 2003

8:14 pm

Luca Apartment Complex; apartment 3A

Rikku sat on her pleather couch in the living room area of her apartment, looking over the printout of Jehct's background information for the hundredth time since she'd gotten her own copy and brought it home. She was rattling her brain to no end to try and figure out the reasoning behind the withdrawals. There was nothing.

She sighed and folded up the papers, following the same crease lines she'd folded along many times before, and proceeded to place them in the desk drawer on the opposite side of the room.

As she slid the oak drawer shut, a knock came from her door.

She glanced at the clock. It was nearing 8:30. Who could possibly be paying her a visit now? Mitch… She shook her head as she headed for the door. Figures he'd be the one bothering her at such an hour.

"You know what, Mitch," she began as she grasped the door handle, "one of these days I'm just going to - " She stopped mid-sentence as she pulled the door open. Standing before her was not Mitch. In fact, it wasn't anybody she'd ever seen before. Her body grew tense. The tall, well-built man looked slightly dangerous.

"Who are you?" she asked, her voice squeaking.

The man adjusted his sunglasses with a bear claw sized hand. "I am Auron."

Rikku raised a thin eyebrow. Talk about cryptic… "Okay… That does me no good."

Auron sighed, sounding slightly agitated. "I'm a friend of Greg's. I assume you know him." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

Rikku's brow furrowed deeper. "I do." She paused and stepped aside. "Want to come in?"

He merely grunted as he stepped inside her apartment and sat down. Rikku followed and sat across from him. "So what do you want?"

Auron reached into his red coat pocket and pulled out three pieces of paper Rikku recognized immediately. It was another copy of Jecht's background information. It was flying around like a chain letter. "I'm here to talk to you about this."

Rikku shrugged. "I don't know anymore than you do, Auron."

Auron took off his sunglasses finally, and gave her a look of disbelief. "Tidus hasn't said anything about money?"

Rikku shook her head, anger washing over her features. "No, and why would he? He wasn't the one who took it!"

Auron remained passive, keeping his voice cool and calm. "How do you know that?" Rikku was silent. "He could've easily used his father's information and account to draw the money himself, could he not?"

"I don't think he'd do that," Rikku said quietly, after some hesitation.

"Oh?" Auron asked, leaning forward a little. "And how do you know that?"

Rikku rummaged around inside her brain, but thought of nothing. "I… I don't. I just… It's how I feel."

Auron stood, getting ready to leave. Obviously, his talk about Jecht didn't consist of much. "Well maybe it would be in your best interest if you kept your feelings out of this, Rikku."

Auron headed to the door, proceeding to let himself out. Rikku chased after him, holding the door shut, although he couldn't have been really trying to open it if she could hold it closed against him. "Is that a threat?"

Auron thrust the door open, nearly snapping Rikku's arm in two and gave a grunt as he stepped out. "It is merely advice."

As he exited and walked down the hall towards the steps, Rikku called out the apartment, "Yeah? Well who says I need your advice anyway?!"

Sunday, August 12th, 2003

8:19am

Besaid Criminal Asylum

Rikku rushed down the hall, the other people in the building mere blurs. She hardly slept at all the previous night, what with the strange visit from Mr. Miserable himself. That, and the fact that she was itching to find out if Tidus really did know anything about the large withdrawals of money.

She walked through the familiar doors, down the familiar hall, past the familiar cells, to the familiar blonde haired, blue eyed young man, not much older than she was.

He seemed startled by her sudden presence. It wasn't his day with her… Nonetheless, he planted on that same smile he always did. "Morning!" he said, almost as if he were greeting his wife who was just getting home from work, rather than his psychologist coming to talk to him at an asylum.

Rikku was used to it by now. "Morning Tidus, how are you?"

He shrugged his broad shoulders. "I can only be one way. What's the sense in asking?"

She nodded, although she didn't understand what he meant exactly.

"So…" he continued, innocently enough. "What are you doing here?"

She hesitated, holding the folder containing Jecht's background information in it tight on her lap. "I need to ask you something."

Tidus's brow furrowed curiously. "Oh? That's a real surprise. The psychologist asking the insane murderer a question. How astonishing!" He chuckled.

Rikku ignored the comment. She'd grown immune to his mindless ramblings as well. She went on. "Well, I have a few things to ask you, really."

His expression changed with a flash. He moved closer to the bars and sat cross-legged on the floor, looking up into her seafoam eyes with his azure orbs. He looked like a schoolboy awaiting to be read a fairy tale at story time. He looked almost childlike.

The subject she was about to bring up, however, was not.

"You haven't told me a lot about the killings themselves."

Tidus's eyes flickered. "I know I haven't."

Rikku fidgeted. She was far beyond being scared by him anymore, but now, she felt slightly uncomfortable. "Why?"

He shrugged again. "You didn't ask."

"Well I am now."

Their statements became simpler and faster, until Tidus prepared himself to give Rikku a gruesome description of one of his murders.

He began to chuckle again as memories of one of his favorites washed into his mind.

"I'll tell you about the fifth murder. But I don't like to number them. It sounds too mundane. I always called it Submission."

Rikku's brow furrowed. "Submission?" Rikku remember 'Submission' as the young man who was skinned and found in his basement. She braced herself.

He ignored the echo and went on, seeming eager now to tell his account.

"I picked him when I was shopping for Yuna's anniversary present."

Picked him…? I wish he would tell me how he picks them.

"He was nice to his son and his wife, I suppose she was. Good man. Good, strong man. Friendly. Handsome. Probably rich, he was carrying at least three bags in either hand. Almost hurt me to know he was one I'd have to get rid of. Almost.

"But it's not up to me to decide."

"Can I ask you something?"

Tidus sighed, not happy about being interrupted. "What?"

"Do you… answer to a higher power when you 'pick' these people?" she asked timidly.

He scoffed and shook his head. "I'd hardly call it a higher power."

Before she could say anything else, he was back to the murder.

"I can remember the look in his eyes," he said dreamily. "That look of pure terror; the look someone gets when they see a car about to run them over, or a trigger being pulled, with the barrel of the gun facing in their direction. There's no way to duplicate it. It's its own identity. It's what you look for, you know?"

She could hardly know what he meant, nor could she agree with it, but she nodded and let him go on.

"'I have a wife and two kids!' he shouted. 'So?' I asked him. It wasn't like I cared. I wasn't the one with the wife and kids. I wasn't the one who was going to be leaving them behind.

"And the sound… That wonderful sound of metal ripping flesh. There's nothing like it. Not even the screams can compare to the KRRIICKK!!"

She cringed at the loud noise he made. She wasn't sure if she wanted to hear much more.

"After the first layer of skin is taken off, it's baby pink. Then, as you take more and make the cut deeper, the skin gets more of a rose color to it, until there's so much blood that all you see is red."

Rikku's felt lightheaded and dizzy. "Please… that's enough." She wasn't much for gore to begin with, and the way he said it just gave her the chills.

Tidus smirked. "Fine then. But you asked for it."

She shivered, glad that he'd stopped. Feeling the paper on her lap, she remembered the other thing she wanted to ask him about. "Here," she said, thrusting the folder between the heavy bars into his face. He blinked a few times before taking it.

She held her breath as he read over it for what felt like years. She saw him finish up the last page, but he was still silent. "Tidus…?"

"Where did you find this?" he asked, his voice a low, guttural growl.

"It's in the computers Tidus. Did you know anything about it?"

He dropped the papers to the floor. He reached out and held Rikku's throat tightly. "You have no business! Do you hear me?!"

She clawed at his hands, trying to pry them off her neck. "Tidus… Let… go…!!"

His whole body was trembling and hot tears began welling up in his eyes. He let go and turned towards the back of the cell. He leaned against the wall and slid down into a sitting position, burying his face in his hands.

At that moment, Rikku took it upon herself to leave.