A/N: I know, I know, long wait on this one… Sorry about that. I've been way busy, and this hasn't been one of those top priorities. But now, on the last day of Thanksgiving vacation, I'm going to sit down and write this. Oh yeah, and phenol barbital is the drug they give prisoners to kill them. Thought more people would know that… *scratches head* Oh well, anyway, please review!

Wednesday, August 15th, 2003

8:09 pm

Besaid Criminal Asylum

Rikku's heart pounded in her chest as she raced to the front desk. From what Mitch had told her, she still had time. Why was Tidus acting as though he was at death's door?

She grabbed onto the edge of the desk, her breath heavy and rapid. "What did you do to him?!" she exclaimed.

The woman at the desk was taken aback. "Miss, calm down," she said, sounding slightly tense. "Who is 'him'?"

Rikku tried to calm herself, and spoke more rationally this time. "Tidus, in 8-C. What's wrong with him?"

The woman furrowed her brow. "What do you mean?"

Rikku pounded a fist on the desktop. "Did you give him the shot or what?!"

The woman shook her head. "My God, no. No one's been in there since… well, since you spoke with him last."

Rikku took her turn to look surprised. "Then why is he…?" Her voice trailed off as her thoughts took over her mind.

Then why is he acting that way? I could've sworn those were the effects of phenol barbital… And if it isn't that, what in the world is wrong with him?

"Miss? Are you alright?"

Rikku snapped out of her daze and nodded. "Yeah… Yeah, I'm okay."

She headed for the exit, her face still reflecting confusion. Maybe Mitch was right. Maybe Tidus was just a crazy bastard who liked to kill for the sheer pleasure of it.

Making a face at her own thoughts, she said to herself, "Yeah, and maybe monkeys will fly out of my ass."

There had to be something deeper than just a typical mindless murderer she was dealing with. The withdrawals of money from Jecht's account bothered her to no end. And she also wanted to know why Tidus flipped out whenever his father was brought into the conversation. There were so many questions, and not a lot of time to find their answers. She was getting so frustrated, and no one seemed to want to help her. Everyone already had their mind's made up about Tidus and didn't want to hear anymore about it. Was she the only one who really cared about it anymore?

As she left the building, she saw a familiar figure walking in the opposite direction. Figuring she could use all the help she could get, she waved her arm and called his name. "Auron! Hey, Auron!"

The tall man turned to face her, giving her time to catch up with him. "What do you want?" he asked.

"I… I need your help," she told him, feeling slightly embarrassed.

He almost smiled. "Last I heard, you didn't need my help." Then he added, "Or my advice."

"Well I do now," she replied quickly. "They're going to kill Tidus because I apparently didn't find any information that proves he isn't really, well… sane."

Auron shook his head and began walking again. "Anyone who can kill is far from sane."

Rikku quickened her pace to walk with him. "You know what I mean. I didn't show them any evidence that proves he has a mental illness and he didn't really mean to kill all those people. I don't know what to do…"

"Don't do anything."

Rikku's brow furrowed. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Auron sighed. "Stop getting so wrapped up in this, Rikku. It isn't good for you. How can you be a criminal psychologist when you feel pity for every one of your clients?"

Rikku's face practically turned red from fury. "What is it with all of you telling me that?! I'm not going to just give up on someone, anyone, because I'm outnumbered! I know there's more to this entire situation than meets the eye, and I'm going to find out what it is whether you all help me or not!"

Auron didn't raise his voice at all. "I don't think you understand, Rikku. Being a criminal psychologist is a lot like being a doctor or caretaker. You know what's going to happen eventually, but your feelings blind that. And when you get your feelings involved and you lose that patient or person or client, it hits you hard. It affects you, and then you might not be able to do your job anymore."

Rikku tumbled his words around in her head, thinking them through. "I do understand what you're saying, but how can I just ignore the fact that his father did something to him? That something that happened to him when he was little caused him to grow up wrong and do all this?"

Auron shook his head. "That's not your job. Your job is to see if a mental illness caused what he did, to see if he's sane or not. Your job isn't to prove whether he's guilty or innocent. I think you're forgetting that."

"I'm not," Rikku told him firmly. "I know he did it - "

"And that's what matters. You're coming up with this 'evidence' on your own. He isn't telling you his father did anything. You are."

Rikku was silent now, unable to think of anything to say back.

As Auron turned up onto the walkway of his home, he called back to her, "Think about what I said, Rikku. Don't shut me out just because you don't like what you're hearing."

Friday, August 17th, 2003

9:24 pm

Luca Apartment Complex; apartment 3A

Two days had passed since Rikku's conversation with Auron. She really had been thinking over what he said, but she didn't believe it. There was nothing wrong with how she was going about the case. She just knew it; she felt it.

Wracking her brains to try and think of a way to get one of two things was driving her crazy. She either wanted more time to talk to Tidus, or to find rock solid evidence that Jecht did something to make Tidus the way he was. And as of now, she wasn't having any luck accomplishing either.

She knew if she could find out what the money that had been taken out of Jecht's account had been used for, she'd find something. But there were no records of it being spent. And to say it was placed in another account of the family's, that was impossible. There was no other members of the family on record, which was another oddity in itself. And if the money had been spent, there would be record of it. So where was the money?

Just as she was pondering these thoughts, a knock came to her door. As she opened it, she saw Mitch standing there.

"What do you want?" she asked coolly.

"I came to talk to you," was all he said.

"Well what if I said I didn't want you to talk to me?"

"Rikku…"

She sighed and opened the door, knowing she'd regret it. "Fine, come in."

They went and sat down on the couch in a similar manner they had before. "So… what do you want?" Rikku asked persistently.

"I'm… I'm worried about you, Rikku."

She raised an eyebrow. "You're worried about me?" she echoed.

He nodded. "I am. You've been spending all your time and energy on this case, and I think you might be, well… addicted."

"Addicted? To what?" she asked with a laugh.

"To Tidus."

She froze. "How can you say such a thing? I'm trying to save his life, Mitch!"

He got up and stood in front of her. "But he's a murderer, Rikku. Why try and save him?"

Rikku shook her head in disbelief. "Because it's not his fault!"

Mitch let out a laugh. "Not his fault… What, did the boogeyman come and make him do it?" He laughed harder now.

"I want you to leave, and I do not want you coming back," she growled.

He leaned forward, his hands on her shoulders. There was a strange glint in his eyes that she never saw before, and it scared her. "Rikku, please. It isn't good for a girl like you to be wasting your time like this."

She didn't like him touching her. She tried to push him away, but he was too strong and remained where he stood.

He moved his right hand to her leg and began rubbing it, lifting himself up onto the couch so he was sitting on her, his legs on either side of her body. "Come on Rikku, just loosen up for once…" he murmured in her ear.

Using all the strength she had, and knowing what would happen if she didn't, she shoved him down onto the floor. Tears welling up in her eyes, she pointed to the door. "Get the fuck out of here." When he didn't move, she screamed, "Now!"

"There's really something wrong with you," he told her, his gaze gripping her. He stomped out of the apartment and slammed the door behind him.

Wiping away the tears from her eyes, she sighed. She felt dirty, and headed to the bathroom to take a shower.

As she watched the water run down the drain, a thought struck her. Auron and Mitch both had the same strong opinion about her feelings playing a part in the case. And that's when she knew they had to be involved somehow. They were in on something together, and now she had another question to add to the ever-growing list. But this one, she was going to answer. She was going to find out what they were up to if it killed her.