A/N: Hmm… not much to say this time around, except thanks you to all the reviewers for Chapter 12! I was so glad to find out this fic hasn't been forgotten because of the long break I took with it… But I was pleasantly surprised, and to show my gratitude, I got onto the next chapter real quick. I realized Tidus hasn't been showing up very often lately, so this chapter will include him again. I wanna get a little deeper into his relationship with Rikku, which a lot of you have been questioning and commenting about, so enjoy!
Monday, August 20th, 2003
10:45 am
Luca Apartment Complex; apartment 3A
Rikku sat up most of the night, thinking over everything Auron had told her. She didn't know exactly how much time she had to get to the bottom of all of it. All she knew was that it was a few days. And that was so vague. What was worse, though, was that she had no clue how she was going to get anymore information. Sure, there was Yuna, but what if she came up dry too? Yuna had made her statement way back when Tidus was first brought in, and she didn't have anything relevant to say.
She sighed and glanced at the clock. It was almost eleven. The last time she'd looked at the clock, it read seven-thirty. Where time was going anymore was beyond her. But she knew just sitting around thinking wasn't going to get her anymore specifics. She needed to get out and do something. Talk to Yuna? Not yet. First, she wanted to go back and see Tidus, which she hadn't done in quite some time.
Monday, August 20th, 2003
11:36 am
Besaid Criminal Asylum; cell block 8-C
She hadn't been there in a while, and had almost forgotten what it felt like to be in the cell block where Tidus resided. Almost, anyway.
She passed all the familiar cells. Nothing had changed much, except the one cell that used to house another serial killer was now empty. He'd probably been executed. She was determined not to let that happen to Tidus, no matter what it took.
Reaching the cell he was in, she stopped in front of it and turned towards it. She saw the familiar form, but this time, it was slumped in the corner of the cell. He looked defeated, pathetic. She could only wonder if he knew what was really going on.
"Tidus?"
He looked up now, his motions slow and lethargic. His eyes were dulled, and his face had even changed somewhat. He almost looked like a different person staring back at her. "You came back," came the emotionless response.
"Of course I came back," she told him quickly, taking a step closer.
He chuckled dryly, making some sort of attempt to stand, but failed miserably. "I was starting to think the next time I saw you would be at my execution… if you'd even show up to that."
She shook her head. "I'm so sorry I haven't been here. There's just been so much to do… Coming here and talking to you isn't the only thing I have to do to solve this case."
He waved her apology off. "I didn't mean it that way. But you were supposed to be here helping me, letting me know what's been going on. I don't even know where I stand anymore."
She sighed and placed a hand around one of the bars. "Well… to be honest, you don't stand very well."
He made a face, but it was a face as if he was expecting the news. "What's happening?"
"I don't know if you knew, but you've been given… Someone's been slipping you drugs to make you look bad." She left the details of who it was conveniently out. "And even though the person who was behind it is confessing, there's still only a few days left for me to figure you out before they ship you off to a real jail, and then execute you."
He took all of this in for a few moments, then asked quietly, "Why don't you just quit? Save yourself all this trouble and just let them kill me. I deserve it, don't I?"
She shook her head. "I'm not going to let them kill you, Tidus! Not after all this time! Not after everything we've accomplished!"
His eyes burned into hers. "Why?! I'm a murderer, Rikku! Murderers are supposed to die! Didn't they teach you that at that goddamn college you go to?! Huh?!"
She was speechless for a few moments. Then, finding her voice, she said, "You are a murderer, Tidus, yes. But I know it wasn't just because you like seeing people suffer. It wasn't just because you're heartless. Look at you. You're not any older than I am. Something happened to you to make you do all those things. All you have to do is tell me, and all of this will be over."
He shook his head. "It'll never be over. Sure, I can tell you. I can sit here and pour my heart out to you like I'm on some daytime talk show. Maybe I won't be executed that way, but it won't change the fact that I murdered all those people, will it?"
She was silent.
"Well?!"
"No, it won't."
"Exactly," he surmised. "No matter what I do, I can't change the past." He paused. "I don't want to even think about the past. I just wanna forget it."
"Because of the murders?" she asked tentatively. "Or is it because of something else?"
"It's none of your business."
"So there is something."
He let out a growl. "What difference does it make? That's all I want to know. Who cares why I killed all those people? Who cares if I had reason or not? No one's going to let me off the hook just because you uncover the secrets of my troubled past. Do you really think you're going to make a difference?"
She was quiet, then said, "I'd like to think so. If I don't try my hardest to save you, I'll have to live with that. I'll have to live with the fact that I could've prevented a death, but I slacked off just because you thought you didn't need me."
"…I never said I didn't need you."
"Well then what did you mean, Tidus? Talking in riddles isn't helping me."
He sighed, finally standing up and moving towards her, his face just a few inches away from her own. "I'm a burden, Rikku," he said softly. "I have problems, okay? Big problems. Someone like you shouldn't have to deal with someone like me."
"Would you stop saying stuff like that? I chose to do this. It's not a burden. It's a job. I wasn't forced to do this. I think you're forgetting that."
He stared into her eyes for a long time in silence. "Do what you want, then."
"I can't," she replied. "Not unless you help me."
He smiled a little. "We've gotta help each other?"
She nodded, a smile still not forming on her face. "That's how it's gonna work. And we don't have a lot of time, so you have to cooperate."
"Yes, ma'am," he replied, sarcasm in his voice.
Rikku spent a long time talking with Tidus. A lot of it had to do with his childhood. She found out he'd had quite a few friends, was involved in blitz ball quite a bit, and led basically a happy life… up until his mother was found dead, and his father disappeared. After that, he'd been shipped around to different foster homes, until he was finally old enough to live by himself, and he did, but with Yuna.
The only pieces of information that might be relevant were the fact that his mother was murdered and his father disappeared, so she wanted to ask more about those points. Maybe they'd even shed some light on the other things that had been questionable, like the withdrawals of money, and the fact that his mother's murder hadn't been mentioned until now.
"Tidus… did anyone ever find out who killed your mother?" she asked softly, not wanting to upset him. They'd been doing so well so far, and she didn't want to ruin that now at such a crucial time.
He shook his head. "No, never found out who it was. It wasn't long before my dad disappeared. They said it was because of the grief that he left."
"You sound like you don't believe it," she commented.
"It doesn't matter what I think of it."
"Of course it does."
He hesitated. "Anyway, they searched for him for close to two years, but when they didn't find him… they just presumed him dead. It was a big loss to the community. Everyone loved my dad. He was a big celebrity with everybody. It took almost another two years for people to stop talking about it so much."
She noticed he sounded bitter about his father being so admired. She went with that. She'd always been suspicious of Jecht from the very beginning. "Were you and your dad close?"
He shrugged. "He was my dad, not my friend."
"Did you want him to be your friend?"
"No. I hated him."
She was taken aback by his bluntness, but was glad she was getting somewhere now. "Why did you hate him?"
"He was just a jerk. Thought he was better than everybody. And with the way people reacted, you'd think he really was perfect."
"Tidus… what reason was there not to think he was perfect? I mean, no one's perfect, but what part of him did those people not see? What did he do?"
After hesitating, he said, "He didn't do anything. It was just… his cocky attitude."
"Come on, Tidus… Tell me the truth."
"I told you! He didn't do anything to me!"
Her brow furrowed. "Did I ask you if he did anything to you? All I asked was what he did in general. There's something you're not telling me."
"There's nothing."
"Well then if it wasn't your father who made you like this, what other reason is there for you to commit such awful crimes?!" She hadn't meant to raise her voice, but she was getting so frustrated. He would start to tell her things, but then he'd stop himself at the very end. And the more and more he tried to deny it, the more and more suspicious she got.
He didn't say anything in response. He just locked his gaze on the floor and kept quiet.
"Tidus, please," she begged. "I want to help you."
"I can't be helped, Rikku."
"Of course you can. But you aren't letting me." She stopped and sighed, feeling tears welling up in her eyes. "We're so close. Why can't you just tell me what happened?"
He shook his head, a sadness reflecting in his eyes as well, although there were no tears. "I can't. You just… you couldn't understand."
"There's nothing you want to tell me?"
Before either of the could say anything else, the door at the end of the hall opened, a guard signaling that her time with him was up. She'd gotten far, but at the same time, nowhere at all.
With a sigh, she turned away from him and started heading towards the door.
"Rikku?" he called to her.
She stopped walking, but didn't turn back to him or say anything.
"There is something I want to tell you."
"…What's that, Tidus?"
"Your face… it's as beautiful as your heart."
