12

A knock came at the door, causing Baralai to stir in his sleep. Another came, causing him to open his eyes. And then one more, causing to sit up. He cursed under his breath, throwing the blankets from his as he walked to the front door. The praetor opened it, finding the leader of the Youth League standing before him. Nooj smiled at him, waving. The praetor stared at the gimpy man for a moment before starting to shut the door, a dry expression on his face.

"Baralai wait!" He said, catching the door and pushing it open. Nooj walked into Baralai's home, looking around at it before he started speaking, "Haven't had much of a week, have you?"

Baralai's eyes narrowed, "Enough of the pointless chit-chat," He growled, "Get to the point."

Nooj continued as though he hadn't been interrupted, "Gippal told me about what happened…"

Baralai's heart skipped a beat as he lost his breath. No way… His eyes narrowed. 'I'll kill him…' Shuyin whispered to him mentally, only to have the praetor shaking his head. He took in a deep breath, trying not to look too odd.

"…Another fight?" Nooj was saying as Baralai focused back on what the man was saying, "Tsk, tsk. What with Rikku dying we're going to need peace among the factions," His eyes narrowed, "Don't you get that? You can't be getting into stupid little brawls; it'll just cause the same shit that happened last time," Nooj shook his head, "We don't need that again."

Baralai sighed, "I know," He said with the same dry tone, "I need to get all of New Yevon gathered, and I haven't really been motivated in the late," He frowned, waving his hand extremely unenthusiastically, "But I'll get right on it…"

Nooj's expression hardened, staring down at Baralai, "Are you okay?" The praetor avoided making eye contact with him, "This isn't like you; you're normally the first to do things. What happened?"

"I haven't had the best week, as you said," He mumbled, "I've had… problems."

Nooj looked away from Baralai, looking around the room. He suddenly noticed the absence of Paine. He looked back at the white haired man and nodded.

"I see…" He said quietly, "She's unexplainable," He said smiling, "But you would know that better then any of us," He patted Baralai on the shoulder, "She'll be bound to come back eventually."

Baralai shook his head, "No, Nooj…" He replied barely loud enough to be heard, "She won't…"

Nooj frowned, shrugging. He decided to say nothing more on the subject; he had no room to. He sighed, "Just… talk to your faction; the three of us discussed this about a year ago," He sighed, "We need to group as one before people get along better."

The praetor waved his hand idly and then nodded, "I will, no worries Nooj," He smiled almost warmly, "I'll talk to them."

He led Nooj to the door, letting him out politely. Baralai smiled, shutting the door before allowing a look of disgust to come across his pretty features. He took in a deep breath, walking to the bathroom to stare into the mirror. It wasn't his reflection he was staring at; he was staring into the face of Shuyin.

"I never liked him," Shuyin said nonchalantly. Baralai made a small noise in agreement, nodding his head, "You going to do what he says, talk to New Yevon?"

Baralai shrugged, looking up into the mirror. He wasn't sure if Shuyin's voice was coming out of his mouth or not. It frightened him not being in control of his actions. He shrugged again.

"I don't know," Baralai replied, "If I don't I'd be seen as the bad guy…"

Shuyin laughed coldly, flipping his bangs from his face, "You killed one of the heroes of your little nation. You killed a summoner's guardian and one of the famous Gullwings in one go," He chuckled, "And you think you're not the bad guy."

Baralai's head shot up from looking down at the sink, "I beg to differ," He growled, "You killed her, not me. I couldn't, remember?"

Shuyin frowned, "Don't think they'll take that excuse this time."

Baralai glared at him for a moment before sighing, "I guess you're right…" He said quietly, "At the moment I just want to work on not being found out."

The blonde grinned, "Which one? The murder?" His grin broadened, "Or that other unspeakable topic."

Baralai turned, walking away from the mirror, "Both, preferably."

………………………………………

"Tu E ryja yho milg?"Gippal asked, looking at Rin out of the corner of his eye.

They were sitting on the front steps of one of Rin's many trading posts on the cloudy afternoon. The two of them had been friends for some time, but they hadn't spoken in a while.

"Fryd tu oui sayh?" Rin replied, looking out across the land stretching before them with narrowed eyes.

"Zicd ujan dra bycd faag un cu..." He turned his whole body to face Rin, ""Oui tu ghuf fryd rybbahat, nekrd?"

He nodded sagely, "Dra taydr uv Rikku, xieda cyt..." An eyebrow rose, staring at Gippal almost accusingly, "Fryd amca rybbahat?"

Gippal hesitated for a moment before speaking in Spira's common tongue, "I promised not to tell anyone…"

Rin laughed aloud, "Mega E't damm yhouha; mega E ryja yhouha du damm!"

"Good point," Gippal said with a sigh, "Pid E cemm lyh'd damm oui cred!"

Rin frowned, looking away from Gippal and across the land before them. He put his head in his hands, sighing in a bored. He looked back at Gippal.

"A hint?" He asked.

Gippal shook his head firmly, "Hu, E bnusecat res."

"Res?" Rin said with a chuckle, "Naymmo? Ed'c y res?"

Gippal's eyes narrowed, looking away from Rin again. Damn that man. He sighed again, putting his cheek to a balled up hand, "Oayr..." He slapped his hand to his forehead, "I'm so fucking stupid," He whispered in a strained tone.

Rin pushed his blonde hair behind an ear, raising an eyebrow, "Fryd tet oui tu, Gippal?" He asked, his voice slightly worried sounding.

Gippal looked over at the older of the two, "Hudrehk mega sintan ev dryd'c fryd oui'na drehgehk, eteud." He frowned, "Who do you think I am?"

Rin shrugged, running a hand down the bare part of his chest. He yawned, starting to stand. He looked down at Gippal, saying, "E ybbnaleyda oui lusehk du sa vun ramb, pid E lyh'd tu yhodrehk ihmacc oui damm sa fryd'c fnuhk."

"Yeah… but… I promised…" Gippal said quietly.

Rin shrugged, walking to his trading post, "E lyh'd ramb dryd."

"Fyed!" Gippal said exasperatedly, "E naymmo tu!" He paused, waiting for Rin to stop walking, he did and Gippal continued, "Baralai lysa du cusa pyn E fyc yd du ramb sa vaam paddan. E kud res tnihg, duug res pylg du so bmyla..." He grimaced, looking away from Rin's face, "Vemm eh dra vilgehk pmyhgc. E tuh'd ghuf fryd rybbahat, E lyh'd nasasapan."

Rin frowned to keep himself from smiling at the irony of the situation. Baralai was a religious leader, almost one that shunned those with that type of life style. And Gippal… Gippal was a womanizing, sex addict. A small smile crossed his lips. That was very ironic. The smile disappeared quickly as Gippal looked back at Rin, his face red.

"E tuh'd ghuf fryd du tu..." Gippal whispered, his voice cracking. He seemed almost on the verge of tears, "I'm afraid to talk to him, I can't say shit to anyone," He gulped, "You have to promise me you won't tell anyone," He advanced on Rin, grabbing the man by the necklace he was wearing, "You have to promise me!"

Rin nodded, "I won't tell anyone!" He held his hands up, "Relax Gippal."

"I can't…" He replied quietly.

……………………………

"Paine?" Yuna asked, opening the front door to her and Tidus' home, "What're you doing here?"

"Change of plans," Paine growled, walking past Yuna.

Yuna nodded, pushing her now longer hair off her shoulder. She frowned, watching Paine stand angrily in the middle of the room. The sound of a crying baby screamed somewhere in a back room. Paine turned, facing Yuna.

"Is there someplace I can stay for a while?" Paine asked, "In this house or somewhere on the island?"

Yuna hesitated before nodded quickly, "Yes," She said, "There's a guest room, but Riku's staying there," She frowned, "And I know you hate children…" She thought for a moment, "I think that there's a house for renting in the main part of town."

Tidus and Yuna lived out in the forest near the once temple. They stayed away from the main "down town" due to the sudden rush of tourists that came to visit Yuna's once home town; little to their knowledge that she lived their now. She did enjoy the fact that people where coming and visiting the small, remote town just to thank her, but it had gotten very annoying very quickly. She couldn't so much as buy some food without being bothered by the public. Thankfully, though, they citizens had kept her living nearby a secret.

Paine nodded, smiling as she walked to the door, "Thank you, Yuna," She said, reaching for the door handle.

Yuna stepped in front of Paine though, staring up at her sternly, "What happened?"

"I will tell you in time," Paine replied coldly, moving once more to get to the door. Yuna moved to get in her way once more, surprising her, "Yuna, please."

"Normally I'd let you tell me when the time came," Her eyes narrowed, "But now I'm worried. What happened?"

Paine's eyes narrowed angrily, "Yuna, quit being pushy," She moved to the door again, only to be shoved back by Yuna.

"I will be until you tell me," She growled.

Paine stared at Yuna, shocked. Yuna pushed her... Yuna? She blinked, chuckling. Maybe she rubbed off on this pacifist. She took a step back, looking Yuna up and down, a smirk on her face.

"He cheated on me…" She hissed through clenched teeth, "That asshole cheated on me!"

Yuna stared at Paine for a moment before moving out of her way. Paine stormed past Yuna as the ex-summoner was lost in thought. Baralai? Cheat? She didn't even know those two words could be used in the same sentence. He seemed so caring and sweet. She walked over to a couch pushed against a wall, sitting down on it slowly. She didn't even notice Tidus sit next to her. He said her name, causing her to look up, noticing his presence.

"Who was it?" He asked, pulling Yuna over to him and embracing her tightly.

"Paine," She replied, closing her eyes, "She's going to be here for a while…"

Tidus was silent for a moment before nodding, "Works for me."

Paine walked quickly into town, pushing aside the flap of cloth the hung as the inn's door. She walked to the desk, dropping her bag as she grabbed the edge of it with both hands.

"Which of the fucking tents are rent able," She growled quietly.

The innkeeper looked up at her, completely shocked by her choice of wording. He closed his mouth again, looking down at the book that was lying on the desk before him. He decided it would be better to ignore such a hooligan such as that. What a bad idea.

Paine slammed her hand on the desk, causing the man to jump. He looked up at her, gulping. He glanced at the book again, pointing at an address with "vacant" scribbled next to it.

"Th- that one," He whispered, "200 gil."

Paine's eyebrow rose. That was surprisingly cheap. She dropped the gil on the desk, picking up her bag as she left the man's presence. She walked quickly to the small tent. Paine pushed the flap of cloth aside. She threw herself onto the mattress that lie on the ground, closing her eyes. She took in one deep breath after another, trying to keep herself from screaming in anger. Her eyes snapped open.

"I have to visit Gippal…" She whispered, as she stood up.

((Can't read Al Bhed? Search for "Al Bhed translator" in Google or Yahoo!))