A/N: I hope everyone is enjoying their summer! I've been busy butI didn't forget so here is another update.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX or FFX-2

Chapter Eleven: Suspicion arises

I woke up the next day early. My journey was half way over and I wanted to get a head start. I got ready and as I was putting my journal in my bag I heard a knock on my door. I opened the door to see an unusual face at the other side.

"Oh, good morning" I said

"I trust you slept well"

"Well that bed is perfect! I almost didn't wake up!" I cheerily bopped from side to side.

He looked like if something was hanging on his conscience. I wanted to ask but then decided not to because I didn't want to seem rude.

"I wish for you to stay and have breakfast with me. I would hate to see you go so soon, and what kind of a host would I be if I didn't offer you breakfast."

"Oh…I was thinking of hitting the road early, but since you insist"

He put his arm out like a true gentlemen and I took it. We strolled down the hall and headed towards the city. We made it to a small café that he said was well known for its breakfast menu through out the city.

"Where do you plan on going after this?"

"Well I think I'll visit the Calm Lands and see what Clasko is up to, poor guy probably hasn't seen a person in months since he took up raising chocobos"

"As long as he is happy doing what he loves"

"Do you love what you do?"

"My job as praetor is something very dear to me. I would sacrifice my life for the well being of my people."

"It's nice to know your principles"

He looked at his menu trying to avoid eye contact with me. I giggled when I saw the tip of his ears reddened a bit.

"Praetor Baralai" he looked up to see his young assistant. His assistant was a young man with the same clothing style as Baralai. But his hazel eyes were filled with fear. I stared at him; if something was wrong then his face clearly portrayed it. He leaned into Baralai's ear

Baralai's face was as calm as ever not showing any hint of emotion.

"If you'll excuse me, I have some business to attend"

I stared at him trying to figure out what was wrong. Why didn't he have the same look of fear as his assistant? I guess it was his job to stay cool in a serious situation. I wonder what is going on.

"I am completely sorry for this sudden interruption, perhaps we will reschedule and maybe lady Yuna and Paine would be able to join us." He said standing up; I nodded my head in agreement. He then turned towards his advisor.

"Make sure lady Rikku gets what ever she wants," and with that he bowed and left the nervous assistant with me. He nodded his head vigorously like a small child.

He tried to pour orange juice for me but his hands kept shaking.

"I'll help you with that." I took the pitcher and poured my self a glass. I stood up from my chair and massaged his shoulders. I felt him tense up more.

"You need to relax, your going to give yourself a heart attack ya know?" I pushed him down into the seat Baralai was sitting in.

"Why didn't you have some breakfast, I bet it'll calm you down" I said sitting back into my own seat. I poured some juice into his glass. I watched the orange liquid slush from side to side as his nervous hands shook it. His trembling lips kissed the rim of the glass and in seconds the cool liquid disappeared.

"Thank you but I must go" he seemed to look a little better. He stood up and left the table.

I ordered and ate breakfast alone not really caring about the stares I got from some of the people. After that I reached for my communicator in my bag and dialed brother's number.

There were various rings until a sleepy gruff voice picked up.

"Huh?"

"Rise and shine!" I yelled. I could picture him cringe at the happiness and loudness of my voice.

"Rikku! What do you want?"

"Can you pick me up?"

"Where?" he spat angrily.

"Um….Zanarkand ruins?"

"What! What are you doing there?"

"Well I'm not there yet, I think it'll take me two days to get there,"

"Where are you?"

"Having breakfast with a very handsome praetor" I put the communicator a good distance from my ear to prevent brother's obscenities to render me deaf. I laughed.

"Calm down! It's just breakfast and he's working, so will you pick me up?"

He sighed, he was obviously tired.

"Yeah, yeah, now leave me alone!"

"Sweet dreams!" I squealed loudly. All I heard was a loud click on the other end. I have done what I was born to do. I annoyed Brother for the day. I put the communicator away.

I poured another glass of orange juice. I brought the glass to my lips and savored the sweet sharp tangy taste of the now luke warm substance. It brought my thoughts back to Baralai advisor.

I sat back trying to figure out what could make a grown man so scared like that. Something was wrong and this time I couldn't ignore it. Bevelle always has had its secrets. But what could these secrets be this time?

I walked vigilantly along the road towards the Calm Lands. Nothing looked out of place. I made it to the mass green bed of grass and saw nothing that would be considered suspicious. I walked through not seeing the hover crafts that I would normally be parked. The place looked empty but then again this is the Calm Lands. I made it to Clasko's cave with out a fiend battles.

"Hello" I said into his chocobo stables.

"I'm in here" I heard his voice yell. I ran over to the stable.

The chocobo that he was dealing with did not want to be touched. As soon as he got near it, it warked and ran to the other side of the stable

"Do you need any help?" I said tossing my bag aside.

"Yeah, he's been acting up ever since I got here, it's like he's scared or something and none of my greens can calm him down"

"How about I go to this end and you take the exit end, that way we'll be able to catch him."

"Good idea" he said positioning himself to the door way of the stable.

The chocobo was shaking with fear, it's golden feathers shifted and stuck out. I walked slowly towards the end of the small room and Clasko slithered his way towards the exit.

"Come here babe, come on" I cooed and I flinched to move towards him.

The chocobo let out a shrinking wark and drove through Clasko. I ran over to the blacked out young man.

"Clasko?"

He didn't wake up. There was a big bump on his head. I looked up and saw no sight of the chocobo. I dragged his body towards the other end. I couldn't just leave him alone. I got my bag and sat next to him. I made sure he was comfortable and made a pillow out of my bag. I took out my journal and using my knees for support to write on began another entry.

I didn't want to leave him alone, so I just pulled his body back towards my end of the stable. I took out my journal and used my bag as a pillow for him.

Journal Entry # 10

Two years had gone by and being with Gippal was the only reason I why wasn't found dead with a slit throat in my bathtub. He was the only person that had kept me sane and when I realized this I felt selfish and ignorant. Did he even care at how much I thought about him when we were apart? Did he even know the extent of the important his existence had on my life? I don't think he ever got to know that. Maybe it was him; maybe he was my reason for being. But now as I look back it was just the simple idea of being with someone was what kept me alive. What ever the case, I was seventeen and I wanted more out of my life. I wanted to live for Gippal but I also wanted to live for myself.

I was somewhat happy; Gippal and I had been together for two years, which to me was a milestone. He was so good with machina that he became leader of the Machina Faction at Djose Temple. He always wanted to do things for himself and the faction provided him with a satisfaction of getting things his way that no other job could offer. He was always away and I had reluctantly agreed that I was ok with it but he was happy which made me happy.

Since Brother and Buddy flat out abandoned me to go get some "lost ship" I had no one to hang out with. My old business was gone and I knew that no one trusted me so I had no purpose. The desert fiends were becoming child's play, so instead of just wasting away and waiting for Gippal to come home, I got off my butt and trained.

After a long tedious battle I would feel the satisfaction pump through my veins, feeding my heart with sweet adrenaline. Wiping the sweat off my brow I would plot myself down on the ground and fix the machine so that I can go for another round.

"Hey, can I try?"

A cocky masculine voice caught my attention and I turned around, heart jumping into my throat as my nerves tried to calm it down. It wasn't Gippal. I frowned in disappointment to see a fellow Al Bhed. His hair wasn't spiky like Gippal's but was slicked down and his bangs met his eyebrows. His swirled jaded eyes were full of curiosity.

"It's not as easy as it seems" I said to him dusting my hands off.

"What's so hard? Just bust it up until it loses a screw"

I already disliked him. He had this arrogant air that surrounded him. It hung thick and low and it gave my nose this sour smell that made me taste it at the back of my throat.

"So the machina gets harder and harder after each defeat?"

"Depends on what parts I have, I think I'll have to dig some more to get some parts"

He shook his head as if my answer was too naïve for his tastes. He crossed his arms and in front of his chest and spoke.

"Why dig at all? When you can have an army do it for you?"

"What do you mean?"

He chuckled.

"Cid's girl"

I blinked, trying to get the sand out of my eyes and trying to register what he just said.

"What did you call me?"

"I said, it's only a position for a girl"

"Oh" I said turning away from him and going towards my machina. "Sorry"

"Anyway, the position is for head of the digging excavation going on in the Western Expanse, they said that the leader works closely with Gippal"

"Really?" I asked. Maybe this was what I needed, I could keep digging, training and be close to Gippal.

"Yeah, Cid is in charge of hiring"

"Listen, it was nice meeting you?"

"Gipel"

"Huh?" I said trying to shake a familiar male image out of my eyes.

"Mitchell, my name is Mitchell"

"Oh….that's a strange name"

"Yeah, my parents wanted something exotic or something…hey want to hang out or something" he said walking up to me.

"Um…I want to go check the digging excavation"

"Oh come on, let's just hang out and get to know each other" he said taking my hand and intertwining my fingers with his.

"I have a boyfriend"

"I'm just this friendly with all my female friends…don't worry I won't bite…unless you want me too"

"Uh…." I said letting go of his hand. "I'll see ya later or something"

"Hey better yet! I'll walk you to Cid's office."

I cursed Yevon under my breath, knowing that he was some type of punishment karma had put together for me to endure.

I barged in through the door; I slammed it behind me and went up to the desk. His room wasn't as cluttered as it was when I was little. It was more organized then I thought it would be.

"Don't you know how to knock?" He grouched annoyed at me.

"I want the position" I said sitting down and placing my feet on his desk.

He shoved my feet off and stood up.

"No" he said crossing his arms.

"Oh come on pops!"

"Rikku, this is a lot of responsibility. For now it only involves the Western Expanse, when the other parts are settled then it will expand."

"Why won't you trust me? Is it because of what happened two years ago? Are you scared of me?"

"That's part of it, if the storms return, then it will be your responsibility to get the groups back home, safely."

"So then can I please have it?"

"Rikku" he said warningly.

"How will I prove to you I'm trust worthy If I don't' get the position"

"If people know that you got the job then they will lose their confidence in me"

"What!"

"It wouldn't be fair if my own daughter got the job that I advertised."

"So then appoint me"

"It's not as easy as sit seems…Rikku, there are things you are good at and I won't deny that that. But you get distracted easily. You let your personal life mix in with work…your emotions get the best of you"

"No they don't!" I said standing up out raged. I knew I was an emotionally broken person but I had nothing left. After what I've been through I was surprised to have a soul. I could feel my anger and denial boil at the root of my stomach as it traveled upwards to my heart.

We stared at each other, trying to see who was the weakest of us to blink first.

"Stop trying to prove to me that you're strong, it's not working" he said through clenched teeth. He seemed annoyed at my display of determination.

I felt like I almost lost it. My body trembled as it tried to calm my nerves from throwing a fit. From jumping on his desk and ripping all his plans to yelling and screaming at the top of my lungs that I could still do it, that I was worthy; I tried not to become what he always saw in me: a weak person who will never truly amount to anything because emotions make them weak. My eyes began to moisten and my vision of him began to get blurry.

"It's not fair" I whispered. I was surprised I didn't choke on those words.

"Get used to it, because life isn't fair, and I'm sure as hell not going to make it fair for you"

His forehead hung low as if all his anger concentrated t here. It made him look like the cold barbaric bastard that he was. The tears came down my eyes but I did not whimper, I did not say a word and I did not wipe them away. I turned around slowly and without looking back I closed the door. I should have known better, I was such an idiot to believe that pops actually thought something good of me.

I sat down in the sand drawing on it with a stick. I wrote my name over and over again and every time I would cross it out. Hoping that me erasing it would mean that I would erase my own existence.

"Hey you ok?"

I dropped the stick and looked up to see Mitchell. He looked worried and sat down behind me.

"No"

"you didn't' get the job?" He guessed

My silence was enough to inform him of my disappointment. My shoulders hung and my back slouched. He leaned over and massaged my shoulders. Even though he was annoying and a pervert he was the only friend I had. I guess beggars can't really be choosers in my situation.

"I guess you don't want to know who got the job"

"Who?"

"Nhadala"

And with that name I knew deep inside that Gippal and I were through.

I heard a moan from beside me. I closed the notebook and gave my attention to the now dazed and confused soldier.

"My head" he said rubbing his now matted chocolate hair. I took out a mega elixir and unscrewed the cap

"Here…drink this, it'll make you better" I said cupping his face as if he were a child and placing the tip of the bottle on his lips. His adam's apple bobbed up and down signifying that the liquid had traveled down his throat. He blushed when I cleaned a stay drop of the liquid off his bottom lip.

"Better?"

"y-yeah" he said looking away.

"You were out cold for sometime. Do you know why the chocobo went all crazy like that?"

"I don't know. When I got here this morning she was so hostile towards me. It was like she was scared that something was going to get her yet she refused to leave the stable."

"Wait, you weren't here before?"

"No, I was called away on Youth League duty"

"What happened?"

"Nothing you should be concerned about, a fiend problem near the Moonflow, it was taken care of."

"Were they glowing with over soul?" I asked hoping that I was on to something.

"Over soul? Why would they be oversouled?" His eyebrows fluttered with curiosity and confusion.

"Uh…forget" I said disappointed.

"I didn't necessarily fight, by the time I got there every thing was over…I'm...I'm such a coward" he put his face into his hands and shook as shame caressed his shoulders making them droop down. I pouted at the negativity he projected.

"Hey don't say that, I think you're a good soldier, you're just different from them. You're unique"

"The guys make fun of me…because of my chocobos" he said looking at me.

"Yeah well…" I paused trying to think of something to say, and then it came to me. It was something that even I would admit too. "You don't want their attention anyways…I bet it makes the ladies go wild knowing how sensitive and caring you are towards your chocobos"

"Well…um…I-I don't know about that"

He was a good guy. He deserved someone like him. I made a mental note to talk with Calli. She's just as chocobo crazy as him.

"Are you going to be ok?" I said standing up.

"Yeah, I'll just wait until the other chocobos come back from dispatch"

"Oh ok, well then I'm off!" I said picking up my bag.

"Good luck and thanks for every thing!"

I laughed and made my way out of the cave.

A/N: If Baralai is out of his character then screw it; I thought that with time he would mature a little, I didn't want him to be the same naïve Baralai from X-2. It's hard to tell since his role is so short in the fic. I think I'm getting the hang of writing him since I'm using him a lot for another fic. But it's up to you to decide. Oh yeah review and tell me what ya think.

Responses:

Shi-Sha Hariken: Thanks. Your review means a lot.

Hitomi Fanel: wow, talk about making the story relate to your readers. I'm sorry that happened. I had a similar dream but it wasn't blood it was thick black ink.

tidus4yuna: I tend not to look at the hit count as much and the number of reviews because there are people who read and don't review (which I do my self because I'm lazy so I'm not mad) so it doesn't bother me. As long as it's here and is still an unusual fic in this section I'm happy.

Anichan: Lucky for you I have been keeping count! It all depends if she is involved. If they were intentional then 2 (wow) but if you want to add it all together, up until now she has taken away 15 lives. And to think she's not done yet.

ChErRyBlOsSoMs-FlOwErOfDeAtH: happy you like it, and I'm happy you agree with all of us Tikku fans

TianDogg: Thank you so much, your review really brought my head out of the clouds and come back to write this. I think that Rikku wasn't well represented in both games. I was disappointed at how….empty she was. She was like this hollow shell of a character that was made to look cute and act ditzy. I decided to make her my own and give her something that many would think is controversial and unforgivable. I also wanted to portray her as the villain of a fic. Thus this is the result. It never made sense to me either about the whole Tidus/Yuna thing; I always thought Tidus needed someone who could always keep up with his up beat attitude. I guess they didn't want another love triangle. Oh well, I hope this chapter was to your liking.

Keep Me In The Shadows: wow didn't expect four. I had trouble with her childhood at first but then I figured that I can't just write every little detail so I settled with the most important things. It's funny that you bring up the fact that you can't tell where the game ends and the story begins…a friend of mine was playing X-2 and said that she left it for a second on pause, when she came back the game was playing and Rikku was going Berserk on the fiends. Now she's terrified to play the game because she's scared Rikku might get her. She blames me…I'm so proud.