Oh my god, I don't want to be awake right now! I AM SO TIRED! However, Gwen (my muse!) was abusing me and making me write...lol! I finished this chapter, another one (I'm not sure if it's goign to be the next chapter or the one after that) and added a little more to the ending chapter. I'm glad I wanted to go to bed at midnight...:looks at clock to see that it's 3am: Yep, and I have to work tomorrow! Oh well, it's not until 1, so I'll be okay. I dont' work on Friday, so that means lots of sleeping time! (Or Cowboy Bebop time if my stuff arrives in the mail!) Okay, I'm falling asleep as I type this...Night!


3. A Praetor's Perspective

The second Baralai and I arrived at Yuna and my home, I didn't waste any time before I began drilling him with questions. It was his own damn fault for telling me about the threats that have been going around Bevelle. I just put what he said with what Yuna said and they both connected too well as far as I was concerned.

"So, you know something about what's going on and I wanna found out." I locked the door and headed to the kitchen so he and I would be able to have a place to sit without either of us getting too comfortable. "Tell me everything that you know. Every single detail."

"I told you, Tidus," he stated with a shake of his head. It was getting pretty late and by the look in his eyes, I knew he was getting tired. I wasn't going to let him leave or fall asleep on me, so I walked to the counter and started to make some coffee. "I don't know anything else than I already told you at the baby's party."

"You told me that you've been receiving threats, so what exactly were they?" I stared at the coffee pot in hope that it would make it brew faster, but of course it didn't. I patiently waited, but I knew I was going to need caffeine soon or else I would fall over right here.

"Oh, the usual," he stated in annoyance with a flick of his wrist. "Tidus, I know you're concerned, but I can pretty much guarantee you that what happened with Yuna isn't connected to what's going on in Bevelle. Bevelle has been receiving threats about New Yevon for so long that it seriously doesn't faze us anymore. We all just let it roll off our shoulders and we deal with other important matters."

Finally the liquid was starting to drip, but it would still be a few minutes before I could pour it. I turned my head toward him and cocked my head to the side. "Come on, Baralai. There has to be something that was said that would be relevant to what happened with Yuna."

The young praetor sighed at me, so I crossed my arms against my chest and focused on the coffee again. "You and Yuna live here anyway. The threats are literally about Bevelle. Bevelle is where New Yevon is set up, so the threats are toward New Yevon. Nothing has been said about the High Summoner."

"Yuna has been getting letters from I don't know who or what for the last few weeks, and I have a feeling that whoever shot Yuna sent those letters." I looked over my shoulder at him just in time to see the color drain out of his face. "Ah, so I take it you know something about them?"

"Not…exactly…" he responded slowly as he sat down and bit at his lip in thought. "I mean, all of us in Bevelle have been receiving threats as well, but they've been in sphere form. Like I told you at the party, they were verbal threats, nothing else, and verbal threats aren't credible."

I reached in the cupboards for some mugs and I poured the liquid in them. I handed him one, along with some sugar and cream. "But they're still threats."

"Tidus, you're going down a dead path," he said with a sigh as he stirred his condiments with a spoon. "Some messages say that they're going to blow up Bevelle or kill the praetor, and you can clearly see that Bevelle is in one piece and I am as well. We have so much security there that nothing goes through without being investigated. That includes people, mail, spheres…everything. Seriously, a speck of dust couldn't fly by without ten guards checking it out to make sure that it was safe and bomb free."

"Okay, that's Bevelle though," I argued. "Yuna has nothing to do with Bevelle, I'm quite aware of that. The thing that is bothering me is that Yuna is basically the queen of Yevon. Not New Yevon, just Yevon."

"Yevon no longer exists," Baralai stated with a roll of his eyes. "You were there when Yu Yevon was destroyed. You of all people should know these things."

I sat down in the chair on the opposite side of the table from him, cursing as my coffee slightly spilling from the impact of the mug hitting the table. I reached toward the center of the table where the napkin holder was and mopped up the mess as I continued speaking. "Yes, but there are some people in this world who want Yevon to be resurrected. I know it can't be done, but some people hold on to their old beliefs."

"There's no one in Bevelle like that," Baralai assured me with a small chuckle. "Everyone in Bevelle is part of New Yevon and fully supports that. No one wants to go on the path of false hope and maesters again."

"Yuna even told me that everyone in Bevelle, with the exception of you, is trying to get the ways of Yevon back out in Spira," I mentioned, Baralai scoffing at my sentence.

"That's nonsense," Baralai said as he shook his head. "Everything that is said throughout Bevelle comes back to me, and I have heard nothing of the sort. It sounds like crazy talk to me."

I sipped my coffee and continued think of different ways to argue with him. I wasn't getting anywhere but I knew he was hiding something from me. Baralai is a very easy man to read; he becomes more flustered when he lies. "Well, Yuna said she knew about it. Maybe the letters explain something about it?"

"Do you have them?" He asked as I stood up and stretched my arms. "It's going to be hard to verify that unless we have written proof."

"She threw most of the letters out, but I want to find the ones that she kept," I informed him, putting my hands on the table for support. "Wait here as I go search for them."

"You don't want help?" He asked me as I started to walk toward the bedroom. "You have, what, seven rooms in this house? They could be anywhere. It could even be one of those things where Yuna put them in different places throughout the house."

I rubbed my forehead and stopped walking so I could think about the possible hiding spots. He was right; there were a lot of spots that she would hide them. The more I thought about it, I realized that she would want to hide them in an inconspicuous spot so I wouldn't run across them. "Yeah, that might be a good idea. I want to start in the bedroom though."

"If I run into anything scarring, I'm never going to forgive you," he replied as he stood up and followed me to the bedroom that I shared with Yuna. I chuckled at him as I opened the door and looked inside. "Wow, it's spotless."

"Of course it is. It's Yuna we're talking about here, not to mention that she knew that we were having company," I responded, heading for the dresser first. "I'll start here, you can start in the closet. There's a few drawers in there and I promise that none of them are underwear drawers."

"Thank you in advance," Baralai said with a relieved sigh before walking toward the closet. I considered giving him the dresser so he could look through Yuna's lingerie, but I figured he would've blushed. I would've gotten a good laugh out of it though.

I started to dig through the drawer, pushing things aside and messing up Yuna's organized drawers. She was going to be in the hospital for a few days, so I would have plenty of time to refold everything before she got home. "Well, nothing in this…hello."

I felt my knuckles hit something and it definitely wasn't the side of the drawer, so I moved everything out of the way to find out that it was a box. "What is it?" Baralai asked as he walked out of the closet, empty handed.

"I'm not sure." I looked up at him then looked back down in the box. I stared at it for a few good minutes and almost considered putting it back. It was about an inch thick, a good nine inches wide, six inches long, black, and didn't bear any abnormal decorations. In other words, it was just a rectangular, black box. It wasn't empty though; it actually was quite heavy.

"What are you waiting for?" He questioned when he saw my hesitation. "It's not going to open up by itself, you know."

I furrowed my forehead as I put my hand on the top and started to pull it off. "I just…feel strange about going through Yuna's personal stuff. Do you think she would honestly tell me if she thought she was in danger?"

"You know your wife better than we all do," he replied honestly with a shrug. "But when you think about it, she always jumps head first into the fray. It doesn't matter how dangerous it is, she wants to make Spira a safer place. That's exactly the reason why she's High Summoner."

"Baralai," I started as I put the lid back on the box. I didn't even open it all the way, so I didn't see what was inside. "You don't think this has anything to do with the way that Yuna prefers to live her life, do you?"

"What do you mean?"

"High Summoner's are technically supposed to live in Bevelle, remain single, definitely not have any kids, and are supposed to teach Spira's citizens the way of Yevon." I let out a chuckle as I put the box back in her drawer and shut it. "Yuna certainly hasn't followed the rules."

"I'm sure there are some people who are upset, but I don't think any of them would get violent and attack her for her choice," Baralai said calmly as I looked down at the top of the dresser. There was a picture of Yuna and I from our wedding surrounded by a few pictures of Ari and a few pictures of the three of us. "She wouldn't want to live her life like that. I think all of Spira is aware of that fact."

"I don't remember much about Yevon, but I do remember how some people dedicated their heart and soul toward their belief in him. Sure, Yevon was replaced by New Yevon, but some people are stubborn and refuse to change their beliefs," I stated with a shake of my head. "It's just a thought that's been running through my head lately."

"I noticed. That's the second time you've mentioned it tonight. However, don't even think about that, Tidus," Baralai said after a moment of silence. I knew that he wasn't sure what to say, but he just wanted to say something to break the silence. "When I go back to Bevelle, I'll try to find some things out and I'll let you know. For now, I think you're on a wild chocobo chase."

I drummed my fingers on the top of the dresser, not wanting to give up. "I just want to know why someone would shoot her. She dedicates her life for the people of Spira."

"I guess there isn't anything you can do until she gets out of the hospital and see if the situation gets worse." I slowly turned my head to glare at him. That was something he should not have said. "What?"

"'See if the situation gets worse?'" I repeated in disbelief with a scoff. "That could mean a variety of things, the worst being someone actually murdering Yuna. I don't want to take that risk."

"Then look in the box and see what's inside." Baralai was clearly frustrated with the way I was tossing my opinion back and forth like a blitzball, but I didn't want to make a mistake. "Do whatever you'd like, but I don't have any more information for you. Wait until I go back to Bevelle tomorrow and then I'll see if I can help you out more."

"What time is it?" I asked as I looked at the clock on the wall. "Okay, it's only midnight. I'm going to go over to where Rikku and Gippal are staying and bring Ariana back here, then I'm gonna go against my instincts and search around the house some more."

"Why not leave Ari with Rikku and Gippal?" He asked as we started to walk out the house toward the hotel. "She'll be safe there."

"She'll be safe with me too," I replied. I wasn't in the mood to argue with him, so I decided to elaborate. "One of my girls is in the hospital, so since I can't be with both, I want to at least be with one."

"Fair enough," he stated as we walked the rest of the way in silence. We exchanged goodbyes and I walked to the entrance of Rikku and Gippal's room.

I knocked rather loudly to make sure that it would be heard, then put my hands in my pockets. The door opened, and it was Rikku in a very skimpy teddy and Ariana in her arms.

"Holy shit, Rikku!" I cried as I looked away from her.

"Hi, Tidus!" Rikku exclaimed as Ariana squealed and reached for me. I took her in my hands and she happily wrapped her arms around my neck. "What's the matter?"

"First of all, you're in a very revealing outfit! More revealing than usual, anyway," I stated as I mustered up enough courage to look at her again. "Secondly, it's almost 12:30 in the morning. Why isn't Ariana in bed?"

"Well, I tried putting her down, but she only cried," Rikku told me with an innocent look in her eyes. "Besides, she never gets to spend any time with me, so I figured she wanted to stay up."

I groaned at the thought that Ari was not going to be a happy baby in the morning, but oh well. Nothing I could do about it now. "Okay, well, I'm gonna take her home if you don't mind."

"Aww," Rikku whined as she pouted. "Okay, you're the daddy. I'll let you."

"I'm glad you're allowing me to take back my daughter," I said with a chuckle. Ari rested her head against my shoulder, proving to me that she was exhausted and on the brink of falling asleep.

"We're still on for a group breakfast tomorrow, aren't we?" She asked and bounced on her toes. I honestly wonder where that girl gets her energy from. It never seems to run out. I once told her that she would make some great gil if she could find a way to bottle it and sell it.

"You better believe it," I said with a smile as she squealed. She covered her mouth when she realized that Ari was half asleep so I chuckled at her. "All right, I'm gonna get going. Have a good night, Rikku."

"You too!" She said cheerfully as she shut the door and I made my way back home.

Upon reaching my destination, I put Ariana in the playpen that was set up in our bedroom. Even though her bedroom was only one room away, I just wanted to make sure that she was in my sight tonight. The nervous feeling that I was battling all day since my wife was shot still haunted me and I didn't want anything else to happen. Not as long as I could help it.

I looked away from Ari to the dresser and slowly walked over to it. I knew I shouldn't, but I still opened up the top drawer and found that box again. I put one hand up to my face and grabbed my lower lip in thought as I inspected the box again. With a sigh, I sat on the bed, still holding the box.

"Just open it, Tidus," I muttered to myself as I reached for the cover. Just as I was about to rip off the lid, my cellsphere rang. I must've jumped about three feet in the air; it scared me that much. Putting the box next to me, I reached over to the dresser and picked up the sphere. "Hello?"

"Hey, it's me." It was Yuna. My face lit up at the sound of her voice and my smile probably could've illuminated the entire room.

"Honey, how are you feeling?" I asked her as I kicked off my shoes. "Wait, why are you up? Shouldn't you be resting?"

"I couldn't sleep," she replied with a chuckle. "I knew you would be up, so I thought I would give you a call just to say hi."

"Oh. Well, hi!" I said in a boyish manner.

"So, what are you up to?" I instantly looked at the box next to me and felt guilty. I knew I shouldn't be looking through her stuff, yet I kind of was. "Tidus, you there?"

"Yeah, I'm here," I stated as I grabbed the box and put it back in the dresser without seeing what was inside. "I just put Ari to bed and I'm about ready to lay down myself. I'm not sure how much sleep I'm going to get without you next to me, but I'm going to try my best."

"I miss you," she said in a slightly whining tone. "I don't like being here all alone."

"I miss you too," I responded, shutting the dresser drawer quietly so I wouldn't wake up the baby. "Just think, you'll be home in a couple of days."

"I can't wait." She sighed and I just could picture the look on her face. I knew how much she hated hospitals. "Look, I really wanted to apologize for lashing out at you earlier."

"Don't worry about it," I informed her as I got ready for bed. "I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions. I trust you and your judgment, so if you want me to stay out of this and let things work themselves out, I'll do that."

She sighed again, but this time it was a sigh of relief. "Thanks. That means a lot. I promise you that if I keep on getting letters or things to that nature, we'll investigate it some more. For now, I think it'll just blow over."

"I hope you're right," I muttered under my breath.

"I really should get going though," she said slowly, proving to me that she didn't want to go. "Have a good night."

"You too, Yuna," I replied with a smile. "I love you."

"I love you too."

I hung up my sphere and put it back on the dresser next to the alarm clock. I rubbed my face with my hands in thought before I turned off the lamp and attempted to sleep.