A/N: Thank you for the reviews!

Chapter Two - Confused

My head hurt. Everything else seemed okay — but my head really, really hurt.

"Owie..."

I turned my head, and something cold and hard bit into my neck. It was followed by a warm trickle going down my neck. Was that…blood? Why was I bleeding?

I opened my eyes to a soft light. And to a gaze I found myself locked in. It was by no means friendly, but no less captivating because of that. Brown, but that didn't cover it. A deep, dark sienna colour, outlined in gold, a starburst of amber around his pupils.

I didn't waste too much time being enamoured, though, since whoever this man was, he had a knife to my neck. "Hey, what gives?!"

"Who are you?" he demanded. "How did you get in here?"

"How did I- I don't even know where here is, what-"

I was interrupted by a small girl's voice coming from outside the door. "But, Daddy, I'm telling the truth, why would I lie about this?"

There was an indistinct male voice, and I looked around the room. It was small, a definite bedroom. I guessed for the little girl, since the bed I was lying in was about two feet too small for me. I looked back up at the man with the dagger at my neck. "Where am I?"

He didn't move, nor did his severe expression change. "I will be asking the questions — who are you?"

"Very confused and beginning to be pissed off!" I retorted. "Now would you get that thing away from me?!"

"You're Al Bhed," he said — not harshly, almost…wonderingly.

"Problem?" I demanded.

"How did you come to be in Bevelle?"

My eyes widened. Bevelle? I should not be in Bevelle. Bevelle was just about the worst place for an Al Bhed to be - why was I here? I should be at Home, with my family…whoever they were. Who were they?

I looked back at the man in front of me, all anger now gone from my voice. "I have no idea."

The door opened, and he straightened, looking at an older man who'd just come in. "Auron, I think…Yuna might be telling the truth."

'Auron' nodded and leaned back, pulling the dagger from my neck. I immediately put a hand to my neck and glared at him when my fingertips came back red. He returned it with an assessing glance that scanned over my body in a totally uninterested way.

The other man entered the room more fully, looking over me in a similar fashion to Auron. He had bright blue eyes, and a kind face. He was dressed oddly, though, even for Spira.

He was clad in a red and purple robe, but his chest was covered with a white armour plate. In heat like this he had to be sweltering, especially with his head covered with a navy blue hood and the white diadem on top of that. He stretched out a hand to my neck. "If I might?"

I wasn't sure what he was going to do, but nodded. He touched my skin, and a cool tingle issued from his fingers. When he pulled back, my throat was no long bleeding. Realising he'd cast a mile Cure, I nodded in thanks.

He returned the nod. "Do you know where you are?"

I nodded at Auron. "Bevelle, so I've been told."

"Indeed. May I ask your name?"

"Rikku," I answered quickly.

He smiled. "I am Braska."

"Before you ask," I interjected, "I have no idea how I got here, and there are gaps in my memory."

"Such as?" he asked. "Do you remember where you're from?"

"Well…Home, but…"

It was odd — I knew there was a place that was the Al Bhed Home, I knew it was on Bikanel Island…but I had no memories of it. If I'd grown up there, I didn't know where all the little secret places were, I didn't know what my bedroom was like.

I looked back up at Braska. "I can't remember anything clearly… It's like… Like I've seen a sphere of it. I don't remember details." Yeah, that was it. It was a theoretical knowledge. Being Al Bhed wasn't — that, I felt in my blood. I was Al Bhed, and I'd always been proud to the point of defiance about that.

"Well what about the rest of Spira?" he pressed. "Sin? The summoners?"

I nodded. I knew about them, too. I hated that bit, in fact — but I knew about it.

"Can you fight?" Auron suddenly asked.

I motioned my head at the sword that was standing propped up against the foot of the bed. "That's mine. And yes, I know how to use it. I'm also pretty nifty with daggers, guns and magic, if I do say so myself."

He raised an eyebrow. "You can remember your prowess as a warrior, but not the names of your family?"

Ouch. Trying not to let how much that hurt show, I just shrugged. "Yeah. I don't understand what could cause that, and for the last time, would someone, for the love of all the fayth, tell me what the vilg I am doing here?!"

"As to that, I'm afraid, only my daughter can answer."

"Well get her in here then!" I almost yelled. I didn't mean to be rude, but there's only so much a girl can take, you know? When Braska's daughter came in, though, I felt more guilty — she was really little. And she was really cute. And she looked really scared, and in awe.

She was also very pretty, and her bi-coloured eyes blinked at me hugely. Her mom must have been Al Bhed… I looked up at Braska with new eyes. He put his hands protectively on his daughter's shoulders. "Rikku, this is my daughter Yuna."

I was now feeling rather ashamed of myself. "Hey, Yuna. Guess you heard my shouting, huh?"

She nodded a little bit.

"Sorry about that — I can be a bit rude sometimes. But your daddy says you know how I got here, which makes you a lot smarter than me. So wouldya mind letting me know?"

I shifted a bit on the bed so she could sit on it — it was her bed, after all. She climbed up next to me. "Well…I was in the living room, playing with my toys, and- and Lady Shiva appeared, with you, only you were asleep. She put you down and told me that I had to look after you till my dad got home, because you were important."

I blinked, coming to a realisation. I was Al Bhed, and the fayth thought I was important? This was great! This was proof that they didn't care if I didn't follow the teachings, I still had a part to play! This changed everything!

My euphoria took a dent, though, when I realised that no one would believe the word of one kid, no matter how cute she was.

"Did she say why?" I asked.

Yuna nodded her head. "She said that you were going to protect my daddy on his pilgrimage."

At the foot of the bed, Auron stiffened slightly in surprise. I was the same. "You mean- be his guardian?"

She nodded. "Lady Shiva said you were a great hero where you come from too," she said eagerly. "Is that true?"

Well, that sounded pretty grand — the idea of me being a huge hero among the Al Bhed. It also sounded like a crock of shit. But Yuna was looking at me so hopefully that I couldn't disappoint her. She was going to lose her daddy no matter what I said, so I nodded, a bright smile on my face.

"Yup yup! Best fiend-hunter in all of Spira!" I winked.

Her little face lit up, and she clapped her hands together. "Oh good! So you'll be able to protect Daddy then?"

I wondered if she knew what she was asking. Becoming a guardian was a sacred bond. Something that, once committed to, I could not back out of. That meant I would stick with Braska through thick and thin, probably end up giving my life for his.

I had no idea what kind of person I was. I had no idea what my parents were like, whether or not they'd approve. But looking at Yuna, in that moment I knew I was the kind of person that would keep a little girl smiling no matter what I had to promise. So to that end, I nodded, and looked up at Braska.

"If your daddy thinks that's okay, sure."

Yuna turned huge eyes on her father. "Daddy?"

Braska's eyes were twinkling with amusement. "Well how could I possibly turn down an Al Bhed hero?"

I stood. Didn't bow, but stood. "I would be honoured, my lord."

He returned my nod. "As would I."

Auron made a neutral 'hm' sound that could have meant a million things. Disapproval I imagined was the first of those meanings. Well, that was fair. He hadn't had a chance to see how completely and totally super-duper I was. it only occurred to me just then that Auron was probably Braska's guardian too.

Ignoring him for the moment, I looked back at Yuna with a brilliant grin. "Guess that's a yes!"

She clapped her hands together, then hugged me tightly enough to squeeze some air out of me. "Ooph!" I giggled and patted her head, not being able to help finding her completely adorable.

She didn't let go. "Guess I've got a new friend, huh?" I asked, looking up at her father.

"Ah, yes," he said, looking a bit embarrassed. "E's yvnyet Yuna tuach'd kad silr vasyma lusbyho." (I'm afraid Yuna doesn't get much female company.)

I winked. "Hu funneac." (No worries.) I looked down at Yuna, still with her arms cinched tightly around my waist. "Um, Yuna? Breathing becoming a slight problem."

"Oh, sorry!" she let go of me quickly with a rather red face.

"Yuna, why don't you go and see if we have enough food for dinner tonight, hmm?" Braska prompted. She nodded and scampered away out of the room. He immediately turned to me. "Rikku, I have to thank you for indulging my daughter-"

I shook my head. "No, Braska, I wasn't indulging her. I wanna be your guardian."

He frowned. "But…why?"

"Three reasons," I said, putting my fingers up one at a time. "First, you're a summoner. You're basically one of the most important people in, like, the whole of Spira. Two, if the fayth put me here then they want me to do something, right?"

I looked around for confirmation; Auron stared back at me unblinkingly. "The third reason?"

"I…kinda have nothing better to do," I confessed.

Auron let out a noise that indicated he was strangling down some kind of expletive, but Braska smiled. "Then I welcome you as my guardian."

He made his way over to the door and left. I went to follow him till Auron's hand gripped my shoulder hard. I didn't think; grabbed his wrist and spun all the way round so that I was behind him. I twisted his arm and shoved forward; he slammed into the wall, pinned there. We were both as surprised as each other.

I let go as hurriedly as I'd grabbed him. "Wow! Sorry!"

He turned around, rubbing his shoulder but not glaring as I'd expected. Instead he looked rather impressed. It didn't stop heat from crawling up my neck. "Um, do me a favour and don't sneak up on me from behind, 'kay? Makes me twitchy."

He rolled his shoulder. "So it would seem." He sighed, assessing me once more. "At least we will not be killed from behind by a fiend with you at the rear."

I smiled. "So it's okay? Me being Braska's guardian?"

His gaze turned impassive. "It is Lord Braska's decision."

"That's not really an answer, you know."

"It does not matter what I think. As long as you are a competent guardian I am satisfied. Only our duty to Braska matters."

I raised an eyebrow. "You're not big on team-bonding, are ya?"

Silence.

I huffed out a sigh. "You could at least try, you big meanie."

He stared at me. "Meanie?"

"Yeah!" I replied, poking him in the chest. Ow. Gotta watch that armour plating… Regardless of the fact that I'd just crushed my own index finger, I carried on. "You, Mister Grump!" Leaving it there, I turned and flounced from the room in my best sulky teenage fashion. I could almost swear he chuckled as I left, though.

I found Yuna and her father both elbow deep in flour, with Yuna instructing her father most severely that he wasn't taking this seriously. "Daddy, you have to add the butter next, not the milk, otherwise-"

"Yuna, it's pastry, not machina assembly," Braska said patiently.

"And you're doing it all wrong!" She stamped her little foot on the floor, and I couldn't help the tiny giggle that escaped me. At the sound, Yuna looked at me and lit up. "Rikku! Daddy, you don't have to help me anymore. Rikku will be much better."

Braska shook his head. "I'm sure Rikku doesn't want to-"

"Oh no, Rikku does!" I interrupted, grinning.

An hour later, forks were being lifted to mouths while Yuna and I watched excitedly. Our pie had been somewhat successful — it might have been better if it wasn't burnt on the top and soggy on the bottom, but never mind. We were sure it tasted alright. Braska put the fork in his mouth, chewed, swallowed. Gingerly. Then he spoke. "That's- That's lovely, Yuna. Um, could you get me some water, sweetie?"

She nodded and got up from the table. "So it's terrible, huh?" I asked.

Braska shook his head. "No, not at all-"

Auron was far less subtle. He put his mouthful in and chewed…and then not-so-delicately spat it back out at the side of his plate. "It's disgusting. The meat is raw and the vegetables are cooked to death. They're…mush."

I bristled. "Mush is a little harsh isn't it? And I hardly think the meat is 'raw'-"

"One thing is for certain," he interrupted. "You are not doing any of the cooking on the pilgrimage."


A/N: Review please!