Disclaimer: Cynyr is MINE! Plus other stuff I've added. The rest goes to Square.

Sorry it's taken so long to upload, but my internet here at the house has been down and I haven't been able to do anything but work on more chapters. But anyway, to make it up to you guys I will post up at least three chapters

Plus, this one is an exciting chapter. :)

Peace.

The Dark is a lot Scarier than You Think

Tidus swung hard and his sword whistled through the air as he stumbled forward and gasped in surprise. I had sidestepped him in one quick motion, causing him to fly past me.

He spun around with a surprised look on his face, then, he furrowed his brows and came at me again. Running at full speed he lifted his sword and just as he was about to swing I lifted mine and pushed him back.

Wakka immediately began to laugh.

"Stop fooling around, Cynyr." Tidus exclaimed.

I grinned.

"Come at me again, then." Tidus gripped his sword much tighter and immediately charged at me. Clang! Our swords clashed together and as he swung to hit me on the other side I followed suit.

Clang! Now, we began to swing our swords over and over at each other, the sound of metal against metal ringing through the air.

I could tell that Tidus was becoming frustrated as this went on, so he swung at my legs. I quickly jumped over his blade before giving him a heavy blow that he was barely able to block.

"Go Tidus!" Rikku called out as she clapped her hands.

"You better watch out, ya. She's gonna blow you away." Wakka laughed again. Tidus grit his teeth and growled in his throat as he continued to hit my sword, faster and harder. I blocked each of his blows.

Finally, he jumped back and took a minute to rest. He was breathing heavily and sweating from all the effort. I, to, was breathing just as heavily.

"You want to quit?" I asked. He gripped his sword with both hands and laughed.

"No way!" I smiled and charged at him, which he hadn't expected and I swung at his head. He ducked and aimed for my torso. I immediately leaned back until my back was parallel to the ground while his sword whistled above me.

"That was awesome!" Rikku exclaimed.

"Huh, she is pretty good." Lulu commented.

When I came back up I quickly swung at Tidus who clashed his sword against mine. With muscles tensed, we stood with our blades crossed as we tried to push the other back. Unfortunately, my sword slipped and as he continued to push down on me, I fell on my back in the dirt.

A few of the others gasped with excitement as Tidus looked down at me with a smirk.

He swung his blade again and I brought my sword up just in time to block. Then, before he could give me another hit I swung my legs hard against his ankles. This caused him to fall sideways as he cried out in surprise. Now, he was on the ground and I was standing.

"Come on Tidus!" Wakka shouted and Tidus immediately jumped to his feet and attacked me again. As my sword clashed with his I rotated my wrist, my sword following, then I snapped my wrist up.

In an instant, Tidus's sword was flung from his grasp and flipped through the air, loudly, with a whoop, whoop, whoop, then sunk into the earth behind me. I pointed my sword at his chest and he slowly raised his hands in surrender, his face written with awe.

"Haha! Tidus you just got beat by a girl, ya!"

"Nicely done." Lulu commented

"That was super duper!" Rikku exclaimed. I smiled at Tidus and put my sword away as he went to fetch his.

"I bet you couldn't have done better, Wakka!" Tidus called back at him. Wakka laughed a short laugh.

"Ha! Better than you- that's for sure!" The he stopped laughing as I looked over at him.

"Okay, lets see you do better." I challenged. Wakka crossed and then uncrossed his arms nervously.

"Well…uh-"

"Well, go on Wakka," Lulu nudged him in the ribs, "prove your words worthy." Wakka sighed and then shrugged.

"Oh, alright."

Tidus smiled and handed his sword to Wakka who stood up to the front and I nodded.

"You first."

Wakka shrugged and charged towards me, swinging the blade up near my head. I raised my sword and met his with a loud clang! He swung down near my legs. Clang! Now, he began to hit me faster and much harder. I was able to block most of them, but I was growing tired from the first fight so my blade was little slow.

"I'm winning." Wakka teased as he hit my sword again. I smiled.

"We'll see."

Several minutes later I managed to pull the same stunt off on him like before with Tidus.

"I actually expected you to avoid that little trick of mine." I said as I breathed heavily and wiped my brow. Wakka went to fetch Tidus's sword.

"Well…I was trying to…but," He began to laugh to himself, "as much as I hate to admit, you're really good." I smiled as I began to put away my sword.

"Thanks."

"Well," Rikku began with a sigh, "all's well that ends well." We were all turning back to the road when we heard another sword being withdrawn. We all looked in surprise.

"Not yet."

I raised a brow as I looked up at Auron skeptically.

"Seriously?" Wakka asked.

"I thought we didn't have time for this, Auron?" I mocked.

"Humph. I've changed my mind."

I grinned as I began to withdraw my sword again, despite the fact that I tired.

"I accept your challenge…sir Auron."

He chuckled at my tone of voice.

"Getting cocky already?"

"I beat two men already. Why not?" I said with a shrug.

"Humph."

"Like always…you go first." I said with a wave of my hand. Auron laughed as he held his hand out in a gesturing manner.

"Ladies first."

Wakka and Tidus immediately laughed and I hesitated a moment.

"Alright." I finally replied. Then, I charged at Auron. His blade came crashing down on mine and, aside from his arm, he didn't even move a muscle. I grit my teeth as I pressed as hard as I could against his sword, but his blade was much bigger than mine and he was much stronger than me.

I guess I underestimated him.

Finally, Auron pushed me back , but I didn't stray for long. I charged at him yet again. This time I swung furiously at his sword and each time his would follow suit, pushing me back all the while.

"You're losing, Cynyr!" Tidus shouted from the side lines.

I grunted from the effort then purposefully slid my sword against his as I spun around him and tried to take another hit. Clang! His blade hit mine faithfully and I began to hit him harder, trying to back him up like he had done to me. For a little while I had him taking a few steps back, but then he advanced with several of his own blows that I was barely able to block.

"Loser!" Tidus shouted. I ignored him. I couldn't lose focus. Again and again Auron hit my sword with great force, pushing me back all the time.

"Come on, Cynyr!" Rikku exclaimed, but I had lost focus. Auron suddenly swung his blade in an upward motion, very close to my ear. This startled me instantly and I made the mistake of loosening my grip on my sword. Auron immediately knocked it out of my hands, causing it to fly several yards away from me, but he didn't stop there.

He pushed me hard up against a tree I hadn't known was behind me and held his sword up against my neck. I looked up at him in shock as the others marveled over what had just happened.

Slowly, I smiled.

"You never did strike me as a gentleman." I said between breaths as my heart thumped inside my chest. Then, to my surprise, he smiled back.

Auron finally drew away from me and sheathed his sword as I went to fetch mine.

"I will say," Auron began and the others slowly quieted, "You're a pretty good fighter for a girl." I laughed.

"Thanks…I guess."

Later we decided to take a rest as everyone noticed how tired Wakka, Tidus, and I were. We sat and drank from our canteens and ate a bit of dried meat and talked for a while. We didn't rest for long though. We were back on the road in thirty minutes.

"So, do I still have you're watch?" Tidus asked me as he walked up to me. I was about to answer when we stopped abruptly. Auron quickly silenced us.

"What is it?" Wakka whispered.

"A fiend."

"Where is it?" Tidus asked.

"It's Ochu…he's camouflaged." Auron replied as he took a small step forward. We also took a small step forward, and then I could see it.

The giant creature was tucked away in the thick vegetation on the right, his four long arms wrapped around trees beside him as his large body sat snuggly between them.

"He's asleep." Auron informed.

If you're quiet you can sneak past it without having to fight it. Ida suggested.

"We should-" I began but was suddenly interrupted by Rikku.

"Well, lets go wake it!" She shouted loudly as she sprinted forward towards the beast, which slowly began to awaken and growl.

"No!" Both Wakka and Tidus shouted, as if this would magically stop Rikku and cause Ochu to fall back asleep. Most of us groaned with frustration then we began to run towards the beast as well.

The trees groaned and the branches scrapped against one another as Ochu let go of the trunks and let his arms drop to the ground. Twigs snapped and leaves rustled loudly as it slowly lumbered out of the brush and towards us.

We stood before him as his shadow cast over all of us and he began to growl loudly.

"Whoa," Wakka breathed, "this is a big one." Ochu reached out towards Rikku and roared as Rikku jumped over the long tentacle and attacked it.

"Take that you big bully!" She exclaimed.

Auron raced forward and slashed at the main part of the body. This wounded it greatly and it roared in pain again. I winced from the noise then charged towards it as well. It saw me and swung an arm at me that I quickly cut off with my sword. It screamed as the detached arm withered on the ground then dispersed into Pyerflies.

I quickly ran back to my spot before it could throw another arm at me.

"Watch out, ya!" Wakka called as he threw his Blitzball hard at the center of the beast. It immediately swung one of its arm at Wakka and hit him in the side. This caused Wakka to groan in pain as he fell to the ground. Yuna quickly healed him and Kimahri took his place.

Ochu swung out at us again. Kimahri, Tidus, and I quickly jumped over his arm like jump rope and then attacked.

"Be careful!" Auron called out as he ran up and swung his sword at the fiend again. It cried out in pain again and Lulu began to cast Fira. I dashed forward this time, swung, and hit the main body. I was running back when Tidus called out to me, but one of the arms hit me hard in the back and I was on the ground with the breath knocked out of me.

Yuna!" Wakka called out and I felt the soothing feeling of Cura rush over me as she healed my bruised body. I slowly got up and then quickly made it back to my place in line.

After Tidus gave Ochu a hit, I decided to run at it again despite how weak I felt.

"Hey!" Wakka shouted and I looked up to see one of its arms swinging down at me. I ducked quickly and felt the wind rush by as it passed over me. Then, I stood and stabbed the fiend. It cried out again and I took the opportunity to run back to my place.

"Are you okay?" Lulu asked from beside me. I was breathing heavily.

"Maybe you should switch with someone." Tidus suggested. I shook my head.

"No. I'm fine. Really."

One more round of hits from the others and I was dashing at it again. Before reaching Ochu, I jumped up and then let myself fall on top of it as I let my sword sink into its flesh. I barely had enough time to jump off him with my sword as his arm swung around to hit me.

I was running back to my place in the line when I suddenly heard a voice rumble very close to my ear. A very familiar voice I had once heard before.

"Don't get hit Cynyr." I spun around to find the source of the voice but immediately regretted it as something heavy hit me hard in the back of the head.

I felt my body fall on the ground and then I heard voices, but what was loudest of all was the deep voice that laughed loudly inside my aching skull.

When I awoke I had a splitting headache, and when I tried to open my eyes a sharp pain surged behind them. I moaned as I left my eyes closed then, I heard someone kneel down beside me. They laid a hand on my forehead and Cura washed over me, subsiding the headache.

"Is she okay?" I heard someone ask.

"We won't know until she wakes."

"There was a lot of blood, ya."

Then the voices slowly faded and all was silent. The second time I woke I could tell, even with my eyes closed, that it was dark.

Is it the same day? The next day? Where are we? My entire body felt like a huge bruise and my head still hurt, but it wasn't as bad as it had been earlier. I decided to try to open my eyes again.

I felt a dull pain behind them, but it was bearable. The first thing I saw was black. I tried to look around, but I kept seeing darkness. I was lying on the ground and I could hear voices coming from the right of me.

Slowly, I began to sit up. It must be the middle of the night! Then…why is everyone awake? Wait- they haven't stayed up just for me!

"Yo, Cynyr." I heard Wakka call to me and I turned my head in his direction. "You're awake!" Yuna exclaimed as she walked over to me and sat right in front of me.

Why haven't my eyes adjusted to the dark? I should at least be able to see her outline.

"Yuna…" I began softly, but she didn't hear me.

"Does your head still hurt?"

"A little."

I felt her hand on my forehead like last time and she began to whisper under her breath. I felt the Cura wash over my aching body and the headache faded.

"There."

She took her hand away from me and I stared into the darkness, hoping I was looking at her.

"Man, you really got knocked out back there, ya." Wakka commented.

"What time is it?" I asked slowly.

"I'd say it's about three." Rikku replied.

"At night?" I asked with surprise, but everyone suddenly became silent.

"Um…Cynyr…it's the afternoon." Yuna said softly. She was still sitting in front of me and I felt my heart skip a beat.

No…the afternoon? No, it can't be…it's to dark! I've got to be dreaming! This isn't true! Panic was slowly rising inside my chest.

"But…it's dark." I finally choked out, my heart beating fast an hard. Yuna seemed to turn and the others, still silent, and seemed to be deciding on what to say.

"Cynyr…" I heard Lulu say towards my right, "can you not see us?" I slowly shook my head and I heard Rikku gasp.

"You're blind?"

"I bet when she was hit in the back of the head it damaged the part of the brain that controls her eye sight." Wakka explained. I started to chew on my bottom lip as I found the darkness more and more frightening.

I'm blind? I'm blind…I'm blind.

I kept repeating in my head, then I quickly shut my eyes and grabbed my head with both of my hands. It's not true! It's not! I squeezed my eyes shut as tightly as I could. When I open them I'll see again! The darkness will fade! Then, I slowly opened my eyes, willing myself to see but I met darkness once again.

"It might be temporary." Auron suddenly said from afar.

"Really?" Tidus asked.

"Then there's hope!" Rikku chimmed in.

But what if it's not?

"And what if it's not?" Lulu spoke my thoughts, but no one answered. I felt tears well up in my eyes and I quickly rubbed them away.

No! I can't cry! I can't.

"So…what do we do now?" Tidus asked the question everyone was thinking.

"She can still fight." I rose my head at the sound of Auron's voice.

No, I can't! I'm blind! There's no way! I'm blind…I'm blind… I could tell I was about to lose it.

"How?" Wakka, Tidus, and Rikku asked in unison.

"She'll learn to use her ears instead of her eyes." Auron began to explain. "It'll take some time…but if she really wishes to be Yuna's guardian and wants to continue on this Pilgrimage, then she needs to have faith in herself."

"Who's gonna teach her how to fight again?" Tidus pointed out.

"I will." Auron replied.

"Oh." Tidus paused. "Can I watch?" Auron harrumphed.

"No. You'll only distract her."

Tidus was most likely making a face at Auron, but I wouldn't know. I was blind.

What if Yuna doesn't want me to be her guardian anymore? Even if I do learn how to fight…I'll most likely slow everyone down. They'll leave me somewhere one day…walk away and never come back…and I won't even know.

"Cynyr." Yuna was saying my name again and I turned in her direction.

"Will you try?" She sounded hopeful which gave me a little hope as well, that maybe she didn't think of me useless entirely.

"I…I guess."

"Do you want to fight or not?" Auron asked. He wanted a straight answer. I turned my head in his direction and finally nodded.

"Yes."

Yuna sighed with relief and smiled. "Good."

I only gave her a half smile and then slowly stood. Thankfully, I still had my armor on and my sword was lying beside me, so I picked it up. The hard part was walking to where ever Auron was.

I suddenly felt Yuna take my arm as she stood up as well. I bit my lip as I felt as though I were a crippled and had to have help just to walk from point A to point B. It was probably only a few yards away to.

Nonetheless, I walked with Yuna to where Auron stood and kept my head down as I felt everyone's eyes on me.

"Follow me." Auron said while turning. I heard his footsteps receding and I quickly caught up with him as I prayed that I wouldn't trip and fall on my face like an idiot.

To think that I had been fighting against Tidus, Wakka, and Auron only hours ago…and now…I'm a useless guardian to Yuna. There's no way I can fight.

I stumbled once and quickly righted myself as I continued down the road with Auron. I wasn't sure where we were going and I tried to imagine my surroundings.

"Auron…where are we going?" I asked finally, but he didn't answer me. I could hear his footsteps, which was the only thing that assured me that he was in front of me.

What if he's taking me far, far away from everyone just to leave me so that they can continue on without me? I frowned and mentally shook the thought from my head. No, Auron- none of my friends would do that to me.

Suddenly, I rammed right into Auron and gasped as I fell hard on my butt. He had apparently stopped and I was to busy thinking badly of him to notice. I felt my face heat up as he turned and was most likely glaring down at me.

"We'll train here."

Then, he began to walk away, acting oblivious to my blunder and I slowly began to stand back up.Where did he go? I heard a rustle then a twig snap. I immediately grabbed the hilt of my sword as I began to think that there was a fiend around.

"Calm down. It's just me." Auron remarked as he walked back. Embarrassed, I dropped my hand and waited for Auron to instruct me.

"Because you've lost your sight your other senses will immediately start to kick in." He began to explain. "You'll be able to hear things that the rest of us won't be able to pick up on quite so easily. You should take that as I great advantage." I remained silent.

"Your hands can also be your eyes." Auron added, then, there was a small thud as something hit the ground beside me. I tilted my head in that direction.

"Take a guess." I bit my lip and remained quiet for several seconds.

"A rock?"

"Is it?" This caused me to become unsure. I opened my mouth to speak, but he beat me to it.

"Pick it up."

I paused a moment as I tried to remember where the rock had landed, then, I slowly took a step towards it, then another before finally crouching down. I reached out with a hand and began to feel the ground for the rock.

This is ridiculous. Why is he making me do this?

Suddenly, my fingers brushed up against it and I quickly picked it up and stood. Auron immediately threw another object and I listened as it made a softer sound in the dirt. I knew Auron was waiting for me to answer what it was, but it took me a while to figure it out.

"A stick?"

"Now, pick it up."

The stick was a little farther away from me than the rock, so I had to take several more steps in that direction to pick it up. When I finally had the stick in hand I stood and looked in Auron's direction.

"What's this suppose to do?"

"It helps you to recognize certain sounds. Plus, if you were to drop your sword you would need to know where it was by the sound it makes." I placed my hands on my hips and glared in Auron's direction.

"So what are you going to throw now? A feather?"

Auron ignored my rude remark and I heard the sound of metal rubbing against metal. Auron didn't even need to ask.

"Your sword." Then there was a thunking sound and it took me a moment to recognize the sound.

"You stuck your sword in the ground."

Finally, there was a thud, several feet away from me and before I could say anything, Auron began to speak.

"Go pick it up."

Slowly, I moved towards the place I had heard the sound and when I thought I was close enough, I crouched down and reached a hand out. I began to feel the ground for the sword, carefully and slowly as I prayed I wouldn't cut myself on the blade.

Then, my fingers brushed against the cool metal and I slowly moved my hand up as I tried to imagine what the sword looked like.

My fingers brushed over the raised decoration and then the hilt. I wrapped my fingers around it and began to lift it. It was a lot heavier than I thought it would be so I had to use both my hands. Not only that, the blade was at least a foot taller than me so it took a lot of effort to carry it back to Auron.

"Humph. At least you can lift it. Most people can't."

I wasn't quite sure if that was compliment of not, but I did know that his next words weren't.

"You're too slow. Let me see your sword."

I sighed and withdrew my blade. He took it, and while I stood there in front of him I heard him toss it several feet away, behind me.

He didn't have to say anything. I turned and walked a little faster, bent down and tried to feel for the sword. When my fingers finally grasped the hilt I lifted it and turned to face Auron for his judgment.

"Still too slow."

I stabbed the ground with the sword and crossed my arms over my chest.

"Auron I'm-

"If you were being chased by a fiend you'd be looking for that thing like it was your life. In some ways it is, because it can save your life." Auron explained. I sighed in defeat and Auron walked up to take my sword.

He threw it in a different direction and I immediately went after it. To my surprise I found it a lot quicker and turned back to Auron as I held my sword.

"That was better."

So, I sheathed my sword and he began to walk away. I listened as his footsteps got farther away from me and then he stopped.

"Walk to me." He instructed and I hesitated a moment. Then, I began to shuffle towards him on the uneven ground.

"Don't shuffle." Auron said sternly. I paused for a moment then began to pick my feet up carefully and slowly as I made my way towards him.

I couldn't tell how far away he was and for a while I began to think I was never going to reach him. I lifted my hands up in front of me as I hoped I might bump into him with my hands first.

He better not be walking backwards while I'm trying to find him like this!

Suddenly, my hands touched his. He had them out in front of him and he ever so slightly grasped my fingers.

"Too slow. Go back and do it again." I lowered my hands and glowered at him.

"Go back." He said more sternly and I turned on my heel to walk a good distance away from him. This time I walked a little faster and even stumbled twice on my way there.

"Mmm…better." Auron commented when my hands touched his for the second time. Then, he stepped back and withdrew his sword and asked me to do the same.

"Why? What are we doing?" I asked as I slowly withdrew mine.

"Walk six paces from me." Auron instructed. I decided to do as he said and walked six paces.

"Now. Run at me and hit my sword." My eyes widened in surprise.

"What- but what if I hit you?"

"You won't"

For several seconds I remained standing, more than a little uncertain about hitting him.

What if I fall or something?

"I haven't all day. Hit me." Auron spoke harshly and I furrowed my brows as I became a little angry with him. So, I lifted my sword and began to run towards him. I made sure to count out the six paces and then swung on the fifth step.

Clang! That sound brought a smile to my face.

"Humph. Ten paces." Auron instructed, so I turned and walked ten. I ran towards him.

Clang!

"Fifteen."

Clang!

"Twenty."

"Twenty? But Auron-"

"Twenty-three. Don't argue with me."

I scowled at him before turning around and walking the distance he had asked. I lifted my sword and ran at him again. When I swung at the last second, I had swung to late so, when my sword met his it slipped off his blade and I began to fall forward.

I gasped in surprise, but before I could hit the ground he grabbed my shoulders and I stood up straight. My heart raced inside my chest.

"Do it again." Was all Auron said. I did this over and over again until I was able to run awithout stumbling and I could hit his sword without hesitation.

"Hit like you were about to kill me." Auron would say, and finally I got so irritated with him that I did hit his sword like I wanted to kill him.

As I was catching my breath I heard Auron walk past me and on down the road.

"Now, I'm going to run at you."

"W-what! Are you sure about that?"

"If I wasn't I wouldn't have said it." Auron remarked and I heard him stop where I had once stood. Reluctantly, I held my sword up and braced myself for his attack. Without warning he ran towards me and I held my sword up a little higher.

Just as he was reaching me I suddenly panicked. I immediately ducked as he swung at me, his sword whistling loudly from above my head.

"No, no, no, no…that was too close." I exclaimed as I slowly stood back up. I clutched my head like it had almost been knocked off my shoulders. Auron sighed as he hefted his large sword up on one shoulder.

"If you want to fight again you're going to have to do everything I tell you."

"But- you were- I was just-" I stammered as I tried to find the right words.

"Cynyr, do you trust me?" Auron asked suddenly and I became quiet before answering him slowly.

"…Y-yes."

"Humph." I heard him put his sword away so I did the same.

"Turn around." He instructed.

"Why-"

"Don't ask questions. Turn around." I sighed and finally turned my back on him. I heard him walk up behind me and then stop.

"Fall back."

"What?"

"I'm right behind you."

"How do I know you'll catch me?"

"By relying on your trust for me." I grew silent as I stood there for several seconds in uncertainty. Then, I crossed my arms in an "X" fashion and slowly, I let myself fall back. Gravity took over and brought me down faster. My stomach flipped with a sickening feeling and I gasped.

"Auron!"

I felt his hands grab hold of my waist and my hands flew down to grasp them. I slowly began to stand up straighter and heard him chuckled with amusement.

"Do you trust me now." He let go of me and I turned to face him.

"I suppose…"

"Then, we'll try this again."

With that, Auron walked back to the place he had started before. He stopped. I pulled out my sword. He ran. I lifted my sword.

Clang!

So, I wasn't sure whether or not to have her blind yet in the story, but then after much brain storming I found no other better way to blind her.

Nonetheless, I hope you enjoyed this chapter and thought it was exciting and suspenseful. :)

Review to get brownie. :P