Thanks again for the reviews. I wasn't so sure you'd like it, but now that I know someone thinks it's something, I think I'll continue with it. 

In the next chapters, I hope you bear with me because I'll be mentioning some characters that are purely out of my imagination. They will have no connection whatsoever to FFX or FFX2 because Lenne and Shuyin's era existed 1000 years before FFX or FFX2 happened. Some of the ideas here may not be consistent with the games, since in that era, I suppose, had different objectives, whereas the games centered on Sin. If you have any comments, be it good or bad, I'm sure all will be greatly appreciated.

Disclaimer: I don't own FFX2. Though I wish I did...

Lenne gazed down at the blond, blue-eyed man who was sitting on the pavement, panting. He looked like he was having a hard time breathing. Then again, she couldn't blame him; he had run half a mile from the center of the city to the outskirts with her on his shoulder. They had eventually lost the mob chasing them halfway, but just to make sure, she told him to go straight to Zanarkand Temple at the edge of the city. No one went there unless completely necessary. He was skeptical, but followed anyway. Lenne smiled at the thought. She had met him only twice, but she has somehow gotten used to his attitude. At first, he would ask a ton of questions, make up some lame excuse, but give in anyway.

"What... what... was that... all about?" Shuyin panted, holding his side. It must be hurting terribly. Had he not been so fit, he wouldn't have made it.

Lenne kneeled by him, peering up into his face. He had his eyes closed.His blond, tousled hair was a mess. "You run really fast. They never came close."

Shuyin opened his eyes and shot her a weary look. "Don't change the subject. Who were those guys?"

Lenne blinked at him, stared but didn't say anything. His already flushed face darkened into a couple more shades, then looked away. She giggled. "Don't ask me questions I can't answer right now. It's really a complicated thing." She stood up and looked around.

Unlike the inner city, the area surrounding the Temple was lush and green, not to mention quiet. Except for the occasional squawk of a bird Lenne didn't know the name of, everything appeared frozen and unmoving. "I was careless and forgot my hood, so I guess it was my fault that they were chasing me. This is where I was headed before I saw you being attacked." She couldn't help but laugh at the memory of Shuyin being mauled by scary-looking women. She leaned down on him and smiled. "You saved me, I saved you. Now we're even."

Shuyin looked at her, as if seeing her for the first time. She ignored his look and straightened. "I guess I'll be seeing you at the concert tomorrow night, then?"

"Why?"

Lenne eyed him in frustration. "I gave you a ticket, front row center. Many people would kill to have that ticket. So you'd better be there. I'm going now. Thanks for the ride." With that, she strolled towards the temple.

"Where are you going?"

"To the Chamber of the Fayth. This doesn't concern you anymore, Shuyin. Thanks for your help."

She continued to walk away, and was surprised when she found Shuyin suddenly in front of her, blocking her path. "Hold on. You can't go in there. Only Summoners are supposed to enter there."

Lenne was taken aback. For a moment, she was silent.

I'm going to be a Summoner...

She had been planning this since yesterday, and all the while dreading it. Her new life will begin today, and tomorrow, her old life will end. She felt her face fall slowly. Shuyin must have noticed. He was looking at her worriedly.

"Did I say something bad?"

Lenne quickly shook her head. "No. You're right, Shuyin. Only Summoners are allowed inside the Chamber of the Fayth." She tilted her head up at him. "That's why I'm going."

Shuyin backed away from her as if burned. "You're a Summoner...?"

Lenne shook her head. "That's why I'm here. To find out, if I will pass."

"You're an apprentice, then."

"Yes."

They fell silent. They had a lot of those, moments of silence.

Shuyin paused, then asked, "Where are your Guardians?"

Lenne felt her stomach churn violently. This was hard to explain, at least for someone who doesn't know what was going on. "I don't have any." She waited for Shuyin to laugh at her, or maybe give her a bewildered look and tell her she was lying, but he didn't. He just looked at her with those solemn blue eyes and said, "Oh."

What is this feeling? She didn't like it, how Shuyin was looking at her. She knew he was feeling sorry for her.

She opened her mouth to say goodbye to Shuyin and tell him to get lost, when a peculiar sound came from the bushes in front of them. Shuyin suddenly jerked his head to the direction of the noise. Lenne watched him from the corner of her eye. He looked like a wolf waiting to pounce. She gasped as the bushes again rustled noisily. Judging from the movement, Lenne decided it was a fairly small animal. At least she assumed it was an animal.

Lenne's eyes widened as she saw Shuyin pull out a broadsword from his belt. It was the only time did Lenne notice he was carrying one. She was even more surprised when he grabbed her wrist and pulled her behind him. "Stay behind me. Don't move. Avoid unnecessary noises," he whispered, holding the sword in front of him. He looked like he knew how to use it.

Lenne swallowed nervously. "What is it?"

"A fiend." He jerked his head to the left. "It's not alone. There are three, no, make that four to our left. A couple more are waiting at our right."

"No!" Lenne hissed in disbelief. "Can you handle them?"

Before Shuyin could reply, the fiend burst from the bushes simultaneously. Lenne almost screamed, but when she saw the monster, she laughed instead. "What? They look so cute!"

The monsters were about two feet tall with green skin and yellow eyes. Each was wearing what looked like a muddy brown vest and was carrying an oil lamp. Lenne kneeled down and giggled. "Come here, little guys!"

With a loud yell, Shuyin grabbed her painfully by the shoulder and pulled her towards him. She slammed on his chest. He hugged her to him tightly, still managing to keep the sword erect. "Are you crazy?!" he demanded, worriedly looking at her straight in the eye. This was the first time since they met did he meet her gaze head on.

"What's wrong?" Lenne asked, her pride hurting as much as her shoulder.

Shuyin gritted his teeth. He looked worried as his gaze left her and returned to the group of fiends who looked like they were looking around with their beady eyes. They inched closer, and when they did, Shuyin stiffened. "Those are Tonberry, Lenne. They move slow, and they could easily be outrun. But if they reach you, if by any chance they reach you, They can kill you with one blow."

Lenne felt all the blood from her face drain out. "You mean...?"

Shuyin nodded, not waiting for a response. "This means we're in a fix." He watched as the Tonberry took another step. This time Lenne knew they had sensed them. Shuyin looked over his shoulder, holding Lenne closer to his side. "The Temple is about a hundred feet away." He glanced for about a second at the fiends. One was directly in front of them, about ten meters away, four were to their left, two at their right. All of them were slowly but surely narrowing the gap. "Lenne, run. Run to the Temple now. I'll follow soon after."

Lenne grabbed his shirt collar. "What? Why can't we just run together? I mean, they won't be able to catch up to us even if we walked."

"Because even if we did get to the Temple, then what? The last time I checked, there weren't any gates at the Temple. If we get there, they'd just follow us and trap us in. Go on ahead and check if there would be anything for us to block the entrance."

"And if there aren't any?"

Shuyin fell silent, then said, "If there aren't any, come back to me. If there is some way to secure the entrance, call to me. I'll come running."

Lenne gulped. She discovered she was shaking. She looked at the Tonberry, who were now edging forward another step.

"What are you waiting for? Run NOW!"

Lenne ran, looking over her shoulder to see what Shuyin was doing. He was just standing there, slowly edging towards one of the nearest fiend. Oh, Yevon, let there be a way to block the entrance...

As she looked back again, almost stumbling as she ran faster, the Temple looming closer, she saw Shuyin jump up on the balls of his feet, sprang up and slashed at the nearest Tonberry. Lenne gasped as it was thrown back a couple of feet, but got up and resumed its leisurely walk of doom. There was no way Shuyin could hold those back.

She nearly tripped when she reached the Temple entrance. Frantically, she scanned the area for something – anything - to slam onto the entrance when Shuyin got there. Her eyes fell onto the statue of High Summoner Yunalesca, her lithe form standing right beside the Temple entrance. It was about twelve feet tall, standing on a platform. This will have to do.

Filling her lungs to bursting, she screamed out his name. "Shuyin! Come on!" She scuttled to the foot of the statue and made a futile attempt to push it.

Shuyin came speeding through seconds later, followed by a trail of dust. He wasted no time in going next to her, and gently pushing her aside. Lenne sidestepped and looked out at the Temple entrance and gasped as she saw the Tonberry shuffle along towards them. She was glad Shuyin had thought about checking first or they could have been sitting ducks had there been nothing to block the entrance.

"Get out of the way!" She heard Shuyin's strained voice call out to her. Lenne backed away into the Temple lobby and stared as Shuyin gave one final shove, and Lady Yunalesca came toppling over, her huge almost-naked figure completely blocking the entrance to the Temple. Had it not been for the torches blazing within the lobby, they would have been engulfed in darkness.

Lenne closed her eyes shut and raised her arms to her face as debris and dust exploded everywhere. She was expecting to be showered with rock, but to her surprise, none came. She opened her eyes and looked up. Shuyin was standing in front of her, his back to her, his arms raised to his face.

After the last of the crumbling stone had settled, Shuyin turned to her. "Are you all right?"

Lenne just stared at him, eyes wide and mouth gagging. She couldn't say anything. She tried, but nothing came out.

Shuyin grabbed her by the shoulders worriedly, shaking her a bit. His eyes darted on her face "Hey. Hey! What's wrong? Are you hurt? Lenne!"

Lenne snapped back into consciousness and said the first thing that popped into her mind.

"Please... Be my guardian."

So... what do you think? Should I continue? I do hope you like it... 