Chapter 2: Confide unto thee…

Summery: As the two guardians begin searching for Auron's sword (and some food), Rikku begins to lament on the fact that she even became Yuna's guardian. Auron has to find some way of helping Rikku getting her confidence back about becoming a guardian.

Rikku and Auron had walked only for an hour or so, and they were now beginning their search for Auron's sword and something to eat. They were near a small stream with high rock ledges. Rikku had been leading the way back to the area the whole time, mainly because she was a great navigator, and now it was Auron's turn to decide where to look for the Masamune.

"Rikku, I will search on the ledges and you may search near the stream. I don't want you getting hurt here, understand?" Rikku expressed her annoyance with a twisted grimace and then ran about three or four feet up the ledge. She was sick of everyone treating her like a little kid, or even something that was worthless!

"I don't think so! I'll search on the ledge and you can go search in the stream!" She smiled happily, her hands on hips, as she watched Auron's stared shift into a dark scowl. The man wasn't angry, but worried.

"Rikku, I'm warning you only once: If anything happens, I'm not helping you."

"Hmph! I can take care of myself, thank you very much!" And the girl jumped up to another portion of the ledge. Auron could only sigh and looked for his sword somewhere just further down the stream. There was no signs of the weapon landing anywhere near his vicinity, but Rikku was having better luck. She had gotten to the top of the ledge, where she saw the sword. It's blade was struck deep into the ground and the hilt was aimed outward in a sharp angle. The girl became excited when she found the weapon, happy to know that she'd beaten the great legendary guardian Auron at the search to find his weapon.

She stood up from the edge and walked over to take the sword. "Wow, this was so easy! I can't believe that Auron was worried that I'd have some problems getting this--" before she could finish, a giant behemoth came charging out of the wooded patch and just missed goring Rikku and instead knocked her away and into a tree. She'd luckily managed to turn her back to the tree and avoided any worse injury. She stood up and ready for a fight. "You jerk! You're gonna pay! Oh! Auron--!" She stopped herself from calling the man and turned back to the sword. If I call Auron, he won't have a weapon to use to fight the Behemoth, and I promised that I wouldn't call for him! No…. I'll beat this thing all on my own, and then maybe I'll have everyone's respect! "Man, what is this? A damn videogame!"

Rikku rolled out of the way of the large tail that tried to take her head off, then charged the beast. "Let's see what you got!" She somehow managed to steal an S bomb and two grenades from the Behemoth just before it's huge claw came slam down of the ground and nearly crushing her left leg. Two large, deep claw marks on her thigh down to her lower leg. Rikku limped behind a tree and began to search through her items to see what she could work with. "Okay, okay! I have….. Three S bombs and four M bombs, and only two grenades? What happened to all those grenades I stole from those Guado soldiers! Oh, wait--Oh, NO! Tidus used most of them when we were escaping from Bevelle with Yunie and Auron…. Nobody ever cares to ask me for anything! AHHH!" Rikku screamed as the Behemoth chomped through the tree and nearly caught her head with it's teeth.

Not far from there, Auron was still search for his sword downstream when he heard the Rikku's faint screaming. "What was that?…." He wasn't sure at first, but when he heard the scream again, a strange, unfamiliar and dreadful taste of fear struck him and his body instinctively went for the screaming. "Rikku!"

Rikku now lay half conscious on the ground, down from an HP count of 2500 to a mere 3, trying to sit up and fight, but the Behemoth was simply playing a game with her, as if it were the cat and she was the small, timid mouse. She finally got to her feet again as the beast approached her slowly and readying for it's Coup de Grace. Rikku took out all of her bombs and mixed all of them together, hoping that something strong would come out of the explosive substance. Wait!…. If I mix them into a 3:8:2 ratio….. Rikku poured all of the powder into a small bottle and stood on her feet, shaking slightly from pain and fatigue. "Okay…. Here it goes! I just hope--" The Behemoth roar thundered and just as it's dark yellow fangs came to bear down on the teen, Rikku threw the massive explosive into the monster's throat and leaped out of the way. The results were terrible- the mustard bomb spread throughout the Behemoth's body, creating a pulsating red flash within every fiber of it's being, and then the consuming heat of the bomb boiled the blood of the monster before it could react.

The Behemoth took two steps backwards and collapsed of the ground, dead. Rikku looked over at Auron's weapon and smiled. Look's like I can take care of myself just fine Auron…. She took the sword up from the ground and then went' back toward the ledge. Then the Behemoth's head exploded and the muscle and brain tissue and blood splattered all over the girl….

As she neared the edge, she could see Auron running to confront her, but he soon stopped when he saw the girl's injuries. Rikku wave at him with the sword in hand happily, but a bit light-headed.

"Auron!" She yelled, but her voice was fading as she began to waiver, and her body, and consciousness, soon began to fail in strength. "Look, I found…..your sword for you…..Auron…." And she fell from the ledge.

"Rikku!" Auron rushed to the ledge and then jumped as high as he could and held his breath as he reached out his arms to her….. She was actually a bit heavier than what he expected, as he found when he caught her in his arms, and nearly lost his balance when he landed back on his feet. He could see the extent of the attack and knew that she could be in real danger, and then he saw his sword, clutched tightly in the girl's left hand…..

"…..Hmph, so you actually found it?….."

It was late in the afternoon when Rikku woke up again, her wounds were bandaged and treated with some kind of plant's aloe. She stared over her dressings and then saw the man she had so deeply and passionately fought for. Auron. He was making something that must've tasted as good as it smelled. Rikku had no idea that the man's gigantic flask had a built-in frying pan hidden on the bottom, but then again, she'd never thought that anyone would try to hide a frying pan in a flask. The sword was struck into the ground as before, but now it rested by his side, safe from anyone who would try and take from him again. Rikku tried not to make a noise as she laid there, but when she tried to sit up, she couldn't help but moan slightly from pain.

Auron's head seemed to twitched in the direction of Rikku, but he growled instead of actually looking at her.

"You could've gotten hurt badly. Why didn't you call me when you encountered that monster, Rikku? Did you have something to prove? Or were you just mad that I seemed cocky to you?" Rikku didn't answer, but hung her head. Auron stood up from the food and went to Rikku, kneeling down next to her and grimacing. "Were you even thinking when you got in that fight?" Auron's voice had continued to rise, but the girl's spirit wasn't shot yet.

"Well, how would you know what or how I feel! You don't even like me!"

"When you stop acting like a child, then maybe I'll start liking you more!"

"You're nothing but a meany! All you every care about is yourself!"

"Why don't you stop living in such a delusional world, thinking that everyone you'll meet is going to be your friend! That's the reason why you're not strong enough to fight anything now!"

"YOU THINK THAT I DON'T KNOW THAT!"

Silence was brought by the girl's scream and her eyes locked with his. "You really think that it's easy, listening to everyone talk about me behind my back…..? I've never had this problem with the Al Behd. We've always thought of ourselves as a family, brothers and sisters, mothers and fathers and friends…. But, with the others….. None of them care that I've been trying to save Yunie and the others summoners at all. They all think that it's a game, or that Yevon is something that can't be stopped and the pilgrimage has to continue no matter what! It's not fair that I'm the only one who believes there's a way to prevent Yunie from dying. Not even you believe in me, do you?…."

Auron remained silent. He wasn't really paying attention to a word she was saying, and Rikku continued. She kept talking for what seemed as an eternity to the man. He was used to pretending to listening to when others talk ( He'd gotten plenty of practice with Tidus ) and this was no different…. Until he heard something different; He began to loosen his ears, allowing a variety of words to come to attention, until he heard several names: Tidus, Yunie (or Yuna ), Wakka, even Lulu! He allowed his mind to slip back into focus and he began to listen to every word that Rikku was telling him, and it brought a nostalgic feeling into his chest.

"How can you ever understand what it's like to be the one person no one ever depends on! Everyone in the group treats me like I'm some kind of clown, like I don't know what I'm doing at all! And they don't even realize that I'm the one who knows more about anything than they do! Nobody believes that there's a way to keep Yunie safe, to save her from that stupid, fucking final summoning!…. But when Tidus started coming around, everyone started following him, they started saying that he could help save Yunie, completely forgetting that the Al Behd were the ones who knew that there was always a way to save the summoners, that they knew that Yevon was nothing but dirty snakes! They never cared that I was trying to save my cousin, because I'm Al Behd…. They don't care because I'm the youngest, and I'm immature…. That's why you hate me too, but you're honest about it Auron…. That's what's great about you, you're honest…"

"……………….." He continued to listen.

"Sometimes….. I wonder if I should've agreed to become Yunie's guardian in the first place….. I wonder if I was right to take this job on, you know? All I ever wanted was to protect Yunie….. And now, all I can do is follow Yunie until the end….. She won't listen to anyone but herself! Do you know what it's like? Having the person you consider your very best friend to go on a journey to get themselves killed and then having to watch them go through all of that? It's….heartbreaking….."

Rikku broke into a sob, and Auron found himself at a loss for words. He never had to deal with a woman who had actually gone through what he had felt, who knew just what had come to his heart. Since the death of Braska and the loss of his second friend, Jecht, there was no one who could try and understand just what thoughts had gone through his mind when he went to save his friends from death and an eternity of suffering……

And now, there was Rikku….. For some odd reason, maybe from the anxiety and fear, something had taken it's toll of the man's heart and he felt a heavy burden of guilt and shame enter in.

"Rikku….. I'm sorry, but you have to understand….. Being a guardian to your summoner is to give your heart and soul to protect and serve them until the very end."

"But I don't want it to be the end for Yunie! I want her to live and you…. You just don't understand, Auron…. Even if she doesn't appreciate me."

"Remember, Rikku, I lost not one, but two of my best friends. It wasn't the best thing, but now…. I wish to save at least Yuna. If I can not save her, then the duty that I have assigned myself, the duty to protect Braska's daughter and her guardians, is meaningless to, not only myself, but everyone I have sworn to protect. Rikku….. Do you truly believe that sacrifice is about saving everyone else around you at your expense? That is the definition of a hero. A hero gives their life, without thinking, to people who don't know them, and will never truly appreciate or respect them. You are not a hero Rikku. You are simply someone who wishes to save the summoner who wants to be that hero. You're not meant to die for such a petty cause."

"Then….. I'm supposed to be a guardian? Then, why do the people who believe in Yevon have such a warped sense of enjoyment whenever Sin is defeated, knowing that they just sentenced an innocent person to their death! God! It's not fair that this should happen, not to anyone--Not to Yunie!" Rikku's head dropped again and she stayed that way, fists tightening until the nails dug into her the palms and blood dripped through the bandages. Auron kindly took each hand and opened them again, then re-bandaged her reopened wounds. Rikku didn't raise her head again, but watched him with her eyes and she was just barely able to see what he was doing, if not feel it.

"….Try and take better care of yourself on our little sub-journey, Rikku….if not for your sake, then mine."

"Hmph! Why? Don't wanna be responsible for somebody else other than yourself!" Auron sighed deeply, but the expression was different than the others he had done time and time again. This held some sign of compassion, of an unknown feeling to everyone and even himself.

"……." Rikku looked up at Auron and found that the man's always angered and alert face now held sadness and something else that she could quite figure out. Then, she realized how close their faces were and gasped. Just as she did, Auron's usual attitude crossed him and he gracefully stood up with a gruff and turned his back to the girl. "I'm going to look for something to eat. Anything in particular you want?" Rikku blinked a few times and then replied,

"….Fish, and some fruit. Maybe some strawberries or raspberries--" Auron growled and Rikku paused quickly. "….Or, you could just bring back what you can find?" For the first time she had known the man, Auron had never shown any signs or actions of a real human. In fact, if it wasn't for his brashness and his eagerness to drink whenever he had the chance, Rikku could have mistaken him for a machina. But Auron did something so unusual, that it frightened her to near paralysis.

"….Ha, ha, ha, ha…. I will come back with your fish and fruit Rikku. Just be patient…" And he walked away.

To be continued…..