A/N: koala recommends "We Could Be One" by VHS or Beta (GREAT SONG!)

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Fade With Me

Chapter 9

I bounded towards the yellow creature with a huge, excited smile on my face.

But…I secretly wished it would slow down its pace by just a little bit.

Wark!

"Hey, chocobo!" I furrowed my brows in concentration as I continued to dart after it. "I'm gonna catch you, mister!" I laughed at myself slightly, but then straightened my facial expression when the big bird started to get a little too far away from me. "Wait up, chocobo!"

While I was in the middle of the Calm Lands, goofing around, Braska and his guardians were restocking our supplies at the central agency. They gave me a few odd looks when I first started chasing after the bird, but I was pretty sure they knew me well enough by now to know that I'm easily entertained…and that I hate walking everywhere all the time.

It hurts my feet, you know! What can I say!?

If I would be able to catch this speedy chocobo, then I wouldn't have to walk on my own. The chocobo could carry me on its back!

A perfect plan, I'd say!

I giggled to myself with a slight hint of mania in my tone. "I will catch you, Mister Chocobo!"

"Rikku, you do realize that this chocobo has you running circles around the central agency, correct?" Auron asked in his chronically monotonous voice as he watched my futile attempts to retrieve the chocobo.

I gasped. "Yeah, I knew that!" Smooth, Rikku. There's no way Auron would know you were lying!

Auron sighed and shook his head slowly, a small trace of a smirk on his face.

He doesn't believe me!

"Of course ya did, kid!" Jecht chimed in with his own smirk on his face. Braska was at his side, smiling gently at me like he always did. He gave me a small nod, as if to say, "You can do it!"

"That is exactly why you have already captured the chocobo," Auron deadpanned.

Is he seriously being sarcastic with me right now!? Oh, fayth save us all! Spira must be coming to an end!

I stopped running suddenly to glare at the two guardians; my uncle just happened to be in the middle of them, so he got a bit of my glare as well. It wasn't intended for him, though. I was pretty sure he realized that by the way he started to laugh quietly. "Oh shut up, you two! You just can't appreciate a master chocobo-catcher like me, can you!?"

No response from the meanie guardians. They just kept watching as I struggled, in vain, to catch up to the chocobo. My legs were starting to hurt more than they usually did, which made sense because of all the sprinting I was doing right now. "Gah!" I stopped running again, pounding my foot into the ground angrily. "Chocobo, please stop!? I'll give you some food!" I dug my hand into one of my pockets as I searched for something in particular.

The chocobo froze several yards ahead of me, and it raised its beak a fraction of an inch to sniff the air. It turned its head around to stare at me curiously.

"Yeah, that's right, chocobo!" I held up a stale cookie that had been in my pocket for…well, let's just say it was in there for longer than I could even remember. "I have some food for you!" I said in a sing-song voice. "Now, you just have to come over here and get it!"

It slowly turned its whole body around, staring me down the entire time. "Yeah, that's right…" I murmured. "Get over here!"

It tilted its head to the side in an adorable, inquisitive expression as it took a hesitant step towards us.

"No way in hell-" Jecht started to murmur before he was cut off by a jab to the ribs, causing him to unintelligibly gasp out the rest of the sentence. I wasn't completely sure who had shut Jecht up because my back was to them, but whoever it was, I was silently thanking them in my head.

I didn't want to scare the cute chocobo away right now! Not when I was doing so well…

Wark?

It took a few more uneasy steps in our direction. Sniffing the air once more, as if to decide if I was really holding a cookie in my hand or not, it nodded its head and calmly strode over to me.

He stopped right in front of me, looking down with an expectant look on his face. This chocobo seemed so smart that I was almost expecting it to start talking to me. "You promised me food!" would probably be the first thing it would say…if it could.

Wark!?

"Okay, okay! Here ya go!" I threw the cookie in the air, and it caught it effortlessly. "Wow…you're such an awesome chocobo." I stroked the feathers around its face while it continued to chew the cookie, savoring its delicious taste.

I have no idea how a stale cookie could taste that good. I shuddered at the thought. Well, if it works…

"I can't believe it," Jecht drawled. "The kid actually managed to catch the goddamn chocobo!?"

I faced them with a smug smile on my face, still petting the chocobo in the process. "You have no faith in me, Jecht. I tend to come up with a few surprises every now and then, ya know!" I turned my back on them again. "I'll name you, Bobo! Is that okay?" The chocobo made no response. He - it seemed like a boy to me - just kept eating the food, staring at me with a small twinkle in his eye.

Am I imagining that look Bobo just gave me?…Nah.

Wark!!

The chocobo was done eating, and by the looks of it, his affection for me increased exponentially. It bent its head down slightly so I could get better access to its neck while I stroked its soft feathers.

I put on my best pout, turning around again to face the three men. "Can I keep him?"

"I don't see why not, Rikku," Braska stated with a small shrug of his shoulders. "You managed to catch it, so I believe that you deserve to keep it."

I smiled exuberantly. "Yay! Thank you!" Turning to face Bobo, I whispered, "They like you already, Bobo. We just gotta behave ourselves, okay?"

The chocobo nodded.

Smart bird.

"Rikku, you may keep…Bobo…for now," Auron said slowly. "But he cannot continue the pilgrimage with us once we reach Gagazet. The temperatures will be far too cold for the likes of a chocobo."

And for the likes of a frozen Rikku, I finished in my head, my face falling.

"Okay…" I agreed half-heartedly. "At least I get to keep you for a little bit, Bobo!"

Bobo warked in agreement.

This is gonna be fun!

---X---X---X---X---X---

I take that back; this is not fun at all.

"Kid, let me have a turn on the damn bird!" Jecht shouted from behind me.

I turned around to stick my tongue out at him. "Were you the one who caught Bobo?" I asked with an innocent look on my face.

He won't stop begging for a turn on Bobo!

Jecht scratched the back of his head.

Wark.

Bobo seemed to hasten Jecht's reply. "Hell no. I want to ride on it, though, kid!" He ran up to me, managing to keep pace with Bobo. "Shit, I've never even seen a chocobo before! Please?"

Oh my…not the face…anything but the-

Jecht looked at me with the saddest facial expression I have ever seen in my life. It was very reminiscent of when Tidus used to beg me for help on random stuff along the pilgrimage. That made my stomach do a weird flip-flop…thinking of Tidus again…thinking of the future.

I glanced at Auron who was looking at us with an annoyed look on his face. I sighed, "Bobo, stop." The chocobo immediately came to a stop. "Good chocobo!" I hopped off the side of the bird, giving Jecht a mean look. "Happy now?"

Jecht nodded enthusiastically as he crawled onto Bobo's back. "Thanks, kid." He crouched down and yelled, "GO!" to Bobo. They were way ahead of us in a flash.

"Why did I let him ride Bobo…?" I asked to no one in particular, crossing my arms in exasperation.

Braska laughed, coming up to me from behind with a gentle hand on my shoulder. "Because you are a kindhearted woman, Rikku. You would do anything to make anyone happy, I believe."

Auron caught up to us. "But particularly because Jecht was behaving…in an immature manner."

I smirked at Auron. "I guess you're right! Let's catch up to them, shall we?" Both men nodded slightly, their own looks of amusement and annoyance plastered onto their faces.

Stupid Jecht…

---X---X---X---X---X---

Once we caught up to Jecht and Bobo, we noticed that the chocobo was freaking out, trying to slowly back away from a large opening towards the corner end of the Calm Lands, and nearly bucking Jecht off its back in the process.

I glanced towards the area the Bobo was seemingly frightened of. Recognition sparked in my mind. Is that the place where---?

"Rikku, this goddamn bird is crazy!" Jecht interrupted my thoughts, sending a panicked look in our direction. "What the hell am I supposed to do!?"

I rolled my eyes at Jecht's incapability of controlling a cute little chocobo. How hard can that really be? I ran towards them, Auron and Braska bringing up the rear.

"Jecht, all you need to do is comfort poor Bobo!" I scolded the confused man, glaring at him furiously. "He's scared of whatever's beyond…" I looked over my shoulder, "that huge crevice in the side of the mountain!"

Jecht scratched the back of his head while he glanced over at the area I was talking about. "Why would the dumb bird be scared of what's over there?"

I shrugged. "I dunno. You wanna check it out?"

He smirked in response. "Naturally."

Suddenly, we heard a god-awful screeching noise coming from the crevice. It sounded like a fiend's battle cry. It sent shivers down my spine at the mere thought of how large the fiend must be to make a noise that loud. Bobo bucked Jecht off his back and ran a good distance away from us.

"Uh…" Jecht rubbed the top of his head in confusion.

Auron sighed, walking ahead of all of us as he shouldered his katana. "You wanted to…check it out? Then get a move on."

I rolled my eyes. "Yeah, yeah. Be patient for once, Auron."

He sent a withering glare my way before continuing his path to the unknown. "Just pick up your pace, Rikku."

I wrapped my arms around myself as another loud cry came from where we were approaching. I hoped to all gods that it was the just the wind…or something like that.

Ah, who am I kidding! Knowing our luck, it's probably a fiend…a really big fiend.

"How curious," Braska mumbled to himself as we turned the corner. He looked up at the enormous arena in front of us.

"'Ello and welcome to the monster arena!" a jolly voice exclaimed. "My, my, it looks like we have a summoner and his guardians here today!?"

Auron took a protective step in front of Braska to face the rotund man at the entrance of the arena. "What do you mean…monster arena?"

The man looked excited as he prepared to explain, nodding profusely. "This ol' place is a trainin' center for my pets, but also for journeyers like y'all. Care to take a stab at ol' Bruno!?"

"Bruno?" I tilted my head to the side in confusion. "What are you talking about?" Realization suddenly dawned on me. "The fiend…is Bruno? You want us to fight your pet for practice?"

"Nay, not all of you!" The man laughed. "Methinks that wouldn't be fair odds, now would it?" He gave each of us a significant look. "Nay, just one of you." He crossed his arms. "And I have a little prize for the lucky person who manages to beat Bruno!" He laughed again. "Not like that would ever happen. Heh, so whadda y'all say?"

Jecht, Auron and Braska exchanged a quick glance.

Auron sighed. "I will fight this Bruno." He shouldered his katana again. "I feel up to the challenge."

I stifled a laugh. "Don't let that ego suffocate you before you even start fighting, Auron!"

He glared at me. "No such thing will occur, Rikku."

I rolled my eyes. "Oayr, cina ed fuh'd."

Auron started to approach the rotund man inside the arena, but when the rest of us made a move to follow, the large man shook his head at us with a steady hand in front of his body. "Eh, I'm sorry but y'all can't come inside too. Ol' Bruno'll get nervous, understand?"

Braska furrowed his eyebrows. "Well…if you insist. We will stay out here and await Auron's return."

The man nodded enthusiastically. "Alrighty! See ya in a few!" He winked at us before he and Auron disappeared inside the arena.

"Good luck, Auron," I whispered to myself, crossing my arms as a cool breeze blew by me.

Jecht, Braska and I each took a seat on the grass outside the arena. A few moments passed with nothing but the wind making a sound. I sighed heavily. "Did that seem a little fishy to anyone else?"

"Yeah!?" Jecht shouted. "I was wondering when someone was gonna speak up 'bout that."

Braska nodded with an intent look of concentration on his face. "I agree. But I am positive that Auron can take care of himself." He smiled at me. "At the first sign of trouble, however-"

"We bust the joint!" I finished for him, pumping my fist into the air energetically.

He laughed at me. "Yes, Rikku. We will," he said. "But I am fairly certain that nothing of those likes will happen. That man was odd…but he appeared to be genuine."

I nodded, a smile on my face.

Wark?

"Bobo came back!?" I squealed, standing up to wave the chocobo to us. "Hey, Bobo! Nothing to be afraid of! Come on and join us!" I dug through my pockets again.

Yes! There's one more cookie!

Bobo realized what I was digging for and immediately strode over to me, beady eyes staring at the cookie in my hand. "Heheh, okay. Here ya go, buddy!" I threw it into the air, and Bobo caught it effortlessly again.

He seemed more comfortable now that he got another cookie out of the whole ordeal, so he trotted over to Jecht and took a seat next to him.

I furrowed my brows in confusion. "Jecht, how does Bobo like you better than me!? I'm the one that's actually nice to him!"

Jecht laughed obnoxiously. "'Cause I ain't bribing him with food like you are. I'm all genuine and stuff!" He patted Bobo on the beak. "The bird can tell."

I rolled my eyes. "Whatever, Jecht."

---X---X---X---X---X---

Strumming my fingers against the soft grass, I kept sneaking glances at the entrance to the arena. To me, it had felt like hours since Auron went inside, but every time I mentioned this to Braska and Jecht, they would laugh and tell me it had only been a few minutes.

It feels like a lot longer…

"Ugh, is he done yet!?"

Suddenly, an agonizing cry came from inside the monster arena. All three of us bolted to our feet and started running towards the sound.

That stupid meanie better be okay!

Before we even made it to the entrance, Auron and the plump man came outside. My jaw dropped. Auron had a huge smirk on his face, carrying not one, but two katanas on his shoulders. He was completely unscathed.

The rotund man sighed dejectedly. "This chap 'ere actually managed to knock out my Bruno!" he exclaimed. "I couldn't believe it…but I did promise a prize to the winner…although, he seems to be enjoying the Masamune already." He sighed again. "That katana I gave you is extremely powerful…I certainly hope you know how to wield it, sir."

Auron gave the man a pointed look, but didn't respond.

I looked closely at the katanas on his shoulders. "Auron, are you really going to use two swords now instead of one!?"

He shook his head slowly, walking over to me. "No, Rikku." He brought his old katana in front of him to examine it for a moment. "I believe it would be wise for you to make use of this sword now." He glanced at my daggers. "Your other weapons may become less effective against stronger fiends as we continue this pilgrimage."

Braska hummed in agreement. "Great idea, Auron. Your old katana would be much more powerful than her daggers."

I stared at the huge sword he was holding out in front of me. "Um, Auron…I've never used a sword before in my life." My stomach was starting to twist in fear. I was scared to even look at that sword sometimes. I liked my daggers much much more. "I can't use your sword, Auron."

He sighed, giving me a serious look. "Yes you can, Rikku. And you will. Even if that means that I will have to teach you how to use it myself."

My cheeks reddened. "You would teach me how to use it? Really?"

He nodded. "Do you expect me to hand this over to you when you probably can't even hold it the right way?" He continued, ignoring my huff of annoyance, "You could seriously hurt yourself without the proper training."

"But once you do learn how to use it properly, it will make an enormous difference, Rikku," Braska stated. "Auron is a great teacher. You will learn in no time."

I laughed nervously. "If you guys are sure…" I really didn't want to embarrass myself with my lack of sword abilities in front of the man that I couldn't seem to stop thinking about.

"You'll be fine, kiddo!" Jecht came up from behind me to ruffle my hair. "It's not that hard."

I sighed. "Fine."

---X---X---X---X---X---

Braska and Jecht went back to the central agency with Bobo to relax a little bit while Auron helped me with my new katana. I was a little antsy about the whole situation…for more than one reason.

"The first thing you must do when wielding a sword of this caliber is test its weight with your own strength," Auron explained calmly. "As you may have noticed, I only use this sword with two hands when I am striking down a fiend. That is to assure accuracy and precision." He handed the katana to me. "Otherwise, I hold it with one hand or rest it on my shoulder."

"Okay," I said shakily. "I'm definitely gonna have to hold it with two hands." It felt like my whole body unconsciously shifted forward when he placed the sword in my hands. It was really heavy!

Probably more than twice my own weight…

"That is logical," he agreed with a nod of his head. "The next thing you must do is trust yourself with the weapon. If you have the confidence and willpower to fight…you will succeed."

I quirked a brow. "Is that a guarantee?"

He shrugged. "I suppose it depends on the person. But I believe that you are already a formidable warrior. With a stronger weapon in your hands, you will be even better on the battlefield."

I blushed crimson. "R-Really?"

He nodded, looking slightly taken aback by my surprised reaction. "Now for the actual sword usage." He sheathed his new Masamune and moved next to me. "Each warrior has his or her own art of swordplay…I cannot teach you mine because it will probably not work for you."

"So you're telling me that I have to learn how to use it on my own!?" I gasped out. "Then this whole lesson was a big waste of time!?"

He shook his head slowly, trying to conceal his annoyed sigh. "No, Rikku. I will help you discover your own methods and tactics…but I simply cannot do it for you. That is not how it works."

"Huh?"

He sighed. His gaze went from my face to something behind me. "Now is your chance to find out for yourself."

"What are you talking about, Auron!?" I asked, slowly turning around to see what he was looking at.

"That Coeurl over there is making its way towards us," he explained. "I want you to fight it."

How can he be so calm all the time!?

I laughed anxiously. "Easy for you to say! Those things are scary!"

He gave me an annoyed look. "Rikku. Enough of this self-doubt. You will fight the Coeurl and you will win." He put his hand on my back to push me forward gently. The mere touch of his gloved hand on my skin sent tingles down my spine. "Go."

"F-Fine!" I shouted, shifting the katana to the side slightly as I strode towards the fiend. I couldn't exactly run because the weapon in my hand was too heavy to allow me to do that. "I'm going!"

That feline fiend better not be one of those lightning fiends…

When I closed in on the Coeurl, I noticed that it was twitching with random electricity spiraling around its whiskers and tail.

Just my luck.

"Rikku," Auron pressed. He followed me towards the fiend, but was keeping his distance a little bit behind me so I could take it on by myself.

Great…

"A-Auron?" I stammered out nervously as the fiend leaned forward on its front legs to power-up.

"What is it?" He sounded annoyed…still.

"I don't think I can do this with your katana…or you know…at all!" I started to take small steps backward. "It's a lightning fiend, you meanie! You know I'm scared of lightning and thunder. You know!"

I kept backing up until I ran into another body. Hands made their way to my shoulders, where they squeezed in a reassuring way. "You can do this. It doesn't matter if it's a water fiend or a lightning fiend. You will fight it." Auron's voice was considerably softer than it had been before. "I trust in your strength."

I closed my eyes, taking a few deep breaths in and out. Auron's actually being nice to me…and he's taking the time to help me with this sword, so I should at least try…right?

"Okay," I nodded, opening my eyes slowly and walking towards the fiend. I crouched down into a battle stance that I thought would work with the new weapon in my hands. It was new…but I hoped it would work. "I trust in your strength," Auron's voice kept replaying through my mind, giving me courage to go through with this.

But I couldn't help remembering how heavy this new weapon was compared to my small daggers. It was a hard thing not to notice…

The fiend roared venomously, shooting a bolt of electricity at me. I gasped at the sudden attack, but somehow I was able to side-step the spell. "That was a close one," I muttered. I saw an opening while the fiend recoiled in surprise at my unexpected speed. I charged at it, gripping my katana with both hands steadily.

I was too scared to see if the fiend was going to attack me before I attacked it, so I closed my eyes as I made a horizontal slash against its side. I felt more than heard the blade cutting through the fiend's flesh…so I opened my eyes slowly. I gasped at the sight.

The Coeurl was laying on its stomach with a huge gash from the side of its hind leg all the way to its neck. "I…I d-did that?" I thought aloud.

"Yes, you did. Just like I said."

I turned around to see Auron calmly striding towards me with a small smirk on his face.

"Yeah, sure. Take all the credit." I rolled my eyes. "That was easier than I thought it would be." I snuck another glance at the dead fiend. "Hmm." I bent over to touch the fur. It looked incredibly soft…

"Don't-"

Electricity coursed through my entire body as I was hurled backwards by the powerful force.

Ouchies! Not lightning again!!!

"-touch it!" Auron yelled as he ran towards me. He bent down to give me a quick once over to see if I had sustained any injuries.

"I'm fine!" I sat up and rubbed my head. I shivered as another wave of electricity coursed through me. "You c-could have warned me, you know!"

"I tried," he deadpanned.

I huffed, crossing my arms. I glanced over at the dead fiend again to see it explode into pyreflies. "How did that even happen!? I don't…understand."

Auron sat down next to me. "Coeurls are particularly known for defensive attacks even when they are dead or unconscious. One touch of their fur, and you will surely feel their wrath." He looked at me. "You were lucky that it was a young Coeurl you fought and not an adult." He shook his head. "Otherwise, you would've been killed after touching it."

I huffed. "Well don't sound so calm about it, Auron! It's like you knew it was a young fiend the whole time."

He didn't respond.

The wheels started turning in my head…it was all starting to come together. I stood up angrily. "You knew it was a young Coeurl the entire time, didn't you!? You planned it that way…Y-You didn't think I could take on a full-grown one!"

Auron stood up, putting his hands up in a surrendering way that was probably meant to try to placate my anger. "Yes, I knew. But it wasn't that I didn't think you could handle an adult. I just…"

I started tapping my foot impatiently. "You what?"

"I didn't want you to be harmed, Rikku. You have never used a sword like that before and…" he trailed off.

My expression softened as I saw him struggle for the right words to say. I sighed. "Oh, it's okay, I guess." I walked over to him and lightly punched his arm. "Next time, you better trust me more than that."

"Next time, you better not touch a dead Coeurl," he retorted with a small trace of a smirk on his face.

I rolled my eyes again. "You're so funny today, Auron. I honestly can't believe it. Usually this pilgimage is so boring…so gloom and doom, you know?" I looked at him to gauge his reaction to my statement. "It's nice to have smiles every now and then, you know?"

He looked at me with an unreadable expression. "I…agree."

My jaw dropped. "What!? But you're the one that's always so serious about the pilgrimage, Auron!"

He nodded slowly. "Yes, but ever since you showed up…I realized that the pilgrimage doesn't always have to be so serious…so rushed." He smiled at me. "I thank you, Rikku. For making this journey easier to bear. I truly want what's best for Braska during his final moments on Spira. And now I know that it is to spend as much time as he can…in happiness." He nodded at me. "Thank you for helping me realize that."

I stood there staring at him like an idiot. I had no clue what to say after hearing something like that. "I…it…uh…no problem," I managed to get out.

He reached his hand out for me to give him my new sword. I handed it over, though I was a little confused as to why he was taking it back. "I will hold onto this on my belt. You do not have the proper holster for something as heavy as this yet. Perhaps we can purchase one when we return to the central agency?"

There he goes…being nice again. I'm starting to enjoy this more and more…

"Yeah…sure," I said. "Let's go."

---X---X---X---X---X---

Translations:

Oayr, cina ed fuh'd=Yeah, sure it won't

A/N:

The Calm Lands was my favorite place in the game, so maybe that's why this came out really really fluffy? Ah well…thanks for all the continued support in reviews, faves, alerts, etc. I REALLY appreciate it. You guys make me so happy!!!!

Oh, and I have an opinion question for you: should the next chappie be where they go into the Calm Lands Gorge and find Yojimbo…or should I just skip that altogether and have them continue onward to Gagazet?

Please tell me what you think of that idea…oh, and of this chapter! ;D

Thanks a bunch!!! XD