Chapter 4: Useless

A/N: Hey guys! I'm updating! Woo hoo! I know, I know…five months. Don't stone me! I'll TRY to update within the month. :crosses fingers: Ok, go and read!

Flash forward-

"Why?"

Tears streamed down the young woman's face, her auburn-colored eyes filled with anger and pain. He had refused to answer her question, to even look at her. He stared at the door still, silent as ever, attempting to hide his own pain. She took a step forward, clenching her fists so tightly, her nails began to break the skin of her palm. He raised his hand to the knob reluctantly.

"Why?" She repeated louder.

The ronin remained facing the door, letting the cold silence grow. He turned the knob and opened the door gradually. Stopping for a moment, he spoke just above a whisper. "Things must not get complicated."

Closing her eyes, she heard the door shut softly, another unnerving silence filling the immediate area. Slowly opening her eyes, she stared at the place he was once in. The last of the tears she let herself cry slid down her pale cheeks.

"Things are already complicated."

Okay, a floaty fire elemental…thing, a seed-spitting plant, and a lizard…at least that's what it looks like…Lark thought warily, sword drawn, glancing at each fiend. Her dark eyes darted from one monster to the next nervously, finally narrowing on the lizard. Before she knew exactly what she was doing, the new quote-unquote 'warrior' was already right in front of the fiend, her sword raised. Swiftly she brought her weapon down on the creature and backed away a few steps. She sighed, some of her stress relieved, before she brought her gaze back to monster. Her relief soon was replaced with shock. The creature stared at her, barely scathed. Strength of the warrior, my ass…

Before she knew what was happening, the lizard-thing ran toward her, biting her ankle and sprinting away yet again. The sharp pain made her fall to her knees and hold her ankle. Another shot of pain traveled through her, greatly weakening her. As it became increasingly harder to breathe, out of the corner of her eye, she saw a small bottle drop and roll towards her. Letting go of her ankle, Lark picked up the bottle. Out of the blue, she heard Jecht yell, "Hurry up!"

"Do I drink it!" She yelled back.

She then heard a frustrated sigh. "Yeah, ya drink it! Now hurry the hell up!"

Not even thinking twice, she unplugged the small container, put it to her lips and drank the foul tasting liquid. Throwing the bottle to the side, she immediately gagged as the pain ebbed away rather quickly, though still leaving her weak…er. When she looked up, all she saw were a swarm of pyreflies escaping from the spot they were once in. "Guess I missed all the fun."

"You sure you have the strength of a warrior?" The ex-blitzer queried.

She glared menacingly at Jecht, not only because of his question, but also because she still didn't have the strength to stand. "It was only my first fight."

"If that was an example of her fighting skills," Auron began, as if she wasn't there, "perhaps, we should reconsider."

After waving around his staff quickly and murmuring something, Braska extended a hand to Lark, seeing as now she had the strength to pull herself up. After helping her up, the summoner turned to Auron. "Although her skills need much work, let's not hasten our decision. She has until we arrive in Luca."

Hearing that, Lark's eyes went downcast. That isn't much time…what if I can't cut it? What if they leave me behind in Luca?

"Shall we continue?" Braska asked his guardians, snapping the young woman out of her thoughts.

With that, all four moved on in silence, other than Jecht's remarks now and then.

The day went on quietly, as they roamed the forest of Kilika. As the sun fell peacefully into the sea, before them was none other than Kilika Temple. The summoner and his guardians entered the sacred place solemnly, although Lark seemed a bit uncomfortable. As the walked up the steps to the cloister of trials, a voice stopped Lark. "I am sorry, but you cannot enter."

She glanced at Summoner Braska for a moment, sighed, and started down the steps. The summoner then looked to Auron and Jecht expectantly. "Would one of you be so kind as to keep her out of trouble?"

"Screw that, I'm goin' in," Jecht spoke up first. He patted his fellow guardian on the shoulder, with a laugh. "Have fun."

Auron narrowed his eyes at Jecht, sending him a glare that'd make even the strongest fiend run scared. "Fine."

Braska and Jecht entered the through the double doors to the trials, as Auron walked back down the steps, Lark's eyes following him. She continued staring at him; feeling a bit of what she supposed was guilt.

"Now what?" He asked, irritated.

Lark took a deep breath. "I'm sorry, I guess," She replied quietly. No reply came. Slightly annoyed, she exhaled irately. "Could you stop ignoring me for two seconds? Why do you hate me so much?"

"I don't even know you."

"Then why are you so eager to get rid of me!" She almost yelled, keeping in mind they were in a temple.

He turned, only slightly, to her. "Because you don't belong here."

"You think I don't know that?" She asked quietly. "I want to be here as much as you want me here. I was just fine back home with my friends. I'm not even sure if they realized I'm gone. What would they tell my family? I ran away? I was kidnapped? I just disappeared? And what can I do here? Stall the fiends since I obviously can even hurt them. My life may have been dull, but at least I wasn't completely useless there."

He stayed silent. Leaning against a wall near a statue, Lark rolled her eyes. They both remained completely soundless for the remainder of the time.

What seemed like an eternity later, Braska and Jecht exited the cloister of trials.

"Have fun, you two?" Jecht asked, earning menacing glares from both of them. "Sorry I asked."

Summoner Braska motioned for his guardians to follow. "It's time to rest. We can stay at the Inn we passed earlier."

All three nodded in agreement. Exiting the temple, Lark noticed how peaceful the night made everything around them seem. They didn't have to travel very far before reaching the inn. It didn't exactly seem like any inn Lark had ever seen, but didn't speak up. As soon as they checked in, she immediately found her room and decided to go to sleep. The three looked to each other oddly.

Jecht grinned, turning to Auron. "Heh, what'd ya do ta shut her up?"

Auron narrowed his eyes at the ex-blitzer before retreating to his own room, leaving his comrades a bit confused. The girl's voice still echoed in his mind. My life may have been dull, but at least I wasn't completely useless there. He grunted, shrugging off the uneasiness the statement gave him. She doesn't belong here and that's the end of it, he thought. He entered his room quietly, sat down on the flimsy bed and began to let his thoughts consume him as he often did, trying to shake the tinge of guilt he felt at the last thing he said to her. But he pushed it away…

…or, at least, he convinced himself that he did.

TBC

Ha! Chapter…3? 4? I dunno. Oh well. Don't worry, Auron won't warm up to her for a while. Gotta keep it realistic, right? And to the reviewers:

Ugly Kitten: Thanks for the tip. I always appreciate constructive criticism. And don't worry, Braska hasn't exactly accepted her completely yet.

Arinya: lol, and depending on how much computer time I have during spring break, I'll try and update again fairly soon!

Real-fan05: Thank you for the compliment on my writing. I take great pride in all my works and plan on doing this for a living, and that review got me writing more to this chapter.

mewringo: I'm glad you like it! Thanks for reviewing.

FireStarter911: Ha! And I was right! There is a next time! And there will be yet another next time…I hope that made sense.

Bye people! See ya next time.