Hello there! Fluffy Faith here again!
This fanfic was inspired by a song called Just Like A Pill by P!nk and Boston by Augustana (I have strange taste, I know). I'm not sure if the song lyrics or anything about the song has anything to do with this fanfic but it just came across me while listening to it. Oh! And I'm quite surprised at myself! Although this fanfic will definitely contain fluff and goodness, there will also be angst in here too, oh! Nevertheless, please enjoy! Thank you for giving this fanfic a chance! Much is appreciated!
Disclaimer: As many other fabulous fanfic writers, I am not the creator Nanase Ohkawa or any other lovely CLAMP members. I'm sure it's a CLAMP fan's dream to be a part of this all-female mangaka group!
Summary: In a new world, a new feather is faintly detected. But Syaoran hopelessly takes interest in a new item; one which promises to help Sakura receive her previous memories of him. SxS Please enjoy!
OH! And before I forget, I've had to describe little Mokona as a girl. Since Soel is the female Mokona, I don't suppose it'd be that strange. But still, just letting you know.
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The sky had opened up and, strangely, spit out about four people. Not a usual sight for any of the local in the country of Romerio. This country is very superstitious and so this sighting would be very alarming.
It's a good thing no one had seen.
As the first one out of the group of four stood up, the first thing he had noticed was the long ongoing river stretching far across the land and disappearing at the horizon. There were scattered trees and flowers around the area and huge mountains on either side. You could best describe this place as a valley.
"Um, Syaoran-kun…!" A voice gently called from beneath the standing boy. When he looked down, he noticed his companion with a rather flushed face and shy expression. It wasn't often that this girl shown this side of her. Then, finally, he knew why she was becoming like this. He spotted his foot holding down her cloak and so she was pinned down on her back. With cheeks aflame, he lifted his foot and recited many apologies as he helped her on her feet.
"Sakura-hime, you're not hurt in any way?" Syaoran asked with worry. Sakura shook her head with a red face.
"No, I'm fine. Thank you."
The little one, Mokona, giggled in the soft hands of Fay who grinned widely at the scene. While Kurogane pouted as he felt he wanted nothing to do with this.
"You two are so lovey-dovey!" Mokona sang in her high pitched voice with her paws clapping away.
"Eh!?" Sakura and Syaoran chorused frantically with faces burning in unison.
"Um, M-Mokona, is there a feather near by?" Syaoran asked to divert the topic to something else.
Mokona kept silent to concentrate on the feather. And shortly afterwards, Mokona had successfully assessed the situation.
"Yes! It's faint but I can tell in which direction it is."
Sakura and Syaoran sighed in relief and watched as she pointed her stubby, snow white paw to the river.
"It's exactly where the river is flowing! So if we follow where it goes, we'll find the feather!" She said excitedly, happy to have helped them out like this. Syaoran rubbed her head kindly and thanked her with a huge smile.
"Oh! But there is a village up ahead." Fay spotted and pointed towards the quiet village just ahead of them. "Perhaps we can stop for food for a while before starting our travels. That river looks quite long."
And so, they entered the village and were greeted with happy faces and a friendly atmosphere. The people of this village seemed ever so contented. And also old fashioned. The women's dresses swept down to her ankles and shawls looked most popular on ladies. Men mostly had waistcoats and flat hats covering their head. The market seemed most interesting since there were stalls selling many peculiar items that seemed to interest Syaoran the most. Mokona was the second most interested since she was very hungry and the food there looked absolutely delicious.
Kurogane, Mokona and Sakura sold a few of the valuables they collected from the last country for money and they just about had enough for food and shelter for them all. While they were depositing the money, Fay and Syaoran looked at the stall with carpets of all shapes and sizes.
"Do any of these look agreeable to you?" A man from behind the stall asked. He looked trustworthy and smartly dressed and his partner next to him seemed the same.
"Sorry, we're just browsing." Syaoran said to them.
"Mercutio, stop badgering customers or else they'll be scared off." The man next to him complained and fanned his face with his hand, "Oh, oh, how will we manage to get money on the table, clothing on our backs and a roof over our heads if we drive away our dear customers?"
"Give it up, Tybalt. Of course we have enough money!" Mercutio shook his head and grinned with bemusement, "We have more than enough to buy the field of irises and clovers and you know just how much that land is worth."
"Ah, it's said to be quite magical, yes?"
Syaoran's head shot up after overhearing this.
"That's right. Further up the river, past the next village ahead, lies a field of mysterious growing flowers of many colours. Irises and clovers mainly but there are roses, tulips, cosmos, you name it!"
"But what's so magical about that?" Tybalt pouted which even made his moustache pull down by the ends.
"Ay, since there are many flowers, there is much pollen flying around. Well, every single one of those flowers, no matter the colour, shape, size, kind, they are all the same genetically inside. So that means the pollen is all the same. Also, this is no ordinary pollen; they have two different purposes. One of these is to spread the seed of a new flower and the other is to plant them inside one with a lost memory."
"A lost memory?" Syaoran gasped. Suddenly, he felt that he had interrupted and had been rude to listen in but Mercutio had simply nodded to him.
"That's right. These flowers have the ability to cure those with amnesia."
Syaoran was taken aback to hear such a thing. Immediately, his mind was racing with possibilities involving Sakura and how she could remember everything simply by breathing in the pollen of these flowers…
But no, he thought, Sakura needs her feathers and so she has no ordinary amnesia that a little bit of pollen could easily cure.
"That's pretty amazing stuff, Mercutio!" Tybalt breathed and had a historically silly grin slapped across his face, "Perhaps you can remember what you had done the night before you woke up to the worst hang over you've ever had."
"I'd rather not, since I found my wrist handcuffed to somebody's goat the next morning."
Fay and Syaoran glanced at each other and confirmed that they had not the faintest clue what that could have meant.
"Ah, that's right." Mercutio jumped when he realised that Syaoran and Fay were still standing at his stall, "would you like to buy something?"
"Um, do you know anything else about this field of irises and clovers?" Syaoran asked hesitantly, still thinking of that strange expression Mercutio used. Well, Syaoran assumed it was a local expression.
"Of course! Which area in particular?" he asked with a smile.
"How exactly does this pollen work?"
"Ah, now how do I explain it?" he wondered and stroked his beard in wonder. Tybalt, just for fun and because there was an impulse begging him, copied Mercutio with Tybalt's own imaginary beard.
"Well, this pollen must be inhaled so it can enter the body. From there, it develops a kind of scent to attract the lost memory. It's the same as how bees are attracted to flowers but this applies to any memory that comes in any form. And since this is a lost memory and the pollen must follow its purpose, the memory fragment can be attracted as any form and can cross worlds to reach the person bearing the scent. And that scent can be developed into the person's most desired memory."
Syaoran's eyes lit up. If this is true, Sakura would be instantly saved. He looked over to Fay to see how he felt but he only smiled back with unreadable crystal eyes.
"Of course, there is only one flaw to this which is quite frustrating but that's just the way it goes." Mercutio shrugged and Tybalt held his shoulders up high.
"What do you mean?" He asked.
"Well, really, it depends on the content of the memory fragment. Since only one scent can be developed, only one memory fragment can be attracted. And that scent can be developed into the person's most desired memory." He nodded and Tybalt sighed.
"That's a fat lot of good, then. If you're only able to retain one certain memory out of every…!"
"Wait," Syaoran interrupted, "does that mean that each memory has a particular scent that it's attracted to?"
"It sounds strange, I know, but that's the way it goes. I guess it's because of the content of the memory fragment. If it's a bad memory, it would be attracted to a bad scent. But it varies."
"Varies?" Tybalt asked.
Mercutio shrugged and grinned to his partner.
"I've only been told by those of whom this field of irises and clovers has cured." He chuckled
Syaoran looked over his shoulder. From there, he watched Sakura hold Mokona in her hands and smile brightly towards her. He watched Mokona feed Sakura an orange fruit and blinked at the sight of their laughter. Sakura looked happy and Syaoran wanted more than anything to keep her smiling.
"So," Mercutio snapped Syaoran out of his gaze upon Sakura, "anything else you'd like to know?"
"Just one more thing." Fay said with a careful smile, "Are there are inns or hotels or such we can stay in for one night?"
"Hm, now that I think about it, you guys don't look like you're from around here."
"Mercutio, Mercutio! Let them stay at our house for the night!" Tybalt called out all of a sudden and waved a hand over his head. "It's quite hard to find a place right now and since its already sunset, it doesn't seem like you have enough time to look around. And camping out certainly isn't the best option."
"Well, since it does get awfully cold out especially at night." Mercutio looked helpless as Tybalt began to become closer and closer to him in anticipation. Finally, Mercutio nodded his head in defeat.
"How many of you are there?" Tybalt asked them.
"Four, I believe." Fay answered and held up that many fingers.
"Perfect! We have a room for each of you!"
The house looked small on the exterior, but inside the house was actually quite big. Syaoran had taken the sofa in the front room, and Kurogane, Sakura and Fay had the spare rooms. And before they had descended into each of their rooms, Sakura had noticed Syaoran had been a little off all evening. So, as soon as Fay, Kurogane and Mokona disappeared to their rooms, Sakura looked around the corner of the front room and saw Syaoran there. Something clutched at her chest.
"Syaoran-kun." Sakura said quietly, not wanting to disturb him as he did look like he was in deep thought. Syaoran turned around from the sofa and saw her standing before him. The only light that had illuminated the room was the moonlight shining through the windows. She was glowing beneath the light and seemed enchanting by the shadows of the rain falling down her figure.
"Ah, Sakura-hime." He smiled pleasantly, "I was just going to come and see you."
"Eh? See me?" Her face involuntarily flushed and her hand clenched over her breast.
When Syaoran approached her, Sakura noticed he looked very serious. She had noted that he usually softened his gaze at her every time he made eye contact with her but not this time.
"I have learnt of a field. Well, a field of irises and clovers, to be exact. It's said it be magical."
Sakura's eyes widened as soon as she realised what he meant. "You think my feather…?"
"Maybe, but I heard that this field can cure those with any kind of amnesia." He breathed in before mentioning about the next bit, "But it can only recover a particular part of your memory."
"I see." She took it well enough even though she had taken a deep breath. "So, in my case, I can recover only one feather?"
"Any that you desire." He confirmed whole-heartedly.
"Oh my." She breathes and lightly places her fingers over her half-parted lips.
"Sakura-hime," Syaoran said firmly, "Is there any certain memory that you feel you want to get back?"
At first, Sakura had looked puzzled as she stared into those kind, amber eyes of his but she had to tear her eyes away to ponder. Syaoran had taken this as something personal and very serious.
"Of course, you don't have to tell me the memory," he said worriedly and waved his hands. Immediately, he felt a little embarrassed and rested his arms by his side and avoided eye contact, "B-but if you do want to get back one specific memory, just let me know. I'll take you to the field of irises and clovers."
She smiled and even forced herself to gulp down a few giggles. He couldn't deny some of Syaoran's actions being incredibly cute. In this kind of situation, she felt her cheeks getting warmer. But still Sakura was pondering with a crooked finger placed over her lips. If she had concentrated any harder, her eyes would have crossed. Syaoran watched her face. She did this before the journey as well. Whenever she wanted to think really hard, she would bend her head forward a little and think with a finger to her lips. He looked up and saw the creases on her forehead. Precious memories swept through his mind and his finger twitched; almost as if he wanted to reach out and grab on to each one.
Then, Sakura took away her hand.
"I-I think we should leave it."
"Huh?"
"My desired memory… I don't think I have one."
"Hime?" Syaoran asked and held his hand up worriedly. H didn't know where we wanted that hand to travel but it remained hovering in the air and pointing in the direction of Sakura's shoulder. No, he thought to himself sadly, I am a stranger to her and so comforting her like I used to would be very inappropriate.
"All of my memories are very special to me and if I really do go to this field, I don't think I'd really retrieve one memory when my desire to have them all is too much. So it would just be a waste of time."
She looked out of the window and watched the rain hit the window panes. She had confirmed it; she wanted them all so much and the field wouldn't work at all. It's what she believed and what she was sure of.
"You're that sure? You don't want to give it a try just in case?" Syaoran asked suddenly. He couldn't understand it himself – he knew he'd do anything for the princess so why was he trying to twist her request into the other remaining option?
Sakura nodded to confirm that she wouldn't change her mind. And so, she smiled to Syaoran with gentle parting words.
"But it's okay. If we keep going through this journey, everything will be all right." She bowed slightly to him and glided past him, "Thank you for telling me about it. Good night, Syaoran-kun!"
But those words had seemed to fly over his head. He puzzled over why he wanted Sakura to go to the field despite her request not to. Quite literally, he fell back on to the sofa and let his face fall into a solemn expression without knowing why. And Sakura descended into her room with the thought strong in her mind that she would eventually remember everything when all the feathers are retrieved, even the memory of Syaoran.
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Oh dear, oh dear.
Well, thanks for reading! Please review and here's a little preview of the next chapter:
"Syaoran-kun." She called softly.
Syaoran's head snapped up on impulse after hearing his name from Sakura's lips. He turned towards her and saw how concerned she was. Nevertheless, he asked with a kind smile,
"Yes, Hime?"
She opens her mouth but at first nothing comes out. It isn't really any of her business, but she remained determined.
"Are you alright?" She asked, "Is there something wrong?"
Syaoran's eyes widened a little – he had then realised that he hadn't been speaking at all that day. Truth be told, he wasn't really sure what he was thinking about all this time. All he knew was that the pain and loneliness he felt was unusually showing a lot more. Ever since he heard about the field of clovers and irises, he had been confused about how he felt about it. If Sakura could have any memory she wanted…
Why was he so bothered about it?
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Fluffy Out. Ja Ne!