"Augh," said Syaoran. Fai remembered that part quite clearly, because he meant to tease him about it later. But then Sakura had squeaked and Mokona had started squirming around and Kurogane just stood there and sighed, so Fai finally looked away from Syaoran and noticed the couple standing there.

"Are you lost?" the woman said kindly.

"Sakura-chan, you don't even know who they are, what are you do--" the man said, stopping as soon as the woman waved a hand at him to shut up.

"We're new here," Kurogane said. Fai couldn't even remember the last time Kurogane had volunteered information. That distracted him for a few moments, until he realized that the woman was inviting them to her house.

"You look like you could use a good bath," the woman said happily. "Oh, Syaoran, isn't it lucky that we finally renovated the second bathroom? It's nice and clean again."

The man frowned. "You do all look as if you could use a bath. But who are y--"

"Thank you so much for your generous offer!" Fai interrupted, smiling. "I'm sure we would all like to thank our kind benefactors by name."

The woman laughed. "Oh, aren't you polite! Well, I'm Sakura Kinomoto, and this is my husband, Li."

The man scowled. "Charmed."

"He's not too trusting of strangers, don't mind him," the woman said reassuringly. Her bracelet jingled, making a funny clanging sound, and she pushed it higher up on her wrist. Fai caught a tiny glimpse of a feather charm before her hand covered it, just as Mokona's eyes began to dilate.

But the princess once more saved the day when she fainted right into Syaoran's arms.


Loop

Going in circles, in the end we will come face to face again.


Syaoran didn't particularly care what his wife thought about these strangers. Although the boy and the girl looked oddly familiar, they were strangers. Of course, that never stopped Sakura from trying to help, but just look what happened the last time she got friendly with a person she found on the street.

"Stop, dear, you're growling," Sakura told him, and patted his cheek. "I really don't understand why you must be so suspicious. That poor girl looks like she's walked for days to get here, and the others didn't look very good either. Besides, would you have preferred the police to get them?"

"No," Syaoran admitted. But he had a different motive than Sakura for not wanting the police to get to them first. At least two of the strangers had incredibly strong magical auras. Who knew why had they traveled all the way to a tiny suburb like Tomoeda? Perhaps they had heard about what happened to the Card Mistress, and came to bother her.

He narrowed his eyes. If they dared even lift a finger against Sakura, he wouldn't hold back. He would never let anyone hurt her again.


The following distraction was more than enough for Fye and Kurogane to think of names and cover stories for themselves and the two children. Syaoran would be Shouhei, and Sakura would be Miu, while Fye and Kurogane would keep their own names. Mokona loudly insisted on still being Mokona, until Kurogane stuffed him into Syaoran's forgotten travel pack.

("Oh, look," says Yuuko as Black Mokona opens his mouth widely. "They've sent us a souvenir. How nice, it's a dirty sock. What are they up to, I wonder?")

They would be travelers, from distant lands, and would decide the rest once the Princess woke up.


The other, older Sakura led them to a nice, tidy house on a quiet street. They passed a few shops on the way, and something that looked like a fruit stand, but already it was apparent that in this country, the residential area was separate from the commercial area. As far as Syaoran could tell, that meant that they weren't in a city, but the lack of open plains meant that they weren't in the countryside, either. He could not smell the ocean, and saw no mountains past the numerous trees that lined the streets.

Whatever this world was, where his other self was married to the Princess, it seemed normal enough. The sky was its usual blue, and no monsters or demons had appeared yet. Perhaps they would be able to relax for a while.

"Here we are," Other, Older Sakura said cheerfully, reaching in her pocket for the house key. She turned towards Syaoran, and nodded down at the princess, still cradled in his arms. "Has she woken up yet?"

Syaoran froze and blushed. It was one thing to see familiar faces in the other worlds, but it was quite another thing to have another Sakura speak directly to him, while his own other self glared daggers at his back.

Fai stepped forwards, Mokona balancing on his shoulder, and carefully pushed back the princess's hair, pretending to check for a fever. He shook his head, and replied "It looks like poor Miu-chan is still out cold."

"Eh?!" Syaoran exclaimed, nearly dropping the princess. They had never assumed names before, and there seemed to be no reason to start now. What was Fai thinking?

Kurogane placed what was probably meant to be a comforting hand on his shoulder, but instead felt more like a very heavy and warning weight. "You okay carrying her, uh, Shouhei?"

Syaoran stared at him, shifting the princess slightly. "Yeah, I'm fine." He supposed that this was what Fai and Kurogane had been whispering about as they were following the couple home. He had only caught a few words, something about the meaning of a name being important, but hadn't thought much of it at the time.

Older Sakura smiled reassuringly. "Don't be too worried, Shouhei-kun, I'm sure she'll be all right."

She fit the key in the door, then frowned. "No, this isn't it.."

Syaoran looked at it curiously. It was pink, with a design like white wings on the sides, and hung on a piece of string. It looked more like the costume jewelry that the princess used to wear than a key for unlocking anything, but there was something odd about it.

"Here, Sakura, I knew you'd forget your keys again," said the other Syaoran swiftly, putting a bag of groceries to the side and opening the door for her.

Other Sakura smiled up at him sheepishly. "I guess I got a bit mixed up, didn't I?"

She pocketed the strange key before stepping into the house and gesturing for them to do the same. "Please, come in."

She stepped out of her shoes, and after putting them in a rack by the door slipped her feet into a plain pair of slippers. Other Syaoran did the same, before informing the other Sakura that he'd take care of the groceries, and walked into another room.

"Well, welcome to our home," said Other Sakura. "Please follow me, Miu-chan can rest in the guest room while you tell me where you're from."

Syaoran nodded, and followed the Other Sakura down a narrow hall, ignoring Fai and Kurogane as they snuck peeks at some of the other rooms, and into a sparsely furnished bedroom. He looked around, observing the plain furniture - a small chest of drawers, a bookshelf and a night table - before carefully placing the princess on the neatly made bed that had been pushed into a corner.

The Other Sakura went over to a closet and pulled out a pink blanket, which she carefully tucked around the princess. "I think we still have my old bed in the garage," Other Sakura said. "I'll have Li-kun see if he can't find it and maybe some futons. And the bathroom's in there," she added, gesturing to another door. "Don't mind the wall colours, we haven't finished painting yet."

Kurogane excused himself, exchanging a quick look with Fai that Syaoran took to mean he would make sure everything was truly safe before closing the bathroom door.

"Does Miu-chan need anything else?" Other Sakura asked kindly.

Syaoran looked down at the princess, and noticed that she was, in fact, fast asleep. He shook his head 'no', biting his lip in the process. "She's fine."

"Then let's have a talk," said Other Sakura, smiling, and motioned for them to follow her.

Kurogane burst out of the bathroom, looking vaguely disgruntled, as Mokona jumped off Fai's head and into Syaoran's arms. "Mokona likes her," Mokona whispered solemnly, and Syaoran nodded in response.

Other Sakura led them into a living area, and took a seat on a chair. Syaoran and Fai sat on the sofa, while Kurogane sat on the floor, and Other Syaoran came to stand by Other Sakura.

"So, where are you from, anyway?" said Other Sakura.

"You're obviously not from around here," Other Syaoran said pointedly.

The three exchanged a look.

"Well," Fai said, "we're travelers. And we come from very far away."

"Unrelated," Kurogane was quick to add. "Absolutely unrelated."

"We're trying to help Miu-chan," Fai said. "Since she's developed a slight, er, problem."

"She lost her memory, and we're trying to help her get it back," Syaoran summarized.

Other Sakura's eyes widened. "Really? Oh, the poor dear."

"That doesn't explain your clothes," said Other Syaoran. "Are you some sort of cosplay group, perhaps?"

Kurogane shrugged, obviously as confused as Syaoran was, and Fai grinned sheepishly. Other Syaoran's eyes narrowed, but he didn't press the subject.

"But what about your families?" Other Sakura asked. "Aren't they worried?"

The three exchanged another look.

"Well, my father has passed away," Syaoran said truthfully.

"And we're trying to find Miu's family, too," Fai added.

It was half of the truth, at least, which was better than nothing. Although, Syaoran was beginning to feel a bit unnerved by the other Syaoran's staring. It was almost as if his other self could see right through their story. But thankfully, Other Sakura seemed to buy it.

"I'm sorry to hear that, Shouhei-kun," she said, and pointed to a picture frame on the table by the sofa. "My mother died when I was very young, too, and I don't know what I would have done without my own father."

She sighed, and looked down at her hands, folded in her lap. "It seems you certainly have had your share of trouble, haven't you? Especially for ones as young as Shouhei-kun and Miu-chan, but I'm sure you two have been taking care of them, right? You look like responsible people," Other Sakura said, looking up at Fai and Kurogane and smiling.

"Shouhei-kun is very self reliant," Fai said cheerfully. "He's gotten Kurogane and I out of many a scrape."

Kurogane snorted indignantly.

Other Sakura laughed. "I can see that you're truly a team. You're welcome to stay here for as long as you need to, okay?"

"But, Sakura-chan--" Other Syaoran protested.

Other Sakura smiled charmingly. "It's fine, dear. Something tells me that they're looking for something very important, and they'll need some time to find it. Besides, what would we do with that extra room? It's just going to waste, for the moment..."

She looked at her wristwatch, and gasped. "Oh, no, I've got to get dinner started. Please make yourself at home, okay?" she said, standing up and brushing off her skirt. "And be nice," she warned her husband, causing him to flush.

"Thank you," Syaoran, Fai and Kurogane chimed, as Other Sakura rushed into the kitchen.

The Other Syaoran sat down on the couch, and looked at them all seriously. "Now then," he began. "Why don't you tell me exactly what you're doing here."

"We just did," Fai said, grinning as widely as ever.

"I don't believe a word of it," said Other Syaoran bluntly. "You're obviously some sort of magician. The girl's got a huge void in her. And you, Shouhei or whatever your name is, you've got something odd about you, too."

Fai's grin faltered, Syaoran frowned and Kurogane's posture became even more rigid.

Mokona spoke up, wiggling free of Syaoran's grip. "You're being rude, you know, asking all these questions."

Other Syaoran abruptly blanched.