A/N: After reading chapter 185 of the manga, my mind was spinning. So much, in fact, that I just had to clear it up for myself.
Experimenting with non-AU type fics D:. May turn out horribly. In fact, I believe the chances of this turning out horribly are 100:1.
The Endless Memory
"If Fei Wong Reed is making these people do the same things…" Syaoran trailed off, unsure of how to continue. He looked into the eyes of the small boy carrying the basket of apples. In them was such a sense of liveliness that Syaoran could not bear to imagine the true emptiness of the boy's life.
Fay nodded sadly, his perpetual smile dimming. "How long has this been going on in Clow Country?"
"I believe," Kurogane began carefully, unsure of his own thoughts, "that this is may be a whole different dimension; this may not be the same Clow Country the princess came from."
"Even so, us being here must disturb the pattern somehow," Syaoran mused quietly. "If we hadn't been here, the boy might have fallen." At that point, the group had to stop talking – the villagers were leading them to the house where they would spend the 'night'. For the third time.
"Ne, Syaoran, we can still choose whether or not we go with them…" Mokona whispered into Syaoran's cape. "Why don't we take a look around? It may be helpful."
Syaoran nodded solemnly. He reached out to tap the shoulder of the boy's mother in front of him. "Excuse me. We have a place to stay tonight, ma'am. We wouldn't want to trouble you in giving us a room."
The lady smiled kindly, her unchanging wrinkles deepening. "Of course, young man. Go on. You don't have to worry about us." Syaoran felt a small pang in his chest. These people…
Kurogane growled lightly. "What do you have in mind, kid?"
"We can stay in the other Syaoran's house until the villagers go in. Then we should make for the ruins as fast as we can before time starts over again. They'll probably give us some answers."
The group acquiesced, although everyone knew of Syaoran's reasons for going to the clone's old residence – curiosity.
Syaoran led the way, guided by the memories he shared with his clone. "This is it," he murmured softly when they reached a small hut with nothing unique about it. The small dome's exterior was polished just like the rest, making them wonder who exactly was inside. Pushing the plain door open, Syaoran was surprised to hear no creaks or un-oiled hinges.
Someone was inside. The brown-haired occupant of a large wooden chair was none other than Fujitaka, the kindly man who took in the clone Syaoran.
He turned to the newcomers, the look of surprise on his face mirroring the one on Syaoran's. If the man had thought them intruders, he never showed any sign of it. "To what may I owe this visit?" was the simple greeting, directed at Syaoran.
"You're dead," Syaoran stated bluntly, his eyes wide. Mokona gasped.
Fay, realizing the awkward situation at hand, stepped in. "We are travelers," he said with a soft smile, "and we have come to Clow Country to learn more about the mysterious ruins here. We were hoping you, as an arch –"
"That's not why you're really here, is it, Syaoran-kun?" Fujitaka's eyes never left the boy. All four of them froze, eyeing the older man's perpetual kindly smile with growing discomfort.
"No, it is not," Syaoran replied, looking the man in the eye without smiling.
"Syaoran is searching for someone very important to him," Mokona blurted out, voice bursting with emotion. "Mokona, Kurogane, and Fay are helping him. We are all on this journey together. Though one of us is missing…" it trailed off, the words stuck to its throat. "It would be great if you could help us, mister."
"I'm afraid that in the state of things, I cannot do much to help you," he replied sadly. "I haven't woken up to a sunrise in more than a decade. After a while of this endless afternoon, I figured it out, and I figure it out again every 'day' – I guess you could call it that."
"Have you tried doing something about it?" Syaoran asked desperately.
"No, I'm stuck here. But you four are not. You will retain all your memories from the previous 'day'. You can choose. Your choices have brought you this far." Fujitaka sighed. "Ask me a question I can answer. A question whose answer will help you." He caught Syaoran's eye again, staring at him intensely.
Faltering slightly, Syaoran realized that they were almost out of time. The villagers were flooding back into their homes. Even if they tried their hardest, they would not be able to stay awake when the time restarted itself.
"Where is the Princess?" The question was vague.
"The princess is in Syaoran's room, evading her brother." Fujitaka raised an eyebrow. "Not what you wanted to know, is it? I'm afraid I can't give you the location of the princess who is free of this time trap. Only your choices will lead you to her. I wish you good luck."
With that, Fujitaka turned back to his documents, knowing that no matter how much he worked on them, they would never truly change.
As the group left the hut, Syaoran could've sworn he saw the man's shoulders shaking slightly.
"What now?" Kurogane asked, irritated. "That man gave us absolutely nothing to work with."
"Shhh," Fay muttered to the ninja. He gestured to Syaoran, who was now staring longingly at the back window of the small house.
"I'll be right back," he muttered, and rushed off towards the house again.
"Wait, kid!" Kurogane started to run after Syaoran, but was put to a stop by Fay's arm.
"Let him go," he whispered. "He needs this."
x – x – x
Syaoran sprinted softly through the lush lawn of his other self's old house. Without thinking, he identified the window that belonged to the clone. He could feel the presence of part of himself on the other side of the wall.
As quietly as he could, Syaoran lifted himself onto the windowsill, looking in. He recognized the one blank eye of the clone, and the giggles of a much younger Princess Sakura.
Syaoran's heart broke when she spoke.
"Syaoran, Syaoran! Let's play again!" She laughed, the sound chiming though the entire room. The younger Syaoran nodded slowly, mesmerized by the noise.
"Alright, Prin – Sakura," he murmured awkwardly, reaching down for the marbles that were scattered on the cold floor. There they sat, perfectly content as the world around them moved on.
"I don't want to leave," Sakura said softly as they began to play again. "The palace is so boring."
The clone stared at her in horror. "But your brother will worry."
"Nii-chan's always being a big meanie, Syaoran. You're not like him." She smiled, sparkling green eyes brightening up the entire room.
Syaoran, watching at the window, couldn't help but smile painfully.
The small princess leaned over to the clone, about to pull him into an unexpected hug.
That was when Syaoran's eyelids became heavy.
Dropping his body onto the wide windowsill, his mind blurred.
Isn't it better this way? Stuck in time forever with a sweet memory rather than going through the hardships that time brings forth?
Syaoran let the darkness take him.
x – x – x
They were on the outskirts of town again, looking in on the busy market.
"Ahh!"
A little boy carrying a basket of apples on his head ran towards a golden-eyed teenager with a ragged cape, the said boy saved from his fall by the teenager.
"Thank you, onii-chan!"
"Are you a traveler?"
No. This is much, much worse.
x – x – x
A/N: Not as bad as I made it out to be? Horrible? Wonderful? Vile?
I'll never know if you don't review : D.
Can't wait until this manga ends. Really. Then maybe I'll get some sleep.