Tsubasa

Reservoir Chronicle:

-Whisper-

"—The Voice Only She Could Hear—"

"I have them in my sights…"

"Good. Be sure to target the young one. He's the one we want."

"Yes sir!"

An arrow adorned with a special feather was loaded into the bow and aimed at young Syaoran. This special arrow was known as the Arrow of Manipulation, possessing great powers used to win many wars through out the ages. The sound of a taught string unleashing the arrow was all the warning they had before things went terribly, terribly wrong…

* * * * * * *

Each feather in each world had its own special power. That was something they'd come to realize throughout their journey between dimensions. Some could prove quite troublesome while others could prove rather useful. One thing that remained consistent was that the power of the feathers usually always tended to have an effect on the world they land in, whether it be negative or positive. This world was no different. It was rumored that a great relic fell from the 'Heavens' several hundred years ago and assisted their country's hero in freeing their civilization from a tyrant. Since then it's been used to win many wars that followed and represented their freedom from oppression. This feather would not be easy to obtain without retribution from the country's residents.

"Hyuu~! Look at the size of the sacred temple!" Fai exclaimed as he spun around, looking up into the mighty rafters. Designs scrolled up the marble walls from the floor in leaf gold winding and twirling all the way to the ceiling closely resembling the pattern on Sakura's feathers. It was incredible! The floors had the same pattern etched into them, looking as if they'd taken years simply to finish. Paintings of an ancient arrow fletched with Sakura's feather filled the spaces between designs on the walls. The corridor looked as if it went on for at least a mile before reaching a door sealed with what appeared to Fai to be a curse.

"Kuro-pon! What's that? What's that?" Their small white companion chirped as it plopped down on the ninja's head and pointed at the seal on the door that appeared to be glowing.

"Keh! How should I know? And don't call me Kuro-pon!" The black haired man snapped.

Syaoran studied the mark, tracing a finger over the glowing edges. There was writing scrolled around it but it was not a script he was familiar with. However, he assumed it said something about those who break this seal will face a penalty of some such or how unbreakable the seal was. Whatever it said, it appeared to be a warning that more than likely proved close to useless when it came down to helping them open the doors. Despite that, he couldn't help but feel the desire to translate it.

"Hnn… Looks like a curse." Fai piped up as if it was nothing more than an amateur guess. "It would be best not to tamper with it just yet… not until we know more about it." He suggested, which actually meant it was a dangerous curse that they shouldn't take lightly.

Kurogane's eyes narrowed a fraction on the blonde mage. "Isn't this kind of thing right up your alley?"

"Mm, is it?" Fai asked in a mock innocent tone and shrugged. "Even if it were, I'm not strong enough to break such a curse." He lied.

The ninja didn't quite buy that excuse but he didn't verbally question it. He simply gave the magician a disapproving look and continued. "How irritating…" Kurogane growled.

Mokona giggled and bounced over to Fai's shoulder. "Kuro-Kuro's angry because he can't beat it up!" With that, the mage smiled up at the little white creature and nodded in agreement. Kurogane, however, didn't find it nearly as amusing as the other two.

"Shut up, Shiro Manjuu." Kurogane grumbled.

Syaoran studied the markings a while longer, able to skillfully tune out the bickering of Fai, Kurogane, and Mokona, and concluded that he couldn't decipher them without a form of reference to the language. It was just far too different from any other language he'd previously come in contact with that he could recall. The small brunette glanced back at the princess for any form of recognition in her eyes. She was young and inexperienced, but perhaps she knew something he didn't.

The young princess was staring right back at Syaoran without a clue. "If we ask around the village, someone might be able to tell us something useful." Sakura timidly attempted to help. Syaoran nodded. That sounded like the best way to go about this for right now. Directly asking wouldn't probably be so wise, but working a conversation in the general direction might do the trick.

Fai had long since slipped out of the little squabble unnoticed, leaving Mokona and Kurogane to argue as he listened in on the kids' conversation. It sounded like a pretty good idea to him as well.

Syaoran turned around and began the little trek to the exit of the temple. About half way down the long hall he noticed two newly stationed guards that hadn't been there when they entered the temple. The boy felt almost uncomfortable under the watchful stare. It felt as if the guards were observing their every move. Syaoran glanced around at the other members of his party. Fai seemed blissfully unaware, Kurogane was almost returning the intimidating stare to the two guards, Mokona was oblivious, and the princess scooted closer to Syaoran uncomfortably.

As they brushed passed, one of the guards reached for his weapon, ready to draw it. He didn't like being stared down by the ninja in black and red. If anyone was going to be intimidating it was going to be him, not some arrogant traveler! Before Kurogane could act, the mage tripped over his own feet and stumbled onto the guard, placing one hand on his shoulder and the other on the hilt of the sword for support while simultaneously keeping the weapon sheathed. The guard shoved him off but at the same time, whatever tension had developed between the guard and the ninja was quickly forgotten.

"Ah'aah! Gomen ne! Silly me. I'm so clumsy!" Fai laughed softly and put on a pleasant fake smile as he recovered his balance after being shoved away. He brushed himself off, ignoring the scrutinizing glare of the ninja, and they continued on their merry little way out of the temple.

***

Having found a nice little inn for the time being, the little group situated themselves around the little tavern down stairs to gather information. Syaoran and Sakura sat at a table watching a small group of men playing cards and swapping stories of adventures. They had been given strict instructions by Kurogane not to have any liquor at least until after they'd gathered some useful information. The last thing he needed was for them to become intoxicated and act like complete morons. So far, Syaoran had learned many things about the country and several different myths as to where the feather originated but nothing that would help them break the seal or when the guards' shifts changed. He discovered that the people here were used to travelers and seemed very friendly towards them so long as they weren't caught practicing magic in the open. He found that one of the rules of this country was the forbidding of most forms of magic excluding healing and regeneration spells. The boy suspected it had to do with the seal and the feather.

The king and his high mage were permitted to study whatever magic they wished as well as a few of the highest ranking royal guardsmen, but beyond that, anyone caught practicing the 'forbidden arts' was immediately arrested and punished for their crime. Minor and first offences were typically met with a few years incarceration in a magical rehab facility where the person was 'cleansed' of the Dark Deity's influence then released. However, those who committed a more serious offence were imprisoned for life or executed depending on the type of magic they preformed.

One of the men elaborated, saying those that returned from the rehab facility seemed to be missing a piece of themselves. Often leading to a dramatic personality change and in some cases, suicide. Those few that have survived claim they have no memory of performing such a heinous crime which the Arch Mage explains is caused by the removal of the Dark Deity's grasp on the villager's soul. Once the Dark Deity's claws are latched into the soul, the person is no longer in control, giving them no memory of the events once they are lifted of their curse. The Arch Mage also explains that the reason for the execution of more powerful magic users has to do with the Dark Deity's ability to taint and convert or replace the soul of the original being. Meaning the owner of the body was already dead by the time they committed the crime so the most humane thing to do was to destroy their controlled corpse.

Syaoran had his doubts as to whether the Arch Mage and the king truly believe these 'myths' that they're imposing upon the general public. He could not be completely certain that there isn't a Dark Deity controlling the bodies of the villagers, but his experience has lead him to think somewhat cynically when faced with these kinds of situations. It was more likely that the king is simply manipulating his people to prevent them from using magic in order to keep his reign of power. But simply killing off or erasing the memories of magic users wouldn't sit well with the public and could cause a rebellion. So the Dark Deity was created in the minds of the villagers to give reason for the disappearance of their friends and family as well as justifying the limitation of magic.

Syaoran's thoughts were interrupted as one of the men, somewhat on the drunk side, addressed him.

"Hey kid… wanna try a hand?" The man slurred and waved his cards at Syaoran. "I'll even sport ya the 'iles." He continued and pushed a small pile of square tan tiles towards Syaoran.

'iles was the slang term used to refer to the tiles, or form of currency used in this game representing the actual currency of this country though somewhat smaller in size and made of a wooden-like material. They each had a small feather engraved on them, matching the actual currency of the country but unlike the true currency, they were marked with a deep red center stained into the wood to show they were obviously not the real thing.

"Thank you." Syaoran said politely and took the tiles, divvying one into the central pile that slowly began to grow as other players entered the game. He was dealt a number of cards face down until the dealer finished dealing. He had been observing the game and seemed to grasp most of the rules already. The idea was to gather the lowest collective total with the largest amount of cards. Each card had a number of dots ranging from one to ten on the front. A hand of five cards with one dot on each, adding up to five points beat a hand of two cards with a total of five points between a two dot card and a three dot card.

Sakura gently put a hand on Syaoran's shoulder and smiled sweetly. "Ganbatte, Syaoran-kun." She whispered just before the game began. Syaoran picked up his cards… The first was a one, the second was also a one, the third was a five, the fourth was a two, and the fifth was another one. You were allowed to discard a card each round and draw a new one so long as everyone was still playing. The first person to quit caused the game to end and the hands were displayed. Excluding the player that quit, the hands were counted up and the winner was given the pot. The winner could choose to take their prize and quit the game or leave it and risk the whole thing in a second round. The downside to this game was, until someone quit, you had to discard a card and draw a new one each turn until someone quit or the deck ran out of cards, in which case, the game was automatically ended and all hands were displayed.

When it came to his turn, Syaoran discarded the five card and drew another. It turned out to be another one card. Syaoran couldn't believe his luck. With his free hand he reached up and gently covered Sakura's, still on his shoulder, with his own. The princess always did seem to be lucky at games of chance. Perhaps her luck was rubbing off on him for the moment.

Meanwhile, Kurogane and Fai were sitting at the bar sipping their alcoholic beverages despite Kurogane's protests. The mage was politely chattering away with the lovely tavern woman. To his surprise, she was quickly warming up to the blonde, willing to answer almost all his questions and queries that seemed to be accompanied with a few playful bats of Fai's stunning blue eyes.

Kurogane downed his second glass of the unique alcoholic beverage with a disgusted groan and requested another. Perhaps the alcohol hadn't been such a bad idea after all. He wasn't sure he could sit through this display without it. It wasn't so much that the mage was flirting that bothered him. Absolutely not. It was the fact that he had this woman so easily wound around his little finger with so little effort. As if manipulation came naturally to him. Then again, thinking about it, he supposed it did.

As the tavern woman turned to fix Kurogane another drink, Fai smiled sweetly in the ninja's direction. "Is something bothering Kuro-puu?" He asked playfully in that tone that clearly said he already knew the answer.

"Bastard." Was the best response Fai received before Kurogane looked away.

"My, my… Kuro-sama is mad. Is it because I ignored your alcohol rule?" The magician asked feigning innocence.

"Tch!" He quickly grasped the drink the woman set in front of him and gulped down a good portion of it immediately.

"Hyuu, hyuu! Kuro-pii is jealous that Fai is flirting with the ladies!" Mokona chirped in a sing-song tone as he hopped over and snatched Kurogane's drink, sucking down what was left.

Fai saw the last of Kurogane's restraint fall away like a makeshift dam of sticks and leaves against a raging flood. The ninja reached for his sword behind his cloak, prepared to hack the little white ball of fluff into bits while roaring a battle cry however a rather surprising event seemed to completely stop him in his tracks…

The blonde mage tightly grasped the ninja's wrist, wrenched his hand away from the sword, jerked him close and kissed him on the lips with a gentle little purr. …or at least that's what it appeared to everyone else around. As their chests met, nothing between them but fabric, and Fai's lips brushed Kurogane's, they continued past slightly to rest against the ninja's tanned skin… and he whispered something that only Kurogane could hear:

"Kuro-pon, don't draw your sword. The temple guard we encountered earlier is sitting two tables back watching your every move. Don't give him a reason to arrest you." The magician explained before he pulled back with a devious grin.

The blonde fanned himself and gave Kurogane the most devilish of looks as everyone around that had seen the little scandalous spectacle gaped and stared. "Oh, did I just do that?" Fai asked innocently. "I must have had one too many to drink already. You always do tell me I'm such a light weight, Kuro-sama. I should really listen to you." He said in self admonishment.

Kurogane wasn't quite sure how to react to this. The warning had clearly penetrated his entire being but there was still the little matter of the stunt that Fai pulled in order to deliver it. It took him a moment to realize that the mage hadn't yet released his hand and was obviously awaiting the ninja's reaction. Kurogane scoffed loudly and snatched his wrist away from Fai's grasp.

"Drunken idiot!" He growled but gave Fai a look that the mage could clearly read. Kurogane was grateful for the warning and just putting up appearances. Not that he approved of how the warning was delivered, but it would have been a right pain gathering information while running from the castle guard.

Fai looked back at the waitress who was blushing furiously and unsure if she should feel jealous since the kiss didn't land on her lips. "I'm sorry, where were we?" Fai asked sweetly, tuning out Mokona's blathering.

Syaoran did everything he could to ignore the incident at the bar and focused on the game. Not that it was really anything too important, but he somehow managed to get a hand of five ones. The man next to him scoffed loudly after drawing his next card and threw down his hand in defeat. The man had just drawn a ten, accompanied with the rest of his high numbered cards, he would not likely have won, despite not knowing Syaoran's winning hand. In the end it had been close between Syaoran and the man across from him that had given him the 'iles. He held a hand of all ones and a two card, giving him one point over Syaoran's.

"Yer good kid." The man slurred and smiled goofily. "Th' goddess herself mus' be on yer side!"

Syaoran took his pile of 'iles, signaling his leaving the game and turned a curious look on the man. "The goddess?" He asked.

"You're from pretty far away if you don't know about the goddess." He replied, suddenly not quite so drunk. "Says she's the beauty that sent us the feather so we could win the war. Adorned with beautiful wings full of magical feathers that can each grant a different wish, possessing a different power. She's as forgiving and as kind as they come. But she knows her feathers aren't something to be taken lightly so she's only given us one because they can be misused. All it takes is one wrong motive and her powers will be used for evil opening them up to the Dark Deity. If that happens…" Then man hung his head. "…we'll all be doomed for eternity." He said softly. "That's why the king sealed the feather in the temple. Only the king can break the seal to use the feather for times where the country and its people are in dire need of a miracle."

Syaoran couldn't believe his luck. "Only the king can break the seal? What happens if the king becomes corrupted or falls to the power of this Dark Deity?" Syaoran asked as innocently as he could muster.

"The king? Fall to the power of the Dark Deity? Now that's just crazy talk! The king is blessed by the Goddess! She would never allow such a thing to befall our king!" He said enthusiastically. "You sure seem to be enjoying this talk, kid. Not many come in here are interested in the country's past. Why don't ya check out the historical archive? It's just an hours trek north of the temple. Set upon the holy grounds where the feather was sent to us by the lovely goddess."

Syaoran's eyes light up further. "Th-thank you! I will do just that!" He said happily and looked over into Sakura's green eyes. She was smiling brightly back at him. None of this would have been possible, or at least this easy, had he not won that hand of cards and he suspected it had to do with the princess's wish of good luck.

Just then, Mokona rolled in front of Syaoran holding his head with tears in his closed eyes. "Syaoran, Kuro-rin hit Mokona… three times!" he whined. Shortly after, Fai trotted over to Syaoran and leaned against him and Sakura to scoop up Mokona.

"Kuro-wanwan's a big meanie!" He agreed and cuddled Mokona.

"Hai, hai!" Mokona cried and clung to Fai.

"I hope Syaoran gathered some useful information because it's time to leave!" Said Fai chipperly as he tugged Sakura and Syaoran out of their seats.

The brunette quickly cashed his 'iles and dished out some money to pay for their bill before he was dragged outside where Kurogane was waiting. He had been so wrapped up in the conversation that he hadn't even noticed Kurogane slip outside.

"Fai-san, why did we leave so quickly?" Sakura asked timidly.

"Hnn… because Kuro-sama isn't very good at making friends." Fai answered.

"Che!" Kurogane scoffed and closed his eyes futilely attempting to control his anger. "That guard from earlier was there. He left in a hurry and he got worried." Kurogane said and jerked his thumb at Fai over his shoulder.

Fai smiled happily. "Well, Kuro-pii does look suspicious with that frown all the time. I just wanted to stay on the safe side."

Syaoran had a feeling there was a bit more going on that the two let on but he didn't question it further. If they wanted to talk about it they would.

"So, what did Syaoran-kun learn?" Fai asked, changing the subject as they walked down the street.

***

The temple guard knelt before his king, having explained everything that he had learned about the travelers, including the conversation between the drunken villager and the young boy. The king nodded his approval and ordered a small team to keep watch over the sacred grounds and ensure the travelers didn't get what they were looking for. Even if it meant making them disappear.

***

The next morning Fai and Syaoran walked down to the local diner, leaving Sakura, Mokona, and Kurogane be in the hotel room. Sakura and Mokona were still asleep and Kurogane wasn't interested in the reading portion of the trip so he stayed behind to protect the princess. The two had a quick breakfast and began their hour long hike through the pass to the sacred grounds.

"Amazing isn't it?" Fai asked as the silence had stretched on too long. Syaoran looked up quizzically and Fai continued, "How Sakura's feathers can be the foundation for a whole religion. The whole past of one country based solely on a single feather that was lost only a short time ago by our standards."

"Hai. It is." Syaoran agreed. It was almost mind boggling. That thought alone sent Syaoran into another deep web of thoughts, distracting him from the world as they walked.

Fai sighed softly as he almost danced forward at Syaoran's side trying to amuse himself as they walked the silent trail. Though, the blonde knew something was out of the ordinary but he wasn't quite ready to mention it to the brunette just yet. Surely the boy would sense it as well in time. He was rather observant for a child.

***

About thirty minutes after the two had left, Sakura and the white Manjuu awoke and were both obviously hungry. Kurogane escorted them down to the diner and silently ate with them as they chatted away about irrelevant things. He'd been uneasy since last night at the bar. That guard never showed up again. He would have felt more at ease if they'd been attacked in the middle of the night or on the way to the diner. At least then he would know what they were planning. But no. Nothing. Not a thing. It was far too quiet for his liking…

"Shogo-san?" Sakura asked as a male with long hair drawn into a pony tail approached the table. All three of them recognized him as the man with the powerful Kudan in the first world they visited as well as the man working with Tomoyo in Piffle during the race.

"You're Sakura-hime, correct?" The male resembling Shogo asked.

"H-hai." Sakura answered and Kurogane kept a sharp eye on Shogo.

"I must speak with you two immediately. My name is Shogo, but she said you would already know that." Said the male.

"Who is she?" Kurogane asked suspiciously.

Shogo looked Kurogane directly in the eyes as he spoke. "My precious Tomoyo."

That certainly caught the ninja's attention. He stood immediately, almost forgetting to lay down some currency for their food. "If you're lying…" He threatened but the man put his hands up in defense.

Sakura stood and held Mokona in her arms. "Please take me to her." She said softly.

Shogo nodded and lead the way down some winding streets and eventually into a suspicious alley with a secret door. It required a special stone that Shogo held in his palm before the door was visible, then another strange shaped stone to set in the lock before the door would open followed by a secret word. Things were looking fishier and fishier as the moments passed.

Finally Kurogane couldn't take it anymore and he grabbed Shogo by the arm, stopping him. "We're not going any further until you explain what's going on." He demanded.

Shogo nodded. "This is a safe area to explain… I'm the leader of one of the rebellion groups. We know about the feather's true origins, or as much of it as we can understand, and we know the true intent of it in the eyes of our so called king. My precious Tomoyo has the gift of sight and thus is one of the hunted persons." Shogo's gloved hands tightened into fists. "I… I didn't believe it at first either. If I had… Primera-chan would still…" He shook his head and collected his thoughts.

"Tomoyo instructed me to locate you and bring you to her immediately. She has had a vision and thinks your party might be in trouble." Shogo explained.

Satisfied, Kurogane released Shogo's arm.

"We must hurry. It may already be too late…" Shogo said and continued quickly down the corridor.

***