This fanfiction is a gift for my friend Asuka-chan! It takes place directly AFTER Dark Enshrouded Memory (no knowledge of it required to enjoy this story, though). For those who have read it, you might remember in the Epilogue a brief excerpt of their time in the next world. This fanfiction focuses on that world briefly mentioned in DEM. Also, please set aside the SyaoxSaku moments, as they actually aren't our spotlighted pairing in this fanfic ^.- By the end of this chapter, you'll see who we'll REALLY be focusing on!
Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa, I am just a fan! This disclaimer will only appear once.
Chapter One
The sky warped and a strange reflective silver blob dropped, bursting and dispeling once it hit the ground, revealing 4 distance travelers and a little white creature. They all stood up, taking a look at their surroundings. What world have they landed in now? Wherever it was, the time was around dusk.
"Hey cream puff," said Kurogane. "So where have you taken us now?"
Mokona, the little white creature, jumped onto Sakura's shoulder and wrapped herself with her cloak. "This world is really cold!"
"I get that, but where are we?"
"Feels like we landed in the middle of winter," said Fai, who was used to this sort of weather. He was probably the only one dressed for it. "But I don't see any snow. Or at least, not yet."
"We're up pretty high," said Syaoran, looking down at the jaggedy drop. "We should probably be careful not to get too close to the edge."
They landed on top of a small mountain ledge that seemed to be dusted with white sand. There was wind blowing, and some of the sand was carried upon it. And in the distance, on a lower part of the mountain, separated by a huge gap was a castle. It was still in rather good shape, but it looked as if it hasn't been lived in for years.
"Syaoran, look over there!" the princess pointed.
"Well, wherever we are, at least we know there are other people here." said Fai. "Or at least, used to be."
"That castle looks abandoned!" said Syaoran. "I wonder who used to live there?"
"Let's just get down to business." said Kurogane, in an irritated tone of voice. "Hey cream puff..."
"Mokona's not a pastry! Mokona is a Mokona!"
"Yeah, whatever. Just tell me if we can leave to the next world already."
"Nu-uh!" it said. "I feel one of Sakura's feathers. It feels a little far away, but one's here alright!"
"Oh great..." Kurogane muttered to himself. He was really eager to return to his own world. But the problem was, whenever there's a feather, there's no telling how long they have to stay in order to get it.
"Awww, what's the matter, Kurgs?" asked Fai.
"Call me that again and I'll punch you in the face!"
"Looks like Kuro-pu's a little grouchy today."
"Yeah!" agreed Mokona.
"Let's just get this over with it," he said. "Sooner we find that princess' feather, the sooner we can get out of here."
"I'm really sorry this has inconvinienced you." said Syaoran. He then bowed, "My apologies."
Kurogane sighed and then ruffled up Syaoran's hair. Syaoran then straightened up and sort of blinked with wide eyes, confused as to what that meant.
"I think I know why Kurgie's such in a bad mood!" said Fai, holding up his index finger as if he had an idea.
Kurogane stopped and looked at him. "What are you talking about?"
"You can't stand being away from Princess Tomoyo this long! I think it's starting to eat away at your..."
"THAT'S NOT THE REASON!" he yelled in his face, his breath blowing like a force of wind that blew off Fai's fluffy hood. "And besides..." he then turned his head and looked into the distance. "She was the one who sent me away on this little 'quest' in the first place..." he then marched off.
"Kurgie's trying to hide it, isn't he?" Mokona whispered to Fai.
"Of course he is. It's written all over his face!"
Suddenly, there was a gust of strong wind. Everyone stopped and stood still for a moment, putting their arm above their eyes as to block any sand from entering. The princess had her eyes closed shut and her hands over her ears. Her cloak then slipped and was carried off into the wind. When it calmed down, it started to fall down the gap.
She gasped and then ran to the edge, getting on all fours and watching it sink down.
"Princess!" Syaoran yelled. He grabbed her arm and pulled her up, backing away from the edge. "Be careful...you could fall over the edge."
"But...my cloak..." she said, a little bit sad. "How am I going to keep warm?"
"It is pretty cold in this world!" pointed out Mokona, who was now on Fai's shoulder.
Kurogane sighed at Mokona stating the obvious. "She's well aware of that, fur ball. That's not the point."
"Now I don't have anything to keep me warm." she said, her arms around herself.
Syaoran took off his green cloak and then wrapped it around the princess. "Here. This should keep you warm until we find some shelter."
She then looked up at him. "But Syaoran, won't you be cold, too?"
"It's okay, I'll be fine. Don't worry about it."
"If you're worried about Syaoran, I heard that snuggling together keeps you warm!" suggested Mokona.
"I can vouch for Mokona on that fact." said Fai. "Back in my homeworld, I used to do that alot with Chi. The secret is sharing each other's body heat, and it works quite effectively."
"You've gotta be kidding me..." Kurogane groaned.
Fai walked up to Syaoran and Sakura, putting a hand on their shoulder. "Now why don't you two give it a try?"
He pushed them close together, and color started to rush to each of their faces. Fai then backed away and said, "See? Now isn't that a great way to keep warm?"
The two of them were too embarrased to say anything. But they didn't let go of each other either.
Kurogane let out a sound of disgust. "I think I'm gonna be sick..."
"Kuro-pu's just jealous 'cause he has no one to snuggle with!" said Mokona.
"Awww, is that why he's so grouchy?" said Fai. "Oh Kurger Burger! If you feel left out, Mokona and I will be glad to help you keep warm!"
"I'd rather die in a blizzard than resort to that!" Kurogane growled. Just the thought of huddling with the wizard and the white thing for survival made his stomach sick.
"Of course, Kurgs. It's not like I was being serious. I just had to see the look on your face!" Fai said, smiling that over the top smile as always. "Besides, I know who Kuro-pu really wants to snuggle with!"
"Ooh, I know, I know!" Mokona bounced up and down. "Do you mean Princess Tomoyo?"
"Would you two idiots just be quiet?" Kurogane yelled, followed by Fai and Mokona's laughter.
"We should try and find some shelter." said Syaoran. He then took the princess' hand, "Come on, Princess."
They proceeded on a path that seemed to be going a little downward, walking away from the abandoned castle. Not too far up ahead, atop a higher point, appeared to be some kind of small structure.
"Let's go see what's up there!" said Syaoran.
They sped up their walking, and climbed to the top. The small structure appeared to be a small cabin, but it was abandoned. However, it was in terrific shape and a perfect place for them to stay while they're in this world.
Opening the door, they entered a wide and empty space. There was no furniture, only one window, and no rooms. But it was big enough for the four of them to sleep for the night.
Night had fallen, and the winds only grew stronger and more fierce. The travelers could hear it blowing against the side of the cabin.
"Ohh! Are we all going to be blown off the mountain?" said Mokona, a little frightened.
Fai rubbed it's head. "It's probably a blizzard, but I assure you we won't be blown away by it."
To provide light, they had a couple of lanterns lit in two opposite corners. The flickering of the flame caused their shadows to dance on the walls, causing a bit of an eery effect.
"Mokona, how far is the feather from here?" Syaoran asked.
"Mokona's not really sure!" it told him. "There's one here, but I feel something else!"
Kurogane groaned. "Let me guess? Another power is canceling it out, am I right? Great...don't tell me this feather is going to be hard to track down like the last world we were in!"
"No, it's different!" Mokona told him. "Mokona can feel the feather, but also other strange waves."
"That sort of reminds me of that one world we were in with that tyrant Tombal." pointed out Fai. "Mokona was confused because there were too many waves, due to a barrier surrounding the town."
"So what are you suggesting?" said Kurogane.
"Well, I don't think we're dealing with a barrier. However..." Fai looked out the window as snow pelted down fast. "That strange castle we saw. It might be enchanted."
"Do you think it could be Sakura's feather?" asked Syaoran.
"I'm not really sure." Fai replied. "Still...there's something eery about that place. I could sense it when we first arrived."
"Mokona didn't feel Sakura's feather near the castle!" Mokona said. "But Mokona could feel a remainder of it's presence!"
"So it was there. But now we have to figure out where it's gone." Syaorain said.
The princess could barely keep her eyes open, and she appeared to start drifting off into sleep.
"Looks like our princess is starting to drift off." Fai noticed. "It is getting late. Let's look for her feather in the morning, after we get some rest."
"Right." Syaoran nodded.
Everyone started to prepare for bed, using their cloaks (or in Fai's case, his fluffy jacket) as something to wrap themselves with to keep warm. But since the princess lost hers, she didn't have anything to use.
While Syaoran was setting up, ready to sleep upright against the wall to keep a better eye on the princess, Sakura approached him. "What is it, Princess?" he asked.
"Well, ummm...Syaoran..." she said a bit nervously. "It's cold and I was wondering...if I could..."
Syaoran remembered she had lost her cloak earlier. "Oh, you can use..."
But before he could take his cloak off the princess knelt down beside him and wrapped some of his cloak around herself, resting her head on his shoulder.
"We can both keep warm this way if I sleep here. Is that OK?" she asked.
Syaoran seemed a bit hesistant when she asked that, as he wasn't expecting this. It caused him to remember something back in their childhood, a somewhat similiar situation had happened before back in Clow Country.
It was already nightfall, and all the stars were out. Though the days were rather hot, the nights could be pretty cold, such as this. It had already been about a year since Syaoran and Sakura first met, so they were 8 years old now. They weren't too far from the palace as they gazed down the edge of a wall, with a cold breeze passing through.
"Should you really be that close to the edge?" asked Syaoran anxiously, nervous that she might fall.
She looked back at him and smiled brightly. "It's OK, Syal! I've done this plenty of times and have never fallen down once!"
"That looks like a pretty long drop..." he said, looking down at the overview of the town, then back at her.
She just looked at him cheerfully, smiling with closed eyes. "But isn't the view beautiful? You can see the rooftops of the houses and the tents of the marketplace, and all of Clow Kingdom's citizens!"
Syaoran then looked back down and watched as people walked back and forth, into their houses and out of their houses, and gathering at the market. He then slightly smiled and looked back at the princess. "You're right, you can see all of Clow's people!"
"And look over there!" she pointed towards Clow's ruins, the bright moon shining behind it. "There's the ruins your father's working on digging up!"
"Yeah..." he said, staring at it with high interest. "It would be great to explore what's down there."
Suddenly, the wind got strong and blew fiercely against their backs. The princess almost fell off the edge, but Syaoran quickly took her hand and pulled her back up.
"Ah! My cloak!" she reached out her hand, leaning over the edge as it floated down. They both then got off the edge of the wall and onto more solid ground. "Ohhh...it's really, really cold tonight! And we can't go down to get it because we promised to stay here and not wander off at night."
She wrapped her arms around herself and started to shiver. Syaoran felt bad for her, so he took off his cloak and held it up to her. "You can use mine, if you want."
"Huh?" Sakura blinked. "But Syal, won't you be cold without it?"
"Well yeah...but I should be fine. You probably need it more than me, Your Highness."
She then looked away and pouted. "I don't like you calling me that. Just call me Sakura!"
"Umm...OK...Sakura..."
She then got an idea. "Hey, I know how we can both keep warm!"
The princess grabbed his cloak and wrapped it around both of them. "Big brother told me if you huddle up together, you'll both stay warm."
Syaoran just blinked with wide eyes. She looked at him with a bright, happy smile. "Is that okay, Syal?"
Syaoran was then brought back to reality when Sakura looked up at him and said, "Syaoran?"
He eased up and nodded approvingly. "Yes. Of course, Princess."
"Awww...now isn't that sweet?" commented Fai.
Kurogane sighed. "Just go to sleep."
Fai blew out the lantern and put it back down. He then laid down, Mokona sleeping beside him. Syaoran and the princess were sound asleep in the corner. Though Kurogane acted as though he didn't care, he began to think of Tomoyo again and the reason why he wants to go home so badly. Perhaps it was true that, despite her sending him away, he wants to return to her. However, he'd never admit to such a thing, 'cause that would mean admitting that the magician was right. But he tried to push those thoughts out of his head. All he knew is he wanted to get each world over with and be that much closer to his own.
When morning came, the travelers found that the entire land was now covered in snow. They decided to go and try to find any world inhabitants.
A friend from the previous world had given them some hand-made scarves for the guys and a hand-made sweater for the princess.
"Now aren't you glad she made that for you, Kuro-pu?" said Fai teasingly.
"Shut up..." he growled as he tread through the snow.
Despite the sweater, Sakura wrapped her arms around herself.
"Are you cold, Princess?" Syaoran asked.
"Just a little bit..." she replied.
Syaoran opened up his cloak and pulled her in, wrapping her up. She blushed a little as they continued to tread through the snow.
"Awww...now isn't that cute, Kurgie?" said Fai, looking back at them.
"Mokona wants to be snug, too!" Mokona said, jumping onto Kurogane and wrapping some of his cloak around herself.
"Hey! What the? Get out of there!" Kurogane shouted.
So as Kurogane struggled to get Mokona out of his cloak, they began to approach a nearby village. There were housing structures that looked alot like small, wood cabins. It was very quiet and no one seemed to be around.
"Looks completely deserted." said Fai. "Perhaps something happened to drive the townsfolk out?"
"It doesn't look like anyone's living here." said Syaoran. "It's completely dead."
"Nuh-uh, Mokona can still sense people around." Mokona told them. "But it feels like they're a little scared to come out right now."
"Let's just get this over with..." Kurogane started walking into town. "The sooner we find someone who can help us, the sooner we can get the heck out of here."
"An excellent point, Kuro-chi." said Fai. "I couldn't of said it better myself."
So they all proceeded into the village, not sure of what to expect. Hiding somewhere in the shadows was a young woman wearing a hooded cloak, covering herself. She observed the travelers and quietly gasped when she saw the tall, strong warrior.
"That looks just like him." she said quietly to himself. "Could it really...?"
Kurogane stopped for a second. He could tell they weren't the only ones outside the cabins.
"What's wrong?" asked Syaoran.
"Might I ask why we're stopping, Kurgs?" Fai asked.
"We're not alone." he replied, clenching the handle of his sword.
Suddenly, the strange girl rushed out of the shadows and jumped on Kurogane, wrapping her arms around him. That sure caught Kurogane by surprise!
"Kurogane!" she said. "You're not dead after all, you came back to me!"
"What the? Get off of me, lady!" Kurogane shouted.
Just then, her hood slipped off, revealing an all too familiar face. His eyes slightly widened. "Princess Tomoyo..."