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Chapter One
Authors note: This story is written from Syaoran's point of view. One thing I want to clear up: I am NOT a yaoi shipper. The relationships in this story between Syaoran, Fai, and Kurogane are not yaoi, it's more of a "I need my friends or I swear my head is going to implode" sort of situation. I can't really say much more without ruining the premise of the story. I do not read Tsubasa online, so I probably have some of the facts wrong. Anyway, I hope you like it! ^_^
The large sybol appeared at my feet before we were all dropped into a giant heap. I was at the bottom this time, instead of the usual unlucky Kurogane. And Sakura, as usual, was on top, if you don't include Mokona, who landed on her head. "We've arrived in the next world!" It declared.
"This landing was a little better," Kurogane grunted.
"For you, maybe," I retorted, trying to get myself out from the bottom of the dog pile. Sakura stood up, and Kurogane struggled to get his footing without stepping on my head. Sakura helped Fai regain his balance as he stood, then she held out her hand to help me up. I nodded my thanks and took it, and she pulled me to my feet. I remembered she had fallen unconcious in the last world we'd gone to, stealing the feather from a library. It was good to see that she recovered quickly from it.
I looked around, trying to ignore the fact I was holding Sakura's hand, or, more or less, she was tightly gripping mine as we both looked around. I tensed. This place was a wreck.
The buildings had all toppled over, some piles of rubble, others on their sides, majority had only their bases remaining. There were scattered blood stains all over the ground. There was also silver-blue stains by the red blood stains. However, there were no bodies.
I grabbed my stomach with my free hand.
Sakura had her hand on her throat, and she was gagging.
"Give us a moment," I whispered, and I walked Sakura behind a building. She fell to the floor and lost whatever she had eaten for dinner the day before. I didn't look, I just lightly tried not to do the same. After that, she stood up.
"This is horrible," she finally stated. "I know," I agreed. "I want to know what those silver blue stains are...and at the same time, I kind of don't." She nodded agreement.
We walked back over to Fai and Kurogane, who were observing the area.
"Is it night or day?" I asked as I looked up at the sky. It was covered in dark grey clouds, and the area around us was a grey-black color, which made me assume it was a dull twilight. Mind you, Fai, however, shook his head. "I think it's morning. About 9:00 A.M."
"What makes you think that?" Kurogane asked, casting him a glance.
"Just a feeling," Fai admitted with a light shrug. When he had 'a feeling,' it was usually right.
"It's too bad that we're in a wrecked world. I was hoping we'd be able to treat some of Syaoran-kun's wounds," Fai muttered. I glanced down at my feet, trying to remember what had happened when the watch dog had brushed me aside. I couldn't recall, no matter how hard I tried, so I gave up.
Sakura took a tentative step forward, as if worried something would jump out at her.
A bright red-orange streak caught my eye from around a corner, coming right towards us. Instantly, I darted in front of Sakura, holding an arm out in front of her as she jumped back in surprise from the coming creature.
My arm dropped as I recognized the creature, and my eyes widened.
I knew who this was. It was my Kudan.
It screeched to a halt, resting its head against my side as I kneeled down to its height. I didn't remember my Kudan having a name at any point, so I didn't know how to address it.
"...Thank God, you're back..." It whispered. I found my voice.
"What happened here?" I asked. I cautiously ran my hand across it's back, silently hoping my hand didn't catch fire. Of course, it didn't.
"Everything," it gasped. Suddenly, it's head shot around in the direction it had come, and I looked up. There was a large group of tall, strong looking men running towards my Kudan.
"What the hell are they-" Kurogane began.
And then they were followed by what looked like radioactive, oversized drooling beasts.
My Kudan, who seemed to have been afraid, stood a little taller.
"Welcome back, Syaoran," my Kudan said. "Get ready to fight for your life."
I glanced back at Sakura, who was cowering behind Kurogane.
"What happened here?" I hissed. "How long have I been gone!?"
"One hundred and twenty eight years. I know time flows differently in each dimension, but I would've thought you'd at least grow a little taller."
"Are you calling me short?" I asked, in awe at how my Kudan could comment on my height when we were about to be killed. Or at least, that's what it seemed might happen, anyway.
Before it could respond, of course, the men stopped in front of us. The one in the lead stepped forward. He was a tall man with spiked black hair. He was wearing goggles around his neck, and there was a small, clear talisman just in view below the goggles. It was glowing a hollow shade of grey. His eyes were dark red, and I noticed they didn't look human. He appeared to be about twenty three, maybe younger.
He burst out laughing. "The owner of a special Kudan is just a little kid!?" He asked, all of his men laughing with him.
I didn't know how suddenly I was short, or little. I'd never been called this, in any world I'd went to.
"I'm sixteen!" I snapped.
"That man is the youngest one who lives here. He's twenty two," my Kudan whispered urgently. "All of the children are dead, because-"
My Kudan didn't have time to explain, because the man was walking towards me. I took about three paces back.
"You're going to have to fight," my Kudan growled.
"I know, but first I want to know what they're doing," I admitted.
"Are you from a foreign country? A deserted island? Are you seriously telling me you don't know!?" The man said. He sounded playful and teasing at first, then he started yelling.
"I don't know, now back off!" I snapped, suddenly getting angry. Of course I didn't know! This was just frustrating now. The aura that surrounded this place was getting on my nerves.
"Nuclear war infected all of this world's inhabitants," my Kudan explained, speaking quickly as we faced down the opponents and their hideously mutated kudans. "The only way to survive this radiation it to kill the other humans and eat their blood, soul, or kudan."
"What happened to their kudan, then?" I asked as the whole group started to walk forward. We had about three seconds to finish this up.
"It mutated with them. Are you fighting or not!?"
The five oversized monsters leapt at us. I jumped back, flames swirling all around me. Where were Kurogane and Fai's Kudan? I didn't know if Sakura would have one. If kudans could be eaten, maybe something had happened to Kurogane's and Fai's?
A monster slashed it's oversized claws at my left side, and I caused its paw to burst into flames just as a second paw nailed me in the right side, my blind side, and sent me flying into a building.
That explained what had happened to the buildings here.
I fell to the floor and regained my footing just as the monsters were on top of me again.
A large pair of talons all of a sudden carried one of the attackers away from me and threw it against an opposite building. I recognized the large bird as Fai's Kudan.
Now I wasn't alone in this fight.
I swung around, and my kudan burst into flames and launched itself right at the nearest monster while I dodged the attacks of the leader's kudan.
Fai didn't come over to me, instead, he stayed back with Sakura and Kurogane and protected them (much to Kurogane's fury. He couldn't fight these things alone and he knew it.)
A large, oversized slobbering dog looking Kudan suddenly grabbed me in it's teeth. Obviously, it wasn't aiming to kill me just yet, or otherwise, I might've been dead. Instead, it lifted me off the ground.
"Syaoran!" I heard Sakura scream.
My Kudan ditched the monster it was fighting and disappeared, rematerializing around my arm as a ball of flame. The creature slowly sunk it's teeth deeper into my stomach. I screamed, and my kudan formed into a sword around my right arm. I slashed it across this creature's muzzle, and it dropped me.
Fai appeared next to me and grabbed my arm, and only then did I realize I was really far off the ground.
"This sucks," I complained. He nodded. "It does," and he leapt back down, as my kudan created a flame panel beneath me for me to stand on.
As I headed back towards the floor, I noticed the gang leader was approaching Sakura.
"Sakura!" I called to her as I slashed the flame sword down this man's back. I heard something underground roar in fury...
Then his Kudan suddenly exploded from the ground (I hadn't even noticed it digging,) and grabbed my foot in its huge claws. I stabbed right through it, and the man darted after Sakura.
I held back the urge to panic and swear.
"Blaze!" I yelled, and somehow, my Kudan knew it was talking to it, as it turned to look at me. I don't know why I'd called it that, I'd just needed to call it something.
"Protect Sakura!" I ordered.
It looked torn.
"Please!" I begged, and I think for a moment, the calm persona I was trying to keep dropped. I was freaking out. Sakura couldn't get hurt. I'd promised to protect her, right?
It seemed to understand and leapt forward as I darted for the nearest area of safety. The monsters had split up. Two were attacking Kurogane, Fai, and his kudan, two were after me, and one, the leader, was after Sakura and my Kudan.
Of course I couldn't outrun the monsters. I unsheathed Hien, which burst into flames, and I drove it as hard as I could into the monster's front right foot. The kudan didn't react. What surprised me, however, was that it's master did. He faltered and winced, grabbing his right arm and stifling a yelp. I yanked the sword out and the man cried out, his grip tightening on his wrist as blood started to come out of his arm, though there was no wound.
This didn't help me, too much, because there was still one monster trying to kill me. It grabbed at my arm and lifted me off the ground. I heard the sound of my shoulder coming out of it's socket, and I gasped in pain. It closed it's bird-like beak around my arm, and I heard the sound of the bone snapping. I tried not to scream. I could handle this. (...No, I couldn't, but that's what I told myself.)
I grabbed the sword, which I was holding in my opposite hand, and drove it...into the creatures nose.
Which subsequently caused it's master's nose to explode.
Oops.
The monster dropped me, and this time, I figured getting down safely was up to me.
Suddenly, a flaming platform appeared under my feet.
"Blaze!" I snapped, though inwardly, I was sighing in relief. Getting safely down would've been impossible, I wasn't that stupid.
"You're my master, you're my priority," it reasoned.
Instantly, I ignored the pain searing in my arm and charged towards Sakura, being followed by one monster as the other man's kudan tried to figure out what to do while its master writhed on the floor screaming about his nose.
"Did you do that?" It asked.
"Yes," I said.
"...I've always wanted to do that," it admitted.
"I would've prefered you then me," I panted as I ran, jumping to avoid the monster's claws as it swiped at my legs.
"Why do you keep calling me Blaze, anyway?" It asked, though it sounded like it knew the answer.
"Because you don't have a name that I know of," I responded. "And I need to be able to address you somehow." I was speaking between breaths, but Blaze seemed like he wasn't wearing out at all.
"I do have a name," he replied after some thought. I glanced at him as he smirked.
"It's Blaze."
I smirked lightly, but that disappeared as I screeched to a halt. The leader's monster had Sakura under it's paw and was crushing her as it slowly put it's weight on her back.
I didn't control my next attack. It seemed to erupt out of desperation by itself.
I held up my hands and screamed "Raitei Shorai!!!!"
Lightning crackled and exploded towards the monster on top of her. It hit the monster dead on.
It's master fell to the ground, screaming, but the monster jolted its paw sharply downward, and there was the loud crack of what might of been Sakura's back breaking.
"SAKURA!!!" I screamed, and at my will, my Kudan leapt at the monster, hitting it full in the side, and the flames around it grew larger then I'd ever seen them. The monster, staggered sideways, then dug one its claw through Sakura's back. This claw snapped off as it then swatted her limp body in my direction. I caught her.
I got onto my knees on the ground and put her down in front of me, putting my hands on her shoulders. My Kudan put up a flame barrier, buying us some time.
"Sakura..." I whispered, and I felt fear grip my heart as I examined the the tip of the claw from her back wound poking through her stomach.
She couldn't survive this. I couldn't even fool myself into thinking she could.
"Sakura!" The next time I said this, my voice was choked with tears. As gently as possible, I shook her back and forth. "Please, answer me!" I felt tears welling up in my eyes.
Her eyes opened, but they were glazed over. "Sy--Syaoran, is that you?" She asked, her voice a barely audible whisper.
Suddenly, the battlefield around me seemed to disappear. I don't know what happened, and at the time, I didn't care. We were either in limbo or my brain completely zoned out everything. More likely the latter.
"Yes," I murmured, forcing myself not to grip her shoulders harder. This couldn't be happening.
"What...happened...? Where..." She began.
"...You were stabbed," I whispered. I couldn't lie to her. She gasped for breath, and I wondered if the claw had hit one of her lungs as she coughed out blood.
"Am...I going to die?"
Most people would consider this a dumb question. She truly didn't know. Her thoughts had probably been clouded. I didn't know how to answer. I wanted to say no. I wished the answer was no. But...
"...I think so," I choked out, wondering if she could see the tears that were in my eyes right now. I guess she did, because I felt her delicate hand touch my side of my face. I wondered how she'd found the energy to lift that arm at all.
"It'll be OK," she whispered. "I'm alright. Accompany Fai and Kurogane. You can go on without me."
"You can't die..." I found myself saying as I started to shiver.
"Syaoran...before...I die...I...wanted to say..." Her breaths grew shorter. I tensed.
"I love you, Syaoran." I had to read her lips to understand her words. Her arms jerked as she tried to move them. It was horrible to see her like this. Finally, her arms wrapped around my neck.
'I love you too, Sakura." I forced the words from my mouth. It was true, but I'd never been able to say it. Now I wished I'd said it earlier. Why couldn't have I said this to her before she was dying in front of me?
She sighed in content, as if her knowing I felt the same made everything better. And her eyes drifted shut.
"Thank you...for everything." And her breathing stopped.
"Sakura..." My voice quivered. "Anything but this...anyone but her..." I bit my lip so hard it bled. I wanted to scream. Her name, swear words...anything.
Suddenly, I felt a hand on my shoulder. I didn't even look up to see who it was, or notice that the flame barrier had dropped. I heard a voice behind me.
"Syaoran-kun?" It was Fai's voice. I cast a look back at him. There were tears in his eyes too. "It's over," He said, probably referring to the battle.
"She's gone," I coughed out, trying to stop myself from wimpering, finding some way to contain the pent up emotions.
"Not just her." I could see him trying to find a way to break whatever he needed to say to me delicately.
I worked it out first. "Where's Kurogane!?"
He fell silent. He unwrapped Sakura's arms from my neck and lay her down as if she were more delicate then glass before he dropped Kurogane's sword into my hands.
There was a long silence, and I turned to face where the men had been, looking for the monsters and their even worse masters. They were all walking away from the scene. They'd taken lives. That what they'd been here for, and they'd accomplished their goal.
My fist tightened around the sword.
"If it makes you feel any better, Kurogane wanted you to avenge Sakura," I heard Fai mutter, somehow encouragingly.
I stood upright and ran towards the men. I had never run so fast before, and I could hear the sound of my Kudan's pawsteps beside me. The lead man who'd killed Sakura didn't even know what had hit him before I had driven Kurogane's sword through his chest. He fell, probably dead before he had hit the ground.
"Get out of here!" I screamed at the staring men. With no one to turn to for directions, they all ran away like the cowards they were. I took the pendant from the dead man's neck, deciding it was of some importance, and that I should ask my Kudan what it was later. It was swirling with a silver material, opposite of the empty grey it had been earlier.
I walked back, my feet feeling heavy, my Kudan walking somberly next to me.
As I stopped in front of Fai, I quietly asked "Where's Mokona?" I wanted to get out of there.
"Here," I heard it's tiny voice say, hidden somewhere in Fai's kudan's feathers. I shot a glance at Fai. "Does it know?"
He shook his head. Mokona was going to bawl, I knew it. It'd made fun of Kurogane, but the two were...well, not exactly close, but they hadn't hated each other, that was for sure.
I looked around for Kurogane, wiping tears from my eyes, only to have then quickly replaced. Kurogane was splattered in blood. His eyes were open, but empty of all color and emotion. There was a large wound in his chest, and his side.
"...Why did it have to be Kurogane and Sakura?" I asked, noticing for the first time that I'd dropped honorifics.
"..." Fai clearly didn't know how to respond or how to comfort me, as he was clearly beyond upset, and I was clearly beyond all consolation.
"What happened!?" Mokona squeaked, suddenly alarmed as it leapt out of the bird's feathers.
"Mokona, get us out of here," I choked out desperately. We didn't need to start bawling here, as much as I wanted to. Who knew how many more gangs were out there?
My kudan walked next to me. "...Do you think it'd be alright if I came along?" It requested nervously, and it's voice stayed at a wimper, too, because, it might've still been connected to my soul.
"Yes," Fai answered for me. He also nodded at his Kudan. The kudan lowered its head in respect, to whom, I wasn't sure.
I turned around and picked up Sakura's body. It was growing colder by the moment. And this time, I knew there was no way to save her.
What would happen to the quest for her feathers? It was probably gone, along with her. And we weren't trying to get to Japan anymore.
I didn't know what I was out here for anymore.
I kept my back to Mokona. "Get us out of here," I repeated. Fai stood in front of Kurogane, obviously trying to be sure Mokona didn't see him.
"Did something happen?" It asked, tears welling in its eyes.
"Don't think about it, let's get somewhere safe," Fai said, momentarily discarding his feelings to keep Mokona sane. I had nothing to say as Mokona jumped into the air and inhaled us all. As it did, my Kudan swirled in a fireball in front of my chest.
"I'm sorry," I heard it say. "I failed..."
"...It had nothing to do with you. It was me," I assured it silently as it entered my heart and we all got inhaled.