Brown eyes narrowed in deep set determination, Syaoran watched as another one of Sakura's feathers returned to her body, the small luminescent pink plume dissolving into her body as her frame was outlined in faint pink for a moment before she was limp once again in his grasp. Fai and Kurogane stood off to the side as spectators, as well as Mokona who looked rather comfortable from his perch upon Fai's head. Fai sighed, and Mokona leapt from his head and into his arms as the blonde smiled.
"Where to next, Mokona?" he inquired the small white rabbit like creature, who opened his mouth in response, revealing a large vortex of swirling colors as Fai,Kurogane,Syaoran,Sakura and Mokona disappeared, leaving no trance of them behind-- amost as if they had never been there as silence reigned thickly in the air after their departure.
~*~ Elsewhere ~*~
Heliotrope (A/N: Heliotrope is a color of purple-ish red) colored eyes glazed over in boredom, the young girl sighed, shifting slightly in her perch on the thick branch of the pine tree, wincing as the small strong scented needles poked her in the back, easily slipping through the thin fabric of the dark red tanktop she wore to irritated the fragile flesh underneath. Shifting again, she growled as her eyes flashed in annoyance, and she flicked a stray strand of light brown hair away from her pale face and she scowled.
"Damn it, I'm bored." she whined, swinging so that she was hanging upside down from the branch, not caring that the blood was rushing to her head, steadily turning her face a pale pink. "I wonder where Suzaku-nii is...."
"Boo."
"Waah!" with a startled cry, the young girl lost grip on the branch and fell to the ground with a muffled thud as she landed in a mixture of leaves and pine needles at the base of the tree and she lay there for a moment before pushing herself up with a groan and glaring up into the tree. "Damn it Suzaku-nii, don't scare me like that!"
"Sorry Senna-nee." grinned Suzaku, landing in a crouching position on the branch she had been hanging from, and Senna scowled as she plucked a few dried leaves from her hair and Suzaku jumped from the tree to land next to his sister as she began to walk. "Are you mad at me?"
"..."
"I'll take that as a yes." muttered Suzaku before he latched onto Senna, flinging his arms around her necka and hanging onto her, making her stumble before she began to walk, nearly dragging her brother with her as he pressed his cheek next to hers, bottom lip jutted out into a pout, green eyes pleading. "Aww, c'mon Senna! You can't stay mad at me, I'm absolutely loveable!" Senna snorted, and Suzaku's pout deepened. "Okay, that was totally uncalled for." he protested, and Senna shook her head, though her lips twitched into a tiny smile, of which Suzaku noticed and he beamed, poking her cheek. "Aha! I got you to smile!"
Senna looked away. "Your stupidity astounds me, Suzaku." she stated flatly, pulling her brother's arms from around her neck and walking forward, leaving Suzaku behind, who blinked stupidly for a moment before stumbling after her.
"Hey! Is that any way to speak to your older brother?" he asked indignantly, and Senna glanced at him, heliotrope eyes impassive.
"If it's you, Suzaku, then the answer is yes." she replied, and Suzaku gaped as his sister grinned in triumph before darting away and Suzaku spluttered before dashing after her.
"H-Hey! Get back here Senna!"
"Not on your life Suzaku!"
Villagers shook their heads as the two passed by, as though this happened on a regular basis- of which it did, to be honest.
"O-okay, I give up!" panted Suzaku, bending over, his hands on his knees as he gasped for air, and Senna back tracked to stand next to him, her hands on her hips as she shook her head, her gaze one of pity and disbelief.
"Wow. You're out of shape." she commented, and Suzaku shot her a glare, his green eyes narrowed.
"Shut up, you." he said, swinging sideways at her, only to have his sister dodge the half-hearted attack easily and she stuck her tongue out at him, and his glare deepened. "I hate you." Senna grinned.
"Love ya too, nii-san." she shot back, and Suzaku paused for a moment before lunging forward and tackling Senna, wrapping his arms around her head in a headlock and dragging her forward. "H-hey! Leggo! That hurts you moron!" Her protests fell on deaf ears as Suzaku dragged her towards the gates of the village.
"Now now Suzaku, is that really any way to treat a lady, much less your sister?" drawled haugty, arrogant voice that held a tone of teasing within it- all in all, the voice was very familiar to both Senna and Suzaku. Both heads(well as best Senna could move still in a headlock) whipped around to see a boy with brown hair and glimmering ice blue eyes, a grin stretched across his lips as he strode over, pulling Suzaku's arms away so that Senna could step away, and he released Suzaku's arms once the brown haired girl was free, earning himself a smile from Senna and a playfull glare from Suzaku.
"Aww, Hiro, I was totally owning Senna's butt for once!" Suzaku whined, and Senna snorted, crossing her arms and looking away.
"Yeah right Suzaku. Like that would ever happen."
Sticking his tongue out at his sister in a childish manner, he turned back to Hiro, who's grin had faded from his face, his eyes serious. Suzaku blinked before nodding slightly and turning towards Senna, who had caught the slight motion and was now staring at them in confusion.
"Senna, go to the gates and bother the twins."
Senna blinked and raised an eyebrow. "Why?" She inquired, shifting her weight to her right leg, hands resting at her hips. Her confusion mounted when Suzaku glared at her- something he rarely did.
"Just listen to your older brother for once and do as I say!"
Frowning, Senna shrugged, throwing her hands in the air before letting them fall and she sighed, turning to head down the dirt path towards the gates to the small village. "Fine." she relented and walked away, muttering under her breath about 'stupid aniki's and never telling me anything.' The two boys waited until she was both out of sight and earshot before Hiro turned back to Suzaku, eyes serious.
"What is it?" inquired Suzaku, green eyes grim as his lips set into a firm line. Hiro looked both ways before moving closer.
"It's the rebellion force. They're getting restless. They wanna move now, and attack the soldiers before they have a chance to attack the village."
Suzaku frowned, brow furrowing as he glared at the ground, studying a small ant as it crawled over the small grains of dirt before looking back up and sighing, his eyes closing as he placed a hand on the back of his neck.
"Fine. We'll make the first move tomorrow night. Tell them if they can't wait that long, then they should high-tail it out of here."
Hiro nodded and then glanced to where he could barely see the gates to the village and then looked back to Suzaku.
"You can't hide this from Senna-chan forever, you know."
Suzaku sighed, closing his eyes as his hands dropped to his sides.
"I know, but-" his hands clenched into fists and he looked up, emerald eyes flashing with determination, "I want to keep it from her for as long as I can, you know how she is. She'll want to help, and I can't bare the thought of loosing her."
Hiro nodded and clapped Suzaku on the shoulder before walking off as Suzaku sighed again, casting his gaze to the endless pale blue sky above, watching a hawk soar over head.
"Father...give me the strength to protect Senna..."
~*~
Senna continued to grumble under her breath, lips tugged into a scowl- more like a badly concealed pout- as she kicked a rock out of her path, watching it skitter across the vacant road with expressionless helitrope eyes before her brow furrowed and she threw her head back as she let out a growl of frustration.
"Damn it Suzaku-nii! Can't you tell me anything?"
Her anger was nearly forgotten as she reached the gates, and upon seeing the scene that greeted her, she raised an eyebrow, crossing her arms over her chest out of habit as she regarded the twins cooly before her eyes flickered upwards, glancing briefly at the twins' spears that were crossed, blocking four people and a white...thing- well, to be honest, Senna really wasn't sure what the hell it was- from entering the village.
"What the hell are you two morons doing?" she asked, her voice betraying nothing but slight curiousity and faint amusement as the twins' heads snapped up, identical pairs of deep purple eyes alighting upon her form as grins spread across their faces.
"Senna-chan!"
"Hey Kin. Yin." she greeted before moving closer and pointing towards the four people and creature before looking at Kin and Yin.
"I repeat, what the hell are you two morons doing?"
Kin glanced back at the people before looking back at her, a frown tugging at his lips as a few strands of unruly black hair fell into his eyes.
"These people showed up out of nowhere. They're intruders." he stated firmly, his deep set resolution to protect the village never wavering- it was evident in his eyes and voice that he was determined to do the best he could. Senna sighed, pinching the bridge of her nose with her right hand before waving with her left.
"Let them in."
"What?" echoed Kin and Yin, looking at her incredulously. Senna sighed again, this time in aggrivation.
"Do I have to repeat myself? They don't look like too much of a threat, so let them in." She looked up, purple crimson eyes narrowing into a glare that made the two boys flinch. "Do it. Now."
Hastily, they removed the spears that blocked the travelers' pathway, and one of the people- a blonde with blue eyes- turned to look at Senna.
"Thank-you miss..." he trailed off, realizing that he didn't know the brown haired girl's name.
"Senna. And don't mention it."
Senna turned around, giving the group time to analyze her, taking in the simple baggy blue pants she wore, and the red tank top that covered her upperhalf, and then the starch white bandages that wound around the top of her left arm, and a a silver chain that was partially hidden by her hair that wound around her neck, glinting faintly int he sun.
'Hey!" Senna suddenly spoke, startling the younger brown haired boy and girl in the group as she turned around, flashing them a half smile. "Need someone to show you around?" Senna watched as the group glanced at each other before a brown haired boy with deep brown eyes stepped forward and nodded. Turning so that her back faced them, Senna waved a hand over shoulder. "Follow me."
p~*~
"Heeeey! Nii-san!!" a sudden shout alerted Suzaku as he jumped slightly in surprise, and he turned, spotting Senna heading towards him, followed by four other people and a white thing that was perched on Senna's head. Blinking, he raised an eyebrow as she reached him and he glanced at the white creature again, finding it to be a rabbit like animal with a red gem set on it's forehead.
"First of all, what is that," Suzaku pointed to the rabbit, and then he pointed at the four behind her, "And who are they?"
Senna shrugged, her thin shoulders moving up and down, thought the movement was restricted slightly by the bandages that wound around her upper arm, and she glanced back at the others.
"I dunno, travelers. They need a place to stay. Can they stay with us?"
Suzaku growled, muttering something under his breath about 'having a crazy sister who never thinks anything through before acting' and he sighed as he glanced at them before his shoulders slumped.
"Fine."