So, here I am again, on a Friday night, staring at the family computer. And I ask myself, why? Well, partly because this stupid plot bunny has been bugging me for about half a year. And why would Seshio-san make mention of vampires if they didn't play an important part.

Disclaimer: Would I be at a computer if I was a manga artist? I can copy others pictures, I can't draw them myself.

Chapter 2

Kurogane looked at the forms in the sand around him. "You think a few dust devils will scare me? Pathetic." He circled the man.

Tengashi gestured for Fai to lean down, so he could whisper in his ear. "Those aren't dust devils. Those are sand spirits. Tenryu is the only one who can control them. That's why they call him ----Tenryu, or, Sand Dragon. He used them to wipe out an entire army."

Fai watched the Sand Dragon circle the ninja. "Then Kurogane has finally met his match."

Meanwhile, Kurogane was getting quite annoyed. The shapes in the sand would randomly swerve under his feet, making it hard for him to stay in any place long enough to attack. He had to focus his entire attention on his footing. He glared at the blind man. "You coward. Dodging, always cheating."

Tenryu cocked his head. "Well, I have to admit. That's a new one. I've never been called that one before. And trust me; I've been called quite a few."

Fai looked at Tengashi. "He was called quite a few names before he struck down the army?"

Tengashi nodded. "Tenryu lived here and studied combat for a few years. He lived under a different name. Then, the year I was born, a hoard came and took over the village. Tenryu and his sensei where off in the hills on a training mission, so the village never stood a chance. All the adults were killed."

Fai nodded slowly, watching the fight on the field. "That explains part of it," he said, sotto vita.

Out on the field, Kurogane was getting angry. He was used to opponents trying to dodge him, but they never had any success. This blind madman was dodging his blows like he could see them before Kurogane even made the attack.

Tenryu suddenly stopped. "It is time." He raised his sword and brought is a sweeping arc around his head, stopping when it was pointing at Kurogane. The dragons surrounding Kurogane raised themselves out of the dirt, and converged on Kurogane. The ninja went down in a pile of sand and twisting air. Tenryu walked over, and swept his had over the surface of the sand. The ninja was uncovered in a moment, and the bandaged man picked him up, saying to the unconscious man "Finally, you can go home."

He carried him over to the side of the circle, and handed him to Fai. "You're stronger than you look. The princess just woke up and I need to check on her." He ran off, not giving a slowly comprehending Fai a chance to respond.

xXxXx

When Fai finally arrived at the house, he found Tenryu sitting outside with the princess. They were chatting about nothing in particular and gazing out over the sand. When Fai got closer, he heard the princess talking about her home country of Clow, and how it was so like the world they where in now. When Sakura saw Kurogane slung over Fai shoulder, she came running up. "What happen to Kurogane-san? Is he hurt? Big Kitty-san, you must be very strong to carry Kurogane-san. He is very big."

Fai nodded. "That he is, little flower-chan. If you would be so kind as to look after him for a while, I would like to talk to Tenryu-san for a while." He walked inside and placed him on the bed roll. He looked at Tenryu "Would you like to choose the place, Tenryu-san?"

Tenryu paused, then nodded slowly. He called Tengashi over "Tengashi, would you mind keeping Sakura-hime company?"

Tengashi nodded and started talking to Sakura. "Hi, my name is Tengashi. I'm the best fighter after Oni-san. Where are you from? I heard the tall blond one call you little flower-chan. Is sakura a flower where you come from?"

Tenryu laughed softly as they walked away. "He will certainly keep her mind of your missing companion, Syaoran."

Fai nodded, looking out at the view that the cliff Tenryu had led them to afforded. "We both know Syaoran isn't dead. Why do you insist on saying that?"

Tenryu sighed. "Because it is true." He felt his face under the bandages with his hand. "Before I unleashed that attack on the army, I was known as Syaoran. But after I used that attack, it opened me up to a part of myself that I had been on purposely separated from a long time ago."

Fai nodded. "I have all the time in the world, Syaoran-kun. Tell me."

Syaoran head followed where the sun was setting. "Fai-kun, is the sun down?"

Fai nodded, guessing by his aura what was coming "Yes, it is."

Syaoran slowly started to peel the bandages away from his face. It was pale, but not the sickly color usually associated with his kind. Both his eyes looked like they were sightless, but Fai had read the legends, and knew that they actually saw more than normal eyes would. The only real difference between the face of this Syaoran, and the old one, was the huge scar running from the base of his right temple to middle of his throat, curving along his jaw line. Fai saw him unconsciously rub the scar as he began to speak.

"It starts before I even went to Clow. My brother and I were..are…vampires. Not blood suckers like so many portrait us. Those are the night walkers. My brother ad I each had different gifts. My brother could move space and time, and I…" he smiled sardonically, not at all like the old Syaoran. "I could control energies appertaining to life. We were rather like guardians of life. We protected others against the night walkers. When my brother, who was ten years older than me, turned three hundred, he got taken by a group of night walkers and was…changed. Because of this change,he lost the power to manipulate space and time, or, Tsubasa."

xXxXx

Wheet whoo. A cliffy. I know, you all hate me. But I haven't quite figured out how Syaoran's story is going to end, and how Kurogane is going to react to being beaten. And I'm working on updating at least once every two weeks. The last week has been nothing but test and clubs. I'm part of yearbook, and since I was the only one available, I had to cover a couple of events. And my math tutor is a very scary lady…