Chapter Two: Storm Rising

At around seven o'clock, behind the bushes in the middle of Penguin Park, a large rainbow bubble slowly expanded, then burst. Inside, four figures collapsed to the ground.

"I never can get used to our landings," a tall, slender blonde man said cheerfully.

"At least the white pork bun didn't drop us in the middle of a friggin' razor pit or something, this time," growled the huge red-eyed warrior next to him. On his head, a chubby bun-shaped creature giggled.

"Language, Kuro-pon," the blonde chided in a mock-serious tone. "Our good little boy and girl might hear you."

"Whatever."

"It's a good thing we're behind the bushes," Fay said. "I imagine that our clothes would attract a lot of attention, ne, Kuro-pupu?"

"It's Kurogane, dammit!" snarled the huge warrior the remark had been directed to.

"Where is the Princess?" A chocolate-haired boy of about eighteen was looking around frantically.

"She's nearby, don't worry," the little round creature said. "I can sense her."

"Thank you, Mokona. I'll look around a bit," said Syaoran. "Please stay here."

On the swings a little way off, another boy with chocolate-colored hair, and a girl with golden brown hair each occupied a swing.

"I did not!" Syaoran said. "You know Yue already explained that I was just attracted to his power."

Sakura giggled. "Oh yes, that look on your face the first time you saw Yukito-san was 'sensing power', all right. Sure. Sensing power means you ran off like a cork out of a bottle, and then you tripped and fell on your face in the school vegetable patch. Remember?"

Syaoran pretended to argue. "Ah, but you have no proof of that. Even if we searched through Tomoyo-chan's giant archive, we won't find that footage. Hah!"

"Vegetable patch boy," Sakura taunted playfully.

Syaoran mock-growled. "Keep it up and I'm gonna have to punish you," he said in a low tone clearly meant to scare Sakura. "I'll tell you a ghost story!"

"That doesn't scare me anymore," Sakura said in a tone braver than she felt.

"Oh, then I'm gonna have to find some other way." And with a motion Sakura never saw, Syaoran had her on his lap, and his mouth was on hers. They kissed gently, and then Syaoran asked, "Now. Are you going to quit teasing me about our childhood?"

"Only if you kiss me again," Sakura smiled. Syaoran gladly obliged her, then they both froze. No need for words; they had fought as a pair so many times in the past that they could almost read each other's thoughts in situations like these. Both had sensed an unusual magical aura, and since it had been six years since something like this had happened, they were immediately alert.

Syaoran quickly summoned his sword from his red-tasseled pendant, and gently moved Sakura behind him. She had already summoned her star staff, and was watching the area behind them, just in case. They had long since learned how to fight in tandem as they grew older.

"Over there, in the bushes. Be careful," Sakura said softly.

"Cover me."

"Always."

Syaoran held up his sword in readiness, and carefully crept up to the bushes. A golden-haired girl in a strange peach and pink costume had been watching them.

"Syaoran-kun?" she asked.

"Huh?" How does she know my name? Syaoran wondered. And more important, why is she calling me in such a familiar manner?He pointed his sword at her, fearing she was bait in a trap.

"Don't move! Reveal yourself!" Syaoran ordered, and was startled when she raised two great emerald-green eyes to him. She looked almost exactly like Sakura! He risked a quick glance backwards. His Sakura still stood alertly watching him, not making a sound which might draw an attacker towards her. So who is this?

"Who are you? Answer me!" If this girl is a threat to my Sakura, I will not hesitate to kill her, Syaoran thought.

The girl backed up, whimpering in fear. Syaoran stood there, quickly running several scenarios through his mind, when suddenly, he sensed another aura, and brought up his sword in time to block a sword thrust at him.

A boy had appeared from the darkness behind the girl, and attacked him from behind the girl. He was clad in a body-hugging black tank top and loose brown pants topped off with a worn brown traveling cloak, and he carried a sword with a purple hilt which was slightly shorter than Syaoran's own.

"Don't touch her!" the other boy yelled. He aimed a kick at Syaoran, who barely had time to react. His best attacks are in his legs. Must find his weakness then, he thought.

Syaoran noticed how the boy held his sword; his left hand's position was off by a fraction, betraying that he had not yet fully mastered his own sword, so by feinting at the other boy, Syaoran baited him into a sword fight. Gotta avoid his leg attacks, Syaoran reminded himself.

It was easy for Syaoran to block the boy's sword attacks; his decade of training with a sword that had been specifically forged for him gave him a huge advantage over the other boy. With a quick feint, he fooled his attacker into slashing to the left, then with a precisely jabbed elbow, he struck his attacker in the ribs.

A gasp of pain told Syaoran he had connected, and he used the flat edge of his blade to strike the attacker in the wrist and disarm him. He wrested away the blade as the boy loosened his grip on it, and decided to simply stun the other boy, knocking him on a sensitive spot that Syaoran knew would make him see stars. He wanted to get information out of the boy. The other boy slumped to the ground in pain, and Syaoran turned to warn Sakura about the situation.

But then a second attacker, one much bigger than him, charged out of the bushes.

"Leave the kid alone. Take on someone with your skill level," the red-eyed man in armor said. "And don't you dare touch his sword, you dishonorable maggot!"

Syaoran didn't waste his breath answering the man, and he did not fall for the taunting tone. He'd earned the sword fair and square, and he'd be insane to let go of the advantage of having two weapons when he was ambidextrous. He readied himself for an attack, knowing that if the other guy attacked first, he would have the advantage of countering and then setting the pace of the fight.

But as soon as their swords met, Syaoran realized, This one is a swordmaster; I have to be careful. The first thing the big man did was disarm Syaoran of the other boy's sword. When the larger man managed to force Syaoran's own sword down, Syaoran began to grope for his ofuda to cast a spell.

Then his second attacker was thrown off him. With a wild scream, Sakura had entered the fray, and used Move to throw the big man off Syaoran. If he harms Syaoran, she thought, I will kill him She then used Wood to bind the boy and the large man, then she ran towards Syaoran.

"Are you all right?" she asked.

Syaoran had already stood up. "Yes, thanks, Sakura. But the bigger one is dangerous. Be careful," he said as he stood up. "And watch out for the girl with them." He lit up the area with his fire ofuda, and both he and Sakura gasped as they saw the boy.

He looked almost exactly like Syaoran, except he was slightly smaller, and while he was lean and muscled, his body did not have the definition Syaoran's muscles lent him. While both young men had messy chocolate-brown hair, the other boy's eyes were amber rather than the copper color Syaoran's eyes were. Syaoran and Sakura sensed he could not wield magic the way they did.

"Oh dear. It looks like we have ourselves a situation," a drawling voice said. Sakura and Syaoran, bodies tense and primed for a fight, turned to face a slender blonde man, who was smiling amiably. Quickly Sakura turned around, without being bidden by Syaoran, to cover Syaoran's back.

Fay smiled. These two were in such harmony, they could even fight as a team. Would that their Syaoran and the Princess, who were already sweet on each other, could become like these two young warriors.

"Please. We mean no harm, even if the black one over there..."

"Stop calling me Black One!" Kurogane snarled as he struggled against his bonds.

"...looks like a disreputable person," Fay continued as if there had been no interruption. "We are travelers in search of some valuable things one of us lost. I am Fay Flowright, the black one over there is Kurogane, a ninja, the younger boy is Syaoran, and with him is Princess Sakura."

"Hoee?" Sakura said. "They have our names?"

The chocolate haired boy bound by Wood looked up and gasped. She looked just like the Princess Sakura! The Princess had scuttled next to him, and was futilely tugging on his bonds.

"Stay behind me, Sakura," Syaoran said. "I don't trust them." He kept his sword raised.

Fay laughed. "Gods, you and our Syaoran aren't very different, are you? Your first concerns are always for the one you love."

"Damned right it is," Syaoran growled. He lit a fire at the end of his sword, and said, "Talk. Explain yourselves, and it had better be good."

"Interesting," Fay remarked. "Fire is your element as well."

"As well as?"

But before Fay could answer, the Princess Sakura had left her Syaoran-kun's side and walked over to Sakura, who had emerged from behind Syaoran. The two met and faced each other.

"Amazing," Sakura said. The Princess Sakura giggled.

"No, Sakura, it might be a trick!" Syaoran yelled.

"No it's not. I feel like she's my sister."

The Princess Sakura smiled, and a feeling of warmth stole over Sakura. Now that they were side by side, they could see that they were basically the same, but different. The Princess Sakura was very slender and willowy; she looked delicate, like a good wind could blow her over, but Sakura could sense a strange power emanating from the Princess, who seemed not to know it. The Princess was pale and her voice was soft and hesitant; her hair was much shorter than Sakura's, falling in delightfully unruly golden strands like Sakura's own honey-colored ones had when she was a younger girl.

Sakura was built more sturdily, and a determined glint shone in her eyes. She had an aura of good health complemented by sun-kissed skin. While the Princess smiled softly, Sakura's smiles were more open and full of a zest for life. The Princess' eyes were emerald green, while Sakura's were a bit lighter, like the color of bottles.

The two girls joined hands, and giggled; their smiles were both radiant and filled every heart in the clearing with warmth.

"Oooh, we even have the same name!" Sakura cooed happily. "Can I call you Sakura-chan?"

The Princess nodded shyly, and cleared her throat. "I saw you and him," she nodded towards Syaoran, "...um...having a private moment," the Princess said. "Forgive me; I was watching. I...got curious."

Sakura blushed. So she had seen her and Syaoran making out.

Syaoran gritted his teeth and kept his body ready. His Sakura had always been too trusting of strangers, and if they harmed so much as a hair on her head, he would annihilate them.

Strangely enough, that was what the other Syaoran was thinking at that moment. He focused his will and energies into escaping, and just as he thought the wood was about to break, it glowed then dissolved. He stood up, rubbing his wrists and ankles. The other Sakura was smiling at him. "Hope you're okay," she said.

"Yes, thanks."

"My boyfriend wouldn't have hurt your Princess once he realized that she was a good person. Please accept my apology on his behalf," Sakura said.

The other Syaoran blushed. "No, I should apologize; I attacked first because I am sworn to protect the Princess."

"How romantic!" Sakura swooned, and Syaoran sighed.

"Thank goodness!" Keroberos, in his original form, was flying towards the two groups. "I have to explain before someone makes a big mistake!"

"I was trying to do that," Fay said pleasantly. "But I think your Syaoran and Sakura trust you more, Keroberos."

"Ah good, you know me," Keroberos said proudly. "Now do you believe me when I say I'm famous, Sakura, Syaoran? Hah!"

Despite himself, Syaoran rolled his eyes. What an attention hog, he thought. But he was relaxing now. If both Keroberos and Sakura were relaxed enough in the presence of these people, then perhaps they were all right.

"And who are you guys?" Keroberos asked.

Fay went through the introductions again, then turned to Keroberos. "You said something about an explanation?"

"Yes. As you know, there are worlds other than ours. There are many worlds, in fact, and Clow Reed predicted that something like this might happen. Syaoran, Sakura, those two are versions of you on another world. They're not evil or anything like that...although that guy gives me the creeps," and he turned to Kurogane, who yelled, "Let me loose, dammit!"

"Oh, sorry," Sakura said, and released the big ninja.

"Language, Kuro-pii!"

"Argh!"

"I thought his name was Kurogane-san?" Sakura asked.

Syaoran laughed while the other Syaoran smiled at precisely the same moment.

"Anyway, you're looking for feathers that belong to the Princess, right?" said Keroberos.

"How did you know that?" said the other Syaoran.

"Yuuko. We do keep in touch, you know."

"I think our first problem is what to call these two," Fay pointed at the Princess Sakura and their Syaoran. "I know! I'll rename them; I'm good at nicknames," and the Syaoran he was pointing at flinched, "so how about we call our Sakura the Princess, and our Syaoran Prince Syaoran?"

"Er...uh..." The other Syaoran was blushing, and Sakura giggled. "He's just like you when he's embarrassed!" she whispered to Syaoran.

"Hell no!" he whispered back. "He looks like a dork."

That did it. Sakura burst into laughter, and collapsed onto Syaoran's chest, tears leaking from her eyes. "Oh Syaoran-kun, you are hilarious!"

Syaoran merely huffed. Everyone else looked confused. Sakura regained control of herself. "My apologies. How about we just call the Princess 'Saku', and the Prince 'Syao'?"

"I guess that's all right," Fay said. "After all, we're the guests, so we should leave our hosts with their original names, ne?"

"You forgot ME!" a plaintive wail sounded, and Mokona bounced into Sakura's arms.

"Kawaii!" She pinched and squeezed the little creature, which giggled happily. "I'm the Super-Cute Mokona!" it announced.

Syaoran had walked over to Syao, and asked a bit roughly, "You OK?"

"You fight well," Syao smiled, and Syaoran was surprised to see that the other boy bore him no ill will.

"Erm, thanks," Syaoran said. Ever practical, he ran his eyes over Syao's traveling cloak, Fay's blue fur coat, the Princess' ornate dress, and Kurogane's armor, then said, "You guys have to get changed; you stick out like sore thumbs in those outfits, no offense."

"Yes, thanks, that would be nice," Fay said.

"Hmm. Syao can borrow my clothes, and Princess Saku can borrow Sakura's, but what about Kurogane-san and Fay-san?" Syaoran turned to Sakura.

"I have an idea," Sakura said, smiling.

"You don't mean...Tomoyo?"

"She would love to have someone else to practice on. Unless you want her making outfits for you again, Syaoran-baby," Sakura teased.

"That gladiator outfit she blackmailed me into wearing on your birthday was bad enough. But you just gave me an idea. She can practice on the dork," Syaoran smirked in a low voice.

"Syaoran! Be nice!" Sakura said sternly. When he continued to set his chin stubbornly, she whispered, "Be nice or we quit making out. I mean it," she said.

"All right, all right," Syaoran grumbled. "But if you went through with your threat, you'd be punishing yourself in the process, you know." Sakura realized his face was very, very close to hers, and she blushed. Was he really going to do it in front of all these people?

He was. He caught her lips in his and gave her a brief but gentle, sweet kiss that left her breathless.

"Come on, everyone. Follow us. We have a place where you can rest and stay," Syaoran said. He held Sakura's hand and began to walk out of the park with her, checking over his shoulder to make sure they were following.

Fay saw that Syao was watching the two young lovers wistfully. Sakura said something they couldn't hear to Syaoran, who smiled as she giggled. Her fingers strayed occasionally to stroke Syaoran's arm, or to ruffle his thick hair. He could see how Syaoran responded to Sakura's touch; it looked as if he was purring.

"They have a comfortable relationship, don't they?"

"...It's a good thing for them," Syao said softly.

"The relationship you wish you and Saku had, isn't it?" Fay laughed when Syao blushed. "It's OK, you can pick up pointers from him."

"He's very confident with himself and with her; it's like he's never had to struggle with anything," Syao said in wonderment.

"Looks like he comes from a good background, and from the magic I sense in him, he's got good genes," Fay said cheerfully. "Don't worry, Syao, I'm sure he'll be happy to help you."

So that's what being in love for real is like, Syao thought. And that's what I've given up, the chance to have that kind of a relationship with the Princess, he added sadly.

Little did he know that the Princess was watching the couple in front as well, wondering what it would be like to be as bold as Sakura was, and if her Syao would ever be as aggressive as Syaoran was.