Disclaimer: The only thing I own is the homework I blew off to write this
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It was part of Sakura's nature to want to befriend everyone she met, and Kage was no exception. However, her efforts toward achieving this goal were hampered by the shadow's sudden reluctance to talk. She tried to ask it a few more questions but was answered only with "Please, I will tell you more later."
Syaoran also attempted to ask their ghostly guide for more information, and while he was polite and good-natured, his motivation was not friendship. As an archaeologist, he was curious about the world they were in and the way the people here lived – were smoke-servants like Kage common? Who lived in this forest? How did they cope with the dangers of their environment? As a warrior, he wanted to be as well-informed as possible before entering the next battle, especially if what Kage had told Sakura was true.
The people that live in this forest will kill you if they find you here. Please, we need to leave this place before they discover your presence – and they have all manner of spells to detect intruders. My master's magic can only hide you for so long.
The words had scared him more than he cared to admit. He had hesitated for only a second, measuring the risk of staying lost in an enchanted forest against the risk of following a strange being to an unknown location. The choice seemed obvious, and he only wished Kage would tell him more about where they were. He made up for this lack of information by surveying the land around them intensely.
A light breeze was blowing, playfully ruffling the leaves overhead and causing the pattern of shadows and early morning sunlight to dance over the travelers. This had a decidedly odd effect on the servant, making it seem as though the creature were only half there, or that it kept changing shape.
It seemed so peaceful that, had he stopped reminding himself of the danger, he would have found it rather soothing. Given the chaos of the last world they'd been in and all the fighting and walking in this one, it had been hours since they'd had a chance to rest. He shifted his attention to the girl walking in front of him rather than think about how nice it would be to lie down under one of those trees and take a nap. She was probably exhausted, but she walked without complaint, and he was as proud of her as he was worried about her.
"Oh!" Sakura gasped, pulling her hand back. She had reached out to push a plant out of the way, failing to notice its thorns.
"Sakura-hime, are you alright?" Syaoran asked, overly concerned.
She turned back to face him, her smile dazzling. "Yes, I just pricked myself. See? It's not even bleeding." She held out her hand for him to examine.
He took it lightly by the wrist and examined it. She really was okay, and he was starting to feel foolish for over reacting. And he was still holding her hand. Feeling more foolish by the second, he let go and tried not to blush. "Maybe I should walk in front of you, Sakura-hime."
"That's alright Syaoran-kun," she shook her head and laughed melodiously. "I like being the leader."
He smiled at her but couldn't completely hide the worry from his eyes. She knew that she wasn't meant to see it, though, and pretended that she hadn't noticed. She was confused by his concern – she had just pricked her fingers, it wasn't that big of a deal – and more confused by the guilt she felt about making him worry. Then she thought that if he knew she felt guilty on his account, he would feel guilty, and the thought of making him feel guilty made her feel even more guilty...She was so lost she didn't even attempt make sense of her tangled thoughts. She gave herself something else to think about by turning to the shadow and asking, "Excuse me, Kage-san, but how far are we from the edge of the forest?"
The shadow looked around on all sides before answering. "Oh, quite far away, but that isn't a problem. We just have to get to the river."
Thinking that the river would provide a pleasant change of scenery, she ran to catch up with Kage. "Let's move along, then!" she said with a laugh.
Syaoran walked more slowly to meet them. "Why isn't that a problem? What's so special about the river?"
"There's a transport spell there, waiting for us," the servant replied.
"Oh?" Kurogane asked, surprising Syaoran, who thought he had stopped paying attention to the shadow hours ago. "You've decided to answer questions again." This was something close to an accusation.
"We're nearly out of the woods," the shadow said, almost apologetically, "And my master would prefer that I deliver my message to you before you leave. My instructions were to tell you as soon as possible, preferably before the time of your departure. Of course, I was also supposed to keep anyone else from hearing it, so that poses some difficulties."
"So tell us already," Kurogane said, resisting the urge to roll his eyes. "In as few words as possible, unless your instructions are to bore us all to death by talking too much."
Mokona leapt from his perch on Fai's shoulder and landed on Kurogane's head. "Kuro-woof, don't interrupt with your meanie comments while Kage-san is talking," he said, doing his best to sound important and dignified. The effect was spoilt somewhat by the jumping and dodging he had to do to avoid the ninja's wrath.
"How to begin...?" Kage mused, unconcerned by the death threats Mokona was receiving from Kurogane. "My master had a vision of your arrival and, wishing to keep you from falling into enemy hands, sent me here to guide you out of the forest. I have told you this before, though."
Kurogane ignored Mokona for long enough to glare at the servant. He had decided that things would go more smoothly if he didn't interrupt, but he had to grit his teeth to stop himself.
"Well, to continue: the thing you seek is in this world. My master offers you what aid is possible and necessary to recover that item."
"Hey, manjuu," Kurogane turned his attention back to Mokona, but this time not wrathfully. "Is that true? Is there are feather here?"
Mokona scrunched up his face so everyone would know just how hard it was thinking. "Mokona doesn't know," he said a little sadly. "There's so much magic here, Mokona hardly knows who Mokona is."
Wishing he didn't know who Mokona was, Kurogane snapped, "Then what are you good for, idiot?"
Sakura sent some positive energy in Mokona's direction. "It's okay, Moko-chan, we know you're doing your best."
"I assure you, the feather is in this world. When my master's enemies discover that you are here to reclaim it, they will come after you and destroy you. That is why my master wants you to leave the forest before they find you."
"What about the spells you mentioned? The ones to detect intruders?" Syaoran asked, masking his nervousness with curiosity.
"Well, it's difficult to say," the shadow began, then paused for so long that the boy feared it had lost its voice. Suddenly it shook its head and continued, not realizing it had ever stopped. "My master cast a spell of concealment to keep you hidden, but there's so many factors – distance, time, motion, that sort of thing – so there's no way of telling when the spell will wear off. You're probably alright for now."
Unfortunately, the shadow was a relatively simple creature and, as such, knew little of the inherent irony of life. It wasn't aware that proclaiming something to be alright was the best way to ensure that things would go wrong. This would have been an excellent learning experience for Kage, if Kage had survived it.
There was a piercing whistle and movement almost too fast for the eye to follow. Kage looked down at its torso and the three glass arrows that were sticking out of it. "Oh," is said blandly, before remembering its duty and telling the travelers, "Leave the forest, follow the river, don't..." It never got a chance to finish its message because the arrows exploded. Kage lost its form and became a cloud of smoke that was blown away in the sudden fierce wind.
Kurogane whirled around to face the direction that both the arrows and the wind had come from. There was nothing there at first, but the wind lessened slowly until it died away, leaving behind two men who looked nearly as intimidating as the ninja.
"Well look at this," the older of the two said. "A bunch of peasants in the middle of the forest! How did you scum get here?"
The younger didn't care to wait for an answer. "Does it matter? We know how they're going to leave." He smiled savagely as he drew his sword and charged at Kurogane.
The ninja blocked the attack easily, marveling at this man's stupidity. He was hardly even a man, probably a few years older than Syaoran, and yet he thought he could beat Kurogane. The ninja launched a furious counter attack to show him the error of his ways.
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The older man was less reckless and more experienced in fighting. He held a longbow in his left hand, but had no arrows. Instead, when he drew the bow, an arrow appeared there, and Fai saw it was not made of glass, but ice. The archer said a single word, quietly, then let fly the arrow. Fai dodged, but the arrow followed him. Eyes wide, he managed to raise his staff to block it, and the arrow shattered into a thousand crystalline fragments.
Syaoran glanced from one battle to the next. Kurogane seemed to be handling things well – his opponent could barely block his attacks and seemed to have given up on the idea of counterattacking. Fai's archer, on the other hand, was shooting a continuous stream of arrows, much faster than Syaoran would have thought possible. As Syaoran watched, hesitating, the archer made his decision for him by turning his attention to the princess.
"Sakura-hime!" Syaoran shouted, leaping to her rescue. He cut down the arrows meant for her, than glanced over his shoulder. "Please, be careful. Hide somewhere!" Sakura nodded and ran into the trees. She whispered "You be careful too, Syaoran-kun," but he did not hear her.
The boy shattered arrows for what seemed like an eternity. The arrows did not travel in a straight line from bow to target but weaved and ducked maddeningly. Syaoran was soon out of breath and covered in scratches, but he hardly noticed these inconveniences. His mind was too busy thinking of a plan.
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Kurogane could practically taste victory. The kid had been an idiot to attack him, had been so eager for a fight that he had drastically underestimated his opponent. He was already beginning to regret that, and his movements became slower and feebler. He was bleeding heavily from a gash on his left arm. Really, there was nothing for him to smile about – so why was he? Kurogane didn't like it. Either he was trying to psych out his opponent, or he knew something the ninja didn't.
Apparently it was the latter. The kid started mumbling words that Kurogane couldn't hear but knew meant trouble. He fought more fiercely than before, but it made no difference – the kid finished his chant and stomped.
It felt as though Kurogane had been kicked in the chest by a horse. He flew back a few feet and collided painfully with a tree. He scrambled back to his feet, too breathless to curse, and glanced at his opponent. The brat was clinging to a tree for support and laughing. Before Kurogane could figure out what had sent him flying, Fai cried out, "Kuro-tan! Behind you!"
The ninja glanced behind him and saw that the trees were moving, attempting to swat him with their branches. He dodged just in time, thanks to Fai's warning. "Damn it." His sword would be little use blocking those thick limbs. He ducked again before looking at the brat, who was casting a healing spell on his torn up left arm, grinning maniacally. Kurogane figured that it was just his luck to find the one person in all the dimensions with a more obnoxious smile than Fai.
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Since the archer had turned part of his attention to Syaoran, Fai could afford to keep an eye on Kurogane's fight. When the kid had cast the spell that moved the trees, Fai thought he noticed something. It wasn't until he cast the healing spell that the wizard could detect exactly where it was coming from.
"Kuro-pon!" he called again. The ninja glared at him scathingly for a moment but realized that Fai was serious. The wizard raised a hand to his neck. Kurogane looked from him to the opponent and back again. This time he had seen it, and realization showed on his face before he returned his attention back to his war with the trees.
Fai had forgotten his own battle for too long, however, and an arrow pierced his side. He closed his eyes for a moment to stop from screaming, then ran back into the trees. He met Sakura, who had taken shelter in the trees as well. She gasped when she saw him.
"Fai-san, are you alright?" she cried.
Trying not to scare her, he gave her his most convincing smile and replied, "Don't worry about me, Sakura-chan. It's not that bad a wound!"
It was fairly serious, but that wasn't what worried Fai. He remembered how the arrows that destroyed Kage had exploded, and he had not intention of letting this happen to him. He grasped the arrow and pulled it out, shutting his eyes tight against the pain. Just to be careful he snapped it in half and threw it as far away as he could.
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The archer didn't bother to chase Fai, deciding to finish Syaoran first. This was proving to be a bit harder than he had anticipated, though; the boy kept advancing and he had to retreat to keep his distance. It unnerved him how this young swordsman seemed oblivious to his scrapes and weariness. If he had been less confident in his fighting skills, the archer would have been worried by the look of pure determination on the boy's face. Instead, he ignored it and kept shooting arrows that came from no where and were destroyed before they got anywhere.
Suddenly, Syaoran broke into a run. The archer breathed a spell that turned his bow into metal. This rendered it useless for shooting, or course, but gave him a weapon with which to block Hein. He hadn't anticipated Syaoran's second attack, though, and stumbled back after the boy kicked him in the head. Without wasting a moment, Syaoran launched a third attack that ended with Hein pointing at the archer's throat.
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Kurogane had a much harder time getting close to his opponent. Just as he managed to advance, a branch would move to block his way or knock him back. Nearing the end of his patience, he called out "Hama Ryuojin!" and his attack decimated the trees around him. What was left of the trees recoiled and left him a clear path to his opponent. He ran forward in a second and the brat didn't even have time to block. He was still grinning triumphantly when Kurogane slammed Souhi's hilt into his head.
The young man fell to the ground unconscious. Kurogane knelt over him and grabbed the chain that hung around his neck. The chain snapped and Kurogane held it up. It didn't look like much, really, it was just a small bird carved out of wood. He broke that and breathed a sign of relief when the trees around him returned to their normal sedentary habits.
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It was Syaoran's intention to question the man, but his prisoner didn't know that. He stared, faintly horrified, at the sword pressed against his throat and the boy he thought would soon be his murderer. When he felt that his ally's necklace had been destroyed, he said one last spell and the two of them disappeared.
Syaoran looked around frantically, but the men really were gone. He leaned against a tree for a moment to catch his breath and then called out "Sakura-hime! Where are you?"
"Over here!" she called, and he and Kurogane followed the sound of her voice, past ruined trees and pieces of ice. They found her kneeling by Fai, pressing her jacket to his bleeding side. "He got hit by an arrow," she explained tearfully.
Syaoran gazed down at them, numb. He hadn't even noticed when Fai dropped out of the battle. Images came to him of all the other things that could have happened without him noticing. "Are you alright?" he asked, trying not to sound relieved that this was all that had happened.
Fai laughed and tried to sit up straighter. "I'm fine. Sakura-chan is just fussing," he said. Syaoran wasn't entirely convinced but nodded quietly.
Kurogane wasn't convinced at all but made no comment. Instead, he threw the remains of the necklace at Fai and gruffly asked, "What's this?" If the blond was too dumb to worry about himself, Kurogane certainly wasn't going to do it for him.
"It's a charm to strengthen magic," he explained slowly. He put the pieces together and examined them while his mind attempted to do the same with the day's events. "My guess is that man is a very poor magician, and this gave him what power he had. When you broke this, he couldn't maintain his spell on the trees."
Kurogane grunted noncommittally. He wanted to ask Fai how he knew all this, but after their last conversation he knew it wouldn't do any good. So he pretended to accept, as the teens did, that Fai simply knew these things – never mind that no amount of intuition could have told Fai, at a distance and in the middle of a battle, that a small pendant was the source of his opponent's magic. He changed the subject, deciding to mention this again some other day. "What now?"
Sakura bit her lip and spoke quietly, thinking out loud. "We ought to take care of Fai-san first, and then we need to leave the forest."
Syaoran nodded, uncertain, and Kurogane voiced their shared doubts. "We don't know how. That damn guide is gone, we don't know where we are, and we don't know anything about our supposed ally the magician."
Sakura looked around her while trying to think of some solution. It hardly seemed possible that a battle had just taken place here. Everything was so quiet and peaceful. The princess drank in the silence. Their situation hardly seemed like a problem anymore. Really, how hard could it be for four people to find their way out of a forest?
She almost smiled until her mind fully processed that last though. FOUR people?
"Wait, where's Moko-chan?"
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A/N: yay, got chapter 2 done! It really got away from me and turned out to be different from the chapter I originally had in mind. That's the way my writing has always been, though – I plan one thing and end up with something else. If I'm lucky, the end produce resembles my intended story. Maybe everyone is like this and I just don't know it. I think this turned out well, even if it's not what I had in mind, but I'm nervous about it too. I didn't realize it would be so hard to write a fight scene! Please let me know how you think it turned out and share any advice or constructive criticism you have.