He had to be dreaming, that was the only way he could find reason in what he was seeing. Fai was dead, he was painfully aware of that fact, but seeing him standing there just as he had seen him so many times before somehow began stirring up old memories. He just looked so real. The blonde man stood tall, lanky arms bent so his hand could rest on his hips. He was smiling one of his regular fake smiles. Not only did he appear so real, he looked a picture of health. So much so it became hard to picture him as weak as he had been in his final days. Kurogane found himself remembering the last dream he had where Fai appeared like this. When he woke he wished he had never woken up at all. That was only shortly after the mage's passing and his mentality had been a lot more worn then than it was now so of course he had barely been able to handle the feeling of being so close but so far from him. At the time he would have gladly slept for eternity if it had meant he could continue being with Fai.

"Ah, it might be best if we talk for a moment." Syaoran's voice cut into Kurogane's shocked state of mind. "Sakura-hime, could you stay with Fai-san while I go with Kurogane-san?"

"Oh, yes, of course! I was just so excited that I forgot the plan," Sakura let go of the man and smiled brightly. "I'll see you once you two are done then."

"Mokona will go with Syaoran!" The white fuzz ball remained on Kurogane's shoulder as Sakura hurried back to Fai and Tomoyo.

Kurogane's eyes had yet to leave there fixated position, staring at Fai, who was now being distracted by the two girls who were leading him away from the entrance gate and away from Kurogane.

He was overtaken by a sudden anxiety and he wanted to go after them. There Fai was, dream or no dream and he wasn't just going to stand there and let him disappear again. He would have shot off after them if it weren't for Syaoran's sudden grasp on his arm. He unintentionally glared down at the boy, silently questioning his reason for keeping him separate from Fai.

Syaoran didn't falter even slightly. He looked up at the other with a stern gaze. "I know you want to see him, but there will be time for that soon. Before you can see him I have to make sure you understand the situation." his voice was flat, leaving no room for questioning.

Kurogane was still unsure. He knew it was unreasonable but he didn't want to give the mage the chance to get away from him again. He still didn't even know if this was all even really happening.

A kind, understanding smile formed on Syaoran's lips as he put an almost comforting hand on Kurogane's shoulder. "I promise Kurogane-san, this will only take a little while and after that you can have all the time with him you want."

Kurogane loosened up a bit after hearing that. There really wasn't any harm in it. With a mind spinning so frantically for answers he really wasn't in any position to argue it. He followed Syaoran in the opposite direction to the way the others had gone but Kurogane tried to ignore that fact.

"Mokona bets Kuro-tan is really curious! If Syaoran doesn't say something Mokona might blurt something out in excitement!" Mokona urged from Kurogane's shoulder.

Syaoran nodded to Mokona and began. "I know you'll have a lot of questions so I'll just start from the beginning and tell the whole story." he spoke as they walked slowly, sun beating down on them but neither being all that bothered by it.

Kurogane merely nodded and allowed the boy to continue his explanation.

"Not too long ago, Sakura-hime, Moko-chan and I were in another world and we had just found one of Sakura's feathers. We were about to leave for the next world but before we could we were contacted by Yuuko-san. She didn't tell us much at first, she only told us that it was necessary for us to stay in that country for a while longer, until she told us it was okay to move on at least. She also said that we would be rewarded if we did as we were told until then, but that was all she said that day."

"The next day she gave us a list of things to gather. Mostly simple herbal mixes and teas from pharmacists and a few other things like that. It didn't take too long, we had everything she had asked for by the end of the day but strangely she told us that she didn't want them and to keep them with us instead. None of us knew what was going on."

"It wasn't until the third day when things unfurled. We had rented a small two bed room for our stay in that country, and on the third day she asked us to take some of the covers and pillows from the beds and arrange them on floor in the living room, next she told us to boil some of the herbal mixes and let them steam in the room for a while. When we asked why we were doing all this, she just told us we were creating a suitable environment and that if we didn't make sure we prepare it right things could turn out far more difficult than planed"

"Once we had done all of this is when she started to explain. She brought up that a while back a dream seer had made a deal to take the stone that contained Fai-san's spirit and that as it turned out, the person was someone who knew Fai-san very well. Apparently, he was giving us a gift as his price for taking Fai-san's spirit to begin with, but before we could receive it, we were given this."

Syaoran pulled a piece of paper out of his pocket and unfolded it carefully. "It's enchanted so that anyone can read it, the language will change depending on who is holding it."

Kurogane looked at the paper and saw a mix of strange symbols he had never seen before in his life, evidently the language of the country that Syaoran and Sakura had come from. Kurogane took the paper from Syaoran and the characters morphed into that of his own language and he was able to read it with no trouble.

If you are reading this, than you are a friend of the one you know as 'Fai'-

From all that I have been able to observe my dear Fai has grown quite attached to his little group of friends, and you have probably grown quite fond of him yourselves. He is much more important than any of you, or even he realises, but if he knew this then he would no longer be able to fulfil his purpose to existence. There will be a time where things will have to change, but until that point in time, it is too soon for him to loose his life solely because he became too involved. It is not completely necessary that he is restored, but his life means a great deal to me, so I am providing a second chance, but I only have the means of doing this once, so there is no room fo mistakes. This is the final chance.

"Before we even had the time to ask questions," Syaoran continued, "there was a bright flash and Fai-san was lying on the bed we had made in the living room, but..."

"He wasn't alive!" Mokona blurted.

"Yuuko-san explained that it would take time for him to come to life properly. He's still not completely functional. He has trouble with his senses and he sleeps a lot, but that will change once his new body is full activated. Because his new body is made mostly from one ow Sakura's feathers, its not a normal body. The only thing that keeps Sakura-hime from accidentally absorbing it is Fai's spirit stone, and that magic only stays with him if its on the circlet around his head like it was before. If the stone is removed then Fai's body will shut down again and if Sakura gets too close she will absorb the feather, but its still possible to return the stone to him if he does loose it. However; if his body goes too long without it, it will revert into a feather." the boys tone was serious.

"Unbelievable..." Kurogane muttered under his breath. This was all too much for him to take on. If this was really a dream it was the most complex one he had ever had in his life.

"There is just one more thing you need to know before you can see him..." Syaoran almost sounded sad this time. "Yuuko-san says that some of his memories have been blocked off by some outside magic... Namely, his memories of us."

Those words hit Kurogane like a ton of bricks. It was like a bad joke. He gets Fai back but he doesn't remember him. Fai was back to the way he had been when they had first met. It had taken an eternity to get him to open up even a little, and now he would have to do that all over again? It was torture just thinking about it.

"He thinks he had an accident and forgot because of that, and it would help if you kept up that story until we can find away to restore his lost memories. Besides, at least we have him back now. Its better than nothing."

"Mokona will make new memories fith Fai-mommy, so should Kuro-daddy~!" Mokona chirped.

"I understand." Kurogane agreed, as much as he hated that he had to lie about anything to Fai.

"Good, well, I suppose you want to see him now?."

Now, that was what Kurogane had been waiting to hear.

"It's best if you treat him as you usually would, can you do that?"

It had only been two day since he had woken up in an unfamiliar place surrounded by unfamiliar faces, and Fai still didn't know what to make of the entire situation. According to the people who he had been met with, he had been travelling with them and one other for quite a while, but he had a close call in an accident. He didn't exactly understand but he was told that the only thing that had saved his life was the golden ring and blue stone strongly fixated around his head. Usually, Fai would be able to recognise the type of magic in use but somehow he could only draw a blank. whatever was going on, it unnerved him. These people seemed overly fond of him, but hadn't he resolved when he decided to leave Seresu that he would keep his distance? The fact that he didn't know exactly how close he had become to these people and how much they knew about him made him uncomfortable.

"Fai-san? You look a little pale, are you feeling tired again?" Sakura sounded concerned, at this point it seemed to Fai that all she was able to do was worry.

He gave her a reassuring smile and ruffled her hair softly. "I'm fine princess, the heat's just getting to me a little, I think." he was feeling tired, but it wasn't very often that he didn't lately.

"Okay, but if you aren't feeling well you can go lay down, just tell me and I'll show you to a room." a sad look crossed over the girls face as she spoke.

"Princess? Is something wrong?" he questioned, watching her carefully.

"Oh, I was just thinking that the last time we were here, the heat in the sleeping quarters made you very uncomfortable. You much preferred the gardens." she gave a small smile, still looking crestfallen.

"I see." he continued smiling. "I suppose your upset that I cant forgot about all of that, hm?" it was understandable, if they really had become close it was only normal.

The girl looked slightly surprised before she brightened up a bit. "No, no, that's not it really. I cant say that I'm not a little sad that you don't remember, but I understand the position you're in. There are a lot of things I don't remember as well, and I know that you are still you just like I'm still me." for a moment her face was graced with a smile so sweetly, only to fade before she continued. "After your accident, I thought I had lost you for good, so did the others. It was scary. I wasn't there when it happened and when I heard and when I did I thought I would never get to see you again, but now you're here and I couldn't be anymore thankful! The reason I felt sad is because as long as I've known you, I've only been able to learn small things about you, like that hot days make you uncomfortable, you love sweet's but you hate sushi, but you still make it because Kurogane-san likes it, and that you're an amazing mentor wether its cooking or drawing or anything really you always know how to explain it properly. I know allsorts of things like that, but no more." she sighed but smiled. "But I understand, I'm glad for all the times we will get to have again."

Fai gave a look of shock at Sakura's words. At least he knew he hadn't let much slip. Forcing a smile, he spoke. "You're a sweet girl, but I assure you there's not that much more to know."

"Well, as long as Fai-san is happy than so am I. Maybe Kurogane-san could show you the garden that you liked later on? You two were pretty close. He knew you better than anyone I think." she giggled slightly "and you had some of the cutest pet names for him."

Fai blinked in confusions. Pet names? Since when did he give people pet names? That was never something he did. Most of his life it had been nothing but formalities. What was different about this guy? Though, he had to admit, it did sound like a fun thing to try.

"Yes, I recall hearing about that from Kurogane-san." Tomoyo added "but I don't think I really ever heard any of them."

"Ah, well, I guess you two were at an odds for a while because you stopped for a little while... Oh! But Tomoyo-san! It was so cute! There were all sorts of names, like Kuro-rin, Kuro-tan, Kuro-myuu, Kuro-pu,"

"Really? That's adorable!" Tomoyo beamed with a grin.

"But that's not all, there were so many! My favourite by far is 'Kuro-wan'"

Fai stood back and watched the two girls squeal over various names. They were undoubtedly ridiculous but he couldn't deny that they were somewhat 'cute'.

There was a soft rattle as the door on the other side of the room opened to reveal Syaoran and the man he had seen earlier, Kurogane. So this was the person he had heard so much about? The one who he had apparently been so close with him? He was tall with dark features, he got a sense of familiarity from him, yet he had no memories of seeing him before that day.

Almost instantly, Kurogane's attention was on him. He was looking to Fai with narrowed eyes, making the blonde feel rathe uncomfortable, but he smiled nonetheless as he turned to face them. "Ah, you're back~" he hummed.

The girls looked over and greeted the two as they entered the room. The girls and Syaoran talked quietly to each other and Kurogane hung back a few paces, stealing glances over at Fai every few seconds. He was trying to hide it, but evidently it wasn't working. It was starting to make him feel uncomfortable, and on top of that, the heat and stillness in the air was making him feel lethargic.

"I'm sorry to interrupt but I think I need some fresh air. I think I can remember my way." he interjected.

"Oh, you aren't feeling well again?" Sakura frowned.

"It's nothing, just the heat. I'll get some fresh air then I'll come right back." he assured her.

"Oh, well, Kurogane-san, why don't you go with him? After that you can show him to his room." Syaoran put in quickly, glancing to the dark haired man.

"Yes! You should show him the garden he liked!" Sakura chirped in, earning the approval of Mokona, who had arrived on Syaoran's shoulder.

"His room will be the same one as last time" Tomoyo added "there are two beds set up in there, right across from Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun's rooms" she grinned

Kurogane nodded "knowing that idiot, he'd get lost if I didn't." he said, though he didn't seem to be genuinely mocking him.

Fai smiled and approached the man who seemed to become more tense with every step Fai took in his direction. "Sounds great, I'll get the chance to re acquaint myself with 'Kuro-rin'~" he grinned, testing out the pet name.

Very briefly, a look of surprise passed over Kurogane's face before he growled with a sneer.

"What the hell did you call me?!" he demanded.

"You tell me, Sakura-hime says I called you that often, I assume you are more familiar with it than me at the moment."

He glared and turned. "Just follow me, idiot. Don't fall behind." he began walking towards the door.

"Yes, yes~" he went after the man, waving goodbye to the others and falling into step beside Kurogane in the hallway.

The reaction he had gotten from the name was even more adorable than the name itself. He could see why he would do it, as strange as it was for him. There really was something different about this man, even if he couldn't quite put his finger on what it was. He had acted uncaring, telling him to not 'fall behind', but he was clearly walking at a slower than normal pace to accommodate for Fai's still weak state. It was odd. He didn't seem like the friendly type at first glance. It was hard to believe that they had really gotten along as well as Sakura said, but his behaviour now seemed to show another side. Maybe he wasn't as cold as he seemed.

When they reached the side exit of the building, Fai stumbled slightly but before he had time to process the situation, a strong arm had come out to catch him. He quickly righted himself and flashed a smile up at Kurogane, "Thank you~ I guess I should watch my step, huh?" he joked, laughing off his trip up.

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "You're not recovered yet, be careful." his voice was serious.

"Ah~ so he's strong and sweet then?" he teased.

"Strong, yes, sweet? No way in hell" he growled "come on, its only a little farther."

Fai nodded and followed Kurogane again, looking around curiously "but where exactly are we going to? Were already in the garden." he asked, shielding his eyes from the intense sun beaming down on them. He watched Kurogane stiffen slightly at the question. What was with that? Fai didn't see what the problem was.

"Nowhere really, just a spot I know." The raven haired man said simply. There was something he wasn't saying, that Fai knew for sure. For a grown man, this Kurogane didn't seem very good at withholding information.

"Could it be that you've taken me here before?" Fai ventured a guess. So far a lot of things people were avoiding speaking of had to do with the things he had forgotten, so it was a large possibility that was the case now.

Kurogane was silent for a long moment, walking a pace ahead so that Fai couldn't see his face. "Yeah, but that was a long time ago now. I took you there the last time the heat was bothering you." he said slowly. "It seemed to help then, besides" he paused again then glanced at him "It's a nice place."

Shortly after they found themselves in a secluded area of the garden, where a tree stood creating a generous amount of shade. Kurogane sat with his back against the trunk of the tree and Fai soon did the same. He sighed in the relief that the shade provided. A gently breeze ran through, washing away the stuffy feeling that had been weighing down on him since he had arrived in this world. He had changed into something more suited for the wether soon after he had arrived. It didn't help too much, but it was definitely a step up from his own clothes.

"Sakura-hime told me that we were close." Fai mused, closing his eyes and breathing in the summer air. "And that I gave you cute pet names and cooked gross food because you liked it... something called sushi? I don't even know what that is." he chuckled.

"Firstly, those names aren't cute, there annoying as hell! And sushi isn't gross, there's nothing wrong with it!" Kurogane barked.

"If you say so, Kuro-wan" Fai hummed lightly. "But to be honest, I didn't believe it at first, that I could have a closer friendship with you than I did with the others, when I first saw you I thought you didn't seem like the type to have friends, but I can tell that you are something else. There's a lot more o you than meets the eye, isn't there?"

"I could say the same thing about you," Kurogane stated simply.

"There really isn't much to me, Kuro-sama" Fai countered, yawning slightly, feeling his exhaustion getting the better of him. At this rate he would end up falling asleep right where he was. By the time Kurogane spoke again, Fai was too far gone to hear.

If that were true, then how is it possible that you never stop surprising me?

Kurogane looked at the now sleeping mage, finally being able to drop the act and properly observe the other man. His hair was fairly long, only slightly shorter than he had remembered it getting before and it partially covered the golden circlet around his head. Then there was his skin, a pale yet healthy tone. It was almost too good to believe. He couldn't help but reach out and brush strands of hair from the blondes face. His hand lingered, gingerly tracing the tips of his calloused fingers across the sleeping man's cheek. It was so soft, softer than he had remembered it.

It wasn't until now that it occurred to Kurogane to wonder why they had come here. Without a doubt he was glad that they had, but what were their intention? Were they just stopping by? Did they want him to go with them? Would he be allowed to go? His wish with the witch was to get back to his own world and now that he had made it, he couldn't just decide to leave with no other reason than to be with Fai could he? Having Fai stay with him was completely out of the question, that much he knew.

He shook the thoughts from his mind. there would be time for that later, for now Fai owned the devotion of his mind. Once he was sure Fai was deep enough in his sleep he stood, taking the mage in his arms and headed back to where he could sleep properly. Tomoyo had mentioned that there were two beds set up in the room across from the kids room. Trust her to make that kind of arrangement, not that he minded, he was actually glad that he would have an excuse to stay with Fai longer.