CHAPTER TWO

We all landed in an empty forest. Instantly Mokona ran to Sakura, who I still held in my arms.

"Sakura!!" It screamed. "Sakura!!!"

"She's dead," I whispered, choking back tears. "So is Kurogane."

"SAKURA!! KUROGANE!!!" Mokona yelled at the top of it's lungs, breaking down into a miserable wreck. This is exactly how I felt.

I put two fingers on Sakura's neck, hoping to feel a pulse. There was nothing. We were all crying. Mokona was hugging Fai's ankle and bawling into his pant leg. Fai had his eyes shut, and he was facing away from me. I just stared at the ground, my hands balled into tense fists at my sides. Eventually, I screamed, swung around, and forcefully punched a tree with my working arm. The bark scratched up my hand, but I didn't care. My broken arm hung limp at my side. I fell to my knees, resting my head against the tree, not looking at anyone. I felt Fai put his hand on my shoulder.

"I...I need to be alone," I said, and for a moment, I thought maybe two people had said that, but there was no one else there, so I figured I was hearing things.

Fai didn't look hurt. Instead, he nodded, and turned around, disappearing through the trees.

I stood, walked over to Sakura's body, and hugged her. Yes. I was hugging a corpse. But what could I do? I loved her, and now she was dead. I cried a little bit, too, and whispered stuff to her. (Though lots of people would probably think I was talking to myself.) I guess that's why I wanted to be alone. To say a proper goodbye to Sakura. As proper as it could get, anyway.

"I'm sorry I couldn't protect you," I whispered to her, as if she could hear me. For all I knew, her soul was back in the last dimension. But I had to say it. "I love you, I'm sorry I couldn't say it sooner. You were a good girl, you didn't deserve to die. I hope wherever your soul goes, you find happiness."

Blaze materialized beside me. "Well said," he murmured, before nosing the pendant out of my pocket.

"You might want to proceed to breaking that."

I cocked my head, wiping the tears from my eyes as I put Sakura down. "Why?"

"...Kurogane's soul's trapped in it. The gang was going to destroy it for energy, but since no one is wearing it, it's just trapped."

My eyes widened slightly as I realized what might've happened, then I picked up the amulet. "If I leave him in there, he'll kill me," I laughed half-heartedly. I held it out to my kudan, who set the very tip on fire. The whole pendant shattered with a small sharp crack. The silver energy floated out of the pendant, then formed into a human shape...

"Kurogane...?" I asked, cocking my head nervously. It looked like him, but I wasn't planning on getting my hopes up.

He stared at me for a moment, then said "Thanks, kid."

I bit my lip. "I killed the one who killed Sakura. Was that the right thing to do...?"

"...Yup."

Had I been expecting him to say something else? Not really.

"I'm sorry..." I whispered, covering my eyes in case I started crying. I guess he noticed that, because he sighed.

"Don't look down. Only look ahead," he muttered.

"Irony is, you first told me that in Hanshin," I said, digging my fingers into my palms.

And then he slapped me.

"Stop dwelling on the past, kid!" He snapped. "I'm dead, there's nothing you can do about that. Look forward. While you're at it..." I cocked my head. It was kind of hard to be sad that he was dead when he was talking to me, but I had a feeling I'd be crying later.

"When you next see that magician, tell him that he needs to tell you the whole truth. What he's running from, why...I mean everything. If you're going to be stuck with him, you need to know exactly why he's running."

I gave a slight nod, and I heard the leaves rustle, but I ignored it, noting something in my mind before I spoke. "But...what am I supposed to do?" I glanced at Sakura.

"That's easy: keep the magician out of trouble." I smirked half-heartedly, then took a deep breath.

"Kurogane...? Thanks. You were kind of like my father...in a more...violent way...and you taught me how to fight with a sword. It may seem stupid, but it means a lot to me. Thank you."

He smirked. "I might want to suggest getting that claw out of the girl's back, if you can stomach doing that."

I shook my head. "Probably not."

"Well, depends, the girl's soul might be trapped in it. Seems like souls could be trapped easily in the last world we went to." I nodded. Then he knelt down and put his hand next to my blind eye.

"What are you...?" I asked, but before I could finish, he stood up.

"...Looks like that seal is no longer needed," He muttered. "Kid's grown a heart."

"What are you talking about...?" I asked, suddenly wondering if he knew something I didn't.

"It's not important. It's best left unknown." He put his hand on my head. "You're a good kid. Take care of yourself, alright?"

"...I will," I said, keeping my voice strong. And he disappeared as the wind blew.

I blinked back tears. I still had one last thing to do. I turned around and faced Sakura.

"Any chance her soul could be in that claw?" I asked Blaze, glancing at him.

"...I'd almost guaruntee it. Do you have the courage to talk to her, if by chance, her soul comes out and talks to you?"

I shook my head. "No, but I have to." Putting a hand on her shoulder, I flipped her onto her back, just as Fai came back.

"What are you doing?" He asked, walking over to me.

"You know," I said. "You were watching the whole thing. I heard you tense when Kurogane said you needed to tell me everything."

He sighed deeply. "I'll get back to you on that. Come on." He helped me get a grip on the claw and we both pulled until the claw came free. I didn't look at the blood I knew was pouring out of Sakura's body as I turned to face Blaze. I held the claw down to him, and he put his paw on top of it. It burst into flames, and a second shape began to form out of the burning claw. I breathed in sharply.

Sakura's spirit threw her arms around me. I didn't know how to respond, so I just hugged her back and we stayed there silently for about three minutes. Fai stayed quiet, probably knowing this was hard for both of us.

"I'm sorry," she whispered.

"You've got nothing to be sorry about," I answered quietly.

"And nor do you, so stop scolding yourself."

"Spirits can hear you even when captive, you know," Blaze said. I didn't have anything to add to that.

"Listen, I know it sounds corny, but I'll always be with you. Even when you change dimension. I'll always be there. Don't worry about me, OK?" She whispered. I felt myself getting emotional. I looked away. However, she turned my head to face her.

"Being sad is fine, Syaoran. I'm sad. I'm not hiding it." She gave a light shrug, and I realized there were tears in her eyes.

"Here," She whispered, and then she kissed me.

Ah, being slapped and kissed by dead people. Good times. (I'm being sarcastic.)

I kissed her back. We did not break any world records, so don't go off and be sick just yet. Or maybe I broke a record (or the laws of physics) by kissing someone dead, but that's a different story. We parted after three seconds, not three hours, though Mokona might tell you otherwise.

"It's OK to be sad, but you don't need to worry about me." She stood up, and walked over to Fai. "Thanks, you were always like my big brother, Fai." She gave him a hug, and he gave a forced smile and hugged her as well. Then she turned around, bent over, and put her hand on Mokona's head.

"Be good, OK, Mokona? Don't get into trouble."

"Sakura..." It whispered, tears welling in its eyes.

"Thanks, all of you, for everything. Don't worry if you can't see me, I will be there, OK?" She gave a light smile at Blaze. "Take care of Syaoran," she put in with a playful smile. I laughed dryly, if only to please her. The playful smile changed into a sad smile before she disappeared.

"I assume we should bury their bodies somewhere," I heard Blaze mutter. "Syaoran and Fai need their time to grieve. Do you want to help me out, Mokona?" It asked.

"It probably needs its time to grieve, too," I muttered, but Mokona hopped forward.

"Mokona will help," it replied with all the enthusiasm it could muster. It jumped off into the trees behind Blaze.

I glanced up at Fai. "Are you going to tell me what we do now?" I requested. He shook his head.

"I'm still working it out," He admitted. "Be patient, alright? If you can get any sleep, I recommend trying. We'll probably have to bury those two tomorrow." Tears appeared in his eyes. He was hiding his emotions better then mine, but still, he was only human. "Be careful with that arm of yours."

I nodded. "OK," I said, but it came out as a choked up whisper. I cursed myself for being over sentimental, before I scolded myself for scolding myself. My fath--I mean, my mentor, and the one I loved had died. If that wasn't a reason for crying, nothing was.

My eyes fell shut. These next few days were going to be long.