A/N: Let me take a moment to thank Alia, Taki 123 and Mew mew Lettuce for your reviews! They were awesome and I'm very happy you like this fic!

I hope I don't disappoint :) and really, really sorry for the late update! I promise to get the next one out sooner!


Chapter 3

"The weather just got even more furious " Fei whistled.

"I'm going outside for a while" Shonar said quietly.

She couldn't bear it anymore- watching Syaoran sit next to her and yet still not remember anything about her. That she was the only one who was aware of all that they had gone through together.

That he had forgotten.

She got up, tucking a smooth strand of dark hair behind her ear. Hastily, although he didn't know why, Syaoran stood up as well.

"I'll come with you"

She looked at him, eyes widening.

Syaoran and Shonar stood there, Sakura tightly clutched in Syaoran's arms, in front of the Dimensional Witch.

"I can grant you whatever you wish, mortals." Her eyes shadowed "But with a wish comes a price you should be willing to pay."

Her eyes fell on Syaoran.

"You have nothing to offer me, you say…?"

He shook his head.

"It's raining pretty heavily. Why would you want to go out in such extreme conditions?" Syaoran called out, running a little to catch up with Shonar, who walked on the abandoned, heavily flooding streets of Rukongai.

"I like rain." She said simply, closing her eyes "I love rain."

"…and you are willing to sacrifice Sakura's memories of you?" the Witch asked, twirling a strand of her dark hair "…knowing this princess will never remember you, despite having collected all her feathers? She wouldn't remember a past with you, Syaoran Li. She will forget you- or shall I say- she will never remember you?"

Shonar could see Syaoran's grip tighten on Sakura as he heard what the Witch said.

"Yes, I'm willing." He said firmly.

"No!"

"Seems like a very strong connection" smiled the brown-haired boy, turning to look at her with soft, affectionate eyes.

"Look at the sky, Syaoran" she said quietly.

Syaoran was bewildered "W-what?"

"Look at the sky"

Syaoran looked up. Nothing but heavy rain met his sight, blinding his vision painfully as he tried to make out the night sky beyond.

She felt such a strong urge to kiss him right then as she watched him sweep his dripping brown locks to the side and squint adorably. She wished she could fall into his arms and let him hold her and not care about anything in the world.

For a moment, maybe everything would go back to normal- maybe he would remember her again and things would change. But it wouldn't make a difference in the end because everyone had a part to play, and Shonar's was in the shadows- not by Syaoran's side.

"What do you see?" she asked.

Syaoran shrugged, still scrunching up his eyes "Not much"

Shonar just nodded, tears flooding her eyes- something she thought she had been incapable of.

You really don't remember anything, do you…Syaoran?

He looked at her.

"Shona, wha-?"

"No! You can't let Sakura forget everything about him!" Shonar shouted at the Witch "Her memories of Syaoran are the only good things she remembers about her life! How can you take the little amount of happiness left in her?"

The Witch had a hard look on her face.

"Tell me, then, young girl- are you going to make that sacrifice for…" her eyes turned over to Syaoran "…for the one that you love?"

Sakura didn't deserve it…she didn't- and that's what Shonar thought before she said "Yes. I am"

Syaoran shook his head, looking confused.

"It's weird, you know- but I…have I met you somewhere?" he asked Shonar.

Shonar ran a hand through her soaking hair and looked sideways at him, smiling.

"Have you?"

A part of her longed to tell him- to make him remember…so what if Syaoran remembered and the Witch brought them back home? It wouldn't affect Shonar or Syaoran in any way. Sakura would just vanish into nothingness without her feathers- she wouldn't know what hit her. Shonar felt sick of herself even thinking such a thing.

She wanted to shake Syaoran until he would see her and remember her for who she was- for who she had been for him. For how much she had once meant to him, and how much he meant to her..and all because of Sakura- everything had disappeared.

"I think so" Syaoran answered, confused.

Shonar's eyes were meltingly gray. All traces of gold had vanished in them, and she looked at him lightly "You think so, or you believe so?"

He blinked at her "Wha-what?"

"You think you've met me…or do you believe you have…?"

"It tells me when I need to hold you tight and to comfort you, and to tell you that I'm there."

She laughed "That's so sappy."

" I know." She looked at the great height they sat above. "Oh God, please get me down.."

"Calm down, nothing's gonna-"

"Syaoran, I don't want you to tell me to calm when I'm thinking I'm gonna fall here!"

"You think?" he asked "You can think a million things, Sho. But do you really believe that I will let you fall?"

She was getting dangerously closer to him…and the strange thing was that Syaoran didn't mind at all. The raindrops fell in between them as she closed the gap...

"Hey- you two-!"

The two jumped.

"Come in quick or you'll die of pneumonia! And you won't have any food left either!" Renji bellowed.

Shonar cursed under her breath.

"I don't really think it's my thing…." She muttered, sitting on the stool firmly.

Syaoran tugged at her hands.

"C'mon Shona, for me-!"

"Go to hell"

"Please?"

"Please for what? A stupid dinner? Why are you so persistent anyway?"

"Then I can get to call it a date"

She flushed.

"Why d'you wanna do that?"

"Why don't you guess?"

"You don't-"

"SHONAR!" came a panting Shinigami and the warrior looked up.

"…What?"

"It's…K-Kaien-dono…" he panted.

Her heart raced as the lieutenant slowly narrated the whole incident.

Syaoran's hand gripped hers tightly, and he embraced her. She still couldn't believe it.

"Kaien-dono's…..dead….?"

"Here comes the lovebirds!" Ikkaku cried, rubbing his bald spot. Shonar glared at him.

"Don't be ridiculous"

Sakura eyed Syaoran carefully to see any hint of recognition between him and Shonar, but none came. The princess almost felt ashamed to be breathing a sigh of relief at the fact that Syaoran didn't remember that he knew Shonar.

"Weren't you gonna spend some more time analyzing the rain, Goldy?"Ichigo asked.

"Put a sock in it, Strawberry" Shonar snapped "Just 'coz you're too much of a sissy to get emotional over rain doesn't mean everybody else has to hate it."

There was a chilling silence in the room when everyone froze, hearing what she'd said. The expression on Ichigo's face was unreadable, his hair shadowing his eyes.

Shonar instantly felt pathetic and foolish "That was- that was-" She felt speechless, looking at Ichigo "I'm sorry, Ichigo, I-"

But he just got up and left.

Syaoran looked over at Rukia, who sat on his other side.

"What was wrong in what she said? I mean, in that context-"

Rukia cut him off with the low answer "Ichigo's mother died on a rainy day"

Shonar quietly followed Ichigo out the room.

Syaoran and Shonar were on the empty terrace of a restaurant, laughing.

Spluttering, Shonar fell on the ledge, soaking and dripping on the hard cement floor as Syaoran came to sit beside her. They had just spent an hour dancing madly in the rain, doing mock sword fights and bad-mouthing everyone who had ever troubled them in life.

Syaoran put a hand on his stomach and looked up at the sky, the last of his smile still etched upon his lips.

"Look at the sky, Shona" he called over the rain.

"What?"

"Look up. At the sky"

She did.

"What do you see?" he asked.

"Not much"

"The stars and the moon- can you see them?"

Shonar rolled her eyes "No, Sy, I can't."

"I can't either. Not today" he looked down at her "So will you be with me when I do?"

She smiled and leaned onto his shoulders, her wet body pressed against his "Yeah, sure"

"And until then..." he smirked slightly, wrapping his arms around her slim waist"...will you be there to dance in the rain with me?"

She laughed and clasped his hand.

"Definitely."


A/N: I hope that was up to the expectations...? Sorry for the late update once again! I'm juggling with fics.

And yeah...maybe a little small- the next chap will be longer.

Thankyou for reading and leave a review!

~SS~