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Disclaimer: Don't own, wish I did

Time lapses are now officially indicated by ...

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"Mage…" I roll over.

"Mage!" and roll the other way. It's like doing the electric slide on the floor.

"WAKE UP YOU IDIOT!" I sleepily flip off the voice and tell it to go away. It's far too warm and soft to even think of moving, not mention I'm still dead tired. I snuggle under the….blankets? I open my eyes finally to see that indeed, I am lacking a blanket.

"You know, I would love to leave you alone, but you're in my way." I decide to ignore this and push my head into my pillow. My flat, warm, comfy, breathing pillow.

…..wait.

I look up into your very much annoyed gaze.

"Oh….good morning Kuro.." Now that things have been explained, I can comfortably stay right where I am, balanced perfectly on top of you.

"GET THE HELL OFF!" Your hands punch the floor in frustration as your legs do the same. This is a rather humorous start to my day.

"Well, why don't you just push me off Mr.Muscles?" I smile as I bring my face up to yours, looking you straight in the eye. "Or maybe you like this position?" I quirk my mouth up into a sly smile.

Don't you rather like this position?

My eye widens as the memories from last night return. I suddenly just don't even want to be on the same planet as you and I spring away, looking down at your frozen body, still on the floor.

"Well, if I woke you up, you would torture me all day, saying how mean I was…" I'm shocked to see the color in your cheeks. Are you…lying? This is quite the development. Have the tables turned, or are you still being controlled? I feel the burn or hatred nip at my heart, but ignore it. It'd be best to not bring that up just yet.

"How true! Good thinking on your part Kuro! Well, I'm off to find breakfast!" I glance at your surprised expression as I flee from the room. Honestly, I can't be around you right now. I need to think on the events of last night. I make my way down the stairs and take careful note of who was in the downstairs lobby. Easy enough of a task. It's empty. I step out into the blistering desert to regrettably greet the day. All the buildings are just as they were before. Run down, eroded and baked in the sun. With no trees or natural defense to speak of, the town was at the weather's mercy.

I walk down the street, searching for even the faintest indication of life.

After an hour or so, I decide that the town is sufficiently deserted and take a seat at what looked like an old outside café. I have a sort of half baked plan going on right now. Ultimately, I have to defeat the crazy spider lady because I can't just let her take a feather from Sakura. The question of what to do with you though still remains. You, in all of your shining glory. Should I control you for my own selfish desires? I could be your puppet master, putting on the most romantic play in all the histories of all the worlds. But it would be my play, not ours. Or I could still play my game, feebly trying to win you over in the most indirect way possible. Maybe I'm being counter-productive with it anyway. It might be giving out mixed signals, causing you to hide yourself from me.

I shake my head and set it down on my dusty table.

"Something to get you sir?" I jump at the sound of this foreign voice, instantly thinking of our visitor last night. A man in an old ragged uniform is standing in front of me, a paper pad in his hands.

"Oh, uh sorry. You surprised me. I thought this town was deserted." I smile apologetically at him. Perhaps this town is more of a tomb, and these people are it's occupants.

"Ah, understandable that is. Most inside stay. Many do not the sun like. The heat, harsh to our skin and eyes. We prefer the night mostly. A few awake stay, to serve customers from the outlands." His cat like eyes hold a certain innocence in them. He doesn't seem like a bad kind of guy.

"Well, that explains things. And yes, to answer your question, could I just get something cool to drink?" He nods politely and makes his way into the building, deftly weaving between tables and chairs, running the gauntlet that is the service industry. I see you and the others emerge from our current residence. Sakura and Syaoran wave you off and you start in my direction. My mind flicks back to less than twelve hours ago. I touch my lips in thought, trying to remember the exact texture of your lips, if they slid against mine like silk, or if they roughly pressed against me like how the land kisses the sky. I'm so lost in thought that I only notice your presence once you're seated in front of me.

"They went off to go try to find a library or records or something to learn more about this hell hole. Did you find your breakfast?" The bored sarcastic smile that graced your lips was all too perfect. With your elbow on the table and your arm supporting your head, you're the picture of exasperation. Perhaps it's the heat taking it's toll on you. You're not even wearing your armor.

"Nope, but I found there are people here." Your head rises with your eyebrows in curiosity, and right on cue, my eccentric waiter comes back. I study him as he maneuvers around the tables. He looks pretty normal, just his eyes are out of place. So, on my checklists of inhabitants of this world, there's creepy spider inn keeper, creepy spider feather collector, and cat waiter man.

"Here you are sir. Fruity it is, but to your liking I hope." He places a pink drink in a curvy glass in front of me. I wonder if It's alcoholic.

"Thankyou, it looks delicious!" This man seems to be polite and friendly enough, so I decide to ask him about the normal inhabitants of this world. I look at him with a small smile, trying to be as courteous as possible. "Excuse me but, we're from a country far away, so we don't really know the natives around here. Would you mind telling me the kind of people that are around here?" I see you take a sip of my drink out of the corner of my eye. Testing it for alcohol content I bet. You always were one for spirits.

"Oh, no problem. People born here have spider likeness. Befriend them and have very close bond they do. Outlanders have affinity to other animals they do. Snakes are some, rabbits others, cats myself. Depends on region they hail from." I look to you to see that you've inconspicuously put my drink back where it was exactly and are staring off into space. You're terrible at trying to look innocent. I turn my attention back to my conversation.

"Ah, well now, that makes things much less confusing. Thankyou very much." He bows himself away from us and I smirk towards you. "Did you think it was tasty Kuro-pon?" Your face twitches in annoyance. You should have known I'd find you out. You trying to hide something from me is like a shark trying to hide in a three foot pool.

"It was fine. It's just juice though." You look distastefully at my drink, innocently standing there, never having betrayed you, only your hopes. I take a sip of it, carefully placing my lips on the precise point you placed yours. I once again try to remember the feel of you. Miss tetra-legs flashes back into the foreground of my thoughts, reminding me of my plight. I can't fight her with my current level of skill.

"Kuro-muu, I have a favor to ask." you look up from picking your nails. "I was wondering if you could train me to fight better. Not with the sword though, I never was good with them. Do you know anything about staffs or anything?" You grow a very concentrated look on your face. Your confusion is written all over your face.

"Sure, I know how to use staffs and halberds and stuff like that, but why the sudden interest?" The level of scrutiny I'm receiving from you is a little uncalled for.

"Well, now that I don't have magic anymore, I don't have that much to defend myself , or anyone else for that matter, with. I don't want to become a liability." Not to mention all of the time we'll share, giving me plenty or opportunities to take my next move in our little game.

A moment of silence before you shrug a yes. I sip from my drink once more. It really is tasty, and I distantly wonder where the fruit for it grows. So now the red and black pieces are in place. All I have to do now is get to your side before time runs out. If I don't have all kings by the end of my third day, I might just take the deal and toss your pieces off of the mat all together.

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Ah, one more chapter written! Not a whole lot happened, but things are set up now for the rest of the story! Whoo! Kuro's showing something finally. Break that hard head of his and maybe the shell will fall off with it! Go Fai, go! So! Please review! Lots of love to anyone that does!