Thanks for the reviews. At first I didn't feel like writing, it seemed kind of pointless. I was also lazy. But knowing there are people who appreciate this story encouraged me. So here is a long chapter which was tedious to write as battle scenes are. I spent quite a bit of effort and time on it. Less of the OC at the end and more Kurogane and Fay. I feel like I'm writing deleted scenes or something. Well please review and tell me what you thought of this chapter if you want this story to continue.

"That damn woman!"

"Now now Kuro-rin!"

"Not only did she not help with yesterday's dinner, she refused to wake up!"

"Haha, she's a very deep sleeper, eh?"

"And she froze my legs when I entered the house!"

"Awww, don't be mad, Kuro-rin! Amanda-chan was only protecting me from you!" Fay grinned as he skipped along while Kurogane grumbled with a deep scowl. He tilted his head. "Lucky you had Syaoran-kun to help, huh?"

"You alarmed Sorata-san when you came into the house with your big sword!"

Kurogane scowled.

"Get back here and repeat what you said, you damn mage!"

"Waaaah! No swinging your sword in the house, Kuro-rin!"

"Welcome back-" Sorata stared, then glared at Kurogane who was still chasing Fay, "Hey!" He barked, "No weapons in I and my lovely wife's house!"

Amanda grinned from where she stood beside Syaoran, looking like they had just come back. "Mokona-chan!" She sang, "Look! Kuro-chan is still bullying Fay-chan!"

"Bully, bully!" Mokona cried out, "Kuro-pu's a big bully!"

"Freeze the big bully, Amanda!"

"My thoughts exactly!"

Kurogane, who had only stopped to dissolve his sword out of respect for the one giving them a place to stay, was about to resume chasing the grinning mage when he found himself unable to move and a sudden chill up his ankles. "What the hell?!"

"Frozen Kurogane, frozen Kurogane!" Mokona cheered happily.

"You damn manjuu bun-wait-" Kurogane turned his glare to the smiling blonde, "It's you, isn't it?!" He pointed at the ice covering his ankles, "Damn it, it's cold! Remove this now!"

"Amanda-chan!" Fay said happily as he skipped his way to behind the blonde and placed his hands on her shoulders, peeking out with a sly grin, "Thanks for saving me!"

"No problem, Fay-chan!"

"Hiding behind a woman?!" Kurogane gritted his teeth as Fay and Amanda shared a grin. He struggled to get his feet out of the ice, "You coward!"

Fay pouted. "Kuro-pon's so mean…"

"Eh, I think that's enough." Sorata said once he had gotten over his surprise. He smiled at Amanda. "So that's your Kudan, huh? Cool. But he isn't swinging his sword around now so you can let him go."

"Okay! Syaoran-kun!"

"E-Eh?"

"Melt the ice for Kuro-chan!"

"Oh…" Syaoran said. He nodded and moved forward, placing his hands on the ice encasing Kurogane's ankles. "Please keep still, Kurogane-san."

Kurogane stared, but scoffed and didn't move. Syaoran concentrated and ran his hands across the ice, leaving behind flames which melted it away into water which dripped to the ground.

The brown haired boy stood up and moved back. Kurogane sighed in relief when he was finally able to move again. "Thanks kid." He said gruffly.

Syaoran looked surprised, before he smiled, "You're welcome, Kurogane-san." He said politely.

"Ahhhh that's great and all," Sorata said with a sigh, "But now the floor is wet!"

"I just cleaned the floor." Arashi murmured.

"Oh I can take care of that." Amanda grinned. She snapped her fingers and the water on the floor dissolved into blue swirls, as the remaining bits of ice on Kurogane's legs shattered into blue mist.

"There!"

Kurogane twitched as Syaoran looked surprised. Fay grinned from behind the blonde, "Awesome!" He said cheerfully. "Amanda-chan is just full of surprises!"

"If you could do that in the first place why didn't you?!" Kurogane yelled in frustration at the smiling blonde.

"Because it's fun!"

"Fun?!"

"Anyway!" Sorata said loudly, clapping his hands. He grinned as everyone looked at him, "Before we talk about serious stuff, we've got to fill ourselves with good food! I'm sure we're all tired and hungry!" He said, "Well, I just got back from work, so I am, at least!"

The smiling man nodded, and pointed to the two other men in the room. "I will need the help of Kurogane and Fay."

"What?! Why do I have to help?!"

Sorata merely laughed and moved to the grumpy Kurogane, slinging a friendly arm around his shoulder, "If you don't work, you don't eat!" He directed the grumbling man towards the kitchen with a grin, glancing back, "Fay?"

"Coming!" Fay grinned and pulled away from Amanda, picking up Mokona on the way and placing the giggling white creature on top of his head.

"Mokona wants to eat, so Mokona will help!"'

"You!" Kurogane seemed to have given in to having to help with dinner and he glared at Amanda, "You help too!"

"Oh no thank you!" Amanda smiled sweetly and latched on to Syaoran, causing the boy to gasp in surprise, "I'll stay with Syaoran-kun!"

"You're an adult, you have to help!"

"I'll help too!" Syaoran volunteered and Amanda smiled.

"Not for today," Sorata turned and gave Syaoran a reassuring grin, "You were away from Sakura all day, weren't you? You must have been worried."

"You can go and see her." Sorata grinned as Arashi smiled by his side, "When dinner is ready, I'll give you a call."

Syaoran looked surprised, but smiled gratefully, "Thanks! Thanks a lot!"

"And I'll stay with Syaoran-kun!" Amanda said cheerfully. "Even though he has Sakura-chan, she's asleep, so he must feel lonely!"

"You're just trying to get out of helping!" Kurogane bellowed as Sorata led him away.

"Well," Syaoran smiled as Kurogane twitched. "Amanda-san did keep me company."

Kurogane scoffed as Fay smiled, "Really, Syaoran-kun?"

The boy nodded, returning the mage's smile. "Really." He said.

Syaoran clutched onto Sakura's small hand, his heart feeling troubled. The memory of Sakura which had flashed through his mind had made his heart sink even lower at the sight of the sleeping princess. Even though he had been worried, he had known then she would get better, for it was just a cold. But now, he didn't know what was affecting Sakura, he only knew he had to get back her feathers which were precious to her.

Because she was precious to him.

"I'll do anything to wake Sakura as fast as I can!" The young brown haired boy said determinedly to himself in the room which was empty save for him and the sleeping girl.

He clenched his teeth, his grip on the girl's hand tightening, "I'll find her feathers!" He yelled, "I will!"

Sakura did not stir. Syaoran closed his eyes, praying with all his heart she would be alright.

The door slid open, and a voice said, "Can I come in?"

"Yes." Syaoran opened his eyes, looking up with an apologetic smile. "I'm sorry for chasing you out, Amanda-san."

"No need to apologize, I know you needed time with her," Amanda smiled. She moved to sit down beside Syaoran. "She's still asleep, huh?"

"Yeah…"

"Hm." The blonde said. "Syaoran-chan?"

"Yes?"

"Don't be too hard on yourself." Syaoran looked surprised but the blonde merely smiled at him. "I know you feel responsible for her, but you shouldn't take all the burden on yourself."

"Amanda-san…"

"I mean, we're all here for you. You're not the only one finding her feathers." Amanda smiled reassuringly. She reached out and patted Syaoran's shoulder, "So really, you should try to relax, okay? Sakura-chan wouldn't want you to be so burdened for her sake either." She grinned, "Really, you're even more tense than Kuro-chan!"

"…Yeah." Syaoran said. He smiled gratefully, and nodded. "Alright, Amanda-san. I will take your words of advice."

"Thank you."

"Such a polite kid." Amanda grinned and reached out to ruffle Syaoran's brown hair, who blinked. "Now don't hold onto her hand so hard, you wouldn't want her to wake up feeling pain!"

Syaoran flushed as he realized he had been so absorbed in his emotions that he had crushed Sakura's hand desperately. He quickly loosened his grip, apologizing automatically, "I'm sorry, princess!"

"The princess's still asleep." Amanda reminded him, smiling. "Like a sleeping beauty, right?"

"Yes." Syaoran said, smiling at Sakura's pretty sleeping face. He blinked when he realized what he said, and reddened, "Eh- I mean-!"

Fortunately, he was saved from further embarrassment when the door slid open and Sorata poked his head in, "Guys, dinner's ready!" The man grinned.

"Alright!" Amanda called out as Sorata walked away. She stood up and looked down at Syaoran. "Well, shall we go?"

Syaoran blinked, then smiled and stood up.

"Yes!"

Syaoran smiled at the memory, as Fay said, "Amanda-chan's so nice!" He said lightly, smiling as he roamed his gaze, "Isn't she?"

"Yeah."

"We're supposed to be looking for the Kudan that has the feather," Kurogane said impatiently, "Not talking about some girl who refused to wake up and help."

"Awww Kuro-tan, don't be like that!" Fay grinned leisurely.

Kurogane glared at him, "You weren't helping either!" He said in frustration. "I asked you to wake her up when I went to wake the kid up!" He growled. "And I come back to find you poking her cheek and playing with her hair!"

"I was trying to wake her up!" Fay protested, but he was smiling. "It's not my fault she doesn't want to wake up!"

"Ah," Syaoran smiled in an attempt to calm Kurogane down, "It's okay, isn't it? I'm sure Amanda-san's tired. Let her sleep."

"That's right." Fay said thoughtfully, "She seems to come from a peaceful world…not like Kuro-rin here."

"You realize we don't know anything about her." Kurogane grumbled.

"Eh?" Fay grinned teasingly, "Is Kuro-pu interested in Amanda-chan?"

"No way." Kurogane deadpanned. His eyes narrowed. "I'm suspicious of her." He said bluntly.

Fay smiled, blue eyes contemplative. "Mmm." He said.

"Anyway," the blond mage said, peering with his blue eyes, "I don't think anybody has their Kudan out while they're just walking."

Kurogane snorted, narrowed red eyes surveying the crowded area.

"Even if they do have the feather, I doubt they'll just give it up."

A certain green eyed blonde yawned, turning over in bed. The blonde blinked open sleepy green eyes, to see the other futons empty.

Amanda gasped and sat up quickly, green eyes widening. "Oh shit, I overslept! Shade's gonna kill me!"

"…Ah wait. Shade's not here." The blonde yawned and looked around, relaxing more at the realization. "Oh yeahhh…I'm in Tsubasa. Hanshin Republic…"

Amanda blinked again, before her green eyes widened again and she shot out of bed, "Damn, Fay's fight! It's today, isn't it?!" She looked around frantically, "What time is it now-wait, what time was it anyway?"

"My favourite character, and I'm not there to see his Kudan just because I overslept! What kind of a fan am I?!"

The door slid open, and Arashi peered in. She smiled. "It seems you are awake." She said, her voice soft. "The boys have already gone out to look for Sakura-chan's feather."

"Where did they go, Arashi-san?!"

Arashi blinked at Amanda's almost panicked expression. "I'm not sure. They just said they would walk around." She said truthfully. "Is something the matter?"

"Ah, no, just, I was supposed to go with them…"

"Well, I'm sure you can catch up with them if you go now." Arashi smiled reassuringly, "They just left about an hour ago."

"That's already too late…"

But Amanda smiled appreciatively at the black haired miko. "Thank you, Arashi-san!" She said.

"I will go now!"

Arashi nodded. She turned away with a smile.

"Have a safe trip."

"Hey. Thanks. I didn't know you could do that."

"It is my wish to help you."

"Well, thanks anyway." Amanda grinned as she rode on the wyvern's back. "Never thought I'd get to ride on a dragon. Good thing I didn't choose the unicorn!"

"Technically, I am a wyvern."

"Well, you are a type of dragon." Amanda leaned forward, looking out, "You can sense Fay's Kudan?"

The wyvern nodded. "But the battle seems to be ending. He is retreating." He moved his neck, as he glided along with spiked wings, "We are almost there."

"Damn. Well it isn't really a proper fight since he was up against that idol girl," Amanda sighed, "But I wanted to see his phoenix, it looked so cool."

"Are you not satisfied with me?"

"Of course I am! You're pretty cool yourself," Amanda grinned, reaching forward and patting the wyvern, "Don't be jealous! I'd choose a dragon over a phoenix any day! It's just that a phoenix really suits Fay."

"Noted." The wyvern said with a toothy smile.

They glided through the air for a while, until a huge blue wave came into their line of sight, "That should be Syaoran and Shogo's fight." Amanda said.

"Do you desire to interfere?"

"Nah, just go nearer, but make sure we're unseen."

The wyvern flew closer to the scene of the battle, at the same time gliding higher into the air. Amanda watched as Syaoran emerged from the tidal wave, his Kudan having made a protective wall of fire around him.

"That is the one who rules over Fire." The one who claimed to govern ice said. "That human is strong in his heart. Only those who burn passionately in their hearts with a resolve can control him."

"Yeah. Once Syaoran decides on something, he'll do it no matter what." Amanda smirked. "But me, my resolve is more cold. I only care about my own ambitions. Syaoran's different, he's doing all he can for his most important person."

"You seem to already be caring for your companions."

"There's still a long way to go." The blonde said. "But I guess it's because I know their characters. Hell, I read volumes of manga about them. So of course I'm fond of them." Green eyes glinted. "They're interesting."

"Knowing what's gonna happen, it's so tempting to try and change the future. Screw things up a bit. Things will already be screwed up anyway."

The wyvern turned and looked at cold green eyes. "That would not be advisable. The future should be untouched by those who know of it."

"Well, we'll see about that."

The blonde looked down, and a figure that was huge even from so high up had appeared, towering over even the tall temple. The wyvern lowered its altitude, and green eyes blinked. "Ah. Syaoran is already running towards that big thing. It's like a human running towards Godzilla." The blonde gave a low whistle, "He really is brave, isn't he? And he's so young."

"Will you help?"

"Might as well. Let's try to save Syaoran from being roasted. How strong is your ice?"

"My strength is dependent on yours."

"Then I'd say it's pretty strong."

"Hold on tight then."

"Yes Sir."

The wyvern dove down, streamlining spiky wings and accelerating through the air. Meanwhile, Syaoran directed a punch of Fire towards the empowered Kudan which went through its stomach, revealing a bright shine. Amanda blinked, and seeing the Kudan frown, shouted, "Now!"

The wyvern drew its head back and gave a roar, releasing a stream of ice from its mouth directly into the centre of the Kudan, as flames exploded out of the centre of Masayoshi's Kudan as its owner screamed in fear. Fire collided with Ice before it could reach Syaoran, and the clash of the two energies created a huge explosion which flung even the wyvern back, and made the enormous Kudan backtrack a few steps.

"Shit! Go to Syaoran!"

The Ice Kudan obeyed and Amanda soon saw the boy through the dust, "Syaoran!" The blonde yelled, "Now's your chance!"

Syaoran looked up, his fire wolf having shielded him with its body and flames from the blast which had flung him to the ground, "Amanda-san!" He said in surprise.

Amanda grinned at him. "Sorry I'm late!" She gave a thumbs up, "You go do what you have to do, okay?"

"…Alright!"

Amanda smiled as she watched the boy sprint off with his Fire Kudan into the smoke, "So, think I managed to change the future a bit?"

"You did save him from injury."

"That's a step, isn't it?"

"Looks destructive over there!" Fay observed with a smile as he stood beside Kurogane from a distance away. "I think that's Amanda-chan's Kudan! Isn't it, Kuro-sama?"

Kurogane smirked. "Tch. Looks like she finally got her lazy ass up."

"Mm. Maybe I should help too huh?"

"Hey. This is the kid's fight."

"I know. That's why Kuro-tan didn't go charging in with his big sword, right?" Fay smiled at his companion who looked at him. "Don't worry. I'm not going to interfere much. I'll just make things a little easier for Syaoran-kun."

He swept a hand to the side then smiled, blue eyes amused. "Yeah. That should do."

"What did you do?"

Fay smiled genially, leaning back. "Oh I just changed the air current a little."

Syaoran blinked as the smoke suddenly seemed to be blown away by a sudden gust of wind, revealing to him the Kudan who had Sakura's feather shining in its burning inside. He noticed there was less fire, and even as he fixed his eyes on the flames, the mysterious wind seemed to blow a good portion of them away. Using the element of surprise to his advantage while the Kudan was still disoriented, he leapt into the middle of the burning Kudan, plunging his hand into the flames as he clenched his teeth, determination in his burning brown eyes.

"Do you want to freeze the fire?"

"He has to do this on his own. If you freeze the fire it'll be too easy for him." The blonde said. "He can just punch through the ice with his Fire Kudan. Fighting fire with fire is harder and will test his resolve."

"And," the one riding on the wyvern turned green eyes to the black haired boy on the giant hand of the Kudan, "Two people are experiencing this ordeal. If I freeze what's left of the fire and Syaoran punches through the ice with his powerful Kudan, who knows what will happen to that guy's heart."

"It seems you have learned."

"Heh. Maybe."

"H-Hot!"

Syaoran's eyes widened and he turned to Masayoshi in worry, "Masayoshi-kun!"

"T-Take it!" Masayoshi was gritting his teeth along with his Kudan as tears of pain rolled down his face. He glared resolutely, "If the thing inside my Kudan is what you're looking for…then I want you to have it!"

Amanda smirked wryly as the wyvern flapped its wings, "I always thought that guy was a bit of a drama queen, but looking at him now, he's kind of admirable."

"So if it burns me," Masayoshi clenched his fist, his small eyes wide and teeth clenched in the pain of his heart burning, "Let it burn!"

"So please…take it!" The black haired boy screamed in withheld agony as Syaoran reached into the depths of the flames towards the glowing feather.

Seconds seemed like eternity in the burning flames as Syaoran struggled painfully through the fire to grasp Sakura's feather. Encouraged by the thought of ending Masayoshi's agony and doing what he was doing for his most precious person, Syaoran gathered all his burning energy and flung his hand forcefully forward, and closed his charred fingers around the treasured object in a firm grasp.

The boy and his Kudan quickly leapt out of Masayoshi's Kudan. With the feather gone, Masayoshi's Kudan began to shrink until it was back to its normal size. The boy and his Kudan fell through the air, as Syaoran's fire wolf moved to catch them on its back.

Rain suddenly fell from the sky and Masayoshi gasped as the flames that had resulted from the incident were doused, "Shogo's Kudan!"

Shogo smiled from behind his goggles as Primera clung to his arm. "The least I could do was keep the place from catching fire." He raised his gaze to the blonde on the wyvern with a smirk. "Although, the lady there could have helped as well."

Fay waved from where he was standing beside Kurogane, who looked to the side. The blond grinned, "Good job, Syaoran-kun!"

But Syaoran didn't seem to hear him. He raised his head, staring at the precious feather in his hand.

"Sakura's feather…Sakura's memory!" The brown haired boy smiled a wide, genuine smile. "I was able…to get one back for her!"

"Oh you give me too much credit!" Amanda grinned at Shogo, making Primera frown. "Shogo-kun, was it?"

"Hey!" Primera said indignantly, tightening her hold on Shogo's arm and glaring at the blonde who blinked green eyes. "Shogo's mine!"

Amanda blinked again, then smiled, "Oh don't worry, he's not my type!" She held up her hands, "Really, he's all yours!"

Shogo stared, then sighed at his possessive girlfriend. "Primera…"

Primera pouted, "But it's true!" She said petulantly, "Shogo-kun is mine! Right?"

"Uh…" Shogo stared at his girlfriend's big, pleading eyes. He raised a hand to his forehead and sighed, but smiled. He reached down to draw his neglected girlfriend close, a fond smile on his lips. "Yeah, yeah. I'm yours."

Primera brightened. She threw her arms around Shogo happily, "Shogo-kun!"

"So romantic!" Fay gave a grin as he watched the scene. He shifted his gaze, "Don't you think so, Kuro-rin?"

"Tch!" Kurogane muttered, turning away. "I don't understand people like that."

"Yeah, 'cause your style is actions speak louder than words. What better way to say I love you by cutting off your arm for your lover?" Amanda thought in wry amusement as Fay smiled at Kurogane who was looking away, "Don't worry Fay, your future's quite romantic. Sort of." The blonde laughed.

"What are you laughing at?"

"Oh nothing." Amanda replied to Kurogane, who was staring at her from beside a puzzled looking Fay. She turned to Shogo, "I saw your Kudan too. I'd like to battle you, but I'm afraid we don't have the time."

"I would have liked a match as well," Shogo smiled, shrugging slightly, "Ice Kudan are rare. People with cool and calm hearts like me usually have Water Kudan." He pointed up to his blue stingray, then looked at the wyvern. "Especially a strong Kudan like yours. I think it takes a certain quality to have an Ice Kudan." He smiled.

"Ah well, I probably just got lucky!" Amanda brushed off, though her green eyes stared straight at Shogo's eyes behind his goggles. She smiled and placed a hand on the wyvern's head. "But I think this guy's cute!"

"Cute…?"

"Play along."

Shogo grinned slightly at the light blue dragon. "Yeah, he's pretty cool." His stingray came down, and he reached to pat the dark blue creature. "I like this guy though."

"Shogo-kun…"

"Ah yeah." Shogo said as Primera tugged at his arm. He jumped up onto the stingray with his girlfriend, lifting his goggles and giving a smile. "Sorry, but Primera and I are going on a date now." He nodded towards Syaoran. "Tell the kid I'll see him some other time."

Primera grinned as she wrapped her arms around her boyfriend happily, "Bye bye!" She said cheerfully.

"Bye!" Fay waved with a light smile as the stingray floated away. He turned, speaking cheerfully. "Should we get going too?"

"The kid seems to have finally snapped out of it." Kurogane said as he looked at Syaoran, who was now standing and talking to Masayoshi.

Amanda leapt down from the wyvern and sprinted towards Syaoran, "Syaoran-chan!"

"Amanda-san," Syaoran smiled as he clutched the feather in his hand, not seeming to care that his clothes were singed. He bowed slightly, "Thank you for your help just now."

"Oh I didn't do much! Syaoran-chan was the brave one!" Amanda smiled back, lowering her gaze to the feather in Syaoran's hand. "Anyway we better get that back to Sakura-chan, huh?"

"Yeah." Syaoran nodded determinedly. He turned and smiled at Masayoshi and his Kudan. "See you, Masayoshi-kun."

Masayoshi grinned as his Kudan smiled, "Bye, Syaoran-kun!" He said, "I'm happy you got your precious thing back!"

"Yes." Syaoran smiled. He was about to turn and walk away when a hand grasped his wrist and pulled. "E-Eh Amanda-san?!"

"Let's go flying!" Amanda declared cheerfully as she led the surprised boy to the wyvern, "Climb on, Syaoran-kun!"

"B-But-"

"No buts! You want to get back to Sakura-chan faster, don't you?"

"Right…" Syaoran said hesitantly as Amanda released his wrist. He climbed onto the wyvern, still holding the feather securely in his hand as if it was his lifeline. His fire wolf followed him, sitting on its paws to make space for its master. Syaoran smiled and ran a hand over its flaming fur in appreciation as it rubbed its head against his shoulder in contentment.

Amanda smiled and jumped on top of the wyvern, pointing forwards.

"Off we go!"

"What-hey!" Kurogane shouted disbelievingly as the wyvern took to the air. "What about us?!"

"Your Kudan can fly too!"

"She's right, Kuro-pyon!" Fay grinned, blue eyes sparkling, "I didn't know we could ride our Kudan! It looks like fun!"

Kurogane twitched as Fay levitated into the air. "You already can fly!"

"Fly fly, we're flying!" Mokona exclaimed happily from Fay's shoulder. "Like a balloon! We're flying like a balloon!"

Fay gave a laugh that sounded like a giggle as he floated over and held out his hand towards Kurogane, smiling innocently as his blue eyes shone with an amused light, "Take my hand, Kuro-sama?"

"What the hell are you saying, stupid mage!" Kurogane sounded mortified at the mere thought.

"Well, I can't carry Kuro-sama since Kuro-sama is so much bigger than me…"

Kurogane growled. Fay laughed and sprang away, looking up at the massive blue dragon which glared at him. He grinned, "Kuro-sama's Kudan looks as scary as its master!"

"Shut up!" Kurogane shouted. He turned and regarded the blue dragon with red eyes. The dragon nodded, yellow eyes sharp, and Kurogane leapt onto its back. He glanced at the smiling mage, then scoffed and looked away.

The blue dragon reared back its head and with a powerful beat of its wings, swept into the sky.

Fay stood in the air, smiling, unruffled by the strong gust of wind.

"Really. He gets angry so easily."

"Ah, everyone left!" Mokona said from Fay's shoulder, looking around and confirming they were indeed the only ones present. The white manjuu peered up at the smiling mage. "Fay? Why don't you use your Kudan too?"

Fay smiled and closed his eyes. "Yeah I should, shouldn't I?" He opened his blue eyes, smiling wryly, "I don't want to be the only one without my Kudan out, do I? Even Kuro-rin has his out."

"Fay?" Mokona asked in concern. "What's wrong?"

"It's nothing, Mokona." Fay turned with a reassuring smile to the white creature on his shoulder. He smiled, and raised his gaze to the green phoenix before him.

The phoenix's yellow eyes stared into the mage's blue eyes. An image of his most precious thing which he had given away to the dimensional witch flashed in his mind. Fay smiled, blue eyes clouded, as the phoenix threw its head back and gave a shrill cry.

"One's Kudan represents one's heart, huh?" The magician who had sworn to never use magic murmured, as the phoenix spread its wide wings, green feathers shimmering. Mokona turned to look at him curiously and Fay smiled and gave the creature an affectionate pat on the head. "Let's go, Mokona."

"Okay!"

Fay crossed the phoenix's laid down wing to get to its back. The green mystical bird turned to look at him with its yellow eyes and he stared back with blue eyes, a smile on his lips. He reached out a hand and placed it on the phoenix's beak, still meeting the phoenix's blank yellow eyes. As if having come to an unspoken agreement with its master, the phoenix nodded and allowed the mage to ruffle its feathers in an almost careful gesture as he brushed his thumb gently over the emerald jewel on its forehead, and turned its head as the mage's hand slipped quietly away.

"Hold on tight, Mokona." Fay said, smiling at the white magical creature on his shoulder.

"Alright!" Mokona said cheerfully.

The mythical phoenix flew into the air with powerful wings, reaching the sky. Fay smiled as his Kudan moved through the sky swiftly as he allowed himself to be immersed in his thoughts.

"Oi mage!"

Blue eyes blinked. Fay turned his head, staring in slight surprise. "Kuro-sama?"

Kurogane regarded him from the back of the blue dragon with piercing red eyes. He smirked. "So you finally brought out your Kudan huh?"

"Well, I did bring it out when we had to fight Primera-chan." Fay smiled.

Kurogane frowned as his blue dragon moved a little closer to the green phoenix. "Hey, you-wah!" He turned and glared at the white creature on his shoulder. "Damn manjuu bun! How the hell did you get here?!"

"Mokona jumped!" Mokona said, smiling widely.

"Go back to the mage!"

"Mokona would, but…" Kurogane blinked as the manjuu bun seemed to adopt a sad expression. "Fay wants to be alone right now."

"Huh?"

"Mokona can feel it. Fay's heart is troubled." Mokona sighed softly, holding a paw to where its heart would be if it had one. "Fay feels lonely."

"And what the hell does that have to do with me?"

"Kurogane should be more sensitive to Fay's feelings!" Mokona pointed out indignantly. "Look! Doesn't Fay look sad?"

Kurogane looked. Really looked at the mage. Fay wasn't even looking at them, his blue eyes were staring ahead, his lips were curled only slightly instead of the wide grin he usually had on and he was just staring off into the distance, as if lost in his own world- the world he had left behind and swore to never return to.

Kurogane watched as the green phoenix flew further away as its master stood on its back, his blond hair blown wildly by the wind he could control. But Fay didn't look like he was in his element at all. He must have been staring for so long for Fay blinked, then turned and looked at him with a smile.

"What is it, Kuro-rin?"

"Tch. If you didn't want to get your Kudan out then you shouldn't have gotten it out." Kurogane said simply.

"Now, who said I didn't want to get my Kudan out?" Fay continued smiling, looking at the green phoenix. "Such a magnificent bird, don't you think?" He said almost wistfully.

It wasn't as if he was actually worried about the idiot mage. It was just annoying how the mage was still pretending even in his current state. Kurogane snorted. "Whatever." He said, looking at the mage's blue eyes. "You can't run away forever."

"Mm. I'll keep Kuro-sama's advice in mind." Fay said with a smile once he figured out he was supposed to respond to his companion. Kurogane couldn't detect a shred of sincerity in the statement and he turned away with a scoff.

He looked at his own dragon which reminded him of Ginryuu. Silently, he bade the blue dragon to fly a little closer to the green phoenix. Mokona looked at Kurogane, then hopped quietly onto the dragon's back.

The dragon and the phoenix flew side by side in the silence that followed.