Breathless

Chapitre 4. Tsuyoi Kokoro (Strong Heart)

By Sanzaki Kojika

Disclaimer: I do not in any way, shape, or form own Tsubasa or any of the CLAMP characters sadly. What I'd give for even half their talent! I'm kinda forgetting what I had planned for this so I better hurry and write it down somewhere…haha! This is KuroFai, by the way…meaning guy-on-guy action! Oh nos! (it's also apparently ShaoranSaku now…XD )

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Shaoran stopped again, quickly scanning their surroundings. Every time he stopped, Sakura got more and more worried. Something was bothering him, and he wouldn't let her know what it was. Even though he was always like this and she knew he was too stubborn to ever say anything, it still caused her to worry like crazy. That was just in her nature though.

"Shaoran…" Mokona frowned slightly from his place nestled in Sakura's arms. The boy blinked back at the white manjuu and forced a smile.

"It's fine…we should keep moving…" Shaoran continued forward again. Sakura said nothing but moved to keep his pace. She felt awkward in this kind of situation, not sure what she should do or say. She felt safe just being by Shaoran's side…but, he wasn't the same way. He was the one who protected her, not the one being protected. There was no way she could understand just what he was feeling. It upset her that she couldn't. She wanted to protect him with her own power.

They walked on in silence, Shaoran occasionally pausing in their journey to check their surroundings. No matter what he did, he couldn't shake the feeling that they were being watched. It was all around him, threatening to engulf them entirely. He wanted to keep the princess safe, but how could he fight something he wasn't even sure was there? For all he knew, he would just be tilting at windmills!

A sudden cracking sound off to the left caught his attention and snapped him out of his thoughts. Shaoran whirled around and his hand moved to grab the handle of his sword. He found himself starting straight into the eyes of…a harmless little squirrel. He sighed and let his hand relax. Maybe he was just getting too worked up over nothing…

Just as Shaoran's hand slid back entirely from his sword, he heard a high pitch scream behind him. He quickly moved to turn around, "Saku…"

He suddenly felt dizzy, as if he were about to pass out. He stumbled slightly, struggling to stay on his feet. Splashes of colors threatened to overtake his vision. He blinked, trying to force the illusions away. What had happened…?

As Shaoran fell forward and his face met the ground, he could feel the sharp sting of something in the back of his neck. He had been hit without his ever knowing. They had found a flaw in his defense! He cursed himself silently as the world slipped away into the darkness.

"Shaoran-kun!" Sakura shrieked as she hurried to his side. She had seen the small dart whiz past her towards him, but she could do nothing to save him. It had been to quick for even his reflexes. Its shooter was far too quiet. Even now, she had no idea who had done this to him.

There was some rustling in the bushes around her and slowly the figures faded in from the brush. They were pale skinned with vibrant eyes of red and some of an icy-blue, much like those of Kurogane and Fay. What got to her the most were the intricate paintings that adorned their bodies from nearly head to toe. They were mesmerizing, and she found she was losing herself in their detail. She quickly turned away and huddled over Shaoran.

"Mokona will protect you two!" Mokona jumped in front of Sakura and Shaoran. Sakura tried to smile, but she knew that the little critter was nowhere near powerful enough to defend them. In fact, he wasn't even brave enough to stand there long enough.

"It's coming from her, sir…" one of the men glanced over his shoulder towards a man as he moved through the bushes and into their sight. He had dark hair and dark eyes; he stood out from the group quite a bit. He wore a cold look on his face and his skin was only lightly tanned. He wore long dark robes with intricate blue designs winding their way up to end at the sleeves. Unlike most of the others, there was no tattoo adorned upon him. He held a large sword in his right hand that had been drawn from the black sheath at his hip. Right away, Sakura recognized him.

"Nii-san!" she said without thinking. She quickly corrected herself, "Etto, Touya…"

Touya blinked down at her, clearly confused as to why she would know him. He glared at her as he moved a bit closer, "Why do you know me…?"

"Ano…it's a bit hard to explain…" Sakura shook her head slightly. She glanced over at Mokona and he nodded his encouragement. She took a deep breath and continued, "I guess you could say, you just remind me of someone I know…"

"Your brother?" Touya shrugged his shoulders. She simply nodded her response. "Well, whatever. That's the least of my concern."

Touya knelt down beside her, moving to take the dart out of Shaoran. He took it out in one swift movement, leaving not even a spot of blood behind. He handed it to the man behind him. The man accepted it with a befuddled look upon his face.

"Sir…" one of the other men approached, trying to bring Touya back. Touya waved them off and leaned closer to Sakura.

"PUU!" Mokona yelled as he head butted Touya in the knee. Touya fell back, thrown off guard as he hadn't even noticed the little white manjuu. He grabbed Mokona by the scruff of his neck and helped him up to get a better look.

"Mokona will protect Sakura-chan!" Mokona tried to whack at his nose. He snickered slightly and dropped Mokona away and off to the side.

"What is it…?" Sakura asked, getting leery about him being so close. Though this man may look like her dear older brother, he wasn't the same. In each different world, each person was different. Though their hearts remained the same, their lives had made them different. A friendly face in one world could be an enemy in another.

"The power you give off…it's just like the one in the temple…" he frowned slightly. She looked over at Mokona.

"Mekyo!" he opened his eyes for a brief moment, "though it's faint and there's a lot of static, I think I can sense a feather!" He frowned slightly. For some reason, he was still having a lot of trouble using his magic. The fact that he could barely even sense the feather probably meant that they were pretty close. But, though he could sense it, he couldn't even make out which direction it was coming from. He hoped he had followed Fay right, back when he could feel the sorcerer…

"Feather? What are you talking about…" Touya glared over at them. Sakura forced a smile and waved her hands about in her defense.

"No, it's nothing bad. We are travelers searching for my feathers…they have been taken from me, and I can't regain my memory without them…" she clutched her hand to her chest. With every memory she got back, she felt like she was becoming more and more like herself. Despite this though, there was a gaping hole that only widened with each piece. Something in her heart was still missing…

Touya stood up and Sakura followed him with her eyes. He walked a couple steps away from them, his back turned towards them, "One hundred years ago, a meteor fell into the Yoake Temple. Since then, the desert has become a dangerous place; the peaceful kentan were turned into vicious monsters, draining spirit from those who could call upon its power. Those with spirit were blamed for this problem, and many of our leaders have been stolen away and sealed inside the temple, in hopes of restoring balance and riding us of this evil.

"Inside the meteor was a great magic…said to be in the form of a feather. A couple months ago, we lost our current leader to them, and we are on a quest to get him back and get rid of this magic. Maybe…you can be of some use."

Sakura stood up and grabbed onto Touya's arm, "Please, let me help! If my feather has caused all of this chaos…then I am responsible. I must help to right it!"

Touya pulled his arm away and gave her a small smirk. He patted her on the head.

"You're a good girl…with a pure heart…just as I had expected" he turned away and motioned for two of his men to come towards him.

"Carry this boy back to our camp. Once we wakes up and is ready, we shall continue our journey," he ordered. The men picked up Shaoran and Sakura hovered around them, making sure they didn't harm Shaoran as they moved him. Touya motioned for her to follow him.

"While we wait, let me show you the temple…"

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Kurogane peeked out from behind the rock, glaring at the temple before them. Just as Sorato and his wife had said, there were many guards stationed before it. They were wearing heavy suits of golden armor and wielding unpleasant-looking pikes. The temple was well guarded indeed.

"What's the plan?" Kurogane glanced over at Sorato. The other man was frowning and racking his brain to come up with some solution. There had to be a way to get past the guards and get in.

"I'm still working on it," came the curt reply.

Kurogane sighed and leaned back on his heels. His mind was rapidly at work, forming possible solutions. He could always go and outright destroy all of those in his way, but he really didn't want to be that obvious in his approach. His best bet was to find a way to sneak around them and make their way into the temple, unnoticed. And though he had been trained for that all his life, it didn't make sneaking past at least forty men under the dim light of torches to the only entrance of a temple any easier.

"How many guards do you think there are?" Sorato asked after a moment. Kurogane grunted and peered out again, making a quick count of those he could see and stretching his senses to find those hidden in the shadow. His initial guess had been close.

"I'd say about forty-five…" he grumbled. Sorato blinked and peered out himself to double-check the number.

"But I only see about twenty…" Sorato checked again to make sure his eyes weren't deceiving him. He shook his head, failing to find anymore than the ones in the light and slumped back against the rock.

"Don't let your eyes deceive you. There is more to see than what is in the light. There are guards hidden throughout the shadows as well. This way, they can be more defensive," Kurogane folded his arms across his chest. He had to think of a way to break through, and fast! He didn't want to leave Fay like that for much longer…

"That's a lot more than I had expected…I wonder if something's up…" Sorato frowned slightly. They usually only kept around a dozen guards posted at a time, even during nightfall. Most people were too scared to venture towards the temple even in the day. The rumors about it and he who resided inside had made sure to that.

"Hm…there might be someone else out there trying to cause trouble. I really don't know everything about your people yet, but we might be able to use this to our advantage," Kurogane smirked. He'd find one way or another to get in that temple…no matter what it would take!

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The sorcerer glanced up at the pale sliver of moon that was trying to peek through the heavy curtain of clouds. Not a single star managed to break through and dot the sky. The sky was enveloped in the darkness save for that single waning light of the moon. It struck him as oddly beautiful, as he sat alone in the dark room that had become his prison. The only thing that he could make out clearly was his pale form. The dark shadows of a few columns and an altar were his only companions.

He closed his eyes and listened to the clatter outside. They were added guards…he knew what that meant. They had spotted the others, or at least had gotten wind of them. Why would he be so foolish as to let them…the sorcerer couldn't help but wonder what it was that he was planning.

The sorcerer slowly rose to his feet and moved to a large urn that was propped up against the wall. He placed a creaking piece of wood on top of it and climbed up, trying to peer out the small window, the only source of light in the room. Even on tip-toe he was still barely able to peer above the frame. All he could see was the dark shadows of rocks rising off in the distance. He gave up and slumped down in defeat.

One who is lost, and one who has lost…they approach.

The sorcerer sat up, quickly alert. When he had first been locked away in his prison, he had heard the voice before, but it had never said much. Here it was again now, talking in tongue. What did it mean…?

Find the lost spirit.

At once, he knew what it was talking about. Even before he had come to this place, he had heard the rumors about magic being sapped by a once peaceful creature. Though he hadn't understood why, he knew that it was real, and he also knew he had somehow managed to avoid it. He slowly rose to his feet.

Though he wasn't quite sure he could do it, he would do his best to help those who were coming in need of his help. There were two people…though he wasn't quite sure what one of them needed; he knew one of them must possess some sort of magic. He moved back to the urn and threw off the wood, quickly pulled out some herbs that had been stashed away inside of it.

He started to mix the potion together, doing his best to remember what he had been told by the voice when he had first entered. It had worked, and though he wasn't sure how it had, he knew it would do so again. He didn't know how long he would have to wait, but he didn't want to risk it. He would make the potion again right away.

He hesitated a moment, wondering just how the person, er...people, would get in. From his knowledge, the temple was safe guarded, even more heavily now than ever, and there was only one way in or out of the temple. But if they voice had said so…he had no reason to not believe it would come true. In fact, he wanted to believe it would. So, he would do just that. The voice hadn't steered him wrong so far, even if it really hadn't spoken much.

He moved back towards the altar once more and knelt down on the cold stone steps that lead up to the box in the center. He pushed it aside and reached down into the darkness of the small hole that had been formed beneath it. It didn't take him long for his fingers to brush against that which he sought. He pulled the feather out and was met with a bright light.

The sorcerer stumbled back, nearly dropping the feather in the process. This was…strange. The feather had always emitted a dim glow of light, but this is the first time he had ever seen it so bright. He cupped it in his hands, trying to keep himself from being blinded. He hurried over to the urn and dipped it into his concoction before putting it back in its safe hold.

For some reason, the extreme glow of the feather didn't bother him. Though he wasn't quite sure just what it meant, he had a feeling it had to do with the other visitor who was coming to meet him. He knew from the moment he had laid his eyes on it that the feather was just a piece of a larger puzzle. It wouldn't surprise him if the owner had finally come back to claim what was rightfully his or hers. Getting the feather back to the owner would solve so many problems.

He finished stirring the potion then sat back to look at his masterpiece. It looked to be about done, so now all he had to do was wait. He moved the piece of wood back and sat back down on top of the urn. Waiting was the thing he hated to do the most…

Fortunately, he didn't have to wait long. It was only a couple minutes after that he heard the quiet sound of footfalls. He jumped to his feet, not sure if he should be ready for a fight, or if this was one of the people he was expecting. It seemed like he had to wait an eternity for the newcomer to come inside.

The instant that the newcomer crossed into the main hall, the sorcerer knew just what to expect. He smiled warmly and held his hand out, "Greetings! I have been expecting you!"

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Translation notes: (oh nos! It strikes again…!)

Nii-san: big brother, slightly casual and slightly formal (good relationship, but still respect)

etto: "Um"; literally: just a sound when you are unsure
Ano: Same as above

Sorry, shorter chapter than usual..but, I wanted to leave off on several cliffhanger thingers…that way, I can balance the story more (what? Don't ask…my brain is on his coffee break..)