Sorry that this took SOOOO long to upload...I have been so preoccupied and I haven't been really within the whole Pandora Hearts and TRC thing lately...so my chapters might be coming a bit later and later in the future...I'm so sorry about that. But anyway, this one was ESPECIALLY hard to write, becasue of a certain person...*Vincent...* But now that I am onto chapter 5, maybe it won't take as long...but things might have to be put on hitus once agai if I am too preoccupied..,man I can't wait for summer...

Anyway, this chapter is in Fai's POV. Enjoy~


"Ahh~ Boshiya-san and friends! What a pleasant surprise. What do I owe the pleasure of this visit?" His voice was sleek and careful, much like a snakes. My first impression...I didn't like him.


To be honest, I was a bit shocked when Lady Sharon was taken, more than that really. Seeing the face of a broken man was a bit much, since Xerxes had been that way ever since, but he would have to get over it and learn to move on a bit so he could help in the search.

But I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. I knew what it meant to lose someone that you loved. I knew the pain, the sorrow, and all the anger and other mixed emotions that came along with it. And I'm sure that everyone else who was there that night was no stranger to the feeling either.

I wouldn't say that I was that close to Xerxes, I mean, we had only met a few months ago. But my first couple of impressions of the guy was more along the lines of, 'he seems to dig too deep', or something along the lines of that. I'm not sure, but I couldn't really place my finger on what he could possibly be to me; a friend? No, we weren't nearly that close. An acquaintance, maybe?

Either way, we went about normal business, the occasional 'attempts to cheer up Xerxes' mixed in here and there. As if it ever worked anyway.


It was about 3 days after Sharon was taken that Kuro-sama, Syaoran, Oz, Gilbert, and I all sat down to have a serious talk as to what was going on and how we should go about fixing it all.

"The first thing is that we need to figure out who summoned that chain..." Proposed Oz. I agreed. Then again, if my knowledge was correct, then wouldn't it be possible for the chain to have been summoned on a feathers power? If that power was there, then it might not even need a contractor at all. But as always, I kept my mouth shut about it until my opinion was asked.

"Anyone in mind who could have summoned that beast?" Asked Kurogane. He was always quick to the point. Which could sometimes be an asset as well as a hindrance; depending on the timing.

"..Hmm...Well there are the Baskervilles..." Stated young Oz. "As well as Reo..." He then trailed off, as if trying to think of others.

"..." I had noticed that Gilbert was being unusually quiet, as if he had something to say, but he couldn't muster out the courage to bring it up.

"Gilbert...Do you have any ideas?" I asked, to prompt him to speak. This obviously caught him by surprise, as he jumped a bit when I spoke to him.

He rubbed the back of his head a bit in embarrassment, ruffling his hair slightly. He then moved away from the wall that he was leaning against to stand up straight while he spoke to us. At least he had common manors, unlike a certain ninja I knew who would continue to slouch against the wall while he spoke.

"Ahh- That is...well.." He began. He was obviously a bit timid as to revealing the name of this person to us. "It's-"

"Vincent Nightray...your brother. Isn't that right Gilbert-kun?"

He had been interrupted by Xerxes who had just come into the room. He apparently knew what he was going to say, and since he wasn't ashamed to speak up, he decided to fill in the gap of Gilbert's sentence.

"..Yeah..." Gilbert said, backing off a bit and back to the wall where he had stood before. The tension in the room had risen at the moment in time. And all because he came into the room.

"If anything, I bet Vincent was behind this. It wouldn't be the first time either..." Xerxes said with a disgusted look on his face as he uttered this.

"So, we're going to go and question this Vincent whatever his name is guy?" Asked the big brute clad in black.

"If you are willing to come along, then yes, we are." Replied Xerxes.


As I said before, I don't like Vincent. I didn't from the first moment I laid eyes on him. I didn't like the way that he looked, or the way that his voice sounded. It all spoke 'liar' and 'deceiver' to me. Then again, I guess that would make me a hypocrite, wouldn't it?

The room was dimly lit from the moment that we walked in. I could smell the faint scent of rose petals wafting around the room as I went to go and sit down. I didn't mind the smell, but there was something about it that just made me the slightest bit uneasy. Maybe it was the forewarning sense of danger that I got from this blonde haired, miss-matched eyed man, but I didn't say anything at the moment. I only wanted to listen into the conversation that was about to take place.

Xerxes was the first to speak up, wanting to break the silence. "Vincent….Tell me...Did you send that chain to kidnap Ojou-sama?" He asked with a dark undertone in his voice. He was obviously mad, and it showed through alright.

"What? Me? Never..." He said with an obvious tone of sarcasm in his voice.

I didn't like his voice at all. It sounded crude and sly. He was a man of many faces, more than me anyway. And his eyes; they were filled with hatred towards Xerxes, and nothing but.

I had been told that he was the younger blood related brother to Gilbert, but besides the one golden eye that he possessed, I didn't see it. He had golden hair rather than jet black locks like Gilbert.

But my position remained; I didn't like him.

"Don't give me that crap Vincent-sama…You have kidnapped Ojou-sama before, and let me tell you, if you did that again, then you won't like the consequences." Xerxes said with much anger in his voice.

"I assure you Boshiya-san, I did no such thing. And you say that it was a chain that took her hostage? Then I can honestly say that I had no part in this. Besides, my methods would be more…unique…wouldn't they?" He said with a sense of arrogance in his voice. He knew how to hit Xerxes's weak points, that's for sure, and he was taking full advantage of the opportunities.

His expression changed then. He then looked at Kurogane, Syaoran and myself. "But enough about that Boshiya-san~ Who are these lovely characters?" He asked in a slightly interested sounding voice. But I could tell that it was all a façade. He didn't look like the kind of person to get aquatinted with those that he couldn't use later on for whatever it was that he needed to get done.

"That is of no importance Vincent-sama….We're here to talk about Ojou-sama…"

"…Ahh~ So persistent Boshiya-san~ How about a little trade then? If you tell me about these three people right here, then I will tell you about anything that you wish to know about what happened to your precious Ojou-sama. Of course, I might not know much to anything regarding her…Your choice."

Xerxes didn't like where this was going. What's more, Vincent was one of the LAST people he wanted finding anything about us; especially Sakura's feathers. Xerxes had told us that Vincent would stop at nothing to destroy any evidence regarding to the events that happened 100 years ago. And he would also stop at nothing to destroy those who wanted to uncover the secrets of those events.

Xerxes sighed. "…Alright…We'll meet with your demands…But I swear Vincent, if you try anything I will personally see to it that you don't see the light of day ever again…" He said in a threatening tone. He truly was another man when he was angry.

The blond man clad in black stood up from where he stood and then proceeded to walk over to where we; meaning Syaoran, Kurogane and I sat. He walked up behind Syaoran and then ran his long, slim fingers through his course hair. He sneered at how rough it was, but then again, he didn't know that Syaoran had lived in the desert all his life. "So..What's his story? And his name at that?" He asked, already getting the impression that he didn't like him.

"My name is Syaoran." He said bluntly. His expression was straight faced as he spoke to him, which was classic for Syaoran. This seemed to anger Vincent as he was spoken to without any emotion. Naturally, the one who would speak without emotion would be the girl he kept around him, Echo. But at the moment, she didn't seem to be around.

Vincent examined the boy carefully and thoroughly, before making any assumptions about him. "Hmm…you seem like you are adapted to a harsh lifestyle…And your clothes make me think that you have a boring sense of fashion." He said with a sneer in his eye. Syaoran didn't make any unnecessary actions beyond what was required to deal with Vincent.

The blond then proceeded to Kurogane and somehow immediately took a liking to him. Somehow, this angered me a bit. "Well now, you remind me of Gilbert~" He cooed lightly. "But you are a lot more manly.."

I clenched my fist for an unknown reason as he talked to Kurogane. I didn't like the way that he was fawning over him. Why I was like that I don't know…Or do I?

"So..What's your name?" Vincent asked happily.

"Kurogane…" Said the black clad ninja.

Vincent happily looked him over and makes his assumption of him. "Well, you seem like you have a lot of fight in you. And I like that~" He said with a slight wink, which made Kurogane shudder a bit. "You are also concealed and reserved…I like that."

OK, now he was really getting on my nerves…

Then, it was my turn.

He didn't even have to look at me to get an assumption of me. I could already tell that he didn't like me. Then again, I didn't like him either…So we were at a mutual understanding.

He circled me though, like a predator surrounding its prey before the kill. That's when I felt that cold, slim hand of his grab me by my hair and pull my head back so I could look him in the eye. All the others in the room tried to stop him, but I help up my hand as to say that it would be alright. I wanted to hear what he had to say.

"…You seem like you have a lot to hide about yourself…Much like I do…But let's get one thing straight…I don't like you. So you can get swallowed up by the Abyss for all I care." He said to me in a cold tone. He then leaned in close to my ear so only I could hear what he had to say next. "But let's get one thing straight…I'm keeping the feather…It belongs to one of your traveling companions right? I wonder what it would take for me to give it back? Maybe you could give me that ninja of yours…Or perhaps you could go and die? Your choice…" He said with the tone of a snake. My eyes widened slightly, now learning that he had a feather. So was he truly behind the attack from that chain that took Miss Sharon?

"Oh, and one more thing…If you tell anyone about this little information, then I will see to it that you never get this feather. If Boshiya-san's Mad Hatter can be provoked enough, then I bet that he wouldn't think twice about destroying the feather in order to get his precious Ojou-sama back…"

I glared at him after he was done sending the threat my way. He really did know how to hit all the pressure points that could make you hate him.

"Alright…We let you do as you wanted, now tell us about Ojou-sama…" Said Xerxes. He was becoming inpatient as he spoke.

"Right…Well to be honest, I don't know much about what had happened to her. Ever think that a powerful chain could just rise from the Abyss and steal her for its own reasons? It's possible." He said, putting forth a tone saying that he didn't care about the answer he gave.

This angered Xerxes.

"Vincent…I feel as though you know something regarding to this subject. Now tell us what you know…" His anger level was rising, and his expression showing more danger with it.

"Alright alright…What I know is that a mysterious power suddenly showed up in the Abyss. And because of that, the whole place has been in an uproar. Chains have been breaking out everywhere. And multiple people have been taken to the Abyss…Not just your Ojou-sama. Are you satisfied with that?" He asked Xerxes who actually seemed satisfied with that response.

"Yes, I am.." He said as he headed for the door, followed by Gilbert, who seemed to want to get out of there as soon as possible. Oz followed soon after, not wanting to be left behind.

Syaoran then exited the room and soon Kurogane followed. I got up from my seat as proceeded to follow as well.

"Ah, I forgot something.." I heard him say from behind me. I turned to face him. "I forgot to get your name…"

"…It's Fai." I replied to him. He didn't look satisfied.

"…No, I meant YOUR name."

I stood there dumbfounded at the fact that he could tell that I was lying. "…It's-"


We all returned to the Reinsworth estate soon after we left the Nightray household. Xerxes began to sulk once again in his room, not letting anyone in. I always wondered what he did when he was alone…then again, maybe I didn't want to know…

It was near the night time when we arrived however, so I decided to try the impossible; which was to go and talk to Xerxes while he was held up in his room.

"Xerxes…you in there?" I asked from the outside of the room. I knew that it was a possibility that he could have jumped out of the window. But then again, he was blind, so why would he want to anyway? Then again, he seemed like he could see just fine, so what was I worried about anyway?

I received no response at first. The room seemed to be dead quiet. But when I banged on the door, that was another matter altogether. I had heard a slight, "If you stop that, then I will let you in.." from the other side of the door. So, in response, I ceased my actions. Almost immediately, I was let into the room.

His room was a bit more bland than I had imagined it would be, since he was known as the Mad Hatter and all. But, I guess if I had a room that you could look at, I would be the same way.

The lighting in the room was poor, so I could just barely make out his figure within the shadows of the room. He didn't seem like he wanted anyone to see him in his current condition, but I knew that's exactly what he needed.

"Xerxes…" I began. Since he didn't respond, I just continued. I thought that he needed to hear this. "Xerxes, I know that you are in emotional distress, but you need to pull yourself together. Even if that Vincent guy wasn't responsible, I'm sure that we can find the one who was."

The albino man in the shadows seemed to look in my direction, at least I thought that he was. I couldn't tell due to the lighting and the fact that he was blind, so he might have just looked over in my general direction.

"I understand what you are getting at Fai….but right now, I-"

"You are too hurt and wounded emotionally to understand what to do right now, am I correct? You think that if you have some time to yourself, you can figure it all out on your own…but you can't…I was taught that lesson by someone I know, so now I think that it's time that you are taught this lesson…"

"Then why doesn't Oz-kun or Gilbert-"

"They don't have the guts to stand up to you like this….but there is a reason I can…It's because you and I are more alike than you will ever understand…So can you try to cheer up and become more determined to find Lady Sharon?" I said with some determination and confidence in my voice that I didn't even know that I had. I wonder what Kurogane would think about this side of me?

From the other side of the room, I heard some shuffling and then I saw the albino man come into the light of the moon that was peering in through the curtains in the room. He was standing there, his facial expression now changed to a more determined stare as he looked at me and said, "I'm ready then…let's get Ojou-sama back."

That's when I knew I won the argument.


Sorry if that ending was too abrupt...I wrote it like at the last minute and I was stuck for anything else that the chapter could have included...So, please review if you wouldn't mind, I know that this chapter is a bit choppy...I wrote it in pieces...But please be patient when waiting for chapter 5~

Thank you~