Disclaimer: I own nothing.

Author's Note:Firstly, thank you to everyone who favorited, follow, or reviewed for this story! You make me happy. ^^ Sorry for taking so long to update. . I am plagued by writer's block. And sorry this chapter's so short, but I could see no other way to do it without losing the drama. XD Also, in this chappie, Kuro-wan's still in flashback mode.


When Kurogane woke up, all was quiet and dark.

The first thing he noticed was the smell. The air was saturated with the scent of incense; it was a sleepy, heavy, headache-inducing smell, one that burned Kurogane's eyes.

He grunted and sat up a bit, expecting to see that damned mage sitting there by his bedside, grinning in his stupid way, just itching to remind the ninja that he was the only reason he was alive.

But there was no one there. Not even the vague outline of a person, all that would've been visible in that extent of darkness.

In fact, as far as Kurogane could tell, there was no one anywhere.

With only a little difficulty, he managed to stand. His other senses told him what his eyes couldn't. Five steps ahead, twelve steps to the left, the air pressure shifted, the air of the room being sucked through a rectangular gap in the wall.

In other words, there was a doorway. An open doorway.

He stretched for a moment, feeling an unpleasant tugging in his abdomen where Fai's hands had healed him, and proceeded silently through that doorway.

It took him down a hall, even darker than the former room had been, but as he traveled down it he noticed that it grew lighter and lighter.

Finally, he emerged into another room, and realized immediately where he was.

That freaking witch's shop.

And she was sitting there, illuminated by candlelight, a solemn look on her face. Also in the room were Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona. All wearing similar expressions.

Kurogane glanced around suspiciously for a moment, having difficulty understanding the seriousness of their moods, and then spoke directly to the witch in a gruff voice: "Where is he?"

Her eyes grew oddly tight around the corners, the inner barriers of her eyebrows turning up just slightly, her mouth morphing into a subtle little frown. And then, the expression was gone, just as quickly as it had come. And it was only then that Kurogane realized that it had been a face of sorrow.

He felt an awful clenching sensation in his chest, constricting his lungs, blocking air's passage, making breath nearly impossible to capture.

His fists clamped shut, hard enough to drive his dull nails, bitten almost to the quick, into the calloused skin of his palm. He asked again, this time in a growl, "Where is he?"

She lowered her eyes. Kurogane had never once before seen the witch in such a state of distress, and it inspired in him a fear he'd only felt once before in his life.

"He had never properly learned the magic he used on you," she explained in her typical 'let's-not-get-involved' voice, so calm and socollected. But she sounded smaller. Less confident. "He was never meant to use that kind of magic. Fei-Wong Reed made sure of that." She looked up at him then, the same expression of sorrow in her eyes, although this time it didn't reach her features. They remained neutral. "I can't even begin to understand how he managed to conjure it up, especially enough to heal a wound such as yours. But, however he managed it, it was too much for him. I'm sorry."

Her voice broke. On that last word, her smooth voice cracked subtly, and that was perhaps the most significant part of what she had just said. Because if she had kept her composure, if she'd just kept her freaking voice still, it could've all been a joke. A stupid little prank, most likely concocted by that mage himself. The witch would finish what she had to say, and while Kurogane stood there, shocked and angry and ready to kill something, Fai would jump out and leap onto the ninja's back and shout something stupid.

'Aww, look at Kuro-pu's face! I told you that you loved me!'

But no.

That fucking witch's voice had gone and broke.

And now it was all true.

Every fucking bit of it.

Fai was dead.


Author's Note:Did anyone happen to catch my pun? xD It's nothing big, just one word, but if anyone catches it, it'll make me very happy. :3

Anyway, please review! Reviews are like insect repellent, except for writer's block. They inspire me and make me want to write! ^^