CHAPTER SIX

"Do you really have to go?" Aqua and Jade both whimpered.

"I'm sorry, but yes," I sighed.

"Are you sure you can't stay any longer?" Amber pleaded.

Fai looked sad. "I wish I could, but I have to go with Syaoran."

"You don't actually have to, Fai-" I began.

Someone whacked my across the face, and I staggered backwards.

"KUROGANE!" I yelled, a bit indignant.

"...Who are you talking to?" Jade asked incredulously.

"...I hope you're spiritual," I muttered. Aqua smiled. "We are."

"Good, because that was the spirit of my friend. He punched me."

The two laughed.

"You kind of deserved it, actually," Fai said, stifling his laughter. "Of course I have to go with you."

I didn't argue in fear of being hit again.

"We'll try to come back. We promise, alright?" I added the promise when Aqua gave me a desperate look.

"OK. Please, as soon as possible," Amber said, tightly gripping Fai's hand. She gave him a shy smile, which he returned, minus the shyness.

"Here." Jade reached into her pocket and pulled out two round, shining stones. They reminded me of the jewels on Mokona's forehead.

"What are these?" I asked.

"...You said you're spiritual. They're crystals. This one is supposed to represent leadership, motivation, balance, and it promotes healing." She handed me a solid moss-green colored stone.

"And this one, stability, order, peace of mind, and strength." She handed the translucent green, white, and purple colored crystal to Fai.

"They're called adventurine and...erm...fluorite."

Fai laughed at that as he examined the crystal. "I remember this stone quite well," he murmured. "It was the stone back in my home country..."

"Aqua and Amber picked them out. Fai, you told Amber that your journey was going to be dangerous, so we wish you the best of luck, OK?"

"Thank you very much." I felt strangely greatful. Whether or not I believed in these properties, they'd done a great job picking out the ones we'd needed most.

"You girls take care, alright?" Fai and I turned around and walked off.

"That was really nice of them," Fai said, staring at the one he'd received.

"There's a crystal called fluorite. That amuses me, for some strange reason." I laughed. He smirked. "Yeah, it was the crystal I was named off of, but I didn't think they'd catch on."

"We'll try to come back here, if it's even possible, OK?" I assured him, lowering my voice slightly. He gave a light nod.

I passed the crystal in my hand to Mokona. I didn't have a pocket to store it in. It swallowed the crystal. "Let Mokona know if you need it, OK?" I nodded. "I will."

Mokona leapt into the air, when we were good distance away from sight. "Mokona Modoki, ready to go!" It yelled. I glanced at Fai.

"You didn't have to come with me," I told Fai. "It was up to you. You could've stayed."

"My goal is to run, remember? Plus, I can't just let a sixteen year old wander around the dimensions alone, can I? You'd get yourself killed."

I laughed. "I don't doubt it."

Then we all got inhaled.