Red pungent liquid trailed down his face, masking his blind eye that remained open but void of life.

"Big Kitty this is Little Kitty. Are you there? Under"

She gently closed his eye lids for the seemingly millionth time, even if they only opened right back up.

"Big Kitty. Big puppy. It's Sakura…can you hear me?"

Static. Silence. Blank eyes.

Sakura's voice trembled slightly, looking down to the head in her lap "Fay-san…? Kurogane-san…?"

The eerie drip drop of the remaining water was the only response, echoing down the caverns like the chorus of a twisted song.

"…Moko-chan…?" she tried pathetically. She brushed the dirty chocolate bangs away from the deep cut on Syaoran's forehead, not caring that her pale fingers became tinted in the shades of red "Someone…? Please--" She pressed the black box closer to her mouth with a racing heart "Syaoran-kun-is-hurt…he's-unconscious-and-he's-not-waking-up. I don't think I can feel his heartbeat--I've tried everywhere and I can't and-- but he's still breathing so I---"

A slight crunching sound was heard from above, followed almost instantly with the crack of crumbling sentiment. Sakura barely had time to gasp and cover Syaoran before the chunk of rock crashed and exploded on the wet ground beside them, showering her back in tiny pieces of it's remains and murky multicolored water. The echo set off a tiny string of stalactites to fall, leaving Sakura no defense to the attack but her back in order to protect Syaoran from the sharp objects.

Nothing hit her aside from muddy water and debris and so nothing could hit Syaoran either.

With a clenched jaw she reached out with her tiny scar laced fingers in an attempt to grasp the walkie-talkie that had been tossed aside in order to protect her friend. It was just out of reach but for a now useless device it wasn't even worth the extra stretch. The remnants of her gun were tossed away into the distance, her goggles too without a second thought.

Instead she pressed her cold, wet fingers on Syaoran's face, trying to close his eyelids again.

"Syaoran-kun?" She took fists full of the torn green shirt on his chest, the same as the one she was wearing, tugging and pulling as her fingers oozed with red "Syaoran-kun? Can you hear me….?"

His eyes literally popped back open and this time she kept her hands over his face to keep them closed. His breathing, which had at first been almost desperate and heavy was now so soft she could barely make it out against the droplets of water that fell around them. She tried for a heartbeat from his wrist to his neck but there was nothing. Leading her to strongly believe she really didn't know how to check for a pulse in the first place….

"Syaoran-kun--" her voice softened this time as images of his last expression haunted her mind. The words that he had said wove a sick web around her heart, pulling at her in so many different ways and leading her to lower her forehead on top of his "I tried helping and I only got you hurt….didn't I? I'm…a horrible team mate after all"

His warm, slow breath brushed through her hair as she remained with him like this, giving her at least enough comfort to smile in the fact he wasn't dying. Smile even more now too, and with a greater heartbeat, when she thought of how close they were in that moment.

….How close they had become since the game started

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Her gun couldn't fire in a way to hit dead on. Anything less would bring attention to herself and that would only worry Syaoran who would then be hit as well from the distraction….

…draw attention…

Distraction…

..attention…

….

…Ah!

With a rush of energy and her bright signature smile, Sakura aimed for the area behind the top player. The angle the shot was made had her green ammo bounce against two sections of the wall in the opposite direction of where she was. And just as she had hoped, the top player turned, looking for an attacker.

The brief opening was taken by Syaoran who hit the top player with ease now that his back was turned. The bottom player had made the mistake of pausing from his team member's demise and became prey to their team's green attack as Sakura took him down.

Although admitting she probably shouldn't be to such a high degree, Sakura really was getting into this game. She shoved her gun back in it's holder and with a bright victorious smile ran to Syaoran from her hideout now that all was safe. The only greater feeling next to being able to knock out the player on her own was the smile he gave her as she came to him.

It must have been the rush, the thrill, the pure energy of the game that made her, but whether the game's side-effect or just a plain desire Sakura threw her arms around Syaoran and hugged him with a burst of happy laughter as she was caught.

Surprising still was the fact that he had caught her in the run-hug, pulling her close against him as if it was the most natural thing in the world.

Which was exactly why interruption came in the form of "I want a team switch!!" just then. "Because heaven forbid I can ever have a normal, natural moment with Syaoran-kun…" she thought dejectedly

They parted slowly with nervous smiles, not exactly meeting each other's eyes when they looked in the direction. Sakura took the walkie-talkie to her mouth "This is Little Kitty"

A pause "You have to say it Sakura-chan!"

"Eh?" she glanced to Syaoran, but he turned a dark shade of red "Say what?"

"The end command!"

"Ah! That's right…I'm Syaoran-kun's under…ne?" she mused, adding color to Syaoran's already terribly burnt face

Fay's laughter was her reward. It made her smile to hear it, but she didn't really understand what was so amusing about an end command…Earlier he had said "Kuro-moo and Syaoran-kun are "over", so me and Sakura-chan are "under!" That's how it works, right?"

Sakura saw this as very logical too.

"Give me that--!" Sound of device struggle "We're on B Square now…Over"

Syaoran took the talkie from her "Same here. Any problems? Over"

"One really big one…" was a low mumble as Fay laughed merrily in the background "Over there? Over"

He passed a kind smile to her "Fine" Sakura smiled too "…We'll meet at the beginning of A square. There should be a little water source just at the cut from B. Nothing big according the map. Over"

"Aa. Meet there and double team the guards? Over"

"Hai. Over"

"Sakura!" came the sudden voice of Mokona "We've figured out the feather isn't here! The thing that they're guarding is what we have to get in order to exchange it!"

Sakura leaned into the walkie Syaoran still held, holding onto his shoulder "Thanks Moko-chan! Try your best and we'll see you soon! Under"

Fay's cheerful laughter was the last thing they heard before their companion's line was shut off

Syaoran was still flushed but managed to smile "You understand how to use the gun, then?"

"Hai!" Sakura pulled the strange device from her belt once more, holding it and aiming to the dead space before them to mimic what Kurogane-san had taught her earlier. She also smiled, closing one eye like Fay-san had showed her, despite Kurogane saying not to listen to the advice given by the mage….ever.

His advice seemed to be right on though, because just as Fay had told her, Syaoran smiled warmly to the action.

"We should be coming within the field range soon, so be careful" Syaoran pulled out his own much larger gun "I memorized the grounds before we left but that doesn't mean there isn't more out there that I don't know. Please stay close"

She nodded, siding up beside him with a smile "I really am sorry about this though…"

"This?" All his attention was immediately on her making her flush slightly from his steady look "What do you--?"

"About having to be on--….you always end up with me when we split up" she stated with a apologetic smile "I know I'm not much help to you like this…"

Their little pathway edged off into a drop, which Syaoran took first before turning and holding out his hands to her with a kind smile "That's not true at all. You were great back there"

"Really?" she smiled widely, pressing her palms firmly to his and leaning forward "Even when I fired the gun backwards?"

Their laughter was both soft and something akin to unsure as Syaoran helped her from the barely two foot hop down. She noticed that his cheeks were pink too and so felt less embarrassed from her statement because of it. More happy then nervous actually.

"Thank you" she squeezed his hands

He lowered his eyes with a further blush before leading the way once more

It was something she always found very curious of Syaoran, yet adorable all the same. He was bold and daring, ready to put himself into something with all that he was for what he believed in and cherished. You would think that he would carry himself in all he did with such force but it wasn't like that at all. His strength was really underlined in his true self. He was really a very kind, soft-spoken person and Sakura couldn't think of anyone who would ever make a better friend than Syaoran-kun.

She chanced a glance in his direction to see him still looking at the floor. The demur gesture somehow stuck her as amusing and so she closed the distance between them "I'll try my best for you though"

His eyes flew to hers, but she didn't think he knew she had come so close. He leaned back, with red cheeks and managed to say "Eh?" as they paused in their walk

"In helping Syaoran-kun. Like I said before I can't do much but I'll be sure to help you how I can, okay?"

His smile resurfaced "But…you already are helping"

"Then I'll help---no. I'll do more from now on so that it's not you looking out for me, yourself, and the feather" she laughed in a slightly embarrassed way "I promise to be a better partner…so that it won't be so hard for you when you're stuck with me all the time"

He paused "….It's nothing like that"

She only smiled "Still, I'll do all I can for you"

His expression relaxed, but became flustered too "I--"

No sooner had the word come from his mouth that something quickly whizzed by them, exploding into grey against the wall nearest. They both reached for their guns, whirling in the direction the object had come, only to see nothing in the tunnel before them.

She settled herself closer to him so that her back was supported on his side "…where?"

"…to the left" was his soft reply "Aim a little higher…lower…--there"

The trigger to her gun sent a green object to the area Syaoran had indicated, followed closely by one of his own green shots. splat splat was the sound of the collision to flesh, leading to a grey clad boy to fall a little over dramatically to the floor in defeat.

The cave's wall opened and a man carrying the words "Paint World" across his shirt offered the hit man a hand before the two disappeared back through the door. The scene was still curiously amusing to Sakura, who couldn't help but laugh before looking up proudly to Syaoran.

"Those must be some of the guards" he said absently "The teams have colors while the guards should be in gray…"

"…are the guards all that easy?"

"Probably not" Syaoran smiled kindly "but we'll still get through them"

She smiled brightly "Hai!"

He motioned her forward "We're on the time limit though so we should hurry"

When she glanced his way this time she noticed that some of the paint from the attacks had left little dots of red all over his green shirt. Her and Syaoran had matching colored outfits to represent they were team mates, while Kurogane and Fay had been blue to represent their team. Her guardians had also stocked her up in the padding department, making her feel rather bloated compared to secure. She had already removed the shin pads, against the urging of Syaoran, because if she couldn't move she couldn't help.

Really anymore and they could have easily rolled her down the tunnels and used her as a weapon to plow through everyone…

She understood it had to do a lot with her missing memories that her men, especially Syaoran-kun, watched over her so much but…even so. She really wished she could be a better person for Syaoran to be teamed with, not a teddy bear to be stuffed up with padding. When there was something she could do he would always smile in that really happy way for her. He believed in her when she said she could do something, like in the country with the tornado, and seemed to know more than herself that she could live up to it.

Which was why she promised herself not to be a burden this time. Not only to show herself she deserved her feather but maybe…to make Syaoran see that she did too.

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"Oi You there kid?"

"You're not doing it right!" came Fay's voice "You're supposed to use our names, Kuro-pipi"

"Hey--!" Some sounds indicating the device was being fought over "Like hell will I be called that again! Kid--you there?"

"Little Kitty!" Fay shouted through the device "Are you and Little Puppy playing nice? Under"

Syaoran quickly lowered the volume dial "Hai. We're both here. Over" he whispered

"See!" Fay called "That's how it's supposed to be done!"

"You don't even know" Kurogane mumbled under his breath "--where are you now…Over"

His eyes left Sakura, shifting to their surroundings "We're by the water source now but it looks like there's more than only guards here. Over"

"Ah! They got there before us, Kuro-moo"

"That's because you take nothing seriously" was the brash response "We're almost there. Over"

Syaoran paused "We're heading forward. Over" he said softly before switching the walkie off

It was probably wrong and she hoped he didn't notice but Sakura pressed herself closer to Syaoran. All his attention was driven towards what lay around their hiding place just as she thought and so her friend didn't acknowledge the rather embarrassingly obvious attempt on her part to be closer to him. The pointy rocks that pushed through her back weren't so painful this way and served as a better excuse---err…reason for her to do so.

"There's two in hiding on the far left as well" he whispered slowly "Another above…making 12"

She looked up to him from where she was pressed between the rock and his body, blushing slightly at the very notion "Ummm…should we wait for them to take each other?"

"We'll wait a bit" he said just as calmly "The goal isn't far past that water but we're still on the time limit so if they don't act soon--"

An explosion of color and screams cut off his words making Syaoran sweat drop. If the game had showed them anything it was that no one enjoyed waiting, Sakura was even aware of the great thrill after all. Looking around their hiding rock gave way to that very idea as people laughed and drenched each other in color, even after they were hit. One of the members tumbled a little too close to their hiding spot, making Sakura reach for her gun nervously. Her aim was slightly off though and her hand met with Syaoran's hand instead.

She froze, not quite believing she had done such a thing. With wide eyes she quickly looked to Syaoran, but he didn't look back. Instead his fingers threaded through hers and held her hand firmly as those deep chocolate eyes continued surveying the scene around them.

"Just a little longer…"

She swore her heart had skipped at least five million beats from the unexpected gesture, and yet it made Sakura smile and, almost instinctively, hold his hand back just as strong.

Sakura was aware that it was nothing short of admiration that she looked up to Syaoran just then. What she hadn't been aware until now was just how close her feelings were to deep affection towards him. Mixed with the feeling of his hand in hers, him so close, and Sakura couldn't help but to smile more. She knew her thoughts should be on the game and yet the paint mark near his eye seemed to have suddenly become much more captivating then the shouting around them.

She used her thumb to push the spot from his cheek, grabbing his attention instantly. He flushed so deep that she felt the heat on her fingertip, as he looked nervously to the motion while she only smiled "You have paint on your face"

He smiled shyly, closing his bad eye in acceptance as she rubbed the spot from his face "…As soon as they take the fallen players we'll go"

"Uhn"

"Do your legs still hurt?"

"A little" she admitted, still smiling "But they're fine"

"We'll have to move quick since every section will be heading for the same place at the same time. We've managed to stay ahead until now but since we're near the end it'll be more difficult"

Sakura grimaced to the mention of speed but nodded "Okay. I'll make sure not to slow you down"

His eyebrow knit together "You don't slow me down"

"I do" she insisted merrily "but it's okay because I know it so I can fix it. I promised you I'll be a good partner and I will!"

Syaoran face softened "You already are"

"…..thank you" she smiled nervously

Silence settled between them for a moment as Syaoran continued looking at her with that almost helpless expression.

"…and really it's true I can do more since the beginning but…I still can't be like what Kurogane-san is for you. Even when I'm trying and…it's really not fair to you" It was a little harder to hold her smile under that soft look "…you're helping me and I can't even help you a little, even worse because instead it's …you having to be stuck with me like this…"

"That's not true at--"

"We should go now, ne?" she interrupted hastily. She glanced to the almost clear field, trying to avoid discovering his reaction "Should I take the bottom level again?"

A pause "…Hai"

"Ah!" Her eyes lit up "It's just like our end commands, ne?! I'm under and you're over!"

Syaoran's hair stuck out in all odd direction but he managed to smile "…err…yes.."

"I wonder if that's what Fay-san meant by that…Kurogane-san would probably be much happier with having the top anyways"

Syaoran thought it better to turn his red face away from her then to respond for some reason and so Sakura peeked around the rock along side him.

"…ready?" she asked with a tone of excitement

A long pause "…it's really because of my decision"

She looked back up to him. He didn't turn to her immediately, but when he did it was with a smile that took her breath away "It's my fault that we're always together, Princess. It's because I want you to be here that we're like this…"

And with that Syaoran's fingers slipped deftly through hers even before she had time to recover from the shock of his expression.

Her cheeks flared up just from the thought that he would want to be beside her…whether it be to protect or to work beside. She was almost frightened to hear words spoken by him with such seriousness but it greatly excited her too…was it possible…? That just maybe--?

A gunshot erupted behind her but missed her completely by chance from the curious angle she had used to look around for the provoker. The first female, she assumed from the shape, she had seen was aiming for another shot, but Sakura quickly scrambled out of target range. The pink paint fell just short of her shoe in the escape, leaving drops of the happy color to blend with her green.

As the field narrowed in to their goal of A square the rocks and mini tunnels increased along the walls, growing taller and thicker. The actual field in the middle was clear and that was where Syaoran had run, Sakura however took her now routine path inside the tiny spaces. Being slimmer and shorter than the majority of boys who they were against was great advantage this way and the only one she could use properly. Seemed now her advantage was being taken advantage of by her purser though.

The two played a strange game of hunter and prey for awhile. Running, faking, and dodging through the terrain. More focused on not being hit, Sakura didn't realize they had weaved their way up to the top of the formation until she found her path cut by a drop. A little too late though. Her foot slipped, the rocky edge groaned under her weight, and though she tried regaining balance on her already sore legs her opponent fired a blatantly prohibited shot to prevent her from staying up.

She allowed herself to fall instead of being struck, firing her own weapon as a last stand as it struck her attacker. Some witnesses screamed in alarm as if their voices could save her but really, for being the one actually plunging, the idea of a painful landing never touched her thoughts. Mostly because the next thing she was aware of after her shot was Syaoran's arms around her. It was probably because of that Sakura wasn't sure if she was supposed be feeling embarrassment, relief, or undying gratitude as she looked to his worried expression.

She never had a chance to pick.

The next thing she knew she was submerged in freezing water.


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To be continued in the next theme " 044 You're as good as..."

Posting this before I leave...

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Fandom: TRC
Pairing: Syaoran x Sakura
Theme: Game 076
Rating: PG
Disclaimer: I do not own TRC

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