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JustaFanGrell back again with the next chapter!
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DEATH*

One Dark and Stormy Night

Ch. 9

It had watched the antics with glee as Fai attempted to catch fish. It thought that the creature was very smart to think of using the stone to find his prey, although it was obviously not used to hunting in that manner. When Fai had actually caught one, its hackles had involuntarily raised. Momentarily angry at the poaching, it calmed itself with the knowledge that there were plenty of little fishies in its lake. It guessed that there was no harm in sharing a few of them with someone as resourceful as that creature had been.

Intrigued by the reappearance of the creatures and curious to learn about the one whose thoughts it had heard before, it determined that it would be prudent to learn more about the strangers.

Fai's disturbing feeling continued to plague him all the way back to the ruins, only slightly diminishing just after he crossed the stone wall back into the little yard. He gave one last, long look at the forest before ducking back through the roof's wall of water and inside the house.

It stopped just short of the forest edge, knowing its curiosity was not great enough to cause it to risk being seen. It didn't like being in such close proximity to the ruins. It remembered how the previous inhabitants had treated it, and how they had poached so many fish from its lake that they had almost wasted away one summer. Just then, the one it was following stopped at the opening to the house, turned, and looked right at it. Instinct caused it to freeze unmoving, as if a statue.

Obviously it had not been seen, as the creature had not reacted, turning back and entering the shelter. It settled in a good spot with a clear view of the doorway, blinking rain from its eyes and shaking its head again. I think it best to watch and think about the situation for a while. For a moment, its mind began to wander… I can't wait for this storm to break, I've had enough of water in my… everything. It thought about how nice it would be to sun itself on the rock by the lake, thrumming quietly at the happiness that idea brought and almost feeling the warmth of the sun on its fur and scales.

"TA-DAA!" Fai flamboyantly announced as he stepped back into the house, stringer of fish proudly displayed in-hand. "No 'Rat Soup, again!' tonight!" he declared happily, his trademark grin and giddiness back in place. "At least not for the third night, anyway." He had hoped that his triumphant return would help bolster their spirits a bit. However, Syaoran barely reacted as he tenderly dabbed a damp cloth across Sakura's feverish forehead. Kurogane just rolled his eyes and simply stated "It's about damn time… took ya long enough!"

He didn't let their lack of enthusiasm dampen his apparently cheery outlook. He set the fish and his drenched cloak down near the door and made his way over to where Sakura rested, Syaoran ever attentive at her side. Gently placing a hand on the boy's shoulder he softly asked "How is she?" Syaoran took a deep breath before answering. "About the same, I think. Nothing I have done seems to help." Fai contemplated Syaoran's answer for a moment before responding to the boy. "Well that can be a good thing, right?" he said, hoping it came out more positive sounding than it felt as he said it. "I guess so." was Syaoran's simple, listless response.

"Hey- Can you do us a favor Syaoran-kun?" Fai asked him. "I caught some fish for our dinner. Could you please cook them for us?" Syaoran looked up at Fai dejectedly, and with little emotion answered "Sure, Fai-san. I'll do my best." Mokona happily chimed right in. "Mokona can help too! Chef Mokona has Super Secret cooking techniques Mokona can use!" That seemed to give the boy some hope and he agreed to let her help him with the task. "I'll be right back, so don't worry." he softly said to Sakura just before getting up.

After Syaoran had started preparing the fish with Mokona's experthelp, Fai pulled Kurogane aside. "Remember that feeling of being watched?" he quietly asked. "Yea, So… What of it?" Kurogane answered, interest beginning to show in his eyes. "While catching the fish in a little lake near here, I got that same feeling again." Fai explained. "What do ya make of it?" the samurai asked, wondering if this could become a problem. "I'm not quite sure yet… but I doknow the feeling remained the whole way back and only lessened slightly just before I entered with the fish." The samurai took a moment to digest this new information as his glance shifted to the doorway.

"And another thing…" Fai continued. "I found a rather large, clawed paw print on the path leading back from the lake."