A/N: I'm being kidnapped by my own family… *sigh* My comp misses me and I MISS FANFICTION. . If you're still reading… you rock! (If you reviewed you RAWK HARD.)
Disclaimer: Just a fan.
Sakura stood awkwardly in the middle of the shop, fidgeting with her bulky safety gear. The shop Fai had been so insistent (puppy-dog eyes ablaze) on going into was an old skate shop, that looked like it'd been there for quite some time.
Which is exactly why Sakura had situated herself dead center of it so as not to place too much weight on one side of the pier. Fai however was walking around looking excitedly at all the different skateboards hanging from the wall.
"Hyu! Sakura-chan, this one is so pretty!" He said pointing to powder-blue skateboard above his head that perfectly matched the accents on their gear.
Sakura smiled nervously, pushing her helmet up to see. "T-that's nice, Fai-san. Um, B-but I thought we were just renting skates."
He noticed the emphasis she'd put on the last word, and glanced at her. He found something in her fidgeting quite endearing and smirked despite himself. "I know, I know. I just thought it was pretty, is all." He laughed, and walked over to place a hand on her helmet. "Relax, this'll be fun!"
Mokona peaked out of the backpack they'd borrowed, (his feet were just a little too small for skates) so he could ride with Sakura. "Yeah! Mokona thinks so too!"
Sakura sighed, and slumped over a little. "O-okay. But-…"
The owner walked back into the main room, carrying two boxes. "Here, dudes. Try these on; ought to fit alright…." He said handing them two pairs of inline skates.
Sakura slid the heavy black and blue inlines onto her feet, and Fai pressed on her toe. "Are they too tight?" He asked, standing in his own skates. She shook her head, but then blushed and stopped strapping on the skates.
Fai looked down at her, "What's wrong, Sakura-chan?"
She pulled at the Velcro on her wrist braces, just so her hands would have something to do. "Fai-san… I-I don't know how to skate." She said looking down, embarrassed.
Fai looked surprised, but then smiled warmly at her. "I know that, Sakura-chan." He kneeled and finished strapping the plastic braces across her feet. She looked up at him, eyes wide. He laughed, as he stood again, "It'd be a little hard to skate on sand, right?"
Sakura blushed, and stared at him. "S-so, you're going to teach me then?" Fai hauled her up, and hugged her as she tripped over her own feet. "Hmm… I think I've got an idea…"
She didn't like that familiar gleam that popped into his eye, but knew well enough that it was too late to back out. Whatever scheme he'd just come up with, she was stuck in…
(=_ =")
Kurogane looked up at the ruins truly impressed, despite his growing migraine. Even though they were clearly in ruins, time had turned them into something beautiful.
He glanced over at Syaoran whose eyes shone as he stood in the shadow of the cliff side ruins. "I've never seen anything like it!" He whispered, stepping further back towards the sea.
The ruin itself took over the entire sea cliff, rooms degraded into caverns overrun with plants and algae. Aside from a sign displaying the history of it at the base of the main stairwell, it seemed nothing had been touched in years. Kurogane stepped up behind Syaoran as he aproched the sign, reading aloud.
"The Rough Waters Inn was the built over one hundred years ago by Mister J. Sydney (the town cartographer). Unfortunately, due to the precarious location of the building on the sea, all it took was one bad hurricane to turn it to ruins twenty-five years ago. Aside from the rooms and private quarters on the upper floors, and the dining hall, the building (the compass room, library, and hall of windows) is mostly intact and safe for tourists to visit."
Syaoran stepped onto the stone staircase, and turned to Kurogane. "At least see the Hall of Window's… I bet its got and incredible view."
Kurognae growled, and shoved his hands in his pockets. "Fine… You can go poking through the rest of this dump by yourself. Don't go getting stuck anywhere, either 'cause I am not coming to get you…" He mumbled the last part, which Syaoran ignored and continued up the stairs.
Kurogane glanced at the walls as the ascended higher. The wallpaper and paneling was long gone, leaving nothing to be seen but the stained red brick beneath it. Syaoran ran his hand along the cool stone, "It's kind of sad…" He whispered.
Kurogane didn't really want to talk, but because of the way Syaoran had said it… he took the bait anyway. Damn! Being around them had made him too gentle… "How'dya figure?" He asked, truly annoyed with himself.
Syaoran clenched his fist against the wall, "After all the years it stood here just fine, it was wiped out in one night. All it took was one bad storm to take it all away…" He answered, and then directed his gaze up through and opening in the ceiling.
"Where does that leave the people who lived here?" He continued softly, but to Kurogane it sounded more like a roundabout, less whiney version of 'Why isn't life fair?'.
Especially when he saw Syaoran's eyes cloud over, and realized he wasn't even talking about the hotel… "Some things can't be forgotten." Kurogane said suddenly.
Syaoran's head snapped back down, and he snatched his hand away from the wall. "W-what?" He asked, truly confused.
Kurogane shrugged, "Some things can't be forgotten. The people won't ever forget how they felt in… this place." He crossed his arms, "She knows she loved being there." He added quietly.
Syaoran blushed and turned back up the stairs, "Yeah, I guess…" He mumbled. Kurogane snorted, and continued up the stairs.
After a few moments, Syaoran turned a corner up ahead and Kurogane heard him gasp. He took the last few steps two at a time, "What-?" Kurogane stopped his question.
"The Hall of Windows." Syaoran breathed. To be exact, there was only one big opening in the wall now, but Syaoran supposed it had been sectioned off at some point before the storm.
Syaoran stepped further in and looked out over the sea. It was a spectacular sight. The bright afternoon sun was glittering off the water and brightly pointing out the several birds diving for food in the distance.
Syaoran took a breath; the smell of salt was stronger here. The thought came to him that there might be salt absorbed in the walls from the storm all that while ago. He looked behind him at the moss-covered wall and ceiling, and found Kurogane sitting on an old stone bench further down the hall.
Syaoran walked over and stood next to him, "A-are you ok?" He asked timidly. Kurogane didn't direct his gaze off the distant water, "Fine. Enjoy your history hunt." He barked, as he sat as stone still as the bench beneath him.
Syaoran bowed slightly, "O-ok, then. I'll come back later." Kurogane watched out of the corner of his eye as Syaoran scurried over the end of the hallway, and walked up a shorter flight of stairs.
He sighed and leaned back on the bench, rubbing his face. Resting his head on the wall behind him, he gazed out over the open water. The motion of the waves seemed to mimic the inside of his head. He felt as if he were swaying along with the ocean. He growled, and rubbed his eyes.
Was he really tired enough to sleep on a bench, inside a rickety old building? Yeah.
Was he going down without a fight? Hell no.
Try as he did for a few minutes, the calm feeling that surrounded the ruins and the swaying ocean eventually convinced him to sleep. Well… what was Kurogane's mega alert (I'm-a-ninja-the-world-is-out-to-get-me) version of sleep anyway, but sleep all the same.