Wowzers, it's chapter ten! Double digits, woohoo! I like this chapter since it's quite fun, but gets more angsty again near the end! Yay! Angst is fun to write. So's happy-fun time, but angst for me is easier, which is why this story itself is primarily angst. Yep.

Oh, and, with the medicine-- August is a Seresan, born and raised, and has been in more than enough fistfights to have built up enough of a tolerance to his sister's magical healing-ness, whereas Kurogane reacted to it for the first time, and so he had a much stronger reaction. He was honestly just tired. It might also have something to do with the fact that August has more energy than a hyperactive four-year-old.

But yeah. I haven't had much time to write lately, but don't worry-- I've got... Approximately two chapters after this written, and I've got lots of time tonight to work on it. So hopefully I can buckle down and get at least another chapter written, if not a few more. Thankfully I'm pretty sure how I want to end this, and so I won't have to wait forever to think up a good ending. However, the trouble is getting to the point where it just starts to unfold itself... And that, ultimately, is why I haven't finished this sooner. I've included a few scenes that weren't in the original storyboarding, so this is actually longer than it was originally meant to be. But that's a good thing, since this plot was pretty boring when I first thought it up.

I'm sorry. This is already so long. But. Sheesh, Psychotique. You sure know how to make me feel, like, intensely fabulous. Thank you soo-ooo-oo-o-o-o-o-o much. x'3 I really like that chapter too. And while seven is my favourite chapter, nine and eleven are my second favourites. Heehee.

ON TO THE STORY ALREADY!

Chapter Ten.

That evening Gwen truly enjoyed herself, for the first time in far too long. Kurogane, it seemed, had recovered sometime during the day and had left the house to find them, Mokona with him. When he had, it had been during the middle of the intense snow battle; seeing a friend completely snow-free, they had all begun pelting the poor, unsuspecting ninja mercilessly. Nearly five minutes later Kurogane emerged, drenched in snow from head to toe.

"Sheesh. I go through all the work to try and find you guys and this is the thanks I get," he grumbled. Gwen, grinning from ear to ear, hugged him tightly, she herself also so covered in snow that hugging him made no difference in her attire.

"Hey!" said Sakura, also beaming, "I think that we should all go out and eat dinner somewhere, since Fai-san cooks so often for us." August nodded enthusiastically.

"That is a fabulous idea, my dear!" he said, scruffling her hair fondly. And so the seven of them headed out to the nearest restaurant after Gwen dried them out-- a quaint place, with good food and a warm, comforting atmosphere. Along the way they'd run into Beatrix, and she accompanied them. The group of eight livened up the entire place; August especially, who seemed to never run out of things to talk about. His raucous laughter boomed throughout the establishment with a comforting regularity, his topics of conversation so all over the place that everyone had countless opportunities to chime in. He also seemed to take a quick liking to Beatrix, turning his irresistable charm upon her more often than naught.

Finally dinner was finished and they headed home, Beatrix also heading to her respective lodgings with a promise of a visit or Gwen and a kiss on the cheek for August. A silly grin lit up his face as she left.

It seemed the food and lively conversation had taken its toll on both Syaoran and Sakura, as the two headed off to bed soon after arriving home. It was pretty late, after all. Sakura and Gwen hugged before the smaller princess retired. Gwen had to follow soon after, August following her because he felt like it. Fai and Gwen kissed before Fai, too, left for bed. Kurogane, the last one left, decided that being up alone was boring and followed Fai to their room.

In Gwen's room, August sat on her bed while she changed quickly into her pajamas, pulling up her cascading blonde curls into an untidy knot on the back of her head. She leapt onto her bed next to him, still grinning. August was happy because Gwen was happy. He hadn't seen her in such high spirits in quite a while.

"I'm really glad you're back," murmured Gwen, nuzzling his chest. He cradled her against him. "Glad to be back, Ginny." Gwen sighed.

"Now from what I know of my big brother, he wouldn't follow me into my room unless he wanted to talk about something. Does he?"

"Yes," conceded August. "He does."

"So what is it?"

"... You're leaving aren't you?" Gwen hadn't expected that. The smile slipped off her face.

"How did you guess?" August shrugged.

"I guess I could just tell." Gwen sighed.

"Yes, I'm leaving."

"Why? When?" Gwen fidgeted, looking for the right words.

"Well... It has to do with Ashura. See, um, you already know that Sakura needs her feather back and that it's what's ultimately holding him underwater, and the only way to get the feather is to free him. And... Well, the reason Fai had to leave was because Ashura had tried to kill him. Fai said that what Ashura wanted was for me to become Witch so that he could use my magic to conquer surrounding lands, or something. And when Ashura wakes up, no doubt his goal will have stayed the same. Apparantly Fai thinks that, for my own personal safety, I should leave with him when the time comes."

"And he's right," said August firmly, catching Gwen off-guard. "As much as it will pain me to see you leave, I don't want you to stay here if it means you're in danger." Gwen looked down at her hands.

"If I leave, I may never come back," she whispered. August said nothing, his deep breathing filling the silence. Then he sighed.

"If it's meant to be, we will see each other again." Gwen looked up at him; his face was determined. "I love you far too much for this to be our last time together." Gwen smiled, then nodded.

"You're right." She sniffed.

"So... When do you think you'll have to leave?" She shook her head.

"It could be tomorrow, it could be in a month. However, I know that it won't be far off. We need to prepare for a rapid departure, and then we can go." August sighed again.

"I know you already know this, but I'll miss you." August's eyes were sad as he looked into hers. She bit her bottom lip, emotion swelling in her chest.

"Don't say it," she whined. "You're going to make me cry."

August pulled her into him, crushing her against his chest. Gwen squeaked as he squeezed her, and he laughed as she pretended to choke.

"Guh, you're killing me!" August released her, scruffled her hair, and kissed her cheek.

"I love you, Ginny. Now I'm off to bed. No doubt Fai will be in soon, because he probably thinks I've stolen you from him the last few days. So make yourself pretty while he waits for me to leave." August winked. "Well, prettier than you already are." Chuckling, he ducked a pillow projectile from Gwen as he got up and waltzed out the door.

Standing, Gwen ducked into her bathroom, making sure her hair looked presentable and her teeth were clean before heading to her closet. She quickly looked through all her clothes, pulling off her pajamas and pulling on the sexiest nightgown she had-- low-cut, knee-length, and sleeveless. Unfortunately Gwen didn't own many things that were sexy, partially due to the cold climate, but mostly due to the fact that Gwen had lived by herself or with her older brother most of her life. Those three factors combined meant she was depressingly lacking in the sexiness area. A knock at her door made her jump, and quick as lightning she leapt onto her bed and smoothed out the wrinkles in her nightgown.

"Come in!" said Gwen, belatedly grabbing a book from the nightstand and throwing it open in front of her face. She heard the door open and close, and then muffled laughter. She glanced over her book, and saw Fai leaning against the door frame, shaking with laughter.

"What?" she asked, perplexed. He wiped a tear from his eye, then jumped on her bed.

"The next time you try to be caught unaware, at least put the book right-side up." Fai took the book from her hands, turned it over, and replaced it. Gwen blinked, then blushed. Fai smiled.

"At least you're cute when you blush." He leaned in and kissed her cheek, then turned her face to kiss her lips. Gwen let the book drop to the floor, leaning into his kiss and putting her hands on the side of his face. Fai pushed her down onto the bed and caressed her cheek with his thumb.

"Nice dress, Gwen. However, I'm surprised you own anything like this at all, really." Gwen rolled her eyes.

"Thanks. You sure know how to make me feel better." She put her hand on his chest and sat up.

"I didn't mean you don't look nice, because you do. You look very nice." He leaned over and kissed her again, moving down her chin and over her neck. He stopped when he reached her collarbone, backing up and licking his lips, looking very pleased with himself.

"I see you dressed up a bit as well, hypocrite," accused Gwen, tugging on the collar of his dark silk pajamas. He chuckled sheepishly, his cheeks turning pink.

"August got them for me. I swear, he may as well be my brother as well, for all the things he does."

"He's just very elder brotherly." Gwen smiled. Fai tugged at the lacy hem of her nightgown.

"I'm glad you still feel like you have to impress me," he teased. Gwen flushed.

"I just thought I might as well look nice for you." She nervously pawed at her hair. Fai rolled his eyes and clasped her wrists in one hand, pulling them over her head and kissing her again. Fai pushed her against the headboard, moving his lips against hers and moving his free hand up her thigh. She squirmed, a laugh pulling the corners of her mouth upward.

"That tickles," she mumbled against his mouth. Fai sighed, pulling back and releasing her wrists.

"Your ticklishness ruins all my plans."

"Shame." Fai laid down on her bed, pulling her with him and settling her on his chest. Gwen rested her chin against his sternum.

"So... I've been wondering," she mumbled, twirling a piece of hair around her finger. "When are we... Going?" Fai raised his eyebrows.

"Are you eager to leave?" he asked. Gwen shook her head.

"No. Actually, having August here complicates things. Before, I was fine about leaving, but now... I don't know." She fluttered her hands. "It'll be hard leaving him." Fai nodded.

"I know. That's... Actually one of the reasons I went to get him, so you could... I don't know, say goodbye? That sounds a bit harsh, but--"

"No, it's pretty accurate." Gwen sighed. "I'm glad you brought him. This way he isn't kept in the dark about it... I'd rather he not be left here alone, but he wouldn't want to leave. He's got a duty to his country." Fai petted her hair.

"It'll be okay. After Sakura collects her feathers, we can come back to Seresu. It's not like you won't ever see him again." He tried his best to be encouraging, but they both knew it wouldn't be that easy.

"Yeah." There were a few moments of silence. "Well, um, when do you think we'd leave?" Gwen asked hesitantly. Fai shrugged.

"We could leave tomorrow, we could leave in a week, we could leave in a month... We could leave in a year, though I doubt Syaoran would be willing to wait that long. He's very determined to get Sakura's feathers back."

"He's a sweet boy." Fai nodded in agreement.

"Well, I guess it comes down to when you think you're ready to go... After you and August have said your goodbyes, and you've got your affairs in order... You may have to pay a price to the Time-Space Witch in order to use Mokona, but seeing as we've already 'purchased' him, you might not... I don't know. We can talk to her later.

"And then, of course, we have to release Ashura." A grim look crossed over Gwen's face as Fai said his name. Then suddenly she looked up at him, her eyes wide with fear.

"Oh no. What are we going to do about August? Ashura knows how close I am to him; once he figures out that we're both gone he might try to get the answer out of August!" She was terrified, imagining all the awful things Ashura could do to try and make August talk. She knew he would never betray their whereabouts, but she was afraid that August would be hurt, tortured, killed even. Fai's brow furrowed; he hadn't thought of that.

"We'll get him to lay low for a while in another country. August likes the southeast, right? We'll tell him to go on an extended holiday for a while, so Ashura can't find him. That should keep him safe."

"Won't Ashura expect that?"

"Yes, which is why it will work. He will expect us to want to protect August, and he will assume that to do so we will send him as far away from here as possible, in someplace Ashura wouldn't expect. And so by sending August to a place so... Unsecretive, it will be the last thing Ashura expects."

Gwen looked uncertain, but moved on.

"And what about after his holiday is up?"

"Ashura will have left to look for us by then." There was a grim satisfaction in Fai's features. Gwen looked a little calmer.

"As long as he's safe." She rested her cheek against Fai's chest again, listening to the thumping of his heart. She closed her eyes, and felt Fai pulling the blanket over them both. The room grew dark as he put out the light.

"Goodnight, Ginny."

"'Night, Fai."

Outside the door, August stood quietly, careful not to make a sound; slowly, he walked up the stairs to the loft, wiping his eyes on the sleeve of his shirt as he went.

End Chapter Ten.

BATTLE SCENE NEXT CHAPTER! YAY YAY YAY YAY!

Some of you may have noticed that there is a suspicious lack of Mokona in this story. Why? Because to put it simply, I just don't like Mokona very much. Mokona is annoying. Cute sometimes, but generally annoying. So, uh, just assume that the abundance of magic in Seresu gives Mokona a headache, and so he/she/it sleeps all day. C:

My apologies to Mokona fans. xD; I just can't write the character at all. Fay? Fine. Kurogane? Fine. Sakura and Syaoran? ... Eh. Sort of. Gwen? Easy. August? Ridiculously easy. But Mokona? Blehh. I just can't. August is so easy to write because he's a very heart-on-his-sleeve character, and doesn't work so much in subtleties like many characters. He says what he's thinking, acts without inhibitions, and doesn't hide what he's feeling. That's probably why I like writing him so much. Plus, I generally just adore him... Yes, I made him. That doesn't mean I can't love him. xD