heyzelle: WE ARE BACK! After a couple of months break and being placed under indefinite hiatus, we are finally back to making this story again. I have to say, I missed thinking about Meine. I've been preoccupied with school and all other whatnot recently. So here.
Please read and review. I'm desperate for feedback on this. I think I'm losing whatever I have here in my brain that I think this came out kind of... ehh.
X. The Return to Rekord Country
The group had landed in a deserted side street on whichever dimension they have been transported to.
Meine stood up, since she has fallen on her feet, lost her footing and fell to her knees. There was a slight itch in her right ankle but she ignored it. She tried to brush away the hair on her face but then she felt a warm hand against hers that she had failed to notice until then. Her eyes looked at the hand then slowly climbed up the arm, to his broad shoulders, to that wavy blond hair that was starting to get a little bit long, and into those bright sapphire eyes that was looking at her. Fai D. Fluorite smiled at Meine and his other hand reached her face to brush the lock of stray hair. She turned pink and jerked her hand away in embarrassment.
"Where are we?" Sakura asked, looking around.
Meine looked around and saw that they have landed not that far away from the high street. After much pondering, they decided to go and explore a little, staying on guard just in case.
But when they got full view of the road ahead, there was no need to be so tense anymore.
There on the wide, winding road were things that they had seen before. A flying train in the sky, barely visible because of the glare of the sun, a café where the people dining al fresco were being served tea by levitating tea pots and trays of pastries, a horse with wings similar to a butterfly's pulling a carriage behind it, and several girls who were giggling as they passed by on broomsticks high above their head. One of the girls looked down at them, giggled and waved at Fai then sped to follow her friends. Meine had the urge to pull the girl off her broom.
Fai waved back and he noticed Meine a few feet away from him with a slight sneer. He smiled at her. She turned a brighter shade of pink and turned.
"I don't believe it..." Sakura whispered under her breath and she looked around again as if to double check.
"We were able to return to this dimension through a short span of time?" Syaoran exclaimed a little bit louder than intended, but at the same time a nearby horse neighed and he was only heard by his company.
"Mokona," Meine asked, trying to distract herself from thinking of Fai. "Did you do anything to bring us back here?"
The white creature on her shoulder shook it's head, Mokona's ear flapping as it did so. "Mokona just transfers everyone to a dimension other than the one we are currently in. Mokona has no control of which dimension we land in!"
Kurogane grunted and smirked, but did not say anything.
"Then we should get going then." Syaoran said, determination flowing from his words.
"To where, Syaoran-kun?" Fai asked.
"To go and retrieve Princess Sakura's feather from that book. This time, I will make sure that I will get it back this time before we leave."
The group changed into their old clothes from the previous time they have visited Rekord, all except for Meine, who had had her clothes taken away by the maids and they turned it into a new fashion back in Rosette. So she had no choice but to wear the closest thing that she can find in the clothes that she had packed.
They made their way down the street. Meine and Fai walked side by side, slightly behind Kurogane, Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona. She was looking at everything. Everything EXCEPT Fai. The mere fact that they are walking only a foot apart made her restless and her heart rate increase by a tenfold. It's been a while since she was in a serious relationship and the first relationship with a person outside her immediate family. She was unsure on how to act.
She glanced at Fai's direction, and for a split second their eyes happened to meet. Her heart gave an audible thump and she looked away in embarrassment, failing to see a crevice on the side walk and tripped. Fai had caught her in his arms.
"Are you all right?" he asked.
"Yeah..." she said standing up properly and checking her feet. "I'm fine." Meine then realized that she was holding onto his arms and she stepped back once. "I'm fine."
Kurogane noticed this, and apparently so did Mokona. Mokona's smile was wide and mischievous. Kurogane gave a small huff. The creature moved to whisper something at Syaoran's ear then to Sakura's. The other two glanced back at the same time, saw the other two standing there awkwardly looking at opposite directions and hastily looked away.
Kurogane smirked. "Little devil." he whispered to Mokona as the creature jumped to his shoulder.
"Mokona is not a devil!" it whispered back, its mouth barely opening. "Mokona is like Cupid!"
The ninja didn't even bother to ask who or what "Cupid" was and just stood there, unmoving and silent.
"Syaoran-kun." Sakura said her voice a little bit louder than what was normal to be talking to a person beside herself. "How are we going to get inside those flying trains?" This seems to have brought the two out of their little private world and looked at them. "We don't have money."
Syaoran stopped dead on his tracks, making the other follow suit. He looked at Sakura then turned to look at the others. "...Where are we going to find money at such short notice?"
"Why don't we just sell something like we did before?" Mokona said.
"We don't have anything to sell though..." Sakura said, sadly. Her voice was stiff and unnatural.
"I brought some gold from Rosette. Maybe we could use that." Meine suggested.
The grin on Mokona's face widened and Meine felt an uneasy churning in her stomach that warned her that something was going to happen.
"Fai-san, Meine-san." Syaoran said. "Why don't the two of you go ahead to the train station while we go and exchange the only money we have?"
Meine turned to him, her expression aghast. Fai on the other hand was still calm. "We don't know where it is. We've just been following you around."
Syaoran turned a light shade of pink.
"The park." Kurogane said. All eyes turned to him. "I'm sure the mage remembers where the park we had dropped into is. It's not too far away from here."
Mokona nodded vigorously. "Yeah. We'll meet up there. The four of us will go get some money, and probably a map while we're at it, and meet you there in about half an hour."
Even before Meine could disagree to this ridiculous scheme to get them alone, they had already started walking towards the direction they had come from; she saw Mokona wave and jump up and down on Syaoran's head and Sakura giggling.
"Looks like we're alone..." Fai said. Meine jumped and stood beside him, her face red and her body rigid. Fai ignored this. "Shall we go for a stroll then?"
He waited for an answer.
"O-okay..." she whispered.
They continued to walk down the road. Meine stubbornly refused and argued with herself whether or not she should look at him. As she forced herself to look at the road ahead, she didn't notice that she was staggering slightly. Fai noticed this though, since he was watching, and he stopped her.
"Are you sure that you're okay, Meine-chan? You're limping."
Though she felt her cheeks grow hot, she looked at her right foot.
Now that she thought about it, she felt her right ankle throbbing almost painfully. She had sprained it previously during her battle with Akemi, but she had hidden this fact from the others. Since the ankle was still in its healing process, rigorous activities and straining it makes it hurt.
"No, I'm fine." she said, taking a step back with her right foot, which was ultimately a bad idea. She swayed sideways and was once again stopped by Fai from toppling to the ground.
"You're obviously not fine. Could it be that you sprained it when you tripped earlier?"
She shook her head.
Without waiting for any approval from her, he scooped her off her feet. She gasped and gave a soft yelp and fit snugly in his arms. "I'll carry you to the park then."
Her face was bright red now and she tried to push away from him. "Put me down!"
"No." Fai said playfully, but the firmness could not be denied in the way he said it. "You're injured."
At this point, Meine had stopped struggling and settled in his arms, wrapping her own gently around his neck so she won't fall off. "But... I'm heavy."
"On the contrary," he said, smiling at her. "You're as light as a feather."
What Fai had said about the park not being that far away was true. As they turned to the nest corner, the entrance to the park was there. They passed under the wrought iron archway entrance and Meine spotted a bench not that far away, but still hidden from view by the trees.
"Fai-san, you could put me down there." she said, releasing one arm from his neck and pointing at the bench.
"Okay." he said and gently placed her down.
Meine sat there, sighing softly. She could feel Fai's eyes on her and she could feel her heart hammering against her own chest. She decided to look up at the sky instead.
She heard the rustling of fabric and the bench creaked a little, making her look down.
Fai was kneeling in front of her hurting foot and he was unzipping her boots.
She tried to stop him but the mage ignored her. He supported the leg and gingerly removed her boot. He then saw a small lump under her black, knee-high socks. He looked at Meine with one eyebrow raised and pulled it down without even giving her any warning.
He then saw a white bandage wrapped loosely around her ankle. Meine pursed her lips.
"Meine-chan, when did you sprain your ankle?" he asked, slowly turning the foot in its socket. She winced a little and kept silent, avoiding his slightly stern gaze.
"Could it be you sprained it during your battle with Akemi-san?"
He knew then that he was right when he felt the girl flinch. He looked at her face for a moment. Still, she refused to have eye contact.
She felt the bandages around her ankle loosen and she looked to see Fai retying the slightly soiled bandages tighter around the injured ankle securing the bandage by tying it closed, he replaced Meine's socks and her boot.
"So you've been injured for a few days now?" he asked.
She shook her head. "It's already healed. But since it's a sprain, the doctors said that it's still a little tender."
"Why haven't you told us?" he paused for a moment and changed his sentence. "Why didn't you tell me?"
Meine looked at him. As her amethyst eyes looked into the smoldering blue ones, she was able to see a spark of emotion in his eyes, different from the ones she was able to see up until that time.
"I..." she said, not turning away. She felt Fai's other hand rest on her shoulder but she didn't look. "I didn't want any of you to worry… Especially you, Fai-san."
Those last words slipped from her lips, she immediately looked down and tried to hide behind her hair that cascaded over one shoulder.
Fai sighed and raised Meine's head by placing a finger under her chin. For some reason, Meine cannot look away from his eyes.
"Meine-chan, that's why I would've wanted you to tell me." Fai said simply. Meine looked at him confusedly. He proceeded to explain and he cupped one cheek. "I would've wanted to share your suffering with me. From now on, I would like you to tell me whatever is hurting you or if you are suffering."
She placed a hand on the wrist of the hand holding her cheek. "I'm not sure if I could do that, Fai-san..."
"Why not?"
"There are things that even I cannot tell others, even if it was to the person I love the most."
"Meine-chan," he said, inching a little bit closer to her. "I thought we..."
She shook her head. "Please don't misunderstand, Fai-san. It's not like I'm ending our relationship, but it's just that I just can't tell you everything. I will tell you eventually, but it might take a long time."
He was about to open his mouth to speak but Meine placed a finger over it to silence him. "I'm sure, Fai-san, that it will be painful to recount your past. But one day, I'm sure we will be able to enjoy a time in our lives where there are no secrets keeping us apart... It's just not yet time."
Fai kept his lips tight shut as he saw snippets of his past rush through his eyes, but he soon forgot it when Meine squeezed his wrist gently.
He took Meine's hand and touched his lips against it. "Spoken like a true princess. I am lucky to have found a woman such as yourself."
She blushed at these words and smiled when Fai placed her hand on his chest and she was able to feel his racing heart.
"Meine-chan, may I kiss you?" he asked after a minute of silence, his hand still on her cheek, and the other pressing her smaller hand against his chest.
Her face, which had cooled down a little, was on fire once again and she blinked several times. "Th-there's really no need to ask..."
He smiled and slightly moved her head to face him. He inclined his head by a few degrees and their lips met. Her lips where soft, just like before. His thumb caressed her cheek and their finger's twined.
Meine felt her heart hammer against her chest and his moist lips. It was different from the kiss they had shared previously. It was much more slowly and gentler. She liked it.
Their lips parted after a minute, but it had seemed much longer than that.
"I love you, Meine." he whispered as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. The girl in his arm blushed.
Then, Fai heard a rustling noise and his head spun to look at that direction. Meine appeared not to have noticed.
There by the bushes, he saw a pair of long, white, rabbit-like ears, with a lone gold and red earring. It was moving in and out of sight as if the creature who owned it was bouncing. Then two hands, one smaller than the other, appeared and pulled the ears out of sight completely as it was on its highest jump yet. But Fai saw with his quick eyes those two flashes of brown and the sound of a twig breaking. That indicated that someone has been eavesdropping.
He slowly took his arm off Meine and settles with holding hands instead. She seems to be content by it.
Fai glanced again and this time he saw something else that wasn't supposed to be there.
Kurogane was leaning against the nearest tree and wasn't even trying to hide. It was like he blended with his surroundings. Maybe because he was a ninja, or something. Kurogane looked at the two of them, his and Fai's eyes meeting for a moment then he glanced at the previously rustling bushes. Then Fai understood that they have been followed from the start. He couldn't see why he didn't realize it earlier now that what they had done was really obvious.
He gave Kurogane a smile and a small nod. The ninja seemed to have gotten the clue. He disappeared momentarily only to appear by the bushes, not even bothering to crouch down. Fai could see his lips moving quickly and he then saw Syaoran and Sakura's head, probably on all fours crawling to where he was.
"I think the others are to arrive and join us any minute now." he said, wiping Meine's lip with his thumb as if it was a normal thing to do, but he didn't dare mention the fact that her lip gloss was smudged. He didn't wipe his though.
She didn't question his prediction and she just tucked her hair behind her ear.
A few moments the other showed themselves, pretending to have come from the direction of the opposite path from where they had entered in.
"Meine! Fai!" Mokona said, bouncing up and down Syaoran's head.
Meine scrutinized them. Other than Kurogane who was holding a money bag in his hand, Sakura and Syaoran's clothes were a mess. Sakura's skirt was wrinkled and her face was bright red while Syaoran was pink and his knees were particularly off color, not to mention the leaf sticking out his hair.
Meine quietly sighed and she pretended to not have noticed. She approached Syaoran.
"Syaoran-kun, you have a leaf in your hair." she leaned forward and pulled out the said object. She had to raise herself on her toes a little bit, seeing as Syaoran had grown a little.
She held the leaf out in his face before releasing it and letting it be blown away by the breeze. She watched as his face turned a brighter shade of pink and he kept silent. Meine returned to Fai's side, feigning an innocent smile.
The others seemed to not have noticed.
"We got the money, now let's go to the train station!" Mokona cheered. The others agreed.
They started to walk towards the northeast, according to Syaoran's new map. Meine slowed down a little, pulling on Fai's sleeve to make him do the same.
"Fai-san." she whispered so that only he could hear. "Tell me the truth. Were they eavesdropping on us?"
He smiled, tried not to laugh and gave a small, quick nod.
"You knew about this?"
He took her hand and gave it a small squeeze. "I only realized after our kiss."
"Knew it..." Meine sighed and scratched her head, patting it afterwards to fix her hair.
The group had successfully bought the necessary tickets to board the flying train to get to Biblio City, the place where the Central Library was. They were able to get seats in the mid-class section of the train where they were able to have their own compartment. It cost a bit expensive than the economy seats but Syaoran and Kurogane agreed that they needed their privacy.
"So, what happens now?" Meine asked as they have finally settled in their seats. She chose to seat nearest the window so she can easily distract herself.
Mokona opened its mouth and out went the bunch of papers that they had kept from their previous trip to Rekord. Fai stretched out the paper and the photocopy of the replica of the book of memories and of course, the original copy.
The map was laid out beside it. Mokona opened its mouth for a second time and a red marker came out only to be caught by Fai.
He circled Biblio City on the map and he slapped his hand to the spot.
"The Central Library is in Biblio City, which is not far from here, as the conductor said." he said. "If I remember correctly, they had said that the library is guarded by vicious beasts and has very high security."
"So looking for it at night would be harder than doing it in the day?" Syaoran asked.
Fai nodded. Kurogane grunted, a small smile indicating that he was getting excited.
"We still have one problem though..." Meine said. All eyes moved to rest on her. "What if they won't show us the book? From what's obvious, that book is very powerful, and as you had said,"-she motioned to Fai beside her with a jerk of her head-"security is high."
They were silent for a minute and Syaoran let out a small sigh.
"We have no choice then." he said. There was blaze of determination in his eyes. "We're going to have to steal it."
When the sun was at its highest, they arrived at their destination. Meine walked a few meters behind them, dawdling for a moment as she looked down at the ring on her finger. For a moment, it was as if heat was sent from the ring to her body. It all happened in an instant but quickly disappeared.
"Meine-san?" Syaoran's voice called. "Hurry or the train will leave."
Meine snapped out of her reverie and hastily followed after them. She paused at the door and she saw the large gap between the platform and the train. Taking two steps back, she jumped to the platform. Her injured leg slipped and she started to fall. Fai caught her in his arms just in time.
"Thank you." she whispered.
"Are you sure this is the place?" Kurogane asked.
Before Fai could even answer, the other three were standing by the door leading outside the station.
"It's so big…" Sakura whispered under her breath. Meine nodded in agreement.
"That's it." Syaoran said. "That's the Central Library."
In the distance, all they could see were the entire library's dome-like structure with intricate designs and a long staircase that led to the great double doors.
"Whoa." was the only thing Meine could say. It was the largest building that she has ever seen. It could probably even fit the castle back in Rosette inside it. To think the things inside it were just books...
They started to climb the long concrete stairs, Fai standing behind Meine a few steps below just in case she lost her footing.
"I can feel it." Mokona said. Meine silently agreed. She could feel its presence as if it was ringing in her ears. "Even though it's weak, I can feel Sakura's feather."
They were halfway up it when a powerful gust of wind almost blew Meine and Sakura off their feet. Mokona went flying off the top of Syaoran's hat and Kurogane caught him just in time in his hand.
Meine held her hair down with one hand and looked up to see two, identical beasts with large wings on their backs, a sharp set of teeth, and manes made of flames. The gust of wind came from the flapping of their wings.
The beasts stopped in mid-air, bobbing up and down as its wings kept it afloat. It was staying on opposite sides of the stairs, guarding the library.
."Are those the watchdogs you were talking about?" Kurogane asked, glancing back as they continued to walk on as if nothing happened.
"They seem frightening, don't they?" Fai said.
"I think they might know..." Mokona said, moving to Meine's shoulder.
Syaoran spun around, alarmed.
"... That Kurogane is a bad guy!"
In a flash, Mokona was bouncing up the stairs, giggling and screaming as a very pissed off Kurogane ran after it.
Meine knocked twice on the front doors and at the same time it swung open slowly, the hinges creaking the more it was being opened.
The first thing they saw was something beyond extravagant. Statues of what looked like snakes sitting on pedestals lined the walls of the long, high-ceilinged hallway, by which at the end was the front desk of the library. They couldn't help but look up, marveling at the ceiling and at the floating disk-shaped trays with flapping wings that had books piled on top of them.
Syaoran approached one of the women behind the desk with short hair. She looked up at Syaoran as he stood there in front of her and she nodded.
"Welcome to the Central Library of Rekord Country. How may I help you?" she asked. Her voice was flat and it was as if it didn't have any emotion in saying it.
"Ah yes, I would like to borrow the original copy of the Book of Memories, please." Syaoran replied, smiling.
"I'm afraid that cannot happen."
It was like someone had popped the balloon that was hanging over their heads.
"We cannot borrow that book?" Syaoran asked, his eyebrows furrowing and his smile disappeared.
"The original Book of Memories has been designated as Rekord Country's national treasure, so you cannot take it out of the library."
"That is a problem." Fai whispered, leaning forward to whisper to Sakura and Meine.
"Then can I take a look at the book?" Syaoran asked the librarian.
Mokona gasped and hurriedly whispered to Sakura's ear. "If Syaoran can take a look, he will be able to get the feather. I can guarantee it!"
"That is also impossible." the woman said plainly. Another librarian approached them and stood behind her. She wore round glasses and her hair was tied to two braided pigtails that rested on her shoulder.
"Why?" Syaoran asked, his eyes wide with shock.
"The Book of Memories contains a vast amount of magic powers." the second librarian said. Her voice was kinder and was pleasing to the ears. "Numerous people in the past have tried to take it away."
The first librarian stood up from her egg-shaped chair. "But soon the "Hunds" (watchdogs) at the entrance, and this Central Library's "Soldats" (security system), caught every single one of them."
"That's why since the year 3004 of the Rekord Chronicle, inspection of the original Book of Memories is no longer allowed." the second continued, smiling warmly at them. "But there is a copy you can look at."
Syaoran bowed his head, the visor of his newsboy cap covering his eyes. "Thank you."
With that, they followed Syaoran to the opening that had the sign "indoor park" and they entered a part of the huge library with a glass ceiling, letting the sun's rays enter through it. There were trees and benches and a large fountain in the middle of it. It was somewhat empty, disregarding the few people reading their books silently in their own spots.
They settled by the fountain.
"They wouldn't even let us look..." Sakura said sadly.
"That can be a problem." Fai said, leaning against a railing that separated the trees from the smooth concrete path.
"What do you plan to do?" Meine asked. She saw Sakura with worried eyes looking at him.
"I will get it back no matter what." he said. His voice was sharp and they could only guess that his eyes looked the same. "We'll steal it."
They walked through rooms lined with books in every wall. Visitors, each with their own books sat on floating chairs. Syaoran and Mokona was on the lead, close to them was Meine, following them through closed eyes closed with concentration. She could tell that Kurogane, Fai, and Sakura behind her were having a conversation, but she wasn't paying any attention. Mokona was in the same state as well.
Meine turned right; the same time Mokona's voice ordered the same. It was like the feather was calling her, or she was being pulled towards it.
They turned left next and stopped. Meine opened her eyes to see herself face to face with a wall.
"The signal from Sakura's feather is stronger here." Mokona said. Its eyes were open and it pointed at the wall.
"There's nothing here." Kurogane said, looking around.
"It's a dead end, Moko-chan." Sakura said.
"But I feel it here." it said. It was staring up at the wall and stood at the visor of Syaoran's cap.
Meine let her fingers touch the wall and felt something run through her fingertips. The wall was not supposed to be there, and she could tell that magic was used to protect what lay beyond.
"Fai-san." Meine called. The
blond man stepped forward and tapped the wall. He moved to slide his fingers against the nearest line of books when he stopped, his hand still outstretched. "Ah!" he said.
"What's wrong?" Sakura asked, sounding more worried.
"This is a magic barrier." he said.
Meine stood beside him and placed her hand over the same line of books. "You're right." she said with astonishment. She looked up at Fai's face only to see a blank face. He wasn't smiling, or even looking at her.
"Fai-san...?" she called softly. He didn't look at her.
"This shelf needs to be moved." he said plainly.
Meine, slightly confused, went to the end of the shelf and was about to push it when she felt a hand grip her arm.
"I'll do it." Kurogane said. He leaned forward and threw his whole weight against the tall bookshelf. When it was pushed to a 45 degree angle from its original position, Kurogane stopped.
They were now standing in front of a dark, slightly damp tunnel, with stalagmites and stalactites here and there. The wall that was originally there was like being erased from view.
"How...?" Syaoran said. He wasn't able to say the rest.
"The bookshelves in this corridor formed part of a magic shield. When we moved the book shelf, the spell was broken, and what lay behind the barrier is thus revealed."
Meine shot a glance at Fai.
"This is really unbelievable!" Sakura exclaimed.
He just smiled. "This is very easy to understand if you've learned a bit of magical theory. But I'm worried that the watchdogs may be able to sense that it's been tampered with and may pursue us."
"We'll take our chance." Syaoran said. Sakura walked close behind him and then they entered the tunnel.
As Meine stepped into it, it was like being submerged through water, but she didn't get wet. She could not ignore her instincts telling her that something bad was going to happen.
They entered another corridor, but this one was much nicer than the last. It had statues similar to the ones outside. Meine felt very odd though. It was as if the statue's eyes were following them.
"Even though this is supposed to be such a precious treasure, the entrance doesn't seem to have too many guards." Kurogane commented.
"I don't think that's the case..." Fai said, his voice echoing around them.
Meine felt an eerie tingle at the back of her neck and readied herself. An audible crackling noise made them stop.
"They are coming."
The statues came to life and their snake-like bodies started to poise to attack.
"Princess, please step back." Syaoran said to Sakura, throwing one arm in front of her for her protection.
The statues lunged and opened their mouths to reveal sharp, stone teeth. Meine crouched down, ready to attack. But when a statue got too close to her, the same strong grip from earlier whisked her out of the way to stand beside Sakura.
She was able to see from their little circle that Syaoran was having a hard time defeating the monsters just by kicking it. Kurogane, on the other hand was just using any means possible to break of their necks (i.e. Elbowing, punching, etc.).
"Syaoran-kun, that's so cool!" Fai said with a "whistle".
"Shouldn't you be helping out?" Kurogane bellowed at him, his voice echoing loudly.
Meine looked away from their babble and looked up when she had heard another cracking sound. She took a step back and tugged Fai's arm.
The winged statues with long tails at the top of the columns where the snakes rested moved and lunged at them.
With more than ten live, stone statues surrounding them, they found themselves trapped and had no time to fight them all.
There was a split second's pause before they lunged. An opening between two statues appeared and they all started to run away from that little circle of what would've been their doom.
The statues followed them, snapping their jaws at them and trying to aim for their heads.
"It seems like running is faster than engaging the enemy." Fai said, swiftly ducking down and holding his hat to evade a snapping snake statue.
When the statues realized that they were not succeeding, they decided to start attacking the ground where they ran instead. Meine nearly missed evading a bird statue as it swooped down to snap its jaws at her.
It all happened in an instant, one second they were in that stone hallway, and the next they were in a desert. Sand lay beneath their feet, endless sand everywhere. But in front of them, was a big structure. Two identical towers facing each other. But these towers were shaped differently. It was a mysterious sight.
"The ruins from Clow Country?" Syaoran exclaimed.
There was silence.
"Clow Country is where Sakura and Syaoran are from right?" Mokona asked.
Sakura nodded.
"Have we come back to Clow Country?" Syaoran asked.
Mokona shook her head. "Mokona didn't transport us."
Before Meine could ask Mokona if it was sure, Fai spoke.
"This is a memory." he said. "A memory inside the Book of Memories. The book is causing it to appear with the power of Sakura-chan's feather. It's also able to set traps to protect the book using Sakura-chan's memories."
"Fai, that's amazing!" Mokona exclaimed. "You figured it all out!"
"Hmmm..." he said. "It's another type of magic. If you learn a bit of magic, you could do that just like me."
Meine stood at her spot, staring at Fai with wide eyes. Her mind was far away now, far, far from where she was. She was remembering a line she had read in a magic book in her father's private library when she was younger.
"Magical traps are tricky when encountered. When one faces a trap placed on a certain place, it would take power, greater than the caster to be able to sense it."
"Hey." Kurogane called from a few meters away. It seemed that she was spacing out and was momentarily left behind. She ran to keep up.
She was walking a few meters in front of Kurogane and Fai when she heard their slightly muffled steps on the sand stop. She slowed to be able to hear their conversation.
"You look like you have something to say, Kuro-rin." Fai said. Without them realizing, the slight breeze that passed helped Meine hear them better.
"That "little bit of magic you picked up", like you said back at that wall, shouldn't you have warned us earlier?" Kurogane's voice said, a little rougher than usual.
"I don't understand, Kuro-pon."
"To be able to sense a trap takes a power greater than the one setting the trap. I don't think you used your magic to figure that out."
Meine froze completely. Her eyes were as wide as saucers with shock. She had been right. If she had thought about the same thing Kurogane had said, there was no way for her to be mistaken.
"You're making way too big a deal about it." Fai said.
Kurogane didn't speak for two seconds. "You're lying..."
There was silence, and Meine could tell that Fai was not moving behind her even though Kurogane had passed her seconds later.
"Oi!" Mokona's voice called from the base of the ruin. "Hurry up!"
Meine looked back over her shoulder to Fai and saw him with a slight smile on his lips. His hand held down his hat over his eyes, making her unable to see them. She could tell he was saying something, since the corners of his mouth moved but she could not here them as the wind had changed its direction.
"Fai-san," she called.
He snapped out of his daze and together they walked towards to where the others were.
"So this really are just like the ruins in Sakura's country?" they heard Mokona ask.
"It looks like it. There were lots of people helping to excavate the ruins... And they were all good people. But there was one, an archaeology teacher who traveled to different countries. He was an extremely kind person."
Sakura was lost in thought as she told her story. She touched the ruin with one hand and felt its stone surface. Meine glanced at Syaoran to see a sad look on his face. He was looking down and his eyes looked absolutely forlorn. But yet he was standing there beside her.
"I went off to play in the ruins, my brother would always scold me." she continued.
"It was probably dangerous because of the excavation." Fai suggested.
"Yeah, that's true... But why did I want to go back?"
Meine could tell Syaoran was hurting just to hear her say this. To think that her past didn't have him inside it. Sakura looked sad as well. She couldn't stand to look at the site any longer.
"I think we should go inside." she said. "I can feel the feather inside."
They walked down the stairs and they walked down a path made of the same material as the one outside. The floor was covered with a thin layer of dust.
As they walked through that long and narrow hallway, they came across something very peculiar. Very peculiar indeed.
It was something like a log, cut in half and attached to four legs. A bench, you can call it. But this thing was huge. It was a head shorter than Sakura's full height. A normal person wouldn't be able to climb up just to sit on it.
"This bench-like thing is huge!" Fai said.
Meine walked towards it and reached for a small object resting on top of the bench. Sitting there on the humongous bench, it looked really tiny, but it fit the palm of Meine's hand just right. "It looks like a clock. It's so small.." she said. "Are the clocks in this country supposed to be this small?"
She turned to Syaoran, and immediately regretted it. His expression was of shock. His mouth was open slightly as he stared at the object in her hand. She struggled for what to say next.
Fai took the clock out of her hand. "Since we're in Sakura-chan's memory, maybe only the things emphasized are the ones that made a strong impression on her."
Meine looked away, ashamed. She was trying not to get affected by the way their (Syaoran and Sakura's) relationship is going, but she had said something pretty heartless.
She looked up and met his eyes. With that one look, she tried to tell him that she was sorry. He seems to have understood and he nodded, giving her a sad smile almost similar to Fai's.
"Let's go, Sakura." Mokona urged them. She agreed. They moved onwards, going down on a set of stairs again.
At last they reached the end of the stairs. It was a large, circular room with a very, very high ceiling. There were weird inscriptions on the circular floor. It was all around the floor. And from what Meine could tell, it looked like a pair of wings with two rings surrounding it.
The ground started to rumble and a bright light appeared from beneath their feet. Fai held Meine's waist.
The circular pattern on the floor started to open right between the middle. Once there was a huge hole on the ground, the rumbling stopped.
They peeked down at the whole.
"It's pitch dark, isn't it?" Meine said, leaning forward a little more. The feather was down there in that abyss.
"Do you remember what's down there, Sakura-chan?" Fai asked. The young princess shook her head.
"But I can feel the power of Sakura's feather coming from that place..." Mokona said.
With a strong movement, Syaoran stepped up to the opening of the hole, half his feet supporting him that one push would make him fall down. "I'm going." he said.
"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura screamed. "But you don't know what's down there!"
She ran to him and pulled him back that his feet was flat on solid ground. "I'll go!" she said.
"Please let me protect you, Princess." Sakura tried to contradict him but he smiled. "I'll be the one to go."
"Why?" she asked. "Why do you do so much to search for my feathers?"
He kept on smiling and he slowly removed the hand that was gripping his arm. "Please take care of the princess." he said to the others.
Kurogane walked beside him and nodded. "I'll come with you. We'll get the feather back so that the white manjuu could take us to the next world."
They nodded at each other and at the same time jumped into it and disappeared.
"Syaoran-kun! Kurogane-san!" Sakura screamed loudly, her voice reverberating against the walls. Fai held her back.
"I can't do anything..." she whispered.
"Yes you can." Mokona said. "When Syaoran and Kurogane come back, you can be waiting for them right here."
She looked like she was about to cry, but she nodded and stood there patiently.
After a few minutes or so, Meine was already agitated with impatience. She stepped to the opening of the hole.
"Where are you going?" Fai asked.
"I just can't stand standing here without doing anything..." she replied, biting her lower lip. She then caught his eye and she frowned. "You're not going to be able to stop me even if you ask."
His voice was calm and he smiled warmly. "I don't plan on stopping you. Just...be careful."
Meine smiled back. "I will. I'll see you in a bit."
With a last glimpse at Fai, Sakura, and Mokona's faces, she jumped down into the large, dark hole and allowed the darkness to envelop her.
She felt as if she was falling for quite a long time now. The silence was pressing against her ears that it was, ironically, deafening. She didn't even feel her feet touch any surface.
She twisted around, straining to see. Vampires can see quite see in the dark, but she couldn't see anything at all.
Then light appeared from behind her, making her turn around. It was all very fast. Even before she could decipher what she had seen, her instincts had told her to jump away, which she did. There was a bang and large, white feathers that could kill you if it hit were hurtling towards her with immense speed. She had to do a single-handed round off to avoid getting hit.
It was then she had spotted the beast which was far from her with its large wings wide open, the source of those attacking feathers; it's fangs bared, and the ends of his mane standing up. By his feet, safely hovering by its feet was Sakura's feather, clearly visible inside the clear glass covering of the book's binding. Syaoran, who looked so tiny next to it, was skidding across the ground. He was bruised and injured.
Another bang, a flurry of feathers, and thankfully Syaoran got out without getting hurt. Meine noticed that the beast was getting poised for another attack, but Syaoran hadn't.
She crouched down as low as she can go and kicked hard against the ground, zooming towards Syaoran. She whisked Syaoran away from that place just in time when that gigantic paw stomped on the area he was previously standing on.
"Meine-san!" he said in surprise as Meine let go of him. She had felt her ankle throb menacingly, warning her that if she did more she would be disabled again.
"You're welcome." she muttered, scrambling to her feet and tried to catch her breath, assuming that they have landed far away. Her heart was hammering against her chest.
"Oi! Pay attention!"
It all happened so suddenly that the two of them did not expect it. A gigantic paw swiped from their left and hit them both, sending both of them to fly five feet into the air and landed meters away. They landed on the ground with a thud.
"Oi!" she heard Kurogane shout.
Meine wanted to stand up but she was momentarily paralyzed because of the impact and shock. She could tell that she was uninjured but her clothes might have a tear or two. She felt Kurogane's hand on her back and he helped her stand.
She looked at Syaoran and saw him slowly stand up after she had. He was bruised, his clothes were torn and he had a cut on cheek that was oozing blood. He was slightly swaying on his feet. Something was wrong...
Meine felt a cold chill when she was able to see his eyes. They were cold and empty, so unlike the Syaoran she knew.
"Syaoran-kun...?"
Kurogane was thinking of the same thing. His eyebrows furrowed as he moved Meine back away from him.
The Syaoran in front of them forcefully wiped away the blood from his cheek. Meine could not take her eyes off him, afraid that something might happen.
Syaoran jumped high into the air with a bang. He was high, high up into the air, even higher than the beast's head. He then twisted in mid-air and he kicked the beasts face.
He didn't stop there. The beast was roaring in pain that its eyes were closed. Syaoran landed on the ground and repeated the act, this time hitting its jaw. He grabbed its large ear as it swung its head around and aimed for its neck.
Meine could no longer watch. She knew in order to get the feather they would have to defeat the watchdog guarding it. But this... This was just heartless. The beast in front of them was just like an oversized dog, doing its job well. They were the criminals.
She tried to ignore the whams and the bangs that were Syaoran's kicks connecting with the beast. It was howling and roaring.
She opened her eyes finally when she heard a crash. The beast was on its back and Syaoran was there, a few meters from it.
He disappeared, swallowed by the darkness, only to reappear seconds later with the book in his hands. He slammed his fist against it's glass cover and the glass shattered.
Syaoran slowly took out the feather and held it level with his face, throwing the remains of the book to the floor.
Meine took a step closer to be able to see his face. Kurogane followed her. Syaoran looked at them over her shoulder. There can be no other excuse. This was not Syaoran.
"Who... are you?" Meine asked.
The darkness started to dissolve. Meine could now make out stalactites hanging on the cave roof. A few meters from them were Fai, Sakura, and Mokona. It seems that they were originally just in one room.
"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura shouted and ran towards him.
Syaoran gasped and his aura returned to the Syaoran Meine was accustomed to.
"Princess..." he said.
Sakura wasn't able to say more. Her feather that was in Syaoran's hand was already placed against her heart. She leant back unconsciously and absorbed her memories.
Meine cannot draw her eyes away from Syaoran, and apparently Kurogane was the same.
"Syaoran, you're wounded!" Mokona exclaimed. "You need treatment."
"I'm fine." he said. "Let's hurry on to the next world."
"Meine-chan? Kuro-sama?" Fai whispered. He was looking at the two of them then at Syaoran.
"The library staff is coming! Hurry!" Syaoran said.
Mokona nodded and its long wings appeared on its back. The little creature flew in the air and opened its mouth wide.
Nothing happened.
"Oh no!" Mokona said, panicking. "The magic isn't working!"
"We've stolen the book but we can't escape. They must have used magic to block Mokona's dimension teleportation magic." Fai said.
"What are we going to do now?" Meine asked.
Kurogane strode towards Syaoran and picked Sakura up, placing her over his shoulder. "Let's go." he said. "They obviously know we've taken the book. Let's leave this place quickly and find a place where the white manjuu can use magic."
"Yes." Syaoran said, jumping to his feet.
They run back to the path they had taken earlier only this time, it was empty.
"This path is too empty for comfort." Meine said. They were near the mouth of the tunnel.
Finally, they were able to step into the light and found themselves in the same deserted corridor, where the previous beast's twin awaited them. It's large paws were resting on the bookshelf on their right, showing them its large claws. It was growling, as expected.
"It looks like they've been waiting for us from the beginning." Fai said.
The beast opened its mouth. For a second there, Meine thought it was going to swallow them. But a strong jet of fire was sent in their direction.
Fai grabbed Meine's waist and roughly pulled her on top of one of the shelves
"Syaoran!" she heard Mokona scream.
"I'm fine! But those books..."
Another blast of fire. Meine watched as the flames dispersed over the bookshelf she was standing on. She had expected it half-heartedly to burn down to ashes, but it was perfectly fine.
"Those books aren't affected at all!" Mokona told him.
Fai nodded. "Looks like the watchdogs want to protect the books. Their magic won't bring any damage to the library."
As soon as most of the fire disappeared, They jumped off their safe places and ran towards the direction they had come in. The beast followed them with more jets of fire.
"White manjuu!" Kurogane called. "Give me my sword."
Mokona shook its head. "No good it won't come out!" Its voice sounded as if it was near tears.
"Looks like this type of magic has been blocked too." Fai said. He sounded calm, but his expression said so otherwise.
They continued to run, past deserted floating chairs and more bookshelves. Meine's ankle was starting to hurt. The beast pursued them still.
With a final burst of speed, Meine's leg gave out on her. She crumpled on the floor, her leg throbbing in pain.
"Meine-chan!" Fai called out.
The beast's large paw and its sharp claws shook the ground as it took a step towards Meine. He was meters away, but one swipe of his paw or a breath of fire and Meine will be a goner.
"Meine!"
"Don't come here!" she shouted back. She could not afford to let them get any closer. They were in a well away distance to avoid getting singed.
The watchdog opened its mouth and Meine, from this distance, could see the fire forming in its throat. She braced herself and wondered whether burning to death would be painful.
She was able to hear the sound of the flames as it drew closer. Meine could feel the heat going higher and higher.
She felt an unusual warmth running through her, which was peculiar because the beast hasn't let out its fire yet. She waited a whole minute.
And yet nothing. She didn't feel any flames licking and burning her skin. She opened her eyes.
The necklace that the Akemi of Piffle had given her and on which her older brother Akemi had bestowed the last of his magic was shining. The light was forming a shield around her and the flames were dispersing.
Fai was watching from his place. Kurogane was holding him back before but now he was at the very back of the book. He was trying to hide the fear from his face, but his hand shook horribly. He stuffed this in his pocket so as others won't see.
For a quick second there, Fai's bloodlust skyrocketed. He had wanted to kill Meine. His hand shook more at the thought.
The seal inside her. The seal that held Meine's powers was slowly starting to break, just like Akemi had told him. If he did not act soon, her power would be stronger than his and he... He...
He did not want to think about it.
"Meine-san!" Syaoran yelled. This snapped Fai back to reality.
Meine closed her eyes and an incantation popped into mind.
A loud bang and a yellow bolt of lightning shot from the roof and hit the beast. Electricity visibly passed through it. It roared loudly and glowered at Meine.
"Kid! Hit the leg!" she heard Kurogane's booming voice say.
Syaoran came from out of nowhere and he kicked the beast's giant paw. It was thrown off balance and it finally crumpled to the floor.
He ran hurriedly towards Meine and with one smooth movement, picked Meine up off the floor and he ran towards their companions.
"Thank you." she said to them.
They ran towards the direction of where they had come from.
"The people who took the Book of Memories are trying to escape." said the disembodied voice of the librarian who they had talked to earlier. "Capture them. Do not let them get away."
More pursuers had successfully tailed them and shot what seemed to be stunning spells at them from their staffs or wands. They were flying in these winged objects that were shaped like the bottom of an egg.
They ran still. They could see the large double doors of the library slowly closing to trap them in but they were able to get out in time.
Meine, Syaoran, Fai, Kurogane, Mokona, and a sleeping Sakura were back at those long steps, only this time it wasn't that long road from the train station that face them.
It was an ocean full of water that crashed hard against the building. The waves were meters high and was basically hard to swim in.
"They've flooded the passage!" Mokona screamed.
"Jumping in is our only choice." Kurogane told them.
At that moment their pursuers with wands was now right behind them.
"Not necessarily." Fai said. He took of his hat and threw this to the water. As soon as it had made contact, it melted. Meine gasped. "There's still a lot of magic designed to catch us."
There was a roar and they all looked up to see the beast which Syaoran had fought one-on-one up in the sky. With the watchdog above them, a battalion of guards behind them, and the sea, they had no means of escaping.
"You can put me down here." she told Syaoran and he let go. She stepped onto the concrete floor.
A long, low note came out of nowhere. She looked around and saw Fai, whistling. A real whistle; not like his "hyuu" that he always does. As he whistled, wind materialized from his lips and curled itself around them until it had created a huge dome.
Meine's eyes were wide with shock, and she wasn't the only one.
"Mokona, let's go to the next world." he told the creature calmly.
"But..." Mokona said. "I can't use magic."
"You'll be able to in here."
Mokona spread out its wings and this time, the magic circle successfully came out.
Meine leaned lightly against Syaoran. She was staring deadpan into Fai without even blinking.
The wind surrounded them as Mokona's vacuum-like mouth swallowed them.
As she saw the last bit of Rekord, Meine glimpsed Fai's face before the darkness ate her. His eyes were closed and he wore a sad smile. He had mouthed something to her but at that moment, he disappeared.
-chapter end-
heyzelle: me again.
again please read and review.
