CHAPTER TWENTY FIVE
I stayed completely silent, waiting for something to happen. Anything. I felt like I didn't exist, my whole body still being numb.
There was the sound of something hopping forwards.
I couldn't look up. My body, my spirit, whatever it was, it was holding me back.
"Hey," said a gentle, air-like voice.
Mokona hopped into sight. Only...no, this wasn't Mokona. It was silver. I couldn't get my mouth to open to ask the question: Who are you?
"Syaoran. I was hoping it wouldn't come down to this," it whispered, its eyes falling shut, its ears drooping.
I stared blankly.
"My name is Ming."
My brain failed to process this properly. Ming was a third Mokona...?
"I'll explain in a minute. I'm sorry, and I really don't want to do this, but...you're dead. I need to release your soul, OK? Just stay put. Well...it's not like you can go anywhere." It hopped towards me.
There was a long silence, as it seemed to be confused, maybe surprised. It started tapping it's foot for a moment.
"...You have more than one soul." It narrowed its eyes thoughtfully. Then it shook its head. "I'm not picky. I'll just take one."
It's paws reached towards my right eye. I tensed.
"It's OK. You have your own soul, you won't need this one."
I hardly felt it as the eye came out of the socket. "The seal was half cracked," it noted, the eye shining in a soft, golden light before disappearing.
I started to breathe again very suddenly. My arms jerked and my whole body started to shudder as I gasped for air. It still hurt, but it was less intense.
"You should thank the other Syaoran if you wake. The soul he gave you many years ago has bought you some extra time."
"I...have a chance of waking up?" I asked doubtfully.
"It's slim," Ming said, shaking its head. "After all, you were driven through with a blade. I'd say that it has the chance to kill you twice. It's not a wound that can heal, really."
I sat up, nodding slowly as I did so. Then, I asked, "so, you're a third Mokona?"
"The first."
I cocked my head curiously.
"It's strange. There's only one other who came back after she died."
I cocked my head.
"Her name was Yuuko."
My eyes widened. "She's died...?"
"You two are the only ones who had an oppurtunity to come back after I'd taken their soul...a soul..."
"So, the other Mokona's were based off of you?" I asked.
"That's correct." It yawned. "I'm supposed to be neutral, taking souls and all...but I'm glad that I could spare you, at least for a while."
"...Where am I, anyway?"
"There are three realms," it explained patiently. "There's the real realm or world, which has many dimensions. There's the dream realm, which you've been to. There's only one, but it has many sectors and its hard to get to conciously. And then there's the spirit realm, which is for the dead. You're on the border of the real world and the spirit realm. Your friends, Sakura and Kurogane, should be in the spirit realm." It stopped, grinning.
"I had never seen spirits so persistent to go back. They wouldn't take no as an answer. That ninja friend of yours was worried about you two a lot, even though you would never guess by the way he treats you. They were both saying "I have to go back!" And Sakura was wailing about how she couldn't leave you, and Kurogane was insisting you'd both get yourself killed, and that you never finished your sword training, which he used to cover up his concern..."
I stayed silent as it spoke. Finally, it sighed deeply.
"You've got yourself some good friends. I admire you. I take this job alone."
I glanced back at it. "What about talking to the other Mokona's?"
"Soel and Larg? I'm not sure they know I exist."
"Try talking to them. They're welcoming, they're kind. ...They like drinking."
It laughed. "That, they do."
I stared up at the sky, which was still nothing but a pale white expanse of nothing.
"What's going on with my body?"
"You're comatose. That's what coma's are, really. Spirits talking to me."
"...I really want to go back-" As I spoke, I coughed, and as I tried to breathe in, it burned. I couldn't force myself to continue.
"I don't think you will," it sighed. "It makes me sad. I don't want Fai to be on his own. But if I don't take your soul, it's like being stuck in suffering for the rest of eternity."
I shuddered, but I wasn't sure if it was from Ming's words or pain.
"One chance, please," I gasped. "I just...want to say goodbye to Fai and Mokona...tell Fai that I'm not angry, and that it wasn't like he chose to be cursed..."
It smirked slightly, its eyes falling shut. "He killed you...he freaking killed you...and yet you still trust him, and want to assure him that it's alright...You're a good friend too, Syaoran. I want to warn you, it might hurt."
"I'm aware. I'm prepared," I said shortly, forcing myself to keep even breaths, despite the burning sensation.
It nodded, and the mint-green jewel on its forehead glowed brightly. I could feel magic swirling around me.
"I'm giving you two minutes, at the most. Make it all quick, OK? This is your only chance." There were tears in its eyes. I nodded.
*
My eyes opened narrowly. Ming had been right when it said it would be painful. The previous burning felt like a fullblown fire, and I definitely was not turning into my kudan this time.
"Syaoran," Fai said, his eyes widening.
"I---I don't think..." I began.
Fai shook his head. "You're not going to die."
There was so much conviction in his voice that I wondered if he had some sort of plan. I had come to know that his magic wasn't exactly of the healing variety, so I wasn't sure what he was going to do.
I drew in another gasp.
"You ready?" Said a voice. I couldn't pin a name to it, but I was sure I knew it.
"Yes," Fai said. "We've got to hurry, Syaoran doesn't have long." His voice faltered, I could tell, even in my condition, that the main emotion he was feeling was guilt, and lots of it. I wasn't angry, or upset. It wasn't his fault. I had established this back on the border of the real and spirit realm.
I could hear the sound of a dagger being unsheathed, and briefly, I wondered if, whoever this newcomer was, if he was going to try and end my suffering there. I wouldn't have been surprised. But no, I heard the sound of skin being cut, and it wasn't mine.
The newcomer put his wrist over my mouth.
"Syaoran, if you can hear me, you're going to have to pull through this, just for a little longer," Fai said sadly, voice cracking with worry.
I felt a hand open my jaw, and I saw the blood trickle down his wrist, off his arm, and drop onto my tongue and into my throat.
My eyes widened. Looking back on it, this all taught me an important lesson: Never think it can't get any worse. Because hell, this was a lot worse.
I screamed so loudly, I'm sure everyone within a mile of us could hear it. My limbs twitched and jerked uncontrollably, and I felt two hands grab my shoulders and nail me down. My ears were ringing, I couldn't hear a thing. Pain. That's all everything was. Waves and waves of it. As if some sort of monster was clawing out my insides. The blood that they'd put in my mouth...had it been tainted? I wasn't sure what it was.
I writhed involuntarily. I tightly gripped the arms of whoever was holding me down, trying to find some sort of support, silently wanting to give the pain to someone else. Fei-Wang Reed. If I could have gone and forced this pain on someone other than me, it would be him. No one else. Not even Fai.
Fai. This was his fault. I silently pleaded to know what he was thinking. What he thought I was going to get from all this. I thought he wanted to save my life, so why did I feel like I was dying all over again, only this time slowly?
I couldn't scream anymore, though I couldn't tell how long it had been. My thoughts were all hazy. I could hardly see. The agony was slowly starting to come in smaller and smaller waves, until everything was numb again. I silently wondered if I had died for the second time, but as my eyes flickered open, I saw Fai, Kurogane, and Sakura looked back at me. And the other Syaoran.
I realized my fingers were deep into Fai's arm. He'd been the one pinning me down. They all looked nervous, and Fai looked scared.
I could hardly think. I formed a sentence, and was only barely able to ask it.
"What...did you do...?"
All the tension I felt left my body and my head dropped back to the floor, my thoughts dissolved, and everything faded black.