Chapter Twenty-Nine

Kurogane watched the girl walk out with a bow in one hand and a quiver of arrows in the other.

He'd spent the morning carving the piece of driftwood into a staff, cursing whenever he chipped away too much or let the carving knife slip. He figured that even if the boy didn't want to risk the princess's disapproval by training, there was no point in leaving himself without a weapon. Who knew how long it would be before they landed in a world that had swords he could buy?

Still, the echoes of the princess's outburst last night lingered in his mind. If he'd been unsure of his course, her worries might have swayed him. Instead, he saw her outbursts for what they were: signs that she was nearing her limit. Stress made people irrational. Once she took a step back, her head would clear. If she can even take that step, he thought. Fourteen-year-old girls weren't rational creatures.

"I'm taking Sakura-chan out to look for the feather later today," Fai announced, jamming a knife into some sort of shellfish. Eyebrows drawn together, he looked almost irritated, as if the creature had done him some injustice. "Did you want to come?"

"It's not my job to look for the damn things," he said, filing down the ends of his makeshift staff. He'd trained with a variety of weapons after Tomoyo had invited him to Shirasagi Castle, and though he'd have preferred a bladed weapon, he knew how to use a staff.

"So, are you planning on sparring with Syaoran-kun while we're out?"

He frowned, glancing up. "Yeah, if he's up to it." Might not be, he decided. Wouldn't want to disobey his princess, even if he can't remember her.

"He might not ask about it," Fai said, echoing his thoughts. "He feels bad about upsetting Sakura-chan."

"He'll have to get over it. They're his feathers—he's responsible for trying to get them back, too."

The magician nodded, finally popping open the shell. He peered inside, then grimaced, shutting it again. "I think he'd be less uncertain of himself if you brought it up first. The training, that is."

Kurogane paused, considering that. He glanced toward the doorway. Arrows whistled through the air outside. Judging by the occasional thwack, the princess missed the target almost as often as she hit it. "Shouldn't you be watching to make sure she doesn't hurt herself with that?" he asked.

"I taught her how to use the bow safely." The mage winced at a particularly loud thwack. "She'll be fine. Although . . . Hmm . . ."

Kurogane's eyes narrowed in suspicion. "What?"

"I suppose it wouldn't make much difference if Sakura-chan went out to face the sea serpent now, if you wanted to spar with Syaoran-kun."

"Fine by me. I'll go wake him up." He stood, resting his staff over his shoulder and headed upstairs. With three levels, the cylindrical building had enough space for each of them to have their own room. He hadn't really visited the other bedrooms, except for his cursory inspection their first day here, but he knew where everyone slept. When he reached the top floor, he turned left, nudging aside a curtain made of tiny seashells as he stepped through the doorway.

The boy stood next to the window, leaning on the windowsill as he peered out toward the ocean. He glanced over his shoulder as Kurogane entered, then back to the window. "She's going to fight that serpent today, isn't she?"

"Yeah." Kurogane approached, noting the subdued quality of the kid's voice. After a moment, he rested his hand on his shoulder. "She'll be fine. She knows what's at stake."

"I don't understand why she'd go to such trouble for me." The kid's fingers curled, making a loose fist on the windowsill. "She's a princess. If anything, I should be serving her."

Kurogane shrugged. "She chose to go on this journey. Whatever happens now is on her."

The boy frowned, looking back at him. "I want to help, but I don't think she'll let me."

"She just wants to keep you out of danger. Can't see why—you're capable enough, even with your mind all scrambled up." He leaned the staff against the wall, hoping the movement would draw the boy's attention. His eyes flickered to the crude weapon, then darted away.

"She doesn't want me to fight."

"Kid, if you let her run your life like that, she's never going to think you're strong enough to handle things on your own. Obedience makes for a good student, but initiative makes for a good warrior."

Syaoran's eyes flickered to the staff again. "Do you . . . Do you think we could try sparring again? I mean, I don't want to get you in trouble or anything, so if you don't want to, that's fine, but—"

"Meet me outside in ten minutes. And take this." He handed him the staff he'd been carving all morning, then took the still-unrefined piece of driftwood the kid had left by the door. "She'll be out for a couple hours. Might as well get some practice in."

The boy looked stricken. "I . . . Thank you."

Yeah, let's see if you're thanking me in three hours, he thought, running his fingertips over the solid chunk of driftwood.


"Coral said we'd find the serpent's lair just past this ridge," Fai said, water dripping from his hair. "I think I can see the caverns she mentioned."

Sakura swam forward, trying to keep up. As soon as she reached him, he ducked under the surface and darted in the direction they'd been heading for the past fifteen minutes. Unlike her previous expeditions into the water, she had a destination. A purpose. So rather than pausing every few minutes to practice holding their breath or treading water, they kept a steady pace as they swam toward the serpent's lair.

Taking a deep breath, she plunged under the water, peering through her tinted goggles at the ocean floor. A dying reef spread out beneath her, a stretch of gray and white, distinct from the colorful paradise she'd visited yesterday. Calcified coral jutted up from the rocky shelves like bones, their tips pointed like spikes. Here and there, fish peeked out of the bony projections, then darted back in, fleeing from the small, snakelike creatures that patrolled the dying reef. Those must be what normal serpents look like, she thought, coming up for air, then diving again. The water shimmered above her head, sunlight filtering through in shifting patches as the waves stirred above her. She focused on that, rather than watching the shadows shifting below.

They swam perhaps another ten minutes before Fai suggested they rest. "We must be getting close," he said, not sounding winded at all as Sakura paddled over to him.

"You swim so fast," she said. "It's hard to keep up."

Fai managed to shrug while treading water. "Sorry. Luval Castle had a wonderful pool. I used to visit it all the time, after I first arrived there." His expression darkened for a moment. Then he flashed a smile, the shadow vanishing from his face. He handed her a metal spear the length of her arm. "Here. Anemone stopped by this morning and dropped this off. She said Coral had asked her to give it to us so we could fight the serpent."

Sakura took the fishing spear, frowning. "It's . . . a little small. I mean, if we're supposed to be fighting this giant sea serpent, shouldn't we have a better weapon?"

"Maybe." Fai turned his head, staring out over the waves. "Nothing to be done about it now. We'll just have to try our best and hope everything works out."

"Right." She paused. "Shall we go, then?"

"As you wish." Fai took a deep breath, then started swimming again. Sakura followed, heading downward now, instead of forward. Dozens of shadowed caverns clung to the ocean floor, with hundreds of serpents, all black, darting between burrows so that the ocean floor itself looked like a mass of moving tentacles. Faintly nauseated by the sight, Sakura clutched her fishing spear tighter.

There, she thought, as a massive serpent slithered out of one of the caverns. It roved across the ocean floor, sliding sluggishly between the sea-mounts. The other serpents paid it little heed.

Fai tapped her shoulder and pointed toward the surface. Nodding, Sakura swam upward, toward the refracted light. When her head broke the surface, she sucked in a deep breath. "That has to be it," she said. "That thing has one of Syaoran's feathers."

Fai nodded. "We're going to have trouble fighting it if it stays down that deep. We'll have to surface every twenty seconds or so."

"That's not enough time to swim down there, let alone try to attack." But there has to be some alternative. Syaoran would think of a way. "Let me think."

She dunked her head under, so she could examine the monster through her goggles. The serpent settled between several boulders, curling up like a sunbathing snake. Even at this distance, she could see the dips between its scales, the solid black pattern of its back. The feather must be attached to its underbelly somehow, she thought. Maybe caught between its scales. But if that's the case, it's going to be even tougher to get it. And it's already grown so big . . . What if taking the feather doesn't make it go back to normal? The people of this world will still be in danger.

We have to kill it. The thought sickened her. Until this journey had started, she'd never killed an animal. Yet, in the first world they'd visited, she'd had to kill the tiger-wolf creatures to stay alive. Now it looked like she'd have to kill this serpent as well.

She lifted her face from the water and took a breath. So how can I do that? There's no way this spear will pierce through its skin. Maybe through the eye? But what if that doesn't stop it? And how would I get close enough? I can't hold my breath long enough to swim down there. I don't have the tools to use this spear like an arrow, and my bow wouldn't work underwater.

Sighing, she ducked down and peered into the depths. As she watched, two smaller serpents crossed paths and started circling each other. Curious, she swam downward. They kept circling, their rudder-like tails jerking whenever they changed direction. Abruptly, one of them darted toward the other, opening its triangular mouth to reveal a set of jagged teeth. The other tried to swim away, but those teeth closed around its body, and a cloud of red spread through the water.

Within seconds, dozens of other serpents darted for their dying brother, ripping into him until nothing remained. Sakura watched, horrified, as the serpents frenzied, devouring one of their own. When the blood dispersed and there was nothing left, the frenzy abated.

Sakura lifted her head from the water and turned to Fai. He was staring at the water below, looking disturbed, and she could see the struggle for control raging in his eyes. After a moment, he glanced in her direction.

Very quietly, she said, "I have an idea."


Author's Notes:

Speaking of ideas, I've got a few ideas for the next world the Tsubasa gang will be heading for. I plan to write about all of them at some point during this fic, but I'm curious as to which you'd like me to write about next, so I've posted a poll on my profile. Of course, alternative ideas are welcome, and will be added to the list at your request. Naturally, there are loose ends I need to tie up before the Tsubasa gang leaves this world, but the poll will only be open until I post the next chapter(whenever that ends up being), so respond soon. Your feedback is greatly appreciated, and thanks, as always, for reading.