DISCLAIMER: I DON'T OWN TRC. Thank you for your attention.
This… took… forever… to write. It might just be because it was a hard chapter to write, or maybe just because I don't want to write what happens next. But I will *sigh* I hope you'll be able to wait that long, I realize I'm really slow these days…
Don't forget to review, to give me courage for the next few chapters!
XxX
I've never seen such devastation. Buildings toppled over each other like dominos, bridges and towers reduced to heaps of crumpled metal, stretches of what used to be roads now cracked like old varnish.
And not a soul in sight.
Clouds are piling up, an ominous dark grey. The sky is a deep blue, much deeper than any sky I've seen before. I'm unable to tell if it's because this is evening, or if this is always the case. In contrast, the sand seems nearly white. Like grinded bones, I can't help thinking, and shudder. But there's something about this place that screams death, and I'm suddenly relieved that Sakura's asleep in Kurogane's arms.
"Kurogane's carrying the princess!" Mokona croons, jumping on the ninja's shoulder.
"Huh?" Kurogane grunts, looking over to the fur-ball. Fai smiles.
"Well if he carries her on his shoulder for too long, then the blood'll go to her head," he explains. I've fallen behind with Syaoran. My leg doesn't hurt anymore, but there's still some slight discomfort. And Syaoran's entire right side is covered in cuts and bruises – that's the side where he was hit by the watchdog. I'm starting to doubt we'll ever find a place to treat his wounds. There's no signs of any activity around here.
"What the hell happened here?" Kurogane asks, looking up to what remains of a bridge-like structure above us.
"There's nothing but collapsed and damaged buildings," Mokona agrees. I look to the broken skyline around us. An earthquake could have caused the buildings to collapse – more realistically, a string of earthquakes – but that would still leave us to explain the metal bars so deformed it's like they've been melted. And even in such devastating earthquakes, surely there'd be survivors?
"I don't know anything that could have caused all of this," I admit.
"It would be good if there was a place where we could treat Syaoran-kun's wounds, but…" Fai comments, using his hand as a visor as he scans the horizon. I sigh. I'd be grateful simply to find any shelter at all, set up camp somewhere and go to the next world as soon as we can. It doesn't seem like there's anything around here, much less a feather.
Suddenly, Syaoran stops. Curiously passing his hand on the rounded edge of a rock, he frowns.
"What is it?" I ask inquiringly, peering over his shoulder. Syaoran turns to us.
"The tips of these rocks are rounded," he says. I had noticed that detail, but assumed it was erosion from the wind. But Syaoran knows much more than I do about things like this, so what he discovered might be important.
"What does it mean?" Kurogane asks, like me listening intently.
"It means that they've been shaped and eroded by the wind," the boy answers, "but I'm wondering if the wind is able to cause changes to this extent." Before I can respond, I feel something land on my head and jump. It's like a mosquito bite, but three times as painful. Raindrops begin to fall around us. Mokona yelps.
"It hurts!" he exclaims, hiding in Syaoran's collar. "It really hurts! What is it?"
"Acid?" I ask, looking down at my hands as they catch some more of the rain. There's a burning sensation on my palms where the liquid falls. I have a sudden flashback to Koryo, and I can tell by looking at Fai and Kurogane that they are thinking the same thing. My eyes start instinctively searching for shelter.
"I don't think this is water," Mokona says plaintively. The rain gets thicker.
"Whatever it is, it's not very nice to get pelted by the stuff, is it?" Fai says, holding up his hand as a visor again. So this must be what rounded the rocks. Syaoran gasps, pointing to something in the distance.
"There's a building still standing!" he exclaims. Squinting in the direction he points, I can make out the dark silhouette of some sort of tall, wide building.
"Let's go!" I order. Before we all get burnt beyond repair, we have to find some cover. Syaoran and Fai start running without any more prompting.
"And we have to run again," Kurogane grumbles, rearranging the princess in his arms so she doesn't hinder him.
"Hurry up, Kuro-tan!" Fai calls over his shoulder.
"Yeah, just run! We'll rest later!" I add, pushing him forward. With a swift move of the shoulder, the ninja shoves me in front of him.
"You first," he growls. And then I suddenly understand why the ninja wanted me to run in the front while we were fleeing: it wasn't just because we needed a scout, and it wasn't just because I'm the fastest runner we have. He wanted to keep an eye on me, make sure I didn't fall behind. And yet I managed to nearly get myself caught. He must be pissed off at me.
The rain thickens, and I grimace as it slides down my collar and into my dress, on my head and arms. Fortunately we are approaching the building quickly, and it seems to be standing like Syaoran had anticipated.
"It's really starting to pour!" Mokona exclaims as the clouds crackle to life. Thunder, but no lightning yet. We are nearly at the building now. There doesn't seem to be any doors, leaving this side of the building completely open. The only thing there is a row of large pillars, evenly spaced, leading into what would have probably been an entryway of some sort. The building itself is an imposing double tower, like so many of the administrative office buildings I've seen before. For some reason, it seems barely damaged.
Breathless, we throw ourselves in before the clouds unleash a flood upon the earth. I do a quick assessment; nobody seems badly burnt, I can only see minor wounds. Outside, the rain is as thick as a blanket, and I can barely make out a thing even if I squint.
"Wow," Syaoran pants beside me, "if we had been any slower, our bodies would be full of holes by now." I nod, sighing gratefully. And at least this building can serve as proper shelter until we can go on to the next world.
"But now we're safe!" Mokona exclaims happily. There's a short silence, then Kurogane's voice rises behind me.
"No," he says gravely, "I don't think so." I turn on my heels, dreading what I will see. Almost immediately, I have to muffle a scream. We've found the people.
And I wish we hadn't.
Slung over broken pillars, reaching out from under mountain of rubbles in front of us, impaled on sharp metal bars, arrows sticking out from their flesh, missing limbs, covered in blood. Dead, every single one of them dead. Men and women alike, joined in this grim reunion.
"They're… real," Fai says hesitantly, as though he has trouble believing this.
"Yes," the ninja answers, strangely atone. "They've all been killed." I close my eyes. Before Kurogane said it, there was still hope. Hope that this is all a nightmare, an illusion, some magic trick like the ruins in the library. But it's not. I'm surrounded by corpses. Corpses that used to be people.
"It's a good thing that Sakura-chan is still asleep," I hear the mage say softly. I risk opening my eyes. Hanging from a metal rod a few feet away from me is an arm, the body it used to be attached to lying somewhere in the wreckage. The blood has flown to the tip of the convulsed fingers, turning them black. I press a hand against my mouth to keep myself from vomiting.
"Pinky-chan, are you alright?" Fai says, and I feel a hand on my shoulder. I nod slowly, looking away from the arm.
"I'm fine," I say hoarsely, brushing Fai's hand away. It's like my stomach has lodged in my throat. Blood doesn't usually bother me, but this… these people are dead. And they've been murdered, the arrows in their bodies attest to that. No weapons, no armour around them. This is murder, pure and simple. Who would do something like this? And then there's the way some limbs have been ripped off. Animals aren't so vicious. I choke up again. Who could do this?
I have to get some air. Walking outside in this pouring acid rain isn't an option, but I have to get those corpses out of my sight before I throw up.
"Can you sense the presence of a feather?" I hear Syaoran ask Mokona. The fur-ball is shaking, visibly upset like I am. Syaoran seems a little disturbed as well, but I know the search for Sakura's feathers trumps everything with him. Especially in times like this, I find it becomes a little obsessive. The image of that other Syaoran pops into my head, but I don't say anything. He is not Syaoran.
"I can't be certain," Mokona begins shakily, but continues, "but I feel a wave of strong power."
"Where is it coming from?"
"From below," the fur-ball answers, and both me and Syaoran look down to our feet. Then we look at each other. Now that Mokona mentions it, I feel it too. A steady pulse coming from the ground we stand on, overlapping itself like in waves – I've felt this before.
"There's water down there," I realize slowly. "A lot of it." Probably some kind of lake, because the flow isn't very strong, and there's no current. I feel that there's something in the water, but unlike the river in Jade it remains completely uncooperative in letting me identify what it is. It's almost like it's hiding it from me.
Syaoran nods gravely, looking down once again to his feet with a frown. "Well, there's bound to be a staircase or something leading to the basement," I offer. "Or at least an elevator shaft." Syaoran's face turns comically puzzled.
"What's an elevator?" he asks, and I can't help but smile. I don't answer, just to tease him.
"Do you want to go look?" I offer. Suddenly, Syaoran's quest seems like an invitation to get away from this place, from the sight and smell of the dead lingering here. He nods, and we begin walking down the large hallway to our right. I turn around to wave to the others, signifying that we won't be far, but Syaoran doesn't take the time to do even this. He doesn't talk or wait for me either, and soon I fall behind when we have to step and trip over rubble. What used to be a hallway soon opens into an area of disproportionate size, partly blocked off by debris here, obstructed by the remains of a wall there. The result is an odd maze in which I nearly loose Syaoran a few time. Despite the boy's strange silence and this place's lingering aura of dread, I'm breathing better since we've left the corpses in the atrium.
"Hey, Syaoran-kun, slow down!" I call as the boy's head disappears once again behind a boulder. My only answer is a loud gasp, followed by several dull claps, like rain against pavement. Mokona yelps. I start running. "Syaoran!" I scream. My heart starts pounding loudly. I'm an idiot! There are corpses in the entryway, and it never crossed my mind that this place could be dangerous.
I turn the corner just in time to see Syaoran leap away from a flight of the same small arrows I've noticed on the corpses in front. They lose themselves behind him, hitting the stone with a thunder of dull claps. Before I can reach him, Syaoran kicks one of the projectiles away, but staggers on his injured left leg and falls back with a pained gasp. A stray arrow catches him in that same leg, piercing it from front to back under my horrified gaze.
"Syaoran!" Mokona screams. The boy staggers backwards, his face only a grimace of pain, holding on desperately to a boulder for support. I search frantically for the provenance of the arrows.
"Moko-chan!" I yell, running towards them with one of my hands open, waiting. Mokona understands. He opens his mouth wide and spits out my whip, which I catch expertly before throwing myself in front of Syaoran, turning my head swiftly towards the origin of the arrows. I have to look up to see them; seven cloaked silhouettes standing on boulders above us, holding crossbows. Their features are hidden by large hoods. I glare at them so fiercely that I'm half-surprised they don't fall from their perch, stone dead. They hurt Syaoran while he was already wounded, when he did nothing wrong – and that is unforgivable.
"To set foot in this place shows that you must have a death wish," one of them says calmly. I glance quickly at Syaoran, but although he's trembling in pain, the wound isn't bleeding too much. My gaze goes back to our attackers, and a wave of fury submerges me. How dare they?
"He's almost unhurt," a strong voice says in surprise from one of the cloaked figures.
"Those kicking skills really aren't bad-" another starts, impressed, before a dry voice interrupts him.
"What are you talking about? They're intruders."
"But did you see how she got that whip?"
"It doesn't matter, they're probably thieves." I exchange a glance with Syaoran. What could they possibly have that we would want to steal? Unless they know we're looking for the feather… no, he said 'probably.' That means that they have no proof against us, which makes me even more furious. They're probably the ones who killed those people in the front. And for what? Were they thieves too? What could there possibly be in these ruins worth stealing, anyways?
"Enough," one of the figures says strongly, pointing his crossbow away. "What do you want to do, Kamui?" One of them slowly takes off his hood, revealing a young, pale face and dark hair. And eyes the colour of stormy skies, who look down at us coldly like one would look at a mosquito, deciding whether or not to swat something so insignificant. I immediately hate him. Still, the aura of strength around him is undeniable. The kind of person it would be wise to have on your side.
But he hurt Syaoran. Chances of negotiations have been terminated as far as I'm concerned.
The one they called Kamui continues his silent examination, and my eyes train on the crossbows of his companions. I'm afraid they'll start shooting again; Syaoran is in no shape to move, and I'm not leaving him here. I reach back with one hand and squeeze his arm reassuringly, my other arm still in front of us protectively.
"…are you game?" Kamui says suddenly, cocking his inexpressive face to the side curiously. I notice he's looking at Syaoran, ignoring me as though I didn't even exist. The boy seems taken aback by the question, but he doesn't have the time to answer. With a sigh, Kamui points his crossbow towards us. "Kill them," he says coldly, and the arrow flies towards us. I push Syaoran back, knowing that I can't avoid it without exposing him. I bite my lip and close my eyes, waiting for the pain to erupt. But there's a dull clap, and then nothing. Tentatively, I open my eyes again. Did he miss?
"Kurogane-san!" Syaoran exclaims in relief, and my eyes run to the ninja, who has appeared some way beside us. His arm is still extended in a throw, his eyes locked on a spot a little above us. At my feet lie an arrow and a stone, and I breath a sigh of relief. He was just in time, and anyone else would have missed that throw. We were lucky. Incredibly lucky.
The ninja doesn't return our greeting. He stands up again, sends a cool glance to the archers above us, then looks back at us with a steely determination.
"This is a good place for a one-on-one battle," he declares gruffly, then extends his waiting hand towards us. "White manjuu, my sword," he orders. Mokona seems happy to submit.
"Okay!" he exclaims, and in a gust of wind shoots out Souhi. Kurogane catches it with ease, smoothly pulling it halfway out of its scabbard before settling into a fighting stance. There's a murderous smile on his lips, but I don't think anyone else noticed the tension in his shoulders when he stood, the scarlet flash in his eyes when he looked up to our attackers – the real signs of danger. The ninja is out for blood.
"These people actually dared to ambush us," he says calmly, as though marveling at their stupidity. But there's a threat in his voice, nearly imperceptible and yet so potent that I find a shiver running up my spine.
"They're not scared off?" one of the cloaked figures says in astonishment.
"That sword is too cool!" another exclaims. To my surprise, he sounds like a child.
"Where did they come from?"
"I've never seen…"
Kurogane steps in front of us. I step beside him, but he orders me back with a sideways glance. I look at him, puzzled. Two of us won't be too much to get rid of the seven of them. But his eyes are insistent.
"One-on-one," he growls.
"Why?" I hiss under my breath. He doesn't answer, but I can guess by the slight twitch at the corner of his mouth, the angle of his body, the way his left arm is pulled back a little too far than necessary. Between me and the enemy. And I see this from Kurogane's point of view. When he arrived, we were helpless, unable to move. Syaoran was wounded, and I was about to be hit by an arrow.
No. I was about to be killed by an arrow.
Kamui had been aiming for my heart.
I step back slowly, carefully angling my body to protect Syaoran. If he won't let me fight, then I'll at least give him one less thing to worry about. The ninja understands this and focuses back on our opponents. I sigh. My limbs feel suddenly very heavy. I would probably be dead by now if Kurogane hadn't intervened. I wonder if it was Mokona's yelp or my scream that alerted him first… wait. My eyes start searching again. Where are Fai and Sakura? Kurogane hasn't mentioned them at all, has given us no clue to where they are, which can mean only one thing: they're hiding. Sakura can't be left alone in her state, and Kurogane is more help in a fight than Fai. Besides, as long as the archers don't know how many we are they won't be looking for them. I look at Syaoran and he nods. He's understood too. Right now, the best way to protect both of them is to act like they don't exist.
"You're the leader, aren't you," Kurogane calls out to Kamui, who doesn't even flinch. He doesn't seem surprised by the ninja's appearance in the slightest. There's something decidedly abnormal about that boy. Because he's still a boy – no older than me. And yet he's obviously the leader of this small band. People don't relinquish authority to a teenager unless they have a good reason to.
"This should be fun," one of the cloaked figures snickers. Their voices carry far in this large space.
"He wants to defeat Kamui?"
"That's just not possible!"
"No one can match Kamui, except… Kamui!" The boy jumps down from his perch, towards us, so fast that I barely see him until he's right in front of us. His arm shoots forward, and Kurogane hardly has the time to shift to the side to avoid it. Syaoran and I have to fall back to avoid the blow. Kamui's hand flows in a wide arc, clipping the ninja's cheek with his nails. It's only a small cut, but I can tell Kurogane's not used to being injured in battle; he winces, in his eyes an expression of disbelief. He sweeps the air in front of him with his sword, but Kamui is already gone. Where he lands, the ninja slices forward, purposely pushing the fight away from us. But Kamui simply vanishes, reappears somewhere else, then seems to evaporate again. Almost like a dance. I try to grasp his movements, but I can't decipher them. Only one thing is clear; there is no magic involved. This is all natural, so hard as it is to believe.
With a swift movement, Kamui pulls off his cloak. He uses it as a shield, hiding his form from Kurogane long enough to avoid another blow. The ninja tries to remain focused, but I can tell the boy's ability to remain out of reach is frustrating him. His eyes dart around him, trying to predict Kamui's next move. I see it a second before he does.
"Watch the right!" I exclaim, seeing Kamui lunging for Kurogane's side. The ninja turns his head, but it was the wrong call; Kamui circles Kurogane, jumps over his sword to the left and twists his body to send his legs swinging. He drives a kick so strong it sends the ninja flying into a nearby boulder. I can't muffle a scream.
"Kuro-sama!" The force of the impact reverberates around us, and the crash digs a large crater in the stone. I force my legs to stay put, but it takes everything in me not to leave Syaoran's side. Kurogane's hurt and it's my fault. If I hadn't misread Kamui's intent, or better, if I had just kept my mouth shut…
I can't believe that Kurogane would still be able to fight after such a blow, but the ninja swiftly slides down to his feet, his eyes alight with a silent dare. Kamui takes it without blinking. He dashes for the ninja, his arm already ready to strike. To my surprise, Kurogane closes his eyes.
"Kurogane-san!" Syaoran yells, but I force myself to stay still and trust the ninja. It's not easy. When Kamui's hand jumps towards Kurogane's throat, I cringe. His eyes are still closed, eyebrows knit in deep concentration. But, even with that handicap, he's faster than my eyes. When Kamui's hand jumps towards his throat, all I hear is Souhi sing.
Both opponents freeze; Kamui's hand is resting ominously against Kurogane's throat, but the ninja's sword is pressed against the boy's neck. Slowly, they look at each other. Kurogane grins. There's no doubt to who holds the advantage.
"Shou Ryuu Sen!" The ninja's battle cry reverberates across the room as he strikes with the flat of his blade, creating a shockwave that sends Kamui flying straight up. Now it's the others' turn to scream in alarm.
"Kamui!" one of them yells when the boy crashes into the ceiling. I feel a sense of sick satisfaction at the sight of the one who shot Syaoran defeated like this. Because of course he'll be in no shape to continues after a blow like that.
His eyes open, and even from this height I can tell that they are golden.
"Stay back," he orders, his voice strangely devoid of any pain. He lets himself fall on a nearby boulder, then jumps from one rock to another until he reaches the ground. His moves are swift and sure. I don't understand. He should be groaning in pain, clutching a broken arm or rib, barely able to stand - let alone walk. But if he's injured in any way, he's hiding it well. He signals for his companions to stay back, then starts walking back towards Kurogane. The ninja has once again positioned himself to shield us, but this time I widen my stance too. This is no ordinary person. And if I trust Kurogane's skills completely, I'm not taking any chances. So far he's ignored Syaoran and I, but that can only be a matter of time.
"Does he not feel any pain?" Kurogane grunts, sounding almost exasperated. Kamui is now staring at us eerily, his eyes still a penetrating gold. His pupils are vertical slits, like a cat's. I wonder why is eyes changed colour. I was sure they were blue when we got here…
"So that's it, heh?"
"He blew Kamui against the ceiling," one of the cloaked figures says, chuckling.
"He used a weapon," another replies dryly.
"But that was splendid!" the child-like voice exclaims. The one who spoke before leans on the smaller one's head.
"What's there to be excited about?"
Suddenly, I can hear a low buzz coming from somewhere to our left, the opposite way from where we came. Hearing it too, Kamui twitches slightly.
"What's that sound?" Kurogane asks, looking around.
"An engine?" I suggest, unable to spot anything that could be the source of it. But Kamui doesn't seem prey to our confusion. Calmly, he turns to his companions.
"They're here," he says, "the people from the Tower." Then he leaves, wrapping his cloak around him once more, towards the origin of the buzzing.
"Hey! We're not done yet!" Kurogane protests, but the boy doesn't answer. The child above us laughs.
"I think Kamui finds you boring," he says.
"What?" Kurogane roars, visibly insulted. I'm both relieved that the fight is over and no one is badly injured, and nervous at the idea of this next turn of events. Who are these people from the Tower? More enemies that we'll have to fight off? I hope Fai found a good hiding place for him and Sakura, because this country doesn't look like it's going to give us a break.
"Hey Kamui! Don't walk off alone!" one of the cloaked figures calls out, but once again the boy ignores it. The man chuckles. "He doesn't listen at all," he deplores, shaking his head. Then he starts running in the direction Kamui went, soon followed by the others. They disappear in cracks and jump over large boulders as though following a path they've known forever. We watch them leave.
"What's going to happen now?" I mutter, my eyes following them. Then I turn to Syaoran. "Let me see that wound," I order. The boy shies away from my touch.
"I'm fine," he assures me, but the pained hiss when I brushed against his leg proves otherwise. I look at him with worry.
"Are you sure?" I ask. He nods. I turn to Kurogane. "How about you? You're not hurting anywhere?" The ninja grunts, shrugging. His eyes are still locked towards where the cloaked figures disappeared. I sigh. "Are we going to follow them?"
"Can you walk?" Kurogane asks Syaoran, answering me with a question. The boy nods, and takes a step forward as though to prove this, but stumbles. I catch him hurriedly.
"I'll help you," I decide. "Here, put your arm around my shoulders like this…"
We follow the path the others have taken, Kurogane scouting in front of us, Syaoran hobbling along bravely as I try to support most of his weight. The chatter of voices guide us to the edge of a circular room, from which the rain can be seen pouring down into the desert. Our cloaked attackers have removed their hoods, revealing their features. As I thought, one of them is indeed a child – a man holds him up on his shoulder. On the opposite side of the room, a group of people wearing green coats hold guns in our direction. Probably the people from the Tower. I'm surprised to recognize Yuzuhira in there, with Karen-Dayuu, Sorata-sensei and his wife. Although I've seen Yuzuhira with a gun before, Karen-Dayuu seems so different from her self in Shara that I have to look at her again to verify that my eyes aren't playing tricks on me. As for my former history teacher, he seems right at home in this situation, holding a long riffle over his shoulder and smiling. But I have trouble telling my brain that it's him – because of course, it's not really any of them. I know that.
Small vehicles wait, parked near the opposite entrance of the room – probably the engine noise we could hear further inside the building. They bear a neat resemblance to motorcycles, but without any wheels. They must hover above the ground.
And in the center of all this, Kamui and another man are fighting. We peer around the corner just in time to see the boy toss the man away with a swift throw. The man lands painfully on his feet and remains crouched. He's wearing the same coat as the ones from the Tower.
"He got tossed!" the one who looks like Yuzuhira exclaims, but her voice betrays more surprise than alarm.
"That's so week, Fuuma," Sorata-sensei laughs. The man lifts his head with a broad smile. He's an adult, yet his face is strangely reminiscent of youthful nonchalance. He doesn't seem hurt, or upset at the ease with which Kamui threw him.
"Hmmm, indeed," he agrees breezily, smiling in Kamui's direction. I frown. Despite their apparent will to shoot each other at any instant, neither faction seems to take this fight seriously. Instead, I get the feeling that this is more like a cat-and-mouse game than anything else.
The one they called Fuuma suddenly notices us at the other end of the room. He waves warmly.
"Are those guests?" he asks Kamui. The boy hasn't moved an inch since we've entered the room, but now he turns his head to see us. I notice he's still keeping an eye on Fuuma.
"What the hell are you doing, waving your hand like that?" Kurogane replies gruffly, looking suspiciously at the assembly in front of us. I'm still on the defensive. Now that Syaoran can lean against a wall, I free myself from most of his weight and grab my whip nervously. The others have also noticed our presence, and now at least two crossbows have been turned towards us.
"Looks like they aren't from the Tower," one of the men says. He has long hair, which partly covers his face. I read no emotion on his features.
"Maybe they're playing with us," another replies, and I recognize the dry, harsh tone that first accused us of being thieves. It's coming from the man who's holding the child on his shoulder. His gaze is just as hard as his voice. I glare back at him. I notice that he has a small tattoo on his forehead, representing some kind of flower, or clover.
"No," Fuuma says, dusting himself off. "I've never seen them before." So quickly that my eyes barely register it, Kamui dives back on him. Fuuma backs away with surprising speed, pulling out a gun and shooting once, missing the boy largely enough to make me believe that his objective was never to hurt him. "Obviously, you don't plan to listen to a single word I say," he says with a smile again, but his eyes are now hard.
"Fuuma!" It's Karen-Dayuu, holding a small device near her ear. "There's news from the Tower. Another district showed up to attack." There's this place, the Tower, and districts. And they're all at war with each other. But what could they be fighting for?
"Tell them to send the other spare members and defend it well," Fuuma answers, shifting to the side to avoid Kamui's blow. Another man, with black hair and glasses, looks up from his own device similar to Karen-Dayuu's.
"Looks like they can't," he announces. Once again, nobody seems particularly alarmed, but the people from the Tower nonetheless begin to retreat to their vehicles. I notice that they carefully pull up their hoods before stepping out in the rain. Protective clothing? That must be useful. As I had predicted, the vehicles hover a few feet above the ground when they are activated.
"You can stay and play, or go back," Sorata-sensei calls to Fuuma before stepping out, "but we're being robbed as well." I can't hear him very well, but I think Fuuma chuckles.
"Looks like there's no other choice," he says nonchalantly, firing another shot, near Kamui's feet this time. The boy evades it with ease, but this gives Fuuma the time he needs to jump on the last remaining hovercraft. "Let's fight again next time, Kamui," he offers joyfully before pulling his hood over his eyes and leaving under the rain. The boy watches him leave in silence. I can't see his face, but I have the feeling that he wasn't taking this fight as lightly as Fuuma was.
I silently curse the Tower faction for leaving; as long as they were here, barely no one was paying attention to us. But now we are once again the center of attention. The man with the clover tattoo steps towards us vigilantly, and I am painfully reminded of the palace guards in Shura. I glare at him, silently daring him to come closer. He glares back, but doesn't move. The boy on his shoulder looks down at my whip and offers me a charming smile, as though all of this was wildly exciting. I don't smile back, but my gaze softens. I have to admit, he looks adorable.
Kamui finally turns back to us. His gaze is locked on the floor. For a moment I think he wants to continue his brawl with Kurogane, but he simply brushes past us without giving us so much as a glance. The ninja doesn't seem to like being ignored.
"You bastard, you're just planning to leave?" he growls, stepping between Kamui and Syaoran. Kamui doesn't stop.
"I'll leave them to you," he says calmly, and I see the others nod. Then he adds, as an afterthought: "And the two that are hiding, too."
My heart skips a beat. As long as Fai and Sakura remained hidden, they were protected. But now they're just as vulnerable as us all. How did he find them? I share an alarmed glance with Syaoran, and hope with all my heart that Fai has had the common sense to stay close to the entrance, or at least somewhere in the entrails of the building. At least then they won't be found so easily.
Kurogane's gaze is unreadable as he watches Kamui leave. But his fingers twitched when the boy mentioned Fai and Sakura.
There's an impressed chuckle from one of the cloaked men. No, one of them is a woman, I realize as I get the opportunity to study them more closely.
"Yup," one of them laughs, and with a jolt I recognize Kusanagi. I hadn't noticed him before, because he was facing away from me. I frown. Already five people I recognize from other worlds. This is unnatural, but it's probably coincidence.
"They've been trapped by Kamui as well," another one agrees, smiling. He's blond and confident, and I can't get a hold on him. Same thing with the girl. Her gaze seems almost absent, as though this isn't the world she's used to evolving in. They're barely paying attention to us now, and I hope once again that Fai is hiding somewhere far from here. But then a familiar laugh rings out near us, and I muffle a hiccup of fear.
"You've found us," Fai announces joyfully, appearing suddenly from a natural alcove between two shards of stone. His face shows only slight embarrassment, as though he had just lost a game of hide-and-seek. He stands up, holding Sakura securely to his chest. She's still asleep, but that's not what I'm thinking about right now.
"You followed us?" I yell, jumping towards the wizard. "Are you an idiot?" I try. I try everything to keep him out of trouble. I jump without thinking on giant stone serpents that are trying to eat me, I keep my mouth shut so that he can remain invisible - and he simply follows the people who were trying to kill us.
He just chuckles. "Well, I wanted to know what was going to happen," he says sheepishly. I groan in frustration.
"We make sure that they don't even know you exist because we're nearly getting killed, and you just mess everything up by following us around like you want them to find you! You never look out for yourself – never! And then you tell me I overreact because I'm the only goddamned person here worried about your survival!"
The mage sends me a teasing glance and turns to Syaoran. "Syaoran-kun, you're wounded again," he says disapprovingly, purposely ignoring me. The boy looks apologetically down to the floor, ready to reply something, but I'm there.
"Don't you ignore me! I'm not finished with you!" I hiss.
"But we're fine, see?"
"You could've been hurt! What if they had hurt Sakura, huh?"
"There, you see? You're overreacting."
"I am not overreacting!" I feel my cheeks turn red and a few cloaked people look at us with interest, so I stare down. My whip is still clutched between my fingers, ready for action. But so far, no one seems to be getting ready to attack, so I relax somewhat.
"What's that thing that they wanted?" Kurogane asks suddenly, looking directly at the other group. Slowly, all eyes turn to him. In his eyes is the strong glare of those who know they will be answered.
To my surprise, the child is the first to answer. "What do you mean?" he asks, puzzled, tugging on his carrier's sleeve to get him to put him down. Kusanagi looks to his companions.
"Looks like they're not just playing dumb," he says, surprise in his voice.
"But they should know…" the boy speaks again, looking up at us with wide brown eyes. His face betrays wisdom beyond his years, but he is still a child. "It's water."
"Wha… the water?" I exclaim in surprise. I can still feel its cool, moving presence under us, but I hadn't thought… who steals water? The others share my dumbstruck look.
"Of course," the woman says harshly. Her hair is a strange combination of brown and black, and she peers at us through heavy-rimmed glasses. Her eyes linger on me.
"Didn't you come to steal our water?" the man with the tattoo on his forehead asks suspiciously.
"Maybe this is just a misunderstanding," the blond one says with a smile. The boy looks up to him.
"But they sure look like thieves," he says so innocently that I nearly crack a smile.
"She knew about the water," the woman says suddenly, pointing her crossbow towards me. My eyes widen, startled, but already my whip is up at the ready. Kurogane grunts menacingly and steps towards me. But the woman's aim doesn't waver. "Right now, you said 'the water,'" she explains coldly, "which means that you already knew it was there." The others look at me with expressions ranging from heavy suspicion to curiosity, and the man with the tattoo lifts his crossbow as well. A glance from Kurogane discourages him from aiming it towards me.
I open my mouth, but nothing comes out. I don't know what to say. If I lie, she'll know right away. And if I don't, they might think we really are thieves, and then our position isn't any better.
And crossbows aren't really better than guns in terms of things I like pointed at my head.
"Okay, I knew about the water," I admit between clenched teeth. I see Kurogane turn to Fai for confirmation, but the mage simply shrugs. At least their clueless expressions will protect them if she doesn't believe me. "But they didn't. And we're not here to steal it. I swear," I add, lifting both hands up but refusing to let go of my weapon. A partial surrender will have to do. But the woman doesn't look convinced in the slightest. I sigh and look to the others, trying to decide how much to admit. Syaoran shakes his head, baffled, and Kurogane shrugs, but Fai gives me a little encouraging smile. So I take a deep breath. "I can sense things," I start, "like… water, and… people. I can sense their… vibrations." They don't look convinced, but I don't know how else to say it. I'm so used to hiding my magic, or inventing an excuse for it, or having Fai explaining it for me that I have no idea how to make this sound genuine without revealing too much. This is personal territory, after all. "So I knew there was water under the building when we came here. But we're not after your water. We just came here to take shelter from the rain." It's now a stare-down between us. If she shoots, I have very little room to maneuver. But she's the perfect distance away for me to inflict serious damage with my whip if we do fight. Whoever moves first goes down with her opponent. Nobody has the advantage.
Suddenly, a voice cuts through the silence. "Stranger things have happened," it says calmly. It's the man with the long hair, the one with no expression. He's looking at me as though he could see right through me, and yet couldn't care less.
"Kakyou?" the woman asks, shooting him a sideways glance. But it's the blond man who answers.
"He's right," he says. "With all the mutations, who's to say they haven't started affecting humans as well?"
"Hey-" I start to protest, but stop myself. At least they believe me, that's the essential. Even if they think that I'm a… mutation? What kind of place is this?
"To tell you the truth, we didn't come here on purpose," Fai says amiably, taking advantage of our opponents' hesitation. The woman slowly lowers her crossbow.
"What do you mean?" she asks suspiciously. Suddenly, the oddness of our situation seems to dawn on them.
"Where are your rainproof clothes?" Kusanagi asks, frowning.
"And where exactly did you come from?" the blond guy adds. I roll my eyes. I thought they would never ask themselves those questions.
"Hey! Hey!" Mokona exclaims from Syaoran's shoulder, startling us. "Listen to me! Mokona and the others are from a place very far away from here, and we don't know anything about this country. And we are not thieves!"
"Wah!" the child opens wide eyes as he runs towards Mokona, arms extended, as though the fur-ball was a shiny new toy. "What is that thing?" he asks excitedly.
"Mokona is Mokona!" If the situation wasn't so serious, I would laugh. They are so adorable.
"It must be some mutant life-form," the woman says, disgust in her voice.
"Aisha and Mokona are mutants together!" the fur-ball exclaims, dancing. I scowl. I don't like being called a mutant, but it seems the only reason they'll accept for my knowing of the water's presence. And we can't afford for them to suspect us of being thieves again.
"Whatever it is, it's very cute," the blond one says with a smile, peering over the woman's shoulder.
"And it talks!" the child exclaims with glee, holding out his hands to catch Mokona, but Clover neatly catches him and pulls him back.
"Kazuki!" he scolds harshly. "Don't be so careless. Stay back." The boy struggles.
"You're so rough, Nataku!" he whines as the man in question pulls him back on his shoulder. Kusanagi looks over to the blond one.
"So, what do we do now, Yuuto?" he asks. His question is general enough, but it's obvious he's talking about us. I tense. Although they must know by now that we aren't thieves, they could decide anything. If it's a fight they want I'll make sure they're not disappointed, but only Kurogane and I are in any shape for that – maybe Fai, if we have no other choice than to leave Syaoran and Sakura vulnerable. And we're still tired from our flight in the Central Library. Escape will be hard, victory even more if we have to face them.
I look at the lot of them once more. There's Kusanagi, Yuuto, Kazuki and Nataku whose names I know now, and then there's the woman, and the man with no expression whose names I have yet to learn. They form a pretty eclectic group, but so must we. And they don't seem particularly quarrelsome, I realize. Yuuto is even smiling.
"Well, Kamui entrusted them to us, but…" he starts, before being interrupted.
"If Kamui did not kill them, then there is no reason for us to do so…" It's the expressionless one again, his face more unreadable than ever. I think I'm starting to like him. Every time he opens his mouth, it's to defend us.
But everyone doesn't seem to like his opinion as much as I do. Nataku and the woman, in particular, don't seem happy at the idea of letting us live. But Kusanagi smiles knowingly.
"In order to protect what is beneath the tower, you only need to keep people from going underground, right Kamui?" he mutters amusedly, then looks up. "I think there's no need to give them any more trouble," he says thoughtfully. The woman scowls.
"Kusanagi…" she says, but Yuuto is already beside her.
"There's no need to add more bodies to the collection outside, right Satsuki?" he asks with a light smile. She frowns and looks down. I'm reminded with a jolt of the corpses piled at the entrance, and feel sick to the pit of my stomach. I'm not sure whom I like less right now; Yuuto and his nonchalant referral to the dead as though they didn't matter, or Satsuki's obvious will to add to this number. Even now, she seems to be debating whether or not we should be killed.
"I suppose," she finally admits, grudgingly. Kusanagi smiles and looks at us.
"Then it's decided," he announces, pointing to the desert behind him. "You may pass." Despite the invitation, nobody moves. I look up to Kusanagi doubtfully. Knowing him in Outo makes me want to trust him, but I have to get this is my head: this is not the same Kusanagi that we knew. He's not particularly intent on harming us now, but he was shooting arrows at Syaoran not ten minutes ago.
"Mokona feels a strong power underground, but it's only in this area," the fur-ball whispers behind me, so low that only Syaoran, Fai and I hear it.
"That means we have to investigate before we leave," Fai answers quietly. I can't help a small smile. Guys really do have a one-track mind. Yes, one of the reasons leaving is a bad idea is because we need to find out more about this power that Mokona feels underground. But that's just one of many – more basic, survival-oriented – reasons to stay.
It's still raining heavily outside and Syaoran is in no shape to walk anywhere, let alone run. It's taken us so long to find this shelter, and we won't find anything better before we're punched full of holes. There's absolutely no vegetation or animals to provide us with food, and we have none. Making us leave is just as bad as killing us right now, and I'm wondering to which degree the residents of this building realize it - and are maybe counting on it.
Fai gives them one of his most charming smiles. "Umm… I really don't want to disturb you further, but… you see, this is Syaoran," he turns to the boy, who looks up confusedly. His eyes betray the pain of his injury, and I step back towards him protectively. I feel bad now. I was so busy evaluating our situation and the people we were facing that I forgot about Syaoran's wound on more than just a practical level. But of course it hurts. "This is Aisha-chan, right here. I'm Fai, and that's Kuro-tan," the mage continues.
"IT'S KUROGANE!" the ninja replies loudly, visibly on edge. I send Fai a sideways glance as I bend down to better see Syaoran's wound. I don't understand the mage's motivations either, but best to trust him. The boy hisses painfully when I try to touch his leg and I pull back.
"Could you help us treat Syaoran's wound?" Fai continues, ignoring Kurogane. "It looks very painful."
"I don't want to waste any medicine," Nataku replies quickly, attracting my glare. Since when is using medicine to heal considered a waste? But if they really live in such desolation, medicine must be hard to come by… Using it on strangers probably isn't their first choice. But still. They hurt Syaoran, they should pay for it.
"Isn't it better to have them leave quickly? We don't know anything about them," Satsuki adds, sending all of us, and me in particular, a distrustful gaze. Yuuto shakes his head with a smile.
"But it was Kamui who attacked them in the beginning," he argues calmly. "Even though they're not thieves." A soft ruffling noise reaches my ears. It's the man with no expression – Kakyou, I now remember. When he speaks, everyone falls silent.
"I don't know much about the methods for treating wounds, but you may use my medicine," he offers.
"Kakyou!" Nataku protests, but Kusanagi puts a hand on his shoulder, smiling reassuringly.
"Relax. If Kakyou says they can, then it's okay," he says. I send a wave of gratitude towards Kakyou. He's the only one here I'm starting to like, even though I still can't get a grip on his character. And we really need this medicine.
"Thank you," Fai says. To Syaoran, he adds quietly: "At least we've managed to buy a little time."
"Yes," the boy nods. I stand up.
"Um, excuse me," I say, "but you wouldn't mind giving us a place to sleep as well? Syaoran needs some rest, and… we're not picky," I assure them in response to Satsuki's disapproving glance, "just a space on the floor will do. Maybe a mattress for Sakura, if you can spare one." The princess will be sleeping a lot more than the rest of us. "We don't want to bother you, but…"
"We do have a space on the tenth floor, don't we?" Kusanagi interrupts suddenly, looking at Yuuto. The blond man nods.
"You'll be comfortable there to tend to your wounds, and we don't use it for anything else," he explains. "Besides, night will be falling soon – and the storm isn't over."
"Thanks," I say. "We'll repay you." I personally think it's the least they could do for attacking us like that, but I want to stay on their good side. "We have no money, but we can help with any work you need done." Kusanagi chuckles.
"Money hasn't meant anything here for a long time, little girl," he says. I frown when he calls me 'little girl', but don't comment. "But as for work to be done, there's no shortage of that." Most of them nod, satisfied with our bargain.
"If you'll follow me," Yuuto says suddenly, disappearing between two pillars. We look at each other with hesitation, but follow nonetheless.
XxX
They guide us through what looks like a refugee camp. People sit amongst the rubbles, behind drapes that barely conceal beds and meager piles of clothing and food. Their clothes seem dirty and tattered, and many of them look like they haven't washed in weeks. The stench of life lingers on everything here; dirt, sand, blood. And yet they talk, they play, they laugh, like regular people. Unfortunately, their hardships are not buried deep under. When we pass, circled by the 'Water guardians' – that's how I'll be calling them from now on – most of them look up, intrigued, worried, but mostly distrusting. They're not used to anything foreign. Just like the unwelcoming plains beyond these walls, these people are broken.
"Ah! Sorry," Syaoran says after Kurogane stumbles on a stone. The ninja glances to the boy on his back.
"Next time, just don't get injured," he grunts. I smile softly. He's trying to act all rough, but Kurogane was worried as well.
"There are so many people here," Mokona notices from atop Fai's shoulder. Sakura is still sleeping soundly. The mage is looking out to the inhabitants of this building as curiously as they are looking at him. I, for the most part, avoid their reproving eyes – and Kurogane ignores them altogether.
"This is the only place in the vicinity inhabited by people," Kazuki explains, walking assuredly in front of us. The sight of his small head bobbing up and down is beyond adorable.
"What about that Tower?" I ask. Kazuki turns back, inquisitive, opening his mouth to answer, but an old man walks up to him with his grandson at his arm.
"What happened to those attackers?" he asks. Kazuki turns to him and smiles, holding up his thumb.
"We drove them off," he says proudly. The old man smiles, looking down at his grandson, ruffling his hair.
"That's great," he says joyfully as the boy tries to wiggles away from his grip. I can't help but smile. A group of small children run up to Kusanagi.
"Were there any injuries?" they ask eagerly.
"We're fine," the man answers with a gentle smile, and the children run away, laughing. My heart melts. I catch up to Kusanagi.
"Is there anything I could do to help with the kids?" I offer. He looks down at me, amused.
"It doesn't sound so half-hearted, this time," he notices. I bite my lip to keep from smiling.
"Yeah, well…"
"She really likes children," Fai chips in, completely uninvited. I glance at him. He's smiling teasingly. I scowl playfully, following our routine.
"I just…"
"And she knows a lot of fairytales. Those are always a hit, right? And games. And she's really good at getting people to eat their green vegetables; she did it with Kuro-pyon and that's not easy. Oh, and she'll probably sulk all night if you don't let her help, because now she's offered it and she'll feel useless." Now my scowl turns to wide eyes and I forcefully nudge him in the ribs with my elbow.
"I won't sulk all night!" I hiss, glancing at Kusanagi to see what he thinks. But he's just laughing.
"Sigh! And now she's going to hurt me because I revealed her inner workings to the world!" the mage sighs dramatically. I elbow him again. But beyond my embarrassment, I'm secretly impressed that Fai can read me so well. And scared of that very same fact.
"Here we are," Kusanagi announces, steering us behind a curtain to the right. Kazuki dives in there before we do, so eagerly that it rips a smile from my lips. When I step behind the curtain as well, I stop. The room is large in size: it probably used to house several smaller cubicles in the days where this was still an office building. There's a large mattress on one side of the room and several big windows, only some of which still have glass to protect us from the outside world. A tattered curtain tries to hide the bed from the rest of the room, without success. It is clean, with no collapsed walls or shaky ceilings. I shake my head.
"This is too much," I say, thinking of all the people living among the rubbles on the other side of the curtain, sharing spaces that don't come to half of the size of this room. Yuuto shrugs.
"It's the only space we have left," he says with a look that means 'take it or leave it.' "Unless you'd like to live with us, but I don't think either party would like that very much." Kurogane grunts, confirming this opinion. Fai gently lays Sakura on the mattress, brushing her bangs away from her face and placing her hat on the ground, at her side. The ninja lets Syaoran slide to the ground next to the bed, and the boy sits down thankfully. Although the entire group of Water guardians had kept us under close guard on the journey here, only Yuuto, Kusanagi and Kazuki have followed us inside. Yuuto hands me a package.
"Here," he says. "What you should need to take care of him." I nod once in thanks and turn to Syaoran.
"Alright, now let me see this," I order gently, kneeling in front of him. The boy barely winces when I pull off his boot, neither does he flinch when I roll up his pants until I get to the arrow. But when I grab the wooden shaft between my fingers, he bites his lip and clutches the side of the mattress until his knuckles turn white. I get a good grip behind his knee and take a deep breath.
"I'm not going to lie to you, this'll hurt," I warn. Syaoran nods, once, eyes closed in pain. I exhale and pull sharply.
I'm proud of Syaoran. The only thing that escapes his mouth is a strangled cry, followed by an exclamation of surprise when the blood surges up. I put pressure on the wound with one hand, fumbling into the package with the other, reaching for the roll of bandages. Someone hands it to me.
"Thank you," I mutter without looking to see who it is. Quickly, I begin wrapping the roll around Syaoran's leg, above and below the wound. Nobody else is making a sound. Now that the arrow is gone the pain seems to be slowly receding, because Syaoran's face is gaining some of its colour back. "Too tight?" I ask as I tug on the bandage. The boy shakes his head.
"It's fine, thank you." Once again, we return to awkward silence. The only sound in the room is the whisper of falling rain.
"The acid rain has fallen for fifteen years now…" Kusanagi says suddenly, so low that at first I'm not sure if he has spoken at all. "Rivers, lakes, ponds… there is no more drinkable water." I look up to Syaoran. He's listening intently, fascinated.
"All of the water filtering systems we once had have all been destroyed," Yuuto continues, "as well as most of the houses and buildings." I send my consciousness downwards, towards the lapping water. It doesn't seem contaminated at all. Just… normal water. And a little bit of something else.
"How have you all managed to survive all these years?" Mokona asks. Yuuto smirks, holding his hand out towards the nothing.
"There is an underground reservoir here," he says. His smile fades. "But in reality, it's not only the structures and buildings that have corroded. The Earth itself has corroded. We may have the water from the reservoir, but if we don't find a way to protect it, it will become unusable, like the rest of the water." That explains their protectiveness towards their water; it's their only gage of survival in this world.
"But this building hasn't corroded like the others," Syaoran says, a little too lightly. Hearing his voice, you'd think the problem was solved right there. I bite my lip. They won't like that. In fact, Yuuto is already sending Syaoran a hard gaze.
"Don't you understand how precious the underground water is?" he says plainly. Even if nothing has happened so far, they can't just take the chance that nothing will happen; it's too important. You don't joke with a matter of life or death.
The boy's eyes widen, suddenly aware of his mistake. With one last tug I tie the bandage and give his knee a reassuring squeeze. I reach for an adhesive bandage in the package, for the gash on his cheek. I just wish we could stop talking about this. I know I sound insensitive, but I don't want to hear them talk about their water shortage and hard lives. I'm sad for them, really – I'm not heartless. But there's nothing I can do about it. And I need time alone. To think. To put some order into my own thoughts, without having to constantly process something new. I need to talk to Kurogane about what happened in the Library. Maybe even talk to Fai. I brush the blood away from Syaoran's cheek with my thumb and place the bandage.
"Well, there's the Tower too," Kazuki says, distractedly poking Mokona. The fur-ball twirls happily at so much attention. But the child's eyes meet mine, probably remembering my earlier question. I smile softly at him.
"Are you talking about those people who came earlier?" Kurogane grunts. Kusanagi nods.
"Not so long ago, the other buildings hadn't corroded yet. But over these fifteen years, only the Tokyo Government office and Tokyo Tower remain. They seem almost unaffected. Why… I wonder," he says thoughtfully.
"So the only water in this country is beneath this building and the Tokyo Tower, where those people came from," Fai says, but it is also a question, mostly directed at me. I shake my head.
"This is a desert," I say quietly. No traces of water anywhere around here except for under our feet. If I strain really hard, I can find a faint presence to the northeast, but that must be the Tower. And it's so much weaker than the water here.
"You can't really call this a country," says Kazuki, looking at us with knowledge that surpasses his years. "There are only 23 districts where people still live." I look sadly at him hold Mokona tightly to his chest. He's not fifteen years old. This way of life is all he's ever known. It's no way to grow up. It's no way for any child to grow up.
Yuuto leans against the wall, looks up to the ceiling and sighs. "I guess you could call it all that's left of Tokyo," he breathes out. Syaoran's gaze looks out to the landscape beyond our windows.
"Tokyo…" he repeats thoughtfully.
XxX
I'm sitting in front of a window, breathing the acidic smell of the night. The view from up here is like a vision of apocalypse; strings of deadly rain partially hide it from my eyes, but I can guess its shapes and corners. I am sitting atop a broken world, where all I can do is watch. There is no glass in this window; if I only reach forward I know that I will feel the sting of the acid rain. Another gust of wind blows in, sending a few droplets with it. This feels unreal. I fleetingly wonder if I could jump from here and fly, then scoff at my own idea.
For the third time I try to sense Sakura's feather, like Mokona can. But whatever power lies in the water below stays determinedly out of my reach, pushing away like a ripple just when I think I can feel it, almost as though the water was purposely hiding it from me. It's frustrating.
"Asleep yet?" I call out to Syaoran. My only answer is a loud snore. I chuckle. The boy is kneeling beside the bed, his head lying in the folds of his arms, fast asleep. Before him is Sakura, so peaceful despite this nightmarish world, Mokona cuddled against her neck. I hope she's having sweet dreams.
"No." I jump, not expecting another answer to my question. It's Kurogane, stepping out from behind a curtain. He and the mage have been exploring the building, leaving me with the kids. I smile.
"Hey."
"Hey yourself," he says, sitting down beside me, but facing towards the room. We stay like this for a few moments, thinking. He's the first to speak.
"How's your leg?" he asks, frowning. I shrug, flexing the offensive limb back and forth.
"It's fine now," I say. "I think it was just the running, and I landed really badly back there too." Kurogane grunts, unconvinced.
"According to that doctor, you should be good as new by now," he says, and I can tell that if the doctor wasn't a few worlds away, he'd be hearing from the ninja right now.
"Yeah, well I haven't exactly been following what the doctor ordered for a few days, have I?" I answer. I hardly think that racing in the finals and escaping from a library intent on having you killed is compatible with the intensive rest I was ordered. But Kurogane just scowls, probably blaming the entire world for the fact that I nearly got caught back there. I don't ask what happened to those witches that were following us. I don't want to know.
"Where's Fai?" I ask instead.
"Somewhere with that Yuuto person. He said they're hunting for bed sheets or something like that."
"Ah." Another silence.
"Why do you think he did it?" the ninja asks gruffly. I don't have to ask who or what he's talking about. I've been waiting long enough to talk about it as well. I look to him.
"Do you remember Koryo?" I answer with a question. He grunts affirmatively. "Remember when you asked him if he would use his magic to get us out of there, because it looked like we were all going to die?"
"He said no," the ninja recalls, nodding. I smile sadly.
"He said that he didn't want to die, but even that fact wasn't going to get him to use magic. He said it was a promise he made, you know. To someone he cares about. He wouldn't tell me who. Do you think it has anything to do with that man that sleeps underwater?" I don't know why I'm talking so much. Probably because I feel like I should be telling him this, so that we both stand on the same page. Maybe because I realize that, although we should be talking about this late into the night, there is very little for us to say. Very little for us to do.
Kurogane grunts. "Maybe," he says. "Do you really care?" My next smile is painful, somewhere between my chest and my throat.
"Honestly? I just want him to stop lying. I don't really care what happened to him before. Is that selfish?" I laugh nervously. But the ninja just shakes his head.
"It's not selfish if that's what he wants, too," he replies. I nod. All of this has just managed to unlock the turmoil I had put away safely in a corner of my mind, until there was a time where I could think about it again. Too many emotions are fighting over each other, trying to be heard.
"Why do you think he did it?" I return the ninja's earlier question. He shrugs.
"He wouldn't have done it if it was just him that was in trouble," he states plainly. I bite my thumb. I already knew he did it for us. But that also means…
"Would you break a promise you made to someone you cared about, if it meant protecting someone you cared about even more?" I ask softly. By the way the ninja's body tenses, I can tell he hadn't thought of it this way.
"Would you?" his voice is barely a whisper. I risk a tiny smile.
"That's not my question," I whisper back. He knows it's not. He just doesn't want to answer. It's a tough one for anybody, and I know Kurogane doesn't lie outright. His silence means that he doesn't know the answer. I don't even know what my answer would be. But I have an idea what Fai's answer was.
I let my head fall back with a sigh. There's nothing else to say, really. There's no great mystery about it, and that's what hurts a little bit. Because I'm afraid again, of getting close to them. I remember telling myself that it was fine as long as we didn't get too close. I remember Henrik telling me that it was okay to get attached to things, that it made you care. But I never got any advice about getting attached to people, and suddenly, I wish I had. I'm not longer scared about my decision, when the time will come to leave them. I'll choose what I want to choose, and that's that. But I'm scared of having to say goodbye.
I soon find that I'm looking at Syaoran, with mixed tenderness and disbelief. He's acted so normal since we've been here; I have trouble believing what we saw at the Central Library. I haven't seen any sign of the icy stare from the boy who fought the watchdog since then.
"How do you think it happened?" Kurogane asks suddenly, as though he had read my thoughts. I shrug, unable to hide my worry.
"I don't know," I admit in a whisper.
"It wasn't him," the ninja says gruffly. I nod.
"The presence was similar, but… there was something missing," I add. "Like he wasn't really… there."
"His aura was different," he agrees. "It wasn't him, and yet it wasn't anyone else either." I take my head in my hands and sigh. Nothing I know could cause this.
"Do you think maybe… someone could be controlling him? Like… hypnosis, in a way?" I ask, my voice sounding far away. There's a pause.
"I don't think it's anybody else's doing," he admits. I shake my head.
"You mean that the… person who fought the watchdog was Syaoran?" I hiss. No, that's just not possible. Syaoran wouldn't do something like that. And he doesn't seem to remember what happened. It wasn't him.
"I'm not sure why I sense that. But I do," he says, looking straight in front of him. I shake my head.
"Well, your sensor's wrong. Syaoran wouldn't do that," I say glumly. The ninja turns to look at me.
"I never said he was doing it on purpose," he grunts. I can tell he's getting irritated. That doesn't stop me from replying.
"If he's not doing it himself, then tell me how no one else is involved!" I snap. Now I'm the one becoming irritated. Kurogane's eyes widen, as though shocked. It's true that we haven't really fought in a while.
"Maybe someone else is involved, but not directly," he says slowly, like he doesn't want to startle me anymore. That's strange, because Kurogane rarely seems to care about people's feelings. I bite my lip.
"I won't believe that Syaoran is to blame for this," I finally say, hunching over my knees. I can't believe that. Not our Syaoran.
There's an awkward silence. Then the ninja speaks.
"What I'm saying is that, whatever's going on, we have to figure it out. And we'll stop it," he says gruffly, and I can hear his steely determination. "We'll find out who this other boy is, and we'll find a way to stop whatever he's doing to the kid." I notice that he's no longer saying that it's coming from Syaoran, and I'm grateful for that. Blaming Syaoran for something he visibly has no control over is unthinkable.
I nod fiercely. "We'll protect him," I finish. "We'll protect them all, no matter what." That way, Fai won't have to break any promises to save us. And Syaoran will be all right. He won't disappear, and he won't get hurt. I just don't want his eyes to freeze over again.
"Anything else on your mind?" Kurogane asks, looking at me like he's trying to read my soul. I shrug.
"Thanks," I finally say. "For stopping that arrow. I could be dead by now." I feel guilty for not thanking the ninja earlier, but the circumstances weren't exactly adequate. I hope he realizes that this isn't just an afterthought.
There's a hand on my head, ruffling my hair. "You know, you usually only give your life for someone when there's no other option," Kurogane says. At first I frown, thinking that the ninja has attempted humour, only too look up to him and realize that he's serious. "Actually," he continues, brows knit together, "you try not to give your life away at all. Because that can really hurt the people you leave behind." I grimace.
"There didn't seem to be much option back there," I protest his underlying reproach. He shrugs.
"You could've run," he says. My eyes go wide and I feel my cheeks go white.
"And leave Syaoran alone?" I exclaim vehemently, then remember the two sleeping forms on the bed and quiet down to a whisper. "Are you serious? No!" I'm trembling in shock that he could think so lowly of me; abandon Syaoran, alone and wounded? What kind of person does he think I am? He grunts and looks away.
"You always were the reckless one," he grumbles; and suddenly, I'm beaming. Because he can't hide the approval in his voice, and neither can he stop the tiny flash of pride from his eyes. "Stop smiling," he says gruffly, looking back at me, visibly trying to conceal it. I stick out my tongue teasingly.
"For once, I put my life in danger and you're not trying to kill me for it; I'll cherish it," I reply lightly.
Before he can react, we hear a noise at the door.
"Awww, they're already sleeping?" Fai's cheery voice makes us turn to him. I look up to see the mage holding up an armful of linen. "We found bedsheets and blankets for everyone!" he announces proudly. Yuuto is standing behind him, smiling. I smile back, but my anxiousness resurfaces with Fai's presence. Beside me, Kurogane is looking intently at the mage. He doesn't look at anything else.
"Hi," I say, but everything I can think about when I look at Fai is the reason why he used magic although he said he wouldn't. The mage doesn't seem to notice. Instead, he turns to me with an angelic smile that means nothing good.
"You can stop sulking now, Raki-chan! We got you a job!"
"Kusanagi let it slip in front of the children that there was a storyteller in our midst, and now the parents are having all the trouble in the world to get them to bed," Yuuto explains with a rather bored smile. I'm torn between hissing at Fai for that lie about me sulking all night, or grinning at the thought of helping with the children. I choose to smile, but still shoot Fai a warning glance. The fact that he knows me so well is only a reminder of how close I'm getting to all of them, and I don't want to think about that right now.
"I'll be right there," I say, standing up eagerly. In my head, I'm already going through my repertoire of fairytales, casting away those who seem too bleak or violent. Anything to help those children have some fun in this place where no one should have to live. "I'll be back. Don't wait up for me." I send one last look at Kurogane and Fai, unable to hide my little satisfied grin, before stepping behind Yuuto. I tenderly ruffle Syaoran's hair as I pass by him. We'll find out what's happening to him, and we'll stop it before it's too late.
Behind me, Kurogane and Fai look at each other in silence.
XxX
I'm exhausted as I step back towards our room. For three hours I've been eagerly ordered to tell story after story, drying up my selections only halfway through. Under Kusanagi's amused gaze I've had to make up stories as I went, sometimes adding twists and turns at the children's request, and finally ending with the tale of a young boy and his three companions who traveled through dimensions to find the soul fragments of a princess, helped by a magical white creature who loved to eat apples. They were constantly harassed by an evil witch with long black hair, but because she had been the one to give them the magical fur-ball in the first place, they couldn't directly fight her without being rude.
I remember when I compared our ordeal to a fairytale, once. Sakura was the princess and Syaoran the prince, of course. Kurogane was the silent bodyguard who helped the young prince and princess to defeat their opponents. Fai was the annoying yet knowledgeable elf who prepared them for every challenge they would have to face. And I had no idea where I fit in all of that.
But telling stories isn't the only reason I'm tired tonight. All those children, with their keen faces turned up towards me, eyes open wide, sent me back to the days where I would tell fairytales to the twins. We would go in their room, close the door and they would slide in bed and look at me expectantly. I took my time, rummaging through the small bookshelf of stories I already knew by heart, pretending not to be able to decide which tale to tell. They tried to sit still, but they could never quite manage to stay silent until I picked the story I would tell that night. Hinata in particular would shriek impatiently if I took too long, which ripped a smile from me every time. Then I would sit on the bed, open the book on my lap and start talking. I would make them believe in this fairy land where everything was possible, where princesses were trapped in ivory towers only to be rescued by knights in shining armour, where people could sleep for one hundred years and wake up to true love's kiss; I would make myself believe, although fleetingly, in this world I had to give up all too soon for the one where the evil stepmother was your blood relation and the kingdom's treasury was filled by your four part-time jobs. But those days are over. They'll never hear fairytales from me again. But no black-haired witch will keep me from going back to them.
When I reach our allotted room, Kurogane is nowhere in sight. I shrug. He probably went to talk with Yuuto and Kusanagi, or he's decided to explore the seventh floor. Syaoran and Sakura haven't moved an inch since I've left, but the mattress has been covered with sheets. I notice with some alarm that Fai is collapsed against a wall, unmoving.
"Fai?" I ask worriedly, kneeling next to him. Then I smile tenderly. He's sound asleep.
In this very moment, all the confusion about his actions makes way to only one thing: gratitude. He's the reason we escaped, and thanks to him I'll be able to see Hisho and Hinata again. No matter his reasons, no matter his secrets and his lies. I owe him.
I take the bed sheet still thrown around his arm and crumple it into a pillow, which I place under his head. He seems so vulnerable when he's asleep, almost like a child again. And he also seems so sad; my heart hurts a little bit when I watch him. I wonder what he's dreaming about. I hope it's a good dream.
I turn away and grab a blanket for myself. There's no more place on the mattress, so I decide to sleep on the floor. I'm so tired that my body can't tell the difference, anyway. I choose a spot at random, but away from the windows, where rain can't fall on me in my sleep. When I stretch out my foot accidentally nudges Fai's leg, and I smile. Of all places.
I fall asleep like this, thinking of my brother and sister, in this little place where despite all my best efforts I cannot feel uncomfortable. Fai and Syaoran, Sakura and Kurogane, Mokona… we are all together in this. And, in spite of the nightmarish landscape behind us I have the certainty that because of that, everything will be alright.