A/N: so I heard that people are deleting stories with graphic content in them which is rather unfair if you ask me if the author has given appropriate warnings and has it rated correctly. Instead of deleting fics left and right, they could always just put in a new sections for such fics perhaps because the writers spend a lot of time creating their stories and fleshing out the plots and then typing it all out. To see all that hardwork vanish is highly discouraging. But anyhow, in light of these events I have decided to back up my stories someplace else just in case. I have an LJ account but in my opinion LJ is a pain to manage so I found this other website called a03 that uses a format similar to (because I have gotten really used to this format) but the problem is that unless you get an invite from someone who is already a member there, you gotta wait all the way until the end of November to get the invite to be a member. My point of posting this rant here is that if anyone of my lovely readers has an account there and they still have an invite or two to give away, please send me one? You guys would probably need my e-mail address for that so send me a PM and I will get back to you. ^_^

Now that is out of the way, the reason for my update is that I am almost done with my project and this calls for a celebration! I'm super happy at the mo' so I figured I should make you guys happy too (or would that be sad? *sweatdrops* considering Broken is a tad bit depressing and all…)

'So walk away

Walk away

Walk away, oh

Save yourself from the heartache, oh

Go now before it's too late'

Walk Away by The Script

Whatever it was that Sakura had been expecting when she and Kurogane walked into the room she had left Masooma and Fai in less than hour ago, it was definitely not what she saw. Fai was asleep on the cot and Masooma was bent over towards the ground in front of the wet strands of long, blond hair that littered the floor. Her gaze immediately snapped back towards the sleeping magician and it was then that she realized Fai had cut off his hair. Or maybe he had Masooma do it for him, but… Fai had cut off his hair! It was even shorter than Tsubasa's now. She wondered if this had something to do with starting a new phase in his life or something. After all, the last time something major happened, he had grown his hair out-right after the incident in Acid Tokyo.

Turning her attention back to the witch, she wondered why the woman had not acknowledged their presence. She appeared a little lost in thought, though, so Sakura let it go, announcing their presence by calling out the older woman's name. "Masooma-san?"

The woman did not reply, staring rather intently at the tangled mess of hair on the ground.

"Is everything okay?" Concern for the witch immediately pushed away her own problems as the healer finally looked up to look at them, eyes bright with unshed tears, confusion, helplessness and above all hopelessness swirling in her amber gaze.

"I was so blind to it all..." she said, sounding like someone had left her adrift an ocean when she did not even know how to float, "I was so desperate to see that he was fine, I turned a blind eye to everything that was right there in front of me. He was supposed to be okay! We got him out, didn't we?"

"Masooma-san," she took a careful step towards distressed witch, kneeling before her and placing a gentle hand on her trembling arm, "what happened?" she echoed the question Kurogane had posed for her only a little while back.

"He fell apart right before my eyes," Masooma replied, a tear leaking from her eyes and slowly trailing down the side of her cheek, hanging from her chin like a droplet of liquefied crystal. "He was fighting something I couldn't see or hear or feel and there was nothing I could do to help him...I could only watch as he battled and lost against his demons. With all my magic, you would think I'd have been able to do something, no? But I was completely useless." She spat bitterly, "Just like I always have been." She added, looking away as more tears trailed down her face.

"You're not useless." Kurogane spoke up before Sakura could say anything, "Just look at how far you have gotten with the kid."

Sakura doubted he knew about Tsubasa's progress anymore than she did, but Syaoran knew and he must have spoken with the ninja about his son's condition.

"Kurogane-san is right, you're not useless, Masooma-san." She agreed, gently squeezing her arm in an attempt to comfort her.

"It doesn't matter if I can't do anything to help Fai." Masooma retorted stubbornly.

"I can't do anything to help Tsubasa either." Sakura pointed out quietly.

Masooma said nothing in response to that. Sakura wondered what else she could say to make it a little better for her when she heard Kurogane heave a tired sigh behind her.

"Maybe you two should go get something to eat." He suggested, walking over and pulling up a chair next to Fai's bedside. "I'll watch the mage for now." Sakura waited for some sort of indication from Masooma but the witch was lost in her own world again. Deciding it might just be for the best to get her out of the room and away from Fai (Her heart clenched painfully at the thought of something being wrong with him-hadn't they all suffered enough already?) Sakura decided to take matters into her own hands. Climbing to her feet, she tugged at the witch's hand gently.

"Kurogane-san is right, Masooma-san, I think we should have some lunch."

"I'm not hungry." She said, resisting Sakura as she tried to direct the witch outside the room.

"Masooma-san, Kurogane-san will come get us if anything changes. You really don't have to worry about anything when he's asleep, do you?" Stifling a sigh at the older woman's stubborn behavior, she tried a different tactic. "How can you expect to help anyone if you can't keep up your own strength?" She knew she was recycling the same things she had been told by Kurogane and Syaoran and from the slightest upturn of the ninja's lips, Sakura knew Kurogane had noticed that as well, but Masooma still refused to budge. Her determination to not move from that spot seemed to irritate Kurogane as the red-eyed man fixed a hard stare at the witch as he spoke.

"What exactly do you think your standing here is going to accomplish? If you couldn't help him earlier, what makes you think you can make a difference now?"

Sakura thought it was a little harsh of the ninja to say something like that, but from the emotions flashing across Masooma's face, it seemed he was getting through to her, at least a little. She showed signs of resistance when Sakura tried to tug her along, mumbling about wanting to stay with Fai, but in the end allowed the princess to pull her out of the room. Sakura still had to guide her all the way to the kitchen that was built on that level of the pyramid. Unlike the houses where most of the magi population lived, the pyramid had a series of community kitchens with attached dining halls built on each successive level, their sizes decreasing as they went higher according to the number of officials living on that level. They were currently at the fourth level.

Guiding the witch to one of the wooden tables in the dining hall, Sakura walked over to the attached kitchen, asking the woman cooking that night's dinner for something sweet for two people. The woman gave her a polite smile before asking her to watch the stove as she retrieved some food. Three minutes later, the woman was back with a tray carrying two small bowls and a larger bowl filled with an orange-red sort of mashed mixture.

"It's called Halwa, dear," the woman seemed to understand Sakura's curiosity, knowing that she was a foreigner in the city, "one of Magihidusi's finest desserts, made from grated carrots and milk."

Nodding her thanks, Sakura made her way back to the witch who had yet to move from her spot, staring listlessly at her hands clasped in her lap.

"Masooma-san, the kitchen lady gave me some 'alwa.'"She said, setting the tray gently on the granulated table top. The word felt a little strange on her tongue, but Sakura did not mind. There had often been times when they had all had to learn new words which sounded different from the way they were spoken by the natives, if only because the dimension travelers had never really heard of them before. Pulling up a chair beside the silent witch, Sakura ladled generous amounts of the treat into the smaller bowls, placing a spoon in each before offering one to the older woman, who took it with nothing but a tiny nod.

Sakura took a small bite, savoring the sweet flavor that exploded on her tongue for a little moment before chewing and swallowing it, turning her attention back to Masooma who only stared at her food.

"It won't go anywhere unless you eat it." Sakura said quietly, watching as the witch jumped as though having only just realized she was not alone. Gingerly picking up the spoon with one hand, she cradled the bowl in the other, appearing to contemplating on whether to eat or not. Sakura kept on observing her, knowing that even if she did bring up the issue of the other Sakura up right now, Masooma would not be able to give her a good answer. Sakura would have to help her get over her own issue before she could be even remotely ready to help Sakura with hers.

"What happened after we left?" she asked gently.

"Fai said he wanted to take a bath," the witch replied a little distantly. To Sakura it appeared as though Masooma was still half-lost in her memories. "So I drew him one. There was an accident and he slipped when he tried to get out of the tub and pulled me inside. I left to change my clothes and when I got back he… he…" Sakura waited for her to continue, her eyes widening in horror when only half a minute later a steady dripping sound drew her attention to the witch's hand, which was clutching the spoon so hard it had started bleeding. The crimson liquid pooled on the table underneath her hand, soaking through the bandages she had wrapped around her palm.

"Masooma-san, you're hurt!" Sakura cried, hurriedly snatching the older woman's hand and prying it open to retrieve the spoon. Carefully unwinding the gauze, Sakura observed the deep gash in her palm, starting from right below her little finger and dividing her hand diagonally until it reached the lower end of her thumb. How had that woman even been holding on to the spoon in the first place with an injury like that? And why had she not healed it? From the state of the wound, it was still quite fresh-but when had she gotten it?

"I can't even feel it…" the witch murmured, watching the gash in fascination as Sakura hurriedly muttered a healing spell and knit the flesh back together, slowly staunching the blood flow.

"How did you get it?"

"Fai… h-he…"

"Fai-san did that?" Sakura gasped, subconsciously touching the scars on her forearm as she withdrew her hands.

"He... He didn't know. It was my fault. I should have been more careful, I startled him and he just turned around with the scissors and…" it seemed as though the older woman had had enough of trying to keep her emotions under control, because she finally burst into tears, "he didn't know. He just didn't realize it was me…"

Sakura's heart went out to her, if only because Masooma was going through the same thing she had and still was. Slipping off her chair, she wordlessly moved next to the witch, pulling her into a hug. She knew from experience how sometimes such a simple gesture could help.

"I hate it…" came Masooma's muffled voice, once her sobs had subsided a little, though she made no effort of pulling away. "I hate it all… this stupid world and its fucked-up laws and its screwed-up Shaman. We never should have come here. We never should have stayed. Those hunters…they won't stop. They'll never stop. Their only purpose in life is destroying whoever possesses magic and they have no reservations whatsoever in how they do it. They did it to me, they did it to Tsubasa and now they have… He's gone Sakura. I lost my Fai… they took him away from me. He's gone for-"

"Don't say that, Masooma-san." Sakura cut in sharply, suddenly feeling pity and anger towards the woman. How could she even think that Fai was gone? Fai was still there. Just like Tsubasa was still there. They just had to get through to them. They both had hope. How could she have given up on the blond without even trying? "Fai-san is not lost to us. We finally have him back. He just needs some time to-"

"You weren't there, Sakura." The witch drew away from her as though finally realizing just who it was she had been crying in front of. "You did not see it. That…" a shudder visibly shook her whole body as she wrapped her arms around herself, trying to comfort herself. "That horrible emptiness in his gaze as he looked at me… That broken shell of a man sleeping in that room… That is not Fai!"

"And you claim to have loved him." Sakura scoffed, any pity she had felt towards the woman evaporating as fury took its place. "So what if he is not the same as before? No one could have gone through what he did and come out unscathed. Just because he is different now, you're just going to give up on him? Is that what you think when you try and treat Tsubasa? He hates me for what happened to him, but you don't see me saying I have lost him. For you to suddenly turn your back on Fai-san and abandon him just because he's unwell speaks volumes about your love for him. If this is the depth of your feelings for him… then I'm glad it all happened to him. At least he will know how much you really care about him."

The sound of a slap rang through the empty dining hall and it took Sakura half a second to recognize the stinging sensation on her cheek for what it was. Gingerly touching her face, she turned her head to look back at the witch who was now glaring at her.

"How dare you…" Masooma sputtered, her eyes ablaze as she had the gall to look offended by what the princess had said, "how dare you even say that I am going to abandon him. I lovehim."

"Well you have a funny way of showing it, Masooma-san."Sakura replied coldly. No one had ever dared to slap her before, not even her parents or Touya. And this woman had done it so easily. "Refusing to even acknowledge that the man in that room is Fai-san, I can really see this love you have for him."

"The hunters fucking drove him insane!" the witch exploded, a decorative vase on the next table shattering noisily as she stood up. "There is no coming back from that! Or do you have a miraculous cure for schizophrenia, Princess?"

"Is everything alright in here, dears?" The kitchen lady suddenly poked her head through the doorway, looking worried and a little apprehensive as she looked at the two females.

"Everything is fine, Kana." Masooma replied without looking away from Sakura's suddenly-ashen face, "I'll fix the vase before I leave."

"Oh… Okay. I'll be in the kitchen if you need anything."

"Thanks. We'll give you a call if we want something."The witch still had her attention on Sakura as Sakura tried to process what she had just been told, her fury dying in the wake of the revelation. "The Halwa is great by the way. You really outdid yourself this time." Sakura distantly wondered how Masooma would know, when she did not even bother to taste it, but she hastily pushed that thought away in favor of concentrating on the more pressing issue. Masooma had said that Fai was insane, schizophrenic…. There was… there was no cure for that. Everything, even magic, had its limitations and a wish to cure something like that would have an insanely high price and would most probably involve taking away his memories of that time completely.

She watched as the witch sat back down, breathing a little unevenly, not really saying anything further even as she picked up the spoon Sakura had taken out of her hand earlier. A little blood had dried on the handle, but it did not seem to bother the older woman at all. She pushed the Halwa around in her bowl for a little while as Sakura lowered her gaze to her own sweet, no longer wanting to eat it even though she had really liked it initially. A heavy lump formed in her throat as she tried to keep her tears at bay.

Hadn't they all suffered enough? It was one bad thing on top of the other. First Syaoran, now Fai… Was she going to lose every single person she cared about? And on top of that, there was that strange deal with her other self.

"Fai-san doesn't hate you, at least." Sakura murmured, a tear stubbornly slipping from her eye and splashing against the back of her hand.

"Give me a couple of days and Tsubasa won't hate you either." Masooma's tone had turned comforting once again and Sakura wondered where all that fury had gone to all of a sudden. "He's actually a lot better now. It won't be long before he realizes the truth."

"But even if he realizes the truth, would he actually trust me?"

"Why wouldn't he?"

"Because… even if some part of him suddenly accepts the fact that we did not do any of it, his fear and hatred for us won't just vanish overnight."

"Maybe not… but that doesn't mean he won't come to love you again."

"What about you and Fai-san?" She asked softly, peeking at the witch through her lashes as her expression crumbled and a vulnerable woman was left in her place.

"Tsubasa is my priority now and I will help him heal, but…I love him, you know…I can't just…" she gave Sakura a watery smile, "The Fai I knew is gone, but…even so, I'll stay by his side no matter what."

*Time~for~a~time-skip*

(You can totally tell how happy I am. I used ~and *'s instead of the boring -0- xD )

His limbs were frozen. He couldn't move, couldn't talk…couldn't do anything. He tried and tried and tried to get away but no matter what he did, nothing worked. His body was frozen. He couldn't move. He couldn't talk. He couldn't do anything. But he could feel the cold metal that bit into his wrists and ankles. He could see the cruel gaze that bore down at him. He could… he could hear the sweet nothings she whispered to him.

He was bound and paralyzed but he could feel. He could feel her sharp nails, raking lines of fire down his chest. He could see her lips stretched wide in an earsplitting grin. He could taste the blood that filled his mouth. He couldn't get away, but he could feel.

He tried to scream. He tried to cry out. He tried to beg for relief. But his lips were sewn shut. He could do nothing but choke on his own blood, sobbing helplessly as the never-ending pain spread and spread and spread as his flesh was peeled apart to expose his insides. Agony consumed him as her cruel claws tore apart his lips. He couldn't move. His limbs were frozen. But now…now he could scream. He could beg. He could cry out for an end to this wretched existence.

He could see it. That manic gleam in her eyes. He couldstill hear. The way she commanded for him to plead. But he couldn't move. He couldn't breathe, only choke on the blood that filled his mouth. It slipped past his lips and pooled all around him. He could feel her claws digging into his eyes and then his world turned to black, robbing him of another sense. He couldn't see anymore.

Didn't he want relief from it all? Didn't he want it to end? Why was he not saying anything? Why was he not asking her to put an end to it? Her cruel words demanded that he beg her for the end.

"Please, stop! Kill me! "

Blood began to fill his ears, robbing him of another sense. No. That wasn't right. He could still hear her. Inside his head. She laughed and she jeered. She mocked and she demanded. And he still couldn't move. Why wasn't it ending? Why wouldn't it end?

"Kill me!" he begged and he pleaded.

"Kill me! Kill me! Kill me!" he cried out like a never ending mantra. But no one cared. No one cared enough to put an end to it. No one ever came. He was alone. Where were his friends? Where were the ones he loved? Why would no one come to help him?

"Kill me! Kill me! Please stop! Stopstopstopstop! Just kill me!" He screamed and screamed and screamed. Why wouldn't the pain end? Why wouldn't it stop already? Where were they?

"Mage. Oi. Wake up."

Wake up? How? How could he wake up? He was awake.

"Killmekillmekillme!Stoppleasestopstopkillme!No! End it!"

"Snap out of it. Damn it, wake up!"

Wake up? No. He was already awake. He was awake. He wanted to die. He was on fire. He was drowning in blood. He was dying. But he was alive. He wanted it to end. EnditenditenditjustENDIT!

"Fai! You stupid blond, SNAP OUT OF IT!"

Why won't it end? Whywhywhy-

"K-Kurogane…" he was upright? No. He had been lying down. Hadn't he? Then… wait. Blood. Where…where was it? Hands flew to his chest, meeting smooth, unmarred skin. But…No…Wait. The blood…There was blood. He was choking and tied down and there was blood and he was choking and tied down and there was blood. Where was the blood? His chest! But…he was fine. He was…fine.

"Why the fuck didn't you tell us something was wrong, you moron?" Kurogane? When did he get there? Wait…No…he was already there. Wasn't he? But then…wait…the blood! No. No blood. His chest! It was fine. His…his lips…were undamaged. But the blood. And the frozen limbs…and the blindne- no…Wait. He could see. And he could move. And…he couldn't feel any pain. He was fine. Fine.

"Because nothing is wrong, Kurogane…" He laughed. Everything was fine. "I'm fine. Nothing is wrong at all. Everything is perfectly fine. Nothing's wrong. Nothing… at all…" Yes. He was fine. He was safe. He was back with the people who cared about him. People who loved him. They would never hurt him. He had Masooma and Kurogane and Sakura and Mokona and Nixon and Syaor- Syaoran had tried to crush his heart! And his chest had been torn open and there had been blood. Blood. So much…His hand touched his chest and there was nothing there. So then…wait…no…Syaoran had…but then he was…fine. He was at Magihidusi now. He was safe. He was fine. Fine. Everything was fine.

"Will you just listen to yourself?" He flinched. Why was he yelling like that? The ninja was angry. But he had not done anything. So then why…was he going to hurt him, too? But…No! Wait…Kurogane was his friend. Friends did not hurt their friends. They cared about them. But Syaoran had crushed his heart. His hand flew to his chest and nothing was wrong. So then… "You sound like one of those music-playing things in Piffle that broke when you dropped it. Repeating the same thing over and over again! Stop being an idiot and let us help you."

Repeating like a broken music-playing thing? No. That was silly. He was fine. He couldn't feel the pain. And he could see. And move. And his limbs were not frozen. Everything was okay. He was safe. He didn't need help anymore. He was okay now. There was no blood. His chest was fine. And his eyes were too. Why did Kurogane think he was an idiot? Everything was fine. Really. He wasn't like a broken music-playing thing that he dropped in Piffle. That was silly. He was fine. And there was no pain. And… "But why would you want to help when there is nothing wrong with me? I told you. I'm fine…nothing is wrong. Nothing at all."

Why was Kurogane growling like that? He was angry. Was he…was he going to hit Fai now? No. Kurogane was his friend. He would not hurt him. Just like Sakura would never hurt him. Or Masooma. Or Mokona. Or Nixon. Or Syaoran… But no…Wait! Syaoran had crushed his heart…so then…Kurogane would hurt him too, wouldn't he?

'Of course he will hurt you.'

His breath caught in his throat. She was back. Why was she back? No nonononononono! She couldn't be here now. Kurogane would hear her and then…he froze. She was nibbling on his earlobe, that cold tongue tracing the shell of his ear. What if Kurogane heard her? She couldn't be there! No. She had to go away. Fai was okay. She wasn't real.

'You can still feel me, Fai. That means I'm real enough for you.'

No! He had cut off his…he had…wait…he cut off the hair- so that she wouldn't- but she was- so then…

"You freaked out the witch with that stunt you pulled with your hair in the bathroom. She's hurting already, you dumbass. And don't think I didn't notice the way you've been acting since you woke up." He could hear her! That was why he wasn't believing Fai. Kurogane could hear her!"Maybe all that is nothing to you, but it's a whole lot of something to the rest of us. You don't have to deal with this shit on your own, you moron. We are supposed to be your friends, so let us help you."

"Help…me?" Could they…could they really help him? What would they do if he told them about her voice inside his head? How would they get it out?

'Go on, Fai. Tell them you can hear me. Then maybe they can tear me out of your head.'

Tear it out of his head? He…no! He couldn't go through that again. He couldn't. The voice wasn't real anyway, so then… he was fine. Everything was okay. He was fine. Nothing was wrong with him. Nothing at all. He was fine. He was fine. Everything was fine.

"But I'm fine, Kurogane. I'm-" He had to believe him. He hated the voice, but he could not let them tear it out of his head. Because then they would have to tie him down. And his limbs would be frozen. And he wouldn't be able to move. Or talk. Or scream. And then he…he couldn't breathe. No. They couldn't find the voice. They couldn't hear it. Because if they heard it, then… why was it so hot? And why couldn't he…

"Mage?"

He couldn't breathe.

"Oi!Mage!"

He couldn't breathe! His lungs…and his chest…and the blood…and he-

"Mage, oi! Snap out of it, you dumbass."

There was so much blood. And he was drowning…choking. He couldn't see anything and he was… he was… whycouldn'thebreathe?

"Hey, Fai! Look at me. Come on, you moron. Don't do this again."

He was sinking. Deeper and deeper and deeper. And there was blood all around him. And her claws were digging into his chest. And his heart was being crushed and he…nononono… !

"Fai-san!"

He was in hell. There was no other word for it. He couldn't move. He couldn't see. Couldn't breathe. There was blood. So much blood. And it was everywhere. And his limbs were frozen. He couldn't…he couldn't move!

"Kurogane-san, what happened?"

Voices. They were talking in the distance. He could hear them. But…what were they saying? Couldn't they see the blood? Couldn't they feel this agony? Didn't they know he was dying? But no… wait! He couldn't die! So why wouldn't they put him out of his misery? Why wouldn't they kill him? killmekillmekillme!

"I was talking to him and he just…oh, shit. Mage!"

"Fai-san, no!"

Her claws were ripping apart his chest. They were tearing him open. It hurt. It hurt so much. Why would the voices not stop her? Why were they just talking and talking and talking? Why couldn't he move? He couldn't breathe…and the blood. It was drowning him.

"Help me hold him down!"

"What were you talking about, Kurogane-san?"

"I only asked him about his fit."

Please no more. Nomorenomore!

"Fai-san, calm down, please. You're hurting yourself."

Why were they just talking and talking and talking? Why weren't they stopping her?

"Kurogane-san, he won't heal with his claws like that. Pull them away so I can bind them."

The searing hot agony in his chest lessened. He still couldn't move, limbs frozen in place, words locked inside his mouth, eyes unable to see past all the blood, but he could feel. He could feel the way foreign magic wove its way through his own hands. No! He needed his hands! They couldn't bind him. His own magic rose to the surface, blasting the voices away. The claws returned to his chest, blinding pain enveloping his entire being as he felt them literally begin to tear his body apart. The stench of blood was heavy in the air. He was suffocating.

"Killme! Stop! No please! Killmekillmekillme!" The seal was lifted from his lips, leaving him able to scream. Her laughter rang in the air. Or maybe it wasn't she who was laughing. Maybe it was him…but why was he laughing? Why…what was going on?

"What the heck is going on in here that- Fai!" a new voice. It was familiar. Who was it? He knew that voice. He knew that voice. He knew it. Who…who was it? Would they hurt him too? Would they kill him? Or would they join her and become new claws to rip him open?

"Fai-san is having another fit, but his magic is too wild. It keeps overwhelming me and I can't stop him."

"Kurogane, help me hold him down. Sakura, when I tell you to, use a spell to bind him."

Voices… who were they? What were they saying? What was going on? Who was he? Where was he? Why was there so much blood? And…and why did he hurt? Hands gripping his shoulders…

"Nonononono!Killme! Stop! Please! No! letmegoletmegoletmego!" Hands holding his legs…The magic. It was back! It was sinking through his fingers, pulling and sucking and going in in in. No. the voices! They were going to bind him. He couldn't- wait. No! They couldn't do this to-

"Nixon-san, his magic is fighting back."

Nixon. He knew that name. But no. Wait…was it one of the voices holding him down? Why? He was hurting. He wanted it to end. The voice in his head was laughing. And laughing and laughing… no, wait. It was him. Why was he laughing? He was choking. He couldn't breathe.

"Leave it to me. Keep going with that binding spell, Princess."

Why were the voices talking… and talking and talking? The spell moved and moved and his limbs froze. No, wait…were they not already frozen? Had he been moving them before? But how…he was trapped. The voices were with her.

"Let me go! Please stop it! Killmekillmekillme!"

Something warm gently touched his temple and he felt a new spell weave its way through his system. He found himself sinking and sinking and sinking. The blood began to vanish as he sunk lower and lower, the voices growing distant.

"I've bound his claws for now. He shouldn't be able to use them again for a while."

"What the fuck happened to him? Why did he keep asking me to kill him? And why was he laughing like that?"

"Whatever it was you said, it must have triggered his fit, Kurogane-san."

The voices…they just kept on talking.

'They know what you've become, Fai. They know your secret.'

Shut up, he wanted to snarl at the voice, but he had sunk too far deep to be able to speak. Still he kept sinking. Shut up shut up shut up shut-

He hit the bottom and knew no more.

A/N: I always thought Kurogane's way of problem solving might backfire sooner or later, don't you agree? I mean, I love the guy and his stoic cool ninja ways and all but still… looking at it realistically, I think it could backfire instead of working out at times depending on who he is talking to.

Fai has completely gone insane by now and though Kurogane might have sped it along a little bit, but he was not the cause of the problem. Next chapter is where things speed up as news of the impending attack is relayed to some of the members and you guys get to meet the ruling council of the Magihidusi. The Guardians are in-charge of security for the city and the essence while the council members are the ones that handle the day to day matters. Any major changes a Guardian might want to make to the security need to be run through the council first so it acts as a buffer for the amount of authority the Guardians might have.

By the way you will all be happy to know that I have finally managed to draft the rest of the plotline, complete with chapter outlines and stuff, all the way to the end. Broken will be officially ending around chapter sixty (or sixty one at most) so yes, the end is near and in sight.