Sakura feels herself slipping again.
It starts with a taste in her mouth of damp air, a clean smell, somehow fresh. It makes her breathe a little deeper, unremembered at first, a curious thing to feel when they are walking through a desert or having tea in whatever apartment they've managed to secure.
There's a peace to it she thinks, as much as it is a peace which is in anticipation of something unrelenting and ill intentioned.
And then her vision darkens, dimming faster if she's in daylight or under bright electric lights, like being shoved suddenly into a windowless room, cracks in the top seeping in just enough light that she can see by. It happens regardless of where she is; in a store, making breakfast with Fai, talking to Syaoran, in bed, and shuts her into what she knows must be some kind of strange dream.
She sees a cave briefly, water held in suspension like strange jewels, the silence thick, impenetrable, even more so than the haze which pulls her down further, into nothingness,away from the glow of light which suffuses the water in that strange place.
She doesn't understand it and almost wants to ask when she wakes up but the words slip away from her as she looks at Syaoran's concerned face or Kurogane's eyebrows smoothing over as he notices she's awake.
Somehow they are never important enough.
Syaoran is busy trying to get back another memory for her, researching, looking for the next chance to send her spiralling through that intermediary space between her and unconsciousness.
Kurogane is training, himself or Syaoran, or fighting to protect them somehow. He takes on full-time 'part-time' jobs and makes deals at the market, comes home late when they have a home, falls into bed after eating.
Fai is, well, Fai. He is a shadow to himself, always making so much noise so that he doesn't have to listen to himself, baking, cooking, singing, dancing, drinking, working as many jobs as Kurogane until he finally collapses in a heap and reluctantly rests.
It seems rude to her to interrupt these people who do so much to her, who have so much going on in their own minds and lives, mostly for her benefit. They don't have the time or the energy and really. It is such a small thing and she sees enough strange things with the memories she is shown in that strange empty place that it has to be normal and fine really.
Somehow it falls to Mokona.
Mokona is an option, as small as Mokona is, the only option. Mokona has time to listen and none of the concerns of the humans with needing to eat or drink water from what she can tell. Mokona talks a lot and can be very silly but still Mokona listens easily as soon as Sakura asks.
Mokona can just put things aside, focus on her, without any other distractions.
Mokona listens as Sakura tells Mokona everything about it, one night while they are both presumed asleep.
Mokona lets her whisper in the dark all the worries she's had and about the strange halted place between her body and her memories and doesn't speak.
And when she is done Mokona hums.
Mokona hums for a long while and then speaks.
Mokona tells her that Mokona thinks that it must be a very important memory which her body and mind have in common, so important that it's a line which connects the rest of her memories, body and soul, together.
She asks Mokona not to tell anyone else.
Mokona says that Mokona will keep the promise.
Sakura knows Mokona will.