We joined the mother and son for a delicious dinner that should have seemed normal. But I couldn't stop this gnawing feeling in my stomach that something was off. Extremely off.

"Your mother is a very skilled cook." Fai told the child, sipping on a cup of tea.

"Yeah! Mom also makes delicious pies!" The kid smiled.

"Pies?" asked Mokona.

"These!" The kid said, pulling out a basket of baked goods. "They're filled with the apples that we sell in the marketplace! Here!" He handed Syaoran an apple.

"Please help yourself to those pies tomorrow morning. But you must be tired. Please have a good rest tonight." The mother grinned before ushering her child off to bed.

"I asked over dinner but nothing unusual seems to have happened lately." Fai said as we gathered together in the spare bedroom.

"That bastard must be taking care not to be noticed." Kurogane groaned.

"What if things haven't happened yet?" I proposed. "We've been through worlds where we entered their pasts and their futures. What if we're here early?"

"I want to go to the ruins tomorrow. That's where it all began." Syaoran told us.

xxxxx

I don't remember getting ready for bed or going to sleep, but when I awoke I was tangled up in Fai's long limbs with Syaoran, Kurogane, and Mokona nearby. We left our room to find the rest of the home empty.

"Huh?" Mokona said, bouncing onto the table. "Nobody is here."

"Perhaps they left early to do some work?" Fai suggested.

"What's wrong?" Mokona asked Kurogane.

"The food." The ninja said.

"There isn't any… The pies…" Mokona mused, looking around. "Did you want some?"

"No." Kurogane said at the same time I said, Yes. He looked down at me before continuing. "From the way those two acted last night I just thought it was strange for them not to have prepared breakfast."

"That's true." Fai agreed.

"Did something happen?" I asked. Syaoran rushed to the door, opening it wide to reveal the town hustling and bustling just like yesterday. We walked through the market slowly, watching everyone go about their day like normal. It felt to me like midday one more. At least, until a young boy ran right into Syaoran carrying a large basket of apples.

"Thanks, big brother!" I gasped, shocked that it was the same boy. "Are you a traveler?"

"Yes…" our friend answered him the same as yesterday, even more unsure this time.

"Thanks a lot! Clow is a great place!" the young boy called over his shoulder as he took off running through the market once again. He didn't recognize us.

"What the hell just happened?" Kurogane asked.

"Hey! Big brother!" The kid called out as we approached his family's shop again. "Thanks for before. I made it back without dropping our shop's produce!"

This time we said nothing.

"Thank you so much." The boy's mother thanked us once more. "He's always in such a hurry."

"Those clothes. Are you from another country?" The young man from yesterday asked. We continued to say nothing as the same group from the day before crowded around us.

"All of you have such different-looking clothing. Do you all come from different countries?"

"How nice!" The local said with a large smile. I took stood close to the boys, feeling even more overwhelmed than before by my anxiety. Something was clearly very wrong.

"It's not just that boy. Everyone keeps saying the same thing as yesterday." Mokona said, clinging to Syaoran.

"We hope you like it here! There's a festival coming up soon, too!" Another local informed us.

"Is the festival at the ruins?" Syaoran asked rephrasing his question from before.

"Yah! Over there, at those ruins." The local repeated.

"Have you already decided on lodging for tonight?" Someone asked.

"No, not yet." Fai answered for us again.

"You could stay with us!" The child cheered.

"Yes, please do." His mother added.

"The sun is already setting."

"This is weird. Barely any time has passed since we all woke up." Mokona said.

"Wasn't there someone else who said something about saving money?" I asked quietly before we followed the child and mother back to their home.

"Thanks for the meal…" Mokona said after we ate the same dinner.

"Mom also makes delicious pies!"

"Pies…"

"These! They're filled with the apples we sell in the marketplace!"

"Yeah… you know, yesterday…" Mokona tried to explain.

"Here!" The boy said, giving Syaoran an apple.

"Please help yourself to those pies tomorrow morning. But you must be tired. Please have a good rest tonight." The mother grinned before ushering her child off to bed again.

"So time is repeating after all." Fai sighed as we filed into our room once more.

"Not the whole day. Just a few hours from afternoon to nightfall." Syaoran clarified.

"Well even if it's repeating, maybe things have changed because we came here. If Syaoran hadn't been there, that boy might have fallen." Mokona said.

"Why would somebody make this happen?" Kurogane questioned.

"I don't know, but, it's very likely that this is all part of Fei Wong Reed's plan." Fai said. "Shall we try one more day? To see if time is indeed repeating?"

"Yes." Syaoran answered simply. Fai told the young boy to go get some rest in the other room while we stayed up and talked a bit longer.

"Why did you send the kid to a different room than yesterday?" Kurogane asked.

"I figured you would notice." The blonde smiled, moving closer to the ninja. "I also figured that if you noticed you would know my reasoning. Was I correct there, too?" He pulled our friend's cloak away from his shoulder, revealing blood along where his artificial arm met his skin.

"Kurogane!" I snapped, upset that he'd hide something like that from us. It had to hurt.

"Since my body has become like this, I have a heightened awareness to the scent of blood. Besides, you're indoors and yet you're still wearing your cloak and helmet. That's very odd." Fai was clearly proud of himself for calling out our friend. "Is it to better hide your face? You're in pain. Does your artificial arm not fit well? Does it hurt more than it did yesterday?"

"As long as it works I have no problem with it." Kurogane answered.

"Answer me." Fai demanded, looking menacing with that golden eye. "That will allow us to determine if time is moving forward normally for us, while the rest of Clow Country repeats." That did make sense. If his pain was getting worse it was because we weren't stuck in a loop.

"Yah." Kurogane finally replied.

Fai moved quickly, punching our friend in the side of his head.

"Fai!" I scolded.

"If it hurts, you should have said so from the start. Idiot." The magician sighed.

"Damn you!" Kurogane cursed.

"The closer you are to others the fewer things you can hide. If they discovered the truth later, Syaoranand Mokona would be even more hurt." Fai lectured.

"You're one to talk!" Kurogane argued.

"That's precisely why I should be talking." Fai grinned, ruffling my hair affectionately as I pouted at him.

"You boys are hopeless." I rolled my eyes before placing a hand on Kurogane's shoulder and using my magic to ease his pain. I wasn't about to try and mess with the arm itself for fear of messing it up before whatever battle awaited us.

"Thanks, little witch." He managed to grunt out.

"Any… any…" I tried to say 'any time,' but suddenly my eyes were so heavy I couldn't think straight. "Wh–what's happening?" I barely managed to get the words out before I collapsed between my friends, unconscious.