Notes: Set in an AU and a crossover (sorta) with the Labyrinth. Actually the way things are going in my mind I might chuck in a few other random CLAMP characters as well.
Disclaimer: I own nothing...Not Tokyo Babylon, which is CLAMP's nor The Labyrinth which belongs to Jim Henson. I've also used some text from a transcript of the Labyrinth which I found at http://www.magitech.com/~cruiser1/labyrnth/movie.htm. The lyrics in the story are also from the movie.

Through Dangers Untold

CHAPTER 2. (By Twylise)

For a moment Hokuto just stood in the darkness of her living room, with only the sounds of her breathing and heartbreak breaking the heavy silence. It weighed down on her making her chest feel as tight as a knot. Making it difficult to breathe, there was an odd stiflingly sweet fragrance in the air that she couldn't quite but a name too. Eventually she just couldn't take the silence any longer.

"SUBARU!!! SUBARU!!!" Hokuto screamed louder then she had ever screamed before in her entire life. "WHERE ARE YOU?"

No answer.

Hokuto's voice was starting to crack, "THIS ISN'T FUNNY SUBARU! COME OUT HERE NOW!"

Her commonsense was fully aware of the fact that Subaru wasn't joking with her. Of course Subaru may very well know some form of spell which would make it possible for him to just vanish into thin air without a trace as well as taking out the apartment's electricity at the same time. But he certainly wasn't the sort of person to play that mean kind of trick on his older sister.

Even if she had just wished him away to the Sakurazukamori.

A horrid realisation suddenly seared through Hokuto as she remembered the statement that she had made mere moments ago, even although in her stunned state it could have just as easily been years, asking the Sakurazukamori to take Subaru away from her.

And what was that smell?

Don't be silly, she argued with herself, It was just a cheesy, melodramatic line from an old book you found in the library. It couldn't have any power too it…

Could it?

But then how could she explain the lights going out or…or….

Her throat was killing her but she found herself crying out again, "SUBARU!!!"

~Ahem,~ The low, rich voice that came to Hokuto wasn't spoken but rather thought, appearing in her mind without any warning. Still the sixteen-year-old snapped her head in all directions, searching for its source.

~Since you've been screaming like that for the last few minutes one can safely assume that you're brother won't be appearing any time in the near future. So if it's no difference to you can you be oh-so kind as to let me in?~

Hokuto jumped two feet into the air, (not a nearly as daring a task as it seemed considering her martial arts training) when she turned around and saw, hovering just outside the balcony window a large dark bird. A falcon. It's feathers made a soft rustling sound as it's flapping wings continuously brushed against the glass. The bird turned its head to the side to contemplate her with one single golden eye.

~Yes. This window over here. Come now Hokuto-chan. It's not polite to keep company waiting.~

Without even realising it Hokuto had crossed the living room floor to the window, unlocked the latch and let the falcon in. It flew, soundlessly into the apartment before vanishing in a swirl of sakura. As a wave of the blossoms blew into Hokuto's face she realised that it was that scent; the scent of cherry blossoms that she hadn't been able to grasp earlier. She turned around and to glance at the spot where she and Subaru had been standing just before he had disappeared.

There was a handful of the pink flowers there as well.

Hokuto swallowed nervously, So that means that Subaru was really taken away by the…

"Ah. So much better. It was really too cold and wet a night to be spent outdoors. Don't you agree Hokuto-chan?"

The girl spun around on the balls of her feet to find herself face to face with the legendary Sakurazukamori himself.

He was tall and very good looking in a smooth, dangerous way; a long face, with clean, masculine features, dark hair that was just slightly wavy and an extremely seductive, coldly amused smile. The assassin was wearing an elegant and obviously very expensive black suit with a matching black trench coat worn on top of it. .

And then there was those eyes. The first was liquid gold and honey, brown filled with cold fire and arrogance. The other eye was a cloudy shade of white. Blind but still just as beautiful as it's mate.

Those eyes were right on Hokuto, looking at her as if they good read her right to her very soul. He was Fear and Death, wearing the face and form of a man. She took a shuddering breather and opened her mouth to speak…

"I thought the Sakurazukamori was supposed to wear tight *leather pants and fancy, poet's shirts." Hokuto pondered tilting her head to one side.

The assassin chuckled, "My deepest regrets, but I couldn't find a good pair of leather pants that didn't make my legs look bulky,"

"I could get you a good pair! I'm always buying clothes for my brother so I know what kind of clothes would…" Hokuto frowned as her mind snapped back to the real problem at hand, she pointed an accusing finger at the man, "Give me my brother back!"

The Sakurazukamori smirked back at her, not put off in the slightest by the girl's outburst. "What's said is said."

"I didn't mean it!" Hokuto snapped. There was no way she was going to let this man do anything to her little brother.

"Oh, you didn't?" It seemed like he was enjoying her frustration.

Hokuto gritted her teeth to keep herself from screaming at the assassin, "Please," she spat out, "Where is he?"

"You know very well where he is." The assassin pulled a packet of cigarettes from one of the pockets of his trench coat, tapped one of the white, paper sticks out of the box and placed it between his lips. He then produced a stylish gold lighter from his coat as well and made to light his cigarette.

"Hey!" In a flash Hokuto's hand snapped out and grabbed the lighter away from the man. "I've got smoke detectors installed here! Do you want to set them off? Besides," she said with a frown, "It's bad for your health."

"Very well." With an over dramatic sigh he put the cigarettes and lighter away, leaving his hands buried deep inside the pockets of his coat, smile never faltering.

"I've brought you a gift."

"REALLY!" In spite of the situation Hokuto found herself grinning. She loved getting presents, even from bloodthirsty, heartless, assassins. Really, in spite of all the hype and such about the Sakurazukamori, he really wasn't so frightening as she imagined.

"What is it?" she asked.

The shadows fell over him just so, obscuring the greater part of his face, with only those two predatory, mismatched eyes remaining clearly visible. He slowly brought one of his hands out into the open and there, resting in his curved palm lay…

"It's a crystal, nothing more," His voice was low and ominous, as he gently rolled the delicate glass object around in his grip. The crystal was so beautiful that Hokuto automatically felt a deep longing rise up inside of her as she stared, transfixed, at the way the way it would catch even the tiny amount of light that was in the room and send it out in luminous rays of lilac, silver and rose. The lights danced across the Sakurazukamori's hand, sparkling like stars.

If it looks like that now in the darkness, She mused, I wonder what it will look like out in the daytime when it catches the light of the sun…

Then she realized that the Sakurazukamori was still talking, "But if you turn it this way and look into it," His voice had lowered to a whisper, as he tilted his hand at an angle, "It will show you your dreams."

Then the crystal flared brightly and the surface inside was obscured by a flurry of Sakura blossoms. Then the flowers faded away to show the image of Hokuto; as a famous pop idol, a world renowned fashion designer, a mother with a whole brood of adorable green eyed children, at her wedding day…

She was wearing a beautiful white dress, with a wide hoop style skirt, a million lace ruffles and embroidered with pearls and crystals and feathers. A white top hat was perched jauntily on her head, decorated with pink, white and red roses and topped off with a soft piece of white fabric for a veil. Her husband to be gazed at her with beautiful eyes full of love and admiration. Her grandmother was sitting in the audience, stern face awash with pride. Subaru was sitting beside the old woman, looking angelic in the white tuxedo Hokuto had picked out for him, fiddling nervously with the pink carnation tucked into his front pocket and just beaming at his older sister, happy that he could share the happiest day of her….

Hokuto blinked, But Subaru's gone now…So how can that dream ever come true? Almost instantly her desire for the crystal and the power it would give her faded away. She looked up from the bauble in the assassin's hand, "I appreciate what you're offering, but I want my brother back."

The Sakurazukamori's smile didn't so much as waiver as he clenched his fist tightly around the crystal. When his hand opened again the ball was gone, replaced with a few, scattered Sakura petals. "Hokuto-chan," he purred, "Don't defy me."

Suddenly the previously still air that surrounded them was whipped into a frantic frenzy. More Sakura petals appeared, slicing into Hokuto's skin whenever they made contact. The blood from those shallow cuts ran onto the flowers, darkening their pale pink. The savage petals engulfed her completely; all she could see was a wild pink blur and the reek of their perfume was suffocating her.

The assassin's voice reached Hokuto as if he was speaking to her from across a great distance.

"Because, you're no match for me."

Oh! Just a quick thankyou to everyone whose reviewed my story so far! They really encourage me to write faster ^_-

*Also I'm very sorry to those who were looking forward to it but I just couldn't bring myself to write Seishirou into one of Jareth's outfits. I didn't want my parents to walk into my room one morning to find that I'd been killed in my sleep by a ticked off assassin who didn't appreciate being forced into tight leather.