A Place Unknown

Chapter 5

Sakura and Syaoran walked quickly through the dense forest. Sakura wasn't even sure if it was still day as the trees grew so close together that they blocked out the sun.

Sakura shivered. The dark forest was cold. She reached into her bag and pulled out a blanket Misumi gave her and wrapped it around her shoulders.

Syaoran noticed this and gave Sakura a concerned look, but he said nothing. When he faced forward again, Syaoran noticed a small area of light up ahead. It appeared that the forest was finally coming to an end!

As soon as they stepped out into the sunlight, they both blinked and had to shield their eyes. After a few days in the dim forest, such bright light hurt their eyes.

When Sakura was finally able to open her eyes, she had to blink some more. She wondered if that sudden burst of sunlight had damaged her eyes. But she looked over and could tell that Syaoran saw the same thing.

Before them stood the strangest sight Sakura had ever laid eyes upon. A huge city, at least a hundred kilometres across, was sitting directly in their path. But the size wasn't the only thing that was amazing. Every single building was painted in neon pinks, blues, greens, and yellows. Most of the light that was shining on the pair seemed to be coming from the city itself.

Sakura turned her back on the city to give her eyes a rest. Syaoran did the same.

"I think I'm going to have spots in front of my eyes for the rest of my life," Syaoran said, rubbing his eyes.

"So, what do we do now?" Sakura asked.

"We might as well check it out," he replied. "Besides, it would take forever to go around.

So the two shielded their eyes and turned again to face the city. They made their way towards the city, occasionally glancing up very quickly to make sure they stayed on the right track.

Eventually they reached the city. There were people everywhere going about their normal business. From off to one side a young man walked up to them and offered them what looked like an ordinary pair of sunglasses. Sakura and Syaoran didn't need to be offered twice. They took the sunglasses graciously. They put them on and found that they blocked the light from the buildings almost perfectly.

They continued to walk through the city, looking at all the different shops that lined the streets.

"Now what?" Sakura started to say before they heard a familiar voice calling them.

"Sakura! Syaoran!" The pair turned to see Tiana running up to them.

"Tiana," Sakura said, "What are you doing here?"

Tiana held up her hand to indicate she had to catch her breath. Sakura and Syaoran waited until she could speak again.

"When you guys left, I sent a message ahead to my partner in the next city letting her know you were on your way. Well, when you never arrived, she let me know and I came here thinking you might have taken a wrong turn."

"But why did you have to come all the way out here yourself," Syaoran asked. "You told us that there was someone in every city on the look out for Sakura."

Tiana paused for a moment before answering. "Well…uh…you saw how big the city is. I needed to make sure you guys found him."

"Oh, ok then," Sakura said brightly. Syaoran said nothing; he wore an expression that said he wasn't quite convinced.

"Well, here," Tiana said. She took out a sheet of paper that turned out to be a map. "This should help you find your way," she said. With that, she turned and disappeared into the crowd.

"That was nice of her to help us out," Sakura said cheerfully.

Syaoran gave her one of his 'looks'. "Didn't you sense anything just then?" he asked her.

Sakura gave him a puzzled look. "No, why?"

Syaoran just shook his head. "Forget it," he said. "I must've been imagining things." He didn't know what, but something was bothering him.

Sakura, however, didn't let Syaoran get to her. "Come on Syaoran," she said. "Let's go find this person." With that, she started weaving in and out of the crowd, following the map. Syaoran followed her reluctantly.

* * *

It took them a long time to get where they were going. And it never seemed to get dark, probably because of the glowing buildings. They did learn a bit about the city during their journey though. Like the city's name, for instance, which was so complicated to say that they had forgotten it less than five minutes later, but it meant "Glowing City" in some strange language. They also found out that all the buildings were made of a special kind of stone called luminite that was able to give off its own light.

After they had been walking for hours, Syaoran had to ask Sakura to stop because his feet felt like they were going to fall off.

But before he could say anything, Sakura let out a small scream of excitement.

"Sakura? What's the matter?" he asked, but Sakura seemed unable to string two words together so she just pointed, positively brimming with excitement.

When Syaoran looked, he saw right away what had gotten her so excited. Standing a little ways in front of them, right where the map had led to, was Yukito.

Sakura couldn't hold it in any longer. She ran over to him with Syaoran trailing behind.

"Yuki!" Sakura yelled and threw herself around him in a big hug. Syaoran stopped and watched a little ways away.

"I missed you so much," Sakura said.

Yukito looked down at the girl hugging him with polite confusion. "I think you have me confused with someone else."

Sakura looked up at him. All she could come up with was, "Huh?"

"I mean my name's not Yuki. I'm Yanic. But I know who you are of course," he said. "I could sense you coming. But where's…ah."

Yanic looked up and saw Syaoran standing off to the side. He smiled and waved to him. Syaoran, however, just glared.

"A bit antisocial, isn't he?" Yanic said.

"Don't mind him," Sakura said. "That's Syaoran for you. So tell me…"

Sakura took Yanic by the arm and the pair started to walk away. Sakura didn't even look back at Syaoran once. But Syaoran didn't mind; it gave him time to think because something was bothering him.

How did he know I was the one with Sakura? He thought. It's not like Sakura where they can sense the Spirit. Something's wrong here.

Sakura and Yanic were almost out of site, so despite what his instincts told him he followed, although at a distance.

* * *

It took them about an hour to get to where they were going, which Syaoran assumed was Yanic's house. Yanic let Sakura in and then stood back and held the door open for Syaoran, who hesitated for a moment.

Yanic was giving him the same innocent smile he knew so well on Yukito, but he knew this wasn't Yuki. Nevertheless, he needed a place to stay so he grudgingly entered the house. Besides, this way he'd be able to keep an eye on Sakura. Syaoran had a feeling something was wrong with her.

He was surprised to see how well kept Yanic's house was. The only other male he knew whose house was so tidy was the real Yukito's. He didn't let this get his guard down, though.

Syaoran was still standing in the doorway while Sakura was sitting on the couch talking animatedly with Yanic. He was furious at how close they were sitting and when Yanic leaned in as if to hear better, Syaoran knew he'd had enough. He was sure his face was going red with anger.

"Where's your bathroom?" Syaoran asked Yanic while trying to hold his face in a neutral expression, which was proving difficult.

"Down the hall; second door on your right," Yanic replied. He gave Syaoran a look that was as un-Yukito-like as possible, almost as if to say he knew what he was doing to Syaoran. Sakura didn't notice this however.

Syaoran found the bathroom with little trouble. He shut the door and leaned against the back, out of breath. He went and looked at his reflection in the mirror. He was right, his face had been going red. The tips of his ears were burning. He turned on the tap and splashed water on his face and then took a few deep breaths to calm down.

On the walk to Yanic's house, Syaoran had been thinking that this might all be just a coincidence. He had remembered what Misumi had said about Theran-twins and wondered if that might account for Yanic's uncanny resemblance to Yukito. But after the look he had just received from Yanic, he knew something more was going on. Syaoran had sensed something evil in that stare, but he didn't know what it meant. What he did know was that he had to talk to Sakura.

* * *

The night was late and the house quiet. Syaoran quietly opened his bedroom door. He peeked his head out into the hallway. Everything was still.

Syaoran made his way softly down the hall towards the door behind which Sakura was sleeping. As he reached it, he stopped and looked both ways down the hall. It felt like he was being watched, but he saw no one. He stood still for a minute to make sure, then he cracked open the door to Sakura's room and slipped in silently, closing the door behind him.

He turned to see Sakura fast asleep. Syaoran thought she looked like an angel, so innocent and peaceful. He hated to have to wake her, but he didn't want to risk a conversation in front of Yanic.

Syaoran knelt down near where Sakura's head lay. He reached out and gently shook her. "Sakura," he whispered.

Sakura mumbled something inaudible before opening her eyes. When she saw Syaoran, she jumped up in fright.

"Shhh!" Syaoran whispered, motioning with his hands and looking around nervously. "It's just me."

"God, Syaoran," Sakura said, clutching her breast. "Don't do that. You just about gave me a heart attack."

"I'm really sorry, Sakura, but we need to talk," he said.

"Right now?" Sakura asked. "Can't it wait 'til morning?" she asked, laying back down.

"Well, technically it is morning," Syaoran said.

"Fine! Be that way, smart-aleck." Sakura was becoming annoyed. "What was so important that it couldn't wait until I got up on my own?"

"I want to talk to you about Yanic," he said.

"Oh?" Sakura's eyes suddenly brightened. "He's wonderful, isn't he? He's so smart. He knows tons about lots of stuff."

"Doesn't anything bother you about him?"

"Of course not. Why should it?"

Syaoran just stared at Sakura for a minute. He could tell she honestly didn't notice anything wrong. "I don't know what it is but there's something weird about him. Just be careful."

"Oh, come off it, Syaoran," Sakura said. "You can't be serious? Yanic is the most wonderful guy I've met. He's kind. He's sensitive. He's generous. He's –"

"– not Yuki." Syaoran finished.

"What are you talking about?" Sakura asked.

"Don't give me that, Sakura," he said. "I know about your crush on Yuki and I've been watching you with Yanic. You can't tell me you haven't noticed how much Yanic looks like Yuki."

"I admit there are similarities…"

"Similarities!" Syaoran said, trying to yell and whisper at the same time. "Sakura, if I didn't know any better I'd say they were the same person."

"Fine! They look the same," Sakura said. "What's the point of this?"

"There's something really strange going on here and you can't let your silly crush on Yuki get in the way of our mission. You do remember what that is I hope."

"Of course I do. I'm not stupid," Sakura said. "And I'm not going to debate right now whether or not I have a crush on Yuki, but if I did, it wouldn't be in my way."

"Fine then. Don't admit it. Just be aware and remember what I said," Syaoran told her.

"Whatever. Now if you'd excuse me, I'd like to get back to sleep." With that, Sakura lied back down with her back to Syaoran.

Defeated, Syaoran got up to leave. As he was closing the door to his own room, the door to the room down the hall shut as well.

* * *

Syaoran was walking down a street that was unfamiliar to him. Perhaps it was this that caused him to be extra alert. However, the streets appeared to be empty which unnerved him considering how crowded they were the day before.

He followed the streets for what seemed like hours, not really sure what path he was taking. Eventually, though, he found himself down an alleyway facing a wall with no where else to go.

He wasn't quite sure how he ended up here, but he examined the wall and found a small red mark. It was the Clow seal. Just like on Clow Rood's army.

But what is it doing here? Syaoran thought. The mark was hard to notice. It was on the brick closest to the ground right in the corner.

Just as he bent down to get a closer look at it, Syaoran opened his eyes. He was lying in his bed back in Yanic's house. It had been a dream.

* * *

The morning found Syaoran sitting outside Yanic's house watching the crowd go by. He couldn't stand being inside with Sakura anymore. He had had enough of watching her drool over Yanic and having Yanic sop it up like a puppy starving for love.

Syaoran was just letting his eyes wander over the scenery when he found himself staring at a clock tower that stood above all the other buildings. It was then that he got a flashback of the dream he had during the night.

He saw himself walking down an empty street. Looking up, he saw the same clock tower he was looking at now in front of him. Syaoran realized that the dream he had had wasn't a normal dream.

I thought it was Sakura who got the prophetic dreams, Syaoran thought. I better see what this is about.

He got up and started to make his way through the streets. The journey was much harder now than it had been in his dreams due to the crowd of people going about they're daily business. However, Syaoran found that he knew exactly where to go, even though he couldn't see that well.

Eventually he found himself standing in the entrance of an alley that led nowhere. Syaoran could tell this was the same place he had seen in his dream. It was exactly the same, right down to the last pebble and scrap of garbage.

He went down to the end of the alley until he was standing right in front of the wall with nowhere to go. He bent down to look in the corner for the red mark he knew he'd find. However, it wasn't there.

"Huh?" he said to himself. "I'm sure this is where it was…" As he said this, he reached down and brushed the brick where he had seen the red mark in his dream. When he did, the brick started to glow and vibrate. Suddenly, all the other bricks in the wall started to imitate the first. Then, they all moved to the side as if the two walls on either side were sucking them in.

Syaoran found himself standing on the edge of an archway into what looked like a deserted home. He slowly entered the building.

"Hello!" he called. There was no answer from the dark house. He stood still for a minute, letting his eyes adjust to the darkness.

Syaoran started to move slowly through the dark and dust. It seemed to be unoccupied, but Syaoran's instincts told him otherwise. He had a feeling somebody was here so he moved slowly and quietly, so as not to surprise them.

He hadn't gone far when there was a crash from the floor above him. Intrigued, Syaoran began to look for a way up. He soon found a staircase and he took the steps two at a time.

When he reached the second floor landing, he looked around. It was basically a large circular room with many doors all around the perimeter. He wasn't sure exactly where the noise had come from. So Syaoran stood very still and just listened.

After a few minutes, he thought he could hear muffled voices coming from the door across from him. Before he opened the door, he stopped and listened again. It sounded like people yelling from far away. He slowly eased open the door and what he saw took his breath away.

"Oh my God!" Syaoran said. In the middle of the floor lay two people who had been bound and gagged. The scary part was that Syaoran recognized one of them.

"Tiana!" he said, running over to her and taking the gag out of her mouth. "Are you okay? What are you doing here?"

"I'm fine now," Tiana said, once Syaoran had removed her gag. She continued to speak while he worked on breaking her bonds. "You don't know how glad I am to see you. How did you find us anyway?"

"I'm not really sure," he said. "I just had a dream of me coming here and so I knew where to go." By this time, Syaoran had gotten Tiana loose. "So who's this?" he said, indicating the other guy who had been tied up.

"Oh, this is Takeda," Tiana said, beginning to untie him. "He's supposed to be the one helping you and Sakura in this city."

"Wait a minute," Syaoran said. "I thought that was Yanic."

"No, unfortunately not," Takeda said, once he could speak. "The person you know as Yanic isn't who you think he is. In fact, he's not even a person."

"Oh no…" Syaoran said. He had a feeling he knew where this was going and he didn't like it.

"Yeah, he's a part of Clow Rood's army," Tiana said.

All of a sudden, Syaoran received a shock of realization. "Sakura's alone with him right now! We've got to do something!"

"Well, let's get going!" Takeda said.

"Lead the way, Syaoran," Tiana encouraged.

* * *

"Oh, Yanic this is so wonderful," Sakura said.

She was sitting down at the table in Yanic's dining room. Her host was busying himself in the kitchen.

"It's not a problem at all, Sakura," he said. "Besides this is part of my duty to help protect you."

"You're such a sweetheart," she said.

"Don't mention it," he said to himself.

He piled the food onto two plates and carried them into the dining room. He set one plate in front of Sakura and the other by his own empty seat. He then poured them each a glass of wine and took his seat.

"Cheers," Yanic said. They raised their glasses to each other and took a drink. "Dig in," he told her.

"This smells so good," Sakura said. She picked up her fork and began to eat. Yanic watched her very closely.

Just before Sakura's first forkful reached her mouth, Syaoran, Tiana, and Takeda burst into Yanic's house.

"Sakura! Stop!" Syaoran yelled.

Sakura looked shocked. "Syaoran? What's the matter? And what's Tiana doing here?"

"Sakura, that's not who you think it is," Tiana said. "This is Takeda, he's the one who's supposed to be protecting you, that's a member of Clow Rood's army."

"And I bet he did something to that food," Takeda said. Sakura looked at horror at the forkful of food.

The sudden arrival had shocked Yanic but he suddenly gained his composure. "I won't let you stop me," Yanic told the three of them. He took a small vial out of his pocket, took off the top, and thrust the needle into Sakura's chest.

Syaoran stared at shock at the scene that seemed to be going in slow motion before him. All he could hear was Tiana's screaming.

When Yanic made the thrusting move his shirt came up and revealed the red mark that was on his waist line.

He saw Sakura's eyes roll up into her head. He saw her slowly slide out of her seat. He heard, even with Tiana's screams, the dull thud as her body hit the floor.

Yanic turned to the three of them and smiled.

Suddenly, the speed seemed to go back to normal. Syaoran let out a scream of anger. He took out his sword and Yanic looked at it with fear.

Syaoran ran at him and swung the sword right where he knew the mark was.

Yanic didn't even have time to scream. His expression of shock dissolved away into mist and his spirit drifted into the gem that hung around the neck of the unconscious Sakura.

Right away Syaoran dropped his sword and ran to Sakura. He lifted her into his lap. He looked up and saw Takeda comforting Tiana who was crying into her hands.

Syaoran lifted Sakura's head and pressed it too his chest as the tears began to fall.

To Be Continued…

* * *

Phew…That chapter took forever…Almost a year. The longest chapter yet, although after waiting so long it should be right? ^_^' Anyway, I thought this was my best chapter yet. What do you guys think? Let me know. I really hope the next chapter doesn't take nearly as long. Oh, and sorry 'bout the cliffhanger.

- Kero