A/N:
Sorry for the long wait, I had exams and was determined to focus
on them before updating anything.
Tsu-RC movie is coming
out this year along with the XXXHolic movie! (In japan of course)
Disclaimer: I do not own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle; it rightfully belongs to the talented CLAMP.
English is not my first language, so forgive me if I make mistakes…
Summary: The gang discovers another one of Sakura's feathers…inside a sick girl's body whose life depends on its power. For Kurogane, it wouldn't mean much to throw another casualty in the round but what happens if that girl goes by the name Tomoyo?
Black Steel, White Plum Blossom
by Rinslet
-
-Syaoran/Fye/Mokona-
"Eeeeh, what's taking our dear Kuro-rii so long?"
"Should we go and help him Fye-san!"
"Nah, if we do that, he'll rip our heads off. Kuro-pan hates to be helped, you know?"
-Kurogane-
She didn't look any different from the last time he saw her; the same depths of her amethyst eyes, the infuriating calm aura around her and the same delicate face of hers.
"What's wrong Kanai? Who is this man?" her tone slightly hinted fear, something he had always wished to see upon her (he was tired of her majestic way and always wanted to crack that poker face of hers).
The man known as Kanai lowered his gun and panic rose in his voice "Tomoyo-sama! Get back in the room!"
The raven jewel didn't acknowledge his plea and looked up at the man in black who was almost twice her size. "You are…?" Her speech was cut short by coughs as she dropped on the floor, holding her throat. The guards quickly ran to her, shoving Kurogane on the side. The ninja lost his balance and fell out the window, into the unsuspecting arms of his companions.
"Oooh, Kuro-chuu finally came out! Now we can go!" Smiling sheepishly, the blond man stood up and practically dragged his two friends out; Syaoran who wanted to go back in to get the feather and Kurogane who (oddly) also wanted to go in. Mokona also helped him, but his miniature size didn't help much.
Kanoe exhaled the smoke, forming small circles. She then leaned her body on a side, smiling lazily.
"So, you found out where the feather was. How do you plan on taking it this time?" she looked at them one by one.
Grumble
Reflective silence
Sheepish laugh
Energetic 'kya'
The woman sighed and stood up, shaking her head. "Well, you still have a lot of time. Until you can find it, you can stay here. I owe Yuuko this much."
They all went into their respective rooms, Sakura and Mokona would be in the same room as Kanoe and the boys would be in the guest room.
On the futon, the ninja rested his head against his arms, wondering if what he just saw was mere illusion.
- - -
She crumbled down at his feet, holding her throat in hope to chase the pain away, her breath cutting short…her skin paler than usual.
- - -
She danced ceremoniously over the water while dispersing lotus petals here and there, performing a sacred ritual in honor for the blue moon… the other priestess followed her lead, her rhythm, but none of them could match her perfection and serenity…she was the goddess reincarnated, doomed to have this tainted country's sin weigh on her young shoulders……not being able to live a life of her own…
- - -
She looked up to him feebly, confusion as well as fear reflected in her eyes…
- - -
Her eyes mocked at him gently, before she turned away from his training and went to inspect on the others…
- Following day-
"Well the first thing you should do is to find out about the people there." Kanoe threw the document in the center of the table.
Syaoran-tachi picked up the file on the table and shuffled through the papers.
"Umm, may I ask how did you get all these infos?" Syaoran asked.
The older woman beamed proudly "I'm the secretary of Tokyo's government. Getting infos on someone as famous as the Daidoujis was hardly a challenge. Don't worry about it, they won't sue you."
The boy looked back at the document and read out loud "Daidouji manor. Own by the Daidoujis. The head, Sonomi-san, runs a toy company. And the following infos are on the company's opening and closing hours, the product, blueprints, etc."
"I thought that the person who carried the feather might work there. All the details are in there."
"Alright then, might as well go take a look"
"Umm..." Sakura gripped the hem of her skirt tightly and looked down. The fact that they left her out of the loop yesterday night wounded her and she hoped that her presence today won't bother them.
When Syaoran passed in front of her, she gripped his sleeve and looked at him pleadingly "Can I come this time?"
He showed her his usual kind smile and nodded "If that is what hime wishes."
From above, they looked like 4 points forming a line in front of Daidouji industry. From the 38th floor, a silhouette observed them with glowing eyes…
"hyuuu, it must have a nice view from the roof, but…" Frowning, Fye closed his eyes in concentration "I sense some kind of aura coming from somewhere in there, but the radiation is different from what I sensed yesterday in the mansion; it hardly bears the same power as one of Sakura-chan's feather…"
The little rabbit (if you can consider it as one) jumped toward Fye head first and hit him square in the face.
"Aiyaaaaaaa-!"
"Trust Mokona! Mokona can feel it!"
"Aiya, Mokona-chan. You've never hit me before! How uncute!"
Kurogane turned away from the battling sidekicks and looked down evenly at Syaoran "You guys go and find the feather, my presence isn't needed."
"I know. This is my business and I won't cause you any troubles."
Kurogane gave a quick nod before turning. "Ah! Kurogane-san!"
He looked over his shoulder.
"I know it's not my place to ask this, but...what are you going to do?"
"……You're right, it's not your place to ask. I'll meet you guys back at the apartment." He was about to go, but Mokona jumped on his shoulder and, surprisingly, bit his ear.
"#&$$#&&#) what the hell are you doing you furball!" Reacting to reflexes, he grabbed Mokona and threw him away, regardless of the force applied.
Thankfully, it landed safely in Sakura's arms. Worried, she stroke its fur to calm it down. "Mokona has been acting strange since we got here."
"Mokona is fine! Let's go!" pouting, it entered Sakura's handbag, disappearing from view.
"Shit…my ear's bleeding. Didn't know that short stuff got teeth..."
His hand motioned into a dismissing wave, Kurogane walked away from the group, not-so blending in with the crowd.
"Should we follow him?"
"Nah, Kuro-ron will be fine on his own. Now let's go!" As he pushed the small group in, his enthusiastic façade broke into a suspicious expression.
His footsteps stopped in front of Daidouji Manor.
As his eyes shut, his thoughts flowed back to the frail girl he saw yesterday and to the Witch's warning…
"People that you knew from your worlds…They have different lives in separate worlds…You might meet them in the worlds you will visit. For those who were nice to you, you can't be certain that they'll do the same…"
His thoughts were cut with a loud explosion, shattering the windows. Reacting to the situation, Kurogane leaped over the gate and into a broken window. He was greeted by a pack of weird soldiers dressed in black, standing over lifeless bodies. Each of them had a symbol burned into their arms, a symbol he had never seen before... it was like a bat.
"I don't know who the hell you are…" he unsheathed his long sword, letting the light shed upon it, showing them how sharp it was. "But I don't like you."
Reacting to his combat spirit, Souhi glowed. Voyaging with his comrades had dulled his skill and Kurogane took advantage of the situation to release his bottled up dissatisfaction toward the monotony of his quest. As the enemy approached one by one, his long forgotten hunger for blood resurfaced. The smell of the fallen ones mixed in the air, triggering his old lust for killing. It was intoxicationg, hard to ignore… If it wasn't for the damned curse, he would've given in without hesitation.
It was always one of the things she didn't approve of him.
---
"Kurogane…why do you enjoy killing?"
"A win isn't a win if the enemy hasn't fallen. Besides, they all deserved it! Those bastards can't even be considered humans."
She smiled, somewhat sadly "No one is corrupted beyond redemption. I believe that if you had let them live, they would eventually change. Like you did."
He 'tche'ed, pushing back his cape "You and I aren't done. Like I said, when I'll be stronger…."
---
Aiming for weak points, Kurogane breezed through the enemy lines and up the stairs. As he approached the room where he saw her last night, an iridescent light shone brightly from under the locked door. Loosing to his sense, he cut the door open and stormed in.
The teen was sprawled on the floor and a soldier was standing over her, one hand holding her throat while the other pulled out a shining object from her…Sakura's feather!
His aura grew murderous and Kurogane swung Souhi, aiming for the neck. The enemy was quick and easily dodged it. He retreated in the corner and leaped out the window. Kurogane was about to follow, but a bullet flew past him.
Behind him, Kanai stood visibly shaken, pointing a gun at him. "It's you again! You're that guy from yesterday! You're with them aren't you!"
"What the hell is wrong with you! I have nothing to do with them! In fact, if I saved your asses!"
"Even if you're not with them, you still have to go to jail. You've trespassed private property and are carrying illegal weapon." He analyzed the approximate five foot large sword (who on earth made that thing?) which reinforced his suspicion.
"You're picking a fight with me boy?" Kurogane taunted.
They both had equal height and same built. Their hair and eyes colors were surprisingly the opposite of each other. Kanai had red long hair tied into a low ponytail and black eyes while Kurogane had short black hair and red demon eyes.
"Couldn't ask for anything better. It's my job to protect Tomoyo-sama."
Something about this man's words triggered memory in Kurogane's mind. With a dry laugh, he lowered the tip of his sword and bent down to pick up the scattered feather.
"That is-!" Kanai clamped his mouth as he watched Kurogane drop the feather into her body. It vanished into her and restored colors to her skin. She looked somewhat better.
"What the hell's wrong with her?"
Kanai hesitated for a moment before answering. "……Tomoyo-sama has had a poor health since the day she was born. A few years ago, the doctor pronounced that her death would inevitably come in a week. On that fated day, Tomoyo-sama did not die, but instead, became healthier………I caught glimpse of her with that……thing, once. When she bleeds, it stops. When she's hurts, it soothes her. I don't know how she's gotten it…but it's a miracle." He knelt down to help her sit up and patted her back, where he estimated the feather would likely be.
Her amethyst eyes opened slowly "Ka…nai?" Her eyes shifted to the other man.
The bodyguard ranged his gun and swept her off the floor "I'm sorry Tomoyo-sama…I failed you. I let you come this close in losing your life and-"
"Who are you?" She tilted her head on the side, noticing nothing else but the man wearing black.
Kurogane frowned and sheathed his weapon. "Kurogane. I saved your life. You owe me."
"Do you always speak with such vulgarities in front of the others!" Kanai interjected, pissed that the newcomer caught Tomoyo's interest in only 5 minutes while he spent 5 years around her and still she hasn't shown nothing more than vague interest in him. She had been talking about him since this morning, as if she longed to see him once more.
A wave of her hand was all she needed to back away her bodyguard. Her gaze still hadn't left his ruby ones. "…If what you say is true, then I thank you. You've let me another chance to continue living when I thought that everything was going to end…Tell me, what can I do to ever repay you?"
It didn't take long for him to form an answer, not from his mind, but from his heart "I want to stay here for a while, in case those guys come back…"
She raised an eyebrow "What will you get out of it? My safety won't bring you anything."
"…So is it yes or no?" Even if he started explaining to her about the other Tomoyo, she wouldn't believe him.
She didn't understood what his goal was, but he looked sincere, so she agreed.
It was a matter of pride…It was his job to stand by Tomoyo-hime in the other dimension, and it will be his job in this one as well. That was why he never invoked her subject when the others all return to the apartment after a fruitless day at the company. He knew that if he mentioned Sakura's feather in Tomoyo's body, they would've taken it immediately…
Lady Light: Hope this chapter pleased you as much as the last one
xXredEMPTionXx: Thanks!
anonymous: wai, thanks!
Lil Kurai: I bet you are
IwishChan: could be, I haven't thought about it though –smile-
asga: sorry it took this long
PeachPonta: did they meet in the way you wanted them to?
kingcakeluva: well here you go!
Syntia : salut! Me too, I read Tsu-Rc in French (so far, I have the first three volumes)
Sheo DarrenHehe, well you'll see in the next chapters
Fire SpiritYup, you guessed right. Pretty predictable huh?
Mimi-san: -smiles- yay, another KuroTomo fan –thumbs up-
Heheangelkisses : yup yup, Tomoyo has the feather, wonder what'll happen to her…
animechik: thanks a lot! –grin-
Dust in: 1. Oh? Well let's just say she does… 2. Nope, I think that one is Karen. Kanoe is Hinoto's younger sis. (but yeah, she does look like a striper) 3. me too
silver soulless: thanks!
Nunofyorbiz:
Sword thingy: If you read Tsu-RC till the part they get to Outo
Country, you'll understand what I meant.
Thanks for confirming
the tachi word for me. –thumbs up-
A/N: I originally thought that it would only take me three chapters to finish this fic, but this chapter was so long so I had to cut it……so much for my idea of a trilogy. –sweatdrop-
Don't forget to review.