Dragon Princess Sakura Chapter 2: Defining Moments, a tsubasa chronicle fanfic

Disclaimer: All characters and images belong to their respectful owners, story line belongs to me.

Written by Rain

Edited by Cloud

Dedicated to: Apelles and Lord Cynic

Dragon Princess Sakura

Chapter One: Defining Moments

The night was dark, a new moon. The stars shone brightly but the shadows were still deep along the castle walls. Fai paced lightly along his balcony, hands deep in his pockets as his mind went over everything he had just read on sensing auras. He would have to speak with Kurogane in the morning about skimping out on his babysitting of the Dragon Trainer to check out his theories. The only problem was that tomorrow was Friday and the day of the races, he wouldn't have time to do much of anything and that worried him. The more he left that Prince to his own guises, the more trouble it could spell for Tolan.

It troubled Fai that he couldn't be everywhere at once; that he couldn't protect everyone, but what disturbed him the most was how tired he had become, like something was sapping his energy. Yawning, the slim wizard looked over the balcony and out into a vast nothingness. It always amazed him that he lived on a castle that was hanging over the edge of a waterfall, it was a beautiful place to be and he loved his home. That was why he couldn't allow anything to jeopardize it. He had spent too long to build up his comfortable life to have anything mess it up, as soon as he got back from the races he would find out what that Prince was hiding and nothing was going to stop him. Fai chuckled to himself, he usually wasn't so determined to act aggressively, he suspected that he was spending too much time around Kurogane, or perhaps the dragons too much.

His mind tried to skip over their keeper but for some reason, he had been thinking of her too much lately and it was starting to worry him. Not that he didn't have enough to worry about. Fai groaned and stopped his pacing to lean against the cool marble and stare out into the courtyard. It didn't matter what he was doing lately, his thoughts would always turn to her, he would always expect her to turn up, even when training his men. It was like he anticipated her to gravitate towards him for some reason and he always felt edgy or frustrated when she wouldn't. It was alarming how much he thought of her, something wasn't right with either himself or her. Perhaps she had cast a spell on him…but Fai was sure he would have felt it, or seen it. Besides he was almost positive that Amaya couldn't do magic.

Shaking his head Fai forcefully turned his thoughts onto something else. He had noticed lately how close his Princess and her bodyguard had become, and he smiled gently. Fai liked Syaoran and thought him a wonderful choice as a suitor, however, their were laws on that sort of thing. Fai frowned, a little upset that his Princess couldn't be entirely happy, though he was sure she wasn't aware of her feelings towards her Bodyguard, Fai was completely aware that Syaoran knew he loved the princess more then a subject to his princess. Fai sighed and rubbed a tired hand over his face, he should be in bed, he would hear from it in the morning if he was tired from both Syaoran and Kurogane.

A slight movement out in the courtyard pulled Fai from his scattered thoughts and he stood up straight to see more clearly. There, just in the shadows was a strangely dressed man. Fai tilted his head to the side and squinted to see better, he cursed the lack of a moon and the deep shadows and was about to alert the guard to a possible threat when someone else appeared close to the strange man, this one however he recognised.

Amaya. What was she doing there and what…Fai's thoughts trailed off when the dragon trainer embraced the man, Fai felt a churning in his stomach and his hand clenched tightly of its own accord. Fai stood watching while they talked for a few moments and then Amaya took the mans hand and led him away. Fai turned from the scene, uncontrollably and for no reason completely angry at Amaya, and at himself. 'Her lover' his mind continued to play over and over and this thought was driving Fai mad. 'She's cast me under some sort of spell, the witch.' Fai stalked from the balcony and flung himself onto his bed, covering his face with his hands. 'What is wrong with me?'

Kurogane glared at the punching bag that swung from his ceiling, his red eyes slits of hatred, he punched the bag and it swung up and back as if taunting him. He could imagine it was that woman, that food stealing, bubbly, scatterbrained, thief Hikari. Frustrated that his punching bag hadn't split opened and died from his punch Kurogane walked away and sat stiffly on a chair near the fire and stared moodily into it. Tomorrow was a racing day, a day when he would be able to get his anger out on the track. Kurogane sat back, feeling a little better at the thought of triumphing over the lesser riders and becoming champion. He imagined girls throwing themselves at him, food in their arms. They would be special delicacies from around the world and they would all be for him….mmm….food.

Kurogane yawned loudly and stretched, he was tired. Two of his men had started a fight over some woman or another and ended up nearly killing each other. Kurogane however sorted those two trouble makers out and gave them then laps of the training grounds and put them on babysitting duty looking after the pain. Pulling out a book from under the cushion of the chair he was sitting on he flipped it open to his marked place and started skimming the pages until he found what he was looking for. There, on a double fold out was a picture of himself, Syaoran and Fai wearing their racing gear. Damn he looked good, even if he did say so himself. He turned to his stats and smirked at the numbers there, only one loss and that was due to cheating on the other rider's part. Kurogane frowned as he remembered the green spiked hair of the street punk, next time he raced against that kid he was going to win by any means necessary. Scanning the other stats of his team mates he smirked at the win-lose streak Fai was having as he'd had to swap dragons almost constantly since Chii had gotten sick.

Growling under his breath Kurogane threw the book away, he needed to do something, anything was better then sitting around doing nothing. Standing up Kurogane stormed out of his rooms and towards the kitchens, a midnight snack would help to clear his head and lift his mood. The corridors were silent and cool, his feet making little noise on the polished flagstones. His eyes swept over the shadows, stopping briefly on the portraits that dotted the walls, past kings and queens, wars and battles, dragons flying, the castle at sunset. It was amazing to him that people could capture an image so like life on their canvas. He wondered what sort of skill was needed, if these painters worked and trained as hard as he did to becoming a mighty warrior. He supposed that all professions would be like that, wanting to become a master, training, putting in the effort. Scowling at his philosophical views he shook his dark head, hair falling into his eyes. Brushing it back irritably he quickened his pace. Lack of food was making him into some sentimental fool like that wizard.

The kitchens came in to view and Kurogane gave a wicked smile, he could just imagine the food he was going to eat, his mouth started watering at the thought of the caramel squares, the roasted meat, the succulent steamed vegetables. Pushing open the doors he strode inside and stopped dead in his tracks. Sitting at the table was Syaoran pigging out on chocolate pudding. Scowling at the younger man Kurogane banged around the kitchen and pulled plates of food over to the table and sat across from him. They were silent for a while, before Syaoran looked up and realized he wasn't alone.

"Couldn't sleep?" he asked while shoveling another spoonful of chocolate pudding into his mouth. Kurogane shrugged and continued to eat. Kurogane eyed the chocolate pudding before stabbing out with his chopsticks and grabbed a bit before stuffing it in his mouth. Syaoran jerked back and pulled back his lip in disgust before shoving what was left of his pudding towards Kurogane. The red eyed man grinned and greedily pulled it towards himself and continued eating. Syaoran glared and crossed his arms over his chest before standing up, his chair making a loud screeching sound and he angrily left the room. Kurogane looked up as the door closed, a happy smile on his face, that was how people were supposed to react to him, oh how he loved order.

Syaoran was not happy, his chocolate had been taken away, his day had started off well but a few people had made it completely unbearable. Namely two people, Kurogane, that food stealing pig. And that Prince whatever his name was. Syaoran did not like him at all. After taking Sakura to see this prince Syaoran had had to stand back and watch as this man flirted with his princess, touch her gently on the back and charm her with his oh so amusing stories. Syaoran had felt the itch to unsheathe his twin blade and slice that mans head off, along with his hands.

Syaoran just could not stand other men touching his princess in such an unclean way. Sakura was such a loving and gentle person, she was so innocent that sometimes it hurt when she didn't understand why men reacted the way they did around her. She hurt him sometimes, not on purpose he knew, she was not someone who could do that to anyone, but she didn't know what she made him feel. Sometimes Syaoran didn't know what he was feeling, but he knew he loved her. He loved her so much that it was sometimes impossible to be around her when she smiled at him, touched him on the hand.

Amber eyes clouded as memories of his beautiful princess flashed past him, her dancing in the cherry blossoms, her hair fanning around her, emerald eyes alight with life. Syaoran groaned and grabbed his messy hair in frustration. He knew he wasn't supposed to think of his princess in this way, he was her body guard, her protector. It was forbidden to even think of her as his. It wasn't likely to happen anyway, Syaoran thought with a sigh. He was lower class, she was a princess, and princesses married princes. But he would be damned if he let that prince have her.

If Syaoran couldn't have her then he would make sure someone worthy of her would. Amber eyes lifted to the starlit sky and he felt himself relax. The stars always reminded him of her for some reason. Her smile, that's what it was, her beautiful, gentle, loving smile. Syaoran shook his head, trying to get his thoughts on something else. The races were tomorrow, she would be there, watching him, worried for him. Syaoran sometimes wished something bad would happen so that she would care for him, think about him, worry about him. But he knew that these selfish thoughts would pain him more then her. He didn't want his princess to be afraid for him, he was supposed to protect her from all harm, he could never intentionally harm his princess just as she could never do the same.

Upset over his thoughts Syaoran lent against the barrier between him and the raging river below, the race would be hard, they were facing their rival, and Kurogane's only defeat tomorrow. He was excited for it, racing was something that you could lose yourself in and all problems disappeared. He only hoped that dragon trainer was taking care of the dragons properly. He worried about Chii, Fai's dragon, the mysterious ailment had come on suddenly and the trainer wouldn't tell Fai what was wrong with her. He hoped that his dragon would be safe and well enough to race tomorrow.

Turning from the rail Syaoran moved back through the courtyard and towards his princess' rooms. The night watch was almost over and it would be his shift all day. He hoped that Kenshin would be able to help at the races this week. Usually the strange red haired guard was busy with duties in the city, or he was busy with his large family. Syaoran smiled as he thought of the one time the red haired guard hadn't been able to come with them and had sent his substitute Sanosuke, a tall spiked haired man who had grated on Kurogane's nerves too much that it resulted in a rather nasty fight, Kurogane obviously the winner. They hadn't seen that man after that. Syaoran felt a tinge of guilt, but brushed it away, the arrogant young man had had it coming one way or another. Syaoran rolled his shoulders, tomorrow was going to be a long day, and if Kurogane didn't win he knew it would become another miserable day. Sighing, the young man stretched and then made his way up to relieve the night guard, he had a duty to perform for his princess, no matter what his feelings were.

"Get out of my way, you incompetent fool! WATCH OUT!" The screech grated on Fai and he flinched as he watched the chaos inside the dragon pens. No matter how many times they did this, something always went wrong. At the moment Amaya was yelling obscenities at some poor worker for tangling up the ropes and forcing one of the dragons to trip which resulted in one of the pen doors to crash down almost hitting the dragon inside. Now the dragons were almost fighting and three workers were injured. Fai watched as Kurogane sauntered towards him, racing clothes on, goggles hanging around his neck. Fai smirked as Kurogane flinched as he walked past the screaming woman and snapping dragons.

"YOU!" Fai rolled his eyes as the blonde whirlwind turned on him. "Grab that rope and hold on to it. And YOU!" Kurogane glared. "Hold that one and walk towards the door." Kurogane and Fai stood there, hands in their pockets. "NOW!" she cried out, her eyebrows furrowed down low over her eyes and she rubbed them tiredly.

Fai sighed and took the rope that was holding the broken down pen door and held on. Kurogane flicked his fingers and three of his soldiers came forwards and took his rope and pulled, bringing the pen back as it should be and held it there while workers hurried to mend it. Fai scowled at the smug look on Kurogane's face. However Fai's attention was brought back to Amaya as she yawned and stretched and his mood darkened even more as he remembered the man from last night. Serves her right, his mind thought as he glared at her and turned his head away.

"STOP!" the bellow started Fai from his angry thoughts and he turned back to Amaya who stood in the middle of the chaos, all actions stopped, all noise gone. All of the dragons were now standing still. "Good, now, hurry up and fix that door, you five get those dragons out of here and ready to move. The rest of you…clean up this mess." And then she was moving down the pen lines until she came to Chii. The white dragon was lying down, head drooping slightly. Amaya smiled and jumped over the pen door. Fai gave his rope to a passing worker and followed the trainer to his dragon. He watched as her hands fluttered over the she-dragons stomach, then her head pressed against it gently before it came back up and she smiled at the dragon.

"Not much longer now dear Chii." Fai tilted his head to the side, curious, he still didn't know what was wrong with his dragon. Amaya turned and found herself staring at Fai, his sky blue eyes capturing her grey ones. They stood like that for a few moments before a shout startled them and Amaya quickly turned her head away and made a quick getaway over the pen door and almost ran towards the entrance to help with the dragons. Fai still stood where he was, wondering what had just happened. He felt hot all of a sudden and placed a hand to his forehead, he hoped he wasn't coming down with something. Shrugging off the strangeness to contemplate later he walked back to the entrance and got inside the large vehicle that would take the three dragons to the race tracks. There was an awkward moment when Amaya hopped in and sat beside him, but that was soon forgotten when the driver started the vehicle and turned up the volume on the radio and began to sing a colourful song off key.

Syaoran helped his princess into her hover craft vehicle and then got in next to her, his eyes immediately adjusting to the different lighting and taking in everything around them. Beside his princess on her other side sat Kenshin, the red haired guard and in front of them the driver started the engine and pushed their princess's favourite song into the music player. Sakura smiled in delight and they pulled away from the castle's back entrance and towards the only bridge that led from the castle to the city. Ahead of them were the dragons and behind came the extra guard, Prince Yotomaru in his own vehicle and Kurogane. Syaoran relaxed back into the car, trying to set his mind on the race ahead and not on how close he was sitting to his princess.

"Oh, I love this song."

"Me, too, isn't Ashitaka sooo handsome?"

"Too bad he's married to that San girl."

"Who cares, he's sooo hot, that I could melt where I am."

"Please do." Kurogane muttered, his hands gripped tightly on the wheel, his knuckles turning white with the strain. Red eyes narrowed at the cars ahead of him that were going slowly over the bridge, too slowly for him. Sitting next to him was his sister and in the back was her friend, the food stealing fiend Hikari. Both girls were singing along with the song currently playing on the radio. Kurogane wanted to bash the radio out of his car.

"Oh, my gosh, did you hear that Zarbon's going to be there today?" Kurogane groaned as the girls shrieked

"I love him." Mei Lin swooned "He has to be the best racer ever." Kurogane gritted his teeth.

"He's undefeated isn't he?" Hikari asked, pulling herself in between the front seats to talk to Mei Lin better. Kurogane's eye twitched.

"Yup, he beat you didn't he?" Mei Lin looked innocently over at Kurogane who kept his eyes on the road ahead. What was taking so long? "He did, it was really close though, are you racing him today Ni-san?"

Kurogane punched his hand on the horn and it blared out loudly, the sound relaxed him slightly and the cars moved a little quicker. Kurogane sighed, finally they were going to get off this bridge.

"Name?" Kurogane scowled at the red clad guard on gate duty. The guard sighed irritably and looked up, his eyes widened and quickly waved the vehicle through. Kurogane smiled, he loved the effect he had on people. Hikari whistled.

"Wow, he didn't even ask for ID. Hey Kurogane-sama, you should come with me and Mei Lin to a club, don't you think Mei?" Ruby eyes twinkled and long black hair was whipped behind her as Mei Lin peered over at her brother.

"That's an idea, what do you say Ni-san? Up for a little dancing?"

"No."

"Awe, come-on, just once?"

"No."

"Please?"

"Shut Up."

"Ni-s-"

"-Shut up Shut up Shut up Shut up SHUT UP!"

Hikari and Mei Lin sat back in their seats, a little worried about the vein they could see throbbing in Kurogane's temple.

"Kurogane-sama, please?" Hikari asked, blue eyes wide, Mei Lin smirked.

"AHHHHHH"

The horn blared loudly.

Fai and Amaya turned around at the scream and horn, before shrugging and turning to the front. The driver was now talking to them about the races and who he was putting money on. The man who introduced himself rather enthusiastically as Hige was currently rambling out team stats.

"And so it's obvious that since Zarbon's team is going to be racing today I'll put my money on them." Fai frowned and Amaya glared.

"Their dragons are mistreated, the riders ride them too hard." Hige shrugged.

"Doesn't matter sweet thing, they're still better." Amaya crossed her arms defensively at the derogatory remark and Fai bristled. "So, lovely one, you going alone to the races?" Amaya rolled her eyes and Fai glared, he could feel his magic wanting to boil out of him, but he held on to it tightly.

"Obviously not, I'm the dragon trainer." She snapped pointing at her insignia. Her clothes had changed from the smelly and ripped work clothes she wore everyday to the proper regalia of the royal trainer, her clothes were black and white with a dragon crest trailing down the front. The man grinned

"Dragons for company, juicy fruit? Hmm, I think we can do better then that. I had a box seat for two, how bout you join me eh? We can have some real fun you know what I mea-"

"She's with me." Fai ground out, his glare piercing the driver. Hige shrugged, but both could see the sweat dripping from his forehead and he swallowed thickly and didn't talk with them for the rest of the ride. Fai and Amaya sat uncomfortably next to each other, both stiffly and trying desperately to not touch each other.

The Race back entrance was crowded with soldiers wearing the plain black uniform of the local law enforcers and was spilling over with brightly coloured teams and their saddled dragons. They could hear cheers and screams and also the commentators voices blasting over powerful speakers. The air smelled of sweat, popcorn and dragon dung, a strange combination but not an altogether unpleasant one.

Amaya jumped out of the truck as soon as it stopped, she could hear the restless movements of her dragons inside and quickly helped the pen hands unlatch the door and then she disappeared inside. Fai stood to the side, leaning against a wall casually watching the dragon hands work and take orders from their head trainer. Fai watched Amaya work, his eyes unconsciously following her as she petted the dragons and spoke with them, smiling at their growled replies. It fascinated him that she could speak to dragons, but he would never let her know that. Fai was interrupted by a shout he knew only too well as Kurogane stormed towards him, two young girls following after him and smiling brightly.

"Hello Fai-sama, are you excited about the race?" Fai raised an eyebrow and turned to Kurogane, Fai knew Mei Lin, but this other girl; he had no idea who she was. Seeing his look the short blonde girl bounced on her feet embarrassed "I'm sorry, I'm Hikari." She held out her hand and Fai bent over it, the girl blushed and smiled prettily, batting her eyelashes. Fai stood up quickly and dropped her hand, disturbed by her behaviour.

"Amaya darling, don't you look ravishing today." All four turned at the rich baritone and Mei Lin and Hikari sighed, their eyes glazing over.

"Zarbon." The curt nod did nothing to sway the handsome green haired man. Fai's hand clenched and a vein popped in Kurogane's temple.

"So cold, you give me chills." The tall blonde rolled her eyes and the spike haired man flashed a dangerous smile. Mei Lin and Hikari swooned and fell into Kurogane who spluttered and pushed them away.

"What do you want?" she asked turning towards him now, her grey eyes narrowed. "I've already given you what you wanted, so get lost." The green haired man pouted and took her arm. Fai could see her muscles tense and before he could get to Amaya the princess came forward and glanced at the man before turning to her Dragon trainer.

"Amaya, I was wondering if you could accompany me to see the races." Amaya flashed a grateful smile and pulled her arm from Zarbon's.

"I'll speak with you again darling." Amaya waved him off and began talking earnestly with the princess, Kenshin following after them.

Hikari smiled "Isn't he dreamy?" Both men looked at her as if she were deranged. "Well, we must be off, we don't want to hang around you three for long." And then Mei Lin and her friend were gone. It took Kurogane and Fai a few seconds to realise she'd said three and looked behind them to see Syaoran there, his arms crossed over his chest and a scowl on his face.

"What is our dragon trainer doing with the competition and how does she know him?" Syaoran asked. All three men turned confused eyes to the retreating forms of their princess and their dragon trainer, suspicions crawling around in their minds.

"Is everything ready?" Mei Lin asked, her ruby eyes' darting around in the girl's toilets to make sure no one was listening in. Amaya nodded her head a small smile on her lips.

"What about the entrance fee?" Sakura asked worrying her lip between her teeth. Amaya shook her head

"I told you, everything's taken care of. You girls just go out there and show them that nothing and no one can beat you."

Hikari and Mei Lin smiled and quickly changed into their clothes and headed out of the window in the girls bathroom to make sure that 'men' weren't seen coming out of a girls toilet. Sakura and Amaya stayed for a few more moments.

"Does this have something to do with Zarbon?" Sakura asked, her brow furrowed in concern for her friend. Amaya shrugged.

"We go way back, it's nothing I can't handle." Sakura stared at Amaya still not entirely convinced but let it go.

"Very well, should we get back? Syaoran-kun and the others will be getting ready for their race now." Amaya smiled and led her Princess out of the toilets and nodded her head at Kenshin the substitute guard.

Kenshin smiled brightly at them and the diminutive guard quickly took point, clearing the way for the princess and her friends. The red haired guard smiled brightly up at his captain, only to receive a dark scowl in return.

"Oro?"

"LET'S GET READY TO RUMBLE!" The loud speakers yelled and the crowd went wild. Syaoran breathed it in, feeling his body react to the atmosphere. He was geared up and ready to go. He checked over his dragon Li and made sure all buckles were secure before vaulting up and into the saddle. He turned and watched as Fai pulled his goggles onto his forehead and pulled himself on to his borrowed dragon. Kurogane took longer, double checking everything and conferring with the dreaded dragon trainer about last minute tips. Syaoran shook his head, Kurogane took these races just a little too seriously.

Finally Kurogane was ready and with a final check down from Amaya who then turned and patted down each dragon, singing soothingly. All three racers could feel their dragons relax and become steadier. Now it was time to go and get into their places for the race. Waving farewell to his Princess, Syaoran pulled ahead of the other two and made his way to his first race against five different teams.

"HERE WE GO, ALPHA TEAMS; in starting lane 1 we have THE ZINGERS WITH THEIR TEAM LEADER THE COLONEL. In starting lane 2 we have THE ICE-CRUSHERS WITH THEIR TEAM LEADER ZARBON." The commentators had to stop as the crowed went crazy, their noise a tidal wave upon the racers and the spiked green haired man waved to everyone, his yellow eyes shining with mirth. Syaoran glared at him and turned his head to see Kurogane scowling darkly at his rival. "In starting lane 3 we have THE SHADOW WRAITHS WITH THEIR TEAM LEADER SYAORAN." Again the commentators had to stop, however this time it wasn't just the people who went wild but also his dragon and his team's dragons as they let out a mighty roar of pride. "In starting lane 4 we have THE COMETS WITH THEIR TEAM LEADER DEREK. And last but not least in starting lane 5 we have THE RANDOM HEROS WITH THEIR TEAM LEADER DEAN."

The cheers went up again and Syaoran pulled his goggles down, and then secured his hat buckle. Flexing his gloved hands he made sure the leather felt comfortable before securing his feet tightly in the straps. Rolling his shoulders to get the tenseness out of his system he took up the reins and gripped them loosely. Settling into the saddle he maneuvered his dragon into the starting lane and readied his mind for the upcoming race. Syaoran blocked out everything, the sounds, the smells, the taunting of the other riders on either side of him, everything that wasn't him or his dragon was forgotten. Amber eyes narrowed in determination and he shifted his grip on the reins, legs taunt and ready. He could feel his heart beating a slow drum and knew he had to keep their pace steady, allow the others to get ahead, don't panic, stay clear. Breathing deeply he licked his lips, eyes set on the finish line.

BANG

Syaoran jerked forwards, pushing downwards and his dragon leapt free of the cages, head whipping from side to side to scare the other dragons Syaoran and Li took off, the rhythm steady and fast, the sound of his heart and his harsh breathing the only things he could hear. Wind rushed towards him and he relished it. Pushing forwards, and down he followed his dragons' gait, rolling along with it, trying to be as little a burden as possible. He could see it, the finish and he felt his heart speed up and so he pushed Li harder, faster, lighter, and they flew across the ground. Out of the corner of his eye Syaoran could detect green creeping upwards but dismissed it, he would not panic, he would not push harder then what Li could handle.

They were so close, almost there, so very, very close. Syaoran felt the strain, and pushed through it finding the pain, the strength of will exhilarating. Li and Syaoran were a blur over the finish line and immune to the cheers of the crowd. Syaoran only had ears for one cheer and that was his princess whose green eyes were lit like stars and her smile was wide and joyous. Syaoran felt his heart speed up and was stunned to find that just seeing Sakura smile like that was almost similar to the race he had just won. Bringing his dragon around he looked up at the scores board and frowned at how close it had been, that Zarbon man had almost come close to beating him. Shrugging it off he smiled, he was sure Kurogane would be happy that someone had beaten that green haired man who everyone deemed unbeatable.

Allowing Amaya to take his dragon, Syaoran leapt down and slapped his fellow teammates who congratulated him, Kurogane begrudgingly. Syaoran bowed to his princess and she shook her head smiling and hugged him happily. Syaoran took in the moment trying very hard to keep it in his mind. It was Fai's turn next to go up against the four other teams members and surprisingly he won. It had been his first time riding Amaya's dragon and they had been unerringly compatible. Kurogane also won his competition after much aggravation from Mei Lin and her friend Hikari, Kurogane allowed them to take photos of him with his dragon and even had one with the food stealing Hikari; but only after being threatened with their mother. They were almost ready to go home when the princess desperately needed to go to the bathroom and both Mei Lin and Hikari accompanied her there, Kenshin following closely behind.

"What's taking so long?" Prince Yotomaru complained, pouting at them all. "Urg, tell the princess I will meet her when she gets back. I am leaving now." Everyone mumbled something incoherent and the Prince snarled at them all before stomping away.

"That man gives me the creeps." Amaya said distantly, watching the Prince as he slapped at one of his servants. Fai was pulled from his thoughts and he frowned. He'd had an opportunity all day to test and prod at the Prince's aura but had been distracted. Sighing at the lost opportunity he tried to tune in to the conversation.

"What is taking the princess so long though, Amaya, could you go and see what's wrong?" Syaoran asked politely and the dragon trainer eyed him suspiciously but nodded her head and left. She came back a few minutes later and shrugged self consciously.

"Well?" Kurogane growled and Amaya shuffled away from him.

"Er…well, you see. It's um…"

"Spit it out!" Kurogane cried, his patience had been worn out that morning and hadn't returned all day.

"It's girl troubles." All three men shared a confused look and Amaya sighed, embarrassed to have to explain it further. "You know, that time of the month?" Fai blushed and turned away, trying to think of something else, Syaoran nodded his head and went back to searching the perimeter but Kurogane looked a little lost. Amaya glanced at him funny.

"You have a sister right? Surely you'd understand." Kurogane shrugged but still looked confused until Fai whispered to him what she was talking about and the man chocked and turned swiftly away from Amaya, his back straight. Amaya forced herself not to laugh at the actions of the men around her and stood idly around, waiting for an opportunity to present itself.

"Darling, your still here? Waiting for me are you?" Amaya hid her grin, right on time. Kurogane's eye twitched and his fists clenched tightly. Syaoran looked at Kurogane and the black haired man shoved his fists inside his pockets and glared at the green haired racer. Fai watched on, feeling an overwhelming anger towards this man he hardly knew. It confused him and also made him want to become increasingly violent, 'I really should stop hanging around Kurogane so much.' He thought to himself.

"Actually, I was. Now I wanted to ask you what the hell do you think your doing using electric shocks on dragons?" Her voice was low and deadly, and she came right up into Zarbon's overly handsome face. The man's eyes sparkled with mischief and he poked her in the shoulder.

"What do you care Royal dragon trainer? They're not your dragon's, I can do whatever I want with my property."

"They are not property and you know it. It's illegal training methods." Syaoran rolled his eyes at Fai and the blonde man grinned. Anything to do with dragons and all three men knew their dragon trainer would be up on her soap box about it.

"You gonna report me?" he scoffed, laughing in her face. Amaya frowned, they needed to scale this up a little, Syaoran looked more likely to go off and try to help the princess in the bathroom then stay and watch this fight unfold.

"Yes." She hissed, glaring at him. Zarbon stepped backwards and returned the glare ten fold.

"You wouldn't."

"Try me."

Zarbon crossed his arms over his chest and smirked. "You wont, I have dirt so thick on you not even the princess could get you out of it." Ahh, and there it was, Syaoran's head snapped around at the mention of the princess. Amaya was a little worried though, Fai and Kurogane were taking a very big interest in this conversation, and she only hoped that they didn't become too suspicious.

"Hm, you say anything about that and I'll drag you down with me." Amaya snarled, getting right into his face.

Fai and Kurogane glanced at each other, eyebrows raised. They didn't know exactly what was going on but by the sounds of it both Zarbon and Amaya knew each other quite well and either one or both were doing something illegal.

"I'd like to see you try." And then Zarbon came right up close to her and whispered something in her ear. Amaya gasped and shoved him away. She went to punch at him but the green haired man grabbed her hand and grinned dangerously down at her before soundly slapping her on the face. The slap sounded harsh to everyone's ears and the force of it brought Amaya to her knees. Zarbon still held her hand in his fist and he spat at her.

"Blood-traitor." He snarled before throwing her hand away from him and wiping his hand on his pants leg. Amaya was startled, they weren't supposed to take it this face, it was all supposed to be a farce. She knew however that Zarbon wasn't joking anymore, this was real and the hurt was real as well. However Zarbon didn't get very far when a cruel wind picked up around him, stinging him. Turning his handsome face back towards where he had left Amaya he was surprised to see the blue wizard standing before her, arms held lazily before him and riding jacket whipping behind him sharply. His platinum blonde hair thrashing around him and his blue eyes regarding Zarbon coldly.

While the distraction was taking place Mei Lin, Hikari and Sakura were hurriedly changing and giving each other last minute tips on what to look out for. They were all nervous and jittery, giving little panicky laughs. Mei Lin rolled her eyes at them and they all laughed, their tension leaving them slightly. They knew they were acting silly, but it was so exciting and so thrilling, they were breaking a law. They were going to dragon ride.

Checking each other over they then helped each other to climb out of the window, careful not to let anyone see them. They then made it over to the pen Amaya had pointed out to them. Standing in front of the pen however was a tall, thin man who was smoking casually. Gold eyes narrowed at them suspiciously.

"Who're you?" Mei Lin asked rudely, remembering to lower her voice. The tall man didn't speak for awhile, but continued to take a few more puffs before snubbing out the cigarette.

"Where's that annoying girl?" The man's voice was deep and bored sounding. Sakura was confused.

"Who?" she asked, taking her lead from Mei Lin and lowering her voice as well. Sakura hoped her voice sounded like a boys.

"The blonde one." The man said vaguely and eyed them distrustfully.

"You mean Amaya?" Hikari asked, forgetting until the last minute to change her voice as well. The man relaxed his shoulders and nodded his head.

"Right then ladies, she said you'd know who she was, I'm off, tell her Tokio sends her regards."

"Ladies?" Mei Lin sputtered. The man smirked and took out another cigarette. The man raised an eyebrow and pointed at their uniforms. All three girls looked down at themselves and when they turned to ask the man more questions he was gone.

"How bizarre." Hikari stated, and then shrugged, playfully punching Sakura's shoulder.

"Come-on your highness, lets gear up."

"Amaya sure does have odd friends." Sakura whispered as she eyed the equipment hanging inside the pen. All three girls quickly got themselves geared up and ready to go, making sure their uniforms hid everything unmanly about them. Mei Lin even produced some rolled up socks for err…effect.

All three girls rode their dragons to the check in line and waited until their number was called. Because they were low ranking racers their teams would have to make it through the ranks until they were better known to be able to do singular races. At this point however they would be doing relay races. Sakura only hoped that this time she would be able to catch as all team leaders were to be the last leg of the race.

Mei Lin glanced down at the long pole that was to be used as the baton. She was glad that she had leather gloves because her hands were sweating and she was sure that without them the rod would have slipped from her hands even before the race had started. Shivering Mei Lin glared at the others around her and focused on her far away team mate. Narrowing her eyes in determination Mei Lin tensed her muscles.

BANG

Mei Lin jumped and her dragon was slow to start because he was confused as to the signals his rider was giving him. Mei Lin cursed herself and quickly regained control of herself and pushed out hard, her hands slipping all over the reins and she abandoned them halfway through because they were getting in her way. Keeping balance with her legs Mei Lin laid her hands flat on her dragon's neck and got ready to throw the baton to Hikari.

Hikari caught it firmly in her hands and twisted in her saddle and set her sights on Sakura who was only a dot on the horizon to her. The other riders were close about her and Hikari jumped as one brushed against her leg. Her dragon reacted to her sudden movement and swept its tail out towards the offending rider and dragon, effectively putting them out of action, even if it was by accident on Hikari's part. Muttering an apology to the poor rider she pressed forwards, imagining herself to be as strong and fearsome as Kurogane-sama. Hikari smiled as she thought of the reaction he would have if he knew she was racing on a dragon. Aiming Hikari threw the baton to Sakura who for half a heart-beat fumbled with the metal rod but quickly regained it in her small hands and then Sakura was hurtling down the race track.

Sakura sighed in relief, she'd caught the baton, everything else would be simple. Sakura wondered if this is what Syaoran felt when he raced. She could understand now why racing was so popular, it was so wonderful, she felt so happy, and she was going so fast. The speed was so incredible, she had never gone this fast before and having the wind in her face and her dragon Yue gliding along the ground beneath her was amazing. Sakura smiled, happy; this was her dream, and she was living it.

Sakura wasn't even aware she had finished the race until she heard the crazed roar of the people and realized that she was alone. Stopping quickly and blushing, grateful for the helmet that obscured her embarrassment she turned and walked her dragon back to her team. They slapped her on the back and pointed up at the race board.

NO.01 –STAR RAIDERS; TAO, TAKESHI, KERO

NO.02 – BREAKERS: MUSHU, JACKI, ROCKO

Sakura didn't look at it anymore, she didn't need too. All three of them gave a high five and then, realizing that they needed to get back turned their dragons around, ignoring the congratulatory remarks being flung about them and took their dragons back to their pen. They slowed down when they reached the pen because standing in front of it was a tall, good looking red head and he bowed to them.

"Have a good race?" he asked already taking the leads to the dragons and unbuckling their saddles.

"We won." Mei Lin stated proudly. The redhead grinned at them and gave them a thumbs up.

"I suppose that means you'll be here next week then?"

"Definitely." Sakura said, still a little winded from the ride. They quickly made excuses and then hurried back to the girl's toilets to change and hopefully make themselves presentable to whomever was waiting for them.

Kurogane glanced at Fai and shook his head, Fai however ignored the look of warning and stepped menacingly forwards, his aura pulsating around him and unconsciously he allowed it to reach out towards Amaya. He was about to unleash his anger on this man if you could call him that, when they were interrupted by the return of their princess and her two friends. Sakura smiled at them all, oblivious to the tension that was surrounding the group. Zarbon used the distraction to escape from sight and Fai glared at the princess and then down at his hands.

He wasn't sure why he had reacted this way, but no man should ever physically harm a woman intentionally. Sakura looked around the group curiously, but Amaya was already up and walking back towards the trucks, her face turned away from the group. Fai followed slowly after her his magic still swirling around him, but at a gentle breeze. Fai turned his blue gaze towards the sky and sighed, everything was becoming too complicated, he needed to relax…Amaya needed to relax. Fai contemplated a way in which both could do that without getting into an argument when the idea struck him. A warm smile lit his face and he quickened his pace to the truck, when they got back, the wizard and the trainer were going to play chess.

Kurogane glanced warily at his car, and then at the two girls, he had hoped they had somehow drowned in the toilets, but luck it seemed wasn't on his side. Mei Lin smiled up at him innocently and Kurogane frowned in mistrust, that annoyance was up to something, he only hoped it didn't involve him, or his food. Sighing in defeat, which was rare, he walked as slowly as he could over to the vehicle, Hikari and Mei Lin following behind. Kurogane covertly pulled some cotton wool from out of his pockets and stuffed them in his ears, that should take care of the ride home, he only wished there was some way, other then cutting out their tongues, that could silence those girls.

Syaoran smiled at his princess "Are you feeling better?" he asked and Sakura looked at him confused before a blush came to her cheeks and she nodded her head, all four of them had come up with the ruse, hoping that the men wouldn't ask to many questions.

"I'm fine Syaoran." She said softly. Syaoran smiled back at her and led her to her vehicle, helping her inside before following, Kenshin the red haired guard getting in on the other side and the driver starting up the engine. None of the men wondered why it had taken so long for Sakura and the other girls to get back or took any notice of their rather disheveled appearance or the goggle marks that left dents on the ridges of their noses. They were lucky this time, but they all knew that it would only get harder to distract the men from what they were doing.

"Kurogane-sama, why do you have cotton in your ears? That's dangerous, here, let me get them out."

"Get OFF ME WOMAN!"

To be continued…

AN/ sorry it took so long, there's been dramas going on. Hope you like it, I had a little fun with bringing other characters from mangas/books etc. Have a good one.

Kenshin, Sanosuke, Saitou, Tokio- Rurouni Kenshin

Ashitaka, San- Princess Mononoke

Zarbon- Dragon Ball Z

Hige- Wolf's Rain

Charlie- Harry Potter

Cloud: Goob! You forgot to mention one of the most important characters; Dean! Sigh Oh isn't he just dreamy? Oh and by the way, he isn't a fictional character, he's actually real! Woohoo!