Disclaimer: We don't own Tsubasa, meaning we don't own any of those familiar names and people and all that (that would be Sakura, Syaoran and Mokona, for those keeping score). We do, however, own Daeron and Mei. And, uh, the plot. Or something.

Author's Note: We'd like to extend a thank you to Mercury Gold for pointing out we had anonymous reviews disabled. We didn't even realise, so thank you bunches for pointing that out to us!

We'd also like to thank everyone who reviewed so far, because reviews make us feel happy. Happy is good! Also, we realise we might take a bit of time between chapters, but that doesn't mean we're abandoning this fic. It just means that college is hard, being out of college is hard, and that those two facts are not very friendly to the act of ficcing. So please bear with us, and thanks for the support!


To Protect You
By: Hane no Miko (link no miko + Koorino Megumi)

Chapter 2: Lightened Shadows

The moonlight gave little help to Sakura. From the way her captors were standing, she could only see their outlines. She knew from voice and body type that there was a man and a woman, but she could see nothing else, and they were dragging her away; away from the town, from help, from Syaoran.

And her struggling didn't seem to affect them in the slightest.

"L-let me go! I have to go back! Syaoran-kun...!"

"You're going to hurt yourself if you don't stop struggling, little missy."

"Let go!"

"We're not going to, so you'd be doing yourself a favor if you'd just come before somebody sees us!"

Sakura hesitated for a second at the woman's words, wondering why these people would be concerned with being seen. After all, weren't they just the same as those within the town? But the fact still remained that Syaoran was there and she was here.

"Let go!" she repeated. Useless or not, she refused to give up.

"Would you quit it already?" the woman snapped. Then, apparently to her partner, "What are we gonna do about this?"

The male silhouette shrugged. "I dunno. But if she keeps this up, we're gonna hurt her. And I don't think that would be a good thing." The hand on her arm didn't losen any, though. Sakura felts tears of frustration well up but shook them away. Crying wouldn't help Syaoran or her. But if she could reason with these people, just maybe...

"Please, my friend! I have to help him!"

The man shook his head. "Not like that, you aren't. You and your, uh... What is this thing, anyway?" He held up Mokona by the ears. Only then did Sakura notice that the magical creature didn't seem phased by any of this.

"Mokona..."

"Mokona is Mokona!"

The woman eyed the creature, leaning toward him. "Never seen a mokona before."

"Mokona isn't an 'a'!" the creature exclaimed, swinging from his captor's hand, "Mokona is Mokona!"

Sakura couldn't help smiling at her friend's behavior. And she wondered, if Mokona could be this calm about these two people, if he could joke and be so happy, did that mean that she wasn't in danger after all? But if that was true, why wouldn't they let her go back to help Syaoran?

The woman eyed Mokona curiously for a moment, but then she turned her gaze back to the princess. "Anyway, we're not there yet, so would you just walk with us? There's nowhere else for you to go."

"But my friend-" Sakura began to protest again.

"I told you!" the woman burst out, "You can't do anything like that, so just come on!"

"Hey, Mei," the man said, reaching out and touching her shoulder. Sakura blinked. "A little harsher there?" The woman said nothing, and the man tugged gently on Sakura's arm. "Hey, little missy. How about a name for us? I'm Daeron."

"S-Sakura..."

"Sakura, hm? Pretty name." And, amazingly, the hand on her arm loosened, not quite completely, but enough that Sakura felt she could break away if she truly wanted to.

She didn't move.

"This is going to sound really, really lame, but just trust us, okay? You can't help your friend."

Sakura's eyes narrowed, but she didn't stop walking. "I have to! He's always helping me, I can't just leave him!"

"Sometimes you can't do anything, even if you want to," the woman stated flatly.

The princess looked at her to find that she still seemed decidedly tense, but her grip, too, had loosened, and she had turned her head away. Sakura frowned, but she felt herself beginning to relax. She was fairly certain these two didn't mean her any harm. But even so, she couldn't just leave Syaoran behind. So, keeping her voice firm, she insisted, "I have to try."

The woman made a frustrated noise and kept walking, and Sakura looked to the boy--Daeron--pleadingly. "Please, let me go back for him."

He looked at her for a moment, then shook his head. "No, we won't allow that. You'll just get captured too, and then what would you do? I'm sorry, little missy, but you can't go back."

Sakura just stared at them, a weight settling in her stomach and making her feel ill. If she gave up now, she'd just be abandoning him. But if she went back... I... I can't just leave him...! ...I won't!

She wrenched her arm away from Daeron and turned on her heels, ready to dash back to Syaoran and save him. Mokona made a surprised sound behind her, but she didn't care. If she didn't go now, if she didn't save him, how could she live with herself? Syaoran went through numerous pains, coming to save her burned, scarred, beat up, hurting so much, and she'd just let two strangers tell her she couldn't save him?

I have to do something!

"No you don't!" She rammed into something--Mei--and then they both had her again, each holding onto one of Sakura's arms.

"No! I can't just leave him! No, please!"

"Mei... Do something, please?"

"Yeah, like what? Ah, forget it."

Mei's grip tightened around her, the woman's breathing abruptly growing heavy, and Sakura gasped in surprise as she felt something grab her ankle, holding her in place. She struggled against whatever it was, but it didn't give in the least, keeping her where she stood. And even as she struggled, a second grabbed her other ankle.

"No! Let me go!" the princess protested, desperate now. Syaoran!

"Let me know if you see anyone coming," Mei directed Daeron, ignoring her, "We'd better not try to move any farther until she calms down."

Daeron nodded, stepping away from them and disappearing into the darkness.

"Just let me go back to him!" Sakura pleaded. The tears were welling up in her eyes again, and this time she couldn't hold them back.

Mei glared at her. "Daeron already told you, there's no point in us letting you get captured, too! Jeez, don't you think about anyone besides yourself?"

Sakura jerked as though the other woman had slapped her. She hadn't... "I didn't mean..."

"Of course you didn't," the woman snapped, her tone disagreeing with her words. Sakura looked down, closing her eyes and willing her tears away. If she lost her focus now, she'd never find Syaoran again. Or Fye or Kurogane, either.

A few minutes later, and the shadowed man rejoined them. Sakura wished more than anything that she could get a good look at the pair. Mokona seemed to trust them, and she trusted Mokona, but still... Faceless people were a bit too unnerving.

"I think the princess has calmed down some," Daeron said, and Sakura jerked her head up to stare at him. How did they know...? He must have noticed something was wrong, because he titled his head to the side. "Did I say something weird?" Sakura blinked, confused.

"Maybe she didn't like the nickname," Mei said simply, and Daeron laughed.

"What do you mean?"

"I meant you were acting like a spoiled princess. So I called you one."

Sakura continued to look at them, hoping he would explain exactly why he thought that, but Daeron just shook his head at her. "We should go."

Mei considered this for a moment. Sakura barely caught her faint nod in the darkness, and the princess gasped in shock as whatever was holding her in place abruptly let go.

"Don't try to run again, all right?" Mei asked, voice pained.

Sakura pursed her lips. She wanted more than anything to go after Syaoran, but she could tell by now that there was no way for her to simply run away from these people.

I need to focus. If I wait for now and make them believe I'm going with them, maybe I can find a chance to escape...

She was not a strategist, but it was all she could count on for the moment, so she gave a faint nod back, following as the two began to walk.


Everything was dark. He awoke slowly, painfully, his joints pulled taut, his muscles clenched, bones broken. When he tried to move all he found was pain--at least one rib was broken, he was sure of that much. His arms were strung up, raised above his head, and the weight of his body pulled the already straining muscles, even though his feet were able to touch the floor.

Where... Sakura!

As always, his thoughts turned to his princess, but between the darkness and the pain he knew there was no way for him to find her. Not that those things had stopped him before.

He tried to struggle against his bonds, find the weakness in the chains holding him, but pain crashed over him and he was forced to stop, panting. The throbbing in the back of his head didn't help matters any, either, and it took him longer than he'd like to sort his scrambled thoughts.

Sounds from far away reached him through the inky blackness, and he perked his ears, trying to hear. Unfortunately, the noises were so soft and inaudible he couldn't make them out. He hoped that if they got closer, however, it would be like his experience in Hanshin and he still wouldn't be able to understand them.

It was the only way he'd know if his princess was alive and safe and away from here.

The mumbling slowly grew louder, and in his hazy vision he caught two men, both clad in robes like the man he'd kicked, enter the room. They must have noticed he was awake, because one of the men said something to his companion before making his way over to Syaoran.

Whatever was in the drink he forced down Syaoran's throat worked fast, and the boy only had a few moments to be grateful that the men spoke in gibberish before everything went black.

Sakura...


Sakura looked around her, the blank stark walls of the cave almost claustrophobic. Mokona sat atop her shoulder, quiet, which only added to the foreboding sense in Sakura's stomach. Ahead of them, Daeron and Mei walked slowly, not talking.

When the cave they were walking through opened out, however, all that changed.

"Here you go, little missy," Daeron said, sweeping his arm out to indicate the huge cavern they had just stepped into.

The walls were lined with pads that were covered in sparse bedding, and a fire was already blazing in the center of the cavern, complete with a pot hanging over it, steam rising invitingly from the contents. There were stores of food in one corner with a tiny makeshift shelving unit of dishes nearby, along with a larger basin, presumably for washing. Several people milled about, looking up curiously as the four entered and murmuring amongst themselves a bit.

With the light from the cave shining on them, Sakura could also finally see her captors clearly. They were both older than she was--perhaps Fye's age. Mei had bronze skin and pale hair that was held in a braid. Her pants and shirt were worn, although they seemed to be of once-relatively good quality.

Sakura looked down at her own clothes, given to her by Ashura-ou before they'd been forced from his world, and had a sudden image of these clothes in a few years' time. She doubted they'd fare much better.

Daeron had tanned skin and short, messy black hair, and like a few of the other people milling about, he had long tapered ears similar to Ashura-ou's. His clothes were more worn than Mei's and of a less fine quality.

"We found a visitor," Mei announced, drawing the young world-traveler's attention. "This is Sakura." A few people muttered and looked, but most just gave a cursory glance and turned away. Ignorning them and sniffing at the air a bit, Mei smiled faintly and glanced back at the girl. "That smells ready. You hungry?"

Sakura blinked. Mei was still being very brisk and matter-of-fact, but her demeanor was much calmer than it had been outside. Even so, the princess was about to dismiss the offer when she realized, to her surprise, that she was actually quite famished. "Yes, please," she replied politely.

Mei nodded, heading over to get bowls. "What about you, Daeron?"

"Starving," he replied, grinning. "Lately, I don't think that's anything new."

Heading towards the large pot, he used the bowls Mei handed him, scooping out a bit of soup and holding a bowl towards Sakura. She took it with only a little hesitation as Daeron gave another bowl to Mokona. He filled another and gave it to Mei, and then found a seat on one of the cots along the side of the cave.

"So, Sakura," he said, sniffing the contents of his bowl and then sighing happily. "I love soup. We have it every damn day, but I love it anyway."

"Um..."

He took a sip and then bit his lip, eyes widening in shock. Sakura leaned forward, concerned, while Mokona bounced around and gulped down his own serving.

"Waaai, it's hot! Mokona's mouth is hot!"

"Reckless." Mei shook her head, smiling faintly, and began to blow on her bowl. Sakura couldn't help laughing slightly at the look Daeron gave the woman in return.

Daeron turned to the princess then, grinning warmly at her, grey eyes squinted nearly shut. "Feeling better, little missy?" he asked, sounding genuinely pleased.

The princess's eyes widened at the comment, and she swallowed hard as thoughts of Syaoran resurfaced in her mind. Looking down, she blew on her soup, nodding a bit feebly. She was calmer now, at least.

But he's still out there. How can I go after him?

"Mmm," Daeron mumbled before going back to his soup. Mei gave Sakura a strange look before continuing to eat.

They finished eating in silence (except for Mokona's silly songs as he bounced from shoulder to shoulder), and finally Mei set her bowl down on the ground. Sakura looked over at the older woman, a look of confusion drawing her brows together, but Mei simply stood.

"Are you finished?"

Sakura blinked at the hand Mei held out, then nodded slowly and handed her bowl over. From his place beside her, Dearon held his own bowl out, but Mei ignored him.

"Heeeey, I served you your bowl!"

"I never asked you to."

"Mokona's mouth is on fire!"

Daeron scowled at her, and Mei snatched the bowl from his hand, dropping all three in the wash basin before coming back to the fire and taking a seat.

"So...you probably have questions."

Sakura blinked at the woman for a moment, still a bit thrown-off by the contrast in her behavior. But at the same time, she was curious. Was she really inviting the princess to ask anything? Sakura knew what questions she and her friends usually started with--did these people know of any legends, any strange occurrences, did anything mention a feather... But all of that was far from her mind right now.

"What can I do to help Syaoran-kun?"

Daeron sighed and ruffled his already-messy hair. "Little missy, we already--"

"There has to be a way! Maybe not right then but surely now...!"

Mei gave Daeron one of those looks Sakura didn't understand before she shook her head. "I don't think there is."

Sakura stood up, wanting to smack her hands against something. But all she had was the wall, and even then she knew that hitting hard rock would do nothing to help her. "I'm not going to just abandon him!"

Daeron leaned foward, reaching out and taking her wrist in his hand. His voice was soft. "You can't abandon someone who isn't there anymore, Sakura." He looked to Mei again, but she shook her head and he sighed. "We saw the fight, and we're lucky we were able to save you. We don't have any such hopes for the boy."

Sakura's eyes widened. "What?" How could he be gone? They couldn't possibly mean that he was...

Syaoran-kun...no!

Tears welled up in the princess's eyes. "He's not gone!" she cried, "He was right there. We saw him! We just need to get Syaoran-kun away from those men and back to this place..."

"Didn't you hear him?" Mei snapped abruptly, and Sakura trailed off, jerking her head toward the woman. Her demeanor had changed again--her blue eyes were locked on the princess's green ones, unwavering, and her expression and words were harsh, bitter, and cold. "Your friend is gone."

"Mei," Daeron said, not unkindly. "She's already crying, don't make it worse."

"I'm not making it worse," she snapped back, "I'm telling the truth." Daeron was silent at that before he nodded slowly.

"You're not telling the truth," Sakura finally whispered, her voice catching in her throat. Mokona watched her from his place on the floor, an unreadable expression on his face. The young princess wanted to scoop her companion up and hug him to her, give herself something to hold onto, but pushed the feeling back. I can't be weak, I can't. Can't be weak...

Daeron frowned, putting a hand on her shoulder. "You did everything you could have," he offered, his voice full of attempted comfort and eyes full of concern.

Sakura bit her lip, struggling to hold her tears back. "What were they planning to do?" she asked softly.

Mei made a noise across from her, and Sakura glanced up to find the woman had her arms crossed now, expression dark and bitter as she stared at the wall. "You don't really want to know," she stated flatly.

"But I do!" Sakura cried, "I have to know, so I can help Syaoran-kun..." Her voice faltered at this last, knowing that the others would simply tell her she couldn't again and not wanting to hear it.

There has to be a way. Syaoran-kun would never die!

Daeron sighed again, scratching his head and standing. "Little missy--"

"Don't call me cute names and not be truthful with me!" Daeron blinked at the young girl's vehement reaction, and Mokona frowned. Sakura's expression was hard, and the tears that welled in her eyes did not fall. "Just...please. Please. Tell me."

"I..."

"Please."

With a frustrated growl, Daeron turned and leaned against the wall, making a half-formed shooing motion with his hand. "Fine. Fine. But knowing won't help any."

"I'll do it," Mei broke in abruptly, stepping away from the wall and turning back to Sakura.

The girl blinked in surprise, but she wasn't going to let this opportunity go by. Determined, she looked straight at Mei, waiting for her to continue.

Mei just looked back for a minute. Daeron opened his mouth to interject, but the woman put up a hand. "I said I've got it." Then she took a deep breath. "He's a sacrifice."

Sakura gasped. "What? What do you mean?" Why would they do something like that to him? Syaoran-kun is...

"I mean what I said," Mei replied, her tone harsh, even cold. "They use others to get their power." Bitterness began to creep into it now, and her gaze strayed from Sakura to the wall again as her fists clenched. "It's all going to fall apart soon if they can't use a new sacrifice to put it back together, so the bastards figured they'd pick up the first poor soul they could get and-"

"That's enough, Mei," Daeron said, putting a hand on her arm and stilling her. "You've told her what she wanted to know."

And truthfully, Sakura had lost most of what Mei had said after the word sacrifice. Sacrifice. The very sound of it sent a chill down her spine, and the tears that had previously been locked firmly in her eyes fell.

Syaoran-kun... They can't...

"But..." she said, so very softly, but the sound was enough to call the attention of her two captors--rescuers--the only people she had then. Mokona reached out a tiny hand and laid it on her cheek, and Sakura's head whipped up, fear and anger and horror and gut-wrenching sadness marring her young and cheerful face. "You don't know that! Right? And...and...! If that is true, if it has to be true, that doesn't mean it's happened yet, right?"

"Sakura..."

She wasn't sure who spoke. It didn't really matter either way.

"I have to stop them," she stated, nodding to herself as she did so. She wasn't sure why she said it aloud; she needed no confirmation and wouldn't listen to any of their protests.

Syaoran-kun is always trying to help me, even though he gets hurt so much. I have to help him this time.

But she had no idea how she could do it or even where to begin searching for him. So, looking to the only companions she had right now, the princess asked hopefully, "Will you help me?"

Even if they say no, I'll do it anyway. Syaoran-kun...I won't let you down. For once, I'll save you!

The sounds of the other people in the cave slowly faded away as Sakura stared the two down, waiting. And then, finally, when the noise around them was nothing more than a distant buzz in her ear, they gave her their answers.

And then there was silence.