The Man in the Glass

Chapter One

By Hayai Akurei

When you get what you want in your struggle for self

And the world makes you king for a day,

Just go to the mirror and look at yourself,

And see what THAT man has to say.

"The Man in the Glass"

Ka-SQUISHHH!

Syaoran yelped as he slipped and fell forward. In the split second that he failed to close his mouth on his way to meet this ground, a vile-tasting liquid filled his mouth. Getting up, he spit it out, and looked down only to find himself completely covered in mud.

It was raining, making it much more difficult than it already was to try and escape from the mud's clutches. The showering droplets drummed steadily, echoing amongst the hills and through the forest of trees around them.

"WAAHH!" cried Fai, almost taking a tumble on his rear. It was odd to see the normally graceful wizard sliding with his arms waving around like an amateur ice-skater. Skidding over to Kurogane, he yelped as he almost slipped again – if he hadn't gotten a hold of Souhi and climbed his way up to latch onto the ninja's waist.

"Kuro-taaaaan! Help me!"

It could have been a trick of rather dim light, but Syaoran thought he saw a slight dash of pink pervade the older man's cheeks. "K'so, get off me, you damned mage!" Kurogane swore, trying to detach the Fai-blob from around his waist.

"But Kuro-wan!" whined Fai, his legs still sliding every which way. "I can't stand up! I'll fall!" His grip on the ninja slipped a little, sending him into a low split as if to punctuate his comment.

"All you all right, Hime-sama?" Syaoran questioned, turning to the princess. Sakura nodded from where she sat in the mud, still looking radiant despite her muddy appearance. "It's okay," she assured him. "I'm not hurt." She looked over at Godzilla who was splashing around in the mud. With a squeak, he looked up at them and skittered over, running up to Sakura and into her arms.

Slipping an arm around the girl to help her stand, Syaoran tried not to skid in the ankle-deep pool of filth that they had fallen in.

"Kurogane-san," he said over his shoulder, "I think we should…"

He sweatdropped as he turned around to face the two adults who were still…having conflicts.

If he had thought the situation was somewhat awkward before, this one outstripped it easily. Fai clung to the other man with the determination of a rabid fangirl. Touya-ou had plenty of them back home in Clow, so he knew just how scary they could be. And the dancers back in the Yuukaku district were almost as terrifying. A small shudder ran through Syaoran's body. Never again was he going to dress in drag. Never, never, NEVER.

"KURO-CHUUUUU!"

"QUIT TRYING TO DE-PANTS ME!" Kurogane roared, one hand on his belt to keep it from falling and the other on the mage.

The two young ones blushed faintly.

Grabbing the wailing wizard who was masquerading as a leech, the ninja all but wrenched Fai off him and hurled him up and out of the pit, where he tumbled head over heels into the bushes. Huffing with an air of satisfaction, he took a squelching step forward, only to slip and fall flat on his back.

"Karma, karma, Kuro-chin," teased Fai, popping up with brambles in his hair.

The ninja growled. Carefully, he climbed out, which was actually quite impressive considering how much mud was still stuck to him and that the thick puddle was trying its very best to get him to stick around and play. Turning back around, he held a hand out to the princess. Sakura smiled at him, gathering Godzilla up in her arms, and let him help her out of the pit. With a "hup", Syaoran clambered out as well. Finally free from their prison, the four sighed, looking like the bedraggled kittens and puppies that they were.

Syaoran shivered. The rain and the cold mud were chilling him to the bone.

Tucking a lock of muddied blonde bangs behind his ear, Fai grinned. "Well, we've certainly gotten into a bit of a stick, haven't we?"

As he looked over at the others, Syaoran took in their less than…clean appearances. Sakura had a lovely little mud print on the seat of her skirt. Crawling around the princess's shoulders – and getting her dirtier as he did so – Godzilla looked something akin to the Terror of the Swamp from the children's stories he used to read. Kurogane's cloak was covered in the thick goo and Fai…had managed to come out with only muddy boots. Aside from the burrs in his hair that is.

"Hee hee!" the blonde cackled, pointing at the ninja. "Look at you! All dirty!"

It was so fast, Syaoran almost missed it. A half a second later, Fai was sprawled on the ground, a ball of mud splashed messily across his face.

Kurogane snickered. "Aahh, that felt good."

Fai sat up, and frowned at the ninja – which wasn't a very threatening look at all. Hiding a growing smile behind his hand, Syaoran suppressed a chuckle. It didn't do much good. One more look at the wizard sent him into bouts of laughter. Beside him, Sakura giggled, while Kurogane merely smirked. Fai joined in too, wiping the slop from his face.

His chuckles subsiding, Syaoran smiled. He hadn't had a good laugh like that in ages.

Noting Sakura shivering slightly, he moved to offer her his cloak, but a swish of blue stopped him. Fai whisked his outer coat around the girl's shoulders, buttoning it at the neck. Lifting the hood up, he plopped it on her head before placing his hands on his hips and looking at her like an artist who had just finished his masterpiece.

"There you go."

"Thank you…b-but Fai-san…" Sakura began to protest. He held a hand up and grinned.

"There's no harm in it, Sakura-chan," he said. "I've got a second coat anyway and what kind of gentleman would I be if left you soaking in the rain? And if Syaoran gave you his cloak, he'd be even wetter!"

Syaoran chuckled. Not that he would have minded giving his cloak up and getting wet…

The princess stammered, "But the mud…"

"It'll wash out," Syaoran assured her, placing a hand on her shoulder. "You don't want to catch a cold, do you?" She shook her head.

Fai giggled, clasping his hands together in utter joy. "And besides, we all get to see you look like an adorable little melting mud snowman!"

The two teenagers blinked. "SnowMAN?" Several images popped into their heads, and none of them seemed too pleasant.

Fai laughed. "Ah, that's right! Kuro-chuu and I will have to show you one the next time it snows."

"Why do I have to help you and your crazy schemes?" shouted Kurogane, standing right in front of Fai and growling menacingly. The blond merely chuckled behind his hand and drew little circles on the other man's chest teasingly with the other. "But Kuro-CHAN, you're the only other one who knows what I'm talking about, and you're sooo much stronger than I am!"

With a chirp, Mokona popped out of Kurogane's cloak. "And Mokona thinks you'd make really BIG snowmen! Big BIG ones!" He jumped up as high as he could to indicate how tall – which was about as tall as the ninja's head. Syaoran and Sakura giggled at the small creature's antics, and even Godzilla made a noise that could have passed as a reptilian snigger.

However, their relative peace was interrupted as the heavens decided to angst even more, dumping twice as much rain upon the travelers. They yelped, trying to find some sort of shelter from the relentless downpour. The drops were so hard and heavy that it hurt as it washed away bits of mud that still clung to them.

"We need to find shelter!" Syaoran shouted over the roaring din.

Mokona poked its head out from its place on Kurogane's shoulder. "Look! Mokona sees something!"

"It's a cave," Fai observed, squinting his eyes. "Hyuu, Mokona! You've got good eyesight!"

The manjuu bun nodded as they all ran toward it. "Uh-huh! Especially if my eyes go like THIS!" he crowed, his eyes insanely wide in true "mekyo" fashion.

Following Fai inside, Syaoran made sure that Sakura was within an arm's length away, should the need to protect her arose. Kurogane brought up the rear with Mokona, occasionally glancing behind them to make sure they were safe.

"It's so dry in here," said the princess, running her hands over the craggy stone. "And so big."

Flopping onto the ground, Fai stretched. "Well…I guess we'll stick around here until the rain stops." The others nodded, taking a seat. Sakura shivered, despite the added warmth of Fai's thick and fuzzy coat. Syaoran noticed and scooted closer. Taking her hands in his, he began to rub them briskly, blowing on them now and again.

"You need to stay warm or you might catch a cold," he said. Sakura blinked. A light blush stained her cheeks at their rather close proximity, but she willed it away. After a few moments, it suddenly dawned upon the young archeologist what he was doing and he pulled away quickly.

Bowing his head, he said, "Forgive me."

Sakura looked away and replied softly, "It's all right."

He was about to say something when a faint rustle caught his attention. His bright brown eyes narrowed slightly. Fai and Kurogane looked up.

"What was that?" he asked, already falling into a protective stance around the princess. Fai said not a word, but kept looking around for their unseen visitor. A low rumble – almost a growl – thrummed through the cave. Godzilla snarled.

Kurogane was looking around too, his expression wary and his fingers lightly touched Souhi's hilt, poised to attack within a second's notice.

"Syaoran-kun?" murmured Sakura. He put a finger to his lips, and she fell silent. There was a faint sound of footfalls, echoing lightly among the cave. Slowly, Syaoran sat back on his heels, coiling, ready to attack like a threatened snake.

Then, from off to the side, a figure began to walk out of the shadows. Syaoran couldn't make out the face, but it was visibly tall and male. He was about to speak when the man's eyes glowed a sinister blue and he raised his hand with all the icy grace of an executioner.

The second he saw a small light appear in the man's palm, the young man struck. Soaring past Fai, he sent the attacker reeling to the dirt. Shakily getting on his hands and knees, the figure coughed, as Syaoran snatched him by the collar. Then, the light in his eyes changed from blue to green.

'What the…?'

Cold fear gripped his heart as the bloody face of Princess Sakura rose to meet his gaze. Her emerald eyes were blank, devoid of any light. Streams of blood ran over her white face. The pink dress that she was wearing was stained deep red with blood, torn in multiple places.

"AHHH!" he screamed, dropping the doppelganger and shoving her away.

"Syaoran-kun!" cried Sakura, as he grabbed her and held her close. His heart pounded mercilessly in his chest as he watched the girl that wasn't his princess get up again. The way she moved, it was unnatural, as if she were a vengeful phantom. Scary did little to describe what was strangling his heart so. Just looking into those dark green orbs of nothingness struck a chord of fear in him so deep that he thought it would nearly kill him. But wasn't she – he – it! – several feet taller just a minute ago? And he knew those eyes were blue only a few seconds before.

"OI!"

Syaoran snapped out of his thoughts as Kurogane hauled them both to their feet and placed himself directly in the monster's path, keeping it from getting to them. "When you've got a clear shot, take the princess and get outside," he hissed.

Kurogane then turned on the Sakura duplicate, who continued to lock eyes with Syaoran. With a chiming hiss of metal, Souhi was unsheathed from its scabbard at Kurogane's side.

That got the creature's attention. Hair swished lightly about its face as its head snapped to face the ninja, blank eyes resting on him.

"Show your true form," the ninja snarled. He raised the shining blade at the level of the creature's head. Sightless eyes raised an eyebrow, and Kurogane frowned.

Suddenly, the copy's dark eyes widened and burned red, her lips curving up into a malignant smile. Fangs grew long as knives as her form changed. Powerful muscles rippled over gargantuan limbs, and the fair skin gave way to leathery black hide.

'A shapeshifter…' Syaoran thought, his mind caught between fear and awe.

Kurogane froze. But as the creature took one step forward, he shook himself to his senses. The monster growled and lumbered towards them.

Waiting until it was close enough to allow them free escape, Syaoran bolted past it, hauling Sakura with him. Mokona leapt onto Fai's shoulder as the mage ran alongside them. They blinked back water as they found themselves once again in the rain.

Everything was going by in a blur. Syaoran never knew that he could run this fast. Trees and rocks were now smudges of color.

'Go! Go! GO!' his body screamed, his feet pounding against the ground.

From behind him, he could hear a pounding noise and Kurogane shout.

Glancing briefly behind them, Syaoran paled as he saw the huge monster running at a speed that belied its gargantuan size. It was giving chase to its prey, and was quickly gaining. Another glance told him that Kurogane was on the creature's heels and closing in.

Still running, Syaoran gripped the princess's hand harder, almost literally dragging her along. But the mud was making it so difficult…

Then the next moment, she was gone.

Her terrified cry registered in his mind first, and then he noticed that she was no longer at his side.

"Sakura-chan!" Fai shouted.

The wizard and archeologist skidded to a halt. The young princess lay almost fifteen yards away, trying to get up as the monster thundered towards her.

"SAKURA-HIME!" screamed Syaoran. He was about to double back and beat the creature down with his own two hands, but he was already too far away to save her.

'No…' his mind whispered as he reached out to her. He was going to lose her…again. His heart felt like it would drown in despair. 'It doesn't matter if she doesn't remember me! But what's the point in living if she's not even around?'

The young princess tried to scream, but only a mere whimper of fear escaped her lips. Her eyes widened and she instinctively curled around herself before she was torn in two.

"SAKURA-HIME!"