Disclaimer:
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles © CLAMP
OC © Author Sia Leysritt
Summary
Everything is going according to his plan. Or so he thought. Something unexpected happens when a lone girl decided to make a little twist to the cruel fate that awaits her companions.
Mana is a lone and mysterious girl who joined the group to search for Princess Sakura's feather. Nothing about her is known to the group. Not her wish. Not the price that she paid. Nothing. And she cannot give them any information either for she is unable to speak. Can the addition of this mute girl to the team change the twisted and cruel fate that will awaits them? And will this girl warm the heart of a certain mage?
Sia Leysritt Present:
Thousand Words
Act 5
And Thus, They Arrived at The Country of Mysteries
"The past beats inside me like a second heart."
― John Banville, The Sea
"Are you sure it's safe to have that girl in the castle, Your Majesty?" A soldier glance back and forth between the strange girl inside the room and to King Ashura, the owner of the castle. Fai also not sure with the idea of letting the girl stay in the castle despite the fact that he was the one who offered that idea in the first place.
After successfully capture the girl, they brought her to the castle at Fai's request despite the soldier wanting to finish her off because of the fact, the girl was proven to be the "beast" who terrorize the forest and had been killing soldiers that were sent there to investigate, but for some reason, Fai could not bring himself to kill the girl on spot.
Perhaps because of how the girl reminds him of his past self that he can't leave her be.
"Do not worry. She hasn't done anything for the last two days, has she?" King Ashura asked calmly.
"Err no, but… that girl is pretty strange, she did nothing but sitting on the bed all day. She didn't even change her clothing…" The guard say, still eyeing the girl strangely. Fai glance at the girl inside the room. Just as the guard say, she did nothing but sitting there, unmoving. She still wearing the same clothes, a dirty dress that was stained with dry bloods.
"Hmm… that is troublesome. Fai could I ask you to convince our guest that we meant no harm?" King Asura asked, making Fai blinked in confusion.
"Eh?"
"It seems our guest hasn't really trust us yet, seeing as she is about your age, maybe she could be more open up to you." Ashura smiled at him.
Fai was hesitant. He saw how that girl can easily killed a grown up with only a knife, it was only because he intervened with his magic that they could capture her, but he is not sure whether the girl even want to talk to him.
"It's alright. Try to smile so that you won't frighten the girl."
"With all due respect, Your Majesty, it's more like it's us who is frighten of the girl rather than she frighten of us." The guard deadpanned.
"Oh my, is that so?" King Ashura chuckled.
Fai sighed, knowing that he could never refuse any request from King Ashura. He nodded to the King and entered the room carefully. As the door made a creaking sound, the girl turned around immediately, and once again Fai found himself staring at the same glazed orbs from yesterday
Fai rubbed his eyes as he was awoken from his dream.
'Another dream about her…'
The dream has becoming frequent that it annoyed him. It's not like it's some kind of nightmare but it's annoying that the dream keeps leaving him on a cliffhanger as it doesn't tell him who the mysterious girl in his dream is. It was as if the dream did that on purpose.
Fai yawned and then he felt something move around his arms and found the lavender hair girl snuggling closer to him, still sleeping peacefully. Fai chuckled, underneath that quiet demeanor, Mana is actually looked like a normal girl now. But then, no matter how much Fai wanted to let her sleep and stare at her face, they have to wake up early because they will be leaving this world today. They were planning to say goodbye to the people of this world first before leaving, though.
"Mana-chan, Mana-chan, wake up. It's already morning."
The girl nodded slowly before opening her eyes. Revealing her gray orbs and they met Fai's icy blue ones. The resemblance is uncanny that Fai couldn't help but to stare at it. It looks just the same like the ones in his dream. Gray. Glazed. No emotion.
"Morning Fai-san."
"Morning. Sleep well?" Fai asked. The girl nodded and rubbed her eyes. She still hasn't got used to sleep on futon before, so her back felt sore but Fai doesn't need to know that. The girl stepped out of the room and saw Kurogane, who is already finished getting ready.
"Oh, morning Kurogane-san."
Kurogane blinked. "Mornin' What was that?"
Mana blink in confusion.
"I thought you just speak to me, but it doesn't feel like you're actually speaking."
Before Mana could answer him, she felt a gentle hand landed on her head, patting it softly.
"I did a little bit of trick so Mana-chan can communicate with us throughout our journey, Kuro-puu~" The magician said cheerfully.
"Can you stop calling me with weird names!?" The ninja roar in anger at the ridiculous nicknames the magician keeps calling him with.
"Anyway, if you're awake, hurry up and get ready. The kid said we'll be ready to leave after we say goodbye to the others." The ninja grunted. Mana nodded then excused herself to get ready first. Kurogane eyed Fai.
"You treated her quite differently from the rest of us. Is she someone you knew before?" The ninja asked.
"Nope. This is the first time I met Mana-chan. What do you mean I treated her differently, Kuro-puu? Are you perhaps, jealous?" The mage said with his usual cheerful grin on his face.
A tick mark appeared on Kurogane's head. "That's not it, you idiot! Whatever, just hurry up and get ready." The ninja left him alone as the mage stood there, contemplating on what the ninja said.
The ninja is quite observant, even Fai realized that he did treated the girl quite differently from the others. He is more… Caring, perhaps? And every time the girl is in danger or looked sad, he just felt agitated and sad for some unknown reasons.
Is she someone you knew before?
Fai was reminded of his dream once more. About the mysterious girl with emotionless gray eyes.
"I wonder…"
"Masayoshi-kun, thank you for your help."
The group and Masayoshi are now hanging around in the previous Okonomiyaki restaurant. Since Syaoran said they will be leaving today, Masayoshi offered to treat them one last time before they departed. Since the group planning to say goodbye anyway, they accept the kind offer.
"My Kudan and I… we are always so weak! That's why… That's why… I'm very glad that I could return the feather to you!" Masayoshi said as he wiped the tears forming on his eyes.
Fai watched their interaction with a smile while sometimes glancing at Mana who is sitting quietly beside him and sipping her drink. She hasn't touched her foods yet and it worried him since she also only ate a small portion of food during breakfast earlier.
"Mana-chan, the Okonomiyaki will get burnt if you don't eat it." Fai said.
Mana looked at the magician and then at the food. Actually, she doesn't really need to eat because she never felt hungry. But then… She is travelling with normal people… It never crossed her mind before but perhaps it looks weird that she has so little appetite? She did eat small portion every now and then but apparently, that's not enough?
Seeing as the mage was urging her to eat her portion, she nodded and eat the food even though it has no taste on her mouth.
After eating they say goodbye to Shougo's group and Masayoshi before going back to Sorata's place. The couple and Sakura already there waiting for them. The Princess still look dazed, Mana figures it's probably because she hasn't received all of her feathers.
"So, are you leaving?" Sorata asked sadly.
"Yeah."
"Leaving so soon! You never even got the chance to taste the collaboration cooking between my honey and I." Sorata lamented.
Mana glanced at the Princess of Clow. Seeing the princess look so sleepy and seem to be in dazed, the older girl tapped her on the shoulder, making the young Princess turn to look at her.
"Are you alright?"
"Yeah… I just feel a little bit sleepy."
Syaoran looked at the Princess sadly. Even though he managed to return her feather, the Princess doesn't even recognize him. The memory of when she asked him who he is… it's still painful to remember yesterday's event.
"Don't look down." Kurogane said to the young boy.
"If you have something you must do, then look forward!"
Magic circle appeared then appeared and wings appeared from each side of Mokona and light pillars surrounding the group.
"Thank you very much." Fai said, bowing to the couple that took them in during their stay in Hanshin.
"Nah, don't worry about it." Sorata said, waving the group goodbye
"I hope you will find Sakura's feather in the next world too." Arashi said, smiling.
The group smiled at them and Mokona opened her mouth widely and suck them into her mouth, and thus the travelers continue their journey to another world.
Mana had hoped they won't land in strange places or a place with a lot of people but she is horribly wrong.
The group fell on top of boxes of potatoes with a loud thud, breaking some of the boxes and having the potatoes inside scrambling everywhere.
Syaoran looked around confusedly, why Mana taking in the scenery surrounding them. A lot of people, and there are some stalls that sell vegetables and fruits. They have landed in the middle of a market it seems.
"Eh? Where are we now?" The ninja grunted in annoyance.
"Wah~ Everyone is looking at us." Fai said with his usual cheerful demeanor.
"Yay~ Mokona is the center of attention~" The white creature cheered happily after she landed smoothly in front of the group.
"You drop us in another weird place." Kuragone said in annoyance with a tick mark on his face.
"Who the hell are you!?" A rough voice demanded. A big man coming towards them and roughly pulling the Sakura's wrist.
"Answer me! Where did you come from!?"
Before the man can do anything to the Princess, Syaoran landed a kick right to his face. Both Mana and Kurogane looked impressed with Syaoran's action while the mage smile in amusement as if he already knew that would happen and Mokona jumping up and down excitingly as if she is watching an action movie.
Syaoran's kick sending the man flying a few meters away. The man got up with an angry look on his face.
"You! Do you realize who you just kicked?!" The man demanded angrily.
Mana blinked. Is he like an important person in this place or something? If he is, he sure doesn't look like it.
"Stop!" a girl's voice called out.
Everyone looked up to see a little girl with jet black hair tied into ponytail stood on a roof, glaring down towards the large man with her arms crossed.
"Don't mess around with the people you don't know, you dumbass!"
"Chunhyang!" The large man called out in anger. "Who did you just call dumb!?"
"Besides you, who else is dumb around here?" The girl mock while pretending to look around in mocking manner.
Seeing as he is being made fun of, the large guy clenched his fist in anger, glaring at the girl. "You little…"
"How rude!" The people behind her yelled at the girl. "He is the son of Ryanban-sama, ruler of Koryo!"
Mana blinked. Ryanban? She doesn't know what that word means but judging by how the man's underlings say it, it seems that he is the son of a noble or something like that?
"He sure doesn't look like it…"
"Hmm? Doesn't look like what?" Mana turned to see the mage leaning closer to her. Come to think of it, she doesn't really know how this telepathic communication really work. Does everyone able to hear what she is thinking about? Or it can only be heard by someone who she focuses her mind to? She will have to ask Fai later.
"Judging from how his underlings called him, it seems he is a noble or somewhat in this country… But he doesn't really look like it…" Mana explained.
Fai tapped his chin in thought. "Well yes, he doesn't really look like it, that's for sure. Why are you curious? Did you come from a noble family in your world, Mana-chan?"
It won't surprised Fai if she is. Her outfit looked rather grand with those frills and long sleeves.
"No, but I often went to negotiate with some nobles in my country." She explained.
"Hmm… Ah they already left." Fai said as he saw the Ryanban's son left the market after his little banter with the girl… Chunhyang was it? Seeing the troublesome man has left, Fai stood up and offering help to the lavender hair girl. The girl takes his hand, muttering a thank you through her mind.
"Wow, just a moment ago, everyone was looking at us!" Fai commented as the attention turned towards the Ryanban's son who left the scene.
"Syaoran's amazing! Kicking him like that!" Mokona praised the younger boy, imitating the kick he did earlier.
Syaoran instead turned towards the mess the group had created when they landed on this world. He hurriedly put the potatoes and other fruits into their place and arrange it again on the stalls.
"I'm sorry! These are for sales!" The boy said, apologizing to the seller. The seller said it's okay, but feeling responsible, the group begin to pick up the vegetables and fruits and put them back to their place.
"Those idiots! Doing all kinds of evil things in the market place!" The girl from earlier, Chunhyang, grumbled while helping the other villagers gathering their things. Now that she looked at her surrounding more clearly, she realized that the stall they fell on is not the only place that's in a wreck. There are some stalls that have their items wrecked and destroyed, most likely the work of that Ryanban's son.
"When the Amenosa arrive, then this town would be saved…" A villager said.
'Amenosa? Is that some sort of military force in this world?' Mana wondered as she helps the group arranging the boxes.
Chunhyang then fixed her attention towards the group of travelers.
"You look weird!" The girl said.
"Ahahaha then it must be Kuro-rin who looks weird!" Fai said playfully towards the fuming ninja.
"Kurogane is really weird!" Mokona said.
"If I'm weird, then so are you!" The ninja roared angrily.
Mana on the other hand turns her attention to the Princess who looked like she is about to fall asleep in any moment. The older girl held both of the young princess' shoulder to prevent her from falling to the ground should she be falling asleep all of the sudden, while Syaoran was trying to calm down the ninja who is rather annoyed with the mage's playful remarks.
A pang of realization then hit Chunhyang "Are you… Come with me!"
The little girl took Mana's and Sakura's hand leading them away from the market place, making both girls confused with the three men following suit.
Chunhyang has brought them to her house. Now she is seated in front of Mana, Sakura, and Syaoran who looked very confused as Chunhyang suddenly brought them here without explanation.
"Ah… Excuse me, what is this place?" Syaoran asked.
"My house." The little girl answered then looked at them with serious look on her face.
"Don't you people have something to say?" Chunhyang demanded.
"E-Eh?"
"Don't you?" The girl asked again.
"We just arrived in this country, and then we met you…" Syaoran tried to explained as he had no idea what this girl could possibly want from them. Meanwhile, Mana was able to put two and two together on why the girl bring them to her house.
"We're not this Amenosa people, if that's the reason why you bring us here." The girl said through her mind.
"W-Wah! Wha-what? What was that?" Chunhyang exclaimed as she felt like she just reading someone's mind.
Mana raised her hand.
"I'm mute. This is how I communicate." The girl explained simply.
"O-Oh, s-sorry… So, you're not Amenosa? But come to think of it, kids like you couldn't possibly be Amenosa." Chunhyang said in disappointment.
"Amenosa?" Sakura asked curiously.
Chunhyang then went to explained that Amenosa is the secret spy from the government that investigate each region's Ryanban and making sure they Ryanbans are doing their job and not oppressing their people.
"I see, so you thought that we are Amenosa, err…" Fai trailed off as he didn't get the girl's name earlier.
"Chunhyang."
"Chunhyang is it? I'm Fai. This is Syaoran, Sakura, Mana-chan, and also that's Kuro-puu~"
"It's Kurogane!" The man yelled angrily towards the smiling mage.
"So… the ruler of this place is evil, that is why you are waiting for the Amenosa to come and save you?" Mana concluded.
Chunhyang nodded then her expression turns grim.
"He's the worst! And he… My omoni…"
Before Chunhyang could finished her sentence, the group heard creaking sounds outside of the house.
"Is that the wind?" Fai wondered as he stood up, planning to check what happen outside.
Chunhyang, realizing what it actually is, prevented him from doing so. "Don't go outside!"
Suddenly, a tornado appeared out of nowhere, damaging the house. Syaoran held Sakura tight, protecting her from the pieces of broken wood with Mana holding Chunhyang in the same manner. Fai held onto Mokona while he and Kurogane both stood their ground.
Everyone breathed a sigh of relief once the tornado is gone. Fai looked at the sky in serious manner.
"That wasn't the normal wind, was it?"
"It's the Ryanban…" Chunhyang gritted her teeth and balled her fists in anger.
"That guy! He did it!"
The girl looked pretty frustrated. Mana who held the girl in her arms, had no idea what she should do. Usually in this kind of situation she should be comforting the girl but she had no idea what she should do. She had never comforted someone before…
A memory of a young blond boy who patted her head flashed through her mind.
So, carefully, the older girl used her hand to pat the younger girl's head.
"O-oh?"
Chunhyang was confused of what Mana is trying to do, but she soon understood that the older girl is trying to comfort her, even though she is a little bit awkward in doing so.
"Ah thank you Mana, but I'm fine, really. I'm just angry that those Ryanban using his power to hurt others." Chunhyang said. Mana nodded quietly and move her hand away but then Chunhyangg take a hold of her long sleeve.
"Anyway, your left sleeve is very long, isn't it difficult to wear this kind of outfit?" Chunhyangg wondered. She had never seen any outfit like what Mana or the others wear before but Mana's outfit look more complicated compared to the rest of the group so she just had to asked.
"Not really. It's useful for many things." Mana said.
"Really? Well, but you guys can't really walk around with your current outfit. You'll be the center of attention." Chunhyang said.
"That's true, but we don't have this country's currency and we still have no idea where Princess' feather might be." Syaoran said.
"Oh? You guys are looking for something?" Chunhyang asked curiously.
"Yes. We are looking for something important to Princess Sakura." Syaoran explained.
"Well in that case let's go to the town to asked. I can also show you around if you'd like?" Chunhyang said excitedly.
"That would be a great idea!" Fai said with his usual smile on his face. "Then tomorrow, Mokona, Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun can go to town to look around with Chunhyang, while me, Mana-chan and Kuro-puu…"
Mana found herself unable to sleep again. So, she went out of the room and climbed up to the roof and sat there. Nightmare has constantly haunting her since they arrived in Hanshin Republic. It's not like she hates it, it just that it kept reminds her of something unpleasant and something she doesn't wish to remember.
Mana looked around to make sure no one is around. Maybe because it's a habit of hers, even though she is no longer in the field of war, she just has this habit to always looked around whenever she wanted to do something. Seeing no one is around she took a leaf she randomly pick up in front of Chunhyang's house and blow on it, making a sound that resembles flute's sound coming out of it.
(The song she played is Reisha's lullaby from Ar Tonelico II, try searching Ar Tonelico II: Melody of Metafalica OST - Reisha's Lullaby ~Whistle~ on youtube)
"That was beautiful Mana-chan."
Mana stopped her playing and look up to see Fai stood beside her. The blond mage took a seat beside her, smiling to the lavender hair girl. The girl looked at him, confused. Did her playing bothered him?
"I'm sorry, did I bother you?" The girl asked, feeling like she just did something she shouldn't have. Perhaps this is what people called feeling guilty?
"No, no, I was woken up because of something else, but then I saw Mana-chan is not in the room so I came looking for you hear when I heard the whistling sound." Fai smiled. Mana nodded.
"That was beautiful. Is that something that you learn from your world?" Fai asked curiously. The girl nodded.
"It's called grass whistling. Someone taught me this when I was little."
"Hmm~ Is this someone the person you are looking for?"
Mana went quiet. She can't tell him the person who she was looking for was Fai himself. It was part of the contract that Fai doesn't know her true purpose and who she is. She even gave away Fai's memory of her in order to joined him on this journey.
The thing is, that payment is not the payment she gave to Yuuko. It was the payment she gave to another being.
"If you can't tell me now, it's okay." Seeing the girl looked troubled by his question, Fai decided not to push it.
"Uh, Fai-san?"
"Hmm?"
"This telepathic ability… how does it work, actually? Would people able to hear all the things that I'm thinking?" the girl asked curiously. Since she did want to asked Fai about her new telepathic ability, she thought maybe she should just ask now since there's only the two of them here.
"Ah no, it doesn't work that way. What you're thinking can only be heard by someone you are speaking to. Think of it as a normal way of speaking but using your mind. But if there is a thing that you want to keep for yourself, we won't hear it. I make the magic that way." Fai smiled. If he could, he can make it so that only he can hear what Mana is thinking. He is curious about the girl for some unknown reasons, but he can't bring himself to do that. The girl has her own privacy and he wanted to respect that.
"I see… Thank you very much…"
Fai chuckled. "You are very welcome. Though the magic didn't really work how I intended it to work." Fai said.
"…Is it because you couldn't hear my voice?" Mana asked curiously. Fai nodded. He thought it was him making some mistakes in his spelling, but that is impossible. He had made sure that his magic work like how he intended it too so he thought the problem would come from Mana herself.
"It's not your fault. The problem lies within me. I gave my voice to Yuuko-san as payment."
Fai blinked. "Your voice?"
Mana nodded "In my world people are able to use magic. In the country that I live in, the people use magic with their voice and sound. I gave that power to Yuuko-san as my payment." The girl explained.
Fai hummed. If it's because of that, there's no wonder that Fai can't hear her voice. Come to think of it, none of them knew what Mana gave to the Witch of Dimension as her payment but Mana just tell him that information and it somehow made him felt a little pang of happiness that he knew something about Mana that others don't.
"Ah, so that's what you gave up to the Witch. That's a shame, I thought I could hear Mana-chan's voice through telepathy." Fai said playfully as he patted the girl's head. "Mana-chan, can I ask you something?"
"Yes?"
"Have we met before?" Fai know this is sounds very strange. But he can't shake off the sense of familiarity whenever he is with Mana. It was as if he has known her forever but he can't pinpoint where exactly he had met the girl before. And then, there's this dream of his about the mysterious girl that has the same gray eyes as Mana, not just the color but the feeling as he stared at her eyes is also the same.
Fai frowned when Mana didn't answer and kept quiet for some times. Her expression didn't give away any emotions that she currently feels, but for some reasons Fai knew that his question troubled her. The girl took a deep breath and close her eyes before answering.
"No. This is the first time I ever met you, Fai-san." The girl answered. Since Fai couldn't hear her voice, he doesn't know whether she is lying or not, but the way she acted before she answered his question…
Suddenly flashes of images went through his head.
"You did it again." He heard the younger version of himself said.
"….?"
"You always did that. That's why I know you are lying."
Fai grabbed his head as he felt the memory is slipping way from his mind. What was that? Who was he talking to? He then felt someone tugged on his sleeve. Realizing that he is not alone and his companion probably worried because he suddenly went quiet, Fai shake his head to push away his headache and look up.
"Sorry Mana-chan, I'm fine."
The girl in front of her just looked at him but not releasing her hold on his sleeve. Fai looked into her eyes. Is that worry he saw on that usually glazed gray orbs?
"I'm fine, really." The mage patted the girl's head, making the girl sighed and finally let go of his sleeve.
"Let's go to sleep, we have to wake up early tomorrow morning."
Mana nodded. They both then went back to their sleeping room. Since Chunhyang's place is quite small, all of them had to sleep together in one room. It took sometimes for Mana to finally asleep, but Fai still lie awake on his bed. He was thinking about earlier. Those flashes of images… What does it mean?
The mage turned to see the lavender hair girl already sleep peacefully. Honestly, this girl is a complete mystery to him. When he started this journey, he had promised himself not to get any of his travelling companion to involve themselves with him or him getting too attached to either one of them. But this girl that he had just met… He cannot quite put it, but he felt as if he had known her for a long time.
The mage gently brushed the hair that fell on her face, making the girl frowned and hid her face behind the blanket.
"Go to sleep, Fai-san."
Fai chuckled. The girl is too sensitive. He had realized this when he slept with her in Hanshin. Even a small movement will awake the girl. She is too alarmed. It made him think of what kind of life she had in her world. But it's not something that Fai should think about now. The mage sighed as he prepared himself to actually sleep this time. Before sleeping he spare one last glance towards the lavender hair girl.
"…Who are you, really…?"
Not far from the house, a figure wearing a dark blue hood with star constellations pattern on it watched as the events unfold before him.
"That magician is quite strong… They just started this journey but the memories taken away from him are gradually returned to him."
The figure smiled mischievously as if he's thinking of something fun.
"This ought to be fun."
To be continue
Author's Note: And so that's for this chapter. They finally arrived in Koryo~ anyway, I change my design of Mana a little bit that's why her clothes description is a little bit different (I'll change the one in the first chapters later) and Fai is starting to remember things~ And who is that mysterious figure at the end of the story~? Find out on the next chapter of Thousand Words! Sorry for any grammatical error and typos