Revision 6/8/2014

A Month Later

Five feet above the paved sidewalk, the portal opened. There was no one around at this time since it was a little after lunch when most people were working. All the cars in the sky were flying easily with glowing blue pads underneath them to keep them afloat.

First fell Nakietra, landing in crouch but then was knocked onto her stomach when Kurogane knocked into her with his back hitting her back. Nero was next, landing just next to Nakietra on all four paws just to be knocked down when Fai happily crashed onto him and then Sakura on top of the man. Syaoran was always last, always managing to land on Kurogane and Mokona always made a plan to land safely in Sakura's arms. Recently their trips have been rocky and very bumpy both during the trip as well as the landings.

Nero growled as he tried to wiggle out from underneath the two people on top of him. Sakura scrambled up but Fai took his time as he goofed around, managing to kick Kurogane twice in the face somehow. Nakietra also growled next to him as she tried to pull herself out. It never worked but she always had to try because, unlike Nero, this situation angered her more than just causing a slight annoyance.

"Get off of me!" She yelled finally when Syaoran didn't more. Finally he stared to move and then Kurogane was gone. At first, he used to offer her a hand, now he knows better as she picked herself off the ground and brushed off her ever present black dress.

"Once again we have safely landed in a new world." Mokona said happily in Sakura's arms after everyone was on their feet. Nero jumped on his two hind legs and nipped him from Sakura's arms. Nakietra glared at him and then marched over to grab him by his tall white ears.

"That is not safely! Me and Nero could have been hurt!" She yelled for not the first time. This time was different though; this time she looked like she might hurt the talking marshmallow. Nero growled at Mokona as he bushed next to his bond. "I think you should experience what it feels like to get squashed," Nakietra said and started squishing him between her two palms.

"WAH! Nake and Nero are hurting me!" Mokona yelled and Fai jumped to the rescue and easily saved him because of his height.

"Mokona can't help it that you always wind up on the bottom. Don't blame him," Fai cooed hugging Mokona closely to his face.

Nakietra gave up after glaring for a few seconds and then looked around and hugged her shoulders. Kurogane and Syaoran could notice form that stance that they knew she didn't think something was right here.

Nakeitra

I feel like I've been here before. These buildings all have a circle shape, the cars have those blue discs on the bottom, and the ground is…rubbery I guess. It's not exactly stiff or made of any normal materials. I turn around then and slowly watch as a huge limo-like black car lands in front of us. This can only be one person…

"Nakietra is that you?" Tomoyo yelled as she fought to get out of the car. Her dozens of body guards were trying to prevent it though as they encircled us. I didn't even try to watch all of them because I knew they wouldn't hurt me as long as Tomoyo kept yelling my name.

"Yes," I answer as a sigh. It wasn't that I didn't like Tomoyo….she's just very hyper. She was a good person though and that's why I let her hug me. I inhaled sharply. I missed being hugged and touched in general.

"I knew you would come back! I told you so! So where's Hiro?" She asked me releasing me from her grip with a huge smile on her face. All the breath left my lungs and I felt like my heart stopped. We've been traveling so much and at such a rapid pace that I barely thought about my brother. I see him only in my nightmares. It's hard to sleep most nights because all I see recently is Benji.

I should be used to the fact that he's dead now, but it's hard when every world I go to has something similar to another one I've been to before. Tomoyo took a step back, her face frowned in confusion. She never expected us to be apart. Neither did I.

"He's gone," I mutter. It's obvious he isn't here and that something happened, but I feel like I have to say something to her. I know I can't say the "d" word without breaking completely down.

"Gone where? And why are you wearing a hood? What's happened?" She asked worriedly. "Your face is so beautiful though," She said after I slapped her reaching hand away. I like my face being hidden now because that means that no one has to see my tears. It's hard to hide them when I feel like I'm crying in every world we visit.

"Bad things have happened," I say in a small voice. I clench my teeth as my mind remembers running through the halls. Nero steps in front of me as if to protect me from the memories Tomoyo was brining up. He always knew what I was feeling through our bond just as I knew what he was feeling. My emotions were always stronger though.

"Nakietra" She said softly as he face pinched into sadness. She took a deep breath and composed herself then. "Who are your friends?" She asked and smiled to them. I turned back to look at their faces while they tried to piece me together. They were always trying to do that every time I did anything new. They introduced themselves and I rubbed my hands into Nero's thick coat to make me feel a little better.

"I invite all of you to stay in my apartment with me until it's time for you to leave this world," She said clapping her hands together happily. Everyone decided it was a good idea I think because they started to pile into the car. I was blocking them out again like I usually did when I felt like this. It was harder to do when all their voices were contained in one little place.

Her apartment was huge I remember and spanned the top four floors of her company building. She was in charge of entertainment for most of the world and produced many movies, TV shows, as well as music albums. She did it all I remember and lived very well because of it. Tomoyo gave us the very top floor, a different one from the one me and Hiro stayed on, and then left because she was being called down for a meeting. Syaoran talked to her as she walked out, mentioning the feather, while Sakura and Nero followed him. Nero told me soon after that they were going down to the streets to look for clues with Mokona who had also disappeared with them. I hadn't even noticed he was gone.

I curled up on the floor at the short side of the rectangular coffee table. I drew my knees up and closed my eyes. Nero has been staying more around Sakura recently than me. I wasn't jealous, but I was worried. He knows she's not the noble doctor's daughter that he used to give rides to on his puppy back. I think he knows this at least. I understand how hard it is to tell them apart sometimes even though this Sakura is older.

Kurogane sat on the couch to my right, resting his eyes with his feet propped up. Fai was on the couch to my left, relaxing with a smile on his face. I could feel him staring at me like usual and tried to block it out. I hate being stared at but I feel if I tell him that at any point that he'll just do it more to annoy me.

"May I ask who Hiro is?" Fai asked suddenly. I felt like I had just fallen backwards and had the breath knocked out of me. I never had to come to terms with my brother's death. I inched my cheeks down to my eyes were level with my knees. I don't want to talk about this.

"Do not ask about someone you will never meet," I say harshly, and stare straight ahead.

"Hm…I still want to know. Who's Hiro?" Fia asked again. I dig my fingernails into my arms. I haven't heard his name being said since that day he was killed. It's been a long time since anyone has butchered his name like this anyways. It's pronounced He-oh, not Here-o like Tomoyo likes to say. She physically can't pronounced Hiro's name right anyways so I never blamed.

I glare up at him. I was so close to crying as I remembered how his blood soaked into the stone and the way Benji tore at his dead body in frustration. Memories of my brother surfaced from where I had buried them too. I wanted them to go away because I knew that I couldn't break down here. I can't let myself remember right now. I dug my nails higher into my arms as the pain started to drift away.

"Oi, she doesn't want to talk about it. Leave it alone." Kurogane said in my defense. He's the only one here who respects me enough to leave me alone about the past.

"But I want to know!" Fia whined like a child. I clenched my teeth. I only ever whined with my brother because no one else would take it I knew. "Tell me how Tomoyo knows you? Maybe Hiro was your boyfriend who she tried to steal away from," Fai asked and got up from his place so he could bend down in front of me. My nails broke through the skin, and my arms started to bleed. "Please tell me! Pretty please!" Fai pleaded with that dumb grin on his face and his hands pressed together. I felt like I couldn't breathe. It was too much to remember and the idea of Hiro not being my brother sickened me.

I punched him in the face. He stumbled backwards and I stepped up and punched him again and he fell back onto the coffee table which didn't break because I knew if was the bullet proof glass made for Tomoyo's safety.

"Ow, that hurt." I heard him say sarcastically. I reached down, ready to choke him, but then I was stopped by an arm around my chest. It was Kurogane. My hood was ascue and I could see more light than usual. I tried to fix it but I couldn't reach. Tears rolled down my check and I bit down hard on my tongue.

Fia sat up on the table and looked up at me. I never let anyone look up at me in the light because I knew they could see my face perfectly. He was rubbing his cheek and smiling, but then he stopped. I can't stop my tears but I can stop my screams. My people wailed with grief, we were always very open with it. I can't express it here while these people are around me.

I slip under Kurogane's arm and dart away as he tries to catch me. I slid through one of the open bedrooms and slam the door closed before locking it. I put a hand over my mouth and bite into my palm as I slide onto the ground. I keep remembering Hiro just before he died; brave, sturdy, and strong…and then I remembered the fear in his eyes as he died. I don't want to remember, but I do. I let my memories consume me until I feel like nothing.

"Nakeitra, dinner is ready." Sakura's little voice came opposite of the door hours later. I heard them come back an hour ago; I hoped they would leave me alone, but that wasn't going to happen. My emotions had taken so much out of me that I just wanted to sleep, but I knew I would just have another nightmare.

Sakura is wearing a pale blue, long-sleeved, knee-length dress when I open the door. She smiles unsurely at me and steps back.

"You look beautiful," I say and head past her. I'm not in the mood to try and make myself feel better about letting my Sakura die.

"Thank you. Dinner is on the table," She says and walks behind me. The couches have been spread out and a dining table has been extended to allow all of us. Everyone is already sitting down with only two seats left. I take the one between Syaoran and Kurogane because I know that was the one for me. Fai's cheek is red and swollen. I'm not sorry for punching him. Nero curled up under my chair, dragging my bag with him. I rub his head and slowly start to eat the stir-fry looking dish. I'm not hungry though.

"Nakietra," Fai says at some point. I look at him but I regret it when I see his stupid grin.

"I just want to say I'm sorry for how I acted. I should have respected your privacy more." Fai said sincerely though. I thought carefully about my response as I swallowed hard.

"Just because you are sorry, doesn't mean I am. You deserved it." I responded and looked down again.

"I know," He said. Everyone continued to eat through this. Syaoran started talking then about his information about the feather. The signal is weak, but there a concert tomorrow with a band that uses the symbol of Sakura's feather as they're own. I faint pain grows in my chest and my lungs feel heavy. I don't remember when I last took my medicine. I carefully dig in my bag and take it while everyone is focused on their food.

I'm dying. From the day I was born, I was told that I was going to die long before I reached the age of ten. I'm sixteen now, but my illness is still just as incurable. It randomly born into babies in my world. Most die within a few day, sometimes they live til five or six. I've never heard of anyone living as long as me, but my medicine was special of course. It was a recipe made by my mother to stop my body from destroying itself and make it stronger. I'm amazed I've lived this long.

I finished eating first and took my plate to the kitchen. I was done listening to them talk for the moment. I rinsed off my late and went to bed with Nero curled up over my head.

Nightmares controlled me again. I saw the genocide of the palace this time, and my departure kept playing over and over again with different endings inserting themselves. I saw myself running from my family, whose bodies were hurt and bloody. I saw skeletons begging me to join them in death as they clawed up from the stone floors. I watched as the dead dragged themselves across the ground with blank faces.

I kept running every time. I never stopped in my dreams. I don't fear death, but I fear everyone else's. I grew up knowing I was going to die before everyone else, but I hate the thought of everyone else dying because of me. In my dreams, I was aware that I needed to survive so I could save them. I promised my brother when I was little that I would keep the city safe when he was off to war. I planned to keep that promise.

My eyes shot open and I stared at the dark ceiling. The need to find Marina was stronger than ever. She will save my people again because she can. Unlike the Dimensional Witch, Marina doesn't need to research whether she's disrupting the timeline. Marina only needs to do whatever she wants because she doesn't have any rules guarding her.

I slowly slipped out of bed, careful not to disturb Nero. He deserved to sleep after all the emotional memories he's had to deal with recently. I pull my discarded dress over my head and comb through it before tying it back into a braid curled into a ball on top of my head.

I tip toed out of my room. The other two rooms were closed as I closed my own. I wanted to talk to Tomoyo without them knowing. She always used to make me feel better when I was feeling this emotional. I couldn't always talk to Hiro about them when we travels because I knew that even a patient man like him had only so much mental capacity to listen to me.

I slowly opened the door and there she was. Tomoyo was dressed in a pale yellow dress with her fish poised to knock on the door. She pulled her hand down sharply to her side and smiled. I wish I could smile right now…

"Hello Nakietra. I was just looking for you," She said with a smile while she pushed herself inside to talk. I'd rather talk outside, but Tomoyo always preferred to be somewhere familiar. She continued to talk nonsense and then apologized about leaving yesterday. I took a seat on one of the couches and she took the one across from me. I faced the bedroom doors.

"Where's Hiro? I thought you two were traveling together," She asked quietly as she slowed her speech. I looked up at her and felt utterly destroyed but I forced myself to talk.

Kurogane was always awake it seemed. He was usually the last person to fall asleep and was easily the first one awake with the exception of Nakietra. Sometimes he wondered if she slept at all most nights. When he went to sleep she was sitting by the fire and when he woke up she was still in her seat like she hadn't moved.

Fai moaned and shifted around. Kurogane soundless got up from his bed and shook his head. Somehow he was always forced to share a room with Fai somehow. He never understood why the girls could never share a room or why Syaoran and Fai couldn't take turns sharing a room with Sakura. He understood that Nakietra liked her privacy, but he also would like his solitude once in a while. Fai was always disturbing that.

He rubbed his hand and placed his hand on the doorknob. He stopped. There were voices in the living room. One was clearly Tomoyo and the other sounded like Nakietra. He released the doorknob and leaned against the wall next to the door. It would be rude to interrupt their conversation now. Besides, even if he respected her privacy, it would be a lie to say he wasn't as curious about Nakietra as the others. His curiosity was out of suspicion though. He felt that there was something important she wasn't telling them. Something that could get them killed.

Nakietra

"We found Marina and paid her with the sword you gave us…she saved our people," I say my voice almost breaking in a few places. I pause. "It's worse this time…so many died," I said and closed my eyes. I didn't want to say anything else now.

"…So that's why you are traveling with them. Something else happened in your home…but that still doesn't explain why can't Hiro isn't with you? You said its worse this time, but how? He wouldn't let you just walk into danger. I know he wouldn't," Tomoyo pleaded. I put my head in my hands. She loved Hiro, just like everyone else. Only Benji hated Hiro…

"Everyone's dead now…the prince killed them all…I'm all that's left from the palace," I answer in a breathless voice. I feel like I'm drowning but it's different from when I feel the effects of my disease. It's worse. I don't want to talk about this because, already, I feel my heart breaking when I think of all my people dead on the floor.

"I'm so sorry….So Hiro's…I didn't get to see him again," She said sadly. I could see her picturing the deaths. I looked up from where I had been staring at my hands, which was a bad habit I've picked up on since I was a child, and saw her sad eyes look down at my hands. Recently I've been biting my palms though so I couldn't cry out. There are marks all over my hands now.

I don't know what to say to her. How can I tell her it's all going to be alright when I don't even believe it? He was my brother. He taught me everything I know in life and now he's gone. Because of him I can draw almost anything, I can fight with a sword, I can run, I know how to live, and read, and write, and also to ride a horse. Slaves were never taught these things, let alone women. Our own mother never learned any of these things as far as I knew; neither did our father or the rest of our family.

He had asked to become a knight of The King so I could life. He learned all these things in order to survive and was being sent to fights wars all the time. Even among the white men he was considered unstoppable. My brother had survived the impossible so that I could live. What more could I have ever asked for in life?

"I'm so sorry," Tomoyo said rubbing her eyes even though she didn't cry at all yet like me, "I should get to work. I'll try to come by later." She got u hurriedly and left. I just sat there, staring off into space. I miss my brother so much…I wonder if I'll ever stop seeing these nightmares…

A door opened and my eyes focused on Kurogane. He's always so quiet…like me. He walked out and slowly toward where the kitchen was. He nodded his head toward me but I didn't return it. I usually like the quiet but not now. I don't want to think right now.

I get to my feet and rub my eyes. I should go out and find something for Nero to eat. He shouldn't be eating the same food we eat if we hope to save our home before Benji destroys it.