Chapter 7

A faint noise tugged Kaho away from her sleep. Consciousness picked up more of the noise closer than she thought. It was almost right on top of her. A low, hissing moan made her slightly uneasy, and, before opening her eyes, she made sure she had a small energy bolt ready to fire off if it was indeed something ready to cause her harm. She opened her eyes just enough to see what was right in front of her and went still. Something very blue and fuzzy was staring at her, making odd hissing sounds.

"Holy Shit!" Kaho cursed and sat up straight, flinging off her tiny assailant.

"Ho ho! You do say some dirty words!" Kero sang as he flipped through the air, returning to his golden fur pattern.

"K-Kero?" Kaho was stunned for a moment at how the little guardian had turned himself blue without dying. That stunned feeling didn't last long, quickly being swallowed up by irritation and she threw off her blanket and began to get up, "Get back here fuzzball!"

"Whoops, I'm in trouble," Kero deduced and zipped out of the living room.

"Kero! I told you not to wake her up!" Sakura called from the kitchen.

Kaho bolted after the tiny guardian, in no mood to humor his silly antics that morning. Her dreams, though not of their upcoming battle for once, had instead turned down a different path. She'd seen her father, seemingly moments before he died, and it hadn't been kind. Something, or someone, had killed him, but made it look like a heart attack or something else that a man of his age could have died from. Not only had it been disturbing enough to wake her several times during the night, but it had become reoccurring, coming back to repeat itself every time she'd fallen asleep again. That meant she had had very little sleep and was rightfully a smidge crabby.

Kero turned sharply towards the stairs, dodging Fujitaka in the process. Kaho, who was wearing socks, lost traction on the smooth wooden floor as she made to follow the guardian and slipped, falling into the oncoming man's arms.

"Whoa, gravity almost got the better of you," Fujitaka said as he caught her.

Kaho scowled over the mans shoulder, before realizing her exact situation and started to pull away. "Uh…sorry about that…"

Fujitaka chuckled, "It's okay, I'm assuming you had a rude awakening?"

"Um…yeah…" Kaho managed to spit out before she stiffly spun around and walked back into the living room. She listened as Fujitaka walked into the kitchen and spoke to his daughter while she sat down on the couch and turned her thoughts inward. "Father…" Though the disturbing images had been only a dream, the actual incident was real enough. She wasn't sure under what circumstances the event had actually happened, but her father had indeed passed on while she had been en-route back to Tomoeda.

At the time, when she had learned of her father's death, through another dream, she had been phasing her way over the western mountains in China. There hadn't been a safe way for her to travel by plane or train, so she'd had to do it all on foot, magically phasing over long distances through mountain ranges, oceans and deserts when she could. It had been her final jump from the Chinese eastern coast all the way into Tomoeda, with Eriol surprising her with an attack, that had brought her back into contact with Sakura and her father.

During that time, the death of her father had been shoved to the back of her mind. Yet, now that she had had time to relax a little and sit down and think, old memories had surfaced and her emotions wanted to mourn for her father. Her mind battled with her emotions for a moment before the kitchen door slid open.

"You going to come quietly or am I going have to sit on you again?" Fujitaka asked. He noticed her solemn, distant expression and wondered if was a good idea to interrupt her or not. He sighed and decided to walk up to her, seeing if the sound and movement was enough to snap her out of thought. If it wasn't, he'd leave her alone.

She looked up at his second footfall.

"No you're not going to sit on me," she said as she turned her head to look at him.

"Good, then come eat," Fujitaka said, and was surprised when he didn't receive a complaint or any resistance. All Kaho did was stand and make her way into the kitchen.

Her good behavior was short lived though, for all she did as she sat there was poke at her food, her thoughts drifting away somewhere that Fujitaka couldn't seem to get her out of. He'd mumble her name now and again and it'd get her to eat a few bites, but she did it mechanically, doing it only because she was being told to and she obviously didn't have the will to argue today.

Sakura volunteered to do the dishes before she headed over to Tomoyo's, which left Fujitaka free to start up his lessons again. Oddly enough, that brought Kaho quickly out of her thoughts.

"More of the same, or something different?" Fujitaka asked.

"For now, more of the same and I'll see how much you improve," Kaho answered. "Depending on that, we may have you shooting at me by the end of the day."

Much to her surprise, her pupil excelled in whatever he was learning. He seemed to have taken what he had learned the day before and ran with it. Maybe it was the fact that the vision he'd witnessed was no longer bothering him, or maybe he was just getting the hang of it. But whatever it was, he was quickly beginning to be able to deflect much of her stronger attacks.

To call him Clow Reed's reincarnation was right!

Kaho was greatly pleased at how far Fujitaka was coming, but she felt bad about not being able to express it better than how she was, smiling and encouraging him. Her mind was preoccupied, not enough to cause a problem with teaching, but enough to keep her emotionally bland, and Fujitaka was beginning to pick up on it.

"Can we stop for a minute?" Fujitaka asked around 1:00 in the afternoon.

"Sure, tired?" Kaho asked.

"No, curious actually," he replied and plunked himself down on the couch to study her. "Something's been on your mind all day. Don't try and deny it," she had been about to, "I'm not an idiot and I can see it quite clearly. It's not the same thing that was bothering you yesterday, you were hiding that one better. What is it today? Will you tell me?"

Kaho smiled, he was forever surprising her, in everything! Eriol had been the same way, and she was beginning to understand why she'd been so comfortable around the man so quickly. She studied his eyes for a moment, battling with herself whether to tell him or not. She decided on yes, not about how she felt, but about her father.

"I was just thinking about my father," she answered. "He passed away while I was on my way here, and at the time I wasn't able to mourn for him. Last night I had a dream about him, about how he may have died. It made me realize I had yet to think on it, realize it, that my father was indeed dead." Her voice had hit a monotone, proving she was beginning to lock her emotions away. "It's why I've had to burden you with having me stay here. Being gone as long as I have makes moving back into the temple harder without my father there to vouch for me. And with my…encounters and interaction with demons, they'd probably not allow in there for any length of time anyways." She sighed, "It's still sinking in I guess…"

Fujitaka sat there for a moment, his mind tinkering with possible ways of fixing her problem. The best way, would have them outside, out in the open and possibly vulnerable. He shook his head with a smile and stood up, "Let's go."

"What? Go where?" Kaho asked in confusion.

"To go pay our respects to your father," Fujitaka said, and he watched Kaho's eyes light in relief and gratefulness.

"Okay."

OOOO

They knew they wouldn't be able to stay out for long, just enough to go by the shrine, find Kaho's father's grave, pay their respects, then leave. Fujitaka felt bad for having to make it so quick, but their lives might have depended on it.

After a short drive to the shrine, Kaho led Fujitaka around to the small cemetery where they would find her father. Of course, the body wouldn't be buried there. It had been cremated and his ashes were stored in a safe place inside the shrine. Outside were small headstones placed close together as a place for the public to come by and visit. It was pretty, and much more comfortable than sitting inside the shrine waiting for the ashes to be brought out.

Kaho found it fairly quickly and spent a few moments in prayer. Then they sat there for a moment, just enjoying the silence and the cool December breeze.

"I was wondering when you were going to come by here," came a voice from the shadows of a tree.

Kaho looked up and towards the voice. She quickly identified the voice and stood up in a defensive posture, "Spinel." Fujitaka mirrored her stance half a second later.

"Calm yourselves," Spinel said as he walked out from under the tree, white stripes undulating against his major black coat color, "I'm not here under the demon's control."

Kaho frowned, "But that's impossible, he has all of Eriol's magic in his control, which means he controls you as well."

"Not anymore," Spinel said as he padded over to her and sat in front of her.

"Y…you broke free?" Kaho asked, surprised. "But how? You shouldn't be able to survive unless your master willfully releases you."

"He did, Eriol is still in there," Spinel said as he butted his head into her stomach affectionately. "He consciously set me free, against the demon's control. I can't change back and forth into my disguise, since I've lost my major magic supply from Eriol, but it's a small price to pay."

"Oh Spinel," the woman knelt down and took guardian's head in her hands and hugged him to her, sharing a moment of communal loss. Neither of their relationships with Eriol were going to be the same after this, and it wasn't something they were pleased about.

"But good has come out of this," Spinel said as he pulled his head free so he could speak clearly. "Eriol knows a spell that can break the demons bonds." He paused with a frown. "But it needs to be done by another person." He looked at her with hope in his deep blue eyes, "I was hoping you might be able to do it."

Kaho blinked for a moment, letting the revelation work its way through her mind. "What is it?"

Fujitaka listened as the panther like guardian began to speak in a language he couldn't understand. From the concentration on Kaho's face, she understood, and was working on memorizing it.

Spinel finished quickly, "I've also given you the augmented version in case things go wrong, but I hope you don't have to use it." Kaho nodded. "And I'm sure you've noticed less activity coming from him haven't you?"

"I had actually been wondering why it had been so peaceful," Kaho nodded.

"The demon has returned to England in attempt to draw you out," Spinel said. "If Eriol hadn't come across this spell, I'd be telling you to not even give the demon a second thought, but now that I know there is a way to release Eriol…I'm asking you to please try. It's dangerous, and I understand if you refuse to do anything, but I needed to try. He may not be my master anymore…but…"

Kaho silenced him with a gentle tap to his nose, "You and I both still care about him. He didn't ask for this. True he ignored our warnings to stay away from the workroom, but everyone makes mistakes."

"You're right," Spinel's smile seemed nostalgic. "So you'll do it?"

"Of course," Kaho said. "I'll try at least. I too have a reason to get rid of that demon. Until I kill it, these slash wounds won't heal."

Spinel purred and rubbed his head gently over one of her bandage wrapped arms, "I apologize for that too."

"Don't worry about it Spinel," Kaho took the guardian's head in her hands again, making him look at her. "It wasn't your fault. I'm not going to blame you for it, or any of the other injuries you may have given me. I've watched you fight his control every step of the way, and I'm grateful for that. Had you not, I'm afraid my arms would be useless by now."

Spinel purred on, cuddling his head up against her throat, "You've always been kind Kaho. Even now, after all the torment you've gone through, you're still as kind as the day I met you."

Kaho gave him a bit of a smirk, "My kindness may still be prominent, but that doesn't mean I haven't changed from this. We both have, and there's nothing we can do about it." she sighed. "The things you and I have seen will forever have changed our outlook on people, and the way we react towards the world."

"Forever suspicious," Spinel nodded in agreement. "When will you leave?"

"As soon as I can figure out a way to get there," Kaho said. "I won't be able to do a plane ride, not with the demon still around. But I'll probably be able to phase my way there in one jump this time instead of having to travel back on foot like I did before."

"You do look better," Spinel commented.

"Thank him," Kaho said as she looked over at Fujitaka, who had been quiet through the whole event. "And his daughter. They've been taking care of me. More so than I think I deserve."

"Sit on her," Fujitaka said.

Spinel looked confused.

"Inside joke," Kaho told him and the guardian grinned mischievously. "Spinel…" Kaho warned, but was quickly overtaken by the powerful guardian and unceremoniously sat on. "Hey! Get your big fuzzy butt off of me!" The woman shouted as she flailed about.

Both Spinel and Fujitaka laughed, "Had I known you were this entertaining I'd have done this a long time ago."

"Okay! Off! I need air!" Kaho said and the guardian removed himself with a chuckle. She sat up with a gasp, "The both of you are EVIL!"

"You need a bit of teasing after shooting at me for most of the day," Fujitaka pointed out.

Kaho couldn't come up with a good argument for that one.

"Now I actually have something I want to say about you and your fight with that demon," Fujitaka said and Kaho cocked her head at him in interest, "We're coming with you, Sakura and me."

"No you're not!" Kaho said. "It's far more dangerous than you realize it's going to be."

"Unlikely," Fujitaka said as he gave her a serious look. "I understand it's going to be dangerous, more so than I or Sakura have witnessed, but I also know that you won't be able to handle it all on your own. I know you're better, but not completely, and I know you'll over exert yourself and…I don't even want to think of the outcome." Fujitaka's serious look was replaced with a grin, "Besides, you promised."

"Promised what?" Kaho was drawing a blank.

"Up on the roof a few days ago, you made me a promise that you would stop doing things alone, and that you would let us help you," Fujitaka said.

She had indeed, "And you intend to make sure I keep that promise..."

"Precisely," Fujitaka said. "That, and I know a jump like what you're about to do is going to take a lot out of you, and once you get there, you'll have no place that's safe to stay at."

"And you know of somewhere I can stay?" Kaho asked cynically.

"Not yet, but I will," Fujitaka said as he stood and started walked towards to car.

"Where are we going?" Kaho asked as she stood and followed him.

"To see Sonomi Daidouji," Fujitaka answered.

OOOO

"So let me get this straight," Sonomi said as she sat at her desk, "You're planning on going to England to release that boy from a demon, all by yourselves?" She received two nods, followed quickly by a third. "And you need my help so you have a place to stay?" Yet more nods and the woman sat back and thought for a little while.

"Fine…but you owe me big Kinomoto," Sonomi said as she spun her desk chair around to her computer and started typing away, locating hotels for them to stay at.

"This is all happening so fast," Sakura said. "One minute we were just sitting around waiting for something to happen, and now we're getting ready to leave."

"It happens," Fujitaka said with a shrug.

"You are way too calm for your own good," Kaho said.

"I see no point at getting all riled up over something that's going to happen sooner or later," Fujitaka said. "What's going to happen is going to happen."

"I already told you what was going to happen," Kaho reminded him.

Fujitaka frowned, "I have the added benefit of knowing Sakura and I are going to survive, but also the added worry of not knowing what's going to happen to you or Eriol." He refrained from mentioning that the 'happen' was death for either Eriol or Kaho.

"I know, I guess you do have a right to be relaxed in that sense," Kaho nodded, "But it's not going to be easy."

"I know…" Fujitaka said.

"Okay, you're all set," Sonomi said.

"Can you pull up a map please?" Kaho asked and Sonomi pulled up a map of the area in which their hotel was located. The woman studied it from over Sonomi's shoulder, then pointed out a place about two blocks away, "I can land us here, it's secluded with a lot of brush and trees."

"You know the way from there?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Kaho answered.

Sakura was skeptical, and with good reason, "I remember Eriol telling me something about how you couldn't remember directions to save your life." She wasn't bringing it up to be mean, but more for safety's sake, they didn't want to be out wandering the streets of England lost and vulnerable.

"At the time Eriol said it, he was right," Kaho admitted. "I probably couldn't have found my way out of a paper bag. But when all you have to survive with is your way home, it becomes fairly natural. What little magic I had left at the time I also used to enhance my memory. Now I have no problem remembering how to get places."

"How do we get home from here?" Sakura asked and Kaho rattled off the directions without blinking, making Sakura stare at the woman. "Whoa." Kaho could only giggle.

"So when are you planning to leave?" Sonomi said as she swiveled around in her desk chair.

"Tomorrow morning," Fujitaka answered.

"All right, well, your rooms are reserved and you can check in whenever you like," Sonomi said. "How may I ask are you getting there?" She was confused about why Kaho had pointed out a secluded place of arrival.

"Kaho has an ability to move herself around in no time flat," Sakura said. "It's instantaneous, and we won't have to worry about endangering anyone on the plane while we're on our way there."

"So it's like teleportation?" Sonomi asked.

"That's the generic label for it I guess," Kaho nodded. "It's a little more technical then that, but people understand teleportation better than mater phasing, so I usually just stick with that." Kaho had found, over the time she'd perfect that particular ability, that people understood teleportation much more than the break down of everything in the human body to its basic cells and moving them all at an un-clocked speed. Doing it to herself was easy, if a little tiring if done a little too often, but a group of people was going to be draining, mentally and physically.

Sonomi blinked, "With those few words I'm already confused."

Kaho chuckled, "Don't worry about it, it's safe I promise, I'll just be tired for the first day, then we'll be able to get things done."

"Thanks again Sonomi," Fujitaka said. "I'll find a way to repay you as soon as we return."

"I'll hold you to that promise," Sonomi said as they all walked out of her office.

They bid farewell to Sonomi and Tomoyo and headed out to the car in silence, all three of them contemplating on what was yet to come.

Innocently, Sakura asked, "Is it going to be colder there than here?" Sakura asked.

"Actually," Kaho began, "for being in almost two different hemispheres, England and Japan's temperatures aren't all that different, at least in winter. Though there are times when there's an exception to the rule, temperature there are around 40 degrees, just like it is here during the winter."

"That's kind of weird don't you think?" Sakura asked.

"Not really when you think about the underwater currents running near the United Kingdom," Fujitaka cut in. "The major under sea current that runs by the UK comes from near the equator, pulling with it warmer air currents, allowing them to stay as warm as they do. So even though they're coming in close to the arctic circle, they can still go to the beach in the summer time, just like we do."

"This is an educational car ride," Sakura said sarcastically and both adults laughed. "So I guess we won't be seeing any snow while we're there huh?"

"Actually, contrary to popular belief, it rains more in England than it snows," Kaho said. "It's pretty rare actually, at least where I was living."

"You two should run a weather service…" Sakura mumbled.

"Very funny," Fujitaka replied.