A/N: So currently I'm sitting in the school stuck here because we had a two hour early dismissal and I still have a regular swim team practice. What's the best way to spend it except to write fanfiction?! So you get to an early Chapter Four! OMG Ashura shows up! Besides Kurogane and Fai, he's my favorite character!
Kurogane's shoes were getting extremely annoying, extremely fast! He had a newfound respect for all girls who wore heels. He sorely missed his flat soled ninja shoes that allowed him to walk around without a single noise. The pathway that he was following was flat and smooth almost as if it was paved like the roads of the worlds that Kurogane and the group had been to, except that it was the same shade of green of the grass that rose up on all the sides of it. The trees grew even closer together, towering above land, looking like leafy giants. The growth expanded onto the path the farther he walked on, spilling over the strange concrete. Soon he was walking aimlessly through the wildlife, vines tripping him up and sharp branches scratching against his exposed skin, leaving long thin welts that turned an irritated pink.
A strange shuffling sound resounded through the strangely quiet woods. Kurogane paused, ears perking up in hopes of catching it again. Another noise came from farther off to his left, a small ticking noise followed by sounds of footsteps, hurrying through the underbrush. The footsteps were small and awkward, as if whoever they belonged too wasn't used to traipsing through the woods. Kurogane grinned; maybe he could find some answers finally! In seconds he was dashing towards the helpless wanderer, reverting to his ninja ways, which was pretty darn hard if you're wearing a damn dress and stocks that seem to get caught on everything. Still keeping his ears tuned in, he stopped just a few feet from were he'd originally heard the noise. Nothing. And then a small body burst out of the bushes to his left, leaves exploding around him. Kurogane was knocked flat on his back as a very small body rushed past him, like a frightened animal.
"I'm sorry, so sorry! But I'm late, late, late! She'll have my head for sure this time! Sorry!" The person apologized over his shoulder as he disappeared through the woods. The last thing Kurogane saw from his dazed position was a crop of spiky brown hair and two white rabbit ears sprouting from the hair. He scrambled to his feet. How dare that twerp knock him down! He didn't even stop to see if Kurogane was all right. Talk about manners! And what was with this place? What kinda place had you popping out of presents and small people with rabbit ears? Kurogane gritted his teeth, this was exasperating! He began to follow that trail that the bunny boy had left in his wake, falling into a graceful jog. If there was one thing he couldn't stand, it was disrespectful people and he was gonna teach that brat a lesson!
But soon again he had lost his trail which seemed to taper off and disappear entirely. The growth enclosed him and left him stranded with no way to go. He fought his way in the general direction that he thought the boy had gone. Now he had several runs in his striped stockings and had had fallen once on a sharp rock that had left a long but shallow cut across his palm. His battle with nature ended abruptly when he stumbled yet again into another clearing. This one was shady, sunlight rippling across all surfaces, giving the appearance of an underwater scene. In the center of the grassy pasture was a massive pure, white mushroom with strange, blue squiggles covering it. On top of the cap sat an extremely thin, blacked haired man who was in the process of blowing out a pale blue smoke cloud. In a slender hand, a coal black pipe was perched. Across the man's brow, with the same shade of blue, was a strange tattoo that resembled a fan that only emphasized his pitch black eyes that were staring intently at Kurogane. They stared each other down for a short moment before the man broke the contact and took another drag on his pipe, blowing out more colored smoke in the form of perfect circles.
Kurogane puffed out his chest to make himself seem bigger that he really was; something about this man was…different. Even in such a relaxed pose he seemed lethal and dangerous, like with one swift wave of his hand, he could kill you. "Hey, you-" he started.
"Ashura," The man spoke sharply, a flash of menace lacing his gaze which had returned to Kurogane. Ashura, huh? Hadn't the mage mentioned someone by that name once? Whoever he was, he was not good news. But Kurogane needed some direction, so he'd stick around just for a short while longer.
"Ashura, you seen a small kid with white, rabbit ears come through here?" Kurogane huffed. The man blew out another smoke cloud, this one shaping into a vague outline of a question mark.
"You should be careful with questions in Wonderland, you never know when someone will change you words around and send you off in the wrong direction." Yep, defiantly bad news.
"Well?" Kurogane tried to resist the urge to tap his foot against the ground with impatience. That bunny was getting farther away with every second that the man dragged this out for!
The man gave a languid shrug, lifting the pipe up to his thin lips "I've seen several individuals with ears of the rabbit persuasion. To which do you refer?"
Kurogane wanted to strangle this man! "Short, brown hair, was going on about being late," he spoke through clenched teeth. Ashura nodded with recognition.
"Ah yes, the Queen's lackey, Syaoran, the White Rabbit. Yes, just a while ago he passed through here, off on one of the Queen's errands I suppose."
"And which way did he go?" Finally getting somewhere!
"Hmm, well depending on were he wanted to go, I suppose he could have gone several ways. But if he was referring to being late to the Queen's party, I guess he must have that way." Ashura pointed off into the distance towards a huge mansion that appeared through the trees.
"Thanks." Kurogane grunted, turning as he did so, ready to be off again.
"Wait a moment longer," The cool voice spoke, authority rippling through it. Kurogane turned back again, wordlessly. The man stood on top of the mushroom, long pipe in hand. Slowly, with a practiced majesty, he blew out a string of blue smoke that hung in the air, forming strange symbols that resembled the ones that Fai used to create magic. The symbols formed a loose circle around the magician, spiraling in a coil that picked up speed with each rotation until all Kurogane could see was a blue blur. And then they blew outwards as they dispersed, hitting Kurogane with such a force that he stumbled backwards a few paces. In Ashura's hands was now a tiny, thin box that was wrapped in plain rough paper. Ashura tossed in to Kurogane, who caught it with ease.
"They'll come in handy while you travel through Wonderland. For all I love my homeland, it is a dangerous place to a foreigner." And with that he disappeared in a cloud of blue smoke and a chill of icy air.
A/N: Hmmm, so we have our first interactions with Wonderlanders. What do you guys think so far? Please review if you have the chance! Jess and I love reviews, they make us smile!
And many thanks to all of you have reviewed Tsubasa Wonderland before now! I will try to get back to you but school's keeps me from doing so! I have to say that I think some of our reviewers are psychic because one of them predicted which Tsubasa character would be which Wonderland character. And let me say they got really close! But I think we have a fun twist for those of you try and guess at it!