In the silence that followed Fai's words, nothing moved. It was an instant of pure silence, of empty sound. The rain that began to burn at the windows was muted. Kurogane's weak breathing was quiet.

The fireflies vanished.

It had happened before, and had concerned Watanuki greatly. This time, inexplicably, he felt no apprehension. Yuuko only watched the second screen, searching the wizard's eyes.

"A balance of power must be reached in that world. You still have use of your magic, yes?"

Fai gave her a puzzled look that asked something like, Why wouldn't I?

"Ah, yes. I apologize." She glanced down, Watanuki could not surmise at what. "Half of the price. Half you can only pay me now. I must take the second half later."

"Price is not important, name what you want done."

Yuuko still didn't look up, and she took a good long time to do so. Watanuki figured she was making up her mind. "Subaru."

The gentler of the vampire twins jumped slightly. "Yes?" He said, leaning forward to the screen.

"You wish to help these people, don't you?"

"Yes." He admitted sadly. Kamui's frown deepened at the corners.

"I offer a proposal." Yuuko said, focusing back on Fai. "Kurogane becomes a vampire, and in exchange, Fai, you grant the wish of all those people standing in the room. I know you can make it rain, at the very least. You can summon water from air, can't you?"

"I have done so many times before, Yuuko-san."

"You do still owe me half of the payment. I leave you with a guarantee that Kurogane will not die before you, Fai. That's all I promise, and all I offer my power for. I will collect my payment when the time comes, and you will not question it then." She said this all very slowly, as a lawyer would explain a condemned man's sentence.

Others in the room would argue that this didn't seem very fair at all, but Fai didn't argue. He bowed low, his bangs brushing the floor. "Thank you, Yuuko-san."

She nodded, and the light vanished, leaving Watanuki and Yuuko quite suddenly alone. The water-mirror was spiraling aimlessly, showing churning colors but no real shapes.

Yuuko took a deep breath and looked at Watanuki. "These alternate existences are too much sometimes. It's like a rope. At one end, it's straight and linear. The beginning is the same. Once you head down that rope, someone has sliced into it with a knife. It's still connected to its original destiny, but parts of it fray and change. They don't grow. They don't grow to become a new rope, Watanuki."

Watanuki took off his glasses and massaged the bridge of his nose, taking it all in. "'Stories with changed endings never change for the better.' You said that. We saw the 'blood on the page', right? The blood that never goes away… but…"

"It doesn't grow to become a new rope."

"There will never be an alternate ending." He looked at her and then shook his head. "No, there will be an ending, won't there?"

"Watanuki, how do you keep a rope from fraying further?"

"Dip it in tar? I don't know."

"Burn it. Let fire lick up all the loose ends."

The water-screen took on a new light, an orange glow, as if it were a river of flame. The fireflies, Watanuki felt, would not return tonight.

----

Morning broke on the acid-drenched world of Tokyo—not that anyone could tell, the rain hadn't ceased all night, and the clouds still grew darker at daybreak. A perpetual night.

Fai had summoned water for the people. He and Kamui both bled for Kurogane's life.

He shuddered, remembering the pain Kurogane had been in. Becoming a vampire had changed Kurogane's physical make-up. The wizard had never heard him cry out in agony, never seen him clutch at his own chest until he bled; Kurogane had never clung to Fai until his pale, thin arms bruised. The exhausted silence that followed hurt Fai the most. Aching, panting; weary life suddenly filled every sore limb of the ninja's body and Fai could only wonder how much he'd be hated when Kurogane awoke. By everyone.

I saved his life. That's what he asked for.

This time when Kurogane stirred, Fai was reluctant to respond. He did, after a second's pause. One red eye, blurry with sleep and worn-off medicines took a moment to focus on the wizard.

"Hey."

Fai's words caught in his throat. He offered a sad smile and murmured, "Good morning, Kuro-sama."

There was a long, awkward silence. Neither of the pair knew what to fill it with, what words would bring comfort to the other. Fai tried to imagine what was running through Kurogane's head. I saved him, Fai thought, but at what cost? He was tethered to Fai now, like a dog on a chain, whether Kurogane liked it or not.

"Thank you." The words stirred the wizard from such depressed thoughts. "I owe you. Whatever it means now, you saved me."

"No, no, no." Fai adopted his smile and generic "ah-ha-ha-don't-mind-me" chuckle. "We're even. You saved me first. Imagine if he'd gotten me…" he trailed off, guilt sinking in his stomach like a stone. If it had been him, Kurogane would be better off. He wished he could go back. He wanted to be the sacrifice, the lamb on the altar.

Blocking all this from his mind, Fai relayed what happened to Syaoran, to the princess, and the new Syaoran that was here. He explained the vampirism, explained that Kurogane could only feed from Fai's blood—no other's could sustain him. Kurogane made no protest to this. He was happy—as happy as he ever showed in his often-stoic face in these dire situations—to simply be alive. And he owed Fai that.

It was a debt that scared Fai, it disturbed him. He'd saved people before with his powers, with his skills, but no group ever claimed to owe him a debt. They rewarded him with physical goods, and Kurogane hadn't even voiced such an opinion, but the look in that one eye was enough.

There was a debt there to be paid, no matter how the two ever denied it.

----

"Where now, Yuuko-san?" Watanuki looked at the two in their world. "Where can they possibly go now?"

"Wherever Mokona takes them. Until their ending." Yuuko stared straight at the screen, while Watanuki felt shy intruding upon this strange, foreign destiny.

"'Their ending', you said?"

"Their rope is in a line of sparks. It's only a matter of time before it's eaten by flame."

----

(Author's Note: I was pleasantly surprised upon starting this the massive reaction it received. I'm quite shocked to have thirteen watches and 743 hits over my measly three chapters. I'm sorry to keep you waiting so long for a fourth installment, and I doubt it will be the last. My only concern is where this rope is unraveling too… please, by all means, offer any speculations in reviews you'd like. I like to hear what you all think could happen next! I'm very sorry for the lack of action in this chapter. You all seem to enjoy the fight scenes I debate so much about writing.)