When Worlds Collide

by MysticDawn5

After four years of travel, Kurogane and the others finally end up in Nihon. In between searching for the feather and dealing with mysterious phenomenons, Kurogane has to face a startling revelation that will change his life forever. / Pre-Volume 13 / DISCONTINUED /

21. Triumph Or Agony

Summary: After four years of travel, Kurogane and the others finally wind up in Nihon. To his horror, he finds that a lot has changed in his absence. From Tomoyo getting married, to a mysterious force infiltrating Nihon, getting Sakura's feather back isn't going to be easy. Especially when Kurogane is forced to come to grips with a startling revelation that will change his life forever...

Pairings: KuroganexTomoyo, SyaoranxSakura

Disclaimer: Do I even need to do this? You ought to know this already.

Note: This fan fic is based on the manga, with a few extra tidbits here and there from the anime. It was first published on July 28, 2005, therefore set before Chapitre 91. A lot of theories here will coincide with the actual events in TRC, either because I added them later (evident in latter chapters) or because of some good guessing (evident in the first chapters). I also decided to use the official spelling for Fay's name (and Fei Wang Reed's name).

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A/N: With the last chapter of the first part of this series, I decided to do a much-needed revamp concerning replacing a couple of phrases, some spelling mistakes, grammatical structures and misuses in punctuation, a phenomenon fairly evident in the first chapters, which are, in my honest opinion, horrible. They're short, crude, rough, and pretty boring. Thankfully, as time passed, my chapters became longer and much more elaborate in description. I still don't understand how the majority of my readers managed to stay interested enough to keep reading, but I'm grateful that they did. It was your encouragement that has made me what I am today!

It's been nearly two years since I started out as a fan fic writer and I can say without preamble that I've definitely matured. While writing my fan fic, I gained experience, so even though it was a laborious task rereading and editing it, I feel it was worth it so you could enjoy When Worlds Collide as it was meant to be. Constructive criticism is still greatly appreciated.

I hope you enjoy my fan fic!

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When Worlds Collide

Chapter 21 — Triumph Or Agony

By Mystic Dawn

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The dragon's whirling scarlet eyes seemed to be burning with an inner flame all their own as his serpentine tail lashed out at invisible foes. He rose on his hind legs and extended his long neck like a pillar to the sky, an ear-splitting shriek rending the silence of the clearing. His claws were raised, his deadly talons shining like steel in the winter sun's rays, and his teeth were bared, gleaming white against the red forked tongue between his cavernous jaws. Another burst of fire erupted from his mouth, encircling another cluster of trees with crackling flames.

Tomoyo found that her throat had gone dry as she warily took in her surroundings. Black scorch marks scattered at irregular intervals around the clearing revealed the extent of the dragon's fiery breath. The snow all around had been trampled and churned, as if someone had intentionally scattered it everywhere. Deep, jagged marks stood out starkly against various tree trunks and the rock face by the waterfall, as if he had slashed his talons across their surfaces.

She felt paralyzed by both fear and awe. There was no hint of recognition in those eyes... only madness. The way he was thrashing about in his mindless frenzy did not provide her with any means to get near him unscathed. How could she even dare to? Tomoyo could feel her resolve wavering in that terrible moment of indecision, her determination faltering. What could she do?

The dragon suddenly bucked, rearing as he clawed at the air, his terrible shriek ringing loudly in the clearing. Finding nothing to attack in the air around him, the dragon suddenly brought his claw down, his talons plunging deep into his scaly hide. And then, ever so slowly, he began to force his claw downward, his talons drawing long gashes in his foreleg. Hot blood began to ooze from the wounds, staining the snow crimson. He then lowered his head to his shoulder, his fangs digging deep into his flesh, and, inexorably, more blood began to flow down to the ground.

"Kurogane!" she managed to gasp weakly, taking a few steps forward, her arm extended longingly toward the tormented beast.

The dragon's ears flicked and his head snapped up at the unexpected intruder, his breath steaming in the cold air as his blood-red eyes focused upon her. A low growl sounded deep in his chest, like the rumble of an impeding thunderstorm. His talons and fangs were streaked with his blood, which slowly continued to dribble to the ground, forming a pool around his feet.

Tomoyo froze in mid-step, her heart leaping up to her throat as she brought her hand to her chest, breathing quickly.

They both stood still, facing each other, the tension around them rippling through the air like electricity.

The dragon suddenly bellowed ferociously, as if he were giving her an obscure warning. Arching his head back, he roared his battle cry again, the sound coming deep from his throat as he slashed at the air. Then he lowered his face, his eyes boring into hers as his ominous growl filled the clearing.

Tomoyo drew a deep breath to calm herself, but she determinedly stood her ground, meeting his piercing gaze fearlessly. She could feel the heat radiating from him even if there was quite a span separating them. How could she draw him out of his madness? How could she calm him down enough to reach his side? She did not want to hurt him, but if there was no other way...

"Kurogane..." she whispered, extending a trembling hand. "Please..."

The dragon's eyes narrowed suspiciously as the low growling resumed. He unfurled his wings, holding them over himself, as if ready to take flight should something occur. His hot breath steamed in the chill air as blood continued to seep from his wounds. The dragon suddenly reared again, screaming as he lunged forward.

Tomoyo's eyes momentarily widened in shock as she froze, unable to move.

Then she felt a searing flash of pain along her arms.

She bit off a cry as she clutched her arms to her chest, opening her eyes dazedly. But to her astonishment, she saw no blood. She pulled back the sleeves of her cloak curiously, frowning in confusion. She was unblemished. Then what had caused the pain? She inhaled sharply and raised her eyes to the dragon.

He had plunged his talons into himself again, slashing at his forelegs in a mindless frenzy, drawing more and more blood. It was as if the creature were determined to relinquish his suffering by rending his own flesh. He shrieked piteously, a cry filled with such a myriad of emotions that there was no way to separate and distinguish them from each other.

Tomoyo was hit by such a nauseous wave of bitterness and defeat that she stumbled to the ground, unable to support herself. She gripped at the tree's bark with weak and numbed fingers, her body shuddering spasmodically as she experienced pain, pain beyond endurance. She forced herself to stand erect, trying to ignore the strong metallic scent of blood suffocating her senses. She weakly raised her head, her eyes brimming with unshed tears as she felt her resolve shattering from the intense emotions overwhelming her. But she dared not give in.

"Kurogane!" she cried weakly, extending her hand to him. "Please! Stop hurting yourself!"

The dragon paid her no heed in his madness. He fell to the ground with a resonating shudder and screamed, clutching at his head. He began to kick out furiously, his body twisting and bending unnaturally. He thrashed in the snow as he gnashed his teeth together, shrieking again.

The real battle was inside his mind, she realized darkly. He was still fighting the madness.

Tomoyo took a few steps toward him, but she had to jump back to get out of range of his wildly lashing tail. She tried to go around it, but it twisted around in such an unpredictable manner that it suddenly struck her in the small of her back, causing her to fall into the snow. His tail snapped out at her again, narrowly missing her face by inches, and she hastily rolled out of the way to safety, getting to her feet.

"Kurogane! Please! Stop it!" She winced, screwing her eyes shut in pain. "Can't you hear me...?" she whispered desperately. She tried to stand up, ignoring the pain. She could feel something trickling down her side. Hoping that it was just sweat, she focused her gaze upon the dragon again, who was now apparently locked in a contest of wills, his body thrashing around so wildly that there was no chance she could even hope to find an opening to get closer to him.

How could she save him? How could she calm his troubled soul? She knew no spells that would have any affect, for magic did not work that way. There were restrictions to what one could do with their powers. And if she tried to enter his mind, she knew she would do more damage than good, especially in his present condition. She would even endanger her own sanity. What she had to do was calm him down somehow. But how could she calm an enraged dragon?

And then it came to her. All the old stories claimed that dragons could be moved by music, especially by singing voices. She had never put much faith into old myths and legends, but what other alternative was left? She dared not risk hurting him; he was already injured enough by his self-inflicted wounds. If she sang, would it work for Kurogane? Would she be able to calm him?

Standing erect, her hands clasped together and the wind whipping her hair across her face, she drew a deep breath and parted her lips.

Remember
I will still be here
As long as you hold me
In your memory...

The dragon continued to twist and turn, but there was a definite difference in his movements. They were not as frenzied and uncontrolled as before. Taking courage, Tomoyo drew another breath and continued.

Remember
When your dreams have ended
Time can be transcended
Just remember me...

She took a tentative step closer now that the dragon had visibly calmed down, though he still continued to flinch and cringe at the invisible foes in his mind. She knew that the song was having a great affect on him, more so because she had sung this song to him once before, a long time ago—that night they had spent together in the gardens, gazing at the stars. Did his present serenity mean that he remembered that night as well as she did?

I am the one star that keeps burning so brightly
It is the last light to fade into the rising sun
I'm with you whenever you tell my story
For I... am all I've done...

He had now stopped moving, remaining perfectly still upon the snow as he drew ragged breaths, his chest rising with each breath he took. The madness that had clouded his eyes seemed to flicker and lift—if only for a moment—as they flashed with a spark of recognition.

Remember
I will still be here
As long as you hold me
In your memory...
Remember me...

Tomoyo extended her hand toward him as she continued to approach him slowly, so as not to startle him. She kept singing with all her heart, hoping that her words would reach him somehow.

I am that one voice in the cold wind that whispers
And if you listen you'll hear me call across the sky
As long as I still can reach out and touch you
Then I... will never die...

The dragon slowly raised himself from the ground, turning to face her as his gaze fell upon her violet orbs. His eyes suddenly widened as he was struck with a number of conflicting emotions, his mind finally clearing at last.

Remember
I'll never leave you
If you will only
Remember me...

He knew that song. He knew that voice. He knew that face.

Remember me...

And he knew those beautiful amethyst eyes.

Remember
I will still be here
As long as you hold me
In your memory

Something inside of his mind seemed to crack and shatter, and suddenly, his thoughts surged with a flood of memories. He could now remember everything clearly; from memories of his early childhood, to what had happened mere days ago. He had been trapped in his own mind, as if he had been trapped in some sort of cage, powerless to break free and escape. But now he was free; free from the horrible emptiness that he had nearly succumbed to wholly, free to recall everything with clarity, free to be himself once again...

Remember
When your dreams have ended
Time can be transcended
I live forever...

Free to be Kurogane again...

Remember me...
Remember me...

Tomoyo was now standing before his massive, wedge-shaped head, and she lowered her voice to a whisper to let the last notes of her song fade away as she raised her hands to his face.

Remember...
Me...

Slowly, she placed her hands over his snout. A deep rumble sounded from his throat as he half-closed his fiery eyes, leaning in to her touch.

Tomoyo tentatively stroked his face, her hands trembling as her eyes filled with tears. She wrapped her arms around his head and laid her cheek against the side of his scaly face. "I'm here now," she whispered softly, caressing his face. "I came for you. Everything is going to be all right now."

Kurogane made a peculiar thrumming noise deep in his throat and nuzzled her cheek gently.

"You can recognize me, can't you?" She drew closer to him, gripping him tighter. "Can't you?" she asked again, her voice wavering as she longed for some sort of confirmation.

He shifted his body so that he could gather her within the circle of his foreleg, careful not to hurt her with his talons, in the fashion of an embrace.

The sincerity of his response to her made her burst into tears of relief. "Oh, Kurogane!" she sobbed, hastily wiping at her eyes with the back of her hand as she clung to him. "You're all right!"

Kurogane made a series of guttural noises, speaking in the tongue of the dragons, but then his voice faltered, as if realizing that she would not understand him. He released her and turned his face away, bowing his head in shame.

"I don't care if you're a dragon," she said fiercely, putting her hands to his face again. "My feelings haven't changed. They never will."

He raised his crimson eyes to her hopefully, hardly daring to believe his ears.

She pressed her cheek against his, drawing a shaky breath. "But I know that if you leave me again, I'll never be able to go on without you. Can't you see, Kurogane?" She drew back to look at him, trailing her fingers along his face. "I'll always love you, no matter what." Wanting to prove her words to him, she closed her eyes and stood on tiptoe to reach him, pressing her lips against his lips.

Although she had expected the thin, cold mouth of a dragon, the touch was as warm and soft as the first kiss they had ever shared. Startled, she opened her eyes, not knowing what to expect. The black dragon was still there before her, but he seemed to be hidden behind a shimmering curtain of light. She let her hands fall from his face and she took a few steps backward, hardly daring to believe her eyes.

The curtain of light intensified, its pulsing brightness nearly blinding her. Tomoyo quickly covered her face with her hands to protect her eyes. When she sensed the brightness fade away several moments later, she tentatively opened her eyes, still keeping her hands before them as a shield. She blinked a few times, and when she judged that her vision had cleared, she uncovered her face.

Kurogane was human again.

He stood but for a moment on trembling legs, breathing heavily, before falling to his knees in the chill snow, barely managing to catch himself with his hands. The muscles in his upper arms quivered as they bore his weight, and he drew unsteady, ragged breaths, his bangs hanging before his eyes. Slowly raising his right hand, he stared at it, mixed emotions flitting across his face. He wiggled his fingers and closed his hand, forming a fist. He had hands again. He lifted his hand to his face, tracing his features. Eyes, nose, mouth...

He was himself again.

He raised his eyes and saw Tomoyo on her knees before him. He could see himself reflected in her amethyst eyes as clearly as if he were looking at mirrors. His eyes traveled over her face, drinking in the sight of her. Extending his hand, which was trembling slightly, his fingertips brushed her skin, pushing back some stray locks of hair dangling before her face. He caressed her cheek lovingly.

"Tomoyo..." he croaked, his vocal cords hoarse from lack of use.

Her lower lip began to quiver. She could no longer keep her emotions under control as she flung her arms about his neck, burying her face in his chest. "Oh, Kurogane!" she sobbed. "You're back!"

He tentatively raised his hands and gripped her shoulders, as if fearful that she would disappear and all this would prove to be a dream. He wrapped one of his arms around her shoulders while he raised the other to tentatively stroke her hair. He inhaled her familiar scent deeply. His face broke into a smile of relief as he sighed shakily. "I'm back," he whispered. "I'm really back." This was definitely not a dream or fantasy his mind had concocted to torment him. This was real. He was really holding her in his arms again.

Tomoyo laughed weakly as she drew back and her hands came up to cradle his face. "Yes," she said breathlessly. "You're back." She smiled up at him, her eyes watering as she laughed again softly, sliding her hands back down to his shoulders. "You're a mess," she sniffled.

Kurogane looked down at his bloody shoulders and arms. "I... I guess I am," he admitted slowly, only just realizing it.

"Hang on," Tomoyo said, getting to her feet, "I'll take care of it."

She went over to the pool and removed her cloak. She wore a sleeveless white ceremonial robe beneath, but she paid no heed to the cold as she took hold of the hem of her skirts and began tearing off strips of cloth. Once she had achieved to shorten her kimono a few inches, she knelt at the banks and dipped some of the strips of cloth into the water. Then she came back to him, settling down on her knees before him.

"I'll clean your wounds first," she said briskly, applying one of the cold cloths to a large gash in his shoulder, wiping away the drying blood. "And then I'll tie these makeshift bandages around you."

He was still puzzled about how he had gotten hurt in the first place, so he let her go about her business of cleaning away the blood and tying the cloths around his arms and shoulders in silence.

"There," she said proudly one she had finished. "As long as you don't make any sudden movements, I don't think they'll start bleeding again. It's a good thing that dragon hide is certainly tougher than human skin. Your wounds appeared deep when you were a dragon, but now they're merely superficial."

She then draped her cloak across his shoulders, urging him to put it on. He consented, wrapping himself in it to hide his nudity and to protect himself from the cold. The sleeves just passed his elbows and covered the half of his forearms, and he noted that if he stood up the material would probably just pass his knees.

"Tomoyo," he then said hesitantly, gripping her hands in his, "how did I get hurt?"

Tomoyo frowned in perplexity. "How did you get hurt?" she repeated. "Surely you remember."

He lowered his gaze and shook his head. "I don't remember anything before you brought me out of... my madness. It was... like... I was trapped. I was trapped in my own mind and I couldn't escape." He drew a shaky breath. "I felt so cold and empty and I'd forgotten so much... But when I heard your voice... your song... I remembered... I remembered everything... and I found the strength to fight it... to escape..." He swallowed with difficulty and squeezed her hands gently. "But I don't remember what I did in my madness." He searched her eyes desperately. "What did I do?"

Tomoyo bit on her lower lip and avoided his gaze, wondering whether she even had the right to tell him what had really happened.

He raised a hand to her chin and lifted her face up to look into her eyes. "Please tell me, Tomoyo."

She sighed and clasped her hands together. "You were confused," she said slowly, choosing her words carefully. "And you were hurting yourself in your confusion. It looked like you were trying to... to escape from yourself." Her gaze lowered to the bloodstained snow and the burned trees behind him.

Kurogane frowned and turned around to see what she was looking at. He drew in his breath with a hiss. "I did all that?" he demanded in surprise.

She nodded. "You were burning down the trees and you were hurting yourself. I wouldn't have been able to get close to you unless I found a way to calm you down first..."

"With your song," he supplied, looking down at her, the palm of his hand resting against her cheek.

"What about the song?" she prompted, arching an eyebrow.

He snorted softly. "Nothing... it's just... it was the first time I'd ever heard you sing... that night we were looking at the stars." He smiled down at her hesitantly. The kind of smiles he only used when they were alone.

"You remember that?"

"How could I forget?" he asked in a low voice, stroking her cheek gently with the back of his hand, his face very close to hers. "It's the only song I appreciate."

"And why is that?" she breathed, the palms of her hands resting against his chest as her eyes lifted to his face.

"Becauseyou sing it," he whispered raggedly as he lowered his mouth to hers and claimed her lips with his. He discarded all caution as he drew her closer to him, crushing her to breathlessness, his kiss hot and passionate as he savored their close contact.

Tomoyo reveled in the sensations flooding to claim her. Kurogane had never kissed her before with such a raw need, which she found a refreshing change from his usual gentleness. It only reinforced her emotions and convinced her that he had indeed missed her more than he was willing to reveal with words. Her arms wound around his neck as his hands slowly slid down her back. But just as his arms wrapped possessively around her waist, she winced sharply, breaking their kiss.

"What is it?" he asked in alarm, drawing back.

"It's nothing," she mumbled, trying to twist away, but she only achieved in wincing in pain again, this time visibly.

"You're hurt," he accused, trying to keep the anger out of his voice as he pulled her hand away from her waist to reveal a large red blotch standing out against the white material of her robes. "How'd that happen?"

She looked away, lowering her gaze. "When... when I was trying to get close to you," she murmured hesitantly. "Your tail lashed out at me..."

His eyes widened as he gaped at her in horror.

"It wasn't your fault," she said quickly. "I know you didn't really want to hurt me."

He gritted his teeth angrily, silently cursing himself. "Why didn't you tell me?" he demanded.

"I didn't want to worry you," she admitted softly.

"Nonsense," he spat, getting to his feet. "I'll see to that."

"Excuse me?"

"You took care of me, didn't you? It's my turn now."

Tomoyo opened her mouth in surprise, then closed it, having nothing to say. He did have a point, she reflected sardonically.

Kurogane tore a few strips from the sleeves of the cloak, unconsciously following her own tactics as he dipped one of them into the water. He then returned to her, telling her to turn around and draw down the back of her robes so he could attend to her. She had half a mind to protest but she knew that he would overrule. Blushing furiously, she turned her back to him and complied, glad for once that he could not see her face. She kept the front of her robes firmly in place with one of her hands as she held her hair out of the way with the other.

He drew in his breath sharply when his eyes fell upon the angry welt in the small of her back, which still dripped blood. "Damn," he muttered angrily. "It's practically like a whiplash." He dabbed at the wound carefully, cursing himself over and over again in his head for hurting her.

Tomoyo did not really know what to say to that, so she remained silent. She found it ironic that they were taking care of each other like this; she taking care of his wounds and he taking care of hers. If her cut hadn't been in such an awkward place she wouldn't have really minded, she supposed. However, she found it highly peculiar and suspicious that they were taking care of each other in such a manner, as if she were being taunted by someone on high. She had wanted to tend to him, so she must also suffer accordingly, was what seemed to be the message being conveyed to her.

"You'll have to lift your arms up now so I can tie the bandages around you," Kurogane said at that moment, bringing her brusquely out of her thoughts.

As if she wasn't embarrassed enough, she thought as she let the front of her robes fall forward and raised her arms while gathering her hair up to the top of her head. How she desperately wanted the earth to open up and swallow her to save her from her humiliation. All right, it wasn't as if Kurogane was actually seeing anything, she told herself firmly. She had certainly seen more of him than she had intended to. The memory caused her to redden even more and she pushed it out of her mind. Kurogane was not the kind of man to take advantage of a situation, she reminded herself. She trusted him with all her heart. With that firmly in mind, she concentrated on trying to reduce her blushes, with little success.

Kurogane's hands ever so gently went about her small waist, wrapping the strips of cloth around her. She could feel his hot breath upon her shoulder as he meticulously went about his work, finally tying a small knot when he came to the end of the cloth strips. She was even more embarrassed to find that she was slightly disappointed that nothinghad happened. She reprimanded herself harshly to stop thinking nonsense as her cheeks suffused with blushes again.

"Do you know that you're the most agreeable patient I've ever had to tend to?" he told her proudly as he turned respectfully to let her dress.

She hastily pulled on her robes, pushing her hair out of her eyes. "What?" she said in surprise, looking up at him as she tied the obi sash at her waist.

"Souma would always grumble and accuse me of doing a sloppy job whenever she'd get hurt in fights. She'd always say it was my fault she'd gotten hurt and she'd tend to cuff my head when I'd try to help her. Ungrateful woman," he added under his breath affectionately. "And I trust you remember how that blond wizard acted when I was trying to sew up his gash. Whining and complaining all the time like the big baby he is."

It took Tomoyo a few moments to register that Kurogane was talking about Fay, which reminded her darkly that he and the others were probably worried sick by now. She got to her feet and stretched slightly. She felt surprisingly more comfortable now that her cut had been tended to. "You did a good job," she said approvingly.

"I've had experience with similar situations. Can I turn around now?"

"Yes, I'm all done."

He turned around, his eyes drifting toward her smiling face before he quickly averted his gaze. He crossed his arms over his chest and avoided making eye contact with her as he shuffled at the snow with his feet. "I'm... sorry," he apologized gruffly.

"Sorry for what?" Tomoyo asked, bewildered by his sudden change in behavior.

"For... hurting you," he mumbled.

"I told you it wasn't your fault," she said firmly. "Now stop blaming yourself for something you had no control over."

His expression was stubborn, but upon meeting her determined gaze, he sighed in defeat. "All right. I'll stop blaming myself."

"Good," Tomoyo smiled warmly as she took hold of his hand and began to lead him through the snow. "Now we should head back to the others before they start worrying too much."

"What others?" he demanded quickly.

"Syaoran-san, Fay-kun, Mokona, and Sakura-chan, of course."

"They haven't left yet?!" he said in surprise.

"Of course not! How could they leave knowing that you were..." Her voice trailed away as she bit on her lower lip and turned her head to look back at him. "What exactly happened to you these last few days?" she asked him timidly.

Kurogane shook his head. "I'll explain when we get to the others. I only want to say what I have to say once." His hand tightened about hers when he said these words.

Tomoyo nodded in understanding as she parted the leaves and led him out of the clearing.

———————————————

Sakura was brooding silently, sitting by the campfire as her eyes gazed disinterestedly at her surroundings. Not having any news about what was happening for nearly five hours was positively the most unnerving experience she had ever had the misfortune to live through. She had tried to keep in touch with Kurogane at first, but as his insanity continued to intensify, Fay had forbidden her from trying anymore lest she begin to lose herself along with him like last night.

Sakura exhaled heavily. She had been unprepared then, that was all. But his madness had not been as strong then as it was now, so she obeyed Fay's cautions. But five hours? Anything could have happened in such a long time!

She looked up sharply at a sudden rustling noise coming from the trees nearby. She narrowed her eyes in suspicion and was about to bolt toward the tethered horses where the others were until she saw who the two figures emerging from the dense foliage were. Her eyes widened and her face broke into a happy smile. "Kurogane-san!" she squealed as she hurried forward to embrace him.

Fay and Syaoran turned in unprepared astonishment at Sakura's cry. Syaoran's mouth dropped open and Fay's eyes widened when their gazes fell upon Kurogane and Tomoyo, but they soon got a hold over their initial surprise as they rushed to their sides. Mokona clambered up Syaoran's shoulder and repeatedly squeaked, "It's Kurogane, it's Kurogane!" hopping up and down excitedly.

Kurogane's expression at the way he was greeted registered his shock completely, especially when Sakura suddenly rushed forward to hug him tightly.

"How're you feeling?" she asked him, her eyes sparkling. "Oh, I'm so glad Tomoyo-chan managed to find you! But how did you get back to normal?! Tomoyo-chan said she didn't know how to turn you back! But what about your—?!"

"Sakura-chan!" Fay laughed. "Give him a breather!" He cleared his throat pointedly, indicating Kurogane's red face.

Sakura flushed scarlet and released him sheepishly. "I'm sorry," she mumbled, bowing in apology.

"That's okay," Kurogane said with a small smile. "I just wasn't expecting such a welcome."

"It's good to have you back, Kurogane-san." Syaoran grinned up at him. "You had us really worried."

"Not as worried as I was, believe me," Kurogane said wryly, clapping his shoulder.

Fay peered at Kurogane's face intently. "There's something different about you," he muttered thoughtfully. "I can't quite put my finger on it, but there's something different." He held up his hands, connecting his forefingers and thumbs to create a rectangle as he peered at him through it. "There's definitely something different about you."

Kurogane arched an eyebrow. "Different how?"

"Beats me," Fay shrugged. "All I know is that there's something different about you."

Kurogane made to retort hotly about Fay's obscure answers, but instead, he sneezed violently.

"That's enough talking for now," Tomoyo said crisply. "We'd better get him into some proper clothes before he turns blue with the cold."

"He can change in the tent," Syaoran suggested. "Hang on, I'll go get his pack."

"How'd you guys know I had a change of clothes in one of my packs?" Kurogane demanded, glaring at Syaoran's retreating back.

"We sort of rummaged through your things when we were looking for your money pouch," Fay admitted, grinning hugely. He suddenly held up one of his forefingers. A bloodstained piece of cloth was wound around it. "You should watch how you stow away your weapons. I nicked my finger on one of your star thingies!"

"Shuriken," Tomoyo corrected shortly.

"Oh, yes." Fay laughed weakly. "I always have a tendency to forget strange words."

"Just how much of my money did you spend?" Kurogane growled suspiciously.

"Not as much as you must have spent on that pretty little scarf you got for Tomoyo-chan!" he said brightly.

Kurogane was saved the trouble of trying to think up of a scathing comment when Syaoran came back with his pack. The ninja grabbed it with an imperious harrumph and stomped into the tent, swearing sulphurously under his breath.

"I think I managed to push him into quite a corner with that," Fay snickered.

"Shame on you," Sakura scolded him, but she couldn't keep the smile from her face.

Kurogane emerged shortly afterward, back in his classic black-and-red ninja garb. He grumbled as he tried to adjust his breastplate in a way that the straps wouldn't bite into his bandaged shoulders, but he wasn't really making much of a headway.

"Kurogane's full of bandages!" Mokona chirped anxiously, leaping upon his head to get a closer look. "Wow, your arms all so full of them that you couldn't even put your wrist-guards on!"

"It's nothing serious," he said gruffly, sitting down by the campfire beside them. "Tomoyo took care of them."

"And I suppose you took care of her, too?" Fay hinted slyly, his eyes lingering momentarily upon the red stain on her robes.

"Unh," he grunted, shooting the mage a look of daggers.

"Well, you two are just in time for lunch," Fay grinned, deftly maneuvering the conversation away from the subject as he handed Tomoyo her bowl.

"Are you hungry, Kurogane-san?" Sakura asked him. "Fay-san's made his thick vegetable stew again."

Remembering his meal that morning, Kurogane shuddered and nodded, wincing slightly when Mokona firmly tugged on his hair as it bitterly complained that it was wasting away with nothing but soup to survive on.

"You feel pretty heavy to me," Kurogane muttered under his breath.

Mokona bopped him smartly on the head before leaping down to resume its complaining.

Fay hummed a nameless tune as he ladled a generous portion of stew into a wooden bowl and handed it to him. "Bottom's up!" he grinned.

Kurogane snorted and raised the bowl to his lips, taking a large swallow. The soup was hot and scalded his throat, but he sighed in relief at having a proper sense of taste again. In honesty, he did prefer meat to soup, but having his meat well-done was always preferable to eating it raw. He took a second drink, but not before noticing that everyone was looking at him curiously.

"What is it?" he asked warily.

"You're either enjoying the soup or you're really, really hungry," Syaoran surmised, arching a brow.

"Both, actually," Kurogane shrugged—wincing slightly—before tilting his head back and finishing the rest of the broth. He held out his bowl. "Gimme some more."

"Seconds?" Fay said in surprise. "Are you trying to subtly tell me that you enjoy my cooking?"

"I'm pointedly telling you that I want more," he replied in a flat voice.

"But you're enjoying the soup."

"All right, I am," Kurogane huffed. "So? Eat a raw ox and tell me which you prefer."

Sakura blinked in surprise. "You... you ate an ox?"

"Two, actually. One this morning and another a few days ago. Although it was more like half because I split it with Lightningstreak." He glared at them, as if daring them to say anything about him eating raw meat. "So don't any of you try to make out that I like his cooking. I just prefer it to what I was surviving on this week."

"I rest my case," Fay said quickly, taking the bowl from him and hurrying to refill it. "Although I'd appreciate it if you enjoyed my cooking," he added petulantly.

"If you don't force sweet things down my gullet, I honestly don't have a problem with your cooking. But don't let that get to your head!" he added quickly, shaking a warning forefinger at him. "I'm just telling you my honest opinion to shut you up."

"Well, at least one thing that hasn't changed about Kuro-tan is his attitude," Fay grinned in relief. "If he tries to admit something nice about someone, he's going to have to growl and spit to do it."

Kurogane's eye twitched as he took the bowl from him and finished his meal in one swallow, wisely deciding not to answer that.

"Kurogane-san?" Sakura said timidly after a few moments of silence.

He put down his empty bowl and wiped at his mouth with the back of his hand. "What?"

"How did you get hurt?" she asked him, her expression anxiously concerned. She hesitated. "The dragons didn't attack you... did they?"

Kurogane stiffened and shifted his weight slightly, moistening his lips and avoiding making any eye-contact with them. He curled his hands into fists upon his knees, his knuckles turning white against his tanned skin. Tomoyo, sensing his discomfort, reached out and grasped his hand, twining her fingers through his. When he looked up at her questioningly, she gave him a small, encouraging smile, her thumb lightly caressing the back of his hand. His eyes turned to his companions, who were looking at him expectantly, though their expressions were also slightly apprehensive. The atmosphere was heavy with tension.

Kurogane exhaled heavily. "I guess it's all going to have to come out sooner or later," he mumbled, running his hand along the back of his neck. He did not say anything else for several moments. "I... did it," he finally admitted quietly. "I hurt myself."

Sakura stared at him in shocked astonishment, Mokona's and Fay's expressions appearing just as surprised.

Syaoran's mouth dropped open. "You hurt yourself? Intentionally?" His tone was incredulous.

Kurogane coughed gruffly and looked the other way, urging Tomoyo to speak on his behalf with a wave of his hand.

She frowned at him slightly before turning back to the others. "It happened in his madness when he was trying to find a way to escape from himself," she explained. Her expression suddenly turned sly. "He was locked in a furious contest of wills inside of his own mind. So what better way for one to seek redemption in one's confusion than to maim one's body?"

"Did you have to say it like that?" he asked her in a pained voice.

"You're the one who didn't want to answer for yourself," she said smugly. "So suffer the consequences accordingly."

Kurogane made an indelicate sound. "I don't even know how to explain what happened."

"You could take it from the start, you know," she suggested brightly.

"You're enjoying tormenting me like this, aren't you?" he accused.

"Oh, yes," she admitted with a mischievous wink. She chuckled and drew closer to him, winding her arm around his as she laid her head against his shoulder. "That's one of the reasons I love you so much."

Fay and Mokona sniggered heartily at Kurogane's face, which had turned beet-red in his embarrassment.

"Just explain yourself as best as you can," Tomoyo advised him, twining her fingers through his again. "It's perfectly all right if your words are simple. We won't judge you by what you tell us."

Kurogane exhaled heavily. "You're right." His lips twisted to form a wry smile. "You're always right."

"Naturally."

Kurogane chuckled softly, squeezing her hand gently before letting go. He looked up at the others and clasped his hands together, drawing a deep breath while he tried to gather his scattered thoughts. A few moments passed before he looked up at them again. "Well... I guess it all started in Sembia. With that mage. You all probably remember I'd caught glimpses of him from time to time, but none of you had ever actually seen him. He'd only appear before me. But he never spoke or gave any indication of his purposes; he just watched."

Syaoran and Sakura nodded faintly. Fay made a small sound indicating his agreement while Mokona fidgeted slightly in its seat in Sakura's arms.

"Right after we fled from Sembia, he appeared before me again, when you were all sleeping. But this time was different. He actually spoke to me. I didn't want to mention anything because I knew it'd only make you worry even more, and he said himself that it'd be useless if we tried to track him down." Kurogane swallowed hard. "He told me that he had nothing to do with the feathers and that his only concern was me. He also told me that he'd been watching me my whole life and that the time would soon come when I'd have to make a choice. At the time I didn't realize the implications, but now..." He left it hanging.

"Did you believe his words?" Syaoran asked at that point. "Didn't it occur to you that he might be lying?"

"It was hard not to believe him when I made him prove it by telling me something about myself I'd never told anyone," Kurogane replied with a haunted look in his eyes, scuffing at the snow lightly with a boot. "He proved it, so I had no reason to doubt him."

Syaoran momentarily frowned. It was obvious that Kurogane had no idea who the mage really was. He wondered if Tsukuyomi had intentionally hidden his identity from the ninja or if it had been by mere chance. Syaoran highly doubted that it was the latter.

Kurogane exhaled and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. "But it was that bastard who delivered the real blow," he grated through clenched teeth. "After he'd taken care of you guys, he told me that everything I knew was a lie. I could have doubted him. I could have dismissed his words as falsehoods. I was sorely tempted to. But there was a part of me that knew he was telling the truth. And then he showed me what had happened on the day I was born. I discovered that my mother was some noblewoman or other that had been chosen by the gods to carry the one who would stand between dragons and humans." He spread his hands helplessly. "And I discovered that my father was the god of the dragons, Ryuujin. So, in a way, I'm a dragon born as a human. Created by the gods to bring peace." He snorted in disgust. "And a fat load of help being Ryuujin's son was since most of the dragons were too stubborn and arrogant to even listen to me."

Sakura bit on her lower lip anxiously at the sudden wave of anger and disgust emanating from the ninja, and Mokona stirred restlessly in her arms.

Kurogane bowed his head against his clasped hands, taking a deep breath. "I tried," he whispered. "I tried to make them realize that they were dying as a race. And not just because of humans killing them off. Ryuujin placed a curse on them so they could learn humility. There'd only ever be one dragonling born of two dragons, which meant that every generation was basically being halved. And it still is, and it'll keep on going. Down to the last dragon." He sighed and raked his hands through his hair. "I tried to explain the situation, but they still wouldn't understand. They're going to die because of their inability to understand. And it's not that theycan't understand. It's that they don't want to understand." He gnashed his teeth together and buried his face in his hands. "And now they're going to die..."

"Kurogane, it's not your fault they didn't listen to you," Tomoyo told him, laying a gentle hand upon his shoulder. "You tried to help them."

"But I failed," he spat bitterly. "I was supposed to help them and I failed." He looked up at her, his eyes almost pleading in their helplessness. "If I failed at this what if I fail again? Where am I going to fail next? What if the next time I fail will be even more disastrous?" He snorted derisively. "If anythingcan be considered more disastrous than the extinction of an entire race?"

"Just because you didn't manage to accomplish your task, doesn't mean that you'll constantly fail in every aspect of your life from now on," she told him sternly. "You can't stop trying and give up just because of one failure. There's always something or other you'll never achieve. It's a part of life not to succeed all the time. Isn't it?" She turned to the others.

Syaoran shrugged helplessly. "There've been quite a few times I haven't managed to achieve my goals," he admitted.

"I don't remember if I have or not," Sakura spoke up tentatively, "but I do remember that the High Priest, Yukito-san, once mentioned that it's an inevitable aspect of life. There'll be times in every person's life when they'll be disappointed for expecting too much of themselves."

Fay had avoided taking part in the conversation up to this point. He seemed to be struggling whether he should mention anything by his calculating expression. "Sometimes," he began slowly, causing everyone to turn and look at him, "no matter how hard you try, you can't change someone's mind. Even when you're trying to convince him that he's leading everyone to ruin because of his decisions. If someone's mind is made up, there's no way to reason with him."

"Some people are just too stubborn to admit that they're wrong," Mokona suddenly piped up. "Yuuko hates it whenever she has to deal with people like that because no matter what she says, she can't help them when they refuse to listen. It's something inevitable."

"Everything seems to be inevitable..." Fay repeated in an undertone, his voice so low that Kurogane had nearly missed his words.

"You see, Kurogane?" Tomoyo said, turning back to him. "There's no need for you to get so worked up because of it. You tried, and that's enough."

Kurogane shook his head and chuckled, grasping her hand. "You always seem to know just what to say to make me feel better." He looked up at the others. "You're all right. I know it. But it's still..."

"You just hate to lose, that's all," Fay grinned, his pensive mood disappearing as suddenly as it had appeared. "You felt as if you lost a battle when you failed to help dragonkind. But you haven't lost the war," he added with a crisp salute and a lopsided grin. "Life is like a war. You have to keep fighting until the bitter end."

Kurogane arched an eyebrow. "Since when do you of all people compare battles and wars to living life?"

"Let's just say that the ninja philosophy has finally gotten to me." He snickered. "Or just your obscure philosophy. Take your pick."

"Fay-san does have a point," Syaoran reflected. "Life is like a war."

"Not you, too!" Kurogane groaned, smacking his forehead.

Tomoyo giggled and snuggled up next to him. "You have quite an influence on your friends, by the looks of it."

Kurogane had half a mind to answer that, but he remained silent, grateful, in spite of the usual jesting, for their support. He drew an arm around Tomoyo's shoulders and held her close, laying his cheek against the top of her head. He smiled faintly, content in that moment to merely savor their precious time together. It was good to be himself again, and to be with the people he cared about the most again.

"Maybe I do," he finally said softly. "Maybe I do..."

———————————————

Checking the map again, Syaoran reached the conclusion that they could continue along the Highway the way they had planned and reach Shirasagi in around three and a half days. It would have been preferable for them to start that afternoon so they could reach Jorsan by nightfall, but Kurogane wasn't up to riding a horse so soon after becoming human again. He didn't exactly tell them that, but it was evident by his pained expression and the way his eyes drifted to the tethered horses when Syaoran suggested that they strike camp that he'd rather stay put before attempting to ride again. Even so... Syaoran suspected that his problem had nothing whatsoever to do with horses.

So they stayed at the campsite for the rest of the day, listening to Fay's jokes and sallies, catching up on some sleep, and basically loitering around. None of them pressured Kurogane to come forth with any more explanations, even though there were still several unanswered questions that had yet to come to the light. Like what exactly had taken place in the Valley of the Dragons; from Kurogane being blamed for the death of a dragon to what he had done the past six days in their company to ignite their rage to such a pitch. And the fact still remained that Tsukuyomi had told them that Kurogane had been initially created to help dragonkind. Having failed the task he had been born for made each of them wonder at some point or other what would happen to the ninja because of it.

They set off for Jorsan the next morning, Kurogane and Tomoyo riding his horse in a similar fashion Sakura and Syaoran rode theirs. It was slightly awkward at first because of their difference in size, but Kurogane figured that if she sat across his legs they could manage just fine. Fay sniggered heartily at this and innocently asked the ninja whether he had something else in mind about the seating arrangements. Kurogane retorted hotly that he had no such intention, which prompted Fay to slyly point out that he probably did since the wizard had actually been referring to whether Kurogane was going to give Tomoyo the sash he had bought for her or not. Kurogane responded by drawing his sword and chasing Fay around the clearing, shouting obscenities that even made Tomoyo—who was pretty much used to his bad language after so many years—flush a deep crimson. At least Kurogane's reaction had been some sort of confirmation that despite everything he had been through, he was still pretty much the same person underneath it all.

After a relatively uneventful trek (despite the usual death glares Kurogane shot at Fay's back) they reached the small town of Jorsan, famed for its trade in saké and other alcoholic drinks and spirits. Quite a number of merchants and vendors had tried to pressure them into purchasing their wares. They passed on through, ignoring the sellers and without stopping at an inn, riding on until nightfall when they set up camp in a semi-sheltered bunch of trees at one side of the road.

After setting up camp and eating a meager supper of bread and cheese, they took turns keeping watch. Since they were more in number, they decided to split it in three shifts instead of the usual two they took. Syaoran and Kurogane would take the first, Fay and Mokona would take the second, and Tomoyo and Sakura would take the third.

After the others had gone to bed, Kurogane and Syaoran settled down by the fire, seeking warmth from the biting winter chill. Kurogane simply sat cross-legged with his arms folded over his chest as he gazed listlessly at the flames. After a long moment of silence, Syaoran finally drew out the all too familiar scroll in an attempt to study it again.

As Syaoran's eyes scanned the faded script, Kurogane watched him through the corner of his eye, recalling Ryuujin's words on the Prophecy. That he had initially been created to help dragonkind was true enough, but hadn't Ryuujin also said that his fate was more than it appeared? That he was also somehow involved in this quest? More than he had originally thought? At the time, he could not recall the Prophecy, but know...

Kurogane shifted his weight and cleared his throat gruffly, causing Syaoran to look up at him in surprise.

"That scroll..." Kurogane began, scratching lightly at his chin. "What does... it say...?"

"About you?" he offered while Kurogane floundered around for words.

The warrior grunted and nodded.

"Well, not much," he admitted wearily. "The part referring to this dimension's all smeared. I can't make out what it says at all. But it basically says that the time would come when you'd have to make some sort of choice—"

"What?!" Kurogane exclaimed, his body jerking forward in surprise. "What kind of choice?!"

Syaoran blinked. "Kurogane-san?"

"Sorry, I... I guess I overreacted," he muttered shortly, shaking his head. "But... what kind of a choice was it referring to?"

"Something about the Fellowship either being stripped by your parting or if it would be your desire to journey onward with us." Syaoran's gaze lowered. "At first I thought it was referring to you staying in Nihon now that you were home, but ever since... recent events... I thought it might also have a double meaning. That it could also be interpreted as you deciding to remain as a dragon or become a human again."

Kurogane swallowed hard, his mouth suddenly going dry. He looked as if he wanted to say something, but was unable to find the words. He finally sighed and crossed his arms over his chest again. "When I was still a dragon... and Tomoyo had just managed to bring me out of my madness..." He momentarily closed his eyes, taking in a deep breath. "There didn't seem to be a way for me to ever become human again... and it didn't seem to matter when Tomoyo told me that... that she didn't care if I was human or not... but..."

He fell silent for several more moments, moistening his lips nervously. He knew he couldn't avoid the subject, not any longer. "I... I heard a voice... inside my head... telling me that the time to make my choice had finally come... and I had to decide if I wanted to remain a dragon or return to being a human. No matter what I chose, my other part would still remain with me. And... I wanted to be human again." He paused. "So Ryuujin let me go."

"You mean that voice was Ryuujin's?"

"It wasn't him doing the talking, but I could sense him there as well..." As his voice trailed off, he shook his head and snorted. "I know it doesn't sound like it makes any sense, but that's how it happened." He frowned darkly. "But that voice sounded vaguely familiar for some reason..."

Syaoran's brow knitted and he stowed the scroll away in his cloak. "So... it was basically due to your desire to become human again that Ryuujin let you go?"

"Probably something like that. I guess the final decision was Ryuujin's since I'm his son." Kurogane's eyes drifted back to the fire. The reddish shade of the flickering flames irresistibly reminded him of the shade in the rainbow-colored dragon's scales when his burnished hide had shone in the direct light of the sun. "I suppose I should be grateful to him. But I can't help but feel somehow... betrayed. I mean..." His sigh was frustrated. "I can't help but feel now that all this was some sort of test, just to see if I qualify or not. Because, in the end, it didn't matter that I didn't help dragonkind." He shook his head, recalling Silverthorn's words. "I had to decide what I'd do for myself."

Syaoran could not very well find anything to say to that, and so, he remained silent, for which Kurogane was grateful. They said nothing more as the wind continued to whistle through the trees, the only other source of sound in the wilderness but for the crackling fire.

———————————————

The next morning dawned unusually crisp and cool, the sun's rays providing little warmth in the heart of December. There was a hint of dark clouds in the distance, but they hovered over the far-off mountains, their snow-cropped tips lost in the blurry swirls. The dry, dusty odor of snow was not an immediate threat, but it would be once the temperature began to drop and the ominous clouds drifted closer.

Fay drew his parka tighter against himself, thankful that his fingers weren't too numb to handle the reins of his skittish mount. He was pretty used to the cold, but that didn't mean that he was by any means immune to it. Wearing gloves was always preferable to freezing, even if he hated it whenever his fingers became slippery with sweat whenever he wore them in warmer weather.

His gaze fell upon the horse in the lead, the one Sakura and Syaoran were riding. They were probably unused to so much cold, especially with their sleeveless garments, but their winter cloaks more than made up for it. Syaoran had surrendered his gloves to Sakura several days ago, and she still wore them whenever they traveled. Mokona alternately perched upon their heads, chittering excitedly about something or other. The cold didn't seem to be bothering it in the slightest.

Out of curiosity, Fay turned in the saddle to look over his shoulder at the others. Kurogane didn't appear uncomfortable, but then again, he was probably used to the cold of his home-world. But out of all of them, Tomoyo was the one garbed in the thinnest clothes—ceremonial robes were hardly a sufficient means of protection against the biting winds. Kurogane had drawn her close enough to him to warm her, one arm carefully wrapped around her waist with the better part of his heavy cloak draped across her shoulders. Tomoyo looked pretty toasty and pleasantly content with their riding arrangements. Fay smirked knowingly.

Kurogane caught sight of the magician's twinkling gaze at that moment and frowned suspiciously. "What's so funny?" he demanded sourly.

Fay merely offered a faint smile. "Nothing, Kuro-pii. Nothing at all." And with that, he turned back to face the road, still grinning hugely in silent amusement, as if he were in on some sort of secret that the ninja was ignorant of.

Kurogane scowled darkly, his left hand tightening upon his black's reins. The horse nickered softly, as if sensing his discomfort, her breath steaming in the chill air. Kurogane abandoned the reins long enough to pat the mare's flank reassuringly. His movements caused Tomoyo to stir slightly, and she released a small sigh as she snuggled against him, falling into a deeper sleep. His expression softened as his arm tightened around her, but a worried crease between his brows remained.

There were still so many questions left unanswered, so many things he did not know. How could he ever hope to lead a normal life after everything that had happened? How could he even dare to? The fact still remained that he was not entirely human, even though he had made the decision to return again. He knew in his very bones that he would never truly belong—just as a part of him had always known that he was different from everyone else—no matter which path he would have chosen. Human or dragon...

Then the familiar, gnawing sensation of despair began to creep up on him again. He clenched his teeth together and tried his best to push the feeling away. The emptiness was still there, ominous in its persistence, threatening to overwhelm him if he dwelled on it for too long. Kurogane knew that the nothingness would never go away, no matter how much time would pass. There would always be a danger he would succumb to it in a moment of weakness. A weakness he was all too aware of.

He was terrified of being alone.

Since when had he been reduced to such an emotional wreck? He tried to force the emptiness away, unconsciously bringing Tomoyo closer to his chest, the scent of her hair filling his nostrils. But not even that could calm his nerves. Don't leave me, he thought desperately. I don't want to be alone again. His grip on her tightened. I'm afraid of being alone.

Tomoyo shifted slightly in her sleep and wound her arms about him, laying her head upon his chest with a soft sigh. Kurogane swallowed, a reassuring warmth spreading inside of him. How foolish of him to start doubting again. Of course he was not alone.

He had Tomoyo, and he knew that he would always have her by his side, no matter what.

———————————————

Sakura studied the large expanse of land, which was devoid of trees or any other kinds of greenery, by shading her eyes against the afternoon sun. It was completely covered in pristine white snow, as if a blanket had been spread upon the broad plain. In the distance, she could make out the miniscule cluster of trees that would become a forest the nearer they approached them. But something else caught her eye; a small black mass that was crossing the desolation, heading their way.

"Syaoran..." she said slowly, tugging on his cloak slightly. "Do you see that?" She extended her arm and pointed, indicating the direction she meant.

Syaoran's eyes narrowed slightly as he observed the small group of riders, growing larger the closer they came. He turned in the saddle. "Kurogane-san... there are riders coming."

"I see them," he replied bleakly, his hand straying to the hilt of his sword.

"Kurogane..." Tomoyo sighed exasperatedly. "Violence isn't always the answer."

"It doesn't hurt to be prepared," he pointed out, loosening Souhi from its scabbard so he would be able to pull it out quickly if needed.

"I judge it'll be around five minutes or so until they reach us," Fay mused. "They'd already crossed the better part of the plain before we made it to the edge of these woods." He reached for the bow tied to his saddle and plucked an arrow from the quiver. "Just in case," he murmured in answer to Tomoyo's reproachful look.

Syaoran also readied his own sword, keeping his hand firmly clasped around the hilt. "Should we just wait here? They don't appear to be armed."

"Look again," Kurogane grunted.

Syaoran looked back, and this time he noticed the swords tied to the saddles of the riders.

"They haven't drawn their blades yet," the ninja continued, "so we'll wait. If they attack, we'll respond."

Tomoyo pursed her lips. "That sounds reasonable," she admitted slowly.

They said nothing more as they waited for the riders to near them. The minutes passed by slowly, seemingly inching along at a snail's pace. Now it was easy to discern the long, black-colored cloaks, the similar uniforms, and the crescent-moon emblems they bore. Their mounts paced along in a steady formation at an even canter. One of the riders, the one in the lead, raised her hand to signal the rest to stop. Pulling on the reins slightly, the leader drew back her hood and smiled.

"Well, well, if it isn't Souma-san!" Fay laughed and waved her over. "What a relief to see a familiar face again!"

Souma grinned back and rode up to meet them, breaking apart from the group. "It's great to see you all again. In the middle of nowhere, no less." Her eyes scanned their battered and weatherworn appearances, finally resting upon Kurogane and Tomoyo. "And I see my dear cousin has done his best to ensure the princess's safety." There was a hard edge to her voice that Kurogane recognized, and he squirmed under her persistent stare. "Somehow, I'm not surprised to see you together." Whether or not she meant the fact that Tomoyo was in their collected company or specifically in the company of Kurogane remained a mystery.

"I thought I left you with clear orders, Souma," Tomoyo interjected at that point in a berating tone of voice. "Didn't I tell you that you were to remain in charge? Who's in command at Shirasagi if you're here?"

Souma hesitated and lowered her gaze. "There's been a slight misunderstanding, Your Highness," she began, slowly and carefully. "Someone of higher... authority... has taken command."

"Whose authority is higher than the Lead Ninja's when Tomoyo's absent?" Kurogane demanded, his eyes narrowing dangerously.

"Well..." Souma uncharacteristically floundered around. "Let's just say that... someone who had disappeared ages ago... has finally returned to take her rightful place once more..."

"Who the hell're you talking about?"

"Oh, Kurogane, don't tell me your brains have been addled by your travels!" Souma finally snapped. "Don't you remember anything from those history lessons we took at the Academy?" She rolled her eyes exasperatedly at the blank and uncomprehending look he gave her. "The Sun Goddess has returned." She shrugged exaggeratedly. "Who else?"

———————————————

"Who is the Sun Goddess?" Sakura asked Tomoyo tentatively several hours later. "Is she Tsukuyomi-sama's sister?"

"Judging by what he's told us, they're not on the best of terms," Fay mused thoughtfully. "I wonder... why would she appear before her brother's followers and start issuing orders...?"

After a long day's trek in the company of Souma and her scouting party, they had managed to traverse the vast plain and continue on through the forest until Souma had called for a halt to set up camp for the evening in a small clearing at dusk. Two ninja tended to the horses while another two gathered firewood for the fire. Another three started making the necessary preparations for supper while the rest started setting up the tents. If they had been on their own, it would have certainly taken them hours to accomplish what they had done together as a group in minutes.

"It's simple," Tomoyo explained. "Amaterasu Omikami is rumored to be the ancestress of the Imperial Family of Nihon."

"So you're related to her?" asked Syaoran.

"It's a common belief. I don't know whether it's true or not." She sighed heavily. "Not now when I know the truth behind the gods..."

"Should we tell Kurogane-san?" Syaoran shot a hurried look behind his shoulder, where Kurogane was busy rummaging through his packs. "He doesn't know that the mage was Tsukuyomi-sama."

"I'm not sure," Tomoyo admitted slowly. "He's already been through enough. To jeopardize his faith might be the ultimate blow." She drew a finger to her lips, her brow wrinkling in worry. "I don't know if you've noticed, but Kurogane hasn't completely recovered. There will always be a possibility he might return to his mindless state."

Sakura nodded. "I've felt it too, sometimes..."

"But doesn't he have a right to know? After all"—Syaoran lowered his voice and motioned them closer—"his is part-god in a way, isn't he?"

"Part-human, part-dragon, part-god..." Fay chuckled humorously. "You'd think he's a patchwork quilt the way we talk about him!"

"Not part-god, but part-mage," Tomoyo corrected shortly. "Remember, Tsukuyomi-sama and the others aren't true gods."

"Does that mean Kurogane could learn magic?" Mokona suddenly piped up.

"Now wouldn't that be interesting?" Fay said slyly, a wide smile spreading upon his face. "Imagine Kuro-sama performing magic."

Fay and Mokona exchanged hopeless looks. "Nah!" they giggled.

"Doesn't that only prove he has the right to know?" Syaoran persisted. "I wouldn't want to remain in the dark if I were in his place."

"I agree," Sakura interjected. "I think it'll do more harm than good to keep this from him. Remember Kurogane-san's bitterness at never being told the truth of his past? He might take it the wrong way if we don't tell him."

Tomoyo nodded. "He does have the right to know—more than any of us ever did—but I can't know how he'll take it. He's... changed ever since he regained his human form." She lowered her gaze. "He seems more fragile, more... prone to be hurt by things he would have deemed unimportant before all of this happened."

"Aw, shucks, Tomoyo-chan!" Fay grinned hugely. "It's so cute the way you worry about Kuro-ron! You're both so alike in that aspect!"

"Eh?" she blinked.

"You took on such a melancholy look that's so reminiscent of the way Kuro-wan looks when he's thinking about you!" He squealed happily and squeezed Mokona tightly in his arms, still grinning when the little creature struggled and complained that it was being smothered to death. "It's so adorable!"

"What the hell're you doing to the manjuu?"

They all involuntarily started at Kurogane's gruff voice, none of them realizing that he had been right behind them until he had spoken. Sakura even went so far as to squeak in surprise and jump backward into Syaoran, causing him to fall over.

"I'm merely displaying my affection for Mokona, that's all," Fay chuckled, releasing the creature and restoring it to his rightful perch upon the top of his head. "Mokona doesn't mind at all, do you?"

Mokona cleared its throat slightly before replying with a chirpy, "Since Kurogane's interests obviously lie elsewhere, poor Mokona is forced to find someone else to spend more time with." It sighed dramatically. "It wouldn't do to walk in on something very private now, would it?"

Fay burst out laughing hysterically, slapping Syaoran on the shoulder just when Sakura had managed to haul him to his feet, causing him to fall over again and land face-first in the powdery snow. "Did you hear that?" he crowed. "Kuro-sama's secret is out!"

"When was it ever a secret?" Mokona quipped.

"Bwahahahaha!"

Kurogane's eye twitched as he crossed his arms over his chest and mumbled something along the lines of, "I'd expect no less from the two of you," under his breath.

Tomoyo had a different reaction than him. Her brow knitted and she pursed her lips slightly, a sign Kurogane recognized whenever she had a say but 'tried' to refrain from speaking her mind. "I suppose you two areright," she finally conceded, assuming a thoughtful expression. "It is terribly difficult trying to keep something so important a secret, isn't it?"

Kurogane raised his eyebrows and shifted his weight uneasily. He was sure that Tomoyo was going to save her real comeback for last. He had seen her employ the same tactics countless times with the various nobles who would somehow or other irritate her. She'd pretend to agree with them at first, subtly lead the discussion her way with eloquent speech, and then deliver the final blow, successfully managing to peel away her opponent's defenses. She had a flair for words he grudgingly admired, and could never hope to match.

"I think I should do something more extravagant than a tearful embrace to convince everyone of our relationship's authenticity. It caused quite a scandal among the courtiers. We were talked about for days on end." She smiled in remembrance, her violet eyes twinkling mischievously. "It worked the first time, but everyone needs some variety in life... something new to spice things up... aren't I right?"

Fay appeared to be genuinely interested in what she had to say. "Which would be...?" he prompted, his mouth twitching slightly in his attempts to keep his face straight.

"Oh, I don't know... use your imagination," she suggested with a wicked smile. She turned to Kurogane. "What do you think, Kurogane? Would a public kiss set things right? Or perhaps something more scandalous? We could supply the court with gossip for years on end."

"Er... isn't that... I mean..." Kurogane floundered and rubbed his neck, fidgeting uneasily as he felt his face getting warm. "Damn it..." He had become the butt-end of another joke! Again!

"Never mind, you don't have to answer that," Tomoyo giggled, touching his hand gently. "I'm just teasing you."

"As if you didn't enjoy doing that," he grumbled. But he liked the feel of her hand upon his.

"You know me too well," she smiled.

I wouldn't have you any other way, Kurogane caught himself thinking, but he would rather die than voice his thoughts aloud, especially with the others watching and—

"Ahem."

Tomoyo jumped and drew back her hand, as if she had been burned. "Souma!" she grinned, airily fanning herself with the guilty hand. "You're just the person I wanted to see! I never got the chance to ask you how everything was when I left. I'm sure the Sun Goddess has everything under control but you'll have to tell me all the boring details soon or else I'll look like a fool in front of the court when I get back!"

"We'll have to save that for later, Your Highness," she replied gruffly, bowing stiffly. "Supper's ready." She straightened and turned on her heel, stomping—yes, stomping—off.

"I think Tomoyo-chan meant it when she said that you two were a scandal," Fay told Kurogane in little above a whisper.

Kurogane did not trust himself to answer, although he had the feeling that Fay was right.

———————————————

Kurogane yawned and rubbed at his eyes tiredly. He shifted his weight and turned on his side, burrowing under a thick fur-lined blanket. He sighed blissfully. How wonderful it was to sleep comfortably again, without anything like tails or wings getting in his way and preventing him from relaxing his sore muscles. He was fully prepared to doze off again but for something that suddenly collided with his face. Grunting, he pulled away the blanket that was obscuring his sight, spitting out hairs from the fur.

Ringing laughter met his ears as he blinked blearily, trying to see through the dim daylight entering through the tent flap.

"Good morning, sleepyhead," Tomoyo greeted him, smiling down at him. "You're going to sleep the whole morning away if you don't get up sometime."

"I was already awake," Kurogane groaned, rolling onto his back as he covered his face with the blanket. "You didn't have to stuff a blanket down my throat and make me cough up hairballs."

"An interesting observation for someone who's currently using the said blanket."

Kurogane scowled darkly at her from the small opening underneath it. She giggled and bent over him, trying to pry the blanket away from his face, but he held onto it tightly and wouldn't let her have it. She tugged on it harder, but he still wouldn't relinquish his hold on it.

"Are you sentimentally attached to that blanket or is it just me?" she teased, pulling at it again.

As an answer, Kurogane let go of it on her next tug, causing her to lose her balance and topple backward over his legs with a squeak. "Does that answer your question?" he asked her smugly.

She laughed again, the silvery sound filling Kurogane's ears with its music. "All right, you win. Arrogant rogue."

"No," he murmured, taking her face in his hands. "Now I win." He lowered his face and kissed her slowly, stirringly, for several long moments. "Gods, I missed you so much," he breathed when they broke apart, stroking her cheeks with his thumbs. "I don't remember if I told you that already."

"You didn't," she said softly, snuggling against him. "But I could tell."

He drew her into his embrace and whispered, "I'm just glad that everything's over now and we can finally be together."

"Oh, please," she suddenly scoffed bitterly. "You saw how everyone reacted when we embraced before your departure. Imagine how they'd react if they saw us holding hands, or even worse, if they saw us kiss." She lay her head against his chest, gently fingering his makeshift bandages. "Is this how it's always going to be like between us? Stealing kisses whenever we find the chance to be alone?"

"I don't know." He squeezed her gently. "You saw how Souma reacted yesterday just because we were together."

"She thinks that a subordinate of your kind of stature has no right to be with a superior of my status, as do many others."

He sighed heavily. "I wish we didn't have to hide like this."

"We're not exactly hiding. It's pretty much a well-known fact that we have feelings for each other now. We're merely tiptoeing around the subject like everybody else is."

He snorted derisively. "I don't tiptoe."

"It's a figure of speech, silly," she grinned, then sighed. "I'd better go now before Souma misses me."

"You mean she doesn't know you came to wake me up?"

"Sakura-chan offered to cover for me, but she could only guarantee me something around ten minutes."

"You'd better go then. I don't want to give Souma any excuses to beat me up."

She giggled and got to her feet. "If you come along in five minutes or so she needn't suspect a thing."

She knelt down for a moment and kissed his lips lightly. He cupped the nape of her neck and kissed her back lingeringly, then released her and allowed her to leave. She shot him a last smile before the tent flap fluttered back into place.

Kurogane sighed and ran a hand through his hair in a feeble attempt to tame it. It seemed that wherever he went, or whatever he did, more problems had the tendency to spring up and plague him. First it was the feathers, then it was the dragons, and now it was whether he would even be allowed to be with Tomoyo or not. She had made it perfectly clear that it wouldn't be easy.

He pulled on one of his boots, thinking back on recent events. He still shivered when he recalled the horrid emptiness in his mind. He quickly focused on another recollection, and inexorably, his mind drifted to the time he had spent in the dragon community. His chagrin at failing at his task didn't help settle his thoughts either. Even if... He froze in the middle of pulling on his other boot. But what about my family?

In truth, he didn't know how to react to Souma's presence anymore. He had grown up believing that she was his cousin, only to find out that it was a falsehood, from the worst source possible. And Suzue! He was so close to her that the revelation that they weren't siblings was difficult for him to accept. He had only ever felt truly at ease in her presence. They shared everything together; from petty and mundane matters to each other's secrets. She had been the first to perceive his feelings for Tomoyo, but she hadn't teased him when she told him afterward. On the contrary, she had been supportive and understanding, just like a real sister would have been.

He clenched his teeth together. There was no other solution. He had to confront his foster parents and demand the truth. If not for his sake, and if not for Souma's, then for Suzue's sake. If anyone deserved to know the truth, it was her.

With that thought firmly in mind, Kurogane jammed his other boot on and drew on his breastplate, wincing slightly when the unavoidable pressure applied by his straps made his shoulders twinge. "How annoying," he mumbled, kicking back the blankets and getting to his feet. He suddenly realized with a start that his vision had improved; he could now easily discern objects in the dark. A remnant from his dragon heritage. Swallowing, albeit a little uneasily, he grabbed his cloak and emerged from the tent into the morning light.

"Hey, lookie! Sleeping Beauty's woken up!"

A peal of laughter followed the statement, accompanied by a deeper laugh and a few chuckles here and there.

"Not that Sleeping Beauty crap again," Kurogane growled as he settled between Sakura and Fay before the campfire. He shot the giggling white creature a look of daggers.

"But you look the part! And I bet your Princess Charming had to come to wake you up!"

"Moko-chan!" Sakura hissed and hurriedly covered Mokona's mouth with her hands, but the damage had already been done.

Souma frowned in disapproval as she stuffed some bread into her mouth and chewed on it a little too vigorously.

"Nah, I woke up a while ago but I was too tired to get up," Kurogane said in an off-hand tone. "I still haven't caught up on my sleep. What with..." He fell silent and wordlessly took the plate a ninja offered him.

"What with what?" demanded Souma flatly.

"What with poor Kuro-sama having to always keep watch at night!" Fay piped up, saving him the trouble from having to think up of an excuse. "It was quite a refreshing change to catch up on some sleep with all of these handy ninja here to keep watch for us!"

Kurogane nearly choked on his food.

"Fay-san," Syaoran started tentatively, "it's unfair if we don't all offer our assistance."

"Oh, I know that," Fay clucked. "But I already did my part. I helped with the cooking. Sakura-chan did too."

"There's no outsmarting you," Tomoyo giggled. "You always have an answer ready."

"Naturally," Fay smiled smugly.

Kurogane was rather tempted to dump his breakfast on the blond's head, but thought better of it. He was too hungry to waste good food. He liked Fay's cooking. It was one of the only useful things Fay could do. He hid a small smile as the wizard burst into laughter at one of Tomoyo's comments, then frowned angrily, focusing his gaze back upon his plate.

He was loath to admit it, but he would miss the way Fay could find something to laugh about even in the most dire situations, the way Mokona constantly crawled all over him and burrowed in his clothes, the way Sakura's natural charisma would always put him at ease, and the way Syaoran's determination would always see him through, even when he had accepted his training. His scowl deepened. I shouldn't get attached to them. After all, in the end, we'll all go our separate ways. The feeling was unnerving, and he tried not to think about it as he picked at his food.

It wasn't long until they had finished their breakfast and began to strike camp. If they were lucky, they would be able to make it to Shirasagi by nightfall. They were all eager to make it back to civilization. So many days on the road had definitely taken its toll upon them.

"I can't wait to take a long, luxurious bath," Sakura sighed blissfully as Syaoran climbed up onto the horse behind her. "With lots of hot water and soap."

"I think we could all use a relaxing bath," Fay grinned. He patted his mount's flank fondly. "Although horses are handy, it's a little irritating when you start smelling like one yourself."

Kurogane's gaze shifted to Tomoyo, who would be riding an extra mount one of the ninja had gladly surrendered, and would have done so even if Souma had not commanded him to. Souma obviously didn't want Tomoyo to be any nearer to Kurogane than was absolutely necessary, a fact that Kurogane planned to set straight when they returned to Shirasagi. Almost as an afterthought, he removed his cloak and strode to Tomoyo's side.

"Here," he offered gruffly, draping his cloak about her. "Wear this so you don't catch a cold."

She looked up at him gratefully. Her own cloak had been so tattered when Kurogane had ripped the sleeves to make her bandages that it was beyond repair, and not much protection against the cold anymore. "But what about you?" She took in his bare, bandaged arms worriedly. "Aren't you cold?"

He snorted in amusement. "I'm not cold. I only had my hide to protect me before..." He cleared his throat gruffly and shrugged. "Well, let's just say that the cold doesn't really bother me anymore." He squeezed her shoulders lightly before turning back to his horse, patting her muzzle before mounting her in one fluid movement.

Fay led his mount to Tomoyo and leaned over his snow-flecked neck. "There are aftereffects then," he whispered in Tomoyo's ear. "I can't say that I'm surprised. After what he had to go through..."

"Me neither," she said faintly. She drew her hair behind her ears as the wind swept her tresses back, drawing Kurogane's cloak closer.What other changes will he have to go through? she wondered pensively. Is he still the same man I love? Will I be able to help him get through this?

The only answer she received was the wind whistling between the trees.

———————————————

The moon had nearly reached its zenith in the night sky when they breached the snowy hillside and looked down upon a familiar sight, surrounded by a fortified wall and numerous evergreen trees. Uphilted rooftops gleamed and the castle's thick walls appeared blue in the moonlight. The golden gateway shone brightly, illuminating their way to the castle.

Tomoyo drew her horse beside Kurogane's. "We're home," she whispered, smiling up at him.

"Yeah..." He knew that he should have felt relieved to finally be home, but all he felt was a terrible apprehension at what he knew he had to do.

"Sweet civilization!" Fay cried jubilantly, blowing the structure kisses as they neared it. "I can't wait to get properly cleaned and sleep in a real bed!"

"Mokona wants to sleep in a fluffy feather bed!"

"The first thing I'm going to do is head straight for the baths," Sakura agreed with a small sigh. "I won't be able to sleep well if I don't."

"I'd rather go straight to bed and wake up sometime tomorrow afternoon," Syaoran yawned, scratching his head. "I'm too tired to do anything else at the moment."

"I'm afraid all of your plans will have to wait," Souma told them. "The Sun Goddess wanted us to immediately report to her upon our return."

Mokona continued tittering in the background as Fay's eyes flickered to Tomoyo, as did Sakura's and Syaoran's.

"It can't be helped," the petite princess replied. "Lead the way, Souma."

As Souma signaled for two ninja to go ahead and announce their return, Kurogane turned to Tomoyo and asked, "What are you going to do about this Sun Goddess? Surely you don't believe all the myths and legends."

"That she is my ancestress?" She sighed raggedly, and only in that moment was her weariness truly apparent. "I don't know what to think anymore, Kurogane. Do the gods truly exist? Are we merely chess pieces in their hands with no will of our own?" She lifted her eyes to the sky. "I've wondered about it. At times I think I've found the answer... but I can never be sure."

He raised a brow, sensing that there was more to her words than what she was revealing. "I don't get what you're trying to say."

"Your father is Ryuujin, the god of the dragons. How can there not be gods when you're the living proof of their existence?"

She had him there. He looked back to the road, frowning slightly. "So you doubt their existence?"

"Do you?"

"I don't doubt that they exist. I just doubt their actions."

She laughed softly. "Only you would say that, Kurogane."

"And only you would doubt a universal belief."

"Yes," she murmured. "I would."

Once they had reached the golden gates and had dismounted, grooms rushed forward to take their horses. Two of them had immediately rushed to Tomoyo's side to offer her their assistance, but Kurogane shooed them away and helped her down himself. As if he'd let two total strangers anywhere near his princess!

"You're so stubborn," Tomoyo whispered in his ear once he had set her down. "Didn't you listen to anything I told you this morning?"

"I thought about it and I don't care," he hissed back. "There's no way in hell I'm going to back down. So they should start getting used to the idea of us being together."

After Souma had inspected the ninja and dismissed them (she was more harsh with them than usual) they were joined by a footservant who bowed respectfully to Tomoyo before leading them through the castle's hallways straight to the throne room. Only after he had closed the large doors behind them did they notice that someone else was in the throne room with them.

She was unnaturally tall, even taller than Souma and Kurogane, and she was garbed in a deep red robe and kimono with orange and yellow flames embroidered upon the silk, with the yellow symbol of the sun emblazoned upon the back of her robe. Her raven hair was decorated with delicate hair ornaments, even surpassing Tomoyo's in length. Her skin was as white as snow and her sapphire eyes were bright, but her features almost seemed too perfect for her to be any mere mortal.

Souma immediately bowed low in respect. The others belatedly followed suit.

Giving an acknowledging nod to Souma, she turned to the others. "I've always wanted to meet you in person," she smiled, her voice light and musical. She strode down the steps of the throne and approached them with graceful and fluid movements. She reached out and cupped Kurogane's cheek, urging him to his feet. "Yes," she murmured. "You're everything we ever hoped for."

Kurogane swallowed with difficulty. "Then... you're really...?"

She nodded. "I am Amaterasu Omikami. Please, rise, all of you." She drew back to hold Kurogane in her gaze. "I have heard much about your various exploits over the years. We all have. It caused us quite some concern in the past, especially when Tsukuyomi should have been keeping an eye on you."

"Keeping an eye on me?" he repeated, dumbfounded. And then it dawned on him. "He was the mage?!"

"He never told you?" She smiled in amusement. "Oh, my, no wonder he never intervened."

"But he did, didn't he?" Kurogane spluttered. "I mean, when he warned me about my choice...?"

"It was meant to happen. And you couldn't have made a finer choice. Humans are so much more interesting than dragons. After spending a few months in a dragon's company you can learn a lot about their way of thinking. Ryuujin can be so dull at times. But with humans..." She clasped her hands together. "Ah, humans never cease to amaze me!"

"She's much more cheerful than her brother was," Fay murmured quietly to Syaoran.

"He spends too much time with Ryuujin," Amaterasu explained, then flashed the surprised wizard a wide smile. "You must be the wizard from Celes, am I right?"

"Certainly," he replied, bowing floridly. "Fay D. Flourite, at your immediate disposal."

"My, how charming! Tsukuyomi described you as a very cautious character, but he failed to mention your impeccable manners."

"I must confess that I'm flattered at your kind words."

"What a gentleman," she marveled. "It's so hard to find men who still have manners nowadays." Her eyes flitted to Syaoran. "Like this young man over here. You must be the archaeologist, correct?"

"Yes, Goddess," Syaoran replied with a deep bow. "However, I'm afraid I don't know the proper titles for addressing divinities."

Amaterasu laughed warmly. "Oh, there's no need for that. My name will do just fine."

"Very well, Amaterasu-sama."

"What a polite young man." Next, she turned to Sakura. "And you must be the Beloved One." It wasn't a question, but a statement.

"Yes," Sakura said, bowing and curtsying politely. "I am Princess Sakura from Clow Country."

"What a pleasure meeting you," Amaterasu smiled. "I've heard much about your journey."

"And I'm Mokona Modoki!" the white creature chittered, suddenly emerging from Sakura's hood. "Here's a pleased-to-meet-you handshake!"

"Oh, so you're Mokona?" Amaterasu shook his outstretched paw. "It is a great honor to meet one of the Dimensional Witch's valuable assistants."

Mokona squealed excitedly. "Did you hear that? Amaterasu said it's a great honor to meet me!"

Amaterasu chuckled good-naturedly before turning to Tomoyo. "Princess," she nodded, her mood suddenly turning solemn. "We have much to discuss."

"I understand," Tomoyo replied with a respectful bow and curtsy. "We could adjoin to the side chambers, if you wish."

"That would be best." She smiled again. "We probably won't be very long, but it's dreadfully late, so I suggest that you all retire and get a good night's sleep. We will continue our discussion tomorrow." Her last words had a note of finality to them.

So, taking Tomoyo's forearm, Amaterasu led the petite princess out of the throne room, the door closing behind them rather ominously.

"I wonder what she wants to tell Tomoyo-chan," Fay mused. "It sounds pretty important the way she suddenly sobered after acting so cheerful."

"Did you know about the mage?" Kurogane demanded, turning to face him. "The way she mentioned it sounded like you'd talked with him."

"We did," Syaoran interjected hurriedly. "After you'd transformed and flew away, the mage revealed who he was and told us about your task."

"Sothat's why you didn't press me for more information," he said in a low voice.

"What you told us was already familiar and basically confirmed that Tsukuyomi-sama was telling the truth. We didn't want to tell you when we realized that you didn't know it was him because we were worried it would be too much for you to handle." He shrugged helplessly. "After all you went through..."

"We especially didn't want to tell you because he also told us that none of them are true gods," Fay added. "They're mages that have achieved immortality and were seen as gods by simple people when they offered them their aid. We didn't want to lay an additional burden on your shoulders by telling you."

"We were worried about you, Kurogane-san," Sakura said quietly. "It would have been too much for you to learn everything at once."

Kurogane exhaled and ran a hand through his hair. "I should be angry, but strangely, I'm not." He swallowed. His short conversation with Tomoyo beforehand confirmed their words. "I understand you did it for my own good, and I'm grateful for your concern. It's just..." He sighed. "It's too much to properly digest at the moment."

Fay chuckled and clapped Kurogane's shoulder. "Kuro-sama, my friend. I'm sure you'd say the same thing even if we'd told you about it weeks after everything had settled down."

"Yeah... I guess so." He crossed his arms and scuffed his boot lightly against the marble. "Everything's just so different now. It's hard to accept."

"Kurogane... you've got a lot of explaining to do."

He started in surprise. He had forgotten that Souma was still there, and apparently, so had the others.

Souma was frowning at him, her expression a mixture of confusion, curiosity, and apprehension. "What on earth's happened?"

Kurogane shook his head. "I can't tell you... not now at least," he added quickly to hold off any arguments. "I don't want to give you a garbled version. I still have a few more answers to unearth. I promise I'll explain everything once I've found out the entire truth myself."

"Answers? Answers from whom?"

Kurogane moistened his lips and drew a deep breath. "I need to have a long talk with my parents. A very, very long talk."

———————————————

The next morning, Kurogane decided not to attend breakfast. He wasn't eager for Souma to bombard him with more questions, neither to bump into Suzue before he had talked with Kumaso and Aya. And he didn't want to confront Amaterasu again. Her fascination in him had unnerved him and made him feel even more guilty for failing to help dragonkind. And he wasn't sure if he wanted to confront Tomoyo either. He wasn't quite sure how to act with her now in front of others. Even though he was determined not to let any titles get in his way, Tomoyo's concern was enough to cut him short.

It was sometime around midmorning when Kurogane finally found the nerve to go looking for his parents. By asking one of the ninja acting as sentry upon the parapet, he learned where his parents usually lodged when visiting Shirasagi and was now making his way along the halls, trying to control his uneasiness. However, with each step he took, he could feel his rage building inside of him, inexorably, like an uncontrollable wave in the midst of a storm on a frothy, windswept sea.

Kurogane finally came to a stop before the door and banged his fist upon it angrily before drawing it open and storming inside.

Aya had been serving tea to Kumaso at that moment, and she squeaked in surprise when Kurogane entered, the teapot nearly falling from her hands.

Kumaso turned in his seat with a disapproving look on his face. "You know that it is highly inappropriate to interrupt the tea-serving ceremony, do you not, Kurogane?"

"Screw the ceremony," he growled. "You've got a hell of a lot of explaining to do."

"Whatever it is can wait," he replied coolly. "Although you have always been impatient by your nature," he added sardonically.

"Stop talking as if you know who I am!" Kurogane yelled, slamming his hand against the table and causing a delicate porcelain cup to fall on its side and spill its contents all over the floor. "You don't know a thing about me!"

"How can you say that?" Aya demanded in a trembling voice, on the verge of hysterics. "To your own father!"

"Because he's not my father!" Kurogane roared.

Kumaso stiffened and shifted his gaze to Kurogane's face; Aya started and began hiccoughing.

"And you're not my mother," he spat, clenching his fists by his sides. "I want to know the truth. I want to know why you never told me the truth." He slammed his hands against the table again. "I want answers and I want them now!"

There was an uneasy silence for several long moments.

"You had no right to keep it from me," Kurogane hissed, his knuckles whitening upon the tabletop. "Didn't I deserve to know the truth?"

"We couldn't, we just couldn't!" Aya wailed.

Kumaso was more composed than his wife. "If we had told you the truth, would you have believed us?"

Kurogane clenched his teeth together. "That's besides the point! The point is that you lied! You led my life for thirty years with a lie!" He turned the table over and it crashed to the floor. Dishes and cups shattered, and tea spilled everywhere. "Do you know how it is to learn the truth from a total stranger?! Do you?!" He took a deep breath and gnashed his teeth together, shooting Kumaso the dirtiest look he could muster. "Everything became clear in that moment. Why you never cared about me or acknowledged me as your son... it all made a cynical sort of sense. And it hurt like hell." He shook his head, biting hard on his lower lip. "You have no idea what I had to go through when I discovered the truth. No idea whatsoever..."

"I can understand your rage, but we felt it was for the best, so you wouldn't suffer like this," Kumaso hastened to explain. "If you want answers, rest assured that we will give them to you. Who are we to deny you the truth?" He waved his hand. "Take a seat so we can talk about this like civilized people."

Kurogane remained frozen for a few moments until he finally fell upon a cushion, crossing his arms and scowling darkly. Kumaso drew another cushion and settled down across from him, Aya sitting down between them to the left.

Kumaso regarded Kurogane steadily with his piercing green eyes. "We would have never taken you in had we any children of our own before," he started bluntly. "We had been married for several years already, and many had begun to talk about why Aya had so far failed to conceive. You know how gossips are. Rumors began to spread that we were cursed. Some thought that Aya was barren, others thought that I was incapable of siring, while others even went so far as to support that we were cursed because of my occupation as Lead Ninja. Those were hard times for us. If it hadn't been for my position, no one would have wished to have anything to do with us. Aya had taken to remaining at home, too embarrassed to show her face outside."

He drew a deep breath and continued. "However, one night, someone appeared at our door. It was a moonless night, so I never saw the man's face clearly, but he had a bundle in his arms. At first, I thought it was some sort of package, until we invited him inside out of the cold and I saw that he held a newborn child in his arms." He smiled slightly. "And that was you."

"You were a beautiful baby," Aya smiled, dabbing at her eyes. "With your adorable chubby hands and your thick black hair."

"We offered to provide him with shelter, but he declined, hurriedly telling us that there was a great need for someone to take you in, and he asked if we could do it. Aya was thrilled, but the man didn't seem poor and in need to me, so I asked him why he was giving you up. He never gave me a straight answer. He merely told me that if I took you in and raised you as my son, I wouldn't regret it. I thought about his words and I thought about our reputation. It seemed like a good idea at the time, so we agreed. And as quickly as he had appeared, he vanished into the night again."

"Before leaving, he told us that we had to name you Kurogane," Aya added. "He said that it was very important, and because we assumed that he was probably your real father, we named you like he wished."

"There's not much to say after that," Kumaso went on. "We were able to regain our reputation now that we had a child we could claim as our own, and people stopped talking about us. You began to grow, and we couldn't have been happier." He paused. "Until Aya finally conceived Suzue, six yeas later."

"We didn't expect to ever have a child of our own, not after being married for seventeen years without any luck," Aya admitted. "We were certainly overjoyed with Suzue's coming, but that made Kumaso start doubting whether we should have taken you in at all. I still wanted to keep you, for I had come to love you as if you were my own flesh and blood, but after Suzue was born, he began to be more affectionate with her and neglected you." She looked at him sadly. "You tried to get his attention often by getting into all sorts of mischief, with Souma as your accomplice. You were only a child, and six years old at the time, and you couldn't understand why it appeared that he had stopped loving you."

Kurogane didn't want to admit it, but he remembered those times. Dimly, but he remembered the indignation he felt at Kumaso constantly ignoring him.

"I wronged you terribly," Kumaso said hoarsely. "And I can't begin to tell you how sorry I am. But after I started, I couldn't stop. Every time I clapped eyes on you I couldn't help but feel disappointed that I wasn't your real father. It wasn't disappointment in you, but disappointment in myself. For wanting to have someone of my own blood who would be just like you." He bowed his head. "There were times I wished we hadn't taken you in, because I could see what I didn't have in you. I could have had a son just like you. I wanted a son like you."

"But you do," Kurogane whispered. "You raised me. You made me the man I am today. You are my father." He hastily wiped at his eyes. "Oh, shit, now I'm getting sentimental..."

Kumaso laughed and embraced Kurogane warmly. "You're not the only one, son," he croaked.

Kurogane hugged him back fiercely. He didn't care anymore if he was beyond redemption ever since his ordeal, his emotions now often getting the better of him. He was damn happy for finally reconciling with father. He couldn't forget Ryuujin, of course. He would always be his father, but in a weird sense, Kumaso was more his father than Ryuujin could ever be.

Kurogane then turned to his mother, hugging her as well. "I'm sorry for always causing you trouble when I was little."

"Oh, not at all, Kurogane," she sniffled. "You were such a determined little rascal. I always had quite a time trying to get you out of the trees you'd climb. You'd never come down willingly."

"You were just like a monkey when you were younger," Kumaso grinned. "And just as energetic, too."

Kurogane chuckled softly. He had had ages to climb a tree. He remembered Suzue would often make him get apples for her from the tree in their family orchard. The thought suddenly reminded him of another pressing problem. He looked up at them. "What about Suzue?" he found himself asking. "Does she know?"

Aya shook her head. "We never told either of you."

"But she should know. It's not fair to her."

"How do you propose we tell her without her acting like you did?" Aya asked him softly.

"But..." Kurogane fell silent. "She needs to know the truth."

"There's no need... Kurogane..."

Kurogane whirled his head around, his eyes widening in horror.

Suzue stood in the doorway, unshed tears glistening in her eyes. "I heard everything," she gasped in a trembling voice. "So... so there's nothing left for you to say!" She covered her face with her hands to hide the tears streaming down her cheeks and ran.

"Suzue! Wait!" Kurogane leapt to his feet and dashed to the door.Stupid! I shouldn't have left the door open! He barely managed to see her hair disappear around the corner before he started after her, fervently hoping that she wasn't as fast a runner as he remembered anymore.

It was some time before he finally caught up with her. She had found refuge in the gardens, leaning against the railing of the small wooden bridge that connected the two shores of the frozen stream.

"Suzue," he said softly, coming up to her side. He laid a hand on her trembling shoulder. "Suzue, listen to me—"

"To what?!" she snapped. "To you trying to cover up the truth?"

"No, to hear the real truth!" he said strongly, grasping her shoulders and forcing her to look at him. "Look, I don't know how much you heard—"

"I heard enough!" she sobbed, pushing him back. "Enough to know that I was the only one who never knew!"

"You obviously didn't hear everything then," he pointed out. "I didn't know the truth either. I only found out about it from one of our enemies a little over a week ago."

She glared at him furiously, dashing her tears away.

"Suzue, I felt just as angry when I first found out, too," Kurogane told her in an uncharacteristically gentle voice, "and even more so since I was forced to witness it firsthand."

"What do you mean by that?" she mumbled, interested in spite of herself.

Kurogane drew an arm around her shoulders. "It might take a while to explain, but I'll try to be brief. I just want you to hear me out first. Then you can make your assumptions."

And so, Kurogane spent the rest of the morning describing everything that had occurred ever since he had left Shirasagi over two weeks ago. About the fight on the plains, Firebolt, the time they had spent in Sembia, the cutthroats, the meeting with the mage, Silverthorn and his impeding death, the encounter at Solar Tower... He even told her about the visions Kyle had shown them with as many details as he could remember, and then what he had to go through in the dragon society. He hadn't even told the others so many details. He hoped that by sharing his innermost feelings with her, she would understand that he still valued and cared about her, even though they were not tied by blood. He even added what he had learned from his parents in the explanation.

After Kurogane had finished, Suzue remained thoughtfully silent for a long time, gazing down at the icy surface of the water. The water continued to churn below the ice, and her eyes followed its patterns. Finally, she looked up at him. "So you're a dragon in the form of a human, eh?"

"It's the truth. Hang on." He peeled off some of the bandages on his right arm to reveal his wounds. They had not healed completely yet, and the skin appeared pink and raw around each gash. "These are marks from my claws when I was a dragon. Tomoyo told me afterward that I was tearing up my own flesh in my madness. This is the proof."

She tentatively fingered a particularly nasty gash that started somewhere around the middle section of his upper arm and climbed down past his elbow. Two equal gashes flanked it, though they were not as deep. Three gashes for three talons. She shivered slightly. "I know you'd never come up with such a tale to save your life," she laughed nervously. "But it's still a little difficult to accept."

"I was having trouble accepting it myself." He added in a dry undertone, "It was kind of hard not to accept it when I began sprouting wings."

"You could fly..." she marveled, her brown eyes bright. "How did it feel like to soar above the clouds?"

"It was fantastic!" he said eagerly, wrapping the bandages around his arm again. "You feel as if you own the sky! There's nothing like it!" He was actually grinning from ear to ear, a first, as far as Suzue recalled. "It's even more exciting than a battle! It's hard to explain the exact procedure, but when you start plummeting down to meet the earth..." He shook his head and chuckled softly. "It's like you're falling and you know you're going to smash head-first into the ground, but you pull out of the dive the last second and return to the sky where you belong. I don't know how else to explain it. I wish you could experience it somehow."

"You're dead serious about this."

He ran his fingers through his hair and sighed. "I need you to believe me. I'd never lie to you about something so important." He straightened. "And if you don't believe me, ask Tomoyo. If it hadn't been for her, I wouldn't be here now."

"You care about her very much, don't you?"

Kurogane leaned against the railing beside her. "I don't just care about her. I've always had my heart set on her, ever since the beginning. I love her more than anything in the world. In all the worlds, actually." He smiled at her. "And you were the first to notice."

She snorted. "It was hard not to notice it. Honestly, couldn't you tell she felt the same way about you?"

"Before or after she sent me away?" he asked dryly.

"Before," Suzue said exasperatedly. "It was blatantly obvious."

"If it was so obvious then why the hell're we a scandal?" he grumbled.

Suzue burst into peals of laughter. "That was just Souma! Everyone else was relieved that something had finally happened between you two!"

"Whaaaaat?!"

Suzue nodded. "A lot of people are still pretty sore about it, but they know they can't do anything seeing that going against Tomoyo-hime's wishes would be considered treason. Everyone thinks you're a perfect match. More or less." She grinned and added, "Despite your rather bloodthirsty demeanor."

Kurogane scowled at that, and so, laughing, Suzue flicked his nose with one of her fingers.

"Hey," he grumbled, swatting her hand away. "Quit that."

"You're just so adorable when you pout like that!"

"I don't pout!"

"Oh, yeah?" she challenged. "Then what was that expression on your face all about?"

"It was an expression of annoyance."

"And I'm a flying donkey," she retorted.

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Here we go again," he muttered. "She's going to start reminding me of times when I was supposedly 'pouting' like a girl..."

"I am not," she protested indignantly.

"Oh, yeah?" he said, unconsciously using the same words as her. "Then what are you thinking about right now?"

Suzue fell silent for a few moments. She straightened and turned to face him. "Do you remember the time you stood up to the local bully when he was picking on me?" she offered hesitantly.

Kurogane snorted. "Course I do. He must have been at least two heads taller than me."

"And more than three times your current size sideways," she added.

"Man, I haven't thought about that in years," he admitted thoughtfully. "He was pretty fast. I was hard-pressed at first."

"But you managed to beat him," Suzue said proudly. "You knocked out his front teeth and gave him a black eye!"

"I was no better! I had a bloody lip, a sprained wrist, and a great big lump on my head that throbbed for days. I was a mess!"

"But you beat him," she repeated. "And none of the older kids ever dared to cross you since."

"The things I did for you..." he mumbled affectionately.

Suzue suddenly wrapped her arms around him, hugging him tightly. "Are you still my older brother?" she whispered. "Nii-chan?"

He smiled and hugged her back. "As long as you're still my little sister."

———————————————

The rest of the day was rather uneventful. Lunch was enjoyable for Kurogane, because, for the first time, he was surrounded by all the people he cared about the most; Tomoyo, Fay, Sakura, Syaoran, Souma, Suzue, Kumaso, Aya, and even Mokona, who had taken it upon itself to entertain them by juggling rice balls in the air and using chopsticks as supports to walk with. Kurogane had been puzzled at Amaterasu's absence and had asked Fay what had happened at breakfast.

"She left," he had replied simply. "All she really wanted was to meet you and to talk to Tomoyo-chan. Then she left."

Slightly bemused, Kurogane concentrated on devoting the rest of the day on spending more time with his friends. He reviewed some of the finer points of training with Syaoran, he tried to help Sakura with some flower arranging with little success, and he even sat down to solve riddles with Fay and Mokona. Afterward, he and the others pitched in to help Suzue with some tailoring, though he and Syaoran weren't quite as adept at sewing as Sakura and Fay were.

It was well after supper when he went in search of Tomoyo. He finally located her in her chambers, leaning against the railing of her balcony and gazing up at the stars. Although she was dressed in a simple nightgown, she had drawn his cloak around her shoulders. For some reason, it made him smile, and he approached her silently from behind, twining his arms around her waist and gently kissing her neck.

"Kurogane," she sighed, and turned around to face him, kissing his lips with undisguised longing. After several moments, they broke apart, but they did not release their hold on each other.

"Where had you disappeared to at breakfast?" she asked.

"Where had you disappeared to at supper?" he contradicted.

She laughed softly. "I just wasn't really in the mood to eat. I had to listen to so many petitioners this afternoon that I lost my appetite. Did you know that blacksmiths earn less than coopers at times?"

"How would I know something like that?"

"If you were with me, you would have known."

He winced. "I'm sorry about that. I wanted to talk to you at lunch, but we were separated by so many people I thought it'd be best not to in the end. And I wanted to spend the afternoon with my friends. Because... they'll probably be leaving soon."

"I understand," she assured him. Then she asked," So where were you at breakfast anyway?"

"Oh... I had some business to attend to." And he proceeded to explain the events of the morning, including reconciling with his parents and explaining the situation to Suzue. "It wasn't easy to persuade her. I had to show her the claw marks and tell her how wonderful flying was for her to really believe me. I think I managed it in the end. I still think of her as my little sister."

Tomoyo frowned in thought. "But what about your real parents?"

"Ryuujin already appeared before me. I don't think he'll do me the honor a second time."

"And your mother?"

Kurogane remained silent for several long moments. "I want to find her," he finally said softly. "I want to find my real mother."

"You know her name," Tomoyo smiled, "and her House. She's undoubtedly somewhere in the city."

"All I have to do is go to the Midori district." He added in a dry undertone, "That is, if I manage to find it. Even so, I doubt it'll take more than three days. Two days, at the most."

He squeezed her hand and she returned the pressure. A long silence followed.

"I'll be waiting," Tomoyo whispered.

He cupped her face in his hands. "I'll be back before you even notice I'm gone." His lips formed a small smile. "And this is a promise I'll keep."

"We should seal it with a kiss," she suggested with a mischievous smile.

Kurogane chuckled. "Why don't we?"

Tomoyo closed her eyes and tilted her chin up, and Kurogane lowered his head to hers, their mouths fusing together as one. His hands slid down to her small waist as her fingers twined through his hair, their bodies pressing intimately together. Kurogane's hands started roaming across her back just as Tomoyo's began sliding down his chest...

"Kurogane, you get your hands off the Princess this instant!"

Kurogane and Tomoyo broke apart immediately in surprise. Kurogane was so surprised that he ended up losing his balance and fell over, landing sharply on his rump. "Hell, Souma, what was that for?!" he demanded sourly, getting to his feet with a wince.

"I won't have you snogging the Princess like that!" she said sternly, grabbing his ear. "You two may be in a relationship, but at least show her more respect than a common chambermaid!"

"Itai! Let go of my ear, you crazy woman!"

Souma merely tugged on his earlobe smartly, smirking in satisfaction at his string of protests and complaints, all of which were quite vulgar.

"Souma, Kurogane wasn't being disrespectful..." Tomoyo chuckled weakly, sweat-dropping.

"He was just acting like a man," Souma supplied. "Instead of using his head to think he was using his—"

"Souma!" Kurogane hissed quickly, turning beet-red.

Tomoyo smothered her laughter. "Kurogane was just leaving anyway." She swatted Souma away and kissed Kurogane's cheek. "Goodnight," she smiled, departing inside.

Souma frowned. "If you do anything that's improper or disrespectful to her again, you'll sorely regret it," she warned him in a low voice, before storming away, muttering murderously under her breath.

Kurogane scowled, his gaze lifting to the velvety-black sky. Some things would never change.

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To Be Continued

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A/N: I'm a sucker for clichés. Tomoyo had a good singing voice inCardcaptor Sakura, dragons are partial to beautiful singing maidens, so what better way to calm Kuro-ryuu than to have Tomoyo sing to him? XD The song I used is the song Remember performed by Josh Groban. It was featured in the film Troy, just in case you were wondering. Not that I liked the film (300 was way better) but this song is heart-wrenchingly beautiful. It seemed a little too much to me, but StarSparklez, Luinramwen, and Erenriel kept telling me that it was perfect. So I kept it! —shrugs and giggles— This chapter is totally dedicated to Erenriel. Girl, you rock big time, you know that? XD (And so do Breaking Benjamin!)

Tell me if you like it or tell me if you hate it. Please review!