Shards

Disclaimer: Tsubasa Chronicle belongs to CLAMP and NWN2 belongs to Obsidian Entertainment.

Pairing: Hints of Syaoran/Sakura and Kurogane/Fay. Possibly some odd pairings later on.

A/N: This will be pertaining to how NWN2!Sakura became Knight Captain.

Summary: In another world, Sakura begins a journey to search for the Shards of a broken sword, and with it, find her destiny. Yet during this, she is plagued by dreams of another life and another world.

Being from West Harbor, in the Mere of Dead Men, meant that Sakura carried around a certain reputation. Some people actually called it a smell. (Unsurprising, given that the entire area was swamp.) Living in such an unforgiving place meant that the people there had to be tough, practical and self-reliant. On the side, outsiders always seemed to think they were itching for a fight.

That reputation was why she was standing out there now, in front of the Weeping Willow Inn (the only Inn on this road at all) on the road to Neverwinter, with a pack of three men circling her like hungry jackals. Sakura had her bow in hand, unstrung. Any other weapon she had was in her bag, which had been dropped when they had shoved her out of the inn door. Given her options, she figured that she could cast a few spells before getting to a safe distance. She was not that strong, but she could use the stave as a club if necessary…

She narrowed her eyes. They had demanded 'toll' for keeping the road safe. As if she hadn't already snuck past swamp beetles and knew first hand that no one did the patrolling.

And more to the point, she just couldn't let this go. She was a Harborman, and when they started insulting her village they deserved at least a thumping. She quickly readied a spell of sleep, and surreptitiously reached for her bow string.

Her move didn't go unnoticed. The largest of the group brought out a short sword, while the others started cracking their knuckles. Seemed that it would be sleep first, and then-

Sakura had dealt with the Mossfields, the West Harbor bullies, her whole life. She knew that when two were in front, she had better duck.

She bobbed before dodging to the side and trying to get outside their circle and get enough space between them to cast safely. She almost made it.

A fist got the side of her face, sending her sprawling in the dirt. Gritting her teeth, Sakura lifted her bow in defense, but she never got the chance to say her spell. A shadow had come up from behind one of the goons and knocked him to the side with a sheathed blade.

The blow to her cheek had made her teeth ache, but it was no worse than anything she had gotten in battling for the Harvest Cup this past year. She managed to land a solid jab to the gut of one of her opponents before rolling way to get her bow strung. It was a move that was so familiar that even going through the motions of placing it behind one of her legs was done quickly and efficiently, but the battle was over by then.

The three ruffians were laid out on the ground like they had been mowed. Whoever had done the bludgeoning hadn't bothered to finish them off, and for that she was grateful. There would be a time and a place for killing… but a tavern brawl was not it. If nothing else, perhaps these fellows would learn some humility from the experience. It didn't matter… because while she was happy to be rescued…

Sakura swallowed hard. This figure was huge. A black cloak covered his form, and his face was half covered by an iron helm. Two ham sized hands gripped the hilt of a long falchion. One of her arrows was notched, but she kept it pointed at the ground. While she might be able to get off a shot, maybe, she didn't want to run the risk of offending her 'benefactor' just yet.

As it was, the large man just grunted.

"Ah… thank you," Sakura began, getting to her feet. She hadn't expected a hand up, as this person was obviously no paladin. She was curious as to his help (and wondering if she should have been offended by it) and the motives behind it. She didn't go looking for fights, but-

"Little girls shouldn't be out this time of night," the tall figure muttered, before turning to the inn's door. His words were curt, and she nearly sputtered as brushed past her, leaving a stench in his wake. Harborman pride wouldn't allow it. She was of half a mind to hit him with her sleep spell and leave him out here for when the three bullies woke up, but… he had helped her.

She drew a bead and loosed, letting the arrow fly past his ear.

It sank into the wood of the door stoop, and the dark clad man turned to glare at her. She gave him a weak smile. The man seemed to growl, before deliberately turning his back and continuing inside.

Strange… his eyes were red…

The inside of the Weeping Willow was, honestly, the only inn she could ever recall visiting. She had vague tales from the village elders, telling her of their journeys beyond the Mere, but she had to keep herself from gawking. It was lit with candles, but the air smelled sour. There weren't many people there, most like her 'benefactor' sitting at the bar and ordering a drink. Others were listening to a mediocre bard in the corner. All she wanted was a bowl of stew and a bed, and perhaps a bath if they had one. It had been nearly a week since the attack on the village, and she had been on her own ever since.

Well, not exactly alone. Her Spirit Guide was ever-present, pointing out insights that she may have missed or telling her that a particular sound was important. As a spirit shaman, her ability to listen to the spirits, to bargain and understand their tales, was the source of her power. Yet she had certainly lacked for corporeal company… With one friend dead, and the other…

It wouldn't do to think about the attack too much. Ordering a meal and some watered ale, she looked over at the dark man. He hadn't spoken to anyone beyond ordering a drink and food, but he was eating ravenously. Her eyes drifted away even as her spirit guide noted it.

Perhaps here, she would get a full night's-

Her thoughts were interrupted by the door being broken down.

Cold raked her spine as her breath hitched in that one moment. Bladelings and gray dwarves crashed, and amidst the din she heard the leader shriek orders.

"The Kalach-cha! FIND IT!"

Confusion reigned as the other customers all stared in silence before a cacophony of terrified babble filled the room as they either jumped to their feet or tried to find a place to hide. Then there were bladed and gray figures everywhere, attacking the bystanders while a few rushed up to the second floor. Sakura had several spells retrieved, and she started to fling them with impunity. Vines wreathed up to snag the attackers. An ally was summoned but not before she realized that the dark man had already charged.

Very well- she could cover his back. Lingering paranoia had left her bow strung and she had lifted it before thinking. She loosed, letting the arrow fly to catch one of the gray dwarves through the shoulder. She flung out her hand a moment later to cast a sleep spell, catching at least one of the other dwarves in its effects. It caused the squat thing to fall, but the bladeling was still standing. Yet the dark man had it stopped, and thoroughly. Her Guide whispered, and she flung up her bow to catch yet another gray dwarf in the back.

Her jaw shook, but she managed to keep her hands steady. There was no time for regrets, or mercy, when there were lives at stake here. The few guests were stampeding to the door and the wounded were left to be trodden on. These people weren't Harbormen…

They weren't putting up a fight.

That meant she had to.

Her stomach turned as the gray dwarf charged, into point blank range… and fell to the ground as she caught him in the throat.

The wolf she had summoned earlier came back, wagging its tail at a job well done. Its muzzled was streaked red. The sight reminded her too clearly of the last battle… of the last…

She shuddered. Memories of that night had to be pushed away once more. The dark man had finished his fight, muttering as he shook his blade clean. She eyed him quickly. His enveloping cloak rippled in the back even as he stood completely still. Beyond that, he didn't look to have more than a few scratches.

"Please- someone- my husband!" a woman wailed, running down the stairs as fast as her legs could carry her. Her pretty face was bruised above a torn dress. "There are more of them upstairs!"

Sakura trotted over. "How many?"

"About half a dozen dwarves, and some of the others," she whispered.

That had to have been half of their force. "All right." Sakura tried to muster a reassuring smile. "You stay here where it's safe. I-"

The dark man strode up before she could finish, head tilted down. All she could see was his eyes underneath his helm, but she had a good idea of what he wanted. She barely made out his nod at her questioning look.

"We'll handle it."

The dark man hadn't said more than a few words to her the entire time. Her sleep spells had been effective, allowing them to defeat the gray dwarves without much trouble. The three bladelings… Well…

She looked over at her ally, who was weaving slightly on his feet.

Sakura was fully aware that she was not the most robust person, and she wore little more than a simple leather jerkin. Her arrows were effective at finding vital points when they hit… but she had used her companion as a shield more than once, dancing behind him in order to get a better advantage. He hadn't seemed to notice or care, both hands on his falchion as he cut down his opponents with single-minded purpose. As a result he had gotten a hard knock to the skull.

There might have been other wounds that she couldn't see. There had been more of them than they had thought and they had boiled out of the rooms like hornets. Or angry fire spirits. Sakura didn't want to think about it overmuch.

It was hard to tell with that cloak on him, but he was also favoring his left side. With a wince, she started to fumble for bandages. Her spells were used up and leaving her to feel like she had been turned inside out and bleached. That meant, along with her legs trembling, she couldn't have fixed a cut finger magically. But if she could still the shakes in her hands she could stitch wounds or maybe pay for a stronger healer. She owed him that much.

Her thoughts started to drift on the stairs down. The man's cloak continued to ripple in the back. Perhaps he was kicking it? But that didn't make sense. His long strides were entirely forward…

She didn't even know his name yet. Of course, he didn't know hers, but she did need to thank him properly for his help. After all, Harborman pride aside, she knew when she needed aid. And whatever his motivation-

He stumbled, and she caught sight of the blood running down his left arm. Unconsciously she reached to try to steady him-

-When his knees buckled. As he started to fall, Sakura threw herself sideways, trying to pin him against the wall. Selune knew she would never get him up if he fell, even if he would let her…

His grunt of pain let her know were at least a few of his wounds were, and something thin and leathery smacked the back of her legs before slapping the wood of the stairs. The dark man grunted again, sliding down. Sakura yelped, grabbing his arm again and barely managing to hold them both up. Her legs weren't too steady and it was all she could muster to not pitch them both down the rest of the stairs.

"Are you all right?" she muttered, but it was a silly question. "Can you make it down the stairs?" Now she was sounding sensible.

There was another slap against the wood, and Sakura bit the inside of her lip. She couldn't have done it, and his hands were busy trying to hold him up…

Her Spirit Guide hiccupped. It noted something she was otherwise too tired to pay attention to now…

Her benefactor managed to nod. He straightened, and with pride that rivaled that of a Harborman, he pulled away from her to stride towards a bench. He sat down, but not before she realized exactly what it was that had been swishing around underneath his cape. Swallowing, Sakura approached with wide eyes.

It was a tail.

Long, it had to go from his lower waist to his feet, draping over the edge of the bench to fall almost lifelessly to the ground. It was faintly mottled, ending with a spade and she swallowed again. Red eyes, tail… If she concentrated, she noticed just the faintest odor of brimstone in the air around him. Her Spirit Guide twittered in the back of her mind that she had missed the signs before.

Of course, she also knew that, whatever else he was, he had helped these people here without promise of reward. He'd helped her in the fight outside without asking.

But she had never met someone with demon blood before. They were called tieflings; that was it… Most of the stories portrayed them as evil, or as crazy, as their infernal ancestor.

"Thank you," the innkeeper called, walking over to them with tankards. "I guess I should be grateful that the two of you arrived when you did. You'll always be welcome…"

The tall man grunted again. He had never taken off his helm, and Sakura winced.

"I need to look at your head," she told him quietly, as the innkeeper toddled off. There had been no deaths, for which Sakura was thankful. The wife of the man they had saved was now fusing over him firmly, but lovingly. The wounded were being looked after.

She shuffled herself between him and the rest of the common room, trying to shield him. His eyes widened when he realized what she was doing. "And you aren't going to get very far if you aren't treated."

His hands moved slowly, either from his injuries or from reluctance. She didn't know. His black helm was lifted and set to the side, and Sakura did her best to not act surprised or flinch. After gray dwarves, bladelings and lizard men… really, a tiefling wasn't that big of a surprise. She grabbed her bandages and tried to keep from staring.

His black hair was short and spiky, neatly camouflaging the two red horns above his forehead. Faint red mottling added extra shadows to his golden skin, as it moved with his hairline and over his backswept pointed ears. Red eyes, dulled with pain, narrowed at her green ones.

His huge hands looked like they could break her in half. Not that he was in much shape to do anything right now.

Still…

Carefully, she pulled out her healing kit and started looking at his wounds. They were mostly shallow, but there were a lot of them and they were messy. Only one or two required stitching.

She kept her smile to herself when she asked him to take off his armor. She took a moment to examine him. The mottling continued over his shoulders and partially down his back. Much of it was obscured by scars. Some were faint, some more recent.

"By the way, I'm Sakura. Sakura Kino," she said, glad that her hands were steady as she did her best to stitch up a wound.

"Kurogane."

They said no more words the rest of the night. She was too tired, and he offered nothing. The innkeeper eventually returned, offering beds for free, shooting nervous looks at Kurogane without his helmet on.

When Sakura awoke the next morning, he was gone.

To be continued.

A/N: Sakura and Kurogane are both level four characters (or ECL in the case of Kurogane) for those who are curious, but for the story's sake the leveling with be more or less ignored. They'll get more powerful as they go along. Kurogane is a rogue/fighter eventual weapon master. The falchion was chosen because it was a more common weapon but vaguely similar to his long sword Souhi (and gets more critical hits). Sakura as a Spirit Shaman has a weapon focus on the short bow with the zen archery and point blank shot feat. That's about as technical as I plan to get describing them unless someone asks.