Disclaimer: All Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle characters are (c) CLAMP.
Author's Note: English is my second language, so I'll try my best to reach a writer's grammar and my reader's expectations; I hope you find it suitable enough!

Title: Collide
Rating: PG13 (Will go up as chapters progress.)
Pairing: Fye x Kurogane, Fye x Ashura
Warnings: Language, violence and blood.
Spoilers: None
Status: In progress
Word Count: 6,196
Summary: The group arrive to a world where desert predominates. With no water and Mokona unable to use his magic, what are they to do? Things get complicated when someone from Fye's haunted past appears and tells the Ceres' magician that he possesses power that can unlock secrets beneath the sand. What happens when this individual has more interest in Fye? Will Kurogane care enough to step up?


Collide

Chapter two: Defy Fate

His eyes widened when he saw Fye push him out of the way.

The monster's fangs closed down on soft flesh.

Fye's sharp gasp was all he heard.

The night's calm was interrupted by a strangled cry of pain. Blood consumed the once white clothes as the beast bit down on the blonde's collarbone and took him down.

Kurogane froze in place, everything moving in slow motion in front of him. Blood was everywhere; he could smell it and almost taste it. His crimson eyes were wide in fear, panic and sinking realization.

Fye's head was thrown back against the ground, gasping for air. Pain long muted his voice as the beast on top of him tore through skin, muscle and bone. It's heavy body keeping him down and in place, trapped like a prey. Its jaw bit down with enough strength to severe the bone easily, and the blood gushed out in great amounts, pooling around Fye and staining the beast's fur.

It all was imprinted in the samurai's heart, beating faster as anger consumed every fiber of his being. Eyes now wide in an almost insane way set on its target. His hand found Souhi and encircled around the hilt in a white-knuckle grip.

"NO!" he managed to choke out as he collected himself and stampeded at the vicious animal. All humanity left the samurai at that instant; all it cared for was finishing the beast's life.

The beast let go of the magician's shoulder as Souhi pierced through its ribcage, breaking bone and impaling a lung. It howled miserably and then was thrown harshly with a kick from the enraged ninja. Even as it lay, trying to stand and flee, the samurai went and decapitated it, ending its pitiful life.

He was breathing harshly, trying to calm down the mad thumping of his heart. The adrenaline went away and his hands trembled slightly due to the sudden rush.

It was chocked coughs that brought him back to his senses.

"Fye…" he breathed out. The samurai went to the mage who lay on his own blood, which kept gushing out at disconcerting speed. He fell in his knees, Souhi forgotten in the floor by his side, as he tried to inspect the wound.

His hands were trembling, he was afraid of touching the mage in fear of inflicting more pain.

"Ku-" the mage could not finish, a gasp cutting him off . His eyes were glazed over in pain and his body trembled with cold.

He was losing too much blood.

He was losing too much blood too fast.

Hemorrhage will kill the blonde if he didn't act now.

"Shut up you idiot." His voice was trembling in concern, fear and anger. He tried his best to remain calm, breathing slowly to clear his racing mind.

You're so stupid, why did you push me? Why did you save me? I could've protected myself… Why?

He knew that he would've ended the same way the blonde had, or even worse if the man had not pushed him away. His thoughts were filled with guilt, he could not comprehend why the idiot would get in harms way to protect him.

He saw how the mage's breathing was more labored, and his eyelids threatened to close. He knew he couldn't let him fall asleep; if he did, there was a possibility of him not waking up again.

He snapped back into reality.

More noise came from the collapsed dune and from it emerged more of the former beats he had thought he killed.

It seemed that these animals were made to be able to move underground, which would explain why they didn't have tails, whiskers and their paws were webbed.

They leered at him after looking at their fallen comrade. The pride had been reduced to 6 out of ten, and by the looks of it, they weren't happy about it.

Kurogane gritted his teeth and moved a hand underneath Fye's neck and another behind his knees. He pulled him up against him gently, taking Souhi in the process once he had accommodated the mage with one arm; his head rested against the ninja's right shoulder.

He could feel the man's breath against his neck; it was short and in small gasps.

"Hold on." He couldn't help sound like he begged the mage not to pass out, but right now he didn't give it much importance. He was not going to fail to protect him this time.

He secured Fye against him and griped Souhi readily, waiting as the beasts closed in again. He could feel the warm blood of the mage soak in through his clothing and staining his dark clothes. The smell was intoxicating and served to arise the hunger in the beasts.

His body was trembling once more with rage, his jaw was set and his teeth bore in a snarl.

"You want a piece of me? Come and get me you bastards."

One sprinted at him and the others followed, but Kurogane was more than ready, expecting them to come first.

"Tenma!"

His body crouched and Souhi glowed once more with blue flames of energy.

"KUURYUUSEN!"

Kurogane slashed Souhi horizontally and it exploded with energy that took the shape of a dragon, which consumed every soul that stood in its path.

This time, there was no sand for the creatures to hide in. They all lay dead in front of him.

"That's right. Not so fucking tough now, are we--?" he gasped when he felt something dripping down his arm and saw that Fye's wound had worsened.

"Oy, mage."

There was no response at all, not even the slightest movement.

"Oy!" he looked down at him and panicked when he didn't move.

A howl broke the silence of the night and he knew that more beasts would come his way if he didn't move. He could not afford to entertain himself any further, Fye's life hung by a thread.

He broke into a sprint, headed towards the mountains, praying to any god that could hear him that he wasn't too late.

"Don't you dare die, you idiot! You'll be fine, just hold on!" he said, even though he knew Fye could not hear him. It was more of a self-reassurance for the samurai

He made it to the mountains and heard his name being called out.

He looked up to see the kid waving his arms at Kurogane to get his attention; the man sighed in relief to know they were all right.

Syaoran's eyes widened when he realized that Kurogane was carrying a very bloodied Fye. Even if the boy was a skilled, brave fighter, the fact that he was still a child reflected in the panic there was in his eyes.

There was just too much blood, and it was all over Kurogane, dripping down his arms and legs and forming a small pool around his feet. For a moment, he couldn't breathe and time froze. He awaited the ninja to tell him the mage was dead, and by the looks of his pale face and limp body, he wasn't so far from the truth.

He gulped hard against the knot that had formed on his throat and his fists tightened.

"Don't stay there and help me, damn it!" retorted the gruff man as he tried to climb the rocky trails up.

Under different circumstances, he could've managed just fine, but he was carrying a very fragile and bloody mage.

Syaoran gasped and quickly made his way towards the ninja, to help him with his fallen friend.


Inside a small cave, kindling to a slowly growing fire, was Sakura and Mokona. Said creature's ears perked up slightly when it heard something approaching.

"Moko-chan?" inquired the princess, looking at the small white creature with curiosity in her eyes.

Mokona turned to Sakura and smiled gently, turning it's body in the direction of the entrance of their makeshift shelter. It's ears perked up slightly more and then it jumped from where it had stood in the princess' lap.

"Mokona thinks Kuro-muu and Fye are here! I can hear them coming."

Sakura's face lit in both happiness and relief when she heard those words from the small being. She had been very uneasy ever since they had to leave their two companions behind. The princess could only hope and pray for their safe return.

If only that had been the case.

Both made their way to the mouth of the cave with a smile on their lips to welcome their friends, especially Mokona, who was jumping with excitement. The thought of bothering the gruff man with his favorite play mate brought brightness to the horrible day they've all been through.

The set of hurried footfalls approached and Mokona jumped just in time to welcome their mommy and daddy.

"Welcome back Ku-!" Its melodic chime died off completely, voice drowning in its throat when Syaoran came in rushing, followed by the ninja, who carried their beloved motherly figure.

A horrified gasp escaped the princess' lips, two hands clasping over them to keep herself from breaking down in sobs. She wasn't used to see the vibrant color in such quantities, and it made her knees weak at the mere sight.

"Fye!" cried Mokona in distraught panic. It swiftly made its way to the ninja, who walked in a hurry to set the mage down gently on the floor near the fire's warmth.

Much like a broken doll, Fye's head lolled back lifelessly when Kurogane set him down to begin removing his stained coat. He had to sit him up and support his limp body to unbuckle the three golden straps of his shirt and remove it in order to inspect the wound.

Once the ninja's eyes fell on the exposed wound his heart skipped a beat.

It was a horrible sight. The skin was a mad, red and purple color around the wound; blood seeped out in small gushes from the four punctures, threatening to finish off the mage's already fleeting life.

Fye gasped and cried out loud when Kurogane, in panic, tried to stop the bleeding by placing his hands directly on the leaking wound. Pressure had to be applied, even if it meant inflicting more pain on the already battered body that trembled underneath him.

"Fye… Fye…" the white creature whimpered in between sobs, looking with tear-filled eyes how the magician cried out in delirious agony.

Kurogane looked at Syaoran with urgency in his eyes, he needed space and quiet to concentrate. The boy nodded in silent agreement, understanding what the man meant.

"Princess. We need more wood for the fire. Fye-san needs to stay warm." spoke the brunette with an incredibly calm voice even under their current situation.

Sakura looked at Syaoran with half-dazed eyes. Tears streamed down her sun burnt cheeks like rivers of sorrow and her sobs were held back as she bit down on her lower lip.

"Princess…" the boy felt like embracing the princess, but he had underestimated her inner strength once more. The princess did not need further persuasion. She nodded and took the small creature in her arms.

"No! No, no, NO! Fye!" it fought against the princess' hold, crying out to let it stay behind, sobs drowning the pain-filled voice.

"Sakura-chan please, let me stay! I want to stay with Fye! Please! L-let me go!"

Its cries died down when Sakura, with no further ado, walked away. Going against the little one's protests and pleas to let it stay to watch over its dear friend. It went against everything she believed in, but she knew it was better this way- it was too much to take in.

I'm sorry, Moko-chan. I'm so sorry. The princess kept repeating herself over and over, hoping Mokona would understand later, embracing the weeping being in hopes of comfort.

Hearing the pained objections from the manjuu stirred sorrow in the ninja's heart. He knew Mokona cared greatly for the blonde; After all, they did almost everything together, varying from cooking, to singing, to making the ninja ungracefully mad. Loosing the mage will be a harsh blow to the kids and especially, a great toll on the little creature's heart.

He gritted his teeth in self-reproach, hating how feeble and pitiful he may have sound had he said that out loud. A ninja was a cold and professional warrior; such emotions should not grace the edges of his mind, but somehow he knew it was all a lie.

He became slowly aware of signs since the group first started traveling together; signs that pointed he had softened and warmed up to his traveling companions.

He made himself stop thinking such pitiful, weak thoughts that only suited a wife or maiden and began tending to the mage's wounds.

The blonde's pale features and slightly blue lips were disconcerting. His chest rose and fell shallowly in hard and loud gasps that came from his parted lips underneath the ninja's warm hands. Trembling brows were knitted in concentration as he tried to hold back the moans and cries from the pain that shot not only through his wound, but also throughout his now feverish body.

Syaoran winced at the sight. He had noted the two punctures on his left shoulder and the other two more just bellow his collarbone. Had they been half an inch to the right, the beast would have had bitten down on Fye's neck, for a certain and swift kill.

He had been lucky.

But not lucky enough.

The mere sight and the cries from the mage were enough to make the boy week in the knees and feel dizzy.

"Boy," a deep voice brought him back from his thoughts. Syaoran's eyes met Kurogane's, acknowledging the older man.

"Take one of those white sheets we have and shred it into pieces. Now." Kurogane's voice, although calm, had held no room for patience. He needed bandages before it was too late.

The boy did as he was told, and with no further thought, hurried and shred one of the sheets they usually used to sleep on.

Meanwhile, the ninja had to think in other ways to stop the flow of the blood. Judging by the amount of blood flow, one of the main arteries had been hit. He knew that by only applying direct pressure would not be enough. He needed indirect pressure on one of the main proximal arteries.

Fuck…

Having being a ruthless killer and not caring to control any comrade wounds, he was inexperienced at tending and controlling hemorrhage. Of course, he had the knowledge in case he was the one wounded, but nothing had prepared him for what he encountered today.

Point compression of proximal artery… he reminded himself.

Instinct and mere scratches of what he vaguely remembered being told, guided him. The ninja looked at the mage's shoulder and with his index and middle finger, pressed hard down in between the gap where the neck and the clavicle joined. He felt the bone move slightly- it was broken.

Great.

He tried to mute out the cries of pain from the blonde, feeling relief that the princess and the manjuu had left.

"Hemostasis, the arrest of bleeding, can be reached by applying pressure in the proximal arteries. Varying from 5 to twenty minutes, depending on the severity of the wound." At least that's what he remembered Souma explaining once to the new recruits. It was a requirement that all soldiers had the basic knowledge of wound treatment; however, this ninja was too busy thinking in getting stronger that he had dismissed almost all of those classes.

Seems fate had chosen him as its favorite plaything. Proving him horribly wrong in the worst-case scenarios, which led to guilt.

His already rapidly beating heart skipped once more when blue eyes, hazed over with pain, fluttered halfway open.

Fragile.

That's what he saw in those eyes.

"Damn mage!" he cursed out, not letting go of the wounds, waiting for Syaoran to hand him over some of the made-shift bandages.

"You're such a bother- Hey!" he called out when those beautiful sapphires began to close once more. "Don't you dare pass out on me! Hey!" he urged the mage, but those eyes were already closed.

"Stay with me!" he had no choice but to shake him a bit too harshly. At least that had woken the mage.

"I need you to stay awake."

"Kurogane-san"

The ninja turned to look at the boy, his hands holding long trends of what was once a blanket.

Kurogane looked down at his hands that were still over the wounds. He could not remove them yet, or else the blood flow will increase again, and that's what he needed the least.

"Help me prop him up." Commanded the ninja. The boy again, swallowed all the panic he felt and did as he was told. Both males propped the mage into a sitting position, he had to have the wound elevated to slow down the blood flow further.


Fye was constantly in between oblivion and full conscience, fighting the white shots of pain that blinded him and threatened to drag him into a deep sleep.

He felt hands on him, most likely Kurogane's. The pain that was inflicted upon him while the gruff man ministered first aid had disturbingly awakened him.

He had heard his voice speak in that deep tone. He could hardly make out the words he was speaking to him, but that edge of urgency and concern was clear to his ears.

He felt his body being propped up, head lolling with no control. This time he felt a second set of hands. Heavens only knew how he wanted to cry out, but his voice had long been muted by weakness, the only sounds escaping his pale lips were gasps and whimpers.

He was barely conscious of what was happening around him, everything after that was a blur. When he was forced to wake for the second time, he noted tightness around his chest and shoulder. He could see through the hazy blurs of his vision, bandages around him.

"…-y," someone was calling to him.

"Oy." The voice became clearer this time; it was Kurogane.

A hand reached to his chin and gently raised his head with care. His eyes met powerful red that looked at him with grim concern.

The smiles that had often decorated his pretty face were forgotten. Fye had no energy to even perform such task. He blinked slowly, trying to focus more into the ninja in front of him; however, his eyes didn't seem to cooperate.

Kurogane.

"Ungh…"

"Hey, stay awake." Repeated the ninja, carefully accommodating the mage on a smooth ramp-like rock, where the samurai had previously placed the mage's coat to cushion the hard surface. It was slightly elevated, which was what the mage needed to keep the blood flow controlled.

He heard the shift of clothing, and then he felt warmth. Kurogane had placed his cloak over his trembling body. Who would've known that the samurai could be so gentle? To Fye, it was an almost impossible thought yet here he was, being taken care of by the most stubborn, roughest and brutal man on this earth.

Fye couldn't help but feel a smile wanting to tuck at the corner of his pale lips.

"Fye" a small voice kept him from drifting again. It seems Mokona and Sakura-chan had returned. When? It was unbeknownst to the blonde, having being roughly aware of his surroundings.

Mokona approached the man and sat beside him, worry consuming at it. It was far calmer than when the two arrived, all thanks to the princess. Had it stayed behind to watch how the man was screaming in pain would've scarred it for life.

The small creature reached a small paw to gently caress the feverish skin of the mage's cheek, all in hopes that it would be soothing to Fye.

It looked at the ninja with hope and asked the dreaded question.

"Will Fye be alright?"

"I don't know" The ninja immediately lied, knowing very well that the most possible outcome could be death.

He felt sorry for the creature, his words weren't what he would consider soothing, but he had lied to protect them. He knew that Fye had a very slim chance of surviving.

Had they reached civilization, Fye would be in a far better condition.

Sakura took Mokona in her arms and tried to calm the whimpering creature by whispering reassurances and words of encouragement.

"Everything will be alright." She said. The princess was emotionally not better than Mokona, but she knew that she had to be strong. She felt a strong impulse to help her friends in any way possible. They've helped her recover her lost memories and she wanted to make up for that, even if it was by giving a warm smile or a caring hug.

Soon, Mokona fell asleep in the princess arms, worn out by the day's events. The princess felt tired herself and smiled when Syaoran let her rest her head against his shoulder.

The boy made sure the princess was comfortable enough and covered her up with his cloak to protect her from any deviating winds.

It was mere luck that the princess had found dry roots to make a suitable fire to keep the warm in the cold night, or else it would've been hard trying to stay warm.

Syaoran fought back the sleep that threatened to overtake him, he wanted to help Kurogane is he needed any further assistance with Fye.

"Kid." Called the gruff man from the opposite side of the cave, sitting against the cave's wall, close to Fye.

"Rest, you need your energies. We don't know what we'll come across tomorrow, and I need you alert." Spoke the ruby-eyed ninja in a quiet tone so as to not disturb the sleeping ones; but soon added after in a strict voice.

"What I least need is to drag yet someone else through the desert."

Syaoran understood the true intentions behind the ninja's voice and smiled solemnly.

"Yes, sir."

Kurogane nodded and closed his eyes, sighing somewhat in annoyance. He did NOT want to become the kids' nanny; he was a warrior, not a caretaker! That was usually the mage's roll.

He opened his eyes and after making sure the brat's breathing had become even and soft in sleep, he dared steal a glance at the mage. His shoulders slumped somewhat and sighed again, this time not in annoyance, but concern.

The ninja watched from where he sat close to the blonde waif, in case of any sudden change or emergency in the mage's condition were to occur. He tried to show as little concern as possible, folding his arms over his strong chest and closing his eyes in concentration. It had been emotionally and physically tiring, they all needed rest, but the Ninja will have no sleep that night.

"You asshole" muttered the samurai with spite, hands gripping tightly around the cloth he had earlier used to wipe the blood from his hands.

Fye was looking at him from where he lay. His pale face was now flushed around the cheeks in a fever and his blue eyes were hazed and unfocused. He had tried his best to smile at the annoyed man, but failed miserably.

He did not know why he had pushed him out of the way. Of course, he would never want to see any of his friends get hurt, besides he would've done the same for anyone…

His friends. Since when had he considered them to be so close to call them friends?

He had crossed that line he had drawn for himself. He tried to keep a distance from the others so that they wouldn't get hurt. When he joined the travelers, just for the gain of traveling to many worlds in order to stay away from his own, he had told Syaoran that he would help him, as long as his life wouldn't be in danger.

Yet he had failed to meet all of the above.

He would have laughed in self-pity, hating himself for being so weak and a failure to everything he tried to do.

For being who he is and doing what he did and does.

He let out a shuddering breath, making his wounds ache. It was hard to breathe; the air was heavy and uncomfortably warm. He could feel his heartbeat all over him, and he could feel the beads of sweat trailing down his hot skin; however, even if his body burned and sweated, he shivered with cold.

All of his limbs felt heavy, including his eyelids. It was hard to keep them open, and the sting he felt every time he blinked bothered him. The dim light of the fire too bright for his sensitive eyes was blinding and painful. He desperately wanted to escape it all, the pain, the fever, and most of all the truth. He wanted to be claimed by darkness to stay away from it all.

He didn't want to know any more.

The ninja approached the feverish blonde and with a clean cloth wiped the sweat from his brow. Fye looked at him and parted his chapped lips to produce a word, but none came except for a dry cough.

"See what happens when you don't shut up?" groaned the ninja.

However, the mage's cough became a fit and Kurogane had to try and ease him when he saw blood soaking through the bandages.

"Damn it you idiot, calm down or you'll end up killing yourself." He grumbled, but became worried when Fye couldn't stop coughing.

Red eyes widened when blood came out of those gasping lips.

Had the mage punctured a lung with a broken rib?

Fye stopped coughing and now lay gasping from the oh-so-precious oxygen his body needed. Eyes shut tightly and brows trembling from the again that shot once again his dormant body.

Kurogane quickly removed his cloak from the mage, making the man whimper when the cold breeze kissed his skin. The ninja paid no attention to the blonde's protests and swiftly moved a hand over the mage's torso. He tried to feel at the ribs, making sure he didn't damage them further if they were broken.

There were small bruises decorating the pale skin, but he couldn't feel any fracture. It made the ninja less worried, but the fact that the mage had coughed up blood nagged at his brains.

The hot skin underneath his fingers was incredibly soft. The ninja blushed when he met Fye's half-lidded eyes; the only sound in the echoing cave was Fye's short pants. He gulped awkwardly when he realized he had been staring again, but how could he not? Fye was beautiful, even more so with his golden hair stuck to his sweaty brow-

WHAT THE HELL? Cursed the ninja inwardly, removing his hands from the pale man.

He decided to pretend nothing happened, looking away from the man to inspect the wounds. He carefully removed the one around his stomach, it wasn't serious, but it had been somewhat deep. The wound had stopped bleeding, but instead of that mad red color around the skin, there was a tint or purple.

What is this? Thought the warrior, not touching the tender skin, but getting a better look at it. That's when he noted that the purple tint had spread like roots around the flesh…

Poison?

That was his best guess, the symptoms were there, but he had thought it was from the blood loss. No wonder the blonde's condition had plummeted like it did.

Even if he tried to suck out the venom, he knew that by now it was running inside the mage's system. It was of no use.

He looked up at Fye, whose eyes were now closed but his breathing remained constantly shallow and forced.

Luck had definitely abandoned the mage.

Kurogane smiled grimly. It should've been him who was lying on the floor, half dying and in pain. Maybe the mage had defied fate and this was his punishment for such insolence.

"Very well… If you defied fate, so will I."

I won't let you die; and damn myself to hell if I do without putting a damn good fight. He thought to himself before resuming in a raspy voice.

"So you better not let go that easily, or I swear I'll hunt your sorry ass down, even if that meant going to hell and back, you idiotic mage."

Kurogane had to suppress the urge to punch the man when he saw a small smile touch the mage's lips.


He hated the fact that he began to believe that this forsaken desert would be their tomb. Many times had he thought of himself as unbeatable and strong. Not only was he taking that back now, but also realized how wrong he had been. The human body can only take so much.

The burden on his arms constantly refreshed that thought, the thought of frailty. The blonde had not woken since he passed out last night. Not even when Kurogane called out to him or inspected the worsening wounds, seeing the purple tint spread even further, did the mage not wake up.

He mentioned none of the poison inside the mage to the kids, which will only arise more worry. Fye was still breathing in a labored way, but he had completely stopped sweating. His body, much like theirs, was moist probably saving the remnants of water left in his system. That was no good, the mage needed to sweat out the fever.


It was now mid-day, judging by the position of the sun, where the incandescent heat was at its peak. They had not stopped walking ever since they woke before the break of dawn, trying to save themselves from most of the sun's punishment.

Of course, thanks to their past amount of luck, it was once again futile. No life ahead of them, no water or even a measly rock to hide from the sun.

Death didn't seem such a bad thought; at least it would take him away from all this hellish heat. That was, of course, if he didn't go to hell for his past deeds. He grunted. Seems he was stuck with scorching heat whether alive or dead.

It was such a degrading thought, though. A samurai of his class would be expected to die at battle, tasting his opponent's sword in his insides while it ended his life in a most honorable death. He did not care to die such brutal death; it was better than to die of old age or… this.

But, to die in a desert? NO! He will not die. Not when he has to return to Nihon to prove his princess wrong. Prove to her that he didn't need of this travel to find true strength because he already possessed it.

He will not die because he needs to avenge his mother's death, because the kids needed him to recover the princess' memories.

He could not die because the man he held on his arms needed to learn from him how to live and love once more.

Had he had enough saliva in his now dusty and dry mouth, he would've choked on it. He hated the mage for making him think such defiling, most incoherent and idiotic thoughts.

And gods only knew, in what passionate level he hated the dessert.

"Princess!" the boy's ailing voice interrupted his mental debate and self-reproach. The princess had fallen; the heat and dehydration took effect on her. They've been walking for almost two days with no appropriate rest, food and water, after all.

"Sakura!" called Mokona in distress.

Kurogane frowned when the princess took long enough to open her eyes, but Syaoran took the initiative and carried the princess on his back. Too weak to protest, the princess didn't fight back and lay her head on the boy's back.

The brat was tough, that, the ninja knew.

They continued ahead, hoping to soon find salvation. If Mokona had spat then on this land, there had to be a feather, there always was. Right?

Wrong.

There had been a world with no feather. There was only a big lake with a giant fish and a small citadel underneath the water.

That was calming. Thought the ninja with sarcasm.

Whatever thought had crossed his mind was forgotten when at the distance, he saw something shimmering. It was far, but oh! What a beautiful sight!

"Water." hoarsed the ninja and he squinted his dry eyes to make sure it was real.

"Kurogane-san…" the boy began, trying to warn the man, but it was too late. The ninja broke into a run towards the precious life source that would quench their agonizing thirst.

It seemed that the closer he got to the water, the farther away it would move, until it disappeared completely.

"What the-" he felt disbelief wash over him.

"Where did it go?" he asked, turning around frantically to find the water he knew had been there just moments ago.

Maybe he was finally going insane.

"Kurogane-san" the boy tried once more, eyes furrowed as he saw the man searching.

"It was a mirage, an illusion caused by the hot surface of the sand." He tried explaining.

The ninja looked at the boy with confusion written all over his face.

"An illusion? You mean… No! I saw it there just a few moments ago. It has to be around here, somewhere!"

"Kurogane-san. I'm sorry, but it wasn't real. There's no water around for who-knows how many miles."

"Fuck!" the ninja snapped, enraged at the tricks the desert was pulling on his tired mind.

The sudden movement had caused the mage to gasp in pain. Well, at least he knew he was still alive.

He calmed down and sighed. It was no good if he lost it now, but it was too hard when your throat and mouth were so dry, that your tongue felt thick and dusty. It was hard to focus when your eyes stung every time you blinked and your mind was playing tricks on you, making you feel hope, only to have it shatter in a million pieces when you realized it was all fake.

"Kurogane-san...?" the boy inquired with a tiny voice, whether out of fear or weakness, it did not matter anymore.

Kurogane sighed and signaled him to keep walking.


It had not been an hour before the boy too fell on the sand from exhaustion.

Kurogane had tried to call out to him, but his voice never came beyond his dry throat. Had he had his voice, he would've cursed at every living creature, material thing, and deities for being such asses to him. He was the last man standing.

Well, fuck fate, if he were to die here without giving a good fight.

He took the princess and the boy with his free hand by their collars, Mokona on the princess' arms, and began dragging them.

If fate were a conscious being, it would had been surprised by the man's bravery, determination, damned stubbornness and pride.

Kurogane's every step was an excretion of human will, but he had not taken more than five steps before he too, began to feel faint. He fell on the sand face first, almost on top of the magician.

He cursed and coughed, gripping at the hot sand with his hands with rage. He wanted to scream on top of his lungs, so, even if he had no voice, he rose to his knees and held his head high and gave out a cry of despair and anger.

It came out in a hoarse voice that pained his vocal cords in an excruciating way. Almost as if to mock him once more, responding to his final cry, he saw yet another mirage.

A final mockery by the desert before it took him to the next life, or so, he thought.

There, on the horizon, he saw figures, sand clouds trailing behind them. Wait. They weren't walking, but riding on strange creatures.

Could illusions also have sound? No. They had to be real; they just had to.

In a final, desperate act to seek salvation from this mundane hell, he bit down on his hand. It drew blood and drank it. His throat gagged at the metallic, thick taste, but it was enough to give him a voice.

He scrambled to his feet and screamed, waving his arms frantically to catch their attention.

"HEY! HEY!" he cried out with all his remaining strength.

"OVER HERE!"

His heart felt extreme relief when the travelers changed course and went straight towards their direction and did not disappear as they got closer..

He felt all his strength finally give in on him and fell ungracefully on his knees and finally, slumping forward to meet the hot sand once more against the side of his face.

He smiled grimly and gave a small chuckle. The samurai let himself finally give into oblivion, and knew no more.

TBC ...


Author's Note:
First of all, I want to thank all of my past reviewers! Thank you very much, it rally helped me cook up this chapter faster.

Yes, yet another cliffhanger! Are the travelers friends or foes? What will happen to the group? Will Fye survive the deadly wound? Will Ashura make his appearance soon?

Find out next chapter! ;D

Please review!

Elenath