Chapter 5

The Realm of the Sun-God

It didn't take Sakura long to recover from her feather regaining induced sleep, however it was another three days before Syaoran finally awoke and the doctor they'd called- a doctor who went by the name 'Yukito'- told them it would be another couple before the teen was able to travel in any way. So they waited for several days, and set off once the doctor had cleared Syaoran's condition.

They arrived in a world where a bright, golden yellow sun beat nothing but stifling heat down upon them, and humidity hung thick in the air. Immediately, they removed their jackets and sought out to find shade before any of them passed out from heat exhaustion caused by their thick clothes. Naturally, being that the day was so humid, the shade did little to relieve the heat, but it was a start.

Fai whistled, impressed as he looked around. "We're definitely in a strange world this time."

The travelers looked around, and indeed they had landed in a strange land- for all the people walking around bore not only triangular and furred ears, but tails as well, and from the sheer number of the creatures walking around without shirts on, it could be said all had a rather distinctive patch of fur adorning their chests.

And the more they stared, the travelers realized, the more they were being stared back at. In fact, they were beginning to draw a crowd. They huddled together protectively under the intensive scrutiny. At least until one of the creatures stepped from the crowd, hair and fur a bright red-orange.

"Alright, there's nothing more to see here," he stated, striding barefoot across what must have been extremely hot cement. He approached the travelers, studied them over with yellow, slit-pupiled eyes, and sighed. "Ahh... more foreigners. We seem to be getting a lot of them lately. You must excuse my fellows' staring- we're not used to seeing different folks than us." He turned and motioned with one hand. "Follow me."

As a group, they followed the man through the city streets, taking in the white and sand-colored buildings that surrounded them, each decorated with a very similar sun motif. Music drifted to them from almost every direction, as did the speaking of the denizens, the occasional shout from the many vendors that lined the daytime streets. Finally, they turned and walked into a building, one that wasn't much different than any other building but for its situation on a corner.

Inside, more 'normal' looking people had gathered, and among them were a few familiar faces- in one corner, Tomoyo was chatting with another black-haired girl; one that upon closer inspection had almost the same eye color as Syaoran. On the other side of the room, several of Shogo's gang members from the Hanshin Republic were playing a game against a single, young, dark-haired boy. A moment later, a ruckus emerged from that same corner, along with a "You won again! You must be cheating, Minoru!"

Their guide ignored the troublemakers in the corner for the moment, and led them up to a check-in desk. The furred man behind the desk stood at immediate attention as the orange-haired one approached.

"We have more visitors," the guide said, nodding back to the group. "There are four of them."

"And a Mokona!" Mokona chirped, bouncing in Fai's arms.

Their guide smiled awkwardly. "And a Mokona. So five, technically."

The man behind the desk nodded and looked over a list. "Ah. We have one more room open that could serve you during your stay." He picked a key up off the desk, and held it out stiffly. The orange-haired one took it and handed it to Syaoran in turn.

"Alright. Looks like you have a room on the top floor. Before you head up there, let me tell you some things. For one, try to keep a low profile here- as you've seen most of our people aren't very comfortable around strangers, and while they generally won't harm you, they might insult you or give you strange looks. Secondly, do know that the nights here are odd, it rains most nights here as the air cools off and the humidity hits a peak, but even so, there are always troupes performing or vendors open in the streets. Crime is almost unheard of out here, so traveling alone is a bit safer than one might think, though going in pairs might be better so ridicule is kept at a minimum. For a third, if you are to be traveling through our world, you might not only want to invest in new, lighter clothes, but a Dragonbird as well. They are generally cheap to rent, and are our common beasts of burden. Ah, and if you need to exchange currencies, Flare," and he pointed at the man behind the desk. "Will be happy to provide you with this service. Oh, and before I forget, while our clothing should be able to be found in sizes that fit you all, shoes will be much harder as our people rarely wear them. There's a shop across the street and down a ways that tailors them for those that do wear them, but it's rather expensive, so you might be better off just wearing the shoes you have now." He looked them all over in turn. "So, any questions before I leave you to enjoy your day?"

"Yes," Syaoran said, keeping his gaze steady on the man. "What's your name?"

The guide gave another of his forced, awkward smiles. "My name is Phaethon- I am Emperor Solaer's advisor, and recent administer in charge of tourism."

"I've got a question for you," Kurogane grumbled, eyes traveling around the room. "What's with the pictures and carvings of the sun everywhere? Don't you get enough of it just looking up into the sky?"

For once, Phaethon laughed. "The sun god, Solaer, is our patron deity. If you want, do visit the Temple of Solaer, it's the second largest building in the city next to the castle, and open for all." He looked them over again. "Well, if there are no more questions, I have much work to do. I bid you all a pleasant stay here in Astron."

The travelers all looked to each other, somewhat confused, before heading up to the room assigned to them. They found it a rather spacious affair, almost a miniature apartment. Two bedrooms, ones that could be separated by a center divider, a tiny kitchen, one bathroom with a rather large tub, and a small room with chairs situated that could be used as a sort of living room made the basic composition of it. The entire place smelled cool, almost damp inside, with thick shades drawn tightly over the windows to keep the glaring sun from heating the interior up too much.

Syaoran settled himself carefully into one of the chairs, injuries from his fight in the previous world still evident. Sakura watched him carefully, expression softened, and he caught her eye as he looked over, before smiling softly himself.

"So," the amber-eyed teenager said. "Where do we start?"

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A/N: Welcome to Astron. 25 cents to whoever knows what this world is from. Read and review if you please.