This chapter comes with a content warning for vomit. Just so you know.
Reader - You'll get your answers this chapter ;) I figure that Kurogane probably needs quite a bit of training to get used to being one-armed? So he has to start training at some point. ;) LOL Yeah, Kurogane should probably have tried shoving more snakes in Fai's mouth. LOL Fai is Fai, though, and he just sucks at taking care of himself ;)
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and its characters do not belong to me.
the sands of Harasa
Chapter 9: A Rescue
Syaoran had taught Sakura the next five kata in the series. Kurogane had been pleasantly surprised when he'd found out. Then, he'd been stunned when the princess executed the first three kata he'd taught her perfectly, and the five new ones with decent form. She was still using the dagger from Mokona's storage. In the glow of the evening campfire, she wore a light frown, and he remembered that she still had an infection. Whether it was worse than before, he could only guess.
When they stopped for a break, he stepped up to her with a bottle of water. "Rest for a bit. What else did you learn?"
She beamed at him, frown easing some. He accepted the bottle from her when she was done, drank a mouthful, and waved her to the front of the campfire. "I've learned only those kata, but Fai-san went through all his stretches with me, and he taught me how to sense people."
"Huh." Kurogane hadn't thought about Fai teaching the princess to sense the presences of other people. He'd figured that he would start on that the next time he had the chance.
"He said the most important thing in self-defense is knowing where everyone is in relation to me. Like listening out for them with my body."
Kurogane frowned. His own sensing took place in his head, in the prickle on his nape. "With your body?"
She nodded. "If I close my eyes, I can... feel the warmth of people. For example, you're right next to me. And there are others, over there."
Sakura waved at a juniper tree.
"I don't sense anyone there."
"I do," she said serenely. "They're spirits."
"You can see spirits." Kurogane stilled, felt hot and cold at the same time. It wasn't something they talked about often, and he hadn't really the chance or opportunity to investigate it before. "Who are they?"
The princess looked back at him. "People from this world. I don't know them, but they seem friendly."
"Have you seen people from other worlds?" The words were falling from his mouth before he thought to stop himself.
She shook her head, frowned. "Very rarely. But I'll tell you when I see them, if you want me to."
Kurogane wasn't about to give her details right now, so he nodded mutely. "Okay. Thanks." When she continued to look expectantly at him, he asked, "how do you know they're spirits?"
"They're cold. Living people are warm. People with magic, like Fai-san, they have smells too."
He leaned closer, curious. "What does he smell like to you?"
"Like a spice," she answered. "Kind of sweet?"
"Cinnamon?"
"I think that's it." Sakura's face lit up. "You can smell him too?"
Kurogane shrugged, glanced over at the wizard, who had his nose buried in his notebook again. "Not all the time. My mother was a priestess."
The princess nodded, smiling. As if the idiot could sense their gazes, he looked up, waved cheerily at Sakura. She waved back. "Fai-san taught me about the weak points on the body as well. But he says I need training before I can use them to my advantage."
"Yeah, he's right. Which parts are they?"
"Fai-san said the nose is fragile, and so is the throat. I can use my forehead as self-defense." At his nod, she continued, "then there's the eyes, the stomach, and the groin."
"Also their fingers and knees," Kurogane said. "Bend their fingers back, or kick them in the knee."
Sakura nodded. "He said to catch them off-guard, too. Like what he did with you yesterday."
He snorted, but acknowledged it with a nod. "Yeah. I don't care if you use dirty moves in self-defense. The mage would be better at cheating though."
"Surely they aren't dirty moves if they help a person get out of a situation."
Kurogane shrugged, added a handful of twigs to the fire. "They're called dirty moves because hitting below the belt isn't honorable." He paused, barked a laugh, and said loudly, "if you have to practice kneeing someone's groin, do that to the wizard."
"I heard that, Kuro-pon," Fai called, looking up from his notebook. "Sakura-chan, the big black dog can take some hits, don't you worry about that."
Sakura glanced between them with a grimace.
"They're really only effective on men though. Or boys," Kurogane said, ignoring the blond. "Our body structures are different. The thing is to cause them as much pain as you can, and use the distraction to run away."
"But they'll be in pain," the princess said.
Kurogane shrugged. "Sometimes, it's either you or them. The kid, the mage and I would much rather you be unhurt. You understand?"
Sakura glanced down thoughtfully. "Okay."
He looked around the camp again. There was still no sign of the boy. "The kid said he'd be back in two hours, right? It's been almost three."
"We should look for him," Fai said. He got to his feet, tucked his notebook away, and walked over. There were lines around his mouth.
"Yeah, I'm all for that. Better to fly though." Kurogane looked around for their piles of blankets, watching as Sakura frowned up at Fai.
"But your magic," she said.
"I shouldn't use any more of it." Fai glanced away, rubbed his arms. There was quite a bit of his magic in this world, now. Would Ashura come? He wouldn't, if he was still not awake. That Chii person would tell Fai if he were. And Fai would probably be a lot more worried for it.
"We could trade with Yuuko-san for something we can ride," Sakura suggested.
"We do have some things with Mokona that are valuable," the wizard agreed, looking at the white lump dancing around the fire.
"What about—" Kurogane paused when a dark spot flickered in his vision and winked out. He blinked. More spots burst across his eyes, like fireworks, and disappeared again. He shook his head. It felt like there was a growing rock sitting on his brain, getting larger by the moment.
"What's wrong?" Fai came forward, crouched down in front of him with a frown, at the same time his gut lurched. "Kuro-pon?"
He threw himself to his feet, stumbling a few paces away before violently emptying his stomach. What— His head swam, and he fell to his knees, trying to stop the whirling.
"Kuro-sama?" Fai hurried over, trailed by Sakura and Mokona, but Kurogane wasn't in any mood to respond. He shook his head slowly, gritted his teeth at the way his stomach felt way more bloated than it should, and turned to retch again. "Sakura-chan, get some water."
There was a muffled thump. Kurogane turned to see that Sakura had tripped, falling flat on her front. Not her, too? He wiped his mouth off, got to his feet, and promptly wobbled.
"I don't feel so good," the princess mumbled, one hand on her stomach. Fai had hurried to her side, carefully turning her over.
"It'll be okay," Fai soothed, rubbing her back. She looked greenish though, and her eyelids fluttered like she couldn't see clearly, either.
"Get some water," Kurogane rasped, turning to spit the foul taste from his mouth.
Fai rushed away and back. He shoved a full bottle into Kurogane's hand. "We're on our last two bottles, now. Mokona, do you have any water in storage?"
The white thing spat some cans out. Kurogane watched hazily while Fai clunked them down and hurried back to Sakura, who was swallowing repeatedly, as if she was trying her best not to vomit.
"You'll feel better if you let it out now," Fai told her, pulling her to her feet and guiding her to a clump of grass. He had a blanket under his arm.
The wizard stayed by her, stroking her back, and Kurogane saw the tight line of his mouth. He sat up, shook his head. The sooner he purged his stomach, the less the food in there would affect him. He turned back, heaved, and winced at the smell. The princess retched, too, into the bushes. Fai held the hair away from her face, but he was starting to look sick, too.
The wizard reached down to hold an arm to his belly.
"'S the snake," Kurogane muttered. They'd all eaten it.
Fai turned to him, horror written stark through his face. "Syaoran-kun, he's still out there. He ate that first."
"We'll find him," Kurogane said, getting to his feet. He was still unsteady, though, and his vision went black for a moment. He stumbled. Fai looked up at him, blue eyes wide. The princess heaved again; the wizard turned, wiped her mouth with the corner of a blanket. Vaguely, he heard Fai asking Sakura if she was fine (which was utter crap because who'd be fine like that?) and patting her back.
Thin hands came up around his waist. Fai directed him to a cleaner patch of ground, sat him down. Kurogane shook his head again.
"We'll have to go soon. No knowing whether he hit his head," he said fuzzily.
"I know," Fai said. He looked green, though, and he clutched his stomach suddenly, face going tight with discomfort.
"Puke. It has to happen sooner or later," Kurogane told him.
Fai did, with an ugly noise, and Kurogane was hit with the smell again, the same one that turned his stomach against him. He twisted away, emptied what he could onto the ground next to him. Steps away, Sakura followed suit.
For a long stretch, the three of them were throwing up, one triggering another, and Kurogane got weakly to his feet when they'd rinsed their mouths, pulling Fai over to Sakura. The princess had fainted, sprawled across the rocky ground, narrowly missing what she'd thrown up. "Need to move away," he slurred. "Or we'll keep puking."
Between them, they dragged the princess behind a tree, sitting heavily down on either side of her. Mokona hopped after, carrying bottles of drinks, but Kurogane didn't think he had the stomach for any of that right now. He could hardly keep his head clear. His vision was blinking black for longer periods at a time, and he had no way of righting it.
"The kid," he told Fai, who glanced over blearily, struggling to keep his own eyes open.
"We'll get him," Fai mumbled. He looked like he was about to say more, but he tipped and slumped onto Sakura. Kurogane pulled the princess closer to himself, shook his head again.
He thought he saw Mokona with a circular projection in front of her, but his eyes would not focus, and his vision turned dark.
When he woke, there was a crackling yellow fire in front of them. A blanket had been draped across his chest. The juniper was dark above him, and the chilly desert was otherwise silent. Shadows loomed all around; it was night. He had no idea how long he'd been out for.
"You're awake," Fai said tiredly next to the campfire, jabbing it with a stick.
Kurogane shook himself awake, felt the residual bloatedness in his stomach. The inside of his mouth tasted nasty. "That wasn't supposed to happen."
"I figured as much." Fai poked at the fire again, sending a breath of yellow sparks into the air. "I hope Syaoran-kun is all right."
"You haven't gone to look for him?" Kurogane frowned, rubbed his eyes. He didn't feel at all rested. His limbs were aching, and his entire body felt fragile. The princess was still lying on him, unconscious.
"I don't have the strength to walk very far right now, Kuro-rin." The wizard turned to look at him; he saw dark shadows under blue eyes. "It took a lot out of me just walking over to drag our firewood here."
"What about the white thing?" He cast around for Mokona, blinked when she bounded up with a soda can. He wasn't in a position to argue about the sort of food she brought right now, so he took it with a mutter of thanks.
"Mokona helped!" she cried, waving her paws. "Mokona was worried about everyone! Yuuko said everyone will be fine."
"Mokona purchased our transportation, in case you were wondering," Fai told him dryly, and nodded at a roll of something to the side, on the edge of the firelight.
"Really?" Kurogane leaned forward, squinting at the cylinder. It was something with a bunch of tassels on one end, he realized. "The hell is that?"
"A magic carpet," she chirped. "But we have to return it right after we finish using it."
He blinked slowly, thinking about the blankets that Fai had been enchanting through this journey. "Wait. Wait. If we bought something from her... what did we pay?"
"Fuel. The spare tank on the car. Plus some other parts. Maybe the engine." Fai glanced in the direction of the wash. "I'm surprised that she got through the water unscathed. Then again, Mokona is magic."
"Mokona is amazing," the white thing agreed.
"We have water now, too. Mokona took the water drum while she was there." Fai attempted a bright smile at her. "You're very clever, Mokona!"
"Mokona is very clever!"
Kurogane sighed, tossed the can over to Fai. He didn't like the thought of leaving the car behind, but it wasn't like they could get it out of the mud or water right now. And it was without parts it probably needed to work. "Have any water?"
Fai tossed a fresh bottle back. "We need to leave soon. I don't want to leave Syaoran out there for too long. We don't know if he's okay, especially if he's all by himself."
Kurogane leaned the princess against the tree and tried getting to his feet, swearing when his legs gave out beneath him. Fai cracked a thin smile.
He pulled himself forward on his arms instead. The strain of muscles reminded him of the earlier conversation with the witch, about Fai's charm, and the price he would have to pay. If he were to lose an arm at any point, he didn't want to be caught unprepared. He needed to train.
"Have you made things with your magic?" he blurted, shuffling forward on his hands and knees. "Like that white thing."
Fai looked away, shrugged. Mokona waddled over with her ears pricked up. "Has Fai?" she asked. "Can Fai make a Mokona?"
"It's a complicated process, you know. Lots of things can go wrong," he said, pulled the tab on the drink can. "Mmm, this is sweet."
"It's just sugar," Kurogane said. Fai angled a smile at him, one of those crafty ones that had him narrowing his eyes. "So have you made one, or not?"
"I've just dabbled in magic, Kuro-pon. So no." Kurogane watched the bob of his Adam's apple. "You should try this. It's good."
"Hell no. It'll rot my teeth." He glanced at the carpet again. It had intricate patterns on it, dots and curling lines in a style he'd never seen before, and it looked like it'd taken a lot of time to make. "So we're traveling with the witch's magic?"
"Mokona thinks the carpet is something Yuuko collected." The white thing hopped up onto Fai's lap; Fai handed the can to her.
"It'll be easier on you, then. If we buy things with magic instead of using yours."
Mokona tipped the rest of the can into her mouth, nodding. "Yuuko has lots of things. We can buy them if we have the right things to pay with."
Fai had reached up, pushing his fingers past the neckline of his cloak. "Maybe," he said.
Perhaps that was all he needed to get Fai thinking about his tattoo. Fai was touching it now; Kurogane felt his hopes flare like orange fire, pulled a deep breath. Perhaps the witch could give the tattoo whatever it was lacking. Perhaps all he needed to do was bide his time.
"Are you strong enough to stand now?" Kurogane asked. He tried again, stretching his legs out. They wobbled when he stood. He did cross the few feet to the carpet, however, and unrolled it some distance away from the fire. Spread out, he realized that the carpet had gold tassels on all its edges, and the patterns on it were a deep red-brown, embroidered with gold. It looked expensive. "Looks like it'll fit all of us."
"Kuro-daddy to the rescue," Fai cheered. He gathered the full bottles of water lined up next to him. "Mokona, will you store all of these?"
Kurogane headed over to the princess, slipping his arms beneath her. He still didn't have the strength to lift her yet, though. Was this what it'd be like if he killed more people and the curse on his forehead activated? She was aggravatingly difficult to lift, and his legs would not cooperate. "Hey, come over here and help," he said.
Fai turned. His face was partly cloaked in shadow when he studied them, and it was another beat before he agreed. "Okay. But only to make sure you don't drop her."
He rolled his eyes, waited while Fai pushed himself up. The wizard was no better at standing. He looked pale in the firelight, toddling over to scoop Sakura up from her other side. Bony hands pressed firm against Kurogane's forearms. On a count of three, they lifted her up, shuffling over to the carpet to lay her down.
"Don't drop her on her head, Kuro-pon." Fai wasn't looking at him, but his mouth had pulled into a tiny smile.
"I'm not an idiot, you idiot."
"Kuro-rin is mean to me."
Kurogane snorted. All the same, the moment ended too soon, when Sakura was safely in the middle of the blanket and they pulled their arms away, kneeling on either side of her like the warriors sworn to protect a princess. Which they kind of were. Her eyelids fluttered open; Fai caught his breath, leaned in.
"Sakura-chan! How are you feeling?"
"Tch. Let her recover first," Kurogane said. He scanned the campsite for anything of value, found none. "She says she sees spirits around though. Maybe her spirit friends can help look for the kid."
Sakura greeted them softly. Mokona hopped onto her chest; Fai helped the princess up and handed her an open bottle of water, taking it back when she'd had a sip.
"We'll have to go look for Syaoran-kun now, Sakura-chan. Is it okay if you come along with us?"
Sakura looked crestfallen. "Syaoran-kun isn't back yet?"
Fai grimaced, returned the bottle to Mokona, and swathed the princess in layers of blankets. "Kuro-pi says you might know how to find him."
Kurogane met her eyes; she nodded, lifted her arm beneath all her layers of insulation. "Yeah. They're pointing us in that direction."
Fai stared at the princess, and at the empty spot she was looking at. He looked a little haunted then, but Kurogane knew not to ask, when there were people that he wasn't sure he was ready to see again. "She says the spirits are from this world. Sometimes they're from other worlds."
"Is that true, Sakura-chan?" Fai had pressed his mouth together. In that moment, he looked very, very tired.
The girl nodded. "Would you like me to tell you if they're from another world?"
The wizard opened his mouth, but no sound came out. He blinked, tried on an ill-fitting smile, and shook his head. "No, I don't think so. There isn't anyone who would want to see me, you know. I'm not very important at all."
Which meant he was someone important, because Fai was a liar and he didn't think anything of himself.
Kurogane sighed, knocked him lightly on the head. "Come on. Let's go find the kid."
They piled onto the blanket. Mokona stored the rest of their unused firewood, and Kurogane kicked sand onto the fire they had going, throwing them into darkness. Then he climbed onto the floating carpet, and they were off.
The carpet was far sturdier than any of the blankets Fai had charmed. Kurogane figured he shouldn't be surprised, when Fai didn't have the luxury of time or magic on the occasions he made the blankets fly. Sakura was still pointing out their direction, and Fai had a hand on the far edge of the blanket. The moon tonight was brighter. It made the canyons below them easier to comprehend, when they resembled a map instead of something he could only try to visualize in his head.
"You can still see them now?" he asked the princess.
She nodded. "They're translucent, but they're very friendly. There's not many people here though."
He wondered if any of the spirits were malevolent. The princess was still whole and intact, and she was lucky, besides, so Kurogane figured that the bad ones had to be fond of her as well. Could they harm her? "How are you flying the carpet?" he asked the wizard. "How do you even control this thing?"
Fai blinked and looked over, and a faint slyness crept over his features. "I tell the carpet what to do, Kuro-tan. It's as simple as that."
"How?"
"With my heart. The carpet and I have connected our souls." Fai was grinning now, needlessly amused, and Kurogane wished he had more strength to knock some sense into his head. "Sakura-chan, why don't you fly?" At her look of surprise, Fai motioned for her to grasp the blanket. "Here, hold it. I think you'll know how to."
Kurogane watched on as the princess did just that. They turned slightly westwards, then east, and the princess jerked her eyes back at Fai. "It listens to me!"
"So fly it," Fai told her fondly, ruffling her hair. "Kuro-rin, you'll need to hang on tight. Sakura-chan flies very well."
He barely had time to wrap his fingers around the edge of the carpet, grabbing on to the white lump, before they were accelerating, flying down close to the canyons. It was like riding on the blanket with Fai that first night, when Fai had rushed them over the desert, wind whipping their hair every which way. "How did you learn?"
"Fai-san let me control the blanket earlier," she answered, her dull eyes sparkling. She didn't look as ill as she had, now, but she had to be still unwell. Kurogane wasn't even feeling anywhere close to recovered.
He stretched an arm out behind the princess, to catch her in case she was blown backwards somehow.
There was already an arm there. Fai glanced over, eyebrows raised, and Kurogane frowned, looked away. He didn't pull his hand away from the small of Sakura's back, though, and his wrist was pressed snug against Fai's forearm. When he next glanced at the wizard, Fai was smiling softly to himself, eyes fixed on nothing in particular.
Sakura had them swooping down a moment later, in a way that made Kurogane's stomach flop nauseatingly. He grabbed on to Fai's wrist instead, kept his senses peeled for danger as they delved between the walls of the canyon.
"Slow down," he hissed over the wind howling in his ears.
She must have heard, because the carpet jerked beneath them, and the princess looked apologetically at him.
This close, he could feel the boy's presence... as well as a lot of other presences around him. But the boy was still alive, and that was what mattered. "He's fine. We don't have to run headlong into a fight."
"I can sense him too," Sakura whispered. Fai's smile was wide and full of relief.
The carpet slowed. They followed a rocky trail down into a narrow ravine, rounded twists and turns in the sandstone cliffs, until the stream below was joined by a wider creek, and there were steep, rocky slopes along the foot of the cliffs. Syaoran's life force came from deep within a cave. Fai took over the flying here, pulling his arm away from Sakura's back.
The cave entrance was a tiny opening in the rock face. Kurogane had to squeeze behind Sakura, while the wizard took the lead. They sat in single file; the blanket came up around their sides, so it felt like they were sitting in a tube of some sort.
"Kuro-rin, duck your head," Fai whispered. "I think you might be too tall."
They were silent when he inched the carpet into the cave. Kurogane saw the jagged edges of rocks in the tunnel, the low ceilings that could gouge holes into his scalp. Sakura turned to look behind—it had to be pitch-black to her—and he shrugged. The kids couldn't see in the dark.
This went on for minutes, their turns silent, until the tunnel opened out around them, and Kurogane could breathe more easily again.
Sounds had begun to echo through the tunnel. They were too muddled for him to make sense of them, but he was certain he could hear the boy's voice in the midst of it all, surrounded by a handful of chattering.
"The hell is that?" he muttered. Fai shrugged, glanced back at him.
"Guess we'll find out. Get ready to fight, Kuro-wan."
"Like you ever need to tell me that."
He wasn't feeling very much stronger, but the carpet ride had helped his stomach calm some, and though his limbs still felt leaden, he could move them. He would fight if it was the last thing he did.
The voices grew louder with each passing minute. At times, Fai paused before a split in the tunnel, going down one, then the other, trying to determine if it was the right path. They had to backtrack twice; the tunnels twisted more than they were straight, and they hardly went in the directions they seemed to at first.
Kurogane was more than ready for them to land so he could stretch his legs out, when the chatter hit them at full blast. It was a hundred creatures talking at the same time. He winced, scanned their surroundings, one hand on his sword.
Fai flew them to the mouth of the largest cavern they'd come across yet. It arched high above them, a circular room with stalagmites and stalactites scattered throughout. Little yellow lanterns dotted the walls. Syaoran was seated right in the middle, rings and rings of things seated around him. There were perhaps a thousand creatures here, instead of a hundred, and Kurogane wondered if the boy had been trying to buy himself time so they wouldn't eat him.
"Syaoran-kun!" Fai called, waving.
In that instant, Kurogane felt the attention of all the creatures snap onto them. He grit his teeth, fingers tight on Souhi's handle. Without knowing what abilities they had, this might not have been the best idea, to barge in like that.
"It's fine!" Syaoran called, raising his hands. "Don't attack them! I was brought here, but these guys are really friendly!"
So they had worried, and it had been for nothing. Kurogane frowned, glanced at Fai, who was looking down at the boy with another soft grin. His heart kicked.
The carpet had straightened out; Sakura crawled to its edge, waving down at the kid. "Syaoran-kun! I'm so glad you're fine!"
"Why don't you come down here and meet them?" the boy called back. "They really mean no harm!"
As soon as they descended close enough, though, the mood of the creatures shifted. They had been pleasant and patient before, but Kurogane felt the sudden hunger, the sharp eyes that watched them. This close, he could see their large bodies, the way they shuffled, small, round heads and heavy paws. "Hey, mage."
Fai had felt it too. He shot a look at Kurogane, calm and calculating, and nodded toward Sakura. "Hold Sakura-chan."
Kurogane hauled the princess against himself. The carpet curled up around them again, and they were diving forward, to the very middle of the circle. Syaoran paled. He had got to his feet, wobbly, and stretched a hand up. The moment they neared him, the creatures surged forward as one, and Fai barely held onto the boy's hand. Sharp teeth snapped at his ankles. The carpet shot up into the air, above the cavern of creatures.
Fai had the blanket flatten out. His back was tight with the strain of the boy's weight, and Kurogane set the princess hurriedly aside, clambered forward to haul him up.
Syaoran fell onto the carpet with a gasp; Fai was panting and waving for them to get back in line behind him. "Hurry! They're moving!"
Things at the edges of the cavern were starting to stretch their limbs out. They were wings, Kurogane realized, tugging the boy closer. Sakura crawled behind Fai, Mokona in her hands.
The winged creatures were smaller in size, like bats. They lifted themselves off the cavern floor with heavy, slow flaps of their wings. Fai cursed, turned them around.
"Which tunnel did we come from?"
There were three round exits behind them, one wider than the other two. It looked far bigger than what they'd flown through, though—to accommodate the wingspan of those creatures.
"Just go, damn it!" Kurogane snapped.
Fai picked one and flew. The tunnel was dark, dank, and Kurogane immediately realized that it was the wrong one. There were things at the end of it that he would rather not have to face in his current condition. They were ominous, hungry, and putrid.
"It's the wrong one," Fai cried.
Kurogane looked back at the rapidly-diminishing exit. There were wings flapping in front of it now, preventing their escape. "Can't go back. Exit's blocked."
He had to duck suddenly, to avoid a sudden dip in the ceiling. Syaoran had his hands over Sakura's head. Kurogane had to shove the boy's head down, too. All he could see from this angle was Fai's fair hair, until the wizard made a sharp turn, and something red-eyed hissed at them from the side, snapping its jaws inches away.
It started to follow them.
"Can't you go any faster?" Kurogane said.
"I'm trying, Kuro-pon! The carpet has a speed limit!" Fai swerved again, and Kurogane felt his stomach lurch. There wasn't enough space in this tunnel to swing his sword; he couldn't even turn it around to point an attack backwards.
The creatures ahead were looming ever closer, their presences murky and oily, sort of like the worms pursuing them a day ago. "There's no other exits?"
"Not that I can see. Why don't you try steering this thing?" Fai swung the carpet sideways, so they were sitting horizontal for a moment, and something else skimmed past them, hissing.
Kurogane was barely ready for it when they emerged over a deep, yawning cavern, much wider and taller than the one they'd been in. Red glowed from the sides of the walls. Huge, black worms writhed far below them, nesting in a sea of fire. It smelled like sulfur and burning flesh, and his stomach constricted again. "Get us out of here," he yelled at Fai.
The wizard was turning them in a circle, wide eyes skimming over the numerous holes all across the cavern walls. "It's worse now, Kuro-tan. There's so many more."
"That one," Sakura said, pointing.
Fai looked at her; Kurogane saw the way he gulped. The wizard made a decision then, spread out the rug somewhat so he could drag her in front of himself.
Fire shot up next to them, red-hot and blistering, and the blanket jerked to the side.
"Hurry, damn it!" Kurogane snapped. The worms below were stretching up at them; he drew his sword, aimed a lightning bolt down.
Thoom!
An explosion roared faintly below. The worms began to slither onto each other, breathing fire. More bolts of licking flame shot up, narrowly missing the carpet.
The carpet curled back around them; they dove at an angle, and Kurogane had to grab on to steady himself, sword glinting next to him.
Sakura plunged them into a tunnel; he barely had time to duck his head. There was no way to sheathe Souhi now, when the new tunnel was just as wide as the previous ones. Something rammed its face into the exit, breathing fire after them. The tips of Kurogane's hair singed. Yellow flame licked on a tassel; he closed his hand around it, wincing when heat seared into his palm. Smoke drifted out from between his fingers.
For how new she was to flying, the princess had deft control over the carpet. She took them through sharp turns that had the carpet curving, yanked them out of the path of fire-breathing things. A window opened in the tunnel; Kurogane caught the briefest glimpse of burning coal.
There were still things in hot pursuit, and Kurogane gripped Souhi, ready to cut them down if they got too close.
The tunnel narrowed even further. They bumped into rocks; sand and pebble blew through the tube of the carpet, hitting their limbs and flying out into the darkness behind.
When they finally pulled out into the night air, Kurogane gasped for breath.
They drifted high up over the desert, blanket unfurling around them. He would be happy if he never entered another of those caves in his life.
"Good job flying, Sakura-chan! You were very good back there." Fai patted Sakura on the shoulder, turned back to look at Kurogane. He smirked at the wizard, who dropped his gaze abruptly to look at Syaoran.
The princess chatted briefly with Fai and Mokona.
"We should go straight to the feather," Fai said. He sounded none the worse for wear. "Once we reach it, maybe we can retrieve it and move on to the next world."
Kurogane felt the same.
Mokona hopped somewhere in front of Sakura with a bright cheer. They were flying again, but slower this time, and Kurogane had a chance to relax. He dragged his hand over his face. All he really wanted was a hot bath and a bed, and neither of those were here.
The moon lit sprawling canyons far deeper than the one they'd been in, with dark streams meandering at the very bottom. There were stretches of rock that dotted a dried lakebed, and tufts of bushes that looked like clumps of rice plants tied together. Kurogane was certain that they'd never have made it this far in the car. Even so, that car had cost all the money that he and Fai had saved in Yama, and it sucked that they couldn't bring it along with them.
They spotted the location of the feather from miles away. It was wrapped in a sandstorm, and there were thunder clouds above that. Far below, Kurogane sensed the presence of more worms.
He released a slow breath, looked at Fai. Neither of them were really up to fighting right now, not in their current states. At least the boy didn't look much worse than they did.
"Hey," Kurogane said, tapping Syaoran's knee. "Turn around. Did you puke earlier?"
Syaoran scrambled to face him; Fai and Sakura looked back worriedly. "Yes, I did. Did you and everyone else? I thought it might be the food, but I wasn't in time to warn you—"
"Yeah, all of us got sick. Except the white thing."
"Mokona eats all kinds of food!" the magic lump said.
"You look like you rolled down a hill." Kurogane surveyed the boy, cataloging the bruises and cuts on his face and arms. "Wash the cuts out and tend to them later."
Syaoran nodded vigorously. "I'm sorry I was late coming back. I thought it might have been rude to disturb you—"
"Save it," Kurogane said, nodding at the sandstorm ahead. "We still have to get through that first."
As they got closer, he realized that the storm was more potent than the one they'd been in. It spanned several sand dunes, what Kurogane estimated to be the area of a large forest, and it didn't move at all. Sand from the surrounding dunes swept into the air, stinging their faces as Fai pulled them to a stop and backed the carpet away. Thunder rumbled, audible throughout the desert, and they couldn't see anything past the shroud of grayish sand.
"I'll steer," Fai said. He was wearing a smile when he turned to face them. "The rest of you, face backwards. We're going to be traveling in single-file."
"What about Mokona?" The white thing peered worriedly up at him, ears pulled back.
"Ride with Sakura-chan. Don't get blown away!" Fai was fussing over the kids, turning them around and pulling their hoods over their heads. When he was done, he looked at Kurogane. "You too, Kuro-pon. Hood up."
He didn't think Fai could sense the feather from so far away, but if the wizard thought he could guide them through this with the kids intact, then Kurogane wasn't going to argue. He pulled his hood up, turned his back to Fai, and held on tight to the edge of the carpet.
"We're heading in," Fai called. "Cover your faces!"
Compared to the harried dash in the caverns, this last segment of their ride was hardly anything to speak of. Kurogane held his cloak to his face, braced himself against the rear edge of the carpet. The kids weren't holding on to Fai in this carpet tube, and if they lost their balance, he would be the one keeping them from falling into the dunes below.
With a swoop, Fai flew them into the storm, carpet curved protectively up around their sides. At once, sand and wind gusted past them, howling in their ears and rushing past their heads to rejoin the rest of the storm. It wasn't as difficult to breathe when the wind wasn't blowing right in their faces, but Kurogane couldn't help thinking about Fai, whether he was filtering his breath, and whether he had closed his eyes to navigate them through this storm. Did he even know where he was going?
Strange as it was, the changing winds worked to their advantage. Kurogane wasn't sure if the princess or the kid had open wounds or fresh blood on them, but the storm dissipated any traces they might have left, and the worms below stayed underground without a definite scent to latch onto.
The winds grew colder and harsher as they flew. Kurogane was forced to squeeze his eyes shut. The sand got past his cloak somehow, scoured his skin, and he leaned back so he could protect the kid from the worst of the storm.
They jerked to the side suddenly. A bolt of lightning struck, spearing light through his eyelids, and the accompanying thunder was so loud that it set his ears ringing. He couldn't hear the gale for a bit, could only turn and watch as Fai flew them closer to a vague shadow in the storm.
Fai swerved them away from another lightning bolt, and before Kurogane could yell for him to slow down, Fai sent them all headlong towards the towering shadow.
The gale stopped.
All the howling and thunder ceased, suddenly, and Kurogane jerked his gaze around them. It was as if they'd flown past an invisible barrier. Feet away, the storm raged on, dust swirling fast and angry, close enough to touch.
The carpet landed on flat, hard floor and straightened out so they could disembark. Kurogane was the first to stretch. Syaoran crawled to the side, and Sakura looked up around them.
They were in a hewn-stone portico of some sort, with an awning flat and wide above them, held up by two columns on either side. Gentle steps led down to the barrier holding the storm away. On the other side of the porch was a shadowed entryway leading to the rest of the short, wide building. It seemed safe in this place—no presences aside from theirs.
Kurogane stood up unsteadily and crossed to the front, where Fai remained sitting. The kids were tottering around; he left them to their own devices, knelt down in front of the wizard. "Hey."
Fai looked up with a great smile. The skin on his face was a shade darker and his hair was mussed, but there was otherwise no sign of damage from the storm. "We made it, Kuro-pon! I wasn't sure where we were heading. I thought we were lost."
He snorted, but the kids had turned to listen in, so he left Fai's untruth as it was.
"The feather is here!" Mokona's eyes had opened so wide they could see her inky pupils. She bounded further into the entryway and back to the kids, and Kurogane breathed a sigh of relief. They were close. He was really, really tired of this world.
He stretched a hand towards the wizard. Fai took it; Kurogane hauled him to his feet, watching shrewdly while he found his balance. "That ride was kind of difficult," Fai said quietly, tugging his hand away.
"No kidding."
Syaoran had retrieved a flashlight from Mokona in the time they took to roll the carpet up. Kurogane hefted it onto his shoulder, walked slowly alongside Fai as they followed the kids into the building.
"It's a temple," the boy breathed on the threshold of the first antechamber, bluish-white light sweeping across rough stone walls. Lines upon lines of eroded text were interspersed by simple drawings, and there was more writing on the walls of the next room.
"Wait," Kurogane said when Syaoran stepped further into the room. "You don't know if there're traps here. We're in no condition to go sniffing around right now."
Syaoran looked guiltily at his feet. Kurogane patted him heavily on the shoulder, turned them back towards the portico.
"We'll rest here for the night. If we're feeling better by morning, we'll investigate the temple further."
No one disagreed to that. Kurogane unrolled the carpet closer to the wall of the temple, waved them onto it. It was better than sitting on cold stone and losing heat. Fai had Mokona hand over some light food—crackers and a can of syrupy peaches from another world—and made everyone wash their hands before they ate.
"Mokona doesn't want food," the white thing said.
"Why not?" Fai frowned at her, peach-topped cracker in his hand. "I've got some for you."
She shook her head. "Everyone doesn't have enough food. Mokona doesn't need food. Mokona is magical!"
Fai stared at her in consternation; Kurogane rolled his eyes. "If the wizard says to eat it, then eat it. We're all in this together. Besides, we're getting out of this world soon. We'll get more food when we're there."
Mokona took the cracker and peach with both her paws, looked up at all of them. Even the kids were smiling. "Mokona feels loved."
Kurogane tapped her forehead lightly with a finger. "Now eat it before I take it from you."
She popped the food promptly into her mouth, chewed, and swallowed. "Kuro-wan is mean!"
"You steal my food all the time," he retorted. Fai snickered to the side, and he glared at the idiot. "And you, stop encouraging it."
"Looks like the big bad dog has his appetite back!" Fai sang, shoving crackers and a peach slice over.
"Shut up and eat," Kurogane said. After the snake and dry rations, it was pleasant to have moist food in his mouth, even if it was cloyingly sweet. The crackers and peach slices were all sized the same; Fai tried giving his share away again, and Kurogane punched him lightly.
"Ow!"
"Eat it all, you idiot. Or I'll throw it into the desert and let the worms have it." Kurogane reached out to take Fai's cracker sandwich away.
That seemed to do the trick; Fai stared at him in utmost horror and shoved the food promptly into his mouth, chewing diligently.
They hadn't fully recovered from the snake meat yet. Sakura was back to frowning, and Syaoran was still pale. Fai fussed over the boy, cleaning out his scratches and bandaging them up with some of Mokona's supplies. Kurogane polished his sword, stretched his legs out on the carpet, and attempted to sleep. He couldn't.
His stomach was still mildly uncomfortable. It seemed that Fai and the kids were equally miserable. Sakura was curled up on the carpet, one hand across her stomach, mouth pushed into a pout. Fai was slumped against the wall next to her, fiddling with the edge of his cloak. Syaoran was stretched out on the far side of the carpet, trying to stay as still as he could.
"I can't sleep," Fai said. The kids murmured an agreement.
"We're going to try and get the feather tomorrow. Get some sleep," Kurogane said, even if he felt too uncomfortable to himself.
They fell into silence once more, fidgeting, and Fai rolled around, looking at Kurogane. "Kuro-pon, sing us a song."
"What. No. Sing it yourself."
"But Kuro-daddy has the best singing voice," Fai whispered to the kids, the corner of his lips tilted up. "You just haven't heard it yet."
Syaoran and Sakura turned their eyes on him, and he glowered. "Don't tell them crap like that, you idiot. We need to sleep."
"We can't sleep," Fai answered. "And neither can you."
Kurogane glared. "I'm damn well trying to."
Fai turned away and huffed. "Kuro-rin is no fun."
"No fun," Mokona echoed. "Fai is more fun than Kuro-rin."
"You have your music and your songs. Do something with those," he said to Fai, knowing the kids would hear.
Sure enough, they turned their attention on the wizard, who hid his resentful stare just as quickly. "Well, I suppose I do," he said with a mouthful of cheer. "Kuro-pon's favorite song is a lullaby!"
It was payback, all over again, and Kurogane should have thought about it before he goaded Fai into something like this.
"Can you sing it?" Sakura asked, propping herself up on an elbow.
Wicked eyes slid over to him, and for a moment there, their gazes locked.
"I can play it," Fai said slowly. "And maybe you can ask Kuro-daddy to teach you how to sing it."
Before he could protest, the wizard was asking Mokona for his kokyu. She spat it out into his waiting hands; Fai straightened and bowed shallowly, and leaned back against the wall.
Kurogane had seen the kids' curious looks when he had Mokona store the instrument in Shara. Fai had been carrying the instrument on his back through their last battle at the Moon Castle. With the sort of luck they had, Kurogane had half-expected it to fall from its sling and smash to pieces, but it did not.
Now, it lay cradled in Fai's lap, strings twanging when Fai plucked at them. "It still sounds right," he murmured.
Kurogane leaned his head back against the wall, watched Fai from the corner of his eye. The wizard was all blond hair and stark lines, and now that Kurogane had time on his hands, he observed, chest tight.
The first warbling notes were slow, as if Fai was trying to remember what the song sounded like. He didn't hesitate for long, though, when he settled into the melody, fingers speeding up, bow kissing strings.
It sounded like Yama all over again, like campfire music and secluded training, and Fai humming calming tunes into the night.
Kurogane closed his eyes and remembered.
There had been nights in Yama when he'd laid back and thought it would never end, that easy camaraderie with Fai. They had trained, and bathed, and he had gone chasing Fai into the forests more than once, when Fai had sneaked the last bottle of wine away and Kurogane had gone after him for it. Then they'd had sex on the forest floor, with the leaves rustling and the wind around them, and Fai had tasted like wine.
There had been the occasional rainstorm, when Fai would wander into the forest and try to catch raindrops in his open palms, and he'd thrown himself flat on the grass, let rain patter into his mouth. Fai had watched him trim his hair once, reaching over to pluck at the fallen strands and showering them back onto Kurogane, and Kurogane had yelled at him for it. Fai had laughed, and the next animal comic had bits of black hair all over Big Doggy.
There had been nights, too, when Kurogane had lain awake wondering what it'd be like, if he could live the rest of his life with Fai by his side.
"Kuro-tan? You're supposed to sing along. You haven't fallen asleep, have you?"
He blinked his eyes open, found the kids, Fai and Mokona watching him. Fai was still playing a slow melody on his kokyu, and his mouth was curved in a soft smile.
In front of them, the sandstorm raged behind its barrier, and the temple was a deep grey in the moonlight.
"Not asleep," he said.
"Do you know the words to this song?" Fai asked. His fingers slowed, and the tune shifted to a familiar one, the first that Fai had hummed to him all those months ago.
Kurogane swallowed, listened to the lift and sigh of the tune. It sounded like his mother's voice and a warm hearth and his father's hearty laugh, and it filled his heart with something that overflowed. He wished he could share it with Fai, Fai who ran from all the warmth he needed. He licked his chapped lips. "Yeah."
"Will you teach it to the children?" Fai turned that smile on him, all soft now, and Kurogane couldn't say no. His throat worked. "I think it'll make everyone happy."
Will it make you happy? he wanted to ask. Instead, he nodded, tried reaching for his voice when the wizard began the lullaby anew. He licked his lips again, counted along with the melody as Fai played. Kurogane hadn't done this in a long time. The notes rose and dipped, and he almost missed the cue to begin.
"On this dark night when I'm all alone," he sang, voice rough, more loudly than he'd have liked, "the stars shine bright and I hold my heart and pray. That an angel comes from the distant lands, hold my hand and take me home."
Fai was staring at him, like he was thirsty and Kurogane was an oasis. His eyes were wide, smile fallen from his mouth, and the tune tapered away when he stopped playing. "I... I don't think I heard you very clearly, Kuro-myu. You should probably sing it again. Right, Sakura-chan?"
"Right," Sakura whispered, eyes locked on Kurogane.
He cleared his throat, wondered if the heat in his cheeks looked worse than he imagined it to be. His stomach flipped. "You should have learned it the first time I sang," he said.
"We couldn't hear you properly," Fai answered. He'd dipped his chin, now, fixed his eyes on the kokyu. "Try it again, Kuro-sama."
So he did, maybe because Fai liked it and wanted to hear it again. When Fai began to play the lullaby, Kurogane sang more loudly, tried not to mumble. He didn't look at anyone, though he was very keenly aware of the wizard on the other side of the kids. He felt self-conscious, too, and that hadn't happened in a very, very long time.
When it was over, he looked at Syaoran. "Did you catch most of it?"
The boy stared at him, nodded rigidly. "Yes, Kurogane-san. But I can't sing very well."
"Try it," he told the kids and jerked his chin at them, looking at Fai. Play it for them. "I'm not singing it again."
"Kuro-daddy is mean," Fai said, but he played the song anyway.
Sakura was the first to begin singing; Syaoran followed behind after a couple of beats, and when they began to falter on the lyrics, Fai was the one to sing it back to them. Kurogane had been watching the kids at first, but when the wizard began completing the rest of the song with Mokona, he'd turned and looked, and he couldn't look away. This had to be a weakness of some sort.
"Teach us another one," Fai said, after they'd finished singing.
"No. You can teach it to them. I'm going to sleep." Kurogane turned his entire body away, tucked his cheek into his hand. "It's been a stupid long day."
There was a pause before Fai agreed. "Kuro-rin is right. We should all try and get some sleep in."
It didn't stop the idiot from humming the lullaby, though, and Kurogane hung on to every bit of the tune, almost wishing he could burrow his face in Fai's neck, just for a bit. He wasn't in Nihon now, and Fai and the kids were becoming a family of sorts. Fai, in particular, felt like home.
A/N: Here, some light-hearted stuff. We're in the home stretch now! (Speechless guest - surprise! ;) )
This arc has been surprisingly long.. I was expecting it to end quick (like all the others, lol)... Apologies about the puking scene. It made me want to puke when I wrote it, so I hope it wasn't as bad for you guys.
New readers - if you aren't aware of it yet, 'the sands of Harasa' is part of a multi-arc series! This chapter touches on some of the Yama arc stuff that happened in 'ink, fire and fiddle'. :)