Wings

Chapter 6

Yukito would always visit around lunch time mostly because Touya, amazingly enough, was a better cook than his father, although he very rarely cooked and usually it would only be for Yuki or his sister. Once, he walked in on Syaoran eating the lunch he had prepared for Sakura. He had asked him, murderous glare and all, to spit it all out. The boy, of course, the little impertinent cretin that he was, swallowed everything. That was the closet time that Touya ever came to pummeling the brat into oblivion. No one eats the food he prepared for his sister and lived to see the next day.

Sakura had intervened, of course, saying that it was only to prove to Syaoran how good of a cook her brother was. If it hadn't been for the look of pride in Sakura's eyes when she had said that no one could cook better than her onii-chan, well, blood would have been spilled.

"Do you think they're alright?" Touya asked as he flipped through channels in a dizzying frenzy: three channels per 3.8 seconds, or at least according to the yellow stuffed toy. Apparently, the angry little plushie actually had a brain and keen sense of observation.

That or Kero was a filthy good little liar. Touya paused, mid-thought and grimaced. He could not be missing the stupid yellow sorry excuse for a stuff toy slash guardian. That would be a very low point in his life.

"I'm sure they are." Yukito answered as he looked up from the book that he was reading. "We could call Sakura-chan again." He suggested in concern, pushing his glasses further up on the bridge of his nose. "The phone lines are working fine now." He added as an after thought.

Touya waved his hand dismissively in the air, trying to brush Yuki's worry aside. Yuki, who was usually very chirpy and upbeat, especially after talking to Sakura on the phone, still looked mildly troubled. Well, Touya couldn't blame him. It hadn't been a particularly happy phone call today.

Touya had asked Yukito to call Sakura back after she had magnificently slammed the phone while Touya was in a middle of an equally magnificent rant. He let Yukito do the apologizing and the explaining, which apparently cooled Sakura down. After the call ended, Yukito has asked him what happened and Touya, not having finished his rant, started up again. It was, in Touya's opinion, Sakura's entire fault as she had forgotten to call him that morning. The first time she had broken a promise she made.

"She didn't forget." Yukito said interrupting his thoughts. "Sakura-chan tried to call." He reminded him, gently placing a hand on his arm as Touya snorted resentfully. "It's a shame that the Li's phone lines had been damaged by the storm last night." Yukito continued, ignoring the sullen look on Touya's face. "Even the cellular phone lines had problems. And see," Yukito said, nodding as Touya quickly passed through several news channels. "It's even on the news."

Touya knew about the storm in Hong Kong, thank you very much. He didn't need to watch it on TV for the hundredth time. He had been watching the news all night long and had anticipated that the storm would lash out even when weather reporters had calmly dismissed it as: "Hong Kong will experience rain shower with some thunderstorms."

"Yeah, some thunderstorm that was." Touya grounded out through clenched teeth.

"Well, Sakura said she didn't even notice there was a storm outside" Yukito offered, smiling slowly.

Touya made a face. She was obviously lying and Yukito was too nice not to notice when he was being lied to, although it was a sweet little white lie and Sakura probably meant well, not wanting to worry Yukito. "The Kaiju hates thunderstorms." Touya muttered, as though it explained everything.

"I'm sure Syaoran-kun found a way to comfort her." Yukito said, almost but not quite able to hide the mischievous glint in his eyes.

Touya glared at him. Yukito may look and seem all sweet and innocent, but when he wanted to, he could be downright annoying. His silver haired friend had deftly mastered the art of subtlety.

Yukito could barely contain the knowing smile blossoming from his lips. "What is it that you don't like about Syaoran-kun?" He asked, putting the book down on the table, staring at him with wide expectant gray eyes.

Touya held up his right hand and started ticking off the annoying things that the Gaki was known to do: "Arrogant. Insufferable. So rude. Always glaring. Mumbles a lot." Touya paused and made a face, "It doesn't help that half of the time, I think he's actually cursing me in Chinese."

"He does sort of remind me of someone I know." Yukito chuckled, nodding his head.

Touya frowned wondering who Yukito meant. He gave Yukito a questioning look and Yukito raised his eyebrows, looking pointedly at him. It took Touya a heartbeat to realize that Yukito meant him and he let a loud gasp. "Me!" He exclaimed in indignation, looking quite horrified.

Yukito broke into uproarious laughter.

"It's not funny." Touya protested, "I am nothing like that brat!"

"Well, sometimes, you are exactly like him, To-ya." Yukito informed him.

Touya "hmped!" and crossed his arms across his chest, feeling quite betrayed by his very own bestfriend.

Noticing the look in Touya's eyes, Yukito relented, somewhat. "He reminds me of you because Syaoran really loves Sakura-chan."

Once again, a muffled "hmped!" quickly followed by the often repeated remark: "He's taking her away."

"It's just vacation, To-ya." Yukito said, even though he knew what exactly Touya meant. "Didn't she promise that she'll be back by Friday?"

Touya didn't answer. He was well aware that he was acting childishly and foolishly but no one could really understand his relationship with his sister. He had taken care of her all of her life and he wasn't going to give her up and let some Chinese brat take care of her just because… just because…

"It's called growing up, Touya." His father once told him over dinner as they waited for Sakura to return home from one her dates with Syaoran. "Sometimes, growing up means you have to let go of certain things and persons."

The talk did nothing to alleviate Touya's indignant protests. He understood what growing up and letting go meant and that he will eventually have to do just that. Just not now. And just not to the brat. What did the Gaki know about Sakura anyway? What did he know about taking care of her? Did he know what to give Sakura when she has the fever (milk with honey) or what her favorite food is (strawberry cake)?

"You worry too much about her, To-ya." Yuki said affectionately. "Sakura-chan's a big girl now. She can take care of herself, besides, she says it's all sunshine there already. Bright blue skies! A day perfect for outdoor activities!" Yukito exclaimed, beaming at him. "They're going to have a picnic today and visit cafes and bookstores."

Touya watched half amused as Yukito clapped his hands excitedly, happy for Sakura and her bright blue skies over at Hong Kong. He was glad that Yukito didn't seem worried anymore. The last thing he wanted was to drag his friend into whatever sort of mood he was in today – which wasn't at all bright and sunshiny.

"We could go out for a walk too." Yukito suggested when he saw that Touya was still mumbling incoherently.

"Or bike." Touya replied, trying to play along. He was sure that Sakura was safe and sound, unharmed by the storm. If he wasn't sure of that, he would still be on the phone drilling Sakura if she was fine. He could detect a lie coming from her and she did sound fine on the phone, if not a little a sleepy, but that was understandable. When she was little, during storms, she'd be so scared by the flashing lightning and explosive thunders that Touya always left his door open so she could come running into his room. She'd always say: "Onichan, the sky's so very angry!" And Touya would always draw the blanket around her and soothe her worries away. Of course, it had been years since Sakura came running inside his room, scared by thunderstorms, but Touya knew she always cowered under her covers and he had always made it a point to check up on her, either by asking if she wanted company or a cup of hot chocolate.

"Or that." Yukito said, warming up to the subject. "Or maybe we could visit Tomoyo-chan." Yukito was saying, beaming up at him.

"The Daidouji's always have good pastries and imported teas around." Touya added, even though his heart wasn't on it. "It would be nice to bond over the newly delivered gowns from Paris." He said, with a little a smirk. "And hey! Maybe we could try them all on!"

Yukito wagged a finger at him, "Now you're just being mean, To-ya."

Touya mumbled his apology as he turned the TV off. He carelessly tossed the remote control on the next empty couch – Sakura's couch – and watched lackadaisically as it tumbled twice before finally lying face down.

"We could always just go to the mall." Yukito suggested, sensing his disinterest.

"Erm, I don't think I'm ready for another trip to the mall with her." Touya muttered, almost to himself. He remembered the last time Sakura and Tomoyo had manage to drag him out of the house. The girls had tried to engage him in a conversation of some sort, which revolved mainly on colors and Touya thought that there were far too many shades of pink and yellows and blues and greens to discuss – and if he had to listen to another argument on whether or not periwinkle was more of a blue than a violet, his head would explode.

"We don't have to invite Tomoyo-chan."

He could feel Yukito's eyes drilling holes at the side of his head. He let out a small sigh and shook his head. "It's not that I don't want to invite her," Touya began, "it's just that…" He looked at Yukito, at lost for word. "It's just that…" he began, trying once again but failing miserably. Giving up, Touya just shrugged his shoulder, as though the gesture was enough to explain everything.

Yukito was silent for a few seconds, before turning serious, tilting his head, studying him with his gray eyes. "I'm sure that Syaoran is taking care of her…is that what's bothering you?"

"No." Touya answered tersely, almost immediately. It really wasn't that. It was well… it was the dream. He had briefly dreamt of those damned wings again, but it still didn't mean anything to him, especially now that in his last dreams, they were all just floating about, nudging him once in a while, as though urging him to do something. But what was he supposed to do with a bunch of feathers exactly?

"You won't tell me then?" Yukito asked imploringly.

Again, Touya could feel those familiar gray eyes boring into him, as though Yukito was trying to see what was going on inside his head. A whole lot of fluffy white wings - that was what was inside his head. Why bother Yukito with such foolishness?

"It's nothing." Touya finally said. "Never mind. Look, let's go to the market instead." He said. Yukito was probably right. He needed to get out of this house. A bit of sunshine and exercise, that was all that he needed and hopefully, those darned wings would just fly away and leave him alone. "Sakura'll be home by Friday" he continued, not letting Yukito interrupt him, "and I was thinking, maybe you can help me make something for her. You know, like a cake or something sweet. Kami knows the girl could eat anything that has sugar on it."

For a moment, Yukito didn't said anything. He seemed to be trying to decide whether or not he should ask more, prod more but after a second or two, he finally shrugged and smiled slowly, the knowing, teasing look was back in his eyes. "I think you're sweet To-ya" Yukito said, poking him in the ribs.

Touya looked aghast. Did Yukito just call him sweet? Kinomoto Touya, sweet? He quickly, vehemently shook his head. "I'm tough and Sakura should know that." Touya said, making sure that he sounded tough. "It would do her some good if she remembered that I had taken care of her when she was just this small!" He said, gesturing with his hand, indicating Sakura's height when she was a toddler.

Yukito chuckled and shook his head. "Don't be so jealous of Syaoran, To-ya. Sakura-chan loves you differently."

"Who says I'm jealous of him?" Touya asked irritably.

Yukito, sensing that he was threading on dangerous territory, quickly changed the topic. "How does strawberry cake sound?" He asked instead, raising his eyebrows up in question.

Touya considered this for a few minutes. He frowned, looking genuinely at lost. "It would make tons of mess, right?"

"Uhm," Yukito paused, wondering why Touya was asking the question. He could always help with the cleaning if that was Touya was worried about. "Well, yeah. But I could always help with..."

But Touya had cut him off, slapping his hand against his thigh in a gesture of triumph. "Good!" He exclaimed, grinning mischievously. "The Kaijuu's going to do some serious house cleaning when she gets back. That will teach her a lesson!"

"Touya, you never give up, do you?" Yukito asked, laughing softly as Touya pouted and stared moodily across the room. His friend could pretend all he want, Yukito thought, but he knew that there were things bothering him. Not just Sakura being away from home, but something else. Yukito wondered what it could be, determined to help Touya whatever his troubles might be. He was, as always, just probably trying to spare him from worrying too much. How very sweet of him, Yukito thought, smiling to himself. Despite all of Touya's tough talk and rough exterior, Yukito knew that he was quite possibly, the sweetest person in the whole of Tomodea – after all, he didn't know anyone else who worried too incessantly about their sister or their friends.

"What's so funny?" Touya asked in a suspicious tone, staring at him with guarded eyes.

"I just remembered the first time Syaoran-kun took Sakura out for dinner." Yukito said, eyes sparkling at the memory. "They went to that French restaurant and we were there working the night shift."

"Don't remind me." Touya mumbled, rolling his eyes.

"They ordered strawberry cake for dessert, didn't they?"

Touya snorted and looked away. "Did they? I don't remember at all."

But Yukito was sure that Touya remembered. After all, it had been him who had baked that strawberry cake for Sakura and Syaoran and whether or not Touya would ever admit it that was the night he had grumpily gave his sister away to Syaoran.

----- -----

As promised, Syaoran let Sakura come with him to look for their friends. They ventured out and wandered the streets of Tomodea: him with great caution and the princess with great curiosity. It was summer in Tomodea and it seemed like everyone was out to have a picnic or ride along bikes and other objects that moved around with impressive speed. The more they got to discover the place the more Syaoran found himself liking it. The people all seemed nice and friendly. The weather was quite pleasant, not the scorching heat of the desert that he was used to and not the biting cold of Jade Country. But even though the place felt strangely familiar, almost like home without the sand dunes, he barely let his guard down.

After the incident yesterday with the man from the flower shop, Syaoran didn't feel confident enough that nothing about the place could or would pose any immediate threats against them - which was exactly why he had veered away from the flower shop and instead had led the Princess towards the park on the opposite side of the store.

They had gone through the park twice with nothing uneventful really happening. They received a couple of odd stares or two, probably because of what they were wearing. He couldn't do anything about that, though. He might try to exchange their clothes, if needed.

Unfortunately, there were still no signs of Fai-san and Kurogane-san or even Mokona. Syaoran wanted to move along and try a different place. He was just about to suggest it but the princess seemed to be enjoying herself immensely, he couldn't quite bring himself to tell her that they had to leave. It wouldn't hurt if they went around the park one more time.

Sakura stayed by his side, her arms brushing ever so lightly against his elbows. She sometimes made cooing noises when she spotted pretty things. A few minutes ago, it had been a giant bunny that caught her attention. The animal, which was in fact a human dressed as bunny (Syaoran realized this almost instantly) was holding what looked liked floating colorful flowers, abnormal in size. It took Syaoran a few seconds to recognize what they were.

"Balloons! Balloons!" A small girl standing next to Sakura was pointing joyously at the balloons.

The bunny-man handed one to the little girl and then, taking one look at the princess, he gave her one as well. Syaoran had momentarily felt a tug of protectiveness, akin almost a little to jealousy as Sakura giggled and bowed her thanks. He moved to stand closer to the Princess and she quickly noticed, turning her head to look at him, her eyes bright and that was when it hit him.

He realized sadly that it had been some time now since he had heard her laughing like that. So carefree and happy and he longed to hear her laugh like that more often. See the smile in her lips reach her eyes.

"Look, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura said, glancing up at the balloon hovering between them. He followed her gaze and watched the blue balloon as it gently, almost playfully, nodded with the wind.

"It's the color of the sky." Sakura was saying and when he looked back down again, he was surprised to find himself almost nose to nose with her. She had moved forward without him noticing and now he could certainly smell the scent of her hair and feel the light caress of her breath against his neck and chin. Syaoran was just about to take a step back when Sakura grabbed his hand and quietly, shyly turned her face away, never letting go of his hand as she silently led him away from the bunny-man and the little girl.

They held hands as they slowly made their way towards one of the empty benches. Sakura sat down first and tilted her head up, smiling at him. "Let's sit for a while, Syoran-kun." Her voice was gentle and Syaoran found himself being tugged down to sit beside her.

"Is the princess tired already?" He asked with concern, watching her closely as she shook her head, a slight blush coloring her cheeks. She is so very beautiful, Syaoran thought, his chest aching a little.

"No." Sakura said, turning to look at him, meeting his gaze. "I just want to sit with you that's all. Is that ok?"

"Of course it is, princess." Syaoran said, almost wincing. Being this formal with her hadn't hurt this much before. The more he called her princess, the more he was reminded of the fact that they were from different classes. Even in their world, they lived so differently from each other. She was a princess and he was an adopted son of a foreigner. He might as well have lived in a different world too, Syaoran thought sadly, quickly looking away.

He thought about how the old man had greeted him yesterday, remembering now what Yuuko had said when they first embarked on this journey. It seemed all so complicated when she explained how Hitsuzen worked. In essence, Syaoran had come to realize, it only meant one soul with a thousand different lives, a thousand different worlds and a thousand more different possibilities.

They have met several people from several worlds, a lot of them they had already met from another world or two. Sometimes, it was as confusing as hell and sometimes, it totally made sense. So, Syaoran thought, glancing at Sakura who was still holding his hands, why would it not make sense if they had other lives too? Other selves in other worlds?

If there was a Syaoran here and from the way the man had mentioned Sakura's name earlier, it seemed that their other selves know each other as well. Syaoran half smiled, half frowned. It sounded almost twice as confusing, as he tried to work out how exactly that worked but somehow, the fact that Syaoran of Tomodea had a Sakura of his own, well it gave him a small amount of pleasure.

He wondered how the Syaoran and Sakura of this place were related. If they were friends or perhaps even… dare he think it? Syaoran swallowed hard. Perhaps, perhaps they were even lovers here. Something in the old man's voice and comment suggested it anyway.

Syaoran blushed furiously at the mere thought, hoping that the princess was too busy gawking at the a giant sculpture of a blue animal of some sort with it's tongue lolling out (he wondered in passing if the sculpture was a god that the people here worshipped, the historian in him was almost jumping up and down with curiosity) to notice him.

Perhaps, in this life, in this world at least…

"Oh, Syaoran-kun!" Sakura said, turning towards him, her eyes so incredibly bright. "It's so very pretty here."

Syaoran could feel his lips slightly turning up. "It is." He agreed, nodding his head, keeping his stare on her face, the golden-brown hair falling across her forehead, the greenness of her eyes framed by thick lashes, the pinkness of her cheeks and lips. "So very pretty." He mumbled once again, his hand unconsciously reaching out to touch her face.

When he realized what he was doing it was already too late, he already had her face cradled at the palm of his hand and her soft cheek was gently pressing against his fingertips. Syaoran's heart suddenly stopped beating – no wait – there it was! It started up again, this time, hammering painfully against his rib cage.

His thumbed moved in its own accord, stroking the smoothness of her skin. He heard her sigh, saw her blink lazily up at him.

Oh, no, oh no, oh no… what was he doing? Syaoran thought, the nervous thudding of his heart getting louder by the second. He couldn't… couldn't take his hand off… he should, he really, really should. Why can't he move away?

It would be so easy to just… to just lean forward and perhaps… perhaps let his lips skim the surface of the princess' cheeks…

Syaoran wondered how it would taste like. How it would feel like.

Sakura seemed to have stopped breathing as well. She was looking up at him with big, round eyes. Green eyes that were scared and bright and so, so very inviting… and in Syaoran's mind, he could clearly see himself leaning closer, Sakura meeting him halfway and slowly, very slowly… her lips, his lips, their lips…

But a commoner kissing a princess!

The thought entered his mind swiftly, brutally and it immediately shattered whatever daydream he had. It felt as though someone had punched him in the chest. With a sharp intake of breath, Syaoran immediately pulled back as though Sakura's very nearness burned him. He jumped to his feet, breathing hard, berating himself for that slip.

A mistake. It would've been an awful mistake if he had allowed himself to… to…

"Syaoran-kun?"

Sakura's strangled, almost lost, voice calling his name with that dreadful, hateful kun was almost like having someone kick him in the gut. It just proved that he had to no right to even think of kissing her.

"Hime," Syaoran began, swallowing past the large, burning lump lodged in his throat. "Hime, please… forgive me." Syaoran said, sounding just as broken and lost as his princess. "I… I think… I think we should go somewhere else to look for Kurogane and Fai and Mokona." He couldn't bring himself to look at her and he missed seeing the flash of pain and disappointment in her eyes. He kept his stare on his dirty, beat up old shoes. The many worlds it had walked upon, the worlds he would still have to walk upon… and still, even with all that, she would never remember him…

"But… but… Syaoran-kun," Sakura stammered helplessly.

He could feel her eyes searching his face and he forced himself to look at her, forced a fake, cheerful smile on his face. "It's alright." Syaoran said, wishing that there was something he could do to take away the lost and confused look that Sakura was giving him. "We'll find them, I promise." Syaoran said, even though it wasn't what Sakura's eyes were asking from him.

Sakura gazed at him for a full second, her eyes searching his face and when she didn't find what it was she was looking for, she took a deep breath and then, without another word, she took his hand again. Syaoran tensed briefly, not sure that if touching her right now was a good idea, but her hands felt so awfully cold and he couldn't help but gently squeeze her hands, a small reassurance of some sort that nothing has changed between them. Things will never change between the two of them.

He knew where to draw the line and he would never again cross it.

"Let's go, Syaoran-kun." Sakura said, smiling up at him. The same smile that wouldn't reach her eyes. Syaoran wanted desperately to say something, do anything to make her smile again, her bright, real smile, but he knew that there was nothing that he could do right now.

He nodded his head and together, hand in hand, they started their search for their friends. It took Syaoran a few seconds to realize that the Princess' blue balloon was gone.

In the middle of their almost, near-kiss, she had let go of the string and it had quietly flown away, out of their reach, so very much just like her wings.

----- -----

Tomoya smiled ecstatically. It had been such a long while since her last creation. Her last magnificent opus had been ages ago, she had been somewhat nervous that she might not be up to the challenge, but she seemed to have worked another wonder. Of course, she had to remind herself that she could not make those old wonderful costumes, it had to be something ordinary, something to let Fai-san and Kurogane and Mokono blend in with the crowd. She had succeeded with created the more normal clothes, although having Fai-san and Kurogane blend in with the crowd was somewhat futile.

She glanced at Fai in pale, pale blue - it was almost white – long sleeved silk polo shirt with intricate pale blue lines embroidered in the side, slithering towards the back where it formed a sort of wing-like drawing. He wore nice-fitting white jeans and he looked so elegant. Almost like a prince! Especially with those golden hair of his, it was almost like he had a golden halo around his head.

She turned her gaze towards Kurogane who was wearing a snug-fitting black jean and he had on a dark, dark green – it was almost black – v-necked shirt. It also had the same intricate bold red lines embroidered in the side and at the back she had sewn the word Black Ninja in Kanji. She had contemplated sewing: My Black Ninja, but decided against it, which was a good thing as Kurogane, it turned out, could read the lettering in his shirt. Tomoyo was surprised by this and was silently thankful that she hadn't added the possessive word: My or else she would have been forced to run back to her room, blushing to the root of her hair.

She enjoyed making their clothes so much and they had been so pleasant to dress! Not at all like Syaoran-kun who grunted and scowled whenever she tried to make him wear something other than his usual shirts and jeans. Fai-san and Kurogane had been happy and thankful to wear her creations. Although, Fai had been more vocal about it, repeatedly saying that she had real talent and an eye for fashion. Kurogane had merely wordlessly nodded his thanks, but she had seen him standing by the full length mirror, looking quite pleased with himself. He was so adorable! Tomoyo thought, chuckling softly.

The two had been getting a lot of smiles and winks from various girls; some were even her former schoolmates and classmates. A few of them had pulled her aside to ask who her companions were. Tomoyo, giggling softly, had told them that it was a secret and at one point, she had even coyly answered: "they're mine."

Her real masterpiece however was Mokona.

She made a slow pirouette and she heard the light, amused chuckle from Mokona and the whispered: "Again, Tomoyo-chan, twirl me again!"

She felt obliged to obey Mokona's request and she made another slow turn, her dark hair flying around her. Mokona, or rather, her backpack, giggled softly. It was pretty ingenious, even Kurogane thought so to.

"Mokono likes floating backward, Tomoyo-chan!"

"Ssshhh, manju, keep it down!" Kurogane hissed irritably while Fai looked at Kurogane in mock horror and said: "Why, Kuro-chi, are you talking to Tomoyo-chan's bag?"

Kurogane uttered a couple of obscenities before stalking off.

"He's not mad, is he?" Tomoyo asked worriedly, as she stared at Kurogane's broad back.

"Kuro-chan is always like that. You should see him when he's really mad, the vein in his temple suddenly has a life of its own." Fai shook his head and patted Tomoyo on her shoulder, giving it a brief squeeze, silently reassuring her that it was nothing personal. "He's just a little bit disappointed that there's no one to fight in this world." Fai informed her, winking.

Tomoyo nodded, well, ninjas do fight a lot, that made sense. Perhaps Kurogane was just missing his home although, Tomoyo scrunched up her nose, Kurogane really shouldn't like fighting that much, he might get hurt. Or worse, get killed.

Fai laughed out loud when she told him this. "Don't worry about Kurogane, Tomoyo-chan, he's as tough as they come. He won't get killed, not until he gets back to his world." He turned his attention towards their surrounding, smiling to himself. "Sakura-chan would love this place!" Fai said after taking in the whole scenery around them. He nodded appreciatively as they walked around the park, side-stepping small boys and girls running carelessly around with balloons tied on their wrists, their parents watching them with hawk-like eyes.

By appearance, at least, it seemed like Tomodea was like all other towns. Quiet and laidback. Simple. It was all pink and yellow and green and blue, with a lot of smaller houses and establishments: cafés, shops, bookstores. It was very quaint and lovely, so very different from the grand, majestic buildings and temples and shrines of Fai's world that were made with ivory, the smoothest, whitest marble and gilded with gold and silver. It was quite refreshing to the eyes.

Kurogane, on the other hand was neither impressed nor charmed by the place. He had spotted many objects, large and small, that beeped and blinked with lights, almost as though throbbing with a life of their own – sure signs that here, modernity and technology was a way of life. He didn't like technology very much. He hated modernization too. It stole tradition away and tradition is the very soul of everything.

Mokona, draped at the back of Tomoyo was just as happy as Fai. Tomoyo-chan sure knew how to make him look ordinary and he was glad that he wasn't so carelessly stuffed inside Kurogane's suffocating little pocket. Contrary to Kurogane's belief, he had feelings too and he didn't like it one bit being trapped inside that little space. He was however not allowed to talk, which was a bit difficult, since every once in a while he was so very tempted to tease Kuro-monmon.

"They're not here." Tomoyo said after a few hours of searching. She stood on toes, craning her neck still hoping to catch a glimpse of Sakura's familiar honey-colored hair or Syaoran's dark brown head.

Earlier, she had shown them a picture of Syaoran and Sakura in their kimonos and had earned several different reactions. Fai had said, "Oh, how lovely they look together! They look so in love with each other!"

Mokona had blushed red and squealed: "Love! Love! Love!"

Kurogane had looked slightly surprised, raising his eyebrows as he muttered, "The little brats look like they're from my world!"

"It's not a big town, maybe we just missed them." Fai said, hoping to cheer Tomoyo up. He watched as she plopped herself down a white empty bench and followed suit, placing his elbow on his knees, resting his chin against his upturned palm. He turned to look at Kurogane, hoping that the black ninja would say something nice and encouraging but as soon as Kurogane felt his gaze on him, he let out a defensive snarl, baring his fangs.

"What?"

"Nothing." Fai said, waving his hand in the air. Trust Kurogane to be moodier than usual. It seemed to have something to do with Tomoyo. He had noticed the many and lingering glances Kurogane had given Tomoyo and there was something in his eyes that Fai had never seen before. Something that made the usually grumpy-looking Mr. Black look almost younger. The look softened the hard edges of Kurogane's face and not for the first time since he had met Kurogane, Fai wondered what or who exactly was Princess Tomoyo to Kurogane.

"Oh, hello Tomoyo-chan!" A man's voice greeted and almost instantly, Kurogane was on his feet, in between the stranger and Tomoyo-chan, blocking Fai's view of the newcomer.

"Yukito-san!" Tomoyo exclaimed, slightly pushing Kurogane off to the side. She stood up and smiled at Yukito. It was always nice to run into Yukito-san. "How have you been? How's your summer so far?"

"Oh, you know, the usual. In between odd jobs." He said, chuckling softly. He glanced at Tomoyo and her companions and raised his eyebrows in question. "What are you doing here?" He asked, pushing his glasses up his nose, glancing back again at the two tall men. He hadn't seen them before at Tomodea.

"I, ughn, we're just… ughm," Tomoyo struggled for a second, glancing at Fai-san who's warm smile never seemed to leave his face and Kurogane who was scowling like he had just swallowed something icky. What to say? She turned her attention back to Yukito, her brain trying to come up with a plausible story. She didn't want to lie to Yukito-san, but she couldn't really tell him that she was helping Fai-san and Kurogane look for Sakura and Syaoran of another dimension. "I was just, I mean…" She paused gave a nervous laugh ("oho-ho-hoho") and then smiled brightly, her eyes twinkling merrily. "I'm just giving them a tour of Tomodea." She explained, gesturing over at Fai and Kurogane.

"Oh, hello." Yukito said, greeting Kurogane with a friendly smile.

"You look familiar." Kurogane said, crossing his arms against his chest and looking suspiciously at Yukito with slitted eyes. "Where have we seen him?" He asked, turning to look at Fai.

"Pardon?" Yukito asked, sounding genuinely confused.

"Oh, don't mind Kuro-chi." Fai said, standing up as well and Tomoyo was sandwiched in between a scowling Kurogane and a smiling Fai.

"My name's not Kuro-chi!" Kurogane roared, waving a fist in front of Fai's face. "It's KU-RO-GA-NE!"

"Well, honestly, Kuro-chan," Fai said, wagging a finger at a red-faced Kurogane, "no need to shout!" He turned to look at Yukito. "Please don't mind him, he's a bit… ugh..."

"Jet lagged." Tomoyo answered the same time Fai said: "Rude."

Kurogane glared at both Tomoyo and Fai. Rude, he knew what that meant. Jet-lagged sounded like something a pusillanimous bastard would get himself into.

"Fai D. Flowright." Fai stated, reaching out to shake hands with Yukito, attempting to distract Tomoyo's friend, who was looking curiously at the angry Black Ninja. "Pleasure to meet you."

"Tsukishiro Yukito." Yukito said just as pleasantly, finally taking his gray eyes away from Kurogane and shaking Fai's hand. "I hope you don't mind me asking," He started in a gentle voice, "but is that a foreign name?"

"Why, yes!" Fai answered, nodding his head, "you could say that."

"Fai's a cousin of sorts from Switzerland." Tomoyo explained rather smoothly.

"Oh, Tomoyo-chan, I didn't know you had cousins in Switzerland!" Yukito replied, clasping his hands in delight. "How wonderful!"

"They're here for a while. Uhm, a vacation – of sorts."

"Such a pretty country, Switzerland!" Yukito said enthusiastically addressing Fai.

Fai nodded his head in agreement. "Oh, yes it is. We're just visiting Tomoyo-chan and she's showing off her wonderful Tomodea."

"I hope you're enjoying your stay here." Yukito then turned to Kurogane. "And you, ugh, Mr. Kurogane-san, Are you a relative of Tomoyo-chan as well?"

Kurogane made a face. "Me?" He asked, his tone incredulous. A relative of the Princess! "I am not her relative! I'm her… I uhm… " And then as though suddenly realizing that the silver-haired man wasn't actually referring to his Princess, Kurogane found himself at lost for words. He glanced at Tomoyo, trying to ignore Fai's irritating chuckles.

"Oh, Kuro-pipi is a friend of mine." Fai explained, saving Kurogane from making a fool out of himself. "I invited him to come here as well."

"I told you it's Kuro-" The black-haired man began, clearly agitated.

Yukito quickly interrupted him, "Ah, I see. Do you also live in Switzerland?" He asked, hoping to prevent an uncomfortable situation. He really didn't like being around arguing people, it made him slightly nervous. "Your name sounds Japanese."

"That's 'cause it is Japanese," Kurogane answered, "and I don't live is Switzer-whatever you call it."

"Ah, well, is this your first time in Japan too?"

Kurogane frowned. He was from Japan. He had been born Japan and had in fact been living in Japan before the Princess decided to send him off to the Dimension Witch. What an odd question to answer! "Well yes. I mean no. Not exactly…" He said, through gritted teeth.

"He means he's been to Japan, just not this part of Japan." Fai clarified for him, enjoying the look of vexation on Kurogane's face. It wasn't always that the black ninja would look so ill at ease. The question about Japan must've slightly thrown him off. Fai was having such a marvelous time!

Kurogane turned to glare at Fai, "Will you stop answering for me?"

"I'm sorry Kuro-pipi, it's just that you sounded so flustered…"

"Flustered!" Kurogane growled, "I do not sound flustered!"

"Oh dear…" Tomoyo and Yukito both mumbled, looking back and forth from an angry looking Kurogane to an innocent-faced Fai-san.

This doesn't look good at all. And it looked as though things are about to turn worse, Tomoyo thought as found herself nervously sitting down, her hand going to her throat.

"There you are, I was wondering where you've run off to."

Of all people! Tomoyo thought, watching anxiously as Touya approached them.

"To-ya," Yukito called, "come meet Tomoyo-chan's friend."

Introductions were made as Tomoyo watched them from lowered lashes. Oh, dear, she hoped neither Fai-san nor Kurogane would mention Sakura. Whenever Touya-san heard his sister's name mentioned by a boy – any boy above the age of fifteen, he would always go boinkers. And she'd be forced to explain what's going and there was something about Touya's direct gaze that made it impossible to lie to him! She wasn't quite ready to explain to Sakura's brother that Sakura and Syaoran of the other Dimension had gone missing.

"So you two are friends here too!" Fai exclaimed, remembering the first world they had stumbled upon. It seemed as though The King and The High Priest would always remain friends. There was something very touching – almost poetic about it.

Touya frowned. "Huh?"

"He's a foreigner." Yukito told Touya in a conspiratorial whisper, as though it explained everything.

"Oh." Touya said, nodding slowly. "Uhm. Yeah, we're all friends. She's friend with my sister." Touya said, nodding at Tomoyo who feebly smiled up at them.

"And where is your sister? Is she also here." Fai asked raising his eyebrows. He already knew who Touya's sister was. There was something special about this place and he could sense it now: Hitsuzen.

"No she isn't. The Kaiju…" Touya began and then shook his head as Yukito elbowed him, "I mean, Sakura's in China for vacation."

"With Syaoran-kun." Yukito added jovially and Touya scowled almost immediately.

"I knew it!" Fai mumbled, but his words were lost as Kurogane snorted and declared: "Well, at least the other brat is happy here."

"Excuse me?" Touya asked, turning to look at Kurogane, who was probably a couple of inches taller than him, but Touya wasn't intimidated by height. He was especially not intimidated by a scowling teenager. How old was this guy anyway? Who did he think he was, standing like that, arms crossed looking like… well, almost like Syaoran. Cocky and arrogant.

"This is almost as freaky as the Time Witch and the stupid talking bunnies and their stupid whirlwind all combined." Kurogane continued, seemingly unaware of Fai's warning look and Touya's glare.

At this point Tomoyo jumped out of her seat the same time Fai grabbed Kurogane, clamping his hand on Kurogane's mouth, muffling Kurogane's words.

"Oh, he's…" Tomoyo began, not sure what to say.

"Overly excited about this trip." Fai said, rescuing her. "Talking bunnies!" Fai chuckled and rolled his eyes. "He has nightmares about bunnies."

"But bunnies are really friendly and nice." Yukito said, almost earning him a glare from Touya who was watching Tomoyo and her new friends with dark, suspicious eyes. He should probably call Tomoyo's mother later and inform her about Tomoyo's choice of companions. Tomoyo's cousin was nice enough, in fact he sort of reminded Touya of Yukito, but the dark-haired man was trouble.

Tomoyo opened her mouth to say something but thought better of it. She watched as Touya and Yukito frowned, looked at each other and then looked back and forth between her and Fai-san. Oh, my mother will definitely hear about this, I can see it in Touya's eyes. I'm going to be in so much trouble! How exciting!

"And oh, would you look at the time Tomoyo-chan!" Fai exclaimed, feigning shock.

"Oh, yes! My! We need to go now." Tomoyo agreed, still keeping her innocent smile. "Dinner awaits." Tomoyo added, hoping that the flimsy excuse would go unnoticed.

"Early dinner." Fai amended, seeing the confused expression on Touya and Yukito's faces.

"Yes, yes, uhm, early dinner. The Swiss eats a lot earlier." Tomoyo informed them, cringing as she realized that it was hardly dinner time yet. This was what happened when her lying skills weren't put into practice! She smiled her brilliant smile, "See you soon Touya-kun, Yukito-san. Say hi to Sakura for me, alright."

"It was nice meeting you two." Fai said, dragging a livid, sputtering Kurogane away. Oh, he was going to pay for this, Fai thought as Kurogane struggled to get out of his hold. He couldn't wait.

"See you around Yukito-chan. Touya-san." Tomoyo hurriedly bowed down low and then immediately sprinted to catch up with Fai and Kurogane. "Bye." She called out, waving her hands in the air.

"Bye!" Yukito hollered back, waving his arms high up. They watched silently as Tomoyo and her weird cousin and the even weirder friend of the cousin disappeared from sight. And then smiling, Yukito turned to look at Touya. "That was a bit starnge, wasn't it, To-ya?"

Touya scowled and was silent from a few moments and then frowning, he asked: "Did Tomoyo's backpack just winked at us?"

TBC

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Author's note: Oh, alright. I sort of played about with this chapter. LOL. Sorry if everyone suddenly started acting all… crazy. I had such fun writing this, it's probably the longest chapter yet. I hope you all enjoyed this bit, despite the general weirdness. I did a few editing for the last chapter, so there a few minor changes there, nothing much. Anyway, please do let me know what you guys think. I really do appreciate it. Many, many thanks for the wonderful reviews.