AN: Just to clear up any minor confusion… This takes place between Acid Tokyo and Infinity. Before Celes. Fai is only known as "Fai" here, not Yuui. No one knows of his secrets yet here. Sorry if I caused any confusion to you! On with chapter eight! :D
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The mirror crackled to life, and its face began to glow as an image appeared. There he was, her human, with some humans and Maecenas. They were inside somewhere, a home perhaps, talking.
"Mirror, show me more!"
The Queen was presented with images of the house. She saw all of the known exits, and where Fai's room was. She quickly made a decision.
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Fai looked out his window. He had a perfect view of the sea through the clear glass, though its waves fell on deaf ears. The man sighed and began to ponder.
Since he had never really found the feather, it was clear that he'd have to return and get it. Would he be able to bring the others with him to help? No, he decided; the transformation, at least for the first time, was too painful. He didn't want to put the others through that. Maecenas could put herself through it painlessly. She could go with him; maybe even help him sneak in. She did live in the sea anyway. She'd know where to go.
He remembered the shopkeeper. What an insane woman! True, he was terrified when he became a human again at that depth; the pressure alone almost caused him to pass out. Still, he was grateful that she decided to keep him alive. She had said that he was 'too valuable'. Fai rolled his eyes. Any human that was alive that far down in the water would be special. His mind quickly turned to another subject. Magic.
To use magic or not to use magic?
He really wanted to say no. But if he didn't, finding the feather and defeating the leader would be difficult. Couldn't he just bring a weapon with him? A bow would be out of the question for obvious reasons, a spear or rod, perhaps? His vampire claws too, those would be an enormous advantage. He yawned. It was already pretty late in the evening by that point, and the others had gone to bed long ago. Maecenas slept in an extra cot in Sakura's room, Syaoran and Kurogane just stayed in the room they had earlier, right next to the stairs, meaning Fai had a room to himself. Mokona was sleeping with Sakura.
"Guess I'd better turn in too." He yawned, changing into his nightclothes and going to bed
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Fai slept soundly. For once, he wasn't having any nightmares. He smiled into his pillow, subconsciously enjoying the warm sea breeze that ruffled his hair…
Fai was immediately awake and alert. He knew that he had made sure that the window was locked tight. The early sunrise warmed the bed, which was pleasant, but he was still worried. Someone must have opened it.
It's too early. The only one who would possibly be up at the crack of dawn would be Kurogane or Hans, but they wouldn't just walk in to open a window and leave.
He crawled out of his bed, stretching and yawning before padding barefoot out the door and down the hall. The door to Kurogane's room was open, probably so the ninja could hear anything creeping past. Fai stuck his head in.
Syaoran was curled up in his bed, sound asleep. Kurogane was in the other. He remained completely frozen as he slept, not moving an inch. Laughing softly, the mage left for the upper floor. When he left the stairs, he could clearly hear the snoring of Hans, proving that he was indeed asleep. Fai frowned, and went back down the stairs. As a last resort, he listened outside the door of Sakura and Maecenas. He could hear two different people breathing calmly in sleep. He sighed and went down another flight of stairs into the living room, where a dying fire greeted him. He added wood to it and smiled when it grew. Fai retrieved a blanket from one of the chairs, and a fire poker from beside the blazing hole in the wall, and curled up on the rug in front of the flames. He kept a firm grip on the poker, and stared into the fire. His gaze became blurred, and before he knew it, his eye had peacefully shut, and he fell into a catnap.
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Mokona bounced down the hall to Fai's room, planning on greeting him. He frowned when he found the bed empty. Sakura walked in after the creature; she was on the same mission.
"Let's look downstairs." She said. Mokona nodded, jumping up on her shoulder. Hans and Ariel were already up and out. Hans went to work, and Ariel went to the market, saying that she wouldn't be back until dinnertime. Syaoran and Maecenas were still sleeping, and Kurogane was most likely in the kitchen, eating. Sakura walked down the stairs to look around, stopping when she entered the living room. Kurogane was standing in the doorway, some bread in his hand and a look of amusement on his face. The princess walked towards him, tapping his arm to get his attention.
"Kurogane-san, have you seen Fai-san?"
"Check the fireplace." Sakura looked past him, and Mokona giggled.
Fai was still there, curled up asleep like a cat.
"Mokona's never seen Fai sleep like that before." The pork bun commented.
"Should we wake him? It's almost noon." Sakura asked. Kurogane shook his head.
"He'll probably stab you to death with that metal rod without realizing it."
"…Why is he down here, anyway?"
"He probably got cold or something." Mokona offered. Kurogane shrugged.
"I heard someone prowling around earlier."
"A break-in?" Sakura asked, her eyes wide with fear.
"No, an idiot who felt like waking up at the crack of dawn."
Fai suddenly stretched, breathing deeply before relaxing again. The spectators watched, wondering if he would wake up. Figuring he wasn't, they continued to talk again, now more softly.
"Mokona thinks Fai got scared of something, and tried to find someone who was awake." Kurogane looked at Mokona sharply.
"That coward has had nightmares almost every night he's been traveling with us. Why would this be any different?" Mokona shrugged. Sakura smiled brightly.
"Why don't we make lunch? Fai always makes food for us after all. This could be like a 'Welcome back' surprise!"
"Ehh?" Kurogane said, confused. Mokona grinned.
"Good idea, Sakura!"
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By the time Syaoran and Maecenas arrived downstairs, Sakura, with the help of an enthusiastic Mokona and grumpy ninja, had prepared a large variety of sandwiches and some iced tea. Kurogane was actually quite talented in the art of sandwich making; not that he'd ever admit it. Syaoran smiled, causing Sakura to blush.
"You all must have worked very hard on this." The boy said. Mokona nodded.
"It's because Fai's still sleeping, and he always makes food, so we gave him a break."
"I was getting sick of all the sweet crap he makes all the time."
"Where is Fai-san?" Syaoran asked. Maecenas and Mokona had already begun to devour their share of the food. Kurogane pointed.
"In front of the fire in the other room."
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Syaoran left to check on Fai. The mage was still asleep, but now he seemed tenser. The boy walked up to him, kneeling to get a better view of his face.
The mage's eye was shut tightly, and he was sweating slightly. The fire had long gone out though. Did Fai have a fever? Syaoran placed a hand on the man's forehead; it was burning up. Fai muttered something, tightening his grip on his makeshift weapon.
"Fai-san, it's me." Syaoran said calmly, removing his hand. Fai stirred, and he opened his eye.
"Syaoran-kun!" Fai said in surprise. "What time is it?"
"Noon."
"Is everyone else up?"
"Yes. Hans and Ariel went out though. The Princess, Kurogane-san, and Mokona made lunch. They said they were giving you a break." Fai laughed, getting to his feet.
"Let's go see what they made then!"
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As the two entered the kitchen, Kurogane glared at Fai, who smiled back.
"Good morning to you too, Kuro-grumpy!" He said brightly and sitting down next to him. He stared at all of the food. "Did the three of you make all of this? It looks great!" Sakura nodded, smiling.
"Dig in!" Mokona yelled happily, stealing a sandwich out of Kurogane's hand. Fai laughed again, picking up one of the sandwiches. He knew that eating them wouldn't give him any nourishment in his current condition, but he took a bite anyway. Kurogane gave him a sideways look.
"Here." He muttered, handing him a sandwich and taking the one that Fai already had away. The mage stared at him in confusion before looking back at the new sandwich.
It looked like all the others, except for the fact that there was also blood between the meat and cheese. Fai grinned at the sneaky ninja, who was back to ignoring him for the moment.
AN: Besides a tragically short and really lame few extra sentences that make up chapter nine, this is really all that I have at the moment! *bangs head on desk*
I'm going to the sea for a vacation with my family in a few weeks, maybe I'll get some ideas there… I should have something typed up before I go though! ^_^
Does anyone else think that Syaoran looked…odd… as an adult? (Chapter 223) I couldn't believe it was him at first; I'm so used to his younger appearance, as he's looked throughout the manga. XP