Chapter Two: Memoryless
Sakura bundled up the nightgown Arashi had left on the bed for her and slipped modestly into the bathroom, while the other three turned away from each other to change.
"I don't see a name," said Syaoran, twisting left and right to examine his back as best he could. Not seeing anything, he pulled on his overlarge sweatshirt borrowed from Sorata.
"Me, neither," said Fay. He twisted in ways Kurogane wasn't sure should have been possible, checking the backs of his knees and the bottoms of his feet.
Kurogane shook his head. He was a little relieved, as he wasn't sure he trusted Fay enough to want to have to rely on him in a battle. The worlds they had visited had a strange way of pairing him up with Fay as though by default, since Sakura and Syaoran were clearly bound by hitsuzen. At least, Kurogane told himself it was by default instead of examining the other possibility, which made him distinctly uncomfortable.
"Is everyone decent?" Sakura knocked gently on the paper door, and Syaoran pulled it open, beckoning her back in. "I didn't find a name," she said. "I hope I do, though. I want to be able to help everyone look for my feathers. You've all done so much for me."
"Princess..." Syaoran bowed as he helped her onto the bed. He blushed.
"Ah, young -" Fay started to say, but Kurogane elbowed him in the ribs and he shut up, for once. In retrospect, it was a good thing he did. Poor Syaoran might have exploded if Fay had finished what he intended to say. Kurogane cared about the kid more than he let on.
"We'll go look again in the morning," said Kurogane. "Names or no names, we'll get your feather back so we can get out of this world and lose these stupid ears."
Fay laughed and tugged on Kurogane's tail. He ducked out of the way before Kurogane could grab him. "Big Puppy's angry!"
"Damn straight I'm angry," growled Kurogane, "and those stupid names aren't helping."
"But now you look like a big puppy," pouted Fay, who darted to the door.
"Don't remind me."
Kurogane turned to Fay, who stumbled over the futon crashed through the paper door.
"Is there a problem?" asked Sorata, appearing in the hallway again as he had earlier. He flicked on the light to see Fay on the floor in the splinters and tatters of the shoji.
"No," said Fay, smiling up at him. "Well, not really. Except we ruined your door. Sorry about that."
Kurogane rolled his eyes and crossed his arms. That damn magician had broken the door, and he had a feeling he would be the one fixing it, like last time they had engaged in a home repair project, in the country of Koroyo.
"We'll fix it," insisted Syaoran.
"They broke it, they can fix it." Arashi folded her arms. Kurogane opened his mouth to argue, but the fan appeared in her hands again and he remembered the bump another Arashi had given another Sorata and he decided not to press it. "Can't you?"
Kurogane grumbled in agreement. His earlier suspicion proved to be right. He did all of the work while Fay 'supervised,' just like last time. Some things never change.
"I didn't even break the damn thing," he muttered as he lacquered the new paper with paste. "This isn't my fault."
"But Kuro-pii chased me!"
"Only because you pulled my tail."
Fay laughed and looked up again at Kurogane's folded black ears and fuzzy tail. Sensing what Fay intended to do, Kurogane blocked his hand before he was able to yank his ears again.
"I don't see why you don't have them," muttered Kurogane. "They'd look good on you." Fay looked up, pleasantly surprised. "I mean," he stammered, "appropriately stupid, that is." Fay crinkled his nose, but wisely chose not to say anything.
They worked in silence after that. Or, Kurogane worked in silence while Fay 'supervised' in relative silence, except for the occasional chuckle. Arashi kept watch. (Kurogane wondered why she didn't insist on Fay helping.)
"Kuro-myu is good with his hands," said Fay sometime around two in the morning.
"I've fixed these before," he explained, smoothing the paper one final time. "They're pretty fragile."
"I noticed. Did Kuro-pon fall through one, too?"
"No," said Kurogane. "You're just not the first person I've thrown through one."
Fay laughed. "Aw, I was hoping I would be your first time."
Arashi, still seated under the kotatsu, smiled a little bit behind her hair. Neither Kurogane nor Fay noticed. Kurogane stood the door against the wall.
"Leave it for the night for the glue to dry," said Arashi. "You can put it back in the morning."
She stood, adjusting her silk bathrobe, and disappeared through another such door (this one still in one piece). Kurogane and Fay returned to the little room the travelers were sharing to find Sakura, Syaoran and Mokona asleep. Sakura was on her side, hugging Mokona like a doll, and Syaoran was asleep on the floor beside her, his head resting against the bed by her knees.
Kurogane went to turn off the light, but Fay stayed his hand. He knelt beside Syaoran and pointed to the sole of his foot, gesturing for Kurogane to look. Kurogane squinted down; he couldn't read the letters, but he knew what Fay meant. He nodded to indicate he knew what Fay meant and turned off the light. Fay draped his blanket over Syaoran and settled onto his futon without one.
"I'm used to the cold," he said quietly, by way of explanation.
*
When they woke the next morning, Fay found himself on Kurogane's futon. Kurogane opened one eye and the phrase if looks could kill, or it's Celesian equivalent, flashed through Fay's mind. He wiggled back onto his own futon.
"Used to the cold, huh?" hissed Kurogane and Fay shrugged and mimed sleeping. He hadn't even been aware he was doing it.
They were both awake and dressed before Sakura and Syaoran. They looked as though they might sleep all day if it weren't for the commotion caused by Kurogane installing the fixed shoji door with Fay's attempt at help.
"Don't break it again, you idiot magician," Kurogane snarled, momentarily forgetting to keep his voice down. "Don't help. Just ... supervise."
Fay grinned wickedly. "Ah, good morning, Syaoran-kun," he said as he ducked out from under Kurogane's half-hearted attempt to hit him. "Or, I suppose good afternoon might be better."
"Afternoon!" cried Syaoran, jumping up and startling Sakura. "I overslept! We should be looking for the feathers!"
"It's all right," said Fay. "We needed to finish fixing this door," he ducked again, "and you and Sakura-chan need to rest while we're in safe worlds like this. You never know where we'll end up next. Isn't that what the Dimensional Witch said? There will be worlds full of liars, worlds full of criminals. You ought to relax while you can."
"I-I guess you're right," said Syaoran. He blushed again and looked away. His eyes landed on Fay's blanketless futon, and he looked over to the one crumpled on the floor where he had been sleeping.
Fay held a hand up before Syaoran could thank him. "Don't worry about it, I'm used to the cold." Kurogane scoffed, but quickly turned it into a cough as he finished putting the door in place. "And besides, I noticed something last night. Check the bottom of your foot."
Syaoran shot him a quizzical look, then twisted around so he could check for himself. There, on the bottom of his foot, were strange letters like the ones on Arashi's collarbone. Syaoran squinted; the letters were the same style as those in the country of Jade, like the ones his father had taught him to read in ruins. That seemed like a lifetime ago as he stood there awkwardly, puzzling out the letters, MEMORY, and then something faded and indistinct. He frowned at it, unsure what that was supposed to mean, but he started to lose his balance. Kurogane steadied him.
"I don't want to have to fix the stupid thing again." He said, and Syaoran nodded and stood with both feet planted firmly on the floor.
"Does Sakura-chan have one, too?"
Sakura rubbed her eyes sleepily and wiggled around to see the bottom of her own foot. Sure enough, there were letters; MEMORYLESS.
"So you discovered your true names," said Sorata. His habit of appearing out of nowhere was starting to get annoying. Sakura nodded, embarrassed to show him the bottom of her foot. In Clow Country, that was considered an insult, a sign of disrespect. She curled her toes in.
"I should teach you how the spell battles work, then," he said. "I can explain the basics over lunch. Or should I say breakfast?"