A/N: I'm back.
Again.
No thanks to a certain someone who joined the mob in dancing around the fire while I got roasted.
Fai: Oh come on. I've already apologized for that.
Me: Still not talking to you. It's only thanks to Silence-chan and kim-onka-chan that I was able to get out of there alive. And for this reason, this chapter is dedicated to them.
Thanks for sticking around. ^_^
Now, go ahead and enjoy the new chapter. (I figured that if I kept on waiting for the third review for the previous chapter, well… It's taking way too long. Come on people, three is not that big a number)
Anyhow, Read and Review.
My mind felt numb as I walked through the quickly darkening streets. The cold freezing wind bit angrily at my skin but I could not even bring myself to zip up my jacket. The hilt of Syaoran's sword felt so strange and cold in my hands.
The same thoughts were playing over and over in my head.
I had let them take him away.
Just like that.
Right before my eyes.
And I couldn't even trace his signal anymore. I had tried every single tracking spell I knew, which was saying something, but for some reason, his magical signature had just… vanished.
He wasn't dead. I knew that much for sure.
He was still alive, I could feel it.
But no matter what I did, I couldn't find him.
In the end, it was the thought of Sakura, scared and cold, hiding somewhere that forced me to give up tracking him down.
I hated myself for that, but I couldn't help feeling that somehow, now that that witch had gotten her hands on Syaoran, she would leave me and Sakura alone for a while.
For some strange, twisted reason I was happy that I had managed to anger her.
I had encountered that type of magicians before, back in Celes. There was no mistaking that crazy mixed aura that surrounded her. She was one of them. In fact, a part of me felt like she was...
That magic she had summoned back in the dome, I had known what it was. And I was glad, so glad that she had decided to take him away instead of finishing the job right there.
She was going to drag it on, I knew that for sure. Which meant I still had time.
I could save him.
But for now, I had to find Sakura.
Sakura's POV:
It had to be more than four hours now. My legs had lost all feel in them since I had not moved from my position for fear of making a noise, or disturbing the cover Syaoran had made for me. I tried to stop myself but…
Achoo!
The sound of my sneeze reverberated around the walls of the empty warehouse Syaoran and I had taken refuge in for a while. Like always, he had gone back out to protect me from those guys chasing after us. It was at times like this when I wished I had learnt how to fight from Touya or maybe Kurogane-san. Then I would be able to help the others.
Back then, no one had ever thought I would need such knowledge. After all, Kurogane-san was with us all the time. And there were Fai and Syaoran too.
They were there to keep the princess safe.
But then, six months ago, Kurogane-san left us all. They say it was the work of some serial killer, but I find that hard to believe. How could he, the mightiest ninja in Nihon, have fallen at the hands of some common murderer?
After Kurogane-san's funeral, Fai and Syaoran had tried to send me back to Clow. Back to safety, while they would search for that killer. Kurogane-san had been my friend too. There had been no way that I would have agreed to go back. I needed to find that person just as much as the others did.
So, I stayed behind.
I should have tried asking one of them to teach me then. Since it was obvious that we were going to run into danger sooner or later.
Like now.
Why didn't, I?
I still don't know. But I know one thing.
Tonight, when we are back at home with Fai, I am definitely going to bring this up.
It's about time I learnt to protect myself and the ones I hold dear.
I'm pretty sure that if Kurogane-san were still alive, he would approve of my decision too.
The screech of the warehouse door sliding open made me tense up all the muscles in my body.
My first instinct was to jump out and greet Syaoran before berating him for making me worry for so long.
Was he okay? This thought had been plaguing me the entire time I had been hiding here underneath this dirty tarp. Had he gotten hurt somehow? About an hour after he had left, this feeling of worry had intensified enough to make me want to follow him.
But then I remembered what Syaoran had told me. And so I waited, despite the fact that every second that passed, I had to fight myself to stay in place.
Even now, I stopped myself from rushing out of my hiding place on the basis of a single thought.
What if it wasn't Syaoran?
It was strange that such a thought had even emerged in my head; then again, there was still that sense of foreboding that lingered around. Hence I sat with bated breath as a pair of quiet footsteps drew nearer and nearer.
The sound of wood being dragged across the dirt-covered floor filled the air. My heart pounded wildly against my chest as the last of the wooden crates was moved away. Now there was nothing more than an old dusty sheet of cloth separating me from whoever was outside.
Slowly, the person lifted the tarp while I prepared myself to run in case the need arose. Even though I knew that my numb legs would give out under me before I would be able to take a single step.
I blinked a couple of times when I found myself staring into a familiar set of eyes. But it wasn't the one I had been expecting.
"Thank goodness." He breathed in relief, helping me to my feet. My legs smarted as blood rushed back in them. Just as I had suspected, they gave out under me, making me fall on Fai.
"Sorry," I managed to get out as he led to one of the crates and sat me down.
"Let the blood circulate properly for a while," he instructed me.
"Fai," I asked him in a quiet voice, noticing something. "Why are you holding Syaoran's sword?"
"…"
"No." I shook my head in disbelief, not willing to accept the silent answer his pale face had given me. "No… No!"
"Sakura, I-"
"No! He can't... He- He said he'd be fine!" I was not aware of the warm saltine water flowing down my cheeks as Fai brought me close in a hug.
"Sakura…"
"He promised…" I sobbed into his chest. "He said he'd be fine…"
Still shocked, I watched in a daze as Fai wrote out a transportation spell and took us back to the small two-bedroom apartment we had bought in this world. I just sat there watching him move about the kitchen. Rivulets of tears wet my cheeks as I hiccupped in a trance like state.
I didn't utter a single word as he pressed the warm steaming mug of some liquid in my hand; I gulped it all in one go, not even wincing when it burnt my throat.
Reality of what had happened finally set in. He was gone.
"Where-" I started, looking at him through tear-stained eyes, but he cut me in.
"He's not dead, Sakura."
"Not dead?" I repeated slowly. He nodded grimly.
"Oh… OH!" I jumped to my feet. "Is he hurt? Is that why you came in his place? Is he resting? Can I see him? Or if he is sleeping, maybe I should go later. I'm sure he won't mind if I went now but I'd most probably just disturb his sleep. Not that he'd say that to me. But…" I trailed off on seeing the look on his face. "He is in his room. Right?"
"He's not in a hospital somewhere. Right?"
"Right?" I asked him again, "Fai, why won't you say something? Where is he?"
"Sakura, I- I don't know." He answered in a cracked voice, lowering his head to avoid my gaze.
"What do you mean you don't know?" I laughed-, my tone desperate. "You said he's alive, so where is he?"
His finger ran over the engravings on Syaoran's sword as he answered.
"He was kidnapped."
Fai's POV:
"What?" there was that desperate laugh again, trying to make it all sound like some very bad joke. "You're kidding, right, Fai?" I couldn't bring myself to look at her. I wanted to spare her the pain.
I wanted so badly to just give her a reassuring smile and nod. Tell her that it had indeed, been a very bad joke on my part. I didn't want to be the one to tell her this.
Tell her that her Syaoran was in the clutches of a crazy witch who drained people of their magical essence. Who tormented them for her own twisted pleasure, relishing the pained screams of her victims as she slowly tortured them to the brink of insanity.
I couldn't tell her all that, because if I did, I would have to tell her about who that witch was and where she came from. What she had done in the past. I couldn't burden Sakura with all that knowledge.
It was breaking my heart, yet in the end I had to tell her. Not the entire truth, but part of it anyways. The part that concerned her and Syaoran.
"No, Sakura." I couldn't bear to look at her, so I turned away. "It's not a joke."
"…"
"I'm really sorry." I lowered my head in shame. Knowing that I had been able to do nothing at all as she had taken him away.
"Fai-san," the use of honorific after my name startled me. It had been so long ago since we had addressed each other that way. "You don't have to be."
Hah. I don't have to be sorry?
Oh Sakura-chan. You have no idea how much I have to be.
Judging from the slight rustle of her clothes, I suppose she had gotten to her feet.
"We'll find him," she said confidently, laying her hand on top of my shoulder.
Sakura-chan, you have no idea how badly I want that to happen. I don't think I can stand losing another precious person at her hands.
The room was silent, save for the sounds of our quiet breathing as we stood there in the centre of the room. We stayed like that for a long time till the silence was broken by Sakura.
"Fai-san," she sounded hesitant. "I-I have something to ask of you."
"What is it, Sakura-chan?" I finally turned around to see the girl shuffling her feet slightly; looking at the brown carpet as the motion brushed the tiny threads this way and that.
"I've been thinking about this for quite some time and now…" she looked up, her bloodshot emerald eyes alight with strong emotions. "I-I… I think…"
"What is it?" I coaxed her gently.
"Um, h-how did you… How did you learn to fight like Kurogane-san?" she rushed out the words.
Fight like Kurogane? I suppose after six months of me using his sword, she was bound to notice.
"Through magic." I answered truthfully. When Tomoyo-hime had entrusted his sword to me, I had felt the need to wield it like its original owner. A few spells of my own creation had allowed me to accomplish that.
A look of understanding dawned on her face, along with something of a relief.
"Fai-san," she said in a serious tone. "Until the time we find Syaoran… I want to be the one to hold onto his sword."
A/N: Okay, so that's it for this time. Next up is Kurgy's POV and things get a little tough for Syoaran. If you wanna know what will happen you know what to do.
Review Damnit!
Ahem. Yeah, sorry, I just lost my cool but I still blame you guys for that. Nice long reviews telling me how much you like my fic, will definitely pacify my anger and make me update faster. ;) ;)
Note: This story is still being held for a ransom of three reviews.
