A/N: Vacations!

Or a two week semester break.

Either ways, I have holidays and you guys are in for a treat. ;)

Enjoy!

"F-Fai? Is that you?"

Before any of them could react, a blur of black and red had crashed into the mage, tackling him to the ground. "It's you! It's really you!" Kurogane and Syaoran stared at the girl… um, woman that was currently holding the magician down, grinning ear to ear as she touched his face.

"Masooma-chan!" Fai merely laughed in response.

"Aww, how cute," Nixon spoke with a sly grin as he turned his sightless gaze in the direction of the couple on the floor, "A lover's reunion. Though shouldn't you two be getting reacquainted in a more private setting? Not been in each other's company for more than two seconds and you two are already at it. Fai, I thought you might have had the decency to not do anything in front of your friends."

"Oh, shut it, Nixon," the woman that Fai had addressed as Masooma snapped at the Oracle as pink dusted her cheeks. "You're just jealous that I still like Fai more than I like you."

"You should get off of him you know," Nixon pretended not to have hear her, "or else with all the weight that you've put on since coming here, the poor guy will be crushed to death."

"Nixon," Masooma growled in a low tone reminding Syaoran of a female version of Kurogane. "I suggest you better run."

"And leave our guests in your less than capable hands?" the Oracle teased in an unperturbed tone.

"Guests?" it was then that she noticed Fai's two companions standing a couple of feet from them. The change in her was immediate. Her eyes widened slightly at the sight of Kurogane's face as she paled a little, hurriedly climbing off of Fai as she stepped away from them and moved closer to Nixon, standing a little behind him as a child might when meeting a stranger.

Syaoran noticed the smile slip off Fai's face as it was replaced by a look of confusion. Apparently, that reaction had not been something he had been expecting from the woman.

Syaoran looked back at the girl, who was still staring at Kurogane in fear. His mentor looked unhappy as well, frowning openly as he tried to puzzle out why the girl had such a violent reaction to him.

"Nixon, his eyes are red." Syaoran heard her whisper to the Oracle urgently as she gripped his forearm.

"Masooma-chan, what's wrong?" Fai climbed to his feet, stepping closer to the girl and in front of his companions to block her view of them. So he had noticed the cause of her distress as well.

"Why is that man with you?" she asked in a slightly hysterical voice. "Where did you meet him?"

"You mean Kurogane?" Fai looked over his shoulder, conveying an 'I'm-not-sure-what-this-is-about-either' look to the confused ninja.

"Why is he with you, Fai?" she asked, her voice steadily growing louder.

"Masooma," Nixon cut in before the magician could get a word out, making the girl look at him. "Calm down. He is not who you think he is."

"He's not?" she let her gaze drift back in Kurogane's direction once more, the fear still present in her eyes.

"No, he's not." Nixon shook his head, "do you honestly believe I'd let those bastards roam so freely around here?"

"But… his eyes." She spoke weakly.

"Masooma, he is not one of them." He said firmly, gripping the girl's hand, "That man is Fai's inter-dimensional travelling companion. He's a ninja from ancient Japan, not a hunter."

"A ninja?" Masooma's brows shot up in surprise, the look of fear instantly vanishing as she looked back at him but this time her feature carrying nothing but pure amazement. "That is so cool!" she hopped back towards the magician, her grin plastered back on her face and for a split second Syaoran wondered if the look of fear had just been his imagination. "You're acquainted with ninjas now."

"Oh, so knowing The Oracle isn't cool anymore?" Nixon quipped in a hurt tone, "First I lost to Fai and now a ninja? I'm so crushed."

"Eh... You'll get over it." Fai laughed good-naturedly as Masooma observed Kurogane and him.

"Oye, Fai," she hissed quietly, but her voice still carried over to Syaoran, "Who's the cute brunette beside your ninja friend?"

Hearing her words, Syaoran felt heat rise to his cheeks.

"Hmm? Cute brunette?" Fai repeated in a louder voice, making Kurogane smirk as he looked at his blushing apprentice while the magician grinned slyly. "Oh, that's Syaoran-kun. He's an archeologist from Clow. Syaoran-kun, Kuro-tan," the mage turned his attention to his companions now, "meet Masooma-chan, a brilliant witch and healer, and my personal apprentice."

"You took on an apprentice?" Kurogane shot Fai a look of disbelief.

"I used to be High Mage of the Celesian court, you know," Fai said in a mock offensive tone, "Of course I took on an apprentice."

"And I can assure you, it wasn't easy." Masooma said, punching him lightly in the arm. "His tests were ten times harder than the ones the Ashura-ou himself designed. But I guess I was too smart, even for him." She added with a haughty look.

"Only because you got Nixon to help you out with one of the tasks." Fai's response to that statement made Syaoran wonder if this was how the magician used to behave in Celes. The memories he remembered being shown at the castle when they had gone to recover Sakura-hime's body, had contained nothing but a lonely, serious albeit brilliant teenager. There had been no signs of these supposedly close friends of his.

"Well, you never did specify that I couldn't get help from the Oracle."

"Because that was supposed to be obvious."

"Nope. You're just sour because you forgot to cover all the loopholes."

Fai opened his mouth to retort but got cut off by Nixon, "As lovely as it is to hear you two go at it after so many years of peace and quiet, I think it would be best if we moved to the quarters."

Masooma childishly stuck out her tongue at the Oracle before grabbing Fai's hand and dragging him along. "Later, guys. You too, Syaoran." She added with a wave.

"Umm…" the brunette chose to lower his head and stare at the dirt under his feet. He knew the look Kurogane would be giving him right about now. Damn, if only Sakura were here.

Nixon chuckled quietly before turning his attention to them, "Shall we?"

After walking side by side in considerable silence for almost five minutes, Kurogane was the one who decided to break it.

"Why the heck did she freak out like that?" Syaoran looked up to gauge the Oracle's reaction. He, too, had been quite curios as to why Masooma had reacted towards his mentor in that manner.

"A few of the top ranking hunters have red eyes." Nixon replied calmly.

"I take it she has had a less than pleasant run-in with those guys then?" Kurogane pressed.

"You can say that." He said, opening the door to one of the entrances to the pyramid-like structure as he led them inside.

"Nixon-san, what exactly are these hunters?" Syaoran asked.

"How about you two freshen up first," Nixon responded pleasantly as he led them through various corridors before coming to a stop outside one of the doors, "Have something to eat, I'm sure Fai will have his share of questions too, so we can talk after that, alright? And I kind of need to go check on Violetta's condition."

-0-

"You gave the Essence to that princess, didn't you?" he heard her say. Quiet footsteps approached him, before stopping next to him as their owner sat down beside him.

"I did." He replied simply, feeling the wind as it whipped about his hair and clothes.

"Why?"

"I had never met anyone like him before." He stated, gauging her aura for a reaction. She was curious and surprised. "Even though his wish broke a taboo, that boy has purest of souls. And a will border-lining stubbornness."

"I see." He felt her nod. "But do you think it was good idea? Telling that princess to use it for soul separation?"

"Syaoran doesn't deserve what those bastards did to him." He responded simply, "Just as you didn't deserve what you went through. Or Fai."

"Nixon," she started in a pleading voice, "please, we can't just leave him in that place. We have to help him."

"I know, Masooma. I know." He nodded solemnly, "but we can't do anything. We're both tied down, remember?"

"How can I forget?" She gave a bitter laugh. "I wish we had never come here in the first place."

"But we did."

"But we did." She nodded softly, getting lost in thought. "Do you think he'll survive?"

"Who?"

"Syaoran. You know better than anyone what ripping an unwilling soul from a body would do."

"It's all up to him actually." He responded calmly. "He'll pull through if he has the will to live."

"But what if they broke him?" she whispered softly, "He was in that place for two months, Nixon. You remember the state you found me in after just ten days. Do you think he'll have the will to live after spending sixty days in that hellhole?"

"Like I said before, Masooma," he replied, not letting any emotion leak into his tone, "that boy is not like someone I've met before. Who knows," he shrugged casually, climbing to his feet. He knew that it was time to head back downstairs now. After all, those idiot council members must be going crazy looking for the Oracle, "he might just surprise us all."

Masooma silently watched his profile retreat, disappearing down the stairs that led to the lower levels of the building.

"I sure hope so. For their sakes and ours," she sighed, looking back at the scene of the cave before her, stretching out for several hundred feet in all direction, illuminated by the soft light of the orb hanging overhead, "I sure hope your optimism isn't misplaced."

A/N: I know. I know. Not much Fai or Syao torture in this chapter but it was necessary to build up the story as well as provide some background on the OCs that are going to be playing a somewhat major role in this story. Next time, we all get to see what's been going on with Fai and maybe find out a bit more about Syaoran whose fate is still not clear. Is he really dead? Knowing me, I can continue the fic either way so lemme know what your guesses are. I really want to know what you guys think.

There might be a small chance that he actually comes out alive but seeing how much I love killing him (and Fai on occasion)… just tell me what your guesses are.

This is it for now. Stay tuned for the next update the date for which considering how much time I am able to spare and the state of my currently partially hibernating plot bunnies is not yet determined.