A/N: And the chapter you have all been waiting for is finally here. I figured since it's my birthday today, I'd treat you all to an early update. ;) Enjoy!
Sakura snuck into the infirmary, carefully taking note that neither Kurogane nor Mokona were with the catatonic Tsubasa. Pushing the feeling of sorrow away she took squared her shoulders and walked over to his bed. She wasn't sure what had happened but he had slipped back into his unresponsive state. She looked over her shoulder to confirm that she would have privacy for a while. Kurogane was off making the final minute preparations for their departure in half an hour's time. Mokona was with Yukito, the latter creating a protective seal around the magical creature to better protect it from the affects of whatever it was that had rendered the dimension hopper comatose before. Her only concern was Touya. If he saw her alone with Tsubasa, she shuddered to think how he might react. Though she had been adamant about leaving with Kurogane, Mokona and Tsubasa when the time came, her brother had yet to give her his permission. She would have left despite his protests, but it would have been better to know that she had his blessings instead.
She did not know what had made her come in here again when the sight of Tsubasa's broken body and his hollow eyes did nothing more than shove the painful thorns of helplessness deeper into her heart. Pulling up a chair, she sat next to his bed, the scabbards of her dual short swords clinking lightly against the metal of the chair.
"We'll be leaving to rescue Fai-san very soon." She told him softly as she took his hand in her own, her thumb rubbing gentle circles over his knuckles as her other hand brushed the hair from his eyes. Not that she had expected anything different but it still hurt to see him not even blink in response to her words. "Kurogane-san thought it might be better if you stayed behind here at Clow where Yukito-san can try and heal you. I agreed with him for a while but Nixon-san wants you to come with us. He says there is someone in that world that would be more adept at helping you."
"I've been learning how to fight from Onii-san. I never got around to telling you that, did I?" her eyes drank in the sight of him, the way the sunlight made his hair turn a light brown, the way the light being reflected off his irises at an angle lent them a sparkle of life that was otherwise missing from his once intelligent and kind gaze. "He thinks I have gotten really good so I'm going to help Kurogane-san when he goes to help Fai-san. I wish you were well enough to come with us too. I had been really looking forward to showing you all that I had learnt you know. I know you haven't seen me, but do you think I'd be able to help them?"
"You know Syaoran… I've always tried to forgive people even if they are wrong. Everyone thinks that's because I'm too kind-hearted to be able to actually hold a grudge against anyone. Until a few ago, I believe that too… But now I-"
"Sakura!" the sound of her brother caused her to jump, hastily dropping her hands she climbed to her feet and turned around to face him as he angrily stalked over to her, "What the heck are you doing in here?"
"I was just checking on Syaoran."
For a moment, Sakura's heart stopped beating as her brother's glowering eyes settled on the unmoving teen in the bed behind her but the moment passed and something in her brother's gaze changed. "… So the brat is leaving with you three?"
Sakura felt her jaw drop in shock as she stared at her brother speechlessly.
"I'd close my mouth if I were you Kaijuu, or are you trying to catch flies?" he grinned softly as he ruffled her hair.
"Onii-san… I-I… I'm not a Kaijuu!" she declared after stomping on his foot angrily.
"Ouch! What the heck Sakura! I thought you'd be happy to learn that you can go with that ninja and you thank me by stomping on my foot?"
"That wasn't my thank you Onii-san," she replied with a cheery smile as she threw her arms around his waist and buried her face into his chest, "This is my thanks."
"You better come back in one piece, you hear me Kaijuu?" he murmured as he hugged her back, his lips pressed in her hair, "and while you're saving that mage, kick those hunters' ass for the brat, will you?"
Sakura only tightened her grip on her brother in response. The young king looked at the motionless brunette a few feet away from them over the top of his sister's head and he thought he saw the boy's eyes flutter in their direction. But he mentally shook his head, putting it up to a trick of the light as he returned his attention to his sister.
-0-
The residents of Magihidusi went about their daily business, unaware of the storm that was lingering just beyond the horizon. Destinies that had been entwined long ago as a result of a twisted wish were finally beginning to unravel as a never-ending journey, the price of ending that twisted wish, itself began to reach its final stages. The calm before the storm was about to end.
-0-
An alarmed scream rang through the village square as the cavern roof began to bulge inwards, dropping towards the ground like a large droplet as space and time bent to create an inter-dimensional portal. The globule hit the ground with a dull plop and burst in a spray of mist and multi-colored smoke as three hazy forms took shape in its centre. Captain Neumro of the first guard armed with the rest of his squad surrounded the square and the figures as they all felt the lingering effects of powerful transportational spell.
"Lower your weapons, Captain," the oracle's voice rang clear and loud through the square where alarmed spectators gathered behind the guard all warily looking towards the hazy figures. The crowd parted to let the blind man through who held a pleasant smile on his face.
"It's good to see you again Kurogane." He stepped into the thick haze and the mist dissipated with a whispered spell, revealing the tall form of the red-eyed warrior, his sword poised before him to ward of any attacks if need be, a much smaller form seated on a wheelchair to his right, the figure's head drooping into his chest. In the seated figure's lap, sat the plush, white form of the dimensional hopper that was looking at the red-eyed warrior for guidance. Right behind him stood a petite female, her hands placed on the seated figure's shoulders as her jade-eyes warily scanned their surroundings. "And Princess Sakura, we finally meet in person."
"Nixon-san?" the girl uttered hesitantly at the same time as the warrior spoke, "Oracle."
"Come along." He said airily as he turned on his heels and began to walk through the parted crowd. "We must get Syaoran to the infirmary first. We can discuss our plans once we have assured he will be taken care of."
Wordlessly, the ninja sheathed his sword, letting the weapon vanish inside his hand. Nodding towards the princess, he took her place behind the wheelchair as he motioned for her to follow the Oracle as he brought up the rear of the small procession. The dark haired man led them through various streets nodding at some of the people he met, stopping to exchange a few words with one or two of them.
"Violetta, can you please inform Masooma that our guests and her patient have arrived?" the man said as soon as he walked into a small building that was situated quite a ways away from all the others. "You can shift him to any of the unoccupied beds, Kurogane." He added without turning around to face the man. For a brief moment, Sakura wondered how exactly was it that the blind man had been able to navigate through the crowded city and just how had he known who was inside the building?
"It's good to see that you are doing well, Princess." He smiled, bringing her out of her thoughts before she could dwell on them much further.
"Thank you. You too." she responded, sounding a little unsure as she looked towards the ninja who was busy arranging Tsubasa's body on the bed.
"Hello again Kurogane," an olive-skinned woman stepped through the entrance. Her midnight black hair was pulled back in a high ponytail, a few strands escaping to frame her face. Sakura noticed the way the woman avoided looking in the Oracle's direction though her puzzled, amber-eyed gaze lingered in her direction for a fraction of a second. She turned her attention back to the ninja soon enough though. "Is that…" she trailed off as she walked towards him. Sakura watched quietly as the woman stopped next to his bed. "Syaoran…" she whispered, her hand softly cupping the unconscious boy's pale cheek and Sakura felt a strange pang within her heart. The feeling was foreign, something she had never quite experienced before but the way the woman appeared to be looking at Tsubasa made Sakura subconsciously clench her fists. Despite the fact that she wanted Syaoran to get well as fast as he could, she did not want that woman near him.
"You must be Sakura, am I right?" Sakura blinked in surprise as the woman smiled at her. When had she left Syaoran's side and arrived in front of her.
"I am," She nodded, finding it rather hard to smile back. Her thoughts confused her. Why did she find it hard to perform an action that came so naturally to her?
"I'm Masooma." She held her hand out for a shake and finally managing to bring her feelings back under her control, Sakura took it. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you." the woman, Masooma grinned easily, though Sakura could sense an underlying sadness in her eyes. Her eyes seemed to convey her tiredness and worry. Masooma was quite pretty, someone that Tomoyo might have gushed over had she seen her but her eyes seemed to rob her of some of her beauty. They made her look far too old for her age. Like she had witnessed and suffered through horrors no one ever should.
"I'll leave you to it then, Masooma. Kurogane, if you could please accompany me?" The Oracle said as he took his leave and Sakura did not miss the irritation, anger, confusion and a small amount of fear that rolled off of the woman standing before her. She wasn't sure why but the minute they had all landed in this world, Sakura had been able to sense emotions of those around her far more accurately then she could have back in Clow. She did not like to pry into the feelings of those that were around her without their permission so she closed her eyes and concentrated on releasing a small amount of her magic to shield her from their influence.
"I'll see you later, Princess." The red-eyed man told her as he passed them, taking the dimension hopper along with him.
"I'm sorry." Masooma murmured softly as she walked back towards Syaoran. Slightly confused, Sakura followed, "I tried to stop them from going there. They refused to listen though. All three of them…"
"It's not your fault." Sakura replied in an equally quiet voice as she observed the woman scan Syaoran with her magic. The foreign pang attacked her heart once more but she ignored it in favor of studying the method the healer before her employed. It was different than the one Sakura preferred but it was one she had heard and read about all the same.
"His spine has suffered trauma quite recently." The healer frowned, "I'm sure the time flow is different between here and Clow and time passes slowly there than here, but… this injury seems fresh. A couple of days old at most. I'm sure at least a couple of weeks had passed there since he was rescued."
"… He jumped out of the window of the room he was being kept in."
"I see." The woman nodded as she resumed her scan, not speaking for several more moments. "The bones in his arm are healing rather nicely. As are his ribs. You are a healer as well, am I correct?"
"I have been trained in the arts of healing as the High Priestess of Clow."
"High Priestess, hmm?" the woman did something quite uncharacteristic as she gave her a wide grin and whistled. "Nice. I never got promoted to the Head Healer back in Celes."
"You used to live in Celes?" Sakura asked in surprise.
"Hmm?" she murmured distractedly as she was once again scanning Syaoran. Pausing briefly to look over her shoulder at the princess, she nodded, "Oh yeah. I used to be Fai's apprentice."
"Apprentice? But Fai-san can't…" she blushed at the look the older woman shot her. Hastily she looked away, unable to meet her gaze.
"I know. He can't heal. It's almost like his magic was never meant for healing so it refuses to heal. He knows the theory behind it all though, so his knowledge is quite extensive."
"I see."
"I think it might be best if we move Syaoran to the spare room attached to my chambers."
"What?" Sakura looked back in alarm.
"I'd be able to keep a closer eye on him that way." The woman said with a small laugh that caused Sakura's embarrassed blush to deepen. "You don't have to worry about me trying anything."
"I wasn't insinuating that." She mumbled, once again looking away.
"Relax," Masooma laughed again, "I know you're apprehensive about him being in the care of someone you barely know. Especially," she sobered up, "considering the price that forbids you or Kurogane from seeing him until he is healed."
"How do you know about our price?" she asked, looking at the healer rather apprehensively. Not even Touya or Yukito had known about the price they had had to pay to get to Magihidusi.
"Watanuki mentioned that when I made a wish to him."
"Oh…"
"Looking after Syaoran is part of my price." She admitted, "Not that I would mind looking after him otherwise." She added hastily. There was a moment of silence before she asked in a hesitant manner, "Sakura, you're going to go along to rescue Fai, aren't you?"
"Yes." The princess nodded.
"I see." She nodded, returning her attention to her patient. Slightly puzzled, Sakura observed the woman taking care of Tsubasa as she went about scanning him with various spells. Feeling the princess's eyes on her, Masooma turned to give her a weary smile, her gaze only serving to highlight the healer's sadness and pain. Any lingering discomfort that Sakura felt towards the older woman vanished as she met her stare. Despite the way she held herself as she moved around, she looked quite fragile, letting Sakura catch a glimpse of what lay behind her mask of lighthearted cheeriness. And no matter how different she appeared to be from the other, as Sakura looked at the healer then, she was painfully reminded of the blond magician that had travelled with her other self on her journey to reclaim her precious memories.
"Don't worry Masooma-san," she offered her a comforting smile in return, "we'll bring him back for sure."
Though it did not completely disappear, the helplessness in her expression lessened a little. "Thank you."
A/N: So can anyone name the emotion Sakura felt when she's with Masooma? The group has finally made it to Magihidusi. But will they be able to get to Fai on time?
Oh I just remembered. Someone mentioned how Fai should have died from his wounds getting infected since the hunters usually didn't bother treating or cleaning the injuries for days on end. He's bound to suffer for that. Since I can't really find any place to fit the explanation into the story itself, I decided I'd just explain it over here. The reason why his wounds hadn't gotten infected so far because of the drugs they were giving him. It's supposed to be a fairly new drug developed by the hunters so Syaoran and Fai are some of the few captured mages that have been given it. (Masooma was captured/tortured way before its development). As I've already mentioned it's designed to make them hallucinate and fear their loved ones. Basically it has three major functions.
a. Make them mistrust and fear the people they care about
b. Restrict/suppress their magic
c. Fight off infections in the wounds
The reason for c. is because if the mage got infected he'd end up getting sick. If he got sick, the hunters would most probably have to be careful about the extent of damage they could inflict on their victim. Obviously it would also mean that the captured mage would die sooner which would reduce their chances of getting the information that they want. In case you are wondering, the hunters don't really know that the location of the essence is known only to the guardians. They believe it's general knowledge amongst all mages.
That being said, the hunters have stopped giving Fai that drug. I think you can see where this is going, no? ;)