A/N: Hey everyone! Guess what?

I turned twenty one today! :D

So as a treat to all my faithful readers, I'm gonna update today instead of on Saturday.

Enjoy! Don't forget to review!

Touya sighed softly, watching the lavender-eyed medic fuss over the unconscious pilot. From what he could tell, the bullet had embedded itself rather deeply in his right shoulder and the medic lacked proper equipment to treat the wound accordingly. So, she had resorted to using makeshift surgical tools. Though the wound would leave scars, Touya was amazed by the skill she displayed in treating the unconscious man. A few hours had passed by now, but she was still cursing their captors. She had remained oddly quiet about what that guy Ryanban had revealed about Sakura and what she herself had revealed.

His baby sister claimed to be a murderer. Of not one, not two, but of several hundred hunters.

He did not believe it. She had to be bluffing. There was no way. No way at all that she could have killed all those men. Despite him having witnessed the careless manner in which she had killed that guard, Touya refused to believe that his little Kaijuu was a murderer.

Fai, can you hear me? A faint, feminine voice echoed distantly in his mind, startling him out of his thoughts.

Fai, the girl sounded familiar, wake up.

Who's there? Latching onto the existing connection, he found it easier to locate the owner of that voice. It was someone on that planet, the one that was famous throughout the galaxy for its mutated animals, acidic rain and unnatural rock formations.

Hunter? He heard the girl ask.

It's Touya, he grumbled in irritation.

Right, he heard Sakura say, is Fai still unconscious?

Yeah. He glanced back at the blond. He's out like a rock. The bullet was a type of stunner so I'm not sure when he'll be waking up.

Oh. Sakura asked. Could you do me a favor?

What?

Tell Tomoyo that Syaoran is with me.

What? He mentally exclaimed. What is the Gaki doing over there with you? That brat was so dead, the minute he arrived back onboard. How dare he sneak away with his sister?

He is not a brat! Sakura defended the boy in an indignant tone. And, um… her tone softened, growing a little hesitant, he was hiding in the ship from Ryanban's men, and I didn't realize he was onboard till I got here.

… He chose not to respond to that, thinking up ways he could torture the brat for sneaking off with his sister!

So you have magic too, huh? Sakura continued casually. Why didn't I notice your aura before you contacted me?

Of course I have magic, you fat Kaijuu. Touya responded automatically, wondering why she was asking him such obvious questions. Even if she refused to acknowledge having known him, she should still know this much. And why are you asking me why you didn't notice my aura before? You should know the reason why. It was only once he had said this that he remembered the brat's words about her having lost her memories.

Did you just… call me a Kaijuu? She asked in a stunned voice.

Before he could respond to that however, a newer voice joined their conversation, Sakura? So, the pilot had awakened. What great timings.

Fai! You're awake.

-0-

The sky cleared up as soon as the sun rose, and the wet ground began to dry up as the acidic water evaporated in the heat. One complete hour after sunrise, the sandy plains and rocky formations were all enshrouded in an acidic, smoggy mist which cleared as the sun rose higher in the sky.

Beaming widely, eyes shining in excitement, Syaoran followed Sakura outside the ship as the protective shields lowered and they were assaulted by the humid, hot air. It stung their skin slightly, but it was nothing either of them could not endure.

"Ready?" she grinned at her companion, throwing the glider to the ground. The board activated with a small beep and floated up from the floor. He gave her an enthusiastic nod, letting his own board fall on the floor as it activated and hovered above the ground.

"Alright then," she leapt on her glider, waiting for Syaoran to mimic her action.

"Let's go!" the amber-eyed teen jumped on his board with an elated laugh and shot off towards the rock formations.

"Oye! Wait up!" Sakura cried indignantly as she zoomed after him. The warm air rushed through her hair as she caught up with the brunette, who grinned at her before bending his knees to go faster.

"So that's how it is, huh?" she mumbled, all the while barely containing her grin. She hurried to catch up, overshooting him and whipping around a gnarled pillar of stone. She laughed, not having felt freedom like this for a long time. Twisting her glider so that she was flying backwards, she faced him. Without even having to look over her shoulder to check where she was going, she maneuvered around various rocky formation with ease, emerald orbs silently challenging her companion.

Rising up to the test, the amber-eyed male sped up towards a stone archway formation, flipping over it while his glider sailed smoothly underneath it. Landing neatly on his feet, he gave her a small bow, the mischievous smile playing across his lips conveying everything. Still facing backwards, Sakura glided effortlessly as she kept a little ways ahead of her companion, using a small portion of her magic to navigate the way.

Ah, magic.

Where would she be without it?

All of a sudden, Syaoran shot past her, zooming into a narrow canyon, looking over his shoulder as she twisted her board back once more to face forwards again. His laughing eyes seemed to be daring her to follow and try and beat him.

Furrowing her brows in determination, Sakura followed darting in behind him, aiming for a low arch. Speeding up, she shot through the opening, giving a delighted whoop. A little ways ahead of her, Syaoran mimicked her actions, his exhilarated laughter filling up the air.

Again and again, the two zoomed under, around and over various obstacles in the canyon that widened as they went deeper.

As she soared on her glider alongside the chocolate haired boy, Sakura felt a freedom like she had never felt before. All her worries seemed to have been left far behind leaving her completely carefree. For the time that she flew through that desert, conquering the rugged landscape, she happily forgot all the thoughts that constantly plagued her mind.

Syaoran must have felt something similar for he too transformed into an entirely different person.

"Happy birthday Kaijuu." The hunter's younger voice echoed in her mind though no images accompanied it this time.

"Uwai!" she heard her younger self exclaim.

"Happy Sakura-chan." It was the other hunter.

"You got me a glider!"

"Do you like it?"

"I love it! Thank you Touya Nii-san! Thank you Yukito-kun!" Nii-san. There it was again. What exactly did that word mean? I should try looking up its meaning. She thought idly as she carelessly avoided a jutting rock formation that appeared like a disgusting, charred claw of some giant, grotesque monster.

"You're welcome, Sakura-chan."

"I know you were sneaking out on mine." The first hunter, Touya told her.

"Um… Ahehehe… Oh wow! Look at the cake! Isn't it just delicious? Wouldn't you say so Yukito-kun?"

"Kaijuu…." The hunter growled.

"Now now Touya. Don't scold her on her birthday." The second hunter, Yukito chided gently.

"…Fine. But you better prepare yourself for a long lecture in the morning. I'm not going to let you off so easily."

"Hai. Hai Nii-san. Can we eat the cake please? I want to go ride it." A feeling of elation lifted her spirits even more than before, when her struggling mind began to grasp at the meaning of the Nii-san. It was a strange sensation, one she doubted having felt before but it was like she was lifting up magical veil blocking out everything having to do with her past. This word was connected to it and she intended to uncover the truth one way or another.

"Oye Kaijuu, get back inside! It's pouring buckets. You'll catch a cold."

"Aww… but I like the rain."

"Get in here. This instant!"

"Alright. Alright. You're such a meanie."

"Better be a meanie than be a meanie stuck taking care a fat, sick Kaijuu."

"Mou… I'm not fat!"

"So says the fat Kaijuu."

"I'm not a monster," she grumbled in response to the laughing voice before stiffening. Kaijuu meant monster. She was sure of it. But how did she know that?

And why had that hunter called her that?

Only one person called her that. And that was… whatever it was that her mind had been about to uncover about her past was suddenly forced out of her mind when a laser shot hit her glider and sent her careening into an uncontrolled spin.

-0-

Sakura hazarded a glance in Syaoran's direction as he crouched alongside her, behind some conveniently jutting rocks near the research facility. His face held no expressions of fear rather the look he bore was of a calm and cool confidence, like he knew what he was doing. Her gaze flickered to his right arm and she found her thoughts drifting back to the fight that had taken place not even half an hour ago back in the forest of rock formations and canyons.

The seal on his arm, instead of its usual single pair of mirroring C's was currently in the form of two pairs. She could feel that suffocating, tainted, forest green aura leak out of him but only just barely. The sword that he had used to finish off those guards was back in his arm. He was consciously using the power of that seal, purposefully letting some part of that other cold, emotionless personality of his to show through. Did he somehow understand that his own, gentle, vulnerable personality would be nothing but a liability to her out here? Was that why he had let that ruthless side of his kill all those guards?

Speaking of killing the guards, why the heck had she not been able to kill any? All she had been able to do was hurt them enough to put them out of commission, but Syaoran… his movements had been purposeful and precise. One slash and his opponent was felled like a gigantic Toamri tree cut down by a laser-axe, never to get back up again. In less than ten minutes, he had dealt with almost twenty men. And he had not even broken a sweat.

When her glider had been shot down, she had struggled to control her landing, however it had been useless. The abandoned surfer had crashed into the canyon wall and burst into flames just as she had landed in a graceful catlike crouch. She had hoped that he had gone on ahead and at first it had been the case, with just her fighting them. She had been unnerved when her knives had struck their target but her opponents had not dropped dead like they normally would have and it had taken her precious seconds to reach the conclusion that somehow she had missed their vitals.

While it elated her that she did not have another person's blood on her hands, it annoyed her even more. Why was it happening just now all of a sudden? It couldn't have been the fact that she had somehow failed to kill that hunter, Touya, since she had taken out members of Ryanban's personal guard just the other day.

A small voice in her head still placed the blame on that annoying hunter- who somehow felt like he had the right to boss her around- as she had flipped to the side to avoid getting vaporized by a blaster shot. Those guards definitely took their jobs seriously. But then again, didn't they all? Her smirk had fallen when miraculously and very unfortunately she had somehow allowed one of them to sneak up on her from behind and pin her to the ground. Just as he had been about to slap those magical cuffs on her wrists, the weight had been lifted from her back as a choking noise had filled the air.

It was then that she had felt the suffocating aura behind her. The fight had not lasted long after that.

Shaking her head, Sakura forced herself to focus on the patrolling guards strutting near the outer perimeter walls of the facility.

"Getting past the guards is going to be a little tricky," she whispered as quietly as she could, observing the men through narrowed eyes as she tried to pick out some of weakness that could be used to her advantage. One of the men turned around a corner and vanished from her line of sight.

Using magic to take them out was not an option, since she knew that the perimeter was armed with some very strong sensors. Even the simplest of spells could trigger the alarm. Fei had to be doing some serious experimentation in that facility to warrant this type of security. Lucy for Sakura though, she wasn't the best of Yuuko's employees for nothing. Getting in without getting noticed might be tricky like she had admitted, but doable and a piece of cake for her all the same. That is until she remembered that she had a partner for this particular venture of hers.

"I'm going to deal with the guards while you will stay here and wait," she quickly cast a glance to her right to make sure Syaoran was still there before looking back, "for a signal…" she trailed off, doing a double take, only to have her heart clench in fear when she found him missing from his spot.

"Shit!" she cursed under her breath, frantically looking around while trying not to alert the guards to her presence or her chocolate-haired companion's for that matter. "Syaoran?" she hissed, looking around but failing to find the teen. The sound of a pair of bodies hitting the ground with a dull thud made her look back towards the guards, only to see Syaoran dragging their unconscious bodies across the ground towards a series of small interconnected caves.

Feeling the blood drain from her face, she whipped her head in the direction of the surveillance cameras only to find them completely destroyed by some sort of sharp weapon as was indicated by the slash-like marks present on them. Blinking a couple of times, she looked back at Syaoran to notice the teen's unsheathed sword in his right hand.

Sakura frowned as she watched him dump the guards inside the cave before returning to her side with a sheepish grin on his face. He had used magic but the alarms had not gone off…

The amber eyed boy kept staring at her with the small smile on his face, almost patiently waiting for her to move forward. Heaving a sigh she kept herself from rolling her eyes at him before motioning for him to follow her, which he did, his footsteps silent, easily matching her pace.

Sakura cautiously made her way past the broken security cameras wondering if the guards had become more alert due to the fact that a small fraction of their surveillance system was down.

Surprisingly enough, getting inside the lab undetected was not as hard as one would think. Since the facility was located on a remote, barren planet, with nothing but acid rain and mutated species of local fauna, no one ever went there.

She came to a stop and cautiously surveyed the guards sitting by the security consol of the watchtower. None of them appeared to be particularly more alert, despite the damage done to the cameras behind them. They seemed far too engrossed in some sort of sports broadcast playing on one of the holo TVs.

'Some guards,' Sakura thought. This time, she made sure Syaoran didn't go taking care of them by himself before running inside. With swift precise moves, she took down three of them and turned around to deal with the fifth and sixth, wondering why in the world they had failed to sound the alarm when she noticed a grinning Syaoran standing over the unmoving guards.

"Oh, for the love of..." she groaned, this time, unable to stop her eyes from rolling as she walked towards her companion. Sakura didn't feel it right to scold the boy when he looked so happy at having been able to help her out. So, she placed a hand on his shoulder and looked into his eyes with a somber expression on her face instead.

"Wait here for me." she spoke in a serious tone, her emerald eyes boring into his gold flecked amber ones, "I'll be right back, okay?"

Syaoran bit his lip, the grin fading from his face as he looked back at the doorway, obviously wanting to go with her.

"Listen to me Syaoran." she spoke urgently, making him turn his gaze back in her direction, "I want you to stay here, alright?"

The reluctance was clear on his face, but he gave her a slow nod nonetheless.

Sakura hoped she could trust him to stick to that agreement as she turned and hurried onwards.

Making her way through the maze of hallways and shiny silver doors wasn't that much of a problem seeing as the use of magic detection spells had been abandoned inside the complex.

After all, they were researching on magic so the constant use of such spells would have set off the alarms all the time. But abandoning the use of such a thing proved to be a plus point for her. She was able to unlock all doors with a simple verbal spell that she had about in an ancient book in her employer's personal library.

The book was probably the last of its kind and told the tale of a young wizard going, facing off against a very powerful nemesis who had tried to murder him when he was nothing more than a baby. She had been doubtful about trying that spell the first time but somehow, her friends had managed to convince her to go long and use it. None of them possessed magic. So, she had decided to humor them, just for the heck of it.

Imagine her surprise, however, when it did indeed work, just like the book, or rather 'tomb' claimed.

That had been around two and a half cycles ago, and she could not have been more grateful to her friends as she pulled out a plain, nondescript sphere from her clothes, at the same time flicking her wrist to grab hold of a throwing knife in her free hand. Muttering the simple word from the ancient, lost tongue, she unlocked the door before her, letting her knife pierce the air as soon as the panels slid apart. Hearing the guard fall to the floor with a muffled thump, Sakura made her way inside, mindful of the security cameras watching that particular room.

Using a simple, low-scale, lightening spell she shorted them as she walked over to the mainframe, her jade eyes taking in the magnificent system in all its glory. Letting a small smile grace her lips, she slid the sphere into a slot in the computer's side.

Time to get down to business.

A/N: I just love Fai's perfect timing. *snickers* Is it just a coincidence that he always manages to prevent Sakura from discovering the truth somehow?

Anyhow, the mysterious voice turned out to be Touya's. Wonder why Sakura had been unable to tell he had magic before now.

By the way, isn't Syaoran just completely glompable? ;) ;) (Lol. I just made up a new word.)

How many of you can name the spell Sakura used to unlock the doors? And what title might that book have carried?