A/N: So after a long wait, it's finally here.
Enjoy!
Touya blinked and found himself standing back in the cabin on Mokona. The blond lay sprawled out on the floor in front of them, but he seemed to be pushing himself into a sitting position using his shaking arms. Before any of them could move, Tomoyo was upon the blond, her action seemingly surprising even her fiancé as she decked the pilot on his head. Her shoulders were shaking as she stared at Yuui, her back to them all as the pilot stared back at her.
"Kurgy is having a really bad influence on you, Tomoyo." The blond said softly as he looked up at the medic, "You've become violent."
"You… You idiot!" she cried, flinging her arms around his neck as she fell to her knees right in front of him. Even the pilot was surprised as she began sobbing into his shoulder. Although he flinched from the pain that her actions seemed to be causing him, he did not voice any protests as she wept. "Going through all that without even saying a word…"
"There wasn't anything to say, Tomoyo." He replied quietly and Touya found himself internally agreeing with the blond. Had he not forced them to view his memories, those two had been just about willing to kill him if they had not needed to use him to find the brat.
"You're not any less of an idiot than your twin." The red-eyed captain spoke up. "I know why you lied to us. I'd have gone after those bastards in a heartbeat had I known. Heck, I'd go after those fucking bastards right now if I could!"
"I was afraid you'd say that…" Yuui murmured weakly, appearing rather sick. He flinched once again, though his eyes didn't stray from the captain's face.
"That tattoo on your shoulder, isn't there something you can do about it?"
"I could die." He laughed weakly. "It might be better than suffering through… but I don't think I can die right now. I still have to get Syaoran away from there. I swore I would." Touya looked the blond up and down, somehow doubting he'd even be able to stand up on his own in his current state, let alone go rescue the brat.
"Idiot!" This time, the punch came from Kurogane.
Touya watched in morbid amusement as the pilot clutched his head in pain. If the blond didn't die because of his magic warring with the seal upon his body, he'd most definitely die from all the hits to the head he was taking. "You're in no condition to go anywhere. Just look at yourself. You look like you could drop dead any second."
"I sure feel like it." The addressed man chuckled humorlessly. "But…"
"As much as I hate to say this…" Kurogane interrupted him, "you need to get some rest first. The kid can wait."
"Syaoran shares a special bond with Sakura." The pilot said as Kurogane helped him climb to his feet. "She was a part of a similar project as Syaoran. I'm sure she'd be able to locate him through that bond."
"Wait a minute…" Touya narrowed his eyes, his mind quickly making the connections between various unintelligible terms he had come across during his browsing of the files he had seen in Sakura's laptop. "Are you telling me my sister went through all the same stuff we just saw happening to the brat?"
"Touya…" Yukito warned quietly as he noticed the steadily declining condition of the pilot who appeared to be frighteningly pale, his skin losing color rather quickly, "Maybe we should find out where he sent Sakura-chan first."
Touya opened his mouth to protest but the blond pilot spoke up, his breathing growing labored by the second, "Infinity." He gasped out just as the ex-captain, Kurogane, noticed his condition and rushed forward to help him, "She works for Yuuko Ichihara so I sent her there." His blue eyes rolled to the back of his head as he passed out in a dead faint.
-0-
Sakura paced the length of her room, feeling an inexplicable terror in her gut, the feeling causing her intestines to twist and turn into knots. She could somehow tell, though… the feelings were not her own.
"Sakura? Are you awake?" Chiii knocked on the door to her room, her quiet voice drifting through the sheet of metal.
"Couldn't sleep?" Sakura asked softly as she unlocked the door.
"No," the petite blond shook her head, "you neither?"
"I'm feeling so restless again." Sakura admitted, leading the blond back into her abode. "I know Yuuko told me to wait here, but…"
"But you want to be out there looking for him?" Chiii filled in the sentence when the information thief herself trailed off into silence.
"I finally remember who I am, Chiii." Sakura looked at her long-time friend through emerald eyes that were glazed over with unshed tears. "After all these cycles of searching, I know who I am."
"Princess Sakura of Clow."Chiii said slowly, as though testing how the words sounded when spoken out loud.
"A princess…" The brunette chuckled mirthlessly, "who would have thought?"
"Sakura, you've got to have a bit of faith in Yuuko." Chiii placed her arm around the girl's shoulders, pulling her into a sidelong hug, "There must be a reason why she asked you to stay here for a few days, don't you think?"
"I know that." Sakura leaned into the comforting hug of her friend, "I just… He's the only family I've got left now."
"I can understand how you feel, Sakura." The blond spoke softly, "it's a wonder I still haven't stolen a ship and gone out to search for that stupid cousin of mine already. I was a few cycles younger than you when I last saw him."
"I'm also worried about Syaoran and the others. Fai… Yuui sent me away. I can only hope the others managed to get away as well."
"Syaoran is the one that's called Xiao Lang in the files, right?" Chiii asked as she bit her lip.
"Yeah."
"Did you ever get around to reading the data in its entirety?" The blond looked almost hesitant as she asked this.
"No." Sakura shook her head, "I only just barely skimmed over my own files."
"I see." Did she look almost relieved after she had heard the answer?
"Why, what is it?" Sakura decided to press the issue a little, noticing how her friend grew a little tense before slumping in resignation.
"Well… If you had read the files," Chii spoke, unconsciously biting her lip in nervousness, "you would have known that Syaoran actually has part of your magic inside him."
"My magic?" Sakura repeated before frowning thoughtfully. "I see… so that's why."
"What?"
"Huh? Oh… nothing. It's nothing." The green-eyed girl waved her friend off.
"You sure?" Chili looked torn between believing her and trying to force her into answering. On a subconscious level, now that Sakura thought about it, it seemed as though she had always been aware of it. Why else would Syaoran and his magic have felt so familiar? Why else would a complete stranger's aura caress her own in such a-dare she think it?-intimate manner? Why else would Sakura feel this overwhelming urge to leave everything behind and go search for him, no matter the price.
"Yeah. I, er… I think I should get some sleep now. Yuuko is probably gonna need us in the morning."
Despite the fact that Sakura had claimed wanting to sleep only to be left alone by her friend, she ended up falling asleep within minutes of the blonde's departure.
-0-
"Calm down, Touya," the hunter heard his best friend say as Touya anxiously paced around the cabin.
"Calm down? How can I calm down, Yuki? We'll be there in an hour, and Sakura…"
"I'm sure your sister will be willing to give you a chance to explain everything."
"But she doesn't remember me! To her, I'm nothing more than a hunter."
"I'm sure she'll give you a chance." The bespectacled man shook his head once before returning his attention to the controls. "Why don't you go ahead and talk to Kurogane-san and Tomoyo-san for a while? Maybe talking about Sakura-chan with them might help you a little."
"…."
"You could always ask about how she behaved around them. How she met them, or something along those lines. If you know about her current personality a bit more, I'm sure you'll be able to come up with a good way to handle the situation when you actually do meet with her."
And so it was upon the suggestion of his best friend that the hunter found himself walking to the cabin that was occupied by the ex-captain and his medic/fiancé.
Tomoyo offered to bring him some of the juice she had just given Kurogane.
"Feeling nervous about seeing her again?" Tomoyo smiled knowingly as she sat down on the spare chair while the hunter took the proffered glass with a simple 'thank you'.
"… What if she isn't ready to see me yet?"
"From the short time that I have known her," Tomoyo patted his arm in a comforting gesture, "I think she's more than ready to meet you. She's been traveling in search of her identity for all these cycles. Now that we know there is someone who can actually give it to her, I'm sure she'll listen."
"But what if she doesn't trust me?" Touya sighed as he set down his glass, "It would be the most logical decision and she has been recently fooled by someone that claimed to be her long-lost cousin. Won't she think the same of me when I tell her that?"
"Somehow, I think that she'll be willing to give you a chance when you meet her."
A/N: A big thank you to everyone who participated in the challenge. I really liked all the submissions that were made and it was kinda hard deciding the winner. Seriously guys, judging is hard work! Anywhoo…. The winner of the challenge as I had promised earlier would have their one-shot posted as a part of the story or as an extension of the chapter itself. An omake of sorts if you will. The winner of the challenge is *drum roll* tilDEATH101
"Aghhhhh?" Touya spewed juice…right into Kurogane's face. Kurogane's face was frozen in shock for a moment, juice slowly dripping from his face. Tomoyo was trying- and failing- to hold in her laughter as she handed her boyfriend a napkin.
"Ahhh…" Touya sweatdrops. A vein pulsed in Kurogane's forehead.
"Was that really necessary?"The ship's captain kept a measured tone. Touya remembered the reason why he had spewed juice in the first place. Sure, it was an accident, but he deserved it for actually kissing his little Kaijuu. Yes, kissing!
"Well, I'd say it was completely necessary. I mean you kissed Sakura! You…you…ARGH!" Touya was almost tearing his hair out. Tomoyo sweatdrops. She could literally see the murderous aura coming from both men. The "talk" wore on with Tomoyo flickering her eyes between the now screaming males. She didn't catch a lot of the conversation, but what she did catch made her pale. They were both spitting in each other's faces, shouting curses, and yelling death threats. Sparks were flying out of the tips of Touya's fingers and Kurogane kept reaching for his sword. The medic quietly excused herself from the table though she doubted the warring men heard her. Once outside, she slumped against the wall. She looked toward where the pilot was being kept and sighed. She hurried to the cockpit to pilot the craft.
After a while, Tomoyo set the ship back to autopilot so she could go check on the men. She found them still in the same position, but engaged in a fierce glaring contest. She chuckled quietly and left.
A/N: I didn't really make any changes to their original submission so a few things might not fit in with the actual plot. Anywho, this is not the end of the chapter. Figured I should mention that since I made the one-shot a part of the chapter itself.
"Kaa-san, where are we going?"
"We're going to meet some friends, Sakura-chan."
"Kaa-san?"
"Yes, Sakura-chan?"
"What's a friend?"
"A friend is a person that you like very much and you enjoy playing games with."
"So then Bunny-chan is my friend too, right?"
"Yes, Bunny-chan is your friend. And today you're going to make a new friend."
"Like Bunny-chan?"
"No, like Yukito-kun."
"Really?"
"Really. But I want you to be on your best behavior today, alright, dear?"
"Hai,Kaa-san. I'll be on my bestestestestbest behavior and then I'll make a new friend."
"Who'd want to be friends with a fat Kaijuu like you?"
"Sakura-no-Kaijuu! And I'm not fat!"
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are too."
"Am not."
"Are t-"
"Touya-kun, don't tease your sister."
"Hai, Okaa-san… fat kaijuu."
"Kaa-saaaaannnn…."
"Touya-kun, apologize to your sister. And don't tease her when we get there… speaking of which, we're here."
…
"Sakura-chan, meet your new friend, Li Xiao-lang-kun."
"Li Shao-lan-kun?"
"I suppose that will have to do for now,Nadeshiko."
"I suppose it will,Yelan."
"Okaa-san, why is that brat with the kaijuu?"
"Touya-kun."
"Well, he does look like a brat to me."
…..
"Ne, Li-kun, are we friends?"
"Hai, Sakura-chan, we're friends."
"Then can I call you Shao-lan-kun?"
…..
"Kaa-san, why can't we stay with Shao-lan-kun for long?"
"Some bad men are creating trouble for your Otou-san. He wants us to come back home for now."
"Hai… Kaa-san?"
"Hmmm?"
"Can we come back to meet Shao-lan-kun again sometime? His magic really likes me."
"Really?"
"Hai. And… my magic really likes Shao-lan-kun too."
"Sakura, wake up!"
"… Chii?"
"Who else? Now come on, get up. Yuuko wants you to come down and meet with some of her guests."
"Okay, gimme some time to change. I'll be right there. Do you know who the guests are?"
"Nope. She won't let any of us see them until you're there."
"Alright. I'll be right out."
Climbing out of her bed, Sakura hastily brushed her hair back into a ponytail and splashed some water on her face before throwing on a pair of jeans and a button up shirt. Pulling on a pair of zip-up boots, the auburn haired girl made her way out into the corridor to find the other girls waiting for her.
"Must be someone important if she's called all of us down to meet them."Chunhyang commented as they walked down the familiar path to the outer parts of the building where Yuuko entertained her guests.
"Must be."Chii agreed.
"Ah, she's here." Yuuko smiled as the girls pooled into the room from the western entrance. Yuuko sat facing her guests in such a manner that everyone else had their backs towards the entrance.
Sakura found herself freezing in place as her eyes fell on the much-awaited guests of her employer.
"… Kaijuu."
Snapping into action, the jade-eyed girl approached the man before her, her raging emotions hidden behind a mask of indifference. Stopping half a foot away from the hunter, she raised her left foot and brought it down on the hunter's. Hard.
"I am not a monster!" she raged, not even giving the man time to get his bearings as she flung her arms around him. Burying her face into his shirt as tears began flowing down her cheeks, she murmured into his shirt, "You're so mean, Nii-san."
"Sa-kura," Touya breathed, bringing up his own arms to wrap around her waist. It appeared as though all his fears had been unfounded. His little monster did not hate him.
"Chii, there's someone here for you to meet as well." Yuuko gently told the blond girl.
"For me to meet?" Sakura heard her friend repeat in wonder before exclaiming, "Yuui!" This was followed by the sound of flesh being hit and the recipient whimpering in pain.
"That's for disappearing on me like that, you jerk!" the blond yelled angrily as Sakura raised her head from her brother's shirt to witness Chii rage at the pilot of Little Dragon. Sakura took in his battered appearance with a worried frown but she couldn't help but smile when Chii gave him a crushing hug, not unlike the one Sakura had given her brother.
Touya squeezed her fingers in a reassuring manner, smiling at her when she looked up at him.
Nodding, Sakura rested her head against his broad shoulder. After all these cycles of searching, she finally knew who she and the man standing beside her really were.