A/N: Hey, thanks for taking a look at my story! A few things you might want to know before you begin; this story will follow the manga, it will center around my OC, and she will not be shipped with anyone. Also, this first chapter was edited on 4/19/19, but at this time, the next chapter has not been, so my writing wont be as good. If you keep reading I promise the writing quality improves with every chapter.

Thanks for reading! Please leave a review if you have a second, they make my day!

My breath came in gasps but my boots fell sure against the pavement. I ran through unfamiliar streets and a shifting series of startled faces, hoping I was headed in the right direction.

The houses were close together, and the clouds hung low and dark. The people I passed glanced at me in surprise before I left them behind me. Occasionally, I would bump into them, but I didn't slow down.

I wasn't sure how I knew where to go. Every time I tried to think about the information's source, my mind slid to another subject. Right now, that meant my new scrapes and burns from the explosion back at the facility. They were painful but not life threatening. The System was already getting to work; my injuries would be healed within the day.

My mind spun around and around the last few hours, struggling to match them with reality. I didn't know how my brother had gotten past multiple levels of security, or how a feather had sent me here, and I couldn't find an explanation. But I was here now.

I couldn't remember how, but I knew the way to finding my brother was down this street. I had to focus on that, I didn't have much time.

Without slowing, I turned a corner and found myself sprinting alongside a wooden fence. When I came to a gap in the boards, I stopped, knowing this was the place I'd been looking for. I stepped through the opening, bracing myself for the unknown. I didn't know what to expect, only that something here could help me find my brother.

I hadn't expected a courtyard of oddly dressed people. They stood in the barren yard of an ornate building. In front of the building stood a woman in a cascading black dress. She regarded me with red eyes and an unsurprised expression.

The man nearest me loomed over everyone. He wore black armor, but not kevlar. It was steel and leather, and a sword rested on his hip. He glared down at me, before returning his gaze to the woman.

Another man, who had been hidden from view behind the man in black, leaned out to peer at her. He wore a thick white coat, and held a gleaming staff, adorned with blue gems. He grinned at me and waved. I stared at him blankly before looking away.

Beyond him, a boy knelt on the ground, covered in mud, water dripping from his bangs. In his arms was a girl, pale and unconscious. Using The System, I increased my hearing and focused on her. Her heartbeat was too slow, even for sleep, and her breaths were shallow and labored.

Next was a boy with brown hair and eyes. He wore a dusty black shirt, baggy pants and work boots. He was kneeling on the ground, his shoulders were hunched and he held an unconscious girl. She was sickly pale and had chin length, light brown hair.

"Have you come to travel as well?" I looked away to find the woman with red eyes watching me.

Travel? Why? "I don't know. I need to find someone. I was told to come here for help."

She raised an eyebrow, "Oh? And who told you that?"

I opened my mouth to reply, and found I didn't know the answer. Who had told me? There had been an explosion, I landed in this place and . . . What had she asked me?

"What?" I asked past a growing headache.

The woman regarded me thoughtfully for a moment. Then she grimaced, like she had figured something out and the result was unpleasant. What had we been talking about? Right, I'd told her I needed help.

"Can you help me or not?" I asked, my tone rough.

"I can, for a price," she said.

That was a problem. I didn't have money.

She raised a hand, drawing my attention. "I won't be taking currency, but before we get into that, can I have your names?"

I forced myself to relax. I needed something from this woman, so I had to slow down and talk to her politely. "I'm Alice."

The woman nodded and turned her attention to the warrior.

"Me?" He asked. "I'm Kurogane. But . . . what is this place?"

"It's called Japan," she said. The name of this world reminded me that I wasn't in Elpedite, or even on the same planet. Was this another planet, or another reality?

"Eh? My country's called Japan, too." He growled.

"Yes. A different Japan."

"I'm to getting any of this!" He said.

The woman ignored his anger, turning to the blonde man. "And you?"

The man bowed. "The wizard of Seresu, Fai D. Fluorite." I wasn't sure what a wizard was. Maybe a title, like general or king?

"It's a pleasure to meet you all, I am Yuuko. Now, do you know where you are?"

"Yes, a place where any wish can be granted if a suitable price is paid," Fai explained.

"That's exactly it. And so the reason why all of you are here is because each of you has a wish."

At the same time both Fai and Kurogane began speaking; "My home world…."

Fai continued, "….is the place I do not want to be."

Kurogane finished, "….is where I want to be."

Yuuko nodded, "That is a tall order for the four of you. No . . .for all five of you perhaps. Even if you offered the most precious things you own, none of you has enough to pay." I wasn't sure what to think. Everything was happening so fast. How could transportation be so expensive? Was it a plane or train ride? The only thing I could think of was space travel, which would make sense if they were on a different planet.

The boy started to shake, but Yuuko continued, "But if all four of you paid together, you just might be able to afford it."

"What kind of crap are you spouting?" Kurogane scoffed.

Fai gave a little wave. "Mr. Black, can you keep your insults down?"

"I'm not Mr. Black!"

"All four of your wishes are the same." Yuuko said.

She glanced at the boy and nodded at the unconscious girl. "You want to go to many worlds in order to restore the memory of this child."

Yuuko addressed Kurogane. "You want to return to your own world."

Then to Fai, she said, "You want to go to different worlds to avoid returning to your own."

And finally she pointed to me, "And you need to travel worlds to find the person you're searching for." She lowered her hand. "You have different reasons, but the method is the same. Travel to different dimensions, that is what you need." She glanced at each of us, "Each of you individually cannot make that wish happen. However if the four of you combine payment for one wish, then you can afford it."

She was right, the way of getting what we wanted was the same, but I didn't like the idea of traveling with these people.

"Then what would my payment be?" Kurogane demanded.

Yuuko pointed to his side, "Your sword."

"I'd never sell away Ginryuu!" He snapped, turning to angle his sword away from her.

"Fine!" Yuuko grinned, advancing on him and poking his chest, "Instead you will wander this world looking like some costume-contest loser and get picked up by the police for carrying an unlawful sword, then get plastered all over the TV for being a freak! Is that what you want?"

Kurogane stared down at the smug woman and sputtered.

"You realize that you are trapped here, and I'm the only person in the world who can get you out?" she asked.

"That's got to be a lie!"

"It's all true!" Fai called in a sing-song voice.

"You're kidding!"

Yuuko smirked. "What will you do?"

"Dammit!" he snarled. "When I'm free from this curse, I'm coming back for it!" He thrust his sword at her. when he let go it floated out of his grip and hovered behind her. I scanned the courtyard, trying to find any magnets, or wires, but I couldn't find anything that would explain a floating sword. Using The System to scan for interference turned up nothing.

"Your price, is you markings," Yuuko told Fai.

"I don't suppose this staff would do instead?" He asked, raising the piece up.

"It won't. I told you, the price is the thing you value most."

Fai nodded and a tattoo was lifted from his back to float near the sword. I watched the tattoo, barely keeping my surprise off my face. It was ink. Hanging in the air.

Yuuko's eyes met mine and I refocused. I needed to find Nathaniel. I'd deal with all this strangeness later. "Your price will be those," she raised her finger to point to the hilt of my sword.

She was pointing to the sword, but I knew it couldn't be what she wanted. She wanted what was most valuable to us, and I considered my sword disposable. Which meant she wanted the two rings tied to the hilt. One ring was a gold band and the other had a small blue stone fixed in place by a silver spiraling pattern.

An ill feeling settled in my stomach. But these were rings. Two pieces of jewelry. Compared to my brother, they were nothing. I untied them and held them out, palm up. I met the woman's eyes as she raised her hand. A feeling like a soft breeze ran over my palm, and the rings floated to the space by Fai's tattoo.

"How come the brat gets to keep her sword?" Kurogane growled. I kept my eyes on the strange woman, ignoring him.

Yuuko moved onto the boy. "What about you? Now is the time to hand over your item of highest value and you will be able to travel the worlds."

"Fine," he agreed.

"You realize I haven't named the price yet?"

He responded with the same amount of determination as the first time. "Yes."

"The only thing I can do is send you to other worlds. Finding the child's memories is your responsibility."

"That's fine," he said again.

Yuuko smirked, "I like your attitude."

A boy with black hair and glasses came running out of the building carrying two creatures, one black and one white, both with long ears. They look reminicent of rabbits. He looked surprised when he saw us. "There's more of you?"

Yuuko looked at him as he walked over, then returned her attention to us. "The name of this young one is Mokona Modoki." She gestured to the white one, "Mokona will lead you through the worlds."

Kurogane pointed to the black one. "Hey, you got an extra. Give it to me. I'll go home with that."

Yuuko shook her head, "No. That's how we keep in contact. The only power this one," she pointed to the black one, "has is to communicate with Mokona. Mokona will take you to different dimensions, but there is no way to control which dimension. For that reason, only fate will decide when your wishes are granted."

Her tone went from playful to grave. "However, there is no coincidence in this world. What is there is Hitsuzen. And what brought you together was also Hitsuzen."

"So these are different dimensions, not planets?" I asked.

"Correct," she said. That made more sense, if in an abstract sort of way. Many people had theorizes about parallel realities or dimensions. Compared to the likelihood of humans existing on multiple planets, it was more plausible.

She turned back to the boy. "Syaoran, your price is your relationship. The thing you value most is your relationship with her." The woman pointed to the sleeping girl. "So that is your price."

Syaoran looked horrified. "My price? But how—"

She cut him off. "Even if this child's memories are completely restored, your relationship with her will never be the same again. So what is she to you?"

Syaoran looked down at the girl, and even I knew what he'd choose. "A childhood friend," he said, "and the princess of a country and… a girl who is precious to me!"

"I see." Yuuko's expression softened. "However, if you want to accept Mokona, that relationship will end. Even if you retrieve all of her memories, the memory that you will never retrieve will be her memory of you." She was quiet for a moment. "That is my price. Will you still pay it?"

He didn't hesitate. "Let's go. I will not let Sakura die!"

Yuuko nodded. "Traveling between worlds is more difficult than you imagine. There are a wide variety of worlds. For example, the worlds these three come from." She glanced at me, Fai, and Kurogane. "You can tell just from their clothes, can't you? They come from very different worlds than yours."

She was right. Fai's coat was thick, tightly woven, and would do well cold weather.

Syaoran's clothes were worn and his tough work boots suggested rugged terrain and an arid climate. Conversely the girl's clothes were light, clean and showed no wear.

Kurogane's clothes were designed for fighting. They were dark with battered metal plates held in place by thickly woven ropes for defense.

My clothes were new, made of kevlar, denim, and leather for mobility.

Yuuko continued. "People you know will have developed under completely different conditions on other worlds. You may meet different versions of the same person time after time on different worlds, but just because that person is nice to you on one world doesn't mean they will be in the next. You'll find worlds where you can't communicate. Scientific development, standard of living, laws… all change with the world. There are worlds full of criminals, worlds of liars, worlds locked in constant wars," I thought of my own, "and you must live through them all. It will be a journey in which you won't know where you are nor how close you are to collecting all of the fractured pieces of memory. That said, are you still determined to see it through?"

"Yes." Syaoran said.

Yuuko extended her hand, the one that Mokona was on, and the wind began to stir. "Sincerity and determination: no matter what a person wants, those are needed. And it seems that you are well provided with both. And so," Mokona grew wings and a circle of shifting, iridescent colors expanded beneath it,"you may go!"

As the final word left her mouth, the wind and colors swirled violently around me and the others. Suddenly, the very air around me was stretching and spinning. I was able to catch a glimpse of the strange white creature before everything disappeared, and I fell.

For a few seconds all I could do was try to process what was happening. Iridescent colors swirled around me, appearing close and far away at the same time. I couldn't get a sense of balance. Shifting my weight, I tried to right myself and found the sensation to be less like falling through air, and more like trying to swim. I was able to get myself somewhat upright, but my ability to propel myself was limited. I was vaguely aware of the other people, but I was more focused on trying to keep myself oriented.

The colors started dissolving underneath me, stretching like putty. As they cleared away, I could see cement about ten feet below rushing up to meet me.

I landed on my feet and with my hand on the hilt of my blade despite my dizziness. Next to me, Fai and Kurogane follow suit. Syaoran landed on his feet holding the girl. He wobbled for a moment and fell backwards. Fai caught him before he could hit his head.

Fai leaned over them with a worried smile. "It seems traveling to a new world twice in such a short time was too much for him."

I glanced over and saw the boy was out cold, before looking around at the new world. The strip of sky between the skyscrapers and empty office buildings was dark. The closer buildings had flashing neon signs in an array of bright colors. A few of the street lights had burnt out, and we were the only ones on this street.

From the sky, the small white creature fell onto Kurogane's shoulder with a squeak.

"Gah!" Kurogane yelled, flinging the creature off his shoulder. He reminded me of a child that had noticed an unpleasant insect hitching a ride on their clothes.

Mokona laughed and landed on Fai's shoulder.

"Why hello there, Mokona, was it?" Fai asked.

"Mm-hmmm," Mokona replied with a little bounce.

Kurogane's eyebrows rose. "The pork bun can talk!?"

"Mokona is Mokona, not a pork bun!" they cried, leaping back onto Kurogane's shoulder. This time he maintained his composure, glaring at the creature.

I stared at the talking . . . animal? It didn't look like a robot.

Fai tried to get Syaoran and the girl into a more comfortable position but was having trouble due to Syaoran's tight grip around her. Upon hearing Kurogane and Mokona's exchange, he laughed and succeeded in leaning the pair against the wall.

I kept quiet for the exchange, standing off to the side. A mob of people were visible at the end of the street, accompanied by the distant hum of many voices. It was far away and they were only visible as dark silhouettes with the bright shop fronts and street lights behind them, but it still made me tense.

I wasn't distracted for long. A car turned down the street and drove slowly in our direction. My world used to have cars, Nathaniel had shown me a book on old modes of transportation, but they had been replaced by a network of bullet trains and aircraft.

I glared at the car as it slowed. My hand hovered over my hip, where my gun should have been, if I hadn't lost it. I reached for my sword instead. "Heads up," I said quiely. The others looked to see what i was staring at.

Mokona jumped onto my shoulder. I flinched and glanced at him with a raised eyebrow.

"Those are the friends Yuuko sent to help!" Mokona pointed at the car.

The car pulled up to next to us, and despite Mokona's explanation, I was ready to move. However, my apprehension was unnecessary, as a smiling man in his late twenties rolled down the window. He had short dark hair and his expression seemed genuine.

"You wouldn't happen to be the people Yuuko sent, would you?" The man asked as he glanced at Mokona. He eyed our clothes, but didn't mention their variety.

Fai walked to the car. "We are. This one," he pointed to Mokona, "mentioned friends of Yuuko, would that be you?"

"That's us." the man said, stepping out of the car. A woman stepped out of the passenger's side. She had sleek, dark hair that fell bellow her shoulders and a serious, but not unfriendly expression.

The man bowed. "I'm Sorata. And this is my lovely wife, Arashi. We're gonna give you guys a place to stay while you're visiting our world."

"That's very kind of you," Fai said. "Thank you for your hospitality."

Sorata pointed to his car. "So are you guys ready to go?"

"Well, there's one problem." Fai said, stepping aside to gesture to the sleeping pair.

Sorata and Fai tried to figure out how they were going to get the unconscious pair into the car while I stood back to watch them and our surroundings. Kurogane stood a few feet to my right, eyeing the car cautiously.

"What the hell is that thing?" he asked gruffly. Since I was the only one near him, I assumed he was asking me.

"It's a car. It's used for transportation," I said.

"Your world has them?" He asked looking down at me with a raised eyebrow.

"No." I kept my tone neutral, conveying nothing but neutrality. "They used to be a common form of transport, but they eventually became obsolete."

He grunted in response. He was definitely strange. His aggressive demeanor and red eyes were off-putting. Maybe his world was different, that eye color wasn't natural in Elpedite.

Somehow, Fai, Sorata and Arashi maneuvered the unconscious pair into the car and called us over. Everyone climbed into the car, Kurogane a little warily.

Sorata drove while Arashi sat in the passenger seat. I sat in the middle row on the left and Kurogane sat across from me on the right. The sleeping couple occupied the backseat on the left, and Fai, who had Mokona on his shoulder, sat on the right.

"So what are your names?" Sorata asked.

Kurogane spoke up, "Kurogane," he said gruffly.

"I'm Fai D. Fluorite, but you can call me Fai since it's rather long," Fai said.

"I'm Mokona!" Mokona cried.

"Call me Alice," I said as I stared out the window. This world was busy, like Elpedite. There were people everywhere, along with more glowing signs. The sides of the street were dominated by small shops, some giving off smoke and steam. The rest of the city was full of grandly lit arches, and more walkways than streets weaving between the buildings. But there weren't any holograms or hovercraft that I could see. The technology here must have been a few decades behind my own world's at least.

Fai, Sorata and Arashi were holding some conversation, and Kurogane and Mokona would occasionally say something, but I was preoccupied with the passing world and my exhaustion. It felt like I had been running nonstop since the incident in the lab. Not to mention the altercation I had with Adrian. What was I going to do about that? Should I do anything?

If I was knocked into another world, and so had my brother, then it made sense that Adrian, who'd been next to both of us, had been as well. He was drifting somewhere, like me.

Eventually I decided that all I could do was keep an eye out for Nathaniel and Adrian. There wasn't much else to do. The only concrete information I had was that Nathaniel was on some random world.

My eyelids grew heavy, but I didn't let myself sleep. Everyone in this car was a stranger, sleeping now would be asking for trouble.

By the time Sorata parked, we'd stopped in front of an apartment building. Everyone got out, and the others started trying to figure out how to get the boy and girl up the stairs, since the apartment was on the third floor. It was decided that Kurogane would have to carry them. He grumbled and growled, but conveyed them up to the room. Arashi led the way to the room where they had set up several futons. Kurogane quickly set the couple down onto one and walked over to a wall to sit down.

Fai walked over to one of the other futons and collapsed onto it with a sigh as he looked around.

I stepped into the room to look around before turning to Arashi. "Can I clean up somewhere?" I had dust from the explosion plastered to my face, clothes, and injuries. The rain in Yuuko's courtyard had done little to wash it off, instead turning the grime into a sticky paste.

"Of course." She walked down the hall, gesturing for me to follow.

She led me to a bathroom, and I nodded in thanks before stepping in. It was plain compared to my world's facilities, but it would do fine.

A quick check found that there were towels under the sink, so I used them and the mirror to wipe my face and injuries clean. I had a few shallow cuts on my face from debris, scrapped palms from landing on the pavement, and minor bruise on the back of my head from when I'd landed. Overall, not I finished, I returned to the room the others were in. Arashi had passed out towels for us to dry off with, since we were still wet from the downpour in Yuuko's yard.

Sorata peaked into the room with a wave. "Well guys, morning is only a few hours away, so me and Arashi are gonna sleep. I suggest you do the same and we'll have breakfast in the morning."

Fai thanked him while Mokona twirled around, babbling about all the food they would have in the morning.

I walked over to the wall closest to the sliding glass door and sat against it.

"G'night." Sorata waved over his shoulder and slid the door closed, sending the room into shadow.

Fai dried himself off after removing his coat. Mokona was playfully patted with the towel, as he was still on Fai's shoulder. They both laughed and Fai attempted to dry the sleeping boy and girl while Kurogane and I removed our coats. After a while, we all wordlessly settled in to sleep.

The two— three if you include Mokona— strangers fell asleep quickly. I heard their heart beats slow along with their breathing. I, however, wasn't going to fall asleep anytime soon. There were to many things buzzing through my head. Where was my brother? How the hell was I going to travel with these people like I was normal?

Even though I was exhausted and knew there was nothing I could immediately accomplish, I was too on edge to sleep. The situation as just too strange.

I sighed and turned to look at the stars. That's how I spent the night, watching the stars. Nathaniel had told me enough about the constellations in my world to know the ones here were completely different.

-0-0-0-0-0-0-0-

About an hour after the sun rose, I heard our hosts stirring in another part of the house. Then, a few minutes later I heard the clatter of kitchenware and the muffled voices of our hosts.

Kurogane woke up with a sharp intake of breath and stretch. He apparently woke Fai because he stirred as well. Syaoran mumbled in his sleep.

"He finally waking up?" Kurogane asked.

Mokona jumped onto the boy's chest and leaned in close. Fai sat next to the pair and waited for the boy to wake.

"Sa…kura…" Syaoran mumbled, his eyes fluttering open. Mokona was practically sitting on his face, beaming down at him.

"It looks like he's up." Fai smiled at Syaoran as he picked up Mokona.

The boy shot into a sitting position, his eyes glazed with sleep. "Sakura!" His panic dissipated as he looked down at the girl, seeing her safe. Well, as safe as she could be with a heartbeat as weak as hers.

Fai smiled at the boy. "We tried to dry her off, she got pretty wet in the rain."

"Mokona dried too!" Mokona cried.

"Even while you slept, you wouldn't let her go. So you…er..." Fai smiled apologetically.

"Call me Syaoran." He said warmly.

"My name is pretty long. You can just call me Fai," Fai said. He looked over his shoulder, "and… Mr. Black over there. What'll we call you?"

Kurogane was staring at the floor, but at the nickname he snapped to attention with a glare. "I am not 'Mr. Black,' I am Kurogane!"

Mokona then decided, for some reason, to launch himself into the warrior's lap. Kurogane flung his arms up in wordless surprise, sputtering in anger.

"Kurogane, huh?" Fai said mostly to himself, as Kurogane was dealing with Mokona. Fai looked at me, "And you're Alice, right?"

"Yes." I said.

Syaoran looked at me, to put a face to the name, I assumed, before returning his attention to Sakura. Fai's attention also went to her, and suddenly he leaned in and practically hugged Syaoran. Syaoran was caught off-guard, bristling like a startled cat.

Kurogane, having recovered from Mokona's landing, was just as puzzled as Syaoran. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Fai found whatever he'd wanted and sat back, something glowing in his hand. It was a feather, like the one Adrian had in his lab. It glowed, with a spiraling pink symbol in its center. But it couldn't be. How would it have gotten here?

Fai held it out to Syaoran, "Is this what a piece of her memory looks likes?" Syaoran gasped as Fai continued, "It was stuck to you. Only one, though.." He held the feather towards the girl, and there seemed to be some kind of gravitational pull on the thing because it fell towards her chest when it got within a few feet of her. The space in front of the girl's body rippled as the feather disappeared into the broken air.

I found myself frowning again, and wiped the expression from my face. So there were multiple feathers. And they were this girl's memories give form? I ran a hand through my hair and glanced out the window.

Relief broke on Syaoran's face as he pressed his hand to her forehead. "Her body, it's a little warmer."

I listened and found that her heartbeat was stronger and her breathing wasn't as shallow as it had been.

"If you hadn't had that feather, it might have been a problem." Fai said.

"It must have gotten caught on my clothes, by coincidence." Syaoran said, picking at his cloak.

"There is no coincidence in the world," Fai held up a finger, "That's what the witch said, wasn't it? And so my guess is, without thinking, you grabbed it. In order to save the girl." Fai grinned, rubbing the back of his head, "Of course I'm just guessing all this! But my question is how we can find them now? New feathers, that is?"

I was wondering the same. I wanted to keep moving if Nathaniel wasn't here. And similarly, if he was here, how would I know?

Mokona didn't keep Fai waiting.

"Mokona knows! That feather gave out really big waves! So when a feather is close Mokona will feel the big waves! And Mokona will be like—" Mokona paused and their eyes shot open wide and their ears stood up, "—this!"

"Well," Fai said, "it looks like we have a way. If we get close, Mokona will let us know."

Syaoran sat up straighter. "Would you do that? Tell us when we're near a feather?"

Mokona snapped a salute. "Leave that to me!"

The tension eased from Syaoran's shoulders. "Thank you."

I decided it was time for me to ask my questions, and hopefully move things along. "Mokona, can you find people as well as magic feathers?"

Mokona jumped in my direction I caught them in my hand out of reflex.

"Wow, the silent brat speaks," Kurogane growled. I flicked a glance at him, them looked back to Mokona.

I could see Fai and Syaoran looking at me curiously as well. I ignored the warrior's comment, but I understood their curiosity. I hadn't said much during our time together.

Mokona put a paw to his mouth. "Mokona might…Names are powerful, so if Alice can tell Mokona their name that might work. But Mokona might need something more. Something that belong's to Alice's brother. Something that makes him, him."

My first instinct was to refuse, but these people weren't from my world. Knowing who Nathaniel was wouldn't mean anything to them. But something that belonged to my brother . . . I didn't have anything of his. Except . . .

"His name is Nathaniel Velafied, my brother." I said. "Would DNA work?"

Mokona sat quietly for a second. "Yep!"

I half drew my sword and nicked my finger on it. A blue alert flahed in my vision. It was The System's display, informing me of a minor skin abrasion on my finger with an estimated healing time of six hours. I dismissed it and cleared my vision.

I held out my hand to Mokona, unsure of what to suspect. A droplet lifted from my finger tip, and flew into the jewel on Mokona's forehead. There was a flash of light and it was gone.

Mokona's puzzled expression vanished. "Got it!"

"Is he here?" I asked, reminding myself that the chances of him falling into this world were extremely low. From what Yuuko said, there were hundreds, or thousands, of different worlds.

"No," Mokona said sadly. "Sorry."

"That's fine," I said. "Thank you for the help." It wasn't Mokona's fault. The news however, did frustrate me.

"Search or don't search," Kurogane said, glancing at me and Syaoran. "It's got nothing to do with me. I'm here to get back to my own world. That's the only reason I'm here. Don't expect me to stick my neck out for you or to help you. I won't do it."

"I didn't expect help," I said, a small amount of irritation seeping into my tone. I corrected it a second later, returning to a neutral tone. "I can search for my brother myself. However, I need to find him soon, so I'll be doing whatever it takes to keep us moving. Right now, I believe we won't be leaving until Syaoran can find the feather, so I'll help find it."

Syaoran gave me an appreciative and apologetic glance before turning to Kurogane. "Right, the feathers are my mission here. I'll do my best not to cause any trouble."

Kurogane looked bewildered by Syaoran's even response.

Fai laughed. "Syaoran, you're so serious."

Kurogane glared Fai. "Well, what about you?"

"Hmm?"

"Are you going to help the kid out, too?" Kurogane demanded.

"Hmmm." Fai rested his head in his hand. "I suppose so. My most important mission is to not return to my world, so if it doesn't threaten my life, sure, I'll help out. I've got nothing better to do."

Fai gave Syaoran a smile and Syaoran returned it gratefully.

Suddenly our hosts burst into the room, ushering us into the dining room. "Hope you all slept well!" Sorata, gestured to the food they had prepared. "Go ahead and take what you'd like, there's plenty."

Syaoran hung back in the room with Arashi to set Sakura up in a futon. He came out after a minute of convincing from Arashi that she would be fine.

I grabbed a plate, and shoveled what looked like scrambled eggs and a few slices of bacon onto it. I ate my food and set the plate into the sink before anyone else was done. An alert flashed in my vision, displaying a list of the nutrients and quantity I'd consumed. I dismissed it. When the others finished, Sorata set aside his plate and stood.

"Ladies and gentlemen, this is your lucky day." He said, ushering us back into the room we'd slept in.

"Umm," Fai said, "In what way?"

"Mokona has no idea which world is next right?" Sorata said. "So, it's happy chance that brought you to this world first. Because this is the Hanshin Republic!" He drew the sliding door's curtain open to reveal a bustling downtown full of people, stores, and dazzling colors.

After his big reveal, Sorata drew out a puppet of himself and began describing the Hanshin Republic. He explained the country's weather, currency, sports and mascot. I watched from the back of the room but paid little attention and Sorata rattled through his presentation.

Fai put his hand up when Sorata paused for breath. "Sir! I have a question!"

Sorata's puppet pointed enthusiastically at Fai. "Yes? Fai-kun?"

Fai asked something about Sorata's accent, which sparked a conversation about old languages that I quickly lost interest in. Syaoran however, seemed intrigued by the discussion. A light gleamed in his eyes and his hand gestures became more animated more as he spoke.

I leaned against the back wall with my arms crossed, next to where Kurogane sat. I was looking out the window, studying the city. Kurogane, however, was asleep.

"You!" Sorata yelled and I glanced up. "Wake up!"

Sorata pointed his puppet at Kurogane and a loud bang filled the room as Kurogane's head snapped forward.

Syaoran dived to cover Sakura. Fai spun to look at Kurogane as the man leapt to his feet.

I immediately pushed off from the wall, my hand on my sword, my eyes flicking around the room. The System scanned the room, and aside from its obvious occupants, found nothing.

"What was that?" Kurogane barked, clutching the back of his head and looking around. "I didn't feel an enemy! Who did that?" He spun on Sorata. "Bastard! You threw something didn't you?"

Fai frowned. "You were in a corner. If he threw anything, it wouldn't hit you there. It had to come from above."

Sorata stared at us, bewildered. "What? It was my kudan, what else?"

"Kudan?" the others asked. I kept silent but frowned.

Sorata blinked. "You don't know?" He smacked his forehead. "Of course you don't. You all come from different worlds!"

I released my sword and returned to my position leaning against the wall. Sorata pulled out a marker, turning to the whiteboard behind him. "Everyone in this world has a kudan attached. Here's how it's written." Sorata wrote some scribbles on his board and I eyed them in confusion.

"I see." Kurogane said.

"I don't see at all!" Fai laughed.

"I don't understand either," I said.

"Mokona can read!" Mokona cried.

Fai patted him on the head. "That's really great Mokona!"

Mokona looked at Syaoran. "Can Syaoran read?"

"Yeah." Syaoran nodded. "More or less."

Sorata nodded thoughtfully. "Kurogane and Syaoran's worlds use kanji, but Fai and Alice's probably don't. But you understand what I say, and I understand you."

Kurogane interrupted Sorata's pondering, "Now what kind of technique is this kudan? And you used the word… attached."

Arashi had been standing quietly next to her husband, but now spoke up. "Even if you come from another world, once you entered this one, a kudan will be attached."

Sorata's explanation of kudan seemed vague, but from what I could gather it was some sort of force. And every single person on this world had one, something that I had no idea how to defend against or how it worked.

Wonderful.

Arashi walked over to Sakura and knelt down. "Would you mind if I call her Sakura-san?"

"That's fine." Syaoran said.

Arashi looked thoughtfully at her. "I cannot say where Sakura-san's memory went. However, if someone has picked it up, it will be the cause of a fight."

Syaoran stared at her in surprise, but before he could ask anything she turned to Kurogane and Fai. "You've lost your method of battle." It wasn't a question.

Fai and Kurogane looked wary of her mysterious knowledge.

"How did you know?" Fai asked.

Sorata chimed in. "My honey used to be a miko. Well, she's retired since she married me. Her beauty when she was dressed as a miko was a god-send!"

Sorata, apparently overwhelmed by the mental image, began mumbling to his puppet, red faced.

"Actually," Fai said, "I gave my magic power to the Dimension Witch."

"And I handed my sword to the bitch!" Kurogane snarled.

Arashi looked at me with a puzzled expression. "I can't see much about you…"

"I'm fine," I said, pushing aside my jacket to reveal the hilt of my sword.

"Yeah," Kurogane scoffed. "The brat got to keep her sword and give up some jewelry."

I thought about reminding him that they were both just hunks of metal, but instead focused on Arashi. I didn't want to start a fight with someone I could be stuck with for any length of time. If that meant putting up with occasional jibes, then that would be easy.

Arashi looked at Syaoran, waiting for his explanation.

"It wasn't any sort of power that I gave her," Syaoran said and glanced Sakura. "I never had magic or weapons or anything like that."

"That may have been your good luck." She said.

Syaoran frowned in confusion. "Eh?"

"There are kudan in this world. When it comes time to fight, the kudan should be able to help."

"Then this 'kudan' was originally meant for battle?" Syaoran asked.

"What you use it for," Sorata explained, "is all up to you. One look can answer a hundred questions. If you want to see what your kudan is, the only thing to do is see it with your own eyes." He nodded to his puppet, "Now, I've explained everything to know about this country."

"He did?" Kurogane muttered under his breath.

Syaoran looked at Mokona, "Well, what do you think? Do you think that Sakura-chan would have a feather on this world?"

Mokona closed his eyes, "Yep! It is still a long, long way away, but... this country has one." Mokona beamed as his eyes flew open. Syaoran grinned and I saw a determined light in his eyes.

"Shall we find this feather of yours?" Sorata asked.

"Yes!" Syaoran said firmly and stood up.

Sorata rose from his seat. "Right. While you're on this world, I'll vouch for you. I owe Yuuko-san a favor." He looked at Arashi lovingly and took her hand. She blushed, gazing back at him.

"This is our apartment building," Sorata said. "Feel free to use it until you're ready to move onto the next world."

Syaoran bowed, "Thank you very much."

Sorata and Arashi set everyone up with clothes more appropriate for this world. When everyone changed, we met outside to discuss the best way to go about searching.

I had black jeans and a long-sleeved white shirt, none of the flowing designs or monochrome that were standard for Elpedite. I'd kept my boots and sword but left my coat and gloves, which were eccentric for this world, according to Sorata. The others had clothes of similar design.

"All right," Sorata said once we gathered outside. "You have to search for Sakura's feather someplace! So get out into the neighborhood and see!"

"Fine," Syaoran said.

I offered a nod. I was getting impatient. The sooner we started looking, the sooner we could find the thing.

"Oh no," Sorata cried when saw his watch. "It's almost time for my lesson to start! If you walk around, I think you'll figure out what this kudan talk is about."

Kurogane glanced over at Mokona, who was on Fai's shoulder. "Is the white thing coming along too?"

Mokona leapt at Kurogane with a giggle. "Mokona isn't a white thing! Mokona is Mokona!"

Kurogane glared at Mokona as he landed on his shoulder, but didn't push them off.

Fai leaned over to Mokona, "If Mokona is a white thing, then this guy here is black thing, right?"

Kurogane transferred his glare to Fai.

Sorata spoke, reclaiming my, and Syaoran's, attention. "You have to take Mokona, or you'll pass right by the feather and never know. Don't worry. Nobody will give Mokona a second thought."

"Why's that?" Syaoran asked.

Sorata waved his hand. "What I mean is this world is used to weird sights. Now," He fished a frog-shaped wallet out of his pocket, "take this. There's enough for lunch in there, so the four of you should take your time and make friends."

Kurogane glowered at Syaoran, "Why's he giving it to the kid?"

Sorata grinned, giving him a thumbs up. "Cause he's the one who looks the most trustworthy."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Kurogane snarled. Fai and Mokona snickered at his anger, but Syaoran looked sheepish. I couldn't argue with Sorata's assessment. Kurogane was too gruff and Fai was too smiley. And my constant silence probably didn't give off very friendly vibes.

Sorata waved goodbye and ran to catch his train. As he disappeared into the crowd, I looked around at the tall buildings and sea of people.

Finding this feather wasn't going to be easy.