What should I be doing? Well not this, for sure. But it won't leave me alone. And another Tsubasa/CCS crossover that I already have multiple chapters planned out. Neither will be long... I need to get back to Never Hopeless. Gosh.

This is post Nirai Kanai.

Syaoran saw the water a split second before he dropped into the turbulent sea. He held his breath and desperately kicked against the erratic currents. They tugged powerfully at his clothes. He briefly considered unclasping his cloak to rid himself of the weight, but Syaoran really didn't want to lose it. His eyes burned with the salt water and the world blurred black and grey. Swimming harder, his heart leapt when he felt his hand reach air. He pushed against the swirling ocean water and gasped when his head broke the surface.

His relief was short lived when his first breath in was paired with a blast of sea spray. Coughing, the boy called out against the gale.

"Kurogane! Fai!"

The storm carried his voice away.

"Mokona!"

Lightning ripped the sky in two. The immediate crack of thunder nearly deafened him. Real fear seared through his body. The flash of light had illuminated terrifyingly massive waves in every direction. There was no sign of land.

Or of his friends.

It was a blessing the water wasn't too cold, because trying to stay afloat in such a storm was already exhausting him. Syaoran turned in a sloppy circle, squashing down his mounting panic.

Nothing… nothing…nothing. Just waves and wind and how long could he stay like this?

He opened his mouth to call out again when a light flared from underneath him.

Mokona's transportation circle.

Syaoran's stomach lurched. As much as he was eager to get out of this world, he'd seen what happened when they changed worlds and weren't immediately near each other. Kurogane and Fai were nowhere to be seen. He didn't want to be separated. Last time, Kurogane and Fai had landed in the new world months before Syaoran and Sakura arrived.

Magic rose up around him, weakening the effects of the storm. He cast his eyes around frantically, searching for any sign of the ninja or mage.

The world fell away.

He was alone.

Landing in the next world was decidedly less violent, but the transition from swimming to standing could have gone better. Knees crashed into the grass and Syaoran caught himself with his hands before he ate dirt. Catching his breath, Syaoran coughed against the salty water in his throat. The boy sat back on his knees, rubbing at his face. His eyes stung mildly as he blinked at his new surroundings.

Green and brown.

A forest stretched out around him, fresh leaves and buds sprouting from the branches. A cool breeze pushed its way between the trunks. It smelled of recent rain. Syaoran suppressed a shiver. Wherever he was, it looked to be late spring. Not the best time to be outside, soaking wet.

"Kurogane? Fai? Mokona?" He called through the wood.

Only the chittering of birds answered him.

Syaoran sighed and let himself have a moment of peace to collect his thoughts and rest his limbs. Just because his companions were not right here did not mean they weren't close by.

He stood and wrung out his clothes the best he could, shaking his head to rid his hair of the worst of the water. Grimacing, he wiped his palms against his pants. Saltwater was going to leave him sticky and uncomfortable for hours.

"I suppose things could be worse," He muttered to himself. He hadn't landed in the middle of a battle, or anywhere cold and icy.

Syaoran squinted up at the sun, then around, trying to pick a direction to start in. At the very least, moving around would warm him up. Putting the sun to his back, he wandered off through the sparse underbrush.

It wasn't more than a dozen minutes later that he swore he heard human voices. The boy paused, listening furiously. It was distant, but there was definitely talking coming from his right. He hurried in their direction, fists clenched in anticipation. It wasn't much longer before he spotted the edge of the forest, the light much brighter beyond the trees.

It was a park.

A dirt trail ran alongside a wide, shallow river. They wound through fields of long grass and wildflowers, soft whites, purples and yellows decorating the light green. The sun shone stronger here, and he welcomed the growing warm spot across his shoulders. The breeze was persistent though, raising goosebumps on his bare arms.

Eyes wide, Syaoran made his way through the grass toward the trail. There were people here. Running. Walking. Relaxing on benches. On blankets in the grass.

Suddenly anxious, the teen turned his attention to the closest conversation.

His heart lurched, then fell.

It was nothing more than gibberish to his ears.

Mokona was out of range.