Disclaimer - Tsubasa RESERVoir CHoNiCLE (c) CLAMP

Silent Complex.

Part 1 - - - Gospel.

- - - - - -

Everything was half broken. The food. The glass. The rocks and the stones. All the water barrels were half empty and all their books were half torn. They also happened to have a group of strangers sitting on the dust halfway down the central road.

Fai gave a small and weak smile at the blinding glare of sunrise that poured into the crumbling street and attempted to stand. Kurogane folded his arms and tried not to be irked by the sudden hundred eyes that were diverted to his attention. Syaoran took Sakura's hand in his own and pulled her up so they both stood beside their companions on the side of the road; however, the people of the town had still not lost attention and continued gawking curiously at the collection of people who had seemed to fall straight out of the sky and landed upon their half trodden down road; and to be perfectly honest, they had been expecting that exact surprised reaction.

Mokona hopped delicately onto Syaoran's shoulder as he turned and eyed the clutter of people who somehow seemed to be circling yet keeping their distance at the exact same time. He looked up and caught Kurogane's eye. This wasn't good. Aside from the utter horror printed plainly on each and every peering face, absolutely nobody was coming forward. A cold silence hung over the air and Syaoran held his tongue. Their was something about the dust in the air that suggested to break the silence would be taboo.

Fai continued grinning foolishly and awkwardly and Sakura brought her hand to her mouth. The atmosphere was eerie. The crumbling houses that cluttered the already aquiline road seemed to loom over and shadow the glimmering sun. The sky was a fiery amber. Somewhere between the warm darkness of sunrise and the blinding glitters of dawn and it seemed never-ending and cloudless. The houses were small and distorted, self-made and with an offhand sense of practicality. The doorways and walls were softened clay, smooth, sculpted and curved at the edges and wicker baskets hung breezily on hooks by windows. The people didn't seem hostile, in fact, they seemed quite the opposite. They were inquisitive and their eyes were questioning, but there was something about the way the mothers clutched warily onto their children's that suggested fear. It was expected though, Kurogane told Syaoran with a simple pat on his shoulder.

Wherever they travelled too, people were wary, when strange-looking people and a odd white creature appeared from out of nowhere, it wasn't really custom to just acknowledge it and bustle on with daily life. There had to be some form of surprise and this time was no exception, but, usually, someone would have asked a question by now. Someone would have raised their voice in wonderment.

Kurogane rolled his eyes and stepped forward, opening his mouth in attempt to speak but as soon as he parted his lips, the people withdrew. Their eyes and mouths opened in shock and they all drew in a sharp breath. Kurogane whirled round to his companions and raised and eyebrow in frustration.

Fai glanced up at him cautiously but didn't say anything, it was obvious something was wrong. Syaoran let Sakura's hand drop and walked forwards towards Kurogane with his hands held up in reason. This was getting them nowhere. If both parties refused to communicate, or to put it better, were afraid to communicate, there would be no way of gathering any information about the princess's feather, and that had to remain their prime goal.

Syaoran breathed in and then began to speak but before even one syllable could escape him, a young boy, no older than seven or eight and dressed in half ripped robes that were the colour of dry sand ran forward onto the road towards him. He approached him shyly, leaving wisps of dust whipping in the wind and tiny footprints along the dirt and held a finger to his lips. Syaoran tilted his head in confusion and Kurogane threw up his hands and trudged back to lean against a wall, losing patience with the entire situation. Sakura smiled up at him awkwardly and then turned once again to face Syaoran and the young boy.

The little boy brought his left and right index fingers together in a cross and placed them to his lips firmly. Syaoran nodded in agreement and moved his mouth, mouthing words silently and then shook his head. The boy nodded with a sheepish smile and hesitated a moment before toddling back across to his proudly smiling mother.

Syaoran glanced back worriedly at his group. Sakura was still clutching both hands together, Fai smiled grimly with a hint of seriousness in his clear blue eyes and Kurogane looked around darkly, still leaning against the wall with his arms folded. Syaoran looked at his shoulder and to Mokona and raised his eyebrows to which Mokona shrugged it's tiny arms.

The townspeople began shuffling and some began moving around again, hanging up baskets and taking food into the houses but their eyes still remained upon the travellers. Some reclined back into their house and yet, some remained.

Fai patted Syaoran on the shoulder and Syaoran gave him a questioning glance. He didn't have to even follow Fai's pointing finger before he felt a sharp tug on his cloak. Syaoran twirled round and looked down to see the same little boy smiling up at him. The boy looked round to each of them in turn and nodded, smiling almost smugly before raising his arm in the air and pointing up to a great clock tower that stood further on from the road and the houses. The five of their heads gazed up instinctively at the tower. The clock face was old and dirty, the grim-looking clock hands unmoving and the mud-coloured bricks were weathered and dented. The building was tall and narrow and with a large uncovered window on each side from which black and silver birds were flying in and out of, and on the top of the thinly slated roof was an intricate steeple with an angelic figure gracefully designed on top. Sakura regarded the boy with a wondering smile to which he pointed a finger straight back at her and again towards the tower.

Fai nodded, smiling and pointed to the group and then to the tower, letting his lean fingers make walking movements in the air. The boy nodded enthusiastically and kept his finger heading towards the sky.

The five of them eyed each other in contemplation. He wanted them to go to the town clock tower but there wasn't a clue to why he wanted that. The fact that they couldn't speak was strange. Was it dangerous to? Kurogane inwardly sighed. They had to speak eventually, otherwise, things were about to get a whole new level of difficult.

- - - - -

The clock tower was only a little while away and they moved in silence. Fai seemed relatively relaxed, managing to annoy Kurogane through oddly lopsided grins and bothering him with a strange incomprehensible charades style language that consisted of a lot of waves and prods. Kurogane silently fumed, his every urge rising to shout out angrily and break the silence. Breaking Fai's ever-waving hand in the mix of all that wouldn't be such a bad idea either. Kurogane stormed forward and Syaoran walked close to Sakura who seemed strangely calm despite their strange predicament. Mokona flitted from shoulder to shoulder in attempt to waste energy. If anyone was to break the silence it would be Mokona, but there was something so sincere about the way the boy had placed his finger to his lips that made the entirety of them wary.

Kurogane stopped at the clock tower doors and looked blankly at the door. It was bulky and looked heavy, the wood was rotten and chipped in places and the handle was rusted and needed a desperate lick of paint or oil. Despite that, the patterns carved into the wood were tangible and were oddly pretty. Kurogane turned to the others who all stood silently, none of them moving. Kurogane breathed heavily up through his nose and turned round, his eyebrows narrowing and he grabbed the handle and turned it violently. Despite it's huge and rusted appearance, the handle moved smoothly and with hardly any sound. Sakura blinked and followed Kurogane timidly as they entered the dark hallway.

The tower was hollow and colder than the warmth of the streets. There was a dark and churning atmosphere about it, the walls looked damp and stained and the cogs and mechanics were broken and dusty. Cobwebs littered the wooden beams and a frail and underslung staircase led the way up to the next level. Fai observed the place coolly, there was nobody down here and Syaoran was already watching Sakura lead the way up the stairs warily as they creaked tiredly in warning of breaking. The next level was the same as the first, bleak and empty, and as if the clock tower had been abandoned for years.

Kurogane was already ahead of them and losing patience by the minute. In fact, he'd lost it all completely. He was beginning to think the people were playing a game with them and that they'd sent them up here for no good reason. The next level was the highest level and he could hear the birds rustling their wings softly. He climbed the ladder, casting a few backwards glances at his following companions.

The clock face mains were large and muddled, springs bent and sprung forwards from the broken cogs and levers and cobwebs and dust covered every inch of the place; however, the sunlight bounced in through the cracks in the bricks and shone on the metal, creating a faint and warm glow. Kurogane raised an eyebrow and turned to inspect the vast and hollow room but couldn't see anything worth attention. Syaoran clambered up the ladder and joined him, frowning in confusion.

Kurogane wriggled his bottom lip harshly and opened his mouth to speak. Sakura and Syaoran both raised their hands in protest but Kurogane simply gave them a look that said he was tired of playing the game.

Fai smiled coyly and wiggled a finger at Kurogane who began to protest, but, before he could do any actual protesting, Fai raised his arm and his eyes moved to the back of the room, his finger pointed directly at the outline of a person.

"Don't speak." The figure said at once, moving out into the light with raised arms.

Kurogane looked at the man in utter aghast, waving his hand in disbelief.

"Trust me," the old man croaked, "Do not speak a word."

Sakura tilted her head and Mokona leant forward to inspect the stranger further.

"You are," the man paused, his look becoming dark, "Travellers, are you not?"

Fai took the privilege of nodding to his question.

"I see," the man nodded to himself, his pleasant manner forced, "Then you must be told about this place."

Syaoran was aware the man was about to tell them valuable information and gave him all his attention. He was an old man and quite small and folded. His limbs were creased and he carried himself as if he lived in a shell. His eyes were small and half buried under his thick grey eyebrows and he wore tattered clothes that looked like they could have been some sort of religious robes at one point in time.

"This place," the man repeated, his voice rippling calmly, "Is under some sort of spell, or maybe even a curse perhaps, I don't know the extent of it myself,"

Fai's smile narrowed but he nodded in invitation for the man to explain further.

"If you speak. If you utter any form of word or rhyme or syllable from your lips, if you do that, you will die. The curse will take over you and once the silence is broken you will be forced to endure the punishment it gives you." he explained gravely.

Kurogane and Syaoran leant forward in surprise. This is not what they had expected to hear.

"It's strange," the man smiled faintly, "But it is the truth. This entire city is under protection of great winged gods. It is these deities that we worship and these are the gods that only bestow blessings to silent nations. As you can see, our crops are frail and our water is thin and muddied. Our people will not last. The spell will take them or famine will take them. Our only hope is our faith and the waiting of the great blessing. That is why we must not speak. If not for the punishment that we will receive individually but for the punishment our entire town will receive as a whole."

The group stared at the man questioningly.

"Ah!" the man exclaimed, "You wonder how I am speaking right now? You wonder how I do not drop down dead as we speak?" he asked to which they nodded in unison.

"You see these robes?" he said, extending an arm and showing off the elegantly long sleeves, "These are the sacred robes for the leader of the nations. They are passed down along with leadership and with religious prestige. I am both mayor and priest. I am a representative for the deities. A charm is sewn up into these robes. As long as I have that I am immune from the spell that is attached to the clock tower and to the entire town. That is why I have to keep everything in check," he smiled widely, his teeth crooked and his lips thin.

"I must warn you travellers, you have to be silent here." he pressed further, "It is necessity! It is necessity to our entire town that you don't utter one word of speech while the sun shines,"

Syaoran narrowed his eyebrows and tilted his head in question.

"When it rains," the man continued, "And only when it rains, the clock tower will glow. It is only at that time that the spell is weakened and speech is permitted. It is a gift from the deities I always thought. A guidance for us to council before continuing on our quest for blessing,"

The man folded his arms and flashed them a wise smile.

"Our houses are half empty and guards patrol my castle beyond the fences so if you need me you will have to catch me when I am on the streets or when I am preaching at service. Please accept our hospitality and take one of our houses at your home until you move on from this place. My name is Yates, although, I doubt you will ever need to use it." he added with a somewhat respectful bow before he dismissed them with a simple wave of his crookedly shaped hand.

- - - - -

The amber sky shone a spectrum of fluid gold and vivid oranges into early night, although, it was hard to keep time in a place such as this. It was oddly lonely unable to hear anyone except your own thoughts and being unable to say what you wanted. Time went slowly and the clock face remained the same as it had always been. Kurogane sat upon one of the hard bottomed beds with his arms folded and Fai relaxed on a fragile looking chair while making the best attempts to communicate through his eyes and by strange hand gestures. Sakura sat sleepily in the corner wrapped comfortably in Syaoran's cloak and her head tilting with the urge to sleep and Syaoran shifted his position, obviously deep in thought. He would sit up every now and again and pace a little around the solid room frowning a little. Kurogane sighed and lurched forwards feeling utterly defeated. Fai smiled sadly and leant back in the chair until Sakura sat up suddenly.

Syaoran and Fai looked at her inquisitively as she made her way to the window, her eyes oddly brightened. Syaoran followed her and tapped her on the shoulder lightly. Sakura turned and smiled before throwing an arm in direction of the window.

Kurogane slouched up to the window frame with Mokona fidgeting slightly in his cloak. Fai leant forwards with his chin cupped in his hands and raised his eyebrows curiously and Syaoran merely stared out at the sky where Sakura was pointing attention to.

Kurogane raised an eyebrow in question at the princess who just nodded. The clear amber sky suddenly became dark and clouded, puffs of glittering white swirling almost magically over a deeply red horizon. The clock tower chimed once. A single chime that rung through the city and lasted for a clear few seconds before a faint glow started creeping across the clock face and the sky parted gave way for a the most profound and beautiful fall of rain.