I'm back! I would never abandon all my trusted readers ^^ (If I have any left by now...) I've got a couple of guest appearances from xxxHolic for all you lovely fans, I being one myself. I'm not quite sure yet if I'm going to have them become regulars or not, but they'll probably pop up now and again!

Fai: Oooh, there's a new chapter! Finally!

Kurogane: So many sub-plots... gahh, the more I read, the more confusing it is!

Watanuki: It's CLAMP Syndrome.

Chapter 14: Past and Present

Fai slid open the door to the main hallway, stepping on cat feet into the dimly lit room. The feeble morning light was barely strong enough for Fai to see where he was going and he had to be careful not to bump into anything or make a noise; he didn't want anybody waking up and questioning his being there, especially since he was supposed to be dead. Anybody who did see him would probably call Kurogane down as well (he had left Kuro-sama sleeping in his room), and he didn't want to have to face that seventh level of Hell. Kurogane would probably accuse him of trying to run away and this time Fai would really end up dying.

Besides a rather painful episode that included the collision of his toe and a stone pot, Fai made it over to the other side of the hallway with no confrontations. He groped at the wall half-blinded, trying to feel for the outline of the double doors that led out to the garden. Eventually he grasped hold of a handle and pulled, slowly sliding open one of the doors. The cool morning air rushed to greet him, and he breathed it in with relish.

Outside, the sun was just beginning to rise up above the red horizon. Pink and orange clouds hovered lazily just above the ground, and overhead the blue night sky could still be seen. The pale outline of the waning moon shone over the treetops, as though trying to cling as long as it could to its last moments of life. "I know how you feel, my friend." Fai thought, and shivered, pulling his coat around him for warmth. "I know all too well…"

He walked along a stone stepping path that led through a bamboo grove, watching his breath as it came out in icy puffs of dragon smoke. To be able to breathe in the fresh, crisp air again was a relief. God knows he had enough to deal with; it was nice to indulge in the little things every now and again.

Frosty blades of grass crunched beneath his feet, breaking the silence with a snap of a whip. The stone path had ended, and he was now walking towards the pond at the center of the grove.

Another noise joined in with the crackling of grass, faint at first, but growing in strength as he grew closer to the pond. "It sounds like someone humming." Fai frowned to himself and slowed. He didn't want to meet up with anybody here; nobody knew about Fai's "rebirth" yet, as he and Kurogane had agreed that the news might be better to deliver later that morning. Carefully turning the bend, he peered through the bamboo stalks at the pond. Besides the stone dragons, there was nothing else to be seen… but nonetheless, the humming was there. The tune was sad and slow: it reminded him of the traditional songs that were played at funerals back in Celes. Craning his neck to see, Fai took a step forward, and then another. There was still no one there. Maybe he had imagined the humming? Shaking his head in an attempt to clear his mind, he abandoned his hiding spot behind the bamboo and stepped out into the open.

Suddenly the source of the noise became visible. Sakura, previously concealed by one of the great stone dragons, had moved out at the exact same time as Fai, humming as she did. Glancing up briefly at Fai, she turned away nonchalantly, as though she did not recognize him.

But then the humming stopped and Sakura whipped around, revealing wide jade eyes that were bright with fright and joy and sadness. Her lips parted, silently forming his name, and she dropped the handful of lilies that she had been holding. Tears welled up in her eyes and she brought her hands up to her mouth.

Fai, shocked at first, could only gape back at her. Although Sakura would have found out eventually, he hadn't meant to meet with anyone like this. But it seemed that laying low wasn't an option anymore, and there was no point in running. He could not think of anything else to do, so instead he smiled warmly at her, presenting a short bow as he used to do whenever he met with her. "O-ohayo gozaimasu, Sakura-hime."

Sakura hiccupped, tears flowing freely down her face now. But the corners of her mouth slowly began to form a shocked smile, as though she still couldn't believe what she saw. "Fai-san…" she muttered. "Fai!!"

A quick movement in the shadows caught Fai's eye. "Sakura-chan!" he shouted, but was too slow to do anything else. A flash of daggers streamed through the air, invisible except for the reflections of sunlight that glinted off the blades. Whistling past Sakura as she stood frozen with fear, they dug down into the ground in front of Fai, preventing him from moving any closer to the brunette. As the last of the daggers embedded itself in the earth, their attacker became apparent. Dressed from head to toe in a black cloak, his face covered by a hood, the attacker stood directly in front of Sakura, arm thrown out and facing Fai as though defending the girl. But in his right hand was a sword, flicked back at Sakura's throat as if to say, "Move any closer and I'll kill the girl."

"I have to get her out of here," Fai thought, racking his brains for any means of escape for both of them. Before he had any time for planning, however, another shower of daggers rained down upon him. He flipped gracefully out of the way, landing in a squatting position before catapulting out of the way of another handful of daggers. This time, a figure in the same black cloak as the other dropped down from the sky, sporting the same sword as the first. He swung the sword and nearly sliced Fai's midsection open if not for Fai's cat-like reflexes, which moved him out of the way in time.

The next swing was a closer miss than the first; the size of Fai's bulky coat was slowing him down. Spinning to avoid another lash with the sword, Fai shrugged out of the coat and grabbed it by one sleeve, whipping it around at his aggressor as he spun to face him again. The long end of the coat twirled up and wrapped around the blade of the sword. Fai grounded himself, digging his back foot down into the earth, and pulled. Both the coat and the sword flew into the air; the coat landed on top of the bamboo stalks, and the sword fell into the dragon pond, sinking down to the bottom. Now that his assailant was disarmed, the fight could turn to his favor. Leaping forward, Fai spun again and kicked out with his leg, coming in contact with the attacker's arm as he blocked the kick. Just in time, he saw a movement from where Sakura stood, and vaulted himself back to avoid the thrust of a second sword, this time from the original attacker. "Sakura-chan, RUN! Get Kurogane!" he yelled, not daring to look to see if she had followed his order for fear he would let his defenses down.

Now both of his assassins came at him, one slicing and jabbing with the sword, the other kicking and trying to get Fai to fall to his feet. They each worked in perfect harmony, as though they could communicate through thoughts; neither blocking each other's shots nor obscuring their view. It was growing increasingly difficult to parry the bombardment of kicks and slashes, and virtually impossible to attack one of his foes without putting himself in the direct line of attack for the other. The one with the sword moved to the left and abruptly vanished; Fai's eyepatch, his blind spot, made him that much easier of a target. "Damn it!" Fai gritted his teeth and kicked off to the right, leaping blindly away from a sword invisible to him. But he felt its blade skim along the surface of his arm, slicing through the thin material of his tunic and breaking the delicate pale skin deep into the shoulder.

Fai slammed into one of the stone dragons and slumped, his legs shaking weakly, barely able to hold up the frail body. He was outnumbered with no weapons, with a blind spot and a now useless arm. Clutching his shoulder, he inhaled sharply and looked up. The two in black had halted their assault, as though they were waiting for his next move. Fai, panting heavily, considered his options while he could. It had been at least five minutes since Sakura had escaped: at least he didn't see her anywhere in the vicinity. But how long would it be before she could return with help? And could he hold up for as long as it took? His muscles were still weak from the last battle with Ashura, and as long ago as it had been, it had still taken its toll— both physically and emotionally.

Fai's arm was beginning to grow numb; he gripped it tightly. Lightning pain shot up through the limb, jolting him back to his senses. He thought quickly. If he were to have any chance of overcoming them, he would have to use that, as much as he didn't want to.

The mage stood up straighter and the assassins snapped to their offensive positions, watching intently for his next attack. Fai closed his eye, momentarily clearing his mind and collecting himself. He breathed deeply in and exhaled out.

In.

Out.

In…

He jerked forward almost involuntarily and launched himself towards the attackers with lightning speed. As he leaped a gust of magical energy grew about him: he threw his arm out as he ran and the wind grew bigger, stronger, until it encircled the glade in which they stood. It beat against the assassins harshly, throwing them both off guard and off balance. With one kick he disabled the swordless one, who doubled over in pain as the foot came in contact with his soft stomach. Fai quickly switched legs and spun with the momentum of the first kick, lashing out at the second assassin, but was met with nothing but thin air: the second figure had managed to regain his footing and had moved back and away from Fai once more, regaining his guard.

Fai raised his arm and began to draw rapid symbols in the air. They spiraled together to form a shimmering blue sphere of light. With a flourish of his wrist he struck the ball with his palm and it flew towards the assassin, crackling and spitting magical energy as it went. The assassin leapt out of the way of Fai's magic, but was too slow to prevent the excess energy from searing his sword arm. He lunged at Fai recklessly, swinging the sword clumsily with his damaged arm, and Fai sidestepped out of the way.

The second assassin had recovered from the earlier blow and was now rushing forward to take over the attack, drawing a hidden dagger from beneath his cloak. He clicked a button on the hilt and the dagger extended, the metal clinking into place to form another sword. He swiped. Fai dodged, barely keeping his distance, and drew a single symbol in the air, which grew and split into small daggers of light that propelled themselves towards the assassin. The assassin took the full brunt of the attack once more and flew back, but did not double over in pain as he had before. Instead he withstood the energy from Fai's light daggers and came once again to attack. The other joined him, both rushing forward to meet Fai.

Instinct seemed to take over as Fai once again began to trace patterns in the air frantically. His arm was a blur as the symbols that poured from his fingertip weaved about him, flashing. The symbols began to spiral and cross in the air, forming a domed web of dancing letters. One of the attackers slowed and came to a halt, cautious, but the other continued forward. Feverishly, Fai continued to draw out the pattern in the air, using each precious second to create a new part of his magical net. The assassin swung his sword in a wide arc just as Fai finished the last symbol.

White-hot energy blasted forth from the completed barrier just before the sword found its mark, and the assassin was engulfed in glaring light. The sword melted and shattered into hundreds of pieces as the figure seemed to dissolve in midair, ripped to shreds. Blasted back by the force of his own attack, Fai groped against a wall of bamboo as he struggled to stay upright, watching as rays of blue light illuminated the glade. The remains of the assassin dropped slowly to the ground amidst a sparkling of broken metal, reflecting the light like mirrors.

The light faded, leaving both Fai and the other attacker slightly dazed, but on guard. Then, as though his remaining strength had dissipated with the light, Fai fell to his knees, no longer able to support himself. "Too much energy at once," he thought blearily as he watched the other assassin fly toward him, black cloak and hood ripped to shreds by Fai's barrier, revealing spiky brown hair that whisked about in the dying wind, "Sorry Fai… Maybe we shouldn't have let Kurogane get his hopes up. Or mine, for that matter…"

The sword made a sickening, blood splattering sound as it speared through human flesh.

But the expected pain didn't come, and neither did the blackness that was supposed to follow. Fai blinked against his blurry vision, trying to clear it. In front of him stood Syaoran; the same Syaoran who had attacked him twice before, the one who had stood by Ashura's side surrounded by flames and demons. His arm was raised in an attacking position, sword poised and ready to come down on Fai, but he did not move. Syaoran's hazel eyes were widened in shock, and Fai followed their gaze down to a sword that was impaled in the boy's gut: a sword that looked distinctly familiar…

"Kurogane."

It seemed Sakura had wasted no time in getting help. Kurogane pulled the sword out sharply; Syaoran fell to the ground with a soft "thump", his hand loosening on the handle of his sword. Then, as though Kurogane had just noticed him, he looked at the mage. His red eyes flashed angrily down at Fai, glaring at him with suppressed rage and… hurt? Anguish? Fai was spared the antagonizing feeling by a shout off in the distance.

"Fai-san! Kurogane-san!" Tomoyo and Sakura ran up to them; Tomoyo halted suddenly, her gaze fixated on Fai. "How did…" But she looked away instead, her question catching in her throat.

Sakura ran past her, Kurogane sidestepping the jade-eyed girl as she crouched down by the unconscious Syaoran's side. Tomoyo followed behind, gazing over Sakura's shoulder at the boy. Sakura's eyes were misted over with pain and confusion. She knew this boy, cared for him, but she could not remember why. All she knew is that she did not want him to die. Helplessly she gazed up at Tomoyo, pleading with her tear-ridden eyes. The black-haired princess kneeled down beside Sakura, examining Syaoran's wound. Her hand hovered over the hole in his stomach which, surprisingly, wasn't bleeding too badly. Her gaze wandered up to Kurogane. "You missed the vital spots on purpose, didn't you?" He met her eyes for a moment and looked away. When Kurogane didn't respond after a few seconds, she turned to Sakura, who was still watching her hopefully. "If we can get him some medical attention soon he'll be fine," she said, smiling softly, "His wounds aren't too serious."

Sakura relaxed, smiling back at the hime. Behind them was another sound: four guards had just arrived, summoned by Souma to help Princess Tomoyo. They too stared at Fai, but only for a moment before snapping to attention at Tomoyo's weary glance.

"You two," she pointed to the two larger guards, "help Sakura-chan bring this boy to the healers – have Mokona and Modoki patch him up, and then put him in one of the spare rooms to recover," she ordered. Both bowed and moved forward, gingerly picking up the fallen body and carrying it back to the palace. Sakura nodded gratefully at Tomoyo and Kurogane, taking one last look at Fai and smiling apologetically, before turning and hurrying after the guards.

The other assassin lay in pieces, shattered on the rocks by the pool. But despite the scattered limbs there was no blood at all. Kurogane walked over to it and rolled the torso over with his foot; the head, attached just barely by the remnants of a metal spine, rolled over with it to reveal Syaoran's blank face. Kurogane stared back at it with the same indifference.

Fai bent over the clone, examining it closely. Tomoyo came up from behind Kurogane, peering around him at the fallen body. "What is it?" she asked the ninja.

"A mechanical body," Fai answered for him, standing up and looking at the princess, "But it's controlled by magic— there are no gears or anything that have the capability to move the entire body so fluidly." He gave Kurogane a knowing glance, and Kurogane nodded back.

"Ashura," he growled.

Tomoyo motioned to the two remaining guards, who appeared by her side. "Bring the body inside and give it to the lab. Tell them to find the energy transmitter and study it; whatever they have, we want to know how it works and how much of a threat it is."

As the guards disappeared, she turned all her attention to Fai. Kurogane too, looked him over as though he were expecting something. Fai looked at his feet, unable to meet either of their gazes.

"It seems," Tomoyo said softly, "that there is a lot of explaining to do." She raised her eyebrow at Kurogane who scoffed and looked away, rubbing the back of his neck. She knew that the ninja had something to do with it: he had reacted in a completely different way than Tomoyo would have expected if he had only just seen Fai alive for the first time. There had been no shock in his eyes upon seeing the mage, only suppressed anger and betrayal. As though Fai had almost stripped him of something he cherished. Tomoyo shook her head slightly and peered at Fai. "You'd better get that bandaged, Fai-kun." She pointed at his arm, from which a trickle of blood was slowly curving it's way down and dripping on the already bloodied grass.

Fai started and looked at his shoulder, as though he had forgotten that it was there. Kurogane shot a glance too, his eyes slit-like and glowering. "Ye-yeah." Fai covered the wound with his hand, pretending that if nobody had seen it, it might not even be there.

But like many things that still remained hidden, there was no denying its existence.

Fai squirmed as Chii, an understudy healer, slowly wrapped the bandage around his arm, tying it tight so it would not go slack. His arm was throbbing uncomfortably under the pressure of the gauze, but that was not what was bothering him. In fact, he hardly noticed as Chii finished tying the knot and leaned back into her chair.

"Fai-kun?"

Fai jumped slightly, blinking in surprise.

"Chii is done now, Fai-kun can go…" she tilted her head in confusion, light blonde hair falling into her face, "Unless Fai-kun is still feeling sick?"

Laughing sardonically, Fai shook his head. "No, thank you Chii," he smiled and patted her head. She smiled back at him. Chii was very shy— sometimes even shyer than Sakura, her teacher, but one of the things that had made her perfect for the role of a healer was her bedside manner; sometimes, all she had to do was smile at the patient and they would begin to feel better. Tomoyo had called it part of her "inner magic".

The door to the healers' ward slid open, and Souma stepped in. She took the time to bow slightly at Chii before addressing Fai crisply, "Tomoyo-hime has requested a meeting within her chamber; the scientists have found traces of magic that may be of great importance in the battle against Ashura." Her voice dropped to a quieter tone. "The hime has requested that I escort you there. She has a few questions to ask you concerning your recent… reappearance."

She looked slightly apprehensive, an unusual emotion for the ever-placid ninja. Fai nodded slowly and stood up, taking his tunic from Chii's hands and smiling wearily at the confused girl. He slipped on the tunic as Souma stepped back and motioned at the door with a "you first" gesture and he took her lead, walking out into the corridor.

The door slid shut behind Fai with an oddly loud bang, and he noticed that the corridor was deserted. It struck him as strange: it was nearly noon and that was usually the busiest time of the day. As he and Souma made for the conference hall, he noticed that most all of the corridors were empty save a few servants rushing between rooms.

Pondering this, Fai turned a corner and ran right into a servant girl who was carrying a basket of fresh-laundered kimonos. The basket flew into the air and kimonos tumbled out, littering the ground around them. Fai, who had fallen to the floor, looked up to see the servant frantically trying to gather the kimonos and fill the basket with them again. "Oh, I'm sorry!" Fai apologized and began to help her load the basket.

She shook her head and continued to grab at the kimonos. "No, no, it's all my fault! I'm so sorry… Himawari-san will be cross with me… I was supposed to have done this at least a half an hour ago. She'll be late to leave with the wagons…" Fai held out a golden kimono embroidered with bamboo and she reached for it absentmindedly. "Thank you, thank y—"

She caught his eye and gave an audible gasp, nearly dropping the basket she held under her arm. Jumping up, she snatched the golden kimono from his hand, pushed past Souma, and ran off down the passageway, disregarding the few kimonos that still lay scattered upon the floor. Fai leapt up and reached after her almost as a reflex, shouting, "Wait!" But the servant girl had disappeared.

Fai stared off into the distant hallway, his face blank. None of the servants had ever been afraid of him before: what had changed? His eyes turned to Souma, who glanced shiftily at him as though she knew he was looking for an explanation.

"There have been… rumors," she said distastefully, "Your rebirth was no small feat, and there were the guards who saw with their own eyes what happened to the puppet that attacked you." She shook her head, "Rumors spread quickly in the confines of the castle, and often grow to disproportionate sizes. There are some," her eyes narrowed, "who say that the appearance of Ashura's henchmen and your coming back to life were not a coincidence, and there are some who say even… that you were sent here by Ashura to take over the castle and assassinate the hime with your magic. The thing they fear most is what they don't know, and suddenly there are a multitude of things we don't know… and most of them are about you." She grimaced and shrugged, starting down the corridor again.

Fai's stomach flopped and he felt suddenly sick. He had been the victim of such rumors before, but he never had imagined that the people of Nihon would turn against him like this. These people that he had cared for so much…

An unbidden thought rose into his mind and, if possible, he felt his stomach plummet even more. Did Kurogane think these things as well? If he hadn't been so relieved at Fai being alive, would he have questioned it the way the others were questioning it now? And the way he had ripped that mechanical puppet apart with his magic; the image of Kurogane standing over him as a bloodied Syaoran fell to the ground flashed in his mind. The anger on his face had been clear then: was it anger at Fai's hidden power? Had he possibly believed that Fai was Ashura's pawn? Had he regretted saving him, after seeing the destruction his magic had wrought?

With an aggressive shudder Fai snapped back to reality, and he looked around to see Souma standing halfway down the corridor, looking at him quizzically. "Coming, Fai-san?"

"Y-yes." He took a faltering step forward and stumbled. Souma raised an eyebrow but did not say anything.

The conference room was as still as the corridors: though filled with people, no one seemed to be talking. Tomoyo-hime sat at the head of a low table, with a young boy on her left-hand side. The boy (no older than 17 years) had short black hair that stuck up at odd angles, and spectacles that almost hid his two different colored eyes. In his arms, he held an odd metal-looking heart that pulsated with the same blue aura that Fai's magic did, but the light of the heart was far weaker. Beside him sat Sakura, looking slightly worried in her own kind way, but composed. Another ninja with short-cut black hair and bored looking eyes sat to the left of her, staring around the room with measured indifference; Fai could not remember seeing him before. Across from the guard sat Mokona, and on her right Modoki. Both girls were calm, but seemed to be having a worried silent conversation with their eyes. The last person, sitting seiza at Tomoyo's right hand side, glowered openly at the door.

Fai carefully avoided Kurogane's eyes as he took his place next to the guard he did not recognize. He felt the ninja's eyes follow him as he moved, but he resisted the urge to look up and instead feigned great interest in his own thumbs.

Souma likewise took the seat across from him, and looked with rapt attention to Tomoyo, her eyes rigid on the hime. The others turned to face her as well, though Fai thought he saw Kurogane's gaze flicker away from her and on him once or twice. Fai focused intently on Tomoyo's eyes.

Tomoyo cleared her throat and sat up straighter, her eyes wandering over each person in turn. Her gaze lingered on Fai and Kurogane before she spoke. "As I'm sure you all know, two of Ashura's soldiers have managed to penetrate Nihon's defenses and enter the capitol. Although both of the soldiers have been captured— one also destroyed, we are evacuating the city to the border towns of Kyoto, Osaka, and Nagasaki. Doumeki-san," she nodded to the moody-looking guard that sat beside Sakura, "has been leading the evacuation, and has chosen an elite team of ninjas to defend the inner castle. The army will stay behind as well, to defend the city and the outer palace."

She looked expectantly at Doumeki, who bowed and said quietly, but with a voice that demanded attention, "Because the two assassins were able to infiltrate the inner castle without detection, we are forced to assume that the rest of Ashura's army will be able to enter as well. The guards have tightened the outer defenses, and we have posted ninjas around lab and healer areas, as well as the designated areas Tomoyo-hime assigned." He shifted slightly, as though he were uncomfortable with the formalities. "We have yet to hear from the healer's division in this case," he addressed Sakura, "The healers must be ready, in case Ashura's men decide to attack sooner rather than later."

Sakura nodded. "We're ready. Mokona and Modoki have given instructions to the healers to prepare as many potions as they can beforehand."

Souma spoke. "Kurogane-san has informed us that Ashura has begun to recruit demons again, as he did before when he launched his assault on Suwa." Kurogane sneered as Souma continued, "Is there anything we should prepare ourselves for beforehand?"

"Yes," she replied, her eyes shifting to look at Fai, "A sample of Fai-san's blood was taken while I… healed him, and we found a poison within his blood that was keeping the wounds open. We didn't manage to make it in time before, but we've found the antidote now and…" She trailed off, leaving a small space for awkward silence.

Modoki and Mokona both piped in at the same time, "We will have produced sufficient amounts for those who are left within the next two days."

"We will distribute the antidote, and if it works— ,"Modoki said.

"—the poison should have no effect on hime's soldiers," Mokona finished.

"Very good," Tomoyo thanked them, and faced the other young boy who, Fai realized, was dressed in the black and white-trimmed cloak of the scientists. "But as well as demons, there may very well be other obstacles we must face. Watanuki-kun, I believe you and the scientists have found information on our puppet assassin?"

"H-hai," the scientist called Watanuki said. He fiddled nervously with the metal heart for a moment, turning it about in his hands before he placed it on the table. The metal contraption glowed brighter for a fraction of a second, then resumed its normal weak heartbeat.

"This was recovered from what was left of the body," Watanuki started, "It seems to be a core for the puppet; it's the thing that makes it move so fluidly."

Tomoyo frowned. "But Fai-san said that there were no gears or anything of the sort to make it move like that, and the 'heart', as you might call it, certainly isn't a gear."

Watanuki shook his head. "Forgive me, Tomoyo-hime, I should have worded it differently." He contemplated the heart. "What I meant to say was that the heart is what makes it possible for the puppet to move so freely," he explained, "The heart was made as a sort of receiver for magical energy; in this case we believe it to be king Ashura's own magic it is using, which would explain why the puppet moved so smoothly: it takes a lot of magical power to control something this complex with such ease. The receiver takes the energy and converts it into movement, much like how we convert food and drink for our own energy and movement."

"So when the heart was nearly broken, it couldn't receive magical energy anymore." Kurogane's question was more in the form of a statement.

"Yes. Therefore the puppet also became dysfunctional."

Doumeki muttered something that sounded like "obviously". Watanuki opened his mouth to retort but was cut off by Tomoyo, who held out her hand in a commanding sort of manner.

"Please excuse me, Watanuki-kun, but now is neither the time nor the place. Thank you." Watanuki's head hung in embarrassment, but Fai still heard him grumbling under his breath.

Tomoyo turned to face the table at large once again. "Unfortunately, all of this new information seems only to raise more questions than it answers," she paused and shook her head wearily, "It also seems, that even after these long years of warfare, we have still managed to underestimate Ashura's abilities. There is also question of the boy— Syaoran, that we captured. The only person that seems to recognize him is Sakura-chan." She raised her eyebrows at Sakura, who took this as her cue to speak.

"He still hasn't woken," she said, "Even though the drugs we gave him should have worn off by now, and the wound wasn't serious enough to kill him. Syaoran-kun seems to be in a state of shock." Sakura looked down again, hiding her face from the rest of the group.

"But Sakura-chan, there's still something missing," Souma said. "Why do you seem to know him, even though he's shown no indication of knowing you? And no one else knows him… he has never been seen in the city before, nor anywhere else in the neighboring towns."

Sakura remained silent, thinking over her answer carefully. When she spoke, it was with carefully chosen words. "There are still many things that I do not remember from my life before the castle. For me, this has been my only life. But when I saw that boy, Syaoran-kun…" Her eyebrows creased. "I don't know why I remember him, but I do. I just know. He was special to me. He wasn't a bad person." Her voice rose, as though afraid that they might not believe her. "When he attacked us the first time, I saw it. His eyes… they were blank, as though he didn't know what he was doing!"

"He was crying."

The others turned to look at Fai, each with their own different expression of surprise on their faces. He hadn't spoken until now. Fai looked at everybody but Kurogane.

"When Ashura attacked and set the… forest on fire, the demons attacked and I blacked out," he said softly, "But I remember seeing one thing, just vaguely, before I did. Syaoran-kun had been there, standing next to Ashura-sama. They disappeared, but I saw Syaoran-kun's face. There were tears running down his cheeks."

Fai could feel Kurogane's eyes on him as though the ninja were trying to see into his mind by nothing but sheer willpower. He looked at Tomoyo and said clearly, "I do not believe that Syaoran-kun is working for Ashura-sama of his own will. I've known magic to work like this before. Ashura-sama is controlling him through something, most likely something that is precious to him."

Sakura almost beamed at him, but caught herself just in time. Her eyes, however, still held a warmth that clearly showed how much she appreciated Fai's input.

Tomoyo mulled over this for a moment, resting her chin on the palm of her hand and drumming the table lightly with her fingers. She appeared to be deep in thought, and her eyes had a glassy, distanced look. Fai and the others knew not to disturb her.

Fai sat and stared at the table, immersed in a pool his own thoughts. It seemed that Sakura-chan didn't believe any of the rumors about him; she was too kind to submit to anything as sketchy as something like that, and she trusted her own judgment instead of the whisperings of other people. Souma had appeared caught between the two different mindsets. Fai considered, though, that it was her job to be wary of anything that was not Tomoyo or herself: she took her job as Tomoyo's personal bodyguard very seriously. Mokona and Modoki, of course, would trust their knowledge of Fai instead of others', as would Tomoyo. Doumeki didn't seem to care either way; on the other hand, he didn't seem to care about much of anything. Neither did Watanuki. Could he have been wrong in thinking that they would turn against him? Perhaps it was only the panic of evacuating the castle that caused these rumors to spread, like the fanning of the flames of a wildfire.

And Kurogane… Kurogane had made no indication whether or not he believed Fai to be a danger. Certainly he had made no accusations yet, but Fai was still afraid to look at him, lest he see a look of contempt on the face that he so loved…

Tomoyo sat up straight again and the table immediately snapped to attention, eyes wandering to meet hers. She coughed quietly, and spoke.

"I trust Sakura-chan's judgment: she is a good person, and I'm sure she knows a good person when she sees one." Sakura let a small smile creep across her face. "But then again, this poses even more of a danger to us. Although I'm sure that even Ashura does not have enough magic to command an army of brainwashed people, we must assume that he can handle quite a bit. The fact that he could keep Syaoran under his control whilst maneuvering the puppet shows just how much expertise he has. None of us can truly know just how powerful he is." Her mouth opened slightly but she did not say anything. Instead, she studied each person in turn, her eyes coming to rest on Fai's blue one.

"Kurogane-san told me, Fai, about your meeting with Ashura in the forest." Her eyes looked directly into his, and he found he could not pull away from her hypnotic stare. "Ashura said that you were his apprentice, and were next in line for the throne of Celes. That would mean that you were a prince, and…" She scrutinized him with her grey eyes. "You were also the closest one to Ashura while you lived in Celes."

Every eye in the room was on him now, staring, screaming silently at him for an answer. He swallowed. "Yes," he whispered, "I was."

Sakura inhaled so sharply it almost sounded like a squeak. Tomoyo closed her eyes and nodded slightly, as though this had been expected all along. Doumeki's eyes narrowed and Watanuki's widened. Mokona and Modoki both bowed their heads sadly, and Souma gave a small shudder. Kurogane seemed to be the only one who didn't react: he sat stoically and continued to look intensely at Fai, like Fai was being x-rayed.

"And you escaped?" Tomoyo finally managed to say.

"I ran away," Fai said, "After the attack on Suwa, the attack that started the war. I knew it was only a matter of time before he would want to use my magic. You see…" He drew in a deep breath. "He knew that however much magical power he had, mine would be greater."

Souma leaned forward almost halfway across the table. "So you mean, with all the power that Ashura has, the control over those puppets and brainwashing and everything else, you have more magic than he does?" Her voice was skeptical.

"That's true…"

"But that also means," Watanuki interjected, "That you could have defeated him at any time, right? Why couldn't you have stopped the war before it started? It's been going on for at least three years now! You were on the run, from what I heard. Were you that afraid of him?"

"Idiot," Doumeki growled, "It's not just Ashura he has to fight against, it's his demons as well. And an army. Do you really think that one person, now matter how powerful, could stand up to thousands of enemies and come out unscathed, much less dead?"

"Y-yeah… gomenasai, Fai-san…"

Fai smiled. "It's okay, Watanuki-kun. Sometimes I thought that myself. But there are more things than people I have to battle against. Things that make it more complicated."

"Such as?"

"Well," Fai thought quickly. He couldn't lie to them now, it was too important a time. He supposed half the truth would be sufficient, "I couldn't use my magic before, otherwise Ashura-sama would have found me." It was close enough. "I think the reason he found me, the reason he sent the assassins, was because he knew I was still alive. Magic leaves traces, and when I was reborn, I suppose you could say the trail reappeared."

Tomoyo joined in. "But there is no magic to re-awake the dead," she countered. "The most you can do is animate the body. Even you couldn't have enough magic in you to do that, and how could you have if you had died? You would have no conscious thought."

"I suppose… it's because I wasn't truly dead at the time."

"The soul, sometimes, takes a certain amount of time to cross over to the world of the dead," Mokona nodded her head as though that explained everything.

Watanuki rubbed his temples in a very Kurogane-like manner. "So you're saying that Fai managed to save himself by using that time to cast the magic to bring himself back to his body? I don't get it."

"Would you have enough magic for that, even?" Souma asked Fai. "I thought you had been badly wounded."

"Sometimes, if something is wished for strongly enough, it can come true," Tomoyo smiled to no one in particular. Souma turned to her in shock.

"What? So you mean his wish to stay here kept him from dying?"

"Something like that," Tomoyo chuckled, "Just a little thing an old friend told me once, in a dream." She looked at Fai, leaving Souma to her own confused thoughts.

"If what you say is true— and I'm sure it is— that means we are in more danger while you remain here. Ashura has already proved he is willing to kill you before you can turn against him. You've also threatened him by staying in the enemy country, which gives him all the more reason to attack you before you give away all of his secrets."

She stared at him again, and he looked back knowingly. He nodded his head.

"Then I will leave." Fai stood. "I already tried to once before, but now it's time for me to leave for good. I can't put you all in more danger than you need to be in."

Surprisingly, Tomoyo laughed. Fai gaped at her, confused. Was the seriousness of their condition not obvious? He looked around, bewildered, at the others who had begun to laugh a little as well. Even Souma managed a small chuckle.

"Fai-san, do you really think it would make a difference at this point?" Tomoyo asked when she had caught her breath. "It would be cruel to leave you to Ashura's men, just for the sake of people like us!" Grinning, she looked up at him. "You are one of our greatest assets at the moment: you know more about the way Ashura thinks than all my scientists put together! No offence meant, Watanuki-kun."

"None taken, hime."

"But that's beside the point. I think there's one person in this room who would kill me if I let you go now." She peered over at Kurogane, who rolled his eyes and grunted.

"Tomoyo-hime, we should conclude the meeting," Souma chimed in, "It is nearly sunset. We must begin preparations for the guards."

"Hai hai," Tomoyo dismissed her with an airy wave of her hand. "I suppose then, we should begin to work. Watanuki-kun, if you could continue your work with the other scientists. We will need some sort of armor against the demons' claws. Sakura-chan, Moko-chan, Modo-chan, you all know what to do. And Doumeki, you and Souma will begin your debriefing of the guards and ninja forces. Make sure the castle is evacuated as well." Everybody stood up, but Kurogane continued to look at her.

"Yes," Tomoyo answered his unasked question, and he too stood to leave.

Fai's eyebrows came together. "Tomoyo-hime…"

Tomoyo shook her head. "You need to rest: you were unconscious for at least a fortnight, you know." She raised her hand when he started to protest. "Don't worry, I'll make sure that you are not left out. You still have a very important job, you know." And with that she filed out of the room behind the others.

Fai and Kurogane were suddenly the only ones left in the room. Fai rubbed the back of his neck awkwardly, his eyes probing around the room.

"Hyuun… well, then, shall we go?"

"Sure."

Both of them made their way up to Fai's room in silence. Neither attempted to speak, or even look at the other. A heavy feeling hung in the air that made it hard to even walk, much less breathe, as Fai took deep gulps of the air to steady his carousaling brain.

Kurogane followed him in silently though the door, sliding it shut behind him even as Fai made his way to the doors that led to the balcony. He threw the doors wide open and caught a breeze that made his now almost shoulder-length hair, out of its usual ponytail, whip about his face. Fai leaned on the railing of the balcony and stared out over the now citizen-free city that was now what he had began to call home. From here he could see the guards rushing to their posts and the occasional black-clad ninja. He swore he could even see Souma barking out orders at a group of guards that had been dawdling. He chuckled.

Heavy footsteps padded against the carpeting of the floor as Kurogane walked across the room, stopping at a point some ten feet away from Fai. Fai continued to watch the hustle of the city. It was a while before either of them spoke.

"You're a real idiot, you know that?"

Fai smiled. Well, at least Kurogane wasn't yelling at him. He glanced over his left shoulder; an empty gesture, as his left eye was covered with the eye patch. "Yeah." He looked out at the city once more.

"You come back to life only to almost die again. You go off and don't tell me, don't tell anyone, where you are. Not even a note. You could have been dead. You almost were."

"Yeah."

"And all that aside…" Fai heard Kurogane take a step closer. "Your story had gaping holes in it. There's still something missing: I saw that when Ashura attacked us. There's something you're not telling, and it's affecting you badly. Even when you're telling the truth, you lie. There's no way you could have used magic to bring yourself back to life. You know that yourself."

"Yeah."

Kurogane growled. He marched up behind Fai and spun him around so he was facing him, grabbing the collar of his tunic. "Is that all you have to say?! 'Yeah'? Is that really all you can say?! After all the hell we've both been through? After I said things that I thought…" He trailed off, muttering.

Fai reached up and laid his hand gently on Kurogane's, who succumbed to the pressure and released Fai's tunic. He laid his head on Kurogane's chest in exhaustion and heaved a sigh. Kurogane made an uncomfortable noise in his throat, but held on to Fai's hand, stroking it once with his thumb.

"Don't do that again."

The mage looked up, studying Kurogane's face. "What was that, Kuro-sama? You were mumbling."

Kurogane made a small 'che' noise but said, "I said, 'Don't do that again'. Don't just go off like that. I've told you before not to do that."

A look of incredulity spread across Fai's face, swiftly covered by a small smile. "Of course not. Sorry, Kuro-daddy."

The ninja said nothing but pulled Fai closer with his free hand. Fai leaned into Kurogane once more, breathing in the scent he had come to associate with him. Kurogane's arms felt warm, loving; a favorite blanket that wrapped around him and kept him warm on cold nights, or a soft cloak that kept the snow from freezing his vulnerable heart. The steady, even breaths made him feel secure and brought about a sort of calm that he had never felt before.

Kurogane had been the only person he had ever felt this way with, it was true. Not even the love he felt for his brother Fai could compete with what he felt now. Fai had known that. Fai, whom from he had taken his identity to protect himself. Even in death, the older of the two had been as loyal as ever, keeping him from a fate that, though at one time he might have thought he deserved, seemed foolish to him now.

Kurogane. Kurogane. The name that brought him so much pain and joy at the same time. Once he had believed that they could never be together. Did he believe that now?

Of all people, Kurogane should be allowed to know the truth. Fai would have agreed, he knew. Somehow, he felt that if Kurogane were to learn his past, he would still accept him. Kurogane had said that before, hadn't he? "I don't care." Maybe the words had not been as harsh as Fai had made them out to be. Maybe there had been a second meaning…

Kurogane's even breathing was all that the mage could hear as he drifted slowly off to sleep.

Kurogane sat on Fai's bed with the mage beside him, curled in a fetal position, his head in Kurogane's lap, running his fingers though Fai's silky hair idly as he stared out of the open doors and into the painted orange and red sunset. He couldn't remember when this had started feeling natural to him, but for some reason it did. Yawning, he raised one hand to his open mouth, squinting out of one eye to look at the mage's sleeping form. There was something painful written in his face, he could clearly see, but for some reason the mage's face seemed more at ease, as though a decision had been made. It was reassuring, somehow.

The ninja yawned again and wondered vaguely when he had started to become this sappy.

He had spent the past couple of hours wondering to himself about the things that Fai had said during the conference. There were obviously things he had still not told anyone: Fai had not denied that. And although he had told himself time and again that Fai's past did not matter to him, that nothing in the mage's life could possibly change his opinion about him, Kurogane still had to wonder. He sometimes wondered if it bothered him because he felt he wasn't trusted enough to know the things that had made Fai so… so… empty. Maybe it was the doubt that Fai would never really trust him enough to tell him. Certainly, he could live well enough without having to know, but there would always be that one little niggling doubt in the back of his brain, pressuring him to want to know.

He felt Fai stirring beneath his hand and moved it down to rest on the mage's side. Fai turned his head and opened his eye blearily, taking in Kurogane's face with his bright blue orb. He looked into Kurogane's eyes, slightly disoriented, before twisting himself around into a sitting position, still holding himself close to the ninja. He glanced outside and looked back at Kurogane.

"Why did you let me sleep?"

Kurogane frowned, answering, "You were tired. You needed to sleep."

"Ah."

There was a comfortable pause, and then Fai spoke again. "You stayed here the entire time."

The ninja shrugged. "Yeah. Why not?"

A smile. "Kuro-wan is spoiling me today."

Fai scooted to the edge of the bed and stood up, wavering on his feet a little before finding his balance. He gazed out at the balcony as Kurogane had been doing before.

"I guess that means you don't believe the rumors, then, or you would have locked me up by now."

"What rumors?"

"That I'm really working for Ashura and I'm trying to kill all the members of the inner palace by infiltrating it and becoming friends with them so they will let down their guard."

Kurogane snorted in disgust. "What the hell? What kind of idiot would believe something like that?"

Laughing, Fai twirled around to face him. "Kuro-sama is so silly! But he also puts up with Fai, so he can't be all bad."

Kurogane half grimaced, half grinned at Fai. "What in kami's name do you expect? I told you once already, I love you." He seemed to suddenly realize what he had said, for he looked taken aback at his own words and he stared hastily in the other direction.

Fai blinked and his jaw almost dropped at the sudden words. Kurogane was always one to say what he felt, but even that seemed odd coming from the usually tough ninja. He supposed if Kurogane could say something like that straight out, Fai had been taking him slightly for granted. He hadn't expected that from the ninja

Then again, you couldn't really expect anything from the ninja Suwa no Kurogane.

Maybe Fai should be living up to his own expectations.

"Kurogane."

Kurogane looked up at the sudden use of his real name. The shining blue eye that met his red ones had a suddenly serious look to them.

"About what you said before… The 'gaping holes' in my story?"

"Yeah? What about it?"

"I'll show you."

"What?"

Fai took Kurogane's left hand and intertwined their fingers; Kurogane felt a warmth spread up through his arm and weave its way through his body as the mage touched him. Fai stood up and pulled Kurogane off the bed so they were standing beside each other.

"Kurogane will always feel the same about me, no matter what."

Kurogane felt the warmth brush his heart and he felt it skip a beat. His mouth was suddenly dry, but not because he was afraid.

"So come with me. To my past."

Both men stared into each other's eyes as the world melted away around them and they were whirled away to another time, another place, another life.

Ahh~ I hope I did okay on this chapter. I was trying to fit a lot of stuff in there... I actually had to split this into two chapters (they were meant to go into Fai's past in this one).

Please review! I love your opinions! 3

~KL