SOY: this fanfic is published on AO3 as well; it has a 'chapter cover' there which I did, too so if you'd like to see it, you can find the fic under the same name in the XXXHolic section of AO3.

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Rating: T

Warnings: second of a series of connected stories under the name 'Takane no Hana'. Fix-it fic for XXXHolic, takes place at the start of volume 14 of the manga. Will branch out of canon and move on from there.

Disclaimer: I do not own CLAMP manga.

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Ripples of Fate

Prologue – The Dream

Everything was quiet around her.

The room was not spacious, but it was comfortable, and Yuuko was slouched on top of soft cushions placed directly on the tatami mats, her pipe delicately held in one hand, eyes lost in the distance.

The trails of smoke moved in spirals towards the ceiling, trailing behind for a long while, curling like they had a life of their own; Yuuko's gaze trailed up to them, then she languidly brought the pipe to her lips, inhaling deeply before puffing out more swirling coils of smoke which curled around her for a moment before floating away.

Everything was still, almost like time was not ticking forwards –just her slouched there smoking.

There was a soft noise coming from behind the sliding mat at her side and Yuuko tilted her head to the side, shifting up in a sitting position before leaning forwards and pressing one hand against the shoji panel.

A ripple of energy passed from the building to her fingers, alerting her of where the noise was coming from, and then she gently slid the door open, revealing the patio and the lawn outside bathed in moonlight.

There was no sound outside either, just the night and a quiet empty backyard with a tree, and up above a full moon.

"You've found your way in, it seems," Yuuko murmured, her voice a bare whisper. "As it should be, then".

Again, a noise –this time clearer, something shuffling in the distance– and then the sound of footsteps on the patio coming closer.

She waited without moving from her spot, rearranging her long limbs so that she would look poised and comfortable, and took another puff from her pipe, slowly, unbothered by the intruder.

Finally, the mysterious figure appeared in sight, and the moment he saw her, he bowed curtly, like someone used to displaying manners first and foremost.

He was tall, and he bore a familiar face, if one touched by age; short hair still ruffled despite his best attempts at taming it, eyes as sharp as ever, mouth forming a small, thin frown, and dressed with normal, everyday clothes –the kind one would expect from a salaryman, maybe. Dignified, adult.

"Welcome to my store," Yuuko said, no trace of smile on her lips.

"It took me a long time to find my way in," was the reply, eyes focused on her. "You were not an easy person to find, Yuuko-san".

Now she did smile –a small, dry smile lacking amusement. "So it seems… but you had help, did you?"

The man nodded curtly. "Yes… and even then, I would not have found you if the power protecting the store wasn't growing weaker. Dream walking is not something I could normally do." The admission came easily, because he knew the extent of his powers, and did not see it fit to deny who was stronger between the two of them. "Even then, I could not find you… until now".

"If you found your way to me now, inside my dream, it is only because it was fate," she replied, and shifted her legs until they were stretched in front of her, naked feet touching the tatami.

The man found himself smirking. "As it should be, for there is no coincidence in this world, just hitsuzen".

The two shared a small, complicit smile –these were words both of them had said more than once in the past, and as Yuuko knew, other instances of this man had said the same, too.

"I received a visit in my dreams, long ago" the man continued. "From a different world. Someone who bore the same face as the man I love –and yet who was different. He said he was sent to me because someone who cares did not want me to suffer –because no instance of me should suffer, no matter the world I am in".

"So it is," Yuuko smiled. "She truly has a big heart, reaching out to a different version of her own brother. Just as expected from dear Sakura-chan".

There was no outside reaction to that name, but the air around the man seemed to tighten a bit.

"He gave me something that would help me travel through dreams," the man continued, his voice steely. "He said the only one who could help me could only be found there, and nowhere else".

"He was right, as the only one who can grant your wish is me," Yuuko continued. "So tell me, Kinomoto Touya, what is it that you wish for?"

Touya looked at her wearily. For a moment, he looked his age –someone who had lost something precious in the past, who still had no answers, nothing to fill the emptiness in his chest– then he straightened his back and slowly sat down on the patio, adopting a formal sitting position in front of her. His eyes were sharp, just as sharp as they had been when they had met the first time, over ten years before.

He had looked almost the same back then, with barely restrained anger kept only in check by the calming presence of Yukito at his side. Even then, he had not truly understood his purpose, or why he had been sent to her.

Yuuko had met the two of them away from her store, as they hadn't needed to enter then, and received from Touya's hands something precious, something that he'd had to give because someone had asked him to, even if it pained him.

The look in his eyes back then was the same as the one he had now, but she could recognise something new now; he had a new purpose, and that was his wish.

"I wish to meet with my nephew," he said, and his voice carried over to Yuuko the urgency of his request.

"Which one?" Yuuko's gaze moved slowly away from him, feigning an uncaring nonchalance as she took another puff from her pipe. The smoke curled protectively around her, making her contours grow hazy. "Surely you have been made aware of the… particular circumstances related to your family, am I right?"

Touya scoffed. "I have," he replied curtly. "But I was assured that one of them does not need me. He is with those who care about him, travelling where I cannot follow, and though I might not see him for the duration of my life, I was told he would be fine." The hands he was keeping relaxed on his thighs clenched into the hem of his pants, knuckles turning white. "I want to see the one who is within my reach".

Yuuko closed her eyes for a moment.

"I have searched for him for a long time," Touya continued. "And so has Yukito, and he was always more powerful than me. And yet, in all these years we have been unable to find him. I have lost…" his voice wavered for a moment before settling back again "someone precious to me that day. Not one, but three people, only to find out later there was someone else I lost then. I'm here because I do not want to lose any more of my family, Yuuko-san".

Yuuko still did not look at him, eyes gazing down at the delicate carvings on her pipe with wistful eyes.

The silence between them stretched on, Touya unwilling to speak again, and Yuuko allowing her thoughts to scatter.

"He has been hidden away, so that he wouldn't be made of use by that person," she finally murmured, talking so quietly that Touya had to strain his ears to hear her. "His name, his appearance –they have been changed, so that nobody would ever find him here. He has paid a price for that day that will come, and because of that price, he's lost all his connections to his past. To his family. He does not remember, he does not know what his real name is, who his parents were. He remembers nothing, and his grip on reality wavers because of his impossible existence. His parents… your sister" Yuuko finally looked up, her eyes hard "paid a price so that he would be safe –so that both of them would be safe until that day".

Touya closed his eyes, pain flashing on his face freely, and he did not bother to control it, nor the anger that flashed through him.

"But I did not," he said, words slashing through the distance between him and Yuuko. "I did not pay the price for that, Yuuko-san. I have seen my sister lock herself away, disappear from this world to save someone she loved so much, and I have seen that kid follow her for the same reason. But what about the things… the people… they left behind?"

"It was their choice," Yuuko replied, and although her words were blunt, her tone was softer now. "It is always a matter of choice. They accepted the consequences knowing that choice might have caused pain to someone else. As long as their children could be safe, as long as they could do their best to save them, they sacrificed all they had".

"What about him?" Touya met Yuuko's gaze. "The one who was also left behind, the one who does not remember having another name. Having a family. How can he still stand by a choice he doesn't remember making?"

"That in itself, is still a choice," Yuuko replied. She paused for another moment, and soon more smoke curled around her, vanishing into the cool air of the night. "If the mind does not remember, the heart still does. Watanuki is aware, subconsciously, that he made a choice. He has decided to keep going, and trust what he can't remember, and that is because he found people who helped him change".

There was something painful in the way Touya leaned forwards a bit, in the curve of his lips as he mouthed that name over and over, as if trying to impress it into his memory. "Watanuki…?"

A curt nod.

"Watanuki, written as First of April, and Kimihiro, written with the kanji for 'searching' and 'you', so that they would always find their way back to him," Yuuko spelled out softly.

"Kimihiro," Touya repeated to himself. He then opened his mouth to say something, but changed his mind. "Then I want to meet him," he said. "I want to meet the Watanuki Kimihiro that was left behind".

He seemed to brace himself for a refusal, because when Yuuko hummed softly and nodded, he seemed surprised. "You will have to give something in order to pay for this wish," she warned him, and he steeled himself. "He paid a price, and that price cannot be taken back. Memories cannot be returned anymore. He will never know of the family he left behind, so part of the price will be that –you are not to tell him of your blood relation to him, and any attempt to tell him about his parents will be in vain. For that reason, he can't know his real name either. If a connection between the two were to be made, all that we've done –not just me, but your sister, and Shaoran-kun too– will be for nothing, and he will be lost".

Touya looked down, biting on the inside of his cheek.

He had expected that, somehow, since Yuuko had said his nephew had paid the price of his memories, but it still hurt to hear.

He knew that magic demanded an equal payment to be used –it would be useless to even try and work around it. If it was not meant to be, then it would find a way to work around it.

Still… he would not be able to look his nephew in the eye and tell him that they were family. That he had been searching for him, without stopping, for a decade. That he had exhausted what little powers he possessed day after day, trying to locate him, asking people who had power, and that they had been unsuccessful for years until one day a dream visitor had come to him bearing Yukito's same face, finally bringing some answers, leading them to travel through dreams with their combined powers.

The other world's Yukito, a creature of duality with more powers than both Touya and Yukito, had another self, and through that person's mouth, Touya had finally learned of the fate of his nephew, and that he, too, had been split where before there had been only one.

That other Yukito had said he was the only one who could safely cross over to them, and only because Yukito's face was one that Touya trusted, otherwise he would not have been able to slip into his dream to talk, and it was only then that he had changed shape, revealing that his other name was Yue, and that he had been sent to help.

Touya had then learned the entirety of his little sister's sacrifice, he'd been told where his nephew had gone, and what his choice had caused –and he had learned of the existence of his other nephew, born to take the first one's place. A nephew who was still there, in the same universe as he was, and one who could be reached –one who had to be reached, before his existence came to an end. Ever since then, Touya had worked just as hard to find him, seeking the Dimensional Witch's store, where he knew he would find the answer to his prayers, and where he would have his wish granted.

He had hoped that he would finally be able to see his nephew and have what was left of his family back, and now… now Yuuko had told him that things would not go that smoothly.

And yet…

He would still be able to see him. See Watanuki Kimihiro, who did not know of his real name, who would never know how much his parents had loved him. He had lost one nephew, possibly forever, but he would not lose the other one.

"What is the second part of the price?"

Yuuko did not answer, but her eyes slid down to Touya's left hand, and Touya stiffened and unconsciously moved his other hand to cover his ring finger.

"… I see," Touya's tone was plain, and he forced himself to relax. "Just this one?"

"Both," Yuuko answered. "The payment has to be of equal value to what you are requesting, or it would not be considered enough".

Touya's lips twitched into a mirthless smile. "Of course. Then, is that it?" there was an air of relief around him, but he still remained tense, as if waiting for a blow to rain down on him anytime.

"Kinomoto Touya," Yuuko straightened her back, and pointed at him with the tip of her pipe. "Do not think I enjoy taking away something in order to give you back your family, but all I have done until this moment was to protect the children until that day arrives. The fault rests on my shoulders, as well as Clow's, and this is why I have been waiting here, in this store, for a long time. The bonds you seek to mend might not be there anymore, taken away as a price, but the connections between people are stronger than memories. What is familiar, the body remembers, through motions and sensations and feelings. Blood itself is the strongest bond, and cut ties can be recreated again, if you are willing to work for it".

Touya's eyes widened a bit, but he said nothing to that, and nodded in assent. He understood her meaning.

"Well then, I accept your payment. I will send someone to retrieve it very soon. What happens afterwards, that will be yours to shape".

She watched as Touya swallowed nervously, closing his eyes while his shoulders slumped in relief.

"Thank you, Yuuko-san," he said.

A soft breeze blew across the patio, and a wind chime tingled in the silence. Yuuko looked up at the moon, eyes softening considerably, and when she looked down again, the visitor had disappeared, his presence gone not just from her store, but from the dreamworld.

There was silence again, the perimeter of her dream undisturbed once more, and Yuuko closed her eyes and slid the shoji door close behind her shoulders.

The room was warm and well lit, and Yuuko stood up, the velvet fabric of her dress falling down against her sides and to her naked feet. With the pipe still loosely held in one hand, she walked out in the corridor, the store around her thick with magic and the otherworldly feeling that only dreams could have, shimmering and slipping slightly out of focus as she moved, her feet making no sound on the wooden floor, until she reached the treasure room.

Parts of the store were still faltering between dream, reality and nothingness, but that room was still the same, the magic stronger there, enough to keep the contents safe and protected.

She pressed one hand on the shelf where the original Star wand was, looking at it with fondness.

It was no wonder Sakura would reach out for her brother, even if it wasn't really her own brother –they still shared the same soul, all across the universes. She had given her wand so that another version of her would be safe, so that every universe would be safe –because she believed things would be ok.

That Sakura's power had grown considerably, enough that in time, she would be able to make another wand, or a staff, perhaps better than the one she'd given away.

"Humans always seek to create bridges. They see distances they cannot cross, and they strive forwards, and reach out with all their strength for what they believe is right".

Yuuko's eyes moved to the side, where a seal was keeping two small boxes hidden from sight. One contained a watch –the only proof of Watanuki's real name and existence that tied that child to his past life. The other contained something left behind by Clow, so that one day, that legacy would be given to Watanuki.

"It is because of their resilience that a wish can become reality, because humans have the power to keep on believing, and that belief can turn even universes around".

Yuuko placed her hand on the second box, expression turning wistful.

"Soon," she breathed. "It will be soon, and then maybe there will be no need to keep on wishing anymore".

Somewhere in a small, secluded apartment in Asakusa, Tokyo, Kinomoto Touya opened his eyes and shuffled until he was sitting on his bed.

His body sagged in a mix of fatigue and adrenaline, mind completely awake but body failing to follow completely, as the strain of moving within dreams had sapped him of his energy. He was not getting any younger, and while using his power apparently had other effects in the long run –it was getting a little easier to go through these sessions, and he did feel good for someone his age– he was not a teenager anymore.

He looked at his side, and met the vigil, warm gaze of Yukito, propped up comfortably in an armchair, hands clasped together in a familiar seal.

Just like every other time the two of them worked together, Yukito had forgone sleep in order to keep Touya protected as he searched from dream to dream; this was the only way he could do it, as his spiritual powers were not strong enough to give him free access like that. As it was, they were able to do it only thanks to what the other Yukito –Yue– had given them. Even now Yukito was wearing it, the little earring that allowed him to channel his powers into Touya's body, enabling him to enter the dreamscape night after night.

It was not something they could do every night, as it drained them both of energy and left them tired and sluggish for days afterwards, and they had long since learned their own limits and how far they could force things until they had to take a break.

Once a week, every week, every month, for years –they had sought out a way to find Touya's missing family without ever stopping, until the other Yukito had visited him in his sleep and provided some information, as well as some extra help.

"I felt something," Yukito said to break the silence. "Did you…?"

Touya nodded, still too shocked to be able to speak, and Yukito's eyes widened.

"You don't mean to say–"

Inhaling deeply, Touya allowed himself to finally break, and his hands started to shake as he clenched them into the bedsheets. In front of Yuuko he had tried to keep calm, but it was hard to control himself now, in the privacy of their bedroom with only Yukito at his side to see him.

Yukito did not waste time with any questions –he knew Touya needed some time to recollect himself, so he stood up, wincing slightly when he wavered for a moment before regaining his balance, and left the room.

He returned a few minutes later with two cups of tea in his hands, and Touya accepted one with a grateful nod.

"I was finally able to enter her dream," he said in the end, shuffling to the side so that Yukito could slip into the bed and at his side. His body was comfortingly familiar as he reached out to take his hand into one of his own, clenching it tightly. "She said he had his name changed so he would be protected, and that was why nobody could find him –no oracle, no fortune teller we tried to contact… none of them could do it, because he wasn't using his name anymore".

He paused, swallowing some of the tea and relishing the way the warmth seemed to seep through him. "I know his new name now".

Yukito's reply was a warm, relieved smile. It had taken them so long, but finally… finally, they had done it.

He shuffled forwards and pressed their foreheads together for a moment before pulling away, and Touya looked up into his eyes, a small smile on his lips.

"Watanuki Kimihiro," he said quietly, and the name hovered in the darkness of the room like a promise.