Disclaimer: See previous chaptire.

From the Ashes - A TRC AU fic

Chaptire 3 - Victim

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It was officially cold. Really cold, he'd reckon. He didn't exactly have a thermometer handy. But still... it was cold enough for some strange gray snow to trickle down from the matching sky - ashes mixed with ice, that both stung to the touch, and left gritty residue on the surfaces it touched.

After about 5 minutes his skin was an annoying color of blotchy gray similar to his visible metal arm. It was the start of a lovely morning, following an equally pleasant sleepless night under the shell of a car. The sounds of the whimpering boy, and restless blonde still rang in his ears, mingling with the sound of his rumbling stomach. It'd been a day and a half since there'd been anything resembling food lying around, and it was starting to affect him.

Mortality was seeming more and more like a weakness all the time.

"Kurogane-san?" The kid. He glanced to his right, spotting Syaoran, with a worried expression on his face, his walking slowed, as he struggled to find grip on the new terrain they'd reached. Gravel, it looked like, mingled with larger rocks, and he was having trouble.

"Ah?" He didn't bother looking in his direction, but stopped walking to wait for him to stabilize himself. With a quick 'uwaah!', the child failed, tripping over a decent sized rock and smashing his chest against it as he fell. This isn't going to be easy...

"Oye! Come help him up." He beckoned the other man, who glanced back, inquiringly, as if asking 'why?'. The blonde, turned and slowly walked over, taking time to look at where he'd place his next step, and the color of his skin, as the snow continued to fall...

The bastard's stalling... Kurogane snorted, and roughly yanked the man's arm, towing him over to where Syaoran lay. "There. You fix it."

The responding look of surprise on his face, and in his eyes made Kurogane pause. Why was he acting so naive? It was all a pointless game he played. Anyone with eyes could tell he was playing them all for fools. Which, he observed, made one of them.

- - -

The roads were fairly easy to navigate by sound, but the further they got from the city, the harder it became. Rocks, sticks, various sharp objects he couldn't recognize - all served as constant tripping hazards, for his 'condition'. He'd fallen at least a dozen times since daybreak, and he was doing so more frequently now that fatigue from lack of sleep and food was setting in.

He'd landed on something hard this time, and the pain from teeth meeting tounge, paired with a familiar wet, metallic taste in his mouth was not soothing. A tugging at his sleeve, cold hands... Fai was... pulling him up. No! He promised he wouldn't be a burden...

"Ah! No, stop!" He pulled himself from Fai's grip. "I'm alright, Fai-san. Really, it's just-" He winced, feeling a slight ache in his side as he crouched and stood. "I'm fine." He smiled, hoping it'd reassure him. The silence from the other made him feel they'd been unconvinced. He took a few hurried steps forward in the direction they'd been headed, to further prove his point. The two others followed quickly after him, but said nothing. A few moments passed.

"There's a town, over there." Kurogane stated, breaking the silence that had settled over them, much like the snow. "Looks like it's still intact, too. We can probably find food."

Syaoran nodded in reply, wishing he could asses the status of the town with his own eyes, but Syaoran turned after Kurogane, who had already changed course towards this new town.

They reached it shortly, he noticed, as the jagged stone became smooth, the sound his worn boots made with each step told him it was cobblestone. Perhaps there would be some shelter here.

- - -

Well this is quaint... He let out a silent sigh of exasperation, as his eyes took in the poor state of the little town. Most of the building's windows were nailed shut, by boards, and other crude objects, the roofs missing shingles, and at worst, having large voids in them.

Further down the street, however, a single lantern hung from a crooked pole, its weak glow illuminating a sign reading 'Red Phil's'. He swept a strand of light hair from in front of his eyes, and squinted at it. The words were simple enough, but their meaning seemed pointless in combination. Nevertheless, where there was writing and light, there must be people.

Fai pursed his lips, releasing a slight whistle, which he paired with a wave of his hand. Pausing, he noticed Syaoran stop walking and turn in his direction, his eyes staring somewhere over his shoulder. He was getting closer, at least...

The other, Kurogane, merely grunted and kept walking. Hmm, someone was feeling a bit rude, today...

Smirking, Fai sped up, giving Syaoran an affectionate tap on the head as he passed, and continued up the street towards Kurogane. Silently, he crept directly behind him, and extended his hands above his head. With gracefully ease, he gripped Kurogane's shoulders, and sprung off of the ground, curling his legs around his waist. Once his legs were in place, he wrapped his arms around the man's neck, whispering soundlessly into his ear. "Hyuu."

At this, Kurogane tensed, and Fai swore he saw puffs of steam pouring from the man's ears, complimented by a growling noise he supposed was coming from somewhere on his face.

- - -

"Just what the hell do you think you're doing, you bastard!" Kurogane unclenched his fists, gripping the thin, pale wrists around his necks, and pulling. They broke apart fairly easily, as the blonde man on his back flopped sideways, gripping his shirt, struggling to keep from falling. Kurogane responded with a sweep of his metal arm, striking the man's side, and sending him flying to the ground, his head smacking against the cold stone.

He froze, staring down at the disoriented blonde, clutching his false arm, as if to restrain it. Fai's eyes opened, slowly, his shocked blue eyes staring up at him. Slowly, he propped himself up on one elbow, and placed a hand on the back of his head. He winced, as he withdrew it, his fingers stained a dark crimson.

Kurogane stumbled a step backwards, gazing down at Fai. He'd really done it this time... But before he could say anything, Fai smiled, a brief look of absolution in his eyes. His smile widened, as he sat up, pointing ahead. Kurogane whirled around, defensively, and his eyes fell upon a shabby bar, of some kind, boards in place of the few small windows he guessed had once been there. Everything about it screamed 'abandoned', but a small sign reading 'OPEN' hung on the doorknob, swaying in the slight breeze.

He turned, intending to help Fai to his feet, but saw only cobblestone where he had been sitting. Instead, a few feet away, Fai had already wandered off to assist Syaoran, who, after Kurogane's slight outburst, had wandered off in the opposite direction, waving his arms in a state of confusion. Fai had pranced off, whistling and flapping his arms in a similar manner, attempting to halt the disoriented boy, leaving Kurogane to watch the scene unfold. He would've laughed, were they not his companions, but as they were his allies, he merely sighed in embarrassment.

If another bomb were to destroy his city, he'd be sure to be more selective about who he saved next time.

- - - - - - - -

"So, who the hell are you 'lot?"

The bartender eyed them all, through her one good eye, the other covered by a black patch, and unruly red curls. She sneered at each in turn, revealing several gaps in her yellowed teeth.

"We're travelers." Syaoran said, politely, before Kurogane could say anything too offensive, in response to the woman's rudeness. The threesome were lined up on old wooden bar stools, all of which were missing a cushion or crooked. Fai's was a delightful combination of both.

"Not often we see a group of travelers. Not exactly a tourist spot, this hell-hole, since all the air raids." The woman responded, masquerading disconcern, as she dried a damp, grimy cup with an equally grimy towel. "We usually only get the shady types, coming to loot us." At this, her eyes fell upon Kurogane, who stared back at her calmly, seemingly unaffected by her hints at their innocence.

"So, do you have a place for us to stay, or not?" He said, folding his arms across his chest just so, as to hide the visible metal.

"You guys can crash in the basement, I suppose, but we have a pretty bad infestation of something." Syaoran flinched, and shrunk down in his chair a bit, silent, eyes staring glassily ahead. It really wasn't his idea of 'fun' to have things crawling on him he couldn't see.

The woman noticed his discomfort, and stooped to look at him, cocking an eyebrow at him. "You okay, kid?" He nodded, quickly, and looked downward, attempting to hide his eyes. She tutted, and returned to 'cleaning' the glasses and things, as the trio sat in silence, staring at the muddy drinks she had set before them. Simultaneously, they slid the glass as far away from them as possible, and turned to look out at the rest of the bar. (Well, Fai had to stand up and turn manually, due to the state of his chair, but he managed, anyway.)

It was a small place, fairly crowded with tables and chairs all occupied by a mixture of gamblers and the 'down-on-their-luck', all of whom seemed to be getting more intoxicated by the minute. With intoxication and a large amount of testosterone and cigarette smoke usually comes violent behavior, as was happening before their eyes.

Seemingly without a cause, one patron threw himself across a table at another, toppling the table, and spilling foreign liquid all over the side of Kurogane's pants, as the two continued to beat each other, to Syaoran's cries of 'What happened?' and 'Why are people cheering?'. Fai promptly stood, and nudged his two companions a few stools over in the other direction, as two more men joined in the brawl.

The other side of the room was more peaceful, at least for a bar. After a few minutes of watching a table of men slide flat plastic circles back and forth across the table, each holding cards of some kind - "Poker", was it? - they grew bored, and began to take interest in other things. Kurogane - in twisting and untwisting a screw in his wrist; Fai - in tilting his chair back and forth on the crooked legs, making a rhythmic drumming of sorts he began to sway contently to. Syaoran, however, merely rested his hands on the counter and listened. Glasses clinking, agitated screams, laughing and drunken songs; Slowly they merged together, forming an orchestra of sorts, though a disorganized one. Syaoran sighed.

"C'mere, sweet thing."

"Stop it!"

"There's a nice girl. Come sit next to me, princess."

"Get off!"

Syaoran's ears pricked up, and he spun around leaning forward in the direction of the sound. The voices grew louder, more joined in - all obviously male, save for one.

"Don'cha wanna play, Little Kitty?"

"Don't touch me!"

"Just a little taste, honey. Just one feel."

Syaoran's eyes widened, and he reached a hand to his right, finding Fai's sleeve. The blonde turned, looking down at the boy, who pointed at the corner of the room where a crowd of men stood huddled around something flailing. His eyes widened, as he gave a disapproving whistle, and reached to tap Kurogane on the shoulder.

"I want the first bite."

"Let me go! Don't touch me!"

"We're paying customers, hon. Shut up and hold still."

Kurogane's eyes flashed over to the corner, and he sighed. "They're going to rape her," he said, blankly, and turned away sadly to resume playing with his screws. Fai also gave a sad nod and turned to look at Syaoran. To his surprise, he saw only an empty stool, and a flash of green as the boy leapt to his feet, dashing in the direction of the corner. He reached to grab his sleeve, but missed, hearing the words, "That's so cruel..." as the boy, stumbled in between tables at a sprint towards the disturbance.

Unsure of how many drunken perverts awaited him, or how large they might be, he tore ahead, towards the voice of the lone girl.

"Help me!"

Stumbling over a table, knocking poker chips to the floor in the process, he lunged straight at one of the anonymous voices, finding his neck, and gripping hard.

"Get your hands off of her!"

The man fell over backwards, startled by the sudden attack as Syaoran quickly leapt over him at where he thought the next stranger was. This time, he dove feet first, the soles of his shoes clashing hard against his stomach, causing a cry of, "-the fuck!" as his head smacked against the wall hard.

Nimbly, Syaoran sprung to a crouching position, trying to find the next target. Before he could move, though, a pair of hands wrapped around his neck, lifting him off the ground, his toes barely grazing the floor. He gasped, desperate for air as the stranger's grip tightened.

"Damn kid! We saw her first, she's our bitch!" Syaoran winced, eyes flashing open, as he flailed his arms trying to break free. He couldn't go much longer without air...

Suddenly, he felt the hands disappear completely, as a loud crunching sound was heard, followed by a string of profanities, and then silence from the stranger.

"She's no one's prey tonight. And neither is he." Kurogane stared down at the twitching man on the floor as Fai skipped over to stand beside him, clapping and whistling. The two remaining men holding the girl gaped at the trio, and then lunged forward - one at Fai, the other at Kurogane - as Syaoran crawled over toward the soft crying of the girl in the corner.

"You bastard-" Came the first's cry as he swung an arm towards Fai, still running forward. Smiling, Fai ducked, tucking his head between his knees. The startled attacker tripped right over him, not thinking to stop in the short amount of time between Fai's crouching, and his colliding with Fai. The attacker's nose smashed against a table as he flew over the blonde man, cussing, and flailing.

The second of the pair drew a gun from behind his back, loading it as he charged at Kurogane. Kurogane smirked, reaching forward to grab the gun in one swift motion, startling the carrier of the weapon, who stumbled. Seizing this opportunity, he thrust his elbow into the back of his neck, sending the stranger's face into the floorboards... hard.

Meanwhile, Syaoran had managed to reach the corner without being detected. In the general chaos of the pub, it was becoming increasingly hard to hear, especially as more spectators gathered to watch Kurogane and Fai. Suddenly, his palm grasped something cold and soft, resulting in a shriek, and the object withdrawing from him.

"Please, miss! Don't be afraid! I've come to get you out of here." As he said this, he raised a hand, slowly moving toward what the girl had moved before. Finding it, he realized it was a foot, and stroked it gently. She flinched.

"No!" She shrieked, and he felt her withdraw from him, squeezing her body tighter into the corner, her breathing shallow, panicked. Syaoran reached a hand again, holding it out to her, pleadingly.

"Please, take my hand... I don't want to leave you here alone..." He felt a slight color rise in his cheeks at the openness of his statement, but felt her freeze. The words had done their job. Quietly, nervously, she placed her hand in the palm of his.

"Kid!"

Syaoran's head shot up, only to be gripped by Kurogane's large hand, which lifted him to a low crouch. He yelped, but placed a second hand on top of the girl's, reassuringly, as he pulled her to her feet, beside him.

"Kurogane-san?"

"We're leaving."

Syaoran felt his arm jerk, as the tall man began towing him in the direction of the exit. Taking advantage of having another guide him, Syaoran focused in on the various sounds in the room. Moaning, cursing, breaking glass, and general angry grunting met his ears.

- - - - - - - -

Outside on the street, they heard soft applause paired with whistling from Fai.

"Etou... What happened in there, Kurogane-sa-"

"Don't ask, just take the girl, and walk. We've got about 2 minutes before they realize we've left."

Syaoran blinked and shook his head, smiling at the now apparent eccentricity of his companions, when it came to handling problems. He closed his eyes, smiling backwards in the direction of the girl, who trailed reluctantly behind him. "You're safe now. I've got you."

"Safe...?" The girl spoke in a voice barely more than a whisper, as she gazed in awe at the odd trio that had rescued her. The silent blonde, who merely beamed and whistled; the strong and silent one, his red eyes staring at all around him with an intensity she couldn't quite comprehend; and the third, the ragged chocolate-haired boy, with such lonely eyes...

In an instant, her legs gave beneath her, resulting in a panicked cry of "Miss!" from Syaoran as he suddenly felt her form fall into his arms, causing him to stumble. Forward.

"Ah." Fai slid behind Syaoran, aiding him in supporting the girl's body, as her lids began to slide closed.

"She's exhausted..." Kurogane stated roughly, staring down at the jade-eyed child. "We'll have to carry her. He sighed, knowing full well the definition of 'we' in such situations was not what it was to the majority of society. In a rush, Syaoran reached for the girl's hand, clasping it tightly in his.

"Miss, may I ask..." He leaned close to her, speaking softly and sweetly, so as not to startle her, "What is your name?"

As her eyes slid closed, the last bit of jade disappearing, she sighed in relieve, and mumbled, "Sakura... and thank you..."

"Sweet dreams, Sakura-sama." Syaoran whispered, a smile spreading across his face, mirroring the girl's as she drifted into a deep sleep.

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Sheesh. For how long this took, I'm not satisfied. I think I switched POVs too much, but I wasn't really sure how to tell the story otherwise. Anywho. Sakura isn't a whore or anything... Her identity in the story so far was somewhat of an indentured servant, but more on her may come later. I'm not sure when the next update on this will be, as I have 2 other fics running, but keep an eye out.