EDITED: Thank you for pointing out the repetition, I must've written it twice ;D The fic has been fixed, thank you once more!

Disclaimer: All Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle characters are (c) CLAMP.

Title: Collide
Rating: PG13 (Will go up as chapters progress)
Pairing: Fye x Kurogane
Warnings: Language and violence.
Spoilers: None
Finished: No
Word Count: 5,212
Summary: The group arrive to a world where desert predominates. With no water and Mokona unable to use his magic, what are they to do? Things get complicated when someone from Fye's haunted past appears and tells the Ceres' magician that he posesses power that can unlock secrets beneath the sand. What happens when this individual has more interest in Fye? Will Kurogane care enough to step up?

Collide

Chapter 1: Crimson Moon

Kurogane cursed for the umpteenth time. One battle-hardened hand reaching up to clean the sweat that was constantly dripping down his brow. He had considered taking off his black cloak but the intense sun-heat will probably broil his skin. He'd rather sweat than feel the painful burn in his skin later on.

The sand around them wasn't making matters any easier. With every step he took, the sand under his feet would give in and attempt to swallow him whole. He began thinking the earth had a mind of it's own.

It was, after all, his first time in a place with such traits.

And how he hated it.

He could feel the heat transfer from the hot sand, to the soles of his boots, to his skin. It burnt so bad he was almost certain he would have more than just a couple of blisters by the end of the day.

It was, when he had to remove sand constantly from his boots, that he decided he didn't hate, but loathed it. He knew not how it got in there, but it did.

He looked at the kids, who were a couple of paces ahead of him; both had their hoods up, protecting them from the unrelenting sun. Their movements so natural in the fidgeting earth it made it look easy; but that, Kurogane knew, was far from the truth.

The white manjuu was on the princess' arms, chanting happily a song he did not know, and really didn't care to know.

He couldn't decide what made him angrier: the way it sang, its annoying, high-pitched voice, or the fact that it seemed unbothered by the heat; he did not know.

He decided it was all of the above.

"As if the damn heat isn't enough," he mumbled to himself.

When they arrived to this living hell, the kid mentioned that their home climate was very similar to this one, but the conditions were slightly better. Heck, anything would be better than this!

He looked up, one hand slightly over his eyes to cover the sunrays. Not a cloud in sight, not a soul or civilization as far as the eye could see, only miles and miles of sand.

He looked ahead again at the two children and began walking a little faster.

"Damn it," he cursed once more, cleaning his brow with the back of his arm, the sweat stinging on his eyes. He could already feel the burn of the heat on his cheeks and that didn't make things any brighter for him.

He was thankful for his skin tone, though; the sun didn't burn as much as it would if he were pale.

Pale, like the stupid mage. He thought.

Speaking of which. It had been deadly silent except for the pork-bun's annoying blabbing, which he called 'singing'. Other from that, it had been quite peaceful for a while.

He looked behind him to find that the mage had fallen behind. He walked rather slowly, his feet almost dragging. He, like the rest of the group, had chosen to cover himself keeping on that white coat of his in attempt to protect the skin. He didn't blame him; it was better to be hot than to be burned alive.

When Fye caught up with the ninja, the warrior realized how flushed he was, sweat covering his brow and eyes half-lidded. Gaze cast downwards, as if the blonde had caught some bizarre interest on the many grains of sand at their feet.

"Oy." he called to him.

The mage looked up at the ninja and smiled weakly.

"Hot day, isn't it, Kuro-wan?" his voice had sound just as bad as he looked. It had been merely above a whisper; if the ninja hadn't been as close as he was to the mage, he wouldn't have caught what he had said.

His lips parted to say something to Fye, concern slightly gripping at the edges of his being.

He realized, and mentally scolded himself.

Fye only smiled at him and that elicited a grunt from the ninja.

"Move, or they'll leave us behind."

"Kuro-pyon is so nice, waiting for me!"

"Shut up! I'm just making sure you don't idle too much and drag us behind. I can't stand this damned heat and want to get the hell out of here as fast as possible." He grumbled as he began to stomp ahead, leaving the blonde with a smile palstered on his face.

Fye chuckled at Kurogane's mumbling. He just enjoyed teasing the man a little too much, and he had no problem admitting it to himself. He enjoyed the simple pleasure of being close to the ninja, if not for a good laugh, for silent company.

The mage came to an abrupt stop when a sudden wave of dizziness overcame him. He placed a pale hand to his feverish brow and saw his vision double; the ninja's figure in front of him distorting slightly. He shook his head slightly and immediately regreted it, making his head pang with pain. He hised softly in discomfort.

The heat was beating harshly on him; being of a very cold place wasn't really an advantage in a place like this.

He breathed in slowly, trying to focus and once he managed to calm down properly, he hurried after the ninja, trying to catch up with his companions.

The group had been walking for hours under the heat. By then, even the kids' pace began to slow; that they were from a place with this climate did not mean they were immune to the heat.

One positive outcome of their present ordeal: Mokona's song had ceased, which made Kurogane quite happy.

To him, silence was golden and to have two crazy idiots like the mage and the pork-bun in a traveling group, silence was a rarity; however, as much as he enjoyed his rare moment of silence, it felt strange not to have the mage jumping around or annoying him.

As much as the ninja hated it, deep down, he wanted the mage to begin with his idiocies again. At least that would give him the assurance that the mage was still holding on.

It really began to bother him when, more than once, he had to stop to wait for the blonde to catch up. Every time he looked at him, he noted he was worsening. Kurogane knew he would not last long if they didn't find a place with shade and water. Every time, he had wanted to reach out to the blonde and ask if he was ok, but his pride kept his true intentions deadly silent.

"Hurry up you idiot." He mumbled when Fye was at an earshot, trying to show no concern whatsoever.

The mage did not reply, Kurogane only heard the small pants coming from the smaller man as he pushed himself over the limit. Trying to keep up with the group.

"Oy…" he called out gently to get his attention, maybe too gently for his liking. He didn't like at all how hard the mage was breathing.

The Fye's half-lidded gaze locked with the ninja's fiery one. The blue of the blonde's eyes he secretly liked, were of a dull color and void of its usual vigor and energy.

The man was hanging by a thread, Kurogane knew better.

The frail man's cheeks were very flushed, his lips of a strong crimson color, slightly chapped and sweat trailed from his brow down to his chin almost in a feverish way.

Kurogane kept reminding himself constantly that they needed to move faster or the magician won't make it any further.

Before anything else could be exchanged, the annoying pork-bun had called out to them.

"Kuro-daddy! If you don't stop flirting, we will never make it anywhere!"

Kurogane glared daggers at the pork-bun and retorted with a booming voice that easily reached their ears.

"Shut up you damn pork bun or I'll have you for dinner tonight!"

"Kyaaaah, Kuro-rin is mean to Mokona!"

Syaoran kept silent and dared not to smile, whether out of respect or fear, but Sakura chuckled at the gruff man's retort.

Kurogane was about to unsheathe his sword and go after the little pest, but before he knew it, there was a sudden shift to his side.

A small whimper was all he heard, before he realized what was happening.

The mage had lost his strength and fallen forward.

His body never met the hot sand; the ninja had reached to him just in time.

"Fye-san!" called a very distraught princess.

Soon, Syaoran and herself broke into a sprint towards the two adults. Concern evident in their eyes when they reached them.

"Ugh…" was all the mage could utter as the ninja eased him down gently.

The ninja frowned. It had been faint, but he had heard how Fye had gasped for air, almost as if he couldn't breathe. Brows furrowed in both anger and concern- more anger than concern, he reminded to himself.

He grunted in disapproval and reproached the idiot for his careless acts.

"You idiot! If you couldn't keep going, you should've said so," said the ninja, who helped the magician in a sitting position, his body limp in the ninja's arms.

The mage seemed dazed and completely drained of all energy..

He looked up at the ninja and sighed lightly, plastering one of those stupid smiles of his. Fye shook his head lightly, but immediately regretted it as another wave of dizziness caught up with his aching head. Nausea washed over him and the magician had to supress a gag. He smiled forcefully and assured his friend.

"I'm alright, Kuro-nya! I'm just a bit tired." He lied, a hand pulling back the sweaty golden locks that clung to his flushed cheeks.

"Fye!" Mokona jumped from the princess arms and plopped next to the magician, who kept smiling ridiculously.

"Is Fye alright?" said the white bun as he climbed on the magician's lap, ears lowered in worry.

The mage placed his hand on the creature's little head and petted gently.

"I am. I just needed a little break. Deserts aren't what we consider common in my country." He chuckled, trying to lighten the mood.

Mokona nodded, but it's little paws found Fye's index finger and held it as if it were a little hand. The mage did not stop smiling; he knew the white creature did not believe most of what he had been told.

Mokona was more aware of what was really going on in Fye's head than either Syaoran or Sakura. It really was unnerving to the magician. As much as he tried to protect himself by distancing his true emotions from others, he couldn't hide a real, painful-filled frown from leaking from time to time.

"Maybe Fye-san just needs some water?" inquired the princess with a positive voice. She hesitated no more and dug her hands onto the bag they used for supplies they needed to have at hand- water being one of them.

Her bright smile eased the tension even more. Fye was glad they had such a gentle soul as Sakura to brighten their days. She was like their little jewel.

The most precious jewel he had come to love like a younger sister- or even care for like a daughter.

"Aah! " exclaimed a very distressed princess as she looked in dismay at the last water bottle they had been carrying.

A gaping hole could be clearly seen in one of the corners of the container; it had leaked little by little the remnants of their only and last water supply. They had no more water, and as far as the group knew, this place might as well be deserted from any civilization or water reservoirs from miles on.

"Oh no… what can we do now? Fye-san needs water." Sakura whispered sadly and discouraged.

"We can call Yuuko!" suggested the pork-bun immediately.

Kurogane flinched visibly. He hated the damned witch with a searing passion, but it was in moments like these that he would not protest. The witch could get them water for a suitable price. They could just not afford to stay without water.

But…

They needed the water to survive, which would mean that the price would be higher under their circumstances.

Kurogane began feeling that luck was not on any of their side.

Mokona tried communicating with the dimension witch, but somehow, his power was blocked.

"Huh?"

"What's wrong Mokona?" inquired Syaoran as she leaned forward.

Mokona pressed a small paw to its lips in thought.

"I can't communicate with Yuuko."

"What do you mean by that, pork bun?" pressed Kurogane in a very restless tone.

Mokona turned to look at Kurogane and shook it's head- or what could be taken by that gesture; the creature had no neck.

"Mokona doesn't know— Mokona just can't. Something won't let me."

"Great!" exclaimed the gruff man as he stood up and grumbled.

"That means we're stuck in this world with no food or water and don't even know if there's any feather? That's very nerve-soothing." He added in a sarcastic tone, the heat not making him feel any better.

Fye frowned at that and stood up a bit shakily, "Let's just keep moving, we won't make it any farther like this."

"But Fye is tired and needs water!" said Mokona in a worried tone, but Fye smiled kindly at him and shook his head. "I'm alright now, I just needed a bit of rest."

Mokona nodded slightly and the children felt more at ease.

Kurogane, however, only looked at Fye with weary eyes, knowing well he was lying.

And so, the group resumed their pilgrimage through the desert.

The ninja could not understand this strange world. Daytime was a scorching oven, but nighttime was unforgiving cold. How could that be possible?

He made sure he added yet another mental note as to why he hated the desert.

The group was exhausted, cold, hungry and thirsty; they will soon have to find shelter to pass the freezing night.

The children were always in front of them. Even if the ninja could take more extreme conditions, thanks to his training, and could easily out walk them, he liked to see they were doing all right.

The princess had long borrowed the magician's extra blue coat to cover her small body from the chill, always walking close to Syaoran and bracing the manjuu bun close to her to keep it warm.

Knowing the children were doing overall, ok, made him feel more at ease; but he couldn't stop himself from stealing a glance or two occasionally at the blonde that walked beside him. Ever since the magician had collapsed, he had been concerned for his well being.

He looked at the blonde, his eyes were cast downwards and golden hair cascading over parts of his now-flushed features.

The ninja found himself marveled by the mage's flaxen hair. The moonlight kissed his blonde hair, making it glow almost platinum; a beautiful silky silver that fell over a pair of gentle, pale, blue eyes.

Blue eyes that looked back at him and locked with crimson red.

"Kuro-muu?"

The gruff man snapped out of his little reverie when he noticed a little too late, that he had been staring long enough for the mage to realize.

He had to muster all of his remaining composure to suppress the flush that slowly crept to stain his already sun-kissed cheeks, a deeper shade of red.

What worsened things for Kurogane was that he didn't have any comeback; he found himself for the first time, silenced.

At loss of words.

Almost as if the blonde could read his mind- which wouldn't be surprising to the ninja, since the man seemed to always know what made him tick- the mage smiled.

Then again, that smile was not ordinary. It had been unique, beautiful and simple.

Perfect in it's own way.

He liked how the mage's eyes were half-lidded and shone; how his flushed cheeks made his face look even more delicate and feminine.

And his lips.

He found his eyes looking mostly at his lips.

The crimson flesh enraptured and drew him close. His body attracted as if it were pulled in by an invisible force he didn't want to fight; but before anything could be made out of that gesture, he stepped away from him.

"Hurry up." He called after the mage, not daring to look back.

Had he looked back, Fye would have seen the blush that spread across Kurogane's cheeks.

What the hell was that about? Kurogane thought angrily to himself as he caught up with the kids- who were talking about the stars and constellations- or something in between those lines.

He let out a very frustrated sigh and decided that what had almost happened had been the result of the day's events; but still, the desire to kiss the blonde lingered.

Hours of silence and unrelented marching passed before the ninja broke the silence.

"Damn it all to hell! I'm sick of this place." The man had finally snapped, catching the groups attention.

Kurogane had not only spoken to himself: everyone was exhausted.

No one said a thing. They stood only waiting for the man to speak out his frustration; however, what came was something no one expected, but knew it would eventually come.

"You," he began, a finger pointed accusingly at the white creature who rested in the princess' arms, voice sharp.

"Do you feel a feather at all? We're wasting time here, this is pointless. We should be moving on to the next world, it is doing none good!"

Mokona seemed as it it were about to answer, but before it even took a breath to speak back, Kurogane resumed.

"No? Well then what good are you? Make yourself useful and get us the fuck out of this hell hole."

"Kurogane"

The voice was distant and weak, but the sharp edge the mage had spoken with held no room for discussion.

It had surprised Kurogane, really.

The sound was alien and unusual coming from the cheery man; the lack of bastardizations the blonde would call him by was as rare as the serious, piercing look in his eyes.

Kurogane looked away from Fye to Mokona. Somehow, seeing its ears drop and features sadden made him feel guilty. He had regretted his words almost immediately, but then again, he did nothing to take them back or apologize.

He knew he was a man characterized for his short temper. He was being reminded of that constantly- courtesy of the idiotic mage; however, if his temper was bad as it already was, now, having no rest, food or drink made it even worse.

He could not escape the situation; how he loathed the fact that it was the mage, the clown of the group, who was scolding him.

As if things couldn't get worse. He thought, but then again, things seemed to be progressing from bad to worse lately.

"It isn't Mokona's fault. It isn't anyone's for that matter." He emphasized, making sure no one would take a blame that belonged to fate.

"We're here and we can't travel to the next world for reasons beyond our power. Those are the facts; pointing at someone and blaming them for misfortunes will take us nowhere."

Again, the mage had successfully spoken through the weakest voice and yet, had reached everyone's ears.

He knew Fye was right and had also hit a sensitive spot in Kurogane- his pride.

Even though he had spoken with carefully chosen words to put no one in the spotlight, he knew that it was directed at him for what he did.

Kurogane looked at Fye in the eye.

The man knew how to keep his thoughts unclouded when he had to, and for that, he admired him. Of course, he will never admit it to anyone, specially the blonde.

Once more, his eyes trailed back to Mokona and gave a sigh of agreement, and said no more in reproach to Fye's words.

It had been Syaoran who had broken the tension building in the group. He had pulled out a spying-glass of sorts and was now calling to them from the top of the dune they were about to walk up.

"There are some rocky mountains ahead. Maybe we could find shelter in them to pass the night."

"Well done, Syaoran-kun!" praised the mage as he waved at the boy for his observation. He then looked down at the worried princess and ushered her gently towards the boy with a hand on her shoulder.

"Come now, Sakura-chan, we're almost there." Spoke Fye with soft words; although, they were always gentle and soothing when he spoke to either Syaoran, Sakura or Mokona.

The girl looked up at the magician and nodded with a small smile, then both made their way to Syaoran. Kurogane followed close behind.

The boy waited for his companions to get to where he was at the top of the sand dune; from there, one could see mountains ahead.

It looked like firm soil, for a change, but the problem was: the imposing dune that stood in between them and a hopeful shelter.

"Hyuu" Kurogane heard the mage breathe out.

"Seems like we have no other choice but to walk that one up!"

The ninja hated to know the mage was right one more; however, he did not like the looks of that sand-mountain ahead. Something screamed warnings at him. With time, he had learned to listen to those warnings, most of them saving his life in multiple ocasions while battling monsters back in his Nihon. He will not push that warning aside, remaining aware of his surroundings.

"Very well, let's move on, then." That said, the group began walking to the steepest slope they've had to walk so far.

While walking, the ninja noted how the mage seemed to considerably slow down once more. He knew he was pushing beyond his limit, but he did not realize how much, until the mage almost fell over again.

Kurogane managed to reach forward and grab the small man by the shoulder to keep him steady.

"We're almost there, you idiot."

Fye looked up at Kurogane with tired eyes and that stupid smile.

Kurogane's brow furrowed. He hated so much how the man just hid away from everyone, even himself.

Fye smiled idiotically and began with a teasing voice that did not fit with his weak voice.

"Kuro-pyon is sooooo kind!" he said, spreading his lips into an even wider smile.

"Would you have carried me if I had fainted? How romantic, Kuro-tan does care!"

His voice began to annoy Kurogane, but he preferred that to the dead silence there had been the last couple of hours. His brow twitched in annoyance and his hand went to Souhi's hilt almost as a natural reflex. Hands itching to inflict pain on the man for such insolence, but decided against it.

He was no going to squander his energy, and even less the blonde's.

"How dare you say such stupidity!" he began, fist shaking in front of Fye's amused face.

As much edge as he had put in his voice to intimidate the mage, he seemed not to be bothered by it, rather seemed he was enjoying himself a bit too much.

"Wha? Kuro-mi is so mean! I'm here feeling a bit dizzy and you put a fist in front of my face- how violent" he mock-scold the ninja, waving an accusing finger at him and a fake pout on his lips.

"Don't make me make you feel real pain!"

"Kyaaa. Kuro-wan is mad. Why?"

Kurogane only sighed in frustration, this discussion was pointless and he knew it.

He knew he could never knock some sense into the blonde's empty head or seriousness into their talk.

"Come on Kuro-pipi! You can sleep once we get to the mountains." Said the blonde waif from afar. Kurogane was so deep into his own mental debates that he had missed the man walk away.

Kurogane growled and stomped his way to the blonde and the rest of the group, who had stopped to see what was the fuss about.

"You idiot! You don't leave me behind like that!" as much edge as the ninja had tried to put on that remark, it had only elicited a small chuckle from the mage.

Easier said than done.

Walking, or should I say, climbing up the steepest dune they've encountered so far in this forsaken place. Even the children, being from the desert, were having trouble walking.

The sand shifted continuously and more fluidly than the other they've been walking on. It easily gave under their feet, dragging them down what little they had walked up.

Kurogane did not like this in the least bit. It was so strange how it felt and how it shifted, and that was why he decided to be at the front: to make sure it was safe.

Syaoran was walking close by Sakura, who had Mokona in her arms- had the small bun tried to walk on this terrain, it would've sunk completely- a thought that gave the gruff man a malicious grin.

On the back was Fye; he seemed to not be having such a good time either. His feet were sinking almost all the way up to his knees, like the rest of them, which made things even harder to do.

Kurogane looked ahead and felt a wave of relief when he saw how close he was to the top. He made a quick sprint and almost slumped forward in all fours, panting to regain his breath.

He was amazed at how hard it was walking on the sand and how quick he got so worn out. A ninja was a trained man under every condition, whether it was hot, cold or rainy. He had thought he was fit and unbeatable under any ground, but this proved him very wrong.

A world like this probably was void of life, water and plants. He had expected to see something in the mountains, but his heart sunk when they still had some ways to it. At least the sand there was flat. That was a good sign. Right?

He stood up and looked down, shuddering at how steep the dune was. One misstep and you would find yourself rolling down like a rag doll.

He heard something behind him and turned to see what was that approaching noise.

What he saw made his blood run cold.

Three, five, or was it ten? He did not know, but just behind the mage, going full speed up the dune with ease, were what he would describe as tiger-like beasts.

The differences were noticeable, though. These beasts had no stripes, their bodies were elongated and their frames smaller, making it seem like they slithered rather than ran.

Their footing was light and they did not sink on the sand. They had no tails or whiskers and their ears were very small and pointed backwards. Their serpent-like teeth were bared and they hissed hungrily.

The beats were closing in fast on their first, oblivious prey- Fye.

The ninja did not hesitate.

"Behind you!" he called loud enough for everyone to hear.

The mage turned just in time to see the beast that lunged at him. He was lucky he missed it as he stepped fast enough to stay away from the fangs that snapped at him. Fye was at a great disadvantage, weak and with no weapons; he will have a hard time defending himself.

Sakura gasped and cried out loud when another one came their way, but Syaoran was ready and managed to protect her with his sword- but he could not kill the beast, for it moved with agility beyond his reach. He knew it was futile, so he took his princess by the arm and hauled her up, running away once he threw the animal from them with an attack.

"Fye!" Mokona gasped as the man fell when a beast managed to claw him across the stomach, blood stained his clothes.

"Kid, take the princess to the mountains, now!" Said the ninja once Syaoran and Sakura managed to make it up.

Syaoran did not press the matter; he knew he had to protect Sakura at all costs. And so, he took her by the hand and began to descend the dune, heading toward the mountains where they will hopefully be safe. It was not in him to run away when his friends were in need, but he had also a duty towards his country, towards his king and princess.

Towards his most precious person.

Fye was surrounded fast, the beasts losing their interest on the others, thinking that the mage had been left behind, but they were wrong.

"HAAAA!" Kurogane jumped at one and hacked at the body, killing it instantly; Souhi gleaming silver and crimson.

As easy as it had been to take down the first one, the others weren't easy meat.

Kurogane moved fast, but no matter how he twisted Souhi to defeat them, the beasts were far more agile. He did, however, manage to injure them, but not enough to scare them away.

He fought his way towards the magician, whose clothes were torn and tattered by now. He had slowed down even more, and he held a hand to his bloody stomach. There wasn't a lot of blood, but there was enough to consider the wound to be treated as soon as possible.

Kurogane cursed out loud when he saw one beast lunge at the magician from behind and he knew that he wouldn't be so lucky this time to evade successfuly.

He intercepted it with Souhi before it reached the blonde, the beast fell in two parts with a strangled howl, staining the sand with dark crimson blood.

Fye looked at Kurogane and smiled, silently thanking him. Both pressed against each other's back, trying to fight off the hungry beats. By now, they were surrounded once more, and Kurogane hated feeling like the prey.

The ninja could hear and feel Fye's labored breathing against him, his stance poor and head slightly bowed in weakness. Kurogane had to do something.

"On my signal…" said the ninja after he took his trademark stance.

Fye was no fool; he knew what the ninja was about to do. He smiled and closed his eyes.

"The sand will collapse on top of us..."

"We have no choice. We'll just have to move faster."

Kurogane looked back at the animals, focused on their moves, waiting for the perfect time. He didn't like one bit how they leered at them. None made movement to attack and the ninja began feeling uneasy.

What were they planning?

Kurogane waited no longer. His body crouched and hands tightened around Souhi.

"Hama,"

In a split second, between that whisper and his attack, Fye jumped as high as he could, making the beasts attack.

That was their downfall.

The sword glowed with mad power and Kurogane smirked in delight before he unleashed it against the surrounding beats.

"RYUOJIN!"

The sand around them exploded from impact and various screeches and howls were heard from the sand lurkers.

Fye landed close to Kurogane and fell to his knees, too weak to hold himself up; but the ninja took him by the arm and helped him up making a run for it as the sand shifted dangerously and warned to swallow them whole if they didn't move fast.

It was hard enough already, and the sand cloud he had created didn't make it easier.

They made it to the top and began descending fast, the sand moving too much for them to stay on their feet. They fell and began rolling their way down.

Kurogane made it to a complete stop and groaned as he tried to stand, noticing his head was bleeding slightly. The ground underneath him was steady and firm.

He felt like kissing the floor, he had missed steady and hard soil too much, but stood up fast when he saw the mage's body sprawled motionlessly on the floor, not too far from him.

He groaned again as he obliged his protesting body to run to Fye, who once the ninja flipped him, groaned in pain.

"Be more… gentle" he moaned as he opened his eyes.

Kurogane sighed and stood, helping the mage up.

"That was something. Kuro-pon was so cool!" The blonde said as he looked back at the sand.

"I hate the desert." Kurogane finally said and Fye chuckled lightly.

"Kurogane is so filled with hatred, it's not healthy"

"That's because you drive me insane!"

"Hahah! It's funny, you have to admit it."

"I'll show you what's fu-" he was cut short when out of nowhere, as if coming back from the dead, a beast leapt at him from under the sand, fans bared for the kill.

His eyes widened when he saw Fye push him out of the way.

The monster's fangs closed down on soft flesh.

Fye's sharp gasp was all he heard.

The night's calm was interrupted by a strangled cry of pain. Blood consumed the once white clothes as the beast bit down on the blonde's collarbone and took him down.

TBC

Author's Note:
Yes, cliffhanger! And YES I do know what happens later, but I felt like being evil and leaving you, precious readers like this.
If you want to know what ahppens, you will review. It really encourages me to keep writting if I know people read this and leave nice comments and/or feedback.
Come on, I know you want to click on the button!

Until next time, my faithful readers!

Elenath