This story is being written for a contest on the Live Journal kuroxfai, based on the theme of fairy tales. There are three stories, sandwiched between an introduction and an ending. This story's a little strange - and there's a lot that may not make sense right away, so please don't feel frustrated! The story is written in Kurogane's POV, so you're limited to his understanding.

All of the story except for the ending has been completed. I'll be posting the parts weekly.

Title: Fairyland: Introduction and Part I (Sleeping Beauty's Tale.)
Disclaimer: These two were hatched from the collective brain of CLAMP. Not mine.
Spoilers: Yes. Post-Tokyo plot.
Rating: for violence, language.
Word Count: 5920

As always, feedback and criticism are welcomed (improving my writing is one of my goals.) But I also like brief notes, just to let me know you read the story.

fairyland: introduction

When Kurogane woke up, he was completely alone except for a throbbing headache and the certain knowledge that he wasn't supposed to be alone, that something was terribly amiss. There should be others. Together they were five in number, but he couldn't remember anything else.

Kurogane stood to his feet and surveyed his surroundings. He was in a small room with hewn stone for walls and rough wooden planks for floors. The room contained the straw-stuffed mattress he'd been sleeping on, and a small desk made of the same wood as the floor. There was a pitcher on the desk. A quick survey of the cabin's only other room proved it to be empty as well, except for a small, coal-burning stove. Kurogane returned to his room and splashed his face with water from the pitcher before emptying it in several long gulps. He still felt thirsty, but there was no other water in the cabin so he sat back down on the mattress, a frown of concentration creasing his face as he tried to pry the faces of his companions from his mind. Begrudgingly his memory offered up the image of a girl whose eyes were large and green and inexplicably sad. There was something familiar in the detached, graceful way she stood, with an unconscious air of authority: Princess. Standing behind the princess was a boy with a tousled mop of brown hair. He had tanned skin and wiry muscles that suggested he was accustomed to labor outdoors, but the way he was looking at the princess was fiercely protective. Brat's probably her bodyguard. In the boy's arms nestled a small, furry creature that looked like a weird rabbit. Or a meat-bun. Kurogane knew instinctively that this creature enjoyed teasing and was thus his natural enemy. That made three.

And the fourth? There was a man standing next to the children. He was tall and thin, with a halo of golden hair framing his face. No matter how Kurogane concentrated, the man's face remained fuzzy and featureless. Kurogane's head started to throb again in protest and he gave up. "Bastard," he growled at the faceless man, deciding that the man was probably troublesome if even his mere memory induced migraines.

Outside, Kurogane found himself standing on the top of a gently sloping hill. He looked into the distance and saw that there were many identical hills as far as he could see to the north, west, and south. In the east was a dark, massive wood. His hill was the only one with a cabin, and there was no other sign of civilization, except for a small footpath ran from west to east past the base of his hill.

Kurogane walked down the path in the direction of the wood. A carpet of brightly colored flowers dotted the grass, and the sky overhead was a stunning shade of blue that seemed oddly familiar.

He continued following the path until he realized that he was no closer to the woods than when he'd started. He knew he'd been walking through the hills for hours because the sun had been almost directly overhead when he left the cabin, but now it was behind his position and his shirt was soaked with perspiration. He paused, trying to figure out exactly one dealt with woods that seemed bent on escaping when he heard a bright laugh from around the next hill.

Kurogane raced towards the laughter to find a figure standing on the path, swathed from head to toe in a gray, shape-concealing cloak. Perched on one of the figure's fingers was a red bird. The person let out a series of short whistles, and the bird chirped at sporadic intervals, seemingly in response.

"Who are you?" he managed to ask in a passably civil tone. As civil as one could be with people who pretended to talk to birds.

"You're in charge here. So I'm whoever you want me to be, Kurogane," replied the figure lightly. A man, then - the voice was soft and high, but it was unmistakably male.

Instinctively, Kurogane dropped his hand towards his right hip and was surprised to find nothing there, although he did not know why (did he carry a weapon?) That strange man knew who he was and he didn't like it one bit. "How do you know my name?" he growled. "And where are my companions? And what's with these woods? Are they cursed?"

The man stroked the bird with a finger. "So many questions! I know who you are because you're in charge here. The woods... are magical. Whether or not that's a curse depends on your point of view. Regarding your companions: can you describe them?"

Kurogane clenched his jaw, putting his anger in check. He didn't like the man's way of dancing around questions, but he needed assistance and there was no one else to interrogate. "There's the princess: she's a young girl, early teens. Light hair, green eyes, about this high." He gestured with his hand. "The boy's about that high as well and the same age with brown hair, brown eyes. Also, there's a white rabbit thing too; it has long ears. And a man, he's about your height. He has blond hair and he's annoying."

The man laughed again. "In that case, I'll see if Peartia has heard news of any spectacularly annoying visitors." He whistled, an inquiring note in the tone. The bird cocked its head to the side, looking quite thoughtful (for a bird), then it burst forth into an excited song, flapping its wings. The man gave a short whistle back, then lifted his hand upwards to launch the bird into the air. He waved at the retreating bird until it spiraled out of sight, high in the blue sky. "Peartia said that she's heard some of the forest animals speak of a young beauty slumbering deep inside the forest. Apparently this is no natural sleep, either: the child has been asleep for years. Rumor has it that one of the relatives is responsible, but Peartia heard that part from a fox and they're known to embellish stories for dramatic purposes, so let's take it with a grain of salt. Do you think this could be your princess?"

Years? Kurogane was certain he'd been with his companions just a few hours ago, but if one of the princess' feathers were involved, it was possible. Not pleasant, but possible – assuming the man hadn't just simply faked the conversation with the bird for his own twisted amusement. But then again, that white meat bun thing talked, didn't it? "Maybe," Kurogane answered. "Do you know how to get to the forest?"

"Yes," said the man.

Kurogane could just hear the laughter in his voice, and was glad the man was wearing that ugly cloak so he wouldn't be tempted to slug his undoubtedly smug face. "Will you take me?" Kurogane asked instead. It was for the princess, he reminded himself and ignored the twitching of his wounded man-pride.

The man nodded. "You're in charge here."

Kurogane felt a little light flicker on. He didn't much care for games, but that didn't mean he couldn't play. "Okay, then you'll take me to the forest and to the princess."

The man simply nodded again and Kurogane would have smirked a little if his throat weren't feeling so parched again. He'd drunk that whole pitcher of water before leaving the cabin, but perhaps the walk had taken more out of him than he suspected. It was odd, though, the weather here wasn't particularly hot and certainly not as humid as Japan in the summer. "Is there anything to drink around here?"

"Do you want there to be?"

Kurogane glared at the man, but he was more thirsty than annoyed. "Yes, I want some water."

There was a bottle of water on the path. No popping noise or purple burst of smoke or chanted words, the bottle was just there as if it had always been there. Kurogane arched an eyebrow and prodded it with his toe, but it did not explode or attack him, so he picked it up and twisted the cap off and drank deeply. It was just like bottled water in countless worlds they'd visited, with that slight mineral aftertaste and paper wrapping around the middle. "Did you do that?" he asked after he'd finished drinking.

The man shrugged. "You're in--"

Kurogane cut in. "I know, I know. So since I'm apparently your boss now, are you going to give me your name?"

"I don't have one. I'm whoever you want me to be."

It was, Kurogane reflected, a world in which birds talked and bottled water appeared on demand, so perhaps it wasn't implausible that a grown man could wander around with a name. But he didn't have time to waste. "Fine, your name is Guide, because you're going to guide me. This doesn't mean I trust you, though, so if you do anything suspicious, I will kill you."

Kurogane sensed Guide smile under the cloak. "Sounds fair. So Kurogane, how shall we travel? Our destination is several leagues away."

That was undoubtedly a prompt. Remembering the water, he thought of a pair of matched black horses, complete with saddles. "I want a pair of horses," he announced to the air, feeling mildly childish.

The discarded bottle disappeared and in its place stood two fine beasts, complete with the livery he'd imagined – down to the very buckle. The horses whickered eagerly and stretched their well-muscled necks towards him, as if eager to be ridden. Kurogane arched an eyebrow, allowing himself a moment to be impressed before he drew himself up expertly upon one. Being "in charge" had its perks.

Guide clapped. "Nice imagination you've got."

"Shut up and climb on."

fairytale: the sleeping beauty's tale

Kurogane had learned a few useful things about his wishing ability during the last day. Most importantly, he'd learned he couldn't have more than one wish operating at a time when he'd gotten thirsty again (or perhaps it was more accurate to say that he'd just grown thirstier, he never really stopped being thirsty in this world.) He'd wished for some water again but promptly ended up on his behind, rather wet in the seat of his pants. His mount had vanished, replaced by a bottle of water – one that had been crushed by the force of his falling on it. His first thought was that Guide was playing a nasty trick on him, but Guide was sitting on the gravel road too, looking just as dazed and horseless. When Kurogane had wished for the horses back, the bottle had disappeared and the horses had reappeared – but they were fresh as if they hadn't been ridden at all.

He couldn't, however, wish his companions to be transported: he'd stared at the horses and concentrated hard enough to give himself another migraine, but the horses remained resolutely horse-shaped no matter how he phrased his request.

Finally he'd had to admit defeat and decided that the best course of action was to simply try to find his companions as quickly as possible; there was no telling what trouble they could get into in a land with such suspicious magic. So he'd wished for a jeep, after dredging up a vague memory of the vehicle from a previous world. Its large treads and high carriage were suited for navigating the wide gravel path that wound through the black wood, although there were too many potholes and trenches marring the road for them to travel as quickly as on a paved road. Kurogane preferred the jeep's open top design because it provided proper air circulation and good visibility on all sides so he could monitor the woods around them for sudden movement. Although they hadn't been attacked by anything dangerous yet, Kurogane had sensed presences in the woods several times, presences that left him with the unsettling impression of cold, rotting things that lay under damp rocks. Watching. Waiting.

Kurogane knew Guide sensed them as well because each time they passed one of the creatures' lurking spots, Guide stilled noticeably, as if holding his breath would help him escape notice. After consulting a passing red-tailed hawk, however, he relaxed and informed Kurogane that they at least didn't need to fear an attack during daylight hours. But they would have to build a fire tonight.

Simply driving through the night wasn't an option: the jeep had headlights, but the thick canopy of twisting trees overhead would block out moonlight and starlight, and he couldn't count on the headlights alone to help him avoid the potholes in the road.

Still, despite the watching presences, the drive was rather pleasant. The air was cool and the humming of the jeep's motor and crunch of the tires over the gravel was soothing. Guide wasn't bad company either, first impressions aside. He didn't chatter away as Kurogane had feared he would, but instead kept his attention focused on the woods, apparently monitoring the chittering and scolding and songs of the birds that flitted in and out of the woods, their bright feathers vibrant against the green, thick vegetation.

The sun continued to retreat into the western horizon, leaving behind clouds in its wake that glowed electric purple. When only about an hour of daylight remained, Guide gestured to Kurogane to pull over. Kurogane watched as Guide hopped out of the jeep and patrolled along the side of the road, peering intently at the ground until he stopped at one particular patch and gestured to Kurogane to come. As Kurogane drew closer, he saw the chosen area was actually a slightly elevated circle of land – a perfect circle. "Man made or natural?" he asked Guide.

Guide shrugged as if it didn't matter or he didn't know or both. "This is powerful magic that we ought take advantage of. We'll build small fires around the perimeter and keep them going through the night."

Kurogane did not question the other man's knowledge of magic defenses but instead set about gathering small pine needles for kindling. Guide had already proven his knowledge to be superior to Kurogane's because Guide was able to approach the cursed woods when he could not by himself.

The sun had been set for several hours when the presences made their appearances, their eyes glowing angrily in the shadows beyond the perimeter of the circle. Kurogane had wanted to transform the jeep into a sword (he'd remembered that he usually carried one, and was quite a skilled swordsman to boot) but Guide had vetoed that idea - swords would do no good against these creatures. So he was forced merely sit inside the circle with Guide, regulated to a staring-match with the creatures. They were strange things, inky blobs that blended in with the shadows, but Kurogane could still perceive their shapes; darkness didn't inhibit his eyesight much. Kurogane curled his lip in disgust: they had no one set shape, but rather shifted from form to form as if trying to pick one that would intimidate him. "Nice try, you filthy bastards," Kurogane growled, his chin propped listlessly against his knuckles. "Stop wasting my time."

"They can't understand you," Guide said, a hint of amusement in his voice as he reached for some kindling from the pile in the middle of the circle. He tossed it into a fire before adding, "The creatures here all speak different languages."

"So can you understand all animals, or just birds? And those creatures?"

Guide regarded him for a moment, his posture conveying wariness. "Birds and other things that fly, mostly that's all. Of those... lost creatures, just a few words here and there. But I try not to listen to them."

"Will there be creatures guarding the princess?" Kurogane made a mental resolution to turn the jeep into Souhi at some point tomorrow so he could spend some quality time sharpening her. After he got something to drink. His throat was dry and scratchy again, although Guide had shared water from his canteen just a hour ago.

"I don't know," Guide said. "It seems the animals mostly avoid that place so I haven't been able to find out much. But we should assume the worst, so you should get some rest. I'll tend the fires."

There was something in Guide's voice that made Kurogane look up sharply. Was it concern? Had the other man noticed how much water he was drinking? But Kurogane couldn't figure out why the other man would care regardless. They'd only just met.

Yet somehow Kurogane trusted him enough to take his advice, and he drifted to sleep with his head pillowed on his shirt, the last thing he saw a fire crackling before his eyes.

It was rare for him to dream, but that night he did. Not about princesses, but a boy with empty, mismatched eyes and bloody hands and no heart.

He was deep into the forest.

When Kurogane glanced over his shoulder, he could no longer see the reassuring road or Guide because of the relentless thicket of thorns that had sprung up behind him, effectively cutting off any chance of a quick retreat. Not that he intended to retreat, thorns and that Guide be damned, Kurogane swore, wiping a stinging stream of blood from his eyes before he took another swing at the bristling thorns with Souhi.

After a half-day's travel in the jeep, they'd arrived at this location. Guide had pointed into the woods and said that, according the birds, the imprisoned beauty was about half an hour's journey away. But Guide had steadfastly refused to leave the road, despite Kurogane's pointed reminders about exactly who was in charge, and Guide's promise to take him to the princess. Guide had responded calmly that what "taking" meant was a matter open to interpretation, and that he had done what he could. So Kurogane had transformed the jeep into Souhi while snapping that the sword would serve him better than an unreliable companion.

It had taken him thirty minutes just to get off the road.

The thorn vines had slithered out of the forest as soon as his foot had touched the grass. They moved so quickly and in such large numbers that sometimes he was barely able to bring Souhi up in time to protect his face. He'd unleashed Chiryuenbu and bought himself enough of a reprieve to turn around and yell at Guide about how exactly he should deal with these thorns and that thirty-minute estimate really sucked. But Guide had just shaken his head sadly. Kurogane had been on the verge of cursing the other man out when he'd noticed how tightly the other man was clasping his hands together, so hard that his nails were drawing blood – as if he wanted to help but were restraining himself, perhaps bound by his own strange interpretation of whatever the "rules" of this place were.

Kurogane snorted as he dodged a vine snaking towards his feet and raced deeper into the forest, the vines close on his heels. If a man set out to do something, he should follow through. If he wasn't prepared to break the rules, he shouldn't even bother leaving his house.

He froze when he saw the mass of thorns blocking his advance. They were so tightly massed and interwoven that they appeared to be a solid wall rather than vines, a three-story tall wall. Kurogane pulled Souhi back for another Chiryuenbu attack, but suddenly found Souhi locked in position behind him. The thorns that had been chasing him had caught up and ensnared Souhi and his right hand. Now they were slowly pushing him forward. Kurogane arched an eyebrow up in grudging respect at their vegetative cunning: they intended to crush him to death against the wall of thorns.

There wasn't enough room to form another Chiryuenbu, even if he could work Souhi free. Continuing to slash at the thorns didn't seem like a viable course, either. There were simply too many. Only an explosive attack like Chiryuenbu had any effect because it blew large amounts apart.

There was no way out... but up.

Kurogane stared at Souhi until the sword morphed into a motorcycle helmet. The sudden change of shape caused the vines' grasp on Souhi and his hand to loosen, and he yanked the helmet free triumphantly and fitted it onto his head, pulling the visor down to protect his eyes. Swiftly, he tore strips from his shirt and wound them around his hands and knees for extra padding. Then he took a running leap at the wall of thorns and started scaling at his top speed. He knew only had a precious few moments before the vines suspected his motives.

He was about one story up the bristling wall before he felt a sudden sting in his ankles and a vicious tug that almost caused him to lose his grasp on the thorny wall: the vines had caught up. Kurogane gritted his teeth and kept scaling, even as the number and weight of the vines increased. New vines snaked around his legs and chest, digging deep into his flesh. They hurt like hell, but Kurogane was reasonably certain that he could manage the blood loss (he knew he'd suffered worse, even if he couldn't quite remember it.)

The top was in sight – about half a story more – when the vines wrapped around his shoulders and neck. Kurogane swore as the vines tore into the delicate skin around his neck as if attempting to rip into his carotid arteries. Other vines slapped at his helmet in vain, and Kurogane was certain the damned plants were going for his eyes.

A final burst of energy put him within reach of his goal, and Kurogane grabbed at the ledge of wall and propelled himself to the top. He burst into a sudden roll across the top of wall, and the vines' clutch on him loosened enough for him to work his arms free. He shut his eyes, yanked the helmet off and willed it to become Souhi, then he slashed at the vines still wrapped around his lower body. The injured vines recoiled, and Kurogane raced towards the center point of the wall.

His plan was fairly simple. He'd wondered why the wall remained static even though the vines comprising it were of the same sort as the pursuing vines and thus capable of movement. If the wall had joined in the attack, the sheer number of vines would have easily overwhelmed him. Kurogane could think of only one reason for the vines to remain fixed in place: to guard something vital. Something precious.

When he was roughly at what he guessed to be the center, Kurogane skidded to a stop. He drew a deep breath, closing his eyes as he focused his ki around an upraised Souhi.

Shou.

Even with his eyes closed, he could see the energy coalescing around the sword. It blazed a brilliant, scorching white against his eyelids.

Ryu.

As the energy took shape, Kurogane sensed the sinuous ki of the vines slinking closer until they surrounded him completely. He wouldn't get a second chance.

Sen.

The vines sprung forward just as the energy reached its peak. Kurogane swung Souhi downwards and devastating waves of energy spiraled towards the earth, completely obliterating everything in their path.

Kurogane landed heavily in a crouch amid falling fragments of vine, noting that he was none the worse for falling three stories, except for the numbness in his legs from the impact. His eyes darted around the decimated earth until he honed in on a small bush of vines that still twitched weakly. The brain. Kurogane rushed it and swept Souhi down like a precision scalpel, cleaving the bush from its trunk. The vines ceased their twitching and suddenly ignited. As if in sympathy, the trunk and all the other bits of remaining vines also caught on fire. The burning continued until the vines crumbled into ash.

The ash and smoke was carried away by a faint breeze. Kurogane watched in dazed disbelief. It was terribly convenient, suspiciously convenient, but he wasn't going to complain. The adrenaline was fading from his system and he was beginning to feel the pangs of overexertion combined with blood loss catch up to him. His throat was parched again, and the smoke had only inflamed the dry tissue. He coughed several times, but resisted the urge to transform Souhi into water and instead gripped the sword more securely. There was no telling what the contingency plan for "killer vines" might be.

As the last of the smoke cleared, Kurogane noticed a small, rather inconspicuous box on the ground. Closer inspection inspection revealed it to be an electrical box with a black power cord trailing away from it. Machines weren't his forte – there weren't any in his country – but even he knew that something was out of kilter if there were electrical boxes just sitting out in the middle of a forest.

The power cord led away from the destroyed clearing and into a small stand of trees. Upon entering the stand, Kurogane's eyes were drawn skyward: there was a circular opening in the branches of the trees. It was a suspiciously perfect circle, just like the one they'd camped on. A long, slender object glinted under the light flooding down from the opening. The cord was connected to that object.

Kurogane drew closer cautiously, and his pulse quickened as the object's nature became evident: it was a coffin on a pedestal, wrought of glass and twisted black metal with carvings like runes. The hackles on Kurogane's neck raised at the sight of those runes; foreign though they were, they had the appearance of hateful, dark curses. The barely audible hum of machinery emanated from the coffin, adding to the wholly unnatural setup.

A corpse should be laid to rest in the warm earth, not stuck in some strange mechanical device. Kurogane growled angrily, resolving to smash the glass and inter the body properly himself.

Then he saw the face of the corpse and forgot to breathe.

Not the princess – the brat. Actually, he hadn't been expecting to find either of them in the coffin; the rumors had said the "princess" was sleeping, not dead. Kurogane regarded the face of the boy numbly. He'd been alive just a few days ago, hadn't he? But the grass around the coffin came up to Kurogane's thighs, high as if it'd been untended for years.

Kurogane waded through the grass dazedly, walking along the perimeter of the coffin aimlessly. The boy was no princess, but it wasn't difficult to see why the animals had described him as a beauty. Brown hair curled around his pale face, and his cheeks and lips still retained the soft curves of the very young. When the boy had been alive, it was easy to forget how young he was because his face had always been furrowed with worry and resolve and hesitation, as if he feared he'd be pushed away at any moment. But death had granted him the peace he'd lacked in life.

Bowing his head, Kurogane respectfully placed a hand on top of the coffin. He'd done all he could for the boy, but it hadn't been enough.

Voices flooded into his mind.

Syaoran-kun, Syaoran-kun, where are you?

I can't move, I can't breathe, let me out, please! Why are you doing this? You're my uncle! Please!

So dark in here. So quiet. Am I still alive?

There's nothing you can do. You should just stop struggling and make it easier on yourself. This is hitsuzen.

You were imperfect. Humans have emotions. That's why you are weak and I am strong.

Oh god, that's what he had planned. He's copied me. Can't let him, can't let him win. I have to protect her.

They look so happy. He's not even real, and he gets to have a family.

What does sunlight feel like? I've forgotten.

Dear... when a boy has been "missing" for seven years, he's not "missing" anymore. He's dead. He's not coming back. There are other nice boys here, you know. He would want you to be happy.

I can never go back. There's nothing left for me. No one left for me.

Kurogane jerked his hand back as if he'd been burned. The voices had been startlingly intimate revelations, and now he knew how the other brat ("fake" Syaoran) must have felt when he had "read" Kurogane's memories in the book. It was like involuntarily reliving another person's most guarded secrets.

Then realization flashed through Kurogane. If he could sense the brat's memories, he must still be alive! Kurogane stared intently at the boy's face. Just the slightest hint of flush colored his cheeks. Kurogane had seen enough bodies to know that no corpse had any hint of color. Almost frantically, Kurogane pried at the lid of the coffin, but it wouldn't budge. Using Souhi to smash the thick glass was out of the question; the glass shards would be driven into the boy. Frowning, Kurogane considered trying to pry the coffin open with the sword. It was airtight, however, so he couldn't wedge the sword in.

The mechanical hum of the coffin caught his attention, and he eyed the power cord thoughtfully. A moment later, the cord sparked weakly, severed in half. With a groan, the coffin's machinery ground to a halt, and the lid of the coffin sprang open with a hiss.

Syaoran did not stir.

Kurogane leaned over the boy and shook his shoulder gently. "Oi, brat. Wake up." There was still no response, so Kurogane slid hands under his shoulders and knees and carried him away from the coffin. Despite Kurogane's weakened state, it took very little effort to carry the boy, he felt so damn light in his arms. He propped the boy up against a tree, one of the ones closest to the opening in the trees and knelt in front of him. Soak up all the sunlight you need, kid. But the boy still did not move, and Kurogane drew his brows together, recalling the strange metal runes on the coffin. Curses were not his specialty. That annoying Guide probably knew how to fix the boy, but carrying an unconscious boy back to the road would be dangerous. If the vines or something else attacked, he wouldn't have any hands free to fight with.

The curse can broken only if a prince with a pure heart kisses the princess.

He didn't know exactly where that weird thought had come from, and it didn't make any sense. He wasn't a prince, although he had been a lord's son, a long time ago (did that count?) But he sure as hell didn't have a pure heart, and Syaoran wasn't a princess by a long shot, unless there was something he'd been hiding. Kurogane snuck a furtive glance at the boy's chest. It was reassuringly flat.

Still, he was running out of options. With a sigh, Kurogane pushed the boy's bangs aside and planted a chaste kiss on his forehead, like his father used to do to him. Wondering when exactly he'd become a father, he sat back expectantly.

Syaoran did not move.

Kurogane growled, his patience evaporated. "Okay, brat, that's enough lazing about. WAKE UP." He cuffed the boy's face lightly. Syaoran's mouth fell open, and a small, black object fell out and Syaoran gasped and started swallowing great gulps of air.

The black object fell into Kurogane's hand, and he twirled it before his eyes suspiciously. It was an ebony bat with eyes that glowed red, and Kurogane's face flushed with rage. With an epithet, Kurogane crushed it in his hands. "I know that symbol," he snarled. He'd sworn to kill the man who wore it.

"My uncle's," Syaoran said with a bitter laugh, not meeting Kurogane's eyes.

"Your uncle... did this to you?" Kurogane did not know what to say.

The boy curled his arms around his knees and put his head down like he wanted to disappear into himself. "Does it matter? He's moved on. He stuck me out here because he didn't need me anymore. They've all moved on, too. They don't need me either. Even her." A sad, lonely smile crossed his face. "But I'm glad. I don't want them to be sad because of me."

"Well, you're going to be sad if you don't get off your sorry ass. I've been looking for you for a long time, and not so I could listen to you mope." Kurogane extended a hand to the boy. "C'mon, we have to find the others. They're waiting for us."

"You came... for me?" Syaoran's eyes widened in wonder as he looked up and noticed Kurogane's wounds for the first time.

"Of course I did, brat. You're one of us now," said Kurogane gruffly.

A beautiful smile lit the boy's face and he reached shyly for Kurogane's hand. When he touched Kurogane's hand, he shimmered with a golden light, as if lit from within. "Thank you, Kurogane-san," he whispered. Then he dissolved into a thousand orbs of light and drifted through the opening in the trees.

Kurogane blinked in amazement. "What... the hell?"

"Kurogane!" Guide was running towards him, crashing through the underbrush in his haste. "Are you alright?"

Kurogane mostly ignored him and kept staring at the opening, wondering how much that witch would charge to glue a boy back together. "I thought you couldn't leave the path."

"That's not exactly it." Guide began to poke at him, prodding at his cuts and gashes. "Really, did you have to get yourself that torn up? Those vines have slow-acting poison, you'll be in serious trouble if we don't clean it out."

"He just disappeared."

"Oh, did he?" Guide said, his tone wholly unconcerned and Kurogane looked at him sharply in askance. "You found him. That's what counts. He can keep track of himself now," Guide explained, pulling a bottle out of his cloak.

"You make utterly no sense."

"I've been told that before." Guide sounded amused.

end: sleeping beauty's tale

A/N:

Chiryuenbu Earth Dragon Waltz. Seen in Outo Country when Kurogane and Fai are fighting Oni together.

Shouryusen Rising Dragon Flash. Kurogane uses this kick-ass attack against Kamui in Acid!Tokyoworld (it blasts the vampire into the ceiling.) In this story, though, Kurogane uses a "reverse"Shouryusen, so it blasts downwards instead of upwards.

Hope you enjoyed it! I certainly had fun writing it. :grin: