Disclaimer: Same as the last five chapters.

Author's Notes: Last chapter, yays.

---

Sakura wandered down the winding halls of the castle, guided by Mokona. The only sounds she could hear were her own footfalls and heavy breathing.

"Are you sure this is the right way, Moko-chan?" she asked quietly.

"Mokona is certain," the white creature replied. "Mokona feels power in this direction. We're getting very close to it now."

"I hope we find Syaoran-kun," Sakura said. She glanced back over her shoulder. "And I hope Kurogane-san is all right." Suddenly she shook her head and faced forward. "No. Kurogane-san said I shouldn't look back. If all I can do is save Syaoran-kun, that's enough. That's why I came here, so I can't look back."

Up ahead she could see a lit doorway. Sakura slowed her pace just slightly as she came closer to the room, listening for the sounds of anyone who might be waiting for her. She could hear faint noises coming from up ahead.

"We're here," Mokona said softly, hopping out of Sakura's arms and peering into the doorway.

"Then let's go," Sakura said firmly. Together they entered the room.

The chamber was wide and well lit, the walls decorated by sharp ice crystals and lamps lit by strange blue fires. Ahead of her was a regal and empty throne.

"There's no one here," Sakura said softly. Something about the atmosphere of the room made her want to whisper. "Do you see anything, Moko-chan?"

"Down there!" Mokona's urgent voice caused her to turn. The creature was pointing down the wide staircase that led downwards to another circular room. A figure sat at the foot of the stairs, surrounded by shining shards of glass. A familiar figure.

"Syaoran-kun!" Sakura ran down the stairs so fast she very nearly tripped, ignoring Mokona frantically calling her name behind her. All she could see was Syaoran kneeling there, mismatched eyes intent on the ground.

Sakura slowed her run as she reached the last few steps. Syaoran paused and turned to stare darkly at her out of the one blue eye.

"Syaoran-kun…" Sakura trailed off, unsure what to say. It didn't seem like Syaoran there, staring at her so coldly. "Do—do you remember me, Syaoran-kun?"

"Lady Sakura," Syaoran replied. His voice was devoid of warmth or emotion, and it didn't sound at all like him. He stared at her for a moment more, then turned back to gazing intently at the pieces of glass laid out before him.

"That's not what I asked you to call me," Sakura said, taking a tentative step towards him. "Do you remember?"

Syaoran didn't reply. Sakura took another step closer, then knelt down beside him.

"Talk to me," she said quietly. Syaoran continued to stare at the glass as if she wasn't even there. "Why won't he say anything?" Sakura turned to Mokona, who had just made its way down the stairs. She looked back at Syaoran. "How can I help him?"

"Mokona doesn't know," the white creature said sadly. "Mokona doesn't know this spell."

"But there must be some way!" Sakura said. She pulled open her pack and dug out a now-stale pastry, still wrapped as carefully as it had been so many nights ago. She reached over and pressed the item into Syaoran's hand. The boy looked at her, but there was nothing warm in his eyes.

"This is a present for you," Sakura said gently. "I—I know it's not much now, not anymore. But I wanted to give it to you, Syaoran-kun. I wanted you to have something special, because it was your birthday too. I—I wanted to see you smile, because you always make me smile."

Syaoran's eyes met hers and Sakura thought she could see something in the blue eye. Something small and shining and painful that cut through the blue of the eye like scar.

Impulsively, Sakura threw her arms around Syaoran.

"Don't be lonely, all right?" she said.

She pulled away slightly and placed a hand over Syaoran's blue eye, closing her own eyes as she moved. She thought she could feel something warm underneath her palm, a small blue flame that didn't burn her.

"It'll be all right, I promise. So don't be lonely anymore," Sakura whispered.

"L-lady Sakura?"

Her eyes flew open and Sakura pulled her hands away. Clenched tightly in one hand was a small shard of glass. Sakura looked up.

Syaoran stared back at her, red-faced and wide-eyed. Both of his eyes were brown.

"Syaoran!" Sakura threw her arms around him again, smiling so hard it made her face hurt. She could feel him blushing.

"Lady Sakura, you shouldn't--" Syaoran started to protest and Sakura held up a hand to stop him.

"'Sakura!'" she said insistently. "Just 'Sakura,' okay?"

"Sakura." Syaoran swallowed hard, his face still red. "All right."

"Syaoran…" Sakura leaned back, unable to stop smiling. "I'm so glad you're all right! Do you remember what happened?"

"I-I think so." Syaoran put a hand to his head. "I remember something was in my eye. And then a man came and it was like he was calling to me, somehow, and I had to go with him. After that, I just remember being here. There was something I was trying to do, but I can't really remember what, or how. I-I know Fai-san was here, too. I remember Fai-san being here."

"He is here, I think," Sakura said. "And Kurogane-san, too. But I don't know where. Moko-chan led me to you." She gestured towards the white creature.

Light from the torches was shining off the jewel in Mokona's forehead, and there were strange reflections illuminating the shards on the floor. Syaoran gasped quietly and leaned forward with sudden urgency, running his hands through the glass.

"Syaoran? What's wrong?" Sakura asked worriedly.

"I think I know what to do!" Syaoran said breathlessly. "I remember this. I-I was trying to put these back together, but it was as if my vision was blocked. It looks different now. L—Sakura, look, can you see it?"

Sakura narrowed her eyes, looking hard at the glass on the floor. In the light reflected off Mokona's jewel, she thought she could see something – thin colored strands of light that darted across the glass, connecting each piece to another.

"I can see it!" She looked over at Syaoran. "What does it mean?"

"It means I can fix it," Syaoran said. He took Sakura's hand. "We can fix it."

Together, they began to sort through the broken glass.

--

Kurogane eyed Fai warily, keeping a firm hold on his sword. The blond was watching him with calm eyes, holding his staff in a battle stance.

"You're an idiot," Kurogane said flatly. "What the hell do you think you're doing?"

"What I have to," Fai said darkly. Without another word the man darted forward, swinging his staff at Kurogane with the practiced ease of a warrior. Kurogane dodged and brought up his sword to parry the blow, gritting his teeth.

"You're not going to use your stupid magic?" Kurogane asked, avoiding another blow. Fai was more skilled than Kurogane had expected, but the other man's greatest strength was clearly not in close combat. The speed of his attacks was impressive and Kurogane could tell that the other man was a master of avoidance (of course), but he handled the weapon like a person backed into a corner.

Fai didn't reply, but Kurogane heard the man's breath hitch just slightly. Fai attacked again and again Kurogane parried the blow. He continued to dodge and defend against Fai, but did not attack.

"You can't beat me this way," Kurogane said. "You know that."

"I can because I have no choice," Fai replied. He drew back for a moment, trying to catch his breath. When he looked up at Kurogane again, his eye was pleading. "You have to leave this place, Kurogane. I'll drown in this, if you stay. King Ashura will wake up soon and this time I won't be able to stop him if he attacks. He'll kill you." His hands were white around his staff. "And if I use magic, I'll kill you. And I don't want that."

"Then you won't beat me," Kurogane replied bluntly.

Fai attacked again without warning, and still Kurogane managed to block the attack with his sword. The blond had more strength than Kurogane had expected, but he was still outmatched. Fai swung at him again, wildly, and Kurogane dodged, cursing quietly. He could end this if he attacked. If he hurt Fai.

Kurogane raised his sword, not even quite certain if he was ready to attack or defend, and then a voice stopped him.

"Kurogane-san, Fai-san! Stop it!"

Fai stopped in mid-attack, eye wide and staring as Sakura ran into the room and stood between him and Kurogane. For a moment Kurogane thought the blond was actually going to attack her and he tensed, prepared to interfere if need be, but after a moment Fai lowered his staff, defeated.

"Sakura-chan…" Fai closed his eye. "Forgive me."

"Sakura!" A shout drew their attention as Syaoran appeared in the doorway, followed closely by Mokona. Kurogane heard Fai draw in a sharp breath as the boy ran to Sakura, clearly worried.

"It's okay," Sakura told him. "Fai-san wouldn't hurt me."

"Syaoran-kun…you're…" Fai reached a shaking hand towards Syaoran, then turned to look at Sakura. "Sakura-chan, how…?"

"We don't know," Sakura admitted. "I just…I just spoke to him, that's all, and put my hand over his eye. I felt something hot beneath my hand, and then the glass was just…there. I don't know how it even happened."

Fai made a low, miserable sound in his throat and fell to his knees beside his unconscious king. He ran a hand through King Ashura's hair.

"Of course." Fai laughed bitterly. "Of course it wouldn't work for me. No matter what I do, I can't fix anything. Even if I give up everything, it won't fix this."

"What the hell does that mean?" Kurogane growled, and Fai stared up at him through an empty eye. "What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Kurogane--" Fai started to speak, but Kurogane cut him off.

"Shut up!" the dark-haired man snapped. "I hate that kind of stupid talk. It's just you running away again. I hate idiots like that."

"So you hate me, then?" Fai smiled bitterly. "That's very like you, Kurogane. But there are some things even you can't change."

"Fai-san." Sakura knelt down next to him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "We fixed it. Syaoran and I fixed the mirror." She looked over at Mokona. "Moko-chan?"

"Right!" Mokona opened its mouth wide. There was a swirl of wind and then the mirror appeared before them.

It was a full length mirror of unmarred glass, and the smooth surface gave no indication that it had ever been broken. There was a large jagged hole in the center.

Fai reached out a hand towards it, then looked down at King Ashura. He closed his eye again, and his shoulders were slumped in defeat.

"Fai-san, please look." Sakura touched his shoulder again. "Can't you see it?"

Fai reluctantly opened his eye and followed her gaze. Kurogane leaned forward as well, curious. Mokona sat between them and the mirror, and light was reflecting off the jewel in its forehead. Suddenly Kurogane thought he could see something in the air.

Small, shining threads were webbed out all around the surface of the mirror. They shone different colors, red and gold and silver, woven together tightly. A thin blue thread stretched out of the hole in the mirror. It was attached to King Ashura's inert form.

Fai laughed suddenly, and this time there was no bitterness in it.

"You're right, Kurogane," Fai said softly. "I am an idiot. A very big idiot." He ran a finger lightly along the nearly invisible thread, and it seemed to shine a little brighter where he touched it. "This is something Yuuko-san said to me, when she gave me Mokona. 'There are threads that bind everything and everyone. There is no coincidence in this world. You meet who you were meant to meet, and those are the threads that will bind the tightest. And those are the threads that are hardest to see, if you refuse to look.'"

Fai took hold of the thread and pulled.

There was a quiet sound, like the tinkling of silver bells, and Fai ran his fingers along the thread as it separated into more and more thin strands that could barely be seen, and as Fai touched each one it gave off a quiet chime. The strands seemed to wrap themselves around his hand all of their own accord, tangling themselves in his fingers and twisting around his wrist, small flashes of light that changed color where they touched his skin.

Fai smiled.

The blond raised his hand and something seemed to rise out of the king's chest. It was a jagged piece of glass as sharp as a sword which gave off a strange dark light. Fai stared at it for a moment, his one visible eye half-closed, and then whistled quietly.

The glass shard floated forward like a feather and embedded itself in the empty space in the mirror.

It seemed as if many things happened at once then. The mirror glowed brighter and brighter until they all had to shield their eyes against it, and then Fai whistled again, high and sharp, and suddenly the mirror seemed to melt into droplets of shining golden rain and where the drops hit the ground ripples of light spread outwards.

Sakura gave a small cry and Kurogane opened his eyes to look at her. She had scooped up Mokona when the mirror began to glow and had just dropped the creature as gold light rippled by below her feet and Mokona too began to glow. What hit the ground was a white cat with blue eyes, which curled around her feet and purred.

The golden light spread along the ground and up the walls then outside, and the dim light that came through the windows was suddenly bright and clear. After a moment, they heard the unmistakable sound of birds chirping, and then, echoing from within the halls of the castle, frantic voices and quick footsteps coming closer.

Beside Fai's still hunched form, King Ashura stirred. The king's eyes opened slowly and he blinked, disoriented, before his eyes came to rest on Fai, and there was warmth in his expression that made him look completely different from the statue he had been before. King Ashura furrowed his brow in worry as he reached up to touch the bandage over Fai's eye.

"Fai…" The king's voice was hoarse from disuse, but the emotion in it was clear. "Your eye…are you all right?"

Fai pressed his hand over the king's, closing his good eye.

"I'm fine," Fai murmured. He smiled again, and there was a lightness to his expression that Kurogane hadn't seen before. "King Ashura…good morning."

--

Kurogane was lost, and there was no way in hell he was going to admit it.

It had been two days since they'd broken the spell over King Ashura's land, and those past two days had been spent preparing to go home. King Ashura had thanked them all profusely for helping and had promised to see them home in the safest and quickest way possible. Even now his men were busy preparing the same sleigh that had taken Syaoran away to take the three of them home (Sakura had worried about the horses she and Kurogane had left behind, and King Ashura had promised to see them home safely as well, though when asked how he simply smiled in a way that reminded Kurogane far too much of Fai).

Kurogane had last seen Sakura and Syaoran in the castle courtyard, watching as King Ashura's men harnessed the winter wolves to the sleigh. King Ashura himself was closeted with another one of his men, gathering information to be sure that the spell had been broken on all parts of the kingdom and preparing to send aid to those areas which were still suffering.

Fai, on the other hand, had been conspicuously absent for the past two days. Kurogane had spotted the blond briefly at a banquet the king had held in their honor, but beyond that he had seen very little of Fai. So Kurogane had decided to search the castle.

Kurogane had been walking for at least ten minutes and he had come to the conclusion that not only did he have no idea where Fai was, he had no idea where he was. King Ashura's castle was far bigger than could possibly be practical, and every winding hallway seemed to lead to more and more winding hallways. Kurogane wondered darkly if the king even knew exactly where all the halls in this stupid place led to.

Kurogane rounded another corner and very nearly ran into Fai.

The blond had finally taken the bandage off his eye and a small scar remained over half his face. He was wearing the gray crow's cloak again, and his face looked tired.

"Where the hell have you been?" Kurogane demanded.

"Hello to you, too," Fai said wryly. He lowered his head and tried to make his way past Kurogane without looking at him. "I've been busy, Kurogane. King Ashura needs everyone with magic to help make certain all traces of the spell are gone and--"

Kurogane grabbed the blond's arm as he passed and pulled him back so that they stood face to face.

"Don't give me that!" the dark-haired man growled. "You've been avoiding me. And the kids. Why?"

"Because I didn't want to talk to you," Fai said after a moment. He gave Kurogane a hollow smile. "I'm running away, like usual. You should've expected that, Kurogane."

"Then you're still an idiot," Kurogane said flatly.

"The spell is broken," Fai said. "But I'm still what I was. People still died because of me. A curse is still a curse, as long as you believe it." Fai tried to sweep past Kurogane again.

"I don't believe it." Kurogane grabbed Fai's wrist tightly and the blond winced in pain as the dark-haired swordsman pulled him backwards. "I told you before that I wasn't leaving here without the kid, and not without you either. I don't care about misfortune and bad luck and all that stupid, useless crap you keep talking about. You're coming back with me and you are going to live your damn life or I'm going to kill you myself."

Kurogane finally let go of Fai's wrist and turned to leave with the air of one who had just won an argument.

"Kurogane…" Fai murmured softly behind him.

Kurogane stopped walking, his back turned to Fai, and when he spoke his voice was so quiet Fai almost didn't hear him.

"And stop calling me that."

Fai stared at him in shock for a moment before a slow smile crept over his face. Kurogane suddenly felt thin arms wrap themselves around his shoulders from behind.

"So what should I call you?" Fai chirped, leaning over Kurogane's shoulder. "Kuro-tan? Kuro-rin? Kuro-pi? Which do you like best?"

"I don't like any of them!" Kurogane snapped.

"What?" Fai pouted. "But you just said not to call you 'Kurogane' anymore. Hey, tell me which one is best, okay? Kuro-kichi? Kuro-puu? Kuro-pyon, Kuro-ki, Kuro-popo, Kuro-pan, Kuro-sama, Kuro-chin…"

"I didn't say that and I hate them all!" Kurogane growled, detaching himself from Fai.

"You did, you did! I heard you! Kuro-pyon's a liar," Fai sang.

"So are you," Kurogane snorted. "Leave me alone." The hallway in front of him opened up into two different forks, and he paused.

"Kuro-pin…" Fai appeared next to him. "Are you maybe lost?"

"I am not lost!" Kurogane stated.

"Then which way leads back to where Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun are?"

Kurogane didn't answer, silently cursing whatever bastard made the stupid castle.

"You don't know," Fai said triumphantly. "Poor, poor Kuro-pin, I had no idea you were so bad with directions. Come on, I'll help you." He grabbed Kurogane's wrist and led him towards the far path. Fai glanced back at Kurogane's irritated face and smiled. "Since we're going home together, after all."

"Hmmph. All right." Kurogane allowed himself to be led. "But stop calling me by those stupid nicknames."

"But you said--"

"I did not!"

--

They walked out into the castle courtyard together. The sun was bright above and the light reflected off the snow-covered ground. Birds chirped loudly from the trees, and there was the unmistakable feel of life from everything.

The sleigh sat in the center of the courtyard, the wolves harnessed and half-seen, fading a bit in the sunlight. Sakura was sitting in the front of the sleigh with Syaoran, who was listening intently as King Ashura gave him final instructions.

"Just hold onto the reins so that they don't get away from you," the king was saying. "I've told the wolves where to go. They will deliver you safely." The king looked up as Fai and Kurogane entered.

"Kurogane-san! Fai-san!" Sakura waved to them as they came closer. The white cat in Sakura's lap looked up and blinked lazily in the sun.

Fai smiled at her before walking over to King Ashura. In one fluid movement, Fai swept off his tattered cloak and offered it to the king, bowing.

King Ashura took the cloak wordlessly, placing a hand on Fai's head.

"King Ashura…" Fai trailed off, his eyes low. "I--"

"I know. There's a place you belong." The king forced Fai to look up at him. His smile was kind and Fai's breath caught in his throat. "But I will miss you. Have a safe journey."

"Yes." Fai nodded, managing a small, wistful smile. "Thank you, King Ashura."

Kurogane crossed his arms and leaned back against a tree, looking away. Fai glanced back at him and laughed.

"Don't be jealous, Kuro-pi!" Fai grabbed Kurogane by the arms and pulled him into the back of the sleigh. "I still love you best."

"I don't care," Kurogane said. "Stop dragging me into your stupidity."

"Are you coming with us then, Fai-san?" Sakura asked.

"Yes," Fai replied, nodding his head. "I couldn't leave poor Kuro-chi all alone by himself, you know. He's such a handful; someone has to take care of him." He winked at Sakura. "And I heard Sakura-chan's present went bad. Since that was my fault, I'll make you and Syaoran-kun a new one, all right? A beautiful welcome home cake."

"Fai-san…" Sakura took his hand for a moment, looking at him intently. After a moment her face brightened. "I'm happy you don't look so lonely anymore. You're all right?"

"I'm all right," Fai promised. "Thank you, Sakura-chan." Sakura let go of his hand and Fai leaned into Kurogane. "Ah, Sakura-chan? I've got to take care of Kuro-pin now, so why don't you keep Mokona? As my apology."

"Are you sure? It's Fai-san's cat," Sakura said.

"You paid for it, too," Fai reminded her.

"I paid for it, you mean," Kurogane grumbled. Fai elbowed him hard in the ribs and smiled winningly at Sakura.

"Hmm? What did you say, Kurogane-san?" Sakura asked.

"Kuro-pin said he wants you to have Mokona too," Fai lied smoothly. "Kuro-puu's very nice like that."

Kurogane snorted and looked pointedly away from all of them.

King Ashura laughed quietly.

"Yes, I think you will be fine after all," he said to Fai. "Be well, my Fai."

The king waved a hand the wolves leapt into the air. Sakura gave a quiet squeak as they rose, holding Mokona tight in one hand and grabbing Syaoran's arm with the other. Syaoran turned bright red and gamely held tight to the reins.

Fai leaned over the side and watched until the castle had disappeared.

--

The land below flashed by, white on white, then slowly patches of color began to show. A patch of grass, a small gathering of flowers, trees, bushes, deep woods and warm meadows, and the sleigh moved steadily onwards. Sakura and Syaoran watched as the scenery flew past, but in the back of the sleigh Kurogane was quiet and unmoving.

Fai was asleep with his head on Kurogane's shoulder, and Kurogane didn't move.

Sakura cried out as the scenery grew more familiar and the sound made Fai stir. As the blond rubbed the sleep from his eyes, Kurogane looked down at the manor house on the hill and then the town below, growing closer by the moment.

They landed in the same town square the sleigh had left from what seemed like so long ago, but this time the ground was warm and the sky was a bright clear blue. People below scattered and stared as they touched down light as a cloud, and Syaoran let the reins fall from his hands, hurriedly exiting the sleigh so that he could help Sakura down.

The voices of the townspeople grew louder and more surprised as Sakura stepped down, and then there was some commotion nearby and her brother came storming through the crowd, with the look of someone who didn't know if he should hug a person or kill them. Lord Touya's advisor Yukito walked behind him, making calming motions. Sakura saw them coming and smiled brightly, waving. Syaoran stayed loyally by her side but was clearly bracing himself for impending doom. Kurogane grabbed the still-groggy Fai by the wrist and dragged him off before they could get caught in the inevitable sibling fight.

"Kuro-pon, that hurts," Fai whined as Kurogane dragged him through the streets. Kurogane released Fai's wrist and stopped in front of the door the bakery, still shut tight.

"We'll need all new ingredients, won't we?" Fai murmured, staring at the shut door. "And you'll need to clean the dust, of course."

"I'll need to clean it?" Kurogane muttered.

"Well, you're my hired help, right?" Fai said brightly. "And there's so much for you to do! Let's see, you need to dust and sweep and I bet there's rats in the storeroom by now you'll have to chase out since I gave Mokona to Sakura-chan, and then I'll need all new ingredients so I can start baking again and--"

"Get them yourself," Kurogane stated. "I'm going home and going to bed." He turned to leave, and Fai grabbed his hand.

"Hey, Kuro-rin?" Fai said softly. "Stay with me, all right?"

"Hmmph." Kurogane snorted but didn't make any further move to leave. "All right. You idiot."

Fai just smiled, and together they walked inside.

Outside a warm wind blew, and the flowers reached up to welcome the spring.