Disclaimer: I don't own Death Note, xxxHolic or the Tsubasa Resovoir Chronicles.

The Shattered Mirror

Chapter Four

A New Development

"Uh...Princess Sakura?" asked Watanuki as he looked through the portal at the Princess Sakura with her forgotten memories which had taken the shape of feathers and at Sayorn, Kurogan and Fai, who were helping her restore them, travelling the multi verse in search of those memory-feathers. Mokona, the stuffed-toy lookalike, was the instrument they used to find the feathers and travel between universes. Both Yuko and the other group had one Mokona each, although Yuko's was black and the other white. Both Mokonas resembled small stuffed toys.

"Oh...Hello," greeted Sayorn, looking surprised. "Where is Yuko, if you don't mind me asking."

Yes, I mind very much. "Not at all. She's...busy at the moment," smiled Watanuki, hoping desperately they wouldn't see him sweating. "How are you going?"

"We're going well. We've just found a feather, actually, and were going to spend a little time here before jumping between universes again."

"Oh, well, that's good to hear," babbled Watanuki with a cheerful smile which came out a little twisted. "But -erm- I'm afraid something has come up, and I must...request that you -uh- jump now."

There was a brief silence while the four people deciphered this fast babblement of an explanation.

"What kind of situation?" questioned Kurogane.

"Uh- I can't tell you." Watanuki tried to adopt a mysterious air. "The forces of the universe may be in danger if I do."

They sort of stared at him for a moment.

"...Are you all right?" asked Sakura.

"Great!" Watanuki gave her a thumbs up.

"...Oh. Okay," she said, eyebrows raised a little. "Are the forces of the universe really in that much danger?"

"...Yes?"

"Because you seem stressed out by it."

Watanuki collapsed. "You have no idea."

The four faces looking at him blinked. "I guess we'll just jump now, then," Syaoran said. "Goodbye."

When the portal disappeared Maru and Moro looked at him. "We told you you looked stressed-"

"Shut it." Watanuki sat up, sighing. "That went well."

"It did?" asked Maru.

"Because it didn't seem like it did," Moro continued.

"I was being sarcastic," explained Watanuki. "So when do they lose two and a half days?"

"Now."

"...Huh?"

"Seven days is reduced to four and a half!"

"YOU COULDN'T HAVE TOLD ME THIS BEFORE?" yelled Watanuki.

"We did."

"You just said they'd lose two and a half days. You didn't say everyone else would, too!"

"We thought you'd understand."

Watanuki sighed, the fight going out of him. "I guess it doesn't matter now. I just hope they figure out how to re-stabilise the multi verses in time."

*****

Sakura, Syaoran, Kurogane and Fai arrived in the universe together. They looked around.

"Where are we?" asked Sakura.

"Looks like some of the police stations in other worlds," commented Kurogane, a hand on his sword.

"It does too," agreed Syaoran. They stood in front of the police station. It was raining, and raining hard.

"What do you think that dark-haired guy meant by the forces of the universe being in danger?" pondered Kurogane aloud suspiciously.

"What do you mean?" asked Syaoran.

"How could the universe be in trouble? And there was just something about that guy which made me think...I don't know, that he wasn't telling us everything," scowled the sword-wielding fighter.

"Perhaps we should find some cover?" suggested Fai with his ever-present smile. "We seem to be gettign rather drenched.

There was a round of nods and Syaoran began to answer in the affirmative. "Yeah, we should definitely-"

Mokona's ear's pricked up and his eyes went wide. "Mokona senses a feather!"

*****

Watanuki went over to Yuko. He watched her strained sleep for a while, occasionally wiping her brow. "You hang on," he muttered to her. "Don't die on me, Yuko."

"Ooh, Watanuki is in love!" rejoiced Maru.

"In love!" echoed Moro.

"What the -how long have you two been standing right behind me?"

Moro looked at Maru knowledgeably. "He doesn't deny it."

"Watanuki doesn't deny it."

"I don't deny it because it's ridiculous!" replied Watanuki heatedly.

"Now he denies it."

"Watanuki is in denial!"

"In denial!"

"Denying his love for the mistress!"

"Because he does love the mistress!"

"I don't love Yuko," he snapped. "I just..." His tone changed. "...Don't want her to die."

This silenced Maru and Moro. "Neither do we," they said together, suddenly seeming very small. Seeing Maru and Moro sad and not being able to help them made Watanuki realise how helpless he was acting. Watanuki decided to change that.

"Come on, you two," he said, standing up. "You know Yuko best. Mokona, you too." Mokona had been helping to sponge Yuko's brow. "You guys know Yuko. How do I wake her up?"

"But..."

"But..."

"But..."

"Yes, I know that you said she collapsed from trying to hold up the universe," snapped Watanuki irritably. "And that I can't wake her up, but dammit, that's not going to stop me from trying! Now are you three going to laze around and mourn for her like she's already...Already dead, or are we going to try and wake her up?"

For a moment nothing changed on their faces. Then hope dawned like a sunrise.

"We're going to wake the mistress?" asked Maru.

"Maybe not but, dammit, I'm going to try."

"We're going to wake the mistress!" cheered Moro.

"We're going to wake the mistress!" Maru echoed.

"Yeah!" cheered Mokona.

Watanuki smiled. Then he stopped smiling and started wondering how the hell he was going to wake Yuko...or try, anyway.

*****

"...Okay, just what just happened?" asked Matsuda, sweating a little. "I mean, you guys saw that, right? It wasn't just me?"

"Yeah, we saw it," muttered Aizawa.

"You saw them sort of disappear then reappear? I'm not just imagining things?" Matsuda more stressed than Watanuki had. "Because, if I am-"

"Shut up, Matsuda," said both Lights and Ls at once.

Matsuda shut up.

"Perhaps your universe is trying to reclaim you?" suggested Ryuzaki, eating one of L's muffins unabashedly.

"If that's the case then won't we just have to wait?" asked Hideki, brushing a strand of black hair away from his face. Ryuzaki stared at him for a moment. "What is it?"

"Why doesn't my hair do that?" he wondered. "I mean, we have the same hair...So why is yours neat and mine not?"

"Um...A comb helps," suggested Hideki.

"Ah. That's probably why."

"What...you mean you don't use one?"

"No."

"What...Ever?"

"No."

Hideki was having a little trouble processing this. He couldn't imagine not bothering to comb his hair in the morning. It wasn't out of vanity, just basic things to keep oneself neat and tidy. Light was looking aghast at Ryuzaki as well. Hideki continued, "how long has it been since you're hair has seen a comb?"

"My hair doesn't have eyes, Hideki."

"You know what I mean."

Ryuzaki thought. "Hm...I think I attended a funeral some time last year...I tried combing it then but the teeth snapped."

Everyone was gaping at him now.

"You...You can't be serious," Hideki denied.

"That's really just...ridiculous," Light told the detective in the same tone.

"Really, you think so?" asked L in a slightly surprised tone.

"I think everyone in this room thinks so," muttered Hideki.

"I don't," L protested. "I think it's quite reasonable."

Light looked at him. "You would. How about you, when is the last time you saw a comb?"

"...I passed one in the shops the other day."

"...For the sake of not having to repeat the last conversation, I'm just going to say that that is really, really lazy."

Both L and Ryuzaki mulled this over. It was a little creepy seeing identical expressions on two different faces. Eventually their gazes drifted towards each other.

Ryuzaki looked at L . "Do you think I'm lazy, L?"

"Not at all. Do you think I'm lazy, Ryuzaki?"

"Not in the least."

Light sighed. "It's no use, Hideki. Now there's two of them they'll be even more difficult to argue with them."

"Impossible, I would say," replied Hideki.

*****

"Okay, so let's begin by something Yuko likes-"

"Beer!"

"Beer!"

"Beer," finished Mokona.

"Beer it is," nodded Watanuki. "Could one of you get her favourite brand from the cupboard?"

"Right!" Maru saluted him before rushing off. He ignored the salute.

"So, how do we wake her with a bottle of beer?" he mused.

"Make it so she can smell it," suggested Mokona.

"So just wave it in front of her face? She's lying down. If I try that I'll probably tip it on her."

"That might wake her up."

"Yeah, before she kills me for throwing her favourite kind of beer around. I'll put some in a cup and try waving that in front of her."

"Watanuki had a good idea!"

"Watanuki had a good idea!" Maru repeated what Moro had said as she walked in the room, a bottle in her hand.

"You found some," noted Watanuki. "Okay, just pour it into a cup." She did so. Watanuki took it and wove it in front of Yuko's face. "Yuko?" he called softly. "Come on, you're always drinking this stuff, it's got to do something."

"Look closer, I think it is," advised Mokona. As Watanuki kept waving it in front of Yuko, he looked closer and saw that Mokona had been correct. The smell of the beer was relaxing Yuko, as if the grasp on something familiar and loved was letting her stabilise herself. A few moments later and it was less that she was in a strained sleep and more that she was simply restless. A slight frown was all that was left of the almost tortured state she had previously been in.

"Well, at least she's happier," doubtfully pointed out Watanuki. "But I guess we can't rely on alcohol to wake her up." Setting down the cup so it was right next to Yuko, he wondered, so what now?

*****

In the other room Rem and A-Rem watched each other.

"What just happened?" Rem questioned.

"I'm not sure. Perhaps it is the universes correcting themselves?"

"Perhaps."

"Where is Misa?" asked A-Rem.

"Why?" replied Rem.

"I am concerned," the other Shinigami said.

"Presumably at home."

"Well, hope she stays there," A-Rem said a little sadly.

"Why?"

"Misa...Both Misas, are already involved in too much danger. Would you have her endanger herself more than she feels she must?"

"I see what you mean," nodded Rem. "But Misa...She will not abstain from seeing Light for long."

A-Rem nodded sadly. "And that is what worries me."

*****

"How about if we try something she doesn't like?" suggested Mokona.

"Oh? Like what?" asked Watanuki. "What does Yuko not like?"

"Icky food."

"Not like Watanuki's food."

"Watanuki's food is yummy!"

"...Yeah, you two are a great help," muttered Watanuki discontentedly. Now they both saluted him.

"Actually, that could be an idea," Mokona piped up.

"What? Gross food?" Watanuki thought about this. "I could try, I guess."

*****

"So what did happen before?" wondered Ryuzaki. "Was it really the universes correcting themselves?"

"It could be," murmured the hunched-over L as he stole one of Ryuzaki's muffins.

"That was my last muffin," Ryuzaki mused sadly before stealing the last of L's.

"What else could it be?" questioned Light.

"I don't know, it could have been anything," fretted Matsuda. "It could have been the universes falling apart!" He waited for everyone to tell him to shut up. Instead everyone looked at him with varying expressions, from shock to thoughtfulness.

"Ryuzaki, could that be what is happening here?" asked Chief Yagami.

"I'm not sure...I don't have much experience in this sort of thing."

"If it is, what can we do to stop it?" Aizawa asked determinately.

"If that is what is happening, the only thing we can do is try and get L and Hideki back to there world," Light told them. "At least, that's the only solution I can see."

"Light-kun is quite correct," agreed Ryuzaki.

"But how would we do something like that?" asked Mogi.

"Good question," L said thoughtfully, sliding a thumb in his mouth.

"I'm sorry, but until we figure out why we were thrown into this universe in the first place then there's going to be no way we can figure out how to throw ourselves back," Hideki explained to all present.

"If it is true that all that is occurring with us now is that we are being thrown back to our universe -by the way, nice pun, Hideki-kun."

"Oh -thankyou."

"If that is happening all we must do is wait. But if the other thing is occurring..."

"We need to figure out a way to get you two back to your original universe," completed Ryuzaki.

"And even if the universes aren't collapsing, then figuring out how to send you guys back will, at the worst, be a waste of time."

The other four members of the task force sort of sat back and looked at them for a moment. Then Matsuda gripped his head. "It hurts having twice the amount of geniuses."

"Genii," corrected the four genii in the room.

"That's what I meant," whimpered Matsuda.

*****

"I'm almost positive this won't work," Watanuki told them. He was holding a bowl of noodles mixed with a rotten egg, some brussel sprouts, some three-week-old-fish ad a range of other foods which Watanuki really, really wanted to forget about.

"It can't hurt to try," advised Mokona.

"Can't hurt!"

"Can't hurt!"

"No, but it may possibly give me nightmares," muttered Watanuki before waving the noxious concoction towards Yuko. "Wakey, wakey, Yuko, or I'm going to feed you some...I don't even know what I would call it...But it's gross so you'd better wake up!"

Nothing happened.

"Try bringing it closer to her face," prompted Mokona.

Watanuki did. Still nothing.

"Closer!"

"Closer!" chanted Maru and Moro.

Watanuki sighed and brang it closer still. Even more nothing. "Look, this isn't working-"

"Maybe a bit closer-" began Mokona.

"A bit closer and it'll be on her! And, with the way this stuff is smelling, it'll probably give her some random disease." He put the food outside, wondering if it would be classified as nuclear waste and decided to immediately burn it the first chance he got anyway. "We're going to need another plan."

*****

Light was wondering something. He walked over to Hideki. Everyone was wondering how they would send Hideki and L back to their world. Light was wondering something different. To satisfy his curiosity he asked Hideki, very quietly, "by chance, did you bring some paper?"

They both knew they weren't talking about ordinary paper.

"One sheet, but wouldn't you have a lot more here?"

"Yeah, plenty," smirked Light.

One sheet of another world's Death Note.

How very interesting.

*****

"I can only think of one thing to do," reluctantly admitted Watanuki. "It's...It won't work. I know it won't. But, considering our other options, which are kind of non-existent at this point, I guess we don't really have a choice."

"What is it?" questioned Mokona. "What's you plan?"

Watanuki glanced at the three expectant faces which literally looked up to him. He sighed, knowing he was about to disappoint them. "I wouldn't even class it as a plan. I was just thinking that we could all stand around Yuko and yell for her to wake up until she does."

"...That might work" said Mokona eagerly.

"Might work!" chanted Maru.

"Might work!" repeated Moro.

"Okay. Maru and Moro go on either side of her. I'll stand above her. Mokona, you stand opposite me so there's one of us on each of her sides." They all followed his instructions. "Now, YELL, EVERYONE! WAKE UP YUKO, WE NEED YOU!"

"WAKE UP MISTRESS!"

"WAKE, UP MISTRESS!"

"YUKO, YUKO, YUKO!"

"HEY, YUKO, HOW DO YOU EVER EXPECT TO GET DRUNK AGAIN IF YOU DON'T WAKE UP?!"

"WAKE UP AND GET DRUNK, MISTRESS!"

"WAKE UP AND GET DRUNK, MISTRESS!"

"I NEED MY DRINKING BUDDY, YUKO!"

They all shouted together, the noise they were making enough to wake the dead...And hopefully Yuko. Eventually Watanuki spotted something which made him yell, "STOP, EVERYONE!"

Yuko's eyelids had flickered.

Everyone rushed towards her.

"Mistress?"

"Mistress?"

"Yuko?"

"Yuko, are you awake?" asked Watanuki quietly. Yuko's lips moved slightly. They moved again. And again. She was repeating something. Saying something over and over again.

"What's she saying?" asked Mokona.

*****

"Here, the feather is in this building!" Mokona finally said, his eyes large in his small head.

Sakura, Syaoran, Kurogane and Fai looked up at the large complex they'd arrived at. It was a tall building and looked newer than those surrounding buildings.

It was the task force headquarters.

"How do we get inside?" asked Kurogane.

*****

Watanuki leant close to Yuko. His ears caught what she was saying. He leant back. None of the others could see his face, only the way his shoulders stiffened and he suddenly became very, very still.

"Yuko?" asked Mokona as Yuko's lips stopped moving. "She's unconscious again."

Watanuki didn't reply.

"Watanuki? The mistress is unconscious."

"The mistress is unconscious." Maru and Moro alternated, clutching one of his amrs each.

Watanuki still said nothing.

"Watanuki?" asked Mokona. "What...What did Yuko say?"