Title: The Place One Can Return To

Genre: Angst/Drama

Rating: M

(A/N: I am breaking my rule to never post the story the same day I finish it because I am ridiculously excited about this chapter. I apologize for any and all mistakes that appear. Please enjoy.)

The Place One Can Return To

Chapter 8: Aftermath

That which was one became two

We who were three became one and eternity

"Shaoran!" Syaoran called out desperately, his face a mask of horror.

"What's wrong?"

"How are we going to direct Yuko-sensei here?" the boy's voice was raising with panic. "We have no idea where we are!"

"Give me the phone." Shaoran said flatly.

"What?"

"The phone. Please give it to me."

Confused, but unwilling to question the other boy, Syaoran handed over the phone. Shaoran said nothing more, and proceeded to dial Yuko-san's number.

Ring…ring…ring…click

"Shaoran." The answer was immediate from the other end. "Where are you?"

"…We're at…the old house, Yuko-san." Shaoran replied. "But…why is it still standing? Shouldn't it have burned—?

"I cannot answer questions I don't know the answer to, child. Stay where you are, we will be with you shortly."

"Okay." Shaoran said before turning off the phone. He handed it back to Syaoran who was staring at him with an odd expression.

"…"Old house"…?" he asked. Shaoran didn't answer him, but stared at the ground beneath his feet.

"Don't forget to call your parents…tell them to meet us at Yuko-san's house."

"Oh yeah!" Syaoran exclaimed, forgetting his question for the time being. "I totally forgot."

Shaoran turned his eyes to the inky darkness that surrounded them as Syaoran talked to his parents in hushed tones, assuring them of his safety. How Syaoran could switch from worried to not so quickly was something beyond him. The thoughts in his mind was how much he would love to be at Yuko-san's home in the bed of his room, asleep…

~Oo oO~

"…Shaoran? Shaoran, it's time for you to wake up."

Shaoran moaned softly as a hand shook him gently, rousing him from his sleep. He burrowed deeper into the warmth of his sheets and grumbled in protest. A lilt chuckle washed over him.

"Wake up, child." The owner of the hand that was caressing his brow said.

Shaoran turned over with an indignant groan. He opened his eyes but had to squint against the sunlight pouring in through the window.

"Nn…five more minutes, Mom…" he whined. The hand on his head stilled, and Shaoran's eyes shot open in realization. He looked up to see Yuko smiling at him with sad eyes.

"Not your mother, boy." She murmured. Shaoran blinked and the melancholy in her eyes seemed to disappear only to be replaced by a devilish glint. "But if you aren't in the kitchen in ten minutes, the girls and I shall polish of the breakfast that Watanuki-kun so kindly made for us."

Shaoran groaned again. Yuko frowned in realization and placed a soothing hand on his shoulder once more.

"Can you stand?"

"I think so…" Shaoran mused. He moved slowly to the edge of the bed and placed a foot on the floor. When that did not send waves of acute pain through his body, he tried standing. He wobbled slightly and Yuko steadied him. Shaoran gave her a look of gratitude. Things hurt most definitely hurt (especially his hip), but it wasn't as bad as it had seemed the night before.

Shaoran started with surprise when he realized that he didn't remember anything beyond vomiting and losing consciousness.

"How long have I been asleep, Yuko-san?"

The older woman smiled in understanding. "Just one night, boy. I already informed the office, so no school for you today. Tomorrow is Sunday, so you can rest tomorrow as well. "

Shaoran smiled. "Thank you, Yuko-san." He breathed. Yuko dismissed it with a shake of her head.

"How are you feeling, Shaoran?" she placed a hand on his chest. "Not in body, but in here."

Shaoran glanced at her hand before looking up and whispering. "That…that really was Fei Wong Reed last night, wasn't it? I-I didn't imagine the whole thing?"

Yuko closed her eyes and sighed. "He did not reveal himself physically, but his presence was everywhere. His is not an aura one can just duplicate, so we have every reason to believe that was Fei Wong Reed." Shaoran was silent and wrapped his arms around himself to stop the slight trembling he felt. Yuko pulled him to her in a comforting hug.

"Do not worry, child. This house—this shop—is designed specifically to keep Fei Wong Reed out."

"It was?" Shaoran asked, looking up at the older woman. She nodded. "Why?" he wanted to know.

"That is a story for another time, Shaoran." She said dismissively. "Right now, you only need to rest. Do you want breakfast in bed, or in the kitchen?"

"Kitchen." He replied. "But I want to shower first. I don't think I showered last night."

Yuko nodded. "Watanuki washed your body as best he could, but he didn't want water on your skin until the medicine had a chance to work. I'll send him up to help you bathe."

"I don't need help taking a shower!" Shaoran protested, but Yuko was already out the door. Shaoran sighed and slowly made his way to the bathroom. He turned on the showerhead and frowned as he recalled how he woke up. It had been years since he mistook Yuko-san for his mother. It happened often when she first took him in, but because that look of misery would cross her face, he vowed as a child to never call Yuko-san "mother" or any variation of it. Slightly dejected, he picked up his toothpaste and toothbrush. Not really trusting Yuko-san, Maru, or Moro not to eat his breakfast, he decided to multitask and get out faster. Shaoran was just starting to lather soap onto a towel when someone knocked on the bathroom door.

"Shaoran-kun? It's Watanuki."

"Ah! Wadanugi! Cob inn!" he called to the door.

"Brushing your teeth in the shower?" Watanuki chuckled while stepping in the bathroom. "I never did understand why people did that…."

"It's faster when you're hurrying. You've never tried it?" Shaoran asked, his mouth finally free of the brush.

"No. The thought makes me cringe."

"Try it sometime!"

"I'll think about." Watanuki said. Shaoran could hear the smile in his voice. "But that's not what I came here for." Watanuki sat down on the toilet seat. "How are you feeling?'

"I feel better. Not great, but better."

"That's good."

They were silent a few moments before Watanuki spoke again. "Last night…"

"Yes?"

"Last night, Yuko-san told me about what happened to you before you came here, and why you were in her care."

"Oh…" Shaoran murmured. "…I'm sorry for never telling you." He said hurriedly. "You're my closest friend, Watanuki, but I…"

"It's okay. I understand. It is a heavy story to have to tell."

Shaoran nodded forgetting that his black haired friend couldn't see him. He turned off the showerhead and asked Watanuki to retrieve his towel. The older boy obliged.

"I'm not sure what I should do now." Shaoran said as he dried off his skin. Watanuki took another towel and began to dry his hair. "I've been looking over my shoulder all this time, but when I finally start to relax, why does he have to show up?"

"Have you tried asking Yuko-san?" Watanuki suggested.

"No, but I get the feeling that she won't give me a straight answer."

"That may be true, but you never truly know until you ask." Watanuki gave Shaoran's head one final ruffle and pulled the towel away. "There, all done. Do you need help getting dressed?"

Shaoran smiled as he wrapped a towel around his waist. "I can manage. Thank you, Watanuki."

Watanuki smiled and ushered him out the door and toward his room. "Anytime, Shaoran-kun."

~Oo oO~

Somehow (with the awesomeness that the older male possessed), Watanuki managed to keep Shaoran's breakfast away from Yuko-san, Maru, Moro, and Domeki who stopped by shortly before Shaoran got dressed. Too tired to do much else, Shaoran wrapped himself in the soft sheets of his bed; Maru had changed them when he was eating. Just as he was drifting off to sleep, Shaoran heard someone open his room door and step in.

"Shaoran?"

Shaoran peeked out from underneath his comforter. "Moro?" the smaller girl giggled and walked over to his bed.

"Phone for you." She handed the cordless phone to him.

"Thank you." He mouthed and put the phone to his ear. Moro smiled and left. "Hello?" he said.

"Shaoran? The person on the other line asked. Shaoran recognized the voice immediately.

"Syaoran?" he said hurriedly. It had completely slipped his mind to make sure that the other boy was okay. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine. I had to get stitches and stuff for my hand today, but it wasn't much. Watanuki-san did a great job on it last night." Syaoran paused on the other line. "How are you feeling? You were still unconscious when my parents picked me up from your house…."

"I'm okay. Sore, but okay. My hip still hurts thought, but it's just a bad bruise. You got the worst end of it. I just got a lot of scrapes and bruises."

"That's good." Syaoran sighed. The two were silent again, simply listening to each other's breathing. Syaoran was the first to break the silence.

"Shaoran."

"…Yes?"

"I…I want to see you."

Shaoran felt his heart skip a beat. "Syaoran—

"My parents aren't letting me leave the house right now." Syaoran continued as if Shaoran hadn't spoken. "But I really wanted to see you. That's why I called. I…I may not have looked like it or acted like it, but I was really scared last night."

Shaoran felt his heart bleed. "I know. I'm sorry." He cradled the phone against his ear. "But you need to rest, too. Don't worry your parents and stay home, okay?" Shaoran swallowed a lump in his throat. "I-I'll see you Monday."

"Yeah..." Syaoran breathed on the other line. "See you Monday, Shaoran."

Shaoran sat quietly with the phone against his ear until he heard the dial tone. Then, he slowly put the phone on the nightstand beside him and burrowed beneath the covers once more. Within moments, he fell asleep.

-The Place One Can Return To chapter 8 End-

untitled_1: Yuko's story

This story doesn't have a name

But it replays itself in my mind

Over and over and over again

It began with her. The nightmare that plagued the twin princes and then the two heirs first came to Yuko and Clow.

She'd known, as she always did and always does now, when something was amiss. Perhaps it was because she was a woman and could sense these things. Or perhaps it was because she lived around magic and could feel these things. It was probably because, try as her husband might to shield her from it, she was human and could see these things. Needless to say, she wasn't surprised in the least when Clow came running into the room, shouting her name.

"Yuko!"

The raven haired women looked up from the child she was changing to the man who rushed in through the door. Her husband gazed at her. His eyes were wide and he was panting for breath as if he'd been running. It was the first time she had ever seen him in such distress.

"Clow?" she asked in her growing concern. "What has happened?"

Clow Reed, the most powerful wizard that ever lived, her husband, gazed at her with sad eyes. "We need to get you and our son out of here. It is no longer safe for us to reside here." Clow took her hand and gazed at the sleeping child on her lap. "My brother is coming."

"Fei Wong?" she asked. But there was no one else it could be. There was no other man with the title 'brother of Clow'. "For what reason?"

But she already knew, as she had for some time, as she always did, as she always does, despite Clow's efforts to shield her.

"It is because we are shrouded by the veil of destiny, my dear. I, for the descendants that will follow. You, who will mothered the heir of those descendants, and our son who will father them."

"He is still chasing that dream of his. That man." Yuko murmured. "That dream to negate the meaning of fate and destiny itself."

They had cut off from Fei Wong many years prior because of his maddening desire for knowledge. And with the desire for knowledge came the desire for the power to obtain that knowledge and then the greed hound that knowledge and then the ruthlessness to stop at nothing. The list went on. Clow, in his infinite kindness could never lay a hand on his own flesh and blood, so he took his family elsewhere. And waited until the day he would have to confront his brother. Apparently, that day was today.

"Fei Wong has hypothesized that if one could break the bonds of fate itself, one would obtain the ability to separate and bring together lives at will. And that could lead to controlling the events in a person's life, which could lead to a multitude of things. The possibilities are endless." Clow said gravely.

"And he is so far gone that he turns to his own family to destroying it with his madness." Yuko shook her head. "We cannot run forever, Clow. The ties of fate that follow us are long and sing loud like the strings of a harp."

"I know, dear." Clow said softly, his voice filled with sorrow. "You and I both know this. But, please, dear! We do not have the time to talk. We must get the two of you out of here. Fei Wong's servants are already—

There was a crash that shook the house. Yuko pulled her child to her chest. Clow grabbed her hand and pulled her through another door that led to the garden. Once they were outside, he turned and sealed the house in a shield of magic.

"I don't have the time to make it solid." Clow said hurriedly, "But it will buy us time." Clow took her hand once more. "Hold onto me, dearest. I don't want to lose you in the transition."

Yuko nodded and leaned against her husband, shielding the child in her arms between them. Clow began to murmur in soft tones, and the ground beneath their feet flashed for a moment before dissolving, pulling them under like quicksand. Yuko closed her eyes as they descended into the darkness that was the fragment between worlds. They were leaving again. Where, she did not know. But it wouldn't last forever.

Nothing ever did

Like clockwork, as if it was planned, Yuko heard deep chuckling in her ear. Her eyes shot open. Impossible. She heard Clow curse under his breath and pull her and their child closer. The chuckling escalated into wild laughter that chilled Yuko to her bones. It was impossible. How could Fei Wong reach them here?

"You poor fools."

Fei Wong's voice echoed around them like a gong. The baby, roused from his sleep, began to cry. Fei Wong laughed again.

"You must be getting weaker, dear brother, to drop your guard like this."

Clow grit his teeth, glaring at something in the darkness that Yuko could not see.

"Dear, go on without me. I will stop my brother here."

"Stop me, Clow?" Fei Wong mocked. "Powerful as you may be, you do not possess the strength it takes to slay me!"

"We will see." Clow said curtly. He turned his panicked gaze from the darkness to his wife. "Go, Yuko."

She nodded and ran past Clow, baby in her arms and chanting the words to change worlds in her mind. The darkness beneath her feet flashed and dissolved. She gazed at Clow's back, watching as he matched attack for attack against his brother. She wasn't worried. She wouldn't have to tell him where they were going because he would always find her. No matter where she was, Clow would find her.

"Fools." Yuko heard in her ear; her blood ran cold.

She saw it before she felt it. The darkness that was pulling her changed from its gel-like state to hardened spikes. She heard it before she felt it as they pierced her; the sound of her child's cries that stopped abruptly; the sound of pierced flesh.

"Yuko!" Clow screamed. And Yuko looked up to see her husband's anguished expression as he ran to her side. But he would not make it in time. Yuko reached out a trembling hand towards him, grasping at empty air before it all faded from her vision.

She'd known, as she always did and always done now, when something was amiss. Maybe it was because she was a woman and could sense these things. Or maybe it was because she lived around magic and could feel these things. It was most likely because, try as her husband might to shield her from it, she was human and could see these things. So Yuko felt nothing but a deep sense of foreboding when she opened her eyes.

"Clow." She whispered.

"I am here, love." He replied above her. Her head was resting on his lap. Yuko stared into the impossible depths of his eyes and into the warmth of his gaze. Warmth and impossible sadness. And then everything that had transpired came rushing back to her. She sat up quickly in panic; her vision swam. Clow reached out to steady her and lowered her gently to his lap once more.

"C-Clow." She choked on the air in her lungs. "What…?"

"Fei Wong is gone." He said calmly. Not dead but gone.

"How…?" she whispered, panic rising in her chest. Her eyes were wide in disbelief. "How am I alive?"

"I saved you."

"Clow, you cannot bring that which was dead back to life! How—

"You were not dead, Yuko." Clow said gravely. "I cannot bring back the dead, but I can save a life. I reached you before Death could claim you." Yuko nodded as her heartbeat began to slow. But then the breath in her lungs chilled like ice.

"Our son…" she murmured brokenly the name of her child. "Our child, Clow! What of our son?"

Clow's eyes filled with unshed tears and Yuko felt her heart bleed. "I…I cannot bring back the dead." Yuko closed her eyes and sobbed silently. She felt Clow press his lips to her eyelids.

"I could not save his life, be I can preserve his soul." Yuko opened her eyes and stared at him in silent question. Clow smiled distantly.

"There are two boys who will be born years and years from now. Both on the first of April like our child. They will be the ones that house his soul; these children will be the ones to stop Fei Wong in our stead." Yuko tried to sit up again, but Clow placed a hand on her shoulder to stop her.

"There is a place I have prepared far from here that Fei Wong cannot penetrate. Stay there and wait for these children, Yuko. Time passes differently in that place. So wait, no matter how long it may take, you must wait." Yuko struggled to sit up, but found that she could not. She couldn't get her limbs to obey her.

"Clow!" she cried out. Her vision was dimming again. Clow gazed down at her with sorrow. He closed his eyes and kissed her gently.

"Forgive me, dearest. I will not be among the living for much longer."

"Clow!" Yuko cried out in fear. Her body was sluggish, like she was sinking in water.

"Forgive me, Yuko. I love you."

Those were the last words she heard before the darkness claimed her once more.

She'd known, as she always did and always does now. She was a woman and could sense these things. She had lived around magic and could feel these things. And try as her husband might to shield her from it, she was human and could see these things. So, Yuko knew she was alone when she opened her eyes. She knew she was in the place Clow mentioned. His presence was all around her, but he was not there. She stared at the intricate designs on the walls, immediately recognizing the symbols of protection and repel. Clow had weaved his everything into the very woodwork of the house. Yuko didn't have to look. She didn't have to see. She knew.

So, Yuko closed her eyes and waited. And waited she has for a time without end.

This story has no name but it plays itself

Like a movie in my mind

Over and over and over again

(A/N: Deeply sorry for the very late update. This was halfway written in June, but then I opened it one day said "Ew." and deleted the whole thing. I just started again on Sunday and finished it today. I'm actually really surprised I'm even posting it. D:

Oh yeah. Japanese students go school on Saturdays for half a day, I believe. Correct me if I'm wrong.)

You guys don't review unless I beg (so sad! *cries*)

Please review!

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