A/N: I'm baaack! With a shiny new chapter too! :D Sorry for the wait. High school is being brutal, and it'll probably get worse too.

Random ramble: So I was watching Tsubasa Chronicles today. In episode 3, Kurogane snores! Hahah! Who else finds that funny? Hehe.

Anyways, moving on. It seems that Spirit isn't the only thing being haunted…

(Disclaimer: I don't own Tsubasa Chronicles. I can only claim Ella and Damian. And any other original characters.)

s p i r i t. It was an appropriate name for the haunted ghost town. The streets were devoid of all life, and the houses looked abandoned though it was not so. Ella could clearly see the terrified eyes watching their every move.

"I feel like we're not welcome here," Fai said as a door that was slightly ajar when they passed suddenly slammed violently.

"It's not 'feel like'. It's the truth," Kurogane said gruffly.

Ella's eyes finally caught sight of something other than stone and dirt. A little girl was standing in front of one of the smaller house's doors, a cat in her arms. She stared at the strangers with wide eyes.

"Hello." Syaoran had noticed her also. Both he and Sakura were giving her sweet smiles. "I'd like to ask you a question about this town…" The door behind the girl creaked as it opened to show a panicky woman, her frightened eyes locked on them. A protective arm quickly pressed the little girl to her mother as the woman exclaimed, "Didn't I tell you not to go out!" before closing the door on both of them.

"I guess that has something to do with what we heard at the inn," Fai deducted.

"At least tell us where the golden-haired princess is…" Syaoran said. At that moment the air filled with the thudding of heavy boots on the ground and heavy breathing. Ella barely had the time to look around more before the street in front of them was blocked by a line of shiny riffles. At the sight of them Kurogane's horse gets up on his hind legs. Ella's eyes widened and she tightened her hold on the man. It would not be fun for her to fall off the horse. But Kurogane was quick to get his horse under control so Ella relaxed and loosened her grip.

"Who are you?" the man in the front, the one obviously in charge, yelled at them.

"We are traveling around the world to investigate old legends and architecture," Syaoran answered without a second's thought. It almost sounded as though he rehearsed it.

"Oh yeah? And what are you investigating for?" the man replied skeptically.

"We want to write a book," is Syaoran's surprising answer. The gunmen weren't the only ones surprised.

"A book?" the man asked again.

"Yes."

"A kid like you?"

"Of course not. It's this person," Syaoran pointed towards Fai. Ella resisted the urge to slap her forehead. She didn't want to read the stories he made up.

"That's right!" Fai chirped happily, automatically taking control of the conversation. He gestured to Sakura first. "This is my sister, this boy here is my assistant, and this one-" he showed them Kurogane, "This one's my servant!"

"Who's the servant, you –" Kurogane could barely utter those words before Mokona jumped from behind and gave him a head-butt. Literally.

"Shut up and don't blow our cover," Ella whispered to him.

"What about the other girl?" the man asked, looking Ella up and down. Ella glared at him.

"Oh her?" Fai asked innocently. Too innocent. What is he planning-? "That's my servant's fiancée!" Ella wanted to slap him silly. What in the world was he thinking? Did she look old enough to be someone's fiancée?

"STOP!" a man's voice yelled, stopping Ella or Kurogane from voicing any protests. She turned to find a lanky man with long dark hair and glasses run towards them. He was carrying a doctor's bag, and seemed to be somewhat powerful since the men all point their rifles down as he made his way to them. He planted himself in front of them in a protective stance.

"How dare you point your rifles at innocent travelers!" he exclaimed to the men in front of him.

"But at times like these, these foreigners…" the man who questioned the group before tried to explain.

"Precisely because they come from another land, we should not be impolite!" The man then turned towards the travelers. "I apologize for our rudeness, travelers," he said. He scanned over them quickly, his face not denoting anything but polite greeting. "Welcome to Spirit," he concluded.

"I really do apologize for that welcoming party," the man said for the tenth time. He had led them to a large building with a common room and many bedrooms, which looked like an old inn.

"It's alright," Syaoran reassured.

"I'm sorry, but I don't recall having heard your names," the doctor noticed. Fai – obviously – answered.

"I apologize for not having introduced ourselves. I am Fai D. Fluorite. My lovely sister's name is Sakura, and my assistant is Syaoran. As for our servant…"

"The name is Ku-ro-ga-ne," the ninja interrupted, arms crossed and his glare defying us to contradict him.

"And this is his wonderful fiancée, Ella," Fai concluded. Ella smiled politely at the doctor. She would have to get Fai later for this.

"My name is Kyle Londart. I am a doctor in this village," the man introduced himself.

"Thanks for letting us stay here," Syaoran said.

"Please don't mention it," the doctor replied. "This used to be an inn. There are many vacant rooms." Suddenly, the door opened with a large crash.

"What is the meaning of this, doctor?" A very upset man entered the room, followed by an elderly balding man. "Bringing outsiders here at a time like this!"

"Mr. Glossam, please calm down!" the elderly man begged him, but the man doesn't seem to cool off.

"How can I be calm, Mr. Mayor! We haven't found any of the missing children yet!" As if to emphasize his point, Glossam tapped his cane on the floor. Ella's eyes widened. So it was true. Children really were disappearing.

"That's why," Kyle said calmly. "These people are doing research on legends around the world. They might be able to help us in this occurrence."

"These vagabonds that came out of nowhere?" Glossam snickered with disgust as he quickly scanned them. "What do they know?" Ella frowned. Who did he think he was to just come in here and insult them? She kept her thoughts to herself though, just to be nice.

"They know things that are unknown to people living here," he said. Glossam glared at all of them.

"If anything happens again, it will be too late by then," he warned before swiftly turning on his heels and disappearing through the door.

"Just make sure they leave in the morning," the other man mumbled to the doctor before departing on the heels of Glossam. Kyle slammed the door himself after he left. He stayed there a few seconds, head bowed and shoulders dropped from frustration.

"Excuse me for not introducing them to you," he finally said, turning back to them. "They are the mayor and Mr. Glossam. He is the owner of most of the land here." Fai stood up from the couch, his expression serious now.

"Looks like we have come troubling you at a bad time. We have heard of the legend of Spirit in the previous town-"

"I believe it's just an ordinary legend as well," Kyle interrupted, "Who would have thought that children really started vanishing…" He looked down, an expression of intense sadness on his face. "We looked very hard, but we weren't able to find any of them. Twenty children are missing as of now." Twenty? Did she hear it right? How could so many kids disappear in a deserted place like this?

"How can this be?" Sakura asked, voicing her thoughts.

"No wonder they were on their guards when they saw us," Kurogane added.

"Poor kids," Ella said softly. The conversation was brought to an end as Kyle ushered them to go upstairs and rest.

"At least we have a place to stay for the night," Fai tried to see the bright side as they made their way upstairs.

"I guess," Ella said.

"You're pretty good at making stuff up, Syaoran," he then said, referring to when they were surrounded by the gunmen. Syaoran blushed a bit at the compliment.

"My dad and I used that excuse a lot when we traveled," he explained.

"Things are getting pretty serious," Fai noticed, glancing over his shoulder through the window to the scene below. The villagers were gathering, lanterns glowing in the night, ghostly figures crying names.

"Anyway, it's already very late," he said, opening the door to Sakura's room. Sakura passed out at that instant, into Syaoran's arms. Ella smiled tenderly as the boy carried the princess and gently laid her on the bed. Then she thought of something.

"Hey, I almost forgot." Ella turned and glared furiously at Fai. "What's with me being his-" she pointed at Kurogane, "fiancée? I'm only seventeen! Do I like look I'm old enough to get married?"

"Yes," Fai answered with wide grin. Ella groaned frustratedly.

"And do I have to share a room with him? Why can't I sleep with Sakura-chan?"

"We're going to look like liars if the couple doesn't sleep together though!" was his excuse. Ella sighed. She didn't bother to point out that the sentence sounded wrong. Maybe it was just her dirty mind at work. She shook her head.

"Oh whatever. Forget you," she said. Fai pretended to look hurt.

"Don't be mad at me!" he whined. Ella rolled her eyes.

"Shut up." Fai turned to Kurogane with wide eyes.

"Did you hear that, Kuro-muy! She told me to shut up!"

"So?" Kurogane responded. "It's not like she hit you." His lips twisted up into a murderous smile. "That I would like to see." Ella turned to Fai to see his hands up in a sign of surrender.

"Please don't hit me."

"I'll be nice then," Ella said, giving him a wry smile. "Goodnight, Syaoran-kun, Fai-san."

"Goodnight, Ella-san," she heard the boy say before she closed the door.

Ella walked over to the bed that Kurogane wasn't occupying. She took of her corset and tossed it onto the foot of the bed. She couldn't wait to find the feather and leave this country with its old-fashioned clothing. The corset was such a bother. She had to take it off and wear it back on the next day. She pushed aside the curtain a bit and looked out the window to the townspeople. A particular person caught her attention. By the clothing, it was a man. He was wearing a black suit that looked a bit different from the world's clothing. One of his hands was on his black hat to keep the wind from blowing it away. His head was tilted up towards the house. Even from this distance, she could see smug green eyes staring right at her. Ella inhaled sharply and dropped her hand, letting the curtain fall back in place. She could no longer see outside, but she could feel those eyes still staring at the window.

"What's wrong with you?" Kurogane's voice snapped her back to reality.

"Nothing," she said, too quickly to be anything but a lie. His eyes narrowed and she turned away. She didn't want another pair of eyes burning a hole into her. She climbed into the bed, her back to the window. She closed her eyes and tried to go to sleep, but all she could see was those pair of green eyes staring at her. Along with it was a face wearing a smug smile. A smile that said he knew things she didn't. She didn't like that.

She tossed and turned, unable to sleep. Her curiosity and paranoia got the best of her, and she cautiously peeked behind the curtains. Outside, snow was falling lightly. There was no man, but she could just make out a set of footprints in the snow. She let go of the curtains and settled down under the blankets. She was put slightly at ease but not enough so that she could fall asleep. Finally fed up, she decided to walk it off a bit. There was a library downstairs with a nice-looking fireplace. Maybe some reading would do her good.

Ella slid the sheets off of her, careful to be quiet. She didn't want to wake the ninja, or anyone else. She silently exited the room, grateful that the door didn't make any squeaking noises. She made her way down and saw no one in the library, not that she expected to. The fire was nothing but a flicker but a few pokes from the metal rod brought it roaring back to life. She scanned the shelves for anything that looked appealing. It was a good thing this world's language was similar to English. She eventually just grabbed a random book, not caring what the title was. She took a seat on the couch and flipped through the first few pages. However, she couldn't help but think about the missing children. How could twenty kids disappear in such an isolated area? This wasn't New York City, where someone could just blend in with the mass crowd. This town was fairly small. A person couldn't hide very easily, especially with kids in tow. She sighed and leaned back into the couch. She stayed like that for a while, staring at the fire and not really focusing on anything. She was really out of it since she jumped at least an inch of the couch when a dark figure appeared in her vision. The book dropped to the ground with a thud. She snapped her head in that direction, prepared to fight, only to realize that it was Kurogane. As he sat down on the couch beside her, he gave her a strange look for her reaction. She relaxed visibly.

"Oh, it's you," she said, picking up the book and sitting back down. She set the closed book in her lap.

"Who else?" he grunted. She shrugged, not wanting to tell him who she thought he was. Damian was the last thing she wanted to think about.

"What did you see outside?" he asked suddenly. Ella bit the inside of her cheek. She didn't think he would ask.

"No one," she managed to say through clenched teeth. It was a mistake. Kurogane rose an eyebrow.

"You saw someone?" he asked. Ella mentally kicked herself. Way to go, Ella.

"It's nothing." Kurogane looked skeptical and suspicious, but thankfully dropped the subject.

"Why are you down here?" Ella asked a little while later.

"Woke up and couldn't go back to sleep," was his reply.

"Oh." They fell silent again. Ella took pleasure in the comfortable silence. It was peaceful and rather soothing, calming her down and almost erasing her previous worries. Of course, nothing stayed forever.

"Hello, Ella." She inhaled sharply and whipped her head around. The male voice had been so close, practically right next to her. However, only Kurogane was there in the room. Speaking of which, he was looking at her.

"What?" he asked. Ella shook her head.

"Nothin-" She stopped when she heard laughter. She looked around again. "Did you hear that?" she said, almost in a whisper.

"Hear what?" he replied, but Ella could tell he sensed something. He was tensed and looking around the room also.

"Someone's here," she said in a whisper, fear inching into her voice.

"Oh, how right you are." Ella felt someone breathing on her ear, which sent her blood running cold. She stood up abruptly, sending the book to the floor once again. She didn't care though. The thud was loud in the quiet room, but it was muffled by the sound of more laughter, louder this time.

"I never knew you to be so jumpy, Ella dear." Ella glanced around the room frantically. It was him. He was here. She didn't know how or when he got here. He just was.

"Leave me alone," she whispered shakily. She mentally slapped herself. What was wrong with her? The dimension travelling was probably messing up her cool. She was never this scared. Then again, these were no ordinary circumstances. This was a man who had somehow gained the ability to cross dimensions and do who-knows what else. Even without any newly acquired powers, he was a force to be reckoned with. Her mother had thought she could run from him. Ella thought she could run, since now she had more places to go to, but no, she was wrong. He had found her twice already.

"Who's there?" Kurogane said.

"I was hoping to get you alone," Damian said with a sigh, "but no matter. I can ignore him if he stays quiet."

"Leave him alone," Ella said. Kurogane, or anyone else for that matter, didn't need to get involved. It was her problem, and hers alone. She didn't want to bring anyone into the mess she had.

"I don't think you're in any position to make demands, little girl." Ella growled, glaring around the room.

"I'm not a little gir-" She was cut off, along with her airway. A force pushed her back against the couch and tightly wrapped around her throat. She gasped and choked for air, clawing at her throat.

"Oi!" Kurogane exclaimed. What the hell was going on? She was hearing things he couldn't, though she didn't seem to be able to see anyone. He felt a person's presence nearby though. After a moment of debating his decision, he swung his arm violently at the space in front of Ella. As he had predicted, his fist came in contact with something solid—probably the mystery person—and it swung back with a grunt. He heard a thud on the ground but didn't pay it much attention. He focused it on Ella, who was coughing and gulping in air.

"You okay?" he asked. She nodded.

"Thanks," she croaked. She was greatly relieved. For a moment, she thought she really was a goner. She looked up and saw Damian on the floor. She could tell Kurogane could see him also. So did he become invisible? How was that possible? Unless he really did obtain some magic powers.

"Heh," Damian said. He stood up easily and looked up and down at Kurogane. "I can see how you might become a problem." He shrugged and exhaled loudly. "Oh well." He turned to Ella with a grin as a tear appeared behind him. Kurogane's eyes widened slightly. He clearly remembered seeing something very similar. "See you soon, Ella."

"I hope you rot in hell, bastard," Ella spat out, her hoarse voice dripping with hate.

"Been there, done that," he said dismissively. The man dropped the smile. "I'll make you pay for your parents' sins and your own."

"Don't you dare," Ella hissed, "talk about my parents like that."

"Ha! They deserve it. I respected your father until he married that monstrous mother of yours. He was a great hunter but he gave it up to raise the monster he and Aislynn created." He paused to glare at her. "You."

"Leave. Now," Ella growled. It took all her willpower not to scream at him. She didn't need the others waking up and wondering what was going on. It was bad enough that Kurogane had witnessed it. But then, if he hadn't been there, she would've choked to death.

"Fine," Damian said. "But I'll be back. The next time I see you, be prepared to be skinned alive." He stepped back and disappeared. It was quiet once again, except for the crackling of the dying fire.

Like? Reviews are appreciated. (: