Syaoran paced up and down around the lounge nervously. Fai and Kurogane sat on the couch patiently, while Mokona paced back and forth with Syaoran. They were waiting for Sakura to return from having Dinner with the Head of the Vision family that sponsors the chess tournament. They were restless, for the invitation went only to the Master of their team, which was Sakura; meaning that they couldn’t go along with her. So if something happened there would be nothing they could do if they weren’t there to help her; making the rest of the Black team feel even more anxious. Fai would turn to look at the clock on the wall from time to time, checking to see how long Sakura had been gone. She had been gone a very long time now; surely just a simple dinner didn’t take this long. Suddenly the door opened and the Princess they’d been patiently waiting for walked in.

“I’m back.” Sakura said simply, without much emotion. “Sakura!” Mokona squealed as he immediately bounced into her arms. Sakura caught the little rabbit-like creature but stumbled a little with her crippled right leg in doing so. “Are you alright? Did anything bad happen?” Mokona questioned, teary eyed. Ever since Syaoran’s clone left and Sakura lost the use of her right leg, Mokona had become very fearful for Sakura; always making sure she was okay. Sakura smiled sadly, sad that she’d made Mokona worry over her like this. “I’m alright. Sorry for making you wait.” She spoke softly as she hugged Mokona gently. “Welcome back, Sakura-chan.” Fai greeted with a smile, but now Sakura could always see past that smile; she knew that it was only a mask, to hide Fai’s true feelings. “Thank you, Fai-san.” Sakura answered. Then she looked over to Syaoran. He wore a very worried face; obviously he had been anxiously waiting for Sakura’s arrival too. But Sakura only returned him a blank gaze, still hurting inside from her Syaoran’s departure. Trying to avoid any eye contact with this new Syaoran; Sakura turned to Fai and handed him Mokona. “Sorry. It seems I’m a bit tired. I’ll go ahead and rest.” Sakura said sullenly. Fai could see right through her as well though, he knew full well why she’d been going off to bed early every night; to get away from Syaoran. Ever since this ‘Syaoran’ had appeared, Sakura had not been herself. She had become depressed, melancholy, and very withdrawn from everyone. Fai believed that it was because she missed her Syaoran and that she couldn’t stand being near this other Syaoran now travelling with them; because he constantly reminded her too much of her precious Syaoran. Fai missed Syaoran too, even if he did almost kill him by eating his left eye; Syaoran was still his friend and Sakura’s loved one. Fai watched her being escorted by Syaoran to her bedroom, even though Sakura didn’t want Syaoran to help her, but Syaoran silently insisted. As soon as he opened the door for her though, she just gently shook her arm free from Syaoran’s grip, said thank you, and then shut the door tightly behind her without saying another word to him or so much as looking at him.

Sakura couldn't sleep. She tossed and turned in bed; tormented by loneliness, guilt and a gnawing frustration. Images of her travels with her Syaoran played behind her eyelids, memories of all the things he’d done for her and still does for her now; even killing for her. She didn't want to be such a burden to anyone. It was too much guilt for her to deal with. Sakura began to wonder; was there a feather out there that had the ability to fix a broken heart? If there was; she would have used it on herself after Syaoran had left. How much simpler it would be if that was so. Use a feather’s power, and no more pain. Use a feather, and the boy she loved would never go away.
"Sakura-chan." A tender voice murmured her name. "Sakura-chan, are you still awake?"
Sakura wearily opened her eyes, exhausted from crying into her pillow all night again. "Who...who is it?" A single shimmering blue eye shone in the darkness of her room. “Sorry to disturb you. It’s only me, Fai.”

Sakura rubbed her eyes. She could see him a little more clearly as her eyes adjusted to the dark. He stood by her bed, draped in a black baggy shirt that looked much too big on the slim magician, but didn’t seem to be wearing anything but simple boxers beneath the long shirt. Sakura didn’t mind that though, it was only Fai-san after all. She groggily sat up, but was too tired to stay balanced so she sunk back down slightly and lay back against the pillow. "Why have you come to me, this late at night?" Sakura asked. "Mind if I stay in this bedroom with you tonight? It is quite cold in my room." Fai said, seemingly ignoring her question. Sakura shifted herself and pulled her quilt aside to make room for him. Normally to most people this would seem as an inappropriate request of a man to a younger girl, let alone to a princess; but not to Sakura. She never felt uneasy or shy around Fai, besides she had shared a bed with him once before when she had a nightmare in Piffle world; so she didn’t see anything wrong with letting him into her bed now. "I don't know if you can fit. If I move over any further I'll fall out."
"I'm not that big." He slowly and gently slid into the bed, the mattress barely dipping beneath his lithe body. "Ah, this is much better. Thank you, Sakura-chan." He settled himself down on his side, his silky hands neatly tucked beneath his light head as Sakura pulled the quilt over them both. "I'm not squashing you, am I?"
"No, I like this. It feels nice." Fai's sapphire eye gazed sweetly into hers in the darkness. "I like this, too." he murmured. "I like being with you very much." He wriggled closer to her and rubbed his cheek against hers. "Hey, stop it!" Sakura giggled quietly, but loud enough for Fai to hear, and he smiled upon hearing her old laughter. "Don't you like that?" Fai chuckled. "Yes, but it tickles." It had been a long time since she last laughed. There hadn't been much to laugh about recently. She reached out to brush away his blonde fringe of hair from his face. "So, why did you wake me up?" Fai made his trademark smile. "Can you just scratch a small spot on my back for me, please? It's very itchy and I can't reach it." Sakura sighed as she sat up with him and tugged his shirt off. Revealing his firm, perfectly built bare back. "You woke me in the middle of the night just to scratch your back?" She giggled again as she discarded his shirt on the end of the bed. "Yes, among other things.”

Fai purred delightfully at the soft, ticklish grazing of Sakura’s small nails on his shoulders and spine. "Oh, thank you, Sakura-chan. That feels much better now. It does feel really nice when another touches you. The same goes for you too. Sooner or later, you will long for the touch of another also."
"No." Sakura said sternly as she slowly withdrew her hand. "Why not?" Fai asked, puzzled by her sudden change in mood. Sakura fidgeted uncomfortably. "I don't want to always be so reliant on other people for my own well-being. I don't want anyone to get hurt for my sake anymore...I don't want anybody to feel sad for me."
"Feelings are not like your feathers. You can't just make them do what you want them to do whenever you see fit."
"I know." Sakura said in a small voice. She thought of Syaoran, staring at her with blank eyes as he abandoned her to leave for another feather in another world, and crushed the pang of grief. "But it would be easier if I could." Fai shifted his legs beneath the quilt and shook his head. "Love is an unstoppable force of its own, Sakura-chan. It can't be subdued by magic. Why would you even want to try something so silly?"
"Because it hurts! It hurts when the person you love leaves you. It hurts when the person you love goes away and leaves you behind." She'd never unleashed her anger and pain to anyone before, but there was something therapeutic about doing so in front of Fai.

"…Is that why you’re pushing away this new Syaoran?" Fai questioned. "Because you’re scared?” Sakura drew her knees up to her chest, an instinctive gesture of self-protection. "Sometimes I think I envy you, Fai-san. When you want something, you just go and ask without any hesitation at all."
"You can do the same. If there is anything you want to ask of me, anything you want to tell me; then please do. Because your wish; will be my wish as well. I will do anything to make you happy." He rubbed his head against Sakura's shoulder and then stroked his nimble fingers down the curve of her neck, making her laugh in spite of herself. “…I understand. It’s hard to be around someone who reminds you so much of one you love but far apart from. But please just know, you’re still loved by everyone; you’re not alone. He will come back, we will find him. You’ll see.” Sakura smiled warmly at Fai’s kindness. She lay back against the pillow; her mind more at peace than it had been in days. “You too, Fai-san. You’re not alone either.” Sakura whispered, as she and Fai fell back into the bed to sleep.