Title: The Third Thing
Rating: PG
Warnings: None really. Mild angst, sweetness.
Spoilers: Post-series, spoilers for the Nihon arc.

Author's Notes: This is a sequel to my story "The Price of Ill Luck" (also known as "The Curse of the Twins") which can be found earlier on my list of stories. It was an alt-universe, Yuui-centric story about a world where Yuui lived and Fai died, and the Wizard Flowright took to wandering the world in search of a cure for his sorrows. He met with Yuuko and learned from her that Fai still lived in other worlds, and the story ended with the strong implication that Yuui was going to travel to other worlds in search of him.

Well, then...

That morning, for the first time, she directed her servants to help her dress and then to set up her chair in the grass out under the trees of the garden.

"My lady?" the head maidservant asked, puzzled by the change in routine.

Tomoyo smiled at her. "It is such a fine day out, don't you think? The sun and clouds are beautiful, and yet the breezes keep it cool. It is too splendid a day to spend inside."

The maidservant bobbed, looking slightly flustered and uncertain; it was a flimsy excuse to move the entire cumbersome setting of the throne room outside, and Tomoyo was not usually prone to the eccentric vagaries common to noblemen and royalty. Still, she hurried out to carry out the Princess's request.

Tomoyo smiled after her. It was indeed a fine day, but that had not been the reason for her request. She was expecting a visitor that afternoon, although she hadn't wanted to say so until she knew more.

Although Tomoyo had given her dreamseer powers away years ago - part of a price to bring her favorite ninja safely home - that did not mean she was powerless. Far from it. The gift of true future vision was rare, but there was always a Tsukuyomi; indeed, it was only a lucky coincidence to have both a true seer and the country's primary star-reader in the same body.

As the Tsukuyomi, Tomoyo had access to the augury and divination charts that came with the office, and the power to read the fates in the movement of the stars. It was not an entirely accurate power - she had often relied on her dream visions to provide clarity to the fortunes she read - but it was more reliable, and more flexible, in that she could ask questions instead of merely relying on what visions Fate would bring her.

Today, the stars told her, she would be entertaining a guest; a visitor from another world.

She was not entirely sure what to expect. There were the travelers, of course - Kurogane and Fai and their young ward - but although she spoke with them occasionally there had been no indication yet that they were ready to return. Aside from those three, she wasn't sure who else it could be; the Witch of Dimensions had passed away years ago, and her successor did not travel the worlds.

The weather on that spring morning was indeed fine, and Tomoyo passed a very pleasant morning conducting court in the sunlight, in the shade of the little pavilion. Towards noon, Amaterasu herself appeared, perhaps intrigued by the rumors among the servants.

"What are you doing out here, sister?" the empress asked, never bothering much to beat around the bush.

Tomoyo smiled back at Kendappa. Although their stations at the court took up much of their time, and their very different roles had driven some distance between them, there was always much fondness between the two royal siblings. To her, at least, Tomoyo was honest; "I am waiting for our guest, dear sister," she said.

Kendappa looked surprised. "What guest?" she said. "There are no appointments for today."

Tomoyo nodded. "This is a visitor who comes from another world," she said.

"Eh?" Kendappa's surprise turned to wariness. "What, are Kurogane and his band returning already? I thought we'd have at least a few more years of peace before that big lunk came back."

Tomoyo had to smile at Kendappa's description of the ninja; although Kurogane had technically been Amaterasu's servant, as a vassal of Nihon, he'd never made any secret to the fact that he obeyed only Tomoyo - and he didn't even always obey her. His disrespect for authority and Kendappa's own hot temper had led the two of them to clash many times; although each respected the other's abilities, they were far too alike to ever become friends.

"No, it is not them," she answered.

"Who, then?"

Tomoyo used her fan to point towards a broad, grassy stretch of the palace gardens, where a shimmering whorl was beginning to appear in the air. "We shall see," she said.

The shimmering patch of air expanded into a miniature whirlwind, strong enough to distort the sight of the palace beyond it - although not a blade of grass was disturbed. What had originally seemed like a flat spiral, hanging horizontally in the air, seemed to deepen into a space that hadn't been there before, until it seemed like a tunnel that led off into nowhere.

A curious crowd was beginning to gather; those who had wondered at the Tsukuyomi's strange actions now thought they understood. Since Tomoyo did not appear worried, surely there was no danger. Gradually a figure appeared in the depth of the anomaly; as it grew nearer and larger, the strange shape resolved into a person on horseback. Muffled hoofbeats became audible, then clearer and louder, until at last the horse itself trotted out of the magical whirlwind onto the trimmed grass of the palace lawn.

The horse was a fine beast, so pale gray it was almost silver in the light; its bridle and trappings were indeed silver, and it was bundled with a pair of finely embroidered saddlebags hanging from the back of the dark leather saddle. Its rider was dressed in clothes equally fine, gray and white cloth surprisingly unsullied by travel stains. Pale-skinned hands held the reins in a loose grip, and the blond-haired, blue-eyed man stared around at the assembly, looking somewhat aback to have such an audience.

"It's that blond magician!" Kendappa exclaimed in surprise. "What was his name, Fai. But where are Kurogane and the others?"

"Wait," Tomoyo told her, and then raised her voice to the stranger. "Greetings and welcome to Shirasagi palace, traveler from a distant world," she said. "Might I know your name?"

The horseman turned his mount to face her and opened his mouth, then coughed twice and raised a gloved fist. Tomoyo felt the tingle of magic, and saw a white glow appear from the man's fingertips and disappear into his throat. "Greetings and salutations to you, fair ladies," he said, pitching his voice to be heard across the green. A translation spell, Tomoyo realized, and was impressed; it took skill to calibrate one so fast and so well. But then, he must be a master mage or he could not have crossed dimensions to come here at all. "My name is Yuui Flowright, and I am - just passing through. Might I have leave to rest here for a few days, until my magic recovers enough strength to continue?"

Tomoyo's eyebrows lifted despite herself at hearing the name. She'd had visions - back when she still had visions - of the blue-eyed twins of Valeria, although she had never heard their names. This demanded an explanation. "Certainly, Wizard Flowright," she responded. "You are invited to share my hospitality for as many nights as you need it."

The wizard smiled - it was like, and yet unlike, the smile she'd seen on the face of Fai Fluorite in the short time he'd spent here. "I thank you," he said, and swung off his horse with a practiced step.

"Servants, attend our guest," Amaterasu ordered crisply, and a few startled palace servants moved forward.

Yuui pulled off his saddlebags and slung them over his own shoulders. As the palace groom approached warily and reached to take his obedient horse's reins, Yuui pulled them away with a smile. "There's no need for that," he said.

To everyone's astonishment, as they watched the horse suddenly attenuated, shrinking to a mere flattened shadow of itself; then it dwindled and shrunk further away until it had disappeared into an unremarkable lump in the grass, which Yuui bent down and retrieved to his pocket. Amaterasu's expression was a study, and Yuui laughed. "Well, I could hardly take a real horse world-walking with me, now could I?" he asked with a smile.

"Indeed," Tomoyo said, recovering a moment faster than her sister. "Wizard Flowright, please come and join us. It is about time for lunch to be served, and I think we have much to talk about."

They passed a very pleasant lunch, Yuui conversing with his new hosts in the cool shade of the outdoor pavilion. Some worlds he had passed through were more welcoming than others, but this was an unexpectedly kindly reception. He was beginning to suspect that Princess Tomoyo, as she had introduced herself, knew more than she had let on; certainly she carried an air of mystery, a great font of wisdom concealed behind her serene smile.

His translation spell improved the more he heard and the more he spoke, and before lunch was over he was nearly fluent in the native tongue. Combined with a pleasant smile and a friendly manner, this was all he usually needed to do to win himself a welcome. The tall woman in the elaborate gown turned out to be the local queen, and the long-haired girl with the violet eyes her younger sister. August company indeed, but this was hardly the first time Yuui had found himself dining with royalty.

Polite inquiries as to whether they required any small magical services returned an equally polite refusal; they all seemed to set much esteem by the abilities of their High Priestess - none other than the beautiful girl who'd first welcomed him. He gave her a startled look, reassessing her abilities; she smiled back at him, revealing nothing.

"Tell me, Wizard Flowright, for what reason do you travel the worlds?" Princess Tomoyo asked him politely. "You are obviously quite a learned man already; do you simply wish to gather more knowledge, or are you searching for something in particular?"

"Three things, actually," Yuui said pleasantly.

"Oh?" Tomoyo inquired, turning her large, luminous violet eyes his way. "And what three things are those?"

He merely smiled at her. She was a pleasant host, but there were some things that he didn't speak of with strangers.

True to her word, later that evening Princess Tomoyo led him inside the large, rambling wood-and-paper buildings to a guest chamber, located off a small internal garden. Yuui was nearly stumbling with exhaustion; moving himself between worlds was an effort that knocked him out for nearly a week.

"I will have some clothes made for you in the style of our country," Tomoyo said to him quietly, as they stood in the corridor outside the guest rooms. "For tonight, please accept the loan of a yukata suitable for sleeping in this weather."

Yuui shook his head. "There is no need to trouble anyone for clothing," he said. He raised his hands crosswise to the shoulders of his tunic, expending a tiny bit of magic to activate the spell woven into the threads of the seams. Concentrating on the image of the clothes he'd seen the others of this country wear, he brought his hands sweeping down across his sleeves and chest, and the cloth rippled and changed as he did so.

When he was finished, he appeared to be dressed in the same style as the other men of Nihon, and he smiled pleasantly at his hostess. "See? No trouble at all," he told her.

Tomoyo was smiling as well, but there was a hint of expression in her eyes that looked like pity. "But that's all an illusion, isn't it?" she asked him gently. "It's only on the surface."

"Is that a problem?" Yuui asked, confused; was this some sort of cultural taboo?

She shook her head and reached out to touch his arm; the illusion curled away from her fingers slightly, revealing the plain fabric beneath. "You travel from world to world," she remarked quietly. "You change your clothing, you change your mount, you even change your language to fit in. But it's all an illusion; the one thing you're never willing to change is yourself."

She stepped away, leaving him at a loss for words. "Your new clothing will be ready for you tomorrow," she said quietly. "Please wear them. I enjoy designing new outfits. It would be my pleasure to have clothes tailored specifically for you."

With a swish of her silk robes, she turned and walked away down the corridor, leaving Yuui standing before the door to his room, bereft.

Tomoyo gave her new guest a day to rest in the hospitality of Shirasagi castle before she invited him for an audience. He arrived smiling and well-rested, wearing the garments that she had ordered made for his use, and Tomoyo took that as a good sign; perhaps he would be receptive to what she had to say after all.

The garments flattered him, she observed, watching him surreptitiously out of the corner of her eye. She'd designed them with his foreign coloring in mind - the bright blond of his hair, the red tint underlying his white skin - and she was pleased with the finished picture he presented. He was taller than most men of Nihon, but just as skinny, and the elegance in his carriage made her think of a swan gliding gracefully through a fen. Overall he was very little like the men she was used to seeing in Nihon, but he was a fine, handsome man all the same.

"Please, sit," she said, indicating the cushion laid out before the low table. He did so, holding his legs somewhat awkwardly under him, and she slid a dish of red bean pastries across towards him.

He took a breath and reached for the set of lacquered chopsticks that had been set out for him, but it quickly became evident that he was not proficient with them. He fumbled and dropped one of the sticks on his first attempt to pick up a dumpling, and his pale skin blushed a bright pink with chagrin. Tomoyo couldn't stop herself from laughing, although she quickly hid it behind her sleeve; he smiled sheepishly, and she found herself unexpectedly charmed by his endearing clumsiness.

"Wizard Flowright, please feel free to eat with your fingers," she encouraged him. "There is no one here but me and you."

"Thank you, but I will persevere," he said, and gave her a wry smile. "After all, it is as you said; I need to do more than merely adopt the surface illusion of any new world."

He picked up the chopsticks and tried again, making a slightly better go of it this time; Tomoyo nodded in encouragement, and reached to pour the tea. He watched her with interest as he did so, and smiled when he took the teacup from her hands.

"Did you make this yourself?" he said. "If so, I am honored."

She smiled back. "No matter how high or low their station, all gentle women of Nihon are expected to know the basic arts of civilization," she said. "Tea-making, cooking, calligraphy, song and dance… and story-telling."

"Do you have a story to tell me, then?" he asked with interest.

"I do." She poured herself a cup of tea, and sat on the other side of the table from him. She hadn't been sure at first how to broach the subject with him; if she was right in her guesses, it would no doubt be a painful one.

"About five years ago, I had a beloved retainer," she began. "His name was Kurogane, and he was one of the best ninja we had; certainly he caused the most trouble. If you stay here for very long, you will probably hear his name spoken with remembered awe… or fear."

"Fear?" Yuui raised an eyebrow, inviting explanation. Tomoyo had to smile a bit in rueful memory.

"He was strong and skilled. But he was not very obedient," she explained. "And for a warrior that strong… to lack self-control, he becomes a danger to himself and to all those around him.

"And so, following the visions that came to me in my dreams," Tomoyo continued, "I sent him away - not to another country, but to another world."

Yuui drew in a sharp breath of surprise. "I was not aware that you had the power of world-walking," he said, looking at her with new appreciation. "But… once you had transported him, he would be out of reach and stranded, surely…?"

"I sent him to the Witch of Dimensions," Tomoyo explained, and understanding dawned on Yuui's face as he nodded. Tomoyo felt an unexpected warm glow at his instant comprehension of what she meant and why; there were so few people in Nihon who shared her half-in, half-out view of the world of magic and spirits. "From there, she provided him with the means to journey between the worlds.

"During the course of the journey, he met many people, and acquired some fast companions," she went on. "When he returned here - two years after he departed, although I suspect less time had passed for him - I had a chance to meet one of them."

She paused, studying Yuui's face. He held an expression of polite attention, clearly interested in her story but not having any idea where she was going with it. She continued.

"He was a man who looked much like you - save that he was missing one eye, I would say he was identical to you," she continued. "He called himself Fai, although I knew, even then, that was not the name to which he had been born.

"Tell me, Yuui Flowright, were you too born a prince? Tell me, did you too once have a twin brother?"

The cup of tea tumbled from Yuui's nerveless hands, and his face drained to a pale grey as he grabbed the edge of the table, leaning his weight on it as though he would collapse without the support. "Is he here?" he asked hoarsely. "You said - is he here now?"

"He is not," Tomoyo said quietly, hating to cause him grief but not wishing to stretch out his moment of agony. "He left, together with my retainer and their young ward, for a further journey of the worlds."

A soft groan escaped Yuui, and this time he did collapse, as though his bones were no longer strong enough to hold him. "The first time," he whispered, his voice shaking like his hands. "The first time in any world…"

"Do not despair," Tomoyo told him, making her voice as strong and reassuring as possible. "Although they travel the worlds now, I do not think they mean to travel forever. And when their journey does come to an end, I have faith that they will return here… both my retainer and your brother. For I do not think that he has any world of his own to go back to."

Yuui's breath stopped, and he raised his head; his blue eyes were softly glowing as though a light were shining behind them. "Returning here," he breathed out. "He'll be coming here. How many years…? Time passes differently when you are traveling, I know, but…"

"I do not know how long you would have to wait," Tomoyo admitted. "But you are welcome to stay here for as long as it takes for your brother to return. After all, was that not the first thing that you were searching for?"

She stretched her hands across the table and captured his; larger and paler than hers, but fine and delicate, with the blue veins showing through the skin on the backs. "And I promise you, you will not need to wait alone," she said firmly.

~to be continued...