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Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE, Vol. 20

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This volume of Tsubasa starts by dealing with the fallout for those who Sakura has left behind.

Fai's initial reaction is predictably and somewhat understandably a move to turn the sword in his hand on himself, although Kurogane convinces him not to make things worse than they already are. His next, somewhat more lucid reaction is to desperately ask Yuko to take anything he has left to give to get Sakura back in one piece. Although they're not thrilled with him at the moment, Kurogane and Syaoran honor Sakura's parting request to them and don't let him go it alone.

It's Kurogane who asks Yuko the right questions after swearing to give Sakura the thrashing of her life for the admittedly brilliant stunt she's just pulled, getting to the heart of the matter by asking whether it's her body or soul they have to worry about most at the moment. The answer is, as those following xxxHOLiC know, her body - as for the moment her soul has been in the presence of nothing more sinister than Watanuki, with whom she's completely safe. A potential huge plothole is also filled as we get an explanation of why Yuko herself didn't trigger Fai's curse in the very first scene in her shop.

Although the others will stand by him, Fai isn't out of the woods yet, however - and to get his precious foster daughter back he will have to face his demons and do the one thing he's been avoiding the whole series...

We've gotten a few hints about what kind of person Fai really is. The first is that Sakura apparently now knows everything about him and doesn't hold it against him. As she isn't exactly objective concerning him, that's bolstered by the fact that Yuko - who knows evil when she sees it - has seemed as sympathetic towards him as her position allows and even took time to have a heart to heart with him after his ordeal in Acid Tokyo. Finally, nothing in his interior monologues suggest that he's ever meant to hurt a hair on anyone's head. That being said, he's obviously got some explaining to do - and now we finally begin the process of learning about his traumatic past and the extent of his lies both outright and by omission.

It's a haunting volume in keeping with the hints of just how bad Fai's full disclosure would be when the time came.