A/N: Now with scene breaks edited in! I hope I haven't confused you all too much! But I think you're all smart people and realized what was happening ;)
Fai hadn't expected things to change too drastically. He hadn't expected too great a shift in their attitudes. He had expected Syaoran to be a little dispirited at first, but nothing too major. He hadn't, however, expected Kurogane and his relationship to stagnate like it did.
It had progressed. Even before their departure. There was almost no need for Fai any more to fake his smiles. And Kurogane… well, Fai had this hunch that his favourite ninja tried to make him smile genuinely as often as possible, which became less and less of a challenge as time progressed.
But despite the tension that Fai felt—the kind of tension that preceded a significant change—neither of them moved forward and towards it; seemingly frozen in the space between friendship and love. And it confused Fai to the point of passivity.
"Fai! What are you daydreaming abooout?" Mokona hopped into Fai who instinctively caught her in his hands.
"Nothing much. It just seems nice here," he answered and looked around at the beauty of nature. Tall trees with winding branches grew into the sky, and perfectly green, smooth underbrush trailed around them like cloth. With the bright blue sky and warm sun casting golden light across the green tree crowns the landscape looked like a professionally created painting.
It really was beautiful. But the tingling, soft, caressing vibes that swept all around him told him another thing.
"There's magic in this world," he said, closing his eyes at the whisper of energy around him.
"Where there's magic, there are people, usually," Kurogane said, looking at Fai with a strange, unreadable expression.
"That's true," Syaoran agreed and turned to Fai, "Can you lead us there?"
"Of course." Fai smiled and got a smile in return from the boy. It seemed less forced than a week ago, almost all the way back to how it used to be.
"Come on, then! I'll be your personal wishing rod for magic!"
Mokona squealed in delight and hopped on top of his head. "Go, wishing rod!"
"I believe it's called a dowsing rod," Kurogane corrected and Fai could have sworn he saw a fleeting smirk in his expression. He couldn't help it – he cast Kurogane a bright, happy smile. But then he turned around and called, "Wishing rod, ho!"
There was nothing more fun than teasing Kurogane. If only he wouldn't instantly think about the fact that this was probably the way Kurogane wanted their relationship to be. Why else would he let it go on like this? Kurogane was direct, fierce, and honest. He didn't freak and worry about possible consequences a confession could bring along like Fai did.
Mokona jumped up and down on Fai's head and despite his negativity about that one relationship, it made him smile. They were alive, they were safe, and they were together (well, almost all of them).
He glanced back over his shoulder and looked right into Kurogane's face; Kurogane's features relaxed and his eyes crinkled slightly when the corners of Fai's mouth stretched into another smile.
Maybe he could live with it.
Fai looked back in front of him and dodged a low hanging branch. Then he stepped out of the forest between two trees and stopped.
"We're almost there," Fai said, grinning.
"Yeah, yeah, we are!" Mokona chirped happily (must have been one of his imitating techniques, otherwise Fai couldn't explain how a bunny-like creature could chirp).
"And how do you know that, meatbun?" Kurogane's gruff voice drawled from behind Fai.
"Well, see for yourself," Fai said and stepped to the side to give Kurogane and Syaoran a good view of what lay in front of them.
"Wow," Syaoran breathed, and Fai could only agree.
The majority of buildings of the city in the distance were small, a few huge ones poking up, made mostly of wood, but also brick and concrete. All of the buildings' architecture was elegant and extravagant, almost all of them sprouting oriels and rounded, layered edges. As cities went, it was fairly middle-sized.
"Come on, let's find the entrance," Fai suggested and turned to the side to start walking again.
"Why can't we just walk in there?" Kurogane asked and pointed towards the seemingly open street inside, straight in front of them.
"We won't get in there. They have erected a magic shield around that city." If one concentrated and squinted a bit, one could see the faint shimmering of the cupola barrier shielding the city against threats.
"You're so good, Fai!" Mokona leapt from Fai's head over on top of Kurogane's. "Isn't he, isn't he?"
Kurogane growled and wanted to grab Mokona, but the little creature was faster and escaped, with Kurogane chasing after it.
Fai laughed and even Syaoran smiled in amusement. Yes, Fai thought, he would certainly be able to live with that. Even if it hurt like hell.
It hadn't been difficult to find the entrance and pass through—the guards welcomed them warmly but eyed Fai suspiciously, which made him feel uncomfortable enough to let Syaoran take over. They had certainly sensed his magic—just as he had sensed theirs. He just hoped they wouldn't deem him dangerous enough to try to arrest him.
Mokona gasped dramatically. "Everyone!"
She paused as everyone turned to her, and looked down the road seriously. Then her ears dropped and she smiled goofily. "I'm hungry!"
Laughing, Fai gathered the little white creature in his hands and pointed towards the first place that looked like a restaurant.
"Maybe we'll get something edible there?"
But right when Fai wanted to collect the others (especially since Kurogane still seemed to fume about Mokona), someone ran right into his back.
A high-pitched squeak resounded behind him at the impact, and while Fai recovered quickly from being pushed forward a bit, when he turned around, the girl that ran into him sat on the floor, looking dumbfounded.
"E-excuse me!" the girl stammered and avoided any eye-contact. She bit down on her bottom lip and fisted the hem of her ruched white mini skirt under which she wore tight, black knee-length leggings. Her really cute outfit and the giant ribbon on her back around her waist looked more like a costume than something you'd normally wear, but if there was something Fai had learned while traveling to so many different worlds, it was that clothes could be vastly different depending on where they were. The other people walking through the streets didn't look anything like this girl, though.
"Oh, don't worry!" Fai leaned down and wanted to help the poor girl upon her feet, but suddenly—out of the blue—Kurogane was at his side and offered his hand so quickly that Fai didn't even get to extend his own. For a moment, he stared at Kurogane confusedly. That was new. Since when did Kurogane willingly help a girl like this when she could get up herself?
"Th- thank you... I'm just in a hurry—it's my shift, you know—and, and I'm late, and..."
"Go on, we won't hold you up!" Fai told her, finally breaking out of his speechlessness, after watching Kurogane pull her up.
The girl rushed right into the restaurant Fai had suggested. What a coincidence.
"What a coincidence!" Mokona chirped and hopped onto Syaoran's shoulder. "Let's go, let's go!"
Kurogane grumbled and followed suit without another glance at Fai and Fai was left completely confused. What the hell had just happened?
Fai still reeled from Kurogane's strange behavior when they entered the restaurant and sat down around a table. Clearly, the ninja was irritated by something, but what could that be? He had been calm only moments before.
"Do you think they have a library here?" Syaoran asked, a dreamy expression on his face.
"There must be. This city's big and I haven't yet heard of a developed magical society without books about it. Magic isn't that easy to wield and it can turn sour fast if you don't know what you're doing." Fai smiled at him, hoping his initial depression about having to be apart from Sakura-chan would dissipate sooner rather than later. Though he could understand why it was so painful. But Syaoran never complained or asked why it had to be him who couldn't have anything normal.
Fai suppressed a sigh when he thought about how weak he himself was in comparison. Why couldn't he just confess to Kurogane without fearing the worst? He knew he could trust Kurogane not to hurt him needlessly... An approaching waitress interrupted Fai in his racing train of thought.
"May I take your or- oh my!"
Fai saw Kurogane's sour face before he looked up and recognized the girl. It was the same one they had bumped into just before they came here. Apparently, all the waitresses in this restaurant wore dresses such as hers, Fai noticed when he inconspicuously looked around the place. He waved a hand at her and flashed her a smile.
"It's you! I'm so sorry again! Let me make it up to you all with free drinks – would that be all right?"
Her cheeks flushed when she returned Fai's smile and she nervously played around with the hem of her apron she was now sporting too.
"That would be very nice," Syaoran replied, obviously beaming at her to make her feel comfortable.
"Would you, er, what can I bring you?" she asked again, flushing even harder, and pulled a writing feather and a small piece of parchment out of the leather belt she wore around her waist, waiting for their order.
They didn't quite know what kinds of meals hid behind the fancy names on the menu, so they just asked the girl what she would recommend. Kurogane stayed grumpy the whole time, which Fai couldn't quite understand. It was also making the poor girl even more nervous.
"Don't worry about Kuro-tan," Fai told her, leaning in conspiratorially and grinning at Kurogane, who returned it with a deathglare, "he's always grumpy, but he's got a soft heart." Or else he wouldn't have cared so much for a lost cause like me, he added in his head, now sending the ninja a genuine smile, which seemed to calm him a little.
The girl chuckled, thanked them with a low bow, and folded the order twice, after which the parchment disappeared like it had never been there in the first place. Syaoran and Kurogane blinked at that in confusion, and Fai snickered at their blank expressions before the girl, probably confused by their confusion, rushed towards the next customer.
"The parchment probably teleported to the kitchen, you know," Fai said, still grinning amusedly.
"So they can prepare our order real quick!" Mokona squeaked from between Fai and Kurogane, and Fai laughed at him. Syaoran soon followed – even Kurogane displayed a grin at Mokona's perpetual hunger.
It was nice, laughing with his best friends. It felt more like a family than Ashura ever did, and that was saying something. And it still amazed him how happy he could feel, after that long time of false smiles and twisted memories, and the belief that he would never find happiness.
When the laughter slowly faded, a soft smile lingered on Fai's face that he just couldn't stop from forming – not that he wanted to. And Kurogane noticed, Fai knew, and in moments like these, Fai really thought there was more behind that faint smile than feelings of friendship. It almost felt like they were on the same page.
Almost.
Then the moment was gone and the slow flow of time accelerated again, and everything went on normally, just like always. It didn't quite break his happy mood, but it did throw a small shadow on it.
The waitress returned just when they were discussing possible places to stay, several plates with food floating behind her.
"E- ex-, uhm, excuse me, but, uhm, if you're looking for a place to stay..." she seemed to collect her self-confidence, "there's the Sunbright Inn just down the street. I, uhm, know the owner. If you tell her I recommended her, she'll give you a discount."
The girl blushed and averted her eyes, fidgeting around. Kurogane—having been in a nice enough mood after she had left—immediately sobered up and looked grim again. But why did he dislike that girl so much?
"Thank you," Fai told her with a smile and she instantly beamed at him. Maybe she still felt guilty about bumping into him?
She put their floating meals down on the table by making distinct motions with her hands, earning happy squeals from Mokona, and rushed forward to the next table, the remaining floating meals following her.
Mokona made a big commotion about the food, pulling Fai and Syaoran into a fun conversation. Surreptitious glances told Fai that Kurogane was the only one here who listlessly poked at his meal.