Disclaimer: I own very little.
A/N: Written in response to a challenge over at LJ: Put Kurogane and Fay into a novel/unusual situation.
Alternate Beginnings
Landing in a new world was not always pleasant. Like now. Landing hard on the ground, Fay stood up, glancing around. He didn't see any of the others anywhere nearby. Hopefully they hadn't landed too far away or it might be difficult to find them.
He was in the middle of a field of some kind, it seemed. Some way away he saw a small town – well, more like a village. If he wanted to find his companions, that would probably be the best place to start looking.
It didn't take him long to reach the closest of the houses. It was set some way away from the other buildings of the village. Now, that was strange – but also promising. If the world were dangerous, nobody would voluntarily ignore the safety the closeness of other buildings offered.
He walked closer to the house, his intention to knock on the door and as the inhabitants whether they had seen any of the others. Hopefully Mokona would be nearby, though, or it might be impossible to understand their language.
Just as he reached the door, however, it was opened by somebody inside the house. Seeing the person in the doorway, Fay's eyes widened. Now, if this wasn't a surprise.
It was Kurogane. That in itself wasn't really surprising; after all, he had indeed expected to find his companions. However, Kurogane was wearing clothes very different from those in which he'd seen the ninja before. Presumably they were the design of this new world. Did this mean Kurogane had landed in this world before him? Well, better Kurogane than himself, he supposed. At least Kurogane could survive without him around.
Kurogane looked surprised to see him, too, although for what reason, Fay didn't really understand. Shouldn't he have expected him to show up sooner or later? The ninja asked something in that strange language of his. So Mokona wasn't there yet, either. Wonderful, just wonderful.
Fay sighed. Somehow, he suspected this would be even more tricky than their time in Yama.
Kurogane said something again, and this time Fay was able to understand a couple of words – it wasn't like he could have dealt with the ninja for half a year without a common language and not have learnt anything. But why would Kurogane ask him about his clothes? They were in the style of the previous world, yes, dark and rather unlike his usual attire. But it wasn't like he had had any opportunities to find new clothes, was it?
"I'm sorry, Kurogane," he said, "but I do not understand what you are saying." Not that the ninja would understand him, either.
If he had been surprised before, Fay was now several times as much as Kurogane actually responded in his language. There was an evident accent in the ninja's speech, but it was still perfectly understandable. And the words themselves…
"So you're being the grumpy misunderstood mage again, eh? What'd I do this time to deserve the whole name? Look, I'm talking in my own language because that is what everybody uses here. It doesn't mean I don't care about you and is definitely not a reason to sulk. Now, where the Hell did you get those clothes? That's disturbing, you know. You'll scare the kids."
For a moment, Fay just stared. Finally, he said, "What do you mean, Kurogane? I got these clothes in the previous world, of course. And I've called you with your full name for a while already. When did you learn my language, anyway?"
Kurogane blinked, a very confused expression on his face. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked. "I've known your language ever since you taught it to me, of course, an insistent little bastard that you were. Has that magic of yours finally got your head?"
For a moment, they both stared at each other. Then they heard a voice from behind the corner of the house, both turning to look there. The voice was familiar. Disturbingly familiar, in fact – too much so for Fay's peace of mind.
"Who are you talking with, Kuro-pon?" called Fay's own voice. "Did we get a guest?"
"Believe it or not, I'm talking with you," Kurogane replied to the owner of the voice. "Come and see for yourself."
A moment later, Fay's own head peeked from around the corner, his body following. The clothing on the body was in the same style as that of Kurogane's, the colours white and pale blue. It was quite like something Fay himself might have been wearing in the beginning of their journey. Even the piece of cloth covering the left eye was blue.
"Oh, my," breathed this other Fay. "So that's what I would look like in black…"
"What is this?" asked Fay, now feeling quite a lot more confused than he was comfortable with being. "Since when has there been –" Suddenly, it all dawned on him. It should have been quite obvious, really. He should be ashamed of himself for not realizing it earlier. "You must be this world's version of me," he said. "And this is your world's Kurogane."
"Oh, yes, he's my very own little Kuro-wanwan!" said happily the other Fay, walking – well, more like skipping – to the ninja's side and clinging to his arm. "I take you're not from this world, then?"
"So this is those damned wizard things again," sighed Kurogane. For some reason he didn't seem particularly disturbed by the very cheery wizard hanging from his arm. "I thought we got rid of those twelve years ago…"
"I'm not doing any wizard things," the other Fay pointed out, "I just still happen to know about them. Do come inside," he then said to Fay. "It would be much more pleasant to discuss all this over a cup of tea. The children should be coming home sometime soon, too."
"Children?" echoed Fay, still feeling quite confused as he indeed followed the two inside, still feeling a bit disoriented. Now that he knew these were different people, the differences between this Kurogane and "his" ninja were quite obvious. For one thing, this Kurogane had a scar on his face that the one he knew did not have. "Do you mean Sakura and Syaoran?"
"No, he means Mokona and Kero-chan," replied Kurogane with a sarcastic tone. "Of course he means Sakura and Syaoran. Who else?"
"Now, now, Kuro-pii, that's not nice," the other Fay scolded playfully. "How do you know they even exist in his world? Do they?" he then asked, turning to look at Fay. "I suppose they do, though, as you know their names…"
"Yes, they do," Fay replied. "Kurogane and I… We are acting as something like their parents, I guess." The other Fay's smile faltered a bit as he said Kurogane's full name, but the other blond did not comment.
"It's the same for us," he said as he led his unexpected guest into what must have been the living room and started to fuss around with tea things. "We took them under our care twelve years ago and officially adopted them two years later."
Now, Fay raised his eyebrows. "Two men can adopt children together here?" he asked. It hadn't been like that in most worlds they had visited.
"Why, of course," replied his counterpart. "You just have to be married. But it's not like Kuro-po minds being married to me, right?" He stopped to hug the ninja with a positively giddy smile. The other man rolled his red eyes but didn't say a single word of protest.
So these two were married? For some reason, this disturbed Fay quite a bit. Not because it was unbelievable, no, but rather because it was all too easy to imagine. If these counterparts were anything like he and "his" Kurogane…
No. Better not think about that. His relationship with Kurogane was tricky enough as it was. There was no reason to make it even more complicated by considering such impossible scenarios.
"So, you are travelling from world to world, right?" asked the other Fay once they all had cups of tea in their hands. "With your own Kurogane and the children?"
"Yes," replied Fay, sipping at his tea. While he did not require any food nowadays, he could manage some tea every now and then. It made him feel more comfortable with his "condition". Anything else, however, always made him nauseous. "We received a creature named Mokona from the Witch of Dimensions who helps us travel from one world to another. Now, however, I seem to have lost my companions."
"I see," the other Fay replied, looking thoughtful for a moment. Then, he smiled brightly. "I'm sure they'll turn up sooner or later, though! We'll help you find them, of course. In the meantime, would you like to have some of my clothes? Those you are wearing right now will kind of stand out around here."
After a moment of thinking, Fay decided to agree to both offers. Thankfully these two didn't seem to be overly fond of asking questions. Although the situation was mildly disturbing, he would manage.
At least, if Kurogane didn't stay away for too long, he would.
Kurogane glanced around with mild interest. It seemed the damned meat bun had once again landed him away from the brat and the princess. This time the wizard wasn't there, either.
However much he tried not to, he immediately started to worry. Without his blood, the wizard couldn't survive. If Fay had landed in this world earlier than the others, they wouldn't ever find him. People were hard to find when they were dead.
Fortunately he had landed near a village of some sort. Fortunately, as everywhere else as far as he could see there were only fields. If he was to find his companions, it would be easiest in a place where there were other people around. At least then, he could ask whether anybody had seen them.
Walking towards a house some way afar from the main village, he saw somebody stepping out of the house. Perfect. With any luck they would actually understand his language (or the meat bun would be nearby). Hopefully he could get some clues.
It wasn't until he walked nearby that he realized the man looked strangely familiar. For one thing, they were the same height, which was extremely unusual. He was used to being taller than almost everybody else regardless of the world. For another thing, the man was wearing almost entirely black, and his hair was black too.
Then he got another bit closer, and the other man turned around, and suddenly red eyes were looking at red eyes with something of a shocked look on each face.
The other man recovered first. "Well, if this isn't perfect," he said with perfect Japanese. "There is somebody inside who will probably be glad to see you."
"You – are me," Kurogane realized. "Or, at least, this world's me." Oh, yes. He was far more intelligent than most sword-swinging hotheads. Then his counterpart's words sank in properly. "Somebody who will be glad to see me?" he echoed. "Who is that?"
"Why, your mage, of course," replied the other Kurogane. "Don't get too confused. The one with the blue eye-patch is mine, understood? You'd better not mistake them."
"The other one is not mine," Kurogane muttered. Sure, he would not have minded saying so, but he knew better than well how things truly were. Despite being the one keeping the mage alive, he had no claim over him. Fay hated him for the very reason of keeping him alive, and he had come to deal with that.
Still, he headed inside once his counterpart stepped out of the doorway. He wanted to find the mage, just to make sure he was all right. Hopefully he hadn't been in this world for too long, or his condition couldn't be very good.
Kurogane arrived in the living room just in time to see Fay entering. Or, rather, two Fays. They were both wearing clothes in colours of white and blue, but he could still tell them apart just by looking at their eye-patches. One of them was indeed blue while the other was the familiar black colour. They both directed the gaze of one blue eye at him, looking slightly surprised at his sudden appearance.
"Kurogane!" exclaimed the one with the black eye-patch. Then he said something in his language that the ninja couldn't make heads or tails of. Seeing his bewildered expression, the mage seemed vaguely disappointed.
"He asked you whether you have met the others," the other Fay said in clear Japanese. "As you can't communicate with him, however, you apparently haven't – if I have understood right how this Mokona creature works."
"You know Japanese," Kurogane commented. "And apparently his language, too. How did you learn both?"
"Well, his language is that of mine," replied the other Fay. "It is my mother tongue. However, I grew up around Japanese-speakers so I picked up the language. It is quite useful, you know," he then added with a bright smile that Kurogane had missed seeing on "his" Fay's face. "Despite spending most of his life around me, Kuro-pon still sometimes has trouble using the proper language."
"Since when did it become the proper language?" they heard another Kurogane's voice from the direction of the front door. "Majority of the population speaks Japanese! Is it our fault that your little town still sticks to its old language?"
"Kuro-wanwan is just being mean," the other Fay commented cheerfully. "He's the one who taught me Japanese at the first place, when I went to the magic school at the palace. He's the son of a palace guard, you see," he explained, "and used to be a guard himself, too. I learnt magic at the palace and then decided to stay with him, until… things happened."
"Things?" echoed Kurogane, immediately sensing that this was somehow significant. This Fay was really just as easy to read as the other one. "What do you mean with that?"
"Oh, it's a long and uninteresting story," replied the blond happily. However, his smile was not exactly as wide as earlier. "I'll tell you later, okay?"
At this, "his" Fay started to talk, probably wanting to rescue his counterpart from further scrutiny by Kurogane. He spouted out some of his gibberish, a mild smile on his face. The other Fay responded in the same language, then finally said to Kurogane, "I just told him what I just said to you."
"Ah," said Kurogane, wondering whether he should believe or not. He decided to believe, for now. It made no sense to go looking for conspiracies everywhere, even if he rarely expected the mage – or his counterpart – to tell the pure truth.
"Now, I'm sure your companions will turn up sooner or later," the other Fay then said happily. "You can, of course, stay with us until you have completed your guest. We have a guest room for you, and when your Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun arrive, they can stay in the children's rooms." He then repeated this – or, presumably it was the same words – in the other language.
The less language-savvy mage said something, probably thanking his counterpart. There was, of course, no way to be sure – he couldn't understand a word.
"What happened to your eye?" asked Kurogane then, eyeing sharply the blue eye-patch. "Probably not the same thing as in our world."
"Well, I was wounded by a splinter," the other Fay replied, appearing a bit uncomfortable with the subject. "It happened during a battle, shortly before we found Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun and moved here."
Kurogane looked like he would have liked to question further. However, the blond was saved from any more questions as something that at first seemed like a bundle of noise stormed. After the situation cleared out a bit, however, it turned out to be two teenagers trying to catch two little balls of fluff.
"Kero-chan!" yelled Sakura – or somebody who looked exactly like Sakura, except for the clothes. "Come down from Daddy's head!"
"My, my, Kuro-pon," the other Fay giggled. "I didn't know you had other admirers besides Mokona!"
"It's not my fault these damned fluff balls always go for the tallest point to hide!" grumbled the other Kurogane. "I certainly never invited them!"
It wasn't until then that the children seemed to notice the other versions of their parents. "Huh?" this world's Syaoran said. "Since when did we have four parents?"
"These are our other versions from another world," the world's Fay told cheerfully. "They'll be visiting us for a while. So if you see another versions of yourselves anywhere, bring them home!"
"Oh," Sakura said. "Nothing else?" She held closely a thing that looked at the first sight like a stuffed toy with wings. Syaoran, on the other hand, was holding onto a very familiar-looking white creature.
"Is that Mokona?" asked Fay. "I can now understand everything that's said!"
"That's not our Mokona," Kurogane pointed out. "It looks like the same but it isn't. But then how do we understand each other?"
"Mokona translates!" the Mokona exclaimed happily, wriggling free from Syaoran's grip. "If you are all in the same room, Mokona will translate! But Mokona can only do it in one room. It's Mokona's very special skill!"
"Syao-kun? Could you leave Mokona here with us?" asked the other Fay cheerfully. "You don't need it to talk with each other, after all."
"Mokona stays!" announced the white little thing happily. "Mokona is useful!"
"Yeah, sure," muttered the other Kurogane. "Especially if we ever get hungry with no food around. Except that then it's most probably you who has eaten the food!"
"Awww, Kuro-Daddy is mean," giggled Mokona, jumping onto the tall man's head. "Don't yell at Mokona in front of guests!"
Sakura and Syaoran laughed at their daddy who tried desperately to catch the white creature. Then, after a couple of curious questions, they went to do whatever they went to do, leaving Mokona behind to provide translation.
"I think I'll start preparing dinner now," the other Fay said cheerfully, glancing at the still on-going chase of his husband and the house pet. "How many will there be in the table?"
"Well, you, I, the kids, and the pets," the other Kurogane started counting, ceasing for a while his chase. "My counterpart, and..." He glanced sharply at Fay. "You won't eat, right?"
"Huh?" Fay blinked in surprise. Of course he indeed wouldn't eat, but how would this semi-stranger know that?
"I don't know about your world, but here vampires only drink blood," replied the soldier dryly. "Well, sometimes a bit of other liquids – like a cup of tea."
For a moment, Fay just stared. Finally, he spoke softly. "Hyuu. It seems that Kurogane is the same in every world – always so observant."
"It's simple," huffed the other Kurogane. "You look just like my mage except for three things. One, you are paler. Two, your nails are longer. Three, you have fangs. After twelve years of being the sole guard of this village against all monsters I should hope I can recognize a vampire."
Kurogane – the world-travelling one – raised his eyebrows. "It doesn't bother you?" he asked, slightly surprised.
"Why would it?" The other warrior looked equally surprised. "The mage trusts you both, and that's enough for me. If you try to hurt my family, I'll make you regret it. If you don't, I'll leave you be."
"Sounds reasonable," Kurogane said, nodding. Apparently this appealed to his logic – rather understandable, considering he was talking with another him.
The other Fay, however, didn't seem to even notice this conversation. His attention was completely on his own counterpart. After a moment of almost not smiling, he then became cheerful again. "Seven plates, then," he said. "And what will you have? Juice? Tea? Now that I think about it, would you like to help me with the dinner?"
For a moment Fay was silent again. Then, he too smiled and nodded. "I would love to help," he announced.
"Great!" The other Fay grinned. "You know, he should find some other names for half of us or we'll never be able to tell each other apart." His grin getting even broader, he said, "I'll be Fay-kun and my Kuro-pon will be Kuro-kun! And you can be Fay-san and Kurogane. Okay?"
"Works for me," Kurogane replied. Nobody else seemed to protest, either.
The two Fays thus went into the kitchen. Fay soon found that he was indeed enjoying himself. Although he couldn't eat normal food anymore – the nausea was really not worth the joy of eating – his love for cooking was still exactly the same. He also enjoyed the conversation, talking with somebody who knew better than to ask awkward questions. The other him, he discovered, worked as a healer for the village, combining his knowledge with his powers. The other Kurogane, on the other hand, protected the village from any monsters nearby. It wasn't that this world was safe, like he had initially assumed – it was made safe, at least in this part, by Kurogane. It wasn't too hard to imagine, if he truly was like the ninja Fay knew.
As they were getting closer to the end of their dinner preparations, Fay-kun glanced at a pot on the fire. "I think it's the time to take that away," he commented. "We wouldn't want to burn it, now would we?" He reached a hand towards the clay pot.
Suddenly, a hand shot forth between the two wizards, grasping on Fay-kun's hand. "And again, you almost stuck your hand right into the fire," Kuro-kun commented. "Haven't I told you a thousand times not to play with fire? I don't mind helping a bit, you know, if that way I can avoid having your hands burned."
"That's my Kuro-pii, always so protective," chirped Fay-kun. "Is your Kurogane protective too, Fay-san?"
Fay thought back to the time he had spent around Kurogane. All the battles where the ninja had been watching his back rose into his mind. All those long days in Yama, surrounded by soldiers whose words he did not understand but whose gazes he could not misinterpret – and always, always the shadow of a dark ninja just out of his sight. All those glares directed at too forthcoming people, all the curt responses, every time Kurogane had taken a small but very significant step closer to him – he now remembered it all very clearly.
There was one memory in his mind that was even clearer than all the rest, though. It wasn't about a battle, or lustful glances or inappropriate suggestions, not even about a wound offered to him to feed from instead of healing.
He remembered a wall, a strong stone wall reinforced by one of Sakura's feathers. On the wall there was a hole, he remembered – a hole Kurogane's fist had made on it.
"Yes," Fay said quietly, "he is."
No matter what world they were in, Fay had come to notice, there was always time. And, like in every world, there was night in this world, too. Thus it eventually became the time to go to sleep, and their familiar-looking hosts escorted them to the guest room.
There was only one bed, Fay noticed. Before he managed to say anything about it, however, Kurogane had already dropped onto the floor, leaning against a wall, looking rather comfortable.
"Good night," said the ninja, yet still glanced at Fay with one red eye open. "You're not hungry, are you?" he asked. At least that was what Fay thought he had asked, given the wizard's rather limited vocabulary in the Japanese language – Mokona wasn't there at the moment, after all.
Fay wasn't. Before he managed to say anything, however, Kurogane had apparently fallen asleep.
After watching Kurogane for a moment (and realizing that he was, indeed, asleep) Fay finally made his way into the bed. However, he didn't fall asleep for quite a while yet.
There was somebody in the garden.
Kurogane awoke silently, his eyes sliding open with no other indication of the fact that he was no more asleep. Glancing at the mage, he saw that Fay was asleep, lying on his stomach as always. Rising silently onto his feet, he headed outside to take a look at the intruder.
Neither was surprised as the two Kuroganes ran into each other on the backdoor. Glancing at each other, they nodded briefly before heading outside. In the dim light of the full moon the only thing anybody could have told them apart by were the sashes tied on their waists – Kuro-kun's was blue, Kurogane's red, as they were both wearing clothes from the former's wardrobe.
At the first glance there was nothing wrong in Fay-kun's beloved garden. However, both warriors knew better than to trust the first glance. Walking through the shadows they kept all their senses open to any signs of alarm.
Despite them both being on their (rather impressive) guard, the attack still came as a surprise. A vaguely human-shaped monster bounced from a shadowy corner, sharp fangs shining in the moonlight. Drawing their swords, the two Kuroganes headed towards it from two directions.
Neither noticed a sole blue eye surveying their actions from a window.
Fay awoke to notice that Kurogane was not there. As it was still the middle of night, he concluded, something must have happened. And as he heard nothing from inside the house…
Rising from the bed silently as a cat, Fay made his way to the window. It was dark outside, but not too dark for a vampire's eye. He could very well see the moving figures down in the garden. One, two – three figures. An attack, then.
For a moment he watched the battle, confident in the knowledge that Kurogane and Kuro-kun could handle the problem very well, no matter what it was. There was nothing to worry about with two such warriors guarding the house.
The battle went on as expected for a while. Suddenly, however, the as of yet unidentified monster seemed to find some hidden reserves of strength. With a mighty roar it flung aside the one Kurogane who had chosen that moment to attack it. The dark-haired man hit his head on a large stone – and lay still. In the pale moonlight his red sash looked like it had been dyed with blood.
Had somebody been watching inside through the window, they might have seen as a blue, vaguely cat-like eye slowly became visible in the darkness as it began to reflect light. The next moment, however, the eye was away as its owner bounced through the open window and out into the garden.
Kurogane groaned as he regained his consciousness. He couldn't have been unconscious for more than a moment, but in a battle that might be crucial.
Indeed, as he opened his eyes, the monster was attacking him. His sword was out of his reach, but he prepared himself for an unarmed battle with the beast.
He never had the chance, however. Before the monster could reach him, a tall, slim figure landed between them. He barely had the time to see the flash of long, sharp claws before there was an inhuman screech and a spray of warm blood on his face.
Fay – for of course it was Fay who had just slain the monster – stood still for a moment before turning towards him. A blue vampiric eye shone in the moonlight, somehow even more sinister than the now blood-dripping claws that were long and sharp enough to pierce any monster.
Fay said something in his language, then realized that he didn't understand a word and switched to very clumsy Japanese. "You okay?" As Kurogane nodded in response, he then huffed, "You stupid ninja. One little monster hits." His claws disappeared as quickly as they had come out – the blood, however, remained on his hand. "Any wounds?"
"Just some scratches," Kurogane replied truthfully, showing the scratches in question to clarify his words. "You hungry?"
"No," Fay replied, his eye slowly returning to normal. "Just… worried."
Kurogane didn't say anything. Instead, he looked at Kuro-kun, who was now hurrying towards them.
"That was damn impressive," Kuro-kun noted. "That was a werewolf, and they are hard to kill." At Kurogane's questioning gaze, he clarified, "Werewolves are human beings who turn into beasts at full moon. They are rare, but make up for that in their dangerousness. A small group of them can slaughter a whole village if there aren't any professional warriors around."
"Sounds indeed bad," Kurogane noted. "Fortunately this village isn't quite as defenseless."
"No," admitted Kuro-kun. "Monsters tend to attack our house as it is away from the rest – that's about as far as their intelligence goes. None of them can figure out that nobody would live apart from the main village if they weren't capable of defending themselves – well, nobody but vampires and an occasional werewolf. They are the most difficult ones."
"Inside?" Fay suggested quietly, probably pushing the limits of his Japanese vocabulary. Although he'd learnt the language well enough to understand simple sentences in Japanese – when they were talking about fighting, anyway; that was the kind of talk he'd needed to survive in Yama – he still couldn't produce much speech by himself.
"Sounds good," Kurogane said, glancing questioningly at Kuro-kun, who nodded in response. "This one here is completely dead." He kicked the bloodied corpse of the monster. Then, he pushed himself up and walked to Fay's side. "You have to get that blood washed away," he said gruffly, grasping on Fay's wrist and starting to lead him inside the house. The blond followed, not even protesting at being led like a child.
Kuro-kun walked behind them and closed the door.
"You," said Fay-kun casually, "are stupid, my dear counterpart."
"What do you mean?" Fay raised his eyebrows. "That is hardly polite."
"I mean the truth," replied the other blond, eyeing him over the table. They were the only ones awake. Startled awake by the commotion, Fay-kun seemed unable to go to sleep even as Kurogane and Kuro-kun both returned to sleep after having confirmed the werewolf would not bother them – or anybody else for that matter – again. Now the two wizards were the only ones awake in the house, sitting on the opposite sides of a table with cups of tea in their hands.
"You are stupid," repeated Fay-kun, "because you are hurting Kurogane and not even realizing it. He doesn't keep asking questions just to annoy you, you know. It's because he cares."
"How would you know that?" asked Fay bitterly. "After all, both you and Kuro-kun have grown up in the same world, at the same time. You should have no secrets."
"There are hardly any secrets of mine he doesn't know, true," Fay-kun said, "but there are things I prefer not to talk about. Very… painful… things, ones I cannot control – and ones Kuro-kun can't help me with in any other way than by talking with me. I do know how he can question."
"It hardly can be that bad," muttered Fay. "Not so bad you couldn't answer, that is." He thought back to his own past, to Ashura and the blood-filled palace back at Celes. And the little child with skinny arms and long hair, claiming his willingness to die with a threatening regularity.
For a moment a single blue eye scrutinized him closely. Finally Fay-kun said, "If you truly are me, you know where my magic resides." As Fay nodded, he continued, "Now, imagine what happens when one of my eyes is suddenly hit by a splinter in the middle of a battle."
Fay paled slightly. "...How many?" he finally asked. It was all he could say.
"Ninety-eight warriors, from both sides," replied the other blond coolly. "Some exploded, some melted. Some just fell down and never got up. After that I was declared a threat to everyone and sentenced to death but nobody dared to approach me."
"Except for Kuro-kun," Fay guessed.
Fay-kun nodded. "Except for Kuro-kun," he confirmed. "He took me to a healer who hadn't heard of the incident yet and got my eye treated. Of course it returned neither my magic nor my sight, but at least I didn't die. Then we both left the capital for good. We can never return."
"I... I understand," Fay said quietly. Silently he wondered whether his Kurogane would dare approach him after such an incident, and decided that he would. After all, nothing else seemed to have stopped the ninja yet.
"No, you don't." Fay-kun's words shocked him. "You don't understand at all." The blue gaze so similar to his was now even more serious than it had been before. "Kuro-kun didn't have to leave with me; nobody knew he had helped me. If he wanted to help, he could have just had my wound healed, or perhaps taken me into another city and left me there. News don't spread so fast – or accurately – in this world, and one city's ruler ignores the orders of another. However, Kuro-kun still chose to leave with me. And not only that – with his skills he could be an elite guard in any palace anywhere. Instead he has chosen to stay here, protecting an insignificant little village nobody has ever heard of – just so that I will never have to fight again."
"What does this have to do with anything?" asked Fay quietly. "That is your life. It has nothing to do with mine."
"It has everything to do with your life," Fay-kun claimed. "Your Kurogane is the same; he would do anything to protect those dear to him. You cause him great pain by refusing to be protected.
"I don't need his pity," muttered Fay. "Besides, he would be safer without me. If I stay with him, the one I'm running from will eventually find us, and he will be hurt."
"He'll be hurt even worse if you leave him," his counterpart pointed out. "Kurogane lives to fight, Fay-san – and from what I've seen, he also lives to protect. Just like my Kuro-pii. I've tried to make Kuro-kun leave several times, or suggested that I leave instead, to keep both him and the children safe. After all, one day the king's men might find me – or my magic might get loose again. Every time he has refused, telling me that he would rather die protecting me than live and leave me into trouble. Your Kurogane is like that too. You know he is."
"I can take care of myself," Fay muttered. "He doesn't have to protect me."
"Can't Kurogane take care of himself, then?" asked Fay-kun. "He is more than capable a warrior, surely – yet you still went to protect him. Don't you trust his abilities?"
"It's not that," sighed Fay. "It's just… he was unconscious. He needed help."
"Then why do you refuse his protection when you are in need of it yourself?"
Fay didn't respond. He simply stared down at his tea.
When Kurogane awoke, Fay had returned into the bed. It looked like he had never left it. If Kurogane hadn't seen him out fighting, and then the empty bed when he had come back upstairs, he could have imagined the wizard hadn't moved even once while the ninja himself had battled the werewolf and slept.
Silently, Kurogane rose onto his feet and walked closer to the bed, watching Fay sleeping. The wizard lay on his stomach as always, hiding his face from the world. There was also something very submissive in the position that greatly bothered Kurogane. Who had taught the mage to sleep like that?
Hesitantly, he reached out a hand to touch the blond head, lightly, briefly. Among the silky tresses his fingers found the fabric of Fay's eye-patch. His jaw tightened.
Sooner or later he would find all the people who had hurt Fay. When he did find them, they would pay – and dearly.
One day, he thought, Fay would learn to sleep freely. And if he couldn't be the one to teach him, at least he wanted to be the one to make it possible.
The following days went by quickly. The villages were at first shocked and quite wary, but somehow Fay-kun managed to explain the situation in a way that satisfied them. (The explanation involved magic, not-so-evil twins, a haunted mansion and a cursed ring. Naturally, not a single word of it was true.)
Kurogane occasionally accompanied his counterpart on a monster-killing trip. Fay, while interested in learning the healing skills of his own counterpart, also sometimes went along with them, dutifully cleaning any scrapes and small wounds Kurogane may have acquired. For some reason this didn't seem to bother Kuro-kun at all – or if it did, he didn't show it.
It was on one of these trips that Syaoran showed up, falling quite literally from the sky. Unfortunately, this happened right when a monster was about to attack them. Noticing a new, momentarily stunned target, it attacked right away.
Only, its target was no more there. Instead, there was Kurogane's sword, welcoming it with a nasty slice while Fay easily moved Syaoran aside. The monster tried to go to the other direction, only to be faced with Kuro-kun's sword. An attempt to take yet another route brought it in front of Fay and his vampire claws.
With danger in every direction, the monster decided to go through the seemingly easiest route. While it feared the claws, they weren't as long and strong-looking as the swords. Thus, with a mighty roar, the beast bounced towards Fay.
The mage easily bounced into the air, slicing the beast with his claws as it went past. He was not, however, prepared for it hitting back at him with its own mighty paw. With a cry, Fay fell onto the ground, clutching his leg.
"Fay!" Kurogane cried out, rushing towards the mage. This, however, proved to be a bad move. He attracted the beast's attention, making it rush towards them with all the rage available in its enormous body. He raised his sword, settling himself as a living shield between the beast and Fay.
No further harm befell the wizard even as the beast made to kill him. Kurogane himself, however, was dealt a deep wound on the arm, one that seemed to have almost sliced his arm in half.
Thankfully they were not the only ones on the battlefield. Kuro-kun and Syaoran managed to attract the beast's attention to themselves. As it turned around, Fay, enraged at the sudden turn of events, attacked it from behind, long claws easily cutting through skin and flesh.
The beast was soon taken down. However, even before it had ceased its dying groans, Fay's attention was entirely on Kurogane.
Very, very carefully, Fay licked the blood around the wound, making sure not to aggravate the injury itself. The blood kept flowing, however, and he simply couldn't keep the area around the wound clean. His hands made their way onto Kurogane's waist, prepared to transform the ninja's sash into a crude bandage. However, he was swatted away by the other man.
"Drink it first," Kurogane ordered. "The blood's going to flow anyway. I probably can't give you any blood for a while after this, and I don't want you to get hungry."
"But the wound must be bound," Fay insisted. "It's bad and needs immediate attention. I – I shouldn't have done even what I did already." He shouldn't have, really. His blood-lust might have already caused serious damage to Kurogane.
"Shut up and feed," the ninja growled. "It won't kill me, but that bloody stubborn attitude of yours may very well kill you."
"Hyuu," Fay said quietly. "Kurogane is always so considerate."
There was a strange expression on Kurogane's face for a moment. Then, however, he just snorted. "As I said," he growled, "shut up and feed."
Fay didn't say anything – not aloud. However, there were quite a few things Kurogane managed to read in his eyes before the two others rushed to them, having made sure the beast would not arise anymore.
"He's lost much blood," Fay-kun observed after an examination of his unconscious patient. "And no, it's not your fault, Fay-san. There is no way you could ever drink that much."
"It is my fault," Fay replied. "He got injured protecting me."
"And that was his own choice," Fay-kun pointed out reasonably. "It's not like you caused it, or wanted it to happen. Rather it seems to me like you would have rather died yourself."
"He's been injured badly enough as it is," Fay said. "I just don't want to cause him any more pain."
"Then stop blaming yourself," his counterpart told him calmly. "This wound is quite bad, though, too much so to heal it with the traditional means." As he saw Fay's horrified expression, he added, "No, that doesn't mean I aren't going to heal it. Just that I have to use some not-so-traditional means."
"That means magic," Kuro-kun commented from the doorway. "Healing's the only thing he has used his magic for in the past twelve years."
Fay-kun smiled faintly. "No matter how many I heal, I can never make up for the amount of lives I have taken," he said softly. "But I will keep trying, at least." He then glanced at his husband. "How is the other Syaoran-kun?"
"Much calmer now," replied Kuro-kun. "He was quite upset about the injury, but I managed to make him calm down. Sakura and Syaoran are looking after him now."
"Good. If Saku-chan can't make him forget his worries, nothing can." Fay-kun smiled happily. "I'll just have to show him that I'm very much capable of healing the wound, ne?"
Fay watched as his counterpart stood beside Kurogane's unconscious form, raising his hands before himself. Swift fingers drew intricate runes into the air, leaving shining trails of magical light behind. This was strange, in a way, yet so familiar that it made him ache. Kuro-kun stood quietly beside him, watching the healer as well.
Fay-kun glanced at them. The formerly deep blue eye was now shining with a bright light. A brief smile curled the healer's lips before he returned to his work.
Fay did not react in any way. Even when both the healer and the patient slowly started to float in the air his gaze stayed intently on Kurogane, never wavering.
The healing took quite some time, yet Fay still didn't move even once during the whole time. He stood just as immobile as his counterpart, apparently only having interest in Kurogane's condition.
Finally, the light faded, and both Fay-kun and Kurogane softly hit the floor again. Fay-kun swayed a bit, quickly caught into Kuro-kun's supporting arms. Fay, on the other hand, slowly walked to Kurogane's side.
For a moment he looked down at the now healed form of his companion, noting the fresh scar where the wound had used to be. Then, he turned around and left the room.
Neither Fay-kun nor Kuro-kun called after him.
"He'll be mostly all right in the morning," Fay-kun informed Fay as he walked into the kitchen, finding his counterpart there. "His arm may hurt for a couple of days, but aside from that, there's nothing wrong with him anymore."
"Well, I'm glad," sighed Fay. "Thank you."
"Don't mention it." Fay-kun sit down opposite to Fay. For a moment, he just watched the other blond. Finally, he said, "There is something bothering you."
"Yes, there is." Again, Fay sighed. "He… he got hurt protecting me. And I can't understand why. Even as he was protecting Syaoran, he made sure not to get hurt. But when he saw me in danger, he forgot all about his own safety. Why is it so?"
"It's not just friendship that makes him want to protect you," Fay-kun said. "Nor is it loyalty, the kind that radiates from him when he tells about his dear princess. I've seen the way he looks at you, Fay-san – and it's the same way Kuro-kun used to look at me."
"You are mistaken," Fay said quietly. "That cannot be possible."
"Why so?" asked Fay-kun challengingly. "How would you know that?"
"Back… back in Yama, everybody only spoke Japanese," Fay started rather reluctantly. "I did, however, immediately understand that everybody thought I was Kurogane's bed-warmer. After all, I was much slighter than any of the other men, and though I could fight, they never quite regarded me as their equal. Also, my inability to understand anyone made me completely dependent on Kurogane. If he truly wanted me, he could have had me then, and nobody would have blamed him for it – not even me."
"That is so very wrong, in two ways," Fay-kun said sharply. "First off, had he even attempted such a thing, you should have indeed blamed him for it. Just because the circumstances are convenient doesn't mean he should take advantage of you. But that could not happen – because of the other thing you got wrong. Kurogane would never do something like that. He and Kuro-kun have the same soul, after all, and I know it would be impossible to either of them. Is that how little you think of him? How badly you know him?"
"But that's what I'm for, isn't it?" asked Fay quietly. "To be used. That's all I ever was, before meeting the others. Why should that have changed?"
"So am I just something to be used, too?" Fay-kun asked. "We are the same, Fay. Do you think Kuro-kun only lets me stay with him because he can have sex with me?"
"Of course not!" Fay exclaimed. "He loves you!"
"And your Kurogane loves you," Fay-kun pointed out.
Fay lowered his gaze, not knowing what to say. It couldn't be possible. Nobody would ever love him. Like, maybe, but not love.
…Right?
Kurogane awoke slowly. His arm ached, but otherwise he seemed all right. Well, that was good. Apparently the healer actually knew what he was doing.
There was somebody leaning against the doorframe. Glancing there, the ninja saw Fay. The mage seemed even paler than usually, and Kurogane hoped this was only due to the fact that he was wearing dark clothes. Noticing his gaze, Fay looked up, then took a step into the room.
"Morning," he said, and Kurogane's breath caught in his chest, "…Kuro-tan." This was followed with a smile – a genuine one, too, as far as Kurogane could tell.
"What the Hell's got into you?" he asked gruffly. "You're not yourself."
"Not myself? What do you mean, Kuro-rin?" Fay walked closer. "I'm just glad you're all right again."
Perhaps he hadn't awoken yet, Kurogane thought. He'd seen the fangs, so it couldn't be Fay-kun messing with him. But there was also no way his Fay would call him anything but Kurogane.
"His" Fay? Honestly. He should stop deluding himself. No matter what he felt towards the mage, Fay would never do more than barely stand him.
"You are so stupid, Kuro-pipi," the mage said softly, crouching beside the bed. "Rushing into danger like that. Stupid, stupid Kuro-pon, I almost lost you."
"No, you didn't," Kurogane replied. "If I died, you would die too, and I won't let that happen so easily."
"Hyuuu," Fay said softly. "Kuro-pon always thinks of me before himself."
"Well, somebody has to, since it's damn obvious you don't care what happens to you," Kurogane huffed. "Of all idiotic, stubborn, suicidal –"
"Kuro-pon," Fay interrupted him, "do you like me?" A sincere blue eye looked at him questioningly. Well, that made it clear. This had to be a dream.
"You have to ask?" asked Kurogane. "I take a hit meant for you, and you are unsure of whether I like you? You damn mage, you're even more stupid than I thought." After all, since this was a dream, it didn't matter what he said.
"Hyuuu," said Fay again, and then nothing else. After yet another smile, he suddenly leant forward and kissed Kurogane.
Fay's lips were soft. They were so very soft and warm, and suddenly Kurogane realized that he was wide awake as a fang nibbled at his lip, pinching a bit.
Drawing away, Fay said, "Kuro-rin is right. I'm stubborn and I don't think about myself – or maybe I think too much about myself. But I'm bad news, Kuro-pon. If you are close to me, we'll both get hurt." He moved his fingertips along the bandage around the ninja's arm. "See? Already, you are hurt because of me."
"You damn mage," growled Kurogane. "If it gets me hurt, at least it'll be because I chose it so. And if anybody tries to hurt you, they'll have to go through me. So now stop your idiocy or I'll kill you myself, understood?"
Fay nodded. "Understood, Kuro-pipi." Then, he kissed the ninja again.
If this was what talking about emotions led to, Kurogane thought, maybe he should be emotional more often.
As always, Mokona's arrival was easy to notice. It arrived together with Sakura, falling in the garden right in the middle of the others. To be exact, Mokona landed on top of Kurogane's head, much to the ninja's irritation. This irritation only increased as the other Mokona decided to join its counterpart on its perch.
"Isn't one meat bun enough?" Kurogane shouted angrily. "Why must I have two of them latched onto my head?"
"Hyuuu, Kuro-san is popular!" both Fays exclaimed simultaneously. Then they glanced at each other and grinned.
"There are two of all here!" a Mokona – it was impossible to tell which one – shouted happily. "We should have a party!"
"Mokona? Are there any of Sakura's feathers in this world?" asked Syaoran, ever the practical one.
"No," replied Mokona sadly. "But we can still have a party before we leave, right?"
"Right!" Fay-kun exclaimed, and wouldn't hear any protests. Not that the said protests were too numerous, anyway.
Finally, after a lot of eating, drinking, and drunken conversations, the world-travellers decided they needed to leave. After changing back into their old clothes and exchanging the last good-byes, they assembled together, separate from the world's own versions of them.
Mokona spread its wings and opened its mouth wide, preparing to draw them all in. Just then, however, Fay grasped on Kurogane's shoulders, spun him around and drew him down for a kiss.
"We won't land separately again," he murmured against Kurogane's lips, clinging to him even as they were being sucked in.
Kurogane did not respond. He simply wrapped his arms around the mage, holding him close.