Disclaimer: I do not own TRC, DGM, or any other shows/ books/ movies that I may have made a reference to.
Warnings: Spoilers for Fai's past. References to Outo and Nihon arc. Kurofai if you squint. Not with a magnifying glass. With a microscope. An electron microscope.
"No, not like that, the tempo is off."
Pale arms reached around a small figure perched upon a piano stool. Little fingers covered the identical ones on the black and white keys.
"Like this, you see?" said the quiet voice, "It's a waltz. One two three, one two three."
A clang of discordant notes.
"No, you have to—this key, not that one. Just this one, don't press the one beside it."
A pause.
"You aren't playing the chords in time with the melody."
The child on the piano stool slumped, sighing.
"I can't do it."
The other continued the remainder of the song, fingers dancing gracefully across the keys.
"Yes, you can. I can do it, so you can too."
"Well, I'm not you."
"But we're the same, right?"
The boy began to hum along with the song he was playing.
"And that's why I can do healing magic and you can't?"
The tempo abruptly faltered, the disharmony of a wrongly played note jarring the melody as the soft humming broke off. The one sitting at the piano winced, immediately regretting his sarcastic words; he knew that it was a sore point for his brother. It was thoughtless of him to say that aloud, especially considering how sensitive the other was.
"I'm sorry," he apologized quickly, "I didn't mean it."
The melody picked back up, slower and much more melancholic.
"It's alright. It's true anyway."
The young child fidgeted guiltily on the stool.
"It doesn't mean anything that you can't do healing magic like I can," he reassured lamely, reaching out to intertwine his tiny fingers with those on the keys, "I can't do the magic that you can. I can only dream, but that's useless because I can't do anything with the things I See. I can only watch and hope."
"But I can only use magic that hurts others."
"You can protect people."
"By hurting others."
Angrily, he shoved his brother's hands off the piano keys, blinking back furious tears. He began to clumsily attempt the song his twin had taught him, ignoring his own horrible tempo and wrong notes.
"We're the same!" he insisted, contrary to his own words spoken not a minute ago, "You just haven't gotten it yet. Like me. I'll get it some day. You'll get it some day."
"Fai..."
"We'll always be the same," But that was a lie. He knew that one day his darling brother would grow up, and he wouldn't; he'd remain the ghastly seven-year-old skeleton he would die as in the horrible tower he'd always Seen in his dreams, "Always."
He could only dream, and hope that fate wouldn't break his brother.
It had been reckless of him, but it had pulled him in like a siren's call, like the moon to the tides.
"Fai, can you play?"
He pulled the stool out, settling himself comfortably on the cushioned seat.
We'll always be the same.
They had to be. They had to remain identical so that he could return the life he had wrongfully taken, along with the name he had stolen for his own. Because with every absence, a presence had to be created to restore the balance. With creation, came destruction. Like the original of the clone he traveled with, and the wish that resulted in the birth of the witch's young assistant, a price of equal value had to be paid. A compromise was needed.
Discordant keys.
Sakura and Mokona looked disappointed.
"Well, don't you think it helps the image of the cafe if we have the piano here?"
If he became Fai, would he not suffice as a compromise?
Watashi wa inori tsuzukeru...
"Fai? Are you singing to me? While I'm sleeping?"
"I'm singing in my sleep."
"It's off-tune."
"I know."
"What language is that?"
"I don't know. I heard it in a dream. Go to sleep."
"...Alright."
His twin slipped his arms around his waist, snuggling into his shoulder.
"I love you."
He closed his eyes.
"Love you too."
He would continue to pray that even when he was gone, someone would come along to show his brother the meaning of love.
"Handing over my own life in exchange for something... I would never do that."
He turned, and Kurogane was looking at him with a strange half-smile lifting the corners of his lips.
"Not anymore."
He smiled, and hoped that his brother could feel how happy he was.
A/N: I remember reading a fic about Fai and how he was lying about not being able to play the piano. Honestly, when I watched the anime, I did suspect that he was lying, and then I came up with a theory as to why he would lie. And then I forgot about it. *hides face*. Until I read that fic, and then wrote this piece of crap. Sigh, this is really much too short. I might rewrite it one day, because this is only 700 words. Anyway, Fai's idea is that if he became his twin, he could exchange himself for the real Fai. In other words, he's planning to bring Real!Fai back, and then kill himself in compromise. By the way, the fic I read is probably still on the second page of the archive, and it's called What a Tangled Web I Weave by Feni. It's pretty good if I do say so myself, I'll have to think of a review for it. Oh, and the song that Real!Fai was singing (all off-tune and horribly) was Tsunaida Te Ni Kiss wo, from D. Gray Man, also known as the Musician, Allen's Lullaby, the 14th Song, etc. etc. It really has a tonne of names.
Here is the verse the lyrics are from, and the translation:
Watashi wa inori tsuzukeru
(I will never cease to pray)
Douka kono ko ni ai wo
(Please show this child what love is)
Tsunaida te ni kiss wo
(Kiss his hands that you hold)
Don't ask me why that song. I was writing this, and I originally had Real!Fai simply praying. But then this song popped up on my iPod, and I just decided that it was too appropriate. And I sort of wanted to keep with the theme of music. Discordant, concordant. I thought it would be sweet if Fai was singing well-wishes for his brother, even if he's terrible at it. Just like how I'd find it sweet if someone baked me a really bad cake. The Nihon line was plunked in because I wanted to end it on a happy note. It originally wasn't there. The piano scene wasn't in the manga, I think. It was only in the anime, episode 20.