AN: Though I just finished reading the Tsubasa manga, I haven't read past Volume 4 of XXXHoLic, so that side of the story is a little vague to me; I don't know what happened to Maru and Moru or whatever their names are, or to Doumeki, etc, so I'm just making that part up lol.

Disclaimer: You know the drill, I don't own TRC or its characters, etc, etc. Just doing this for fun, not making money, etc, etc.

After everything that had happened, relaxation felt strange, foreign. It seemed hard to believe, somehow, that, at least for the moment, they could let down their guards and enjoy the calm; the soothing calm after the storm, rather than the foreboding calm before it. Everything was…well…not back to normal, exactly, but at least back to some semblance of routine.

Sakura wasn't with them, and Syaoran was the original rather than the clone…though since the original was the son of the clone, perhaps "original" wasn't the right word. Kurogane didn't even truly bother trying to wrap his head around the entire thing. It was like wondering whether the chicken or the egg came first, except even more absurd. Still, Syaoran was much the same in some ways, calm and kind and for the most part mature, as long as he wasn't drinking.

Mokona was the same as he or she or it had always been, bright and chirpy and annoying.

As for Kurogane, he didn't think he had changed much. Perhaps he had learned something about self-sacrifice; "true strength", as Tomoyo-hime called it. Perhaps he'd softened somewhat, though his gruff exterior was ever the same.

But in the end, since Sakura's absence and the loss of the clones was sorrowful, and Mokona and Kurogane were basically the same as ever, perhaps the most positive change to their little traveling group was Fai.

In appearance, it was as though Fai had gone back to the way he'd been at the very start, albeit with longer hair and mismatched eyes. He was always smiling, laughing, teaming up with Mokona to torment Kurogane with stupid nicknames and practical jokes. The difference…such an enormous difference…was that now, almost every smile, every joke, every laugh, was real. Now, instead of smiles pasted on beneath mourning eyes, his eyes laughed right along with him. It was amazing how much less annoying it was when it wasn't a lie. Still annoying, definitely…but it lacked the irritating quality of being fake.

Perhaps that was why now, a week into their new journey, the way Fai's smiles were becoming weaker and less common was so worrying. In Clow Country, Fai's pale, heat-sensitive skin had turned an amusing tomato red; and though he'd constantly whined about the sting of the sunburn, he'd also seemed fascinated by it, always pushing his finger-tips into his skin and studying the white marks which appeared and then faded with interest. Kurogane had realized with amusement that Fai had never had a sunburn before. After the burn had faded, Fai's skin had been a shade or two darker than it's usual near-white. Now, however, he seemed pale again through the tan. That and the decrease in smiles made the ninja quite concerned about his companion.

Mokona had taken them to the Dimensional Witch's shop first after leaving Clow Country. The witch's absence made the place feel strange and somehow empty, but in truth it was brimming with life…mostly of the obnoxious variety. With Fai, both Mokonas, those two creepy little girls, and that boy who kept flailing around and yelling all crammed into one building, it was amazing that Kurogane's head hadn't exploded yet. Even Syaoran, supposedly his companion in sanity, betrayed him the first night by getting stinking drunk with all the others and, much like his clone/father had so often done, ran around flailing a "sword"…or rather a broomstick. It was when Kurogane retreated to the kitchen to drink in some semblance of quiet that he met perhaps the only other sane person in this dimension; the tall boy with the droll, sarcastic voice and an ability to hold his liquor that was uncanny in one so young. Every night since then he and Doumeki generally found some dim corner where they could drink in peace and wince at the occasional crash or bang or insane cackle coming from the living room. According to Doumeki, Yuuko would have been delighted at having her home used for drunken parties every night. Though he hardly wished anyone dead, Kurogane found himself rather relieved that he hadn't known the witch better.

It was their seventh night there, and Kurogane had noticed that each day, Fai seemed to deteriorate just a little. He got a little paler, a little less jovial, a little slower in his movements. Was he ill? Perhaps he'd lost his ability to handle drinking so much? If that were the case, he must be piling hangover on top of hangover. Standing in the shower in the early morning while all the drunkards still slept, Kurogane resolved that today he would confront Fai and figure out what was wrong.

Because their new journey had no set goal, there was no reason not to spend a little time in each world, exploring. In this world of conveniences, Kurogane especially enjoyed the running water. His artificial arm was not damaged by water, but it did take a long time to dry, which could be annoying. Mokona had promised to take them to the Piffle world next so that he could get a skin put on it, and have it adjusted so that it no longer caused so much discomfort. Getting in the shower when he first woke up helped him shake off the last vestiges of sleep, and it was relaxing, which he generally needed after the insanity each night. Despite his enjoyment of the shower, however, he tried not to get too used to it; depending on amenities was not something a warrior should do, since they were not always readily available.

It was Saturday morning, and everyone had firmly declared that they were sleeping in today. How that was different from any other day here so far, Kurogane didn't know. He rarely saw anyone before noon, though Watanuki did occasionally get up midmorning. Kurogane never slept past seven, and he thought them all a bunch of lazy drunkards.

He made his way to the kitchen to find breakfast and was surprised to find Fai standing at the sink, looking out the window at the birds congregating on the feeder. He looked upset…the most upset Kurogane had seen him since Celes. Still not near as bad as he had been there…but worrying nonetheless.

"Morning, wizard."

He braced himself for a fake smile, still fearing a return to the old flow of things, and then was relieved when it didn't come.

"Morning Kuro-tan."

Now would be a perfect time to ask the mage about whether he was feeling poorly…and also why he looked so upset. Kurogane found a whole, uncut watermelon in the "fridge" thing, and pulled it out, then rummaged around in some drawers until he found a huge cutting knife. He stood at the counter next to the blonde and set about cutting the melon. At one point he glanced over and noticed Fai gripping the ledge of the sink so hard his knuckles were white, his eyes closed and creases showing between his thin brows. What was the matter with him, anyway?

The knife slipped on the slick rind of the melon and Kurogane cursed as it bit into his skin. It cut across three fingers, and blood welled up immediately from the three deep cuts. Cursing again, he reached for the handle to turn on the sink, just as he heard a quiet gasp at his side. Turning, he stared, shocked, not into a blue eye and a gold eye, but instead into two golden eyes, flecked with black, with slitted pupils like a cat's.

"What on earth?!"

Fai had his eye and his magic back. He wasn't supposed to be a vampire anymore! But those eyes and the hunger in them were definitely the traits of a vampire.

"Kurogane…" Fai's voice was husky and rough, like that of a man long deprived of water. His golden gaze was trained unwaveringly on Kurogane's bleeding fingers. "I'm so hungry…"

Regrouping his scattered wits, Kurogane suddenly understood. This must be why Fai's health seemed to be failing. It had been…how long? Fai hadn't fed from him since…since when? Since Infinity? If it had been that long, it was a miracle Fai was still able to stand, let alone act normally! But he wasn't supposed to be a vampire anymore! Deciding there would be plenty of time to question the situation later, Kurogane shoved his hand towards Fai's face.

"Feed."

There was none of the hesitation that had always been present in the past. Fai latched onto his hand without a moment of protest. Perhaps it was simply that he was so desperate, or perhaps it was the fact that the wound had already been present and his power would actually heal it faster, rather than a wound being made specifically for him to feed from.

As always, Kurogane closed his eyes and focused on not responding to the naturally erotic feeling of having lips and tongue on his skin. It was not a reaction specifically to Fai; though there had certainly been moments on their journey where he'd been forced to acknowledge he may feel something for the mage. This, however, was simple instinct. It did not particularly trouble him, perhaps because he'd been warned.

Kamui took him aside while Fai was unconscious in the aftermath of the change, and smirked at Kurogane in that annoyingly superior manner of his.

"I don't know what your relationship with that wizard is, though you must be close to have done this to save him; but even if it's absolutely nothing, even if you hated him, which you obviously don't; you need to brace yourself for the feeling that comes with feeding. You're going to want him."

There was mockery in the vampire's voice, but he was halted from continuing by his twin's decidedly more pleasant tone.

"Feeding is extremely intimate, perhaps more so, in a sense, than even coupling. You actually share your life with someone. He would die without you, and you trust him with your own life by allowing him to drink from you and believing he will not drain you. That intimacy tends to lead to desire. Also, of course, having someone's mouth touch you, even if just on the arm or some other fairly neutral area, can be arousing. And most importantly, vampires have a power which causes desire in their prey; so as to make them feel pleasure rather than have them panic and flee."

Kurogane's reminiscing was a decent distraction from Fai's feeding, despite the topic of the reminiscing. Finally, Fai rose up, his lips tainted red. His eyes were still golden.

"Those cuts are pretty deep, but fingers don't bleed all that much. Are you still hungry?"

"Yes. But that'll hold me over for now. I shouldn't take too much at once. I'll drink more later on. Besides, I guess we need to talk about this, huh, Kuro-rin?"

"Darn right." He examined the melon and was pleased to notice he hadn't gotten any blood on it. Bumping Fai out of the way with his shoulder, he washed off the knife and returned to cutting. "How long have you known you were still like this?"

"When I first got my eye back, I thought it was over. Then I remembered how bad it hurt when I changed, and I thought, shouldn't the change back hurt as well? Why wasn't there any pain, then? Then after Fei Wong was dead and we were staying in the castle, I tried eating normal food and I could, so I thought the lack of pain was just an anomaly. Then I started to get hungry…hungry for blood. I never needed to feed very often, but it's been quite a while. In Nihon when you were injured, I was really worried and wouldn't have thought of it, but Tomoyo-hime thought to collect some of your blood while they were working on you, and let me have it later." He wrinkled his nose like a child forced to eat broccoli. "It's really gross when it's cold." Kurogane blinked. Never before had Fai seemed so comfortable with the subject. Again he was aware of how much Fai had changed, and it pleased him. "So anyway, I hadn't fed that way since then, until now. Normal food seems to ease it a bit, but lately I've started feeling really weak."

Kurogane glared at him and waved the knife in the blonde's face as he ranted.

"And what were you going to do? Wait until you couldn't move anymore and then admit what you needed? Or just wait until you were dead and leave us all to try to figure out what happened? I thought you were past that!"

Fai smiled. His teeth were more pointed than usual, and his lips were still slightly smeared with blood.

"Easy, Kuro-puppy. It's only been a little over a week since I got my eye back. I was just waiting a little longer to see if maybe my body was slowly going back to normal. The fact that I can eat and drink normally again seems to show there was some change; I was only trying to see if the rest would follow. I was going to tell you today anyway though, before I got too weak."

Realizing there was no lie in the mage's voice or eyes, Kurogane relaxed.

"Alright. But do you know why you didn't change back?"

"The only theory I can think of is that it's because I gave up the magic in my right eye. As far as power goes, I may as well still have only one eye. I think the vampire blood stayed to compensate for that. I wouldn't die without it anymore, but I would be weakened significantly."

"But the witch said that if you got your eye back you would no longer be a vampire."

"Yes, but that was before I traded over the other eye's magic. Anyway, it's weakened; I can eat normally and it's at least partially satisfying, which means I'll need to feed even less often than before. I'm sorry, Kurogane…I never would have trapped you like this if I had a choice."

"Shut up, mage. I had a choice, and I chose this before I even knew there was a possibility of it ever ending. So now we're just back to what I thought it would be when I originally agreed to it. As long as you behave and feed without complaint from now on, it's fine."

The hyperactive vampire smiled…how strange and pleasant, to see Fai able to smile about this subject, to be able to joke about cold blood tasting gross…then the blonde hugged the taller man tightly. Kurogane set up a steady growl low in his throat, considering poking the mage with the knife, just a little. Fai giggled annoyingly.

"Aaawww, Daddy's purring!"

Fai took off running as soon as the words were out, and Kurogane tossed the knife in the sink and gave chase. As they bounded out into the living room, he was surprised to notice those two creepy girls standing at the bottom of the stairs, each with a Mokona on one shoulder. Whatever happened to sleeping in? Ignoring them, he cornered Fai with his hands on the wall on either side of the blonde's head and considered what would be the best nearby object to brain him with.

"It must be love!" said the girl with the blue hair.

"Must be love!" echoed the one with pink hair.

"It's love!" squealed White Mokona.

"Love!" yelled Black Mokona.

Never mind the mage. The two meat-buns and the two doll-children were now definitely at the top of Kurogane's "To Kill" list.

Even as he chased after the four miscreants, he could hear Fai's sincere, happy laugh behind him, and it warmed his heart.

AN: Not sure if my reason for keeping Fai a vampire makes any sense, but I LIKE him that way, so there! Lol. I may make this into a series of post-canon pointless oneshots in different worlds, or I may not. We'll see. Review please; constructive criticism is fine, no flames though!