Home: a KuroFai Beauty & the Beast tale. AU, m/m

Hello readers! Just a few words concerning my newest fic…

*Very much AU. Not even close to being in the same vicinity as CLAMP universe. I have used a few CLAMP names (people/places…) and will attempt to keep Kuro-puu and Fai in character as much as possible. Fai is the Fai we know and love and Yuui is an entirely different person.

*I OWN NOTHING. Tsubasa and its characters belong to CLAMP! The elements of Beauty and the Beast here belong to Disney.

*I plan on this being a plot-centric fic and am in it for the long haul! That being said, it's rated "M" for a reason, folks. It will eventually contain m/m goodness, so if you're not a fan, don't read it and later tell me what a freak I am. Flames will be laughed at and then put on display for others to laugh at. Consider yourself warned!

*An additional note to any of my followers: I HAVE NOT forgotten about my Get Backers fic, "King of Hearts". Life has kicked me, as I'm sure you are all doing as well. I promise to post as soon as my writer's block can be pushed aside!

**ENJOY!**


Prologue- The Enchantress

Once upon a time in a far away world, there was a village called Seresu. Steeped in myth and legends of old, the townsfolk of Seresu lived peaceful and simple lives. No dark patches of war disgraced their histories, no tragic times of famine or plague. The weather was perpetually delightful with each season bringing the perfect weather for the time. Winters were cold, but not too cold. Summers were hot, but not too hot. Fall saw the reaping of bountiful harvests and spring brought rains without flooding to the freshly planted crops. And in the west, atop a high hill surrounded by a dense forest, the magnificent castle of the Youou family kept watch over this idyllic town. The Youou's did not meddle in the lives of the peasants, allowing them to sufficiently govern themselves. In fact, it was rumored that the Youou's were not rulers of men at all, but mythical beings descended from heaven to ward off evildoers.

This, however, was not the case. As it turns out, Seresu was just an incredibly lucky little village. And the Youou's were simply excellent rulers. Until one particularly harsh winter. The king and queen had set forth on a diplomatic mission to the neighboring country of Suwa, leaving the governance of Seresu to their young son, Kurogane, and the royal councilmen, Touya and Yukito. As the days passed, along with the date of their expected return, Touya and Yukito began to fret. The little prince was kept ignorant of the worry penetrating the castle. He was beloved by everyone, and every effort had been made to spare him any grief from the moment of his birth. However, as the days passed, it became increasingly difficult to dissuade the boy's questions and reassure him.

Finally, on a chilly and stormy evening, everything came to a head. A messenger from the king of Suwa arrived at the castle on a spent horse and promptly died himself after passing a letter on to Touya. "Your king and queen, as well as my Suwa, are no more."

**********

On this same night that the little prince was orphaned, another strange happening was taking place down in the village. A peculiar individual was wandering the streets of Seresu carrying a large basket. Little could be seen of the large figure, except the hands, which were a glaring white against the darkness of the night and the stranger's long black cloak. The stranger wandered all through town until finally coming to a small house on the outskirts. The tiny cottage with its thatched roof and cobblestone walkway was the very portrait of simplicity. Nothing particular even distinguished it from many of the houses the stranger had passed before. Perhaps the roof was not as icy; perhaps the windows held a bit more warmth. The stranger put forth a small smile beneath the folds of a voluminous hood and gently set the basket on the front stoop of the cottage. The smile morphed into a single word as the stranger began to walk slowly into the night: "Hitsuzen…"

As the stranger disappeared into the surrounding woods, the owner of the little house, an older gentleman with a fine air about him, peeked out the door with a sense of "something's wrong." He would have stepped out onto the stoop himself had he not promptly tripped over the basket. A thin cry arose from the depths accompanied by a pitiful mewling.

"Well, well, little basket. Has some horrid person left a basket of kittens at my door? Don't be frightened, little ones. It so happens I'm in need of a barn cat, and two would be all the…" the man trailed off as he bent to lift the basket. It was far heavier than kittens. Peering under the basket's covering, two pairs of bright blue eyes gazed back. "Oh my…"

**********

After he learned of the death of his parents, the little prince Kurogane fell into despair. Despite the gentle urgings of Touya and Yukito, the little boy would have no consolation. And so, mired in grief themselves, Touya and Yukito set out to replace his parents as best they could with their own meager skills. As an outlet for his desolate and frustrated energy, they declared that the boy, as soon as he was old enough to hoist a blade, be taught swordsmanship.

Kurogane grew into a fine and handsome youth dedicated to protecting his people by gaining strength. His first act as an adolescent warrior was to rescue a young girl who had lost her way in the woods. She had been trapped high in a tree by a local pack of wolves. Kurogane, charging in with sword swinging and a battle cry on his lips, frightened the pack deep into the forest. The girl, Tomoyo, marveled at Kurogane's strength but warned him to use it only to protect those he loved and those weaker than himself. However, as the prince's strength grew beyond that of his teachers, the outlet that Touya and Yukito had sought to provide became an obsession. Increasingly violent, Kurogane began to withdraw himself from the other residents of the castle- isolating himself for days at a time in his private salle, honing his skills with weaponry and shattering his skills in chivalry. The year that marked his eighteenth birthday, however, was the year when the world once again shifted for the prince.

It was a particularly chilly night reminiscent of that evening so many years ago. This night, however had no cowled figure roaming the village- instead the tattered remains of a cloak were draped around an elderly woman seeking shelter at the Youou Palace. Brought before the volatile prince, she knelt before him, begging for a place even in the stables where she could be protected from the bitter cold. Kurogane sneered at the woman's weakness as well as her gift of a beautiful feather which she proffered as payment. She warned the prince not to be misled by appearances, for true power and strength are found within. And when Kurogane dismissed her again, the old woman's rags melted away to reveal the fabled dimensional witch, Yuuko. Kurogane, awed by her power, attempted an apology, but it was to no avail- for Yuuko could see that the prince had become unpredictable and dangerous in his violent impulses, for there was no love in his heart.

The feather she had offered was, of course, a powerful magical artifact to curse Kurogane, his castle, all who lived there and even the peaceful little village at the foot of the mountains. As payment for his inhospitality, Yuuko took Kurogane's sword arm, replacing it with a weaker magical replica far less attractive to look upon. The shining castle of his parents was transformed into a looming edifice seemingly born of darkness. As for his servants, and the faithful Touya and Yukito, they were also transformed into less useful versions of themselves…

The enchanted feather was placed into a gilded cage, where it would fly until his twenty-fifth year. If Kurogane was unable to protect and love another by the time the feather dropped, he would be doomed to remain cursed for life…


Short, I know, but this is just a bit of back story. It's also quite reminiscent of a certain movie… don't worry- I have no intentions of keeping BatB's plotline intact!

Comments? Questions? Review then, or I can't help you!