It was early in their journey, and the magician was being annoying.

Morning had dawned and finally everyone was beginning to move. Kurogane had been up a while, but he seemed to have been cursed with a company of late risers, and he'd been forced to wait for the others to stir. Or perhaps it had been the night spent on a hard wooden floor, with thin futons, and the sound of partiers late into the night from the main room of the inn they'd paid too much for? Apparently, the area they were staying in was the entertainment district, and as such it was raucous and loud. Kurogane knew the kids hadn't slept well. But, the meat bun had sensed a feather somewhere near here, and the late hour they'd got here meant that their only goal was to find a place to sleep.

They'd all camped out on the floor of the single room the inn had rented them. It had wooden floors and walls, and cheaply decorated, with linen curtains, pretending to be silk covering the windows, and not enough bedding for all of them. Kurogane wasn't sore (having spent many a night harder than this) but Princess Sakura was wincing as she sat up, and began folding the thin futon she'd slept on. Syaoran hadn't moved much, but was rubbing his eyes. Mokona was still just a lump under Syaoran's covers.

Slow preparations for the day began.

The magician was moving normally, apparently unbothered by his night on the floor. Fai was smiling thinly as he put away his own bed. Kurogane was doing the same, but turned when a fussy little noise came from the other man's direction.

Fai was scratching his neck, and tugging on the end of his hair, sitting crunched on the ground halfway through putting his bedding away. He was frowning for once, and pulled on his bangs, staring cross eyed at the end in front of his nose.

He considered asking what the magician's problem was, but grunted instead. With him, Kurogane was pretty sure he never wanted to know. The princess, however, had also noticed.

"Is something wrong, Fai-san?" Sakura asked, placing her folded bedding atop of Syaoran's. Fai blinked, and smiled.

"Nothing at all, Sakura-chan. Are you alright?"

So he'd noticed too Sakura's tossing and turning, as the noise from all around the building only got louder the later it got. There were dark circles under both kid's eyes. Sakura nodded, smiling wanly.

"It was hard to fall asleep. For all of us, I think." She said. Fai nodded.

"Mm. We should try to find different lodging tonight."

"Please." Syaoran mumbled. He was blinking at the folded bedding, as if wishing he could lay right back down again.

Kurogane too hadn't slept well, but his training allowed for functionality under the most extreme circumstances. For the sake of the others, however, he agreed they should find somewhere different tonight. And get to bed early. But that was a whole day away, and they had searching to do.

They got everyone up and moving, before everyone suddenly noticed that Fai, that stupid wizard, was fussing with his hair again.

"Is something wrong with Fai's hair?" The meat bun asked. Fai laughed, reaching out to cuddle the thing.

"Nothing's wrong with my hair, little one." He said, but even as he said so, he jerked his head peculiarly, as if there was a fly on his head. Or if his hair was falling in his eyes. Come to think of it, it did look longer than it had when they met. The ends were hanging down his neck and brushed his shoulders, and his bangs went past his eyes.

"It does seem a little longer than it did. Doesn't it, Kurogane-san?" Syaoran mentioned, examining Fai like he was a rare piece of pottery. Kurogane busied himself with his armor.

"Hair grows. So what?"

Sakura looked too, her eyes widening.

"Is it bothering you, Fai-san? I could-well, I could try to cut it for you..." Sakura looked uncertain, probably remembering how little she remembered.

Fai looked uncomfortable to be the center of attention, waving both hands outward.

"No, no, I'm fine. I can cut it myself." He smiled. He turned to Kurogane, a sickly sweet smile on his face. "Kuro-pi, if I could borrow one of your knives?"

"Don't call me that!" Kurogane snapped, and pulled one of his sharp blades from an inner sheath. Fai only smiled, and took the knife, before disappearing into the attached washroom.

The others busied themselves with getting ready for the morning of searching. Meanwhile, Fai didn't come out of the washroom. Little noises of frustration emerged from the room, and Kurogane listened with rising annoyance in his chest. If the wizard couldn't cut his own damn hair, then he should just ask for help.

Kurogane, grumbling heavily, moved to the open door of the room, and leaned on the frame with his arms folded. Fai was inside, with the knife in one hand and his body twisted around, attempting to see the back of his head in the dirty mirror. Tufts of blond hair littered the counter, but he didn't seem to have made much progress. At the sight of Kurogane in the mirror, he untwisted a little, sending a smile over his shoulder.

"Oh, Kuro-rin, I didn't see you there."

"Hn," Kurogane grunted, and watched for a minute more as Fai lifted a strand of hair to the knife blade, seemingly guessing the length at random. Before he could slice, Kurogane stepped forward, and snatched the knife. "You're gonna chop all your hair off if you do it that way."

Fai looked startled, and even more so when Kurogane forced his shoulder around to face the mirror, and give Kurogane access to the back of his head.

"What-?"

"Hold still."

Kurogane began combing through the mass of blond waves with his fingers, seeing the jagged bits where Fai had already attempted. It wasn't too bad, and would be easy enough to fix. He measured out about an inch off the end, bringing the length back to its original, and began cutting. He'd cut a few strands before the tension in Fai's body became apparent.

The wizard was frozen, shoulders and back tight with some emotion. His face in the mirror was unreadable, unsmiling, until he noticed Kurogane looking. With that, he blinked and Kurogane watched him force a relaxed air down his whole body. A smile, fake as usual, broke over his face, and he lowered his eyelids in pretended coyness.

"Kuro-pon, cutting my hair for me? How sweet!"

"Hmph."

He rolled his eyes, and brushed through the strands again, making sure everything was straight before he began cutting again. He remembered the way the hair had fallen when they first met, and he tried to replicate that. Kurogane was surprised at just how much of the blond hair there actually was. It was very fine, much softer than any Nihon hair, but it was thick, and waved in unexpected directions.

Fai stood still, watching his movements carefully in the mirror. Kurogane wanted to tell him not to worry, that he wouldn't ruin his looks, but annoyance kept his mouth shut, until he finished, and he started brushing cut hairs off the wizard's shoulders.

"You can do the front yourself." He said, almost a question, but Fai nodded.

"Of course," Fai grinned widely. "Thanks, Kuro-sama!" He flipped his head back and forth, feeling the ends flap against his neck. "I had no idea you cared about my looks that much! Or that you were such a proficient barber!"

"Hn," Kurogane answered, handing the knife back so Fai could finish. "Just didn't want to hear you whining anymore." Fai smiled, teasing and wide, but left it at that.

It became a standing arrangement. Every few months or so, Fai would tug on the ends of his hair, and Kurogane would get out his knife (or scissors, as they eventually acquired, which were infinitely easier to use on Fai's stupid fine hair) and force the wizard to stand still for five minutes.

"How did I ever manage without you?" Fai said, teasing one day, now months into their journey. Kurogane didn't rise to the bait, taking the chance to ask.

"How did you?"

Fai blinked, and shrugged, looking at the mirror, but not Kurogane's eyes. "Court barbers took care of it, mostly. Or, I'd do it myself with magic."

It was an honest answer for once, and as such, completely unexpected. Kurogane snipped carefully, not replying. Fai didn't move, but he tapped his finger against the counter.

"However did such a stoic ninja like you learn to cut other people's hair so well?" He asked, but there was something lacking in his normally exuberant teasing. Kurogane, brushed down the length of hair again; Fai's hair was beginning to feel as familiar to him as his own.

"Battle campaigns went on for months at times. I keep my hair short, but other soldiers had it longer. They were just as hopeless at doing it themselves as you are. I'm not sure how, but I ended up cutting it for most of them."

"How nice of you, Kuro-nin!" Fai smiled, meeting his gaze for the first time. Kurogane narrowed his eyes, before grunting.

"Hn."

It became relaxing, running his fingers through Fai's hair, mussing it up when he finished cutting, before moving away. In his deepest thoughts, he almost wished Fai's hair would grow faster, so he could cut it more often. Fai too, grew relaxed about it. He'd spend the time chattering away about nothing, with loose limbs and a more genuine than usual smile on his face.

Then, they arrived at Tokyo, where the acid rain fell. After that, Fai barely talked to him. Kurogane noticed that his hair was growing longer, falling over the eye patch, and down his bowed shoulders. The haircutting scissors were in Kurogane's bag, but Fai never asked, never even seemed to acknowledge his hair getting in the way like he had before.

One morning, before Infinity country, Fai tied back his overlong hair, letting it fall down his neck in a tail. Kurogane hissed, the gesture as painful as a stab wound, and turned away.

Just a oneshot I had sitting on my computer. I was considering why Fai didn't maintain his hair after Tokyo and it turned into a sweet arrangement between Fai and Kuro-tan. Rémy, as always, helped with the idea. I thought you all might enjoy it!