A/N:Bonjour! Haha I just came from french class and I'm in computer class once again and posting this story... And my friend once again says hi :) This story is a bit angsty and I'm not quite sure where it came from, but I hope you guys like it!

Tsubasa: RESERVoir CHRoNiCLE

Apology

"Can you tell where the princess's body is?"

"…Yes."

And so the mage walked towards the ornately decorated door, marred only by the specks of blood of the dead on the ground. Fai stepped over them gracefully, as though he could not see the mangled faces of the people of this world. He drew closer to the door, Kurogane hovering behind him, the kid lagging behind because of the pain in his eye. 'Just like the kid…the clone,' Kurogane wondered darkly, liking this world -Fai's world- less and less as he took another step.

"Kurogane," the blond called out, loud enough to capture Kurogane's attention, quiet enough to not alert the pain-stricken boy's ears.

There was no flinch this time, no wince, no frown, no glare at the use of the ninja's full name. Kurogane hated that he got used to the other man's nicknames for him; he hated even more that he got used to the mage using his full name. "What?" he questioned, staring at the back of Fai's head.

Fai stood there without an answer, seemingly waiting for the kid to catch up to the older two. However, his hand trembled wildly inside the coat (In anger? Contempt? Sadness? Kurogane did not know) and goosebumps formed on the small expanse of the other man's neck that was visible to Kurogane (From the cold? From anxiety? Nervousness? Horror? Kurogane did not want to know). Finally, Fai turned around, giving a small smile to Syaoran, who hurried up the stairs with a terrified Mokona perched on his shoulder, before facing Kurogane. The ninja was surprised. The mage was not looking at Kurogane with indifference or contempt in his gaze but stared with dull resignation in his eye and a sad, bitter smile set firmly on his face. He seemed to stretch his arm as if he wanted to grab Kurogane's arm, but quickly retrieved it, frowning slightly before replacing it with that sardonic smile.

And as the kid came running up, panting softly, Fai said "I'm sorry" quietly, lowering his head so his bangs covered his eye.

Kurogane's eyes widened, startled, and stared at the other man's retreating back as he walked towards the door once more. The ninja reached his arm out, wanting to stop the other, to ask him what he meant, to ask him why he needed to apologize now, of all times. But he stopped, dropping his arm to his side, and clenched his hand into a fist, nails harshly digging into the flesh of his palm. Because Kurogane knew, he understood with every fiber of his being that the blond did not apologize for anything that happened in the past. Rather, the apology was for something in the future, something Fai knew he would do to Kurogane, something supposedly worse than treating Kurogane as the most contemptible and selfish man in existence because he saved the other man's life. And as the door opened to reveal a person dressed in royal garb, smiling pleasantly at the now pale magician, Kurogane realizes with a sickening jolt that he sure as hell does not want to find out why Fai apologized.

"Remove everyone who wants to hinder you from your way. And if the pawn of the witch, that youngster from Nihon country becomes an obstacle, remove him too."

OWARI

A/N: Not my best work, but posted, nonetheless... :) Please review! I would love you guys so very much if you reviewed! It's nice to see that people read my story, but I'm even happier when you review it, because then I can improvise my writing and see what my strong points and weak points are... Nevertheless, thank you for reading!