He ran.

He ran like he always did from anything and anyone. But this time, he couldn't run anymore.

"Come on puny-cakes. Give us the book!"

There was no place to run. Behind him, a huge river. In front of him, a group of kids his age that seemed (to him) really tall and big for their age. His hands only clutched more tightly to the book in his hands.

"We'll give you three seconds to give it before we rough you up you kid!"

Fai did not relent and only stared at them with slight indifference. It had always been like this. He was the distant, quiet kid who sat in the corner while others decided to go out and play. No, he was used to being bullied every day and usually, when the boys had their full of adventure, they would leave him alone. Until today, they had not known about Fai's secret hobby of writing in his notebook every time he had the chance. Now that they had figured it out, it seemed as if they would do nothing to read what was in it.

He was sure they would never resort to violence and only talked big to threaten…but as time grew slim, he was doubting himself. The leader of the group had stepped up and gave Fai a hard push. Losing his balance, Fai braced himself for the impact of the water. He didn't have to wait long before he felt his whole body soaked through. His eyes flung quickly towards his book, praying to every deity he knew it wasn't completely ruined. Alas, only a corner of it was actually stained with the liquid.

His relief was shattered by the laughter of the four troubling boys. But they seemed to have been content with Fai falling into the water and discussed their plans of returning back into town. Fai, watching as they walked further away sat there, silently, unable to pull himself up quite yet.

"Get yourself up."

The blond little boy gave a chuckle at first, as if the voice was of his own conscience…asking himself to get up. But this voice wasn't like his own. This voice had a certain resonance to it, a certain level of confidence in which he knew he himself lacked. No, this wasn't his own voice. And as he looked up from his position, he knew for sure it wasn't his mind playing tricks on himself. In front of him, on the bank was another boy, around his age. He had black hair and striking red eyes, a huge contrast to his own characteristics he observed. But it wasn't for long until the other had spoke again.

"Get yourself up."

His tone was much rougher and if Fai had heard correctly, there was a level of irritability in his voice…as if Fai had done something wrong. Afraid he would cause some sort of trouble with the other boy, he slowly picked himself up from the ground, the water coming up to only mid calf.

The boy seemed to relax a bit watching Fai get up.

A hand reached out.

Fai looked oddly at the anatomic part and studied it as if it were the strangest thing. His blue eyes gazed into the other's before taking it and stepping out of the water. The feel of the other's hand had almost set himself on fire. His grip was firm, sure, complete and Fai, unknown to all of three of those feelings had never experienced them before.

"What's your name?"

Fai's mouth opened, but no sound had come out. It was as if he had almost forgotten how to introduce himself but more importantly, he didn't know how to respond to the stranger in front of him, a stranger with such a powerful aura.

"You mute or something?"

Fai shook his head. "I….Fai."

"What? Speak louder." His tone was commanding and for some reason, Fai found himself quite comfortable with it.

"My name is Fai," his voice louder this time.

The kid sighed and shrugged and muttered something like 'better than nothing' before taking Fai's hand and giving it a firm shake. "I'm Kurogane. Just moved here. Those boys ever hurt you again, and you go tell me. I'll take care of em."

And now it was Kurogane's turn to be caught off guard.

After a long pause, Fai had looked straight into his eyes again and sent the most piercing, perplexing gaze the young kid had ever seen in his life. And then there was that smile…the most smiley smile you could ever see popped up on this guy and Kurogane couldn't help to almost regret his offer. 'This guy's probably some weirdo.' But a slight tug on his hand had snapped him out of his trance. It was only then he realized he was still holding on to the other's hand.

Pulling away with a startle, he grumbled, a faint pink grazing his cheeks.

Fai muffled a chuckle. He seemed so satisfied by such a simple reaction…so happy. It only confused Kurogane a bit more. "What are you laughing about?!"

The blond's chuckle only grew louder.

"I am…I am happy that Kuro-pon wants to help me is all."

But that hit a nerve.

'This guy is definitely some weirdo. Why did I get myself into this? And that name! That stupid God forsaken nam-'

But that expression on Fai's face was all he needed to silence his thoughts. He had never seen someone so happy, so cheerful and so genuinely content in his whole entire life. That expression had succeeded in rivaling the one of his mother and that blew all his doubts away.

"We're friends now."

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Those who are wondering about my other stories, I give them my reply: Work in Progress may be held off a bit depending on what I want to do with it. Virgin Mary is still my first priority even though I have been neglecting that. I will type up a new chapter hopefully by the end of this month. Those who are still interested, feel free to read. This fiction was just based upon something I suddenly came up with. It's nothing special, but I thought a cute little child Fai and Kurogane needed to be added to the fanfiction community. I may continue depending on reception.