{This is my second attempt at a KuroFai fanfic. Although, this one was not my idea. Credit for the idea goes to FaysDarkAngel on Youtube for making the KuroFai Butterfly Effect video...I don't know if I'm allowed to post links on here. So, I'll just advise people to go watch it if they haven't already. ^w^
And, as you probably now guessed, this fanfic is based on The Butterfly Effect, which is also an awesome movie.
Also also...If you have not yet read my fanfic King of Celes. Don't. It's only still up because I am having trouble getting the thing printed off. I am going to completely rewrite and re-upload it...Probably with a slightly different name, so this message doesn't stop people reading the fixed version. -.-U Hopefully it will be better. And hopefully this fanfic wont fail as well.}
DISCLAIMER: All characters belong to CLAMP. I also do not own the movie The Butterfly Effect.
X
Chapter one: Pictures.
I never should have gone to the party that day. Then none of it would have happened. No lives would have been ruined...or lost. But, I was seven years old. How was I supposed to know the consequences of simply being there?...Well, I can fix it all now. I know what I have to do...to save all of them...
X
The seven year old stood awkwardly beside the adults, who were all huddled together, some obviously drunk...His mother included. Why had he been dragged here? Oh well, at least another boy from his class had been dragged here as well. Something about his cousins maybe coming to stay with him for a while. They hadn't arrived yet. Typical.
"Uh...Kamui, is it?" Kurogane asked hesitantly. He had barely spoken to the kid before.
Kamui looked at him, a look that seemed far too irritated for a seven year old plastered on his face. "What?" he demanded, glaring over at his father, who was one of the drunk adults. How embarrassing.
"Are your cousins actually coming?" Kurogane continued suspiciously. "I was tricked into coming to this stupid thing by my mum...She told my sister and me some new kids would be here."
Kamui smirked. "You should have stayed at home," he responded, sounding amused. "They'll be here alright. But they're both crazy. You don't look like the type that can handle them."
Kurogane raised his eyebrows at that. Kamui made them sound like monsters.
At that moment, the garden gate swung open, and a beautiful woman with long, flowing blonde hair approached the group of drunk, or almost drunk adults. She was followed by two small boys, both of whom had the same deep blue eyes, angelic features and golden hair as their mother.
They were Kamui's cousins? But they looked like the most harmless things ever. It was kind of cute how one of them clung to his mothers' sleeve, his eyes scanning the garden fearfully.
The other boy looked almost as scared as his brother. But then, he caught sight of Kamui and made a beeline for him and Kurogane, smiling a bright, cheerful smile. "Kamui~!" he exclaimed, glomping him. And, before Kamui had any time to react, or say anything, he continued in a fast, excited tone, without pausing once for breath. "You know what? My mummy got a new job! But it's in another country. So Yuui and me are gonna stay here with you! But only if we want to. She said she'll turn down the job if we don't like it here. I think it's great, though! It's a little scary 'cause we'll only be able to talk to her on the phone for a while...But I think I wanna stay here!" He beamed up at Kamui, and finally released him from the hug.
Kamui caught Kurogane's eye, then looked at his cousin again. "You sure about that?" he asked, his eyes drifting over to Yuui, who was still glued to his mother. "I don't think Yuui wants to stay."
The smile faded from his cousins' face, "That's ok," he replied, forcing the smile back again. "I'll just make the most of today!" There was determination in his big blue eyes as he turned to Kurogane.
At a guess, Kurogane would have said this boy was around the same age as him, although he was much smaller. His brother was identical to him in every way, which must mean they were twins. He stared at the tiny blond thing warily, wondering what this strange child was about to do.
Then, the boy smiled sweetly at him. "I'm Fai," he introduced himself happily. "Are you Kamui's friend? What's your name?"
"Uh...Kurogane," Kurogane responded, a little taken a back. This kid really spoke way too fast. "And no, I barely know him." He didn't notice the way Kamui narrowed his eyes at him at that comment.
Fai tilted his head to the side. "Oh?" he asked. "But Kamui looked happy standing with you."
"Shut it, you little twerp!" Kamui shot at him, turning away from Fai and Kurogane, to look at the other child who had been dragged to the party; Kurogane's sister Tomoyo. She was a four year old with long, dark hair and large purple eyes. There was a camera that looked much too big for her in her tiny hands, and she was happily taking pictures of everything and everyone, not leaving her mothers' side for an instant. All hope of him finding someone to talk to was dashed. He refused to even consider approaching Yuui. "I'm outta here," he muttered, walking away from Kurogane and Fai.
Kurogane was about to say something to him, when he suddenly felt breath on his face. His eyes widened in outrage when he realized Fai had kissed him on the cheek.
"WHAT'D YOU DO THAT FOR?" he demanded, screaming right in the smaller boys' face.
At first, Fai flinched back, looking scared. But then he went right back to smiling that innocent little smile. "You looked troubled," he explained. "When Yuui or me is troubled, mummy kisses us on the cheek to make us feel better."
Kurogane stared at him, a little less angry than he should have been. The sincerity in Fai's voice caught him off guard. "I'm going to kill you for that!" he grumbled. Then, when fear flickered across Fai's face again, Kurogane smiled, indicating he wasn't being serious.
Fai smiled back, turned on his heels, and ran as fast as he could. He giggled delightedly when Kurogane chased after him.
Tomoyo lowered her camera to watch. "Go big brother!" she chanted happily.
At the same time, Yuui slowly let go of his mothers' hand, and an identical smile to Fai's spread across his face when he saw how happy his brother was.
X
"Ok class! Time to hand in your drawings!" Chitose-sensei said enthusiastically, clapping her hands together. "They will all be displayed on the wall for parents' evening, so remember to put your names at the bottom."
All of the children, except one eagerly moved forward to hand in the pictures they had drawn for all the parents to see. Fai and Yuui held between them a picture they had worked on together. It was of the two of them and their mother, and was beautifully drawn. They just wished they could show it to her.
"Isn't it cheating to do the drawing together?" a voice sneered behind them, and Kamui looked over their shoulders at what they had drawn. "No one else had any help. We had to do it all on our own. What makes you two so special?"
Fai smiled at him, oblivious to his mocking tone. He began to explain. "Chitose-sensei said we could-"
"Oi, Yuui," Kamui interrupted, ignoring Fai's explanation. "Isn't that your mummy in the picture? You do know she ain't coming, right? Didn't she abandon you because she doesn't want you anymore?"
Yuui glared at Kamui, blushing a little when a few of the other children laughed. "She didn't abandon us!" he insisted. "We chose to stay here."
"Wrong choice," Kamui smirked, grabbing the picture and tearing it down the middle.
Yuui's already blushed face turned bright red with anger, and he blinked back furious tears as he started to launch himself at his cousin. But Fai stopped him.
"Don't," he warned, his own eyes brimming with tears. "He'll tell uncle Seishiro." He put his hand on his younger twins' shoulder, and forced a smile.
Calming down a little, Yuui smiled back. "But, it's too late to do another one," he whispered sadly.
"Kurogane-kun," Chitose's voice cut across their conversation. She was looking at the boy who was still drawing, a blank expression on his face. "You need to hand that in now, sweetie."
Kurogane immediately snapped out of it and looked up. But, he froze again almost instantly. Chitose-sensei hadn't seen because she had been focused on him. But, as he looked past her, he saw the distraught twins, and Kamui smirking at them as they attempted to comfort each other. Finally, his eyes rested on the picture that was torn in half. He scowled, jumped to his feet and marched over to them. It was obvious what had happened.
The other children dove out of his way, intimidated by the boy who was noticeably taller than the rest of them, and who was built like a wall. His crimson eyes were also narrowed in fury.
"Oi! Kamui!" he hissed. "How'd that get torn?"
Kamui shrugged. "I guess they clumsily walked into my hands," he responded, smirking.
The two boys completely ignored Chitose's attempts to calm them down. And, the next second, Kurogane had raised his fist, and punched Kamui in the nose.
"KUROGANE-KUN!" Chitose screamed, running forward to wipe the blood that was flowing freely from Kamui's nose.
"Aw crap," Kurogane muttered, flinching when he was shouted at again for swearing.
X
"I'm sorry had to call you in from work," Chitose apologized, bowing her head to Kurogane's mother, Yuuko, and Kamui's father, Seishiro. "But I felt this problem should be resolved as soon as possible."
"It's no problem at all," Seishiro responded sweetly, giving her a smile.
"Those two started it!" Kamui insisted from a corner of the room, pointing towards the corner where Yuui stood. "Yuui was waving the picture of their mother in my face!"
"LIAR!" Kurogane shouted over at him from his corner as he looked back and saw poor Yuui clenching his fists. Fai was the only one who stood completely still and silent in the last remaining corner.
Seishiro smiled again, although, his expression seemed...dangerous, somehow. "Kids," he sighed. "Raising three at once can be a handful. I'm still just getting used to it."
Yuuko wordlessly raised her four year old daughter onto her knee, and smiled as Tomoyo giggled at her brothers' situation. "Kurogane, if you use that tone around your sister again, I will smack you in front of Fai and Yuui," she warned her son firmly.
Chitose gave both Seishiro and Yuuko an apologetic look. "They're not bad children," she insisted. "But, I'd like to prevent incidents like this from happening in the future. Mr. Sakurazuka, if you need any support-"
"That wont be necessary," Seishiro assured her cheerfully.
Unseen by anyone except Kurogane, Fai moved for the first time, flinching slightly, and moving closer to the wall. Kurogane frowned, but didn't say anything.
Chitose nodded, a little taken a back by Seishiro's certainty. She turned her attention to Yuuko. "And, I'm sure, as a secondary school teacher yourself, you realize how serious it will be for Kurogane-kun if he continues to use violence in school, especially when he is older. I'd hate to see something like this affect his chances of getting into a good high school."
"I assure you, it wont happen again," Yuuko responded sweetly.
Reassured, Chitose smiled. "Well then...Kurogane-kun, Kamui-kun, I think it is time for apologies. Then you can leave." She looked at Yuuko again and lowered her voice. "I'd like to talk to you alone though, Miss Ichihara. If that's alright with you?"
Yuuko frowned curiously, but nodded, setting Tomoyo on the floor. "You can go torment your brother now," she encouraged.
Kurogane approached Kamui, scowling. "Sorry for punching you," he grumbled grudgingly.
Kamui just smirked, then looked at the twins. "I'm sorry for tearing your picture," he apologized, meeting his father's eye.
Kurogane narrowed his eyes at him as he and Tomoyo followed the four of them out of the classroom. He growled a little when the door was closed, so he couldn't even watch Chitose and his mother talking.
"Have you done something else bad?" Tomoyo asked.
"I have no idea," Kurogane admitted, leaning against the wall impatiently.
X
"So, what did you want to talk to me about?" Yuuko asked casually as Chitose closed the door.
A grim expression crossed Chitose's face, one that forced a more serious expression onto Yuuko's. "Today I asked the students to draw pictures for parents evening on Monday," she began, her voice shaking a little. She pulled a picture from the top drawer of her desk and handed it to Yuuko. "Kurogane drew this," she finished in a whisper.
Yuuko's expression became uncharacteristically horrified as she stared at the drawing. A man who resembled an older version of Kurogane was stood holding a sword. Surrounding him were what remained of bodies that strikingly resembled herself, Tomoyo, Fai, Yuui, Kamui, and a black dog with a red collar. They were lying in a pool of blood, which led to dripping red writing that spelt: 'I'm sorry'.
"Well...we all know what pranksters boys at his age can be," Yuuko responded lightly. But there was concern in her red eyes.
"There's...one other thing," Chitose whispered. "I asked him why he drew this, and he denied drawing it. I think he was telling the truth. I watched him finish the picture, but he didn't remember."
X
"Kurogane! There's someone here to see you!" Yuuko's voice called from the bottom of the stairs. "Come down!"
"Don't wanna!" Kurogane yelled back. "Busy!"
Yuuko smirked at that. "Tomoyo!" she shouted up to her daughter instead. "Could you get your brother to come down, please?"
The four year old, who had been in the midst of a tea party with her toys, jumped to her feet enthusiastically, carrying her two favourite teddies in one arm. They were identical rabbit-like creatures, one white with a red jewel on its forehead and left ear, the other black with blue jewels on its forehead and right ear.
Tomoyo hurried over to pick something up from on top of her chest of drawers, then she rushed out of her room and into her brothers', not bothering to knock on the door.
"Go away," Kurogane grumbled, keeping his back to her.
"Ok," Tomoyo responded sweetly. "But, if you don't go downstairs, I'll be forced to show your whole class this picture I took."
Kurogane looked up quickly and turned bright red when he saw the photograph of Fai kissing him on the cheek. "You wouldn't dare!" he growled. But, he knew she would dare. He had ignored threats like this from his little sister before...and regretted it. She was inordinately talented for a girl her age, always carrying her little camera around, and always managing to capture his most embarrassing moments perfectly.
Annoyed that he had been owned once again by a four year old, Kurogane got to his feet and stomped out of the room.
"Ah, so you decided to join us?" Yuuko asked in the same, dangerously sweet tone her daughter used. It was easy to see where Tomoyo got her talent for tormenting her brother. She smiled at Kurogane as the seven year old reached the bottom of the stairs, glaring at her and the man standing beside her.
"I didn't really have a choice," Kurogane grumbled. "I told you I didn't draw that picture! Someone must have swapped it with mine. I bet it was Kamui!"
Yuuko held up her hand to silence him. "You're not in any trouble," she assured him. "This is Yukito Tsukishiro, the councillor from the high school where I work. He kindly agreed to have a little talk with you."
"I don't need-"
"Now. You two head off into the living room while I make drinks."
"But mum-"
"Shall we go, then?" Yukito asked sweetly as Yuuko disappeared into the kitchen. He led the way into the living room, smiling brightly at Kurogane. "Take a seat, Kurogane-kun."
"This is my house," Kurogane reminded him angrily.
"Ah...So it is," Yukito replied in a cheerfully apologetic tone. "Sorry. May I sit down?"
"Do whatever you want," Kurogane grumbled, flopping onto the couch and gesturing rudely to the chair.
Smiling his seemingly permanent smile, Yukito sat down, taking in the entire living room with his pale eyes. He adjusted his glasses as his gaze fell upon the photographs on the fireplace. "Those are lovely, did you take them?" he assumed.
"My little sister took them," Kurogane responded, shrugging. "I would never get into something that dull."
"Really? She's very talented," Yukito commented. "She knows how to capture all the memories you share so well. You think that's dull?"
"Yes."
"...Do you have any hobbies?"
"No."
Yukito sighed and fell into a thoughtful silence. "Your mother mentioned to me that you got into a fight at school yesterday," he continued after a moment that felt like an eternity to Kurogane. "Would you like to talk about it?"
"There's nothing to talk about!" Kurogane snapped, irritated again. "He was bullying my friends, so I taught him a lesson. He deserved what he got."
"You couldn't have just told the teacher?"
"I..." Kurogane started, blushing slightly. "I just got really angry for some reason when I saw F-...when I saw them looking like they were gonna cry. Besides, the teacher was too busy nagging at me to..." He trailed off, looking troubled. "Actually, I don't remember," he whispered.
"What don't you remember?" Yukito asked, frowning at the expression on Kurogane's face.
"The drawing," Kurogane replied slowly. "I don't remember what I drew."
Yukito pulled out a neatly folded piece of paper from an inside pocket of his jacket and opened it up. "Wasn't it this?"
Kurogane looked at the picture and flinched when he saw the bodies of those he cared about lying broken in pools of their own blood. "I would NEVER draw that!"
"You would never knowingly draw it," Yukito corrected him. "But I believe you didn't know what you were drawing."
"How is that even possible?" Kurogane hissed, clenching his fists.
"Sometimes, for whatever reason, the memory likes to play games with us," Yukito explained, giving him a kind smile as he put the drawing down on the table, folded again so Kurogane didn't have to look at it anymore. "Maybe it was due to stress, but I believe your body was on autopilot for a while. When you came to, you had no memory of what you did, or anything happening around you. Sound about right?"
Kurogane just nodded.
"Has this ever happened before?"
Kurogane thought for a few seconds, then shook his head. "No. Never."
"That's good," Yukito smiled warmly. "Chances are it wont happen again, but the reason may be stress related. You have no hobbies, no way of venting your anger...My partner Touya is a karate instructor. If you would like, I can get you into his class."
"So...as punishment for fighting...you're going to teach me how to fight?"
Yukito smiled again, and shook his head. "It's not punishment," he assured him. "Besides, Karate teaches more than just fighting. You will learn control and discipline as well. It's healthy for your mind and may prevent further black outs."
Kurogane thought about it for a moment. But, before he could respond, his mother entered the room, holding two glasses and a bottle of sake.
"Yukito-san, would you care to join me for a drink?" she asked, pouring the first glass, and holding the bottle over the second.
"Yes, thank you, Yuuko-san. We're just about finished here."
"Wait, that's it?" Kurogane asked, looking disappointed. He wanted to keep talking. There was so much he wanted to ask Yukito.
"I'm afraid so," Yukito smiled back at him. "I'll give you some time to consider the karate classes. Just tell your mother your decision and I'll see what I can do."
Kurogane nodded, feeling irritated again as he got to his feet and left the room.
X
"Kuro-tan~!"
Kurogane sighed impatiently as he hung his coat on the hook in front of him. "How many times have I told you not to-...OW!"
Yuui smiled innocently up at him as he casually removed his foot from on top of Kurogane's. "Good morning, Kurogane-kun," he greeted him, obviously annoyed by the way Kurogane spoke to his brother.
"Morning," Kurogane grunted at both twins, rolling his eyes at Fai's oblivious smile. but, he couldn't help noticing the bruise forming beneath Yuui's eye. It wasn't unusual. In fact, ever since the incident a couple of weeks earlier, it had been happening more and more often. Fai had turned up to school the next Monday with a red mark on the left side of his face, and Yuui had been limping slightly. Since then, there was something every other day. If it had just been one of them, Kurogane would have assumed the injuries were due to clumsiness. But he was getting suspicious.
"Come on, let's get to class," Kurogane muttered, avoiding eye contact with Yuui, and giving Fai a light tap on the shoulder.
Caught of guard, Fai gasped and flinched away from him, allowing his usual smile to slip from his face.
"What? I hardly touched you."
"It's nothing," Fai insisted, smiling again. "We should go." He hastily hung up his coat between Kurogane and Yuui's.
Kurogane noticed that Fai was moving his right arm awkwardly, as though in a great deal of pain. "Oi..." he started, trying to get Yuui to explain. But both twins passed him wordlessly. He frowned after them for a moment, before seeing Kamui entering the cloakroom out of the corner of his eye. "You!" he shouted, marching over to him and blocking his path.
"What do you want?" Kamui demanded.
"Are you hurting them?"
"What?"
"Fai and Yuui," Kurogane growled at him. "Why are they always hurt?"
"How should I know?" Kamui shot back at him, looking a little uncomfortable. "Leave me alone!" He shoved past Kurogane angrily.
Infuriated, Kurogane stormed into the classroom, marching straight up to Yuui. He would never get an answer from Fai. "What happened to your face?"
Yuui allowed his hair to fall down over his face, hiding the bruise. "I don't know what you-"
"Don't lie!" Kurogane interrupted. "Why are you and Fai always covered in bruises?"
"Maybe we're just clumsy," Yuui shrugged. He was becoming aware that the other children were watching them.
Kurogane noticed too, but he didn't care. "No one is that clumsy," he pointed out. Then a thought hit him, and he tried to catch Yuui's eye. "Is it your uncle?"
"Our uncle loves us very much," Yuui responded instantly, his tone robotic, almost rehearsed. "He would never hurt us."
Kurogane opened his mouth to continue his interrogation. But he stopped when a small voice spoke up behind him.
"Please, Kuro-muu," Fai begged. "If you keep accusing uncle Seishiro, we wont be able to stay here anymore. Yuui and me will have to leave, and we wont see you again. I don't want that to happen."
The tone in Fai's voice was enough to stop Kurogane's next question. And the subject was dropped.
He had no more blackouts either. For a while.
If only I hadn't stayed quiet back then...I could have stopped so much damage from being done...I could have saved them.
X
{This was supposed to be much longer...But I realized it was TOO long for a first chapter. So, this is more like an introduction to the story. ^w^}