Title: Blue Bird
Part: 1
Author: ShyroFox
Rating: PG-13
Pairings: KuroganexFai (TSU), DoumekixWatanuki (XXX), SyaoranxSakura (CCS),
Warnings: Dragon AU, Evil Ashura,
Disclaimer: Copyright CLAMP
Summary: AU, After being forced on a vacation by the ever-loving princess Tomoyo, Kurogane is caught up in a maelstrom of misfortune and misunderstanding as he ventures into a cold town and meets an even colder dragon.
Note: This is currently being written for NaNoWriMo, and while I don't exactly not edit my work (as you are supposed to) I haven't gone over the entirety of it with red ink, so any errors, mistakes, or potentially "out of character" characters will be fixed if anyone feels the need to point them out. Anyone offering services as beta-reader would be appreciated. Thank you!
-------
His mother had once said, "Town people are often paranoid."
And yet, actually encountering it was something entirely different.
Sure, he wasn't the friendliest visitor they had ever had, he wasn't trying to be, but the cold treatment the villagers wore, as though it were entwined into the fabric of their clothing, disturbed Kurogane immensely. This may have very well explained why, despite the town having wove a quicker path to the city, most travelers avoided it in favor of a longer trip.
The only people to look upon him with something other than distaste were the merchants. And this was perhaps more a curse than a blessing.
"So, business or travel?" Asked the tavern keeper as he poured a drink mix into the cup.
"How do you even know that I'm from out of town?" Kurogane said, shedding his coat and resting the dripping mess over the back of the chair. He adjusted his sword, but left it hanging at his side. The shop was empty save for him and the keeper. His insistence on Kurogane coming in out of the cold must have been purely because it was such a slow day.
"Ha. Shouldn't it be obvious? I've never seen you before. All our main customers frequent here quite often and yet here you are, a new face." The man grinned as he poured a slew of heated milk and bitter water into the cup, handing it over at a finish.
The cup burned and the warm drink steamed and Kurogane was never as grateful for such an object. His frozen hands beginning to de-thaw against the curve of the fancy mug.
The rain continued to cascade outside the doorway, shading everything outside the window in a sea of endless grey blurs. Kurogane absentmindedly noticed a puddle had gathered underneath his drying coat. "So what season is it here? What sect is this?"
The man chuckled as he began to clean cups from a pile gathered at the sink. "Well we're heading rapidly into what looks like the cold season, even though the harvest is still supposed to be taking place. Surprisingly it's only sect eight. We should have another sect and a half before weather like this! Ah, but, what can you do…"
The abrupt, annoying cheer of the bell hanging on the door preceded the entrance of two youths. The boy trying furiously to keep a coat stabilized over the girl of which he was protecting from the rain. He, himself, was completely and ridiculously soaked.
"Sato! Please get inside here or you will catch your death!" She screeched, yanking the unwilling boy into the building. Kurogane winced and attempted to glare off the intruders of his peace. They had yet to notice him, however.
"I highly doubt you even know what you're talking about. If I don't do this I very well think you'll wash right away." The boy snipped, dripping as he walked inside, shook his coat out and hung it on a chair.
The girl bounced up to the counter as the boy stubbornly followed. "Two orders of warm sweet milk please?" She asked, sitting at the counter.
"Hey! You never asked me if I wanted-"
"I am paying for the drinks and I am not letting you get some freezing juice drink, as you predictably would."
"…Yeah, whatever." He said, begrudgingly submitting to her whims as he pulled a chair back and flounced down in it. Notably not the chair he had draped his coat over.
"Ah… I see you are as spry as ever Nekoi." The keeper said, pulling the drinks up. "That will be ninety-two then."
The girl dug into her pouch and pulled out a medley of coins. Placing them down on the counter, a stricken look crossed her face. "I'm twenty short…" She said, eyebrows knit in distress. She eyed the boy next to her, who quickly obtained a look of obstinate panic.
"I've no money on me! That's why you're buying the stupid drinks." He barked, warding off her advances as if she were a ghoul.
"Ahh… Nekoi, you know we don't allow tabs here…" The keeper said, wringing his hands.
A hand placed down two coins on the counter. "Count that in with her pay. She's short you nothing." Kurogane demanded, directing the amount to the man. Nekoi and the boy looked at him with muted awe. Was kindness like that such a rarity in this town? How utterly obscene. He just wanted them to leave as soon as possible.
Nekoi eyed him a moment. "Thank you." She said. "However, this will mean that I owe you." She said, hands dutifully crossed.
"I never asked for you to owe me anything!" He yelped, taken aback by the comment. Not one to be so normally giving, he wasn't going to regret doing so. Or, at least, he hoped he wouldn't. "I just came from a job, so it's not really any problem." Honestly he had merely wanted the girl to shut up. Instead he had caused the sheer opposite.
Kurogane thought that over a second… Indeed, it was still utterly obscene.
"Well, it can't be helped." She almost sighed. "Ryuuoh and I will just have to repay you, isn't that right, Ryuuoh?" She nearly sung his name, the piercing gaze of a predator turned on the poor boy. He glared back at her stubbornly.
However, the keeper ruined the moment and placed a mug of fresh, warm milk in front of him.
"Yeah, sure, whatever." He muttered fiddling with the newly acquired hot drink. With the introduction of the warmth of the building and the sweet milk, he had actually gained some color.
Kurogane sniffed indignantly. "I will have you know that whatever services you are trying to offer, they are entirely unneeded." He sipped his drink as resentfully as he could.
"Do you have anywhere to stay?" She asked, tugging the irritated Ryuuoh along with her. "We could offer you free room and board!"
"Beware strangers bearing gifts." His father had taught him. The way of a warrior was one of caution.
"I do." He lied. "I'm staying at the inn in the main square." Kurogane had barely scraped the edge of the town, but the main square always seemed to have inns. Despite it being expensive, and vaguely implausible for him to be staying there, it was his best bet to not end up looking like an idiot.
The girl looked skeptical and the boy choked on his milk. "Well…" She sighed, "If you like 'em like that, then I suppose there's no stopping you." She dramatically swept her drink up and drank it down whole. "Alright, Ryuuoh." She placed the cup down hurriedly. "Let's go!"
"Hey, I haven't finished my-!" The rest of his words cut off by a coat being hurled into his face.
"We're going." She urged, dragging the struggling boy out of the tavern.
Kurogane sunk in his chair, glad for the silence, but dreading whatever it is that he had apparently told them.
"So…" The keep looked at him with the gleaming eyes of someone in the know. "You're joining the men's brothel I take it?"
"No! Of course not!" Kurogane yelped. Is that what those kids had thought he was? A common whore? No wonder they had left so fast!
"Well, you could always stay at the inn above here. It's run by my son. And you get discounts on all the fine wines, too, since they are made right here in this city and not imported like in most towns!"
Ah, business in action. "Sure, that's fine." Kurogane slumped in his chair. How much of an ass could he make of himself before this day was over?
---
As night fell the tavern was filled with drunkards and business folk alike. All generally enjoying the warmth only provided by sweet, sweet alcohol. It wasn't really all that surprising, as rats do gather in gutters when the rains fall.
It was enough to make Kurogane regret ever coming down here. He would have just gone back if all the noise hadn't given him a headache. Why sleep when you can't, and all that.
Replacing the old man from earlier was a suave looking brunette semi-attempting to charm some of the girls at the counter. It looked like he was rather uninterested in them, but fawning women always tend to come back for eye candy… or something like that.
Despite how empty the room was before, it now bustled with people and chatter, and young girls serving drinks. Frankly, Kurogane wondered how people enjoyed this tipsy lifestyle.
"Hey." Kurogane barked at the new keep.
A different, grey-haired boy appeared, flipping open his order notebook. "Hello, new guest! My name is Yukito. And how may I serve you today, sir?"
"Ah, a large keynet." Something bitter to wash out this headache…
The youth paused. "Are you sure? That may run quite expensive, as it is imported. Our specialty here is fine wines and they come at a much cheaper price."
"Fine then. Whatever you have that's bitter. Mascroi or something, I don't care." He muttered, resisting the urge to clutch at his head. The noise in the room did him little good, but showing such a sign of weakness was careless.
"Alright. That will come to a total of eighty-six." He looked at Kurogane expectantly.
No tab system here at all then? Oh well. "Sure, here." He put down a hundred coin.
Handing back the change, the boy smiled and wandered off to put the order in for someone to collect the drink.
"Shit, the Mayor's not thinking straight at all now is he?" Growled a man at a nearby table. "Idiot doesn't know how to run a proper town! If I was Mayor I would be ten times better than that old fool!" Kurogane glance over at a nearby table that was full of men in farmer's garb.
The man next to him shrugged. "He's a fear runner. You get him startled and he'll chase his own tail for security!"
"That's about right! Couldn't have said it better myself." The first man said, patting his friend on the back.
A third, bulkier man approached and grabbed the first by his collar. "Oi, what are you doin' criticizing our beloved Mayor like that? I think he's got a right mind about him!" Kurogane smirked at the scene. People were so easily motivated to bicker…
The first smirked and stood. "Yeah, well you would Matsui. You always were a bitter person when it came to respectin' people different than you!"
"People? People, he says!" Cried the man to his fellows at another table. The replied with whoops and hollers. "Those things are people?! They're beasts! Horrible, smelly beasts."
The scene Kurogane was watching was abruptly interrupted by a girl stepping in front of him.
"Here's your drink, sir!" She smiled, handing him a curved glass of a blue liquid. "It's pierote wash. It's supposed to be one of the more bitter drinks we serve here. I hope it is to your liking." She bowed. "My name is Sakura, don't hesitate to ask Yuki or I for anything you need!" With that she scurried off, presumably to serve the other guests.
The two men from earlier were now engaged in a small fight. The first holding the latter in a headlock. "You take that back, you ass!" He ordered, tightening his arm in emphasis.
"Get off, Baron! You're too damn nice for your own good an' you damn well know it! Your own mother was killed, for gods' sake!" Matsui growled, yanking the man's arm off him.
Baron crossed his arms, turning away. "At least she believed in giving them a chance. Men kill men more than dragons do."
Kurogane blinked, wondering if the man was serious or if that was merely an expression. As far as he knew, dragons had been extinct for the last nine generations.
"Ha! You're both just a couple pansies." Another shouted from a table in the back.
"You come here and say that to my face!" Matsui yelled.
It didn't take great skills of perception to see what was about to happen. Kurogane sipped the bitter drink and cringed. Maybe next time he'd just order what he was familiar with… Ah well, it did kill his headache after all.
A chair flew across the room. "Called it." Kurogane muttered. He gulped down the rest of the concoction and stood to leave. The room began to fill with men fighting and the breaking of furniture.
Walking back to his room would have been easier without the abrupt grab of his arm from some riled drunkard, however. "Where are ya goin', sir! You can't insult my mother like that and just get away with it." He garbled, swaggering.
Kurogane's eye twitched. Damn nuisance's invading his space! No use arguing with someone this delusional. Kurogane knocked the man's arm off oh him and shoved him back. The man stumbled. "Hey! Hey, you can't just do that! You filthy cheater!"
"Yeah, sure." He waved the man off and turned to leave.
An explosion, a crash, and the screaming of a girl struck the room.
Kurogane turned sharply. The entire room began to slow down as all the men and barmaids peered over each other to see what had happened. The man named Baron lay on the ground, blood pooling around him. "Bastard shot me!" He yelped as a maid began hurriedly dabbing at the blood with a cloth.
"If would just keep yer filthy mouth shut you wouldn't have to get the crap beaten out of you every week, you old fool!" Cackled a man as he carelessly twirled the gun around in his hand.
The girl from earlier, Sakura, nervously approached him. "Ahh… Sir, the rules of this tavern don't permit guns and you have already had three violations. You'll have to leave." He leered down at her, she seemed mouse-like against his feline ferocity.
"And where's your brother, girl? Isn't he supposed to make all the big, bad bullies go away? Jen is quite bitter she's been banned from here herself, after all!" She screamed as he grabbed her arm and yanked her up off her feet.
A hand clamped around his wrist and the man, surprised, dropped Sakura. "You heard her. Get out before you hurt yourself." Kurogane ordered, a tone that held no chance of debate on the matter.
"Who the hell are you to be telling' me what to do! I have a gun you know!" He snarled. "I'll shoot yer face in and your mother'll never be able to recognize ya!"
The blunt blade of a broke off his breath and he fell gasping. Kurogane frowned re-sheathing his sword. "I don't really care what you have to say, but I will kill you don't listen to me."
The dark haired tavern keep from earlier rushed up through the crowd. "Sakura! Are you alright? I thought I told you to come get me or Yuki immediately if something like this were to happen." He frowned. "Kanil, get out of here or I'll report you to the Council." He ordered.
The man, still gasping, stood up. "Yeah… You're goin' to regret this. I'll take all your business from you." He turned to Kurogane. "And hell if I know who you are but you better watch your back! I have more men in my league than you've met in your lifetime!" He staggered over to his awaiting group. "And you bastards! How about helping me next time something like that happens!"
The door swung shut behind them.
Sakura pouted down at the brunette poking at her sprained ankle. "Touya, I could've handled it without you!"
He rolled his eyes. "Yes, I'm so very sure that you could have." He turned to the grey-haired boy from earlier. "Hey, Yuki, calm down our guests and have Chii try to catch up on drinks. It might also be a good idea to send Motoyo to get some of the other girls to come in tonight. Sakura's out."
"But Touya!" She stopped at his reproachful glare.
He yanked her up into his arms. "Are you taking her home?" Yuki asked, nonchalantly.
"Of course. Dad will make sure she gets some proper care there. And I'm sure as soon as the brat hears about all this he'll come running, too." Touya seemed to just notice Kurogane. "Oh, and thanks for all that by the way."
Kurogane sniffed. "No problem."
Yuki smiled. "We offer free board for those you break up serious fights."
"I've already paid for a room here."
"Then a refund, perhaps?"
---
A good fight always preceded a good night's rest. Or a paranoid night's rest. Either way, rest was to be had.
"Good morning, sir. I hear that you had an eventful night." The tavern keeper said, chuckling. "You've made my son quite paranoid about ever letting my daughter work the night shift again."
"…I'm sorry?" He asked, unsure of what else to say.
"Oh no, don't be that. It's a good thing you saved her, after all." He pulled out a little pad of paper. "Is there anything I can get you? On the house, of course."
Kurogane frowned. He wasn't low on money, so taking this man's seemed rather criminal. "No, that's alright. I'm going to eat else where."
"Ah. Seeing the city, huh? Have fun!" He called as Kurogane left the inn.
---
He wandered down the street in search of some type of restaurant. The skies were devoid of clouds today and thus the rain had let up. Small muddy puddles littered the road and a few small children giggled as they attempted to avoid getting wet.
A gust of frigid wind wafted down the street. Kurogane blinked out the smoke in his eyes and resisted the urge to cough. It was the cold season and everyone was burning fires to keep their homes warm. At least, in this district. Being in the outer ring of the city, many people lacked the new technologies prevalent in the center ring.
"Peacemakers wanted!" Cried a young boy dressed in official garb as he passed Kurogane. "Peacemakers wanted!" He turned back looking at Kurogane. "You look really strong, sir! You should try out for being a peacemaker!"
"A what now?" He grumbled.
The boy smiled. "I was told to pass out these fliers! Here, you can have one. A free loaf of bread for anyone who tries out. Not a bad deal, huh?" He said handing Kurogane a flier.
"Hey, you!" Cried a woman with a broom. "I thought I told you not to come by here! Leave your propaganda for the other rings, we don't want any."
"It's not my fault you old timers are behind on the ways of the world." The boy remarked, as if reciting the words of another, running off as the woman swung the broom at him again.
The woman looked at Kurogane, as if noticing him for the very first time. "Oh, I'm sorry. I just… that boy makes me so mad sometimes!" She stormed off fuming.
The other villagers on the street abruptly stopped watching the show and went back to what they had previously been doing. Kurogane rubbed his head in exasperation. "Some travel would be good for you!" Tomoyo had said. Yeah, load him down with money and then ship him off, eh? What bull.
---
Kurogane sat in the town square, eating his meal with staunch disregard to the pleased expressions of the fellow diners. Everyone was too damn happy in this part of town. Royalty and wealthy merchants alike. None of them were anywhere near as noble and gracious as Tomoyo.
If he were working he wouldn't be caught dead in an uppity place like this. However, since he was supposed to be on vacation he'd at least eat at a place that likely wouldn't get him diseased. The inn he was at was a rare find and he vaguely regretted turning down breakfast there…
A young man knocked on his shoulder.
"Hello! Would it be alright if I were to sit with you for a moment?" Clear eyes gleamed at him, and he immediately smelled a rat.
"Why would I let you do that?" He questioned, irritated that the man had paid no attention to him and had sat down across from him nonetheless.
"For I am already sitting here! You do not go around making a habit of parting people from their chairs, do you?" The man grinned and leaned over on his elbows. Short charcoal strands of hair waving in the wind sat jaggedly on his head. His face was framed with thick eyebrows and a cunning smile. "My name is Shiyuu. What's your's?"
Kurogane glared. "I'm not telling you that. Now get out of here!" He barked, waving his hand in a irritated motion. How dare this man just come in here and interrupt his meal with no regard to his opinion on the matter. He had claimed this table as his, damnit!
"Or what? You don't seem like the type to call security. And you certainly know proper table etiquette. You're a mysterious mystery, you are. Like a royal warrior."
Kurogane paused. Then a grin broke out on his face. "You have no idea what trouble you could get yourself into by messing with me."
"Oh, yes, I'm sure you've killed lots of men." Shiyuu stated, waving it off as though it were a petty annoyance.
Kurogane jolted forward, "I've done no such thing!"
Suddenly, a boy with mousy brown hair and a disheveled suit ran past the table and down the small set of stairs. He had been gripping some clinking, shiny item close to chest. When the kid had disappeared from sight down the cobblestone road, a woman's scream split the restaurant chatter into curious silence.
Shiyuu stood. "And that, my friend, is my cue. Good day!" And with that he jumped the low railing and swiftly followed after the dark-haired boy.
Kurogane debated chasing after the man and small boy, obviously thieves, but it really wasn't his place. After all, places like these arrested those that tried to be heroic. It was one of those backwards laws of high society. He'd learned that best being the one sent to catch such people.
---
Somewhat unconcerned with the witness of thievery, he made his way back to the inn.
When he arrived he was promptly greeted by the tavern keeper. "Did you have a good breakfast?" He asked cheerfully, as he skillfully chopped up a head of lettuce into a pile of green leaves.
"Sure." Kurogane grunted, removing his coat. The warmth of the room was too much for such overkill.
One of the day maids walked up to him. "Sir, you have a man waiting for you. It's that gentlemen in the corner." She informed him, pointing to a well-dressed fellow sipping something pink.
Kurogane grunted and walked over to the man. He had striking silver hair and was wearing a ridiculously dark suit. The man sipped at the frilly concoction a moment before taking notice of Kurogane's silent presence. "And you are?" He asked, grinning radiantly.
"Well, you're apparently waiting for me. I would hope that you would know who I am." He said, as he crossed his arms. "This had better be important."
The man stood abruptly, placing his hands together. "Ohh! Indeed it is!" He cooed, slipping on his coat and abandoning his cup on the table. "The Mayor wishes to speak personally to your very person and who are we to let that wish go unanswered. I'm Mouton, and I'll be your assistant in travel until we get there." He said, adjusting the hat on his head.
He grabbed at Kurogane's arm and the red-eyed man dodged the move. "Wait, wait, wait." He said, standing ground. "You are not leading me anywhere without a decent explanation." He barked, cracking his knuckles in emphasis.
Mouton faltered. "It pays well." He supplied helplessly.
A smirk appeared on Kurogane's face. "And who has told you that I am in need of money, eh?"
The previously exuberant man seemed to take on a nervous posture. "Well, no one said that, no. Indeed, no one did. It's just that you have been monitored upon your entrance here and the Mayor believes that you may be the right person to ask in his mission for… justice."
Kurogane frowned. Justice was usually an overly glorious way to refer to revenge. "I'm not an assassin for hire, if that's what you're looking for." He took a step back. "And I don't just knock off people for political gain either."
The silver-haired man waved his hands nervously. "No, no, no. You aren't being asked to assassinate people. No! You are being asked to be a peacemaker! Bring glory and bounty to your homeland by completing peacemaker duties!" The man made another grab for his arm.
Kurogane dodged Mouton and shoved him off. "Fine. If you insist that I must speak directly to the Mayor, then I will. I'm not agreeing to anything other than that. And you," he poked the man in the forehead, "are not to touch me. Got it?"
"Certainly!" Nodded Mouton, or as Kurogane dubbed, the puppet master's lapdog.
---
The town hall stood with oversized pillars that represented justice, peace, love, and glory. To Kurogane it only reminded him, with bitterness, how lavishly the rich spent their money while the poor starved.
"Mockingbird, mockingbird, two in a shell. Born together they'll die as well…"
Mouton led him into the building with hurried footsteps, as if he might be swallowed up by the outside world if his feet didn't quicken enough. "You know," the man said, delight evident in his face, "this building has a rich history in our culture."
Kurogane sighed, but the cheery fellow was oblivious to the disinterest.
"Before our current Mayor Ashura, we had the great Clow II. Days were much more peaceful, then. But, I believe that our Mayor Ashura is handling everything as best he can. He is a good man that way. Always tries his hardest!"
"At what?" Kurogane asked, mapping the path they were going in his head, in case this whole deal went sour.
Mouton stared at him. "Excuse me?" He asked, looking rather bewildered.
"What's going on that your Mayor has to try so hard at?"
A glimmer of understanding flickered in the man's eyes. "Oh! Yes, you aren't from around here. I keep forgetting. I just love this city so much that it is hard for me to remember that new-comers don't always understand its internal mechanisms." He slapped a hand to his forehead in emphasis. "You'll learn much more about that when we speak with Mayor Ashura. Although, if you ever want a lesson or a tour on the city I'll be happy to supply you!" He winked as if in promise. "And I'll have you know that I don't offer that kind of service to just anyone!"
Kurogane ignored answering, a large white door at the very end of the hall catching his eyes. It was so gaudy he'd let this man tour him around town if it wasn't the Mayor's office.
Mouton's eyes gleamed as they approached. "And this is our beloved Mayor's office!"
Kurogane smirked to himself in triumph.
"He should be waiting right inside for us to arrive. Luckily, we just have!" And with that, the slender man pushed open the heavy wooden doors.
---
The room was decorated with a sickening deal of care. Flowers glistened in fine vases. Paintings lined up symmetrically on every wall. The deep red carpet sung of power and the glory of office. Everything screamed that a designer had been there. The room effectively pointed you to the its gleaming centerpiece.
A shining desk with papers upon it, but no one behind it.
Mouton paused, as if the mechanics of his mind we're stuck at a standstill. Then a few gears began to turn, without fail. "Well! I… this… most unusual!" He cried, attempting to freeze a smile on his face. He was so transparent it was painful.
The man turned to Kurogane. "Do you think he's gone out?" He asked.
Kurogane blinked. "Why would I know?" He asked.
Mouton shook his head. "No, that's right, you were with me." He strode over to the desk with a small bit of caution. "Perhaps he left a note saying he went out. I'm sure he did. No one informed me of his being out, so he must have not told anyone. What a silly man!" He laughed. Then his expression turned stricken. "Of course, he's not silly. He's quite upstanding. Indeed. That's exactly what he is!" Kurogane watched from the door as he shuffled through the papers on the Mayor's desk.
When Mouton froze, body as unmoving as a statue, Kurogane became a bit curious. When the man's face drained of all color and he became rigid in stance, Kurogane wanted to know why.
Padding over to the table on the overly plush carpet, the new-comer looked apathetically at the man who seemed to be going through several levels of intense shock.
"He's got him…" Mouton said, still staring at the paper.
Kurogane stared.
The city hall official looked at him. "That bastard's got…" He said, voice a faint whisper.
Tired of a ridiculous and uninformative conversation, Kurogane swiped the paper away. Mouton looked as if to protest, but merely watched him read it, instead.
"Knock me down once,
That's not enough.
Your sharpened edges gain you no ground.
Bring what we want.
You know where.
Love,
Your neighbors."
This told Kurogane absolutely nothing aside from the fact that whoever had written it had poor taste. "Okay. What is this?" He asked the official, exasperated.
"Dragons." Said Mouton, wringing his hands.
"…well, damn." Hadn't expected that.
---
As soon as word got out, the entire building burst into a frenzied panic. Messages were being sent sporadically and some without clear purpose.
Mouton had left to wash his face and regain composure leaving Kurogane to sit like a calm island in the middle of a maelstrom. Now he approached again, little droplets of water clinging to the parts of his hair that he had let get wet with his current carelessness.
The silver-haired, blue-eyed official surveyed the room, then offered a weak smile to Kurogane. "I suppose you would like an explanation, wouldn't you?
Kurogane stood, ignoring the frantic cries from around the room. "Hn." He nodded, remaining calm despite his current irritation. When he had been Tomoyo's guard, he had been as collected as one could possibly be. Ever since he came to this town, however, he began to feel himself slipping.
Mouton frowned and motioned for him to follow as they walked out of the room. "The dragons are acting up right now." He said, as if to begin a difficult and arduous tale. At Kurogane's confused looked, he expounded. "What I mean to say is, a local tribe of dragons is becoming rebellious towards to the town."
"By dragon you mean for me to believe that you are having problems with giant lizards?"
The official stopped abruptly. "You've never seen a dragon, have you?" He asked, mouth held tight.
"I have not."
"Ours can look like that, yes. Mostly, they appear human. You'd not notice if you stumbled upon one. That is why we are having trouble with them. They are infiltrating our city and robbing our citizens."
Kurogane frowned, wondering if this was some type of joke. In the land Tomoyo ruled over, there had been plenty tales of dragons, however it was common knowledge that they were merely stories to make children stay in at night. "What do they intend to do with the stolen goods?" Kurogane asked, humoring the poor man.
Mouton was silent a moment. "They… don't intend to do anything with it. They just… give it back." He straightened, his posture stiff.
Kurogane blinked. That seemed like rather pointless thievery. "…give it back?"
The official seemed to realize that Kurogane was confused. Which, was good, because it was rather blatant by the red-eyed man's pointed expression. "Well, you see," he began, staring at nothing in particular, "they give it back to different people. Kind of like charity for the poor, except with stolen goods."
Kurogane stared at the man. He vaguely remembered his mother telling him a fairytale about this sort of thing when he was little. "Huh…"
"Those fiends always pull these stunts!" Mouton groused, hands fisting. Annoyed at himself in general for his inability to really do anything about it.
"…So, can I go now?" Kurogane asked, remembering that he was brought here for something unspecified and now he apparently wasn't going to find out what that was.
"Oh! Not at all! This is the perfect time for you to be here!" Mouton declared, looking jovially at Kurogane, as if all his troubles would soon be over.
---
A peacemaker.
It was about being a peacemaker.
Kurogane massaged his temples, walking out of the city hall. He was more than just a little annoyed at the stupidity that was city officials.
A peacemaker was one who took it upon themselves to hunt and kill members of the dragon species. It didn't matter if your target were even only part dragon, the job was still applicable.
Moton had looked rather dejectedly at Kurogane refusing the job out-right. Apparently, being a well-known royal figure's bodyguard meant that you were a mindless killing machine…
Ironically, he probably would have accepted the job five years ago, when he was young and stupid and looking to prove himself, but still…
The cheery bustling of the crowd around him only worsened his mood. None of them knew yet of the disappearance of the Mayor. And unless someone let it slip they probably wouldn't ever know.
He quickened his pace, eager to get back to the inn, where he could shut himself away until he left this town.
The day had been excruciatingly long and rather arduous. If this was a vacation, he'd rather damn well work any day.
---
Upon reaching the inn, Kurogane was surprised to find a woman waiting for him. Although, more annoyed then welcomed by the thought. How the hell did all these people find him?
She leaned against the wall next to the door, garbed in a black silk and lace that clung to her body. Black hair tied ornately behind her head. Kurogane felt his manly instincts warn him of such an obvious trap.
She turned and looked at him. And smiled.
Kurogane's initial surprised was met with more surprise as a sharp blow to the head stole him of his consciousness.
---
"Ha! He's so funny looking!" A young voice cried, giggling uncontrollably.
"Mokona, it's not nice to laugh at people behind their back." Chided a mature sounding voice.
"Kyle can't deny it! Mokona knows Kyle thinks it's humorous, too!" The first voice, Mokona, chirped.
Kurogane's head ached. Massively. His eyes were stung by the introduction of light as he attempted to blink his vision into clarity. The edge of everything appeared blurry, as if some one had him looking at the world through three feet of river water. He went to rub at his eyes, only to find himself immobile. His arms felt like they were tightly bound to his side. And he grimaced as he felt his pants damp from sitting on the cold and wet ground.
Through the fog created by his mind he could see a small girl sitting on a stump, probably only nine or ten years of age. She seemed to be wearing a rather silly looking hat that stuck out to the sides in points. An older lad, a young twenty-year-old probably, was tending to a fire. He, too seemed to be wearing the unusual hat.
A drop of water fell from the tree above him and hit him in the nose.
And, damn it all, he sneezed.
The two looked at him, and the younger one laughed loudly. "Woken up, have you?" He looked at Kurogane, an amused gleam in his eyes.
Kurogane blinked rapidly, sight clearing although he felt himself to look ridiculous.
He stared.
The two weren't wearing hats at all. The younger one blinked and laughed at his expression, as if in triumph. The older looked nonplussed. What Kurogane has mistook for hats were ears. Strange thin things, like elves. Except much longer, like a rabbit's.
The girl's were light pink and scaled with small plumes of feathers sticking out half-hazard. A single red earring dangled off of one. The older, pony tailed boy's were dark blue, jagged fleshy spikes lining them.
Mokona walked up to Kurogane, boldly interrupting his silence and his thoughts. "So, Mister Hunter, surprised?" She leered.
The former guard stared. "…hunter?" He asked, mind slogging in thought. What the hell had they done to him? He wasn't even like this when he woke up in the morning!
The girl -- dragon? -- snickered. "Wai! So confused." She said, giving little thought to Kurogane's amount of coherence. "Kyle!" She called over the stoic looking youth. "I think Mister Hunter's forgotten who Mister Hunter is!"
Kyle looked up, blinking. "Perhaps we doped him too much…" He muttered, slipping a pad of paper out from an inner coat pocket and scribbling down some notes with a carved bird pen.
Kurogane twitched, irritated. "I haven't forgotten who I am, you idiots!" He yelled, struggling in the ropes to no avail. What the hell were these made out of?
The boy stopped writing on the pad and looked over at him. "Really?" He asked. "You're much more useful to us if you remember. We have some questions to ask of you and it would be quite useful if you remembered the answers."
"Will you let me go if I answer them?" Kurogane itched for freedom, but seeing as he had no clue where they were or how far he was from civilization, it didn't seem a wise plan to escape and wander off. Even if he could.
And who knew how far or fast dragons could travel compared to the speed of a man?
Kyle sighed, "What can I say to that? If I said yes, you may very well kill us upon you're release. If I said no, you may very well not answer the questions at all."
The captive growled. "Then what's my incentive?"
"Probably freedom maybe!" Chirped the girl, batting her eyelashes.
Kurogane shivered, hoping she would never, ever do that again. Ever.
"Ask. Although, I don't guarantee that I'll answer anything." He muttered, irritated at the situation in general. What, was it "get kidnapped by dragons day"?
"I was hoping you would say that." Murmured a voice, as the owner shifted behind him.
Had someone been there the whole time!? Kurogane internally groaned. How out of shape was he if he couldn't even sense someone standing behind him?
"Souma!" Chirped the girl liltingly, swaying her feet back and forth from her perch on the stump. "Is Souma the one Fai asked to be the questioner?"
"Interrogator, Mokona-chan." Kyle corrected, looking at Souma expectantly.
Souma shrugged. "He didn't ask so much as hint at it. Which, is as direct as he'll ever be with these types of things."
Kyle nodded and Mokona just grinned blindly. Kurogane grew concerned that he may be surrounded by a troop of idiots…
The woman standing firmly behind him moved into his visage and he was slightly taken aback.
She was beautiful, there was no question about that. Her dark coat fell to her back in tails. She had a strong demeanor, especially with dark branch-like ears with leafy razors curling around her head much like that of a ram. The knife she swiftly placed teasingly at his throat didn't hurt either. He bit back the urge to gulp.
Somewhere in the background he heard Mokona's smothered laughed.
"So, dear sir. What were you ordered to do to us?" She asked, dark eyes narrow and unpitying.
Kurogane glared. "I have no idea what you're talking about."
The blade was pressed a little closer. She slowly recited her question, "As a peacemaker, hand-picked by the Mayor, what were you, the hunter, ordered to do to us?"
His nose crinkled with distaste. "I never accepted that job." He replied calmly. "I refused outright. Those idiots wouldn't even tell me what I was doing there until after word was out about the Mayor's kidnapping."
"Liar!" She yelled, blade dipping into his skin ever so slightly. The resulting droplets of blood fell carelessly onto his collar.
"Souma!" Yelped Kyle, grabbing her and pulling her, and the knife, away from Kurogane.
"We caught him! We had followed and we caught him first!" She grumbled, hanging limply from Kyle's restraining arms.
The calm youth looked at Kurogane imploringly. "You must forgive her," he said, "if you are telling the truth, this may be the first time we've ever caught someone entirely innocent." Souma pulled out of his grip and he allowed it, watching her stretch her arms.
She whirled on him. "You felt me up when you did that!"
The boy looked surprised. "I assure you, I didn't." He replied, waving his hands in protest.
Mokona watched the on goings with worried unease. "Mokona will go get Fai-san!" She announced, running off in the directed at Kurogane's back.
Kurogane sniffed indignantly. Souma crouched next to him and poked him in the head. He glared. She glared back.
Kyle laughed, nervously. "It's great to see you two getting along so well!" He said. After a moment's pause, he continued, "Although I'm not sure the interrogator and, uh, captive getting along is a good thing…"
"So you refused being a peacemaker?" She asked, a tone of level conviction present in her voice.
"Outright." He replied.
"Why, exactly, were you brought to the Mayor's office in the first place?"
"I was asked to be a Peacemaker, but the frilly man refused to tell me any of the details of the trip. He said that I was to speak directly to the Mayor himself."
She stared levelly at him. "You realize that we have the Mayor, don't you?"
"I do." He replied firmly.
"So, in the situation that I let you free, what is going to be your plan of action."
"I guess I'll head back to the inn I'm staying at in town." He said, pausing before adding, "…and hope to remain there instead of being swept away by every individual with a misguided thought or dream that needs me for some reason."
She looked off to the distance and sighed, grabbing him by the hair. Kurogane bit back an alarmed yelp as he was brought to his feet by the pull of his captured locks.
"Hyuu!~" A light voice cried, a blonde man wandering up with the small Mokona attached unyieldingly to his side. His ears, trademark of dragons, apparently, curled at his head like song notes. A light feathery skin rippled and fluffed at the touch of the breeze. He was clothed in a long white coat with a furry, ruffled hood and a pair of light blue pants. Kurogane stared and felt a rush of heat hit his face like a plume of fire.
"Fai-san!" Souma jolted, surprised, and released Kurogane's hair.
The blonde man, Fai, grinned lazily. "That was such a cute noise he made! Just like a puppy!"
Kurogane looked at the man dumbfounded, face still heated. Although beautiful in an ethereal sort of way, he looked to be a total airhead. And his arms and body were as slender and long as a young tree. Was this their leader?
Fai looked him up and down and he felt himself internally twitching and nervous. The hell was this, some sort of spell? He must have been getting sick from sitting on that damn earth for so long!
"Souma," Fai spoke, not taking his eyes off of Kurogane, "what conclusion have you come to?"
The woman bowed her head a little. "I've yet to properly interrogate him, but I believe that this man is innocent."
Kyle raised an eyebrow. "You're not going to allow his release with only that, are you Fai-san?"
Fai smiled over at the man, who squinted his eyes warily at him. "Of course I am!" He clapped his hands together and waved the met palms back and forth. "Souma is a hard sell. If she has enough faith to trust him then I myself must meet that trust of her."
Kyle's ears twitched in annoyance. "Souma, you have reached a new levels for your ridiculous stunts, but if Fai-san allows it, then I'm not going to argue it."
"Ahhh, Kyle-kun is so mean!" Fai crooned. Souma just shrugged at the pony tailed man's disgruntled expression.
With a swift movement and impressive accuracy, Fai cut the ropes off of Kurogane with, what could be best called, a lazy swipe. The newly freed man flexed his arms in an attempt to ward off the stiffness his joints were complaining of.
Fai grinned at the Kurogane with a lazy smile. "So, if we have mistakenly apprehended you, perhaps we could make nice over a good meal?"
Souma looked at him and Kyle stood rigid and silent. Mokona bounced over to the freed guard and grabbed his hands, swinging him in a short circle. "Hooray! More for merry-making!" She cheered.
---
The dragons had insisted that he accompany them to a meal, carefully making pointed statements that he would not be the one the meal consisted of. It was almost comical.
They had led him to a make-shift camp. Large leather tents covered in dark tarps were assembled around in a circle, five in all. A few old logs were set up around a rock-circled fire. The place had a clinging, heavy scent of earth and smoke. As far as Kurogane could gather, they were in the middle of the nearby forest. How large that forest was he had no idea.
Souma, Fai, and the intricately dressed woman from earlier took charge of the meal. Amongst her fellows, the intricately dressed woman, introduced to him as Yuuko, had no qualms revealing her long, glitteringly dark ears that curled above her head in looming darkness. Small dangling pieces of jewel and jagged, feathery flesh fell silkily from them. She was mysterious and dark and reminding Kurogane more of a wicked witch than a dragon.
They all seemed less dragon-like than his initial idea of them. Instead of fierce, slimy lizards they had thus far appeared only in human form with, or without those strange ears.
Mokona sat primly at his side, feet swaying back and forth as she sat on the smooth log. He was vaguely annoyed that she had taken such a liking to him, for she never seemed to stop actually moving. Feet, hands, or whole body, she was always a bouncy form of hyper and glee.
Fai walked over, a ladle filled with a steamy concoction in his hands. "Any takers?" He asked, whirling the ladle around dangerously.
"Mokona wants to taste!" She chirped jumping up from her seat and bouncing over to Fai. He handed her the ladle and with a single gulp she downed it whole.
Subsequently, he ears turned violently red. "Mokona is on fire!" She squealed, recoiling in mock agony.
"It is hot, Mokona-chan." Chided Fai. "How about asking Ryuuoh for some water?"
"Alright!" She chirped, bounding off into the forest.
Kurogane eyed the blonde dragon warily. "…how many of you are there?"
Fai gave him a sly look. "Is Kuro-chi afraid of being outnumbered?" He cooed.
Kurogane twitched. "What did you call me?" Kyle, sitting on the opposite side of the fire, looked up from his book with mild interest. In the background he swore he heard the witch lady laugh.
"Kuro-ki? Kuro-wan-wan? Kuro-wanko? Kuro-nyan?"
"Stop calling me stupid names, you idiot!" He barked, picking up a moss covered rock and pitching it at the grinning idiot.
"On no! He's gone mad from hunger! Yuuko-chan, Souma-chan, hurry to feed the angry beastling!~" He called, dancing out of the path of the rock.
"The soup will be ready soon." Announced Souma, ignoring the two with ease.
Kurogane sniffed indignantly; he felt himself doing that a lot lately. "Do any of you take your situations seriously at all." He asked, bitterly. "You're the so-called leader and you act like a raving loon!" He said, pointing at Fai.
Fai looked cheerily over at him. "You think I'm a loon?" He asked.
This seemed like a trap. "Yes, you're very much a loon. I can't understand how you have any followers whatsoever." He grumbled, crossing his arms and ignoring Kyle's shocked stare and Yuuko's amused glances.
"Well, I'll have you know right now that I am most certainly not a loon." He stated, swaggering around the campfire. "Loons are a type of bird. And I," at this he looked over at Kurogane wickedly, "am no bird."
Small blue sparks flared from Fai's elegant ears. A magnificent glow spread across his body. Waves of different colors of light flickered playfully on his form. More gentle than one could imagine, his body expanded and elongated. First the melodic sounds of chimes accompanied his lengthening neck. A musical whir foresaw his growing and adjusting legs. A whip like tail glided behind him and gracefully dodged hitting the pot of boiling stew so many feet away. Wings sprouted from the form, ruffled themselves, then rested.
As the transformation ended, Kurogane starred wide-eyed from his position on the ground, where he had fallen from his shock.
A blue and white dragon of scales, fur, and feathers grinned down at him, blue eyes sparkling mischievously. "See? I am no loon!" He cheered, ears waving in tune with the movement of his jaw. Small tinkling sounds, like tiny bells, trilled as he strutted about the camp.
"Fai-san is so cool!" Cheered Mokona, attempting, and succeeding, to clamber onto his polished, scaly backside.
Souma shook her head, staring at Kurogane from the small distance of the where the cooking pot resided. "I hope you cherish this, he doesn't do this very often. He must have some fondness for you."
Kurogane didn't need to ask exactly what it was that he was supposed to cherish. Fai's entire being currently radiated warmth, power, and beauty all in one slender form.
"Awww, Souma-san, you say the sweetest things!" Chirped Fai, floatily walking over to the amused dragon.
"Sweetest things!" Mokona echoed, gripping onto the back of Fai's ears.
Kurogane picked himself up from his sprawled position. "Don't you think that's a little dangerous? You could be spotted a mile away in that form! And the town officials are probably scouring the forests for you since you've kidnapped the Mayor and all..." Kurogane paused. "Where is the Mayor, anyway?"
A grim look slipped across the face of the dragon, but was gone before Kurogane could properly question it. "Oh, it would go against so much code to tell that to a total stranger! Especially, a former captive!" He crooned, head arched to look at him more directly.
Mokona slipped and slid down Fai's neck a little before scrambling back up and regaining her perch behind his ears. Fai's slender wings sat nestled and against his back, and he stretched the lazily before pumping them lightly and sending a breeze across the camp.
Kurogane looked at him with a scowl. "So you aren't going to cook me with your firey breath?" He asked. At Fai's questioning look Kurogane chided himself for his curiosity. "All the legends in my town tend to have dragons that breath fire of some sort."
Fai laughed, "Where would you be from?" He asked.
Kurogane shrugged casually, amazed that he could keep his cool while being faced down by a powerful, albeit gorgeous, beast. "I'm from the north. Winden Country, specifically." He wondered why on earth he had told them that. Maybe there was some magic about dragons that made you want to divulge any answer from your darkest secrets to your childhood memories. Shit, he hoped not.
Fai's canine-like snout bobbed as he nodded. "You're ruled by a King there aren't you? That makes a lot of sense." He told him.
Both paused and the campfire grew silent. Fai plopped onto the ground between the two logs, a tale idly wrapping loosely around a tent.
"Why does that make sense?" Kurogane asked, curiosity gnawing at him and winning.
Kyle looked over at the former guard reproachfully, but without a sense of surprise. "You do not know much about the history of dragons, do you?"
"Well, how could I?" Kurogane sniped. "My country doesn't even know they exist! Or, at least the townspeople don't." Kurogane stopped and abruptly sat, an idea hitting him square in the chest.
Now that he thought about it, this information could be known by some. How much, exactly, was kept from the people of towns and cities that the governments or Kings knew about?
Fai nudged the guard in the cheek and jolted him out of his thoughts.
"You can ignore Kyle." He told him, as Kyle protested the remark in the background. "But, I trust you aren't someone who would abuse the information you may gain here."
Kurogane looked at him blandly. "How do you know I won't?" He asked. "I could walk right back into that town and spill the information on you to the highest bidder if I wanted to..."
Fai grinned, wolfish face too close to Kurogane for his liking. "I have magical dragony powers." He confided solemnly.
Kurogane almost, not quite, but almost laughed.
---
Despite not having verified trust in Kurogane amongst all the dragons (since, for example, many hadn't even met him yet), the rest of the night was spent with the six of them telling tales and trading information. Yuuko got very drunk and yet was able to remain as stable as she was sober. Mokona tried to sway the others into sharing their alcohol, and almost did it, but was kept off of it by an irritated and somewhat tipsy Kyle. Fai giggled and floated around in his dragon form (a form he apparently preferred, but was rarely able to get a chance to go into) for most of the night before resigning himself to that of a human form so that he could annoy Kurogane on a closer level. Souma stayed relatively quiet and kept a suspicious eye on the bottle of Cherry's Delight, the only available hard liquor in the camp, as it passed around the group with careless abandon.
Kurogane wondered when exactly he had become a member of their group. Especially since they had initially kidnapped him and had the Mayor held captive somewhere as well. Okay, maybe he wasn't exactly a member, yet. Kyle had made sure that Kurogane remembered that he was merely a guest and nothing else until he met all the dragons in the group and their approval.
He wondered, somewhere in the back of his half-drunk mind, whether or not Tomoyo would approve of this kind of conduct.
And knowing his princess he was sure that she probably would. Stupid royals with their abilities to foresee futures.
Kurogane had discovered various things that night that he was unaware of previously.
Like, for example, that a dragon's wingspan was enormously larger that that displayed in picture books. Although none of the other dragon-turned-humans has taken it upon themselves to transform (and for Mokona this was rather a surprise, since she seemed so enthusiastic for Fai's form) Fai himself had the wings to prove the tales and pictures wrong.
His probably almost hurt himself in the process as well, seeing as the were much larger than the tiny enclosure provided by the trees.
He had also learned that Fai did breath fire. He was apparently not a fire dragon, but according to him any dragon that could fly could potentially breath fire. It was a matter of whether they wanted to or not that dominated the process.
So many new ideas and concepts swirled around in his brain. It was unlike him to just lose his wits and get as sloshed as he had. It was completely unlike him to fall asleep in the middle of the woods with a bunch of dragons who were, but not quite, his friends.
Friendship was hard to gain if a relationship started with a kidnapping, or so he thought.
He absentmindedly wondered if the inn-keeper would worry about him. Or the tavern-keeper. Or the maids. Any of them and their insistence on him having free food for thanks.
He didn't need free things. Tomoyo had loaded him down before he left. He didn't need their help at all.
He didn't need anyone's help. Not his father or mother's. Not his Princess's. Not any of the people he knew. This had been almost a mantra that had stuck with him for a lengthy period of his life.
He lay there, with a blonde head of hair, belonging to a very drunk and very unconscious dragon, resting securely on his chest.
It occurred to him that he had never needed to state before that he didn't need the help of dragons. This was, quite simply because he had never knew that they existed. He decided that he was going to amend this a promptly add them to that list as well.
---
When Kurogane woke up in the morning, he was not surprised to find the leader of the dragons no longer sleeping on top of him. To be honest, that had been quite weird. He did not often sleep with others on top of him, let alone a creature that had enough strength to kill him. And by accident.
Apparently the dragon leader had drank something he wasn't supposed to yesterday morning (although, no one would indulge in explaining further on that note) and was acting outrageous, even for himself. If Souma hadn't told him this, he would've continued to think the dragon just as air-headed as he seemed. Perhaps when he met him again, he would see a serious, concentrated leader that led with a stone solid purpose and noble intentions.
That in of itself was hard to imagine.
He was, however, surprised to find a blanket covering him and heavy two brown eyes not but a foot away, glaring at him.
Kurogane was proud of himself when he stared back instead of leaping in surprise, like his body had wanted to. He was not going to get that drunk for a very, very long time. Why the hell had he in the first place!?
The boy, or dragon (probably), eased his glare as it was being matched against another. He looked to be only twelve or thirteen. Maybe even fifteen. How long did dragons live anyway?
"So you're Kurogane?" He asked, not moving an inch from his crouched position, eyes calculating and stubborn.
Who the hell was he to deny the obvious? "Yes."
The boy's eyes softened a tad further. "I just wanted to..." He started, but trailed off, as if he hadn't thought of what he was going to say next. He looked away from Kurogane, starring quite intensely at some trees. "I want to, y'know..." He shrugged and looked at Kurogane helplessly.
Kurogane looked at him, too hung over and confused for a meeting like this. "No." He said simply. "I don't know."
The boy looked uncomfortable. Then, suddenly he bowed lowly. "I wanted to thank you for helping Sakura at the tavern." He said loudly and quickly, a fierce blush on his young face.
With that, he was up like a shot and ran out of the camp site. Kurogane was surprised the boy didn't kick up any dust and dirt, running at that speed.
"The hell...?" Kurogane muttered, dusting some leaves off of his head. There was a chuckle behind him and he turned to see who it was, irritated with his apparently new lack of being able to sense people nearby.
Souma stared at him. "You broke up a bar fight involving a maid at the inn you were staying at, correct?" She asked.
A part of him wanted to ask why she had said were staying at and not are staying out, but he figured he would find out soon enough. And probably not like it one bit. "Yeah. Was that what that was all about?"
She nodded. "Although he denies it, he is quite fond of that girl you saved. When he wandered in here and saw you, he stayed until you woke up so that he could thank you." She paused. "I don't think he thanks people very often." She stated flatly, staring at the trample flora he had left in his wake.
Kurogane shook his head. Dragons were so damn confusing. If that kid was a dragon…which, he probably was.
Damnit, his head hurt. He didn't deserve this!
"How did he know it was me?"
She looked surprised by the question. "Be your scent, of course." At Kurogane's blank stare she continued. "Well, most likely the girl had your scent on her when she went home so when he came by he recognized that same smell on you."
"...So that kid's a dragon?"
Souma nodded.
"Is the girl a dragon, too?"
Souma shook her head.
"I'm not even going to ask how that relationship is going to work out..."
---