Ugh, the next chapter is better than this one, but someone out there is bound to enjoy it. Tsubasa isnt mine, if it were Touya and Yukito would have their own side story.


Chapter 2

Their landing was not the most pleasant that they had ever experienced, but it was not, by far, the worst. Kurogane found himself hitting the ground on his rear, falling over onto his back. His vision was still blurry, but he could make out the pink of sakura trees that could only be found in his homeland. The scent hit him next. He closed his eyes and breathed in deeply. Home. The ninja stood, examining the oh so familiar area surrounding them. They were in the courtyard, of course, in the east wing of the royal quarters. There was a faint groan from somewhere next to him. No, don't look yet. It would be too much for him if it was all somehow just a lie. He heard a rustling from the same spot. Using all of his emotional courage, he looked. The mage was on the ground, a few flowers from the trees above nestled in his hair. The pale blue hakuma was askew, nearly falling from his pale shoulders as he sat with one knee pulled against his chest and the other stretched out in front of him. Kurogane could see now that even with his strong gait, he was still too skinny for his own good. He'd have to fix that.

He had just reached down to help the mage to his feet when the royal guard bore down on them. Kurogane had wondered why they had bothered to come at all. If he were in fact a dangerous intruder, which he was dangerous, but not a threat, he could have made his way into the princess's private quarters by then and begun his escape. Honestly, how had Tomoyo-hime survived this long without him? He just stood there as the defense squad gaped at him. Fai just waved and said something in a completely foreign language that managed to further confuse the foolish guards. Oh, right, language barriers. Well, he'd just have to talk to the witch somehow. He was not pleased about that.

It didn't take long to convince the guards to get him a private audience with the princess; half of them had known him before he was sent away and all of them were afraid of him. The mage seemed to be enjoying himself, babbling on in his native language to an extent that Kurogane wondered if everything that had happened since Tokyo was just a dream and that this was still the idiot that wanted to get himself killed. This was the most he heard coming out of the mage's mouth since before he had lost his eye, and he didn't understand a word of it. From the look on Fai's face, he knew just what Kurogane was thinking, and found it utterly hilarious. Kurogane was not in the least amused.

When Tomoyo saw the strange pair a look of the purest kind of affection spread over her face. She walked over to Kurogane, and he bowed, not realizing what was in store until he was stuck crouched in a bear hug which he wouldn't dare escape. The mage laughed behind him, still talking nonsense. The familiar urge to kill was rising in the back of his mind, but he quickly discarded the thoughts when he was released and caught the look in the mage's eyes. He was peaceful. That was enough to keep Kurogane from killing him, even if he was an annoying inarticulate fool. He couldn't help but smile a little at that thought, but composed himself. This was the time to be focusing on his princess, not the mage.

Tomoyo, however, seemed to be going through a similar thought process. The first words out of her mouth were, "Well, that wont do, will it?" The mage just laughed at her tone and said what were presumably his hellos. Kurogane rolled his eyes.

The next few hours were full of reintroductions and talk of the warrior's return. He never liked this sort of thing, especially now that his usual excuse for not talking was, in that sense, incapacitated. He wanted nothing more than to go to his abandoned house, find a nice cup of steaming tea, and make sure that the mage went to sleep instead of wandering off alone. He didn't think it was unreasonable, but Tomoyo was fussing over him as if he were a lost puppy that needed love and pampering. If anything, shouldn't he be the one fussing over her? Or at least reinstating an entirely new defense squad. Whoever had picked men for her newest guard needed to be made an example of. At least Souma wasn't coddling him. She was sitting practically on top of the mage, bottle of sake in hand and red faced, talking to him as if she could understand everything that was being said between them. The mage stole occasional glances at his partner, clearly saying, she's a feisty one, crazy, but with a good heart. Kurogane could only nod to that. There was food. There was drink. There was a very tired Kurogane dragging Fai out of the palace very early in the morning to make their way to his house. It wasn't far from where they began walking, but Kurogane found himself wanting to take his time and make his first trip back to his dwelling memorable. That it was, with the mage following in silence. He had stopped talking the moment that they were alone together. Kurogane couldn't really blame him. It had been a hell of a day, and the evening had ended with Tomoyo declaring the next day a national holiday in their honour. He wasn't quite sure how he would break that one to the mage, or if he would even be able to for that matter.

They came upon the house quickly enough, even with Kurogane taking his time and Fai trailing behind, obviously not familiar with where they where headed. It was a classic Japanese home, small for a standard family, but spacious for its usual one tenant. The place had gathered a fine line of dust while its air had lain undisturbed. Kurogane shook it off of his blankets and pillows with frustration the moment he had entered his bedroom, leaving Fai to examine his front room. He had just made it to the bedroom when Kurogane had began to leave, leaving them standing in the doorway with each other in the way. Neither of them moved, just waited for the other. After a moment of silence Kurogane ran a hand through his hair with a sigh,

"Fine then. How about some tea? Tea?" The mage cocked his head to the side. "Tea." Kurogane repeated, as if being more stern would have any effect. It must have, for he nodded and stepped out of the doorway.

The tea was made and drunk in silence while the two men analyzed each other. Fai looked so natural in his home, looking around like a child, but at the same time didn't fit in the way that you only could if you were from another world. His blonde hair would stand out there, too. Hopefully he wouldn't ever wander far away enough to meet people who didn't know him already. The women would jump on such an exotic feature. Suddenly the tea wasn't so relaxing. Still he waited for Fai to finish his before retiring. Finding a spare blanket and pillow didn't take too long, although Kurogane didn't have a clue that he even had a spare blanket or pillow. He threw them at the mage, who caught them easily with the hint of a grin. They walked into the bedroom and Kurogane stripped himself of his armour. He went to put it in his wardrobe when he caught the mage just standing there, blanket in hand, staring. Kurogane walked back over, pushing his blanket aside with his foot.

"What is it, mage?" Fai still stood there, blinking for a second before babbling something he couldn't understand. It sounded like a joke of some sort. The ninja frowned. "Just get some rest. Tomorrow will be…busy." He almost shuddered at the though. Even worse than the actual celebration, Tomoyo might dress them up. The idiot mage would probably end up in women's clothes. He sighed, sitting on his bed mat, waiting for the mage to settle himself. Settle himself he did, finding a soft plot of floor and lying down facing the ninja. His eyes were closed before his head even hit the pillow. Kurogane wasn't sure whether he was genuinely tired or just didn't want to meet his eyes. After a few minutes without hearing his breathing change, he decided that it was a bit of both. He slowly allowed his eyes to close, letting that familiar, comforting feeling of Fai's presence wash over him. The mage was close and safe. He could sleep now.

It felt like one of the longest nights that Kurogane ever had. The therapeutic sound of the mage's breathing reassured Kurogane enough to keep his eyes closed, although he was awake. He hovered in that place between sleep and consciousness for most of the night. There were quiet noises of the mage shifting positions in his sleep, but besides that just the slow hum of night. This left the ninja with all the time in the world to lie there in silence and think.

He had never actually received an answer. That is, unless the mage's coming with him was his answer. Still, Kurogane couldn't help but feel the slightest tinge of disappointment at that. He was never one to translate emotions into words. Then, when the time had come and he was left with no other choice but to, the only word that could describe his feelings toward the mage was love. It wasn't as if he didn't know how he felt, he had known when he had cut off his arm after seeing the mage's past in Celes, he had known when the mage first fed unwillingly, he had known before he was faced with the trade in Tokyo. He had just never bothered to put it into words. Yet, he found that he had no choice but to find words when they faced the end. No, the mage hadn't really given him an answer, not a clear one at least. That just wasn't fair. Since when had Kurogane turned into a bashful schoolgirl anyway, with these things called "feelings"? The mage was the one who was supposed to get all choked up with these sorts of things. Not the other way around. Now he was beginning to get a little bit mad at himself. He was there, though. In his home world, in his house, in his bedroom. With no way to escape back into that mentality of worthlessness and agony. Kurogane wouldn't let him. He opened his eyes, turning his head to look at the object of his thoughts. He blinked. Fai was about two feet away from him, still seemingly soundly asleep. He had not been that close when Kurogane had first closed his eyes. He sat up, surveying the room from a new angle. No, definitely closer. How odd. Unless, that was the mage's way of giving him an answer when words couldn't be understood. Kurogane lay back down, mentally smacking himself. He couldn't get his hopes up. The mage had just moved in his sleep, that was all, nothing else to it. What was there to get his hopes up about anyway? That the mage wouldn't hate him now? That he wouldn't run off as far as he could to escape? That he wouldn't refuse him as prey? None of the scenarios pleased the ninja. Were those the best he could hope for? He didn't know what he'd do if the mage went to the witch asking to leave him. Follow after, came to mind, but Kurogane doubted he had anything left to trade to the witch for that wish. He had to make Fai coherent too, which was also a mystery as to how he would make that happen. At least Fai was here with him now, and from the looks of it, not planning on running away until at least morning. He stared at the ceiling for a few moments, then closed his eyes again, reluctant to do so.

It was another hour or so before he heard a rustle near him. The ninja lied there unmoving, waiting, listening. A few minutes passed. He turned his head just the slightest and opened one eye. The mage was even closer now, not even a foot from the edge of the tatami mat. He wondered if he should try to wake the mage up and demand an answer from him. He opened his mouth to speak, and then stopped. It was peaceful, serene, and not as if he'd be able to understand anyway. So instead of starting a completely one sided conversation that would in any and all ways end up with him being frustrated and the mage being confused he got comfortable and closed his eyes, this time actually drifting to sleep.

When he woke up at dawn, the mage was curled up at the edge of the bedding, his hand grasping Kurogane's blanket.