A/N: Oooooookay, so first things first. Sorry how shitty the first chapter was...I sometimes like to puke out idea as soon as I get them? So yah, it was kinda rushed but the update sure wasn't - I'm horrible at it and very sorry . But most importantly thanks for reading and reviewing, this chapter's longer and I think I write better stoned so I hope round 2 is a better read for you.
To: Sarifina – I will most definitely be giving Mommy and Daddy some alone time...I'm thinking around at least 2 more chapters before I even start writing scenes from the kids points of view and even then everyone will still be separated...so yah I hope this keeps you interested :)
(PS: A signature style in the actual show Lost is the flashback scenes each of the characters have about something that happened to them before arriving on the island, sometimes from a week ago or as far back as childhood. I'm most definitely going to be including those starting in this chapter, but I had a problem with how to show what was present time and what was flashback. I know italicizing it would be the simplest solution (and maybe it's just me) but I don't like having that much italics to read, especially when some of the scenes are longer-it doesn't look nice. So when you see a line of these """""""""" it means the start of a flashback scene, and when you see double lines of these """"""'" it means the flashback is over. Sorry if that's confusing to people but I don't think it'll use up too much of your brain trying to figure it out.
The breaking sound of waves and a pleasant, heavy warmth engulfed Kurogane's being. He was stuck in that blissful area between rising from a deep sleep and wakefulness. Salt and a magical sort of fruity sent tickled his nose, as well as something else-something softer and even more exquisite.
Dark eyes slowly opened only to narrow quickly at a harsh light that went straight to his brain, and after a moment and more than a little disoriented, Kurogane awoke. With a hand shielding the sunlight, he surveyed the ocean in front of him and the beach on both sides. Still stuck on the same damn island. Unexpectedly the uncomfortable sensation returned under his nose and the man took a sharp intake of breath. Every inch and limb of Fai's body was still draped over his own, and as the mage shifted and a gust of sea breeze lifted silken gold threads to flutter in Kurogane's face, he could see that the other was still asleep.
He sighed long and loud, letting his head drop back to observe the green canopy above. It was so confusing and ironic to be lost and yet surrounded by paradise...it almost felt nostalgic. Kurogane just about let a lazy chuckle out at that one, his still hazy mind taking him to a place just out of reach, an idea or feeling he knew he felt...or was going to? The ninja was swiftly startled out of his reverie when a muted thud made its presence known and his head snapped so rapidly to the left his neck cracked.
With robotic-like motions Kurogane slipped out from under Fai, and cautiously rose to his feet. His eyes darted to and fro but saw nothing in the dense vegetation mere feet behind him. Above, the tropical tree hovered and its leaves sailed, and the ninja's gaze moved along to the neighbouring tree. Another thud-to the right! If he would've reacted a split-second later, he'd miss the small, dark mass that landed on a small outcrop of rocks a few stride lengths away, and subsequently rolled off to the side he couldn't see. What concerned Kurogane wasn't the fact that he was very naked, but that his best sword had been lost upon his arrival into this purgatory. One of his smaller daggers that he drew out of a hanging pant pocket would have to do for now until he found his main weapon, and he'd be damned if he didn't.
A liquid stain on the dark rocks painted a trail towards a fuzzy, brown lump, and as his tanned hand got a grip on it the thing split in half, revealing a white interior. He knew what it was; the brat had pointed the stupid fruit-thing out at a market in one of the previous worlds they'd been dumped in...but what were they called? The name eluded the ninja, what he did was remember was where they came from.
"The trees...?" Kurogane muttered, looking upwards again for an answer - and an answer he got. Stars exploded behind his eyes and a loud and angry grunt got past his lips after one of the damned things landed on his head without warning.
"Argh-what the hell! Piece of shit island..."
"Hehe..hehehe."
The ninja was squatted, gritting his teeth and holding his head when he heard it. If he was right and the psychotic mage was going there he was going to-
"Hahaha! One point...for the coconut!"
Lucky for Kurogane the rocks were high enough to hide him from the waist down, and when he turned some of his anger instantly dissipated at the sight of Fai just as naked as he was (albeit under a blanket) and bathed in sunlight. Shit, this place was already starting to get to him.
"You..." the ninja growled under his breath, "How long have you been awake?"
"Long enough, Kuro-tan."
"I'll spare you a beating if you close your eyes for a minute-and I wouldn't advise any peeking."
More giggles, but quieter this time. Kurogane tried to focus on the iridescent sparkle on the waves while he rubbed his head tenderly and checked to see if it was bleeding-he didn't want to witness Fai's expression right then.
"Ok."
Once he confirmed the blonde's traitorous eyes were shut, the man stiffly walked over to the branch their clothes had surprisingly stayed on throughout the night and morning. The heat was scorching and so he ignored his shirt and instead set to work on his pants; they would constantly be pissing him off in this terrain, and with the help of his dagger he cut half their length off and slipped them on. Without waiting for permission blue eyes opened at the sound of the other's approaching footsteps after he had gotten dressed, and those eyes traveled up his torso a little too slow for his liking.
"I think we can drink what's inside those things...maybe you should grab ten of them, ne? I'm really thirsty."
Fai managed a weak yet teasing smile when Kurogane sunk into a crouch beside him, and the man couldn't help but notice the other's lips and how dried out they'd become, making the mage's speech a little difficult. "I'll grab a few and if you complain you can help your own stupid-ass out." He glanced up and down the beach for a minute. No nothing...no Mokona, none of the kids.
"Thanks for last night, Kuro-puppy."
Kurogane's arm moved on auto-pilot to one side of Fai's head, and his finger gently glided over his injury, inspecting. "You can't make fun when your head's worse-off then mine, you little shit." He removed the soiled rag, grumbling when he saw how swollen the skin was but relieved that the bleeding had stopped.
"Don't worry..." Fai whispered, putting on his reassuring mask, "I mean, out of all the places to be stranded I think we got pretty lucky...don't you? And I know you hurt your back...you probably were hoping I wouldn't notice-but it could be a lot worse, right?" He rose up on his elbows, then slowly and with a wince he was sitting all the way up, at the same level as the ninja. "The children should be just fine-it must be easy to find food around here-and hopefully Mokona's with them...either way she's close or else you'd be speaking that silly gibberish and-"
"Yeah, shut up...I get it," Kurogane cut in. His brain was telling him that now that they were up it was foolish to linger in the open in a foreign environment-and so unprepared. But the other part of him, the part that stared right back at Fai, wanted to grab as many coconuts as he could and spend the afternoon not worrying about anything. He stood up abruptly, glaring down at the mage. "Don't think I'm going to let this place get to me. Just stay put-I'm going to get very few of those hairy things."
Fai blinked and looked oh so confused, tilting his head to the side to follow the man's muscular back as he headed down the beach. "Sure?"
For all Kurogane knew they might be dead already. The whole thing felt like a surreal dream-definitely one of his top five realistic ones. Maybe it was the isolation that was getting to him but his trained intuition told him otherwise; there was definitely something strange (maybe even wrong) with this island. Even though he was only walking down the shoreline close to where the waves broke against the beach, on a search for coconuts, he could feel it. So it could be concluded that sleeping naked with the mage and the hit to his head had evidently rattled him. End of story. Kurogane determined the best way to get the things out of the tall and skinny trees was to kick the base and avoid their landing zone. When two fell not far from his feet he couldn't help the satisfaction he felt-perhaps a bit too much. He wondered, while raising his leg again in hope of another pair to knock off, what had brought him to this point...what had had happened to his chain of actions and events that landed him in these circumstances.
The man was suddenly winded with a startling realization and he stumbled mid-kick, thrusting his hand forward to support himself against the tree. He couldn't remember how they got there...nothing about the previous world. Sure he could remember older dimensions they'd visited-dozens of them-and he still retained memories of childhood...but the last one proved impossible to recall. "Fuck...", Kurogane swore, and his next kick brought down four coconuts.
"""""""""""""""""""""""""""""
The way the yakuza lord stroked his goatee-like beard irked Kurogane. The fact that they were crammed into a small, smoky room that was already cramped as it was didn't help, and the four goons and/or bodyguards he had brought with him were wasting air and energy by being there...amateur intimidation acts.
"The enemy of my enemy is my friend, right?"
The ninja folded his arms and kept his face clear. It was hard not to sigh or look away-he knew this conversation would be going nowhere good. He almost forgot to respond, but the pointed look the other man was giving him from across the rickety table was telling him to agree and so Kurogane nodded sharply.
"That is your belief, is it not? It is how we are even on speaking terms to begin with."
"I get your point but I don't see the importance of it."
An over-hanging lamp, nearly dim as a candle, cast long shadows down the gangster's face. He chuckled before pausing to light a cigar then, laughed again with lungs full of smoke. This man, Terada Hiraku, could easily be described as a dragon from hell at that moment. Through a haze that billowed out his nostrils, all features of the man's already darkened profile disappeared-only eyes and teeth glinted. "It matters because it can change everything."
Kurogane caught on quickly. "If I recall correctly the first handful of jobs I did for you I did for free in order to avoid this situation that I'm sure you were going to explain next."
"Right you are. However, I'm still going to explain...I have some things to add. Yes, it's true you proved yourself during the beginning time period of our collaboration, but it's not enough anymore. The more missions I give you and the more you complete them the closer it connects us. This time we live in, this time of war in Nippon, is very unstable. Your Hime and myself may be fighting the same enemy today, but who knows what tomorrow could bring? Say I was to fall as is all our fate at some point...how hard would it be for you and the others to finish myself and my group off in the name of your duty?"
"I serve two masters in order to become stronger, this-"
"So you say..." Harada cut in, his tone shifting to a lot darker. "You and I both know that is not all the reasoning-only what you choose to reveal. Everyone has their own agenda, and lucky for you, yours is no business of mine. What I need is a guarantee; physical collateral that would represent this balance of the sides you adamantly tell me exists for you."
"And what form...would that take?"
The words Kurogane did not want to hear drifted through the other man's mouth effortlessly, "A contract.". His sidekicks fidgeted in the background, one even tried to make eye contact with another. "A contract that binds you to my service in the event that you are told or you take it upon yourself to harm me. Words mean little and nothing is free. If you do not sign this contract I will consider someone-perhaps even a village you hold dear-responsible for that wrong decision."
"Why bother," he replied bitterly.
"Because...Suwa-san, you are a mere ninja, a powerful asset but still nothing more than that. An asset. So what is your answer?"
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Kurogane had four of the coconuts in his arms and the other two he kicked along the white sand. After a couple feet of progress he lost one to the ocean, and Fai could probably hear him cursing when he retrieved it from the playful waves. Speaking of the mage he could see that the other was up and moving now, and had also acquired a new wardrobe. He had copied Kurogane in making shorts out of his pants, but his shirt had suffered a worse fate-both sleeves were cut off and most of the middle torso area so it basically turned into a thin and airy vest. In a typically clumsy manner Fai was trying to wrap the biggest piece he'd cut out of his shirt around his head as a new make-shift bandage.
"Give me that."
"Oh?" The blonde seemed surprised when his companion dumped his treasures next to their pitiful camp and grabbed both ends of the white fabric. "Kuro-puppy, you brought back more than I expected! But what took you so long, hm? Is the heat getting to you?"
The ninja's concentration shifted between Fai's face and making sure he wrapped the injury as best he could, and he chose not to respond to the mage's chit-chat. Kurogane wondered if he should bring up the memory loss issue, maybe the other had the same problem? But if he did wouldn't he have said something? Or it could be possible that the hit to his head caused unknown damage...which would prevent the blonde from even knowing what was up. Once the knot was tied securely he stepped away and went right to work on one of the coconuts. Delicately he began to drill into the fruit with a jagged rock, studiously ignoring everything.
"Mr. Black?"
"What?" he grunted, watching out of the corner of his eye as the mage tried to mimic his actions.
"Are you okay?"
If there was something wrong with him, Fai was the last person he'd tell. "...Yeah." He glanced at Fai and exchanged his now cracked and drinkable coconut with the blonde's who was sure to make a mess of it. "Drink. We'll set out for the kids after this...we can grab food along the way there are lots of fruit trees...maybe even make you a bow."
Fai nodded but continued to look at the ninja with frustratingly inquisitive blue orbs. "So will it be a romantic walk down the beach as far as we can go...or through the scary jungle?"
Kurogane stared long into the green depths, swallowing before he replied, "I'll go around and you can go through-we'll see who gets to the other side first."
"Um...Mommy hopes Daddy doesn't mean that."
"Just kidding. But I'll make it a reality if you keep calling me idiotic names and saying even more idiotic nonsense you damn mage."