This chapter is... more brick-laying/ scene-setting/ whatever you call it :P
Reader - Welcome back! I think Fai is going to have a lot of angst around him, no matter what he does ;) Glad you enjoyed!
Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle and its characters do not belong to me.
in Piffle, we play Pretend
Chapter 2: A Song Someone Sings
Fai woke the next morning, warm, snug, so comfortable that he thought he'd moved from one dream to the next. Except this dream—this consciousness—contained things he could feel with his skin, and that was something that rarely happened in his dreams.
He pried his eyes open, saw the mirror that stretched across the closet on this side of the bed. He kept his focus off his face, instead glancing about the reflection of the room: ivory-painted walls, sunlight streaming in through round windows, a bed long enough that his feet weren't hanging off the edge.
It took another while for him to realize that none of that contributed to his cocoon of safety. It was the snug warmth around him that did, accompanied by a splash of black hair that he could see past his own in the mirror.
He had slept next to Kurogane for months, so that wasn't something shocking in itself. It was the fact that Kurogane was pressed up behind him, an arm draped over his waist, that was new. Fai stopped breathing. His heart stumbled around in his chest, trying to escape. This wasn't supposed to happen.
What he did remember of last night was dragging on damp clothes to welcome the children home, and showing them to their rooms and asking how Sakura felt. The children had been tired. Sakura had a small bag of pills, and he'd had her take a shower first. Mokona had a change of clothes for all of them—Fai had never been more grateful for something clean and dry to sleep in.
Then he'd crawled into bed, keeping to his side while Kurogane slept on the other side, and twice through the night, Kurogane had woken up from nightmares. They were the sort of nightmares he got when they'd witnessed a great fire, and Fai had reached over unthinkingly to hold his hand, before falling back asleep. He hadn't expected this.
And this was safe. It was somewhere far, far away from Celes. If he— If he shut his eyes and pretended to be asleep, maybe this would go on. Kurogane was asleep and unaware of it. If no one knew...
Then this didn't happen, either.
x
x
Sakura was singing at breakfast. Rather, it was lunch, but none of them were too concerned about schedules today. Everyone had slept in, and in the end, it was Syaoran who had been the first to get to the kitchen. He hadn't expected Mokona to have fallen asleep curled around a wine bottle, however, and both bottle and Mokona had tipped over and gone plummeting to the floor the moment Syaoran opened the cabinet.
The resounding crash and his startled yelp had woken everyone else up.
Fai had scrambled and fallen out of bed in his attempt to rescue the boy. He and Kurogane had rushed to the kitchen, and Mokona had announced that she'd found a stash of wine someone left behind. Fai hadn't the heart to correct her. Kurogane snorted.
By the time he'd cleaned up the broken glass shards, everyone else had had their turn in the bathroom. Fai had set some tea to brew and started on the pancake mix, watching as Syaoran set the table for the five of them.
"A whole new world," Sakura sang quietly, pattering down the stairs, "a dazzling place I never knew. But when I'm way up here, it's crystal clear, that now I'm in a whole new world with you."
"Where did you learn that?" Fai asked, looking up. "That sounded beautiful, Sakura-mis!"
The princess blushed.
"It was on the radio in Tomoyo-ril's car last night," Syaoran said. Sakura nodded eagerly, coming to stand beside the boy.
"It was a really nice song, Fai-ril. I wish you could've heard it," she said, smiling brightly. "I think you would have liked it."
"Oh?" he said, perking up. "Maybe we should have a radio in here, but Kuro-daddy might get all grumpy about that."
"I'm sure he wouldn't mind," the princess said, emerald eyes lighting up. "It'll sound very good. I think he sings very well. Maybe he'd... join in if we sing?"
By himself, Fai wouldn't have thought it possible, but looking at the unwavering hope in Sakura's eyes... They had a chance of hearing Kurogane sing again, possibly. It wasn't like he wanted to hear it. The children would find joy in Kurogane's singing, though, and surely that would go a long way in justifying things. Like all of them singing together.
His heart sped up by a bit. Yes, that was a good idea.
"Maybe we'll start with a song he already knows," Fai said, scooping pancake batter into the oiled pan. "Remember that lullaby?"
Syaoran, Sakura and Mokona nodded.
"If everybody sings, Kuro-pai will sing too," Mokona said, lop ears perking up.
"Maybe not." Fai pursed his lips. "But if we change the lyrics so it sounds wrong, he'll want to correct us."
"Are you sure, Fai-ril?" Syaoran asked, eyes wide. "He might... get angry."
"He'll get angry if we change it to something bad," Fai said, and did not question how he knew this. "But if we change it to something better, he can't say we're wrong."
Mokona giggled.
"Do you remember the lyrics?" Fai asked quietly, glancing at the stairs. Mokona and Sakura nodded. Syaoran furrowed his brow. "Why don't we sing it together to refresh our memories?"
He led them in the lullaby, pancakes slowly heating in front of him.
"On this dark night when I'm all alone," Fai sang, grinning when Sakura and Mokona joined in hesitantly. "Come on, Syaoran-sha, I can't hear you! The stars shine bright and I hold my heart and pray. That an angel comes from the distant lands, hold my hand and take me home."
When it was over, Sakura smiled up at him. Mokona cheered.
"How are you feeling today, Sakura-mis?" Fai asked. "Did the medicine from the doctor help?"
She nodded firmly. "I'm feeling much better, Fai-ril. Thank you."
"I'm glad to hear that," Syaoran chimed in, looking over at the princess. Fai grinned and turned away to give them some privacy, flipping the pancakes when the bubbles in them had risen to the top.
He thought about Kurogane singing. Kurogane's voice was rich and deep, and it was... gentle. It made him seem far less prickly than he tried to appear. Fai knew that about him, of course, but he hadn't expected the warrior's singing to give him away like that.
The children talked between themselves and Mokona, and Fai hummed the lullaby as he made the pancakes, sliding them off onto a plate and pouring more batter into the pan. (Kurogane had set the bottle of cooking oil in the kitchen sometime through the night. Fai didn't comment on it.) By the time he finished the next batch of pancakes, he had a handful of possible substitutions for the song lyrics.
Kurogane joined them in the kitchen shortly afterward. None of them told him about the lullaby—Syaoran had engaged Mokona and the princess in a discussion about the dragonfly race, and Fai was listening in.
"Breakfast isn't done yet," he said, looking at all of them. "Why don't all of you follow Kuro-daddy out for his morning exercises?"
"I'm not a 'daddy'," Kurogane grumbled, but he didn't press it. "What's for breakfast?"
"Pancakes. I have extra eggs too, if you want something other than that."
"Pancakes is fine. Just not too sweet." Kurogane grabbed a cup of tea, swallowed half the scalding liquid down, and headed for the door. The children trailed after him. "Bring your weapons."
"Breakfast will be ready in twenty minutes," Fai called after them. "Don't be long!"
He spent the rest of the time switching out words in the lullaby. His notebook was upstairs. This was a new world, and Fai briefly wondered if he should prepare some magic absorption spells, just in case, but there didn't seem to be a need for it yet. Maybe tomorrow, when he made breakfast and Kurogane took the children out to train.
By the time they returned, he had a stack of warm pancakes on a plate, and some fruit preserve Mokona contributed from their storage. Syaoran was in the middle of explaining the sort of modifications they could do on their dragonflies for the competition.
"Tomoyo-ril said we can name our dragonflies, but she also said we shouldn't use magic on them," the boy said, looking up at Fai. Fai thought he hid his surprise well. "It doesn't seem like there's magic in this world, though. What do you think, Fai-ril?"
Fai grinned and shook his head. "It doesn't seem like there is, but I could always be wrong!"
It didn't explain why Tomoyo would mention magic, but perhaps she knew that about him, from her connection with the Tomoyos of other worlds. Did she think he'd cheat with magic? The very idea was absurd.
He learned that there were classes on dragonfly-building, though, that came free with purchases from certain stores in the Canyon Complex. The very next class was later this evening, to be held in the shopping mall.
"Incoming call from Yuuko!" Mokona chirped suddenly.
They stopped eating, watching as Mokona turned the projection to one corner of the table, between Sakura and Fai.
"Oh, my. What do we have here?" Yuuko smiled, sipping from a glass. The familiar front yard of her shop stretched out behind her, to the very edges of the projection. Today, however, it was filled with all sorts of things on stretched-out canvases, as though she'd decided to hold a flea market all by herself.
"Good morning, Yuuko-ril," Sakura and Syaoran chorused. Fai waved. Kurogane sent the witch an unimpressed stare. Briefly, Fai wondered if Kurogane would treat the Witch of Dimensions any differently if he knew just how powerful she really was, but he thought he knew. It was still amusing to imagine Kurogane sucking up to important people, though.
Mokona began by telling the witch all about Piffle World. Fai listened with Kurogane, keeping to the background while the children said what they had to. Then, Yuuko reminded them of their lost clothes and their "White Day" gifts, and Kurogane grumbled. Fai thought it a fair exchange, so he kept silent. It wasn't in his abilities to journey to a time that had been rewritten, and his clothes weren't worth the magic he'd have to risk using, besides.
"About the payment for the carpet, Kurogane."
"How much is it?" The warrior narrowed his eyes, sullen.
"It wasn't Kurogane-ril's fault alone," Syaoran interjected. "The damage to the carpet happened when everyone came to rescue me. I should bear the price as well."
"We were all there," Sakura added. "Please, Yuuko-ril, shouldn't we all help to share the price of the carpet repairs?"
"Very well." Yuuko chuckled, low and throaty, and Fai had the vaguest sense of impending doom. "Your price will be a project that Daidouji Tomoyo decides you'll all participate in. Mokona will send me the results."
"Mokona will make sure everybody joins in!"
Sakura and Syaoran broke into smiles. Fai wasn't too sure what it would involve, but with Tomoyo, surely things wouldn't be so bad. Kurogane's scowl deepened.
Yuuko went on to issue threats about late "White Day" gifts, things like how they wouldn't be able to buy the tattoo and sword back if their gifts were late. It made Fai frown—he'd been under the impression that he'd never see the tattoo again. All the same, if there was a chance he could have that precious gift back...
He'd all but opened his mouth to ask about the price when he caught a movement behind Yuuko.
Yuuko's assistants, the two magical constructs with pink and blue hair, had strung up the very carpet they'd ridden in Harasa, and they were beating it with—
"Is that my staff?" Fai asked, staring at the golden staff swinging through the air. It had to be his. Few other staffs had that intricate top piece, with flat spires radiating toward the single blue crystal. The girl held his staff steady in both hands, thwacked it repeatedly against the carpet so clouds of brown dust puffed out from it. On the other side, a long wooden bat did the same, but Fai had no care for that.
That staff had been with him for decades, since before he'd stopped an avalanche from swallowing a village. It had been attuned to his magic, reinforced with spells he'd written himself, and it had been one of the weapons he'd learned to fight with. It was a steadfast companion, something he could treat without pretense. It had towered over him as a child, remained with him when he grew taller and older, and he was very fond of it, even if it wasn't his most prized possession.
To see it now, used as a carpet beater with such lack of care... It made his heart ache a little.
"It's my staff now, Fai," Yuuko said. Her eyes were knowing, and he hoped none of his thoughts showed on his face.
"Is that what you do with our things?" Kurogane growled. Fai turned jerkily to glance at him. He'd forgotten about the warrior, and everyone else in the room for a moment there.
"Don't worry, Kurogane. Ginryuu will not be used for that." Yuuko smiled. "Same with your tattoo, Fai. They're rather inseparable now."
Fai didn't know what to say to that. Did that mean his tattoo had bonded with Kurogane's sword? It couldn't be. But even if it were, would he have to purchase both of them to get his tattoo back? Would Kurogane share in that cost? How did a magical seal even bond with a sword?
Fai decided that he wouldn't think about that right now.
"As for the payment for your clothes... I'll keep them too, if your White Day gift is late." Yuuko laughed again and waved. "We'll talk about that some other time."
The call ended. Fai's chest ached with loss, and he reached up to his shoulder, touching the tattoo that he did have. It wasn't the same, and he still missed the old one. He wasn't going to think about Ashura right now.
"Hey." Kurogane nudged his chin, pulling him out of his thoughts. "At least she isn't mistreating all our things."
Fai laughed. It sounded hollow to his ears, and Kurogane's eyes narrowed to slits. "Well, that's all we can do, I guess. Does anyone know what you're going to give Yuuko-ril as a White Day present?"
"I want to make something," Sakura said, leaning forward. "Maybe a dress or a coat. She always wears such beautiful things!"
"She does, doesn't she?" Fai said, smiling wide. "We'll have to find us a sewing machine! What about you, Syaoran-sha?"
The boy's forehead crinkled. "I thought... Maybe I'd find her something ancient. It would be valuable, and I have experience with archaeological sites. I think Yuuko-ril would like that."
"Sakura and Syaoran have good ideas," Mokona chirped. "What about Fai and Kurogane?"
"That scheming witch doesn't deserve anything," Kurogane muttered.
"Kurogane! Yuuko will not be happy to hear that!" Mokona turned and stole an entire pancake from his plate. Kurogane bared his teeth, swiping at her. "Think of something else!"
"I'll hunt a demon down for her," Kurogane said. "Demon witch deserves a demon monster."
Fai tried on a smile. "Good dog, Kuro-woof! Find the big, powerful witch a bone!"
Kurogane turned his glower on Fai, and Fai relaxed at its presence. He felt more at ease when Kurogane didn't treat him with care. And he liked getting under Kurogane's skin. It was fun.
"Kurogane is mean," Mokona said. "A demon is the wrong thing for Yuuko!"
The warrior scoffed, and Fai reached over to pat his head. "Good boy, Kuro-woof."
Kurogane snapped at his fingers.
"What is Fai going to give Yuuko?" Mokona asked, turning to him.
Fai licked his finger and stuck it into Kurogane's ear, and the warrior leaped up with a growl. "I don't know, Moko-mis," he yelped, backing away from the table when Kurogane surged forward, one hand on his sword. "What about something beautiful to go with Sakura-mis's dress?"
Kurogane chased him into the living room, sword arcing silver, and Fai held his palm up to stop him when the phone buzzed on the living room table.
"Wait," he said. "I think we have a message."
Kurogane sheathed his sword, coming over to stand by him. It wasn't as if either of them could understand the words, but it was easy enough to have the phone read text aloud by this point.
"'Do you guys want to meet up for dinner?'" the phone read in a cheerful female voice. "'We'll be able to discuss some job opportunities for you guys. There are classes at the Complex this afternoon if you're able to make your way down!'"
They exchanged a look, and Fai followed Kurogane back to the breakfast table. "Shall we go to dinner with Tomoyo-mis tonight?" he asked.
"It seems impolite to bother her over dinner," Syaoran started, hesitant. Next to him, Sakura brightened.
"I'd love to!" she said. "Tomoyo-ril mentioned some projects we can join as soon as possible. That way, we'll earn money and start work on the dragonflies."
"Sounds good, Kuro-lief?" Fai glanced at Kurogane, who nodded. With two of their party agreeable, Syaoran had little choice but to agree when Fai looked back at him.
Breakfast passed quickly after that. The children ate faster, with more purpose, and Fai slid the plate of leftovers into the fridge. Kurogane stopped him when he stood to collect the dishes.
"Take a break," the warrior muttered. "You've been on your feet the entire time."
Fai's eyebrows crawled up his forehead. This was unexpectedly tender, coming from Kurogane. It felt like there was a butterfly trapped in his chest. Fai figured he was excited at the opportunity to tease. "Are you being nice, Kuro-mon?"
Kurogane clicked his tongue and looked away. "No. Just saying the kids should do some chores. We're gonna be busy around here soon."
"Oh. Well, you shouldn't be so hard on them," he said, oddly disappointed. "I can work for plenty more hours yet."
"So can they. Whatever." Kurogane turned, and Fai flapped a hand at his back.
"Don't be rude like your father, children," he said, watching as the children glanced nervously towards Kurogane. The man himself glared. He didn't do anything else, however, and Fai brought the dishes to the sink.
"I'd like to help, Fai-ril," Sakura said. She was standing by his elbow, smiling warmly. "Kurogane-ril is right. You haven't taken a break since we woke up."
He wanted to hug her then, but his hands were wet and full of soap. "I can manage, Sakura-mis. Don't you worry."
"In that case, can Syaoran-sha and I do the dishes after you cook?" the princess asked, glancing at the boy. "That is, if you don't mind, Syaoran-sha."
"We can start now. I want to help," Syaoran said.
The boy nodded like an excited puppy, and Fai had to laugh. He stepped away from the sink and dried his hands. "Okay. But only if you aren't tired!"
He reasoned that it would afford them time to do things together, rebuild the memories that they had once shared. Kurogane was pushing on the buttons of a black plastic rectangle when he turned around. The dark screen in the living room had come to life, and the images on it changed after every few seconds.
"TV, Kuro-sir?" he teased, coming up to stand by the warrior. They'd seen glimpses of this entertainment form through the different worlds, though there had not usually been time for them to sit around through entire programs.
Kurogane shrugged. "Just looking for things on the dragonflies."
Fai lingered to see if there were any programs that caught his eye. He watched as the TV flipped through a herd of beasts stampeding across flatland, machines swiping across straight gold lines on green plastic boards, liquids pouring from one glass vial to another, people shouting at each other in some family argument. There were programs where people rode dragonflies and tossed balls into hoops, where people danced on a stage bathed in colored lights, where all he saw was olive skin and a very naked man rolling his hips against someone beneath—
He shouldn't have been staring, but he was. And Kurogane's finger stayed.
The volume on the TV had been turned down, so the moans were quiet in the background, but still. Fai was looking, and dragging his eyes away felt as though he were pulling on a sack of bricks. He gulped, turned, listening to lewd sounds and remembering the slick press of warm skin on his back.
Kurogane jabbed at the remote. The next program was one about pandas, of all things, and Fai turned incredulously back to the TV.
"Who has a sex channel in between all of this?" he hissed, locking eyes with Kurogane for half a second. "The children could see!"
"Not like they don't know what sex is," Kurogane muttered. He changed the channel. "Maybe it'll help them do more than turn red around each other."
"How could you even suggest that." Fai had turned back to the TV, arms folded across his chest. He didn't know why the glimpse of skin had him so affected. It wasn't as though anything had happened between him and— and anyone else. "Shame on you."
The warrior snorted. "Remind you of anything?"
Curtly, "No."
Red eyes narrowed.
The next few programs contained more drama, needles, and bright hospital lights. Then it changed to one about excavation, and then a close-up of vegetables being sliced.
"Wait," Fai said, when Kurogane made to flip the channel. Kurogane paused; the video panned out into a bright, colorful kitchen, and the host scooped the pile of leafy greens into a bowl.
It was an instructional show, one that had the host talking nonstop about how to cook, and Kurogane lowered the remote to his side. They ended up learning to make a meat-and-vegetable pie, standing in front of the TV like that, and Fai couldn't help but smile.
"Looks like it'd be delicious, doesn't it?"
Kurogane slid his gaze over. "You going to make that?"
Fai shrugged. "Maybe. If Kuro-lord gets on his knees and begs me for it."
"In your dreams, idiot." The warrior rolled his eyes, but he was smirking, and Fai was most certainly not thinking how beautiful he looked. "I'm not begging you for anything."
"Oh?" And there it was again, another challenge that he couldn't help wanting to win. Could he make food so delicious that Kurogane begged him for seconds? What would Kurogane look like when he begged? He swallowed at the heat that slithered down his spine, heading towards the stairs. "We'll see about that, Kuro-sir."
Kurogane watched as he ascended, and Fai did not acknowledge it. He didn't need the warrior catching on to his plans.
x
x
After Harasa, it seemed as though any climate they landed in would be pleasant. Piffle World had the most perfect weather—bright blue skies with clouds drifting by, and it was cool more often than not. The sun was sinking towards the edge of the horizon, now, hidden behind a mass of concrete buildings, but it had dragged out the vivid colors of the evening, tints of purple-pink that hid from golden cloud bellies.
Fai waited with Sakura and Mokona at an empty table, one that had been meticulously laid out with cutlery, glazed white plates and empty glasses. Their glasses had been filled with water. Fai had been offered wine—he chose to forgo it, considering the expenses they'd be chalking up for the dragonflies yet to be built. As it was, they were at an expensive restaurant that Tomoyo had arranged to meet them at, and though she'd offered to treat them to dinner, he did not feel comfortable picking out anything expensive until he'd seen that she was truly fine with paying for it.
"Do you feel ready to attend the next class, Sakura-mis?" he asked, propping his chin up in his hand. She was sitting next to him at the rounded table, Mokona on her other side, sipping from her glass.
"I think so," she said, nodding. "What we learned today was very similar to what Syaoran-sha and I learned in the world with the flying cars. I think I'm ready for more."
After Syaoran had looked up class schedules on the phone, they'd decided to split into two groups to cover the various courses more quickly. Fai and Sakura would attend classes focused on the driving and inner workings of dragonflies, while Kurogane and Syaoran participated in classes about their construction and repairs. To get the classes free, they'd purchased clothes they'd need in this world, as well as tools to begin their foray into mechanics.
Tomoyo had arranged with them via text to meet at this restaurant after their classes. The driving class had ended early, however, leaving Fai and Sakura with ample time to make their way over.
"That's good," Fai said, looking towards Mokona. The magical construct had attended the classes with them, and had acted as a stuffed toy the entire time. "Moko-mis, you were amazing during the classes! Were you bored?"
Mokona shook her head. "Mokona learned a lot! Mokona will help Sakura with driving, since Mokona cannot drive a dragonfly alone."
Fai beamed at her. "You're the greatest, Moko-mis! Now, who wants to hear the new version of Kuro-mer's lullaby?"
Sakura perked up. Mokona waved her paws in the air.
"It goes something like this," Fai said, and sang, "Tonight the stars are shining bright and we are so alone. The skies are green, the clouds have gone and we are missing home. There's an angel in the distance, she sees us sitting by, she flies to us and says Hello and sings that she can take us home— That's all I've got so far. What do you think?"
"It's beautiful," Sakura breathed. "It even sounds the same!"
"Doesn't it?" Fai grinned. "I think Kuro-ris might get lost in the lyrics, though. I've changed it quite a bit."
"I think he'll like it," the princess said, eyes bright. "It's the same tune as before. The meaning is really similar, too, so I think he won't mind listening to it."
Fai pulled a pen from his pocket. "Why don't you write it down, and we'll all sing it together?"
He came up with the next verse while she scribbled on a thick napkin. When she was done, Fai read the next lines to her. They sang both verses this time, until Mokona picked a fork up and tapped on Fai's water glass, to a beat faster than they'd been singing.
"The songs sound like that in this world," Mokona said. "In Tomoyo's car, all the songs go fast!"
"Really?" Fai said. "Let's try it just like that then, shall we?"
Sakura nodded, and they sang the new song along to the clinking of Mokona's beat. Sakura's voice grew stronger the longer she sang. Her smile grew wider, and Fai saw the way her cheeks flushed when he grinned at her.
"Homeward bound, o-oh," they sang, swaying to the rhythm as some other patrons looked over. "Homeward bound, o-oh, o-oh. We're going on a journey—"
"Tch."
"—the skies keep changing color. But we have friends and family and an angel watching over us."
Fai waited until they'd finished the second verse before he turned around, smiling proudly at Kurogane. "Well, what do you think?"
The warrior glanced at Sakura, and back at Fai. "Not bad."
"Are you going to sing along?"
Kurogane sat heavily down next to him, knee pressing into his, and Fai chose not to draw attention to it. Syaoran took the seat by Sakura, which left the sixth chair empty for Tomoyo. "You've got the words wrong."
"Aren't you going to correct us, then?" Fai elbowed the warrior. "We want to know if you'd sing along, Kuro-lief. In fact, I was so sure you were going to correct the lyrics!"
"We didn't catch the first part."
"Sakura-mis, why don't you give the lyrics to Syaoran-sha? You know them by now, don't you?" Fai watched as the princess slid her napkin over to Syaoran, who began reading it immediately. The waitress came over to take their drink orders and hand out more menus, and Kurogane looked briefly at the leather-bound booklet. He set it aside, though. "Sakura-mis and I will sing it for you. Feel free to join in, Syaoran-sha. You too, Kuro-elf."
"I'm not singing," Kurogane grumbled, but he fell silent when Fai started the song from the beginning. Syaoran joined in slowly, hesitant words that grew bolder when the princess angled a sweet smile at him.
Kurogane did not move to sing, or make any comment, but Fai could tell that he was listening, rapt, red eyes flitting over each of them. It sent a little shiver of pleasure across his skin to have that attention on him, to know that he wasn't doing this so badly that the warrior couldn't stand for him to carry on.
There was clapping behind them when the song ended. They glanced back to find Tomoyo standing on the sidewalk, limousine idling next to her. She waved to dismiss both her guards and transport.
"That was beautiful," she said, after she'd rounded the decorative metal railings on the edge of the dining area. "Sakura, Syaoran, Fai! Even Mokona! All of you sang well." They beamed at her, and she added, as she took the last seat, "Kurogane, I expected better of you."
"What," he spluttered.
"I'd like for all of you to sing," Tomoyo said, grey eyes gleaming. She looked at each of them in turn. "That lullaby is popular here. It's an amazing idea, you know—no one has turned a lullaby into pop-rock. I can just imagine you guys shooting straight up the charts with that."
"Us?" Fai said, frowning. "Charts?"
"It's a damn children's song," Kurogane muttered.
Tomoyo gave the waitress her drink order, accepted her menu, and turned back to them. "Yes. I can already imagine the music video we could do with this."
"Music video?" the children echoed.
"I'm afraid we'd need you to explain, Tomoyo-mis," Fai said, head cocked.
Tomoyo smiled. "Well, in Piffle World, we produce videos to accompany songs. A visual, if you will. Have you seen dancers on stage while someone else sings? It's the same over here, except we're able to include a story of sorts alongside the song. Mainly, we do that to help album sales."
"You want to sell this?" Kurogane nodded at the children. "That lullaby?"
"It's popular here. That'll help with publicity a lot, you know." Tomoyo gazed at him, placid, and he stared grouchily back. "Have you heard of it?"
"Tch. I learned it in Nihon. They learned it from me. And the idiot mangled the words."
"I think it sounds beautiful. It's hopeful and nostalgic all at once. Don't you think?" Tomoyo grinned. "You'd need some voice training, but what do you say to recording a single?"
"But the dragonfly race," Syaoran protested.
"Piffle Princess will be able to sponsor your classes," Tomoyo said. "You won't have to pay for it, but you'll have to sign a deal with us. That way, you'll be paying off your living expenses while doing something you enjoy."
"I rather do something else," Kurogane muttered. "You can make the rest sing."
"This will only work with you bringing out the bass notes." Tomoyo lifted her eyebrows the slightest bit, stared meaningfully at the warrior.
After a beat of silence, Kurogane said, "This is what the witch wanted, isn't it? The project?"
"I'm not sure what you mean," Tomoyo answered. "But I sense potential in this rock-lullaby of yours. Why not bring it to life? Record it once, let the marketing team do its job, and you'll be earning royalties for however long the CD sells for."
To Fai, it sounded like fun. If they could all sing together and make money at the same time, then why not?
"There's a catch to this," Kurogane said, sitting back. "I don't trust you."
Tomoyo laughed her familiar laugh, and Fai relaxed more. "Of course," she said, "depending on the frequency of your voice training practice, you might be able to sing professionally in three months. We might need you to do performances on stage to boost sales."
"We don't have three months—the race is in two months," Kurogane said. "Then we'll be moving on to the next world."
Tomoyo thought for a while. "If we're working on just the one song, it'll take a shorter time. What about a month, but with thrice-weekly practice with a voice coach? Piffle Princess has connections with some of the best voice coaches in the world." Tomoyo smiled, turned to Sakura. "Don't you think it'd be fun? I'd love to film you singing!"
Sakura nodded, enthusiastic. "I want to do what I can to help," she said. "But Kurogane-ril shouldn't have to join in if he doesn't want to."
Fai saw the moment Kurogane gave in. The warrior breathed out slow and steady, and his expression soured by a fraction. "I'll be around. Just to make sure nothing goes wrong. And you'll still be doing your weapons training with me."
The children smiled gratefully at him. Fai grinned, nudged Kurogane with his knee. "You'll discover the joys of singing with the children, Kuro-sir. You'll wish you were doing it every day."
"Damn you." Kurogane scowled. Tomoyo giggled.
"Have you decided what you want for dinner?" she asked.
There was a flurry of flipping pages when they realized that they hadn't yet picked out their food. It wasn't often that they ate at a fancy place between worlds, and Fai was glad to see photos of food between the printed menu items. They decided quickly—moving around from world to world, they hadn't always the luxury of time, and Fai was proud to see that the children glanced through the menu quickly and nodded, though Sakura remained admiring the different photos as she waited for the waitress to make her way over.
By the time their orders had been placed, the sky had mellowed to a dark purple-blue like the night before, and warm orange streetlamps had flickered on along the street. Traffic noise dwindled. Around them, the other patrons murmured lowly, cutlery clinking on plates.
Tomoyo led them into easy conversation while they waited. She asked about the classes and gave them tidbits and facts about the dragonfly race, about the preliminaries and the hike in participant numbers this year. Then, she gave them a breakdown of jobs available at Piffle Princess Company, and the pay that came with each position.
"It seems so much more sensible to model," Fai said. "More money for the same amount of time spent."
"The modeling market can get rather saturated at times," Tomoyo acknowledged. "But I may be able to pull some strings for you. In the meantime, why not try some of the other positions? Sakura, will you be able to attend some meetings with Piffle Princess soon? We have the ad storyboards ready, and we'd love it if you could come down to look them through with us."
Sakura beamed, glanced back at Kurogane and Fai. "Can I go in the morning, before the dragonfly classes start?"
"Of course!" Fai nodded. "In fact, why don't we try to arrange our job search schedules so we can all head to Piffle Princess at the same time?"
"At some point, you might be interested in renting a car," Tomoyo added. "It'll help you get between places much faster. I assume you're able to drive?"
"Kuro-tim is our driver. He brings us to all sorts of places," Fai said, tapping lightly on Kurogane's shoulder. The warrior angled a glare at him.
"You can drive yourself, idiot."
Fai flapped a hand in his face.
When the food finally arrived, Fai could barely keep the drool in his mouth. On his plate, an elegant slab of golden-brown, batter-wrapped meat perched atop a bed of colorful greens. There was a mound of something pale yellow mashed to one side. His stomach shriveled as he stared, waiting for Tomoyo's food to show up. Next to him, the children talked animatedly with Tomoyo herself.
Sakura had a bowl of wide noodles that smelled like butter and spices, with clams spread open like butterflies; Syaoran, a sandwich of some sort, with meat and greens and a layer of melted cheese. Mokona sat on the table, behind a plate of beautifully-sliced fish draped over tiny rice balls. Tomoyo and Kurogane's food arrived at the same time—Fai looked at the steaming meat stew that sat in a bowl on Kurogane's plate, found himself thinking maybe he should've ordered the same instead.
Together, they said a quick "thank you for the food," and began eating. Fai popped a piece of white meat into his mouth and chewed. Beneath the crispy batter, the meat flaked in his mouth, and it tasted just shy of fishy. He must've made some sort of noise, because Kurogane turned slightly to look at him.
"Fish," he sighed. "I should've asked what the meat was."
Kurogane clicked his tongue and nudged his plate closer. Fai brightened. He pushed his own towards Kurogane's, laid his fish on a pile of rice, and stole a spoonful of stew.
It was thick and savory, rich with herbs. When he chewed into a juicy, tender chunk of beef, Fai couldn't help a quiet purr. "Mm. That is good."
"Tch. Take the whole bowl."
"Can't. Kuro-pai needs all his food to stay strong."
"Then take half of it."
"Still too much." He dipped his spoon back into the stew.
"Fai, we can always order another set," Tomoyo began, causing both of them to look up at her. "If you don't like what you have."
"Tch." Kurogane shifted in his seat, expression shuttered, and Fai was suddenly too aware of how Syaoran, Sakura and Mokona were staring at them. Syaoran's face was red. In Yama, they had been ignored.
"No, no, this is fine," Fai hurried to say. "No need to make accommodations for me, Tomoyo-mis. We shouldn't waste food."
Kurogane ended up setting the bowl of stew between them, and Fai asked about the sort of clothes that was most fashionable in Piffle. Sakura was only too keen on returning to the topic. Tomoyo, however, glanced occasionally back at them. Her attention lingered more on Kurogane than Fai, and Fai wondered if she knew how Kurogane had been at the start of their journey. The Kurogane they knew now was more of an idiot than the one who grumbled about wanting to get home, and Fai was most certainly not thinking about any of this.
Other than that, dinner passed uneventfully. Tomoyo seemed to have made fast friends with Sakura, Mokona and Syaoran, and between the four of them and Fai, there was no lack of conversation until the bill arrived.
"We should pay," Syaoran said, leaning forward.
Tomoyo shook her head and smiled. "Like I said, this is my treat."
"But we should repay you for your kindness somehow," the boy insisted. Next to him, Sakura agreed.
"It really is fine. If you'd like, though, there's something..." Tomoyo trailed off, looking up at them. "Have you brought your phone with you?"
Fai pulled it out of his pocket. "Why?"
"There's a discount for the bill if you do something," she answered, rounding the table to his side. "Have you heard of Pifflegram?" They shook their heads, and she continued, "It's an app you use to share pictures with the world. Let me show you."
She had Fai unlock the phone, before taking it from him. He watched as she typed words into the search box, tapped on a few things, and clicked on a button that resembled a camera.
"This is Pifflegram," she said. "What do you want your account to be called?"
"What about 'traveling animal family'," Fai said. Kurogane's frown was all the approval he needed.
Tomoyo typed. "The name is available! 'TravelingAnimalFamily' it is." She tapped on a few more things, and angled the phone so Fai and the children could see it. "So, to take pictures, tap on this button."
All of them watched as the image of the dinner table slid onto the screen. Fai's eyebrows crawled up his forehead. "That's impressive," he said.
"Not just that. Sakura, why don't you stand up? The restaurant logo is just behind you."
Tomoyo flashed a smile when the princess did as she asked. "Sakura! You look absolutely beautiful! I can already imagine the ads you'll star in! That smile is the most—" Kurogane grumbled, and Tomoyo returned to the subject with a disapproving shake of her head "—most charming. Always grumpy, Kurogane. Like I said, there's a discount for this restaurant if you take a photo here and share it on Pifflegram."
Tomoyo hit the button to capture the image, and elaborated briefly on taking pictures in low light. Syaoran gave an exclamation when Tomoyo opened up the image of Sakura smiling next to the neon blue of the restaurant signboard.
"This is how you capture a picture, see? It'll remain on your phone until you delete it. To do that, you tap this button, and this to confirm the action. Or, if you want to share it on Pifflegram, hit this instead."
Fai was thoroughly impressed by the speed and sheer technology of this world. Tomoyo cropped the image of Sakura so her smile was the focus of the picture, with the restaurant signboard large and bright in the background. It took just seconds for it to appear on the front page of their Pifflegram account. When the waitress returned to collect payment, Tomoyo showed her the image on Fai's phone, and handed over a plastic card.
"Are you collecting loyalty stickers and that sort of thing?" she asked. "I usually don't, but this place has those, too."
"Yes, we are," Fai said, pulling out the card from the convenience store. He showed it to Syaoran and Sakura. It wasn't as though they'd be coming back here, expensive as it was, but it was prudent to save as much money as they could anywhere they went.
He took the phone back to try taking pictures himself, and was rewarded by the children and Mokona smiling for him. Kurogane huffed and folded his arms and said he didn't care, but Fai nudged him anyway, shoved the resulting images in his face. The warrior muttered grudgingly.
Tomoyo had the waitress take a group shot of them when she returned, and Fai couldn't help staring at the image of all of them. They hadn't done this before, not really. They'd seen cameras through the worlds, talked about photos, but the very idea of having that ability in his hands was incredible. He hadn't even done this with magic.
Fai took a picture of Kurogane scowling, and jerked the phone away so it didn't get swiped off by a large hand. This was fun, this was another way of heckling the warrior, and the possibilities were blooming in his mind. He was taking pictures of everything and every one, cradling mementos of people in his hands, until the phone flashed an image of an empty rectangle.
"What's wrong?" Tomoyo asked, when they piled into her limousine.
"It shows this," Fai said, angling the phone towards her. "What does it mean?"
Tomoyo explained the concept of batteries to them. It took the entire drive to their apartment building for her to field Syaoran's questions, and even then, he looked as though he had more to ask when they stepped out onto the sidewalk.
"The phone will be very helpful in your research," she said. "Make use of it! It's an invaluable resource."
Fai felt a tiny stab of guilt at running its battery so low.
The children talked as they rode up the elevator to their rooftop camper. He stood in the back with Kurogane, phone in pocket, joining in their conversation every so often.
All told, he was starting to really like this world. It was just so easy. There were electric lights and showers, medicines and comfort, and they had two months here, if all went as planned. None of them had fully recovered from the previous world. But the thought of a waiting, warm bed was soothing, something to keep them moving despite drooping eyelids and sleepy yawns.
They could all afford to rest for a bit. They really could.
A/N: Apologies for corny lyrics. I can't write lyrics for nuts. I am also torn between "I'm turning Piffle so corny" and "these guys are doing hilarious things" soooo. :(
The tattoo-sword bonding in this chapter is a nod to Kitten-Kin's Ink and Steel, in which Ginryuu and Fai's tattoo bond in Yuuko's shop.