~ I apologize ahead of time for major OOCness and horribly stiff and awkward dialogue, unless my new beta is a saint and magically fixes that up for me. I'll make up for it next chapter, I promise! *is shot*
Suggested listening: Waiting on an Angel by Ben Harper ~
Kurogane twisted his head to look at the alarm clock. 9:08. He sighed and looked at Fai, sleeping peacefully beside him, twisted in his arms. Six months. He quietly, carefully untangled himself, then stood up and slipped on a shirt. He glanced back at Fai, still in his bloodied clothes. He'd been too weak last night to change him. He stood there for a long time, debating whether or not he could change him without waking him up.
Ultimately, he decided to take off the shirt- since that was where most of the blood was anyway- and leave it at that. He managed to do so without any problems and left the room.
He found Mokona bouncing off the walls in what resembled a living room, but smaller since they were only in a hotel.
"Yay! Kuro-pu's finally awake!" it squealed, pouncing on the ninja's head. Kurogane growled as he pried him off. "Mokona missed him SO much!"
"Yeah, that's great. Where are we, manju?" he demanded and watched a frown form on the small creature's face.
"Mokona doesn't know for sure," it informed him. "Mokona's never been here before."
"Best guess."
"America!" sang Mokona happily. "Mokona's never been, but Mokona has heard stories and can't wait to explore!"
"Hold up," growled Kurogane, grabbing the pork bun by the ears as it tried to bound towards the door. "There's something important I need you to do."
"What's that?"
"I need you to watch him," Kurogane said firmly, nodding his head towards the sleeping Fai. Mokona stopped swinging back and forth and looked at him.
"But that's boring; he's just sleeping!" it complained. Kurogane sighed and sat down on the couch.
"Listen, this is really important. When he wakes up, I need you to watch him. Carefully. Don't let him go out and don't let him out of your sight, not even for a minute. Got it?"
"Yes, sir!" said Mokona, attempting and failing at a salute with its short arms. Kurogane nodded and set it down on the coffee table, standing back up.
"I'll be back in an hour or two," he said over his shoulder as he walked out the door.
~X~X~
When Fai opened his eyes, he didn't recognize where he was. This wasn't Kurogane's room inside Shirasagi palace, but it obviously wasn't outside either, like where he sometimes ended up when he and Kurogane snuck away in the middle of the night. He noticed something else interesting:
Kurogane wasn't there.
Kurogane was always there, his comforting scent lingering in the air: sweat, dirt, heat, and sake- always sake, no matter how long it had been since he last drank. It was a scent only Kurogane could make pleasant, and as Fai sniffed the air he could tell there was just a hint of it, clinging to the bed sheets. Kurogane had been here, but was gone now. That wasn't the only scent though; he could smell… blood. His own though, not Kurogane's, so it didn't bring out the vampire in him. Still, he wondered…
He racked his brain for memories of what had happened, but the last thing he remembered was a banquet in Tomoyo's honor, celebrating her marriage to a prince in another country to unify their lands. Tomoyo seemed happy, as he recalled; it was an arranged marriage, but one she was content with.
But why was he here? This room didn't even resemble the ones he had grown accustomed to in Nihon. It was more… modern, like the ones he had seen in the majority of the worlds they had traveled to when- come to think of it, there was another scent in the room-
"Fai is awake! Hooray!" Mokona squealed, pouncing on the blonde's legs. Fai jumped.
"Mokona!" he exclaimed, too surprised to compose himself. "What are you doing here?"
"Mokona is taking Fai and Kurogane to new worlds, just like last time, silly!" Mokona spoke with an almost scolding tone. "Mokona should be asking Fai what he's doing here!"
"I… I don't know, really," admitted Fai, furrowing his brow as he tried to think. "Where is Kurogane?"
"He left just an hour ago!"
"Did he now?" Fai swung his legs over the side of the bed and pulled back the covers, standing up. But as he started towards the other room, Mokona jumped on his shoulder and clung to him tightly. Fai smiled. "Is something wrong?"
"Mokona's decided to stay with Fai aaaaall day! That way, Fai's not alone, not even for a little bit!"
"Oh, so I can't even go to the restroom?"
"Oh," said Mokona, and slid off him, landing on the bed with a plop. "Okay. But just for a minute, promise?"
Fai laughed and patted it on the head. "Promise!" He slipped into the bathroom and shut the door behind him, twisting the handle to make sure it was locked securely. He turned around and pressed his back to the door, slowly sliding to the floor. The tile was hard and cold and he shivered without his shirt on. He slid his hand into his pocket and slender fingers closed on the delicate knife he always kept there.
He stared at his wrist for a few seconds; there was a long cut, lengthwise, that he couldn't remember making. It was completely healed so it obviously wasn't serious. Perhaps he had just run the blade over the skin lightly, not really making a cut? He sighed and slid the knife over his wrist, the thin red line already lost amidst a dozen others.
It was an immediate release, a calming normality that helped him focus; let him know he was in control. His breathing came easier and his head cleared, though he still couldn't remember how he got there. He ran cool water from the faucet over his wrist until the bleeding stopped, then splashed some across his face and used one of the hotel's towels to dry off.
He stepped out of the bathroom right as the other door opened, and Kurogane walked in. He froze when he saw Fai. For a moment, Fai thought he had stopped breathing.
"Kuro-tan?"
Kurogane dropped the bags he was carrying on the floor and strode across the room, grabbed Fai by the waist and pulled him into a kiss. He wrapped his arms around Fai's shoulders and slid his fingers through his hair, sighing against Fai's lips. It was almost like he was… relieved.
"Kuro-chu, what's going on?" Fai demanded when he finally pulled away. He peered at Kurogane closely. His cheeks shone with wetness, and Fai gasped. "Kuro-puppy, are you crying?"
Kurogane looked away.
"Ninjas," he finally muttered, "don't cry."
And then he walked away, picked the bags up off the floor, and walked past Fai into the other room, shutting the door behind him so he couldn't see.
~X~X~
~ So. I have not slept in… *counts* 32 hours. So please forgive the uber-OOCness, the horrible dialogue, and terrible writing. Except my awesome beta fixed that for me, so there actually isn't much left to apologize for except for a little OOCness that even she could not salvage. If I actually get some sleep in the near future, I might go back and rework this. But don't get your hopes up because we all know how lazy I am. =.=
I just got a beta, like, yesterday ^^ I really need someone to check my work for typos and help me pick out a song to go with each chapter, as recently I've been spending more time looking for the song than writing the actual fic T.T So infinite thanks to ShingetsuXMangetsu, otherwise known as Luna, who in addition to being a good online friend, a black belt in tae kwon do, and a wonderful beta, is a fabulous writer of KuroFais herself. So check her out ^^
Also, Luna-san has been given full artistic license on all my future fics, so please forgive any random changes in writing style in the middle of the story 0.o
A reply to Mimi the anonymous reviewer: please, please, please get an account, with sugar and a cherry on top? You've reviewed several of my stories and I can't reply to them unless you have account. T.T Also, in regard to your review of Maybe, Maybe: You realize that was a suicide fic, right? Kurogane and Fai are both dead. Sorry, sweetie DX
Reviews will be loved, polished, and displayed on a shelf. Reviewers will be given cookies and a free puppy. Flames will be used to roast marshmallows and make smores, which will be passed out to all the nice reviewers. Five reviews for a new chappie, please :) ~
