Good afternoon everyone! Alright, so im not sure if I've mentioned this but this is my first Tsubasa fic so I need you all to tell me how I do with their characters and how I need to improve okay?
Btw, italics imply thoughts or a stress on a word.
Thanks to:
Nims Dias-angelovdarkness
PhreshxxxBear
Silver-Serval
InvertDouble
Melissa Brite
Flowing Breeze
Tomi Lang
Sweeter
AND
lilly love
For reviewing!
Chapter Three: Champ
Walking down the sidewalk with his winnings clutched protectively in his pockets Kurogane tried to hide his arrogant smirk of contempt. As he predicted the men who had fought in today's match were chums, all punch drunk and easily defeated by this martial artist. Said artist was very happy with the way everything had turned out. Now he would be able to buy the kid some new clothes and still have enough money to pay the rent he was supposed to pay two months ago.
His jean jacket tossed carelessly over one shoulder he passed by buildings, many bars, all of them about to close. That was exactly what Kurogane didn't want; if the bars closed dangerous, drunken men would be pouring out onto the street, and if they noticed the men following him, they would know he held something of value and follow him as well. That was the LAST thing the dark haired man needed right now. It was obvious his journey home was going to be much prolonged. The fighting of these illegal fight clubs never ended when the cops came. The winners would be constantly stalked for the next few days, by people with hopes that they could somehow obtain the winnings. Usually after one of these fights Kurogane wouldn't even think about going back home in fear of a break in. However, he was worried about the state in which he had left the brat in.
He never liked being angry with the kid before they went their separate ways. It always made him have this fluttering feeling within his stomach for the rest of the day until Syaoran was back in his sights. He always had the feeling that he was going to do something stupid, and Kurogane didn't even want to think about what the idiot does when he's angry.
Kurogane decided to take a back route. If there was going to be a fight he did not want other people joining in and getting the cops involved. Snorting inwardly he turned into a small side branch, leading behind a closing bar and behind the apartments. He was still a good fifteen minutes walk back to the subway and than another ten minute walk to his own apartment, so he wasn't too worried about his followers finding out which area he lived in. Besides, if things went the way Kurogane expected, they would all be unconscious within the next few minutes.
He hid a smirk as low laughs were heard, issuing Kurogane expected, from the mouths of his followers. His smirk disappeared quickly though as he realized something: the laughs weren't coming from behind him anymore. It was only then that he muttered an oath, hearing footsteps behind him grow closer and closer.
They had boxed him in.
Cursing himself and his stupidity his red eyes scanned his surroundings to see if there was any possible way he could avoid being trapped, but he already knew it was too late.
"You cost us a lot of money champ."
Crimson eyes followed the sound of the voice, only to come upon a plumpish looking man with vibrant pink hair and black glasses. Surrounding him were two other men, tall, slightly muscular, but the fighter knew they would be easy to take down. Kurogane had to stop himself from laughing.
Kurogane snorted. "What you guys complaining for? It's not my fault you were stupid and bet on a bunch of pussies."
"Now, let's not get crude here." Another said.
The laughing stopped. His red eyes turned cold; he did not like the sound of that voice, it was calm…way too calm. Turning around he saw another group of men, these guys a lot more serious looking than the others. But it wasn't the body guard looking men Kurogane speculated over, it was the thin man sitting on a crate to the left which had caught his attention.
His elbows resting on his knees he held his head up with one hand. In his dark clothing it was very hard to tell just exactly what he was doing but his clam posture made Kurogane uneasy, although he didn't show it. Eyes hiding behind a pair of glasses, he was staring at the tall fighter, looking up and down, then up again. This was the part that really made Kurogane mad.
That was the gaze of a murderer.
"We're all gentlemen here, aren't we?" He said, a small smile placed on his pale face. It made Kurogane sick just looking at him; something was definitely not right.
He did not respond.
"We've been watching you for some time." He continued and the red eyed man raised a black eyebrow, showing his indifference. "We know things about you Suwa."
Kurogane shrugged, so they knew his name, that didn't matter too much. At least, he hoped it didn't. He did however, get into a fighting position; he did not want to be caught with his guard down in front of these people.
"Alert the media. It's not like I have anything to hide." That wasn't necessarily true…
The man on the crate laughed. "You have a illegal fight record a mile long, you've been in jail twice since age 16 for failure to comply with a police investigation and you are still being investigated for the murder of-,"
"Alright," Kurogane snarled. He didn't want anyone going there. "If you know so much about me you better be planning on getting the HELL out of here before I break your ass for-!"
"Now, Kurogane," He gently scolded. "You know I don't actually believe the murder charges. Remember what I've said? We've been watching you for a long time." He smiled again. "We know you don't have it in you to kill."
"Wanna bet?" he growled, but before he could charge forward he heard a rustle from behind him and quickly swung around, putting up a tan arm to block an attack aimed at his neck. Feeling something prick his arm, Kurogane chose to ignore it, focusing more on his opponent than a possible wound. Before the man could react to Kurogane's quick block, he reached out a muscled arm and quickly hit two pressure points on the man's neck. He dropped almost instantly, and the crimson eyes warrior was surprised when no further attack pursued.
Suddenly his heart started beating wildly and his head felt dizzy; it felt like his strength was draining slowly out of his limbs. With a low growl he tightened his fists and tried to stay upright, but his arm began to pulsate wildly. Crimson eyes widened for an instant as he stared down at his right arm, staring down at the needle poking out from his exposed flesh. Instantly he reacted, jumping the closest person to him. A few powerful punches to the face and the man was down, rendered into unconsciousness before the two remaining stupid looking men could grab a hold of the man beating their fallen comrade. Kurogane tried to fight back against the two people trying to restrain him, but with every passing moment he felt himself growing weaker. As the others were trying to stop him he raised his left hand and pulled the needle out, stopping it from injecting the rest of the drug into his body. But the damage was already done.
Falling to his knees he felt a foot being placed on his back, and his shoulders being held tightly. Lifting up his head weakly he looked at the man with the glasses and his two followers, the ones who hadn't moved this entire time.
"What did you do to me?" He snarled dangerously, although his voice was noticeably weaker than usual. Only now did the man in the glasses move. That same calm smile spread across his features, he moved towards Kurogane and knelt down so they were at eye level. He didn't answer his question.
"Who, who are you?" Kurogane asked, his tone getting calmer as he grew weaker. The man's smile never wavered, and that's when the fighter saw it. The glint in the man's glasses hindered for a moment and Kurogane looked behind it. His right eye was made of glass.
That was when he truly became nervous.
"Your gang leader Seshiro."
Seshiro shrugged. "And if I am?" His smile never left his face, "What does it mean to you? Does it mean you will comply?"
Comply?
What exactly did this guy want? If he was here to take the cash they would have done it a long time ago.
Besides, the Tomya Gang probably had more money than half of the cities population. They along with the Bronyin Gang had been fighting for the city's domination for years now. So far, neither group had won.
"I'll…ask you one more time…" Kurogane managed to get out before his eyes forced themselves close. "What…did you do to me?!"
"We just gave you something to get you to cooperate better. But," he sighed then, "now we are going to have to make this very quick. Since you took out the needle before it finished injecting itself, it is quite likely that the drug will stop taking affect in about half an hour. So lets just let this move along shall we?" Laughing he cocked his head to one side.
Kurogane did not like where this was going. He tried to shake the two men off of him, but whatever shit they put into him was obviously taking affect. His gaze swaying in front of him he started swearing vigorously; he couldn't even clench his hands into fists anymore! He forced his eyes open once again.
"Not interested." He growled, gnashing his teeth as his opponent laughed. "What ever you're selling im not buying!"
"You know, we could easily win with men like you on our side, win the battle for the city I mean. All of Loshin will cower before us, with your skills added to my tactics. Our domination would be total."
So that's what he wanted of him. He wanted Kurogane to fight for him in some upcoming gang war. "Like I said." The black haired warrior said. "Not fucking interested." His voice was frightening, but the man before him smiled, seeing the young man's red eyes hesitantly closing again.
"Suit yourself." He said standing up. Seshiro turned around as if to leave but than paused, chuckling darkly. "Who knows, maybe one day you'll accept my generous proposition. A mans gotta feed his family right?" He threw his head back over his shoulder. "Then again, you don't have any family anymore. After we deal with that teenaged brat of yours…"
At this the red eyes burst open and he tried to move forward, a dog like sound erupting from his throat. "LEAVE HIM OUT OF THIS!" He shouted as he forced himself on his feet. Before his captors could react to his sudden movement Kurogane felt something wiz past his ear and heard a shout from behind him. Feeling someone else's blood splash against his cheek he used that moment to shake free from the loosened hold, turning around to see what happened.
His captors didn't care as one was helping to calm the other who had a…was that a dart protruding from his shoulder?
Then another dart with blue feathers fell out from the darkness, this time heading straight for Seshiro. He quickly moved out of the way, so the dart didn't pierce his stomach, but it still hit his upper thigh. He stumbled back into the arms of his comrades, shouting angrily.
"Hyuu~! I missed!"
Whirling around Kurogane searched for the sound of the voice. There, standing in the open back entrance to some bar, was a man. Tall and lean the man's blue eyes seemed to shine in the darkness. The threatening twinkle in those eyes was still there, even with that stupid grin on his face. Seshiro's remaining men didn't hesitate in their attacks. Kurogane barely saw what happened next. One moment the blond was standing there, the next he was almost flying through the air. When Kurogane looked again, the man was standing behind where his attackers were about to run towards, actually, he was standing almost back to back with Kurogane.
He didn't pay attention then; he needed to get rid of these guys and quick. He was almost ten times weaker than usual at the present and he didn't want to black out right in the middle of the fight. Deciding to go for quick and direct he ran towards the two men standing next to Seshiro. They had gotten over their original shock of the dart hitting their leader and were perfectly ready when Kurogane attacked them next.
That didn't mean they actually stood a chance though.
A quick punch to the jaw and on was knocked to the ground, and a quick hit to the others broke his nose.
He was about to swing around so he could catch that stupid fucking Seshiro but he heard a click from one of the men he had just hit and knew it would be unwise to turn away.
Suddenly he saw a flash that could only resemble metal. A shot went off and he quickly dove to the ground covering his head as the bullet whizzed over him. Looking around he saw the man cock the gun again, and his head whirled over towards the blue eyed man who was standing stupefied by some blow he had got to the head earlier.
"Watch out!" He shouted before he jumped up and pushed the blond over. They both went tumbling into a pile of trash. Covering their heads protectively he heard two more shots ring off.
Looking up he noticed it was one of Seshiro's men who had shot the gun. Pushing himself up of the blond idiot he fumbled in his pants pocket and took out his switchblade, ready to advance on them when he realized, that was utter stupidity. With a hand wave from Seshiro the men started to back off, but not before they let off another few shots. Jumping back to his safe haven he bashed into the blond and together they rolled behind the crates.
By the time the shots had stopped ringing off and Seshiro's laughter had all but disappeared, Kurogane felt like his head was about to split open. Curse that stupid man for letting that man inject that fucking shit inside of him. He lay there for what seemed like eternity, trying to fight off unconsciousness.
"Hello? Mr. Black? Mr. Black you alive in there?"
Kurogane growled, his brow furrowing as his eyes opened angrily. Before he could retort he realized he was staring straight into the sky. No; blinking the blue sky separated, he was staring into a pair of eyes. Although he would never say it out loud, those were the most beautiful eyes he had ever seen. He tried to breathe in, to say something but found in hard to breathe. A sensible person would have said it was do to the drug, a romantic might have told you that Kurogane was stunned by the mans beauty, but any rational person would have said that the simplest answer was also the most obvious one:
"Get off my stomach!" Kurogane moaned angrily before reaching up a tanned arm to push the thin man off. He fell onto the concrete with a loud sound effect (sounding something like "Huyagh!" but Kurogane could not be sure). Laughing the young man beside him brushed himself of, holding out a pale hand to help the dazed fighter up.
"Tch," was the sound that issued from Kurogane's mouth as he pushed himself up weakly, ignoring how blurry his eyes were. "What the heck were you doing on top of me anyways?"
He tapped a long finger gingerly on his chin before smiling once again. "I believe that was because of you Mr. Forgetful." Laughing that carefree laugh of his Kurogane felt more embarrassed than irritated, but it was irritation that showed on his face.
"It's Kurogane." He muttered before turning around and bending down to pick up his switchblade. Suddenly he felt light headed and stumbled forward with a strangled gasp, hitting his head against the brick wall. Cursing he stumbled back into the arms of the man behind him.
"Let's sit you down then before you hurt yourself anymore." He said with a small smile on his face, forcing the red eyed warrior to sit down on the concrete path, leaning against the wall he had just hit his head on. The man sat down next to him. "You hurt Kuro-wanwan?"
"Im fine you stupid-!" he tried to resist then stopped. "What the hell do you mean by wanwan?"
"Well you sure were growling a lot back there." the blond said, his idiotic smile never once diminishing. "Just like a big black puppy!" Clapping his hands together his smile widened, and Kurogane felt his red eyes grow fiery. "That's it! You are now and forever dubbed…" he poked his shoulder right now and the fighter seriously considered punching out his rescuer. "…Kuro-puppy!!"
"Why you-!" But before he could snarl any sort of angry response he had to bite his lip, choking back the vile that was rising in his throat.
The blond man noticed the change in attitude and gave an apologetic smile. "A side effect of the drug no doubt." Sighing he leaned back against the wall and crossed his hands behind his head. "I guess I should stay with you until the drug wears off. We wouldn't want Kuro-rin here to get into anymore trouble now would we?"
Kurogane wanted so badly to respond, no one could guess just how badly he wanted to attack the man in front of him. However he knew that although this man was annoying, he wasn't doing anything deathly wrong, and besides, he doubted he had too much strength to move at the present moment. So biting his lip to stop himself from wasting energy he looked up at the sky, noticing that the nights clouds had disappeared and the morning atmosphere was tinted a blue shade lighter than it should have been. It was early morning now, in a few hours people would be heading to work; he wondered if the kid ever made it to his bed.
"So Kuro-chi," his comrade said poking him on the shoulder until the fighter turned to face him. "What are you doing out so late?"
"I should be asking you the same thing." He grumbled in reply.
He laughed cheerfully. "Im the pianist at the bar," he pointed at the door he had used for his entrance. "That bar to be precise. I was just closing up when I heard shouts. Lucky for you Kuro-damsel I still hadn't put away the dartboard."
Oh. So that's where the darts had come from. Instead of commenting he chose to ignore the damsel part the man had put on the end of his name. Sitting uselessly against the brick wall he let his mind wander towards the person placed beside him. He seemed like a harmless 20 year old guy; but when fighting against those men it was obvious he knew something about what he was doing. Although no one would guess if from that stupid, trusting grin on his face, anyone who lived in Loshin city obviously knew how to survive in it. What surprised him though was that whatever this guy did was purely defensive; the only offensive thing he did was throw those blue playthings.
Was this guy to naïve to realize that at that moment those thugs who attacked him were planning on killing him?
Kurogane heard the blond sigh and his crimson eyes followed his blue ones. Although the face was happy, Kurogane could tell that the guy beside him hid the entire world behind a smile. Why though? Now it was angering him. Ignoring his weakness he decided he couldn't wait any longer, he had to get out of here.
"Well," he said pushing himself up with his legs and standing up. "I need to get going." The man beside him stood up as well, a worried glint in his eyes.
"You sure you'll be okay?"
He laughed, god that was getting annoying. Was he a walking joke or something?
"I don't want my Kuro-puppy getting his nose into any trouble."
Alright, it's official. This guy was insane.
"Listen-," suddenly Kurogane stopped looking at the blond as he attempted to hide his curiosity. "What the hells your name?"
The man burst out laughing and the fighter growled, moving to pick up his jean jacket he had dropped in the scuffle, hoping the man wouldn't see the redness on his cheeks.
"I can't believe I haven't said my name yet." Crossing his arms over the back of his head again his blue eyes sparkled. God, those were some kickass eyes.
Wait, WHAT?
"My name's Fai."
Not a bad name either. Suits him.
DAMN!
Alright, now he HAD to get out of here; that fucking drug was making shit cram into his head.
"Well Fai-WILL YOU STOP DOING THAT?" he said angrily, his face the color of his eyes as the man brushed the rubble off his back. "Listen, I gotta go. Those shitfaces are probably going to be following me and I want to loose them before the sun gets too high." It was a feeble excuse, but it was all he could come up with at the time.
Fai just looked on curiously. "Follow you?" he said. Kurogane imagined if the man had cat ears they would have gone pencil straight. "That's weird; I haven't felt anyone watching us yet."
Kurogane's black brows furrowed and then he realized that he too hadn't sensed the presence of anybody else except for the mage in a while.
But wait…did that mean…?
Silently praying to whatever go god was out there he dug around in his coat pockets, but no, Fai was right.
There was no one following him anymore. Because he didn't have the money any more.
What happened next was beyond him. One moment the alley was silent, and the next Kurogane had picked up, in one hand, a full crate and threw it against the wall, yelling furiously.
He remembered now, seeing someone dig through his jacket while he tired to save the idiot blond from the speeding bullet. He hadn't thought about it then, but now, he remembered exactly what it was that he hand put in his pockets that was so valuable.
"You okay Kuro-cha-?" Fai never finished speaking. The angry man was already throwing on his jacket he stomped wearily towards the entrance of the alley and out onto the sidewalk, quickly disappearing without another word to the blond haired young man.
--------------------------------------------------
Fai wanted to follow him. Yes he wanted to follow him very much. Why? He did not know.
Was it out of concern?
The man did just get attacked after all; but that just might mean he was prone to destruction.
No. I am. He thought to himself bitterly. Remember, twins of destruction.
He sighed quietly to himself as he stared on in the direction where the man had left him for. He didn't like to remember the things that happened in his childhood; how kids used to call him and Yuui the 'Twins of misfortune (destruction, pain, etc.)'. He never paid attention to them, until that incident four years ago…after that everything seemed to go downhill.
He laughed at himself. Bitter thoughts aren't going to change the past, he thought, or the present.
Although he hadn't moved since Kurogane had left, he found himself desperately wanting to follow. Was this more than just concern for him he was feeling? Fai would never find out. Ignoring the want to run quickly after him he walked farther down the alley. Fai knew his place, and he knew he had no right to invade Kurogane's personal life.
But than why was it so tempting?
Was it because, for those few moments they were together, he didn't feel quite so alone anymore?
Silently he picked up the discarded darts and walked back into the open doorway of the bar. Placing the blue playthings on the counter he picked up his 4 year old and completely over worn leather jacket and threw it across his shoulders.
He had told Kuro-pippi that he was still closing up the bar, but to be honest the bar had closed at one and he had kicked the last few drunk men out by 1:30. All except for that last man who had talked to him earlier that same evening and asked if he had any plans after work, any sexual plans to be more precise.
Fai was more than disgusted with that man, was ready to get Souma to kick his drunken butt out before he caused any real offense, but stopped himself. That's when he asked those two words; how much.
Although he thought that man was a pathetic excuse for one, he was even more disgraced with himself. He could not believe he had accepted, but he knew that he too was behind on his rent. And working two jobs wasn't going to be able to pay for how late he was. It didn't hurt that bad; the man didn't actually want sex, but it was making Fai shake just thinking about what he had done.
Plus; Sakura had an appointment coming up soon, and the doctors would make him pay upfront.
The teen didn't know he was out tonight; she was a pretty heavy sleeper so it made it quite easy. He however didn't like leaving her three times a week during the night, always worried that she'd have a breakdown in the middle of the night and he wouldn't be there to help her.
Sighing he walked towards the back door keys in hand, and stepped outside into the fast approaching morning air. Locking up silently he wrapped his jacket over his thin form, placed that ever cheery smile on his face, and walked out onto the sidewalk, joining the small group of morning risers who were already crowding onto the street. Losing himself in the sounds of passing cars and quietly moving people he tried to keep his mind off of that strange man he had saved half an hour earlier and tried to think about something else.
The next on the list for things to worry about was definitely Sakura.
It had been two years since he had rescued her from that pervert, and things went well for the longest time…until Sakura got rushed to the hospital mid afternoon one day in grade eight.
He preferred not to think of that day; when blood started producing from her throat during the middle of her lunch break. He was phoned immediately, and being at the factory during that time he remembered having to threaten his boss, to shout at him, to beg with him to be let go for the afternoon so that he could go see her in the hospital.
It turned out Sakura had some sort of heart problem. It was a new found condition discovered right before WWIII ten years ago. It was an extremely rare condition now, but only because so many people died from having it. Fai was glad for that. Because the pain brought on by this disease was uncontrollable. There was a surgery that could be done to stop Sakura's heart from collapsing in on itself, but it cost way too much than Fai could pay for. Instead Fai took her once every two weeks to the doctor's office and they would put her to sleep so they could inject a specail liquid that could keep her heart together. It was dreadfully expensive and Fai was significantly in dept…but it was all to keep Sakura alive.
She had to take three aspirin a day just to stop the pain from overcoming her: and she was constantly watched by her teachers and Fai for any of the symptoms. The doctors had warned him that if her lower throat started swelling, or she was shaking uncontrollably or she started making sudden jerking moments that she was to be rushed to the hospital immediately. There were also a few less common signals such as frequent spells and a purple lump forming over top of her right breast. So far they hadn't had to worry about her too much, but the threat was constantly there. As a constant reminder, the injection they gave her made her loose her hair. That was a particularly painful experience for the young girl. Not because everyone was teasing her openly, but because people were whispering about her empty scalp when she wasn't looking. It was most likely the fact that they couldn't talk to her about it because they knew that there was a possibility that she could die any second.
It's true, there was a possibility that any time in any day that Sakura could die. It was amazing she had lived this long without the surgery. It was Fai's true wish: that she could forever rid of the thing which caused her mother to abandon her. And as much as it hurt Fai to see the poor girl suffer, it only made the time they spent together that much more valuable.
Through it all though, Sakura faced the world with a smile. At first Fai thought she was just doing this because she was dying, but soon, as he got to know the young girl better, he realized she was doing it not because she was dying, but because she was living.
She was kind to all she met, a true princess.
Maybe that's what made him love her.
Oh NO not in THAT way!
He had grown quite attached to the young girl, and he remembered one day when they went grocery shopping together how the cashier asked him if his daughter was buying anything separately.
He froze the first time he heard that. Not from disbelief, but from the shock that it was out in the open. It was true wasn't it? In the last few years they had become pretty close.
Just like a real family, he thought to himself. And for the second time today (the first being when he was talking to Kurogane), Fai gave off a real smile.
That smile still wandering on his face he let his thoughts wander back to the tanned, black haired man he had met earlier. Musing softly to himself he wondered why he could get those eyes, those eyes as red as freshly drawn blood, out of his mind. Fai would never know that at that same time, that same man was struggling with the same sort of contemplation as him.
-------------------------------------------
To say the least, Kurogane was pissed. But on top of being pissed he was also angry, nervous, disappointed, and more than anything, deathly afraid. Yes, the immovable Kurogane Suwa was afraid.
What am I going to fucking do? How am I going to tell Grosum-sama about this? Grosum was the landlord for his apartment. He was a reasonable man, and had let a few paychecks slide when Kurogane was short on money, but with him, it was simple: three strikes and your out.
This would be his third month without paying rent. He had promised the old man he'd have it by this morning.
Would he evict us? Kurogane began to think but violently shook his head, dismissing that idea instantly. He would NOT let that happen to Syaoran.
By now Kurogane had already gotten on and off the subway and was heading wearily towards home. How much longer would he and the kid be able to call that place home?
The truth was, as much as he was bruised, and anxious, he was merely just completely and utterly exhausted. Not to mention the fact that he was still quite drugged from whatever bothersome substance those thugs put into him. He was all this and more, but he kept on walking, kept on moving forward; for there was nothing else for him to do.
Sluggishly his thoughts drifted away as he opened the door of the apartment's front lobby. They drifted to a far off place, where a blond haired blue eyed man smiled at him. Angrily he ran a hand through his raven black locks and tried to stop thinking of that stupid idiotic face, that naïve, trusting smile, and the way his pale skin felt against his tanned arms as he rushed the man out of harms way. He knows he should hate the man for not paying attention to the fact that the men had weapons, but he didn't. Besides, he did not regret for one moment for saving Fai's life…although at the time he didn't know why. He was just a stranger wasn't he? Still, Kurogane never liked the idea of someone getting hurt, and having someone to protect always made him stronger.
And strength was something he desperately needed right now.
By now he had already made it up the staircases to the third level and had dug through his pockets absent mindedly for his keys. Unlocking the thin door he stepped in the doorway
He froze.
Something was wrong.
The room before him was bathed in pink and golden sunlight as the sun desperately tried to peak over the towers blocking it. Still not fully raised, the light made the rooms furnishings seem to almost grow a sort of pinkish red. But it wasn't the sunlight that directed those crimson eyes to the source of the problems, it was the shadows.
And the smell.
Dark eyebrows narrowed as he walked briskly towards the tiled floor, pausing momentarily to gaze at the objects on the floor. He paused only briefly, that hole in the floor told Kurogane exactly what happened. He rushed towards the bedroom and forced the door open.
"Kid?" he called worryingly. Looking inside he saw the room almost exactly as he left it; except this time Syaoran wasn't there. He paused for a moment, was Syaoran even in the apartment? Had he somehow managed to leave? He quickly deemed that impossible since the door was locked and none of the windows had been opened.
That was when he heard the whimpering.
Heart beating wildly beneath his breast he raced out of the room, towards the only other place there was for the teen to be. Sprinting down the hallway he heard the whimpering turn to gasping.
Eyes widened as he turned to the right, and stood iced over in shock as he stared at the broken kid. "Syaoran…" he muttered, more to himself than to the kid.
Hands clinging to either arm, he was furiously scratching at his arms pushing up the sleeves of his grey sleeping t-shirt. Sweat caked his clothes and a puddle formed around him, mixing with the liquid drug that had escaped from the syringes. He was shaking violently and his brown tousled hair covered his eyes in shadow; but it did not hide the old tears that clung to his face and the new ones that were emerging from tightly clenched eyelids. The needles still poked out of his skin and rattled as Syaoran's feet slipped on the soaked floor. Small whimpers escaped from his tightly clenched teeth and the so called immovable Kurogane felt his heart crack. Slowly moving forward he knelt next to the quivering child. Wrapping on strong arm around his shaking shoulders he used his free hand to slowly take the needles out of the boy's injured flesh. At this sudden action the boy's shaking increased but his eyes didn't open and his hands didn't make a move to stop Kurogane. The red eyed man put a hand on the kid's cheek.
"Kid?" he said quietly. "Im going to pick you up okay kid?" The boy didn't reply, but Kurogane saw new tears begin to escape from their prison. Before Kurogane could ask his question again the boy had lunged forward and was clinging to his shirt, sobbing.
The tall man tensed up, but like usual he found himself slowly adjusting to the awkwardness and wrapped his sun kissed arms around the crying boy. They stayed this way for a long time, the kid mumbling words into Kurogane's shirt; apologies, excuses, pleas…it never seemed to stop. Finally he pulled back and held the kid by the shoulders.
"Kid?" he said once again.
He didn't respond.
"Syaoran." Now the boy looked up at him, a desperate, hopeless look reflecting in those tear filled eyes. Kurogane kept his frown on his face, but his hands stayed gentle. Standing up he urged Syaoran to move as well. Moving his hands away from his shoulders he grasped the teen's arm and moved him over to the kitchen. The boy followed silently, no longer crying or shaking, just walking. When they got to the sink Kurogane pointed to the counter across from it and the boy hesitantly sat on top. As the red eyed man wet a towel with one hand and used the other to dig around in the medicine cabinet for bandages. After choking the extra water out of the cloth he turned towards the counter Syaoran was sitting on, bringing his utensils with him. Silently he began cleaning the dried blood out of the boy's scratches, trying to keep his disappointment from showing on his face. They were doing so well this time; Syaoran even admitted to him a few days ago that he hadn't touched anything in a few weeks.
What caused the poor kid to break? He mused to himself as he finished cleaning the wounds and began dressing them. He felt the boy twitch as the medicine stung, but the fact that he was feeling made Kurogane sigh with relief: the boy was coming out of it. Stealing a tentative glance towards the brown hair youth, he couldn't help but thinking of a kid who was getting punished for stealing from a cookie jar. More importantly though, he saw the kid had his eyes already half closed and he realized that he should get the kid to bed before he fell asleep sitting up. He was very careful when he picked the boy up, he was already worried that if he wasn't the boy may very well break into pieces. Carrying him he slowly walked to his bedroom, pushing the door open with a quiet kick before he placed the boy on the bed. Only then did Syaoran open his eyes and look up at him.
"Kurogane-san?" he said quietly as the covers were pulled up to his shoulders by a pair of strong arms. "Are you mad?"
Kurogane couldn't lie to the kid, so he just nodded.
"Are you disappointed?"
Again, another slow nod.
"Do you hate me?"
"Never." Was his immediate answer. That was the truth also.
What he did next the fighter did not expect, he smiled. His eyes were halfway shut and his body was already asleep so his words came out muddled, but Kurogane heard them.
"…Dad…Thanks for caring…"
The young man sighed as he saw the boy sleep. The first full ray of sunlight came bursting through the window and filled the room with a strange warmth. The sun was in his eyes, Kurogane would simply say to anyone who would question him later, that was what made his eyes sparkle with a wetness resembling tears. The light shone brightest on the boy's sleeping face, still wearing that small smile even in slumber, and Kurogane found himself grasping his hand gently. He too fell into a light sleep, leaning against the teen's bed frame, with a hand resting on his shoulder so he could still hold the boy's hand.
Yes. He would keep on walking; he would continue to move forward. He was going to get out of this miserable city one way or another.
And he was determined to take the kid with him.
Hey! Thanks again to all who reviewed earlier and please remember that constructive criticism is welcome : )
Signed,
Destiny's Daughter.