Ahh… Tis that time again! Time for another chapter!
I wanted to get this out before heading to Star City Anime tomorrow,
where I will be none other than my own FABULOUS self!
I do believe I even get to accompany a SMASHING Fai D. Flourite!
We shall paint the town such GLORIOUS shades of RED!
So enjoy this next chapter- and remember- Follows and Reviews are ALWAYS appreciated!
~JustAFanGrell~
Transparent Lies Ch. 4
Fai busied himself with futzing around the laundry room, feeling good about having talked to Kurogane and hopeful that his two friends could work things out.
Anything would be better than keeping things the way they are now… with everyone ignoring the obvious and walking on egg shells all the time.
He hummed a happy tune to himself as he chased dust bunnies out from behind the clothes dryer as the washer sloshed along, a perfectly timed accompaniment for his song.
He continued tidying up, oblivious to the dramatic events playing out in the hallway on the other end of the house. Content that things in the laundry room were now as they should be, he returned the broom and dustpan to their respective homes in the garage, brushed off his clothes with his hands, and decided to make himself a mid-morning snack.
With a bounce in his step and a smile on his face he merrily headed to the kitchen, his mouth already watering in anticipation of the tasty tidbits to come, his mind running through a mental list of what items were usually available in the pantry for such instances.
The scene that greeted him as he entered the kitchen stopped him in his tracks, the bounce of his step suddenly gone, and quickly erasing the smile from his face. The samurai was parked on a stool on the other side of the counter, four rather large bottles of sake within reach (one of which was already empty) and looking down-right murderous. Fai's face blanched as he looked at his friend and wondered what could have gone so wrong in the short amount of time since they spoke to have him like this so early in the day.
"Um, Kuro-kins? What's wrong?" Fai gingerly asked, hesitant to poke the beast he knew dwelled just under Kuro's surface, trusting his gut feeling that this was not going to end well and attempting to tread very lightly.
Looking up from his now-empty sake glass Kuro growled as his friend entered the kitchen and reached for the next bottle in line, refilling his glass.
"Kurogane-san?" Fai gingerly inquired again, concern for his friend tainting his voice.
"What the hell do you want?!" the samurai growled back before tilting the glass and drinking the entire contents in one shot, slamming the hand holding the cup back down onto the counter with more than enough force to make the wizard jump.
Fai felt the bottom of his stomach drop away as easily as if a lever had been pulled on a trap door. This is worse than I thought… Pulling one of the stools around to the counter opposite the samurai, Fai sat down and looked closely at Kurogane trying to assess the situation. "Please… tell me what happened, maybe I can help."
"I think you have done more than enough already, ya idiot!" Kurogane snarled back. "This never would have happened if it wasn't for YOU and your damn suggestions!"
Fai was shocked at the sheer amount of vitriol in Kurogane's words and it took him a second or two before he put 2 and 2 together, finally realizing exactly what he was getting at. "Tell me… tell me everything." he gently asked, his concern showing on his face.
Kurogane downed another glass of sake before sighing deeply, looking down at the empty glass and rolling it absentmindedly back and forth in his hand as the earlier events in the hallway played through his mind for what seemed like the hundredth time. Finally realizing that ignoring it wasn't going to make it any better, he began to tell Fai what had happened.
"… and now she HATES me. Really hates me… more than she ever did before." Kurogane filled his glass one last time, emptied it all in one shot, and looked at his friend, his pain very plain to see.
"You should go and check on her, make sure she doesn't do anything stupid or anything. She always runs to YOU anyway!" DAMNIT… why can't I be the one she runs to?! Why is it always HIM? He looked into the empty glass. All that remained of three bottles of sake was a drop or two in the very bottom. HMPH… Just like my heart... and all I ever wanted was to love her, yet now…
Fai listened to all Kuro had to say, his own heart aching for his friend's pain. It can't be as bad as he makes it sound… the mage hoped, He's just very upset over what happened… and I'm sure it will work out fine… just another of their miss-understandings to be sure. He also noticed how Kuro despised the fact that Jessi always flew to Fai when upset over just about anything. I bet he wanted her to fly into HIS arms for comfort all those times before…
So when Kurogane asked him to go check on her, he knew things were far worse than he had first thought.
After cutting his friend off once the samurai had finished the third bottle, Fai cleaned up, putting away the last bottle, placing the glass in the sink, and the empties in the recycling bin. As he rounded the end of the counter on the way to check on Jessi, he placed a hand gingerly on the shoulder of his friend.
"It will work out, Kuro-san… don't give up all hope yet." He gave Kurogane a few brief pats on the back for comfort and headed out in the direction of Jessi's room.
