Hello Everybody! Chapter four is finally up! This one has a dedication! Yay! Dedicated to ..Screaming for saying that she likes my story and putting up with my madness 3 This one is for you because Fai finally comes to his senses a little bit!

Tsubasa is not mine, if it were, well... there would be a scene with Fai undressing in a little purple thong with a bow... and a cowboy hat... that reminds me of a picture I saw...

Chapter 4

He wasn't sure if it was curiosity or the need to verify the events of the day that led him to where his house used to be. If for some reason the witch had left it where it was, he was sure as hell going to use it. Also, it was a good excuse to get the mage alone, even if he wasn't going to talk to him. The walk was long enough to force the awkwardness away from them. At least, that was what the ninja hoped. Fai hadn't seemed too keen on going, but it did seem better than indulging a semi-drunken Tomoyo, who very much had wanted him to model certain articles in her royal wardrobe. He would have been shocked to realize that she hadn't touched a drink all night long.

When they got there, Kurogane's mouth gaped open in silent horror. She had taken it. All of it. Even the plot of land that he had owned was missing. The witch had literally lifted everything inside his property lines and moved it to her world, leaving the ground continuing from one side of where the property was to the other as if it had never existed. She had somehow changed his world physically. The fact that she had enough power to do so disturbed the ninja. Fai just stared at the non-existent house.

"Should we go back?" Oh, so he could speak. That was shocking. The ninja turned and nodded to him.

"Tomoyo-hime's given us a chamber in her wing. We can stay there until we work this out." He began to walk back, not turning to look at the mage. This was going to be fun. Right. The walk back turned out to be just as silent as the walk there.

The chamber assigned to Kurogane and Fai was spacious compared to the bedroom in Kurogane's former home. It was actually two rooms that simply didn't have a dividing wall, the bedding in one and a small sitting area in the other, complete with a table. On said table sat the black pewter tea set. Wonderful. The ninja pulled off his armor and slipped into a more comfortable robe, leaving the mage to stand where he was in silence. When he looked, the mage was scratching his head in thought while looking at his surroundings. Idiot, was the only thing that came to Kurogane's mind.

He had just walked into the hall to wave down a servant for some dinner when he realized that Fai hadn't eaten. Not only had he not eaten that day, but he had been neglecting himself since before the end of things. How had he missed that? He had been sitting right there at the feast the night before, just watching as everyone else ate, not touching the food himself, not that it would do him any good. Once, the ninja inquired to how food tasted to the mage since he had changed. The cold answer he had received was that it was like having a mouth full of ash. Why hadn't the mage said anything about Kurogane's oversight? Well, he knew the answer to that one too. Maybe Kurogane was the idiot after all.

Forgetting about the food for himself, he slid the panel door shut with a light thud. The mage was sitting on the tatami mat, facing away, looking out the open back door at the night. Kurogane didn't particularly want to approach him, especially after his silence throughout the day, but knew that he didn't have much choice. He sat down next to the mage, waiting a moment before actually saying anything.

"Oi. Mage." He didn't look at the ninja, just kept staring into space. He let out a preoccupied, "Hmm?"

"You haven't feed." That captured his attention. The mage looked at him blankly, not able to help that one eye was slowly becoming yellow.

"It's fine." He looked back out at the stars, clasping his hands together in his lap, just a bit too tightly to convince the ninja. Kurogane sighed, pulling a dagger from his belt. He had anticipated this. It was always the same game with Fai, a game which the mage would always lose, in the end. At first it was because of his hate for the ninja, because he didn't want to live because of him. Now, it seemed to be because he felt guilty for taking his life force. He was a parasite. Even though Kurogane had been the one to make him this way, it felt wrong to feed off of him. Still, the ninja would always give Fai the chance to take what he needed, and when he didn't he would cut himself and force the mage to drink. Fai couldn't let him just bleed out. It would be wasteful not to do something about all the blood, and he would heal faster if the enzymes in his saliva bonded with the clotting agents in Kurogane's blood, right? The argument in Fai's head was more or less always the same. He would then tip his head over the wound, trying to hide his face, as he became a monster, as he literally sucked the life out of someone he cared about. It was a just punishment, considering he wasn't supposed to care for anyone. What was more fitting than to slowly kill that person? He didn't want to drink. He would prefer death.

"Let's do this my way then." Kurogane pulled the edge of the blade to his wrist, but a long hand slid it from his fingers, another hand grasping his wrist. As much as he didn't want to drink, he didn't want to see the ninja hurting himself. The mage placed the knife down delicately on the floor next to him, then rose, turning his back on the ninja.

"Where do you think you're going?" Kurogane was beginning to get angry now. If the mage wasn't going to feed, then what was the point of going with Kurogane in the first place? He refused to speak to the ninja unless forced to, he avoided his company, and now he was going to deny him as E? Kurogane had nothing else to be denied.

"Out." It was a cold, unfeeling tone. It was that tone that caused the ninja to snap.

Kurogane wasn't thinking when he grabbed the mage by the wrist, spinning him around. Neither was Fai. He fell, reaching around with his right arm as he did so to grab the knife still sitting next to the mat. He barely reached it when his head hit the wall behind him, the ninja nearly on top of him. It was less than a second before he swung his arm in an arc, cutting the ninja just below the jaw line as he turned his head. The ninja pinned his arm against the wall, using his good arm to trap the mage's head in place by the neck. Fai glared at him, holding back an animalistic growl. Then he saw the cut. He shook, trying to duck his head and hide behind his bangs. The ninja held him in place, tightening his grip. The knife fell out of each of their grasps.

"Drink." He pulled his arm away so that Fai could reach him, but the mage only tried to curl in on himself. "You cut me this time. Drink." There wasn't much blood flowing, in fact the actual flow itself had stopped, but it was enough so that when the mage looked up to see the wound, Kurogane saw that his right eye had narrowed to a black slit surrounded by gold. The mage caught his eye, then dropped his head again, trying to push the ninja back with the arm that wasn't being held to the wall. Even with the strength of a vampire, the gesture was weak.

"No." It came out as more of a sob than a word. He was really shaking now, to the point where Kurogane was having trouble keeping him sitting upright.

"Damn it, Fai!" He grabbed the back of the mage's head and pulled it roughly to his neck, close enough to feel his breath on the wound. The mage's shock only had a short second to register, then his tongue was darting out to taste the red. He broke Kurogane's grasp, grabbing him by the shoulders instead of pushing away. There wasn't enough, though, and Kurogane knew that. He peeled the mage back a little and offered his wrist again, thinking that the mage wouldn't be able to refuse in such a state. Surprisingly, the mage swatted it away.

"I want to try something different," he said slowly, leaning back slightly so that his back was against the wall again. Kurogane didn't say anything, just waited for the mage to do whatever he had in mind. He hadn't expected the mage to lunge at him, brushing his lips against his neck gently before scraping his teeth over the tan skin and biting in roughly. Kurogane jumped, causing a sharp pain to shoot through him, and even more to when he tried to push the mage off of him. He wasn't going anywhere, though, not until he was finished. The ninja tried to calm himself and let the mage take what he needed, but gods did it hurt. Each long, steady suck pulled the mage's fangs into him a little further, and each time he swallowed they scraped against him as they pulled out slightly. He tried to focus on something else while the mage fed, seeing as he was taking his sweet time.

The first thing that Kurogane thought of while trying to ignore the pain was the familiar scent around him. He would smell Fai's hair, which was in part smashed against his face. He turned his head slightly to get closer to it, finding the position more comfortable. He smelled of cherry blossoms and apple grass and blood. It was an odd combination of nature and death. Even so, the ninja found it comforting during this ordeal of sorts. The next thing that Kurogane thought of was how the mage was reacting to his blood. He would feel his breath against his skin, coming out fast and heated since he was breathing out of his nose. His heartbeat was faster too; Kurogane could feel it since he was pressed up against him. Ah, he was pressing against Kurogane, desperately, as if he would never feed again. One hand was gripping his shoulder while the other, the one that had been pinned against the wall, was grasping the front of his robe, nails digging into the ninja's chest almost as painfully as the fangs in his neck. They were touching. Physically connected. The mage never would have allowed for that if he had been in his right mind. No more than holding his wrist while he fed, at least. With each slow suck, the mage moved his body. It was a silent rhythm, his body caressing the ninja's, then pulling away gently over and over. It was like a wave beginning at his lips and moving lower until it hit the ground at which he was anchored. Kurogane felt his own heartbeat speed up at this realization. The sting at his neck was nothing compared to this feeling, the feeling of the mage moving unconsciously against him. His hands had slid to the mage's back while he fed, and now one moved up to play with the long hair that fell between his shoulder blades and the other down to the small of his back. Kurogane loved the way his back curved, more seductively than any other being he had ever encountered. The mage's breathing hitched slightly and he pulled out, leaving the red bite marks plainly visible. He didn't move back though, just stayed against the ninja, letting him hold up his weight. There was a moment of silent breathing, then the mage reattached himself to the ninja's neck, just sucking, without entering his fangs. He wasn't quite finished yet.

It was just as the mage had begin to run his tongue over the still fresh wounds and Kurogane had gotten a tingly feeling running from his hair to his toes when the door to the chamber was pushed open and a young steward ran in, breathless. Kurogane didn't have enough energy to do more than look at the boy while the mage, now straddling his lap, gave the boy a death glare.

"Yes?" He wiped the blood that was trickling down his chin with the sleeve of his disheveled hakuma. His eye was still an eerie gold. The boy shuddered.

"Someone reported hearing a loud noise coming from this area of the wing and the princess sent me to investigate, sir!" The boy looked utterly terrified. Fai couldn't blame him. The ninja was quite a sight at the moment. Not that he looked much better.

"Is everything alright?" The boy didn't get to finish his sentence. He was cut off by the loud thud of Kurogane hitting the floor as he passed out. Fai leaned over in time to cushion the back of his head from the fall, but not much else. He was in an awkward position, after all.

"He's not dead, is he?" the boy shrieked, paling visibly. The mage ran a hand through his disheveled hair, shaking his head.

"No, he's just unconscious. Fetch a medical supply kit and bring it back here. I'll care for him." The boy looked unsure. "It's fine. Go." He did just that.

The mage was not happy, to say the least. Kurogane had tricked him into feeding. Alright, maybe tricked wasn't the right word, but that was how he felt at the moment. He wasn't supposed to be feeling at all when it came to the stoic ninja. I'll care for him. That was truer than he wanted to admit. It took a great deal of effort to untangle himself from the ninja's limbs, but he was successful soon enough. He wasn't bleeding as freely now, although Fai would have been able to stop that completely if they weren't so rudely interrupted. He hadn't wanted to feed, but once that switch had been flipped inside him, the best he could do was try not to kill Kurogane. He hadn't even succeeded in doing that well enough. He sat, cross-legged, next to the ninja. This wasn't good. Worse than that, it was wrong. He tried not to look at the ninja as he removed the top of his robes, pulling his arms out and pushing the material as far down as he would need, but it was a vain effort. Some of the blood had trailed down his chest, staining the tan skin. It took all the strength that Fai had not to lean over and run his tongue over the trail, to get the last of what would have been his. No, he kept controul, but just barely. Only because the ninja was asleep and wouldn't be able to keep him from going further. That, and if he woke up, it wasn't as if Fai could blame the same starved insanity at this point. Even after drinking so much, there was still an empty spot in the pit of his stomach. Nothing would satisfy him unless he took it all, which he certainly was capable of. He reached out to push aside the strands of black hair that had fallen in the ninja's face as the door slid open yet again.

"H-h-here you go." The boy dropped the small kit in front of the mage, next to Kurogane. The mage didn't look up at him, just stared at the red blotches his fingers were leaving on the ninja's forehead.

"Thank you. Goodnight." The steward left hurriedly, closing the door, much to Fai's appreciation. He set to work, cleaning and dressing the wounds on the ninja's neck and removing the red from both of their faces. He was ashamed again. This time Kurogane had lost consciousness. It wasn't the first time, but those had always been times of extreme desperation. This time was different. He had gotten caught up in the feeling of Kurogane, his neck under his mouth. The feel of his heartbeat had been too strong for him to bear when he had started at the cut, he couldn't help himself. He had never really considered feeding at the neck to be an option. He fed directly at the wrist because it was the most pleasant way for them both to get the experience over with. If he had let Kurogane bleed into a cup or bowl, the blood would be at the wrong temperature to drink. That was never pleasant. At the neck, though, everything seemed so enhanced. The pulse was so much more apparent, as if it was begging for Fai to take it there. The ninja's reaction didn't do much to turn him off of the idea, physically, at least. True, he had struggled for a few seconds in the beginning, but after that the mage had felt his body relax, his face burrow into his hair, practically gasping for breath. The rest of his body had been no better. His hands had begun to roam without purpose and finally settled on two of the most intimate parts of the mage, holding his head in place as he drank and regulating his movements as he did so. He knew that he had been rocking, it was part of the instinct, but then the ninja had begun to rock back. He wasn't sure if the ninja was even aware of it. There was a familiar way that their abdomens slid over each other, the way they had positioned themselves on top of each other, even though they had never done anything like that in their lives. It felt so right to be holding the ninja in place violently while being held just as strongly in place. His feeding had almost seemed to become a sexual experience. There was a fire in him when he fed, although this one seemed different, as if it wasn't just about the blood. It was more the need, for what exactly, well, he wasn't about to admit anything, to himself or anyone else just yet.

The ninja came to his senses not long after, enough to pull himself onto the tatami mat correctly with the mage's help. He was disoriented as hell, not sure where he was and muttering something about being naked without his armour. The mage tucked him into a blanket carefully, then got up to leave the ninja his dreams.

"Fai," the ninja cried out in a mixture of what sounded like confusion, fear, and need. It made the mage stop cold, never having heard the ninja so openly vulnerable. He turned and kneeled down again, resting a hand hesitantly on the ninja's shoulder.

"I'm here." He tried to say it with a smile, but it came out sad and tired. The ninja turned his head in the direction of the mage's voice, but didn't open his eyes. There was a moment where everything was still.

"It's okay." His breathing became steady as he drifted back into sleep. The mage didn't move, just stared incomprehensively. He pulled his hand back, sinking against the wall behind him, where he had been pushed earlier. He wanted to cry. He wanted to throw that stupid tea set against the wall and scream. He wanted to destroy an entire world. Instead, he pulled his knees against his chest and covered his face with his hands. Quiet, broken laughter was the only noise in the silence.