Chapter Four

Lessons

Kurogane's disdain for school only lasted into winter before it got him into trouble.

He liked two things about school: writing class and P.E. His family was important in Nihon, his father had been the lord of Suwa. They were expected to be able to read and write. So Kurogane studied and practiced his kanji diligently. And P.E. . . well, that was just fun.

The rest of his lessons were another matter entirely.

He knew Sonomi-san was upset with him that morning, because she was very quiet when she drove him to school, claiming it was too cold outside to ride his bicycle. Kurogane's teacher had called her about him, because he wasn't completing his assignments. He didn't know just how serious of an offense he'd managed to commit until after school, though.

Ashura pulled his car up to the front to collect his boys, and told Kurogane to get in.

"I'm supposed to take you home," he said soberly. "Sonomi-san said your teacher should have given you something for her today."

His teacher had given him a large envelope stuffed full of paper, with the admonishment that it must go straight to his guardian. Kurogane had agreed, feeling sour because he knew it was just going to get him into more trouble, whatever it was.

"Good. You are supposed to have all of your homework completed by the time she gets home tonight. Okay?"

"But she gets home at the same time I finish training with Yuui," he objected.

"I don't think you understand, Kurogane-kun. I'm taking you to your house today. You and Yuui-kun won't get the chance to spend time together after school until you get caught up at school. That envelope from your teacher is full of the assignments you haven't done. You will be allowed to play with Yuui after you've turned those in to your teacher."

Kurogane's mouth fell open in shock.

"What?" he shouted.

"This wouldn't be necessary if you'd done your work on time," Ashura said in a strong voice. "So you just have to work hard to get caught up, and that will solve the matter."

The other boys were wise enough to stay silent and stare out the car windows. Kurogane would have killed them if they said a word to him, even if two of them were insanely strong vampires. Subaru looked upset, and Kurogane wanted to punch him. Where did he get off being upset?

Kurogane was actually speechless, and he got out of the car in front of the Daidouji home in silence, not even saying goodbye. This was so unbelievable to him that he hadn't quite gotten his mind around it yet. He was not allowed to see his best friend until the thick envelope he carried was empty. It could take weeks, depending on what was in it—he hadn't been paying the least bit of attention to these assignments. And he was mad at himself for not arguing with Ashura. Who was Ashura to tell him what to do, anyway? He might be Yuui's guardian, but he wasn't Kurogane's. And as pissed off as Kurogane was with him at the moment, he could kiss Tomoyo for insisting on that.

He let himself into the house, and went up to his room. He tossed the envelope on his desk and proceeded to sit on his bed and glare at it. He wanted a sword. He'd cut it in half. It was keeping him from his friend. He'd already been at school all day—how was it fair that he had to bring it home with him? He was tired of sitting still and being inside and reading about the history of Heian. He wanted to be outside, and he wanted to be there with Yuui.

He went to his window and stared down the street. He was sort of hoping to see Yuui coming, even though he knew Yuui would do as Ashura told him. What was wrong with the stupid grownups? Didn't they know how important the training was? Didn't they know how important Yuui was? Why were they keeping him away just for the sake of this stupid school?

Some logical part of his brain did, eventually, take over. It told him that he'd better get something finished before Sonomi-san came home, or she might do something even worse. He sat down at his desk and got out the math worksheets he was supposed to have done in class last week. He raged his way through them, cursing that he wasn't old enough to be able to just tell them all to go to hell and make his own way in the world. He entertained a fantasy of going up to the attic for Ginryuu and kidnapping Yuui and just leaving, but he knew they'd probably just starve to death or something.

Sonomi came home with Tomoyo-chan and sent her to play with her toys. He heard her coming up the stairs, and he scribbled furiously at his worksheets, determined that he wouldn't even talk to her. He hated her.

She knocked on his door. He solved an equation.

"Kurogane-kun?" Stupid decimal places.

"I see you're hard at work," she said, sounding dry and amused.

He cut her a glare so ugly that even her good humour couldn't hold up to it. She straightened up and crossed her arms and raised her eyebrows.

"It's no use getting angry with me," she said. "Did you think you could just get away with not doing your work?"

Kurogane crossed his arms right back. "I hate school."

"Nevertheless," she said without an ounce of understanding, "you will be spending most of the next eight years there. I thought you were the type to accept reality and try to do your best with what you were given, Kurogane-kun."

His brief burst of pleasure at being characterized that way was buried under the avalanche of his horror at what he'd just heard. Eight years? He didn't understand that at all. He would be eighteen by then. He'd be a man! Why would they keep him here for so long?

"So I suggest that you buckle down and learn to focus on your studies. You may not like them, but you have to do them anyway."

Kurogane gaped at her.

"I know this seems really cruel right now, but once you get used to doing your work everyday, it won't seem so bad. Now please work really hard tonight. I'll come get you when dinner is ready."

He wanted to scream at her, but he didn't. He didn't know why he didn't. He cursed his way through a few more worksheets, then Sonomi-san came to get him for dinner. Tomoyo-chan figured out pretty quickly that he was in a bad mood and left him alone. Well. At least all this trouble had made the brat shut up for a while.


Things went on that way for a few days. Ashura would pick him up, but he was taken directly to his own house, and he went upstairs to work on a few of the assignments he should have done weeks ago. After dinner, he still had to do his current studies.

He couldn't keep up his rage for so long, so he fell into a sullen silence. Instead of feeling angry, he just felt tired. The weeks ahead of him seemed impossibly long and awful. The years. Sonomi was wrong, he wouldn't feel better after he got caught up with the stuff he'd been skipping. There would just be new stuff waiting for him when he got there.

He started fantasizing about running away rather frequently. He didn't know where he'd go. His deliberate lack of attention during school meant he still didn't know much about this world, and he didn't know how to get home. But he was starting to not care. If the adults around him kept him locked up in his bedroom alone (he considered Ashura complicit in this entire thing, because Yuui wouldn't have stayed away unless Ashura told him to), then he would get away from them. He'd find his own way home.

Yuui was the only thing that held him back. Maybe Yuui wouldn't come with him if he ran away. And if he went home . . . Maybe he didn't want to go home, not yet. But that meant he had to stay here, and do all this stupid stuff that Sonomi-san wanted him to do. So he felt tired.

One night after dinner, when he was reading the next day's chapter for social studies, he decided he was thirsty and went downstairs for a glass of water. He heard Sonomi-san talking on the phone, and she sounded upset. He knew it was wrong to listen, but he heard her say Ashura's name, so he sat down on the stairs and listened anyway.

"I hate it, though, I really do. It's like I've suddenly become his enemy. I hate being so harsh on him, but I don't know how else to do it. If I tried to go easier on him, he'd think it wasn't serious and he'd just ignore me. But this way . . . He's been so quiet, all week."

They were talking about him. Kurogane burned with resentment, refusing to acknowledge how upset she sounded.

"I don't know anything about boys, Ashura-san. Maybe I'm just going about this all wrong. I need advice."

Kurogane squashed the slight flare of hope. Ashura-san was just as awful as she was. He was the one who kept bringing him home and making sure Yuui didn't sneak over to see him.

"Of course that's the real reason. You've never met my friend Nadeshiko's son Toya-kun, have you? Well, he and his best friend Yukito-kun are just like them. I always thought it was cute, but with Kurogane-kun and Yuui-kun, it's actually a little bit scary. I never would have thought it was possible for two people to latch onto each other like that, if I hadn't seen it. It's like they were just made for each other, you know? I think that's why I feel like such a bad guy, right now. I hate keeping them apart."

Kurogane held his breath, mostly so he wouldn't cry out at her. Why are you doing it, then?

"You have it easy. Yuui-kun is so well-behaved. I'll bet he does all the work you give him right away. Well, maybe you don't have it easy . . . Me? Well, you'd think so, wouldn't you? Not lately. He might possess the ability to speak, but he's not employing it with me right now. Besides, Yuui-kun's been over here for dinner plenty of times, and we manage to communicate just fine. Well, Kurogane-kun does a lot of interpreting. It's eerie how well he understands him. What? How is being apart good for Yuui-kun? Oh. Well, you might be right about him never learning if Kurogane-kun is always around. Except I think Kurogane-kun is more likely to beat him up to make him find a way than agree to explain Yuui-kun's thoughts all the time."

Kurogane hadn't thought about this until now, and he pondered it carefully. Was he really prepared to stay at Yuui's side interpreting things for him for the rest of his life? No. He wasn't a damn babysitter. Yuui should find a way to talk to other people, even if he wasn't willing to just grab their heads and pour his thoughts in.

Why did Sonomi-san sound like she was about to cry?

"There has to be some better way for me to do this with him. I swear, Ashura-san, he hasn't said a word in two days. His teacher called me again today, because he went off to a corner to eat lunch by himself instead of with his friends. And he's usually the most enthusiastic participant in physical education, but the past few days he's been very lackluster. Yuui-kun's been what? Oh, I see. Well, I guess you're just as worried as I am. I don't know. Maybe you could talk to him?"

Like that would help, Kurogane groused. He didn't want to talk to Ashura anymore than he wanted to talk to Sonomi. But he did feel a little bit guilty. He didn't know she was so worried. Well, it was her own fault, so why should he care? The only thing he cared about was that comment about Yuui-kun. He's been what, indeed. What was wrong with Yuui?

"Oh," she said suddenly, like Ashura had said something that surprised her. "Well. Do you think . . .? No, it really might work. I know it wouldn't be that much fun, but at least they'd be happier. No. Well, actually, I'm coming home early tomorrow. Yeah. Kinomoto-san has some important work function, and Nadeshiko is going with him. I'm taking Sakura-chan for the night, so I'll be pretty busy, but maybe . . . You know, that's actually a good idea. We've been meaning to introduce them soon. No, that's perfect. I'll be home before the boys are out of school. Sure. I'll make sure they're studying. Yeah. Okay. It's a plan! Sounds wonderful. Thank you, Ashura-san. I didn't mean to bother you for so long today . . . I know, but I still feel bad. I talked your ear off and I know you have things to do. Okay. Well, goodbye then. We'll talk when we see how it goes. Goodnight."

Kurogane darted back up the stairs when he heard her hang up the phone. He was already in enough trouble. But he was suddenly excited and anxious. Something was going on. Something that was supposed to make them happier. What were they planning?

He had to be nicer to Sonomi-san, he decided as he went back to studying. She was really upset about this whole thing. She didn't like what she was doing either, she was just convinced for some reason that it was necessary. He still didn't like any of this, but maybe he'd be nicer to her. Yuui would totally smack him if he knew Kurogane made her cry.


The next day, Ashura kept driving past the Daidouji house.

"Where are we going?" Kurogane asked, the first thing he'd said to him in days.

Ashura gave him a mysterious smile, and pulled up to the orphanage. Kurogane's heart began to beat faster with excitement. They were going to let him see Yuui-kun! He'd been working so hard this week, and maybe they'd decided that he'd earned it.

"Okay, listen up, Kurogane-kun," Ashura said, stopping him as the other boys piled out. "I need to do something with the twins tonight that's going to be a little bit dangerous. Just to be safe, I'm going to send Syaoran-kun over to your house. I heard Sakura-chan is going to be there, so Sonomi-san and I thought the three little ones could play together."

Kurogane's heart plummeted and his anger returned. They weren't letting him see Yuui. They were making him hold the stupid kid's hand on the way back to his house.

"So I want you and Yuui-kun to bring him over there with you, okay?"

"M-me and Yuui-kun?" Kurogane stuttered out, seeing a sparkle in Ashura-san's eyes that meant he was being laughed at, but he didn't care at the moment.

"That's right. Yuui-kun needs to study tonight, and I don't want anything to distract him, so I thought, since you're studying too, that you boys could just study together."

"Yes!" Kurogane hollered, jumping out of the car.

"Kurogane-kun!" Ashura said, standing up and looking at him over the top of the car. "You boys will study."

"Yeah, of course we will!" he said, running up the porch steps like he was running for his life. "Yuu—oof!" Just inside the door, he collided with the very person he was looking for. Thrown wildly off-balance, Yuui still managed to execute a little hop sideways to avoid crushing Syaoran underneath him, while Kurogane careened off the doorjamb and spun in a circle to right himself without falling.

Syaoran started laughing at them, thinking they were playing a game or something, even though Yuui was patting his arm to ask him if he was alright. He shrugged off Yuui's hand.

"I'm fine. Come on, let's go!"

Yuui grinned and grabbed Syaoran's hand. He gathered a couple of books off the bench that was beside the door, and led the way out.

"Be home before Syaoran's bedtime," Ashura said as they ran down the steps.

With both of Yuui's hands occupied, that made it Kurogane's job to wave a slight acknowledgement.

"Where are we going, Yu-kun?" Syaoran asked as he struggled to keep up. He was obliviously happy to be with the two of them, even if he had no idea what they were doing. And he still couldn't get Yuui's name right, even though he'd figured out the 'k' sound—not that Kurogane wasn't grateful he'd figured out that much. He would've wrung the kid's neck if he'd heard him say "Turone-tune" for much longer.

Yuui-kun should just answer him, Kurogane thought, but he knew he wouldn't. He hadn't yet acquired any kind of finesse, when it came to his gift. When he placed his hands on Kurogane's temples, it wasn't coherent sentences that came through, it was a jumble of emotions and images that could be exhausting to decipher, and sometimes left Kurogane with a headache. So he refused to use it to communicate with Syaoran, even though Kurogane thought that Syaoran-kun would be happier to hear his confusing thoughts than never hear him at all.

There was a brief but epic glaring contest between the two of them before Kurogane caved in and answered Syaoran.

"We're going to my house. So you can meet some new friends," he added, feeling indulgent because he was in such a good mood.

"Are they your friends at school, Kurone-kun?"

"It's Kurogane."

"Sorry," Syaoran said, and it didn't sound like he cared at all, the little brat.

"They're friends for you, anyway. They're little kids."

"For me?" he repeated, in tones of complete wonder. He stopped at looked up at Yuui-kun. "I get friends cause I was a good boy for Asha-san?"

Okay, that was pretty cute and all, but seriously, Yuui was such a sap sometimes. Kurogane wouldn't even dare to admit out loud that it was cute, but Yuui was willing to go down on his knee and give Syaoran a big hug. He released a huffing breath that Kurogane suspected was sadness. What was he so sad about? Well, maybe Syaoran should have had some friends by now, ones who weren't so much older than him. Kurogane tended to be pretty generous when it came to Syaoran-kun, because he was less objectionable than Kurogane had thought babies were.

"Come on, let's go," he said impatiently, eager not to have any of this unexpected time wasted. He led the way to his house, only grumbling a little bit about Syaoran taking his hand so he and Yuui could swing him by his arms.

He had to open the door to enter the house, with Yuui hanging back behind him. Kurogane himself felt no qualms about letting himself into the orphan's house, but Yuui had a lingering sense of politeness, even though he'd come over for dinner and snuck back in to sleep plenty of times by now.

"We're home!" Kurogane bellowed cheerfully, his good faith in Sonomi-san restored by knowing what she'd been scheming on the phone. "Syaoran-kun, shoes," he reminded the little boy when Yuui tugged his sleeve insistently and pointed.

"Hi, boys! We're in the kitchen!"

They ran in there and found all three of the girls working busily at the counter. Tomoyo-chan and Sakura-chan were both standing on stools so they could reach, of course.

"What are you making?"

"Onigiri!" Sakura sang out happily.

Tomoyo climbed down off her stool, a misshapen lump of rice in her hand, and held it out with pride. "I made this for you, Kurogane-chan!"

He wrinkled up his nose and opened his mouth to say he wouldn't eat that monstrosity. "Oof!" he whuffed, more surprised than hurt at the sudden elbow in his ribs. He glared at Yuui, who glared back. "Oh, fine!" He swiped the messy thing out of the little girl's hand and pretended to take a bite. "Thank you," he said with insincerity.

She frowned up at him, her sticky rice-covered hands on her hips. "You didn't eat it," she said sternly, seeing right through the act.

Sakura got down from her stool and ran over with an onigiri in each hand. "For you!" she said to Yuui and Syaoran.

Yuui already knew Sakura-chan, so he just grinned at her and took his with an over exaggerated bow. But Syaoran stared at her, his eyes lit up again.

"You're s'posed to take it," she said witheringly.

Kurogane had been wondering how long sweet-as-candy-Sakura would last before queen-of-the-universe-Sakura took over. Not long, apparently. Syaoran took it from her with wide eyes, watching her like he was afraid she'd be beating him over the head with it next. Kurogane figured he had a right to be afraid of that. She might.

"Hello, Syaoran-kun," Sonomi said, rescuing him from the little girl's insanity. "Welcome."

Yuui's insistent nudging made Kurogane give way to social necessities.

"Syaoran-kun, this is Daidouji Sonomi, that's her daughter Tomoyo, and that thing over there is Sakura."

"Not a thing!" she squealed.

"Kinomoto-kun calls you a monster," he replied.

"Sakura-chan is not a monster," Syaoran said, firm and deliberate. "She's pretty."

That made Kurogane roll his eyes, which made Yuui frown at him and ruffle Syaoran's hair in agreement. Sakura just squealed and went running back to Tomoyo, who informed her that she was very pretty.

Yuui grabbed his hand while no one was looking, sending him images of Syaoran making a rice ball while he and Yuui went to Kurogane's room.

"We have to go study," Kurogane announced. "Syaoran-kun, you should help Daidouji-san and behave."

"Okay," he said.

"You'll have to wash your hands if you would like to help, Syaoran-kun. Do you want me to lift you up so you can reach the sink?"

Syaoran frowned at the counter that was still too high for him. "Yes, please."

"Kurogane-kun, you two go sit down in the living room and get to work. Once these are ready, you can take a break to eat, then I want you straight back at it."

"Hai," he said, but he grimaced at her once she picked up Syaoran. What, she didn't even trust him in his own room now? Yuui elbowed him sharply to make him stop, and Kurogane sighed. Yuui had been telling him all along that he was going to get in trouble, and his version of "I told you so" was going to be obnoxious at best, possibly painful and embarrassing.

Yuui pushed him into the other room, then sat down and opened his own book with deliberation.

"Oh, you're not even going to annoy me, you're just going to ignore me?" Kurogane muttered.

Yuui looked up with a flash of anger in his eyes. Oh. He was serious. He really just wanted to get all the studying over with so they could move on. Kurogane felt his cheeks heating up with shame. He knew he was important to Yuui, and he'd done something irresponsible that kept them apart. Yuui was mad that Kurogane hadn't just fixed it already. The injustice at the bottom of the situation—making Kurogane go to school and do this pointless work—did not matter to Yuui as much as putting it behind them did.

Yuui could tell Kurogane had figured it out. He smiled and patted the seat next to him. Kurogane sighed and flopped down to get to work. At least he was starting to get to the assignments that were recent enough for him to remember not doing.

Sonomi-san let them take a break to eat the snack that the little kids had made—oh, great, how had Syaoran gotten rice in his hair?—and they were surprisingly not bad. Well, they were smart kids, even if they were brats. Kurogane suspected that the rice was Sakura-chan's fault. Sonomi said cheerfully that Kurogane's teacher had called her to praise all the work he'd turned in over the past few days. She said she knew he was hiding some form of intelligence under all that bad attitude. Yuui kicked him under the table to keep him from saying anything rude.

They had to go straight back to studying after that. Kurogane did a lot of fidgeting and looking longingly out the windows at the big trees he could be climbing, and Yuui did a lot of elbowing him in the ribs to make him go back to work.


Sonomi and Ashura decided that the companionable studying was working, and they let Yuui come home with him after that. Ashura made a point of kneeling down in front of Yuui and making him promise that they would study hard without being distracted, right in front of Kurogane. Since Sonomi-san wasn't normally home until later, they would be there by themselves for a couple of hours. Damn Ashura. He knew Yuui would obey him. Yuui had a desperate need to make the adults happy—and since Kurogane could hardly blame him for it, he had to go along with it.

He had about another week before he'd be caught up, he figured. But, he thought bleakly, there would always be new assignments, too. They might let him and Yuui go back to training in the afternoon, but after dinner would still be time for homework. Still, maybe they'd keep letting Yuui come over and read while he studied. That would be better than nothing.

While he knew he ought to be working, he sometimes found himself watching Yuui study, instead. It was interesting. When he read something hard to understand, he would frown and read it over and over, and his lips would move. He was reading it out loud, or as close to out loud as he could. Kurogane felt sad for him, because he remembered how to talk and that somehow made it even more unfair.

Then he reminded himself how annoying Yuui would be if he could talk.

Things finally came to a head the day that Yuui finished reading before Kurogane finished the assignments that Sonomi had picked out for him. He noticed that Yuui was done, and was just sitting there, waiting for him. He sometimes lifted his fingers a few inches and practiced drawing runes in the air, even though he didn't put any power behind them and the characters didn't actually appear. Other than that, he seemed content to sit patiently while Kurogane kept working. Sonomi had gotten home and they could hear her preparing dinner with Tomoyo playing at her feet. He just wanted to keep Sonomi happy.

Well, to hell with that.

"Come on. Let's go upstairs," Kurogane said.

Yuui frowned at him and pointed at his homework. Kurogane was pretty sure they'd established long ago that Yuui couldn't control him until he was capable of pinning him in a fight. He raised his eyebrows in an invitation to bring it on. Yuui huffed at him irritably. Kurogane just grinned. He'd been going without his daily routine for so long that his body was fairly screaming for a fight, and this was the perfect opportunity. While Yuui was busy debating it with himself, Kurogane was looking for floor space where they wouldn't bang into furniture.

"I told you, didn't I?" he grinned, getting up and moving that direction. "You can't tell me what to do."

Yuui stood up and glared at him. He pounded his hand on his own chest, then crossed his arms and sat down again with a huff. You can't tell me what to do, either.

He was refusing the match? Kurogane's frustration over this whole thing was beginning to make his blood boil. If he couldn't release some of this pent-up energy somehow, he was going to go crazy.

Sonomi came in and frowned at him. "Kurogane-kun, sit down and finish your assignment. Dinner is almost ready. Thank you, Yuui-kun."

"What's the point?" Kurogane snapped at her.

Startled, she turned back to him. "The point of what?"

"Of getting caught up! There's just more work to do after that. I told you, I hate school!"

"And I told you that it doesn't matter if you hate it—"

"Shut up!" he screamed at her. Yuui leaped to his feet with wide eyes and hurried over to him, but he brushed off his friend's restraining hand. "You think you can tell me what to do just because you're a grownup, but you don't understand anything! I don't want to live here! School is stupid because I'm not learning anything! I don't need to know about this stuff! I'm supposed to train with my sword and learn about Suwa's diplomacy and how to rule an estate! Not stupid damn computers! Suwa doesn't have computers! You act like I'm just going to stay here forever, but I'm not! You can't make me stay here! I don't want to live in Heian." His shouting was somehow turning into gasping, and he didn't know why, but the words wouldn't stop. "I just want—I want to— I want to go home," he choked, and abruptly realized with horror that he couldn't shout anymore because he was about to cry. He couldn't let anyone see him cry. Men of Suwa did not cry.

Yuui was grabbing hold of him, yanking his arm and dragging him out of the room. He pulled him all the way upstairs to his room, and he shut the door. As soon as they were alone, Yuui threw his arms around Kurogane. He knew Kurogane didn't want to cry in front of the girls, but he wasn't going to leave him alone, either. Kurogane dropped his head onto Yuui's shoulder with an embarrassing wailing sound. Yuui pulled him over and sat down on the bed.

For that moment, Kurogane stopped caring about what a man of Suwa was supposed to do. He fell into Yuui's arms and wept for the first time since his parents had died. It was okay. It was Yuui. Yuui had done this for his brother with Kurogane watching over him, just a few months ago. So it was fine if Kurogane just curled up and cried while Yuui rubbed his back, because Yuui was his best friend and best friends were allowed to do this.

Kurogane must have cried until he dozed off, because he was startled into wakefulness when someone knocked on the door. Yuui was sitting up, leaning against the wall, and he was curled up next to Yuui's outstretched legs. Yuui was quietly resting a hand in his hair and using the other hand to draw wind symbols and stir the curtains at the window. It must be Sonomi. Kurogane got to his feet.

"Come in."

Sonomi opened the door and was startled when Kurogane immediately bowed to her.

"I'm sorry, Sonomi-san. I was very disrespectful. I . . ." He didn't really know how to apologize for screaming at an adult, especially one who'd been generous enough to allow him to live in her house.

"It's okay," she said quietly, coming in. She sat down on his bed, giving Yuui a little smile, then patted the space beside her. Kurogane frowned, but sat down obediently. He should probably be obedient right now. If his parents had been alive, he'd have been in so much trouble for this. "I need to apologize to you, as well, Kurogane-kun."

He was startled by that, but even more startled when she put an arm around him. He stiffened up.

"You were trying to tell me what was wrong, and I just wasn't listening. You act so grown-up sometimes, and I forget that you're just a boy." He bristled at that, and tried to squirm away from her. "I don't mean that I don't take you seriously, because I do. But I've been making a lot of mistakes with you. You see, girls are much better at talking about how they feel, and I forget that boys don't do that. I should have known that you miss your family and your home, and I should have heard what you were trying to tell me about school. I'm sorry, Kurogane-kun. Can you forgive me?" He was dumbfounded, but she was acting sincere. So he stuttered out, "Uh, sure, I guess."

He heard a huffing noise behind him that meant Yuui was laughing at his discomfort, but Sonomi was still holding him so he couldn't turn around and punch him.

"But I do want to have a serious conversation with you about school, okay? Can we do that?"

Oh, good. Kurogane had been afraid she wanted to talk about his parents. He would have had to run away or something. He was not going to cry in front of Sonomi-san. Not ever.

"Okay," he muttered, and this time she let him wriggle out of her embrace.

"Are you sure you're not learning anything there?"

"Uh . . ." Kurogane was immediately not pleased, but he had to be honest. "I need to learn writing."

"Uh-huh. What about social studies? Don't you think that's a good one? It teaches you about other worlds, and I think you could apply a lot of that when you are handling your neighboring countries in Nihon. What do you think?"

Kurogane fidgeted. "Maybe. I guess. That might be a good one."

"Okay. What about your math class? Don't you think you'll need that? You'll have lands to keep track of, that are producing resources, and you'll have men and horses and all kinds of things. You'll probably want to know some math. But that's only what I think. What do you think?"

Kurogane shrugged. "Yeah. Math is pretty good."

"What about geography? Do you think you learn anything in that class that would be useful in Suwa?"

Kurogane frowned. "Sometimes. The science part of it is good. Learning about maps of Heian is stupid, but I guess it's okay to learn about how rivers are made and stuff."

"Okay. What about your other classes? What do you think of them?"

"I hate computers. I don't want to learn about them. And I don't want to study the history of Heian anymore. I need to learn about the history of Suwa, not about here."

Sonomi was nodding thoughtfully. "I can see why you think that."

She really was taking him seriously, Kurogane thought hopefully. One of the first things Sonomi had explained to him, back when he'd first started school, was that just because she was an adult didn't mean she was in charge. There were other people she had to listen to, and sometimes it wouldn't matter what she thought because Kurogane would have to do as the principal of his school said or the governor of their town. But she was listening.

"I really do think you have a point, Kurogane-kun. But I also want you to think about the idea that you might decide later on that you like it here, and that you want to stay. Or go to some other world. You might not want to go back to Suwa. You have a lot of options, you know."

That was just crazy, for one thing. Of course he'd want to. For another . . . "It doesn't matter that much if I want to. I have to."

"Why do you say that.?"

"Because it's my duty. That's my world. I was born to the protector of Suwa, and that means I have a duty to my people. I will go back there."

"I see," Sonomi said softly, and she looked sad. "You're a lot more mature than your temper would indicate, aren't you?"

"Huh?" he said, wrinkling his nose.

"Nothing," she said, suddenly smiling again. "I'm going to have a meeting with your principal, okay? I want to talk to him about this. I don't want to get your hopes up, though, so you have to understand that this might not work out."

"What might not?" he asked suspiciously.

"I have to talk to Ashura, too. I want to see if he can get his hands on some things from Nihon."

"From Nihon?"

"You might be allowed to go to the library instead of to your computer and history classes, so long as they know you're going there to study. You ought to be learning the history of your own country. What do you think of that? Would you feel better about school, if we could work that out?" Feeling subdued, Kurogane just nodded. He felt really guilty, now. He'd been so disrespectful to her, and she was being so kind to him in return. "Good. Why don't you boys come downstairs and have something to eat, then? I'll take Yuui-kun back home after that so I can talk to Ashura."

Oh, right, they'd missed dinner. No wonder he was hungry. He stood up with Sonomi, but he waited for Yuui to catch up at the door. He didn't know how to say thank you for staying with him today—or for the last week. But Yuui blithely skipped past him and took Sonomi's hand. Sonomi looked down at him with surprise, but she just smiled and let him hold her hand all the way back downstairs. Kurogane found himself trailing behind them, slightly disgruntled at being ignored. But he also felt kind of warm or something, because Yuui was saying thank you to Sonomi and revealing how worried he'd been for him. Sometimes it was hard to figure Yuui out, and Kurogane hadn't known he was upset about this. He decided he was glad Yuui cared.


In the end, it was easy. Tomoyo-chan had overheard most of the argument, and even though she didn't really understand the whole thing, she'd reached out in her dreams to the Tsukuyomi. When Ashura made contact with them, they were already prepared with copies of the histories and folktales they thought Kurogane should have. Kurogane was allowed to spend a moment speaking to the Amaterasu through the small portal that Ashura had opened. She asked him if the people of Heian were taking care of him. They were. If he was still determined to come back to rule Suwa on her behalf. He was.

She was a stern woman, and Kurogane felt slightly chilled by her interrogatory questioning. But the little girl who was also Tomoyo sat beside her like a little princess and kept smiling at him, so he didn't feel too overpowered. The conversation was brief, but it made Kurogane feel a lot better. Now they all knew he wanted to come back.

He took the copied papers with care, and asked Sonomi for a sturdy notebook to keep them in. Every day, when the rest of his class was learning the history of Heian, Kurogane went instead to the library to study the history of his own country. He started keeping an eye out for ways to apply his other lessons to the life he imagined in his future. And after that pile of neglected work was taken care of, he was once again allowed to spend his afternoons with Yuui, in their field, practicing forms and mock-fighting until dinnertime.

He didn't want to go through any of that again. He wasn't late with a single assignment for the rest of the year.


When Kurogane threw his bag down on the porch steps and watched Yuui leap over it, he was giddily happy. It was the last time he'd do this for weeks, because it was finally, finally summer again. Nearly a year of gray buildings and boring teachers and nothing to distract him but lunchtime with Toya-kun and Yuki-kun—over.

Summer was fishing in the creek and water fights and catching fireflies and no homework. Kurogane didn't even mind that his afternoons would be spent watching over Syaoran again. Syaoran had been playing with Tomoyo and Sakura too much, and he was starting to get awfully girly. Afternoons could be spent making him a boy again. He had started to carry around a stick in imitation of Kurogane and Yuui, even though he didn't know how to use it yet. Summer would be a good time to start teaching him. He wasn't a baby anymore.

They ignored their field, ran right past it and went all the way to the creek in the woods, with Kurogane whooping for joy and both of them shedding their clothes along the way and just hoping they'd find them stuck in tree branches on their way back. They dived right into the water and went straight to horsing around. Yuui wasn't quite as afraid of having his head go under anymore, not after such a long and peaceful year in this world.

That, and all the magic he was learning meant he could protect himself from drowning in all kinds of ways. Kurogane was amazed and shouted in surprise and delight when Yuui drew symbols under the water and created a whirlpool that swirled up around them, creating a tunnel of water with them at the center. He released it onto Kurogane's head, though, which meant Kurogane was required to tackle him and try to make him yield.

Once they finally wore out, they dragged themselves up onto shore and found a clean space to lie down and dry off.

"So what are we going to do all summer?" Kurogane asked, spreading his arms out and soaking up the last rays of sunlight.

Yuui had been doing the same, but now he rolled over and placed his hand on Kurogane's head. Images of Syaoran washed over him—recent images, Kurogane thought, pleased that he could think because he'd been working on keeping Yuui's thoughts from taking over his brain when they did this. Syaoran was sitting quietly beside Yuui, attempting to learn how to read just by looking at the book long enough. Syaoran was following Motosuwa-san around the house, trying to help her clean, and he was tying one of her frilly aprons on and tripping over it and laughing. When Yuui showed him the image of Ashura asking Syaoran a bunch of questions and Syaoran trying to answer with nothing but a few wordless noises, he projected the feeling of worry that had Yuui's stomach tied into knots.

"You're worried that he doesn't talk enough?"

Yuui nodded, removing his hand.

"You think it's your fault?"

Yuui nodded again.

"I'm more worried that he's getting all girly," Kurogane said. "We have to start teaching him how to fight."

Yuui smiled at that, but insistently pointed at Kurogane.

"Oh, fine. I'll try to make him talk more. But I think it's great if he wants to be quiet. He won't be annoying that way."

Yuui raised his eyebrows, and apparently took that as a challenge. As soon as Kurogane closed his eyes again to enjoy the sun while he dried off, Yuui started tickling his face with a piece of grass. Kurogane put up with it for maybe about ten whole seconds before he roared and tackled Yuui and tried to pin him. Yuui was quick to get out from under him, but instead of retaliating, he ran back up the path and snatched up his clothes and tried to put them on while running away. Kurogane did the same, and they made it back to the orphanage right when Ashura started to get worried that it was getting dark and stepped outside to call for them.

They ran right past him, with Kurogane still shouting threats, nearly knocking him over. Ashura just shook his head and smiled as he followed them back inside. Kurogane chased Yuui upstairs, tackling him onto his bed.

"Hey," he said suddenly. "That worked really well. I remembered who I was the whole time and it didn't hurt at all. And you kept things from going too fast."

Yuui grinned.

Kurogane scowled at him.

"Talk to Syaoran-kun."

Yuui squirmed away and got up, huffing at him.

"Yuui-kun, he thinks you're his brother or something. If he ever found out that you talk to me and not him . . ." Yuui turned around with tears in his eyes and his lips forming words that Kurogane wished desperately that he could hear. But he knew that Yuui was just afraid that it would hurt Syaoran or scare him or make him dislike Yuui for being a freak.

"You're just being stubborn. And stupid," Kurogane said firmly. He went to the door and poked his head out into the hallway. "Syaoran-kun!" he shouted. "Come in h—oof!" he grunted as he was tackled to the floor. But it was too late, because Syaoran came running while Yuui was attempting to drag Kurogane back into the room.

"Hi, Kurogane-kun! Asha-san said you don't have school no more!"

Yuui scowled. Well, Kurogane was about to force him to do this, but he supposed he'd appease Yuui's desire for Syaoran to speak properly.

"It's 'anymore,'" he said, shaking his head. "And it's just for the summer. I have to go back in a couple of months. And really, learn his name. It's Ashura."

"I know," Syaoran said with an unapologetic smile. "We're gonna catch fish, right?"

"Yup. And you're going to do some sword training."

Syaoran squealed happily and hugged him.

"Oi!" Kurogane said, scrambling away from him. "No girly stuff! We're doing man stuff this summer!"

Yuui was laughing at him, huffing a bit and poking his shoulder. Kurogane gave him a narrow-eyed look, and closed the door.

"Syaoran-kun, Yuui wants to show you something, but it's a secret. You can't tell anybody."

Yuui went stiff with fury and tried to punch him, but Kurogane just stepped to the side and dodged.

"Can you keep a secret? You won't tell anybody?"

"Hai," Syaoran said, nodding.

"Are you sure?"

"I got secrets," Syaoran said, sounding as serious as somebody his age could.

Kurogane remembered the witch. He wondered if Syaoran really did remember that his parents had disappeared like that. He was still confused about everything else that the witch and Ashura had talked about, but he remembered her saying that Syaoran-kun could never leave Heian. Did Syaoran already know that?

"You have secrets," he corrected. "Show him, Yuui-kun."

Yuui had his hands clenched into fists and shook his head furiously. But Kurogane pushed Syaoran toward him, and Yuui reached out for him by reflex. Then he sighed with resignation and moved his hands to Syaoran's head. Kurogane was curious to see if Yuui's thoughts were focused only to one person, or if by touching him he would be able to see it, too. He put his own hands on Yuui's shoulders.

He saw that image from the previous summer, where Yuui had first used the gift and scared the little boy and made him cry. He felt the apology that Yuui was directing at Syaoran. He felt the love and protection that Yuui felt for Syaoran as his otouto, which stunned him by its fierceness. He felt it when Yuui pulled back and tried to stem the flood of his feelings to keep Syaoran from being overwhelmed. That was good, because he'd learned a lot more control. The first couple of times, he hadn't been able to stop until his magic was just worn out.

Then he pulled his hands away and shrank back, looking terrified. But Syaoran threw his arms around Yuui's waist and forced Yuui to hug him back.

"I love you, too, oniisan," he chirped. "I won't tell the secret. Are you gonna teach me how to swordfight?"

Yuui couldn't bring himself to let go of Syaoran for a minute, but Syaoran didn't seem to mind. Kurogane sat down on the bed and just waited while they had their girly moment. It looked like man stuff would have to wait for tomorrow. Then Ashura called up the stairs for them to come eat dinner, and Kurogane hoped guiltily that Sonomi knew where he was.

"Oi. You have something new to work on," he told Yuui as they went down. "Who can see it and who can't. I saw everything, too."

Yuui turned to him with a haughty look. Oh. Yuui had let him look. Just so he didn't get too cocky about himself, Kurogane tripped him so he fell down the last three stairs. He was pretty confident that Yuui could keep himself from getting hurt. Yuui landed on his butt at the bottom and attempted to trip him, but Kurogane jumped over him.

"Mean, Kurogane-kun," Syaoran said, holding out his hand to Yuui. Like the little brat was actually big enough to help him up or something. Yuui wasn't as scrawny as he'd been last year.

"I called Sonomi-san for you," Ashura told him with a wink when they came into the dining area.

"Thanks," Kurogane said gruffly.

"So, boys, what are your plans for the summer?" Ashura inquired of all of them. "Other than lessons with me, of course."

Kurogane shrugged and answered for himself and Yuui, "Nothing much. Just hanging out."

Kazahaya, to everyone's surprise, had something to say. "My friend Daisuke's family has a shop that he helps out in during the summer. He asked if I wanted to come help him for a few weeks. With your permission, Ashura-san."

Kurogane was mostly just surprised that Kazahaya had friends. But Ashura looked amused.

"That would be fine. It'll be good practice for when you're older."

"Huh?"

"Nothing," he said, still sounding amused.

"Sorata and Fuuma said their families are probably going to the beach. They said we could come, if we wanted," Subaru said, sounding excited.

"I don't know if you two are ready to be that far away from me for so long. I don't want somebody to lose control."

"Actually, I think we might be okay," Kamui spoke up. "We've been doing really well."

Ashura looked thoughtful. "We'll talk about it."

"I think they just want to get out of town because we heard Seishirou's coming back for the summer and we all know what happens when Seishirou and Kyle are together."

Ashura looked at Yuui with worry, but Yuui straightened up and met his eyes.

Kurogane sat up straighter, too. "I chased them off before. I can do it again."

Ashura nodded, but he wasn't smiling. "You boys be careful. Don't let Syaoran-kun get hurt."

Chastened with the reminder that there was a younger one to look after, Kurogane nodded soberly. "We'll be careful."


In the end, caution was not necessary. Kyle and Seishirou wandered by, early on in the summer, and found the three boys at sword practice. They didn't notice the bullies right away, since they were hard at work. Their wooden swords crashed together, punctuated by Kurogane's shouts, and they were sweating with their efforts under the hot summer sun.

"Syaoran-kun, watch this!" Kurogane said, interrupting the easy stance Syaoran was practicing. "I won't use my whole strength, this is just a demonstration. Yuui-kun, make sure you're blocking me."

Yuui didn't even take his eyes off Kurogane's movements long enough to give his acknowledgement.

"Hama Ryoujin!"

Yuui planted his feet and swept his hand out, trying to draw symbols to keep himself from being hurt. He still got knocked back on his butt, but he wasn't harmed.

"Wow!" Syaoran said with wide eyes. "Teach me that!"

"No. That's my dad's move."

Syaoran pouted, and during that pause, they all saw Kyle and Seishirou standing there. Or, as Kurogane liked to think of them, Number Three and Nose Job. He still wondered how Seishirou had gotten his nose broken, but it wasn't like he was going to ask.

"Oh, look, kids with sticks," Kyle said, trying to sneer at them. It didn't work too well, since his eyes were really wide.

"Yeah, let's find something more interesting."

"Like that little boy you're so in love with?" Kyle snickered, clearly forgetting they could hear him and Seishiou clearly not forgetting since he punched Kyle's arm hard enough to make him stumble.

With that, they left. Kurogane and Yuui grinned at each other.

"Imagine that. Afraid of kids with sticks," Kurogane said, finding himself out of breath with the effort it had taken to use Hama Ryoujin, even if only at half-strength. He wasn't that good at the move, not yet. "Come on, let's teach Syaoran-kun another stance."

Syaoran was as eager as a puppy to learn the basics they gave him. He would happily work on them all afternoon while they fought each other, and he had proved to be surprisingly determined about getting them right. He never got upset like the little kid he was, even when Kurogane was barking orders at him. He would frown with concentration and do as he was told.

It turned out he was spending his mornings learning how to read while Yuui was continuing his magic studies. Kurogane had been extremely disgruntled to find out that his school assigned summer homework, but since he was allowed to go over and do it at the orphanage, it wasn't so bad. And Ashura set them free every afternoon after lunch to "go play." Except they were training, not playing.

Sometimes, if Kurogane couldn't explain something to Syaoran in a way that he could understand, Yuui would put his hand on Syaoran's head and show it to him. They practiced that, too. Yuui was working out a method to make sure his thoughts couldn't be eavesdropped on, learning to block out the person he wasn't talking to. Kurogane even practiced his ability to communicate back, which wasn't much. Mostly he could just press a feeling onto Yuui, if it was a very strong feeling.

All in all, everything was as perfect as Kurogane had been hoping it would be for his school break.

The really big thing didn't happen until mid-summer.


It was getting so hot. Kurogane didn't want to quit training, but even he was ready to take a break from it and just get out of the sun for a while. They had all tied on headbands to keep the sweat out of their eyes, but Kurogane wiped his face with his arm anyway, looking at Yuui for agreement.

In response, Yuui grinned and dashed into the forest.

"Oi!" Kurogane shouted, running after him. "Come on, Syaoran-kun!"

Yuui was headed for the creek, and Kurogane wasn't going to argue. An hour splashing around to cool off sounded perfect. He could hear Syaoran crashing along behind him, so he knew the little one was keeping up okay. He and Yuui ran down to the rocky narrowing that created a deep pool and they both dove right in. Kurogane came up gasping and swam hard away from the rocks. The narrowed passage created a bit of a current and he'd rather fight Yuui than the water. They immediately began trying to dunk each other, rolling in the water and sending up gouts of it that Kurogane assumed Syaoran was taking advantage of along the shore.

Then they heard Syaoran shriek. They both spun around just in time to see Syaoran's flailing body get sucked through the rocks and spat out the other side.

"That stupid brat jumped in!" Kurogane said in disbelief. "Can he swim?"

Yuui shook his head, already splashing madly for the shoreline so he could run downstream. But Kurogane could see how swiftly Syaoran-kun was getting carried away. He was churning his arms in the water, and that was worse than anything, because scared people drowned faster. Kurogane just kicked off the bottom straight for the opening Syaoran had gone through, using the current to shoot forward. He came through and immediately began kicking powerfully. When he turned his head to the side for air, he looked at Yuui, who was sprinting through the undergrowth, ignoring the branches scraping at him. That told Kurogane more than anything just how scared Yuui was—that, and his mouth wide open in a silent scream.

The next time he came up for air, he looked ahead for Syaoran. He was almost there, but Syaoran's movements had become sluggish, barely stirring the water. Just as Yuui was poised to leap back in, Kurogane snagged Syaoran by the hair, the only part of the boy he could reach, and dragged him up. Syaoran didn't take a breath right away. Kurogane got an arm around him and dragged him up to the shore, where Yuui waited with his hands desperately clutched in his hair.

Kurogane wrapped both arms around the little body and squeezed him, hard and sudden. Syaoran choked, coughed up water, and then threw up on Kurogane's arms.

"Ugh!" Kurogane shouted, shoving him at Yuui. He splashed back in to rinse himself off, then hurried back to shore.

Yuui knelt on the bank, holding Syaoran tight, and both of them were crying.

"I wouldn't let him drown, you know I wouldn't," Kurogane said, trying to sound scornful and failing miserably. "I won't let anybody I care about die," he muttered, and clutched his arms around himself because he was suddenly very cold, covered in goosebumps and shivering.

He heard his own teeth chattering, and thought that was weird because he wasn't that cold. And he heard Syaoran whispering "Thank you," over and over.

Then a new wave of cold shock washed over him. Because that wasn't Syaoran's voice. Syaoran was crying noisily and burying his face against Yuui. The voice that said "Thank you" was raspy and tiny and sounded like nothing that Kurogane had ever heard before.

He knelt down beside them. He stared at Yuui, who had his whole body wrapped around Syaoran and his face hidden because his head was bent over the little boy.

"Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you . . ."

"Yuui-kun."

Yuui's head snapped up.

"Yuui-kun, you talked."

Yuui frowned at him, like he didn't believe it.

"You did. Just now. I heard you."

Syaoran had stopped crying, and was looking up at Yuui with his mouth hanging open. "Say something, Yu-kun."

"But—" Stunned, Yuui clapped his hand over his mouth. His eyes, already reddened with crying, flooded with new tears. Kurogane grabbed his arm and made him move his hand.

"It's okay," he said with confidence. "Just try."

Yuui looked very confused.

"Just try saying my name," Kurogane said, feeling sorry for him. After not being able to say anything for so long, he must be wondering where to start.

A sudden, twisted little smirk appeared. "Kuro-chan," Yuui whispered in the same tiny and hoarse voice. Then he put his hand back over his mouth, surprised all over again.

"Figures," Kurogane snorted, even though he was so excited that his heart was pounding. "First thing you do now that you can talk is try to annoy me to death."

"It's so easy—" Yuui whispered, then broke off and began to cough. It sounded really ugly, like rusty metal being scraped together. He couldn't seem to stop coughing, even pushing Syaoran off his lap so he could hunch over on his hands and knees. Kurogane scrambled over and put a hand on his back. He jerked when Yuui suddenly spat out a mess of pink-tinged mucus.

"Is that blood?"

Yuui crawled to the creek and scooped water to his mouth with trembling hands. He took deep gulps, even though he'd told Kurogane that he wasn't able to swallow very much at one time.

"Yu-kun, did your magic fix you?" Syaoran asked, scurrying over to check on him.

Yuui looked up at Syaoran with wide eyes. He thought for a moment, then nodded. Then he jumped up and pulled Syaoran away from the water with a scowl.

"You could try to say my name," Syaoran said hopefully.

"S-Syaoran," Yuui said, still sounding raspy.

Syaoran grinned and hugged him again. Yuui looked at Kurogane, and there was worry in his eyes.

"You're my best friend. Told you I didn't care if you could talk."

Yuui grinned. "You might regret that, Kuro-chi," he whispered. He started coughing again, but it wasn't as bad this time and he didn't spit up anything.

Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Probably will. If you won't say my name right, I'll kill you. But Ashura-san will be happy, anyway."

Yuui went back to looking worried.

"Baka," Kurogane snorted. "He'll pee his pants, he'll be so happy."

Yuui didn't look the least bit reassured. So Kurogane grabbed him and dragged him back to their clothes, and then dragged him up the path, back toward the orphanage. Yuui was making it clear that he was reluctant to go by scuffing his feet and making Kurogane pull him along. Kurogane kept his hand firmly clamped on Yuui's arm, and tried to project his feelings of relief and assurance into him. He was glad Yuui-kun was getting better. He was glad that Yuui could speak for himself and everyone would be able to understand him. He was certain that Ashura would be overjoyed, and the other boys would be happy for him. This was a good thing, even if Yuui was scared.

Yuui was more frightened than Kurogane had realized, though. As they got closer to the house, images began to creep over into Kurogane's mind. A barren expanse of snow, dotted with red droplets. A pair of glinting eyes. Mostly just the snow and the blood, but a couple of times it was the insane eyes.

"Yuui-kun," Kurogane said when they were finally outside the house. Then he didn't know what to say, so he just gave him a brief hug. "Don't tell him if you don't want to. I can't make you do anything. But it's Ashura." He sent his knowledge of one of Yuui's own memories back to him. Yuui was being plucked out of the snow and into Ashura-san's arms. Ashura saying, "I'm sorry," and arranging Yuko-san's cloak over him.

Yuui gave him a tight, uncertain smile. He squeezed Kurogane's hand, and nodded.

He took a deep breath, and went inside.

Ashura-san was in the kitchen, helping Motosuwa-san get started on dinner. With Subaru and Kamui gone away to the beach with their friends and Kazahaya spending most of his days at his friend's family's shop, Ashura had probably been sort of bored.

Ashura took one look at the three of them and asked, "What happened?"

Syaoran, who'd usually be the first to start babbling, kept silent. He knew it wasn't his place to say, this time.

"Yuui-kun, have you been crying?" Ashura asked in alarm.

Yuui nodded, his face tightening up with the need to cry again. Ashura held out his arms and Yuui ran into them. Once he was in Ashura's careful, not-too-tight embrace, he did it.

"I love you," he rasped out.

"Oh!" Ashura pushed Yuui back so he could look at his face. "Yuui-kun, you . . ." Whatever he saw made him pull Yuui against him again. "I love you, too," he said softly. Yuui's shoulders were shaking. "Shh, it's all right. Everything's all right."

"Thank you, thank you, thank you . . ."

Great, he'd started that again. But Kurogane had a feeling he was just trying to get out all the times he'd missed saying it in the past year.

"There. Stop crying. This isn't bad. This is great. Does it hurt?"

Yuui shook his head, but Ashura pushed him back to look at him again.

"Does it hurt?"

Yuui shrugged. That meant it did, but only a little.

"Maybe it won't after he does it more," Kurogane suggested.

Ashura said, "Maybe," but he also said, "Please promise me you'll tell me if it hurts you. I'll see if there's a way to fix it. Okay?"

Yuui nodded.

Ashura sighed. "I guess you need some time to adjust."

Yuui looked frightened, and Kurogane bristled. He didn't care if it was Ashura, any hint that he was disappointed in Yuui for not talking more and Kurogane would punch his lights out.

"But that's perfectly understandable," Ashura assured him. "Can I have another hug?"

"Yes," Yuui whispered.

Yuui wouldn't leave Ashura's side for the rest of the day. Kurogane figured he'd better not tease him about that. Although that didn't keep Yuui from teasing him. Saying anything longer than a few words made him start coughing again, so the only things he said for the rest of the day were variations on the "Kuro-chan" game. It was not a game Kurogane wanted to play. He was forced to tackle Yuui and try to pin him to the kitchen floor.

"It's Kurogane, do you hear me, you idiot!"

Yuui laughed as he flipped Kurogane away from him and scrambled back up. It was a funny, rusty little laugh. "Can't tell me what to do, Kuro-puu!" Then he had to grab the glass of water he was keeping close at hand and take a few sips to soothe his throat, but that didn't take away the grin that Kurogane wanted to wipe off his face.

"I liked him better before," Kurogane told Ashura, mourning the silent future he would no longer have.


A/N:

Ugh, this chapter gave me such a headache. The first half of it just refused to come to me, no matter what I did. I had to drag this story out of myself until I got to the part where Kurogane starts yelling at Sonomi, and of course the rest of the chapter came ridiculously easily after all that effort.

First of all, thank you very much to So-kun for the correction on that "sister: thing. That's what I get for not proof-reading! Should be fixed, now.

Now then, I have a question. Ashura/Sonomi, or not? I honestly don't care either way. I can see it happening, just because they're collaborating on raising the boys, but I'm not sold on the idea. I'll leave it up to you, the readers. If it creeps you out or seems unrealistic, then I won't. I know Sonomi loves Nadeshiko and Ashura is sort of . . . asexual . . . but there's something sort of cute about the neighbours/friends/lovers thing, too. Any opinions?

Also, I made the egg burrito again. It's delicious. You know what else is delicious? Panko-breaded pork loin and eggplant. I love eggplant. And sleep, I love sleep.* I've gotten some of that since my last installment of this story, thank God.

LASTLY AND THIS IS IMPORTANT. There is a link. It is at the very top of my profile page. Go there. Go there NOW. Because Bottan is the very best person in the whole world and drew me artwork of a scene in Chapter Three and it is completely awesome. OhmygodIhavefanart. THANK YOU BOTTAN!

*And lamp. I love lamp. XD