A.C.: Short one this time, there was more but... well wait till next chapter to find out ㅆ-ㅆ

Disclaimer: Hmm I don't think I'll ever own Tsubasa

Pairings: Kurogane + Fay

Warnings: Kuro x Fay-ness, author's insanity, and horrible grammar... there could be spoilers if you haven't been following the series closely.

-

Entis- it depends on the Chinese character used. Yes, the part 'suke' can be like but it can be lots of other things I don't care to touch right now. (I used to have nice and normal nightmares, now I have these Chinese characters haunting my dreams --;;) So umm... yeah... Daisuke can have multiple meanings as it is used in this fic, 'big help'.

But I think 'Dai' remains pretty much constant.

Thank you Zuzanny and Marie Neko for reviewing x3

-

-

"I am Amaterasu, the ruling empress of Nihon."

It was the first coherent sound that had penetrated the young to-be-lord's mind. It was like a blade stabbed through his flesh, a heated bolt of pain to arouse his senses. He shifted and moved, feeling the sword in his arms heavier than he remembered, and longer.

Wasn't it his sword?

The empress continued, her eyes straining to make out the form of the teen beneath the cover of the smoke.

"My sister had foreseen their deaths... but it seems as though we were too late."

The corpse of a demon beside her fell to its stomach in agreement. The empress' snow-white stallion shied, sidestepping to avoid the trailing intestines as the acidic blood ate through the ground. Kendappa-ou put a calming hand on the quivering neck of her mount; the stallion let out an uneasy neigh and stood still.

Deaths?

Too late?

The scent of blood wafted all around like souls departing to afterlife. His mind was hazy, much like the smoke and fires that covered his beloved land. He put one foot in front of another, trying to stand, trying to remember what he was to do.

Where were they?

"I have brought warriors with me to fight the demons that have penetrated the barrier. The demons on the inside are dead... but it seems that you were the one who took care of them all."

He did, didn't he?

He...

He didn't remember...

The fog cleared and everyone except the empress took a step back. Red eyes peered out at them from the dark, hellish and wide, more demonic than those of a man. If there had ever been a shred of humanity left in the pool of red it was gone now, lost to the throes of pain and loss the young man was willing to carve out with his sword.

The dark-skinned kunoichi immediately jumped to her empress' side, her arm holding all the anxious ninja at bay as Kendappa-ou contemplated what to do.

She urged her mount forward, the stallion stepping uneasily upon the uneven ground. The stallion crushed a small pebble beneath his silver hooves. The teen flinched at the sound and the empress immediately brought up her sword to block his incoming attack.

"How dare you attack the empress!!"

"Please wait."

There had been someone...

Someone who had been strong...

Someone with long black hair that cascaded down her back

Someone with kind eyes...

The attack had been powerful as expected from the Suwa's lord-to-be. With one long finger, the dark-haired royalty prodded the cut on her cheek. Sohma looked worriedly up at her; the empress graced her with a small smile.

"I suppose this means soldiers will be useless here ne Sohma?"

The dark-skinned kunoichi gave a respectful bow. She held an arm out, tense, and ordered them to attack.

Haganemaru only took one look at them before holding out his katana. The air around him seemed to spin like a miniature typhoon. Those who were lucky were thrown backwards with the force of the chi he was emitting. Those who were not were immediately skewered upon the dragon-headed sword.

The volley of ninja's continued and Haganemaru cut them down one by one. He ran like a demon possessed, specifically hunting down those who were sent after him. Formations were broken up, strategies exploited. The young to-be-lord beheaded a ninja begging for mercy, silence once again took hold of the heart of Suwa.

Sohma gaped openly,

"Not even our ninjas can stop him..."

"The lord of Suwa was strong and I'm sure he had meant his son to surpass him someday." With a howl Haganemaru stabbed a ninja in the chest and tore his sword free to block a strike from the back. "But it seems as though the young lord has lost his mind." She drew her sword, determination alighting her eyes. "It is unfortunate, but I cannot allow him to go on like this."

"My lady Amaterasu...!"

A young ninja behind Sohma threw his kunai startled. Sohma turned to stop him but it was too late. The hilt-less blades whistled through the air. The target jerked and held out a hand, successfully catching four but missing the fifth as it tore through his shoulders and laid his arm bare.

Haganemaru roared and renewed his attacks with fervor, tearing down men left and right as he blindly struck out against them all. Kendappa-ou's snowy stallion threw his head up rearing as she fought to bring him back down on the ground. By the time she had wrestled the creature into submission, Fay was standing beside her, in his arms the current priestess of Suwa.

Sohma let out a small gasp and immediately set to work on the too-pale woman. Tsukiyomi peeked out curiously, evading the concerned arms of her attendants and running to the dark-skinned woman's side.

"Lady of Suwa." Tsukiyomi said solemnly as she searched the blonde's eyes for answers. "But she is alive." Fay nodded, the familiar smile touching his lips as he gently bowed down to the princess in greetings. Sohma infused a small globe of energy into the night-haired priestess' cold breasts. The unconscious woman let out a small sigh. Sohma lifted her hands in relief.

"What has happened here Fay?" The empress looked down in concern. The mage was shaking, fine tremors coursing through his body. He looked up at her, his blue eyes haunted.

"I..." Tsukiyomi attached herself to the blonde's arm, lending him her silent support. Fay looked down at her startled. She smiled; her expressive violet-blue eyes innocent and trusting. Fay swallowed, his face hidden beneath his wavy, gold hair. "Let me go to him Empress Amaterasu. I will stop him."

"Let him go nee-sama."

Kendappa-ou was silent. She reached out and gently lifted his chin.

"Will you be alright?"

Fay nodded. Tsukiyomi tugged the older man down to her height and stood up on her toes.

"Don't worry; we'll be here right behind you."

"Aah."

-

-

The ninjas were still onto him left and right.

What were they, stupid?

Haganemaru sneered as he shoved Ginryu into a man's eye, slicing open the skull. Another, he ripped out the stomach. Still another kneeling before him as he cut off the legs. And the seconds flowed past much like the blood running down the mirror-like silver length of Ginryu.

"Stop."

A priestess, a princess, a child

All grows dark and yet she remains enveloped within the purest of lights, her hair set afire almost like the sun. She approached him, her tiny feet taking mere baby steps to carry her small form over towards him. She stared at him curiously, her lotus like hands holding out a sphere of energy that could have only been a shield.

A resistance

Haganemaru's face twisted into a snarl. He flew at her, intent on cutting her down like he did with the people that came with her. A small part of him was enraged at the fact that maybe if they hadn't been late, his father could have been saved. The larger part of him didn't care either way. He just needed to get rid of the pain.

"Turn your sword to me."

He woke up swimming in a sea of red.

He slowly –too slowly- took in the scene of carnage laid out before him. He would have fallen to his knees if the situation had allowed him to but he couldn't. His hand tightened around the silver hilt, his knuckles standing out bone-white amidst the red.

With a shaky hand Haganemaru pressed down on the wound, pinching the two folds of skin closed together as he tugged the katana from Fay's ribcage. Fay let out a small gasp inaudible except to Haganemaru's ringing ears. He almost lost his nerve right there and nearly pulled the whole thing out. Only Fay's pained smile held him tight to Haganemaru's fragile grip on reality as the blood grew darker and darker around his hand.

Haganemaru put on a brave face as the Ginryu slipped out of Fay's body. He dropped the silver katana like it was hot iron, hands flying forward to catch the mage before he fell to the ground.

Fay smiled brightly, drawing him to a bloody embrace. The blonde's arms were warm around his broad shoulders and Haganemaru miserably buried his face against the familiar shoulders, trying to forget the scent of blood and guts and trying to remember the smell of winter's snow.

Anything that would let him forget the day's events

Fay pulled Haganemaru closer to his heart.

The blonde's heartbeat was erratic, but it was still there.

"It's ok Hagane-chuu, I'm still here. I kept my promise."

Haganemaru began to cry.

-

-

Fay woke up in pain.

He bit his lips and hissed as he rearranged his arms to fold by his side. He gingerly pressed his fingers down upon the bedspread and pushed, nearly fainting in shock as stars exploded before his eyes when his body began to burn.

He was still gaping for air and clutching at his stomach when Amaterasu entered the room, attendants following a respectful distance away as she knelt by his side. Slightly uncertain as to whether her actions would do more harm than good, she began to rub circles into his back as servants poured bitter herbs and thick paste down his throat. He choked, feeling the twinges of pain rattling inside his ribs as the medicine began its work. The numbness began to spread from his stomach to his outer extremities until it finally spread to his head. He didn't protest when the attendants pulled him down onto the sweat-soaked sheets, feeling ill and hot.

"I am afraid I cannot give you anything stronger than this. You've lost much blood, Sohma's orders."

Fay rolled his tongue in his mouth attempting to curl his lips into a customary smile.

"I'm alright... is Gane-chan...?"

Empress Amaterasu replied with a smile of her own.

"Lord-to-be Haganamaru is resting as Lady Mizuki is. They are both being tended to by my sister Tsukiyomi. The people that were within the inner walls of the Suwa compound... they are all alive thanks to your timely intervention."

Fay looked away wordlessly.

"I let him die..."

Amaterasu gently pulled his head back before dropping a wet cloth on his face. When the blonde had recovered from the assault, the empress gently wiped forehead.

"Do you believe in Tsukiyomi's visions?" without letting Fay reply, she placed another fresh cloth on his face to cover his eyes. "She saw them dead, both and all. Lord-to-be Haganemaru was to be the only survivor of this great house. She saw what would have happened if you weren't there. You were there Fay, you mattered."

Beneath the cold cloth Fay wept freely.

-

-

The painkillers had worn off sometime ago Fay recalled ruefully as he felt the stabs of pain becoming deeper as time passed by. There was a servant at the door, probably one who would summon a doctor and one or two of the royalties even at this ungodly hour.

Fay resolved not to move.

He didn't want to bother anyone.

The door slid open and the blonde nearly snapped his head up in surprise. There was a harsh growl of 'get out' as the servant was kicked out of the room. Fay couldn't see with the wet-now-dried cloth over his eyes. But he could have picked out those footsteps against a thousand others, almost cat-like but heavier.

His suspicions were proven when the cloth was torn away from his face.

Fay smiled brightly,

"Gane-chuu, if you wanted to take advantage of me, you could have waited till everyone was asleep."