How to torture Kuro-pin!
DISCLAIMER: Still not Clamp. Not ABBA either. Don't even know their songs. Copied and pasted that off the Internet.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: I might have found a Beta, dear readers! I hope you like this one. Oh and that last chapter was totally unoriginal, I know, but it was based on a true story. Except in real life it was a friend and I, and thus much less interesting since Fai was not involved. Her apartment complex's security did chase us out of the house, though.
"Not free?" Kurogane said questioningly.
"Well, yes. Surely I deserve some kind of payment, if I do help you." Yuko said.
"What do you want? I'm not paying you…"
"Not money, something far more valuable."
"What?" he pressed her.
"I simply want you to work for me. One week, that's it."
He considered this a moment. It sounded too good to be true.
"You just want me to work for you for one week? No catch."
"Do you think I'm heartless?" She looked utterly scandalized by the thought. "I'm doing this because I like Fai. And for some reason, he likes you."
Kurogane glared at her in response.
"So, deal?"
"Sure, I guess, as long as there is no fine print."
"Scouts honor." She said dramatically.
"All right," he said as he pulled open the door to the car. "Sounds fair…"
"So you agree?" She cut him off.
"Yes, let me finish my damned sentences!" he roared.
"You help me with this Fai thing, and I work in your bar a week?"
She nodded. He started to get into the car.
"Just one thing, I never actually said a word about the bar."
With that she walked off.
Yuko's cat was the evilest, most demonic animal on the planet. That is except for Yuko's dogs.
Yes, Moro and Maru were the evilest dogs on the planet. And that woman had a sick sense of humor. The things full names were Marudashi and Morodashi. When he had asked why they were named this, she responded:
"Do you have any idea how fun it is to teach Americans those words, and tell them they mean something like 'sweet little puppy' in Japanese?"(1)
After that, Kurogane had stopped asking questions.
He had taken a week off work, to repay her for that night that had turned into a disaster, and all her help in it. When she had said she needed him to work for her, he had figured it meant the bar. Not dog sitting, or being her personal chauffeur. Which was exactly what he was doing.
Damn! If he had been working in the bar, at least he would have gotten to see Fai. Now, he didn't even get to go in the bar often. Yuko had her own supply of alcohol that she raided frequently.
And thus he had an explanation for why she talked to the cat.
And that cat! The only person it liked was Yuko, everyone else it would attack mercilessly. Kurogane had scratches all up and down his arms.
Not nearly as bad as the dogs! They seemed to be under the impression people could understand them. Maybe because Yuko treated them like people, in any case they barked constantly. Yuko called it talking, and scolded Kurogane for not listening to what her babies were saying.
Not to mention, the random places she wanted to be driven. She had certain items, which had to be bought certain places, most of them across town. They drove thirteen blocks to get to a pet shop that sold the cats favorite kind of treats. Passing at least two other pet shops on the way. They did the same for her brand of beer.
The week seemed like it might never end.
Three days into it they actually went to The Cat's Eye Bar. Fai was working, and smiled broadly at Kurogane. Yuko warned Fai off fraternizing with the help. It took at lot of self-control not to murder her right then.
Fai caught Kurogane's eye and winked.
No, please do not be planning something! Fai's plans tended to backfire horribly.
"Yuko-san, can't you please be kind to my poor, poor little puppy? Can't you see he's over worked?"
"Why would he ever be over worked? Not keeping him up all night, are we Fai?" Yuko asked slyly. Fai giggled.
His self-control was waning. Kurogane was now trying very hard not to kill both the idiots.
"Really, Yuko darling, you don't need him all that badly. And I'm not doing much here. Can't you let us both off early, so I can spend some quality time with my puppy? He gets so cranky otherwise."
He would kill Yuko, then Fai, and it would be ever so much fun! Yes it was such a wonderful plan, only how to implement it?
Yuko's laughter brought Kurogane away of his thoughts.
"You are adorable when you beg, Fai. Manipulative bastard."
"That's me!" Fai cheerfully confirmed.
"All right, go."
"YAY! Thank you Yuko! Come on Kuro-doggy, we'll go somewhere relaxing."
A few minutes later, they left.
"…young and sweet, only seventeen.
Dancing queen, feel the beat from the tambourine.
You can dance, you can jive, having the time of your life.
See that girl, watch that scene…"This was supposed to be relaxing? They were jammed in Fai's way too small yellow Volkswagen. And Fai had turned on the radio to a random station, only to exclaim:
"I love ABBA!"
…and start to sing.
He had no taste.
"Where are we going? It's almost dark, and I want to get home at a reasonable hour." Kurogane interrupted Fai's dream of being part of ABBA.
"Don't be impatient, Kuro-cutie. It will only take a bit longer. This is one of my favorite places. And it will have to be dark."
What was he planning?
Fai drove on, and on. And he kept on singing. Kurogane was just about to demand to know where he was being taken, when Fai pulled over.
"Come on, we're here." Fai announced.
Kurogane looked around skeptically as he exited the car. They were…in the middle of nowhere.
Fai was rummaging in the trunk of the car.
"What are you doing?" Kurogane asked irritably.
"Well, I planed on asking Yuko to let me off early for this, so I packed. Hold these…"
He handed Kurogane a blanket, and several pillows.
"You planed this?"
"Yuko is so nice, I knew she would let me off if I asked." He extracted a cooler from the trunk. "And she let me take a few cases of beer, too." He proudly declared.
"Yes, Yuko always so nice." Kurogane answered sarcastically.
"I know, I don't understand it, but a lot of people don't like her. Isn't that odd?"
Oh, the great mysteries of life! People dislike Yuko.
Fai led them through a patch of trees on the side of the road. Much to Kurogane's chagrin, he insisted they hold hands. It was dark, Fai insisted. Kurogane was not about to admit that it was.
They came upon a huge empty field.
"Here we are."
Kurogane looked up and saw millions of stars, all visible. It was dazzling.
"We're out of the city, so the lights don't blot them out." Fai told him.
A few minutes latter they were lying on the blanket, staring into the starry sky. Fai's head was resting on Kurogane's shoulder, and his hand was pointing out the various constellations.
"There, right there. That's Ursa Minor, the little bear. And the big one, Ursa Major." His delicate fingers swept across the sky, tracing the images.
Kurogane was watching Fai's face, not the sky. Fai was much more interesting than some imaginary pictures. He would pause to think every so often, and bite his lip cutely. Then he would smile, and his eyes would sparkle when he recalled the name of some particular star.
"How come you know this stuff?" Kurogane finally said.
"Oh, when I was a kid, I wanted to grow up and be a famous astronomer. There was someone I used to watch the stars with. Someone important."
A sad nostalgic look crossed Fai's face when he said that. And Kurogane realized that this was the first time that Fai had volunteered information about himself. And he looked absolutely heartbroken.
"But now, I can watch the stars with Kuro-chu." He said, a mocking smile on his lips.
"What's that one?" Kurogane picked a star at random, hoping to get Fai out of his mood.
It worked. When Fai saw the star that Kurogane picked, his smile changed to one of genuine mirth.
"Oh, Kuro-pin, that's Sirius, it the dog star. Kuro-woof woof found his star!"
Kurogane made a show of being irritated, but he wasn't really. Instead he was trying to memorize the moment, the fist time he had ever actually seen Fai.
