I don't own Tsubasa
0o0o0
Kurogane shot to his feet before the noise that had woken him had even registered, and he was looking for his two idiots in a slight panic. It was too fucking early for explosions…
He found said idiots all right—a slide of a soji door revealed them on the far side of garden safe and sound. The only this amiss was a sparking blue forcefield filled with smoke and a frowning child.
Magic training.
The bright side about being woken up by an explosion was that his mage must be feeling better to be using magic freely again. It had taken him a while to recover after the battle with the dragon and he was starting to worry.
Last night catching a mismanaged spell would have been too much for him—he had still been clutching his head in pain anytime he dared used his power to so much as light a candle. Yuui had been patient when it came to his lessons while his brother recuperated, but he had been asking when they might be able to continue working on that stupid shield. He didn't know why the hell the squirt was frowning considering magic lessons were the only thing that made him smile so early in the morning.
And god was it early… to early for fucking explosions if you asked him.
There was no way in hell he would be able to go back to sleep with all that noise, so he settled for watching. He wasn't usually home when they had their lessons and now that they were past perfecting random squiggles—it was pretty interesting to watch.
He had been watching Fai use magic for years—and it was interesting to watch him teach the tiny blonde the complicated ins and outs of spell weaving.
"Again Yuui. Talk me through it." Fai paid Kurogane no mind as the ninja plopped down on the porch to observe from what he hoped to be a safe distance.
The ninja raised an eyebrow at them when he noticed that they looked as though they had been up for a while. Somehow those two had managed to get up and dressed without so much as waking him. Again.
Mages…
"Ok." Yuui straitened into a stance he had seen Fai use when he took the support role in battle. Legs about a foot apart, the right foot about a half foot in front of the left, one arm at his side and the other lifted in front of himself.
Normally Fai would hold his hand out with his palm open, now that he had his magic staff back, he held that that in front of his body instead.
Yuui was using an open palm now though—he didn't have a staff just yet.
"Draw a steady steam of magic down and out though the fingertips—" Yuui shifted his hand slowly so that he was pointing with a single finger, the rest closing and forming a loose fist. "—tverdyy—" the little blonde drew a solid rune in front of him. "—stena—" another rune joined the fist. "—and sokhraneniye—" a third rune and Yuui took a deep breath.
Kurogane watched the kid squint in concentration and slowly fanned his fingers out so that his palm was again open.
"Solid. Wall. Protection." Yuui repeated in Japanese and Fai nodded at him—a stern expression.
"Keep going. We know you can draw and hold the runes little one." Fai's own position mirrored Yuui's—ready to catch any mishaps with his own shield no doubt.
Kurogane focused on his mages face, he didn't see that expression on Fai's face often. Too serious… If he didn't know better, he would assume the idiot was mad or there was something wrong.
Fai was never overly serious.
"tverdyy—first weave a solid mass—into stena like a wall—then our intent—sokhraneniye…" Yuui said as he continued to frown in concentration. "Once we weave tverdyy and stena—the use sokhreneniye with a burst of raw energy to make our intent materialize."
"Correct. Once you weave the spell you ignite it with your intent. Your will has been weak—and your overcompensating with power. Remember you need to protect—to much power will cause it to explode and you damage what you're trying to save." Yuui nodded and took a few more deep breaths.
There was a long moment of quite before there was a burst of light followed by a loud bang that left the ninja's ears ringing.
The same spell that had taken the kid nearly 3 minutes to create and explode took his mage less then a second to fully materialize. Easily catching the raw power before it had a chance to cause any damage at all.
Good thing too because that looked like it could have leveled the fucking house.
It was only slightly terrifying to know that a kid could have so much raw energy that he could accidently level a house while learning. Fai was on top of it though.
"I did it again! I'm sorry Fai!" Yuui had been knocked back from the force of his spell and picked himself up off the dirt before rubbing at unshed tears.
"That's ok. Again. From the top." The older twin dispelled his shield and the remints of smoke drifted onto the ground the earlier mistake forgotten.
Yuui did as he was instructed and ran though his narrative again—drawing the runes and explaining their meaning—the same outcome—another explosion. Fai didn't even bat an eye lash before helping the tiny blonde to his feet and telling him to try again.
It went on like that for a while—and Kurogane was sure he was going to get ptsd from waiting for Yuui to cause the next explosion. It took anywhere from seconds to minutes and the ninja jumped every god damn time.
Fai didn't though.
Kurogane made a mental note to ask the idiot about it later. Fai was usually the jumpier of the two of them but maybe he was used to this? Yuui probably wasn't his first student given his ability to explain an abstract concept easily to a frustrated child.
After the 15 or 16 failed attempt Fai offered his brother a reassuring smile. "You're doing very well Yuui. Don't worry about it. It's all about trial and error. Soon this will be second nature and you won't have to think of the runes or intent—your magic will just do it."
"We're done for today aren't we?" Yuui frowned and wrapped his arms around his stomach—disappointed.
"Yes. Its breakfast time then we need to get ready to modify the barrier and make the necessary repairs. It's a good chance for you to practice riding on your own." Fai lifted the child up and carried him towards the house—leaving no room for protest.
"Morning Kuro-chan!" Fai chirped as he passed the ninja and pranced into the house, his mood shifting from serious instructo,r to plain old silly Fai. Yuui waved from over his shoulder as they disappeared around the corner and Kurogane was left shaking his head.
What was he gonna do with those two?
He took his sweet time getting to the kitchen and found Yuui sitting at his usual spot at the dining room table and Fai looking though the cupboards and humming as he selected ingredients in an annoyingly domestic fashion. The ex-ninja watched him for a moment, not sure where Fai got his endless energy from these days.
"Kuro-chan do you think we can go to the big market in—shoot. The one on the other side of the mountain in…"
"Kai? No Takeda's lands are too dangerous for Yuui." Kurogane sat down across the squirt who was still sulking. Presumably about Fai not letting him try at this spell a little longer—but it may also be the fact that that Fai was in one of those moods that seemed to drive everyone up the wall with his false positivity—even his twin.
"Is there another market like that we can take Yuui to without going all the way to the coast?"
Kai was a neighboring province and the Shogun was a real piece of work. Lord Takeda had butt heads with Kurogane's own father—and he butt heads with Kurogane now that he had taken over as lord Suwa. His hate for Kurogane had transferred over to a strong dislike for Fai—even though most of the other province lords found him strangely charming."
Just a generation ago their clans faced each other on the battle field and Suwa had claimed a large amount of territory form the former lord of Kai. He was still salty about it apparently. Takeda had been young when he had taken over for his father, and eager to prove himself in battle—it had been foolish to challenge Suwa however and Kurogane's own father had taught the idiot a lesson by claiming a fourth of his fathers lands before prying a surrender out of him.
Kurogane didn't give a shit about the feud between there families and he had made that obvious when Amaterasu had gathered the province lords together to announce that he was going to retake up his father's lands and retire from his position as Tomoyo's body guard. All the lands that his father had claimed were his again at the Mikado's order.
Takeda wasn't salty about that—he was fucking furious and had done everything but openly declare war on the Suwa clan. It would be frowned upon considering that that clan was one whole member strong—since they didn't count Fai anyways.
Fai had been kept busy with negotiations with the Kai province and knew that lord Takeda wouldn't think twice about harming a defenseless child like Yuui. They had met more then a few asshats on their travels and Fai was well versed at spotting an A class douche bag. Neither of them were foolish enough to risk taking a naïve child like Yuui to such a place.
It was what it was—and there were other markets. Maybe not as nice—but he could make a trip to the capital to get what ever they needed once he got his new arm.
"Depends what you need. We can get almost anything at the capital and it's a little over a day's ride." Well—a days ride for him or Fai. Yuui would mean they would need to ride slow and take brakes—so he would most likely leave the mismatched twins at home for the sake of time.
Fai tried not to transport around Nihon to much since it disrupted the natural flow of magic in the land and stirred the demons—he only did it on the rare occasions when there was immediate danger, like when the dragon had come knocking on there door.
"No… I was hoping that because Kai is all mountainy that I would be able to find a focus stone for Yuui to start working with."
Yeah… that wasn't something he could just pick up for his mage.
"We're going to have to meet with Tomoyo before we have to leave to run the witch's errand. We can look at the capital then—if not we can see about sending you to Kai with a few guards." Fai brought tea over to the table for them and both Yuui and Kurogane accepted gratefully.
"You know I am stronger then all of your men combined right?" Fai didn't sound annoyed in the slightest at the mention of needing guards. The bastard was amused.
"Yeah well you're pretty much the equivalent of a Suwa's priest so I can't just let you go on your own. You have to worry about your stupid image as much as I worry about mine." Fai knew it too. Usually when They fought Fai was the one who focused on defense—but when they left Suwa to meet with his fellow War lords Kurogane guarded Fai just as his father had guarded his mother.
That's just what you did here. Idiot didn't complain—hell Kurogane was pretty sure he liked being fawned over in public.
The ninja hadn't been sure how Fai was going to fit into life in Nihon when he had asked him to live here. He expected to get a hell of a lot more pushback for having a male lover at his side if he was honest. In a strange turn of events about 80% of the people they met thought Fai was some sort of other worldly being. That assumption somehow made it fine that he was a man. A very feminine man—but still obviously male.
It didn't change their expectation that he should be guarded like any other priest or priestess. It didn't matter that Fai had demonstrated his terrifying strength and battle prowess on several occasions ether…
Tomoyo had introduced him to the lords of Nihon with his proper Celeseian titles too—which were pretty freakin specific. Prince Fai D. Fluorite of Celese, Head War Wizard in the Court of King Ashura of Celese, the God Kissed Champion of the Common People, Court Mage, Phoenix Marked, World Walker, and Keeper of the Art of Minipulyatsiya Uma.
Kurogane had been surprised the princess was able to pull that information out of him considering his mage had just wanted to be plain old Fai—the goofy wizard who called Kurogane dumb nicknames. Fai had looked like he wanted to die as he named off the titles and helped Tomoyo pronounce the words that didn't directly translate.
He hadn't pressed as to how Fai had gotten some of the more interesting titles like god kissed, or keeper of whatever the hell. Fai wanted to be just Fai—So Kurogane let him when he could.
That long list of titles along with the regal way his mage carried himself cemented his highborn status and he was treated as such. His terrifying magical presence was picked up by every priest and priestess—and they passed that along to all of the war lords.
Fai was a hell of a fighter and there was no doubt that the most skilled of warrior from the Takeda clan wouldn't be able overpower him. Physically Fai didn't look too tough but between his vampire blood and magic he was possible the strongest being in all of Japan.
He didn't need any guards but since he played the role of Suwa's priest it was only proper that he not leave without a full guard of at least 4 warriors. Others would assume that Kurogane was dishonoring him otherwise—and they couldn't show that kind of internal strife. Badass or not—whenever they visited the capital or another Shogan—Fai was treated like an honored, delicate guest and offered a room to rest in after the long ride.
"I just don't want to make them feel bad when we get attacked and I save them instead of the other way around like last time.'' Fai smirked over his shoulder before refocusing his attention on the food sizzling away on the stove.
"Yeah well, try not to get attacked moron. That sort of thing could start a war that we don't have the time to fight." They had a year from the date he got his new arm—and they didn't have the resources for a fair war. They couldn't afford to lose ether, which meant he and Fai would have to get creative… it was best avoided.
All they would need was for the silly stories if Fai being a Yosei transform into something more sinister… or his fellow lords start to fear Kurogane possessed by some demon… His Youthful follies at the capital had been forgiven—not forgotten by any means.
"You're right… We'll try the capital first Kuro-chan." Kurogane sighed and sipped his tea before noticing that Yuui was scowling at him fiercely now—distracted from his pouting by there conversation.
"What?"
"There could be a war?" The kid didn't seem to like that idea one bit and Kurogane couldn't blame the twerp.
He liked a good fight—but chances were that the war would be fought on Suwan soil and they didn't exactly have any army.
"No. We wont let that happen." Fai voice was firm as he answered but Yuui didn't look convinced. "The Mikado wouldn't allow such a thing to happen—We're still under her protection."
"Oh… So why did you say we don't have time for it?" His worried gaze shifted from his brother to the ex-ninja and Kurogane sighed. They were going to wait to tell Yuui about their trip until closer to the date they left. Fai was worried it would just be something for him to get anxious over—and he was already anxious enough as it was.
"Well we have to go on a trip here soon." Fai answered for him.
"Like a vacation?"
"Something like that." Kurogane almost snorted.
Some vacation it was gonna be…
"Why are we going?" Yuui sure as heck was full of questions. Kurogane sipped his tea—he was his mages brother, so he would let him decide how much to tell him.
"We promised to run an errand for a friend in exchange for them getting Kuro-sama a new arm since he fed the other one to the dragon."
"—I didn't feed it to the dragon dammit!"
"—but we have a lot to do before we can go and not much time to do it, so a war is something were going to avoid at all costs." Yuui started to figit nervously and Fai tossed a smile over his shoulder. "Don't worry—Like I said the Mikado has us under her protection, so we don't really have to worry about all this war business. Just getting our affairs in order so that things run smoothly while were away."
"What kind of errand is it?"
"We don't know." Fai chirped and brought the food over to the table. "We get more details closer to the time we leave."
"Where are we going?" Yuui took a big bite of his food as soon as the question was posed. At least if he was nervous, he wasn't too nervous to eat. The tot had a tendency to get so tied up that he lost his appetite.
He wasn't sure why the hell Fai was talking about his like it was a fucking family vacation—but at least he wasn't freaking Yuui out about something that was a year off. A year was a long ass time for someone so young.
"We don't know that ether. A different dimension for sure so I won't be able to monitor the barriers around Suwa from that far away. We have one year to set our defenses and such so Kuro-sama and I are going to be very busy getting ready."
"Oh…" the tiny blonde took another bite of food and the scowl returned to his face.
"Don't worry little one. It just means you get to come with us to the capital and we have to work twice as hard to get a few useful spells under your belt. That's why we need a focus stone."
"Oh!" With that the nervous energy dissipated—the idea of getting to learn no magic did the trick. No doubt it all sounded exciting to a kid that age—and that's how it should be. Kurogane wanted the twerp to leave the worrying to the adults and enjoy being a kid while it lasted.
"So—you have to practice your riding. We can't be gone too long and you're going to need to get comfortable with riding long distances at faster paces." The child's excitement disappeared again.
It was no secret that Yuui was afraid to ride alone. The first time he had seen a horse had been in Suwa—and the few times he had ridden it had been with ether Kurogane himself or the mage. He had purchased a gentle gelding with a smooth gait for Yuui a few weeks back to learn how to ride and the little blonde hadn't even worked up the courage to even go out to the barn and see him just yet.
So far, his mage had been understanding at the child's dislike for the large animals and hadn't made him help with their care. Fai was making it pretty clear he was going to do it today whether he wanted to or not now that the circumstances had changed.
"What if I fall off?"
"Then you get back on." Fai grinned and sipped his own tea.
"What if I brake something?"
"Then you get to wear a cast for a few months and your bones heal stronger, so they won't break the next time you fall off." Yuui took another bite of his food and pouted.
Fai usually babied the shit out of him. Kurogane never expected his mage to make his tiny twin do anything he didn't want to do—it was good to see that he was encouraging him to grow rather then hide from his insecurities.
"Is Kurogane going to come too?" Yuui mumbled with his mouth full.
"I don't know. Does Kuro-chan want to check the barriers with me today?" the older blonde smiled at him and the ninja shrugged.
Might as well. He was getting stir crazy waiting for Fuuma to show with his new arm.
"You think you'll make it to all the key points in a single day?" That was unlikely. They had set the damn thing up over a period of a week at least. With Yuui slowing them down it would take longer then that now.
"Nope. Just the three that have been affected from patching the barrier during our visit from Mrs. Dragon. Once I fix the last of the cracks, I'll modify the entire defense spell to better protect against scaly friends." Kurogane nodded.
They could get there and back before dark at a leisurely pace—and Yuui could see some of the countryside that surrounded his new home. The village was occupied mostly by his warriors and their families—but there were farms all over the country side surrounding Suwa and branching out to the edge of the province.
With apparently no more questions, the entire table focused on there meal. Yuui continued to pout as Fai had him change out of his Yukata and into a pair of pants and a long-sleeved shirt. His pouting got worse as Fai made him put sunscreen on his exposed skin and put his shoes on. He was practically dragging when Fai made him tack his own horse.
"What if I do it wrong?" Kurogane ignored the brothers while he got his own horse ready—which took most of his focus as he was still down an arm. He had brought him to Suwa from the capital when he had moved—and he had been working with his steed since before he left on his journey. This year would probably be there last year riding in to battle together—poor thing was getting to old to spend his days rough riding any more.
He would do well for simple patrolling and joy riding though.
"I won't let you do it wrong. You need to learn how to do this Yuui. I know you think riding is scary, but you need to at least try." Fai demonstrated on his own mount.
Fai's horse had also followed him from the capital. The pure white stallion was completely deff—something that Fai had sought out purposefully. Less likely to spook when Fai started throwing exploding runes and perfect for a magic user. He was a real asshat though and fought Fai every step of the way for control—another trait Fai had wanted.
Yuui watched Fai brush the horse quickly and efficiently. "Your mount is your partner while you travel—you work together to get where you're going, and you have to take good care of them. You want to brush off dirt that can rub and make them uncomfortable just like this. Get there back, sides, and tummy."
Yuui cautiously mimicked Fai on his own chestnut gelding as though the animal might actually try and eat him if he touched it. "Good job! Press a little harder to really get that dirt—you won't hurt him."
Kurogane doubted the twerp was worried about hurting it—he was pretty sure Yuui still didn't believe that horses were strict herbivories from the way he avoided getting anywhere near its head.
The child continued to be overly careful, but Fai didn't seem the least bit annoyed at how long this was taking. "Ok. So, Nihon saddles are annoyingly complicated. Pay attention." Fai didn't like the gunjingura they used—he thought they were overly complicated and a waste of time.
Through all the worlds they had visited they had used a lot of different types of saddles. Kurogane preferred ones that were just like the ones from Nihon—he was used to riding with his legs strait and having a saddle the helped smooth the ride, so he didn't have to worry about it.
Fai liked to have more freedom of movement and preferred something simpler like the saddles in Celese. His favorites had short stirrups that kept his knees bent in a 90 degree angle and allowing him to essentially stand in the saddle when he wanted to. It made it easier to aim magical attacks.
Kurogane had gotten Yuui a traditional gunjingura to start with. He could get a custom one once he learned what he preferred. It would hopefully make him feel more secure and less likely to fall as they built speed though—even though he was likely going to end up with a fighting style similar to his brother.
Fai showed him how to properly layer the saddle and made him hook every one of the buckles and straps himself before double checking that it was secured properly. Kurogane hadn't bothered to get Yuui a pony—and while his horse was smaller than then his own or Fai's—Yuui still needed to be lifted into the saddle.
Fai tacked and saddled his own mount much faster. They had gotten him a custom ordered saddle when they had bought his horse. There was no Shirigai, Shiode or hadazuke. There wasn't even a Kurabane. They had had to order the damn thing from an importer from the west to get ahold of it.
Rather then having many pieces that were layered, Fai's saddle was almost a one and done save for the straps that wrapped around the steed's chest. The bridal was a little more complicated, but it only took Fai a minute to wrestle it on to his horse before he slung himself into the saddle with practiced ease.
Kurogane took Yuui's reins and handed them to the older blonde before getting himself situated. "We'll start with me leading for now Yuu. When you're more comfortable I'll pass these back ok?"
Kurogane fallowed them out of the barn and they started at a leisurely pace up the road towards the town—the twerp holding onto the front pummel for dear life as though he would fall at any moment.
Riding with one arm was a pain in the ass so he didn't mind the snail's pace anywhere near as much as their horses did. Fai usually left his mount out in the pasture during the day while Kurogane rode his own almost every day on patrol. They were not used to being held back—and it was a struggle to keep them at a simple walk as they ambled up the road.
Kurogane had never had to teach a new rider—and could hardly remember learning how to ride himself. His father had had him in the saddle from the time he was old enough to balance and hold on to the reins… he had gone through a few ponies—outgrowing them before moving on his first horse.
He had no idea why the hell the squirt was afraid of them—but the further they walked the more comfortable he became with the gentle rocking of the horse's gate which was at least progress.
They passed though the town with little notice from the adults—and the few kids that were playing in the street waved happily at them as they passed. Yuui and smiled back—not quite ready to risk lifting a hand away from the pummel. As they made there way outside of the town both Fai and Kurogane kept a close eye out for any trouble—bandits or demons—while they made there way though the bamboo forest. Once that was cleared the rest of the ride would be through open fields with a 360 view.
Wisely Fai waited until they were out in the open and safe from a sneak attack before stopping their party and handing Yuui his own reins.
"What if he doesn't listen?" Yuui was almost shaking as he held the leather straps tightly in his hands.
"He's been a good boy so far—horses are pack animals you don't need to worry about him carrying you off. He will just follow whoever is in front unless you tell him otherwise." Fai hopped back up on his own horse and smiled at the nervous blonde. "You got this. Right Kuro-chan?"
"Yeah you're fine. Everyone learns how to do this. Just takes getting used to." Kurogane's words didn't seem to reassure Yuui anymore then his twins had, and they allowed him to take a few deep breaths before they continued.
Fai sent them forward again with a small kick of his heels and they both smiled as the squirt actually whined when his horse started walking forward at the same leisurely pace. Fai did what he did best and started chattering happily to get his mind off what was going on—and it worked sorta.
It took impressively long to reach the edge of the barrier where the Dragon had attacked, and Yuui practically jumped into Fai's arms to get off the beast.
All and all the trip was pretty freaking uneventful. Fai did his magic mumbo jumbo and they walked there asses back home.
0o0o0
Fai hated being strict with Yuui and pushing him out of his comfort zone. It was twice as hard since he could actually feel the poor things magic buzzing with anxiety as they ran their errand. He had to learn though—they would be going to the capital soon and Yuui needed to be able to ride on his own in case they were attacked.
Not all lands were protected by a barrier and they may run into a strong demon. There was also a possibility that they might run into highway men or members of an enemy clan. Fai need full range of his movements if that happened—as would Kurogane.
This was something they didn't have time to wait on. Yuui had been skittish of the horses even when he was riding with his brother or Kurogane—he just wasn't used to being around big animals. He would learn that they were normally pretty docile and sweet creatures—easy to lead and willing to work hard for there keep.
Hopefully a few trips without incident would show him that his worries were misplaced. Kurogane had chosen a sweet gelding for Yuui to learn with—ill-suited for battle—but submissive and gentle for someone learning.
Learning would be easy for Yuui once he got over his fear. Fai didn't bother lecturing him on posture or technique. He decided they would just focus on not being terrified of falling off and making a short trip without braking.
When they reached the barrier Fai apported his staff with a burst of his will and Yuui finally seemed distracted from his fears as a long ribbon of runes sprung forth from the fluorite focus stone.
"Pay attention Yuui—feel the magic as it interacts with the existing barrier carefully." The ward that surrounded Suwa was a complicated combination of a few different spells and techniques. He had designed it to mimic the kekkeis that the priests and priestesses used to keep the demons out and blend with the natural magical flows of the land.
Tomoyo had tired to teach him how to do a traditional Kekkei but they just weren't practical. They put unnecessary strain on the user's body and were honestly not that strong. That dragon would have broken right though it as though it were a wet tissue…
There was no reason for something like this barrier in Celese—they didn't have demons to worry about and any mage worth their weight could batter their way through one given enough time. So, he had been forced to think outside of the box and try a few different things before he came up with a practical solution and get the most bang for his buck. The closest thing to a kekkei in Celese were the shields maintained around the war camps to shelter it from accidental friendly fire and were anchored with large focus stones.
He had used that spell as his base as it was the only real set it and forget it spell he knew of a defensive nature. His shields were nothing to sneeze at—but that wasn't because he had any special aptitude towards them. He could shove enough power into a defensive shield to withstand almost any attack sure, but his training as a war mage gave him a large repertoire of offensive spells of different nature, including translocation magic and seek spells. His range of defense spells was smaller, and most were flexible, quick and dirty just like the one he was working on with Yuui.
They had used natural land marks as anchor points—things that were closely tied with the magic of the land and were strong enough to not be damaged by the spell, but also helped to blend Fai's foreign power with the natural magic.
Mostly old trees that had been growing for at least a century. On the east side of Suwa they used foot hills, and to the west they used the river.
Once they had chosen anchor points it had been as simple as weaving the spell into each of the anchors and igniting it from the center anchor that was the Sakura tree in the inner courtyard of the Suwa estate. The actual defense was complicated mess of runes that specified what could and could not pass though the barrier—also how strong the shield was when it came into contact with something that was a threat.
He had crafted it to keep out known threats—not dragons.
Tweaking that meant that he was going to have to go to each and everyone of the anchors and reweave his spell before pushing it though at the Suwa estate.
That would probably take days though—and in the meantime the spell would be unstable. Once it was up though, he would simply refresh the shield once a day just like before. The hardest part was getting it set so he could forget.
This spell was still far to advance for Yuui to fully understand let alone weave himself. The best way to learn was to look at what others did though—to feel their control and try and mimic. At its base the barrier spell was very similar to the one Yuui was working on.
Instead of being actively held by a person it was fed with natural magic of the land though—instead of not allowing anything at all to pass there were runes added to the spell to dictate what could and could not pass though. At there core they were extremely similar though.
Fai waited until he felt Yuui's magic reach out to passively sense the barrier as well as the spell Fai held ready.
"It's even harder now…" Yuui was squinting in concentration… "You added more rule runes?"
"I did." Fai waited another moment as Yuui's magic gently touched the damaged barrier and gasped.
"Oh no… It's full of cracks…" Those cerulean eyes that matched his own shot open and gave him a serious look. "I didn't think… something existed that was big enough to…"
"I didn't think there was in this world—but we'll fix it now that we know. Feel the way these spells interreact in harmony now while I weave them together." It wasn't often that Fai consciously thought about that magic he was using unless he was world walking—but he had to close his own eyes and carefully knit the damaged spell back together while intertwining the new rules as well.
After nearly ten minutes the last of the runes laced into the barrier and the repairs were complete. With a flick of his wrist he banished his staff back to where he usually kept it in the house and turned attention back to pupil.
"Is that as hard as magic gets?" Yuui was still feeling the defense spell—pocking at it and feeling as it pushed back against him.
"No. One day you will learn how to rip and sew the fabric of dimensions—not just your own spells." World walking took massive amounts of power to tear your way in and out of a dimension—and serious skill to meld it back together after you had passed though.
Only the strongest and most skilled of magic uses could do this on their own—and an even smaller number of those could manage to do it more than once…
The little blonde frowned and Fai chuckled. It probably seemed crazy—he had thought so when he had first started feeling the powerful magic the king and the court mages used without batting and eye lash. Control came with time.
"We have a few more spots to get to though. Are you ready to get going?" They didn't have much time to lose if they were going to at least patch all the weak spots before the sun went down and it became dangerous for them to be out with Yuui.
"Yeah…" a small determined nod was offered, and Fai kicked his horse into a mild trot.
Yuui yelped but didn't protest as they started off down a side road that would lead to there next destination. The terrain was easy enough—but Fai was happy that both he and Kurogane were here to keep an eye on his little twin while they strolled along.
When Yuui seemed to get the hang of going with the flow of the horse's smooth gate rather than fighting it—Fai increased there pace a bit more.
Yuui was still holding on to the pummel with both hands, reins loose, allowing his horse to have control as it followed Fai's mount. He was at least comfortable enough to look around at their surroundings—and see some of the fields, wildlife, and farms that decorated the country side.
They reached the next anchor in less then half an hour and Fai dismounted to inspect he old oak tree. This one had been further from the place the dragon had tired to crash through their defenses—but even this far away there was damage from the stress of the repeated blows.
Fai once again summoned his staff and let loose a furry of sparking spell runes that knit there way into the existing barrier and tied the loose ends back together carefully—smoothing the rough edges down until they were no longer detectable.
The next anchor was an old shrine that sat at the end of the hardly used road and was reached in another hour at their modest pace—the good news was that they could cut though the fields and end up at the back of the estate pretty easily.
The terrain was a little rougher, but it wasn't like they were going to be jumping over fallen trees—just a few small hills and uneven ground. Fai didn't push them past a trot and they were home within an hour—unscathed from the trip.
Yuui was tired from the outing but untacked and took care of his own horse without complaint. While he wouldn't admit out loud that it hadn't been that bad after all—Yuui pet his horse's nose and told him good night before following the adults into the house.
He and Kurogane had shared an amused smile at the child's actions before heading in for a late lunch. Yuui still took naps most afternoons and feel asleep at the dining room table, leaning forward to rest his head on crossed arms while he snoozed.
After lunch they would work on his magic a for another hour or two and probably try to get in some time memorizing more runes until it was time for dinner. Kurogane would probably be board out of his mind and make himself busy polishing Ginryuu or reading through his manga collection.
All in all, a quiet day—Fai was going to enjoy them while they lasted. He had a feeling this year was going to fly by and he the next year would be full of stress. Yuuko was always stress…
If only Kurogane hadn't fed his arm to Mrs. Dragon…
Lunch was a simple soup—a clear broth and plenty of root vegetables and rice. Kurogane never complained about his cooking if he wasn't force fed sweets, and they had had slight variations on this same meal since they had first started traveling together.
Fai liked soup a lot—it was impossible to mess up and it reminded him of home. It was also easy to reheat and eat as left overs and made the entire house smell pleasant.
His little twin woke without a fuss to eat and they were just finishing up when Fai sensed a strong wave of magic rip past them.
Yuui frowned instantly and looked to Fai with worried eyes. "What was that?"
"A guest." They were expecting Fuuma any time now, so Fai wasn't alarmed at all as he stood and went to the front door. Fuuma was looking around a little dazed as he balanced the glass container containing the prosthetic arm over one of his shoulders.
"Well long time no see! Come on in." The blond offered a kind smile and motioned towards the door. "I hope you're hungry."
Fuuma returned his smile with a grin of his own before doing just that. Fai didn't miss how Yuui looked at him with impossibly wide eyes, or the fact that he had crawled into the ninja's lap.
"How could I refuse your food Fai. Everything you make is delicious." Fuuma offered a wave with his free arm to Kurogane and Yuui as he toed off his shoes and followed Fai further into the house before sitting down.
"Well I'm glad you like it.." Fai kept himself busy with making fresh tea and reheating the soup so that it was steaming.
"I don't think we've met before." Fuuma turned his perfect smile to his tiny twin who hid his face in Kurogane's neck.
He was painfully shy sometimes, but not usually like this around adults. Not with both he and the ninja there to keep him safe… Of course—Kurogane was not fond of Fuuma and was glaring daggers at him like always.
"This is Yuui." Fai offered as he poured their guest a cup of tea. "He's a little on the shy side today it seems."
"That's quite alright. Its nice to meet you Yuui." Fuuma accepted the cup gratefully before turning his attention to the ninja who wasn't doing anything to discourage the clingy child. "How have you both been since the last time I saw you? Has it been a while or you both as well?"
Fai smirked. Time had flowed differently for them both no doubt, but it really hadn't been that long—the last time they had seen Fuuma was just before they had left the capital. They had definitely made prosthetics last longer before.
"Fine." Kurogane grunted—glaring slightly harder as their guest laughed off his cranky response.
"What did it this time if you don't mind me asking?"
"Kuro-tan fed his arm to a dragon this time. Can you belie—"
"Dammit Mage—"
Fuuma barked out a short laugh, easily amused by there bickering. "Even now that you guys are settling down you still get in to the dardest situations."
"Yeah well it sure as hell isn't on purpose." Kurogane ran a hand up and down Yuui's back and sighed. "What about you and your damn brother? Still chasing those vampire twins?"
"I haven't seen them since acid Tokyo and last I knew Seshiro was no closer to catching them ether."
Good. Fai owed those two his life and he hoped they never got caught. He had no idea what Seshiro wanted with poor Subaru but even Fai was weary of him—he was usually a pretty good judge of character.
"You ready to try this baby out Kurogane?" Fuuma placed his hand on the latch that was holding the glass cylinder closed and waited for the ninja to nod before unlatching it.
Fai stood to take Yuui who didn't seem to mind being passed to his twin. This arm attached the same way as the last few—it clung to the scar tissue that had healed years ago and cause the ninja to shiver as the advanced technology linked with his natural nerves to allow him to control the artificial limb. It took only moments for Kurogane to be able to flex the joints and curl his fingers into a tight fist.
"How does it feel?" Fai smiled at his lover who rolled his shoulder a few times grimacing at the movement. Normally when they got him a new arm it tended to fit a little better then the last, but it was usually sore for a few days.
"It's sensitive—more than the last was that's for sure." Well—that wasn't bad at least. Some time to adjust and he would be fighting at his usual strength in no time.
They could spar and help him fine tune his control over the next few days.
"Thank you for bringing it to us Fuuma." Fai handed Yuui back to Kurogane and the little blonde went back to shyly hiding his face in the ex-ninjas neck.
Those two were just to precious.
Fai didn't get to host guests in Suwa very often—and since both his twin and Kurogane seemed less then interested in socializing—the older blonde put on his friendliest smile and chattered away with Fuuma to fill the awkward silence.
0o0o0
So I am still working on the outline for this bad boy and keep changing my mind for whats going to happen once they leave next year! Each time I change it I get even more excited. I would love to hear your suggestions/guesses for what we might do to help get some practical skills under Yuui's belt! We still have until chapter 15 and a lot of Fluffy family goodness and silly bickering before that though which I am also pumped about.
If any of you are interested an some saucier—less fluffy KuroFai please feel free to check out my new KuroFai fic 私に薬の主人を呼んではいけない. It's an AU and a way more on the angsty smutty side of the fandom.
Thank you!