Chapter 7

Relaxation

"There was a street fair today?" Kurogane stared out at the crowded streets, and shrugged. He never really paid attention to what the villagers did in their spare time, or what they were planning. Fai's soft whimper as he curled up against his side brought him back to the present. He looked up at red eyes.

"Kuro-wa? Ashuwa-ou…" Kurogane stared down at Fai's worried eyes and blushed, but gently placed his hand on his head. "You're fine, it wasn't –"

He paused. As smart as Fai seemed (and was), how was he going to explain to a toddler that the person you were afraid of, wasn't the one he'd seen. If he said that there were two Ashura's, Fai may have taken that in a way that wasn't meant to be understood as. "You're fine." He decided finally, balancing Fai in the crook of his arm. "He won't be here."

Fai relaxed and nodded, smiling as he saw something he wanted. "Ca-ee!"

"…What?"

Fai frowned and tugged at Kurogane's sleeve hard. "Ca-ee! Ca-ee!!" He pointed at a merchants stall. Kurogane stared at the merchandise and it hit him. "Oh, Candy." He blinked and gave Fai a stern glare. "Don't you think you're too young to eat sugary things again-"He grimaced as Fai gave him a hurt look, a genuine puppy dog look.

Kurogane rolled his eyes and pointed at a piece of candy. The merchant absently gave it to him in exchange for a small coin. "That's the only piece of sugar you're ever going to get." He said as he placed he candy in Fai's eager mouth. He smiled as Fai pointed to another place, and as soon as they were done there, another one.

It was sundown by the time that they were heading back to the castle, and Fai had eaten at least ten more pieces of candy, gotten two more stuffed animals and some new clothes for incase he grew a little more. He seemed to be growing at a steady pace now. Fai blinked and looked up at the ninja again. "Go back now?"

Kurogane nodded and with one clean movement, threw Fai over his shoulders. Fai laughed and clung to the ninja's hair. "Don't worry; we won't go back inside just yet. We're going somewhere else first."


Fai fell softly onto the ground again and gave Kurogane a frustrated expression. "Try again." Insisted Kurogane kindly, smiling at Fai's cute pouting expression. "Yes, I know, it's annoying, it's a pain to be doing this, especially since you know how to do it but you can't." Kurogane grabbed him from under his arms and prepared himself for Fai's next attempt at standing. "Now, try again."

Fai concentrated as he used his hands to push himself up off the ground, and gave a strong shove. He pushed so strongly, he would've fallen back if not for Kurogane catching him. Fai smiled up at him as he was gently placed back onto the feet. "Now try walking."

Fai nodded and concentrated again, taking one wobbly slow step forward. "How did you even get that room earlier?" asked Kurogane, letting Fai hold his hand for balance while he attempted to walk.

"Crawl." Fai smiled even wider as he managed to take a 5th step and stumbled forward. Kurogane caught him around the stomach and sat him on his lap gently. "You alright?"

Fai nodded tiredly, his breathing labored. "Tired."

"Do you want to try again?" He asked, but Fai shook his head and slumped against his relaxed leg. "Sleepy…"

"Alright…Sleep then." Barely a few moments had gone by before Fai dozed off. Kurogane wouldn't have realized if not for Fai snoring quietly. He laughed and stroked his head absently.

"Did you have fun?" Tomoyo asked as she came strolling towards them, pulling her robes underneath her as she sat down next to him. "I heard from a few visiting villagers that you were spotted down in the street fair."

Kurogane didn't answer, only watching Fai sleep his exhaustion away. "The guests are gone. They were ambassadors from our neighboring countries, just visiting for the day. They won't come back anytime soon." She looked at Fai, smiling when Kurogane tried to hide that he was stroking Fai's head. "I take it he's feeling better."

"…What's the curse on him?" Kurogane asked suddenly. Tomoyo gave him a surprised look. "You mean to say, that you still don't know?"

Kurogane frowned. "What, is it plainly obvious?" He asked, his voice dripping in sarcasm. "Because all of you have made it so easy to understand!"

Tomoyo shook her head sadly and looked at Fai again. "Kurogane, a warning for the wise, You need to figure this out quickly, for Fai-san's sake and yours." She placed a hand on his shoulder. "It may not be easy, and you may not like it, but it's not fair to him, you're bringing his hopes up and you haven't even got a clue to what's wrong."

Kurogane watched as Tomoyo stood up and cleaned her robes of grass. "You need to do it soon, or it may be too late. That's all I can tell, now if you excuse me, I need to go speak to Sakura-chan and Syaoran-kun." Then she smiled. "By the way, I can see how Fai-chan likes that dog toy. It has your eyes."

Kurogane blushed and pushed the black stuffed dog aside. "Hn…."He watched Tomoyo leave and then looked at Fai again, worry coating his eyes. Whatever Tomoyo had meant, she hadn't said it for him to neglect it.

I added some fluff for my lovely readers, which are you. Thanks for the reviews. they still mean alot to me.