Pure Magic
Chapter 11 – The Game of Age
"It's a shame he couldn't come for dinner." Tomoyo sighed, popping a sushi roll into her mouth, "I really wanted to see him in person, plus he's missing my famous sushi roll a la carte!"
She collected a bundle of white rice with her chopsticks, a few stray grains fell back to her plate to safety. Kurogane could just picture all the ones that didn't escape screaming for their lives. He found it rather funny.
"Yeah..." He said, unfocused.
"Aw, is Kurogane upset?" She teased, pointing her chopsticks at his face, letting all the rice fall from her chopstick grip.
"Hell no!" He snapped at attention, slamming a clenched fist onto the table.
"Language!"
"Shut up!"
Kurogane snatched the clear glass next to him and took a mouthful of beer into his mouth, swallowing it, before slamming the glass down onto the table. Some liquid spilled over the sides of the glass and onto the table, creating a small puddle. He watched as the liquid seemed to be absorbed into the table, almost as though it were drinking it.
"You're going to destroy that table one day...and that glass." Tomoyo said, shaking her head.
"Like I care?"
As though he hadn't said anything she smiled,
"By the way. I found out some stuff about Yuki Kano."
"What?"
"She lives in Tokyo."
Kurogane stopped, chopsticks full of rice paused just before entering his mouth. He kept his arm in position as he asked,
"Are you sure?"
"Of course. There were no Yuki Kano's in Kyoto." She replied, nibbling a sushi roll.
Kurogane shoved the rice into his mouth, letting his arm fall to the table.
"Her husband must be some big-shot." He said.
"I agree. I mean, what kind of guy would let their wife travel from Tokyo to Kyoto? That's such a long way!"
"Thanks for looking into that." He smiled.
"You're welcome. I'll try and find out her husbands name, but so far he's a mystery."
"Must be wanted by the police."
"Could he be the Japanese Mafia?"
"I doubt it."
Tomoyo frowned at her idea being struck down so quickly and took a sip of water from the glass beside her plate, setting it down with grace and ease.
Kurogane let out a sudden, barely audible sigh that didn't go unnoticed by his friend.
"You really care, huh?" Tomoyo asked, thoughtfully.
"About what?" He shot back, confused.
"You care that Fai didn't come."
Kurogane chose not to answer, shoving rice into his mouth angrily, chomping down as though he were killing each and every little grain, creating mush in his mouth, before swallowing it all like a predator. He glowered at Tomoyo.
"I knew it." She grinned knowingly.
Kurogane turned away to look out the window, gazing at the stars as though they were bombs about to be dropped upon the world.
"You really do like him, don't you?" Tomoyo asked.
He looked back over at his friend, glancing into her eyes for just a second before his focus went to his beer. He grabbed it and took another sip before gently setting it onto the table, as though, the slightest angry movement would cause him to explode.
"I guess..."
"Well, he asked you to go with him for lunch tomorrow...he must like you back or else he would've given you the boot." She tried.
"I know."
"I am surprised you've actually grown attached to someone in such a short time...you've never done that before. This, Fai, must be a very special person for you to get so attached so quick."
"Yeah..."
He is special.
OOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO
When Kurogane awoke, it wasn't to his alarm clock. In fact, he'd beat his alarm by thirty minutes and ten seconds. It was odd, he'd never woken up so early in his life, except those times when Tomoyo decided to pop in and make him breakfast at five in the morning.
Perhaps he'd woken up because he was having a nightmare of cannibalistic zombies attacking him, or even that his bed was like an oven...or even, it could be because he was so anxious to meet Fai for lunch. He wasn't sure, perhaps it was a combination of all three.
Kurogane pondered this as he took a bite of an All-American grilled cheese sandwich, pulling away and having the stretching cheese follow him. He tried to bite the cheese away, making it look as though he were playing jump rope with his sandwich. With his fingers he plucked the cheese away and let it drop back onto the plate as he chewed.
"Kuro-bu?"
His red eyes glanced from the food and across the table at the sexy little blond sitting opposite of him.
"Hm?"
"What are you thinking about?" Fai asked, pillowing his head in his hands.
Before he could stop himself, he replied,
"Sleep".
Fai's head popped up from it's nestling place in his hands and he gave a small smile. Kurogane found himself hating that smile.
"If you want to sleep then you don't have to stay here. You can go home."
"I want to be here." Kurogane stated.
"Aren't you tired, though?"
"No."
"But you were thinking of sleep."
"Look." He snapped, "You asked me what I was thinking and I answered. What I think isn't always what I want."
Fai looked down at his plate of a half-eaten turkey sandwich, reaching out with his thin, slender fingers and poked it, as though it were the most fascinating thing he'd ever seen. Kurogane frowned slightly, knowing full well that Fai was probably degrading himself.
"I'm sorry." Fai tried to smile.
"Don't apologize."
"I'm so—I mean...okay."
"That's better." Kurogane nodded, tearing off a corner of his food.
"By the way...I was wondering."
"Yeah?" He popped the torn piece into his mouth, noting the hesitation.
"Can you take me out to Osaka so I can get my rental car?" Fai asked.
"Sure. I can take you to your car after lunch."
"Actually." Fai began, "Could you just drop me off at the front of the car lot?"
Kurogane looked Fai in the eyes, "Wouldn't it be easier for me to take you to your car? That's a huge lot."
"Well..." Blue eyes traveled down to the plate of food, "I have to do something."
"Something?" Kurogane asked.
"I have to meet someone."
Kurogane scrutinized him.
"No one important." Fai quickly added.
He had caught the lie instantly. He opened his mouth, about to speak when--
"Excuse me. I apologize for interrupting." A voice came from the side.
Kurogane looked up with agitation while Fai gazed up in both curiosity and relief. The waiter that stood to the side of them was young, around their ages with black hair and eyes the color of Tomoyo's. Kurogane wondered for a moment, just a moment, if Tomoyo had a long lost sibling. Then, as an after-thought, he wondered how old Fai was. Could he really compare the two if he didn't even know his age?
"My name is Kamui. Your previous waiter had to leave early, so I'll be serving you for the rest of your time here."
"It's a pleasure, Kamui!" Fai exclaimed, grinning ear to ear.
Kurogane watched as the two engaged in a casual conversation about chocolate desserts, eyes focused on Fai, watching each and every movement in his face, every bit of emotion that flitted by unnoticed. One thing he noticed about Fai in that moment was that the man was stalling. For what, though?
"Oi." He interrupted.
"Eh?" Fai looked up, head tilted in question.
"Thanks and all, but we're about done here." He spoke to Kamui.
The man gave a swift nod, "Of course. I apologize for my intrusion. I'll have someone give you the bill."
He stalked off, Kurogane noticed the mans right hand clench into a fist as he disappeared around the corner of the American owned Restaurant.
"Something wrong, Kuro-pi?"
"I could ask you the same thing."
Fai's eyes widened for a moment, "What do you mean?"
"What I mean is, you're stalling."
"I'm a starling? Kuro-tan, that's a bird." Fai joked.
"You lied to me about the person not being important, am I right?" Ignoring the joke.
"Of course not, Kuro-wan, I wouldn't lie to you." He smiled.
Kurogane just stared at Fai, red eyes piercing into blue. Fai was the first to look away, although he was quite skilled at covering up his discomfort by picking up his sandwich with a smile and giving it a big chomp before swallowing. A bill was dropped upon their table, but the person delivering it was gone before Kurogane could get a glance.
"I'm full, Big Puppy! Let's go get my car!" Fai cheered, apparently oblivious to the bill.
"You hardly ate anything."
"I ate a big breakfast."
"You told me you didn't eat anything this morning." Kurogane stated.
"Did I?"
"You did."
"I think I'd remember that, Puppy-kins."
There was a moment of silence before Kurogane sighed.
"Fine. We'll go get your car now."
"Yippee!!" Fai threw his arms up, laughing.
"Before we go."
"What is it?"
"How old are you?"
Fai smiled, "Guess."
"Just tell me."
"You have to guess, Kuro-chu!"
"Fine, you're fifty-nine."
"That's just mean..." Fai smiled slightly.
"You're three."
The blond let out a dramatic gasp, "How could you!"
"Just tell me." He lifted up the remaining portion of his sandwich and inhaled it.
"I'm twenty-five. How about yourself, Big Dog?"
"Twenty-three."
"Aw, I'm older than the cute lil' puppy!" Fai teased, reaching out to pinch the other's cheek.
"Call me a dog again and I'll rip your tongue out; touch me and you die." He threatened, pulling himself out of pinching range.
"I'll go wait out by the car!! See you in a second, Kuro-chan!"
Kurogane watched as Fai stood up and walked through the aisle, maneuvering around people with grace, and exiting through the old-English, iron door. He looked from where Fai left to the table in front of him, eyes landing on the bill.
"Leaving me to pay for everything." He growled under his breath.
Reaching into his torn up, brown leather wallet, he pulled out enough money to cover both meals, that is, until he saw a neatly stacked pile of bills in the center of the table. When did those get there, he wondered. He didn't remember seeing Fai pull out a wallet or even set a wad of bills on the table. He picked up the money and counted them up, realizing that Fai had put out more than enough to cover both meals. Apparently he wasn't as oblivious to the bill as Kurogane had thought he was. The man was sly as a fox, he'd have to watch out for that.
"He tried to pay for me." He said, "Like I'd let that idiot buy me lunch."
Despite his outward actions, he was actually quite happy to know that the other man thought of him enough to actually pay for an entire meal. It's not like the place was cheap.
He shoved the money he'd pulled out back into his wallet before slipping it into the small pocket in the rear of his pants. He'd let the blond pay this time, but next time it'll be his turn.
He stalked out of the restaurant and found Fai staring out into space, a serene smile on his face and eyes that screamed.
"Let's go." Kurogane spoke up, hopping into the drivers seat of the car.
"Eh? Right!" Fai snapped out of his daze, taking shotgun.
As he started the car and drove out of the parking lot, Kurogane looked over at the older man, taking note the fact that he clutched his stomach and stared out the window. He could tell Fai was still hungry.
"You should have eaten more."
"If I did I would explode, Kuro-wanko!" He laughed.
Deciding not to answer, Kurogane focused his full attention on the road ahead, ignoring the blond who began talking about how sweet and loyal a puppy he was.
A single drop of rain hit the windshield as he came to a stop at a red light. Leaving a snail-trail behind, it rolled down the glass with slow persistence, progressing forward until it was nothing more than what it left behind.
I hope you've enjoyed Chapter 11!!
R&R Please!
