Disclaimer: FANfiction. There's a keyword in there. Can you find it? It's 'FAN', not author. Meaning I don't own anything related to Tsubasa outside my fantasies and you don't even want me to get started on those! -wink-

Author's Note: Yay, it's another chapter and as some of you will be psyched to find out- it's totally in Kurogane and Fai's point of view. None of that swapping all around for a few chapters. Better yet we're taking a step closer to some of that Kuro/Fai'ness you've all been waiting for. I promise the pacing, action, and all that other jazz picks up drastically in a chapter or two which I hope is alright since this time all you wonderful, awesome reviewers don't have to wait months for me to update. Right? Which brings me to another topic...

Eighty some off of you wonderful people have me Author Alert and only ten or so of you reviewed last chapter. I must be doing something wrong... either that or I completely blew your minds and left you as happily muttering, drooling, puddles on the floor. It'd be nice too know which one. -hint, hint-

And speaking of hints- Try to keep an eye out for when Fai's using magic. The differences between something as simple as a hum or the flick of an athame can make a world of difference to the plot. -wink-

Important: As far as the language barrier thing goes- if you're curious as to what's being said just read each word backwards [example being: uoy era = you are].

Fai's POV

It was nice the way the harsh rays of the sun dampened down to mere streams of warmth and gentle light as they filtered into the cavern. It would have been a nice thing to wake up to for any person... had said person not already been awake for the better part of the past four or five hours.

Unfortunately, Fai was said person.

And it was all Kurogane's fault.

The ninja had spent most of yesterday and last night after their little question and answer escapades going in and out of the cave as he went over what supplies they had left and what they could carry should worst come to worst. He'd let Fai be for the most part, apparently deciding he was going to be twice as useless and maybe just as annoying if he didn't get rest and the mage was thankful for that. What he wasn't thankful for was the feeling that slowly started to wash over him every time the other man passed him by. Like he was being ignored.

The ninja hadn't come back to the cavern for awhile now but he could hear him rifling through things and repeatedly cleaning his sword but that was just it. All the actions were constantly repeated. It was like the other man couldn't bear his presence and had to distract himself or maybe it was because he knew Fai wasn't entirely sleeping. If so, he'd expected him to say something about it. Some brash comment about him faking it or something, not to just flat out pretend he wasn't there.

That was over four hours ago. Since then he'd tried, almost desperately, to lie there and go back to sleep but the familiar darkness never came to collect him. His body rested, thankful for the chance to just do nothing in the cool escape of the cave, but his mind continued to travel near and far and further from the realms of sleep with every passing flicker of consciousness.

So, he did was any sane person would have done.

He eventually quit trying.

Getting up, he stretched with a cat like movement- with arms over his head and back arching, trying hard to ignore the chaffing caused with every breath and how he felt so terribly sore all over. Besides, after they got the kids back it wasn't like he'd be feeling much of anything unless his 'master' gifted it to him.

He shuddered at the promise of his future.

Walking through the mouth of the cave he didn't even bother to look in Kurogane's direction, he knew he was there after all, choosing instead to pretend there was nothing of interest aside from the lake before him and for the most part that's how it should have been but after last night,... all those questions... He knew this temporary escape was just that- temporary, and that he hadn't gotten the ninja off his back in the slightest. If anything, the man's silence could very well mean the exact opposite.

"So," He only just managed not to flinch when the oddly quiet voice invaded his thoughts. "What's the plan, mage?"

Fai looked at him from the corner of his eye, the ninja is still starring pointedly at his sword. It's aggravating in some ways, to be ignored like that in favor of an inanimate object, but he knows he shouldn't let it bother him. It's for the best after all. He needs to keep pushing the other away.

"Not sure yet." He replied flatly. "I need to trace the magic first."

The ninja grunted. "Trace?"

He shrugged, still not looking at him directly. "Yeah. Since we can still understand each other it must mean that somehow at least a single strand of Mokona's magic is getting through the lake." He paused. "If that's the case then there's an opening leading to wherever the children were taken. I can't specifically locate Mokona, he's pretty much pure magic so he'll just blend in with everything else but Sakura- she has a very special kind of magic. One that's impossible to mistake for something else. All I have to do is find it and have it pull us through to wherever, or as close as I can to wherever they are."

"And then?"

"And then we wing it I suppose."

Kuro's POV

He was watching the mage. There was no one else here to deny it to except the idiot and himself and though he was loath to admit it- it was getting harder and harder to pretend things weren't the way they were ever since he'd figured out that he didn't totally hate the blond. So, yeah. He was watching him and had been doing so just about all night. He had to be careful about it though, making certain that the other didn't see him because he knew the mage had been awake the whole time. A grand liar he might be to others but to him- he might as well have been a kid trying to get away with murder- it just wasn't going to work.

The mage never said anything as he came and went from the cavern, collecting and then recollecting things for lack of anything better to do. That and he was stuck in those circle thoughts again, the ones that went round and round no matter how many times he tried to divert them. The ones that always seemed to gravitate to blue-eyed freaks, more particularly- ones that drove him completely crazy.

He'd gotten a lot of answers out of him last night. More than he expected. Some surprising, others not so much, though nothing nearly as surprising as the fact that Fai has answered any of them at all. Just thinking about all the mage had told him left him unbalanced, if not for the content then for the sheer fact that he'd opened up- under force but it still counted and the worst part was... even though he thought he'd finally find something to hate the other for... he hadn't... which left him with a bit of a puzzle.

What in Kami's name was he supposed to do with his newfound 'not-quite-hate-almost-like' of the mage?

Where did they go from here?

Maybe they were friends?

Maybe they were something else?

Something more?

'Maybe nothing after the way I interrogated him last night.' Why he'd kept pushing the questions he didn't know. Usually he knew better than to try his luck so heavily especially but then why hadn't he been able to stop himself? He was just so fucking tired of not being able to figure the other out. It pissed him off to no end.

He looked back at the mage, standing out there underneath the sun as it glinted brightly off his hair and still too red skin.

"Your burn's gonna get worse." He pointed out bluntly.

The mage didn't answer or give any inclination that he'd even heard though he didn't doubt for a second that he had.

"Whatever." He resisted to the urge to roll his eyes and went back to cleaning his sword. 'If he wants to ignore me then it's not my problem.'

Somehow thoughts like that still felt like a lie.

Fai's POV

He stood there starring at the lake for a long time. It didn't belong here. This whole oasis was wrong in so many different ways. With every breath he took he could smell fresh green grass but beneath that his throat burned with the taste of sun baked sand. It was like an illusion not meant for the eyes, a fine layer of one over the other. It was distracting, he needed to look beneath surface of his senses. Closing his eyes he took a deep breath and allowed everything outside himself to flow away so he could concentrate.

At the beginning of their journey when they were in the world with the Kudan and a much less lively version of Sakura had gone missing he'd asked Syaoran about her essence, what kind of person she was and how she effected those around her. He hadn't felt the need to explain himself then but it was his way of helping look for her. Like Mokona he could sense varying bits of magic, more importantly the threads of magic inherit in different people. It was a particularly useful talent if you were trying to find someone providing they were unique enough to tell apart from everyone else.

Her essence was weak then, diluted by the loss of her feathers and obscured by all the varying threads in the area but now- she had more of her memories together and a better sense of herself. As a result the thread that represented her magic was stronger and much easier to follow. It helped that he'd gotten to know her better since then as well.

Everyone has a thread of magic in them, at least one. Even Kurogane and Syaoran had a few strands of the fire element between them- which went far to explain some things for the both of them. Many people had more than one but that wouldn't matter right now. All he needed was a single strand. In most cases it was impossible to tell one person's magic from another without several of these threads but Sakura had a very unique flavor to her's. Impossible to mistake as anyone but their little princess.

Slowly, and lowly at first, he began to hum. The sound building in his chest and working it's way up to the core of his throat as he reached out with his other senses. The lake was just a reflection of the power in her feather which was connected and yet so separate from her. He needed to pick apart all these threads, similar and different all in the same. Picking through them one at a time, he whispered snatches of song just beneath his breath, his body struggling to tap into that well of power within him that he'd never been allowed to reach- but he wouldn't. Couldn't.

Just a hint of magic. That's all he needed.

It was too hot out here and even his time spent in the shade of the overhang hadn't prepared him for the energy sapping heat that washed over him. The sweat pouring down his face and the heavy air that struggled like molasses through his lungs- neither were pleasant but they helped keep him grounded, preventing him from getting lost in the magical art before his lidded eyes.

Waves danced across his mental vision in purples, blues, and all the variant hues between. The lake was brimming with a life force that shouldn't have been as all the colors swirled melded together without reason or rhyme. He followed the threads to the bottom and where they met the ground...

'This power doesn't belong here... it's being forced here from somewhere else, another world maybe... somewhere too full or too small to contain it all.'

He followed the lines of bright color as far as he could without actually allowing himself to be pulled into the magical tide and then he spotted it.

'There!'

A single pinkish strand hidden in the core of everything else like a cherry blossom in a garden of violets. He reached for it but could go no further unless he actually followed, pulling back harshly he felt his balance slip, momentum propelling his senses towards the magical vortex before him. He was swaying and struggled to cut the connection off quickly.

Too quickly.

He was still falling forward, his steady hum suddenly turning into a yelp as his senses shorted out for half a second and the world turned on it's side... He braced himself for an impact that never came as he was grabbed harshly by his shirt collar.

"Why do you always have to be such an idiot?"

Kuro's POV

He continued to watch the mage as he stood there, eyes closed and hands in his pockets. The fool was still bright shade of crimson. True, Fai wasn't complaining- too much, and he looked a hell of a lot better after food and a full night and a half's sleep but he was still undeniably burnt.

'The idiot should say something if he's hurt,' He mused. 'but if he's not gonna then it isn't my problem.' It wasn't like he liked being fussed over when he was hurt either, he'd be a hypocrite to force it on the other so long as he's not- not saying something when he should be. Then he'd have to kick his ass.

Speaking of which...

Suddenly the mage looked a little less than steady on his feet, his face drawn tight in concentration. Kurogane watched him for a few more seconds, uncertainty stifling his instincts but then there was this little nagging voice in the back of his head, originally sounding an awful lot like Tomoyo's and starting to sound a lot more like his own with every passing day, that would just not go away .

Attempting to appease it he got up, intent on being close by just in case the other did something stupid-

'Considering his track record...'

-when Fai swayed again, his eyes jerking open with a shout on the tip of his tongue.

'Shit.'

He jumped up, barely managing to remind himself in time to grab the collar of his shirt instead of his arm as the blond yelped in surprise, cringing with the thought that any second he was about to get a face full of ground.

He didn't though because Kurogane caught him.

Just in time.

"Why do you always have to be such an idiot?"

The blond smiled up at him, gently pulling himself out of the other's grasp. "Because it's so much fun making Kuro-puppy growl?"

The jibe was only half hearted and even then he had trouble letting it go. "Che, whatever. So?"

"So?"

He clenched his fist. True, they were the ones being the parents to the kids but he was starting to realize now more than ever just how many times they'd helped him babysit the mage when he got into these stupid moods.

Which just so happened to be all the time.

"Did you find it?"

"Find what?!"

"The thing you had to trace, moron?!"

"Oh, that." He chuckled.

"Yeah, that." Kurogane growled, still repressing the urge to hit him. If the mage was unconscious he'd be out of his hair but then they'd still be stuck here waiting for him to wake up and start the charade all over again.

"Yep, yep. The question is- are you ready to go?"

"Sure, why not?"

The question was sarcastic and the mage didn't bother answering as he pulled the now familiar, but still surprising athame from the calf of his pant leg, the silver glinting in the sun. He could see it better now, a beautiful engraved phoenix weaving it's way up the hilt and seeming to move depending on how the light caught it. The blade itself was obviously well cared for, sharp and thin down to the tip. He didn't doubt for a second that it could slice a hair thrice over if the right determination was put behind it.

"This will be a little more difficult than I'm used to..." He was talking to himself as he traced out a large circle in the sand with his finger. "Do you have everything together, Kuro-chii?"

"Nothing much to get together, the pork bun took most of it with him. We have one pack, your staff, my sword, and the shirts on our backs."

"Mmm." The mage didn't look up but he knew that damned tone well enough he didn't have to see the smile. "I should hope we still have the pants on our-"

"Shut up and get to it, mage." He didn't want to deal with this false camaraderie right now.

Again the mage remained silent as he looked carefully at his circle and then back at the lake, all manner of joking and chatter gone from his eyes as he surveyed something only he could see. "Kuro-choo, stand in the circle please."

Kurogane did so without a word. If he said something now it would only prompt the other to do something stupid or distracting. Neither idea sounded pleasant while the blond was working with possibly volatile magic. He wondered if it was 'his magic' he was using or the magic the magic 'he used' like he'd called it the other night.

Fai followed him into the circle still crouched on the ground now on the other side of his makeshift lines as he studied them from the new angle. "Yes... a little more difficult."

"Why's that?"

"Hmm?" The blond looked up, belatedly realizing that he'd spoken aloud. "Oh, well- hmm. It's complicated, Kuro-yarn. See it's one thing to pull myself from one place to another. I just have to grab onto the currents of magic and let them take me where they will but you-" He began to retrace his circle with the tip of his athame, eyes now closed though he still managed to follow it precisely- once more seeing something only he could see. "-you aren't very magical. It wouldn't pull you along just because you're nothing like it. A log in the river to be precise. You could float over the surface but you'd never be able to follow it in any specific direction."

Great. He was a log. "Gee, thanks."

Fai seemed to resist a chuckle and shook his head a little. "Bad simile." He finished the circle and started making his way around it a second time drawing small symbols in the ground. "Basically, I have to convince the magic that's going to pull us along to wherever it's coming from that you're the same thing as it."

Kurogane stared at him unblinking. "And that means?"

"I'm going to make it think you're just another part of me."

He didn't like the offhanded way the mage had said that. 'He's being purposely vague.'

The blond stood once he'd reached the end of his circle again, surveying his markings with the eye of an expert before nodding to himself once. "Kuro, I don't know how close or far we'll end up to the others..." He left the rest of his statement open, finally looking up at the other, his entirely serious cerulean eyes saying all that needed to be said.

Kurogane understood, his hand moving subconsciously to the hilt of his sword. For all they knew this thread of magic or whatever it was could take them directly to the heirs of fire and this time- they would be ready.

The mage nodded once, seeming to realize his meaning was clear. "Alright then. Let's get this over with."

He drew one more circle, this time in the air a few feet above his drawing as blue dust seemed to glitter out from the end of the athame. The air around them rapidly turned dark and frigid as the mage gripped his arm harshly, slender fingers biting into his skin with a suddenly freezing touch.

He risked a look in the mage's eyes just for an instant, the single instant before everything was swallowed up in an icy haze and he didn't like what he saw. The mage's usually over happy or subliminally sad gaze was lost, internally frightened and externally hard.

If he didn't know any better he would have sworn it wasn't really Fai looking through those dark eyes... but then again... did he really know any better?

Then, just as suddenly as the spell had been drawn up it ended in a dizzying array of something... he wanted to say it was colors and lights but he hadn't seen anything. It was weird, there and not. Nothing within his perception but just beyond the edges.

He was dizzy and a little sick to his stomach but as he stood still and held his ground against the feeling it gradually abated. There was heat on his face, the air around him acrid and full of dust. That was the first thing he noticed, the second was that they weren't in any form of danger. And the third?

He had a fairly good grip on a particular blond mage's waist.

So, what did he instinctively do?

Drop him.

Again.

Fai's POV

Lights danced before his eyes, swirling and wrapping around himself and Kurogane before they shattered into a million dazzling particles that left him a little more than faintly sick. It was dangerous traveling like this, not just by pulling the ninja with him and covering the other man's presence with his own but purely through the act of travel itself. He didn't have the binding mark on his back anymore, a good thing in so many ways, a bad things in the way that he didn't have a whole lot to keep him grounded and it took all of the control and energy he didn't have.

Then there was the little matter of the bread crumbs he was leaving behind.

'With every spell I cast, every bit of his power I use I'm weaving a stronger thread that will lead him to me... but I can't use my own for something like this... not when the lives of others are at stake.'

When everything stopped spinning his legs immediately felt weak, attempting to buckle beneath his weight as his magic struggled to pull itself back under control. It was no surprise really- all things considered. It was one thing going to see the witch- a journey taken by himself to an already known location, but pulling Kuro-poo along to the magical equivalent of a blind spot? That was another thing entirely, and just to make matters worse, everything about Kurogane screamed fire. It was in his blood whether he knew it or not and it meshed harshly with the magic flowing through his own veins and lapping at the noose of ice built firmly around his heart.

He wanted to run through all the ways in his head how the contrast wasn't symbolic but he didn't have time as his knees suddenly gave out, his stomach lurching painfully with the urge to just let everything go. It was like he was eight again and trying to travel for the first time... He braced himself for the impact as a wave of deja'vu hit him.

Once again, the fall never came.

Warily he cracked open one eye and then the other, taking a slow and careful stock of his surroundings before he realize he had a very large arm wrapped around his waist. The second he did though- Fai found himself hitting the ground, dust flying up around him as his butt met the sand gracelessly.

"You know, I'm beginning to think you do that on purpose, Kuro-sly." He winced, rubbing his lower back.

The ninja said something he didn't quite catch that sounded an awful lot like concern. 'Yeah, right.' His thoughts didn't take him far though as his stomach gave another sudden lurch and he turned away, holding up a finger and singling the other to wait because he was afraid that if he opened his mouth right now more than just words would come out.

'Ugh...'

Fai breathed slowly through his nose, willing everything to settle down. He could feel the heat on his face and seeping all too quickly into everything from his scalp to his legs despite their respective coverings. If anything it felt even hotter here than it had when they were walking through the desert as the beginning of this particular journey. The thought was not a comforting one and he turned away from it as a dry heave worked it's way up his throat and he struggled not to vomit. It was followed by another and another one and then- they ceased just as suddenly as they had come.

He breathed a small sigh of relief.

Kurogane asked him something again, voice still tinted with what could almost pass for worry but once again he hadn't caught the precise words. It didn't matter though, his response would have been the same either way as he looked up at the other and smiled.

"It's alright, Kuro-chibi. Just some post travel sickness. I should tell you though that it's entirely your fault." He gave a small, mock pout.

"Tahw eht lleh did uoy tsuj llac em?"

Fai tilted his head, eyes meeting the ninja's instantly as he tried to figure out what exactly the other had said... 'Wait, how far did we land from Mokona?'

"You can't understand me, can you, Kuro-myu?"

Kurogane stared at him blankly, eyes caught somewhere between 'crap' and 'oh, crap.'

Kuro's POV

The blond muttered something under his breath as he landed butt first in the sand.

"You alright?" He didn't know why he bothered asking. A little fall wasn't about to kill the idiot otherwise he'd have dropped him off a cliff a long time a-

He paused in his thought as the mage's face took a very serious turn, lips pressed in a tight thin line and eyes scrunched just as tightly together. Holding up a shaky finger in the universal signal of 'hang on' before he turned, leaning heavily over the ground with his shoulders jerking forward again and again as the other fought his rebelling stomach.

Another long moment passed before his breathing evened out, and Kurogane had to admit he was glad the other hadn't vomited. 'I wonder if it's because of that thing he was talking about- having to make the thing think I wasn't a log or something?' He hated to think that the other's current condition could possibly be his fault and he refused to feel bad about it, so he didn't.

"You gonna make it?"

The mage took another deep, steady breath before looking up at him with bright eyes and an even brighter smile. Oh, how he wanted to slap that look off his face, not doubting for half a second that he was going to hate whatever came out of his mouth.

What surprised him though was when it didn't.

Why?

Because it was complete gibberish.

"S'ti thgirla, Kuro-ibihc. Tsuj emos tsop levart ssenkcis." The smile twisted into an obviously fake pout. "I dluohs llet uoy hguoht taht s'it yleritne ruoy tluaf."

The ninja frowned. There was only one part of that whole damn sentence that he half understood and he didn't like it. "What the hell did you just call me?"

Fai blinked, a slow devious grin spreading from one side of his face to the obviousness of the situation hit him head on. "Ouy t'nac dnatsrednu em, nac uoy, Kuro-uym?"

'Great. Now we're stuck in the middle of nowhere and the only person who has even a vague idea of where we're going isn't just an idiot. He's an annoying idiot who can't understand a word I'm saying.'

The irony was devistating.

He wanted to curse but refrained from doing so. They'd been in this situation a few times before, they knew how to get through it, the least they could do was-

"Kuro-quack, Kuro-woof, Kuro-dnas, Kuro-yks, Kuro-Kuro,..."

-act like-

"...Kuro-ydal, Kuro-ycnaf-sserd, Kuro-prub, Kuro-eseehc."

-civilized-

"Will you shut the hell up already?!"

-adults.

"Meow, meow, hyuu?"

The blond smirked, seeming to have understood in his own little way as he rattled off shredded versions of his name faster than a drunk auctioneer could sell a sell a dirty manga in Nihon.

'That bastard.'

"I tsuj detnaw ot ees fi ereht erew yna sdrow uoy did ezingocer dna ecnis uoy t'nevah tih em tey m'I gnisseug eht ylno gniht uoy tog morf lla taht saw eht Kuro, huh, Kuro-yttik-tac?"

Kurogane was not amused, not even slightly but decided to ignore it in favor of looking around. They were once again in the middle of the desert but it was definitely a different desert. Of all the things that made it so different he found that none of them actually made him feel any better about the change.

It was hotter here. There were no hills or dunes of any sort, no hint of shade, and the oasis was long gone. If anything, the only thing that seemed to have stayed the same was the sand, no surprise there, and the fact that there was a vast nothingness stretching out before them.

'Great. This is gonna be fun.' He looked back at the blond who had already gotten up and was brushing sand from his pants, looking just a little less sick and a little more his usual annoying self despite the wilting effect the sun seemed to have on him.

"Alright. Which way do we go?"

He wanted to slap himself as soon as the question was out of his mouth. What the hell was the point in asking someone a question if they couldn't figure out what you were saying? Wasn't that still the equivalent of talking to yourself? The fact that he had to initially follow the idiot around wasn't making him feel any better about the situation, especially since said idiot could just as easily lead him off a cliff and he'd still be wearing that damn smile on his face.

Hunkering down in the sand when all the blond did was give him a half oblivious look he drew and arrow with his finger and pointed to it. "Direction." He said slowly. "What direction?" He drew more arrows all going off in different ways.

Fai nodded seeming to understand well enough and closed his eyes like he did before, humming under his breath. After a moment or so he turned in the opposite way he was facing and pointed.

"Eht gnileef s'teg regnorts siht yaw. Fi ew wollof it gnol hgoune-" He gestured vaguely. "Yllautneve ll'ew dne pu erehwemos. Yllufepoh resolc ot Mokona dna eht sdik." The blond paused seeming to wonder as well what the point of talking was when in reality he was only talking to himself. Kurogane just shrugged and started walking, figuring that if he had to turn or move in another direction the idiot would find a way to say something.

"Kuro-noops, Kuro-tons, Kuro-pihs, Kuro-pih, Kuro-pop, Kuro-pop, Kuro-pmal, Kuro-pam...'

That was to say, if he didn't kill him first.

Fai's POV

The sun was trying to kill him.

That's all there was to it.

Really.

They'd been walking for a good couple of hours now and no matter how far they went or what subtle shifts in course they made the great hot sphere of death was constantly looking down on them, mocking him with a voice that promised nothing but pain. The worst part to all this was that they had to keep walking towards the damn thing making the day seem all that much longer as they followed in it's rotation.

Then again, why should he be surprised? It was the story of his life.

Constantly chasing after things that could, and undoubtedly would, hurt him and being unable to to run away when he finally did decide to escape, which was more often than not, when it was already too late. It was so bad a this point that he wasn't quite sure what he would have preferred more. The freezing pain of his future or the slow death of this moment.

With every step he took it was becoming a harder choice to make.

For the first few hours he tried talking to Kuro-myu despite how little good it did him. Little as in none. The ninja didn't bother answering him. In fact, he didn't even try. Fai would have been happy with anything from a grunt to a 'what the hell do you think you're doing' kind of glare, but no. Nothing. At least in the very beginning there was the occasional gibbered muttering that could have been anything from curses to a half hearted 'shut the hell up.'

'So, I guess he's back to ignoring me now.'

After that he fell quiet, no longer bothering to try and get a reaction out of the ninja and the silence was already starting to wear on him as all he had to focus on was putting one foot in front of the other.

In some ways keeping up his little act was even harder now that the children weren't here. True, the guise had been mostly for their benefit since there are some things in this universe younger souls just did't need to think about but with Kuro-choo... the children had almost been a sort of distraction, a get off the hook free card whenever he needed one most because Kurogane would not call him out in front of the others. When it was just the two of them though... he didn't hold any bones when it came to asking him the painful questions- he'd proven that much last night to say the least.

Even now when they couldn't understand a word between them those carefully calculating looks from the red eyed man seemed to see right through him. He didn't like it. He knew someone... Ashura, who used to have that same look when he was a child. He constantly knew how he was thinking, feelings, and saw through each and every one of his games.

'And we all know how that turned out, now don't we, Fai?' He mocked himself mentally feeling more self-sarcastic than he had in a long time.

Part of him wanted to be angry at the ninja for looking at him like that... but another part of him... wished desperately that he could be alright with it- to fall ever so willingly into that same trap his master had set for him so long ago, but no. He couldn't. Even if he wanted to, which he didn't, he couldn't allow himself to get any closer than he had. He needed to keep reminding himself of that one thing or it would be the doom of them all.

'It's too hot.' He mused, already tired of his thoughts.

His skin was feeling worse than it had before and he worked extra hard to keep his movements careful while not slowing down or making it too noticeable. 'If only it weren't for the stupid sun-' "Oof!"

His face collided with something hard and distinctly musky smelling. He cringed away from the contact instantly, his mind playing catch up to try and figure out what just happened. Looking up he saw Kuro standing quite a bit closer than the other needed to.

"Wha-"

In less time than it took for him to stand there blinking like an idiot his cloak slipped from his shoulders only to be replaced with another lighter fabric, darker in color. At the same time something slipped into his hand.

Fai blinked looking down.

In his hand he held a water bottle.

On his shoulders rested the ninja's cloak.

'That means...' Kurogane had just done some nice for him without any rhyme or reason.

He looked back up at the other man "Kuro-wan-" and stopped.

The ninja was almost smiling.

That proved it.

They were doomed.

Kuro's POV

He was doomed.

That's all there was to it.

Why?

Because he couldn't get him out of his head.

The mage was falling behind again. Kurogane didn't know why he noticed only that it was slowing them down and keeping them from finding the kids. He didn't know how far the had to go but if it was going to take a couple of days, as he guessed at the least, and the mage wasn't going to make it through the very first one... they weren't going to make it very far so he kept his eye on him if but just the corner.

The guy was still a mystery to him, the bulk of said mysteriousness being that he didn't even know why he wanted to know the things about him that he did. It didn't help that the blond was always hiding something and it both infuriated him and made him want to know even more. He blamed the ninja in him for that one, not being able to figure something out was a risk and then the protector in him came out and brought up a whole new set of issues.

The blond was just so... impossible. He looked like he'd fall over on a good day outside the desert let alone several days trekking across one. He'd seen the mage defend himself the other night, but only just barely, and that had been for the sake of the kids and himself. He'd already proven numerous times that he wasn't willing to use his magic for his own protection...

'Why does he have to be such a damn moron.' Kurogane was so tired of thinking in circles, he just wanted to turn his brain off for a little bit. Was that too much to ask? The mage was an adult, for the most part, it was his own problem if he chose not to take care of himself... but what if it wasn't by choice? What if he was fighting back in his own way but still fighting a losing battle?

Again his thoughts circled back to the most important thing he'd never admit he cared about.

Why was the idiot planning on leaving? The real reason.

He hadn't asked him yet, something in his mind said that the mage wasn't likely to tell him though thoughts like that hadn't stopped him yesterday with all the other questions. Maybe it just came down to one thing- maybe he didn't really want to know why the mage was leaving. He didn't want to think it was because of him or the fact that the others, those heirs of fire or whatever they were, had attacked the kids just to get to him.

Yeah, it didn't make much sense to him either but if the mage left it would mean he'd failed to protect him from whatever it was that he was really running from. He couldn't allow that. Too many people... too many... His mother as she prayed, sickened and weak. His father as he fought, desperate but proud. Tomoyo all alone in her palace despite the company she kept.

So what if the mage was more annoying than anyone he'd ever met. So what if he didn't know why he wanted to protect the idiot. He just couldn't not do anything. He'd hugged him the other night, something he didn't do for just anyone. He wasn't 'into' all those cuddly things the kids were. That was Fai's department, by far, but if that's what the mage needed so he would stay... he'd... suck it up and do it... besides... it's not like it had killed him the last time, and even then it didn't feel that terrible to do things like hug him or have his arm around the other's waist.

'Kami, what the hell is happening to me?'

The silence in his head prove to him two things.

One, that the mage wasn't babbling anymore.

And two, there was no god in this world (either that or 'he' was really a 'she' and had been reading far too much of Tomoyo's manga).

'Damn it.'

The blond had fallen behind again and was starting to look a lot like he had the last time they'd walked under the sun like this- only this time it didn't take half as long. He seemed to be stuck in his thoughts, a light and honest frown gracing his features meaning either he didn't know how carefully he was being watched, doubtful, or that he really was lost in space. The good thing was that he wasn't tripping over his feet this time, doubly so since Mokona had his staff stored away in that bottomless gullet of his.

He watched the mage for a little while longer. His hair was stuck to his forehead in clumps and his shirt clung to his lithe frame drenched in sweat. His skin was red, even more so then when they'd first gotten to the oasis- too dark for his own good. Before he'd been moving gingerly to keep from chaffing anything- quite understandable, but now he didn't seem to have the energy and while he still winced every now and then there wasn't much else as far as signs of life went with him.

He didn't like it.

The mage was wearing his cloak still. It was heavy and thick but it was the only thing he had to protect his frail skin from the sun. The blond was panting just from having to carry the damn thing around but it wasn't as if there was much else he could do. If he took it off he fried, if he left it on he cooked himself from the inside out. Not great options in the slightest.

His brows furrowed and he glanced back at the other, no longer trying to hide his gaze as he started to think. He had a cloak on, it was black so it attracted the heat just as well as anything in this place but it was light and still kept the sun off his back and that's what had mattered in the end. It was meant for the warmer weather of his own country so aside from a rather nice shade of red on his face he wasn't doing too bad. Even the kids had been protected in their cloths from home, so used to the desert themselves but the mage... he'd burnt even with his on.

'Hmm.' That settled it.

He stopped walking, digging one of their water bottles out of the bag and tearing his own cloak off in a matter of seconds. He didn't know why he didn't think of it before if only for the excuse that he was trying 'not' to pay any attention to the mage but now if he needed a good mental excuse he could just tell himself that he preferred seeing the mage all white and pale... Why he didn't know but it was definitely more attractive than the half lobster...

'Scratch that thought. Now.'

He gave up on having mental excuses and decided he'd stop trying to rationalize it, things like that only brought up thoughts he had no clue how to handle yet. Besides the idiot couldn't be comfortable walking around like that.

Not that he cared about his comfort. Life and death, yes. Comfort, no. That'd just be sentimental or something equally as stupid.

"Mage." Kurogane called out but the other just kept walking, something in the half awake almost dazed look made him want to do something... maybe smile... because it was... just... it would be just a little on the... cute... ish... side if he wasn't half dead looking right now. 'Kami, what the hell is wrong with me? It's gotta be the heat. No other excuse.'

"Mage." He tried calling him again- still no response as the other continued to walk, lost in his thoughts, eventually running right into his chest with a small, barly audible 'oof' and looking up at him bleary eyed.

"Here."

In little more than two movements he snatched the mage's cloak from atop his shoulders, throwing it over one of his own, and threw his in place where the other had been, unceremoniously shoving a water bottle in his hand at the same time. Fai looked at him, slightly more 'there' but definitely bewildered with wide eyes, his guard completely down. He felt something pulling at the corners of his lips again and didn't fight too hard to supress it as he wondered what other ways he could tear that mask off the blond's face.

He let himself smile.

Just a tiny, tiny, almost unnoticeable bit.

Keyword being almost.

The blond gasped quietly "Kuro-wan-" and froze. His mask was shattered if only for a couple of seconds, surprise gracing all of his features.

Kurogane stared at him, allowing the moment to linger for a second or so more before he turned and started walking again. For half a breath he'd almost thought about doing something really, really, really stupid. Looking down on those parted lips, stuck in unspeakable exclamation he'd almost thought- the idea flitting through his mind like a traitorous bug in his ear,... about repeating what had happened the night they met the heirs of fire.

He kept walking, not looking back to see if the other was following or not because he still couldn't figure out what was going on in his own head.

He'd wanted to kiss the mage.

'It's official.' The god of this world was definitely a woman. 'The damn mage just became my problem.'

As CLAMP is composed entirely of maniacle fangirls hell bent on bringing us the best anime ever... and they did create our lovely, angsty, cute, though sometimes ironicly opposite duo... I suppose the god of that world is a woman...er, several wemon. -grins- Poor, Kurogane. There's no escape from fandom.

Questions for my reviewers:

1. So, how was the chapter overall? To me it had a sort of filler-chapter feeling to it but hopefully that was all in my head. It also felt like it was lightly flavored with crack, lol, but it's hard to disagree with that if you've ever read some of the other stuff I've written.
2. What do you think about how I'm doing the language barrier thing? The backwards words? I hope it's not confusing but remember you don't have to read it. They're just there so you can if you want to.
3. What's your favorite kind of first 'real' kiss for this pairing? (This may or may not have anything to do with this fic.) A: Kurogane kisses Fai? B: Fai kisses Kurogane? or C. They somehow meet in the middle?
4. Raise your hand if you think Keiyou-chan should make me some fanart for the end portion of this chapter!!! -inserts cute bubbly eyed face here- Pwease?

Notes and stuff:

1. If I didn't reply to your review last chapter it's because I recieved it while I was sick. Sorry about that, just know that I read and love them all and always try my best to reply to them.
2. Yeah, I know Kurogane catching and then dropping Fai seems errily familiar (as in, it happened in a previous chapter) but I don't imagine our heroic ninja as the type to let our favorite mage fall on his face. As the same time though, I don't think he'd quite know what to do with the blond in his arms... at least not for a few more chapters. -wink-