Welcome back to the Mage's Wish express, we wish you good tidings and delicious chocolate lava cakes.

Ha, sorry for all the random update spills, but here we are at last, the REAL chapter 14. A special thanks to all my lovely readers-reviewers-favoriters-and-alerters. Especially to my new crime fighting beta partner, Dreamgirl96. Chapter 14 was made possible by her, so give her love for me too, okay?

NOW READ MY LOVES!

Chapter 14

To Differentiate

"…And so that's how it happened", Kurogane placed his cup of tea back on the table.

Tomoyo smiled. "So, that's why you're refusing to talk with him? Kurogane, he is a teenager now, he's bound to make stupid decisions like that—"

"He was a child when he ran into the ocean, NOW he's a teenager."

"Even more so. Also, I think Fai-san believes that you find him a burden."

Kurogane scowled, looking annoyed. "Where the hell did you get that crazy idea — I KNOW SOUMA, SHE'S THE PRINCESS!! I GET IT!!"

Souma sat back down at the beckon of Tomoyo's hand. "You should treat her highness with more respect…Honestly…" grumbled his senior ninja.

"As I was saying," continued Tomoyo. "He is a teenager now, Kurogane. He is not only bound to act more on impulse, but to be more insecure. Fai-san has no idea what is going on, or how this even happened to him. All he knows is that you wished for something that almost led you to your death and he made a counter-wish to save you. Anything after that is a blur."

Kurogane didn't say anything. Tomoyo chuckled quietly. "You haven't mentioned to him why you were dying, have you?"

"It's…irrelevant…It doesn't even apply to him".

"You tried to give up your life for someone, Kurogane. That's hardly irrelevant." Tomoyo looked out the window. "I wonder…What could be so important for you to attempt that? It sounds very out-of-character for you."

Kurogane blushed, immediately rising to his feet.

Tomoyo blinked in surprise. "Oh? Where are you going? I didn't embarrass you into running away, did I?"

Kurogane huffed, "No! I just have to go check on the kids and the mage to make sure they haven't done anything stupid."

Tomoyo grinned. "You'd make a great father some day Kurogane."

"…And how does that relate to this conversation?"

Tomoyo chuckled. "Just a thought." She murmured, waving him away. "Just go. It's nothing. Besides, I have a little something to discuss with one of your companions…"

A servant screamed as Syaoran flew past them. He caught what they dropped and quickly placed it on the nearby table.

"S-Sorry!!" He yelled before taking off again.

He skidded around the corner, almost crashing against the corner. He managed to catch himself though, and began running down the stairs two at a time. He'd almost made it out the door when a crescent shaped beam enclosed him. Sighing, Syaoran fell to the ground, slumping in defeat.

"Tomoyo-hime…." He moaned. "I can't go back!!"

Tomoyo laughed, almost dancing down the stairs in joy. "Oh yes you can, Syaoran—Oh yes…" She turned around. "Souma, could you go tell Kurogane that I'm borrowing his student?

She grinned, turning back to the boy. "I missed using this; I used to punish Kurogane in here all the time when he was still living in the castle…"

Souma nodded, and disappeared. Syaoran looked as though he wanted to disappear. "Now Syaoran. It's perfectly normal for a boy to like a girl—"

"BUT I TOUCHED HER!?"

"And I believe that she forgave you for the accident?"

"But – I – I CAN'T!" Syaoran slammed his forehead against the barrier wall. "It wouldn't be correct....It isn't correct…"

Tomoyo smiled. "She loves you, too…if it helps."

Syaoran didn't reply. "Please let me go Tomoyo-hime. I would rather not have this conversation."

"This is why you ran away, I presume, when I ordered my ninjas to capture you once you refused to listen. By the way, that is very out-of-character from what I hear."

"I said I would, but I had something to do first! I never ran away!"

"Would this little errand have to do with the fact that tomorrow is Sakura-chan's birthday?"

Syaoran's face flushed red, and he looked to his feet. Tomoyo chuckled, releasing the

Barrier. He looked up in surprise as she pushed his chin up so he could look her in the eyes.

"There's a small shop a few minutes before the end of town. It sells cute accessories; go check it out. You might find something she'll like."

Smiling to herself, she waved, picking up her robes and dancing away. "Good luck!" she sang out.

Kurogane peered over the corner curiously. Sakura grinned. "Kurogane-san! Do you want to help?"

He looked around, curious. "Well…What are you doing?"

There were paper chains hanging from each corner, and colored confetti was covering the floor. Fai, on the other side of the room, was busy spreading more confetti on the floor – which, Kurogane noticed, were shaped in the forms of dogs, cats, and Mokonas. Fai looked up at his companion for a brief moment, blushed and looked away.

Kurogane frowned but said nothing.

"It's for Syaoran. It's his birthday tomorrow." She smiled. "See? We're decorating to give him a surprise party tonight!"

"Oh." He glanced at the mage for a second, who flushed pink again and furiously threw confetti on the ground in overflowing handfuls. The ninja had difficulty in not smiling as he turned his gaze back to the girl. "What about a cake?"

She blinked. "Huh?"

"As far as I know, I thought the kid likes chocolate cake. Tomoyo had a fire stove made today, so you could use it."

Sakura beamed, nodding excitedly. "Thank you, Kurogane-san! Fai-san, is it okay if I go?"

Fai nodded, only looking at Sakura instead. "It's fine Sakura-chan, I'll finish up here."

Kurogane waited until the young girl had charged out of the room to shut the door. "Hey."

Fai paused and smiled. "Hey."

"You didn't fake your smile." Noted Kurogane.

Fai shrugged. "Is it bad?"

"No." He cleared his throat, looking away for a moment. "Not really…It's better than always lying."

"So you say." Fai's smile widened. "That was awfully nice of you to tell Sakura-chan about the oven."

Kurogane blushed lightly, scratching his cheek. "Um…Yeah, well she looked really into it…So I figured…Um yeah…"

Fai laughed, placing down the bowl of confetti. "How sweet, Kuro-sama's embarrassed."

Kurogane scowled, rolling his eyes. "Aren't you cheerful today?" He muttered, looking directly at the mage's blue orbs. "I thought you were still in shock over yesterday."

The mage blushed and looked to his feet again, shuffling them silently. "About that…"

"Hm?"

"…I-I…I wanted to say I was sorry. I should've asked someone to help, I know, but I didn't and even though I was a kid, I still had the mind of an adult. So, I'm sorry." Fai sighed, half smiling.

Kurogane looked surprised. "I never thought I'd hear the day."

Then, he frowned. "Did the Princess convince you to apologize?"

Fai smiled in return. "Did Tomoyo-hime convince you to come and find me?"

He laughed as Kurogane didn't answer, a sour look instead covering his face. "You're so fun to tease."

"I don't know why I bothered to…" Kurogane sighed, turning away looking more frustrated than he had to begin with. "I should've figured you wouldn't take it seriously."

Fai hesitated, watching the ninja's reactions for a little longer before chuckling to himself.

"Thank you, Kurogane."

The tall man did a double-take, throwing him an incredulous look. "What did you say?"

Fai flushed pink, but managed to cover it up well with his next statement. "You only get to hear it once Kuro-pon. Too bad you missed it!"

Kurogane huffed, but smiled all the same, for once, amused. "Why do I get the feeling that you lost thousands brain cells before I managed to get you breathing again?" He muttered, running his tan hands through his hair.

To Kurogane's surprise, silence followed. He looked and had to suppress the urge to laugh. If he didn't know better, he would've said Fai was frozen with shock. But the deepening flush to his face was giving away the mage's embarrassment.

"W-Wait, what do you mean you 'got me breathing'?"

"Your lungs stopped working and you were unconscious." Retorted the ninja, pleased at the flip of usual situations. He could understand why the mage enjoyed harassing him so much. This was much easier to understand with the power in his hands now.

Fai scowled. "I know that." He whispered. Oh, he despised being a teenager, he just hated it, and it was like all of witty remarks had disappeared. He just couldn't come up with anything, it was absolutely ridiculous!

"Anyways, I don't know what to tell you but the kid said they called it mouth-to-mouth where he came from?"

He jumped, a loud appalled gasp escaping the blonde's mouth, his face no longer pink but red.

Fai cleared his throat. "Kuro-pon!" He forced a smile, laughing. "Did you take advantage of me in my sleep?"

The ninja frowned, cocking his head to the side a little as he studied Fai. "What are you so flustered about?" A theory then popped into his head. "Could it be…that you've never been kissed before?"

Fai looked like he was ready to run out the room, his face beyond the soft red and now the color of an apple. It was so frustrating, he wanted to defend himself and sass back, but his stupid teenage mind couldn't think because of it!

Kurogane, on the other hand, was trying not to smile, walking closer to the blond. "I hit you right on the mark, didn't I?"

He shoved the blonde's head down a bit, chuckling quietly. "It's nothing for you to worry about, I wouldn't even call it a kiss."

For some odd reason, while it was relaxing to hear him say that, the words were still causing his throat to burn.

"Funny. I would've thought that being the chick-magnet you always are, you would've had one already."

It burned, why did it burn?

Fai scowled, finally able to speak after his bout of silence. "You don't know what you're talking about Kuro-pon."

"Huh. So it IS possible to make you angry."

"Kuro-wan, just leave me alone. I need to finish decorating before Sakura-chan gets back."

"It's not such a big deal; stop being such a child over it."

"But I am a child." He hissed, glaring straight into the others red eyes. "If you haven't noticed over the past days, I am a child. I am not an adult anymore, there's nothing anyone can do besides you!" he enunciated each word with a prod into the ninja's chest.

Kurogane grabbed his hand firmly and rapped him on the head, a little less than gently. "You may look like a child but you don't have the mind of child. I know that."

"…Let go of me Kuro-rin."

"Why? Why is it such a big deal to you?!"

"Kuro-tan, please. Let go." Fai looked away, biting his lip. He hadn't meant to explode like that. This reminded him of why he hated being a teenager when he was younger—he hated it now, for crying out loud. He could never keep his mouth shut…

Kurogane sighed. "Hey. Hey, Mage, look at me." He reached over and pulled Fai's face towards his direction. "I'm talking to you, look at me."

"Kuro-chu…what did you wish for that ended us up in this mess."

Kurogane flinched, not expecting that question. He instead, ignored it by doing what impulsed him the most. Anything, just anything to shut him up, so he wouldn't have to know, ANYTHING.

Just anything but this.

Fai blushed, eyes wide when he was finally let go from the firm grip. Kurogane himself was surprised at what he'd done, not sure whether to panic or not. He cleared his throat and started heading for the door. Fai jumped out of his shock. "Wait! Kuro-tan, I—Why—"

Kurogane paused at the door; hand still firm on the frame. "…Because it's a little different if you're conscious and not dying…" He pulled the door shut behind him, leaving the blond to his thoughts.

He pressed a hand to his forehead and once he was far enough away from the room, leaned it against the castle walls. His face was still warm, but it was nothing compared to what it had been like when he'd—

NO!

He groaned, closing his eyes.

What the hell am I doing?

I have the feeling, even before my beta (Dreamgirl96, I love you thank you!) confirmed my suspicions, that you, my dear readers, will hate me for this chapter, since it cuts off so abruptly. But this is nothing, I tell you this now. The drama is barely beginning, so stay tuned, and channel Wish will return shortly.

Love, Korovee