Title: Yama snippets
Pairing: Kurogane x Fai, pre-pre-slash you could call it.
Words: 658; (13121 total and counting)
Rating: PG-13
Genre: General, in general; I have no idea for this one
Spoilers: Fai's backstory, Kurogane's backstory, and the events up to and including Yama
Disclaimer: I own nothing; Clamp does.
Note: There's more, but this is all I've had the time to edit today.
It's late one afternoon when Kurogane counts the days and realises they've been here for more than five months. In this time they have earned a status that normally should have been gained in years; they are the hailed two strongest warriors of all the Yasha clan (barring Yasha-ou himself, but he never appears except at night, and Kurogane doubts that he even exists), known as such even by the enemy, and they are left to roam the place even as far as Yasha-ou's own tent.
This brings them nothing, though. From everything they've learned, nobody here has heard talk of a magic feather, or of two children passing by any time in their pasts, and Kurogane tries to keep track of some hope by reminding himself that time flows differently in every world, and the children could still show, tomorrow, the day after, and then they could all leave this place. He carefully ignores the fact that, just the same, they could appear long years after their own arrival, or that they've come and gone already, only not close enough to meet.
He also keeps his hopes up by stubbornly refusing to fit in in all; both of them do the same. The mage still wears that black ribbon he'd got from Shara snaked around his neck, and learns as little of the language as he can get away with, using the little he knows even less. He holds on proudly to the wooden fork he'd carved one afternoon. Kurogane keeps his old boots and doesn't connect with his mount.
They, both of them, keep just a little shy of all the men and women here, eating and drinking at the feasts and sitting round the campfires, but always almost ready to put it all behind and leave. Kurogane wonders at times if they wish the state of mind on themselves or if it doesn't just come naturally; this land isn't their own.
He sighs into the new set of reigns he's been making, and Fai looks up from where he's mending one of his torn sleeves by the fire. Kurogane waves it away and the mage smiles at him half-teasingly before he turns back to his chore. After a moment his now longer hair gets in his eyes and Fai blows it away with a quick breath. He keeps working as Kurogane glances at him, and so, the ninja turns away.
Then a few sparks fly on the shirt Fai is sewing and he shakes it at arm's length to keep the cloth from lighting up. Kurogane looks up again and Fai turns back to sewing with a little frown. He blows his hair out from his eyes again. And again, when it doesn't stick. The third time he draws fingers through his hair, trying to tuck the longer bits behind his ears.
His shadow moves against the dark tent walls as he shifts, the firelight playing with it.
Kurogane watches as Fai's hair stays put for all of three seconds before it starts to slip again, one strand after another, and there's a small twitch of annoyance at Fai's lips when he straightens it again.
The hair shines gold and red in the warm firelight and his fingers are light and quick.
It doesn't last long this time either, and when Fai's hair begins to slip again Kurogane drops the reigns and crosses over to his side, picking a knife up as he goes. Fai looks at him askance, a little sheepish and a little put upon, and Kurogane pushes his face forward, kneeling behind him with a frown.
He gathers Fai's hair in his hands, pulling roughly up at it, and before Fai can say a word, in any language, he drags the knife through it, throwing the cut strands in the fire.
When he goes back to his discarded reigns, Fai stares at him, perplexed, but at least he's not fussing with his hair or huffing anymore, and Kurogane's satisfied with that.