I don't own tsubasa

0o0o0

Kurogane could hardly believe that he had seen Fai eat the entire platter of sweets... There had been at least a dozen little cakes, a pile of cookies drizzled in surgery frosting, four little pies, and a bunch of other little misfits.

Where the hell did he put all that?

"What are you staring at?" Fai used the napkin to whip the crumbs from the corner of his mouth.

"I don't think I've ever seen you eat so much…" Kurogane shook his head and the mage gave a lazy smile. "Have you always eaten like that?"

"Yeah." Fai didn't think it was really all that strange. Surely the ninja had seen him go on goodies binge before?

"Where does it all go?"

"Someone told me once that magic likes sugar. It's kind of like gasoline for wizards and I used a lot of magic yesterday…" Fai looked down at his hands and frowned.

Kurogane had never seen him frown before.

"That's weird."

"If you say so…" Fai sighed before flopping back into bed. "What did the kids do yesterday?"

"Talked I guess. I gave Sakura the feather and she fell asleep like always, so who knows." Kurogane couldn't help but notice that the blonde's robe was falling open revealing most of his torso. "You should eat like that more often you skinny bastard."

Before he knew what was happening Kurogane was hit in the face with a pillow. "Will you take them down to the library today? I don't want them to get bored…"

"Tch. I guess… What the hell are you going to do all day?"

"Three… two… one…" Just as he was about to count off zero the door to his room burst open.

"Lord Fluorite! Do you care to explain what happened in Sealisa?" A man dressed in what looked to be a very warm military uniform slammed the door open.

Fai sat up slowly and ran a hand though his hair. "I'm sure you already know what happened Lord Sphene."

Kurogane was kicking himself for leaving his sword behind in his own room. The man growled and took a step closer to them. "You think we wouldn't notice that the attacks are starting up again now that you've returned? That they stopped shortly before you left? Do you take us for fools?"

The ninja didn't know how it happened but he heard a loud thud before he seemed to suddenly notice that Fai was across the room pinning the intruder against the wall. "Just what are you getting at honorable Lord? Be careful of who you go accusing. I am in a very foul mood."

Kurogane had never. Ever. Seen Fai like this. He was a deadly force to be reckoned with. Sure he knew that the mage could hold his own in a fight, that he had seen his fair share of battles. But this?

Damn if his respect for the idiot hadn't just grown.

It seemed that Fai wasn't going to be the one running today.

"Y-you monster! What's wrong with you eye! Wait until his majesty hears about this! He'll have you executed when he sees what we have all been sensing!" the man tried to struggle to get away but Fai just slid him further up the wall.

Kurogane was about to make his move when the he heard a door slid open. "What exactly will I be hearing and seeing?" Everyone in the room turned to look at Ashura who was standing in the door that connected is own and Fai's room with bedraggled hair and wrinkled pajamas.

Kurogane's attention snapped back to Fai when the mage tightened his grip around the man's neck causing a gargling noise. "You're majesty, it seems Lord Sphene believes that I am behind the attack on Sealisa the night before last. Isn't that just charming?" Fai looked over his shoulder and gave one of his perfect smiles.

"I see." Ashura came to stand next to the blonde. "Exactly what proof do you have to support such a heavy accusation?" placing a hand on his shoulder the mage dropped his hold so that the man slid to the floor before steeping back and taking a few deep breaths.

After the fourth his eye turned back to blue and he sat right next to Kurogane, all the while Lord Sphene made his case against the kings most trusted advisor and son.

Of course, Ashura knew exactly who had destroyed the village, but listened intently none the less. "All circumstantial. This is nothing but codswallop." The king's tone was deadly. He turned the other way and gave Fai a sad smile. "To disturb the royal wizard at such an hour for this is unacceptable. Leave, I will have someone deal with you later."

No doubt he was feeling guilty at the moment.

"How can you just dismiss this your majesty? Hundreds of your people have died because of him!" lord Sphene got to his feet and staggered forward. "You cannot turn a blind eye to this!"

The ninja was hardly paying attention to them anymore because he heard the mages breath catch at that statement.

"I am you king, and as your king I can do whatever it is I please. Leave." Kurogane saw tears start to fall down Fai's cheeks and noticed that his hands had started trembling again.

"You're not fit to be king if you would chose filth like him over an entire nation! He's a monster! I'm twice his size and yet he easily lifted me up with one arm! That's not normal!"

"How. Dare. You." Ashura turned back around to face him just as Sphene drew his sword.

"Your people deserve someone who will pro—"

Blood splattered across the shelved books that lined the wall as Fai drove his clawed hand right though Sphene's chest. What had been a slow trickle of tears down delicate cheeks turned into a fast flowing river as the blondes breathing picked up.

It was Fai's sworn duty to protect his king and lord Sphene had become a threat. This wasn't the first time the blonde had had to eliminate someone who had threatened his king's life, but he hated doing it. His breathing got faster and fast as he watched the life slowly seep out of deep brown eyes and all he could think about was how the same thing was going to happen to the one he had just killed to protect.

Why so much death? Why did it have to be this way?

Fai wasn't even aware that he was sobbing while he tried to work his hand free. Every time he tried to jerk his hand back, more blood would spurt from the wound landing on himself, the wall, and everything around him.

When he finally managed to pull his hand free the body hit the floor with a loud thump and he took a few steps back.

Someone was saying his name but he couldn't really hear anything else.

Why do so many people have to die? It was all his fault… lord Sphene was right…

Fai felt warm arms encircle him and he curled into the smallest ball he could as he was pulled into the kings arms. It was hard to breath and his throat was hurting… his heart was beating so fast it hurt… It hurt so much that he didn't care that it was Ashura who was holding him.

That Ashura had lied to him for so many years.

He just wanted it all to stop.

0o0o0

Kurogane had seen Fai cry. A lot recently, actually. He had seen the blonde in a new way every single day since they arrived in Celes, he had seen him finally without the mask, and he had seen the different masks he wore around different people.

But he had never seen another human being look so distraught before. Again, he found himself not knowing what to do to comfort the blonde. Fai was hyperventilating and sobbing at the same time and he was just staring like a useless moron.

He was trying desperately to get his hand free form the man's thoracic cavity like it was acid seeping from the wound instead of blood. Ashura seemed to get over his initial shook and came up behind Fai and pulled him into a hug he wasted no time in cooing soft words in the blonde's ear that Kurogane couldn't hear over the distraught cries.

"I—I just- I just wa—want it to—to stop…" he barely made out what Fai was saying between sobs.

Kurogane still couldn't hear what the king whispered in the mages ears but it didn't seem to help much.

"Wh—why are so—so m—many people dy—dying?" Ashura didn't say anything this time and just ran a hand though Fai's blonde hair and hugged him closer.

Why were so many people dying?

They had seen many people die on there travels, and it hadn't seemed to bother Fai any more than it did himself or the kids…

It continued on like this for nearly an hour. It didn't take long for a few of the castle guards to arrive. After them it was a few people in what Kurogane assumed to be hospital uniforms. Two of them collected the body quietly while the other bowed respectfully before kneeling next to Ashura and Fai on the floor.

"Is lord Fluorite injured?" the woman had a concerned expression on her face as she regarded the blonde. No doubt noticing the blood drenched hand curled into the white fabrics of the kings robes.

"He was uninjured in the altercation. However I fear that he may need some help calming down at this rate…" Ashura continued to hold Fai protectively in his arms. "Tell one of the maids to bring up something hot to drink."

Fai's cries had tapered down into uneven breathing and hiccupping by the time a servant brought what the king had requested.

"Take that into my room…" Ashura didn't even look at the maid as she made use of the other door. Instead he looked at the ninja who was still sitting stunned on the bed. "Help me get him up."

Kurogane didn't waist anytime, kneeling he easily lifted Fai up bridal style and fallowed the king into the other room. He settled Fai on the bed and sat next to him and used the many napkins on the tray to wipe as much of the gore from the mages being as he could.

The mage refused to look up from the floor but accepted the drink that Ashura offered him.

They all sat quietly for a few moments before Ashura cleared his voice. "We will have to appear before the council child. We have to extinguish any rumors before they get any semblance of chance to take root."

"I know…" Fai's voice was horse and barely audible.

"Kurogane, pleas look after him until I get back. I have to go speck with some of my advisors immediately and make them aware of the situation. I shouldn't be more than an hour."

"Yeah…"

0o0o0

I know what everyone is wondering. What the hell is codswallop right? I looked in my mother's old thesaurus for a synonym for nonsense because it just wasn't colorful enough and this was my favorite. It's my new favorite word by the way.

Feedback would be appreciated