Chapter Thirty-Six
Kurogane watched the kids split up from the corner of his eye, then sighed. "Well, that was sudden," he muttered.
"Kuro-buu, you shouldn't peep. It's impolite."
He raised his head to glare at the mage, but managed only a flat stare. Damn it all, but he'd grown used to those stupid nicknames. "Whatever," he said, standing up and walking over to the kitchen to put his plate in the dishwasher. "It's probably better for them to get this out of the way before something bad happens."
"Is Kuro-wan expecting something bad to happen?"
He shrugged. "It's when you're at your happiest that the world falls apart around you. We've been lucky that neither of them have gotten themselves killed yet—especially the girl."
"That's not fair," Mokona interrupted, bouncing from the arm of the couch, off the floor, and onto the kitchen counter. "Sakura works really hard to get Syaoran's feathers back."
Kurogane plucked the pork bun from the counter, tossing it to the mage. Fai caught the creature in his hands, then cradled it to his chest like a doll. "Why don't you go find Sakura?" the mage suggested. "She's been so busy with her studies lately that she's hardly gotten time to socialize."
The pork bun bobbed its head and bounced down the hallway. Well, at least the kids aren't going to be sneaking into each other's rooms tonight, Kurogane thought, sitting down. He eyed the wizard, waiting. The idiot wouldn't send the meat bun away for no reason. Granted, it could be a stupid reason, but Kurogane could admit that the man sometimes had useful things to say. Once in a while. Judging from the somber expression that settled over his face, tonight was one of those times.
"They're good together, you know."
Kurogane rolled his eyes. "Yeah, anyone can see that. The girl's probably been wanting to confess her love ever since he lost his memories."
"It makes me wonder how two people form a bond like that. Is it love at first sight, like the storybooks say, or is it some driving force of nature pulling two people from different backgrounds together? Or is love something that builds over time, like a snow drift growing as winter progresses?"
"Why are you asking me? I don't know the first thing about it."
"Yet you didn't interrupt their moment. It's kind of sweet."
He threw the mage a withering glance. "Look, if you sent the pork bun away so you could ramble on about how romantic those two are being—"
"They're happy."
Kurogane paused, then crossed his arms in front of his chest. "I guess. What's your point?"
"It adds another challenge to this journey. An emotional challenge rather than a physical one, but a challenge all the same. Syaoran-kun traveled his world, roaming from place to place without ever having a clear destination. And Sakura-chan . . . As far as I know, she's never been far from her country—at most, she's visited the bordering lands of her kingdom. Yet they're both so much the same. Determined, kindhearted, honest." A shadow flickered across his face at the last word, disappearing before Kurogane could remark on it. "Their love for each other will require a careful balance. They'd both go to extreme lengths to care for the other. That can be a dangerous mindset."
"As long as the boy can keep it in his pants, I don't see much to worry about."
Fai's eyes froze on him for a moment, wide with shock. Then, without warning, he burst into laughter, clutching his stomach. "Worried about that already, Kuro-pon?"
"Kids their age have more hormones than sense. Who knows what could happen?"
"Were you running around with other girls at that age?"
He bristled, hands closing into fists. "No," he growled. "I spent those years training." Training to fight the man who had murdered his mother. The man who, by killing her, had allowed the demons to burst through Suwa's walls to kill his father. His throat tightened at the memory. For just a moment, he was fourteen years old, a boy trying to follow in his father's footsteps as his home burned to ashes around him. He could taste the smoke in the back of his throat, an acrid stench slithering into his lungs.
"Not much of a romantic?" Fai asked. A hint of mischief tugged at his smile.
"No."
"But you must have someone waiting for you back home," the mage continued, oblivious to the simmering anger in Kurogane's voice. "Someone keeping your bed warm while you're away."
"I don't have anyone waiting for me."
Slowly, the amusement drained out of the wizard's face. "No one?"
He shrugged. "Princess Tomoyo sent me away. Who else would I go back to?"
"Don't you . . . have a family? Or friends?"
He thought briefly of the warriors he had trained with in Nihon. Souma could be a pain in the ass sometimes, but she'd always had his back when it had counted. There had been others—as much as Tomoyo's sister Kendappa had irritated him, he supposed he could call her a friend. Still, he felt no eagerness at the thought of seeing them, only a deep longing for the castle that had been his home longer than Suwa had. "No," he said quietly. "I don't have any family left, and there's no one else waiting for me."
"I'm . . . sorry to hear that," Fai said after a moment.
"Doesn't matter." He glanced up to meet the mage's eyes. "What about you?"
The smile that slid onto the mage's face radiated falseness. "Oh, you know how it goes. I wouldn't have left if I'd been particularly attached to anyone there, and I don't intend to go back, so it's sort of a moot point."
"Then who are you running from?"
His smile froze, becoming brittle. The air between them seemed to cool ten degrees. After nearly a minute, Kurogane broke the silence. "You're always keeping secrets. You have to realize that nothing stays buried forever."
"That's not entirely true. You just have to bury it deep enough."
Frustrated, Kurogane glared at the man. "One day, I'll figure out what it is you've been hiding since we met in the witch's shop. Don't think you can keep secrets that affect all of us."
"My secrets have nothing to do with anyone except myself."
"That's bullshit and you know it."
"Kuro-daddy shouldn't use such harsh language. What if the children overhear?"
He stood, nails biting into his palm as his hands curled into fists. He strode over to the mage, grabbing him by the collar before he could duck out of the way. "I know you're lying," he growled. "All this evasion, all this crap about taking care of the kids—you don't really buy into it. You're teaching the princess magic because you know it'll help us move between worlds faster. You're helping her look for the kid's feathers so we can leave each world before whoever's chasing after you can catch up. You're not helping them because you care—you're doing it because you're selfish."
"A bold statement." Fai raised a hand, pressing gently on Kurogane's chest and pulling away. Eyes narrowed, Kurogane released him. "But you're wrong."
"Am I?"
"Yes." Fai's voice sharpened. "You do recall that I sent myself to Yuuko's shop, yes? If I can do that much, what's stopping me from jumping between dimensions whenever I want?"
And that, Kurogane thought with a strange sense of glee, was the wrong thing to say. A fierce grin spread across his face. "All right. I can buy that. So why stay with us?"
"I want to see Syaoran-kun's memories restored just as much as any of us. I was rather under the impression you wanted the same."
"Because I can't travel to different dimensions on my own. But you can. Makes me wonder what made you stay in the beginning, before you had the excuse of caring about the kids. Makes me think you had some ulterior motive for tagging along with us in the first place."
He got the satisfaction of seeing Fai's eyes light up with fury, then harden like ice. Before he could speak, Kurogane forged on. "You know, I can almost believe that you're empty-headed enough to have ignored the possibility of traveling on your own. Almost. But you're too damn smart to be that stupid." He stepped back. "I know you're up to something. I know you've been up to something since this whole mess started. So what is it? What are you hiding?"
A smile curved up the magician's lips, so cold that Kurogane could only assume the man wasn't even bothering to cover up the ice in it. "I'm not planning anything, Kuro-chan. And even if I was, why would I tell you about it?"
He huffed in frustration, then turned away. "Fine, then. But if your secret threatens those kids, I won't show any mercy."
Fai flinched. "No. You wouldn't, would you? You did mention that your princess sent you away for being too merciless. I'm sure she'd be disappointed if you decided to wring my neck, but I suppose that's up to you."
He almost turned back, almost brought his fist around and smashed it into the idiot's face. But he managed to rein in his anger, stalking down the hallway and into his room. He flung himself onto the bed, closing his eyes. Damn him, he thought, fury festering in the pit of his stomach. I shouldn't have said anything about Tomoyo. I shouldn't have given that bastard a weapon to use against me. He grit his teeth, rolling over. Even with what little information he'd been able to drag out of the mage, that last insult stung. How dare he accuse me of earning Tomoyo's disappointment! That pompous, arrogant bastard!
He stared at the wall for a long moment, then hissed out a breath. Should have hit him, he decided. He had it coming. Probably planning to stick a knife in our backs as soon as he has the chance, the lying bastard.
Kurogane forced himself to put the issue aside for a while. The mage hadn't confirmed any intentions to betray them—as much as he lied, accusing him of treason would be tantamount to accusing a known thief of murder without any evidence. For all Kurogane knew, the mage really was empty-headed enough to pay for a chance to travel with the rest of them even when he could move freely between worlds on his own.
No point in worrying about it now, Kurogane decided. If he is a traitor, he's probably waiting for the perfect moment to strike. He wouldn't dare attack when he knows I'm still suspicious. I might as well sleep while I can.
He rolled onto his back and folded his arms over his stomach so one hand rested where his sword should have been. Maybe he'd be able to find a new one in this world. He'd have to check around. Even if the mage had no plans to betray them, he slept better with a weapon on hand.
But for tonight, he'd have to do without. Clearing his mind, he slid into a shallow sleep and dreamed of home.