A/N: I really like the name of this chapter. It sounds so poetic, dah? Whatever, you fool. Just get on with the story. OKAAAAAY!

Chapter 2

Raindrop's Prelude

"Kuroru, come walking with me!" Fai demanded, bouncing on the balls of his feet. "I wanna take you somewhere!"

"Huh?" the ninja grunted in reply.

"But I can't tell you where we're going!" the blond giggled, clutching the front of Kurogane's yukata. "It's a surpriiiiise! You'll just have to wait till we get there to find out!"

"What the hell? Are you drunk or something?" Kurogane muttered. "What are you so damn excited about?"

"You'll see when we get there," Fai repeated. "Sakura chan! Syaoran kun! Kuromyu and I are going out for a while! So you be good children until mommy and daddy get back, okaaay!"

"Umm…alright," Sakura replied.

"Goody! Ciao, then!" The sorcerer blew them both kisses before throwing open the door and dragging the reluctant warrior along behind him as he tore down the street.

The two children watched him go, slightly incredulous looks on their faces.

"Wow, Fai san sure was excited, huh?" the princess commented.

"Yeah… did he tell you where they were going?" Syaoran asked.

"No. Did he tell you?" she shot back.

"No," the boy replied, shaking his head. "I wonder if it has anything to do with that letter he got from Tomoyo hime…"

"I don't know. I guess we'll just have to wait until they get back to find out where they went," Sakura said. Then she looked out through the window of the café, a slightly apprehensive expression on her face. "It looks like it's going to rain soon… I hope they don't get caught in it."

"It's ok!" Mokona chirped. "Fai took an umbrella with him just in case!"

"Oh… I guess I don't need to worry after all," Sakura replied, a relieved smile spreading across her face. "Well, it's almost time to open the café. Would you help me, Syaoran kun?"

"Ah, sure," Sayaoran agreed, tearing his eyes from the street that his two traveling companions had disappeared down. Personally, he couldn't imagine that Fai bringing an umbrella would help if it began to rain; he knew Kurogane would blatantly refuse to take cover under it. He kept this thought to himself, however. There was no point in worrying the princess over it.

"Where the hell are we going?" Kurogane demanded.

"Patience is a virtue, Kuronyan!" Fai said elusively. "You'll see. You're gonna love it!"

"I'd better," the ninja grumbled. "This is a pain in the ass."

"Hey, let me look at the ring that Tomoyo hime sent you," the blond requested.

Without thinking, Kurogane removed the band from his finger and handed it to Fai.

"Aww, so you did put it on after all!" the wizard giggled as he took the ring. "You're so cute Kuro sama!"

"Shut up," Kurogane muttered, mentally kicking himself for letting Fai see him wearing it.

The sorcerer held the ring up to the dull, clouded light to study it. After he was done looking, he took the ninja's hand and slipped the gold band back onto his finger.

"It's beautiful," he sighed, "all gold and sparkly… not only that but it's durable and has the power to protect from whatever dangers might come your way. I think it suits you perfectly, Kuropun."

Kurogane glanced at the wizard, his eyes widened slightly in surprise. Fai simply smiled back at him for a moment before sliding his gaze to the ground in front of him.

"You're so lucky to have someone who cares about you as much as Tomoyo hime does… even though you weren't with her, she still remembered your birthday and made it a priority to sent you this protective ring. I wish I had someone to love me like that…"

"You do," Kurogane blurted. Then he was overcome by a strong desire to punch himself. Why can't you just keep your damn mouth shut, dipshit?

This time, it was Fai's turn to look surprised. The ninja carefully avoided his gaze and quickened his pace, biting his tongue to keep himself from saying any more retarded things. Fai's grin returned as he matched the warrior's gait and snatched his hand.

"Thank you, Kurokuro," the sorcerer said. "That really means a lot to me."

"…Whatever. Just shut the hell up," Kurogane snapped.

Though the ninja's words were harsh, Fai noticed that he didn't complain any further, nor did he try to free his hand from the wizard's grip. Then he felt a droplet of water hit him on the head… and another…and another. Fai produced the umbrella he had brought along from inside his coat and popped it open, holding it above both their heads. He felt a deep contentment then, shielded from the surrounding rain by the umbrella and clinging to the hand of the one he loved the most.

Fai glanced at Kurogane out of the corner of his eye, not wanting the ninja to notice that he was being observed. Despite the fact that his face was set into its usual grim expression, there was a certain aura of peace about him that the sorcerer rarely noticed. Its presence only deepened Fai's feeling of contentment. He couldn't be sure, but he thought there might be a possibility that the ninja was enjoying their time together almost as much as he was.

"How much further is this damn place?" Kurogane growled. "We've been walking forever."

"It's not much further now," Fai promised.

"What the hell… you said that like twenty freaking minutes ago," he said. "Do you even know where we're going?"

"Of course I do! I wouldn't drag you all this way for nothing, Kuromun!" the wizard pointed out.

The ninja was just about to reply with a sarcastic remark when he saw Fai stop dead in his tracks.

"What are you looking at?" Kurogane asked, staring in the direction of Fai's gaze.

"Up there…" the sorcerer said, pointing.

Kurogane looked. "What, that tree? What about it?"

"Not the tree." Fai approached it, keeping his eyes fixed on a spot up in its branches. "That."

The warrior strode over to stand beside the wizard, looking up at where he was pointing. For a moment, he saw nothing out of the ordinary. But then his eyes finally found the object that Fai was indicating.

"Are you talking about that bird's nest?" he asked.

"Yeah…look at it," Fai breathed.

Kurogane studied it, arms folded, one eyebrow cocked dubiously. "Yeah? What's so damn special about it?"

"There are baby birds in it," the magician said. "Aww, and they're getting wet."

The ninja rolled his eyes. "So what? It's raining. Things get wet in the rain. Even you should know that."

Fai ignored his sarcasm as he closed the umbrella, tucked it under his chin and pulled himself up into the lower boughs of the tree. Kurogane watched as his companion scaled the branches until he could reach the one on which the bird's nest rested. Wrapping one arm around the branch to secure himself, Fai opened the umbrella once more and stuck it between two limbs so that it sheltered the nest from the rain.

"What the hell are you doing?" Kurogane snarled.

"There! Now they won't get wet anymore!" the wizard grinned.

"Don't be stupid. They're perfectly fine on their own. They don't need help from you. Now get your ass down here and let's get going."

"My, my! Kurochin sure is impatient!" Fai laughed as he began to climb down. That's when the sorcerer's hand slipped on one of the slick branches and he fell out of the tree, landing painfully on the sidewalk below.

"Damn!" Kurogane hissed, hurrying to Fai's side.

The wizard was sprawled, unconscious, on the ground and his arm was twisted at an awkward angle. Kurogane could see instantly that it was broken.

Cursing under his breath, the ninja carefully scooped Fai up and cradled his limp form in his arms. What would he do? The only solution that came to mind was to go back to the café. Kurogane hadn't seen a single medical center since they arrived in this city and he always made a point to pay careful attention to his surroundings in case he needed to rely on that knowledge later.

Using the cloth belt that he usually hung his sword from, Kurogane tied the blond's arm to his chest so that it wouldn't move and cause further injury to the already damaged limb. Without wasting another minute, the warrior began the long walk home. He didn't run, knowing that the jostling motion could worsen the injury. Instead, he took the largest strides he could, ignoring the now freezing rain that was running down the back of his neck. At the moment, Kurogane was completely unaware of anything that was going on around him. He was focused solely upon Fai, who was huddled, pale and shivering in his arms. The only thing that mattered now was making sure that he got the wizard home safely and that was exactly what he intended to do.

A/N: I don't even know… I don't even…banana peels! Ha ha ha ha! Review me!