Introduction
Out of the whole group, Fai is the one who smiles the most. But just because he smiles, that doesn't mean he's happy.
As he travels through the various dimensions, Fai hides behind a false smile, carefully concealing how he really feels under layers of pretence. But when Ashura returns, those layers are torn away, leaving him exposed to the world.
As he tries desperately to cope with the new pain and fear in his life, Fai finds himself thinking back to a time long ago…when smiles were real.
When the mask cracks, what will lie beneath?
Chapter Four; Reopening Wounds
"No. I promised myself that I'd protect you, and I can't do that if I'm not with you." Kurogane said, and with those words he pulled Fai closer to him, capturing the quivering lips in a kiss.
At first, Fai struggled against him, like a bird caught in the claws of a cat. But then the sense of security and safety that Kurogane was offering him sunk in, and with a sob he began to kiss back, fear turning his kiss into one of almost desperation.
They remained like that for a moment, before there was a sudden flash of light and a smooth voice split the air.
"Well, well. Looks like you have been busy, Fai."
Fai wrenched himself out of Kurogane's arms, and his face lost all colour as he stared at the newcomer in absolute terror.
"Ashura-ou…"
Kurogane glared mistrustfully at the newcomer, hating this person for the cracked shell he had made out of Fai. Ashura, noticing his dark look, simply smirked and tossed his long dark hair over his shoulder.
Something about him made Syaoran wary, and he moved in front of Sakura protectively. He didn't know why Fai was so scared of this man, but he trusted the mage. If Fai thought this guy was bad news, than bad news he was.
Fai was just staring at Ashura, mouth hanging open slightly in shock. He'd known Ashura was fast, but not that fast. >How did he find me so quickly? I should have had time to get away…>
"Fai! What do you think you're doing, you idiot! Come back!" Kurogane barked. Fai jerked in shock, realising that he'd been walking towards Ashura as he thought. >Even now, something about him draws me to him.> Fai thought bitterly.
But before he could move back, Ashura's hand shot out, grabbing Fai's wrist in a vicelike grip. Fai gasped, and tried to pull free, but Ashura's hold on him stayed firm.
"Honestly, Fai." Ashura began, twisting his wrist sharply so that the wizard hissed in pain as his arm was bent the wrong way, so hard that bones threatened to break.
"I turn my back on you for 5 minutes, and you seal me away, skip dimensions, and join some foolhardy quest. And when I finally find you, you're kissing another man! Is that any way to treat your lover?" Ashura asked in a soft voice laden with malice.
Behind them, Kurogane gasped as he heard what Ashura said. Staring frantically at Fai, he looked for any sign that it was a lie. But to his shock, Fai just gulped and looked away from Ashura, a shamed expression on his face.
>They were together…> Suddenly, it all made sense to Kurogane. He remembered how when they'd first got together, Fai had confessed to being in love once before, and that it hadn't turned out well. Kurogane hadn't pushed it, as he'd realised that the subject was hurting Fai. But now…
"Dear, dear. It sounds like your little boyfriend didn't know about our past. Did you keep him in the dark about us, Fai? Did you betray him like you betrayed me?" Ashura's mild tones hid a deadliness that was all too obvious, and Fai squirmed futilely in an effort to get away from the poisonous words.
"Let me go, Ashura-ou…please…I didn't betray you! I just…I just…" Fai was on the verge of tears, trying desperately to reassemble the mask of smiles he'd been hiding behind for so long. Ashura simply shook his head and tightened his grip even more.
"If you didn't betray me, then what do you call putting your lover into an enchanted sleep and sealing him away in a coffin surrounded by a whirlpool?" Ashura sneered. Letting go of the mage's wrist, he reached into his robes and drew out a blue net, tossing it almost carelessly at Fai.
"Oh, and here's that servant creature you made. A pity…she was between me and the exit, so she had to go. But never mind...it wasn't like she was real." He smirked.
Fai let out a harsh cry and grabbed at the net, holding it close to his chest. Rocking back and forth as he knelt on the ground, he wept bitter tears over the loss of what had become his only friend in Seresu. When he had felt the blinding pain, and had communication cut off, he'd guessed what had happened. But he hadn't wanted to believe it.
Watching Fai breaking down in front of him snapped something inside of Kurogane. Pulling his sword from its scabbard, he charges towards Ashura with a roar, intent on cutting down the person who had hurt his Fai so. The death of Ashura would activate Tomoyo's curse, but he no longer cared.
Fai looked up sharply at the battle cry, blue eyes widening as he realised what Kurogane was doing. Dropping the Chii net, he leapt to his feet and ran between Kurogane and Ashura, arms spread wide.
"No! Stop, Kurogane!" He shouted.
Kurogane cursed, but managed to turn his blade aside just in time, only trimming a few blonde hairs from the wizard's head. Snarling, he glared at Fai, expression dark.
"What are you doing! I could have killed you!" He barked.
Fai just stared determinedly up at him.
"If you'd tried to attack him, he would have killed you, Kuro-wan. He's got powerful magic, and no sword can stand up to that, even if the wielder is an experienced warrior." He said pleadingly.
Kurogane blinked, instantly feeling guilty. He'd actually thought that the wizard had for some reason wanted to protect Ashura…but really Fai had just been looking out for him.
The moment was spoiled as a pair of slender arms came out of nowhere to wind around Fai's waist, bringing the trembling wizard back against Ashura's chest. Fai whimpered, and began to squirm, but Ashura simply rested his head on the other man's shoulder.
Noticing how Kurogane's hand was beginning to sneak towards Fai's, Ashura made a tutting sound in the back of his throat.
"None of that, Kurogane, or Fai here will receive an unpleasant surprise." He chuckled. His hands glowed blue to illustrate the point, and Kurogane backed off rapidly, not wanting Fai to be hurt.
"And if you even try it, then your darling little girl will be ash." Ashura continued. Behind him, Syaoran froze in the middle of his attack, amber eyes darting back to where Sakura was standing anxiously. Kurogane growled under his breath. >How did he know Syaoran was behind him? The kid was silent…>
"Ashura-ou…Ashura-ou, let me go." Fai pleaded, struggling to remove the arms that had wound themselves so tightly round him. Ashura smiled, and moved a hand to pet the blonde wizard on the head.
"Hush, Fai…you know I wouldn't really hurt you…I love you." He whispered softly into Fai's ear.
Fai's eyes widened, and he gradually became limp in Ashura's arms, relaxing into the touch. Kurogane stared in shock.
"Fai…?" Ashura smirked at the ninja's betrayed look, and lessened his grip on Fai slightly, just enough to allow the mage almost free movement.
"He's made his choice, Kurogane. Fai stays with…"
"Now, Kurogane!" Fai yelled, ducking sharply. Ashura's eyes widened as Kurogane suddenly swept the sword down, too fast for him to dodge or use magic to stop the ninja. Fai's ploy had worked.
Kurogane grinned victoriously as the blade slashed down, already feeling the way…that...it…severed flesh? Kurogane pulled back in shock as Ashura disappeared before the metal could even graze him. Released, Fai collapsed forward, blue eyes urgently searching the surrounding area.
"Fai…" Kurogane reached down and pulled the other man up, gently drawing him into his arms. With a sob, Fai buried his head in Kurogane's shoulder, his whole body trembling from the shock.
Nearby, Syaoran held Sakura just as closely to him. Ashura's threat had unnerved him, and he felt that he needed to be as close to Sakura as possible to protect her. Noticing that Mokona was getting ready to bounce over to Fai, probably to 'cheer' him up, Syaoran blocked him with his foot, shaking his head. It wasn't the time for things like that.
"Is he gone? Kuro-muu, is he gone?" Fai asked urgently. Kurogane tightened his grip round the mage, pulling him closer as Fai broke down again.
"I don't know, Fai…he just vanished. I don't know where he…"
Before he could finish the sentence, a blue glow surrounded Fai, and the wizard disappeared. Gasping in shock, Kurogane leapt to his feet, looking wildly around him.
"Fai? Fai!"
"Is this what you're looking for?" A smooth voice questioned, and Kurogane turned round with a distinct sense of foreboding. Standing on the roof, perfectly unharmed, was Ashura. Once again, his arms were tightly wound around Fai, and the blonde was clearly shaking with the terror of being so close to his king.
"Fai-san! Let him go!" Sakura cried, emerald eyes widening. Ashura laughed.
"Do you really think that I'd do that, just because you asked me to? Fai is mine, little girl, and no amount of pleading will change that." He sneered. In his arms, Fai began to squirm again, frowning.
"I'm not yours, Ashura-ou! If I belong to anyone, it's Kuro-chin!" He snapped. Kurogane sighed in relief, glad that Fai was slowly recovering his composure. Unfortunately, the little composure that Fai had recovered was promptly lost as Ashura's right hand moved to caress the mage's face.
"So stubborn…" He murmured. "But you forget, Fai…without your tattoo, you have no way of controlling that lovely power of yours. And without that power, you will never be strong enough to fight me."
Kurogane began to twitch, hand inching towards Souhi once more. If this was the kind of thing that Ashura had always whispered in Fai's ear, then no wonder the fool had become such a shell of a person. From the corner of his eye, he could see Syaoran glaring angrily up at the Seresuan monarch, but it was clear that the kid was unwilling to leave the princess' side, in case Ashura followed up on his promise.
>That damn spellcaster…he's set us up like a chess set, and now he's all ready to take one of our pieces!> He snarled to himself. He knew that something wasn't right here. The shock in Fai's eyes as Ashura had appeared so suddenly, the way his mouth had dropped open slightly…all things pointed towards the fact that Ashura shouldn't have been able to come here so quickly. But how had he done it?
"Syaoran! Syaoran!" Mokona chirped, bouncing up and down to get the teenager's attention. Syaoran looked down, and gasped as he saw what it was Mokona wanted him to see.
"Mokona! Your eyes!" He exclaimed, seeing how large Mokona's eyes had become. Mokona nodded, and continued bouncing.
"I can sense a wave from the feather, Syaoran! It's coming from him!" Mokona announced, pointing up at Ashura.
"What?"
Ashura laughed at Syaoran's expression of horror, and dipped his hand into his cloak, drawing out something that they all recognised. One of Sakura's feathers, beautiful in its pink fragility, hovered in the air above his hand, glittering in the light.
"You mean this? Yes, it's been very useful in tracking my dear Fai down…without it, I would have actually had to rest between journeys between worlds!" He laughed. Kurogane growled, and knew that he couldn't take that smug smirk anymore.
With a roar, he threw Souhi with all his strength, watching as it sailed towards Ashura's head, knowing that it was right on target, and would miss Fai completely. But to his surprise, Ashura didn't even try to doge.
Instead, as the sword was about to hit him, the feather glowed, and Souhi shattered into a thousand shards, falling uselessly to the roof. Kurogane cursed, and Ashura began to laugh again.
"My my, Kurogane. Did you actually think that I'd be stopped by something as easily broken as a sword?" He sneered. Kurogane just stared up at him in shock, his red eyes slowly trailing over the remains of his beloved weapon.
"I would greatly appreciate it if you didn't get in my way anymore. It's so tiresome having to stop your little challenges in their tracks. I've…what!" Ashura was cut off mid-victory speech as Fai suddenly made a grab for the feather, knocking it off Ashura's hand. Seizing it, he released it into the wind, praying that it would be carried down to the ground.
To his extreme delight, it was.
Not wasting any time, Syaoran leapt into the air and grabbed the feather, before whirling round to drop it onto Sakura, watching as the precious memory vanished into her body.
"How dare you disobey me?" Ashura bellowed at the unfortunate Fai. Fai simply smiled sadly at him.
"I'm sorry, Ashura-ou, but I couldn't let you keep that feather. It belongs to Sakura-chan." He said tiredly.
Ashura's expression darkened, and his hands began to glow blue once more.
"And you belong to me! Yet again, you have betrayed me, Fai!" He snapped.
Later, Kurogane would remember that moment as though everything was moving in slow motion. Because that was what it felt like to him as the events unfolded before his eyes.
There was the angry crackling sound of an explosion. The clouds of smoke rising up from the roof. The way that Fai screamed as the force of the attack threw him clear off the roof, his clothes burnt and smouldering around him.
The sickening thud as Fai landed head first onto the hard concrete of the yard.
"Fai!" Kurogane ran to his boyfriend's side, feeling the previously unknown sensation of tears rushing to his eyes as he took in the pale and unmoving form of someone who was so dear to him.
"Don't be dead…just don't be dead…" He muttered desperately as he drew the limp body into his arms, staring fearfully down at the silent mage. Leaning down so that his ear was just above Fai's mouth, Kurogane gave a choked sob of joy as he heard the wizard breathing.
"Damn you, Ashura…you'll pay for this!" He roared, getting ready to avenge Fai. Only Syaoran's hand, which seemed to appear out of nowhere to land on his shoulder, stopped him.
"No, Kurogane-san! We have to skip worlds, and get Fai-san treated in the next one! If we stay here, all that will happen is that Ashura will defeat us!" He whispered urgently.
Kurogane didn't reply, but Syaoran knew that the ninja had heard and understood. Grabbing Sakura by the hand, he pulled her close to their group, and turned to Mokona.
"Now, Mokona!"
Watching from the roof, Ashura frowned as he realised what they were doing, and began to summon another blast of power.
"No! Fai belongs to me!" He hissed, throwing the attack down at the group below.
And cursed as they vanished from that world, leaving the attack to impact harmlessly with the ground.
Sorry for the late update, everybody! I've had a lot of things on, so I apologise for how long it took to write this! Please do the usual, and read and review! Thanks!