A/N: Hyuu! Update! About time, huh? I had trouble with this chapter. It was tough. Yup yup. I'm not sure how it turned out; I'm having mixed feelings about the result. I hope I don't disappoint you all. Hai, douzo.
Chapter 4
I'm Your Everything
Dependence. Just hearing the word made Kurogane's skin crawl and filled him with the desire to punch someone's face in. "Hate" hardly did the feeling he had toward the concept justice. The closest way to describe his sentiments toward it were the words "loath entirely", and still, his abhorrence of the idea of dependence didn't manage to be properly conveyed, even if you were to italicize the word entirely. Yet as much as he hated it, he somehow managed to find himself displaying it. Well, if that didn't just make him want to inject pond water under his own kneecaps… To make matters worse, the person that he was depending on at the moment was a certain skinny blond wizard, who was looking entirely too smug about the whole situation.
"Are you done yet?" Kurogane snarled, his face beet-red with a mixture of rage and embarrassment.
Fai grinned down at him, a mischievous sparkle in his eye. "Nope!" he trilled happily. "Not even close!"
"You horny bastard… You're doing this on purpose!" the ninja snapped.
The two of them had been in this position for a good ten minutes at least, Kurogane lying on his back, spread-eagled on the bed, Fai perched joyfully on top of his stomach, pretending to be having a terrible time with the chore he was supposed to be doing.
"Yes, you're probably right," he agreed. "But I'm afraid there's nothing you can do about it, Kurotan."
Sakura and Syaoran had managed to find jobs whereas the wizard and ninja had been less successful. That meant that the younger two travelers had gone off to work, leaving their older companions behind to clean the house.
Currently, the two of them were engaged in the activity of "bed-making", a chore that neither of them had much practice with. They had finished putting the sheets through the wash and were now attempting to put them back on the beds, which is the task we find our two protagonists now working on. Kurogane was convinced that their hostess had put these mattress pads on their beds just to give them an extra hassle when they had to put the sheets on over them.
The mattress pads had an infuriating habit of wanting to roll up unless they were securely weighted down. As the taller of the two, Kurogane had been given this chore since he could stretch out his arms and legs farther to keep the corners from sticking up while Fai pulled the sheets down over them. Kurogane was faithfully doing his part of the job. Fai, however, was being considerably less helpful; he sat on Kurogane's stomach, giving the occasional fake, very unconvincing complaint that he just couldn't pull the corner of the fitted sheet down far enough to get it to stay in place.
In an attempt to be even less helpful than he already was, Fai had the courtesy to insist on having the "radio" accompany them while they worked. As soon as Kurogane laid eyes on the machine, he knew that he hated it. It made far too much noise and had way too many buttons and compartments on it to be trustworthy. And the way its antenna glinted smugly in the sunlight pouring in through the window in which it sat pissed the ninja off to no end. The damn thing obviously wanted to start something.
Fai stretched out his lanky body, sprawling himself over the unfortunate ninja as he pretended once again to be struggling with the fitted sheet. Kurogane could feel the blond's warm breath on his neck, their hearts pressed against one another, beating in unison, their legs intertwined…it was too much for him to take any longer.
"Damn it! I've had enough of your screwing around, bastard!" the warrior growled, sitting up suddenly.
Fai giggled, wrapping his long legs around Kurogane's waist and tangling his fingers into his black spiky hair. "Why Kurowan, if some 'screwing around' was what you wanted, you should have said something! You know I just can't say no to one of Kuropiko's requests!"
Kurogane's face increased another shade of red and he shoved the wizard off of him.
"You're not even trying to make the damn bed!" The second he moved his arms, the mattress pad stubbornly sprang back into a role and bobbed complacently against the ninja's back as if it hoped to attract his attention and draw a reaction from him. "And why the hell do we have to have that radio turned up so loud!"
"Hmm, I guess you're right about that," Fai mused, rubbing his chin. "The atmosphere isn't nearly as seductive with the radio turned up loud, is it?"
"As if that was what I meant, dumb ass!" Kurogane snapped, getting to his feet. "And you can finish making the damn bed yourself!"
He stomped out of the room and slammed the door behind him. Fai watched him go, wondering how long it would take the ninja to notice that a certain something that had recently taken up residence in his back pocket was now missing. He turned the wallet over in his long slender fingers as he waited.
"Three…two…one…" Fai muttered to himself as he quickly hid the wallet out of sight. Right on cue, Kurogane kicked the door open furiously and stormed into the room, fixing Fai with his signature "glare-o'-death". Fai simply grinned innocently back at him.
"Ooh, Kurokuro has decided to come back and help me make the bed after all, hmm? Good thing; there's no way I could—"
"Where is it, you bastard?" the ninja spat.
"Why, the bed is right here, of course, Kuropii. I'm sitting on it."
"Not that, you skinny little shit! My wallet! I know you have it! Give it to me before I tear you to shreds and dig through your guts for it!"
"I just don't understand you, Kuropun. I mean, wouldn't it be harder to find your wallet if you had to dig through my guts?"
Kurogane was shaking with barely controlled rage, his scarlet eyes flaming angrily.
"Anyway, there's no need to tear me to shreds," the blond continued cheerfully. "Your wallet is right here!"
Fai pulled the object in question out of his back pocket and held it up for Kurogane to see, shaking it tantalizingly. The two simply stared each other down for a moment before Kurogane lunged for the wizard, who quickly jumped to his feet, still holding the stolen wallet.
"Here you go, Kurowan—oops!" Fai giggled as he "accidentally" dropped it down the front of his pants. Kurogane stared dumbly, his mouth hanging open in disgust. Fai was still laughing as he raised his hands in passive invitation. "You still want it, Kuromin? Come and get it!"
The warrior let out a very doglike snarl as he poised himself to pounce on Fai when, for some strange reason, a news report that was being read over the radio caught his attention.
"Last night on the west side of town, a bus carrying 300 people went over a cliff when the tire blew out causing the driver to lose control. Police say they are still looking for survivors but the situation looks grim."
Upon hearing this news, most people would have been saddened; however, Kurogane's first thought was How the fuck do they fit 300 people on one bus?
He was still mulling that story over when the announcer moved on to the next news topic.
"As everyone knows, Hoshi Matsuri is being celebrated tonight. A festival is open to the general public in the town square though many people often choose to spend the night elsewhere. For those who are new to the area and don't know about this custom, let me fill you in; Hoshi Matsuri is a holiday that one generally spends with their special someone, lighting off fireworks and stargazing.
"One of the most popular practices of Hoshi Matsuri is to share an Aiyoku sparkler with your loved one. The sparkler is in the form of a long stick which the couple breaks in half. Each person lights their half and then touches the end of their sparkler to their loved one's. If their sparks are red when the two halves are touched together, it is said that the couple will be blessed with undying love for each other. So for all you couples out there, find a special spot to light your Aiyoku sparklers tonight and good luck with your relationship!"
"What a beautifully romantic tradition, hmm, Kurotan?" Fai gushed. "Maybe we should go get some fireworks today, huh? As long as we're in this country, we might as well join in the fun!"
Kurogane simply stared at the blond blankly, his eyes holding a vacant, unseeing look in them. Fai looked back at him uncertainly, not sure if the swordsman was simply trying to lure him into a false sense of security before striking. Then, without warning, Kurogane whipped around and quickly stalked out of the room, his expression one of determination, slamming the door behind him.
Fai frowned thoughtfully as he took the wallet out of his pants. Kurogane seemed to have been suddenly hit by some amazing plan and he was so eager to carry it out that he had totally forgotten his rage and his wallet. Doubtless, if the mage were to ask about these secret plans, he would be told that it was "none of your damn business" and to "go the hell away". But he so desperately wanted to know what was going on in Kurogane's conniving mind…
Fai slid off the bed and headed for his own room. He and Sumomo had a little business to take care of. The blond snickered to himself as he pushed open his bedroom door. Whatever Kurogane was planning, he would figure it out; he was determined. And very few things can stand of the way of a determined Fai… except for ice cream. Mmm, ice cream…
Fai pressed his ear against the ninja's bedroom door, listening for any kind of sound that might betray the nature of his actions. Unfortunately for the wizard, he couldn't hear anything; not until it was too late, anyway. Kurogane whipped open the door, arms folded, looking down at the mage with an accusing glare. Fai, taken by surprise at the unexpected disappearance of the door that he had been leaning against, lost his balance and stumbled forward, suddenly finding his ear pressed against Kurogane's chest instead.
"Just what the hell do you think you're doing?" the ninja growled. Fai noted happily, however, that Kurogane didn't push him away or make any move to break the contact between them.
"Ooh…Daddy caught me!" Fai laughed, putting his arms around the swordsman's waist. "Kurowanwan was acting so suspicious; I just had to know what you were up to. You know, in case it was anything I might be interested in."
When his explanation was met with silence, Fai looked up at Kurogane curiously. Were his eyes playing tricks on him or was Kurogane's face suddenly very red?
"Hmph," the ninja grunted, "I'm not up to anything that has to do with you so just screw off."
"Aww—! Big Puppy is no fun!" Fai whined, hugging Kurogane tighter.
"Yeah? Well, you'll be having even less fun if I decide to kill you! Now beat it!"
Fai curled his lip in exaggerated disappointment and continued on towards his room, hanging his head and doing his best to portray a big let-down. The blond hadn't actually expected to be able to find out what was on his companion's secret agenda simply by listening through the door, but he figured it was worth a try before he went and used up one of his precious wishes in order to find out.
Kurogane watched him go, his scarlet eyes narrowed suspiciously. Fai was being far too agreeable; he must be up to something… The ninja closed the door again, relocking it, and pulled the shades on his window. Whether Fai was up to something or not, it wouldn't matter if he couldn't even enter the warrior's lair.
Fai was feeling rather pleased with himself as he crawled through the crack under Kurogane's bedroom door and then skittered silently up the wall. Kurogane was a silly, naïve little man if he thought that locks and shades could keep Fai D. Flowrite out. Fai stopped climbing once he reached the ceiling and fixed his eyes, all six of them, on his target. If he were capable, he would have let out a dreamy sigh; naïve as Kurogane may be, it didn't stop him from being one hell of a sexy beast as well.
Kurogane was completely unaware that he was being watched; he was too busy searching for a certain page in the magazine that he had bought in this world a few days ago. He ground his teeth in annoyance. He knew the page he was looking for was here somewhere but since the magazine contained over 500 of them in all, it was something like looking for a needle in a haystack (Kurogane had never fully understood this figure of speech. Why the fuck would anyone want to find a needle in a haystack? Needles weren't expensive. If the seeker wanted a needle so badly, then why didn't they just drag their lazy ass out of the house and buy a new one? Whoever made up that expression, Kurogane thought irritably, should be hunted down and shot).
Fai ran across the ceiling to join Kurogane on the other side of the room. He dropped down onto the windowsill on a strand of silk, a perfect place for him to watch from. It was close enough that he could see perfectly well what the ninja was doing but not so close that he would be detected and possibly crushed with the magazine that his companion was searching through so impatiently. Fai peered down over Kurogane's shoulder, watching as he paged through the periodical frantically; he seemed to be looking for a specific page. The blond was confused by this; what could Kurogane possibly have heard on the radio that would spark this frenzied search through his magazine?
After about five more minutes of frustrated hunting, Kurogane found the page he was looking for. He sighed and closed his eyes, running a hand backward through his raven hair in an attempt to regain his composure before he began reading. Fai squinted at the articles that Kurogane had stopped at. Both were one-pagers so he didn't know which one had attracted Kurogane's attention. On one side was a comic featuring silly chibi characters and on the other page was a girly-looking article entitled "Will You and Your Crush Get the Spark You're Looking For!" with a pink background decorated by large yellow daisies. Neither of them seemed very likely to contain anything of interest to someone like Kurogane.
Fai's eight spindly legs wriggled with frustrated indecision. He really wanted to drop down and get a closer look at the pages that Kurogane was so deeply immersed in but he knew that if he did, he would be in grave danger of getting himself noticed and squished. But if he didn't try to get closer, he might never know what Kurogane was up to…
Before he had even come close to making up his mind, Kurogane suddenly scrambled to his feet, startling Fai so that he jumped, and dashed over to the desk, on top of which sat a notepad. He quickly ripped off a sheet, grabbed a pen and went back to his magazine where he proceeded to, Fai assumed, take notes, which he wrote in small hurried characters that were illegible to Fai's foreign eyes.
As soon as he had finished, he closed the magazine with a snap, stuffed the piece of paper into his back pocket and got to his feet once more. He paused for a moment, his head bowed so that the wizard couldn't see his expression, seemingly trying to gather his thoughts before he set out on his mysterious task. Then he lifted his gaze, a look of grim resignation upon his face and left the room with a purposeful stride.
Kurogane scribbled down a list of everything he would have to get before evening arrived. As he did so, the back of his mind was whirring with disbelief. What the hell was he doing, taking notes on a stupid thing like this? Was he actually doing this of his own free will or had some mean bitch of an alien/ghost/other dubious being possessed his body in order to force him to do its bidding? Would he actually have the nerve to do what he planned to do when the time for action came? Could he afford all this stuff? Shit. Fai still had his wallet, the scrawny bastard. That meant he would have to get it from him before he could go anywhere.
Kurogane finished his "to-do" list, stuffed it in his back pocket, and got up, preparing to leave the room. His face suddenly became very hot; the possibility of what the night ahead had in store for him, the humiliation of having to go out and buy all this stuff and the idea of rescuing his wallet from its captivity in Fai's pants were at fault for this. But something inside him wouldn't let him just forget the whole thing and simply go on with his day. As much as he dreaded what the future had in store for him, it also held tantalizing potential and that was something he just couldn't ignore.
He opened the door, his glare already in place, expecting to find Fai sitting there again with his ear pressed against it. To his surprise however the hallway was empty and this, for some reason, unnerved him a little. After all, Kurogane knew that Fai was definitely up to no good, so if he wasn't waiting right outside his door, there was no telling where the mage could be lurking.
"Oi! Wizard!" he called.
"Yes, Kurochuu?" a voice said from very close by. Kurogane started and looked around to find Fai standing right next to him, that all-too-innocent grin on his face once more.
"Give me my damn wallet," Kurogane demanded shortly.
Fai laughed and latched on to his arm like a cheerful leech. "Say please," he sang in an irritating voice.
"Like hell I will," Kurogane growled. "Give it to me before I decide to slice you in half."
"Now, now, Daddy," the blond giggled, shaking a finger at him. "That's not how we get what we want. We have to ask nicely."
Losing what little patience he had to start with, Kurogane grabbed Fai by the lapels, lifting him off his feet. Fai, for his part, didn't seem the least bit perturbed by this and just continued to grin in that infuriating manner of his. "Give it to me. Now."
"Not until you say 'please'."
Shaking with barely controlled rage, the ninja took a deep breath and gritted his teeth, the color rising in his face once more. "P…please."
"I'm sorry; I didn't quite catch that. What did you say?"
Kurogane lifted his gaze to meet Fai's, angry flames blazing in his crimson eyes, before suddenly releasing his hold on the magician and letting him fall to the floor. Before Fai had a chance to get to his feet again, Kurogane had grabbed him by the ankles and began shaking him upside-down with all his considerable might.
"I SAID IT, DAMMIT! NOW GIVE ME MY GODDAMN WALLET!" he roared.
"Wheeeeeeee!" Fai cheered as the warrior shook him.
Finally, Kurogane's wallet slipped out of Fai's pocket and landed on the floor. With a sigh of relief, Kurogane snatched his prize, dropped the wizard once more and dashed out of the house before Fai had a chance to harass him again. Fai got to his feet, brushing the wrinkles out of his shirt, his smile still intact, and leaned back against the wall. Kurogane was so adorable when he was determined.
Kurogane stormed down the street, radiating an anger that could have fried a small rodent. Stupid Fai. Why did he have to be such an asshole all the time? The hot desert sun was doing nothing to improve his mood. People in Kurogane's path quickly moved to get out of it; even though they didn't know the ninja, they could tell that he wasn't someone they ought to screw with. Even a gang of shady-looking troublemakers crouched down, covered their heads and whimpered fearfully as he passed, not looking quite so tough with their tails firmly tucked between their legs.
Kurogane was so preoccupied that he completely missed all of this. He had two things on his mind (Fai and Fai) and as the people around him fell into neither category, he simply tuned them out. It wasn't until a melodic whistling rang throughout the otherwise silent street that Kurogane snapped out of his inattentive state to look around for the source of the noise. All the townspeople quickly rushed into the nearest shop they could find, just in case the noise somehow unleashed his fury.
It suddenly dawned on the warrior that there was no one around; neither human, nor animal. He looked around suspiciously for the source of the whistling and noticed a small yellow bird sitting on the backrest of one of the nearby benches, chirping away unconcernedly. Kurogane glared at the bird, but his anger quelled as he noticed that it seemed to be returning his gaze with something that looked strangely like a grin. Before Kurogane had time to get severely weirded out, however, he realized that he was standing only a few feet from his destination: the grocery store. Throwing one more wary glance at the still-singing bird, he went inside.
Kurogane entered the store with a purposeful stride, as though he knew exactly where he was going. In truth, he hadn't the faintest idea, but there was a teenage employee standing near the door he had come through, looking as though he were trying to find some way to be useful and Kurogane knew that if he showed any uncertainty, the kid would certainly swoop down on him and try to offer him assistance. Kurogane accepted assistance with the same attitude and willingness that one might accept an anal probe from their doctor. On top of that, this kid was giving off particularly strong waves of what Kurogane called "dumbfuck vibes". He had a feeling that just talking to him would make him want to drill a hole in his own forehead.
Once he was out of the young employee's line of sight, Kurogane slowed his pace and looked around. The shelves were lined with a multitude of foreign items, all of which claimed to be food. Kurogane bent down to take a closer look at an especially nasty-looking, squishy, green something in a jar and wrinkled his nose in disgust. He didn't care who you were or what kind of world you were from; there was no way in hell that that thing could ever be considered edible. Then he shook himself mentally; he was getting sidetracked. The less time he spent in this hellhole, the better.
After wandering around for a good ten minutes, the ninja finally found what he was looking for. He picked one of the packages off the shelf for closer inspection. Oh god. There were big pink hearts on bag. Kurogane suppressed the urge to gag and turned the package over. The item he was holding was soft and round, sort of like a rice ball. Judging by the picture on the wrapper, there was some sort of filling inside… fruit, perhaps? Well, whatever; he had the thing he had come for and now it was time for him to make like a tree and get the fuck out of there.
Kurogane made his way to the checkout aisle and set his item down on the counter so that he could pull out his wallet. The cashier was a young girl, maybe a few years older than Sakura, with poofy brown hair and she was chewing a piece of gum in a manner that made Kurogane wonder if she'd been a cow in another life. The girl grinned widely at him as she scanned his item.
"Gonna share this with yer girlfriend at the festival tonight, huh?" she asked in a lazy drawling voice.
Kurogane lifted his gaze to meet hers, an expression that would have made any normal person piss their pants set firmly on his face. But the cashier just continued to smile cheekily at him and chew her gum like a dumbass.
"Sure. Whatever," he muttered irritably when it became clear that she wasn't going to finish checking him out until she got an answer. The girl gave a high-pitched squeal of glee at this response as she punched a button on the cash register. That overly fluffy brown hair of hers was driving Kurogane nuts. He wondered vaguely if there was some sort of creature living in it. Oh, how he longed to hack open that huge mass of hair just so that he could see what kind of secrets it might be hiding.
She turned her grin back up to him as she stuffed his purchase and receipt in a plastic bag and pushed it towards him, though she kept her hand on it so that he couldn't take it from her.
"Well, if thangs don't go well with yer girlfriend tonight, you know where to find me, handsome," she said with a roguish wink, finally removing her hand from the bag.
He snorted derisively as he picked up his bag and stalked out of the store.
Fai had considered staying in bird-form to meet Kurogane when he came out of the store but he changed his mind when a cat that had been sleeping in a sun-filled window awoke and began watching him hungrily. He had lots of things on his to-do list but getting eaten was not one of them. Fai looked around to make sure no one was looking before morphing into a butterfly with golden wings. The cat that had been considering him for lunch lifted its head, its eyes suddenly wide with surprise at the disappearance of its potential meal. Failing to locate the bird that it had been watching until just a second ago, it put its head back down, sulking.
A slight whirring sound of automatic doors opening caught Fai's attention, and he grinned (only mentally, of course, because he was a butterfly and therefore lacked the necessary facial muscles to grin physically). There was Kurogane and he had a plastic sack in his hand. Fai fluttered down off the bench's backrest and drifted over toward the ninja, landing on Kurogane's arm. He began to crawl across the plane of tanned skin towards the sack, hoping to get a peek at the contents.
Just as he had nearly reached his destination, a little girl who was playing with friends nearby, spotted the beautiful golden insect and stopped what she was doing to stare covetously at it. Fai was so focused on getting into that sack that he didn't even notice the impending danger. The little girl dropped the ball she had been holding and hurried over to Kurogane as fast as her short little legs could carry her.
"Mister!" she shouted, waving to get the swordsman's attention. "Mister! Wait!"
"Aah?" Kurogane stopped, looking over his shoulder with a raised eyebrow to see who had dared to address him. When he saw the child running towards him, he turned to face her, irritated that she was holding him up.
"What do you want, kid?" he growled. "I'm in a hurry."
"Um…um…did you know that there's a butterfly on your arm?" she asked breathlessly.
Kurogane glanced down to where she was pointing and spotted Fai. His eye twitched; he didn't like butterflies. He brushed Fai away roughly and continued on his way, making a mental note to scrub his arm where the butterfly had touched him. Butterflies were one of the sissiest things in existence and he had long suspected that if he were to come in contact with one, it would defile his manliness. The child made a little noise of disappointment that Kurogane hadn't let her scoop the butterfly off of him and chased after Fai.
The wizard pouted to himself; he had been so close! Shoot; Kurogane was going into another store. A liquor store. Fai was somewhat surprised by that since Kurogane refused to let anyone in their group drink after their display in Outo Country. Fai paused for a split second before diving off the branch he had been sitting on and darting through the automatic doors after Kurogane.
He landed on Kurogane's shorts, on the back of his leg so that he wouldn't be noticed. As he was waiting for Kurogane to find the item he was looking for, Fai glanced upwards and grinned mischievously. I think it might be time to take a little hike to the northern regions, hmm? Fai mused. The wizard-turned-butterfly eagerly began scaling the denim fabric, feeling very stealthy and pleased with himself. He stopped once he had reached the middle of Kurogane's butt. This'll do, I think, Fai thought contentedly. Yes, this'll do just fine.
Kurogane felt a little better coming into this kind of store. The contents of his metaphorical cup of manliness were replenished after being slightly drained by the butterfly incident. Damn butterfly. Aisles and aisles of multicolored liquor bottles stretched out before him and he felt a little overwhelmed. Normally, having this kind of selection would have earned a smirk of approval from him but as he was looking for something specific, the vastness caused his heart to sink. A vein throbbed angrily on the ninja's forehead; he was in another one of those "needle in a haystack" situations. Damn needle in a haystack. Kurogane heaved a sigh, massaged his temples for a moment and began his search.
There the fucking thing was. Kurogane's eye twitched; figures that it would be the last bottle in the last aisle. He did manage one stroke of luck though; it was also the last bottle, the rest having been sold to others who planned on drinking the wine during the festival. Kurogane picked up the bottle, looked at it, and seriously considered putting it right back where he'd found it. Why was he cursed with such shitty luck? Printed all over the wine bottle's label were cherry blossoms and little pink hearts. He felt his metaphorical cup of manliness being drained again and sighed dejectedly.
Just do it and get it over with, he thought to himself. If this stuff works, it'll all have been worth it.
Having finished his little mental pep talk, Kurogane looked up, his determination renewed and then froze. In front of him was the checkout counter and behind it sat the most giamungous man the ninja had ever seen. He looked less like a person and more like some giant alien flesh-colored gumball with a face painted on it. Kurogane was so entranced by the specimen before him that it took a moment for him to realize that he was gaping and snap out of it enough to move forward a few steps and set the bottle of wine on the counter.
The gumball-man grinned at him. "Got the last bottle, eh? You missed the violent rush earlier in the day, lucky bastard."
Kurogane grunted noncommittally as he stuck his hand in his pocket to fish out his wallet. He dug a few bills out and tossed them at gumball-man before unintentionally going back to staring at the huge stranger. Gumball-man reached for the money, and Kurogane could have sworn that he saw the bills slide across the counter and into the clerk's hand without him even laying a finger on them. Kurogane blinked. Either his eyes were just playing tricks on him, or this guy had his own pull of gravity.
"Still, you're really cutting it close, coming last minute like this… What would you've done if we didn't have any more?" Gumball-man babbled. "They say the experience isn't the same without the wine, you know."
"Spare me the lecture," Kurogane said shortly.
Gumball-man smirked. "You'll get enough of that from your girlfriend, I suppose."
Kurogane blushed, trying to grab his change from the clerk and just get out of there but the coins stuck to Gumball-man's hand. After an awkward bit of scraping, Kurogane got his change, picked up the plastic sack containing the bottle of wine and turned on his heel and was about to stalk away when Gumball-man stopped him.
"Hey… there's a butterfly on your butt."
Kurogane left the liquor store, his metaphorical cup of manliness now feeling so empty that he wondered if it might even be sucking moisture out of the air. He had tried to kill the damn insect that had dared to land on his ass. Unfortunately, the butterfly seemed to have Fai-like speed and dodging abilities and had evaded his attacks with apparent ease.
Fai, for his part, was still gloating mentally over his triumph. True, he still didn't really know what Kurogane was up to, but the enjoyment he was getting out of his antics had made up for that. He did know that the second item the ninja had bought was a bottle of wine, and judging by the amount of time he had spent looking for the exact bottle, and the ensuing conversation with the clerk, Kurogane had some sort of special plans for the things he was buying and wasn't just shopping to entertain himself.
When the clerk had seen the wine he had chosen, he had assumed that Kurogane had a girlfriend, meaning that the drink probably had romantic implications. Although Fai wasn't positive about any of these things, the possibilities made his heart pound with anticipation. Who might the ninja be planning to share it with? The group had only been here for a few days and Kurogane wasn't exactly the type who bonded with people quickly. That could only mean that he planned to share it with me, Fai reasoned hopefully.
When Kurogane had discovered Butter-Fai perched on him in the liquor store, Fai had been forced to make a quick escape. He had flown out through the door, landed on the ground and morphed smoothly into a small yellow kitten. The blond had been hot on Kurogane's trail since the moment he left the store, though Kurogane had yet to notice his presence. Fai followed the ninja to what appeared to be the heart of the town square. There was a large fountain here and Kurogane dropped heavily onto the ledge, heaving a sigh of frustration and weariness.
Kurogane heard a soft mewing from somewhere near his ankles and looked down. There sat a small yellow kitten with bright blue eyes, watching him closely. The swordsman simply stared at the animal, unsure what his reaction should be. Secretly, Kurogane had to admit that maybe he didn't completely hate cats and maybe this one was cuter than most. But just a little. Maybe because it reminds me of that wizard? he wondered before he could catch himself.
The kitten hopped nimbly onto the edge of the fountain beside his newfound friend and nuzzled his head against Kurogane's hand. Kurogane looked around quickly to make sure no one was watching before starting to rub behind the kitten's ears. Fai purred loudly as he crawled into the ninja's lap and just allowed himself to enjoy the rare opportunity to receive affection from Kurogane. After a few minutes, Fai jumped over onto Kurogane's other leg, beside which sat the two bags; the one containing the wine and the other one containing…something that Fai didn't know what it was. He swatted at the plastic with his little white paw, making a crinkling sound as he tried to have a peek at its contents. To Fai's chagrin however, Kurogane picked him up sternly by his scruff just before he could get a good look.
"I don't think so, cat," he muttered. "That's not for you."
Fai mewed loudly, tilting his head as if asking for more information. Kurogane scowled at him.
"It's mine. That's all you need to know." Then he massaged his temples exasperatedly. "What the hell am I doing, talking to a damn cat?"
Fai meowed indignantly and Kurogane snorted. "What, that piss you off that I called you a damn cat?"
Fai gave an affirmative meow, causing Kurogane to shake his head in disbelief.
"Alright…it's for the festival tonight. There, you happy?"
The kitten just stared, his eyes wide. This is what Fai had been hoping to hear but now that he was actually hearing it, he could hardly believe his pointed yellow ears.
"What the hell are you looking so damn surprised for?" Kurogane growled.
Fai finally found his tiny voice and was able to squeak out a feeble "Mew?" which of course meant "with whom?"
"That's none of your goddamn business!" Kurogane snapped.
The little kitten pouted, which, if you've never seen a kitten pout, is quite a sight to see. And Kurogane, for all the odd and unique experiences he had been through, had yet to see a kitten pout, and thus was somewhat amused. Seeing that Kurogane didn't plan to give any more information, Fai decided to try getting a little more affection from the swordsman while he still had the chance. The kitten cuddled against Kurogane's chest, purring loudly. Kurogane looked around again, making absolutely certain that no one was watching, and then obligingly picked the small animal up and held it against him.
Fai closed his eyes blissfully as he continued to purr, wishing he could stay in the moment forever. This was exactly the sort of thing he had been hoping to accomplish with this wish. Fai happily licked Kurogane's cheek with his rough pink tongue until, much to his disappointment, the ninja set him down.
"Enough of this screwing around," Kurogane said, getting to his feet. "I have stuff to do."
Fai mewed desperately, begging him not to go. Kurogane ignored him, picking up the plastic bags. The kitten crouched down and sprang onto the ninja's shoulder, unintentionally using his claws to steady himself as he slipped. Kurogane didn't appreciate that very much; he gasped sharply in pain and jerked Fai off roughly, holding him up in front of his face.
"You did that on purpose, didn't you, you little bastard!" he snapped. Fai just grinned and licked Kurogane's nose. Bad move; Kurogane held him in the air by his scruff, carried him back over to the fountain, dropped him into the water and angrily stalked away.
Fai scrambled out of the water and onto the fountain's stone ledge. For once, he was glad for the hot desert sun as it warmed his wet fur. As he shook the water off of himself, Kitty-Fai looked around to see where Kurogane had gotten to. He was just starting to get worried that he might have lost his companion when he spotted the ninja's retreating back a short ways off.
Fai hopped down from the fountain's ledge and began to trot after Kurogane when he suddenly felt his feet leave the ground. He meowed in surprise, twisting his small body, attempting to get a look at his captor. It was a small boy with brown hair that was short on one side of his face and longer on the other. The boy giggled in delight as he hugged his find.
"Hey, Kazahaya kun! Don't run away like that!" called a second boy, with fair skin and dark hair. "We could've gotten separated, you idiot!"
"Rikuo kun! Look what I found!" Kazahaya said excitedly, ignoring the insult and holding up a wet and startled Fai-Kitten.
"It's a cat," Rikuo said, nonchalantly.
"Isn't it cute? I'm gonna take him home and ask my mom if I can keep him!"
Fai mewed desperately and struggled in Kazahaya's grasp. He didn't have time to become some kid's pet! He had to find Kurogane again! Fai clamped his eyes shut, thinking hard; he was strongly tempted to transform back into his normal state. He amused himself for a moment with the thought of young Kazahaya's expression of shock when his kitten suddenly changed into a tall, thin, blond wizard. But no; that would be cruel and would certainly cause all sorts of commotion. He would have to think of another way out of his predicament. The gears in Fai's head began to turn…
Thankfully for Kurogane, he had managed to get his fireworks without incident. Since his world didn't have fireworks, he had no idea what sort of things to choose. To solve this problem, he simply took one of everything that was around him and, of course, two Aiyoku sparklers; one for him and Fai, and one for Syaoran and Sakura. He was sure they would want one, too. Paying for the fireworks cleaned him out. That damn wizard had better appreciate all this crap, he thought sourly, stuffing his empty wallet back in his pocket.
Still, he felt a strong sense of accomplishment at having collected all the items he had set out to find. Feeling very self-satisfied, Kurogane took his list out of his pocket, crumpled it up and tossed it in the trashcan. Then, the reality of what he planned to do that night hit him and he froze. Him and Fai. Together. Alone. In the dark. It took a few moments for him to regain his composure and he headed shakily back towards the house they were staying at.
Fai managed to escape from Kazahaya and Rikuo, much to his relief. He had just turned himself into a bumblebee when Kazahaya wasn't paying attention. The poor kid had freaked. Fai felt bad about the dirty trick he had played but it had to be done. He was a wizard on the edge.
Fai's breath caught in his chest; Kurogane, by some amazing stroke of luck, was heading right for him. Without even taking time to think about it, Fai executed a brilliant idea. The wizard changed from a bumblebee into a yellow sprinkler just before Kurogane noticed that the space that Fai now occupied had been empty just a second ago. Boy, did Kurogane ever get a nasty surprise.
Kurogane was making his way back to the house at a brisk pace, though his mind was a thousand miles away. His heart was pounding, his palms were sweaty and his face was hot; every moment, the festival drew closer. He was so distracted by his thoughts that he didn't even notice a sporadic noise coming from somewhere just a little bit ahead of him…
When a big cold shower of water rained down upon him, however, he certainly noticed. He looked over in the direction from which the water had come and saw a sprinkler sitting out in the yard he was passing by. He had just enough time to make this realization before another wave hit him. Kurogane sputtered indignantly, wiping the water out of his eyes and sprinted out of the sprinkler's reach.
He checked his bag of fireworks then, just to make sure they hadn't gotten wet. Luckily, they were safe inside the plastic sack. Kurogane snarled in frustration at the sprinkler before continuing on his way. Suddenly, he was thankful for the blazing desert sun; surely it would help him dry off faster. He continued on his way at his quickened pace again, still feeling resentful towards whatever bastard had decided to put that damn sprinkler there in the first place.
Fai, feeling very pleased with himself once more, changed back into a bumblebee, flew past the ninja, stopping a few yards away to play his prank again. He landed in the grass and transformed into the sprinkler again. If there was one thing that he liked better than an angry ninja, it was an angry wet ninja. That was his favorite flavor of Kurogane. Fai turned his water on for the second time and waited excitedly for Kurogane to pass by again.
By the time Kurogane reached his destination, he was pretty much soaked from head to toe, extremely pissed off, and found himself harboring a newfound hatred for sprinklers. In the few days that they had been in this world, he hadn't seen a single one, but today, every other yard seemed to have one. Not only that, but it was the same color and model and everything. In Kurogane's country, they had a word for that. It was "suspicious". If he didn't know better, he might have thought that the damn thing had sprouted legs and had decided to follow him.
The ninja paused at the doorstep to squeeze the excess water out of his clothes and then pushed his way inside. He shut the door behind him, turned around and nearly shit his pants; there, standing almost nose-to-nose with him, was Fai. He had his big welcome-home-Kurotan-I'm-ready-to-annoy-the-hell-out-of-you smile on his face. Fai cheered and threw his arms around his wet companion.
"Welcome home, Kuropin! What did you get, hmm? Ooh, are they presents for me?"
Kurogane pried the wizard off and pushed past him. "Yeah right," he growled. "This crap isn't for you and you'd better stay the hell out of it, if you know what's good for you."
"Uh oh," Fai trilled, clapping his hands, "Kurorin came home all grumpy! What happened, Kuronta? Oh, I know! Kurochii is in a bad mood because he got all wet. Silly Kurochii! Kitties are the ones who are supposed to hate water; not puppies!"
"HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO TELL YOU, I'M NOT YOUR GODDAMN DOG!" Kurogane snapped, brandishing an angry fist at Fai. Then he paused, frowning slightly. "Wait a minute… how come you're wet?"
Fai blinked at him. Shit. He had completely forgotten about that. In all his excitement over the mischief he was causing for Kurogane, he hadn't even noticed that he still hadn't dried completely after the swordsman had dropped him in the fountain. Fai thought quickly. "Well, while you were gone… I went out to water the garden… and I've never used a hose before, so I had a bit of trouble figuring it out."
The wizard added an apologetic grin here for credibility, mentally congratulating himself on coming up with such a brilliant excuse on the spot like that. Kurogane narrowed his eyes suspiciously, but then shrugged and pushed past him again.
"Why is Kurotan wet?" Fai asked cheerfully. "Did you have trouble with the hose, too?"
"No, stupid bastard," he said. "But I really don't think it's any of your damn business."
By now, Kurogane had reached his bedroom, and folded his arms, fixing Fai with a glare.
"Go away. I'm gonna take a shower."
Fai's face lit up. "I'll take one with you, Kurochan! It'll be so much fun—!"
At this suggestion, Kurogane's face darkened and his eyes gleamed maliciously.
"You try anything weird," he hissed, "and I'll kill you."
Still glaring suspiciously at Fai, Kurogane backed into the room and locked the wizard out. Fai sat down outside the door, waiting for his chance to move. The water in Kurogane's bathroom turned on and a few moments later, Fai heard the ninja step into the shower. The blond happily changed into a bright yellow ant and crawled through the gap under the door, across the bedroom carpet and under the gap beneath the bathroom door. The room was full of steam and Fai could smell the pleasant scent of Kurogane's shampoo. The Fai-ant wormed its way under the towel that Kurogane had gotten out for himself and then morphed smoothly into a towel himself. Then he waited…
Kurogane stepped out of the shower and grabbed his towel off the counter and began to dry off when a small noise outside the bathroom door caught his attention. God, if that was Fai out there, trying to sneak in and get a peek at Kurogane's merchandise… He wrapped the towel firmly around his waist; just to be safe. Then he noticed a second towel sitting on the counter that he didn't remember seeing there before. It was thick, fluffy and yellow with blue trim. Kurogane frowned at it; something about the towel seemed a bit odd…
Then he shook himself; what was up with him being so damn paranoid recently? After all, what was the towel going to do? Take a picture of him in the nude and sell it to the tabloids? It was a freaking towel, for heaven's sake! Kurogane picked it up, shook it out to its full size and started drying his hair.
Mmm, I like this, Fai thought as Kurogane rubbed him on his wet skin. I like this a lot. I hope in my next life, I get reincarnated as Kuromyuu's towel.
Kurogane came down the stairs, the plastic sacks containing his purchases in his hand. Fai was sitting on the couch, talking to Syaoran, Sakura and Mokona, who had apparently just returned home from their jobs. When the blond spotted Kurogane, his grin widened and he jumped to his feet, looping his arms around his companion's broad shoulders and burying his face in his shirt.
"Mmm, Kuropun smells so good," Fai breathed.
Kurogane blushed furiously but remained silent. Mokona bounced over to check the situation out for himself.
"Ahh, you're right Fai!" he squeaked. "Kurogane smells so manly!"
"Freshly-washed Kurowan is my favorite smell in the whole world!"
"What the hell are you saying?" Kurogane snapped, shoving both of them off. "Cut the crap!"
"What's in the bag, Kurogane san?" Sakura asked timidly, pretending to have missed Fai's little performance.
Kurogane cleared his throat nervously, looking away as he shoved one of the bags roughly towards her. Sakura tilted her head curiously before taking the bag and looking inside. Then her face lit up.
"Oh! Are these fireworks for the festival tonight?"
"Yeah… I thought you and the brat might enjoy them… I dunno…" he shrugged, still not looking at her.
Sakura's face reddened. "F-for me and S-Syaoran kun?"
"Aww, how sweet of you, Daddy!" Fai said, clapping his hands. "You're always thinking about the children, aren't you?"
"Shut up, you," the ninja muttered.
"Ooh! Mokona saw a really good place where Sakura and Syaoran could light them off!" Mokona chirped. "It's a really romantic place!"
Both Syaoran and Sakura were beet red by now. "R-romantic!" they stammered.
"Yeah! It's perfect for love-love! Come on! We have to get there before someone else takes it!"
"Have fun, you two! I'm cheering for youuuuu!" Fai sang as he pushed the two protesting teenagers out the door with their white guide perched on the princess's shoulder.
"Well now," he said once the children had gone, "it looks like Mommy and Daddy are free to have a bit of fun together at last, hmm?"
"Aah? I don't know what you're talking about," Kurogane grunted. "I don't want anything to do with you."
"Oh really?" Fai grinned, taking the swordsman's arm. "What are these for then, I wonder?"
He held up the sacks Kurogane had brought home from his shopping trip. Kurogane's face flushed and he folded his arms defiantly. "I…I don't know anything about that stuff…"
"Well…" Fai said slowly, glancing around, "I don't see anyone else around here that it might belong to…so we might as well use them, right, Kuromin? We wouldn't want them to go to waste, would we?"
With that, the wizard grabbed Kurogane's hand and pulled him out the door.
The view from the top of their hill was breathtaking. There was one single tree perched at the top and it overlooked the town with its muted lights and sounds. The sky was clear and dark, stars twinkling overhead like diamonds. Fai sighed as he leaned against Kurogane.
"It's so beautiful here," he breathed. "Don't you think, Kurotan?"
"Hmm…" Kurogane said noncommittally.
"Why don't we start lighting off some of these fireworks?"
Fai handed Kurogane one of the rockets and a lighter. The ninja ignited the first firework and quickly stepped back. It shot into the sky and exploded with a dazzling shower of red and gold sparks which lit up the night air like luminous rain. Kurogane chanced a sidelong glance at Fai. His blue eyes were wide with wonder, reflecting the light from the firework so that they appeared to sparkle with impossibly bright colors. Kurogane couldn't help smiling slightly at his childlike reaction, though he caught himself and quickly stifled it before the blond could see, regaining his usual stoic expression.
Once the smoke had cleared, Fai turned to Kurogane, wearing one of the few truly genuine smiles the swordsman had ever seen on his face. In Kurogane's opinion, it was more breathtaking than any firework, though he would rather swallow a hand grenade than admit that to the wizard.
"Wowwww!" Fai gasped. "That was so pretty! Do it again, Daddy! Do it again!"
Kurogane sighed and rolled his eyes in a false display of exasperation before taking another firework out of the bag.
"Ooh! Kuronpyuu, what are these?" Fai asked, sitting down on the ground and pulling out the rice cake things that Kurogane had bought earlier.
"Those are…" Kurogane sat beside him and paused uncertainly. He didn't really know what they were except that they were part of the Hoshi Matsuri tradition. So he just shrugged and replied, "I dunno…When I was out getting the fireworks, I heard some people talking about them… something about them being a big part of the festival or whatever…"
Fai studied the package more closely. "It has hearts on the package! They must be meant for lovers or something, hmm? But if that's the case, then what is Kurotan doing with them, I wonder…?"
Kurogane blushed and faked outrage. "What? Let me see those damn things!"
He snatched the snack from Fai and looked at the wrapping. "Aw shit! I didn't even notice that before! If I'd seen that, I would've given 'em to the kids!"
Fai grinned slyly, taking hold of Kurogane's arm. "I see. Well, seeing as how it's a little late to give them to Sakura chan and Syaoran kun, we might as well eat them ourselves, hmm?"
He opened the package, pulled out one of the snacks and took a bite. "Mmm, this is pretty good! Here Kuromin, try some!"
Fai ripped off a piece and pushed it into Kurogane's mouth.
"Hmm, not bad," Kurogane muttered. "We had something like this in Japan…"
"Yayyyy! Kuropuu likes it!" He pulled off another piece and fed it to Kurogane before taking another bite himself. Then he moved to sit in the warrior's lap and picked up the other bag which contained the wine. "Ooh, Daddy bought some wine, too! You got this for us, right?"
Kurogane grabbed the bottle, glaring. "Wrong. No more drinking for you after what happened in Outo Country!"
"Awwww, please Kuropiko," Fai begged. "I just want a little tiny bit."
Then he looked more closely at the bottle. "Hey, the wine bottle has hearts on it too! Kuronpii can't drink it all by himself; it's meant to be shared…" Fai leaned back in the ninja's lap so he could look at him as he caressed his cheek, "…by two people that are in love."
Kurogane's blush deepened. "Don't go getting the wrong idea, bastard. The only reason I got that one is because the guy at the liquor store kept going on and on about it. I figured it must be pretty damn good if he was making such a big deal over it."
"Kuroru is so shy!" Fai giggled. "It's ok, big puppy; I already know that you got it for us to share."
Kurogane just looked away and remained silent.
"I knew it! Kuromyuu wants to share the lovey-dovey wine with me! Kuromyuu loves me—!"
"SHUT UP, BASTARD!" Kurogane roared, his face scarlet. "QUIT SAYING RETARDED THINGS! IT MAKES ME WANNA PUKE!"
Fai wasn't listening, he was too busy pouring the wine into two glasses and pushing one into Kurogane's hand. Then he clinked his glass against the ninja's.
"To Mommy and Daddy's undying love," he grinned.
Kurogane started to protest but Fai pushed another piece of the rice cake snack into his mouth to shut him up. The mage noticed, to his delight, that even after Kurogane had swallowed it, he decided not to push the matter and simply took a drink of his wine.
"Was that the last of the fireworks, Kurochuu?"
"I think so."
Fai picked up the sack that had held the fireworks. "But there's still something in the bag…"
He reached in and pulled out a long thin package. His eyes lit up like those of a little kid on Christmas morning. "Kurochan!" he breathed. "Are…are these…those Aiyoku sparklers they were talking about on the radio this morning?"
"…There was some kind of thing going on at the fireworks place where if you spend enough, they give you some free…" he lied, his face burning as though it was on fire.
Fai was already opening the package and pulling out the sparkler. Just as the radio announcer had said, it was in the form of a long stick with a handle on each side. Hands shaking slightly with excitement, Fai snapped it in half, gave part of it to Kurogane, and lit both of their pieces. Brilliant silver sparks shot out of them, illuminating their apprehensive faces. The blond tentatively touched the end of his sparkler to Kurogane's. They both held their breath. The sparks remained silver.
Kurogane looked over at Fai. His face was expressionless but his eyes betrayed him. They glistened excessively, seemingly with tears. The ninja felt his chest and throat tightening painfully, though he couldn't imagine why. It was curiously like the feeling of bitter disappointment. But he didn't understand why he would feel that way; after all, it wasn't like he wanted him and Fai to be blessed with undying love for each other…right? What was up with this sudden uncertainty? He had been worried for quite some time now that he might be falling for Fai, but he had always been able shrug it off before, tell himself that it wasn't true. More recently, however, he was having an increasingly difficult time denying it.
Finally, Fai looked up at him, still smiling like always. "I guess we weren't meant to be, hmm, Kurosama?" But Kurogane had seen that smile before, and of all Fai's smiles, it was the one he hated the most; it was the one he hid behind when he was in intense pain.
Kurogane's frown deepened but he said nothing.
After a moment, there was a sputtering sound that made them both start. They looked down at their sparklers, the ends of which were still touching. The silver sparks flickered for a second before blazing brightly, undeniably red. Both of them stared, aghast. The sparks had turned red! Red! Kurogane glanced at Fai again. His eyes still seemed to be shining with tears but the look in them was different from before. They were full of something that Kurogane rarely saw there before: hope.
To Kurogane's horror, he felt his chest and throat loosen again and his heart lift. Don't even think about soaring, you traitorous bastard, he told his heart mentally. Don't. Even. Think about it. Fai didn't look at him this time. He just continued to stare at his sparkler, his eyes wide, until it fizzled out, leaving them both in darkness. Even after their sparklers had gone out, they kept staring silently. Kurogane saw Fai quickly wipe his eyes on the back of his hand and then slowly approach him. The ninja allowed him to lean against his chest and put his long, thin arms around his shoulders.
"Thank you, Kurosama," he whispered, holding Kurogane tightly. "I can't even remember… the last time I felt this way…"
Kurogane could feel Fai's warm hands on either side of his face, caressing him timidly, as though asking permission for something. His heart pounding painfully against his ribcage, Kurogane's arms encircled the slim waist, inadvertently backing up until he could feel the tree trunk behind him. Fai's lips brushed ever so slightly against his, uncertainly at first, waiting to see if Kurogane would reject him. When the swordsman didn't push him away or try to hurt him, he seemed to gain confidence and pressed his lips firmly against Kurogane's.
His brain told him that he should be shoving Fai roughly away, drop kicking his ass to the moon, slashing him to ribbons, forcing him to sit in a Starbucks all day and all other manner of nasty, mean things for pulling something like this. His heart, however, told a different story. It was singing, actually. The song it sang was a simple melody that every child knows: "Kuro and Fai standing by a tree! K-I-S-S-I-N-G! First comes love! Then comes marriage! Then comes a Wanko in a baby carriage!" And just to be extra irritating, his heart was soaring, just like he'd expressly told it not to, dammit.
How long they spent in each other's arms, sharing the passionate kiss, neither one of them knew. They were both so wrapped up in the moment that time seemed suspended, one joyful second captured in eternity. Finally, Fai pulled away, touching his lips pensively as he turned away from Kurogane. The ninja just stared silently, waiting for something to happen.
Kurogane didn't even notice that it had started raining until a raindrop hit his cheek, jerking him harshly back to reality. In few seconds, it escalated into a freezing downpour that hammered relentlessly against every surface, drowning out all other sounds. Kurogane was just opening his mouth to suggest that they head home when Fai suddenly dashed out into the storm.
"Hey!" Kurogane shouted after him, though his legs seemed to have suddenly lost their ability to move. "HEY!"
Fai didn't even pause or look back, he just kept running. Kurogane watched him go, his hand outstretched slightly as if to make a grab for him. He sighed heavily, lowering his hand and hanging his head to glare at the ground. For all his flaws, no one could ever accuse Kurogane of being indecisive and he had always prided himself on that. But now, here he stood, watching Fai run away from him, wondering just what the bloody hell he was going to do about the whole situation.
He supposed his decisiveness was just one more of his qualities that Fai had managed to stealthy crumble, evading the ninja's attention until it was already too late. He was certainly irritated with the magician for that, but somehow… somehow he felt that if there should be someone who could bring everything he knew to be true crashing down around him, Fai should be that person.
Kurogane snarled and pounded the trunk of the tree that was sheltering him from the rain. He could feel himself changing, and he didn't like it. He had been perfectly happy with who he was before he ever met stupid Fai. Now he was turning into some retarded push-over of a pansy. He pounded the tree again and then heaved another sigh. Whatever. He could decide what to do about that bastard later. Right now, he was getting soaked from head to toe and the rain wasn't exactly bathwater-temperature. He could actually see his breath clouding. Now even the desert was letting him down by going from its usual vaporize-your-brains hot to freezing-like-a-bitch cold. Kurogane took a deep breath, and began his mad dash for home.
Fai waited silently beneath the overhang of a grocery store, keeping his eyes open for Kurogane's dark shape along the horizon. He was frustrated with himself for running away like that after finally getting to kiss Kurogane. Now he was going to make it up to the swordsman, and himself. Fai shivered slightly, looking through the shop window at the luminous clock on the wall. Kurogane had better hurry; he wasn't going to have his power for much longer.
What the hell was going on here? There was no flipping way that it had been such a long walk to get to the place where they had lit off their fireworks. Kurogane was actually panting now, and he was by no means out of shape. Really, he supposed it was probably a good thing that he had to run so hard or else he might have been affected by the freezing water that now drenched him.
All of a sudden, he felt something with a strange slick texture brush against his ankles. Kurogane paused and looked down to discover what appeared to be a yellow rain slicker at his feet. He blinked, nonplussed, then looked around the deserted street to see if there was anyone nearby who might have lost it. There was absolutely no one around.
Kurogane picked it up uncertainly and considered it. Normally, he wouldn't have been caught dead wearing such a thing… but right now, apart from being far from dead, he was really cold and wet and still had a decent ways to go before he was home. Feeling rather stupid, Kurogane slipped the protective garment on, marveling at the fact that it seemed to be the perfect size. As soon as it was on his body, Kurogane experienced a sudden warmth sweeping through him, as though he had just taken a sip of hot tea. But there was a different kind of warmth there too; like the kind you get when you see an embarrassed sever-year-old boy give one of his little girl friends a flower. With his mind less focused on his own misery now that he had the coat, he realized that he was still holding onto a burnt match which he had used to light the last firework that he and Fai had enjoyed together. He slipped it into the coat's pocket, deciding that he would throw it away later.
He began running again, feeling some of his strength return to him. When he finally reached the house, he eased open the door and slipped inside. It was dark and everyone seemed to be in bed already. Kurogane shook the rain slicker outside to get rid of the excess water before going back in, closing the door silently behind him, removing his shoes, setting the yellow coat in one of the kitchen chairs and going to his room to change out of his wet clothes.
Once he had changed, he came back down to the kitchen to hang up the raincoat. Then Kurogane froze, there was a dark figure in the chair he had set the coat on, slumped over the table, hardly moving at all. He approached it cautiously then sighed with relief once he recognized the person sitting there. It was only Fai.
The blond was asleep in the chair, resting his head on his arms which were folded on the table. Water dripped from his hair and clothes, leaving a puddle on the floor. Kurogane frowned, noticing that the yellow raincoat was nowhere to be seen. He reached out hesitantly and put a hand on Fai's shoulder. The magician stirred slightly but didn't wake. Kurogane noticed that he was trembling.
He left Fai, heading to the bathroom to grab a towel. The ninja wrapped it around Fai's shivering form and gently scooped him up, cradling him in his arms. A small clattering sound of something falling to the floor made him look down. To his bewilderment, it was the used match that he had put in the raincoat's pocket. But the raincoat was gone…so why had it seemingly fallen out of nowhere when he had picked up Fai?
Fai moaned slightly, putting his arms around Kurogane's shoulders and snuggling against him to share the warrior's body heat. Kurogane shook his head; he could worry about missing raincoats and used matches tomorrow. He carried Fai carefully up the stairs and into his room, where he set him on the bed while he got dry clothes for him. Once he had managed to get Fai redressed, he pulled back the covers, laid the wizard down on the mattress, covered him back up and turned to leave. Before he could take more than two steps, he felt something catch on his sleeve, causing him to turn back around.
Fai was still asleep though he had grabbed Kurogane's wrist unconsciously, as if willing him to stay at his side. Kurogane paused uncertainly, and then crawled sheepishly under the sheets next to his blond companion. The mage smiled slightly in his sleep, happily cuddling up to the one who the Aiyoku sparklers had confirmed was meant just for him. Kurogane hugged him obligingly, his heart soaring once more as he too fell asleep.
A/N: Hee heeeeeee! Kisses for Kurotan! Soooooo, did you like it? I do hope it wasn't too long. Is 20 pages too long? I dunno… The next chapter will probably take awhile, seeing as how I don't really know what I'll have Fai use his last wish on. Suggestions are welcome. Well, that's all folks! Review, onegai shimasu!