Next chapter on the 30th of January.
Fai returns in the early hours of the morning, half delirious as his body attempts to heal itself, drinking the strength he has left.
He closes the door behind him, unaware of its clatter as it locks itself, he tosses a key to the coffee table half-heartedly and collapses onto the couch. His mind slips into some kind of sleep or otherwise near unconsciousness.
Kurogane sighs in the kitchen, sitting in the dark, Mokona on his lap whining a little, pushing its small body into him.
Sakura and Syaoran sit across from each other, on either side of Kurogane, the tension running between them tempered by the anxiety in Sakura's slight frown and furrowed eyebrows and in Syaoran's glances towards the other room.
The glass of wine in the man's hand is dull, liquid seeming deep in the unlit room, a complexity it doesn't hold in daylight. Syaoran and Sakura have glasses too, as scratched and worn as Kurogane's own tumbler. Both of them have drunk a little of the bitterness, a welcoming, controlled unpleasantness compared to their silent fear for the man in the next room.
Kurogane speaks, knowing the kids don't have the strength.
"Regardless he'll have to eat soon, whether he loses control or decides to or we force his hand." He states the obvious. He swallows some of the bitter fluid as if it could make his words more palatable.
Sakura looks away.
Syaoran stares into his drink.
Mokona breathes against the man's stomach, pulling at his shirt.
"Fai-san. He's in a lot of pain." The creature whimpers, tears seeping through to Kurogane's skin.
Kurogane can't say anything new to that so Syaoran takes up the words.
"Even so he'll have to keep living." He says.
"Fai-san can't die." Sakura echoes, face hardening a little as she drinks, puts her glass down with a clunk. The words seem harsh from her but Kurogane appreciates the solidity.
It doesn't go spoken that they've each tried in their own ways, Kurogane's bluntness, Sakura's need for him, Syaoran's gentle questions, Mokona's pleas.
"Maybe if Yuuko-san talks to him…" The small creature says, high pitched voice muffled by being spoken into Kurogane's body.
"Can you get her to do that?" Sakura asks, steel in her eyes though the Mokona cannot see it.
It nods.
"Yuuko-san would definitely talk to Fai-san." It says, "Yuuko-san would want Fai-san to keep living too, Mokona knows it!"