Hi! It's been ages. Decided to start posting this on AO3, I like that interface better, the title is the same, i'm MoeMoeMomo over there. This is an extra long chapter as thanks for those of you who followed and faved years ago now!
Tomoyo spoke as the voice of reason, as Sakura moved to further put her body between her transformed guardian and Kurogane.
"Please calm down both of you. I'm sure this is just a misunderstanding. Kero-chan you saw Kurogane-san last night and you didn't recognize him then, so what changed?"
Despite his bigger size and deeper voice, Kero's whiny Kansai accent came through, "Nothin' but that guy was reachin' for a weapon, I saw it!"
Kurogane shifted his weight slightly, in guilt perhaps.
"I don't want to escalate any violence but it's true, I saw it too Tomoyo," Sakura contributed, then she met Kurogane's harsh gaze, blushed a little bit and added, "But I don't see a weapon anywhere so maybe you're right Tomoyo!"
"No I saw it too," Tomoyo admitted, "So that means… Kurogane, you are the one who owes us a bit of an explanation. Please remember this is the girl who exhausted herself last night trying to help you with her magic, and my most beloved friend before you answer."
He glared at her, but Tomoyo firmly stood her ground, wrinkling her brows at him.
"TCH, if I had known this much trouble would come from it I would have just kept still," he scratched his head and rolled his eyes before continuing, "The Witch had a fluffy meat bun thing kinda like what that," gesturing to Kero, "thing looks like. I watched it swallow someone whole to send them to another dimension, I thought maybe the Witch sent it here to get me. I may be depending on you regaining my strength right now, but believe me I don't turn tail and run away from my problems like a coward. I wasn't going to let her send me somewhere else, trust me, I won't even be staying here much longer."
"I see… well I think that's the most I've ever heard you speak in one go Kurogane-san, so I'll take that as a positive. Otherwise this manly posturing isn't doing anything for anyone here, Kero-chan you too, so perhaps if you both feel mature enough, we can all sit down and talk this out."
"Hey I stood down as soon as he transformed into… whatever he is, and I could see he wasn't the meat bun!"
A tick formed at Kero's temple, "Meat bun? Are you sayin' I look like a meat bun!? Take a look at yourself there scowly! You're not winning any beauty contests!"
Thankfully Kurogane seemed to have enough of a hold on himself because he didn't respond beyond folding his arms and a disgruntled and indignant, "Tch," before he sat back down on the little cot.
Tomoyo smiled, pleased, "Thank you Kurogane-san, but why don't you come out to my room? There's a couch and chairs with room for all of us. We can eat and talk. Are you feeling well enough for that?"
His sharp eyes darted to the windows, then the door, then back to Tomoyo before he asked, "Is that safe?"
"Well…" Tomoyo paused, putting her finger to her chin, "If by safe you mean from prying eyes then yes, Sakura here can use the Shield Card to give us privacy even from magical means of eavesdropping. Would that be alright?" Sakura nodded which Tomoyo returned before she continued, "But if you mean safe from whatever enemy is pursuing you, I have no way of knowing. Yuko-san seems to think so, or else she wouldn't have sent you here."
Tomoyo made her way closer to Kurogane and gently set her hand on his shoulder, he was still seated, and they were much closer to eye level now. Tomoyo's violet eyes penetrated crimson and Tomoyo's heart skipped a beat in a spark of recognition. The closest she could describe was the first time she met Sakura, almost like the Fates, or, and she wasn't sure where this thought came from, maybe it's the Tomoyo in the traditional clothes, was sending her a little pinprick to let her know, pay attention this person is going to change your life forever. She was almost certain Kurogane felt it too, she squeezed his shoulder. It was strong and sinewy, funny, in this pose Tomoyo almost felt like Kurogane was a knight kneeling before her.
"Perhaps it's time you tell me more of the story Kurogane-san... Just so we may be more informed as to how we can help."
Trust me, I want to help you.
Kurogane broke eye contact when the sound of Sakura taking a hesitant step forward broke through the potent energy of the moment.
Indeed when she spoke, Sakura's voice was quiet and almost reverent like she didn't want to intrude, "Kurogane-san, you know about magic right? But you're like Tomoyo-chan, I don't sense any magic about you or around you. Maybe if you tell us about how you knew about magic and the Witch-san we can start from there?"
Before she could tamp it down, Tomoyo's heart clenched, There goes Sakura being too perfect and adorable again. Her eyes must have softened when she turned to look at Sakura because when she met Kurogane's eyes again he was just barely smirking.
To Tomoyo he whispered, "Most beloved 'friend' huh?"
Sakura just blinked, totally oblivious while the slightest blush tinged Tomoyo's cheeks.
He's teasing me!
Tomoyo dropped her hand from his shoulder and brushed non existent dirt off of her skirts flowing fabric, huffing slightly.
"Come on Kurogane-san, we saved cake for you, though maybe I shouldn't have."
When the mismatched party was settled on Tomoyo's couches and tea had been passed around and served to everyone a silence descended once again over the room. Kurogane looked almost comically large next to the two teenagers and Kero in his small form; Sakura went through the motions of calling forth the summoning staff and invoking the SHIELD card, which Kurogane watched intently as if cataloging the information for later, though with an obvious-to-Tomoyo attitude of feigned boredom.
"It's ok if you don't want to reveal everything to us Kurogane-san," Tomoyo began, "I just ask that you tell me if you think my family or household could be in danger from whatever it is you're fleeing from."
"First off, I'm not fleeing from anyone! I don't run from anything!"
"We're not doubting you Kurogane-san, and I have faced some danger before during my friendship with Sakura-chan, so I hope you don't think of me as cowardly. I certainly don't think of you that way. I just have always imagined true strength and courage are best used in service of protecting who and what you love. That's what Sakura-chan does and that's why she will always the perfect and cutest heroine…"
Tomoyo shifted her attention to Sakura and clutched at her hands, earning a sweat drop from Sakura and Kero.
"Tomoyo-chan, I think we're getting off topic… Kurogane-san would you also mind answering the questions I asked earlier? I admit I am very curious," Sakura interrupted before Tomoyo was lost further into her reverie.
All of the heartfelt earnestness in the room seemed to be giving Kurogane some kind of nervous allergic reaction, his chest was red with splotches, and he shifted in his seat.
Finally he spoke, "My mom was a Shrine Maiden growing up, and sometimes had prophetic dreams even as an adult… so I knew about certain things from her before she died. Then, later," and Tomoyo remembered him calling out to his mother in his fever dreams last night, "The people who took me in who became my employers got in with the right crowd to contact Yuko. A wish was made and somehow I got caught up in it. I realized they weren't good people after all and killed some of them before they could kill me," Sakura gasped, but Kurogane ignored it and was actually grinning, "Really screwed up their operation too, so now I guess I'm a bit of a wanted man."
It didn't take Tomoyo's powerful sense of observation to see that there was a lot more to the story, but she also felt somewhat sick at Kurogane's seemingly genuine glee at causing such mayhem and, even death? Yuko really expects me, a seventeen year old girl to provide sanctuary to a murderer? And worst of all, I was wrong about him… but I still can't help feeling like he's so much more than that.
Kurogane shrugged to himself and continued, "I tried to find Yuko because I figured she'd owe me for starting all this mess by granting my old boss' wish in the first place, but I found out quick that's not the way 'inevitability' works."
Tomoyo murmured, " 'Nothing is coincidence, everything is inevitability,' I remember she said that to me too."
"That's what Mizuki-sensei and Clow Reed used to say too!" Sakura exclaimed!
Kurogane's interest piqued at the name Clow Reed, but Kero interrupted any moment that might have been building, as he was apt to do, "SO Tomoyo are you really ok with a man like this staying in your house? What are you going to tell your Mom?"
Not for the first time that day Tomoyo fought the urge to pinch the bridge of her nose.
"I'm not as concerned with that right now Kero-chan," and she turned her focus back to the man grabbing the knees of his pants looking for all the world like he was reading to jump out the window again. "So if you're not running away, if you're not hiding, what did you wish for from the witch?"
"Not a hiding place," he growled through gritted teeth, "A place to bide my time while I recover my strength to take those bastards down completely," and the manic grin was back, "Fei Wong Reed deserves a fate worse than I can deliver, but I'll do my best."
"Reed? Like Clow Reed? Could they be connected?" Kero asked no one in particular.
Tomoyo's eyes slid over to Sakura, looking for some support with how to handle a live wire like Kurogane. Tomoyo was brilliant of course but she was only a teenager, and felt a bit out of her depth. Surprisingly, Sakura looked not shocked or scared, but very thoughtful, though still a little troubled.
"Kurogane-san," Sakura hesitated, "Why didn't you just wish for this Reed person to well… be killed?"
"Sakura!" Kero exclaimed, scandalized.
The handsome but dangerous grin remained on Kurogane's face, "No it's a good question girlie. It's the Witch's balance that made me say no. The price is a life for a life. I'm not going to give up my future just for the sake of destroying that man's. My Mother sacrificed her life for mine. I won't waste that on that scum. People who are so ready to just throw their lives away, I can't stand them."
Kurogane shifted in his seat and broke eye contact and Tomoyo could see that perhaps he had revealed more than he originally intended.
Ahhh the power of Sakura's green eyes strikes again, she's the one who got Li-kun to turn into a big softy after all.
"Well, I can't say that makes me happy to hear Kurogane-san, but I am glad that you at least value your own life."
"SO," Once again Kero interrupted hovering closer to Kurogane, "Black-kun, what did the witch set you up with for strength huh? A flaming sword? A magical dagger? Poison darts? Enchanted armor?"
Kurogane swiped to try to grab Kero out of the air, but Kero dodged it and stuck his tongue out.
Kurogane crossed his arms and his brow furrowed even deeper, then he said almost too quiet for Tomoyo to catch, "She didn't…"
"Ehhhhh? You're planning on going into a life or death battle and you don't have any weapons?"
"I never said I don't have any weapons, just said that the Witch didn't give me any," when Tomoyo glanced at him slightly nervously he added, "I didn't bring them here, they are stashed in a safe place."
But Tomoyo interrupted her own worries with a sudden thought, "Fei Wong… where have I heard that name before?" she asked aloud. Standing abruptly and walking over to her desk she shuffled through a few papers that she kept neatly filed there. Since her seventeenth birthday a few months ago her mother had begun to start grooming her for a position within the company, and so Tomoyo had a few copies of some paperwork on her desk.
Sakura and Kero followed her over to the desk while Kurogane turned casually in his seat to glance over his shoulder at them, looking bored as ever but his reddish eyes shining shrewdly.
"What is it Tomoyo-chan?" Sakura asked, but Tomoyo waited to answer until she found the file she was looking for.
"I knew it. Reed Holdings Inc. Here it is," Tomoyo held out the file to Sakura for her to read while Kero looked over her shoulder.
"A few months ago this business, Reed Holdings, made an offer to basically buy out my Mother's company. Daidouji Toy Co is a publicly held company, but Reed Holdings offered to purchase a majority of the shares still owned by our family and the rest of the board of directors. I remember because my Mother was so upset that the board was actually considering selling the company that she had worked so hard for. The offer was delivered by the Reed Holding's attorney, Kyle Rondart, but you can see on the paperwork right there, that it was made on behalf of the CEO… Fei Wong Reed."
Tomoyo gestured to one of the large paragraphs of text on the page Sakura was reading, where the name was listed, clear as day. She noticed Kurogane's eyebrow twitch as he crossed his arms menacingly, but he didn't express any opinion either way.
"So what happened?" Kero asked in his stead.
"Well my Mother was able to dissuade the board from selling their shares and the offer was ultimately rejected. I honestly haven't thought of it since. I didn't make the connection to Clow, Reed is not an uncommon name for westerners and it's not unheard of for this kind of thing to happen in the business world. Apparently my Mother looked into Reed Holdings and they largely deal in buying and selling other profitable businesses… but she felt that there was something fishy about them."
"Your Mother has good instincts. Reed Holdings is just a front. Fei Wong works mostly on the black market selling weapons, technology, drugs, human beings, anything that will net him a profit. Who knows what his ultimate goal is though, he always sends that rat Rondart to do his dirty work for him," Kurogane finally seemed willing to share a little bit more.
"And you worked for this man?" Tomoyo asked, her tone belied a little of the inherent judgement in her question, but her eyes were just sad.
What must have happened to this man to make him sink so low as to involve himself with Reed?
Kurogane met her eyes without fear and nodded, seemingly he had come to terms with his pact with the devil long ago. Sakura covered her mouth with her hand stifling a gasp, "Selling human beings? Like slaves? He can't be connected to Clow-san!"
Tomoyo caught on a little quicker than her friend, but she didn't feel like giving voice to her disgusting suspicions. Kurogane seemed reluctant to explain in front of two adolescent girls as well.
She changed the subject slightly, hoping not to upset Sakura any more than she had been already, "So what would a man like this want with a harmless toy company like our family's?"
At this Kurogane just shrugged unhelpfully, but Kero scoffed.
"Tomoyo, your Mother has always been on the leading edge of technology. That's why her products are always so cool! She must have been on the edge of something Reed wants!"
"I honestly couldn't imagine what it could be… I admit I'm not aware of everything that goes on with the company, but I'd like to think I know most of the important things at this point. I'm set to begin working there in a few years," Tomoyo held her chin in her hands, thinking deeply.
"I was just a bodyguard and could never get too close, but I overheard a lot of conversations and I know Fei Wong himself had several pet projects involving some crazy stuff, time travel, maybe even cloning, and magic of course. Who knows what he was really up to.I remember the higher ups I worked for thought it was all a crock of shit-"
Kurogane's eyes shifted to Tomoyo, and rather adorably, his cheeks flushed slightly, "Ah sorry, they thought it was not uhh, profitable or viable. But they made an obscene amount of money with Reed otherwise, so it was always just complaints. They never did anything."
"Until you killed them," Kero accused, narrowing his already beady eyes, further.
Kurogane's grin turned sharp again, "Yeah, exactly right meat bun."
A bodyguard. That makes sense, why he's so fit and why he wouldn't necessarily feel squeamish about killing and violence. Still doesn't make me happy to hear.
A furrow formed on Tomoyo's brow and she thought about Kurogane and Reed and her Mother's company. It was too overwhelming, she needed time to sit and scheme and plan. Being prepared for anything and everything was Tomoyo's motto, she needed more information before anything could be done. There were too many variables. A part of her mind was appalled at how easily she had gotten over the idea of harboring a man like Kurogane in her home, but nothing would shake that strange feeling she had about him. Earlier it had been like all of her senses were screaming out to her, this is the beginning of something. Yes, this man was definitely meant to come into her life, the Witch just helped things along.
Suddenly Sakura's cellphone rang, startling all of them to different degrees.
"Sorry," she muttered and dug into her small backpack (one Tomoyo had designed for her of course), to check the caller ID, "It's Yukito-san!"
"Good! Tell that snowbunny to get his butt over here! We need to get Yue in on this as well. Not that I am not strong or smart enough by myself, but he's slacking off as a guardian. Bloody school trip!"
Sakura completely disregarded Kero's ranting, as used to it as she was, Tomoyo merely giggled softly behind her hand.
"Hello? - Yes hello Yukito-san, it's good to hear from you. Are you home safe?"
Tomoyo turned away from Sakura and Kero, who were both huddling around the phone, back toward Kurogane, only to find that he was already staring at her. A lesser person might have flinched away from a stare so intense, but Tomoyo felt she could understand it. She had a feeling that perhaps that strange feeling from before had gone both ways.
"Pardon me for asking this now," she said, angling her body further away from the other two and lowering her voice slightly, "But have we met before? I swear I felt the strangest sense of deja vu a bit earlier…"
Deja vu was not a good way to describe the feeling, but Tomoyo was no magician or sorcerer, she did not know the right words for what she had felt before.
Kurogane's eyes softened infinitesimally, but Tomoyo noticed.
"Not deja vu. Hitsuzen. Inevitability. Never really believed in any of the witch's crap until I saw that person disappear into another world. But still had my doubts about her whole thing. Destiny? Inevitability? Yeah right. But then you put my hand on my shoulder and... I'm glad the witch sent me here Princess. Even if it causes you trouble, I got you involved, I'll protect you, I promise."
Tomoyo's eyes sparkled with emotion, and unshed tears, "Princess?" she managed to ask.
Now it was Kurogane's turn to widen his eyes before he sank back into gruffness, "I honestly don't know why I said that. Just seemed right."
"No, I wasn't complaining-"
Tomoyo was cut off by Sakura walking over, prompting Tomoyo to discreetly wipe her eyes and Kurogane to shift his weight and cross his arms, after that bizarre outpouring of emotion.
"Tomoyo-chan, Is it ok if Yuki-san comes over here? Usually we would go to his place but he brought a friend home to visit after the trip and doesn't want this person to get caught up in all this or know about Yue."
"Yes of course! I would be delighted to receive him."
"Ok! Then would it also be ok to invite Nii-chan over after he gets off from work. I know they haven't had the chance to see each other yet since Yukito-san only just got back."
"How could I stand in the way of young love?" Tomoyo and Sakura grinned at each other, eager to see the stony faced Touya lose it over his boyfriend.
"Hang on, who the hell are these people?" Kurogane shouted.
"Don't be rude Kurogane-san. Tsukishiro-san is the human form of Sakura's second magical guardian and would be an invaluable resource in this situation. And Sakura's brother is his boyfriend so I think it would be nice to have him over."
The two locked eyes stubbornly, Tomoyo smiling pleasantly, completely confident she would get her way. Sakura's eyes widened and Kero's jaw dropped in disbelief that Tomoyo felt confident enough to rebuke someone who had confessed to killing multiple people not 10 minutes ago.
"Fine," Kurogane sighed, predictably caving to his newfound, 'Princess.'
Sakura filled in Yukito and their decision and then texted Touya as well. After shuffling Kurogane back into her closet, Tomoyo summoned the maids and let them know they would be expecting more guests soon. She also took the opportunity to give him the clothes she had made.
"I only was able to make a visual estimate of your measurements when you were sitting down in the cot earlier, but I think these will fit. You must be eager to get out of clothes that are do dirty."
Kurogane looked down at his current outfit, fingering the hem of his shirt, and Tomoyo looked more closely at some of the stains covering it. Oh my, is that… blood? He hadn't had any external injuries when they'd given him a cursory examination before, a few bruises but no open wounds. Tomoyo allowed herself to feel a bit disturbed again.
"Don't worry Princess. This is my blood, and dirt and grime. I've been on the run roughing it for a while now, searching for that Witch, of course she didn't show up until I got cornered when I was sick and almost died. I'll burn these clothes, destroy the evidence, just to be on the safe side. Wouldn't want to make you my accomplice any more than you already are."
Tomoyo strained to stay smiling, his words did not actually do much to comfort her. They actually worried her more, almost died? Kurogane seemed to realize this and cast around for something else to say,
"These clothes… thank you. They look very, uh, comfortable. And black. My favorite color, how'd you know?"
A more genuine smile came easily to Tomoyo's face now, "A good guess I suppose. Please get changed and remain here, I'll come fetch you when it's safe to come out."
"Mother will be sorry she doesn't get to see Touya, though she doesn't dote on him as much as she does you, Sakura. Probably because you take after your mother," Tomoyo made conversation while they were waiting.
Then muffled voices and footsteps could be heard in the hallway, two male voices and one of the maids.
"Aww, I guess we weren't able to surprise Nii-chan after all, they must have met up on the way over," Sakura said as she got up to open the door, while Kero hid himself in Sakura's backpack from the maid.
But to everyone else's surprise it was not Touya who walked through the door with Yukito, but a foreign looking blond man with very blue eyes. He was about Yukito's height, perhaps a bit taller and lankier, and sported a jovial grin as he met the eye of everyone in the room.
"Ah, everyone, this is my friend Flourite Fai-san!" Yukito introduced the man, manners impeccable as always.
"You can all just call me Fai. Flourite is so hard to say," the man, Fai, added in perfect Japanese.
Tomoyo, who was on Yukito's level of picking up subtle cues and always being able to roll with the punches quickly recovered after the initial shock of receiving an unexpected guest. She felt exceptionally lucky that she'd had the foresight to tell Kurogane to remain hidden.
"Ah, Fai-san, My name is Daidouji Tomoyo, you can just call me Tomoyo, and this is Sakura-chan, who I'm sure you've heard about."
"Tomoyo-chan, thank you so much for having me and I apologize for my intrusion," he bowed politely.
"Yes, I apologize as well Tomoyo-chan. It didn't feel right leaving Fai-san all alone in my grandparent's big house alone when we just arrived…" Yukito made eye contact with Tomoyo, grimacing slightly and mouthed I'm sorry.
"Not at all! I'm happy to have you both," searching her mind for an excuse to get Fai out of the room that didn't sound too suspicious, she came up with, "Fai-san, I wonder if you would like a tour of the gardens while these two get reacquainted. I believe there is some sort of surprise in order for Touya-san that needs planning as well, but we are not needed for that…"
A curious shadow seemed to pass over Fai's face for a moment, but then his smile turned teasing and a tad roguish.
"My my Yukito-san, are all of your friends such charming pretty young women? Perhaps I should consider transferring here permanently," then bowing and kissing the back of Tomoyo's hand he continued, "It would be my honor Princess."
Tomoyo struggled to keep her eyes from showing her surprise. Though she did not get the same feeling she did earlier when she had touched Kurogane this was the second time today someone had referred to her by that nickname. After meeting Yuko, Tomoyo was hesitant to write it off as mere coincidence.