Kurogane watched Fai comb through his wet blond locks. The mage's bright blue eyes were shadowed by his long lashes, and he seemed lost in thought. Fai was stressed. Kurogane could feel it in the tension he had pressed from the wizard's muscles. And the warrior was fairly certain it was that elven king's fault. Ever since the night the companions had told their story and Thranduil had let slip the suggestion that the dead could come back to life, Fai had been out of sorts. And now there were these secret meetings between the king and the mage. Kurogane wanted to ask Fai what was going on, but he knew the chances of him getting a straight answer were low.

Kurogane frowned when he knew Fai wasn't looking. He had thought they were past this, the lying, the hiding. The wizard was falling back into old habits. Kurogane was trying to be patient with him. He knew what had happened to Fai; he had seen his past. Thranduil had inadvertently dug up painful memories, and now Fai, it seemed, was suffering for it. Kurogane wanted to help. Gods knew he cared for the man. But when Fai closed himself off like this, it was difficult for the ninja to act. He offered him physical comfort where he could, but even in this, Fai was giving him mixed signals, drawing him near one moment, pushing him away the next. But he had accepted Kurogane's offer of a massage this afternoon, and so maybe that was a step back in the right direction.

Fai had finished combing through his hair. The mage coiled it atop his head again, more neatly this time, and settled back to wait. "It's nice here," the mage said softly. "I hope we get to stay for a while yet."

Kurogane sighed quietly. Uncertain whether he shared the wizard's opinion of Thranduil's domain, he chose not to comment.

"The food's good too," Fai continued. "Is it nearly time for lunch, do you think?"

Kurogane frowned to hear that the skinny mage had unknowingly skipped another meal. "We'll be having dinner with the kid and the creampuff in about an hour," he said.

"Hmm… that late already?" The mage acted completely unconcerned, leaning against the side of the bath and closing his eyes. "I suppose we should finish up here and dry off. Do you suppose this stuff's been in long enough?" he asked, indicating the conditioner in his hair.

"It's probably fine," Kurogane answered. The wizard slipped back beneath the water to rinse. When he had resurfaced, he climbed out onto the pool's edge, where he sat, legs dangling down into the water, ringing out his hair. Kurogane waited another minute before climbing out as well. The two dried themselves with the towels they had obtained from the bath attendant.

Fai dressed himself in the fresh set of clothes he had brought with him. Kurogane had not thought to bring another set, and so he put back on the clothes he had worn there. They were clean enough. The pair returned to their apartment.

Fai lit lamps and candles, and the two of them relaxed in the sitting room, waiting for Syaoran and Mokona to return. Kurogane could still smell the perfume of the hair products Fai had used, the subtle, lingering scent of lilac and violet. It was pleasant – sweet, without being overwhelming. The wizard amused himself by plaiting small braids into his drying tresses, attempting to copy some of the styles he had seen elves wearing around the palace. He was not good at it. The braids came out uneven and messy when they came out at all. Fai laughed as he undid each failed attempt. Kurogane considered offering to assist him, but he knew he'd be no better at it and contented himself with watching.

Before long, their two companions returned. As they entered the room, Mokona jumped from Syaoran's shoulder to land on Kurogane's head. "Kuro-puu, your hair's wet!" she exclaimed. "Did you get rained on?" Kurogane snatched her gently from his head.

"Kuro-tan and I just got back from a bath," Fai explained, smiling at her.

"You went again without Mokona?" the small creature asked, her tiny brows squishing together, as she sat on Kurogane's knee.

"It's okay, Mokona," Syaoran said, sitting down beside them. "I haven't seen the baths yet, so how about you and I go together later?"

"Okay," Mokona replied, brightening up again.

"Did you two have a nice day at the library?" Fai asked them.

"Mmhm." Mokona nodded enthusiastically. "Saelan read us a really long poem. It was full of all sorts of adventures! It didn't rhyme, though…"

Syaoran laughed softly. "Yeah, I guess poetry tends to lose something in translation," he admitted. "It was still very interesting, though. The elves recon time in ages from the beginning of their history. We're in the third of those ages now. Year 2770 of the Third Age of Middle-earth. The story in the poem Saelan recited for us today took place back in the First Age. Did you know there are still some elves in Middle-earth who were alive all the way back then? It's amazing. I can't imagine how much history a person would get to see firsthand living for thousands of years like that."

"It would be quite an experience," Fai agreed. "So, what was the poem about?" he asked politely.

"All sorts of things!" Mokona chimed in. "Kings, and really shiny jewels, and werewolves, and a woman with shadowy hair, and a big doggie, and – oh Fai, Mokona's glad you're not a giant bat thing!" she cried out, jumping over into Fai's lap.

"I'm not a… what?" Fai asked in confusion, catching the white creature in his arms, a perplexed look on his face.

"There was a vampire in the poem," Syaoran explained with an apologetic smile. "Or, what they call a vampire here, anyway. She was a large, bat-winged creature. Definitely evil."

"Then it's a good thing we didn't tell the elves our mage is a vampire," Kurogane commented. "Good call on that." He inclined his head in Fai's direction.

Fai's eyes were downcast. He appeared uncomfortable with the direction the conversation had turned. Kurogane was about to change the subject, but Syaoran, who had also noticed, spoke first. "Did the two of you end up walking outside at all?" he asked Fai and Kurogane.

Fai relaxed, easing into a natural smile. "We did," he answered. "The weather was lovely, and it was a very nice walk. Kuro-puu was out longer than I was. Tell them about the training fields Tauriel showed you, Kuro-tan."

Kurogane described for his companions the parts of the forest he had been shown during his tour with the captain of the guard. Having watched several sparring matches between the elven soldiers, he detailed for his listeners points he had noticed on the wood elves' style of swordplay. The ninja had been impressed with their speed and agility, the fluid motion of their movements. As he spoke, he looked around at the group. Syaoran, a swordsman himself, paid close attention. Fai watched him talk, a look of fondness on his face as he stroked Mokona's ears while she sat in his lap. The small creature leaned back comfortably against the mage, enjoying Kurogane's story.

As Kurogane was describing the setup of the last of the outdoor practice fields he had been shown, a knock sounded on their apartment door. Kurogane paused in his narrative and rose to answer it. Opening the door, he found Melanna waiting with a cart bearing their dinner. He invited her in, but she declined. "Mother has me running errands for her, so I can't stay," she apologized. "I'll be back later to pick up the dishes, though. If you could just leave them on the cart and put it back out in the hallway, that would be very helpful."

Kurogane agreed and thanked her. Turning, Melanna traveled back down the hallway in the direction of the kitchens. Kurogane wheeled the cart in to where his companions sat waiting. Together, they unloaded the food they had been sent. Dinner consisted of salad and venison stew. The group sat around their sitting room table and conversed amiably as they shared the meal.

The salad was made up of a mixture of greens and herbs and came with a cruet of honey-colored dressing. Kurogane ate his, but was not overly fond of it. Fai, however, seemed to enjoy it, and having finished his first plateful, helped himself to a second. Kurogane was somewhat relieved to see the mage had a good appetite, considering he had eaten only a breakfast of pastries earlier in the day. All four of them enjoyed the stew, which was savory and warm, and they dipped bread in their bowls to soak up the remaining broth.

Once they had eaten their fill, Fai suggested that Syaoran and Mokona go take their bath. Syaoran wanted to help clear the table first, but Fai insisted that he and Kurogane could handle it and shooed the young man toward his room to get fresh clothes. While he was gone, Mokona asked whether Fai and Kurogane wanted to join them as well. Since the two of them had just bathed before dinner, Fai promised instead that they would join the two of them another time. Mokona accepted his answer. After thinking for a moment, she spat out a deck of playing cards. "So you don't get bored while Mokona is gone," she explained smiling up at them. Fai patted her head, thanking her for being so considerate.

When Syaoran had returned from his and Mokona's room, Mokona hopped up onto the young man's shoulder and the two of them proceeded toward the door. "You're sure you remember the way, creampuff?" Kurogane asked after them.

"Mokona remembers," Mokona assured him.

"Have a nice bath, you two," Fai said cheerily, waving goodbye as they exited the room. The door closed, and Fai turned back toward the table. He tucked his long hair, now fully dry and shining, back behind his ear as he bent to pick up the dishes from the table. Kurogane moved to assist him. "I can take care of it," the wizard said, smiling softly. "You don't need to help, Kuro-sama."

"I know," Kurogane said simply, continuing to stack plates anyway. The two of them finished clearing the table, aside from the two glasses they were still drinking out of, and Fai pushed the cart off to the side.

Sitting back down, the mage took up the pack of playing cards Mokona had left them. Opening the small cardboard box, he tipped the deck into his hand and began shuffling the laminated cards. It was a deck of 52, divided into four suits. The companions had seen sets like these in several of the worlds they had visited and had learned to play a few different games with them. It had been Fai's idea that they buy a pack to keep with them. The mage liked to practice the art of shuffling cards, and he had gotten fairly good at it. Though, out of the four of them, Syaoran did it best.

Kurogane took a sip from his glass as Fai began to deal out the cards between the two of them. Though the ninja did not much care for the Elvenking, he had to admit the elf had good taste in wine. Though Kurogane was the only one of their group drinking it tonight. Fai had opted for water, and Kurogane had told Syaoran and Mokona that they should not drink alcohol before a hot bath.

Fai finished dealing, and Kurogane picked up his cards, fanning them out to look at them. Fai flipped up the top card from the deck, indicating to Kurogane the game he had chosen. Kurogane laid down a card of the same suit on top of it.

Fai drew a card from the pile. "Why is it," he mused aloud, "that eight was chosen as the most insane of numbers?"

Kurogane shrugged. "It's just what they call the game. Crazy eights. They count as wild."

"I know that," Fai admitted, laying one down atop the discard pile. "But why eights? Spades, by the way," he added, as Kurogane looked at him.

Kurogane took his turn, drawing and adding a card to his hand. "Maybe it was the game inventor's favorite number," the ninja suggested. "Or his least favorite. Or maybe he picked it for no reason at all. It's your turn."

"Everything has a reason, Kuro-sama," Fai replied, laying down the two of spades.

"Maybe," Kurogane admitted. "But we don't always get to know the reasons." He played the two of hearts over Fai's card.

"Hmm. I suppose you're right," Fai agreed, playing another heart over Kurogane's. Kurogane placed a matching number over the mage's last discard, changing the suit to clubs. Fai drew, unable to play. Kurogane frowned, being out of clubs and forced to draw again. He extended his hand to the deck and slipped off the top card. It showed the king of diamonds, unhelpful in the game, and serving to remind the ninja of reasons Fai had been holding back from him.

"I can't play," Kurogane admitted. Fai drew another card and managed to change the suit to spades. Kurogane followed with a spade from his own hand. They continued back and forth until Fai was down to one card. It was Kurogane's turn. The four of diamonds lay atop the discard pile as the ninja debated between the two cards remaining in his hand: the ace and king of diamonds. Finally, he laid down the ace.

Fai smiled at him gleefully as he tossed down his final card, the ace of spades. "I win, Kuro-rin," he cheered. "Want to play again?"

"Sure," Kurogane answered. He unobtrusively slipped his remaining card face down back onto the deck as Fai reached to gather the cards and reshuffle them. The mage seemed content; now was not the time for Kurogane to ask about his meetings with the king. He would wait. Perhaps things would work themselves out. Pushing his curiosity and concern aside for the time being, the ninja picked up and began sorting the new cards Fai dealt to him.

The two men played cards until Syaoran and Mokona returned from the bath. Partway through, they switched games. Kurogane had wanted to play one of the more complex games they had learned involving runs and sets, but they had nothing to keep score on, and so settled for easier one-hand games.

"Go fish, Kuro-sama," Fai commanded as the door to their apartment opened to reveal their other two companions.

"We're back!" Mokona exclaimed, jumping from Syaoran's shoulder into Fai's arms and causing the wizard to drop his cards.

"I see that," Fai said, setting the small white creature beside him on the couch and stooping to retrieve the fallen cards. "Did you and Syaoran have a nice bath?"

"Mmhm," Mokona nodded enthusiastically. "Mokona and Syaoran went swimming in one of the really big baths. And Mokona made sure Syaoran remembered to wash his hair," she added proudly.

"That's very good," Fai replied to her. As the two of them continued their conversation, Syaoran came to stand beside Kurogane.

"Kurogane," the young man said, bending down slightly to speak softly into the ninja's ear. "May I talk to you in the other room for a moment?"

"Sure, kid," Kurogane answered. He glanced over to see that Fai and Mokona were still happily chatting together and stood up to follow Syaoran into the room he and Mokona shared. "What's wrong?" Kurogane asked as he closed the door behind them. He had seen the troubled look in the young man's face.

Syaoran set down the set of clothes he had been carrying on the end of the bed before turning to face the ninja again. "You remember what the king said to Fai the night we told the elves of our travels, about the dead returning to life?" the young man asked.

Kurogane frowned. "You found something out, didn't you?" Syaoran nodded. "Well, is it true?" Kurogane asked.

Syaoran hesitated a moment. "Yes," he finally said. "But only in some cases. I asked Saelan about it. Elves can return to life after being killed because it's in their nature. But it's not the same for humans. There was one case," he continued, "when a human came back to life. His name was Beren. That's who the poem was about – the one Saelan recited for Mokona and me. But it's not something that could happen again."

Kurogane was silent a moment, processing the information Syaoran had shared with him. It was not what he had expected. In a way, it did not seem to comply with what they had learned during their travels. But they had never encountered elves before. Perhaps they were the exception to the rule. As for this Beren, he may be only an unfounded myth, a hero from a fictional poem. And even if he was real, as the kid had said – such a thing could not happen again. Humans who die cannot return to life. For all intents and purposes, that truth remained intact.

"I asked Mokona not to say anything to Fai about it. Not yet," Syaoran said, drawing Kurogane back out of his thoughts. The boy's brows were knit with concern. "We have to tell him, but… You saw the look on his face when Thranduil mentioned the dead returning to life. I just don't know if…"

Kurogane laid a hand on the young man's shoulder. "It's all right, kid," he said. "I'll take care of it." Syaoran looked up at him, still unsure. "You uncovered the truth. You did good," the ninja reassured him. "Don't worry about it anymore. I'll tell Fai."

Syaoran breathed a sigh. "All right," he agreed.

"Now," Kurogane said, taking back his hand. "Let's get back to the others. I bet the creampuff wants to beat us all at cards again." Appearing reassured by Kurogane's promise to handle the matter, Syaoran managed to smile again, and the two of them returned to the sitting room and sat down to cards. Mokona did manage to beat them all in multiple rounds. It was a wonder how well she handled cards with her small paws. After a while, Syaoran and Mokona started yawning, and Kurogane decided it was time to send them to bed. They bid each other good night and prepared for sleep.

Kurogane sat down on the end of his and Fai's bed as he waited for the mage to return from the washroom. He had made up his mind – he would tell Fai what Syaoran had discovered. There was no point in waiting. The sooner he told the wizard, the sooner they could all move past the matter, and things could return to the way they had been. Fai walked into the room, closing the door behind him.

Kurogane took a breath. "Fai, we need to talk," he began. The mage blinked at him, the look in his bright blue eyes flipping quickly from confusion to wariness.

"What is it, Kuro-sama?" Fai feigned nonchalance.

Kurogane suppressed a sigh. "Come sit down." He indicated a spot next to him on the bed. Fai walked over and sat down beside him.

"Well, what's all this about? You're being very cryptic, Kuro-puu," Fai said. He spoke lightly, but Kurogane could sense a nervousness that the mage was trying to hide.

"It's about something the king said," Kurogane finally answered, "the night we told the elves our story, about the dead returning to life." The smile slipped off Fai's face. The ninja continued. "Syaoran looked into." He spoke gently. "It's not true. Not for humans, at least. It's…"

"I know, Kuro-sama," Fai cut him off.

"You know?" Kurogane repeated.

"I asked Thranduil myself," the wizard admitted.

"And were you going to tell us?" Kurogane asked softly. Fai sat silently, his head bowed. His long blond hair had fallen forward, partially obscuring his face. The warrior immediately regretted asking that last question. Fai had not told them because he found it too painful to talk about. "Fai, I'm sorry…" Kurogane reached out a hand to comfort him, but the mage shied away from his touch.

"It's all right, Kuro-sama," Fai replied, offering the other man a transparently false smile. "After all, we already knew it couldn't be true." He stood, moving out of Kurogane's reach.

Kurogane lowered his hand. It was not all right. Kurogane knew Fai well enough to know that much. Fai was suffering, though the mage refused to admit it. Instinct urged the ninja to draw Fai close, to hold him and soothe out the pain as best he could. But Fai had pulled away again.

The wizard moved toward the door. "Where are you going?" Kurogane asked quietly, rising from the bed.

"For a walk," Fai answered him. "I'm fine, Kuro, really. Get some sleep. There's no need to wait up for me." Then he slipped out the door, closing it before Kurogane had a chance to say anything more.

The warrior stood alone in the room the two men shared. He was tempted to go after the mage, but thought better of it. If Fai did not want his comfort, Kurogane would not force it upon him. The wizard wanted to be alone, and so he would respect that.

Kurogane sunk back down onto the end of the bed. He had done all he could for now. But that knowledge did little to lift the uncomfortable weight that had settled into his stomach. Fai had told him not to wait up, but Kurogane knew he would get no sleep until the mage returned. He busied himself changing into his nightshirt and turning down the bedsheets before settling down to wait.