Happy new year, guys! Well, not so happy, really, thinking that we have to go through another hell of a year. But who cares? Fan fictions will make it up to it!

Disclaimer: I'm getting sick of doing this for every single hell of a chapter.

The moment they arrive in the tiny cottage in the outskirts of Florence (a 10 minute drive from where they were left), Fai's condition had worsened. In the middle of their journey back, Fai had developed a concussion. His breathing became irregular and softer and his face had gone two shades paler. That was when the idiots started to take things a little more seriously, and thus they were split into two groups: the fast and the slow. One was to go first with Fai once they reached the end of the passageway, the other left behind to guard and wait.

It was obvious which of the choices did Kurogane chose.

But the moment they arrived, Fai was barely breathing.

He burst into the living room, panic and dread piling in his stomach and as he flung his head right and left, trying to find anyone, ANYONE who would save his beloved. His mouth opened, on the verge of tears and screaming and killing and destroying everything in sight.

SOMEONE HELP HIM! DON'T LET HIM DIE!

Someone pried the blonde from his arms, and, drowned in the haze of madness, snapped from his panic, willing to find the one who had taken his love one away from him. No, he will not let another person or thing take away the one he loved. He would tear him down, rip him into pieces, and present his head to the one he intended to hurt. Instinctively, the hysterical man reached below and grabbed the hilt of his sword…

"Stop."

The enraged man whirled himself around violently, searching for the source of the chilly voice. A cold and bony hand rested itself on his bicep and it took a few moments for Kurogane to identify the woman before him as Yuuko. Standing behind her was a man, holding Fai in his arms they way Kurogane did as he quickly scurried off into a room with others following him.

Light dawned on him as he realized what they were going to do to his blonde. Fai was going to get hurt. Something stirred in his head – something like a storm- ran amok, and soon his vision was filled with nothing but red and-

"Fai will not die."

Stop.

What did she say?

He gazed down at those mysterious yet serious eyes, unable to suppress the hope and need to be reassured.

"Those are doctors. They'll keep him safe."

The haze disappeared. Calming blue swept through his body like cool ocean waves, washing away everything red and bad from him.

"He'll be alright."

He felt lightheaded, as if all of this was just a bad dream, something that will pass by, the same surreal feeling he had not long ago, but this time, it was accompanied by warm comfort…

Fai will live.

Warmth spread throughout Kurogane as a realization popped into his mind. By the time, his tired mind couldn't register any of it, except for a few words: safety, happiness, and living. The gruff man felt heavier and heavier by the second, strength draining out of him, before falling into the surprisingly peaceful and calming darkness ahead.

Fai will live.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Day one was the day he woke up and found himself in an unfamiliar room. It was the day when he finally got all the answers he had ever wanted to know.

Slap! A sound resonated from the living room.

Kurogane was out in a flash, only to be greeted by two crying figures; one's face was tinted with rage and the other of guilt. Subaru had just slapped his brother across the face.

"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME YOU WERE HERE, THEN, HUH?! I'VE WAITED AND WAITED AND ALL THESE YEARS I THOUGHT YOU WERE DEAD! YOU COULDN'T HAVE THE TIME TO WRITE A MESSAGE TO BE AS PROVE YOU WERE ALIVE, NOW, COULD YOU?!"

"Ahem."

Two heads turned to him and two pairs of eyes met his bored look. With a hiss, Subaru gave a warning look to him and left, dragging Kamui behind, obviously to somewhere else to yell and vent his emotions on his own brother.

Kurogane sighed and plopped himself onto the sofa. This place wasn't exactly bad; the living room was huge with an Italian taste in it. Paintings decorated the walls and it felt homely and warm. It was soothing and quiet and very different from living in a city.

Fai would love this.

…

…

Fai!

The man sprang up to his feet.

What the fuck?! How could I have forgotten him?

He searched and searched the place, opening door after door, but all the doors were locked. It just occurred to him that this house was huge for a country cottage, and there were a hell lot of people living in here than there were supposed to be.

What is that witch up to?

But Kurogane never had time to ponder the answer. His movements became more frantic as he tried to slice through one of the doors, panic starting to cloud his mind.

"What do you think you're doing?"

A man was standing behind him, arms crossed. It took him a while to register that this was the man who had saved the kids from the chaos yesterday. He frowned.

"Where's Fai?" he asked sharply.

"The doctors are still operating on him. Apparently his skull was fractured a little when Watanuki hit him on the head yesterday, and he's still in critical condition."

He let the statement dissolved in him. Fai. Fractured skull. Critical condition. Not good at all. He couldn't help but furrow his brows in worry, and for once in his life, Kurogane admitted that he was scared.

Please Fai… just hang on!

He felt helpless. Here Fai was, his life on the line between the living and the dead, yet he was unable to do anything to pull him back into the world, unable to hold him in his arms and comfort him. Not that this would be anything to the blonde since he was unconscious, but it could at least quell his fears that he was there for him.

Will I lose him… forever?

No…. no! He- he couldn't! No! He thought the blonde was finally safe, that everything was over! Fai can't die! He just can't! He felt pretty stupid for clinging onto the witch's words of comfort, but he would cling to anything that would be a reassurance that will not lose a love one again.

What would he do… if Fai dies? Would he miss him? Would he cry? For the moment, Kurogane just didn't want to think about it.

"A meeting is about to start in 5 minutes in the living room." The young man's voice broke through his thoughts. "You are to be present as well. That's all I'm telling," he added when he saw the look on Kurogane's face.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

The moment he stepped into the room, Kurogane instantly wished he wasn't there.

His boss was staring at him in front of what seemed like more than 50 people in the room. Her gaze was stern and commanding and serious, something he never seemed to be able to imagine she was capable of. The others soon followed her gaze, and it was a matter of seconds before all eyes were on him. He growled and tried to keep his patience in check.

But of course, Kurogane never had much patience to start with.

"Why the fuck are you looking at me like that?!" he yelled. He inwardly smirked when he saw a few people flinching or backing away from him, but the witch remained unperturbed. Instead, a smile spread across her face.

"See! I told you he wouldn't last 10 seconds!" she exclaimed to the crowd, laughing away like a maniac.

"WHAT THE HELL IS THAT ABOUT?!"

"Oh, don't fret, sweet little Kurokuro!" Yuuko waved her hand dismissively at him. "We were just testing your patience. Subaru and Kamui made a bet that you wouldn't last a minute, but I bet you wouldn't last 10 seconds! Ahahahaha…" At that moment, Kurogane's only wish was to slice the woman in front of him who was laughing her head off into pieces.

"Now," she said, turning serious again, like the dead suddenly awakened as she stared at the crowd. "I know many of you here are in confusion of what is happening and why you are here. Like I promised (Kurogane raised an eyebrow at this point. Since when did the witch have fulfilled any of the promises she makes?), we will answer all the questions you have today, but before we do this, please let me bring someone who knows how to start the story. "Oh, Watanuuuuuukiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii!"

Loud thumps could be heard nearby. It was getting louder and louder.

"I told you: I. Am. Not. Your. Slave! I refuse to answer every single call of yours like a dog!" A voice yelled from the distance and a young man with round glasses stomped into the room, still in his pyjamas. "WHAT?!" he howled, his face inches away from Yuuko.

"You…" A small voice broke through the silence immediately after the young man stopped yelling. "You're the one… hurt Fai…" Those words lit something in Kurogane's head. Yes, yes, this was the young man who had hurt Fai yesterday. The one responsible for Fai's condition and it was his fault that he was now hanging on a thread for survival. He… he hurt Fai! Rage boiled quickly in his heart and it would be a matter of seconds before he lost control and-

Subaru was quicker. After realizing it, he charged forward, prepared to hurt the man before him as much as possible in any way he can. Kamui quickly stepped in and grabbed hold of his twin, holding him tightly in an embrace.

"LET ME GO! HE HURT FAI! HE HURT HIM! I'M GONNA HURT HIM! HOW DARE HE?!" The man roared, clawing his hands in the air in an attempt to hurt Watanuki. The young man backed away, and the young man Kurogane previously saw –Doemeki, was it? - quickly stepped in and held him in his arms. It didn't take long for Kurogane to realize what the gesture meant and blushed. Kamui whispered something into his ear and his brother stilled, as if realizing something important, enough of a reason not to kill the young man.

"Watanuki, will you explain?"

"… Explain…?" he asked weakly, not quite getting over the shock of what happened just now.

"Yes, explain. The beginning, at least."

Eyeing Subaru carefully, he turned towards the crowd, shaking.

"Well, as you all know… er, you guys were recruited for a reason. You had been sent to many missions with clear explanations and reasons for your actions, but this one remains unknown. Like we promised, this is the explanation."

"As you all know…" he repeated. "This secret organization was created by none other than Clow Reed and Yuuko-san themselves." Kurogane turned his head towards his boss, his eyes narrowing. Well, she certainly didn't tell the teachers about that! "… an organization that handle things well beyond the authority's reach. This case we have here is considered the most confidential of all others, which involves… er…"

"-Ashura, Kamui, Subaru, Fai and little Kuro-chi here," finished Yuuko, an evil gleam on her face. "This case is considered confidential which involves even Clow Reed himself." Watanuki sighed in relief, glad to be spared from explaining it all.

"Clow Reed has a brother, Fei Wong Reed, who is the head of the Mafia child trafficking group. Some of you had been sent on missions regarding this, so you might know. Whenever he sees fit, he will kidnap children and put them on snuff films, raping and murdering them in the process. … Have you ever wondered why he was so obsessed of killing and defiling children like that?" The crowd went silent, some shaking their heads in confusion.

"When they were young, Clow and Fei Wong were sexually abused by their father." At this point, there were many shocked gasps and some just stared at Yuuko intensely, eyes wide. "When their mother didn't believe them and took part in the abuse as well, with teachers scoffing at what they were saying, they swore, if they ever got out of that hell, they would make the world pay for what it had done to them."

"Sure enough, their parents were caught and arrested by a kind neighbor who found out what was happening. Unfortunately, their psychiatrist didn't take the case seriously, claiming them to be lying and making up stories. The questioner wasn't particularly helpful either. With the addition that their testimonial wasn't good enough for the case, their parents remained free, but were not allowed fostering the both of them. Fueled by rage and despair, their goal was to create a group that could allow them to torture as many children as possible, to rebel against what the world said was 'right', to challenge justice. By the time, even kind Clow was driven mad by the events he went through." By this, Yuuko closed her eyes before continuing.

"The Mafia leader, after hearing about this case, knew that Clow and Fei were unstable. When they finally reached 18, he offered them a job – a child trafficking team he was planning to build- and they get to be the leaders and recruit others. They were brought into training and after a few years, they surfaced as one of the best – and worst – child trafficking team ever, and started making snuff films for extra profit." When she opened her eyes, Kurogane noticed there were tears in her eyes.

"They tortured and killed a whole lot of children, mind you. They became the worst kinds in the world. It wasn't after years that Clow realized the looks on the children faces when he hurt them. He told me," At this point, her voice started shaking. "That when he saw them crying and screaming in pain, their face scrunched up in that look of shame and despair, it reminded him of when he was young. He could feel their pain and helplessness, and it broke him in the end. He pleaded his brother to stop the snuff films, but he refused to. Rage had torn him apart more than anything else could repair, and that's how they broke apart, and with that, Clow went wandering everywhere, lost."

"During the years, he started formulating a plan. Clow just couldn't bear any children suffering and pay the price for their pain. He wanted to create an organization that was out of bounds by the authority, carrying out duties without the block of any legislative, and it was by then, I met him."

"He told me his plan. I agreed. We recruited people, build the organization, and that's how all of you came to be here, earning a living by doing odd jobs," she said, regarding the crowd. "Some of you might have met Clow, and these people might remember, that he died murdered by Fei Wong's men shortly afterwards, afraid he might reveal the secret to the police. Before he died, he made one last wish to me: to stop the cycle from going on, and if we can, destroy the present child trafficking team completely."

"It wasn't easy, the mission he left us. Many of you had seen the consequences of it: Fei Wong is clever. He knew what his brother planned to do before he died and sought to destroy this organization too. As long as we killed Fei Wong, the cycle won't continue. Both wishes are the same as one, but then something came up." Yuuko's gaze flickered towards him for a second. Kurogane knew. He was the cause of this problem.

"A certain blonde child named Yuui Fluorite came in. Of what I heard, Yuui and his family lived in poverty, his father constantly drunk and was involved with the Mafia, frequently abuses him and his twin. He was kidnapped and forced into a snuff film, but unlike all the others, he was spared. He lived, and was constantly raped by the members of the trafficking team. With an abused and vulnerable child exposed to such, all the Mafia leader needed to do was to manipulate the boy to bend to his will, continuing this cycle of abuses."

"So this is how it began. We had to eradicate this boy in one way or another. Some of you were sent on a mission to at least try to take him away from their arms, but Fei was ahead of us. He ordered Kyle to separate the team into two divisions, one with Yuui and one without him. But then a member of the Mafia came to visit me. Ashura, also a member of the team, came to me under Kamui's help and wished for the child to live on. After a few sessions, I told him about what we had to do and that in the end, he had to be killed. He understood, and agreed at the expense of this child's safety. So, both he and Kamui ran away that exact same day, and Ashura, being the one closest to Yuui, was expected to have him. He was under Kamui's guard ever since. That is why," she turned to Subaru. "Kamui wasn't killed. He was sent to the Mafia under our orders, at the same time learning to be a doctor. That is why he didn't want you to be dragged into this in the first place. He didn't want you to help him." Subaru gaped at her, and stared at his brother accusingly. Kamui continued holding his distraught twin, stroking and patting his hair.

"Then why are we here now? What do we have to do with this?" asked one of the men.

"Fei Wong's team is exceptionally strong and clever. None of them ever make mistakes. And the moment when Ashura was captured and the boy returning to Italy to find him, it was crucial for us to destroy the team completely. A few of you here… were involved in the actual chase itself. My men were spying and taking care of you the moment you started the mission," she said, turning to look at Kurogane and Subaru, with equally surprised looks on their faces. "Like the day you escaped from Japan, the woman whom you met during the car breakdown and the manager of the hotel you went where you met Sakura."

"By the time Kyle was sacked, we sent one of our people –Xing Huo- to be his second man as a spy. She gathered information on Yuui's attempt to escape and Watanuki told me when you both (she pointed to the both of them) were to act. The eradication of the current team was very successful. Fei Wong and Ashura were killed by Xing Huo herself, Kyle was killed by Yuui and all of you managed to kill countless others, and brought all of them back to safety. Thank you –all of you- for assisting us in this, for fulfilling Clow Reed's final wish.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Day 2 was much bearable, because it was the day Fai's surgery was complete.

"It was a success. At first we were afraid that he might be gone with the state he was brought in," laughed the doctor. "But then he reacted very well to various things and now he's fine, but…"

"But what?" he asked frantically. No, not another but… this better not be something bad… Subaru was biting his nails beside him, Kamui had his palms clenched.

"The blow had damaged a part of his brain, and he's suffering from amnesia, or like we call it memory loss. We don't know how serious it is, but the X-Rays showed that the damage is just too much. The memory loss would be permanent."

He swore he heard a crack after that sentence. Was it his heart breaking, or all of theirs?

He didn't remember what happened afterwards. He was lost in his own thoughts.

How would he deal… if Fai didn't remember him, his love, and the moments they've spent together? …Kurogane didn't believe he would deal with it every well. It would break his heart completely. Fai not remembering him… those questioning and empty eyes…

At least, he thought. If Fai truly forgets me… at least he wouldn't be able to remember what pain he has been through, the pain that I caused.

He remembered seeing Fai, looking so thin and fragile on the large bed. Drips and tubes connected to his wrist and nose, his head bandaged so heavily. The thin frame looked so broken and weak and vulnerable on the bed, and his body was so pale that it looked almost like a corpse. And Kurogane remembered when he had touched Fai's hand, that it was cold like a corpse too. He encompassed the small hand in his, and held it tightly.

"Please wake up…" he whispered, holding the hand tighter in his own. "Please remember…" And all this had to happen, because of a stupid wish of a dying man. He rather had things making absolutely no sense in his life than having Fai forgetting everything and everyone he loved, even if it wasn't many, even if nobody cared.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Day 3, Fai was still unconscious.

He had spent the whole day in Fai's room. He hadn't eaten anything since and was reluctant to leave Fai alone anymore. He didn't want to lose his precious one ever, ever again, especially when he came so close of losing him completely. His mind was in disarray; thoughts of fai never remembering for the rest of his existence was heartbreaking. He imagined those eyes… those eyes that used to be full of so much pain… completely empty…

"You know, Fai would be devastated if you starve yourself to death like this."

He turned his head in a very calm and slow way. It was Subaru, standing beside the door, holding a bowl in his left arm.

"… How's your brother?"

"Ah," he shrugged, entering the room. "We had a little chat, you know, yelling and crying and slapping, but everything worked out fine. At least… I get to see him again… But don't change the subject. Eat." He shoved the bowl of food his arms. "You wouldn't want to die because of him, now, do you? Fai wouldn't want you to die on his behalf."

Kurogane eyed him suspiciously, stared at the food like it was talking to him before taking a spoonful of it. Something on the bed caught his eyes and he turned his head around. Fai remained where he was, fast asleep. Kurogane sighed; it could just be his imagination.

"… What… would you do, if- if Fai ended up forgetting us?" he managed shakily between gulps of food. Subaru handed him a glass of water with a very sad look.

"… … I would be devastated. We care about Fai, even Kamui does, he just doesn't admit it. I thought- I thought the loss of Ashura was bad enough… but now…" He went silent, unable to speak anymore.

They remained like this, in this comforting sound of silence. It wasn't until Kurogane finished his food (it was damn tasty by the way. He wondered who made it.) did Subaru spoke again, carefully.

"Thank you… for loving Fai, for taking care for him… for putting his safety and happiness before your own well-being…" He gazed up at Kurogane, guilt and tears in his eyes. "You loved him truly like none of us did. We would never have done what you did out of fear. We're… unworthy, you can say, to have such a lovely boy in our lives. You deserve him. Maybe… if he did forget about us… it's the payback for causing so much damage to him, looking after ourselves more than him, when he was only a child… our responsibility…" He stood up, tears running down his face, and to Kurogane's surprise, he hugged him.

"… Thank you…"

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Day 4, Fai hasn't awakened.

This time, he wasn't so foolish to forget about himself. He didn't want to bring Fai more pain by not taking care of himself. So after lunch, on the way back to Fai's room and saw the boy and Sakura standing behind the closed door, fidgeting.

"What are you doing?" he said gruffly, and the both of them jumped. The two kids spun around together, taking deep gulps of breaths. "K-Kurogane… san…"

"What do you want? Are those flowers for… Fai?" he asked. Man, it felt weird hearing Fai's name coming out from his mouth.

"Er… erm, er, y-yeah." The boy stammered, and bowed. "I'm sorry I didn't introduce myself. My name is Syaoran. Li Syaoran." Kurogane nodded, opened the door and entered, the kids not far behind him. Sakura was on the verge of tears when she saw Fai; Even Syaoran's face was scrunched up in pain. Apparently, the whole event had finally been explained to each other.

"He's… he's alright, right?"

Kurogane hesitated, before nodding. Both children sighed in relief before placing their flowers on the table beside his bed. Sakura leaned forward and gently kissed Fai's forehead (or rather bandage). "Get well soon," she whispered, before turning to Kurogane, her face completely red.

"And erm… this is for you," she said shakily, presenting a very pretty flower.

… What kind of pansy do they think he is?

But since it was a sincere gesture from the girl, Kurogane took the flower. He would have to transfer the sincerity of this flower to something much more manly and discard of this. Oh… if his boss ever saw this…

"Erm, this is all we have to say," Sakura continued, her face completely red. "Goodbye, Kurogane-san." The both of them bowed, before hurrying out of the room.

A thought occurred in his brain.

"Kid?"

Syaoran froze in place before slowly turning to him. "Yes, Kurogane-san?" he asked. There was a hint of fear in his voice.

"Come here for a while."

He obeyed. Syaoran stood before him, head bowed, silent.

"Why?"

"Huh?"

"Why did you work for the Mafia? I heard it from the girl's story, but I want to hear your answer."

Syaoran bowed his head in shame. It was a while before he spoke.

"I… I just couldn't let Sakura live like this… I- erm- I care about her. I- I just, I can't let her continue living like this…" The boy blushed, out of shame or awkwardness he didn't know. Kurogane stared at the boy, and he couldn't help but associate him of his younger self. A desperate person, doing anything just to be able to help and take care of the one they loved… He did it because of Sakura, just as Kurogane did for Tomoyo. They did it for their precious ones. Both with equal goals and determination to do what their hearts told them to.

A resolution dug deep within him and he whipped out his wallet, searching.

"Erm… Kurogane-san?"

Yes, a cheque of 30,000 yen. It was the largest sum of cheque he got. He handed it to the boy, who stared at it and, after comprehending that this was money before him, started to stammer.

"K-Kurogane-san! No! No- I mean, it's not that we don't want it- no, it's- well- I mean- we can't just take it-"

"You did and you will, and you can have it as long as you promise me not to return to the Mafia, or do anything as stupid as that again." Don't repeat the mistake I made.

Syaoran stared up at him, worry, guilt, hope and want shining in his eyes as he held the cheque. Kurogane ruffled his hair playfully. "Don't do stupid things. Don't hurt countless others at the expense of the people you hold dear, before your past deeds haunt you. There are other ways to protect the one you love."

There were tears in the boy's eyes, before he jumped on the red-eyed man and gave him a tight hug. Blushing, he quickly let go and bowed, an almost inaudible word of "Thank you, Kurogane-san" was spoken before he hurried away.

… He must really be getting soft. Getting hug every single day was certainly a bad sign. Especially to his pride.

Speaking of which, there's still the flower problem to be solved.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Day 5, still nothing.

Fai remained unconscious on the bed. His skin has regained some color back, and his injuries were healing well, but he was still unconscious. A disturbing thought surfaced to the front of Kurogane's mind. What if Fai remained like this forever? What if he never woke up again? Shivers went down his spine.

Hey, if he were to drop into a coma, the doctor would have told you about it, his rational mind said.

What if he lied?

What do they have to gain by lying? Besides, they promised: all the questions will be answered.

Just because they say all the questions will be answered doesn't mean they won't hide a few things to themselv-

"K-Kuro…?"

…

No.

Did he just…

He rushed to the blonde's side, heart pounding in fear and hope. Please… please, let it be- He froze when he saw Fai's eyes, open and alive and remembering.

He remembered him. He remembered his name.

Kurogane was by his side in an instant. The blonde was probably stronger than the past few days, but Kurogane could see that he was still extremely weak. "Hush," he whispered, stroking Fai's beautiful face. Though weak and pale, Fai still looked like an angel from the heavens. Fai closed his eyes and moaned, shivering in response.

"Cold…" he moaned weakly, leaning closer to Kurogane. The man picked him up gently and carefully, cradling him in his arms, letting the head lie on his chest. Fai wasn't kidding: His skin was cold, though not as cold as the past few days. The blonde continued shivering in the warm embrace for a while, before falling asleep, face contorted in discomfort.

Kurogane held Fai, his lover, even in sleep, hoping and hoping that he would get better, holding him through the day, through night; as sunlight faded, as stars invaded the night sky, until the moment dawn arrived.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Day 6, Fai didn't wake up, so Kurogane occupied his time by interrogating the doctor.

"I'm sure of it, look!" The doctor slammed a black and white picture in his face. "Just look at it yourself! The hippocampus was damaged by that blow! It isn't so clear since we don't have the best X-Ray machine in the world, but any doctor could tell you that there is a significant damage to the hippocampus in the brain!" he said exasperatedly, pointing to a spot in the picture.

"Then why does he remember me? He saw me yesterday and he called me by my name!" he retorted.

"How am I supposed to know? I told you: we don't know the severity of his amnesia! He might have forgotten his whole life and himself, or maybe he just forgotten what happened the day you saved him!" the man almost shouted, face expressing deep annoyance.

"He's telling the truth, you know"

Kamui stood behind them, eyes bored and lazy as his lanky figure leaned against the door. Kurogane hissed and stomped off, and chunked the stupid picture in the bin.

… What was going on in here? The blonde couldn't have uttered his name by accident… right?

There are some things only the subconscious remembers and not the conscious.

Kurogane really hoped this wasn't one of those things.

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Day 7, a Goddamn week. There had been fights and stuff going on about cleaning and hiding the Mafia and work to do, but Kurogane paid no attention to it.

It had been a whole fucking week without hearing Fai's voice, without his smile; real or not, to see him moving and living the life he had or wanted. He could only cling to the last words before the night he vanished.

"Save me. Protect me. Don't abandon me."

He gazed at the broken form on the bed, a terrible ache threatening to tear open his heart. Gently and uncertainly, he lifted him from the bed and held him, placing countless kisses on his face and neck.

"I will protect you, forever. Even if you might forget and never love me, I will never abandon you, never again."

xXxXxXxXxXxXxXxXx

Day 8, Kurogane finally retired to his bed. He woke up at noon and got dressed, before striding towards the room he had slept in the past week, breakfast in hand. What he saw made him jumped.

Fai was on the bed, groaning and rubbing his eyes. He was still too weak to sit up properly, but at least he was moving. He dropped the bowl he was holding, allowing it to crash unceremoniously on the ground. The lithe man gazed up, confused at first, before a wide grin spread across his face, lighting up his whole face completely.

"Kuro-chan!" he exclaimed happily, reaching out his arms to Kurogane, kicking his legs impatiently. Surprised and happy as well, said man rushed to his side and in an instant, Fai threw his arms around the other shoulders and crushed their lips together, kissing him hungrily. The gruff man kissed him back as desperately and passionately, conveying his longing and loves to the blonde through this warm, intimate moment. Fai moaned into the kiss, darting his tongue into his mouth, leaning closer to the warm body. The kiss was long and wet with the addition of mouth exploring, and they finally separated for air.

"Oh, Kuro-wan! It seemed like such a long time since I last saw you!" he exclaimed happily, hugging Kurogane tightly. "But… can you explain to me what happened? I don't remember it very well," Fai said, giving Kurogane a bright, warm and innocent smile.

… Something was wrong.

"You don't remember? About what happened?" Kurogane asked cautiously, trying to sound as casual as possible. Fai was… being too honest, too… real than usual. Something had happened. Of course, he was immensely glad that the blonde had remembered him, but…

"Well…" Fai became thoughtful, his blue eyes gazing into space with confusion. "I really don't. I can't remember any of it. Maybe I passed out or something, I don't know," he said casually, shrugging in response, before another smile took place on his face, a real smile as he gazed into red. "Well, you can tell me, can you? I know I can trust my little Kuro-pan!" he laughed gently.

Trust…? Since when did he-

At that exact moment, two figures appeared at the door. The brothers were on their daily visits again. Upon seeing Fai, smiling and well on the bed, Kamui lost his voice and dignity, gaping at him wide-mouthed for a moment, and Subaru just stared. Fai, in turn, stared confusedly at them.

"Oh, Fai!" Subaru whispered, rushing and throwing his arms around him. "I'm so glad you're okay!"

But Fai continued staring at him questioningly.

"Who are you?"

Wahahahaha! Suffer from the knowledge of not knowing! Ahahahahaha… There are only two or three chapters left of this story. *sob* And the whole thing is probably going to end by the end of this month. *sniff sniff sob* But I shall not tell you what is wrong with Fai! Ahahahaha-coughcoughhackwheezesplutter…