A/N: Hmm... not sure how this turned out. At all.

Chapter 4

Prey Tell

Ever since the day he had met Fai, Kurogane had wondered if the mage had ever kept silent for more than ten seconds at a time in his entire life. The ninja had been constantly thrown into rage by Fai's comments, yelled at him to shut up, and had even made many half-hearted attempts to kill the chatty wizard, all because he thought he wanted him to be silent. He had even entertained thoughts that he could have actual feelings for Fai if only he were capable of keeping his mouth shut. Since the incident in Tokyo, the magician had fallen into almost a constant state of silence, sometimes speaking to Sakura, but only to the others when it was absolutely necessary. Kurogane now realized the error of his ways. If he had known that Fai's silence would cause him such anguish, he would have appreciated his time with talkative Fai even more deeply while it lasted and would have looked upon the time in the future when he would eventually fall quiet with unrelenting dread.

Kurogane returned to their room, a brown paper bag containing a bottle of liquor in his hand. They had secured another victory in today's chess match but none of them took any joy in the success. Perhaps it was because the tension between everyone was so stifling, or maybe he was just trying to take the edge off of his despair over Fai's coldness towards him but Kurogane found himself wanting to drink far more often than he ever had before.

He was slightly surprised when he turned to face the room after locking the door that he was not the only one there after all. There, on the couch, sat Fai and he almost seemed to be waiting for the ninja's return though with the way the magician had been acting towards him recently, Kurogane could hardly imagine that to be the case. It was getting kind of late so he had expected everyone to be in bed by the time he returned.

"What are you doing?" Kurogane asked, his voice breaking through the unpleasant tension in the room. "Waiting for me?"

Fai was momentarily silent and appeared to be staring guiltily at his knees though the warrior wasn't sure since he could only see the eye with the patch over it. "…No…it's nothing… I just…was having a hard time getting to sleep. But I think I'm ok now. Good night…Kurogane…"

The blond got to his feet then and turned in the direction of his bedroom but didn't move. It suddenly occurred to Kurogane what Fai must want. Without a word, he drew his sword and made a small cut in his wrist. Fai, who had just begun to take the first hesitant step toward his room, froze mid-stride. Kurogane heard him inhale slowly and knew he was catching the scent of his blood. He could see Fai's fingers trembling uncertainly; clearly he thirsted for the sultry red liquid but was loath to accept it so easily.

"Just drink it," Kurogane sighed impatiently. "I'm not in the mood to play games with you right now."

Fai stood with his back to the swordsman for another few seconds, then spun on his heal to approach him, though his head was hung in shame or reluctance or both. Just before the magician allowed his tongue to experience the warm, copper-flavored liquid, he lifted his golden eye to stare into Kurogane's. At first, the look he saw there seemed to be hatred but then he noticed the deep undercurrent of sorrow and regret, and it hurt him to see it.

When the blond had eaten his fill, he helped Kurogane bandage his wrist and slowly got to his feet to leave. Though Fai's back was to him again, Kurogane sensed that there was something more he wanted. No; "wanted" isn't a strong enough word for the thing he felt. What he sensed from Fai was more like a desperate need. So when Fai muttered "…Good night, Kurogane…" and reluctantly moved toward his room, the ninja stopped him by taking hold of his forearm.

Fai neither turned to look at him, nor tried to pull his arm away; he simply waited for Kurogane to explain himself. Kurogane had never considered himself to be especially good with words so instead of offering an explanation, he gently tugged Fai closer and held him in his arms. The mage was unresponsive at first, but the swordsman perceived a deep internal struggle within him. Kurogane began to stroke his hair patiently, comfortingly.

"…Why…did you agree to do this for me, Kurogane…?" Fai whispered, all those emotions that Kurogane had seen in his eyes just a moment ago now apparent in his voice. He knew the mage was referring to his deal with Yuuko to become his prey so that his life might be spared. The warrior touched his lips softly to Fai's neck a few times, giving himself a second to come up with a proper response.

"Darkness…can't get rid of darkness," Kurogane said finally. "Only light can do that."

Fai pulled away from him slightly so that he could look the ninja in the eye, his own single eye round with surprise. Kurogane calmly met his astonished gaze.

"Just like you can't get rid of hate with hate," he continued. "You need love to do that."

He pulled Fai close again. "If this journey has taught me anything, it's that."

Fai was frozen briefly with shock, and then his arms finally moved to hesitantly return his companion's embrace.

"…You…You never cease to amaze me…Kurosama…" Fai breathed shakily.

Seconds that seemed to contain an eternity went by, but neither one cared because they spent them holding each other for the first time in so long. Eventually, Kurogane pulled him over to the couch and persuaded the wizard to sit with him. Fai laid his head against Kurogane's chest, finding deep comfort in the steady beating of the swordsman's heart, and in the way his fingers gently caressed his cheek. It wasn't long before Kurogane looked down and found the blond sleeping peacefully in his arms.

With the barest hint of a smile, Kurogane scooped Fai up and carried him into his room where he laid him carefully on his bed and pulled the blankets up to his shoulders. He smoothed a lock of Fai's golden hair out of his face and gently kissed his pale lips before leaving the room, closing the door quietly behind him. For the first time since Tokyo, Fai was able to sleep soundly, undaunted by visions of his past or a burning desire for his relationship with Kurogane to be even a small fraction of what it had been before that horrible turn of events. His room may have been pitch dark, but he was completely unaware, his dreams, at last, regaining the light he though he might never see there again.

A/N: Ok, this might seem a bit strange but this fic was actually inspired by a quote that my history teacher had posted on her bulletin board. She always has one from some historical figure and she changes it every month or so. Kurogane's philosophical tidbit there was based very closely on last month's quote. I believe it was by Martin Luther King, jr. if I'm not mistaken. So if you enjoyed this chapter, maybe you should send a little thanks his way :3

I have an interesting idea for the next chapter: Kurogane and Fai get their own radio show where they give advice to people who write in with questions... If anyone would like to submit a question for them, feel free to send it my way and I'll work it in there... This could turn out to be rather crackalicious XD