I joined two chapters together to form this one. I hope it's as seamless as I thought it would be. Hope you enjoy!
KuroFai fans are so going to flame me for this one. But still, thanks to those who encouraged me to continue with this.
edit: I didn't notice that uploading to ffnet messed up my formatting. Hope it wasn't too difficult to read. However, ffnet also keeps messing up the fonts, so sorry about that, too. - paris
Infinity Nights
3. Substitute
"Remember this," Kurogane said as he watched Fai and Sakura once again retreat to the princess' room, away from Syaoran and away from Kurogane. Syaoran glanced up at him, quiet and questioning. "The princess is strong. Precisely because she is strong, she is fragile. if someone doesn't show her that, she'll probably break... soon."
Syaoran's face immediately darkened. He wanted to be that person to give the princess support, but the princess only leaned on Fai. The unspoken protest was easily answered by the ninja.
"It is impossible for that magician, for those two are the same."
Yes, the princess and Fai were very similar. Kurogane had seen that when they mewled the night away as Big Kitty and Little Kitty back in that dream world where they met the kid's former teacher. But, beyond the brightness of their smiles and the kindness in their hearts, there was also something deeper that made them so alike. And precisely that something, that fragile strength, made their closeness and being closed off from the other members of their small traveling group destructive for both of them.
Kurogane would have lectured more had he been someone else and had they not all had a long day. Come tomorrow morning, the ninja was sure that Syaoran would take Mokona out to look for feathers, so he ended his speech with a rather imperative sounding, "Go to sleep, now."
But, Syaoran understood the kindness in the older man's heart and he appreciated it. "Ah..." he responded with a small smile reflecting all the pain, exhaustion, and determination that was being the replacement for the princess' Syaoran. He also understood how worn out Kurogane was from waiting and the ninja would most definitely insist on joining him and Sakura in searching for the feather. "You, too. Get some rest soon."
The short affirmative answer and terse smirk that Syaoran got from his clone's mentor told him that Kurogane would definitely not rest soon. But, he left the matter at that and retreated to his own room.
Shortly after Syaoran left, Fai emerged from Sakura's room with the somber expression he always wore in Kurogane's presence. He spoke, retelling the events as a routine, "Sakura-chan fell asleep, along with Mokona." Catching Kurogane sitting on the sofa, drinking from a cup, he commented coldly as he was wont to in those days. "Are you drinking something?"
"Sake," in a tone not uncharacteristic of the succinct ninja.
Fai chuckled shortly, pretending to try to lighten the mood. "You are a lost case, aren't you?" But, his voice bore a weariness and strain that betrayed how he was truly feeling, that hunger was consuming him none too slowly.
"You too, drink," the dark-haired man ordered, rising from his seat. He knew that the fairer man would not drink if he felt that he was being given a choice. As usual, Fai kept his gaze averted as Kurogane cut his arm open. "If you won't drink, then do what you want, but it will just keep flowing like this."
Once again, lying to himself and telling himself that he was being coerced, Fai chuckled sardonically, "You are a lost case, aren't you?" He knelt by the ninja's arm and drank what he needed. Then, he lingered. Something, which he only did when he felt that there was something that he and the ninja should talk about. "We're being watched. I wonder if they're our next opponents in chess or..."
"...the ones who have been watching us on this journey," Kurogane affirmed.
Seeing that the larger man was aware, Fai rose and pulled away. That was all that talk that was necessary, so he began to make his leave. As an afterthought, he said, "Whoever they are, I won't let them hurt us anymore..." It was a promise that the blond intended to keep and hoped that those who were watching would hear and heed. With that, Fai left their apartment and headed out into the night as had been his habit of late.
-
"Looking for a good time?"
The masculine voice startled Fai out of his musings as he examined the lot of women in Infinity's red light district. When he turned, he found a large tanned man. The man reminded him so much of Kurogane, even if his hair was the color of the sun and his eyes were definitely not the red eyes of a dragon. "I'm sorry, but I'm looking for someone."
"Of course you are. Why else would you be here?" the man said. Fai found himself flushing, indignantly, but kept held his tongue. Why did he come here on Alcyone's day off, anyway? "My name's Rafaga the Great cause I'm the greatest in prowess and size in this area," the man introduced himself as a salesman would introduce his product. He held out his hand, "Would you like me to help you find what you're looking for?"
"I don't see how that's your business," Fai responded coldly. "So if you're done speaking to me, I would like to be excused."
Rafaga blinked, wondering if the smaller man was serious. When he made his conclusion, he laughed. "Damn. You're almost as sullen as that guy Lantis."
"Leave me alone," Fai started to walk away, but Rafaga followed him, his big steps easily matching Fai's.
"Hey, hey," the burly blond spoke in an appeasing tone. "Sorry if I offended you. I coulda sworn you swung that way."
Fai's blue eye flashed and at that sight, the larger man backed off somewhat. "What do you want from me?"
The other man shrugged. "The same as everyone here. Money and a good time," he confessed. "But I guess I'm not your type."
At that, something in Fai snapped. He dug into his pockets and pulled out the money he had brought for the night. "Here," was all he said and Rafaga grinned and led him to a room.
-
As Fai dressed and got ready to leave, his companion for the night called out to him in a way that the girls never did. "Leaving already?"
"We're done, aren't we?" Fai asked as he tossed the used tube of latex and zipped up his pants. "I've already paid you and don't have any money left on me, if that's what you want."
Rafaga's eyebrow rose quizzically. "You're not ready to go," he said as he stood up in all his naked glory—a beautifully built as a bronzed god—and embraced Fai. The smaller man stiffened, but didn't struggle in his confusion. In that brief moment, they were more intimate than they had been the entire night. Even more intimate than when Fai was filling the larger man with his length and pumping in and out of him frenetically. The callboy let his customer go with a light kiss on the cheek. "There. No extra charge. I thought you needed that more than you needed the sex."
Fai didn't thank Rafaga the way he always did with Alcyone and the other women. What was given to him by the man, he did not ask for. At least, he did not ask out loud. Even if he was more grateful to Rafaga than to anyone else he had been with at that place.
-
The more Kurogane thought of it, the more it bothered him. Fai was once again in a brothel, was once again with a woman. To replace the buzz given by alcohol with the natural high of sex was a creative move on the magician's part. He didn't really see any reason to stop it. He didn't see any reason to stop thinking about it, either.
And the thought of Fai having sex was making his body tingle with a different kind of buzz.
Sex was one of those things that Kurogane knew made a person's true nature appear. To touch the untouchable, barely palpable true nature of Fai made him want to see the blond in the throes of passion. He felt the yearning to take the smaller man, by force if he had to, if only to strip him of that infernal mask. Suddenly, Kurogane found himself needing to go to a whorehouse, himself. But, there was no way he was leaving the kids alone in their small barely secure Infinity living space without a guardian. The few times the ninja had gone out at night, Fai had been home to take care of the children. Fai needed these nights more than he did. He was a ninja, anyway, he had full reign on his physical desires.
When Fai got back, he didn't ask questions. Kurogane just sat there, watching.
-
The strange thing about Fai's encounter with Rafaga was that even if he had some sort of release, his body ended up humming with some kind of dissatisfaction that he couldn't shake. It was his first time with a man, not that he had any women before Infinity. Even if he had done nothing differently, the rougher touches, the harder body, these things made Fai infinitely more aware of himself. All this with a man that reminded him of Kurogane. He certainly hoped the ninja was asleep when he got home.
Of course, no such luck because hitsuzen or whatever wanted to make Fai as miserable as possible.
The silence that met him was more unnerving than the usual interrogation he usually got from Kurogane. Fai could ignore the third degree or brush it off with a short pointed remark, but the silence followed him everywhere. Even if he left the burning red gaze behind in the living area, he could still feel it on his back through the closed door. Those eyes did things to him that not even the most beautiful and experienced prostitute could. It stripped him naked of everything, even his mask. This flooded Fai with sensations that he didn't like entertaining, only because they were directed towards the ninja. It was a good thing that he didn't need to feed that night.
-
A shower? Kurogane mused as he shook the sake bottle in his hand, checking for how much it still held. After briefly going into their room, Fai resolutely made his way to the bathroom with his usual soap, shampoo, and towel. Fai didn't take a bath to wash away his night's activities until right before the children woke up in the morning. Apparently, the blond seemed to find it necessary to wallow in the dirt of his sinful deeds. What was different this time? As the wizard walked past him, he smelled a scent that brought him back to the Nihon ninja training grounds and found himself frowning.
It wasn't the intoxicating scent of a woman, this time. It was the overpowering earthy smell of a man.
He considered asking about the change, but opted not to. He downed his remaining sake in one gulp and went to bed. He tried to dismiss the intriguing issue as he lay on top of the sheets he had not bothered to remove.
When Fai walked into the room, fresh, clean, and wrapped only in a towel, it took a good amount of willpower and ninja training not to get all over the magician's case. Fai, on his part, had his own questions to sort out in his head.
Once again, that night was sleepless for both of them.
-