Title: The Wizards of Ceres, chapter 5
Rating: R in later chapters. This chapter; PG.
Warnings: Violence and some gore in some chapters; romance between Kurogane and Fai.
Summary: The countries of Ceres and Nihon are on the brink of war again, but Kurogane Demon-Queller has more important things to think about; like protecting the borders of his country from the dark and hungry beasts that roam the wilderness. At least, he did, until his paths crossed with the King of Ceres' latest gamble to win this war..
Author's Notes: We meet the players of Ceres in this chapter.

The palace itself had been in sight for half a day before he finally turned the corner on the mountain pass that lead to the main road. Ruval had been carved out of a mountain peak, and was as high and visible as the mountains themselves; now, standing at the crest of the ridge, he could see into the valley that surrounded it, the smaller buildings of the palace town clinging to the slopes, and the wide road that zigged and zagged its way determinedly up the mountain until it finally peaked at the glittering castle itself. Beyond it, the Windhome mountains rolled up into higher peaks still, topped with the fantastic blue-white sparkle of ice; a startling backdrop against the marble-carved palace spires. Home.

Bella let out a weary snort of breath, posture sagging. Fai laid his hand gently on her neck, promising rest and food and kindly attention and above all, shelter, if she could make the final ascent. He didn't blame her for her weariness; he'd ridden hard, to cover the distance to the Ceres border in three days and from the border to the palace in one more, and he'd driven even her willing great heart close to its limits.

Just a little further, he thought, and encouraged her up to a walk again. The road passed between narrow, terraced fields of cropland on their way through the valley, long withered and choked in frost. The sunlight had already fled the valley floor, and cut a slanting path across the steep slopes, creeping interminably upwards as the sun sank behind them.

The guards posted at the lower gate recognized him, and waved him through; with passing comments of Welcome back, m'lord Flowright, his majesty is expecting you. The lower streets were already half-deserted, the autumn twilight bringing an icy chill that warned people of a much deeper cold to come, when the sun went down.

The few people who still hurried through the narrow stone streets lifted their faces and called in glad recognition as Fai passed, some calling questions -- where have you been? -- he responded with a tired smile and a wave, but did not stop to answer their questions. He probably could have stopped here, rested before making the climb, cared for Bella; any of the townspeople would likely have been willing to let him into their homes, and shared what little they had with him. But the urgency that had driven him so far would not let him rest here, so close to his goal, so he drove onwards.

By the time he mounted the last hairpin turn, he could feel Bella shaking with the strain underneath him. He glanced out over the precipice, over the frost-gilded stone railings that lined the drop. From this height and angle, you could see all the way back down the valleys and passes to the lowlands, all Nihon territory. From here, you could almost imagine you could see the whole world.

The guards here, too, recognized him, and saluted; there were also a pair of men in servant's outfits, wrapped in cloaks against the cold, presumably waiting for him. "Welcome home, my lord Flowright," one of them said -- Fai recognized his face, but could not call up his name. "We're glad that you've returned to us safely."

"Glad to be back," Fai returned the courtesy, giving them a polite smile. With some effort and a touch of regret he dismounted, keeping a soothing hand tangled in Bella's mane as he did so; three days staying off of it, mostly, had healed his ankle at least to the extent that he could stand, although it still throbbed in protest when it took his weight. Not for the first time, Fai wished that he had ever been able to get the hang of healing magic. "Could one of you take care of this horse, please? She chose to travel with me all the way from Nihon, and she's very tired."

"Of course, sir!" One of the servants hurried forward, although he then paused, hesitating, wondering how to take control of the horse with no halter or bridle. Fai grinned a little, and gave Bella a last pat, encouraging her to go with this man, who would feed and take care of her.

The other servant addressed Fai earnestly. "What about you, my lord? You must be exhausted, yourself. Are you injured? Do you need assistance?"

"I can manage, thank you," he returned politely. "What I most need now is to talk to His Majesty. I have some very urgent news to give to him."

"Yes, my lord. His Majesty is waiting for you." The servant turned and lead the way; not that Fai needed the guidance, but it would be unsuitable for him to go about the palace unattended. The man added, over his shoulder, "Lord Yukito had told us that you would be returning alone, and that you were injured some way, but he could not divine any more clearly what had happened."

He knew the palace corridors like the back of his hand, but it felt like a vast labyrinth today, a maze of softly gleaming white corridors that hurt his eyes. His own condition was likely to blame, he knew; his injuries hadn't really had time to heal, and he was shaking and dizzy from lack of sleep. As well as from another lack, which he steadfastly ignored. But he couldn't stop, couldn't let himself collapse, not yet, when he was so close. I have to see His Majesty. I have to tell him everything. I have to. At least it was warm, inside the palace.

King Ashura was waiting for him in the throne room; he stood from his seat as Fai entered, and Fai half-staggered across the distance and fell to a kneeling position before him. As always he was flooded with a rush of emotions when he came into Ashura's presence. Love, adoration, the desire to please; the sharp pang of anxiety, fearing that he would somehow disappoint; and now, the heavy, bitter bite of shame, knowing that he had. Knowing that he had failed.

"Sire," he choked out, bowing his head.

"Fai," The king acknowledged him, voice full of gentle fondness, of sorrow. He stepped forward and pulled Fai back to his feet -- Ashura was one of the few people in Ceres who approached Fai in height -- and embraced him. Fai closed his eyes as the shame surged through him, and swallowed hard to control it. "My son. I'm so glad you've returned, alive."

Fai stepped back, and bowed again, then straightened when he thought he had his voice under control. "My king. I... I am sorry. I couldn't save the others."

"We suspected that must be so. When Yukito reported the link had broken, we feared the worst; when he picked up your presence again, very weak and traveling north at great speed, we knew you must be traveling alone. What happened to you? Were you found by Nihon soldiers?"

"No, sire." It filled Fai with mortification, that Ashura could think he had been so careless, to let himself be seen, and yet... was the truth any better? "We were found by something else."

"Something else?" Ashura's attention was arrested, still. "Outside of the wards? Nothing of Nihon?"

"Yes, sire. In the wilderness. Something -- not of any human kingdom. The Nihon... local guide, I encountered, called them demons. Nothing natural to this world at all. They traveled in some kind of magical concealment -- of course Yukito wouldn't have been able to see through it. They came on us so quickly, I couldn't --"

He was beginning to babble, all his frenzied distress and worry and guilt pouring out of him, until Ashura held up a hand, arresting his speech. "Enough," he said. Fai shut up.

Ashura stood silent, eyes narrowed in thought for a long, solemn moment, and then nodded. "This is clearly an important story. And a long one. I will want as complete an explanation of these -- creatures, as you can give me, but not now. You're clearly exhausted, and injured. And I know you, Fai. When was the last time you ate?"

Fai shifted uneasily, casting his glance to the side to avoid Ashura's gaze. "After the attack. Four days ago."

"Ah," Ashura shook his head, and then sighed. "My Fai, you never change. Very well. You will go from my presence for five hours; long enough to rest, and wash, and have the doctor attend you. And you will eat. This is not a request; I am prepared to make it a royal command, if needed."

For some reason Fai thought of Kurogane in that moment; how he'd said almost the exact same words. Very strange, to find some likeness between the soldier of Nihon and his king. "Yes, Sire."

Ashura studied him a moment more, and then smiled. "After the doctor has seen you, I will send my daughter to you. She has been terribly worried about you, and it will greatly ease her mind to see you safe and well."

"I'm sorry to have caused her distress. I hope she'll forgive me."

"I imagine she can be persuaded. I'll have her bring you your meal. Since we knew you would return today, she's spent much of the afternoon in the kitchens. I believe that cooking for you was the only
thing she felt she could do."

Fai sighed. He really wasn't going to get out of this one, it looked like. "I understand. I won't offend her by refusing."

"Good." Ashura's grave expression lightened with a smile. "It will be good practice, for when the two of you are married."

Fai cringed inwardly, as he always did when the king's plans for matrimony were mentioned. He gave a weak laugh, although he knew it hadn't really been a joke. "Surely not, Sire. Aren't I much too old for her? She's only fourteen, far too young to consider marriage."

"Nonsense," Ashura said firmly. "There is no more suitable match for the princess than someone of your rank, and no one more trusted and valuable to our court. No, that's been well decided. So in order not to offend your future wife, Fai, you'd better go and clean up before dinner. And then, afterwards --" and all humor faded from his eyes, from his voice, "We will talk."

The royal physician -- an older, experienced man with only a little magic -- fussed over Fai, confirmed Kurogane's field diagnosis of the injury over his eye (scarring, but no permanent damage to his vision) declared his ankle to be sprained (tried to force a cane on him, which Fai declined) and washed out his cuts and scrapes with a solution that stung like fire. He also poked at Fai's chest, diagnosing some hairline fractures of the ribs, and his head, guessing a concussion; all in all, nothing Fai hadn't already known. He eventually turned Fai out of the infirmary with a jar of painkillers, an admonition not to get into any more fights, and stern instructions to rest for a week.

Fai was just relieved to be rid of the bandages over his eye, and despite all the prodding, he did feel much better once washed, the lacerations cleaned, and into a fresh change of clothes. He was pulling on a pair of boots -- higher ankles, stiffer than the ones he normally wore, these should give him some support -- when there was a knock on the door of his outer chamber. Without waiting for any response from him, the door opened and closed, and Fai's second-in-command, Yukito, popped his head into the inner chamber. "My lord!" he said. "You're all right!"

"Yukito," Fai said, and gave him a strained smile as Yukito rushed forward, grabbed his hands and bent his head over them. "Yes, I'm fine. There was no need to worry."

"No need to worry?!" Yukito said indignantly, raising his head to glare at Fai through his thick, heavy spectacles. "You disappeared off the face of the map! I thought you'd died and left me with all your duties! I was ready to kill you when you turned up alive after all!"

Fai laughed. Yukito chuckled with him, then went on more seriously, "The others -- didn't make it...?"

"No," Fai said, sobering up. "I'm so sorry, Yukito. I know Ryuo... was a friend of yours."

"Yes, well..." Yukito wilted slightly, breath catching. "It was a dangerous assignment. We -- we all knew that."

"But not in the ways we had anticipated." Fai sighed, and ran a hand through his damp hair. "Listen, Yukito, I have to debrief to Ashura later tonight. I'd like you to sit in; these are things you'll need to know, as well. The short version is that we've got much bigger problems to deal with than the magic-users of Nihon. Bigger problems, and nastier problems, that carry their own field of magical concealment --"

Yukito's face lit in comprehension. "So that's what that was?"

"Yes. I could barely see through it from yards away, I'm not surprised you couldn't see anything from here. And worst of all, they're soul-drinkers."

Yukito's eyes widened, and he sat back a little, and looked Fai up and down, then again, with more than his eyes. "Is that what tore you up so badly?" he asked, in an awed voice.

Fai grimaced; he could only imagine what a state his aura was in right now, but it was the reason he hadn't dared try any spells on his way home except the magic to call and control the horse. "No. Actually. I did this to myself." And to the others, as well. "When we were ambushed, I had to shield us -- I'll explain why later. And then... we were surrounded, I panicked -- I tried to open a portal, to get us somewhere safe."

Yukito was staring at him as though he'd lost his mind. "You tried to do a conjuration -- under combat conditions? Inside a secondary spell?"

"Yes. It was stupid. I know." In the three days' journey since then he'd had time to think of a hundred, a thousand things he could have done differently, but there was no magic that could go back and unravel the past. Fortunately. "I lost control... the two spells' boundaries crossed, and it backfired on me."

"That's incredible, that you even got it to work at all!" Yukito was looking at him with an alarm that bordered on awe. "You're lucky to be alive."

Fai gave him a tight, bitter smile. "I am. The others aren't."

"Oh," Yukito said, quelled.

Fai sighed again. "I'll explain in more detail later. For the time being, all I need is a new staff. Oh. And some paper and ink. All of my notes were lost in the ambush, but I remember most of them, and I can get to work putting them down for you."

"All right. Can you use mine, until I can get you a new one made?" Yukito offered. "It's attuned to me, not you, but it should work for the basics."

"Right now, all I mostly need it for is to lean on, since I wouldn't let the doctor weigh me down with a cane!" Fai flashed Yukito a bright smile. "That's pretty basic, wouldn't you say?"

"Yes, certainly." Yukito stood up -- for a moment, Fai envied him the ease of movement. "Are you ready to go now? The princess is waiting for you, but I wanted a chance at you first."

Fai took a deep breath, and let it out slowly. "Yes. I'm ready."

"Fai-niisan!"

Fai braced himself for a full-body tackle, but Princess Sakura, her eyes wide with concern, managed to slow her headlong rush as she reached him, and only grabbed him in a fierce hug, rather than actually knocking him over. "You're alive! You're okay. I was so worried!"

For all that her body was small and light, her grip around him was iron-hard. Her head only came up to his chest, light brown strands escaping the headband to wisp across his chest. As always, battered by the sheer radiant exuberance of her presence, Fai felt a part of himself melt, like an ice chip warmed by the sun. With a sigh, he wrapped his arms around her and hugged her back. "I missed you too, flower-princess," he said gently, using his old nickname for her. "I'm sorry to worry you."

"Are you okay?" she demanded as she released him, at least far enough to hold onto his arms and stare worriedly up at his face. "You look awful. Oh! I don't mean that, I'm sorry, that wasn't what I meant. You look fine, but you look like something awful happened to you!"

He smiled at her, brushed the back of his fingers lightly over her face, smoothed a stray strand of hair back. Her eyes were wide and green and radiating worry, and it touched him -- it still did, even after so long -- that anyone could care so much about him, worry and be sad about him. The princess had been the light of his life ever since he had known her as a laughing, wobbling, ankle-clinging toddler; it had been she, more than any other, who taught him to smile again. "I'm all right now," he promised her.

"Yukito-san told me you were coming back today. And then Father said that I could see you, at least for a few hours. Are you hungry? I've been cooking, I wanted to have everything ready for when you came home." As she talked, she grabbed his hand and dragged him along behind her, through a cross-corridor into one of the smaller dining rooms.

"You know you don't have to cook," Fai reminded her, letting himself be dragged. "That's why we have a kitchen staff, after all, and they'll be very insulted if you tell them their work isn't good enough."

"I know I don't have to, but I wanted to!" Sakura insisted, pushing him firmly towards the table and seating him in a chair. "Cook always says that you can show your feelings best through things you make with your hands and your heart. So I wanted to make something special for you, Fai-niisan!"

She dashed around, setting dishes and silverware in front of him, covering and uncovering dishes and serving up food in front of him. The smell hit him in the face like a blow; it made the hard, curdled empty place inside of him shiver and howl with demanding need.

"There!" She finished her preparations and stood back, hands clasped on one of the spoons and beaming at him. "All ready, please go ahead and eat! Tell me if it tastes good!"

Fai looked at the food, and at her, and wished that King Ashura wouldn't do this to him, at the same time he knew exactly why he did. He went for so long putting off food, ignoring hunger... until the hunger became a monster inside him, clawing and ravaging at his insides, and then it was an enemy he could fight, tame it through sheer force of will until it subsided inside him, becoming a dull throbbing knot under his breastbone. Until the very sight and smell of food made him nauseous, until the taste made him sick -- until he didn't want to eat any more, until it was so much easier just to stay hungry.

He didn't want to eat, but he didn't want to make Sakura unhappy, either. So he took a deep breath, and a spoonful of potatoes, and he ate.

The first bite was the hardest, as always, fighting against the gagging nausea... but he swallowed it down and it helped that it was good, tasted good, felt good once he'd gotten past that first bite. He smiled at her, and lied through his teeth, "It's wonderful, Sakura-chan. Thank you."

She lit up with joy and he couldn't regret it, he could make her so happy just by doing such a simple thing, and anything that made her so happy was okay, wasn't it? It couldn't be bad. "Won't you eat with me, please? There's more here than just I can eat, and you know I hate eating alone."

"Oh, okay!" Sakura agreed, and she dragged up a second chair, and dealt out a second portion of food. Fai distracted himself by watching her, amused by her eating habits as familiar as they were; she would fill her plate with only a few bites of each kind of food at a time, polish them off neatly, and then go for something different, carefully making sure that no two different kinds of food ever touched each other.

"So what have you been doing, while I was gone, flower-princess?" he asked, breaking into the silence. "Not getting into too much trouble, I hope."

"No!" She pouted at him. "I'm not a kid any more, you know... I haven't broken anything or gotten into any trouble for ages. I guess I spent most of my time doing lessons." She sighed. "There's not much to do outside any more, now that summer's over. I wish it weren't so short."

"No," Fai agreed. "Winter is no time for a little girl to be outdoors." When she glared at him for that, he laughed and added, "Or for anyone to be outdoors, at least here! Do you know, there are still leaves on the trees, down in Nihon?"

"Really?" She lit up at the thought. "It must be like it's spring and summer all year round, down there... Do you think I'll ever get the chance to see it?" she said wistfully.

"You never know," Fai said consolingly. "A lot of things can happen." And if we do end up taking part of Nihon, he thought, you'll get to see all the springs and summers your heart desires.

"I don't suppose I could go with you some time, Fai-niisan," Sakura said wistfully, but without much hope. Fai smiled, and shook his head. "Oh -- I know. It's dangerous, and Father would never allow it. I just wish that I could go places, sometimes! I wish I could get out of this castle. It's so lonely when you're gone, there's hardly anything to do, or anyone to talk to."

"I'm sorry, Princess," Fai said, and paused in thought. "I'm sure there's somebody you could play with -- what about Nokoru, from down in the village? He's about your age, and from a nice family." One of an appropriate rank to send their child to keep the Princess company.

"Oh, him," Sakura said, with a brief scowl crossing her features. "He's... well, he's okay, I guess. But he's just so -- so pushy and bossy!"

The laugh that bubbled out of Fai's throat then was real and spontaneous, and threatened to choke him on his food. "The Princess thinks Nokoru is bossy?" he said between chortles. Sakura glared at him, but he couldn't stop laughing. "Well then, it must certainly be true!"

"Stop teasing me! You always tease me!" Sakura actually stamped her foot, sitting in the chair. "He's -- well, the problem is just that he always gets to decide what we do! And he's always going on about how this or that activity isn't appropriate for a lady, and a lady should always act this way and that way, and he's just so boring!"

Fai turned away and disguised a laugh as a coughing fit, until he was sure that he had it under control. When he thought he did, he turned back to her with a sympathetic smile. "That's terrible, it's true," he agreed. "You know, if you'd really like something new to keep you occupied, have you thought about studying magic? I'm sure Yukito, and some of the other apprentices would be willing to teach you, the basics at least." In fact, I'll make sure they'll be willing.

"Oh! Do you think I could?" Sakura sat back, her face reflecting mirrored excitement and doubt. "I mean -- I mean, I know I'm just a girl, but..."

"There's nothing that says a female can't learn magic," Fai said easily. "In fact, did you know that in Nihon, it's only the women who use magic?"

"Really?" Sakura jumped out of her seat, and darted around the table to fling her arms around his neck. "I'll do it! Okay! Thank you so much, Fai-niisan!"

Fai smiled, and hugged her back, and the empty hunger that had been gnawing at the pit of his stomach for weeks was finally eased.

When he arrived in Ashura's chambers later in that evening he felt much better; stronger, steadier. Ashura was seated at a table spread with parchment, with several quills available for making notes; Yukito stood quietly in the background nearby, a pale round-eyed shadow like a perching owl.

Now that he was calmer, he was able to seat himself and give a more businesslike account of his last mission, starting from when their scouting party had left Ruval, two weeks before, and leading up to the attack. He was able to recount the deaths of his companions and the description of the demons in the same flat, businesslike tone as he had used to catalogue the uneventful days of observation. Ashura did not castigate him for his failure to detect the attackers until it was too late, nor for losing control of his magic in such an unforgivable way; but Fai could still feel the weight of his disapproval and disappointment, like heavy water all around him, drowning him.

The king listened in silence for the first part of the narrative, growing more intent as Fai described the ambush; the first and second demons, the hideously lethal nature of the swarm and their bloodthirst.

"And you're certain," Ashura said when Fai paused for breath, "that these 'demons' were artificially created? Not natural?"

Fai hesitated, then raised his hand palm-up. "Created... I can't be positive. But they were definitely not any kind of natural being from this world, unquestionably they were designed and set loose for a purpose. I got a close look at a few of them, after they were dead; they could not have... been born or grown naturally. They were either created by some magic-user in this world, or brought by some magic-user from outside this world. Either way, we have a new enemy."

Ashura contemplated this for a moment, one finger stroking slowly down the side of his throat. "You do not think it could have been the work of the Nihon magic-users themselves? Creating some new weapon to use against us?"

"Absolutely not, Sire," Fai said firmly. "The demons... seem to have been their enemy for a long time, far longer than we've even known about them. The wards themselves may have been placed to repel the demons, and it's only a side benefit that they also repel human armies. My reading of the ruined wards that I described to you suggest that it was destroyed by an attack of demons. There is no way that they could be allies."

"Hmm," Ashura mused. "So there is a third player in the game... but whose ally will he prove...?"

Fai eyed his King uneasily. "Surely you would not consider attempting some kind of alliance with this... monster-maker, Sire?"

"I consider everything. That's my job," Ashura chided him gently, and Fai reddened, staring at the table. Ashura smiled. "It's true, it seems an unlikely proposition," he conceded. "An enemy of my enemy... could very well be my enemy still. And unless we can find out more about this mysterious magician, it's all a rather academic question. We have matters closer to home to attend to, right now."

Fai breathed relief. "Yes, sire," he said.

"For one thing. This warrior of Nihon, that you encountered." Ashura set down the quill, and leveled his gaze squarely on Fai. "Tell me more about him."

Fai hesitated, for the first time. He had.... not lied exactly, not ever lied to Ashura, but he had... tried to downplay the role of Kurogane in the aftermath of his ruined mission. He wasn't sure why, exactly; it wasn't that he was trying to claim the man's achievements for his own, or anything silly like that, it was more that... he felt a vague compulsion to keep Kurogane and Ashura as far separated as possible.

But he could not refuse a direct command; reluctantly, he said, "He was a warrior... a hunter, hunting the demons specifically. He was armed and armored for it, seemed to have long experience with fighting them. He was," and Fai had to smile in fond recollection as the memory flashed by him, Kurogane moving in battle like a dance, deadly grace and power, "very good at his trade."

"Only a warrior, then?" Ashura asked. "So it is possible, if called for, to defeat the demons using only ordinary men and arms?"

"Well," Fai hesitated again, he felt obscurely like he was violating Kurogane's privacy, "maybe, but... I think this man had some latent magical talents of his own. He called it swordsmanship, but he used some moves that were definitely sorcery. I believe it's only his socialization which leads him to deny his talents and consider himself a plain warrior."

"Really," Ashura's eyes were sharp on him, and Fai resisted the urge to squirm uncomfortably. "So, Nihon has warrior-mages of its own. Already."

Fai hurried to qualify. "Latent talents. Entirely untrained. He explicitly confirmed to me that in Nihon, only women are ever trained as magic-users, and most women do not take combat roles."

"Assuming he was telling the truth," Ashura temporized.

"He was about that, Sire," Fai said with utter confidence. Not like Kurogane could have sat inches away from Fai's hands and lied to him, without Fai sensing it, no matter how diminished his magic at the time.

Ashura tilted his head to one side, accepting his assurances. Heartened, Fai continued. "He didn't talk very much around me -- he already suspected I was a spy. And yet... even knowing that, he did not act like an enemy to me. He seemed to see himself as apart from internecine conflicts, above the normal military chain of command. I believe..."

Fai paused a moment, running over the bits and pieces he'd gathered, sorting them together to try and piece together the whole picture. "I believe that he and any other demon-hunters like him are the elite, exceptions to their normal rules. They equip them and train them to fight the demons and that's all that they do. Defending their borders against the demons is important enough, and difficult enough, that they must devote these resources to that project, and nothing else."

Ashura nodded slowly as he absorbed Fai's analysis, his eyes glinting in the candles bracketing the table. "I see," he said. He laced his hands together on the table and pressed them against his mouth, silent for a long moment, lost in thought. Fai and Yukito waited, somewhat anxiously, for him to continue.

At length he straightened up again, tapping his fingers on the table. "Then that only leaves the question of what our response must be, to this new threat," he said. His eyes flicked over to Yukito, in the corner. "Yukito, leave us. I have some things I must discuss with Fai, alone."

Yukito bowed, shot an anxious glance at Fai, and left the room. As the door swung closed behind him, he heard the king say, "I have a new mission for you, Fai."

Maybe it was attributing a lot of human feelings to a city, but by the time he set out again, more than a week later, Kurogane felt that Edo was as glad to be rid of him as he was to be rid of it. The tension began to unwind as soon as he was past the city gates, past the open stares and the buzzing whispers, and it eased slowly out of his shoulders as he rode the well-paved main roads, passing sunken fields of oats and barley and rice near reaping, groves of fruit and mulberry trees heavy with harvest.

It was good to be out in the open again, free again of the obligations and expectations, the intrigues and the gossips of the castle. But it wasn't until he was outside of the wards entirely, and the stone-and-iron gate fell back into place with a shattering crash behind him, that he began to feel... depressed, as well.

It was good to be alone, Kurogane told himself, as he guided his mount over a treacherous, gopher-hole strewn field towards the overgrown forest path ahead. Good not to be saddled with an escort of walking talking targets this time. He worked best alone, and he liked the solitude, the simplicity of it.

Why wasn't it working for him, this time? It wasn't as though his last sojourn in the city had been so enjoyable that he'd wanted to stay any longer; it wasn't even as though he missed people back in the city more than he usually did. If anything there was a new coolness there, between himself and his student, even between himself and Tomoyo. Maybe that was why; even when he went out he was used to having them still be there, waiting for him to return, and wishing him well wherever he went. The way his mother had waited for his father, when he rode out, in a similar manner.

Kurogane hunched slightly, glaring fiercely at nothing in particular. Why was he thinking so much about his parents, recently? He hadn't thought of them in years, well, that wasn't quite true; but he hadn't let memory of them bother him in years. It had been years since the last time he woke from nightmares in the middle of the night, haunted by images of black shadows drifting across red, flashing blades that came from nowhere and disappeared into nowhere. Years since he'd last considered the possibility that he might be disappointing them, somehow, that he wasn't following the path they'd meant him to follow.

This is stupid. He'd wanted to be back on patrol, to be left alone and have some peace and quiet, to focus on what was really important. Now he was. He wished a demon would show up, or maybe five or six; a really good fight would help him get his edge back, get his balance back. Assuming he survived it, of course. There was always that.

Maybe Amaterasu was right, for a change; maybe he really did have an obligation to take a partner, train someone else up to demon hunter status. But it wasn't that simple, damn it, it wasn't like you just picked somebody out of a crowd to come do it. It would take years of training, first -- Kurogane had trained in the use of the sword since he was big enough to hold one, and that wasn't the sort of thing you just picked up overnight. The only student he'd spent enough time to feel confident in was Syaoran.

Could Syaoran join him someday, become a hunter like him? Kurogane contemplated the vision for a moment, then snorted and shook his head at the idea. Syaoran was still just a boy, still green. Even if he had the drive to hunt demons -- and Kurogane wasn't completely certain he did, not while he was still revenge-obsessed with Ceres -- he just didn't have the reflexes to survive in a one-on-one fight with a demon, he didn't have the resources.

But -- perhaps someday. In a few years? Maybe? Kurogane sighed, and eased back in the saddle. It was going to be another long, empty patrol.

Maybe he'd get lucky, and a demon would try to bite his head off.

He'd made camp in an old abandoned relay outpost he knew, a few days' ride away from where Suwa territory officially ended. The demons seemed to target Suwa a lot -- maybe because they'd gotten lucky there once, or for all Kurogane knew, they laid down some sort of pheromone trail like ants -- but there was still a lot more of the wall to cover than that. He built up the fire, and stretched aching muscles from the long day of riding, before he settled in front of it. It was starting to get a little colder. Damn, but he hated winter patrols.

A noise from out along the roads caught his attention, and his head came up, hand tightening on the hilt of Ginryuu as he came out of the half-doze. He listened; there, again. Hoofbeats. A horse. Who would be traveling along the old road, outside of the wards, at this time of night? Bandits? They weren't all that common outside the wards -- for obvious reasons -- but there were always some who were stupid or desperate enough to try their luck out in the wilderness.

He stood and put his back to the fire, drawing his sword -- better safe than sorry -- and then stopped, listened harder. The rhythm of the hoofs sounded familiar to him, somehow, although he couldn't quite place the sound. A smaller horse than his, without a doubt, with a lighter, quicker step. His head came up, eyes widening in disbelief. Surely it couldn't be...?

The rider came right up to the outpost, not bothering to sneak or in any way attempt to disguise his presence. Kurogane stared in disbelief as he came within the circle of firelight -- yes, it was the same damn horse, now shod and sleek and better fed, and with a saddle on at the least. And it was the same damn wizard, too, as he came into the firelight too; same shock of pale blond hair, same bright blue eyes -- two of them, now, flashing at him in the light -- and the same stupid, infuriating, cheerful grin.

There were some differences, Kurogane noticed dazedly as Fai rode up to the doorway of the old outpost and then stopped. The half-destroyed and all-impractical cloth robes and coat he'd been wearing on his last trip were gone; instead, he seemed to be wearing smooth plated armor not unlike Kurogane's in concept, although his was infinitely thinner, smoother and with an odd blueish tinge to the plates. They rippled over each other, turning around the joints as Fai put up a hand to shield his eyes against the firelight, to try and make out his own silhouetted form. "That you, Kuro-chan?" he called cheerfully, and his voice was the same.

"What the bloody hell are you doing here?" Kurogane managed in astonishment, sliding Ginryuu back into his back sheath. "I thought you were going home!"

"I was. I did. I came back," Fai replied, his voice amused. He dismounted -- still no halter or reins, Kurogane noticed with irritation -- and the mare clomped off to join his horse, exchanging whickers of greeting like they were old friends. "I thought I'd never find you in all this wilderness. Thank goodness for Kuro-puu's insistence on lighting fires, huh?"

"All right, let's try this question again," Kurogane said. "Why the bloody hell are you here? What do you mean -- looking for me?"

"Yes. Well," Fai brushed at the front of his pants, leather riding gear over the armor. As he straightened up Kurogane caught sight of the hilt of a knife buckled at his hip -- his own knife. "With all these nasty demons running around unchecked, I thought maybe Kuro-puu might want some company." He glanced up and met Kurogane's astonished gaze, his own eyes crinkling in amusement. "How would you feel about taking on an apprentice Demon-Hunter?"

Kurogane stared at him for a good moment more, unable to believe that he'd actually heard what his ears just insisted they had heard -- before his face split into a wide grin.

to be continued...