17.30 Weapon

"No! You have to always maintain control; never let your emotions get the better of you!" Kurogane shouted, when Syaoran fumbled yet again with his sword.

When Syaoran made yet another mistake, Kurogane shook his head. "Kid, do you need a break?"

Naturally, Syaoran protested and insisted that they continue with the lesson.

Kurogane sighed, exasperated. "Your problem isn't your lack of determination; if anything, your problem is your overload of determination. You keep on going even though you're tired, even though you know you'll make more mistakes and won't learn as well if you're tired."

Syaoran dropped his eyes. "I'm sorry, Kurogane-san. I just want to learn how to fight … I need to learn how to fight so I can protect Sakura-hime."

"You won't help her if you drop dead of exhaustion." Kurogane clasped his hand on his pupil's shoulder and steered him back towards the Cat's Eye Café. "Come on, I'll walk you back."

"Don't you need a break too?" Syaoran asked respectfully.

"Nah, I have to go fetch the idiot after." Kurogane changed the subject back to their lesson. "As I was saying before, you must never let emotions take over – anger will cloud your judgment, grief will slow you down, happiness will make you overconfident and so more prone to mistakes. When you fight, you must empty yourself of emotions so that you fight unburdened, with only your sense of purpose to guide you. Only like this can you achieve your goals and defeat enemies others would have said unconquerable."

Syaoran nodded his head in understanding. "I'll do my best, Kurogane-san." Having reached the door of the café, he went inside to greet Sakura. Kurogane turned around and headed out back into the pleasant park, searching for the mage.

"Kuro-chan!" Fai squealed as he appeared out of nowhere and approached Kurogane. Normally, he would have skipped towards the ninja, but his injury prevented him from doing so. "Is it time for me to go back already?"

"Sakura has been working hard all day; she deserves some help. Not all of us have wasted away a day," Kurogane growled disapprovingly.

Fai just shrugged it off and smiled. "Speaking of which, how was your lesson with Syaoran-kun?"

"Were you eavesdropping?" Kurogane saw Fai smirk and knew his suspicions had been confirmed. "Then you already heard what I said."

"What you told him on the walk back was very profound," Fai informed him mischievously. "But I have a question for Kurogane-sensei …"

"What is it?" Kurogane asked gruffly, fully expecting an idiotic question from an idiotic mage.

"What about love?" Fai had an indecipherable glint in his eyes. "Isn't love the greatest weapon of all?"

Kurogane was speechless when Fai kissed him.

Written July 3, 2010

A/N - Er, this takes more or less in Outo, but it makes more sense if you assume that Kurogane and Fai already have a relationship of some sort o.O