Disclaimer: I don't own anything.

Author's Note: Umm, well...rated T for swearing.

I am drenched in sweat.

That and that alone served as the first thought Kurogane had when the lackeys stopped appearing. The last one fell to his lethal hands and he was immediately aware of how utterly soaked through he was.

It wasn't as if he'd never sweated before. It was just that he'd grown so strong since he was a boy that he hardly ever faced a fight that lasted long enough to even wind him.

It was a new feeling.

Kurogane's second thought was of the mage. He'd disappeared halfway through the fight and the ninja had seen nothing of him since.

Fleetingly, as he surveyed the cavernous room, he was angry.

Then, he saw it.

The blue coat, that God-damned blue coat, strung out on the floor.

Blood-spattered.

Shit.

His breath catching in his throat, Kurogane examined the room more closely, focusing on the bodies. None even vaguely resembled the mage. In a far-off corner, Syaoran tended to a slightly but apparently not seriously injured Princess Sakura. Mokona looked on solemnly, but, hearing Kurogane move, glanced up. Ecstatic that the enemies had gone, the manjuu-bun began to bounce its way towards the ninja, but halted upon seeing that the man was alone.

"Fai?" Mokona called out to Kurogane, but the ninja had already disappeared into an adjoining hallway in search of the mage.

His breathing slowed, growing quieter, and as it did so he began to hear distant noises, the most distinctive being Fei-Wong's dark laugh, followed by a much quieter but still audible shout of pain.

He began to sprint in the direction of the noises, wrenching a sword from a dead body as he passed it. By the sounds of it, Fai was still alive, as a rather recognizable cry of agony resonated through the halls every minute or so.

Kurogane ran fast so Fai would stay that way. Alive. Well.

Finally, he arrived in a room, one that the hallway fed into directly. A dead end. And far to the left, Fei-Wong had a pale, thin figure pinned up against the wall, his hand grasping his prisoner's neck.

Fai!

Kurogane assessed his options. A strong attack would possibly finish Fei-Wong off and definitely shatter the generic sword he held in his hands, leaving Kurogane with nothing to fight with afterwards and possibly even killing Fai. But, on the other hand, with the weak sword, sparring with Fei-Wong would be outright suicide.

Suicide appealed to Kurogane much more.

Swift and silent -- a ninja in its truest form -- Kurogane lunged at Fei-Wong's exposed back, savoring the sound of metal severing skin.

The first hit. And he knew it'd be the only one he got.

Fei-Wong turned on him, allowing the mage to crumple to the floor. Deflecting blow after blow after blow, Kurogane found his glare returning to that defeated form, urging him, ordering him, to get up. It wasn't until one of these orders was abruptly cut off as Fei-Wong's sword made contact with his skin that Kurogane realized he was saying them out loud.

Drawing in a long, shuddering breath, the ninja allowed his gaze to travel downwards to where the hilt of the sword protruded from his chest.

A fleeting memory hit him as he fell-- one of his mother, dying in the same manner.

The memory passed, his mind returning to the present day, and Kurogane found himself suddenly lying on his back, the sword having been wrenched from his body. Said sword and its master were nowhere to be seen.

Through the growing haze, he saw a figure approaching. The man kneeled by Kurogane, his slightly heavy-lidded blue eyes piercingly concerned.

Fai.

With trembling fingers Fai grasped Kurogane's sword hand, the feel of those cold hands enough to chill the ninja to the bone.

"I'll make it better, Kuro-tan," he heard the mage say to him with an unearthly determination in his tone. "I will. I'll make it better."

Kurogane's eyes slipped closed. He didn't have the strength to keep them open.

That fact alone was enough to piss him off. It was terribly demeaning.

The mage's cold fingers inspected the wound, but the ninja felt nothing. He saw nothing. The only thing he sensed was Fai's voice, speaking to him in growing hysteria as he attempted to heal him.

"I can't heal. I've never been able to," Fai said with a shaky laugh. "I'm sorry. That's not very reassuring, is it?"

No. I can assure you it's not.

He heard the quiet movement of Fai's hands in the air as they wove their magic. There was an odd cooling sensation around his midsection, and then he once more felt nothing.

The mage simply continued to chatter away in a less-than-cheerful manner.

"But I'll heal you. I will. I can. I know it. I have to."

It's good to know you're so confident in yourself and your already non-existent healing abilities.

"Do you remember the Hanshin Republic, Kuro-rin? Your Kudan was a dragon."

Thank you for reminding me but I do wonder how the fuck this is relevant.

Fai let out a chuckle. As if he knew what Kurogane was thinking.

"Mine was a bird. A phoenix. I don't know why I'm thinking about this. Sometimes my mind just returns to things."

Good to know. Continue your confident and helpful freaking work.

"You know, I'm sorry, Kuro-tan. For everything. For causing you trouble and annoying you and such."

Why are you apologizing now when you're so confident you'll save me? If you're so sure of yourself, mage, then save all this crap for later.

"I think it's working. I think I'm actually healing you."

That's great and all but why do you sound so damned surprised?

But Kurogane let out a mental sigh. He wasn't afraid of death. Not by a long shot. But if he had a chance at life…

Well, he didn't take life for granted.

"Ashura used to tell me that I don't need to be able to heal with magic because my smile heals."

Pfft.

"I...I keep forgetting that he's dead. It's odd. I miss him."

He tried to kill you. He tried to kill me. Hell, he tried to kill us all. Why the fuck would you miss him?

"But I suppose I'm optimistic about the future."

The future? Quick change of subject.

Quick change of subject, and therefore very much like Fai. So flighty-- so scatterbrained. If he could, Kurogane would have laughed.

"Then again, I must admit, I'm kind of scared..."

Kurogane sighed mentally.

You're annoying.

"In fact, I'm terrified."

It really pisses me off that I'm in love with you.

Author's Note: The confession! And it's not even out loud! How tragic!

At first I had Kuro-chan thinking 'It really pisses me off that I love you', but it just didn't work.... He seems like the kind of person who wouldn't be able to say 'I love you' because it sounds so voluntary. Therefore, the more I-have-no-choice-esque 'I'm in love with you' seems more fitting. ^^

I felt like this chapter was kind of vague...like, not detailed enough. If you feel that way, too, please tell me so I can flesh it out a bit! ^^

Anyway, reviews are like tea: they keep you alive and healthy (and writing *coughcough*) and you never get tired of them. :D So please review and tell me your opinion!