A/N: I finally figured out where I'm going with this miniseries! Hurray! Right now, it looks like there will be four more chapters, not including this one. Just a few quick notes for this chapter:

If you've read Tsubasa in its original Japanese, you notice that the name Fai gives Kurogane in Outo is "Ookii Wanko" which translates to "Big Doggy". Since Kurogane is a prince in this story, I changed it to "Ouji Wanko" which translates to "Prince Doggy". Nice how that worked out, isn't it?

In most western countries that I know of, black is the color of death and misfortune. However, in Japan and some other eastern countries the color of death and misfortune is white.

THIS SERIES, STARTING NOW, WILL CONTAIN NUMEROUS SPOILERS FOR BOOK 17 AND UP!! THE NEXT COMMENT ALSO CONTAINS A SPOILER FOR THAT SECTION!!

In light of a recent post at the KuroFai livejournal community, I thought I should let you know that the Fai we are watching in this series is the magician that we know and love from TRC. I hope that clears up any confusion on that matter.


Whim

"My Lord!" Kyle gasped, bursting into the throne room. "My Lord! I ha-have news of…!"

"The king isn't here," Xing Huo said stonily. "He's in the bathroom, and everyone's been given strict orders not to bother him."

Kyle stared at her for a moment, bewildered and catching his breath, before shaking his head quickly and flashed a debonair smile. The effect was somewhat ruined by the fact that he was completely out of breath, several droplets of sweat snaking down his face from his dark hairline and the little man-bow that held his ponytail in place was on the verge of slipping off. "He…he will want to hear my… report."

Xing Huo shrugged. "It's your funeral." She gestured with a jerk of her thumb toward the royal bathroom where the king had barricaded himself. Kyle raced to the door and threw it open impatiently without bothering to knock.

"My Lord! I…!"

"Dammit, Kyle!" the king, Fei Wong Reed, snapped at his servant's reflection in the mirror, clapping his hand to a little cut he had made on his cheek with his straight razor. "My sideburns are uneven now! I thought I forbade anyone from bothering me!"

"S-sorry my Lord," Kyle panted, clutching his chest as he tried to catch his breath. "But I ha-have some news…that I think… you might be interested in!"

"Out with it, then!" Fei Wong ordered impatiently, snatching and tissue and dabbing at his bleeding cut.

"I've located the boy!" Kyle blurted.

Fei Wong whipped around to face the other man, his expression unreadable.

"Are you sure it's him?" the king asked. "Four years can change a person, especially someone so young."

"Positive, sir," the servant nodded eagerly. "There was no mistaking him."

"Where did you see him?"

"I saw him being led into the royal palace of Suwa."

Fei Wong stroked his butt-shaped chin thoughtfully. "…What about the other one? We can't afford to go after one of them without knowing the whereabouts of the other."

"I'm still investigating, sir," Kyle admitted. "But we've been watching the first for a few days now and the two don't seem to have made contact at all. I'm beginning to suspect that he may have already been taken care of for us."

"I see…" Fei Wong said slowly. Then at last, he grinned. "Good work, Kyle."

The king headed for the door, the Kleenex he had used to dab at his cut stuck to his cheek, forgotten.

"Um, my Lord…" Kyle interrupted.

Fei Wong stopped and turned to face him again. Kyle looked at him meaningfully. The king rolled his eyes and reached into his vest pocket to pull out a cookie, which he dropped impatiently into his servant's waiting hand. Kyle snatched it and scurried over to the corner to devour it greedily. He loved his job.


Fai pushed open his window to welcome the brilliant rays of the morning sun. He tilted his face towards it, basking in its warmth, smiling as a cool breeze ruffled his golden hair. A sudden shout and a loud swishing sound jerked him out of his reverie. Fai looked down at the grounds and spotted Kurogane on the practice field, standing in the middle of a circle of demolished wooden posts. The blond grinned when Kurogane glanced up over his shoulder casually and apparently just then happened to notice Fai watching him.

"Good morning, Kurowanko!" Fai called, waving vigorously at him. "Playing with your sword again? How cute!"

"Che! I'M NOT CUTE!!" the prince roared, though he could feel his cheeks getting hot again for some stupid reason. "AND I'M NOT PLAYING, YOU BASTARD!! I'M TRAINING!! NOW GO AWAY!! YOU'RE BEING A PAIN IN THE ASS AGAIN!!"

"Aww, but I wanted to watch Kurosama practice!" Fai pouted. "He just looks so cool when he takes apart those practice posts that he makes my heart flutter!"

Kurogane turned his back to him, pretending to ignore him, though Fai could tell by his lack of shouting that he was flattered by the compliments.

"Wow, and did you just take out all those posts just now with one swing?!" Fai continued, acting as though he had just noticed the circle of destruction around the young swordsman. "Hyuu! Kurorin is so strong! Is it ok if I come down and watch you practice? I want to see you in action!"

"Whatever," Kurogane huffed indifferently. "I guess I could use someone to bring me water or something."

"Yay!" the blond cheered. "Just a minute then, I'll get you some water, ok?!"

Kurogane shook his head slightly in exasperation as the other boy disappeared from the window, though he couldn't help thinking that it might be nice to have such an enthusiastic audience while he practiced.

"Ok, here goes!"

Kurogane looked up at the window again, his mind not comprehending at first what was about to happen when he saw Fai climbing onto the windowsill, all four corners of a bed sheet clutched in one hand and a glass of water in the other. Then suddenly it clicked and he felt his stomach lurch in horror as he realized that Fai was planning to do. He knew that it was unlikely for someone to die by falling from that height, but there was a high risk of serious injury.

"YOU MORON!! YOU'RE ON THE SECOND FREAKING FLOOR!!" Kurogane shouted. Fai wasn't listening; he had already jumped.

The next few seconds seemed to happen almost in slow motion. Fai was sailing through the air, briefly propelled outwards from the window by his jump, a grin of pure enjoyment on his pale face, the sun catching his blond hair stunningly. He held the sheet up over his head, apparently intending to use it as a parachute. If Kurogane hadn't immediately dropped his sword and been running at a full-out sprint in a desperate attempt to catch him, he might have noticed how distinctly angelic Fai looked.

The sheet puffed up as it caught the air and for a moment it seemed as though it might actually carry Fai down to safety. His fall was definitely slowed for a moment before one of the corners slipped out of his fingers. That kind of ruined the whole parachute effect and Fai resumed his plummet toward the ground. By this time, Kurogane was beneath him, his arms outstretched to receive him.

When the corner of his makeshift parachute escaped his grasp, Fai's other hand jerked, causing him to tip the glass he was holding. As a result, Kurogane was not only catching an armload of scrawny blond boy but also a face full of water. Needless to say, the prince would not be pleased when he regained the use of his brain. The force of Fai's fall knocked him down on his butt when they collided. Kurogane shook the water out of his face and blinked numbly a few times, clutching Fai safely to his chest. Fai pulled away so that they could look at each other, both in shock over how the turn of events had played out. Fai was the first to speak.

"Hyuu… nice catch, Kuropon!"

When Kurogane was done being relieved that he had somehow managed to catch Fai and that neither of them were seriously hurt, his face contorted into a snarl and he shoved the other boy off of his lap roughly. "YOU STUPID BASTARD!!" he raged. "WHAT THE HELL WERE YOU THINKING, JUMPING OUT THE DAMN WINDOW LIKE THAT?!! THERE WAS NO WAY THAT SHEET THING WOULD HAVE WORKED!!"

Fai just smiled at him serenely. "Well, I knew that if my parachute didn't work, Kuropyon would come to my rescue. And I was right, wasn't I, to have faith in you?"

Kurogane stared at him in disbelief, his mouth hanging open slightly as he tried valiantly to think up a proper response. Fai took advantage of his preoccupation to crawl back into the prince's lap and cuddle against his chest again.

"…Kuromin was really worried about me," he said softly, looping his arms around Kurogane's shoulders. "I didn't know you cared so much… It really makes me happy."

Kurogane's face was turning red again, but he couldn't bring himself to push Fai away. To buy himself some time he spoke.

"If I'd missed you, you could have been hurt pretty bad… You could've been paralyzed or something. Don't you even care?"

"Hmm…" Fai said distantly, as though he seriously had to think about the question. "There's still something I have to do… so I guess it would have been a problem if I was paralyzed…"

"Tch! Well, no shit!" Kurogane snapped.

"You're right, that was careless of me…" Fai admitted quietly, hugging Kurogane a little tighter. "Forgive me, Kuromyuu?"

"…Whatever," Kurogane mumbled eventually, his face burning even brighter. He made a strangled little noise of surprise when Fai suddenly pushed him down on his back and lie down on top of him.

"Thank you…" Fai breathed, nuzzling his cheek against him affectionately. The blond closed his eyes, noting curiously the way his heart was pounding. What was this feeling?

The two of them remained like that for a bit, basking in the sun and each other's presence. Finally, Kurogane, afraid of what Fai would say if he allowed this for too long, sat up again. "What the hell are we lying here for?" he grumbled. "This is why I told you to go away; I knew you'd interrupt my training."

"Mm? Kuronta was expecting me to give him snuggles?" Fai asked playfully, still not letting go of the other boy.

"Of course not! But I knew you'd be an idiot, like always!" Kurogane retorted.

"Are you sure you wouldn't like to stay like this just a little bit longer, Kurorun?" he giggled. "Oujiwanko seemed to be enjoying our little moment just now."

"What do you know, dumbass?!" Kurogane snarled, shoving him off again. "And get the hell off of me!"

"Well, your heart was beating so fast and…" Fai paused, moving so that he could see the prince's face, which was stubbornly turned away from him. "Are you blushing, Kuropipi?"

"N-No! Why the hell would I be?!" Kurogane stammered. He cursed himself as he felt his cheeks glowing even more brightly. "And get the hell away from me! You've got a lot of nerve to be so damn casual with your prince!"

"I knew it! Kurokuro is blushing!" the blond sang gleefully. "And he's getting all shy about it now! How adorable!"

"YOU WANT ME TO RUN YOU THROUGH WITH MY SWORD?!!" Kurogane threatened, jumping to his feet so that Fai couldn't sit on him anymore. Apparently, Fai was more determined to hang on than he had estimated because he didn't fall off; he merely slid down and attached himself to the prince's leg instead. That move proved to be fatal to Kurogane's dignity; he was wearing a belt, but it was no match for the iron grip of Fai. When Fai slid down, the young swordsman's pants came with it, much to Kurogane's horror and Fai's delight.

"Tee hee! I can see Kurorinta's undies!" the blond giggled joyfully. "Undies!"

"G-GET THE HELL OFF OF ME, YOU DAMN PERV!!" Kurogane spat, his face a most stunning shade of crimson. Frantically, he kicked Fai off and pulled his pants back up. Then he turned back to the other boy with a murderous gleam in his eyes.

"Kyaa! Somebody help!" Fai squealed with laughter, taking off running as Kurogane swung his sword at him. "The Savage Doggy is attacking! Kyaaa!"

Kurogane was kind of glad that Fai was managing to stay ahead of him; even though he threatened to gore the blond with his blade, he honestly wasn't sure what he would do to Fai if he caught him. Something told him that whatever he would end up doing would be far less violent than he wanted to admit.

The chase eventually brought them into the royal garden. This fact was not particularly noteworthy to Kurogane; he wasn't interested in girly things like flowers. Fai, however, stopped dead in his tracks and Kurogane stopped too, pretending to look at them so that he wouldn't have to do anything to Fai now that he had caught up. He chanced a sidelong glance at the blond. His deep blue eyes were wide with wonder, sparkling in the morning light as he took in the huge quantity and variety of blooms. Fai's enrapture with something as ordinary as flowers was somehow adorable, though of course Kurogane would never admit this.

"Hyuu!" Fai breathed, turning in a slow circle so that he could view at the ones behind him, too. "There are so many flowers…!"

"What's so great about 'em?" Kurogane asked, doing his best to sound thoroughly unimpressed.

Fai looked at him, beaming. "They're beautiful! Don't you ever stop to appreciate beautiful things, Kuropiko?"

The prince blushed slightly, turning away from him as he shrugged. He was relieved when Fai didn't pursue the matter, allowing him to escape without answering the question. Normally, no, Kurogane didn't care about beautiful things, but recently he had come across one such thing that he was able to appreciate. Maybe. Not really.

Fai knelt down before a cluster of lilies and reached out to touch them carefully. Kurogane noticed that his smile had become small and sad. Wondering how in the world seeing a lily could make Fai sad, Kurogane crouched down next to him to examine the flower more closely. Maybe he had missed something? It looked like a regular pink lily to him.

"This type of flower…" Fai said faintly, the smile frozen on his lips, "…it used to be her favorite…"

Kurogane was so startled by that statement that he nearly lost his balance. "Her"?! Who was this "her" that Fai spoke of?! Did the blond have some so-far-unmentioned love interest back wherever it was that he came from?! The prince was outraged, though he couldn't imagine why. But this rage was different than what he was so used to; this kind hurt. He put a hand absentmindedly to his chest, as if trying to touch the wound that had just been dealt to his heart.

"W-whose…?" Kurogane managed, trying not to sound too indignant.

Fai was silent for a moment, his head lowered so that his bangs hid his eyes from view. "My mother's…" he replied.

Kurogane, in a momentary loss of control, actually breathed a sigh of relief. Horrified, he clapped a hand over his mouth, but it was too late: Fai had heard it and his head jerked up so that he could meet the prince's eyes, looking slightly amused.

"What was that sigh for, Kurowanta?" he asked, grinning. "Were you afraid I had a girlfriend or something?"

"Why would I care about that?!" Kurogane demanded, folding his arms stubbornly, though his flushed face gave him away. "Don't be such a moron!"

"How cute!" Fai gushed, reaching up to stroke the prince's blushing cheek with his fingertips. "Kurochan was really jealous!"

"I was not!" Kurogane spat. "And don't touch me!"

"Don't worry, Kurochuu," Fai assured him. "I'll never let myself be taken by anyone but you."

"Hmph!" Kurogane huffed, wondering why the hell hearing Fai say this should have eased the temporary pain in his heart the way it did.

The blond stood up and stretched his arms above his head. "Well, if that's the way Daddy feels, why don't we go out on a little date, hmm?"

"Idiot! Why the hell would I want to go on a date with you!" the other boy growled.

"It doesn't have to be anything fancy," Fai said easily. "We can just go walk around town. It'll be fun. What do you say, Kuropin?"

Kuropin said "no way in hell", but somehow he still found himself being led from the garden by Fai with a disturbingly low amount of resistance on his own part.


"Wow, so many bodyguards!" Fai commented, sounding slightly disappointed in spite of his smile.

"Yeah well, when you're a prince, there's no such thing as 'just walking around town'," Kurogane grumbled, looking even unhappier about them than Fai did. "You've got to bring the whole freaking army along."

"I used to sneak out all the time," Fai said. "If they don't know you're gone, they can't really send anyone along with you, can they?"

"Well, you don't know my father!" the prince snapped. "Nothing gets past him! And anyway," he narrowed his eyes at his companion suspiciously, "what would a pathetic street rat like you know about being a prince?!"

"Nothing," Fai said quickly, grinning in an attempt to appease him. "I was just saying…"

"Tch! Then keep your stupid comments to yourself," Kurogane groused.

"This isn't very romantic…" the blond pouted.

"It's not supposed to be!" the other boy sputtered. "This isn't a date!"

"…Do you think they would stop me if I tried to hold your hand?" Fai asked, looking curiously up at the stony-faced bodyguards surrounding them.

"How should I know?" Kurogane huffed.

Fai gave them one more cautious look, before slipping his hand into Kurogane's. The bodyguards did nothing. Fai was happy. Kurogane was not. Maybe.


Kyle arrived on the outskirts of Suwa's royal city, looking rather windswept. That was probably because he had just arrived there via the fancy-pantsy new teleportation power that Fei Wong had granted him as a reward for locating the boy. Kyle straightened his glasses, redid his ponytail and set off toward the palace to resume surveillance on his target. He whistled cheerfully as he went, a slight spring in his step. Fei Wong had promised him a whole jar of cookies if he managed to find out any definite information about the second boy they were looking for. Kyle's mouth was already watering.

As he entered the city's bustling business district, Kyle noticed a knot of men dressed in black, all of them armed with swords. The only people who walked around town with protection like that were royals. Kyle tried to get a glimpse of their charge and when he saw who the boys were he froze in shock. The men were guarding the prince, and right there beside him, hand in hand with him in fact, was the very child Kyle had been sent to watch. With that boy out in the open like this, he would be far easier to pick off than it would be if he were in the palace.

But there was still the matter of all those damned bodyguards. Kyle fancied himself rather skilled with a dagger but he knew he had no chance of emerging victorious from a battle with all those highly-trained professionals. The dark-haired man cursed under his breath, his hopes of bringing the boy's dead body back to Fei Wong that very day now dashed. Perhaps if he waited patiently, following at a safe distance, a chance to strike might present itself. Kyle slunk back into the shadows and continued to watch the boys closely.

He had to admit, if he were the same age as those two, he would probably find the prince quite attractive. How had a dirty little waif like that boy managed to get so intimate with him so quickly? At least, they seemed intimate; they were holding hands and the prince was allowing him to nuzzle his cheek against his shoulder. Despite knowing that it was wrong to think such things when those two were only children, Kyle couldn't help wondering if the blond boy had "scored" yet.


"Look, Kuropopo!" Fai trilled, pointing across the street. "A pet store! Let's go see the animals! Please?"

Kurogane sighed and rolled his eyes. "Fine, if it'll make this stupid date thing end any faster."

"Hyuu! You're so nice to me, Kurotan!" he cheered.

"Shut up," the prince growled, giving him a little shove.

Since the pet shop was too small to accommodate all the bodyguards, only two of them accompanied the boys inside while the others stood outside the door. Fai pushed the door open eagerly, causing a little bell overhead to chime, announcing their entry. The shop wasn't very large but it had a decent selection and the animals all seemed happy and well-cared for. Fai looked almost as happy here as he had in the garden. Kurogane almost smiled as he watched the other boy rub noses with a golden retriever pup and laugh as it licked his face through the bars of its cage.

"Welcome to our store!" A young girl with extremely long pink hair and lively brown eyes appeared out of the back room to greet her customers. When her eyes fell on Kurogane and his two towering bodyguards, she gasped and blushed.

"Y-your majesty!" she squeaked bowing so hurriedly that she smacked her head on the counter. She laughed sheepishly and rubbed the red spot on her forehead gingerly. Kurogane snorted and rolled his eyes again. "What an unexpected surprise! P-please, take as long as you like!"

"Excuse me, miss!" Fai called from the back corner of the shop. "Would it be alright if I held this kitty?"

"Oh, sure!" the girl said, coming out from behind the counter to help Fai open the cage.

"Don't bother," Kurogane warned, following the shop girl with his bodyguards close behind him. "It'll probably bite you."

"I'll be fine," Fai assured him with a warm smile. "But it's nice of you to worry about me."

"Tch! I wasn't worried!" Kurogane protested weakly.

The girl opened the cage, carefully scooped the kitten out and transferred it to Fai's arms. Kurogane peered over the blond's shoulder for a closer look. The cat was pretty small, probably not more than six inches in height. It was white and fluffy with bright blue eyes that matched Fai's and a pinkish-orange spot in the center of its forehead. Fai cuddled it happily and scratched it behind the ears so that it purred loudly.

"Is this kitty a boy or a girl?" Fai asked the employee.

"Umm…a girl, I think," she replied uncertainly.

"Does she have a name?" The kitten crawled up onto Fai's shoulder and began to bat at his hair playfully.

"Not yet," the girl admitted. "Why don't you name her? She really seems to like you!"

"Shouldn't the person who buys it be the one to name it?" Kurogane pointed out.

Fai looked at him in mild surprise. "But we are buying her!"

"Hah?! When did I agree to that?!" Kurogane demanded.

"You were just about to," Fai grinned.

"Tch!" He wanted to say "like hell I was" but when he saw the way Fai was smiling at him, his lips refused to form the words. "What's so great about this one, anyway? White's the color of death and unluckiness, you know."

When Fai didn't respond, Kurogane glanced over at him. His head was bowed again so that he couldn't make out the blond's expression. Kurogane's heart pounded, wondering if he had said something wrong. Then Fai looked up at him, this time wearing a smile unlike any Kurogane had ever seen on him before. It was dark and bitter.

"I guess she's perfect for me, then, isn't she?" he said quietly.

The prince shivered, fairly certain that he didn't want to know what Fai meant by that. Even his bodyguards seemed unnerved for they had moved closer to him when Fai said that. He quickly changed the subject. "Well, who's paying? You don't have any money, right?"

"Kuropipi's family is loaded! He'll buy her for me!" Fai sang, his smile going back to normal. Kurogane was relieved, thinking that he never wanted to see him smile like that ever again. Then he soaked in what the other boy had just said.

"You can't decide that!" he snapped.

"She'll be a present in remembrance of our first date!"

Kurogane opened his mouth to retaliate, but then noticed how happy the two of them looked together. The kitten was joyfully licking Fai's fingers and Fai kissed the top of her head. The prince sighed and angrily dug three gold coins out of his pocket. There went his whole freaking week's worth of allowance.

"Why the hell do you get to order me around like this?" he complained under his breath as he shoved them into the shop girl's hand.. "I'm the prince, dammit!"

The girl looked stunned. "Your majesty! This is way too much!"

"Well, you can't just buy the cat, right?!" he snapped, blushing under Fai's astonished gaze. "It needs food and litter and crap, too! I shouldn't have to tell you that! You're the one who works here!"

"R-right!" the girl stammered, vanishing hurriedly behind one of the shelves to retrieve the other things that they would be needing.

"…Thank you so much, Kurochan," Fai breathed, looking slightly tearful in response to such kindness.

Kurogane was surprised; he had expected the other boy to tease him for being such a pushover. "Hey. You better not cry," he warned, folding his arms and looking away, his face reddening further.

Fai swallowed hard. "I-I won't."

"Your majesty! Everything's ready!" the girl called from the front of the shop.

Kurogane told her curtly to keep the change and had his bodyguards carry the bags. He may have stooped low enough to let Fai talk him into buying him something but carrying bags would be going much too far. The blond still seemed preoccupied as they left the shop so Kurogane tried to cheer him up.

"So? You gonna name that thing or what?" he asked.

"Ah, yes," Fai said, perking up as he looked down at the kitten in his arms. "I was thinking about calling her Mokona. What do you think?"

"Tch. Sounds like some type of manjuu," the prince said. "But that thing kind of looks like a white manjuu so I guess it fits."

Fai laughed and turned his new pet towards Kurogane. "Say hello to your new daddy, Mokona chan!"

"I'm not that thing's daddy!" Kurogane snapped. "Anyway, what would that make you, then?!"

"I'm the mommy, of course," Fai trilled. "Because mommies and daddies love each other, just like we do!"

Kurogane blushed again. "You're such an idiot," he mumbled.

Fai noted with a warm fluttering sensation in his chest that Kurogane didn't refute his claim that they were in love. He switched Mokona to his other arm so that he could take the prince's hand again as they made their way back to the palace.


A/N: I think I might actually be relatively happy with the way this chapter turned out. Shocking, I know. If you thought it was a little heavy on the fluff, it's to make up for the angst that will come in the last chapters. Sorry if you don't like angst! I promise my next miniseries will be crackier and lighthearted!