A/N: Whee! Next chapter of the miniseries! I'm quite a bit happier with how this one is turning out compared to my last miniseries. I don't really have anything to say about this chapter except that I hope you enjoy it!


Teamwork

Kyle lowered his binoculars and winced as his stomach growled loudly. He had been sitting in this damn tree for four freaking hours, watching the prince and his target flirt and make lovey-dovey faces at each other but now he had officially had enough. It had been slightly cute for a little while but now it was just exasperating. If those two liked each other so much, then they ought to just kiss already! Kyle thought about shouting it at them but that would kind of ruin the secret agent aspect of his mission. He didn't want that; playing secret agent made him feel cool.

The other boy he was supposed to be looking for didn't seem like he'd be making an appearance any time soon and that realization was driving him crazy. He wanted that jar of cookies he'd been promised, dammit! Kyle rubbed his chin thoughtfully. What would be the harm, really, in only pretending to have found out the information he had been sent to gather? The chances were pretty good that the other kid really had died already. After all, what kind of person would go hang out at the palace and get all chummy with the prince and leave their brother to duke it out on the streets? Well, Kyle would, but only if there were cookies at stake. Anyway, that was beside the point. Kyle tucked his binoculars into his cloak and teleported away, feeling rather pleased with himself for having thought up such a clever plan.


"I'm back!" Fai sang, throwing open the door to the practice hall.

"Yay! It's Fai kun!" Rika shouted. All of the entertainers rushed over to him eagerly.

"Where were you today, Fai kun?" Nakuru pouted.

"We came to Fujitaka san's living quarters to ask you about last night and you weren't there," Chiharu said.

"Yes, yes! Tell us all about what happened last night when Prince Kurogane carried you out of here!" Himawari urged excitedly.

"I could tell that he was really worried about you," Sakura said with a smile. "I've never seen Prince Kurogane treat anyone like that before. It was really sweet!"

"I'll get to that in a minute," Fai assured them, grinning. "First, I'd like you all to meet Mokona!"

He revealed the tiny white kitten he had been hiding in his arms. All the girls squealed with delight as he set her on the ground to let her explore.

"A kitty!" Chii cheered, reaching out to stroke her.

"Where did you get her?" Suzuran asked.

Fai paused, looking around at them all, his eyes sparkling as he withheld his answer for a moment just to keep them in suspense. "Kurosama and I went out on our first date today and he bought her for me as a present!"

This earned another squeal of delight from them, even more emphatic than the first. Fai couldn't help laughing at their reaction.

"A date with Prince Kurogane!" Sumomo chirped, clapping her hands. "A date! A date!"

"I guess that proves our theory, huh girls?" Suzuran said triumphantly. "Prince Kurogane swings…"

"The other way!" Himawari and Nakuru chimed in joyfully.

"I'm so happy for you, Fai san!" Sakura gushed.

"So the other night must've been a success then, right?" Himawari said.

"I guess so, huh?" Fai smiled.

"We want to hear the whole story!" Suzuran requested excitedly.

"Yeah! Spill, Fai kun!" Nakuru demanded, pulling him into her arms and nuzzling him affectionately. "And don't leave anything out! We want all the juicy details!"

Chiharu and Rika looked at each other and blushed, looking like they'd rather not hear anything too juicy. Chii was too interested in Mokona to really care; the kitten was very interested in her dangling hairpiece. Glad to have such an eager audience, Fai began to detail the events of the previous night and his date with Kurogane.


"Ah, there you are, Kurogane, dear," the queen said as her son returned. "Did you have fun with your friend?"

Kurogane blushed slightly but shrugged, doing his best to look nonchalant. "I wouldn't call that moron a friend, but I guess it wasn't that bad."

"Wow, that's the highest praise I've ever heard you give an experience with anyone, aside from Tomoyo chan!" his mother noted, smiling serenely. "This not-exactly-friend of yours must really be something!"

The prince snorted. "Yeah, right."

"Oh, really?" the queen giggled, pulling her son into her arms and pinching his cheek lightly. "Then I wonder what you could possibly be blushing about!"

"I'm not!" he insisted, trying to brush her off. "Cut it out, mom!"

"You are! Your face is all red!" she laughed, holding him tighter. "By the way, did you get me anything for my birthday while you were out today? It's only two days away, you know."

Kurogane stopped struggling, his stomach lurching suddenly. His mother's birthday was only two days away! How could he have completely forgotten?! But he couldn't let her know that he'd forgotten, otherwise she would tease him that he had been too busy being all gaga over Fai to remember something so important.

"What would be the point in me buying you something?" he asked sullenly. "If you want something, you can easily afford it yourself anytime you felt like it."

"Hmm? So you're going to ignore your poor mother's birthday, then?" she pouted jokingly.

"Quit acting like it's such a big deal to you!" Kurogane snapped. "You're the one who refuses to tell anyone else that it's your birthday because you don't want them to have a huge celebration for you!"

"You're the same way," the queen reminded him. "Your father, too. But you'd both be so crushed if the rest of the family ignored your birthday."

"Anyway," the prince interrupted, "I was gonna make something, so…"

"Kurogane is going to make something?" his mother asked in surprise. "How unexpected! Especially since you don't know how to cook or anything like that! You always refused to learn, saying you didn't have time for such girly things!"

"Hmph! I could do it if I felt like it!" he huffed. "How hard can it be?"

"I guess we'll just wait and see, then, hmm?" the queen said, smiling.


Fai awoke later than usual the next morning. He would have gotten up earlier but he had been having the sweetest dream about him and the prince running and playing in a huge field of flowers that looked curiously similar to the royal garden. Plus, Mokona felt so nice, curled up warmly next to his cheek that he didn't feel like opening his eyes. Then he remembered that Kurogane always had sword practice outside his window in the mornings so he sat up, stretched and went to the window.

To his great disappointment, Kurogane wasn't there. The blond scanned the practice field carefully for him but when he realized that it really was empty he flopped back down on his bed, feeling rather disheartened. Suddenly there was a knock at the door. Fai glanced over at Fujitaka's bed to see if he was still there but the bed was empty, already neatly made up. He must have gone to work already. Fai straightened his pajama shirt and answered the door.

"Oh, Fai kun! I'm sorry to call on you so early; I hope I didn't wake you!" It was Tomoyo. She smiled up at him and Fai couldn't help being cheered up slightly by the sight of her.

"Good morning, Tomoyo chan," he said with a grin. "I was already up, so don't worry about it. What can I do for you?"

"It's about Prince Kurogane…" She broke off, her smile becoming a bit hopeless.

"Is something wrong?" Fai asked, worry rising in his chest immediately.

"Well, I don't know if I'd say that something was wrong, but… he's in a bit of a fix and I think he would appreciate your help, even if he refuses to come here and ask for it," Tomoyo explained.

Fai sighed with relief, his smile returning. "Of course, I'd be happy to help Kurosama! Just hang on; I'm going to get dressed quick, ok?"

He invited her in and hurried to his closet, pulling down the outfit that Tomoyo had made for him on his first night at the palace and disappeared into the bathroom to change. As soon as he was finished, he rejoined her and she began to lead him toward the prince's room, explaining the situation in a hushed voice as they went.

"You see, tomorrow is Prince Kurogane's mother's birthday," she began.

"The queen's birthday?" Fai repeated, surprised. He figured that the queen's birthday would mean a big to-do throughout the kingdom; probably some sort of festival, or at least a work holiday. That was how it had worked back where he had come from.

"Shh!" Tomoyo hissed, putting a finger to her lips. "It's a secret! No one in the royal family wants the rest of the kingdom to make a big deal out of their birthdays so they refuse to tell anyone when they are, except for their closest friends."

"I see…" Fai said slowly.

"Prince Kurogane figured that since his mother can have anything she wants, it would be pointless to buy her something, so he decided to make something for her instead," Tomoyo continued.

"Oh, how cute!" Fai giggled.

"Isn't it?" the girl agreed. "The only problem is that he doesn't know how to make anything, really. I could help him out like I have in the past, but I thought he might like it better if you helped him."

"You think so?" he wondered aloud.

"Of course! Prince Kurogane really likes you a lot, Fai kun," Tomoyo said dreamily. "When he got home from being out with you yesterday, he went straight to his room and lied on his bed for a really long time, not speaking to anyone. The queen said his face turned red when she asked him about you!"

Fai looked at her, eyes wide and glittering with excitement. Could this mean what he thought it did? Was his plan working? "Really?"

"Yes, I saw him myself!" Tomoyo nodded eagerly. "I think maybe…the prince might be in love with you, Fai kun!"

Fai fell silent, his heart pounding joyfully against his ribs. Just a little bit longer, then… His person, his special person would be saved! And he and Kurogane would… That thought ended in a blank. What would become of him and Kurogane once his mission was complete? Fai had already had to say goodbye to so many of the people that he loved and the thought of doing the same to Kurogane… it made his heart ache. He knew that he was being a fool, but he didn't want to say goodbye to Kurogane.

"Well, here we are!" Tomoyo chirped, pushing open the door to Kurogane's room to let him in. "Good luck, Fai kun!"

Kurogane was pacing his room like an angry lion when Fai entered. The prince jumped, looking shocked to see him.

"What the hell are you doing here?" he growled.

Fai shrugged, grinning. "A pretty little bird told me that you might like some help with your mother's birthday present."

Kurogane blushed slightly and ran a hand backwards through his hair. "It was Tomoyo, wasn't it?"

"That's not important now," Fai grinned, waving his question aside. "Do you have any ideas yet?"

The prince heaved a sigh and sat heavily on his bed. "Well, she likes desserts, but… You don't know how to cook, do you?"

"As a matter of fact, I'm quite good at it," Fai said.

Kurogane eyed him suspiciously. "Where did you learn something like that?"

Fai understood what he meant, even if Kurogane didn't specify any further than that. He wanted to know why Fai would be good at cooking when he lived on the streets.

Fai forced a smile. "Not everyone who lives on the streets was born there."

The prince frowned at him, clearly waiting for more information but Fai didn't feel like volunteering any more than that, so he quickly changed the subject.

"So did you have a dessert in mind that you wanted to make?" Fai asked cheerfully, clapping his hands together.

Kurogane shrugged. "I don't like sweets so I don't really know anything about them."

"Goodness, Kuropuu," the blond sighed. "You're absolutely no help at all!"

"Shut up!" Kurogane snapped. "Why should I be interested in girly crap like this, anyway?!"

"It's not girly!" Fai protested. "It's fun! Now, do you at least know if your mother likes chocolate?"

"Yeah, I'm pretty sure she does," Kurogane said.

"Then I know just the thing; Fondant Au Chocolat!" Fai sang. "It's one of my specialties!"

"What is it?" the prince asked.

"Hmm, well, it's like a miniature chocolate cake with warm chocolate sauce inside," he explained. "It's especially good when it's served with vanilla ice cream."

"Fine," Kurogane agreed. "Let's go to the kitchens, then."

Kurogane slipped on his shoes and led Fai toward the kitchens. Fai took his hand and skipped along happily beside him. To his delight, Kurogane didn't pull it away but simply blushed and allowed the affectionate contact between them. As soon as they reached the kitchens, Kurogane pushed the shiny silver doors aside impatiently.

"Alright, everybody out!" he barked at the cooks. All of them froze and looked at him in stunned confusion.

"That's right!" Fai chimed. "We're taking over the kitchen for a little while!"

A man with messy black hair and a baby face spoke up. "What's this about, young master?"

"We're gonna make something here!" Kurogane explained, his face becoming a bit flushed again. "But we don't need any help from you people, so beat it!"

The cooks looked at each other and slowly began to troop out.

"Sorry about this!" Fai called after them. "We don't mean to be rude, but this is supposed to be a secret!"

"DON'T TELL THEM THAT, MORON!!" the prince roared.

"Whoops! I forgot! It's not a secret, but don't tell anyone!" Fai shouted, trying to make up for his mistake.

Kurogane sighed and shook his head.

The baby-faced cook paused uncertainly at the door. "Are… are you sure you don't need any help?"

"Nope! We've got this all under control," Fai assured him. "But thank you for your offer!"

The man looked at the two boys helplessly before leaving the kitchen with the rest of the cooks.

"Now what?" Kurogane asked, staring at Fai expectantly. "Do we need a recipe for this, or something?"

"Don't worry, it's all up here," Fai smiled, tapping his head.

"Tch!" Kurogane snorted doubtfully. "Can you really trust your memory for something like this?"

"It'll be fine; I've made fondant au chocolat plenty of times. Now, let's start by getting out the ingredients," the blond instructed. He listed off the ones they would need.

It took them a while to find everything since neither of them were familiar with the kitchen, but they managed it eventually.

"Good," Fai said, nodding his satisfaction. "I've got the oven heating already so the first step is to melt the chocolate. You have to do a double boiler method or else you'll scorch it. Go ahead, Kuromin."

"Huh? Me?" the prince asked.

"Of course! It won't be as special if I do all the work!" Fai pointed out. "I'll tell you what to do and help if you need me to, but you have to make it with all the love you have in your heart for your mother. Trust me; she'll be able to taste whether it's made with love or not!"

"Why can't you just make it with your love for your own mother?" Kurogane groused.

That struck a nerve; Kurogane saw that immediately, and he was genuinely sorry for it.

"I… be-because…Everyone's love tastes different, Kurorin," the blond replied, trying to smile, though he looked so sad that it made Kurogane almost want to reach out to him.

"Fine, whatever," the prince said quickly. "I'll do it myself, just… don't make that face anymore, alright?"

He picked up the little chunks of chocolate and dropped then into a saucepan.

"Hold on, Kuropyon!" Fai cried as Kurogane approached the stove. "I said you have to use the double boiler method!"

"Well, what the hell does that mean?" Kurogane asked irritably.

"I keep forgetting that Kuropon has never cooked before," Fai sighed. "It means you put the chocolate into a smaller pan and put it inside a bigger pan that's filled with water and then you can put it on the stove."

Kurogane grumbled something about this being pointless as he followed Fai's instructions.

"Now you have to watch it carefully," Fai warned. "Stir it the whole time and make sure that no water gets in with the chocolate. When you can't see anymore solid pieces that means you're finished. I'll whip the cream while Kuropipi takes care of the chocolate."

Fai measured out fifteen centiliters of fresh cream in a bowl and began to whip it with a whisk. As he churned the cream, he kept an eye on Kurogane to make sure he was doing ok. The prince was whacking the chocolate pieces with his metal spoon, trying to break them apart. Fai couldn't see how much success he was having with that particular venture from where he was standing but he did see Kurogane get a little water in his face a few times when he hit the pan too hard. It was a funny sight, Kurogane tending something at the stove. He looked so out of place there that Fai couldn't help laughing a little.

"What the hell's so funny?" Kurogane grumbled.

"Nothing Kuromyuu, nothing," Fai said, trying to stifle his smile. "You just look so cute when you're cooking! You remind me of a daddy!"

"I'm no one's daddy!" he snapped, folding his arms defiantly and taking a big step away from the stove.

"Whatever you say, Kuronpyu," Fai giggled. "But keep stirring the chocolate, ok?"

Kurogane returned obediently to his task, throwing Fai a dirty look over his shoulder as he did so.

"Ok, it's done," the prince said eventually.

Fai came over to check on it and saw that it was finished. "Alright, now we need to turn off the stove and take the chocolate off the heat."

Kurogane followed his instructions, bringing the small pan with the chocolate over to the counter where Fai had whipped the cream. As he was setting the pan down, however, he accidentally brushed his hand against its hot surface. The prince drew his hand away sharply, hissing a series of swearwords as he quickly brought his burn to his mouth and instinctively began to suck on it.

"Oh, are you alright, Kurowanko?" Fai asked concernedly. "You'd better run some cold water on that!"

The blond rushed over to the sink, dragging Kurogane with him, turned the cold water on and stuck his friend's hand under the stream.

"See, there're dangerous parts to cooking, too," Fai said soothingly, continuing to hold Kurogane's hand as the water rushed over it. "It's not as easy as Ouji Wanko thought. Here, let me see it."

He brought the prince's hand out from under the water to examine the burn.

"It doesn't look too bad," he said, looking relieved. "It's just a little burn."

Kurogane blushed at the fuss that Fai was making over him. He was just about to say that he was fine when Fai suddenly leaned down and softly kissed the burn.

"H-Hey!" Kurogane panicked. "What the hell do you think you're…!"

He stopped short, realizing that the pain was gone.

"Feel better?" Fai asked, smiling serenely.

"Hmph!" Kurogane huffed. "Let's just get back to the cooking!"

"Ok then," the other boy grinned, returning to their work station. "Now we have to crack two eggs into this bowl over here."

"I can do that," Kurogane said, snatching an egg up eagerly. He smashed it against the inside of the bowl, getting a lot of the shell in along with it.

"Silly Kurokuro!" Fai laughed, gently taking the remainder of the eggshell from his companion and tossing it into the sink. "You have to crack it a certain way or you'll end up getting shells in it every time. You can pick the shells out, of course, but you might miss some that way."

Kurogane pouted and folded his arms again as he watched Fai pick out the bits of shell with a spoon.

"If you crack it like this," Fai instructed, demonstrating the proper technique, "it's a lot neater. Now add a pinch of salt and a hundred grams of sugar. Good, now whip it with this."

He handed Kurogane the whisk he had used to beat the cream. Kurogane looked at the utensil skeptically before plunging it into the mixture and crushing it savagely.

"Hold on, Kuropiko!" Fai ordered, stopping him. "If you do it like that way you're going to make a mess!"

He took hold of Kurogane's hand and guided him through the proper way. "You need to move it quickly in a circular motion. It works much better."

Even though Kurogane could probably have done it by himself after Fai showed him how, the blond continued to guide the prince's hand with his own and Kurogane didn't complain about it.

"That looks good. Next we have to add the chocolate," Fai said. "Go ahead and pour it in nice and slow so you don't spill any. Now the cream and the water. And mix it all together."

Kurogane grabbed the rubber spatula Fai was offering him to stir with and tried to mix it in the same way he had done the eggs and sugar. Needless to say, he ended up splattering some chocolate on himself before Fai took his hand again patiently and helped him through the process, smiling as he did so. Fai wasn't quite sure, but he thought Kurogane might be doing things wrong on purpose to give the other boy an excuse to touch him. Not that he minded, of course. He could do it all day long.

Once the batter was mixed, Kurogane poured it into small glass bowls and slid them into the oven. As soon as he had shut the oven door, he stepped back looking rather pleased with himself. Making those stupid desserts had been oddly satisfying. He glanced over at Fai to see if he was impressed by his success. The blond was grinning widely at him.

"Very good, Kuronta!" he trilled. "You did it!"

"Hmph. It was easy," Kurogane bragged, rejoining him at the counter.

"And I'm sure your mother will be very proud of you, too," Fai purred. "Oh!"

Before Kurogane could ask what he had said "oh" about, Fai was already looping his arms around the prince's shoulders, standing up on tip-toes so that he could reach Kurogane's face. The dark-haired boy felt something warm and wet swipe across his cheek. It took him a moment to realize that it had been Fai's tongue. He jerked away, blushing furiously and hurriedly wiped the spot off on his sleeve.

"Wh-what the hell was that for?!" Kurogane sputtered.

"Hmm? You had chocolate on your cheek, Kurowanwan," Fai explained innocently. "Would you be happier if I'd just left it there and not said anything?"

"WELL YOU DIDN'T HAVE TO LICK IT OFF!!" Kurogane snapped.

"Anyway, the fondant au chocolat will be ready to come out of the oven in fifteen minutes," Fai said, changing the subject. "We'd better watch the clock carefully so we don't accidentally let it burn."

Kurogane, still fuming, sat down beside Fai to wait. The blond laid his head in Kurogane's lap and closed his eyes.

"Since I taught Kurowankoro how to cook, he has to teach me something in return," Fai decided lazily.

"Like what?" Kurogane growled. He suddenly noticed how soft and shiny Fai's hair looked now that it was fanned out across his lap and he found himself really wanting to touch it, just to know what it felt like.

"What kinds of things does Kuropuu know how to do?" Fai asked.

Kurogane was silent as he thought about that. The only thing that immediately came to his mind was how to use a sword. "I could teach you how to fight with a sword," he offered.

Fai gave him a sweet smile that made the prince's heart flutter. "Ok, I'd like that."

Kurogane quickly looked away, blushing, finding that his shield of roughness and anger was in serious danger of being melted by this pretty little blond with his constant smiles and his strangely lonely blue eyes. Fai would have been absolutely perfect if only his smiles didn't seem so fragile, like they were hiding some terrible painful secret. The prince wished he could find out what that secret was so that he could defeat it for him and finally see Fai smile with his whole heart, not just a fragment of it. And he would keep that smile all to himself and never let anyone else see it; it would be far too beautiful for any other human being to deserve to bask in it.

"What's that look for, Kurochan?" Fai asked, poking him playfully in the chest, his eyes open now.

"Huh?" Kurogane said, shaking himself out of his reverie.

"Kurorinta looked like something was bothering him," he replied, putting a hand to the prince's cheek and stroking it affectionately. "I was just wondering if there was anything I could do to help."

"Tch. It's none of your damn business," Kurogane mumbled, his cheeks flushing again at the touch.

Fai pouted for a moment as his fingers roamed absentmindedly across the other boy's face. But when his fingertips brushed the prince's lips, he paused. Fai touched his lips again gently, slowly, as though trying to memorize the very texture of them. His pout vanished and another warm smile appeared to replace it.

"Your lips are so warm and soft, Kurochuu," Fai breathed. "They're like silk."

"Wh-what's that got to do with anything?!" Kurogane demanded, his face turning scarlet.

"I know it's too soon to do it now, but…" Fai paused, and Kurogane was shocked to see a slight blush on those pale cheeks as well. "Someday, I… I might like to kiss them. Is that alright, Kuropyon?"

"How should I know?!" the prince snapped. "Quit saying weird crap like that!"

Some might have found such an answer disheartening, but Fai was perfectly happy with it. Kurogane hadn't, after all, said no.


"Ah, there you are, Kurogane, dear," the queen said, smiling. "What have you been up to all day? I feel like I haven't seen you at all recently!"

Kurogane hesitated, not sure what answer to give. Obviously he couldn't tell her that he'd been working on her birthday present.

"That idiot came and bothered me again," he grumbled.

"You mean that friend of yours that you were out spending time with yesterday?" she asked.

"Tch. Do you know any other idiots?" Kurogane retorted.

"You call just about everyone an idiot, Kurogane," his mother laughed. "I can hardly keep track of them all! But you know…"

"Huh?" He turned to face her.

"I was just thinking that there must be something special about this particular idiot," she mused. "Because when you talked about him just now, your voice seemed… different than usual."

Kurogane blushed and hurriedly turned away. "There's nothing special about him! He's just more of an idiot than anyone else I know!"

The queen laughed again. "If you say so, dear. Hmm…by the way, do you smell chocolate?"

The prince started and took a big step backward from her, not wanting her to figure out what he had really been working on earlier. "It's not me! You know I hate sweet stuff!"

"Are you sure?" she asked playfully. "I didn't notice it until you came into the room."

"What's with everyone today?" Kurogane growled, stomping off to his room. "People keep saying the weirdest crap to me!"

The queen just watched him go amusedly. She suspected that the chocolate smell might have something to do with a secret birthday present, but she thought it was probably best if she didn't let on that she was suspicious.


After Fai had finished baking with Kurogane, he hurried off to the practice room to update his fellow performers on the recent turn of events. They were a very satisfying audience; they hung onto his every word excitedly. When he had finished, they all applauded and congratulated him on his progress with the prince. It was evening by the time Fai returned to Fujitaka's living quarters. When he got there, he found several freshly cut pink lilies lying on his bed.


"Happy birthday, my love," the king said, pulling his wife into his arms and kissing her lips.

Kurogane looked away; he hated it when his parents got all mushy in front of him. He made himself a promise right then and there never to act like such a moron with the one he loved. Not that there was such a person of course, but if, god forbid, he should have someone some day far off in the future… Like, maybe when he was a senile old man. Kurogane was fairly certain that he would never fall in love while he was still in his right mind.

"My present to you will be a romantic dinner in the flower garden," the king promised. Kurogane rolled his eyes.

"Oh, I can hardly wait!" his mother gushed happily. Then she looked over at Kurogane expectantly.

"Yeah, here," he said shortly, thrusting a cake box with a red ribbon on it at her.

The queen looked highly amused by her son's characteristic gruffness as she took the cake box from him. Kurogane pretended not to be interested in watching her unwrap it but he couldn't help looking out of the corner of his eye. When she saw the little cakes inside, she gasped.

"Wow, Kurogane! Did you make these all by yourself?"

"Well, that stupid guy told me how but, yeah, I made 'em." The prince couldn't help feeling just a little pleased with himself again for having pulled it off.

"Mmm, it's delicious!" she sighed, taking a bite. She offered one of the cakes to his father who dug in eagerly.

"Wow! It really is good!" the king marveled. "It seems our Kurogane could be quite the chef if he wanted to be!"

Kurogane shrugged, trying to act like it had been nothing. "Cooking isn't hard."

"And you said your new friend helped you with them, right?" his mother asked. "I'll bet you two had a lot of fun making these, didn't you?"

Kurogane blushed but just huffed in response.

His parents looked at each other in amazement.

"Such lavish praise again!" his mother said, smiling serenely.

"What do you mean?!" Kurogane snarled. "I didn't even say anything!"

"I'd like to meet him," she decided.

Kurogane was horrified. She wanted to meet Fai?! Surely she wasn't serious! "Wh-what?! Why would you want to meet that idiot?! Really, he's nobody!"

"Ha ha! Look at him blushing!" his father pointed out amusedly.

The queen giggled. "Your reaction only makes me more curious! Why don't you invite him to dinner tomorrow night? I'm sure your father would like to meet him, too."

"I sure would!" the king agreed heartily.

"N-no way!" the prince sputtered. "I'm not inviting that guy anywhere!"

"If you don't, Kurogane, then I will," his mother smiled. "I'm interested to see what kind of person could have such an effect on my son, the boy who is never impressed by anyone."

Kurogane gaped at her, hardly able to believe what he was hearing. His brain cast around desperately for some excuse, some way out. "You don't know even know his name! You don't even know what he looks like!" he pointed out, feeling relieved. "You can't invite someone if you don't even know who they are!"

The queen looked thoughtful for a moment, then smiled again, this time looking regretful. "I guess you're right. How disappointing! And I really wanted to meet him, too!"

"Yeah, well… too bad," he replied, not sounding the least bit sorry.

"You're such a party-pooper, son," his father complained.

"Are you sure there's nothing we can do to persuade you, Kurogane? Your parents just want to be a part oft their son's life, yet you're always trying to keep us out."

Kurogane wasn't swayed by her sob story. "Trust me; I'm doing you a favor here. The guy's freaking insane."

"Hmm…" his mother said, not looking convinced. "Well, if that's the case then I suppose there's nothing more for us to discuss. You'd best get started on your lessons for the day, Kurogane. I let you put them off to spend time with your friend yesterday but I won't let you skip them, especially when you won't do your mother just this tiny little favor of letting her meet your friend. Go to your room and I'll send for the tutor."

She waved him away, burying her face exaggeratedly in the king's chest, looking distinctly teary-eyed. Kurogane glanced at her over his shoulder, his eyes narrowed in suspicion. Perhaps he was imagining things, but it seemed that his mother had given up the fight much too easily. Indeed, once her son was gone, the queen smiled secretively at her husband. As if she would withdraw from the challenge just because the boy was being uncooperative! If she couldn't get information from him, there were plenty of other sources that she could turn to for help. She was, after all, the queen.


"My lord!" Kyle shouted, inviting himself into the king's room, again without knocking, doing a little dance of anticipation. "I have news concerning the other boy!"

He couldn't suppress a little grin from spreading across his lips at the thought of the treats that were about to be showered upon him. He could practically taste those cookies already.

The king was startled by his servant's sudden appearance, frozen in place at the full-length mirror he was standing before. Kyle stared at the extremely creepy grin on his master's face. The shock Fei Wong had just suffered from being interrupted was mingled with it, making it look particularly strange. Kyle and Fei Wong stared at each other, wide-eyed.

"Er…My lord?" Kyle squeaked.

Fei Wong cleared his throat, the disturbing expression mercifully disappearing from his face. "Kyle! Didn't we just have a talk about knocking before entering someone's room?!"

"S-sorry, sir!" he said hurriedly. Then he paused. "What were you…?"

"Not that it's any of your business!" Fei Wong snapped. "But I was practicing my villain smile! I must perfect it so that it strikes fear into the hearts of all who lay eyes on it!"

Kyle blinked. "Well, if… if it's any consolation, my lord, you scared the crap out of me just now."

"Really?" Fei Wong reproduced his creepy smile, studying it closely in the mirror. Then he shook his head. "But there will be plenty of time for that later. You said you had news of the other boy?"

"It's just as I suspected, my lord," Kyle said eagerly. "The other boy is dead."

"Dead…" Fei Wong repeated slowly, stroking his ass-chin. "If that's true, then there's nothing to stop us from getting rid of the one in the palace…"

"But how, sir? The palace is as closely guarded as any," Kyle said. "It will be extremely difficult to get in. I imagine it will be even more difficult to find the boy even once we're inside."

"Not if we play our cards right," Fei Wong disagreed. "Of course, if we sneak in, we will constantly be in danger of getting caught. But if we're invited, it'll be no problem."

Kyle looked confused. "Invited?"

"Go find the scribe in charge of international correspondence and bring him here," the king ordered, his creepy grin returning. "We're going to send a little treaty to our neighbors in Suwa."


Fai had just finished setting up all Mokona's things when there was a knock at the door. The blond hastily brushed off the dust from the kitty litter that he had just finished pouring and went to answer the door. Since it was well into the evening, Fai was expecting Fujitaka to be returning at any time, but that couldn't be him knocking. These were his living quarters after all and he had a key.

Fai pulled open the door and blinked in surprise. A woman whom he had never met with flowing black hair and gentle features stood before him, smiling. Fai thought she looked a lot like Tomoyo; perhaps this woman was her mother? But she was dressed so splendidly that he dismissed the theory. Everyone in the palace was well-dressed but this woman's outfit was so elaborate that he doubted she was merely a servant. If she wasn't a servant, the only other possibility was that she was…

"Good evening!" she said cheerfully. "My, what an adorable child! Are you Fai kun?"

"Yes, ma'am," Fai chirped, returning her smile and bowing deeply. If this woman was who he thought she was, he figured he had better be extra polite. "Are you looking for Fujitaka san? I'm afraid he's not back yet."

"Actually, Fai kun, I'm here to see you," she replied kindly. "Let me introduce myself; I am Kurogane's mother."


Kurogane heaved a sigh when someone knocked on his door. Couldn't that person, whoever they were, just go away? His stupid lessons were giving him a headache. When the visitor knocked again, he growled, dragged himself to his feet, and ripped open the door. He was irritated when he saw a servant standing there.

"Yeah, what?" he asked impatiently.

"The queen has ordered me to clean your room, young master," the servant said.

Kurogane was struck with dread. He wasn't sure, but he had the overpowering suspicion that this had something to do with the interest his mother had expressed in Fai earlier. Pushing past the servant, a knot of cold fear in his stomach, he dashed off to find his mother.

"Mother!" he shouted, stomping into her room. "What's going on?!"

His mother was sitting at her vanity, calmly brushing out her long dark hair, getting ready for the romantic dinner that her husband had promised her.

"I don't know what you're talking about, Kurogane," she replied innocently, hardly looking at him.

"That servant you sent to clean my room!" Kurogane demanded. "Why?! You… you didn't go find that stupid guy and invite him to eat with us, did you?!"

"Oh, you mean Fai kun?" she asked sweetly. "I may have had a little talk with him, yes."

Kurogane sank to his knees in shock. How could she have done this to him?! How had she found Fai?!

"Don't look so shocked, dear," the queen advised coolly. "I told you I would invite him to dinner if you didn't to it yourself. I wasn't saying it just to hear myself talk."

"But…! But I…! You…!" he stammered hopelessly. "Why… why does my room need to be clean if he's just coming for dinner?!"

"He's not just coming for dinner; I invited him to stay for a sleepover party afterwards," she told him matter-of-factly.

Kurogane felt light-headed. This couldn't be happening. Was his mother deliberately trying to kill him? Fai was a freak at the best of times. What would he do when they were sleeping in the same room together?

"Really, Kurogane, I'm doing you a favor," his mother said. "Can't you at least say thank you?"

The prince couldn't say anything. All he could do was make odd choking sounds and stare vaguely as his tragically short life flashed before his eyes.

"Oh, Kurogane! Quit being such a drama queen!" the queen ordered exasperatedly. "You know, this wouldn't be happening if you had just asked Fai kun to dinner yourself like I told you to. Besides, I don't know what you're so worried about. You're going to have a lot of fun. That Fai kun is a very nice boy and he really likes you a lot. And I think you like him too, in spite of this little act you're putting on. I know you like him; otherwise you wouldn't have bought him that sweet little white kitten."

Oh god, she knew about the cat, too. Where was she getting all this information?! Most likely she had gotten that part from Fai himself. Next time he saw that scrawny bastard, he was going to punt-kick his ass out one of the spire windows.

"Don't you dare," his mother warned.

Kurogane blinked. "Huh?"

"I know that face," she said shrewdly. "That's the face you always make when you're thinking that you'd like to punt-kick someone out of one of the spire windows. You're not to hurt that boy. He's going to eat dinner with us tomorrow night and the two of you will have a sleepover party and you'll have fun. Now that that's settled, you'd better go to bed; you'll probably be staying up late tomorrow night."

He stared numbly at her until she made a little shooing gesture at him with her hand. Still feeling as though the rug had been jerked out from under him, Kurogane dragged himself to his feet, trudged back to his room, and flopped down on his bed, ignoring the servant who was still in there cleaning. He doubted his mother had any idea how right she was when she said that he would probably be staying up late the next night.


A/N: Dun dun dun! Oh boy, a sleepover! Won't that be fun for those two?

Please review; it's always fun to hear people's theories about where they think the story will go. I'm hoping no one can foresee the ending, though. I want it to surprise you!