MixoMania
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Disclaimer: Seriously, are disclaimers really useful? I don't own Clamp! Err, I mean, TRC. (And no, I don't own Clamp either).
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Cooking lessons
"Good morning Shaolan-kun, Sakura-chan!"
Both children opened wide eyes when they saw the large breakfast trail Fay was carrying with him.
"It's full of love for you to grow tall and strong!"
Sakura smiled as she greeted the mage good morning.
"What would you like us to do today?" asked the mage joyously. "I'm pretty sure Shaolan-kun is growing tired of playing chest!"
"No I'm not!" assured Shaolan courageously.
"We could play at something together" Sakura proposed.
"We could try cooking!" said Fay.
"I… I don't know how to cook", said Shaolan.
"That's the spirit! Let's go!"
Of course Kurogane did not join them in the kitchen. He rather laid in the bed, trying to figure out a way out of this hell.
Sometimes, he turned his head to the puppet-like soul by his side, still wondering.
Of course, loneliness had turned the mage crazy. But not that crazy either. He still seemed to make sense when he spoke.
What emanated from his soul was resignation. Maybe he was the one who did not want to live.
Kurogane noticed that the puppet-soul smelled quite nice, which is quite odd for a soul. He would have assumed they smelt of nothing. His hair felt smooth, too. It was odd for a soul to feel that real. And his fair skin felt real nice too, even a bit warm. That was strange. That was very strange indeed.
Shaloan had been a bit afraid of feeling bored, but Fay-san's way of cooking proved him wrong. It consisted on mixing up a bit of this and a bit of that "just to see the result", which most of the time resulted in a rare monster.
"Fay-san", asked Sakura after another cooking failure (and more hilarity from everyone's part), "from where do you get all this ingredients?"
"Magic cupboard!" the mage smiled. "My, Shaolan, this little baby of yours seems aliiive!"
He bursted into laughing, touching his cheek at the same time.
"We're are not really cooking, are we?" asked Sakura, concerned by the monstrous thing she had come out with.
"That depends", Fay answered, "if we're gonna eat that or not."
"I think not".
"Then I'll go fetch some of my recipes. Would you have chocolate cake?"
He was scratching his shoulder. Then he touched his lips.
"Would you rather give me a moment? I'll be right back."
"Would you please stop touching my soul, Kurogane dear?" the mage asked. "It's a bit confusing."
"I'm searching for a way out of here", the fairyman answered.
He had lifted the puppet-like body up to examine it thoroughly.
"Just don't touch… certain bits", the mage said. "Such as the lips. I told you, it's confusing me."
"What, you falling for me?"
"No, but it's just weird for one's body to receive certain bits of information when it's doing something which has no connection with it at all." Fay smiled. "So please, don't."
"I'm going through this", Kurogane answered, "when either you like it or not. I'm not gonna die of thirst or anger, you got that?"
"Fay-san, who are you talking to?" Sakura asked. She had ended up following him through the kitchen.
"Oh it's no-one really, it's a ghost. A cute, naughty, puppy ghost."
"Just who are you calling a puppy?" Kurogane grunted.
"I can see no ghost", Sakura said with astonishment.
Fay looked at her in surprise.
"Well, usually, I can see the spirits of the dead ones", she said. "But I don't see it. That's weird."
"It's fine", Fay said. "Kuro-puppy is not a very nice dog."
"So its name is Kuro?" Sakura said.
Kurogane almost collapsed in fury. "It's Kurogane, you… Mage…!"
Fay started laughing and stopped just as quickly as Kurogane gave a nasty pat on his soul's head.
"Ouch!" he exclaimed. "The bad puppy bit me!"
"Oh, he really isn't very nice", Sakura said. "Can't we do nothing about it?"
"Nothing", the mage said. "But we'll bake him a cake. The soul of a cake is not quite nourishing, but it might lower this puppy's anger."
"I don't like cakes", Kurogane said. "Cook me Japanese food."
"Or we could make some sushis", Fay said.
"Sushis? What are those?" Sakura asked.
"Something quite fun to make!" Fay smiled.
Kurogane was a bit disappointed by diner. Not that the sushis made by Fay weren't ones of the prettiest of the lot. Nor that they spelt "Bad Puppy" on his plate. It's just that they looked delicious but did taste as smoke.
Well, at least they soul did. Kurogane could have glimpses of what being a grain of rice or a bit of fish flesh was like, but not taste them.
And he was feeling hungry.
However, he felt included to the conversation (not that he minded) now that Fay sometimes insisted on getting the opinion of "Big Puppy".
"How does that puppy look like?" Sakura asked eventually.
"Well", said Fay, "it's all black, and cute, and grumpy, and he wishes to be a guard dog latter!"
"I am a guard!" Kurogane barked.
"And he loooves being called by cute names such as Kuro-rin!" Fay added.
Kurogane grunted and then went for Fay' soul and pulled its ear.
"Ouch!" Fay exclaimed.
"Are you all right, Fay-san?" the princess asked.
"Yes I am!" the mage smiled. "Your cookies are simply delicious!"
"It's true", Shaolan said, "Sakura baked the nicest cookies in the world."
Sakura blushed.
"Your cake is very tasty too, Shaolan-kun", she answered.
Fay smiled and decided it was time for him to retreat in the kitchen. Something to do, he lied.
The too kids where left blushing and muttering sweet thank you.
"The sushis didn't help, right?" Fay asked when he saw Kurogane enter the kitchen.
"No, they didn't."
"I'm sorry."
"'this not your fault."
Kurogane looked around and started feeling like he really was gonna die of hunger.
"The kids are sweet."
Kurogane looked at the mage with surprise.
"I'll soon tell them to go", Fay said. "I don't want them to be here when you… well, you know."
"I told you I was not gonna die of hunger", the angry fairyman said.
"I hope so", the mage answered.
His face was not very far from Kurogane's own, and the fairyman was very tempted to compare it to his soul's. But his fingers went through Fay's head.
"I really can't touch you, aye?" the fairyman said.
"You can touch my soul", Fay smiled.
They went back from the kitchen and were utterly surprised to find that Shaolan and Sakura were holding hand.
It seemed like Shaolan had tried to hide a cut from his princess, and that she had wished to kiss it better, and now wouldn't let go.
Fay chuckled and they quickly parted.
"You'll probably be the sweetest royal couple on earth", the mage said. "But I guess now would be time for us to sleep."
He pretended that he could clean the table with magic to have them go to their room alone.
