A/N: Welcome back! KuroFai is growing a little bit older, and the time may be coming for Kurogane to start taking Fai's feelings seriously. Will his famous pride get in the way or will something beautiful unfold! Thanks for the support and reviews thus far, and I hope you continue to enjoy.

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Three: Change of Season

It wasn't until he was thirteen that Kurogane began to question his claims that he did not like Fai. Nothing much had changed about Fai himself to lead to this conclusion, other than a growth spurt and a greater ease in his long and tall frame. Beyond the physical shifts that came with becoming a young adult, Fai was still very much the Fai he always was. He still gave Kurogane stupid nicknames, followed him around with dogged persistence, and insisted on pretending that he was Kurogane's bride-to-be.

Nothing much had changed about Kurogane, either. He was still who he had always understood himself to be. His temper, his desire to live based on his wants, and his physical ability may have each developed, but they were built on foundations that had present since his birth. Rather, it felt like he was finally acknowledging something that had always been there. The emotion he had labeled as dislike when he was younger had been something else all along, and he had willfully chosen to misread it. What it was in exact terms was still uncertain, but he had a greater awareness of it now. There was an emotion inside of himself he wasn't being honest with, and as time passed, it would grow more and more pressing to confront it.

What had changed was the atmosphere of the village itself. Yuuko's presence had brought about a transition, like the gradual shift between seasons. The village had always been a spiritual place, a place steeped in tradition and a sense of duty to a greater happiness, but there had never before been such a feeling of purpose as there was when Yuuko spoke. She knew the world in a different way than anyone else had ever thought of it. Where everyone else simply saw groups of people living and working, she saw billions of threads of connection and the many ways every action or choice disturbed these threads. The price and meaning of living suddenly seemed more important. The people of the village were driven closer together the more they dwelled upon the world around them as Yuuko saw it. There were more weddings and more children, and the rice fields thrived as the farmers began to assign more weight to their profession.

Whenever spring came, Yuuko would host an outdoor picnic for flower viewing beneath the sakura trees. All workers were excused from duties in the afternoon, and Clow Reed would purchase special foods and drinks from the city to distribute among the people. Sometimes there would be special performances following the meal, or lovers and friends would disperse and wander among the trees together. It was one of the few areas in the village not occupied by either rice fields or houses, and it was viewed as romantic by the youths of the village who had little at their disposal for meeting and talking in a place ruled by rice and divided by a single path.

The year Kurogane turned thirteen, Yuuko presided over the festivities alongside Clow Reed, her long black hair bound into an elaborate bun and her body dressed in a pale purple kimono. Though the whole event was a product of her generosity, she still could not help acting like a depraved empress surrounded by her admirers. Hardly a minute went by without her forcing the young Watanuki boy to fetch her sake or Yui to arrange a platter of food for her. Even Clow held a patterned parasol over her head to shield her from the sun, though he seemed more content to be at her service than both Watanuki and Yui.

Fai had arrived alongside Yui, Ashura, and Shashi, but immediately left to seek out Kurogane as soon as their blanket was set up and Shashi was settled in. She was newly pregnant and as volatile as ever, but for once she appeared at ease as she watched the sakura blooming above her. Ashura simply looked troubled, and stared at her slightly swollen belly as if he was certain she was going to burst at any moment.

"Kuro-mun, how do I look?" Fai asked as soon as he met up with Kurogane. He was wearing a pair of light blue robes that looked homemade, but fitted him nicely and were cleanly styled. A matching pin was fixed to his hair, holding his long bangs away from his forehead.

"Did you make those?"

"Ashura-oniisan bought me fabric from a traveling merchant. I had a hard time working with it at first, but I think I got the hang of it at the end." He placed his hands on his hips and swiveled to the side flirtatiously to show off his work. A group of nearby girls giggled and gazed at him from the corner of their eyes.

"You look..." Kurogane trailed off. There was no way to say it. If he told the truth of how nicely the garment fit against his slim waist and lanky body, Fai would never let him hear the end of it, but if he seemed too indifferent, Fai would take it as an insult to his handiwork and have his feelings hurt. Kurogane was usually a proponent for honesty, but when Fai was concerned, there was rarely an easy route to follow. He stayed silent, bunching his eyebrows together.

"Excuse me," came a quiet voice. A young woman was standing behind Kurogane, peering at Fai. She looked to be about the same age as the twins, though she was a great deal smaller, only reaching to Fai's belly. Kurogane somewhat remembered her as one of the neighbors of the Doumeki family, but could not remember her name or anything else about her.

"Yes?"

"I just wanted to say that I think you look wonderful today, Fai-kun. I-if you don't mind me saying so."

Fai smiled and winked, which only made the girl blush a deep red and run back to her friends. As soon she sat down among them, they all began whispering and collapsing into giggles as she covered her red cheeks with trembling hands.

"If only everyone was so forthcoming," Fai sighed, granting Kurogane a slight smile. Kurogane snorted and folded his hands across his chest.

Those sorts of interactions had been happening too often. Perhaps it was because the young women of the village were at that age, and both Fai and Yui had also reached it before any of the other younger boys had. They were fifteen now, beautiful and pleasant to be around, and Fai exuded charm while Yui presented a quiet yet dignified challenge. It was inevitable they would attract interest. A few years down the line, and Kurogane would, too. It was the way things were, but he didn't have to enjoy the person Fai became for the girls who admired him, cheery and equally kind enough to give those who approached him hope.

The two of them wandered over to where Yuuko was relaxing underneath the trees with Clow, her cheeks already flushed from her tall bottle of sake. She and Clow were occupied with an intense conversation, but they broke it off the moment Fai and Kurogane were in ear shot and went back to sipping their drinks. Yuuko produced two small cups and set them on the blanket, and lifted up a still full bottle of sake to wave back and forth in the air.

"Yoo-hoo, Watanuki," she called. "Pour some drinks for our guests."

Watanuki stumbled over, his face flushed and exhausted, and his damp hair pulled away from his forehead by a kerchief. He looked about ready to yell at Yuuko, but he was too out of breath to say anything other than a jumble of incoherent insults.

"I don't need an eight year old to do anything for me," Kurogane protested, taking the bottle of sake for himself. "He's too young to be handling alcohol."

"Speaking of too young, a thirteen year-old boy shouldn't be handling it either." Clow removed the bottle from Kurogane's hands. "Fai-kun can have just a little."

"How dull," Yuuko sighed, but she allowed Clow to pour Fai a small serving, which he quickly polished off with a slight wince and smack of his lips.

Shizuka Doumeki, who had seemingly appeared out of nowhere, began to yank on Watanuki's collar. "I want katsuo dashi."

"GET IT YOURSELF!" Watanuki shrieked, whacking him on the arm with a ladle. Yuuko began to snicker, while Clow relieved Watanuki of his dangerous weapon and ruffled his hair.

"Everyone is so lively today," Yuuko said with a pleased smile. "You know what they say of spring, yes? It is a season of beginning. Perhaps we shall witness a few beginnings this afternoon. What do you think, Fai-kun?"

"I think you're being vague." Fai reached over to grab the hem of her kimono and studied it. "You bought a new one, I see."

"Yes. I did not wish to offend anyone by repeating what I wore last year."

"Where do you find the money to afford this kind of fabric? You only see this quality of silk worn in the city."

"When one is owed favors, one does not always need to give money as compensation for services given." She studied Fai's own garment. "Perhaps one day if you are able to show some sort of generosity of your own, fabric like this will fall into your hands. Or perhaps an action you are already thinking of taking will yield more than you imagine it will."

"If you're not going to say anything of use to anybody, can't you just shut up?" Kurogane wondered.

"Oh-ho? Kurogane-kun still being rude? Perhaps I was hoping too much when I spoke of new beginnings." Yuuko's eyes fixed on Kurogane and then traveled to Fai, her lips sliding upwards with a mischievous quirk. "Since I am too vague and useless for the taste of these young men, I could always address the matter bluntly. Fai-kun, if you wish for fabric of your own to work with, you need not ask further than the young ladies present at this picnic. I am sure a good number of them would be happy to be relieved of their kimono if you are the one who is asking."

Fai released an off-note laugh. "W-why do you need to say something like that, Yuuko-san? It's not nice to make fun of me in front of everyone."

"Isn't it? Helping one become aware of the consequences of their actions is not an unkindness. Tell me, do you think the girls who approach you are not giving something that has a price? Affection carries a heavy weight, one that you should be familiar with from what you carry in your own heart. And given that each time you receive their affection you give them your encouraging kindness in return, one can only assume that you are prepared to pay the later price of that encouragement with the natural next step." She trailed a finger around the rim of her glass. "If you are serious about your interest in kimono, then you will have all the fabric you need from every heart you encouraged, as long as you are willing to give them yourself in exchange. That is the path you have started. Why bother considering any other course of action when you have already acted enough?"

After her little speech was finished, Fai and Yui both turned a fevered pink, while Clow shook his head and sighed Yuuko's name in a troubled voice. Kurogane squeezed the empty cup in his hands until it shattered with a decisive snap into pieces in his fist. The glass pricked his tightened palm, and blood dripped from his skin and spotted the blanket beneath it. At first, he did not feel any pain or even see that he had broken his skin open with glass of the cup. All he was aware of was the blinding, intense anger welling up inside of him and the deadpan face of Yuuko as she gazed at him. What he felt at that moment was at last dislike. The annoyance he had once thought he felt towards Fai had nothing to do with the strength of his bitterness towards Yuuko and her dagger-like words.

"Don't touch the glass," Yui yelled, but Fai was there faster, overturning Kurogane's hand so the pieces fell into a neat pile on Yuuko's blanket. He pulled the kerchief from Watanuki's head and wrapped it around Kurogane's cuts, putting pressure on his hand to cut off the bleeding.

"Please be more careful," Fai said quietly. "You could have ended up with glass stuck in your skin."

"Yuuko-san, please do not provoke my brother and Kurogane-san," Yui added, looking uncharacteristically upset. "Insinuating things like that, especially in front of children, isn't polite."

"Provoke?" Yuuko echoed, lifting an eyebrow. "I merely spoke words, and they chose to react."

Everyone fell silent for a moment. Yuuko sipped her sake, Clow gazed at her with a look between confusion and understanding, and Yui shuffled back and forth on his feet and shrank against the trunk of the sakura tree. Watanuki sniffled a little when he saw the spots of blood appearing on his kerchief, but Doumeki covered his eyes, quietly advising him not to worry. Fai and Kurogane simply stared at each other, saying nothing, but allowing silent questions to pass between them.

There is significance behind every word and every gesture, and in the ways we say hello and goodbye, Kurogane reminded himself. But what if you don't understand what that significance is? What happens next?

Fai cleared his throat and then extended a hand to Kurogane. "I want to walk," he said, his voice more terse than Kurogane had ever heard it. "Come. Let's see the trees."

Kurogane did not accept Fai's hand, but rose to his feet and followed him further into the grove, away from the main bulk of the guests and into the area where scattered men and women walked together, speaking in low whispers and gazing with longing eyes at the soft pink flowers unfolding on the branches.

"It wasn't fair, what she said," Fai murmured when they were away from Yuuko and the others. "It isn't like that."

"You act like it is, half the time."

"Yes, I act. What does it matter if I'm nice to the girls who show kindness to me? They don't know who I am, and I don't know who they are, and it doesn't have to mean anything more than what it is on the surface. If they want that moment they can smile about and share with their friends, what does it matter if I give it to them? It doesn't mean anything. Not like this." He looked at Kurogane's hand and grimaced.

"Maybe not to you, but to everyone else it might," Kurogane said. "But I don't want to say any more about it. It doesn't have anything to do with me."

It couldn't possibly. As he looked at the faces of the men circling themselves around their women, he saw nothing of himself in their completely tender and melting faces. This was a world he was not meant to be a part of, a world of emotion on display that was pure and straightforward and peaceful. Whatever he felt for Fai, whatever that unknown emotion that plagued his heart was, it was far from being peaceful.

"It doesn't have anything to do with you? Then why did you get upset?" Fai asked. He clenched one of his fists and turned away from Kurogane, directing his attention to one of the trees towering above him. "If it doesn't have anything to do with you, why bother reacting?"

"I... did not like her saying those things about you."

"Why?"

"You're right about what you said earlier. About you acting. That isn't really you, or at least not the you who you really are. And I didn't want her to confuse the issue by leading you to think that she knows more about the person you are than you do. You are the one who chooses what happens next. You don't have to do anything or atone for whatever mistakes you've made. Maybe you should, but if you do, let it be because you chose to do it."

"I wasn't the one she was teasing. It was you." Fai paused for a moment and shook his head. "Or maybe it was me. She knows how I feel about Kuro-pon, and wanted me to see your reaction. But how am I supposed to know what anything means anymore?" He rested his forehead against the tree trunk. "Kurorin?"

"It's Kurogane. And what do you want?"

"We're old enough now. It can't be just a joke anymore."

"Eh?"

Fai turned around slowly. His eyes were a bit damp, and there was an odd look on his face as if some sort of internal battle was being waged. He took a few steps forwards and placed his hands on Kurogane's forearms. "Please," he whispered. "Just let me..."

Kurogane remained still as Fai leaned forward and without warning joined their lips together. He couldn't think of anything at first, or even process how he felt. Fai's breath tasted of sake, and his lips were moist and surprisingly heated. And as soon as he realized those sensations, new ones appeared. A rough, kittenish tongue brushed against his lips as small, desperate noises came from the back of Fai's throat and reverberated through where their skin was connected. Hands were grasping at his shirt, and his own hands had lifted in the air without his telling them to, hovering near the area of Fai's waist without touching him.

It wasn't until Fai actually pulled away that he thought of the word 'kiss' and was aware that he had just taken part in one, his very first. Fai backed away slowly as Kurogane considered this information and tried to figure out what it meant. Was Fai really in love with him? And if so, did the fact that he had somewhat enjoyed being kissed mean that he was consequently in love with Fai? Or did kissing feel good no matter who you did it with? Did Fai expect him to be angry, and should he be? Was the thing burning in his body anger, or something else?

"If you don't know what to say," Fai said, bowing his head, "then please don't say anything until you know. At least, don't say anything that would hurt me if you don't want to see me hurt."

"Then why did you...?"

"Because I know for sure, now. And I wanted you to know that if you ever feel yourself ready, I am, too." Fai laughed to himself. "Although perhaps I was wrong. You're two years younger than me. This is too soon for you. But Yuuko-san said..."

"Do we really need to talk about what that witch said?"

"She said that what I was thinking of doing would yield more than I thought it would," Fai persisted. "But it doesn't need to happen right now. I just have one thing to ask of you."

"What?"

"Until you have an answer for me, I don't want you to feel you have to behave differently with me. What I feel has always been a part of me. Nothing has really changed."

Kurogane shook his head and swallowed. This time Fai was wrong. Something had changed. Perhaps not Kurogane or Fai individually, but something about the two of the them together and the way they would have to interact in the future had shattered and reformed. There could be no more dismissing Fai's feelings by claiming that he was joking, and no more fantasizing about brides and grooms without greater consequence. This was by no means the beginning of their story, but perhaps it was a second starting point. Even the things that did not seem as if they would ever change could not stay as they once had now that Fai had opened a path to a new ending awaiting Kurogane's choice. A decision would have to be made, and no matter what Fai said, their relationship would undergo a transformation, an inevitable change of season.

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