Part Six:

"Oh no," Fai said, yanking back the reins. "And we're just minutes away from Vercasta."

Kurogane stood on the floorboard of the sled and glared at the tree laying in the middle of the road in the dusk light. He swore and was about to get out, but Fai grabbed his wrist. "Let me."

Kurogane sat back down as Fai hopped out and walked towards the tree. As he lofted his staff, Kurogane felt a tingle. Danger was near. Before he could call to the mage, he was forced to dodge an arrow aimed for his chest. It missed his shoulder as he leaped from the sled and drew Ginryuu. He took his sword in a two handed grip and hunched low, trying to see the enemy in the waning light. The enemy was well hidden in the forest.

A gold light shot out from the forest and knocked Fai into a snow bank. Kurogane tried to run over to Fai, but a barrage of arrows kept him away from the the mage. He deflected them all with his sword, but it kept him far from Fai's side.

"Stand down or else!" was ordered at Kurogane.

Kurogane saw three archers step from the shadows of the forest. They were just a little too far out of his sword's reach. Two other men stepped towards Fai near the front of the sled. He didn't let Ginryuu waver; he was waiting for his chance.

"What do we have here? King Ashura sent out someone on an errand in this weather. Didn't we luck out."

The two men, one with a magic staff, the other with a sword, approached Fai and yanked him up from the snowbank. The attacking swordsman yanked down Fai's hood and roughly grabbed the dazed mage by the hair.

"Look at what we caught, Merron! It's one of Ashura's pretty, little orphans. Think of the ransom!" the swordsman gloated, tracing his fingertips against Fai's jaw. The blond mage shuddered at the touch. It only made Kurogane grip on Ginryuu tighter, writhing for his chance to chop that man's hand off. The insult over that intimate touch was something Kurogane wouldn't tolerate.

"Wait a minute, Jemko? Where is the other one? Everyone knows the two travel together at all times," the one with the magic staff said. He now gripped Fai's chin tight and demanded, "Which are you? The healer or the hex caster?"

"I'm Yuui! I'm the healer and have no power to defeat you. I'm on a mission to save a child in Vercasta from the pox. Please have mercy and let us pass," Fai said.

Kurogane was amazed the mage's shoulders slumped and then he grew subdued. It was as if a new person inhabited Fai's skin. It dawned on him that Fai was truly able to mimic the real Yuui to the core. "Please, have mercy, we're on a trip to save a life in Vercasta."

"We're going to get the king to pay for your return. We don't care about your mission," Jemko the swordsman sneered. He grabbed Fai's arm and dragged him closer. "But not before we have some entertainment. The rumors about your looks weren't overdone. You're one of the prettiest boy I've ever seen."

"Let go," Fai pleaded, struggling against the man's grip.

"Just settle down. Jemko doesn't bite... at least not as hard as I do," Merron said, smirking.

"Let him go!" Kurogane snarled, lofting his sword. "Or are you just so weak that all you can do is pick on that girly fop? Bring that sword over and show me what you got, if you're a man."

"What are you? A foreigner?" Jemko asked, shoving Fai into Merron's arms. The swordsman stepped over to Kurogane.

"I'm from a land where men actually fight each rather other than hide behind archers," Kurogane said. Jemko waved the archers off; they all chuckled and released the tension in their bows.

He lofted his sword. "If you want a fight, you have it."

Kurogane let the man make the first move. Steel clashed and Kurogane easily measured up his opponent. After some back and forth, Kurogane maneuver his opponent closer to the archers. He then swiped at the man's throat, killing him.

"What the...?" one of the archers shouted. Kurogane quickly pushed Ginryuu into this archer's stomach before he could attack. He kicked dying archer away. He then turned to the other two archers. Both fled to the dark forest with wide eyes. The smell of fear and blood was heavy.

He turned to the magician, Merron, and lofted his sword. Merron pointed his glowing finger tips to Fai's temple. "Don't come any closer! I'll hex him!"

Kurogane plunged his sword into the frozen ground and picked up an abandon bow and arrow. He notched the arrow and drew back the string. "Let him go or I'll kill you."

"You can't hit me from there! You'll kill him, you fool!" Merron mostly cowered behind Fai. Kurogane gave him a lopsided grin.

"Want to wager on that?" Kurogane asked, holding the bow steady.

Merron shoved Fai to the ground and pointed at the blond wizard. "Die, you little bastard! I hope you go back to that pit of corpses!"

Before the hex was cast, Kurogane let the arrow fly. It landed in the center of the man's chest. Merron tumbled, dead, over Fai. The mage lay shivering, but silent, under the bleeding corpse. Kurogane went over and kicked the dead man off of Fai.

Fai's face was an absolute blank; no emotions showed whatsoever. It chilled Kurogane deep inside. He yanked up Fai by his coat's collar and gave him a mild shake. "You have to use magic to move that tree. I can't do it myself."

Fai nodded and picked up his staff he'd lost in the scuffle. The hex he used blasted the tree into so many splinters. Suddenly, an arrow flew out of nowhere towards Kurogane's back, but Fai snatched it from midair, stunning Kurogane. One of the archers had reappeared in the distance, looking as if he were out for revenge. Fai squared his shoulders and loft his hand.

"Leave or else," Fai warned.

"You're the hex caster! Not the healer! You lied!"

"Lying is something of an art form for me. Now make your choice. I won't tolerate you trying to hurt my guest again," Fai said. The archer loft his bow and took aim at Kurogane. As the arrow sailed through the air, pink runes shot out, dissolving the arrow and then splitting the man's chest open.

Fai sunk to all fours in a quivering heap when the man fell dead in the snow. Kurogane had to guide Fai into the sled, and had to finish driving the reindeer into Vercasta. He didn't mind, because Fai obviously had some problem with combat and blood.

There was blood all over Fai from the magician Kurogane had killed. It was in his hair, on his skin, and clothes, too. When they glided into Vercasta, the constables were in a fury after seeing Fai and hearing Kurogane's abbreviated account. They rushed out to catch the remaining archer.

The mayor Kurogane had met before, the portly, balding man named Dayken, hurriedly lead them to his own home, where he had them go into his hamam. A maid brought them light cotton shorts and thin, white robes. This hamam was smaller than the first one he'd been in, but it had the same silver pipes along the ground that released the steam.

Before Dayken left, Kurogane grabbed the man's elbow at the door and made sure they were out of Fai's earshot. The mage, fluffy coat and all, was balled up in a corner, so no problem there. "Hey, they said something about 'going back to a pit of corpses' that shook him up. What was that about?"

"Oh... they were that cruel to him..." the man murmured and then got angry. He clenched his hands into fists and gave Kurogane a scowl. "He and his twin, at the age of five, were sentenced to death in their original land of Valeria. In that land, being born a twin is a grave sin punishable by death. Since they were royalty, they couldn't be executed outright. They were subject to daily beatings on their backs and starvation." A light went off in Kurogane; Fai never slept on on his back because when he was little it was always sore from beatings. "They were cast into a pit of rotting corpses until they would starve to death. A valley of blood and mangled, rotting corpses were all they had until King Ashura rescued them. It's why Fai hates the violent nature of his power. It represent all that he suffered when he was young."

Kurogane was so stunned he couldn't think of anything except giving the man his politest bow and saying, "Thank you so much for your hospitality. And thank you for telling me about Fai." His whole perception about Fai changed dramatically. This wasn't just some spoiled brat; this was a deeply scarred person.

"Please understand. We go out of our way to indulge him and Yuui because of that. When they came here, they were both twisted in horrible ways and weren't able to even function. The king has worked hard at healing their deep wounds. None of us have been perfect trying to help the twins, but we sincerely care for them and want to see them whole and happy. We really work hard for that."

Kurogane asked the man for some privacy with Fai and he thankfully gave it. Before he left, he said, "Just toss your clothes into the hallway and the maid will launder them. I'll have some dinner waiting in the guest rooms. They're down the hallway, second and third door on your left. Take all the time you need. The king told me the twins can't sleep in a room alone. Do you want me to send a servant..."

"No, thank you. We'll just share the same guest room. He's my responsibility until I go home. I'll be with him until I leave this forsaken ice pit. It's what's expected of me. My parents and Princess Tomoyo would be gravely dishonored if I left him alone for one minute."

"That'll be fine. I'll send a message to King Ashura."

"Please don't let him know what happened, just that we're on the way. No need in making the king more stressed than he already is," Kurogane said softly to the mayor, glancing over his shoulder at the bloody mess shivering in a corner. The mayor nodded and left.

Kurogane went over to Fai and crouched down. "Oi, mage. Sit up and look at me. You're going to sweat to death in that outfit."

Fai did as he was told, no words. Kurogane tugged the fluffy, white coat off and then the blue, ankle length coat. He tossed both in the hallway, like the mayor instructed. "Take the rest off."

Slowly, Fai started to strip down. He said, "I hate the smell of death more than anything. It's revolting. It reminds me of some painful times." He turned his back to Kurogane and the ninja looked away before the last of the clothing came off. Kurogane held out the white shorts that were taken from his hand. He finally looked at Fai, but his back was still to him. There was that large tattoo across his back, only now it looked a dark green rather than black.

"I know. The mayor told me why."

Fai shivered but didn't turn towards Kurogane. The ninja quickly peeled off his clothing, pulled on the shorts, and tossed his and Fai's clothes in the hallway. He shut the door with a soft click. He then then tugged Fai into the hot tub of water. Fai grabbed a decanter on the edge of the tub and poured out some amber liquid in his hand.

He handed it to Kurogane. The ninja sniffed at the stuff that smelled way too flowery for him. He didn't have a choice of soap so he used it with a disgruntled growl as Fai scrubbed his hair. After soaping and rinsing off, Kurogane noticed Fai was starting to scrub himself raw with a coarse sponge. His skin was starting to well up and looked angry as fingernails raked across arms, shoulders, and chest.

Kurogane grabbed Fai's wrists. Fai gave him a confused look and then his face flushed; his eyes drifted away. "I didn't mean to kill that man, but I wasn't going to let him kill you."

"I know. You have nothing to be ashamed of. You were in a battle for life and death."

"The smell of blood... It still freezes me, sometimes. I guess you would consider me a coward."

Kurogane's grip on Fai's wrists lessened, but still remained firm. "If anybody comes to kill me, I kill them. If there is something or someone I'm protecting, and anyone tries to steal it, I kill them. I can't count the number of people I've killed. I don't even try any more."

"But..."

He clenched Fai's wrists a little tighter, now, to get his attention. "You're one of the types I hate right now. You still have so much life to live, but you refuse to live it. You hide your pain behind lies and don't try to leave it in the past. You make no effort to live, in spite of the second chance you've been given."

Fai's eyes drifted towards Kurogane, for once looking earnest. "Then I guess you must really hate me."

"I hate that you lie. I also hate the disrespect you give all these people that care about you," Kurogane said, releasing the pressure on Fai's wrists again, but not letting go. He was afraid Fai would start attacking his skin again.

"Disrespect?"

"With how reckless you are with your own life. You don't see past your own nose at all the people you hurt by not taking care of yourself. It's very selfish."

Fai stilled himself, rather than try to pull away any more. "I thought I only put enough power to knock the man out, I didn't think I'd kill him. Make no mistake, I don't regret killing that man if it protected you, Kuro-rin."

"I know." Kurogane let Fai's wrists go, sensing Fai was calm. "We don't have to tell the king what the bandits threatened."

Fai's face grew grim. Then he looked very embarrassed. "I'd rather keep that to ourselves. If he knew, Ashura would, well let's just say, it's a good thing those men are dead already. You haven't seen his angry side."

"Consider it buried. Let's get some rest," Kurogane said.

To be continued.