Part 36:

"What was said?" Lady Suwa asked, worried when she found her husband in the Suwa armory. It had only been ten minutes since he got back from Edo and he was planning to go out again.

"Takatori is going to try talking to his grandfather, but I don't count on anything being done about that old goat. It may get ugly."

"So you're going to join Kurogane?" She shivered when he didn't say anything, just continued to prepare his weapons. "Please tell me what's wrong, Hondo."

"I have to get there quickly," he finally admitted and stopped what he was doing. He laid his hands on her shoulders. "I was just told by messenger on the way here. There are thirty demons in the east. Kurogane has chosen to take the men to go face them down and capture Fei-Wang."

Her heart clenched at the news and she nodded her head. As a mother she hated the news, but as the priestess of Suwa she approved of his swift action. It was planting season, and a lot of innocent lives could be lost. "Our son is very brave."

"Yes, and also very foolish. He should have sent for reinforcements from another province. He relies on his mage's power too much as his backup. Very soon, he'll be without Fai and then who will he have to rely on?"

"But Kurogane has found true strength relying on the mage. He doesn't feel the need to prove himself any more. He now moves through life with confidence and character. He now allows himself to trust in other people's strength, not just his own. But you know that. What's really bothering you?"

"If this keeps up, I will be forced to declare war on Tsukiyono, and it's something I really don't want to do. Leading my son on an invasion is not the dream I have for him."

"Sometimes people make evil choices. We can't control other people. If the Takatoris persist in pushing this danger on us, you'll have to protect our land. You've never once failed to rise to such challenges without question."

"It's hard seeing my son as a full grown man. I've done my best to prepare him for challenges like this. I just want to know I haven't failed him somehow."

She gave him a smile and touched his arm. "You haven't. Have faith in him and yourself. He's more like you than just in appearance. His temperament may be worlds apart from yours, but all the important things like integrity, courage, and conviction are all there."

Lord Suwa reached out and gently took a glossy handful of her hair. He always told her he loved the scent of it. He thought about her hair when away from her for long periods of time to keep encouraged. She wrapped her hands around his and he gave her a gentle kiss.

"I'll go find our son and bring him back," Lord Suwa promised before reluctantly letting her hair go. "Just make sure you keep up your prayers for us."

"I will. Be careful."


"It's impossible. He won't listen to me," Mamoru, said pacing back and forth in his sitting room. His three companions had listened patiently to his story about the trouble with Suwa.

"You should drag him out of the fortress and make him listen," Ken said.

"Hey, orphan boy, filial piety and stuff," Youji reminded him.

"Oh yeah," Ken said looking a little embarrassed.

"We have to find Fei-Wang Reed and stop this, or else Lord Suwa could declare war on us. I want to avoid that at all cost," Mamoru insisted. "We also need to support Suwa any ways we can. Ran, I want you to go tell Shinon about this and see if he won't lend a hand."

"This is not the time to get me to mend things with Shinon."

"Yes, but his people are valuable in a fight," Mamoru pointed out. "I know you have bad blood, but we must protect Tsukiyono against evil. It's what you swore to me when I became the province lord."

"Fine," Ran said in open bitterness. "I'll go talk to Shinon."

"Good. Please, Ran, make sure you get your conscience clear over your relationship with him."

Ran gave a slight nod, a cold glint was in his amethyst eyes. With that, he left Mamoru's sitting room.

Youji let out a dry chuckle. "I'm glad you didn't send me along to babysit him. That'll be one wall banger of a fight."

"I'm mean, Schwarz is gone, so he should just drop it already," Ken said. "And people say I'm the one with a bad temper."

"Some wounds run deeper than just the knife cut," Mamoru said. "Anyway, you two go muster our resource and get ready to march into Suwa so we can take Fei-Wang. And make sure the white flag is flown over our war banners. I do not, under any circumstances, want Lord Suwa to take our march as aggression towards him."


"Nagles!" Schuldig wailed, peeking into the angst-ridden teen's bedroom in Schwarz's Tokyo high-rise apartment. Nagi, got annoyed hearing his nickname chanted, yet again. He didn't look up from the flashing screen.

"What? I'm enjoying technology!" Nagi snapped.

Schuldig sighed and shook his head. "Like I explained, there are all sorts of technology. That is a computer, which, you play too much of. Brad wants us to do a job."

"But this is Minecraft. I'm building my own world," Nagi explained.

"Now, Nagles. Brad is breathing fire."

"Let me just clear cut this forest and kill off this heard of cattle," Nagi insisted, his fingers flying over the keys.

"You know, you should be building our world in real life. Come on, Nagles," Schuldig badgered. Nagi continued his Minecraft play. "I'll let your drive Brad's car," Schuldig offered in a wicked, sing-song tone.

Nagi shut down the game and popped up. He followed Schuldig out of the apartment. "You know, Crawford won't be happy, because I injured his car last time."

"It's not injured, it's damaged. And you sure blew out that clutch in style! I loved it. We'll just keep this to ourselves."

"What are we to do?"

"Assassinate a group of four women. They're called Schreient."

"If Crawford wants them dead, I'll help you kill them all."

Schuldig's eyebrow quirked up. "Crawford said this is to be a test of your loyalty, Nagles. He's interested in how you'll do, tonight. All I have to say is this: remember, you're one of us. Schreient aren't our kind."

Nagi wondered what new thing he would encounter in this world that could catch his attention more than technology, especially something that would test his unwavering devotion to Schwarz.


"Well, what now, Kurgs?" Fai asked as they saw a group of nine demons swooping closer and closer to the rice farming village.

"We'll get rid of them. Do you know where the others are?"

"Not yet. It seems they split up into three groupings. The other two seem to be farther inland, to the west and to the north. I can't tell much else. I just need time to concentrate."

"You don't have it, Fai?" Kurogane snapped.

Fai's brow furrowed and he protested, "I'm doing my best, Kuro-sama."

"I know you are. It's just a lot of innocent people are at stake. I need you to help me protect my people."

Fai look insulted and hurt suddenly. Before he could respond, the demons moved to swoop on the village. There was a lot of confusion and rushing towards the village. They fiercely fought against the demons. Fai was at his back most of the time, but there was a disharmony between them, a disharmony that almost cost them their lives.

A demon roared down on top of their heads, both froze. It was Kentaro that leaped up and sliced the demon's head from its body. "Get it together!"

"Kentaro, back up the mage!" he ordered and went to Sedji's side.

Kurogane dredged up his discipline, embarrassed at his lapse. He lunged at another demon beside the young apprentice, and let Kentaro have Fai's back, for now. He wasn't fit to partner with his lover at this moment because of the animosity between them.

He unleashed his anger at the demons. They were able to polish them off with only one man getting injured in their hunting party. It was a broken leg, so nothing life threatening. Still, Kurogane cursed his luck; he needed every man he could muster if they were to hunt the rest.

He had the man taken to the the village for some first aid and set up a camp on the outskirts. It was getting to be dusk, and he knew the folly of marching his men in an undefined direction in the middle of the night. The demons could ambush them. He was frustrated at being stuck in one spot, but it was a hard battle and the men needed to rest.

He sat at the campfire, but was about to turn in. One of his men said, "Thanks, mage of Celes. I wish my wife cooked like you."

The men all chuckled. Kurogane looked up with a glare to see what antics Fai was up to, not in the mood to deal with his goofiness. He watched Fai serve his warriors from a huge cauldron. By the odor, it was some of Fai's delicious venison stew.

"Yeah, I want you to come teach my wife a thing or two. Six years and she still ruins miso soup. Miso soup, for crying out loud!" another man griped.

"Well, I could teach you guys. It's not very hard," Fai offered in good cheer.

The men chuckled and shook their heads. One said in a friendly, teasing nature, "But that's woman's work. I'd never hear the end of it from my wife or mother-in-law if I invaded her kitchen."

"Really! If I started cooking, then my wife would have me scrubbing the floorboards next," another one said, getting more chuckles. "Don't take this the wrong way, mage of Celes, but you'll make someone a good wife one day."

Kurogane noticed Fai blush, even by the campfire, but he didn't take offense. Fai knew Nihongo gender roles were more rigid than in Celes, and the man was trying to give him an awkward compliment. If they didn't know what a competent fighter Fai was, such a thing would never have been said, because it would be a deep insult.

Fai laughed and waved his hand in the air. "Aww, you guys say the nicest things. But I'm afraid I'm doomed to be a bride's maid and never a bride," he joked. The men laughed and Kurogane was stupefied. Most of these men accepted Fai, even though it was now open information that he and Kurogane were together.

Usually, in this situation, Fai would have been shunned until he'd leave the province lord's son alone. This only attested to Fai's extraordinary charm and the respect he'd developed from his fighting skills. In addition, that they were openly joking about Fai's foppish hobby showed a lot of acceptance. But then again, Kurogane admitted he hadn't met the person that wasn't won over by the mage's cooking.

When all the men were served and chatting among themselves, Kurogane stalked off to his tent, feeling as if he'd swallowed a stone that refused to leave his stomach. He couldn't figure out what was bothering him. He needed to get rid of whatever it was, or else he'd be less effective persuing these demons.

He almost started meditating after lighting three candles, but Fai brought him a bowl of stew. He knelt in front of Kurogane and gave him one of those fake smiles. "Come on and eat, Kuro-pu. Time for your dinner."

Kurogane took the bowl and gave him formal thanks for the meal. A moment of hurt came to Fai's eyes because of the verbal distance Kurogane put between them. "I didn't make this for your thanks. I made it because I care about you. And I care about what you care about, but you don't understand that. You think of me as an outsider, still, someone that's going to be plucked away from you in several more weeks. You picture me as forgetting you when I go back to Celes and not missing Nihongo in the least."

Kurogane was shocked to see tears roll down Fai's cheeks. Fai's voice was choked up when he said, "But I will miss Nihongo, a great deal. I wish you knew how much I have grown to love everything around me. I wish you'd understand how my heart will ache for a very long time when I get back to Celes. I'll have my twin and my father, but I won't have you and this beautiful country to enjoy, nor your people to care for, and that hurts so much. This punishment has ruined my heart so much, and you don't see it."

Kurogane was stunned when Fai curled up in a ball on his futon and wept, almost silent. It dawned on Kurogane, the mage couldn't go back to Celes now, and there was no way he wanted Fai to go back. Fai maybe a foreigner, but he loved Nihongo. He set aside his stew bowl and reached out. He took Fai into his arms. The mage was limp like a rage doll. Kurogane adjusted him on lap and held him close as Fai cried quietly. Fai finally stilled his tears and relaxed in Kurogane's arms.

"I'm ashamed of how selfish I've been," Kurogane admitted, embarrassed.

"Selfish?" Fai asked as Kurogane brushed back blond hair.

"Yes. I've been focused on how you leaving would effect me. I never once thought you'd have a problem going back to Celes and your normal life. I never thought you'd grow to love this place. I pictured you as serving out your punishment and then going home."

"It's more than you, Kuro. I've grown to love this place and I love everyone. When you implied that I wasn't doing my utmost to help your people, it hurt me so much. It was as if you said I didn't care because I was a foreigner."

"I know. I regret that and apologize."

"I forgive you and I hope you forgive me for not being so open about my feelings all the time. My feelings are processed through some very twisted filters. It's a defense I developed out of necessity so Yuui and I could survive."

"I know. I accept that, even though it's not something I like."

Fai gave him a smile, but it was heavy with sorrow. "I know."

Kurogane wrapped his arms around Fai firmly. He did not want to lose his mage, not ever. "Fai," he said to get the mage's attention. He adjusted the younger man on his lap and they were face to face. "I'm going to make an offer, but I don't want to hear your answer for weeks. I want you to think everything over, because it'll change you life radically, and you'll have to make some very deep sacrifices. I'm asking you to think about staying here and being mine."

Fai's eyes popped open wide and he shook his head slightly. "I'll think on it. I want it, but I do love Celes. To leave Yuui is very hard, because he was so damaged when we were little. He was... hurt more than me. Our grandfather really hurt him. That sick man put his hands on Yuui... it was sick... and I was too little to stop him. I feel really horrible over that."

"You never told me that. Were you hurt too?"

"Not me. The old man was afraid of me. He stopped hurting Yuui when my magic got too strong and out of control, along with my temper tantrums. That's when he decided to have us executed.

"But Yuui... He's my twin and I keep secrets between us very tight. There are huge blocks missing in Yuui's memories because of what that man did. You see why I'm scared of leaving him. I hadn't told him about that at all; I never had the courage to let him know. I mean, I told Ashura, and his anger was..." Fai shuttered and clung closer to Kurogane. "If it wasn't that I knew King Ashura was watching over his safety, I'd be going crazy right now."

"I won't get in between you and your twin or the ice king. It would just be a losing battle for me. But I want you to know, I'm offering you a home in Suwa, with me. If you need to bring Yuui here, he'll have a home in Suwa, too."

"You're asking a lot of me, Kurogane," Fai said, laying his head on Kurogane's shoulder. "I do love Celes with my whole heart. It's what I know. It was the shelter I had from abuse and I have a real family there, therefor, my heart is there. Crossing dimension isn't easy. Seldom done. It's not like I could visit all the time."

"I know. That's why I told you to give the thought some time. I want you here, permanently, with me. But I only want you here if you could call Nihongo home. Don't give me your answer until your father gets here. I don't want to hear your answer until then, because you need to think it over a lot. Whatever you decide, I'll respect that decision and my feelings for you won't change."

Fai broke down and started sobbing on his shoulder. Kurogane admitted he was close to choking up, too. He so wanted Fai to say he'd stay, but he couldn't just dictate to Fai. One of the things he prized most was Fai's free spirit. He had to honor that.

He found himself kissing Fai deeply and passionately. He moved his deep kisses to Fai's neck. Fai tried to struggle against his affection, but Kurogane held him still. "Are you okay, Fai?"

"I'm just a little somber."

"I'll make you smile again. A real one, not one of those fake things." Kurogane's hand drift up Fai's thigh. He moaned, put his arms around Kurogane's neck, and parted his legs. Kurogane started to stroke Fai gently.

"I want this. Harder please," Fai begged. Kurogane obliged. Fai came soon and was left quivering on Kurogane's lap. Fai slid off of Kurogane's lap and was on all fours. "So, do you want me to reciprocate."

"It'd only be polite,"Kurogane teased. Fai pulled apart Kurogane's kimono and started pleasuring him with his mouth. Kurogane laid back and enjoyed the climax that befell him.

When things had quelled, he reached down and grabbed Fai by the shoulders. He tugged the mage to him and held his thin body tight. "I need you."

"I need you, too, Kurogane," Fai whispered in his ear. The stone in his stomach lifted and he prayed Fai would choose him over Celes. They held each other until sleep overcame them. The morning offered a challenge that drew Fai out of bed early: find Fei-Wang.


"Well, how was your trip?" Tanya asked Zellen as he attempted to sneak past her study. He stepped in and gave her bright smile.

"It was great. We had lots of fun. Thanks."

"Oh, guess what came! Your invitation for your interview in front of the council. It's the first step towards your D title."

"Really? But how? I mean, that was quick," Zellen asked baffled.

"It helped that King Ashura has volunteered to be your official sponsor. His signature was on the letter."

"The king? You're kidding? I thought he might be mad at me for taking Yuui's place rather than talk him out of that. I mean... Something about bandits... Yuui told me something...?" Zellen said, looking confused suddenly. His nose started bleeding.

"Oh dear, not again," she said. "I need to prescribe something for that."

Zellen shook his head, his blurry eyes clearing. He got his handkerchief out and pinched his nose. "I'll be alright, Auntie. It's coming close to high winter."

"You never used to have nose bleeds. Are you sure you don't want a prescription?"

"I'm fine." He gave her a smile after he finished cleaning under his nose.

"So where is Drysi? I want her to hear the good news, too."

Now Zellen grew bashful and blushing. "Oh, she's moving her things into my room. So what's for dinner?"

"What? How's that?" Zellen always had that avoidance habit since he was a little boy.

"Well, we... you know, decided to stop beating around the bush."

Tanya could read between lines. She knew Zellen, like any young man, was running high on hormones, and, well, Drysi had grown really affectionate towards her nephew. "Well, I'm not surprised in a way, but how was that possible?"

"I found a potion that suppresses psychometry for a short amount of time. It was when I was playing Yuui. I waited until I felt she would want it."

"Well, I haven't heard of it. It must be obscure."

"It is, so I'm going to use it as my practical for my D title."

"It'll be the prefect choice. The council really likes philanthropic projects. If you use that, you'll get it for sure. I did a spell that corrected spinal injuries more effectively. I chose that because of your father and the issues he was born with."

"Yeah, he was always in pain you said, but he and mother did their best." Tanya remembered her brave brother and sister-in-law that died before their time helping out pox victims in the east. Zellen had been too young to remember them. He was only two at the time they died, but Tanya had done her best to raise him. She felt sad that he didn't remember anything about them.

"Well, I better go help Drysi," Zellen said, looking anxious to leave suddenly.

"One other thing, Zel." She watched Zellen's shoulders bunch up. He was no doubt anticipating what she was going to ask, but she had to ask, since they were living under her roof. "You were responsible with Drysi, weren't you?"

"Yes, ma'am. We want to wait on children until I get a job."

Tanya let out sigh of relief. "Alright. Well, that's all I ask. I don't want to dictate your marriage. You understand that if you had a child right now, it'd make things so much harder on you right now?"

"I know that, Auntie. I want to be responsible. I really want to take care of her, and I want to be a man that'll take care of his children rather than rely on you. You raised me, and now it'll be your turn to pamper kids when we have them."

"Good. I want to be a great-aunt and not a second mother."

He gave her a bright smile. "You're the best, and I promise I won't make a mistake."

"You've grown a lot and become so responsible. I'm proud of you, and I know you'll get your D title soon."

"Thanks, Auntie. I promise I won't let you down."

To be continued.

PS- Nagi's true love is in Shreient, but is that not what I'm going into.