A/N: Hey, Shane, I love your idea about King Ashura, so here you go. Enjoy, everybody.

Part Forty-Six:

Fai put the last of Demetri's journals back in the trunk with a heavy heart. He could feel Kurogane's eyes on the back of his head. They'd had three fights so far since breakfast, and it wasn't even quite lunch, yet. This wasn't how he'd pictured his potential last day with Kurogane. It was making his pain so much worse and just making his chest ache horribly.

Fai stood, avoiding meeting Kurogane's eyes. He looked around the room. All of the things he'd accumulated in Nihongo were packed in five large trunks, along with all of his notes about the new ley lines. He looked over by the door and saw his fuzzy, white coat with the blue trim and the long, blue under coat used traditionally during High Winter. Now, the idea of wearing them gave him nothing but sorrow. It meant he'd have to leave Kurogane. But not wearing it meant he would let down the one person he had vowed to protect with his very life when they were in the deepest danger: the very person he was born with.

After every horrid thing that had happened to his twin on Valeria, the idea of his gentle, innocent twin in the hands of a necromancer made him absolutely furious. He wouldn't tolerate it, and he'd have no mercy on the filthy reanimator. He admitted he was irritated Ashura hadn't executed such a despicable wretch before now, but then he had to think, Ashura would have done so, if he had foreseen this situation.

"Fai."

"What do you want, Kurogane?" Fai said, not able to muster any teasing at all. He saw the ninja stiffen and there was a momentary narrowing of his eyes. He had inadvertently hurt Kurogane by using his proper name, rather than a nickname.

"You're tired. You wouldn't let me help you at all. At least come rest with me. The last thing I want is animosity between us, right now," Kurogane said, his voice thick with emotion. He was never one for hiding what he felt.

Fai knelt in front of Kurogane where he sat on his futon. "You know how much Yuui means to me. I can't abide this situation. I don't know why he's done what he's done, but he needs to be parted from the necromancer. After that... well... I'll come back."

"But Lord Ashura implied that this challenge could be one where there was the possibility you wouldn't return to me. That's why I want to come with you."

"Yuui is mine to take care, not yours! Don't you understand?" Fai's head dropped forward as guilt overwhelmed him. "I didn't protect him when he needed it. When our grandfather... I let him down, and it was my fault. I should have saved him; I just wasn't quite strong enough to fight the man off. But when I was old enough, I did, and then he went and tried to kill us for it."

"You were just a small child. You didn't know how use your magic at the time to save him from those horrors. Don't blame yourself, and don't let this guilt manipulate you."

Fai looked up, furious at Kurogane. "I'm tired of you implying my father is lying to me. He loves me, he loves Yuui. He'd never harm us. If you keep this up, it's going to destroy what time we have together."

Kurogane took a deep, meditative breath. "Fai, I only say what I do because this is what my mother has seen. She has always been very accurate. The story your father gave... it doesn't add up. If you crippled your brother so much that he's frighted of people, why is he hanging around a stranger? There must be something to it."

"I haven't crippled Yuui! I resent you implying that! I've only protected him." Fai sat up straighter, glaring, but Kurogane wouldn't back down from the accusation.

"What else would you call it? Anyway, what you father said makes no sense."

"I'm going to Celes, and if you keep this up, you'll not be invited," Fai threatened in a low voice with a hollow glare. This was a Fai Kurogane didn't know at all, one deep inside he had kept hidden. This was the one forged by guilt and malice, and this Fai was fearsome to see. Kurogane had finally pushed Fai to the point there was no veneer.

Kurogane nodded and rose to leave Fai and cool off. "Fine. I'll go with you to Celes so I can watch your back. You handle your twin."

He stalked off, but paused when Fai said, "Kuro-min... thank you."

"Don't mention it," Kurogane said and left Fai to finish his sulking.


Zellen glanced over at Boris. They were basically spying from the bedroom doorway of the annex. Drysi was knitting in the front room after sneaking lunch to them; she was just waiting on Yuui to pick up Fai. Sensing his twin across dimensions was very tricky, at best, and had a big chance of failure. Yuui lay on the rumpled bed, still as could be, in deep meditation.

"Can he manage it?" Boris asked.

"Find Fai? Perish the thought of him failing that. He's very attuned to Fai. Their lives depended on it when they were little." Zellen then gave him more of a scrutinizing look, but the ex-governor's eyes were glued to Yuui's prone, still body. "Can I ask you something?"

"You just did," Boris answered dryly.

Zellen shook his head in aggravation and asked, "About Yuui and you. What's got him so riled up that he's willing to snap at you?"

Boris shrugged. "He doesn't like me."

"So? He doesn't like a few other people. He never berates them. It's not like him."

"Maybe he finally grew a spine, since he doesn't have a lot of people running after him, kissing every little boo-boo on His Loftiness' soft skin." Boris said.

"You need to stop calling him that. It's rude," Zellen snapped.

Boris gave him a nasty sneer. "I'll call him whatever I damned well please, so kindly mind your own business."

Zellen sneered back. "He's my friend, so he's my business."

"No wonder he's such a babied, little thumb-sucker, with friends like you around," Boris said.

"Why do you insist on being so nasty to him?"

"Oh sure, it was all fun and games when I pissed off the duchess, now I'm not so much fun. Anyway, if you must know, his dislike of me is mutual because he saved my life against my will."

"You're heartless if you dislike him," Zellen said.

"I gave up having a heart a long time ago. It makes things messy," Boris said.

Zellen turned his back on Boris. He flopped down beside Drysi on the sofa. She had silently watched the exchange. They both glanced over at the ex-governor, who once again had his eyes glued on Yuui from the doorway and was pointedly ignoring them.

She patted Zellen's hand and whispered, "Try to get along with him, for Yuui's sake."

He nodded. For Yuui's sake, he'd bite his tongue, but that didn't mean his mind wasn't machinating on a prank.


Fai was on his way to late afternoon tea with his father, but he quietly slipped into Lady Suwa's prayer room on the way. At first, he was afraid she was asleep bundled on the floor with blankets and pillows, and he was about to leave quietly. She stirred and opened her eyes.

"Wait, mage. Come sit with me for a while."

He let out a deep breath and knelt by her side. He took her hand and forced a smile to his face. "How are you feeling, my fine lady?"

She weakly squeezed his hand and gave him a gentle smile. "I'm doing fine, my son's mage. Please tell me how you took the news about your father?"

He felt guilty and was about to lie, but he sighed and shook his head. "I can't believe it. My father has been steadfast all my life and has gone to extreme lengths to heal me and my brother. He explained that the man you saw him with was guilty of reanimating the dead, which is a taboo in our realm. He was trying to rescue Yuui from the man."

"But, Fai, didn't they tell you about what I saw before the fight?"

"No, what was it?"

"King Ashura had slain several men and took the blood into him through his magic."

Fai shivered and felt his stomach roil at the news. He shook his head as tears blurred his vision. There was no way Ashura could explain that away. He gripped her thin hand and shook his head wildly. "No, no, no... my father would never do such a vile thing. You must understand, he is stern, and he doesn't suffer bandits and criminals lightly. I find it hard to believe he'd do that, though. He's always taught us that justice is very important, but not to do anything barbaric."

"But my vision was true, I'm so sorry to say," Lady Suwa said. "You're father is a very sick man. I don't know if it's physical or mental, but please let me look him over, and I can hopefully help him."

"Are you certain he's sick?" Fai asked, still not wanting to believe what he was told.

"There are many black spots on his aura, Fai. He is very sick," she said firmly, even as her eyes drooped and her grip on his hand weakened. "Please convince him to stay, and I'll see about healing him."

Fai took a huge breath and shook his head. "Yuui is in danger. I need to go and save him. Please understand that, Lady Suwa. I know my father is harsh, but never that harsh. I just can't picture him taking blood. There is no reason for him to do so; he's very powerful as it is. I don't want to..." He lowered his head and shook it. "...I just can't believe you. I love..." Fai found himself choking up and he rested his head on her shoulder.

She stroked his soft, blond hair. "I know you love your father, but you've been away for a year. That can be a long time. Things could have changed. I just ask that you examine your father with an open mind. My son cares about you a great deal and wants your safety above all else. He doesn't wish to come in between you and your father."

Fai felt the first flutters of distrust against Ashura, and he felt guilty and dirty at feeling that way. He felt torn, because he'd grown to love and respect Lady Suwa a great deal.

"I promise to watch him with an open mind," he finally agreed, after sitting upright. "And I promise to take Kurogane seriously when he tells me things. Do you need anything right now? I promised Ashura I'd have tea with him."

"No, I'm fine."

Suddenly, Kurogane ran into the prayer room. "Quick! Fai! Go get your magic staff!"

"What's wrong?"

"It's Fei-Wong. He's escaped and headed here. He's been spotted close by, and he's vowing revenge."

"Be careful," Lady Suwa bid.

Fai hopped up and ran down the hallway with Kurogane. "I thought your cousin had handled him."

"They got him to Edo, he just escaped," Kurogane explained as they got their weapons from his room and ran out to the courtyard. Lord Suwa was already confronting a demon that had climbed the fence. Several men were scrambling to keep more out.

Kurogane rushed to help his father put down the demon as two more got in. Fai launched a killing hex at one and took it down; it melted into a blob of goo. He flinched when green runes flew by his shoulder. The demon burst into flames and then exploded into ash. He turned to see Ashura standing behind him with his magic staff.

"Nicely done, Fai," the king complimented. Fai turned to where three more demons flew over the top of the fence, roaring fiercely. King Ashura hit one with runes. It howled and tried to scramble away from his magic.

"Usually I don't use magic against them, just a bow, so they won't slip away like that," Fai said, aiming at another with his staff as more chaos erupted behind them. Kurogane and his father were pushing demons back just fine, but Lord Suwa was cussing a blue streak. Fai didn't want to be in Fei-Wong's shoes when they found him.

The three demons dove at Fai and Ashura again. Ashura lofted his staff and hit the lead demon with a spell that encased it in ice. The other two peeled off, hovering and roaring at Ashura. It plummeted to the earth and then Ashura cast a hex, suffocating it to death inside.

Fai smiled and said, "That was awesome!" They both lofted their staves and did likewise to the other two. They looked around to see the few remaining demons were being finished off by Lord Suwa's men. Lord Suwa and Kurogane walked over to Fai and Ashura.

"Many thanks, ice king," Lord Suwa said.

King Ashura smiled. "Consider it payback for taking care of my son."

Fai felt an magic jolt hit his back. He was flung into Kurogane's arms, breathless. They slammed against the ground when another red bolt hit them, stunning them. Fai could see, now, that Fei-Wong had teleported into the Suwa's courtyard.

He then looked over at Ashura and Lord Suwa, both looking utterly furious as the man laughed. "You two whelps are about to learn all about payback."

That's when Fai succumbed to the sleep spell, as did Kurogane.


"Fei-Wong! How dare you strike my son and his mage! Here, on my property! Have you lost your mind!" Lord Suwa had never felt more outraged in his life. He'd never felt such an urge to attack someone either.

"I'll do a lot more than strike them," he said. "I plan on magically enslaving them to do my biding. It'll be a fitting punishment for them."

King Ashura stepped forward with a subtle smile on his face. "If we were in Celes, I would have you put to death after several, long, slow tortures. However, since I am a guest, I'll settle for killing you outright."

"Who do you think you are, foreign cur?" Fei-Wong scoffed.

"The father of one of those you just wronged, and your soon to be executioner."

"Ice King, it's my duty to dispatch him," Lord Suwa said, lofting Pale Blue Ice, desperately wanting a piece of Fei-Wong.

"Please allow me. Consider it a gesture of gratitude," King Ashura said. Lord Suwa was torn. Fai was hurt, too. What tipped it was that Ashura and Fei-Wong were both magicians.

Lord Suwa nodded, but still kept his sword at the ready as King Ashura lofted his staff.

Fei-Wong raised his hand and several animated, clay warriors appeared in a red glow around them. Then two people appeared from a red hazy: a man and a woman. "Xing, Kyle, go get the two whelps and take them back to my base."

They were lightning quick, running around Lord Suwa and King Ashura. The woman grabbed Fai's shoulders and the man grabbed Kurogane's. Then, in a flash, they were gone, Lord Suwa's sword only catching air.

"You'll return my son, now," King Ashura demand, a deep scowl on his face as he pointed the fluorite topper towards Fei-Wong.

"He's mine to use now. They're both mine, and use them up with no hesitation or limits, I shall. Here are some replacements, though," Fei-Wong said as the clay soldiers advanced on Lord Suwa and King Ashura. Fei-Wong cast a huge, magic shield to keep Lord Suwa's men at bay.

Lord Suwa moved back-to-back with King Ashura. "Well, Ice King, the first one to finish off these soldiers gets first dibs at Fei-Wong."

"I accept," King Ashura said, before casting a spell. Lord Suwa swung Pale Blue Ice and took down two at once.


Yuui stirred from his trance and looked at the doorway. He saw Boris leaning in the doorway while eating stew from a bowl. Boris asked, "Any luck?"

Yuui sat up on the side of the bed and shook his head. "No, but I did feel him cast some killing hexes. I also felt Ashura cast. He's still casting now, but I no longer feel Fai. I think a spell hit him, but it wasn't my father's magic. He's not dead, though. I know that much." Yuui quivered under Boris' harsh gaze. "So where's Zellen?"

"Packing. He has to leave tomorrow afternoon to ride circuit."

"Ride circuit? He's doing that? And has his D title? I feel I missed so much."

"I'll get you something to eat and then you can turn in early."

"Not hungry," Yuui mumbled and flopped down on the bed, utterly exhausted from trying to hone in on Fai. Boris' depression was also starting to seep in a little, in spite of his best efforts to block the man. "How can you eat when you feel the way you do?"

"Discipline. Part of being a solider is eating to keep your body going, regardless of your feelings, and you'll eat, too."

"I'm not hungry," Yuui snapped. Boris marched over, set aside the empty bowl, and yanked Yuui up by the front of his shirt. He gave the startled blond a quick shake. Yuui's eyes grew wide.

"Don't make me ram food down your throat. I know plenty of hexes that'll make you comply."

"Let me go," he said, grabbing Boris' solid wrist and trying to yank away.

"Not until you agree to eat," Boris insisted. Yuui didn't relent; he didn't want to give in to Boris, because he'd already capitulated so much to the man. "If you give a damn about your twin, you'll eat and take care of yourself so I don't have to worry about dragging you around, too. I can't be worr..." Yuui felt some ripple in Boris' emotions as the man clamped his jaw shut, tight, but the man's emotions were so twisted by depression Yuui couldn't identify what they were. "I'm not going to take you anywhere unless you decided to take care of yourself. Period. Take it or leave it, Loftiness. You'll just put yourself and your twin in trouble if you don't."

"I'll eat," Yuui finally said, softly. If it would ultimately help Fai, he'd do anything required of him. Boris loosened his grip and brought him a bowl of lukewarm stew from the living room. Yuui sat on the edge of the bed and Boris took up leaning in the doorway again. Yuui choked down the stew. It must have been Zellen's cooking, because it was horrible. After eating half the stew, he set the bowl beside Boris'.

"I'm tired. Can we sleep for a while?" Yuui asked.

"Now you're being smart."

"Boris, stay with me tonight," Yuui requested, terrified of being rejected by the man. No doubt, the man thought him too weak and pathetic. Boris made him feel ashamed of his own weakness, and it made him want to make himself strong enough to command his respect.

Boris actually smiled at him; it was a shallow smile, but it touched Yuui and drew him emotionally closer to the necromancer. Boris said, "Your need gives me strength to fight, so don't act so bashful with me. Just tell me what you need me to do; I'll do it. I'm still a solider at heart, at the will of the royal family. That's why I've followed you on this chase. My father would have expected it of me, and I'll honor him until the last piece of my sanity is gone. With that said, to respect my father, I'll take care of you, whether I want to or not." And then Boris' smile actually grew brighter. "And I don't like chasing after thumb-suckers like you."

"And I don't like pompous people like you."

"You're the one inviting me into your room, so shut it and go to sleep. Try to find your twin again after some sleep."

"Please... stay with me," Yuui pleaded and then slid over on the bed, to shy to do anything except hope Boris picked up the implication.

Boris shook his head. "Will you just get me up in the middle of the night off the couch and demand I watch after you again?"

Yuui blushed horribly and said, "Most likely. I have so many nightmares."

Boris let out a long sigh. "Let's turn in." Yuui watched as he snuffed out any fires and candles, leaving only embers in the annexe's bedroom fireplace. He removed his clothing except for his underclothes. He gently put himself on the side furthest away from Yuui's bed, crossed his arms, and turned his back to the blond.

Yuui felt hurt by the distance and refused to accept it. He placed his hand in between Boris shoulder blades. The man stiffened, but rolled over to look at Yuui.

Yuui started to say, "I just... didn't... want us to like each other."

"To late, Loftiness, but I'm still planning on leaving after all this is over. It'll make things easier on you, and I don't give a damn how you feel about that."

"Please don't leave me," Yuui pleaded.

Boris then leaned over and pressed his lips to the blond's. Yuui opened his mouth to allow Boris to have free reign. Boris' tongue was hot and gently caressing. Yuui moaned and fought to not be overeager, but he'd never felt something as pleasurable as Boris' kisses.

"Please stay with me tonight like you did last night," Yuui requested, feeling Boris' depression starting to back off at his plea. There was the tiniest kernel of happiness starting to form deep in Boris' chest.

"Whatever you want, Highness," he said. The man's tone was bland, but Boris was actually moving towards arousal. Yuui had promised to lighten Boris' depression, no matter what. If it took some physical pleasure, Yuui willing to provide it.

"Call me Yuui from now on."

"I don't want call you that. That would admit I like you, and I don't. This is a formal transaction between us."

Yuui smile. "Having a twin that's such a skilled liar makes it easy to spot lies when they're told."

Boris looked a little disgruntled then nodded. "Then Yuui it is." Yuui felt accomplished. He had won a battle with Boris, a close to impossible task.

To be continued.