Some of you more hardcore CLAMP fans are probably baffled by Shea's treatment in the previous chapter. If we've learned anything from CLAMP, it's that all forms of love and people are accepted, right?

And this is true, and remember it. But I find it impossible to believe that every single world they go to will be so accepting, since, after all, they are traveling through pretty much every possible dimension. Eventually, they'll have to come to one or two that are homophobic or transphobic.

Unfortunate but true.

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Gothic Girl- Well I'm really glad you are reading my story then, even if you aren't sure about everything. The manga is really great, you should try and finish it if you ever get the chance. And Kurogane's curse wasn't actually a curse, in case you didn't know, it was a barrier of protection, Tomoyo just lied and told him it was a curse so he wouldn't needlessly kill.

Vannya- Don't worry, all in good time. All in good time. *chuckles evilly* I have high anxiety levels too, it freaking kills me when people don't update. That's why I try mostly read stories once they're completed.

Snowe Whisper- Actually, hiding how he feels is very unlike Kurogane. But, to keep Fai from worrying, and probably because he doesn't assume it's a big deal yet, he will. Also, that bit above for the hardcore fans is mostly for you, since last time I said a gay slur in a Tsubasa fic you like, bit my head off for it. (Joking, by the way)

Reader- Thank you. I'm glad you like it!

Never Ending Nightmare- Don't worry, I very much like this story, so even if it's not so good sometimes, I will continue enthusiastically. Thank you.

Chapter 4

When Fai woke up, luckily from a nightmare free sleep, he was the only one in the bed that he and Kurogane were sharing. That wasn't new though. Kurogane always woke up at ungodly hours, often up before the sun itself, and Fai, while not a late sleeper exactly, did tend to want to wake up at what he considered to be much more reasonable hours.

He heard faint pounding on the roof far above him, so he knew that Kurogane was already working on it. Once the ninja got started on something, he didn't stop until he was finished. Fai wandered through the house sleepily, and found Syaoran and Mokona in the living room, sitting at a table. The young boy was reading a large book, and Mokona was simply humming, sitting quietly on the table until Fai came into view.

"Fai! Good morning!" Fai caught Mokona in his hands, and smiled.

"Good morning, Mokona. Good morning, Syaoran-kun."

"Good morning, Fai-san." Syaoran said back, looking up. "I found a book about the spirits around here, and what you can do to seal them."

"Did you find anything about the spirit I released?" the blonde asked, taking a seat at the table, hoping Syaoran would say yes. Instead, the brunette sighed and shook his head regretfully.

"Not yet. But I'm only halfway through the book."

"You haven't been reading too long, have you?" Fai asked, suddenly noticing the tired look in Syaoran's eyes. "What time did you get up?"

He saw Syaoran consider lying, consider telling the truth, then settle on a lie.

"Not that long ago. I've only been up a couple hours."

Fai tsked scoldingly, and reached over to gently shut the book. "Syaoran-kun, get some sleep. Your health shouldn't suffer for my mistake." he said, with enough guilt that Syaoran heard it.

In response, the boy's face softened. "Fai-san, it isn't your fault, what's happening." He hated the thought of his close companion blaming himself once again for things that were out of his control.

"Hmm." Fai said. He'd heard the boy he thought of as a son, but it still was hard to believe. Turning the subject back around, he pulled the book to himself, setting it in his lap.

"I'll read the book for you Syaoran-kun, while you get some rest."

Syaoran considered this, but he was so tired that he didn't need much time to consider. He'd been up even longer than Kurogane. He could see how much this whole situation was worrying his traveling companions, especially Fai, and he had wanted to find some way to help seal the spirit again.

"Okay. But I'll be up in a couple hours."

"Alright." Fai said, not pushing his luck. He was lucky Syaoran had conceded to sleep at all. Mokona turned to Fai and yawned. "Is it okay if Mokona sleeps too? Mokona has been up a long time helping Syaoran."

"Of course." Fai said fondly, snuggling Mokona for a moment before letting it down. Once they were both gone, true to his word, Fai opened the book back up to the page Syaoran had been at, and started reading. It was quiet, except for the light pounding of the hammer high above his head, and he wondered if Reya and Shea were home, or if they'd gone out.

After thirty minutes of reading, Fai bookmarked his page, then went to the kitchen and started making breakfast. Kurogane would be hungry once he finally took a break, and Fai doubted Syaoran had made himself anything to eat. Once the boy found something that peaked his interest, he very rarely took the time to think of anything else, even food. He made extra for Shea and Reya, hoping they'd like it. He wasn't sure of all their particular favorites.

A few minutes after he'd finished cooking, the pounding on the roof stopped. Fai, who had been setting the table, paused, waiting to see if it would start back up again. But there was no sound, meaning Kurogane was probably done for today. He went outside, and looked onto the roof, trying to spot the ninja.

But there was nobody there.

Fai wasn't worried, since it just meant he'd probably gone done from the other way. He went around the house, finding the ladder that Kurogane was using to get up onto the roof. But the ninja wasn't in the backyard either.

Wondering how they'd managed to pass each other, Fai went back into the house, and looked around. But there was no sign that Kurogane had come in.

Now he was starting to get worried.

He went back outside, and started climbing up the ladder. Maybe Kurogane was just taking a nap on the roof or something. It was a steep climb, and the ladder was wobbling a little too much for Fai's liking by the time he got to the roof.

Which was empty.

The wizard climbed up onto the roof, and looked around, hoping his new vantage point would be of some help. That's when he finally spotted Kurogane, standing amist the trees that led to the forest and caves they'd come from.

"Kuro-tan!" he shouted, by the ninja didn't turn around.

"Kuro-nyan!" he tried again, purposely picking a ridiculous suffix that he was sure to turn Kurogane around. Still, the ninja didn't move, and Fai felt his body tense up, fear prickling his skin. Kurogane was standing very still, in a way that spoke of danger. Could the ninja sense something he couldn't? Fai looked around, trying to spot something, anything, that would explain Kurogane's behavior. But he couldn't sense any presences, magical or not. And he couldn't see anything either, not even rustling wind, which before, would not have been a threat, but now, meant danger.

Fai jumped off the roof, landing perfectly on the ground, and ran over to Kurogane, his heart pounding.

"Kuro-sama," he said upon reaching the ninja. "What's wrong? What do you see?"

At the sound of his voice, Kurogane finally turned around. For a split second, Fai thought he saw something in his red eyes, a reflection of a person that wasn't himself. But then, just as quickly, it was gone, and Kurogane was speaking to him.

"I just thought I saw something." he said.

"That spirit?"

"I don't know. It vanished."

There was something odd about the way he was speaking that Fai didn't like. His voice was strained, and it was like he was trying very hard to think of the right word to say.

"Are you feeling alright?" Fai asked gently, putting his hand on Kurogane's forehead. At his touch, the ninja suddenly relaxed, and when he spoke again, it was the Kurogane Fai knew.

"I'm fine. Quit worrying so much." he said gently, and he took Fai's hand in his. Still holding hands, they began to make their way back to the house.

"Be careful, Kuro-tan." Fai said teasingly. "The people of this town aren't very accepting, I don't think, and I get the feeling this is one of those worlds where they'll call us names and give us mean looks." They'd come across a couple of worlds where two men being together wasn't something everyone looked kindly upon. Indeed, Fai was already noticing a few neighbors noticing them, frowning and grumbling.

Kurogane huffed, and only pulled Fai closer. Fai leaned into the contact, relaxing a little at the warmth radiating off of Kurogane.

"I made breakfast, Kuro-kyu."

"It's not pancakes or waffles or some other sweet thing like that, is it?"

Fai shook his head, and tried to put his worried thoughts aside. The spirit, while it's threat more than clear, hadn't attacked yet.

Then again, that only made it worse.

*(*)

Syaoran spent the second half of the day searching for any clues to ways they could see Syaoran and Sakura again. It wouldn't do to put their mission aside, even if they were worried about a vicious spirit. Fai spent the day cleaning up all four floors. The first one was very dusty, and while the siblings did their best to keep the other three floors clean, they still needed a lot of touching up that Fai was happy to do as payment.

Kurogane finished the roof, and spent the rest of the time going through the book that Syaoran and Fai had started.

By the time Fai was finished with tthe cleaning, he was tired, and fell into his bed, hoping to take a quick nap before he had to make dinner.

His eyes opened, and even though he was in the same room, laying in the same bed, he could tell right away that this was a dream. There was something at the foot of his bed, a magical presence not afraid of making itself known. Fai had a pretty good feeling he knew who it was.

He sat up, afraid it would be in Kurogane's form again, but it wasn't. It was simply the shape he'd first seen it as, a whirlwind of a human shape with glowing eyes.

"You can look up all the ways to seal me that you want." it said mockingly. "It won't work."

How did it know what they were up to? Was the spirit watching them? Or was it just an obvious guess?

Fai crossed his arms over his chest defiantly. " And why won't it?"

"Because you won't be able to find me."

"Are you hiding?" asked Fai, raising an eyebrow and trying to sound like he too, was mocking. "A scary, powerful spirit such as yourself, hiding away in the shadows?"

A low growl reverberated throughout the room, and the whirlwind moved, coming over to the side of the bed. In response, Fai stood up, getting off on the other side of the bed. He dug inside of himself, searching for his magic, hoping it was still there. He felt it, ready to be used, and breathed a little easier. If this came to a fight, so long as the spirit couldn't block his powers quickly enough, he would stand a chance.

"You won't be so cocky when I get my hands on you." the spirit snarled. Fai didn't say anything back, trying to decide if he should attack. This was only a dream though, so would any attack make an impact in his dreams? Was the spirit really there, inside his dream, or just visiting him from wherever it was hiding?

"What do you really want from me?"

The spirit cocked it's head. Or at least, Fai was pretty sure it did. It was hard to know, when all you could see was a vague shape.

"Is it my power? Is that why you're chasing me?"

It only laughed, and suddenly began moving again. It went through the bed, like it wasn't even there, and Fai took a step back.

"Get away." he said, preparing to use his magic, but he didn't have the time. He was suddenly back on the bed, pinned under something he couldn't really see, as it laughed above him.

"You're so much fun, little one." the spirit said, and Fai got a good look into it's eyes. It was like falling into a hole that didn't have a bottom.

"Get off!" he screamed, his magic exploding from inside him. It was meant as an attack. But the spirit only continued laughing, it's mocking tone echoing in Fai's ears until he screamed.

When he opened his eyes this time, he knew that he was awake. But he was still pinned to the bed, the same way he had been in his dreams. He strained against whoever was holding him, in to much of a panic to really comprehend who it was. But then he stopped, looking up into the eyes of the person holding him down.

Kurogane didn't say anything, and the only sound was Fai's panting, as he tried to calm down. There had to be an explanation for this. Kurogane would never hurt him. He knew that. Stil though...he could feel the cold fingers of fear sliding across his skin. It wasn't something he was trying to feel. His body was feeling it on it's own, and that was never a good sign.

"Kuro-sama?" Fai said quietly, looking up into the ninja's red eyes. Once their eyes connected, Kurogane immediately let go, sitting up, and though he looked a little confused, he seemed fine as he explained. "You were thrashing around. I thought you'd hurt yourself."

"Oh." Fai said, breathing an inward sigh of relief. "Sorry. I, uh, was just having a bad dream. I'll go get started on dinner." he got up, giving Kurogane a quick kiss as he ran out of the room, knowing he had to move fast if he didn't want Kurogane to question him more.

If he'd stayed a moment longer, or maybe looked back, he might have seen the look of fear in Kurogane's red eyes.

Sorry there wasn't any real progression of the story, I promise it will pick up quickly. Thanks for reading!