Yo.
Story: Black cat, white mage - Part 11
Pairings: Kurogane/Fai, Sakura/Syaoran, Yukito/Touya, the usual suspects.
Rating: PG-13
Warnings: Ashura being a creepazoid, Kurogane swearing.
Summary: A lost princess. A mage running away from his past. A crippled warrior doing his best to forget the man he used to be. And a young man carrying a terrible curse. All of them are inevitably drawn into an adventure where love might save them... or doom them.
Note: Okay, so I apologize if this is weird. But fhdjsgfaögklfjs I'm ill and life is horrible, so this is the best I can do. Cut quote from "She walks in beauty" by Lord Byron.
***
It was a room of still pools and gently dripping water, impossible constructs of the clearest ice imaginable holding the liquid that was almost luminescent in the bright light. It was a room of lush green plants and exorbitant, enormous flowers clinging to every available surface, all dusted by a fine layer of snow. In short, it was a room which was possible only through the use of magic, a magic that hummed and sang in the air, causing the rainbows created by the ice and the water to shatter into a dazzling miasma of colours over every surface.
The beauty was breathtaking, and yet the silent observer knew that the room was dead. His magic only sustained it, keeping it frozen as it once had been, but the thing that had given it life was gone. In the room, there was the ringing silence of the absence of laughter, and on the winding paths among the ice and the flowers, light footsteps had already faded to even less than a memory. No pale gold among the crystal; no aquamarine glint of laughing eyes half-hidden behind a swathe of rich greenery, soon turning into teasing words and a body fleeing soundlessly amidst the dazzling lights. No white limbs gracefully tumbling among cascades of bubbles in one of the larger pools; no subsequent gleeful shriek, or complaints about the water temperature.
“I made this for him,” Ashura said softly, his white fingers gently lifting a nodding lily as he paused to breathe in its scent. “I made him this room, and this place in the world. I set him on his path. I made sure his destiny would be set in stone. His very attempt to rebel against it has only even further affixed him in its centre.”
He closed his eyes, sadness and weariness evident in every line in his face. It had aged slightly during his years spent watching the ether of the world, his mind dreaming, his body left behind to grow cold and weary. The change wasn’t great, but it was unnatural for one such as he, destined to live unmarred by time for hundreds of years. And he could feel a heaviness in his limbs that hadn’t been there before, a weariness to his heart which even his conviction, his cause couldn’t disperse. To become completely one with the magic of the world for so long, yet not lose hold of one’s own soul... it stood to reason that there was a heavy price to pay for that.
“But yet he isn’t finished. No risks can be taken regarding the task he has in front of him.” Ashura sighed, his fingertips dipping into cold, clear water, creating ripples which slowly spread out, colours dancing over the disturbed surface. “And I will not have him die.”
The girl listened to his words, seated among lace and tall grass, silk and flowers, gossamer hair and the softest moss. Her eyes were wide and unhappy, but she said nothing. She too, like the room, was bereft. The thing which had turned her from wraith to human was gone, and in his absence she spoke to no one, and her eyes hardly even looked at the world anymore. Lost to the world, lost to time. And both had lost their importance to her.
But now she listened. Ever since Yuui’s magic had crashed through the ether like a towering wave, startling her into laughter, she was starting to wake up. And so was her master, although sleep still clung to him like a disease.
“What he did was an accident,” Ashura mused quietly, as she shifted restlessly, the springy grass rustling around her. “It’s true that I got... a sense of his path, but the images were distorted by the power of it, and gone far too soon. Somehow, we need to make sure he uses it again. But how? He is only liable to be even more cautious from now on.” He sighed, and the slightest note of irritability could found in his voice. “Chii, I believe-”
And then Chii’s head shot up, her eyes widening. She tried to hide her reaction just a moment later, once she realized the implications of it, but it was already too late. He’d seen it. And now, as he once more turned his mind to the ether, he could feel what she had felt. The seer’s eyes widened in surprise, and then he softly sank to the floor where he was standing, his face expressing shock and, strangely, fear.
“He is using magic again,” he mumbled, staring blindly into the brilliant light shining down from above. “But why? He knows that it will allow me to track him. Unless...” He blinked, as the magic he’d been tracking abruptly stopped, and he was met by a blank, impenetrable wall. “A shield,” he whispered softly. “But that would mean... it has to mean... that he thinks that I have already found him...”
For a long while, silence prevailed in the vast room, only punctuated by the falling of water and the seer’s uneven breathing. Chii watched, shivering, even though the air was warm and humid, fragrant and pleasant. She already knew where Yuui was, but Ashura knew better than to try to get it from her. She’d sooner see herself destroyed than betray her only friend in such a manner. Alive, she was useful, and her death would give him nothing.
She wondered, staring at his paper-white face, how someone to whom cruelty had always been an unthinkable option, still could achieve it to such deadly perfection. Without trying. It was yet another thing about humanity she did not understand, and one of the reasons she would always see herself as set apart.
“What game is being played here?” Ashura mumbled. “And why? And will I, through beginning my search for Yuui, play right into that player’s hands?”
For a moment, a silent less shocked and more frightened - and then Ashura’s face softened into a gentle smile. He got slowly to his feet, brushing off the snow clinging to his sleeves with a preoccupied gesture, his eyes far away already. “It does not matter, of course. Once I’ve found him, once he’s killed me, nothing will. He’ll be invincible.”
~*~*~
The swirling letters faded in the air, but Fai could still see their imprint there, almost-there contours and faint reflections of light. His body was alive with magic, thrummed with it, and for a moment he didn’t want to let it go. It would be impossible to lie to himself, to claim he hadn’t missed it; the heady rush of power burning in his blood, the thrill of manipulation. Even for him, it was a self-deception too vast to swallow.
He turned to watch the others, seeing Little Cat’s and Syaoran’s eyes widen even more at the sight of the faint glow to his skin, the way his hair swirled weightlessly around his face, his eyes. Kurogane tightened his fingers around the handle of his sword, his eyes narrowing almost imperceptibly. Such a distrustful man, truly. Then again, he’d been right not to trust Fai. Syaoran, too, had suspicion written in the tightness of his mouth, and the way his hands curled into fists. But Little Cat, while clearly overwhelmed by the sight, still showed no signs of either fear or mistrust. She smiled instead, encouraging and bright, and the only shadow cast over her expression was her worry.
Digging his nails into the palms of his hands, he pulled the magic pack, purged it from his body, forced it into that black nothing-place in his soul from which nothing would come unless he called for it. He’d always known that such methods were directly flirting with the darker kinds of magic, but he’d never had the temperament appropriate for following rules. And he’d always had a lot to run from.
He knew without having to see it that his eyes remained blue, even after the magic had gone and left nothing but a hollow fatigue in its wake. It would fade, soon enough, but every time he used magic it would linger more and more, until finally it wouldn’t go away. And then he’d see the death of his twin whenever he looked at his own face.
“So, you gonna tell us what the fuck is going on now?” Kurogane growled. “And no, that wasn’t no damn request. Spill it, mage.”
Picking Mokona up in his arms and cradling his familiar close, unable to handle separation for very long now that he no longer had to, he sighed quietly and met Kurogane’s gaze. “I’m sure you’ve already figured out that there is someone I’m running from.”
Little Cat just nodded, causing her father to flinch, but Kurogane gave him an uncomfortably sharp smile. “Sure I do. Long black hair, pale face, golden brown eyes. Who is he?”
Fai stared at him, feeling as if his heart was about to stop, not understanding. How? How had he seen...? No, it was impossible, he couldn’t have...
Kurogane snorted. “You already know I’m an old templar. Use that damn brain for something other than coming up with stupid nicknames. His memory is all over you. So who is he?”
He still had the Sight? Of course, Fai should’ve known it; he’d seen the man fight. But it was still a worrying thing to realize about his companion. What else could he see? “Ah, of course,” he said, failing miserably at keeping his voice steady. “Yes. He is... an old friend. I used to work for him. But we... fell out about something, something rather important, and he didn’t take it too well. I found that the only way to solve the matter was to... escape.”
“If you’re going to cut away that much of the truth, then you might as well be lying. And if you’re gonna lie anyway, then you might as well keep your mouth shut.” Kurogane’s voice was a lethal growl. “That aside, you can never solve anything by running away, and if that’s truly your reason for running, then you’re an idiot.”
Fai said nothing; there was nothing he could say, no way of explaining that wouldn’t mean telling them all of it. And there were no words for that, no way of explaining the betrayal, the anger he’d felt... So he simply smiled, tilting his head slightly to the side, earning him a disgusted grunt from Kurogane. “Fuck you, then. And you’re worried he’s found you now. Because of that... thing.” He nodded at Fai’s familiar. “Is that it?”
“Yes, Kuro-pie, you might say that. You see, Mokona, who prefers being called by name, is my familiar. When I left the Circle, Mokona was caught in a summoning spell, and only moments later... disappeared. I couldn’t feel anything. So I assumed the Circle had ordered my familiar destroyed in order to weaken me.”
Pain resounded through their link, and Mokona whimpered silently in his arms.
“I still do not quite understand what happened,” Fai confessed quietly. “They must have sealed Mokona away, thinking to find use for out bond if I should ever start using my magic again. Or perhaps Yuuko...” He closed his eyes, not particularly wanting to think about what kind of involvement that woman might have in this. He’d hoped that she wouldn’t be interested in pursuing him, that it wasn’t within her level of interference, and he didn’t much like to think about what it would be like to find out he was wrong. For one thing, he’d have to figure out the reason why she hadn’t found him yet. “I don’t know,” he repeated. “But somehow, Ashura must’ve found out where Mokona was kept.”
“You don’t think he could’ve had... it all this time?” Syaoran demanded, and Fai looked at him in surprise, before smiling warmly.
“No, although it is a valid question, Syaoran,” he admitted. “Most magic users would need me to be using my magic constantly to find me via Mokona. But Mokona being here means that Ashura could find me - or at least my destination - and direct Mokona there, just from our link and a very short burst of magic. Too short to read any substantial information from it. If he’s truly become that powerful, I honestly don’t believe he would have kept Mokona sealed away for all these years, just waiting.”
“Mokona doesn’t remember much,” his familiar said softly. “It’s strange. Mokona only remembers Ashura’s face, and Ashura saying ‘Here is where I want you to go’. And then Mokona just knew, and Mokona had to leave. Because Mokona has to be where Y- where Fai is.”
“Sounds like someone messed with Creampuff’s head, if you ask me,” Kurogane said, giving the familiar a suspicious glare. “Can’t you do that, with magic? Fuck someone up if you want them to not remember something?”
“Maybe,” Fai admitted, not liking the thought. “But then again, magical sleep can leave one disoriented all on its own. In any case speculating won’t help us now. The point is that Ashura will be tracking me now, and if he finds me he will fight me. I will need to ward all our rooms, and keep a protective shield up at all times. And you know what that means.”
Kurogane groaned. “No damn horses.”
“No horses,” Fai confirmed with a special smile just for that; just to have Kurogane glaring fiercely at him and have the pleasure of winking at him. “The magical discharge within the shield will scare them out of their wits, and they will be more trouble than they’re worth.”
“We’re going to Celestina on foot?” Syaoran demanded a bit weakly. “With Lord Rondart chasing after us, too?”
“Oh, grow a pair,” Little Cat said cheerfully, smacking him on the shoulder and causing him to turn an almost impossible shade of red. “We always go everywhere on foot, it’s no problem. It’s going to be fun, isn’t it?”
Fai met her gaze, thinking of all the things that he couldn’t tell her, and how she knew there were things that he wasn’t telling her. And still she trusted him. Completely. He laughed lightly, feeling his heart starting to break. “Of course it’s going to be fun.”