What You Wish For (Chapter Three)
Title: What You Wish For
Author: alliterationhor
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Spoilers: mentions/flashbacks of Yama.
Rating: hm. I'll go with “adult”. easy to skip if you’d rather not read that part.
Status: looks like maybe 12 chapters.
Author's note: this chapter has flashbacks.
Fanfic archive here.
Comments/concrit appreciated.
Previous chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
What You Wish For
Would you do it all over right from the start?
-Guster, What You Wish For
Chapter Three
The first time Kurogane kissed Fai was in Yama.
The first time Kurogane kissed Fai, it lasted for a grand total of twenty seconds before Fai broke down into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
Fai tried to gasp “This is” but he only managed to choke out “crazy”, and he was not even sure whether he said it in the right language.
The second time Kurogane kissed Fai, it was mostly to shut the stupid mage up.
The second time Kurogane kissed Fai, Fai shut up and let himself fall.
The second time Kurogane kissed Fai lasted a long time.
* * *
The only friend Fai had in this world did not remember him, which Fai thought was worse than having no friend in this world at all.
Fai suspected that Tomoyo knew he was lonely.
Breakfast with Tomoyo became a regular occurrence. The first few times, it had been only him and Tomoyo. Fai had appreciated that, since although he was learning the language quickly he still had trouble with some words.
Jalen was his teacher of the language, and Tomoyo was his practice with the language. They were both patient, and had a good sense of when to help him out and when Fai would prefer to figure it out on his own.
Tomoyo was the only person who knew of Fai’s past with Kurogane, the only person who knew that Kurogane had chosen to forget him rather than lose him completely. She knew, and she understood, and Fai could not help but feel a kinship with her because of that.
Fai felt a friendship with her on her own merit. She was sweet and kind and strong, and she possessed a wisdom that was unexpected from one so young. He understood now, how this princess had earned such a devotion and loyalty from Kurogane; Tomoyo was the kind of person to inspire that in people.
Fai could sense a deep well of magic inside Tomoyo; strong, pure magic that she had perfect control over, magic that had not corrupted her in any way.
Fai admired her deeply for that.
A few days ago Tomoyo had asked Fai if he would mind if she invited Souma and Kurogane to join them for breakfast.
Fai had taken a deep breath, thought for a moment, and said, “No, I would not mind.”
Kurogane had not joined them for breakfast the next time, but Souma had. For the most part, Fai had sat quietly as Tomoyo and Souma had talked, listening to the rhythm of their speech.
Fai had been partly disappointed and partly relieved that Kurogane had not joined them.
Souma had joined them again today, and all three of them looked up at the knock on the door.
“Come in,” Tomoyo called.
Kurogane came inside, muttering a general “Good morning” to everyone.
“Good morning, Kurogane,” Tomoyo greeted him. “I am happy you could join us. Please, have a seat.”
“You’re late.” Souma pointed out.
Kurogane gave her a glare that clearly said, “shut up”.
“Good morning, Kuro-pon.”
That earned Fai a glare too.
“My name is Kurogane.”
Fai smiled brightly, having successfully gained Kurogane’s attention. “Would you pass the butter, please?”
It did not escape Kurogane’s notice that that sentence made complete sense. He said so.
“Kurogane!” Souma chided.
“No, Kuro-myu is right.” Fai said, not bothered at all. “I am learning. Your language is very beautiful.”
“Fai-san, may I ask what world you come from?” Souma asked.
Fai blinked, and looked over at Tomoyo.
Tomoyo nodded. “She is the only one I have told.”
“I hope you don’t mind?” Souma asked. “I won’t tell anyone else.”
Fai shook his head. “I do not mind. Where I am from is called Celes.”
“What was it like there?”
“You would call it ... the cold season. Winter. It was a world of snow.” He paused, and his voice grew softer, a little wistful, “I did not know how warm a world could be, until ...”
“Was there only snow?” Tomoyo asked, curiously. “Were there no trees, no plants?”
“We had ... gardens, of snow. Some flowers would live with the snow, but they had to be looked after. They would not grow in the wild, except for the everblue trees.”
“Everblue trees?”
“Where your trees are green-the leaves? Our trees were blue. And the trunks were ... metal gray?”
“Silver.” Tomoyo supplied.
“Silver.” Fai repeated.
“It sounds very beautiful.”
“It was, very beautiful. And very cold.”
Kurogane glanced over at Fai, hearing the sadness that echoed in his voice.
Fai smiled a little. “I much prefer green and warm.”
“Kurogane, did you ever visit a world like that?” Souma questioned.
“One world had snow.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t think it was always winter there, though.”
“What other kinds of worlds did you visit?”
“There were a lot of them. They were all different.”
“Informative.” Souma commented.
Another glare.
“You must have had a least favourite world, right?” Souma teased, knowingly.
Fai smiled and thought that he liked Souma, too.
“Yeah. The world where everyone had two heads, and the heads always disagreed with each other. It was annoying.”
“Really?” Tomoyo asked, with a laugh.
“Yeah. Took us forever to get information out of any of them because one head was always arguing with the other.”
Fai could not help it, the memory made him laugh. Kurogane had lost patience in record time, and refused to talk to the two-headed people. Mokona had sat on Fai’s shoulder and pretended to be another head and they had argued cheerfully until Kurogane lost patience with them too and chased them with his sword.
Kurogane glared at him again.
“It sounds interesting.” Fai said, grinning.
“Interesting is not the word I would use.”
“Did you have a favourite world, Kurogane?” Tomoyo inquired.
The answer came immediately, “Yama.”
Kurogane was so surprised at the immediacy of his answer that he missed Fai’s reaction to the name.
Tomoyo was looking at Fai; Fai was only looking at Kurogane.
The look on Fai’s face was rather blatantly obvious, though both Kurogane and Souma missed it.
“What was Yama like?”
Kurogane frowned, trying to remember. The details seemed a bit too ... blurry. Was this some sort of after-effect of the dimension travel, memory loss? The damn Witch should warn about that.
“... I got stuck there for awhile when the manjuu screwed up the time between our arrivals. I landed in the middle of a battle and had to fight for my life. Yasha-ou accepted me into his army. I had to-”
Kurogane was still frowning.
Fai longed to finish for him, “We had to stay close to the location where Mokona had dropped us, in the hope that the others would arrive at the same place. The only way we could get back to that battlefield in the sky was to join Yasha-ou’s army. We had almost given up hope by the time they finally appeared.”
Fai wanted to say, “I was there too!”
“I can’t remember why it was my favourite world. I suppose I liked the battles, I hadn’t had much chance to test my strength on any of the other worlds ...”
Kurogane looked like he was trying to remember more, and Fai felt guilty.
“They didn’t like the word ‘puppy’.” Kurogane said, musingly.
“‘Puppy’?” Souma repeated.
Kurogane shrugged. “I never did find out what it meant in their language. But they did not like it.”
* * *
The first time Fai held a sword was in Yama.
The first time Fai held a sword, he pinched it between his thumb and index finger as if it was something disgusting he wanted as far away from him as possible. The look on his face said no different.
“You’ll never kill anyone if you hold the sword like that.”
“I want not to kill anyone.” Fai said clearly.
“If it’s a choice between your life or theirs, you will.”
Fai gave him an unreadable expression.
“You. Listen to me.” Kurogane took the sword from Fai, grabbed his hand and closed it around the hilt of ths sword securely. “You are all I’ve got in this stupid world.” He was leaning close and his voice was angry. “You are not going to die and leave me here alone. If you have a death wish-”
Kurogane broke off, shoving the wizard away from him. “Do it on your own time.”
“Yes, Kuro-sama.”
* * *
“Fai-san, will you stay a moment, please?”
“Of course, Tomoyo-chan.”
Kurogane glanced back as he went through the door, but said nothing.
Souma slid the door closed behind her as she left the room.
“Your language is much improved.” Tomoyo complimented.
“Yes, Tomoyo-hime. I was hoping to ask you-”
“Yes?” she prompted.
“You have already been very generous to me. I was hoping I could find some small jobs to do here at the palace, to repay your kindness.”
Tomoyo smiled. “My kindness needs never be repaid. If you feel a debt and wish to fulfill it, it is up to you.”
Fai nodded.
Tomoyo smiled again, a brighter and more teasing smile. “But since I think you do wish a job that will keep you here in the palace, I would be more than happy to accommodate you. What would you like to do?”
“I am not sure. I suppose I have never had a real job before. I can cook, some. I can clean.” He paused, then grinned. “I am very good at making Kurogane mad.”
“Hm.” Tomoyo smiled wryly. “I think none of those would be using you to your best abilities.”
“Perhaps not.”
“And you will not use magic?”
“No.”
“Well, you need not decide now what you want to do. Until then, may I call on you to do some small errands, perhaps? An odd chore or two that needs to be done?”
“Yes, Tomoyo-chan.”
“Fai-san. There was a reason I asked you to stay behind.”
“Yes?”
“I would like to take your measurements.”
Fai blinked. “... My measurements?”
“For clothes. You cannot wear only those plain gray robes for the rest of your time here.”
“... I ...”
“And gray does not really suit you.” She smiled brightly and grabbed his hand, tugging him into another room. “Blues, I think, and white?”
Fai smiled, nodding. It seemed this Tomoyo and the Tomoyo of Piffle world had something in common-they both liked to make outfits.
Fai only hoped that he would not end up wearing a short pink skirt.
* * *
Fai was on his knees on the floor, bent over the narrow bed, bracing himself. Kurogane was behind him, draped over Fai’s back, hips thrusting hard.
The small room was filled with the sounds of harsh breathing, quiet moans, and the sweaty slap of skin on skin.
Kurogane growled into Fai’s ear and his hips stilled; Fai had already come with Kurogane inside him and Kurogane’s hand around him.
Kurogane rested his forehead against the back of Fai’s head, nose against blond hair, smelling sweat and dirt and soap and Fai. He had a strong feeling that the mage would be impossible to live with now. But at the moment he did not care.
Fai arched more and stretched, muscles rippling lithely against Kurogane’s body. Fai had never really expected to be caught, no matter how much he had teased. Now, Fai had to admit to himself how much he had wanted to be caught.
Fai reached back and stroked a hand through the ninja’s black hair, and Kurogane pressed a kiss to the back of Fai’s neck.
A pleasant shiver ran down Fai’s spine. “What is-this?”
Kurogane paused, before answering, “Fucking.”
“Fucking!” Fai trilled, somehow making an already dirty word sound even dirtier. “Fucking.” He moved his hips and Kurogane groaned. “We do fucking again?”
Kurogane laughed once, low, and pulled Fai’s mouth to his.
* * *
Fai stood on a stool, while Tomoyo stuck pins in the loose robe he wore. He had the feeling that he was he was playing the role of very exotic doll. He also had the feeling that this would not be the last time Tomoyo used him as a model.
“Would you like this colour,” she held up a satiny light blue bolt of cloth, “or this colour better?” she asked, holding up a bolt of cobalt blue cloth.
Fai stayed very still, wary of the many pins in close proximity to his skin. He had already been stuck by them several times and had declared them all evil. “I like both.”
“I suppose I could do the trim in the dark blue. Or maybe a sash ...?” she murmured thoughtfully.
Fai chuckled to himself. He recognized someone on a mission, and Tomoyo was on a mission to make him clothes. He knew that sometimes it was best to just let people on a mission have their way.
Fai did not mind, really. He was a little flattered that Tomoyo chose to make such a fuss over him.
“Fai-san.” Tomoyo said, still squinting thoughtfully at the dark blue cloth.
“Yes?”
“Does it bother you to hear? When Kurogane talks about his journey?” She draped the dark blue cloth carefully over his chest and shoulders, mindful of the pins, and stepped back to take a better look at it. “If it does, Souma and I will not ask him any more about his travels when you are present.”
“No.”
Tomoyo fixed shrewd eyes on him. “It does not?”
“Yes.” he admitted. “But it is a good reminder of what I have lost; what he lost, for me. I need to remember that ...”
Tomoyo laid a gentle hand on his arm, violet eyes looking up into blue. “Kurogane would not want you to punish yourself. That is not why he did this.”
“I know. He did this to give us another chance. I do not intend to give up this chance.”
Tomoyo smiled. “That is wise.”
She reached to carefully remove the cloth draped over his shoulders.
“Ow!”
“Sorry.”
“Ow!”
“Stay still!”
Fai sighed, forcing himself to stop moving. He tried to stop breathing, because that seemed to aggravate the evil pins even more, although the not breathing did not work very well. Then a cooling sensation washed over him, centering on the itching pinpricks.
“Thank you.”
After a moment, Tomoyo asked, “Do you know why Yama was his favourite?”
“Yes.” Fai replied softly.
I’m still in there somewhere, Kuro-sama. You can’t get rid of me that easily.
“It was my favourite too.”
Fai’s smile told Tomoyo all she wanted to know.
* * *
Fai remembered black eyes gleaming in firelight. Fai remembered a large shadow looming over him where he was laying on the floor. And Fai remembered not feeling afraid.
Fai remembered black eyes, both familiar and foreign, searching deep, deep, for a hint of blue in the foreign black depths of his own eyes.
Fai had not asked, and Kurogane had not offered an explanation. But Fai had known that was what Kurogane was looking for.
Fai had never asked, and now he would never know if Kurogane had found any hint of blue there.
Author: alliterationhor
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
Spoilers: mentions/flashbacks of Yama.
Rating: hm. I'll go with “adult”. easy to skip if you’d rather not read that part.
Status: looks like maybe 12 chapters.
Author's note: this chapter has flashbacks.
Fanfic archive here.
Comments/concrit appreciated.
Previous chapters: 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | 10 | 11 | 12
What You Wish For
Would you do it all over right from the start?
-Guster, What You Wish For
Chapter Three
The first time Kurogane kissed Fai was in Yama.
The first time Kurogane kissed Fai, it lasted for a grand total of twenty seconds before Fai broke down into a fit of uncontrollable laughter.
Fai tried to gasp “This is” but he only managed to choke out “crazy”, and he was not even sure whether he said it in the right language.
The second time Kurogane kissed Fai, it was mostly to shut the stupid mage up.
The second time Kurogane kissed Fai, Fai shut up and let himself fall.
The second time Kurogane kissed Fai lasted a long time.
* * *
The only friend Fai had in this world did not remember him, which Fai thought was worse than having no friend in this world at all.
Fai suspected that Tomoyo knew he was lonely.
Breakfast with Tomoyo became a regular occurrence. The first few times, it had been only him and Tomoyo. Fai had appreciated that, since although he was learning the language quickly he still had trouble with some words.
Jalen was his teacher of the language, and Tomoyo was his practice with the language. They were both patient, and had a good sense of when to help him out and when Fai would prefer to figure it out on his own.
Tomoyo was the only person who knew of Fai’s past with Kurogane, the only person who knew that Kurogane had chosen to forget him rather than lose him completely. She knew, and she understood, and Fai could not help but feel a kinship with her because of that.
Fai felt a friendship with her on her own merit. She was sweet and kind and strong, and she possessed a wisdom that was unexpected from one so young. He understood now, how this princess had earned such a devotion and loyalty from Kurogane; Tomoyo was the kind of person to inspire that in people.
Fai could sense a deep well of magic inside Tomoyo; strong, pure magic that she had perfect control over, magic that had not corrupted her in any way.
Fai admired her deeply for that.
A few days ago Tomoyo had asked Fai if he would mind if she invited Souma and Kurogane to join them for breakfast.
Fai had taken a deep breath, thought for a moment, and said, “No, I would not mind.”
Kurogane had not joined them for breakfast the next time, but Souma had. For the most part, Fai had sat quietly as Tomoyo and Souma had talked, listening to the rhythm of their speech.
Fai had been partly disappointed and partly relieved that Kurogane had not joined them.
Souma had joined them again today, and all three of them looked up at the knock on the door.
“Come in,” Tomoyo called.
Kurogane came inside, muttering a general “Good morning” to everyone.
“Good morning, Kurogane,” Tomoyo greeted him. “I am happy you could join us. Please, have a seat.”
“You’re late.” Souma pointed out.
Kurogane gave her a glare that clearly said, “shut up”.
“Good morning, Kuro-pon.”
That earned Fai a glare too.
“My name is Kurogane.”
Fai smiled brightly, having successfully gained Kurogane’s attention. “Would you pass the butter, please?”
It did not escape Kurogane’s notice that that sentence made complete sense. He said so.
“Kurogane!” Souma chided.
“No, Kuro-myu is right.” Fai said, not bothered at all. “I am learning. Your language is very beautiful.”
“Fai-san, may I ask what world you come from?” Souma asked.
Fai blinked, and looked over at Tomoyo.
Tomoyo nodded. “She is the only one I have told.”
“I hope you don’t mind?” Souma asked. “I won’t tell anyone else.”
Fai shook his head. “I do not mind. Where I am from is called Celes.”
“What was it like there?”
“You would call it ... the cold season. Winter. It was a world of snow.” He paused, and his voice grew softer, a little wistful, “I did not know how warm a world could be, until ...”
“Was there only snow?” Tomoyo asked, curiously. “Were there no trees, no plants?”
“We had ... gardens, of snow. Some flowers would live with the snow, but they had to be looked after. They would not grow in the wild, except for the everblue trees.”
“Everblue trees?”
“Where your trees are green-the leaves? Our trees were blue. And the trunks were ... metal gray?”
“Silver.” Tomoyo supplied.
“Silver.” Fai repeated.
“It sounds very beautiful.”
“It was, very beautiful. And very cold.”
Kurogane glanced over at Fai, hearing the sadness that echoed in his voice.
Fai smiled a little. “I much prefer green and warm.”
“Kurogane, did you ever visit a world like that?” Souma questioned.
“One world had snow.” He shrugged one shoulder. “I don’t think it was always winter there, though.”
“What other kinds of worlds did you visit?”
“There were a lot of them. They were all different.”
“Informative.” Souma commented.
Another glare.
“You must have had a least favourite world, right?” Souma teased, knowingly.
Fai smiled and thought that he liked Souma, too.
“Yeah. The world where everyone had two heads, and the heads always disagreed with each other. It was annoying.”
“Really?” Tomoyo asked, with a laugh.
“Yeah. Took us forever to get information out of any of them because one head was always arguing with the other.”
Fai could not help it, the memory made him laugh. Kurogane had lost patience in record time, and refused to talk to the two-headed people. Mokona had sat on Fai’s shoulder and pretended to be another head and they had argued cheerfully until Kurogane lost patience with them too and chased them with his sword.
Kurogane glared at him again.
“It sounds interesting.” Fai said, grinning.
“Interesting is not the word I would use.”
“Did you have a favourite world, Kurogane?” Tomoyo inquired.
The answer came immediately, “Yama.”
Kurogane was so surprised at the immediacy of his answer that he missed Fai’s reaction to the name.
Tomoyo was looking at Fai; Fai was only looking at Kurogane.
The look on Fai’s face was rather blatantly obvious, though both Kurogane and Souma missed it.
“What was Yama like?”
Kurogane frowned, trying to remember. The details seemed a bit too ... blurry. Was this some sort of after-effect of the dimension travel, memory loss? The damn Witch should warn about that.
“... I got stuck there for awhile when the manjuu screwed up the time between our arrivals. I landed in the middle of a battle and had to fight for my life. Yasha-ou accepted me into his army. I had to-”
Kurogane was still frowning.
Fai longed to finish for him, “We had to stay close to the location where Mokona had dropped us, in the hope that the others would arrive at the same place. The only way we could get back to that battlefield in the sky was to join Yasha-ou’s army. We had almost given up hope by the time they finally appeared.”
Fai wanted to say, “I was there too!”
“I can’t remember why it was my favourite world. I suppose I liked the battles, I hadn’t had much chance to test my strength on any of the other worlds ...”
Kurogane looked like he was trying to remember more, and Fai felt guilty.
“They didn’t like the word ‘puppy’.” Kurogane said, musingly.
“‘Puppy’?” Souma repeated.
Kurogane shrugged. “I never did find out what it meant in their language. But they did not like it.”
* * *
The first time Fai held a sword was in Yama.
The first time Fai held a sword, he pinched it between his thumb and index finger as if it was something disgusting he wanted as far away from him as possible. The look on his face said no different.
“You’ll never kill anyone if you hold the sword like that.”
“I want not to kill anyone.” Fai said clearly.
“If it’s a choice between your life or theirs, you will.”
Fai gave him an unreadable expression.
“You. Listen to me.” Kurogane took the sword from Fai, grabbed his hand and closed it around the hilt of ths sword securely. “You are all I’ve got in this stupid world.” He was leaning close and his voice was angry. “You are not going to die and leave me here alone. If you have a death wish-”
Kurogane broke off, shoving the wizard away from him. “Do it on your own time.”
“Yes, Kuro-sama.”
* * *
“Fai-san, will you stay a moment, please?”
“Of course, Tomoyo-chan.”
Kurogane glanced back as he went through the door, but said nothing.
Souma slid the door closed behind her as she left the room.
“Your language is much improved.” Tomoyo complimented.
“Yes, Tomoyo-hime. I was hoping to ask you-”
“Yes?” she prompted.
“You have already been very generous to me. I was hoping I could find some small jobs to do here at the palace, to repay your kindness.”
Tomoyo smiled. “My kindness needs never be repaid. If you feel a debt and wish to fulfill it, it is up to you.”
Fai nodded.
Tomoyo smiled again, a brighter and more teasing smile. “But since I think you do wish a job that will keep you here in the palace, I would be more than happy to accommodate you. What would you like to do?”
“I am not sure. I suppose I have never had a real job before. I can cook, some. I can clean.” He paused, then grinned. “I am very good at making Kurogane mad.”
“Hm.” Tomoyo smiled wryly. “I think none of those would be using you to your best abilities.”
“Perhaps not.”
“And you will not use magic?”
“No.”
“Well, you need not decide now what you want to do. Until then, may I call on you to do some small errands, perhaps? An odd chore or two that needs to be done?”
“Yes, Tomoyo-chan.”
“Fai-san. There was a reason I asked you to stay behind.”
“Yes?”
“I would like to take your measurements.”
Fai blinked. “... My measurements?”
“For clothes. You cannot wear only those plain gray robes for the rest of your time here.”
“... I ...”
“And gray does not really suit you.” She smiled brightly and grabbed his hand, tugging him into another room. “Blues, I think, and white?”
Fai smiled, nodding. It seemed this Tomoyo and the Tomoyo of Piffle world had something in common-they both liked to make outfits.
Fai only hoped that he would not end up wearing a short pink skirt.
* * *
Fai was on his knees on the floor, bent over the narrow bed, bracing himself. Kurogane was behind him, draped over Fai’s back, hips thrusting hard.
The small room was filled with the sounds of harsh breathing, quiet moans, and the sweaty slap of skin on skin.
Kurogane growled into Fai’s ear and his hips stilled; Fai had already come with Kurogane inside him and Kurogane’s hand around him.
Kurogane rested his forehead against the back of Fai’s head, nose against blond hair, smelling sweat and dirt and soap and Fai. He had a strong feeling that the mage would be impossible to live with now. But at the moment he did not care.
Fai arched more and stretched, muscles rippling lithely against Kurogane’s body. Fai had never really expected to be caught, no matter how much he had teased. Now, Fai had to admit to himself how much he had wanted to be caught.
Fai reached back and stroked a hand through the ninja’s black hair, and Kurogane pressed a kiss to the back of Fai’s neck.
A pleasant shiver ran down Fai’s spine. “What is-this?”
Kurogane paused, before answering, “Fucking.”
“Fucking!” Fai trilled, somehow making an already dirty word sound even dirtier. “Fucking.” He moved his hips and Kurogane groaned. “We do fucking again?”
Kurogane laughed once, low, and pulled Fai’s mouth to his.
* * *
Fai stood on a stool, while Tomoyo stuck pins in the loose robe he wore. He had the feeling that he was he was playing the role of very exotic doll. He also had the feeling that this would not be the last time Tomoyo used him as a model.
“Would you like this colour,” she held up a satiny light blue bolt of cloth, “or this colour better?” she asked, holding up a bolt of cobalt blue cloth.
Fai stayed very still, wary of the many pins in close proximity to his skin. He had already been stuck by them several times and had declared them all evil. “I like both.”
“I suppose I could do the trim in the dark blue. Or maybe a sash ...?” she murmured thoughtfully.
Fai chuckled to himself. He recognized someone on a mission, and Tomoyo was on a mission to make him clothes. He knew that sometimes it was best to just let people on a mission have their way.
Fai did not mind, really. He was a little flattered that Tomoyo chose to make such a fuss over him.
“Fai-san.” Tomoyo said, still squinting thoughtfully at the dark blue cloth.
“Yes?”
“Does it bother you to hear? When Kurogane talks about his journey?” She draped the dark blue cloth carefully over his chest and shoulders, mindful of the pins, and stepped back to take a better look at it. “If it does, Souma and I will not ask him any more about his travels when you are present.”
“No.”
Tomoyo fixed shrewd eyes on him. “It does not?”
“Yes.” he admitted. “But it is a good reminder of what I have lost; what he lost, for me. I need to remember that ...”
Tomoyo laid a gentle hand on his arm, violet eyes looking up into blue. “Kurogane would not want you to punish yourself. That is not why he did this.”
“I know. He did this to give us another chance. I do not intend to give up this chance.”
Tomoyo smiled. “That is wise.”
She reached to carefully remove the cloth draped over his shoulders.
“Ow!”
“Sorry.”
“Ow!”
“Stay still!”
Fai sighed, forcing himself to stop moving. He tried to stop breathing, because that seemed to aggravate the evil pins even more, although the not breathing did not work very well. Then a cooling sensation washed over him, centering on the itching pinpricks.
“Thank you.”
After a moment, Tomoyo asked, “Do you know why Yama was his favourite?”
“Yes.” Fai replied softly.
I’m still in there somewhere, Kuro-sama. You can’t get rid of me that easily.
“It was my favourite too.”
Fai’s smile told Tomoyo all she wanted to know.
* * *
Fai remembered black eyes gleaming in firelight. Fai remembered a large shadow looming over him where he was laying on the floor. And Fai remembered not feeling afraid.
Fai remembered black eyes, both familiar and foreign, searching deep, deep, for a hint of blue in the foreign black depths of his own eyes.
Fai had not asked, and Kurogane had not offered an explanation. But Fai had known that was what Kurogane was looking for.
Fai had never asked, and now he would never know if Kurogane had found any hint of blue there.