Fanfiction: The Importance of Words
Kurogane never really thought words were that important. His parents had always taught him that actions counted a thousand times more than words ever would. People could spin words into fancy sentences and paragraphs, but in the end it was how you acted that counted the most. He had been forced to learn the fancy letterings and strokes of characters on paper as a child, but he had never used the skill in anything other than his studies, preferring to stay outdoors training with his katana.
The ninja had heard many people use fancy words to describe what had happened to his parents when he arrived at ShirasagiCastle. But he didn’t need any more reassurance of their deaths. He had seen them with his own eyes. People still insisted on showing him poems and verses in his parents’ honor; they showed him memorials engraved with their names and their birth and death dates. It was all a lot of unnecessary time and effort he believed. Instead of being swayed by their pretty words, he merely got angrier every time he saw another dedication. Everyone should be training and working to find the monster that killed his mother, catching the beasts who murdered his father. These were the years he shut out the world and constantly trained and exercised, determined to avenge his parents’ deaths.
Magic was a piece of puzzlement to Kurogane. While it did help Princess Tomoyo defend Nihon, it still needed to use words to activate its power. Strong wards and powerful attack spells were utilized to keep Nihon’s inhabitants safe, yet when Kurogane saw his princess chanting the words of protection or attack, he thought it looked like she was almost doing nothing. Wouldn’t it be better to attack your enemy head on instead of keeping safe behind the palace walls? It wasn’t that he desired Tomoyo to go out into the bloody battlefield; he just didn’t quite understand her technique of fighting.
“You’re too single-minded Kurogane,” she had once told him when he expressed his confusion. “You need to open up your mind to the use of words.”
He had simply scoffed at her vague answer and had stomped off to train some more.
Then came the words he had loathed most of all. The curse his princess had so generously bestowed on him. Just a few spoken syllables, and he was handicapped like no other. He didn’t know how this was supposed to teach him true strength! It didn’t matter anyway. In his mind, those words thwarted him once again.
~*~
Yuui had always known the importance of words. In the valley of no life, he had chanted encouragements to himself as he attempted to climb up the unforgiving cold stone to reach his twin. Words comforted when there was no one to do it physically.
Words became especially important when Yuui changed his name to Fai. Actions could betray his true purpose and feelings while as long as he kept reminding himself that he himself had spiritually died a long time ago, “Fai” could be his identity.
As he learned Celesian magic, words showed their true power. If in the correct order, he could destroy a whole village or bring an avalanche upon the land. One change in the spelling or order of the letters would completely change the reaction. If used improperly, words could accidentally massacre a nation. Words held power that no action could behold. Words would help him give his brother the breath of life again.
When Ashura revealed his true colors to Fai, he had sealed him using a sleeping spell. The spell had been simple enough to write and chant, but held enough power to keep him sleeping for at least a year. The blonde only had to tap into a small crevice of its power to ensure his escape.
~*~
Pushed along by fate, these two had arrived in a more or less harried fashion at the Dimension Witch’s shop. Joined by a desperate boy and an unconscious girl the new companions began to travel, all of them determined to fulfill their separate wishes.
Kurogane immediately saw through Fai’s façade. The mage might use pretty words and constant smiles, but he was hurting on the inside. His blood would boil whenever he heard Fai’s cheery tone. This was just another horrible use of words. Lying. The brooding ninja had never wasted time with fibs or lies when he was caught in wrongdoing at Shirisagi. He had told the blunt truth and faced whatever consequences Ameratasu had in mind at the time. No, this wizard was not to be trusted, not one bit. Plus, those nicknames were a serious nuisance.
The blonde magician was a bit shocked when he met the Witch’s pawn. Whatever he had been expecting, it hadn’t been what had been received. Kurogane was quiet, not from stupidity (Fai’s first suspicion), but from his unique observation skills. He didn’t need to voice his thoughts to get what he wanted. In fact, he rarely used his deep voice except when yelling at him or Mokona. However, because the Japanese man did not see the need to fill silences with meaningless conversations, he might be able to see through his mask more easily. While Syaoran was too busy worrying over his princess and left Fai’s false cheeriness alone, Kurogane had no other object other than to return to his home and therefore, was probably more prone to notice something was amiss. Yes, Kurogane needed to be watched carefully, just in case.
The country of Yama exposed Fai the most in Kurogane’s eyes. With no comprehensible conversations to distract him from the mage’s behavior, Kurogane observed every minute movement in the blonde’s behavior. During these six months, he observed that Fai never met your eyes for more than a few seconds, he almost obsessively pushed a few loose strands of hair away from his face when he was nervous, and when he thought no one was looking, his smile would melt away to be replaced by a look of someone who had seen more than their fair share of sadness. Meanwhile, Fai had to make sure to keep the mask in place more than usual. Even while babbling, being alone with the ninja spiked fear and a bit of paranoia inside of him. Words could not keep him safe in the solitude they had been forced into, and he felt lost. He prayed and prayed that Sakura and Syaoran would arrive soon.
As the journey wore on, the mask grew thinner and the words began to tire of being used. And finally, when Fai’s eye was stolen, the blonde had no choice but to admit that words and smiles had failed him. Even though he wished nothing more to end his pathetic life, Kurogane had chosen to save him, and ultimately condemn him to more misfortune and despair. Kurogane saw nothing wrong with the choice, and had realized that even though the mage utilized the very thing he detested to a great degree, Fai was important, important to their makeshift family, and important to him. Fai however, he would not let his words go down without a proper fight.
“Good morning, Kurogane.”
~*~
In Nihon, Fai finally learned why the ninja relied so much on actions rather than speaking. Words alone cannot save you from you’re fate, and if you truly wish to save yourself, action must be taken. It had taken him a lost eye and a severed arm to figure it out, and he prayed that that would be the end of it. Kurogane had already given up so much for him already.
“That’s payback Kuro-sama.”
Kurogane had never thought three little words would mean so much to him. Sure, the punch showed him that he was forgiven, but the return of the nicknames showed him how much Fai truly had grown. He thought he would never miss anything even relating to those horrible suffixes added to his name, but when he heard them now, his heart skipped a beat.
He now realized why he cared so much for someone who he had so loathed at their first meeting. Fai had somehow, during this crazy and God forsaken trip, become his most important person. As Fai lay next to him on the white futon, he longed to be able to express his feelings to the blonde, but found that it was harder than he had first originally thought. Perhaps it was because he had never needed words to get his message across and they were suffering from under use. He screwed up his face in an attempt to think of some way to make his sentiments understood.
Fai was thinking along the same lines next to the injured ninja. It had taken him so much to realize it, but Kurogane was most important to him now and that was all that mattered. However, relating the news of his change in heart to said ninja proved almost impossible. All his life he had relied on words to keep a fake mask in place. Now that he wanted to express the truth, everything seemed so much harder. It was easy to lie with words, but telling the truth was hard because you had to be very precise when picking what you’re going to say if you want to be understood.
Sensing the similar tension in the body next to him, Fai rolled onto his side and asked worriedly, “Kuro-chi, are you hurt? Should I send for a healer?” Oh how he longed to be able to heal Kurogane himself, to make the wounds he caused fade away leaving nothing but faint scars in tan flesh. Words had failed him yet again.
Kurogane tenderly rolled onto his right side so he was facing his companion, their faces only a few inches apart. The ninja had never remembered himself so desperate to find words to say to Fai. So instead, he settled on something much more within his comfort zone. He leaned forward and closed the distance between his and Fai’s lips. Fai stared in shock for a moment, and then allowed himself to relax and kiss back, glad that Kurogane had saved him the time of making the first move. He tentatively brought his slim hands up to gently grip the taller man’s shoulders.
Both the ninja and the mage had had different views on the use of words. One had believed that actions spoke louder than spoken words, and the other had insisted that words covered up for sloppy actions. Through their travels and experiences, both had learned that the use of words was to be treasured, used no less and no more than needed. Words had pushed their relationship to the place it was, but they didn’t need words to make their feelings understood.
A/N: Hope everyone liked it!