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burningdarkfireTitle: Falling For You - Cut
Series: TRC
Pairing: KuroFai
Rating: PG
Length: about 2000 words, chapter 17 (17/26)
"Kurogane-kun?"
"Speaking; who is this?" Kurogane frowned as he pressed the phone to his ear. The voice was not one that he recognized right away, although it did sound familiar.
"It's Ashura." Kurogane sucked in a startled breath. Why was Fai's guardian calling him? "I just wanted to ask if you could possibly come over tonight …"
"What for?" The young teenager asked. It was already quite late outside, and they both had school the next day … but then, Ashura had never called him before, so whatever had happened must be extraordinarily important.
"Today is December 7th," Ashura explained. Kurogane's eyes flew open as he realized the date's significance. "I don't want Fai to be alone tonight, since I have an important meeting to go out to …"
But Kurogane was no longer listening; he was busy preparing a bag in which he stuffed the black t-shirt he usually wore at night, along with clothes for the next day and all the essential toiletries. He only paused to pick up the phone briefly again, cutting off Ashura as the adult anxiously called out his name.
"I'm on my way over," Kurogane told him. "Give me a couple of minutes." He ran downstairs and gave Kendappa his most charming smile. When she just looked at him strangely, Kurogane opted for his usual scowl instead and demanded a ride.
"I need to get to Fai's house," he informed her. "He needs me."
"Kurogane-kun, it's already dark out …" she glanced disapprovingly out the window. "Are you sure whatever it is can't just wait until tomorrow?"
"It's December 7th," he reminded her. "It's the anniversary of his mom's death."
Her eyes softened immediately. "Of course. Are you ready? Let's go then."
Kurogane and Kendappa splashed quickly to the car through pouring rain. They drove in silence, with the windshield wiper and the drumming of the rain in the background. Once Kendappa pulled up to the Ruval Estate, she turned around to look at Kurogane in the backseat.
"Be kind to him, Kurogane-kun," she advised, her eyes glittering. "That boy has been through a lot."
Kurogane was about to retort that she should keep to her own business when he remember that Kendappa still taught Fai at the studio. Instead, he swallowed back his anger and nodded mutely.
Squinting through the sheets of rain, Kurogane dashed up to the grand door and rang the doorbell. Within moments, Ashura opened the door.
"Kurogane-kun," he welcomed him warmly, dressed impeccably in a business suit. "Come in, Fai's just-"
The boy in question came hurtling around the corner, eyes wild. Clutching something in his arms, he pushed past Ashura and Kurogane and ran out into the rain.
Kurogane dropped his bag on the porch and sprinted after the blond. He shot past Kendappa, who was getting out of her car, looking shocked. "I'll get him!" He yelled over his shoulder.
"Be careful!" Kendappa's words were nearly lost to Kurogane.
"Stupid!" Kurogane shouted angrily as he chased after Fai yet again. "Stop running, you idiot!"
As per usual, he received no indication from Fai that he had heard anything at all. Fai led him through the darkened streets until they reached the park, where he slowed down and looked over his shoulder. Seeing Kurogane, he picked up the pace again, until he slumped at the edge of the forest.
"Why do you always come here?" Kurogane muttered to himself as he slogged on after Fai. His shoes squished in the muddy field and his clothes were drenched. He finally approached Fai, who sat curled up at the base of a tree. Gingerly resigning himself to being soaked and uncomfortable for the rest of the night, he settled himself beside the blond.
They sat in silence for a long time. Kurogane was at first uncertain about what, if anything, he should say, and as the moments slipped by, he found himself content with the silence. He leaned his head back against the rough bark and stared up at the sky, until he was nearly nailed in the eye by a daring raindrop.
What seemed like hours to Kurogane, shivering and miserable, passed by. He started in surprise when Fai, at last, moved. The blond shuffled slowly closer to him and with a small sigh, rested his head on Kurogane's shoulder. The dark-haired boy immediately tensed up, but soon relaxed.
"What are you holding?" He finally asked after a few more minutes. Without moving his head, Fai lifted from his lap the object he had been carrying. Kurogane stared incredulously at it. "You weren't going to drink that, were you?"
"My mother liked it," Fai whispered quietly, his voice nearly drowned out by the rain. "So did my father, near the end."
"But still," Kurogane frowned. "Were you really planning on drinking a whole bottle of sake?"
"I don't know," Fai said dully. "Since I don't think it would kill me, I probably will."
"No you won't," Kurogane countered firmly. "I won't let you."
"What will you do to stop me?" Fai got to his feet and stared at Kurogane defiantly.
Kurogane also stood up. "I won't let you destroy yourself!" Seeing Fai uncork the bottle and raise it to his lips, Kurogane stepped forward and swiped sideways with his hand, breaking the bottle as it slammed into a tree right beside them. The alcohol pooled all around their feet, further staining their already dirtied shoes.
"Just leave me alone!" Fai screamed, slashing in front of him with the neck of the bottle. "What do you care, what happens to me?"
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Kurogane shouted back. "I do care!"
"Well, don't! I never asked you to! Everyone who gets close to me … everyone who cares … they all leave!" Fai's eyes shone out in the darkness, sorrow-ridden but tear-free. "Leave me alone!"
"No! I won't! I don't believe that, and you shouldn't either! I won't let you hurt yourself like this!" Kurogane grabbed Fai's wrists. They struggled against each other but Kurogane's strength soon won out. As Fai hung limp in his arms, the shards of the bottle littered around them, Kurogane held on tightly to the back of his jacket. "I won't let you go until you promise to go back home and to never try this again."
Kurogane could feel the other boy's slender hands forming a fist on his chest. "I promise," Fai finally conceded. "I promise to go back home and to never try drinking a whole bottle of sake by myself again."
"Good enough," Kurogane grunted. He released Fai, who stepped back and watched him oddly as he bent to pick up the shattered glass they had dropped.
"You're bleeding!" The blond said suddenly, clutching Kurogane's arms. Sure enough, crisscrossed all over his wrists and hands were cuts, no doubt inflicted by the bottle while Fai wielded it. Fai looked at Kurogane, blue eyes just as broken as the jagged pieces Kurogane was trying to pick up. "I'm so sorry, I just-"
"Save it," Kurogane interrupted. "I'm okay."
"But you got injured because of me … for my sake," Fai whispered, troubled.
"It was my choice," Kurogane stated abruptly. "I made the decision."
Fai let him go and watched him try to hold all the pieces in his hands, only injuring himself further. "Why are you doing that?"
"Doing what?" Kurogane asked as small rivulets of blood ran down his hand.
"Picking up all the pieces," Fai answered. "Why are you doing it? It's not like you can put it back together and put the sake back in it."
"No," Kurogane said slowly. "What's done is done. The past is the past, but we have to deal with the consequences in the present too. We can't let the past shape us." Deciding he had gotten as much of the glass as he could, he stood and jogged the short distance to a trash can, Fai following in his footsteps. "Maybe if it was something more desirable, I would have tried to put it back together."
Fai looked at him for a few moments, a confused and startled look on his face. He seemed to shrug it off as he tugged at Kurogane's sleeves. "We better get your wounds treated." His voice was subdued and quiet.
"They don't bother me much," Kurogane grunted, untroubled. "I'm more worried about you."
Fai averted his eyes. "There's nothing to worry about."
Kurogane snorted. "Hardly. The way you act doesn't put anyone's mind at ease."
"It's none of your business," Fai seemed to sulk for a moment. "You don't have to worry."
"But I do anyway, so you better shape up and stop always making me chase you." Kurogane punched Fai on the shoulder gently, trying to recover some of their lost camaraderie. "Let's go."
Along the way back, Fai took Kurogane's hand, much like the way he had when they had been young. Kurogane grumbled a bit but allowed the blond to hold his hand all the back to Ruval.
-
Now (21 years and 5 months old)
Kurogane realizes that Fai is, and never was, normal. He had (has, Kurogane corrects himself) the strangest ways of looking at the world, a viewpoint so different from Kurogane's that they often failed to understand each other completely.
Yet now they were all the other had.
-
A/N - That last line sounds a tiny bit more doom and gloom than it should ^^'
I feel so bad for what happens to Ashura in this fic ... orz
(you all knew the happy fluffy cute chapters couldn't last forever XD)
Series: TRC
Pairing: KuroFai
Rating: PG
Length: about 2000 words, chapter 17 (17/26)
Cut (12 Years and 5 Months Old)
December 7, 12: 11 Years and 11 Months Old
December 7, 12: 11 Years and 11 Months Old
"Kurogane-kun?"
"Speaking; who is this?" Kurogane frowned as he pressed the phone to his ear. The voice was not one that he recognized right away, although it did sound familiar.
"It's Ashura." Kurogane sucked in a startled breath. Why was Fai's guardian calling him? "I just wanted to ask if you could possibly come over tonight …"
"What for?" The young teenager asked. It was already quite late outside, and they both had school the next day … but then, Ashura had never called him before, so whatever had happened must be extraordinarily important.
"Today is December 7th," Ashura explained. Kurogane's eyes flew open as he realized the date's significance. "I don't want Fai to be alone tonight, since I have an important meeting to go out to …"
But Kurogane was no longer listening; he was busy preparing a bag in which he stuffed the black t-shirt he usually wore at night, along with clothes for the next day and all the essential toiletries. He only paused to pick up the phone briefly again, cutting off Ashura as the adult anxiously called out his name.
"I'm on my way over," Kurogane told him. "Give me a couple of minutes." He ran downstairs and gave Kendappa his most charming smile. When she just looked at him strangely, Kurogane opted for his usual scowl instead and demanded a ride.
"I need to get to Fai's house," he informed her. "He needs me."
"Kurogane-kun, it's already dark out …" she glanced disapprovingly out the window. "Are you sure whatever it is can't just wait until tomorrow?"
"It's December 7th," he reminded her. "It's the anniversary of his mom's death."
Her eyes softened immediately. "Of course. Are you ready? Let's go then."
Kurogane and Kendappa splashed quickly to the car through pouring rain. They drove in silence, with the windshield wiper and the drumming of the rain in the background. Once Kendappa pulled up to the Ruval Estate, she turned around to look at Kurogane in the backseat.
"Be kind to him, Kurogane-kun," she advised, her eyes glittering. "That boy has been through a lot."
Kurogane was about to retort that she should keep to her own business when he remember that Kendappa still taught Fai at the studio. Instead, he swallowed back his anger and nodded mutely.
Squinting through the sheets of rain, Kurogane dashed up to the grand door and rang the doorbell. Within moments, Ashura opened the door.
"Kurogane-kun," he welcomed him warmly, dressed impeccably in a business suit. "Come in, Fai's just-"
The boy in question came hurtling around the corner, eyes wild. Clutching something in his arms, he pushed past Ashura and Kurogane and ran out into the rain.
Kurogane dropped his bag on the porch and sprinted after the blond. He shot past Kendappa, who was getting out of her car, looking shocked. "I'll get him!" He yelled over his shoulder.
"Be careful!" Kendappa's words were nearly lost to Kurogane.
"Stupid!" Kurogane shouted angrily as he chased after Fai yet again. "Stop running, you idiot!"
As per usual, he received no indication from Fai that he had heard anything at all. Fai led him through the darkened streets until they reached the park, where he slowed down and looked over his shoulder. Seeing Kurogane, he picked up the pace again, until he slumped at the edge of the forest.
"Why do you always come here?" Kurogane muttered to himself as he slogged on after Fai. His shoes squished in the muddy field and his clothes were drenched. He finally approached Fai, who sat curled up at the base of a tree. Gingerly resigning himself to being soaked and uncomfortable for the rest of the night, he settled himself beside the blond.
They sat in silence for a long time. Kurogane was at first uncertain about what, if anything, he should say, and as the moments slipped by, he found himself content with the silence. He leaned his head back against the rough bark and stared up at the sky, until he was nearly nailed in the eye by a daring raindrop.
What seemed like hours to Kurogane, shivering and miserable, passed by. He started in surprise when Fai, at last, moved. The blond shuffled slowly closer to him and with a small sigh, rested his head on Kurogane's shoulder. The dark-haired boy immediately tensed up, but soon relaxed.
"What are you holding?" He finally asked after a few more minutes. Without moving his head, Fai lifted from his lap the object he had been carrying. Kurogane stared incredulously at it. "You weren't going to drink that, were you?"
"My mother liked it," Fai whispered quietly, his voice nearly drowned out by the rain. "So did my father, near the end."
"But still," Kurogane frowned. "Were you really planning on drinking a whole bottle of sake?"
"I don't know," Fai said dully. "Since I don't think it would kill me, I probably will."
"No you won't," Kurogane countered firmly. "I won't let you."
"What will you do to stop me?" Fai got to his feet and stared at Kurogane defiantly.
Kurogane also stood up. "I won't let you destroy yourself!" Seeing Fai uncork the bottle and raise it to his lips, Kurogane stepped forward and swiped sideways with his hand, breaking the bottle as it slammed into a tree right beside them. The alcohol pooled all around their feet, further staining their already dirtied shoes.
"Just leave me alone!" Fai screamed, slashing in front of him with the neck of the bottle. "What do you care, what happens to me?"
"How many times do I have to tell you?" Kurogane shouted back. "I do care!"
"Well, don't! I never asked you to! Everyone who gets close to me … everyone who cares … they all leave!" Fai's eyes shone out in the darkness, sorrow-ridden but tear-free. "Leave me alone!"
"No! I won't! I don't believe that, and you shouldn't either! I won't let you hurt yourself like this!" Kurogane grabbed Fai's wrists. They struggled against each other but Kurogane's strength soon won out. As Fai hung limp in his arms, the shards of the bottle littered around them, Kurogane held on tightly to the back of his jacket. "I won't let you go until you promise to go back home and to never try this again."
Kurogane could feel the other boy's slender hands forming a fist on his chest. "I promise," Fai finally conceded. "I promise to go back home and to never try drinking a whole bottle of sake by myself again."
"Good enough," Kurogane grunted. He released Fai, who stepped back and watched him oddly as he bent to pick up the shattered glass they had dropped.
"You're bleeding!" The blond said suddenly, clutching Kurogane's arms. Sure enough, crisscrossed all over his wrists and hands were cuts, no doubt inflicted by the bottle while Fai wielded it. Fai looked at Kurogane, blue eyes just as broken as the jagged pieces Kurogane was trying to pick up. "I'm so sorry, I just-"
"Save it," Kurogane interrupted. "I'm okay."
"But you got injured because of me … for my sake," Fai whispered, troubled.
"It was my choice," Kurogane stated abruptly. "I made the decision."
Fai let him go and watched him try to hold all the pieces in his hands, only injuring himself further. "Why are you doing that?"
"Doing what?" Kurogane asked as small rivulets of blood ran down his hand.
"Picking up all the pieces," Fai answered. "Why are you doing it? It's not like you can put it back together and put the sake back in it."
"No," Kurogane said slowly. "What's done is done. The past is the past, but we have to deal with the consequences in the present too. We can't let the past shape us." Deciding he had gotten as much of the glass as he could, he stood and jogged the short distance to a trash can, Fai following in his footsteps. "Maybe if it was something more desirable, I would have tried to put it back together."
Fai looked at him for a few moments, a confused and startled look on his face. He seemed to shrug it off as he tugged at Kurogane's sleeves. "We better get your wounds treated." His voice was subdued and quiet.
"They don't bother me much," Kurogane grunted, untroubled. "I'm more worried about you."
Fai averted his eyes. "There's nothing to worry about."
Kurogane snorted. "Hardly. The way you act doesn't put anyone's mind at ease."
"It's none of your business," Fai seemed to sulk for a moment. "You don't have to worry."
"But I do anyway, so you better shape up and stop always making me chase you." Kurogane punched Fai on the shoulder gently, trying to recover some of their lost camaraderie. "Let's go."
Along the way back, Fai took Kurogane's hand, much like the way he had when they had been young. Kurogane grumbled a bit but allowed the blond to hold his hand all the back to Ruval.
-
Now (21 years and 5 months old)
Kurogane realizes that Fai is, and never was, normal. He had (has, Kurogane corrects himself) the strangest ways of looking at the world, a viewpoint so different from Kurogane's that they often failed to understand each other completely.
Yet now they were all the other had.
-
A/N - That last line sounds a tiny bit more doom and gloom than it should ^^'
I feel so bad for what happens to Ashura in this fic ... orz
(you all knew the happy fluffy cute chapters couldn't last forever XD)
