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burningdarkfireTitle: Crimson - A Frozen Smile
Serie: TRC
Pairings: KuroFai
Rating: PG
Length: about 2000 words, chapter 2 (1.2/??)
Note: runs parallel to Sapphire
Kurogane was functioning solely on the desire to not lose to a snowstorm when Fai finally spotted a town.
He was down to functioning on jealousy of the damn mage for having those clothes when they at last stumbled into the inn and some warmth.
“Excuse me!” Fai called out, with something that sounded almost like concern in his voice.
“Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting!” The innkeeper hurried out from side door and greeted them. “What terrible travelling weather! I assume you’ll want rooms?”
The group all nodded their agreement. After my brain thaws enough to think.
“I’m sorry, but we only have two rooms free now. Would you mind sharing? We’re the only inn in town, and the next place you could stay is almost an hour’s walk in decent conditions.” The short portly man looked anxiously at Kurogane.
What the hell is he looking at me for? Kurogane was now warm enough to complain silently to himself.
“It’s alright!” Fai was unreasonably cheerful for someone who had just spent a quarter of an hour outside in weather like that. “I’m sure Big Doggy over here won’t mind sharing a room with me! Isn’t that right, Kuro-pyon?”
“Of course I mind, you stupid idiot!” Kurogane growled. “Why can’t I room with the kid?”
If he tries something … Kurogane eyed Fai suspiciously, although he was still too cold to have regained full control of his limbs.
“Really, Kuro-wanwan, you shouldn’t force yourself on somebody! Besides, Kuro-daddy and Fai-mommy should be together!” His voice rose in pitch and volume at the end as he watched Kurogane before pouncing.
“Get … off …!” Kurogane flailed around, trying to dislodge the mage now attached to his front.
As Kurogane spun around the room, he felt Fai tightening his legs and arms, adjusting his grip so that his head lay against Kurogane’s chest.
Well, at least he’s warm.
Please tell me I didn’t just think that.
This was going a bit too far. “What are you doing?”
Fai grinned lazily. “But isn’t it obvious? I’m just showing the world what a cute couple we are!”
Idiot! Is he ever serious when he doesn’t have to be? Kurogane frowned.
“Ehh … Fai-san? Kurogane-san?” Kurogane was relieved of Fai’s weight (not that he weighed much) when Syaoran’s voice sounded in the lobby of the inn. “Here’s your key …” He trailed off at the sight of Kurogane’s glare trained on him (it wasn’t that scary, was it?) and mutely held up a small golden key.
“Thank you so much, Syaoran-kun!” Fai exclaimed. As if nothing had happened, and we had always been standing here. Tch. “You and Mokona get a good night’s sleep now!” He smiled at both of them and petted Mokona on the head.
Kurogane wandered off to the far wall to gather his thoughts for what would most likely be a long night ahead. What would be the best way to shut the mage up quickly? He wondered, staring at him.
He saw Syaoran nod in assent to something Mokona said and Fai ruffle his hair, then skip towards the stairs
“I still haven’t agreed to room with you!” Kurogane roared, knowing it was a battle that had been lost from the start.
-
Of course. Of course, of course, of course, Kurogane thought to himself. Of course the idiot mage would insist that they share a room, while Syaoran and Mokona huddled up in another.
True, they had journeyed together for a whole month with Syaoran after leaving behind Sakura in Clow Country, but while he had become much closer to the idiot since when they first met, Fai still had the unfortunate habit of ruffling Big Doggy’s fur the wrong way.
“Ahh, Kuro-rin, we’re alone at last!” Fai exclaimed with his usual amount of cheer as he sprawled on the bed, leaving Kurogane to sit on a chair on the opposite side of the room by the door.
Kurogane resisted the urge to punch the slender man to death while he took a quick stock of the room. Besides the lone bed that was really too small, there was also a small writing desk, the chair upon which Kurogane now sat, and a curious thing that looked to be a small flame encased in a bubble, which lit up the entire room from its position on the desk.
“What is that thing?” Kurogane jerked his chin towards the light source; sure that Fai would know what he was talking about despite the fact that his face was already buried in a pillow.
Fai rolled over and glanced at Kurogane before replying. “A simple charm, really. The innkeeper is the wielder of a very small amount of fire-magic, and this is probably simpler and less dangerous than keeping torches in each room.”
“How do we turn it off?” The warrior asked suspiciously. Even after all this time, magic was still a bit uncomfortable to him (although he would never show it). Sure, Tomoyo-hime used magic, but she was mostly a seer and a healer, nothing flashy.
“Easy.” Fai eyed the bubble for a moment before a brief blue ring enclosed it, extinguishing the flame.
“When did your magic become blue?” Kurogane wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before. Admittedly, the magic was a still a very purple-ish blue, but definitely a different color from before.
“It would seem that the more I use it and the stronger it becomes, it also changes color,” Fai shrugged. At first, after he got his magic back from the kid’s clone (and after the big battle), he had used his magic sparingly, but now he was much more casual about it. Although he didn’t show off, it no longer bothered him to do something as simple as say, put out a flame.
“Is the arm bothering you again?” Kurogane started at Fai’s question. He hadn’t even realized he was absentmindedly rubbing his left shoulder, where the artificial arm clamped onto him.
“No, it’s just ...” he trailed off, well aware that the mage would see right through whatever excuse he made up.
Concern flashed across Fai’s face. Kurogane never ceased to be amazed at how much more open and honest the idiot was now, compared to when they had first met. He hadn’t seen that fake smile since …
He yelled in alarm as the artificial arm lit up with blue markings. Once the strange Celesian markings of Fai’s magic had faded away, so did the pain.
“What did you do?” Not that he didn’t trust the mage and all that, he just didn’t want his arm spontaneously combusting in the middle of a battle because the idiot had forgotten to mention the spell would blow up if he tried a certain move or something.
“A modified version of a spell I used to use all the time … although I expected the previous one I cast to last longer than a mere four weeks,” Fai’s brow creased again with an uncharacteristic worry.
“Wait, what previous spell? Wha- When did you put a spell on me?” Kurogane stammered, then regained his composure and adopted a fierce glare.
“The spell I cast is a variation of what I always used to arm our soldiers with before a battle,” Fai explained. “The actual spell is one that renders the receiver devoid of pain, but also devoid of emotions. I told you once that I can’t use healing magic at all – only magic good for wars and killing. The ultimate fighter is someone who isn’t afraid to die on the battlefield; someone who’s greatest concern isn’t their missing arm, but that they had not yet killed enough to be considered a hero.”
Kurogane fought to keep his tone mild. “Please tell me you didn’t just erase all my emotions.”
Fai sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. “Kuro-chii, if your emotions were gone, you wouldn’t be able to be mad or upset with me.”
Kurogane twitched. He did not appreciate looking like a fool. “Then what exactly did you do?”
“I removed the no emotions part from the script I wrote, and directed the pain reliever into your arm instead of your eyes.” Fai seemed to be rather enjoying his role as teacher.
“Why would you put magic on someone’s eyes?” Kurogane tensed instinctively.
Fai propped himself up to look Kurogane in the eye. “Have you learned nothing from our journey?” Kurogane bristled but did not interrupt. “A person’s eyes are very important. They serve as a conduit for magic, in particular magic that affects the soul, brain, or heart and not simply the body. They’re also somewhat a portal to the three afore mentioned things: eyes can never lie.”
So that’s why even the master actor couldn’t hide all the pain and sadness that was in his eyes, that is still in his eyes.
“Alright, but you still haven’t explained when and why you put a spell on me!” Kurogane refused to drop his glare until he got all his questions answered. “You know I don’t like magic!”
“You don’t?” If Kurogane didn’t know better, he would have thought it was hurt that had flickered across the mage’s face.
“Well, ah …” he shifted uncomfortably and tried to backtrack. “I just don’t like it when it’s so sudden, and when it’s applied to me without my permission!”
“But I would never do anything to hurt my Kuro-myu!” Fai gazed at him, blue eyes wide with mock innocence.
“Will you shut up with the weird names!?” Now that the awkward moment was over, Kurogane was more than ready to fly into a rage again.
“Your name is so long and boring though, Kuro-rin!” Fai beamed at him.
Kurogane roared and swiped at the mage, only to find him already gone from his reach. He tried to grab onto Fai without success for several minutes, until he was at last inclined to pronounce defeat … for the moment, anyway.
Fai was back on the bed and Kurogane came to sit beside him. “You know, you never answered my questions.”
Fai just smiled mischievously. “Now, now, I’m allowed to still keep some secrets from you!” He chuckled happily, once again burying his face in the pillow.
Kurogane tensed. That smile was just like the smile this morning, when they had come into this new world. That smile was a smile Kurogane had hoped he would never see again: a smile that lit up his whole face, a smile that attempted to reach into his eyes, but a smile in which the soul remained gloomy and the heart remained frozen.
Serie: TRC
Pairings: KuroFai
Rating: PG
Length: about 2000 words, chapter 2 (1.2/??)
Note: runs parallel to Sapphire
Kurogane was functioning solely on the desire to not lose to a snowstorm when Fai finally spotted a town.
He was down to functioning on jealousy of the damn mage for having those clothes when they at last stumbled into the inn and some warmth.
“Excuse me!” Fai called out, with something that sounded almost like concern in his voice.
“Hello! Sorry to keep you waiting!” The innkeeper hurried out from side door and greeted them. “What terrible travelling weather! I assume you’ll want rooms?”
The group all nodded their agreement. After my brain thaws enough to think.
“I’m sorry, but we only have two rooms free now. Would you mind sharing? We’re the only inn in town, and the next place you could stay is almost an hour’s walk in decent conditions.” The short portly man looked anxiously at Kurogane.
What the hell is he looking at me for? Kurogane was now warm enough to complain silently to himself.
“It’s alright!” Fai was unreasonably cheerful for someone who had just spent a quarter of an hour outside in weather like that. “I’m sure Big Doggy over here won’t mind sharing a room with me! Isn’t that right, Kuro-pyon?”
“Of course I mind, you stupid idiot!” Kurogane growled. “Why can’t I room with the kid?”
If he tries something … Kurogane eyed Fai suspiciously, although he was still too cold to have regained full control of his limbs.
“Really, Kuro-wanwan, you shouldn’t force yourself on somebody! Besides, Kuro-daddy and Fai-mommy should be together!” His voice rose in pitch and volume at the end as he watched Kurogane before pouncing.
“Get … off …!” Kurogane flailed around, trying to dislodge the mage now attached to his front.
As Kurogane spun around the room, he felt Fai tightening his legs and arms, adjusting his grip so that his head lay against Kurogane’s chest.
Well, at least he’s warm.
Please tell me I didn’t just think that.
This was going a bit too far. “What are you doing?”
Fai grinned lazily. “But isn’t it obvious? I’m just showing the world what a cute couple we are!”
Idiot! Is he ever serious when he doesn’t have to be? Kurogane frowned.
“Ehh … Fai-san? Kurogane-san?” Kurogane was relieved of Fai’s weight (not that he weighed much) when Syaoran’s voice sounded in the lobby of the inn. “Here’s your key …” He trailed off at the sight of Kurogane’s glare trained on him (it wasn’t that scary, was it?) and mutely held up a small golden key.
“Thank you so much, Syaoran-kun!” Fai exclaimed. As if nothing had happened, and we had always been standing here. Tch. “You and Mokona get a good night’s sleep now!” He smiled at both of them and petted Mokona on the head.
Kurogane wandered off to the far wall to gather his thoughts for what would most likely be a long night ahead. What would be the best way to shut the mage up quickly? He wondered, staring at him.
He saw Syaoran nod in assent to something Mokona said and Fai ruffle his hair, then skip towards the stairs
“I still haven’t agreed to room with you!” Kurogane roared, knowing it was a battle that had been lost from the start.
-
Of course. Of course, of course, of course, Kurogane thought to himself. Of course the idiot mage would insist that they share a room, while Syaoran and Mokona huddled up in another.
True, they had journeyed together for a whole month with Syaoran after leaving behind Sakura in Clow Country, but while he had become much closer to the idiot since when they first met, Fai still had the unfortunate habit of ruffling Big Doggy’s fur the wrong way.
“Ahh, Kuro-rin, we’re alone at last!” Fai exclaimed with his usual amount of cheer as he sprawled on the bed, leaving Kurogane to sit on a chair on the opposite side of the room by the door.
Kurogane resisted the urge to punch the slender man to death while he took a quick stock of the room. Besides the lone bed that was really too small, there was also a small writing desk, the chair upon which Kurogane now sat, and a curious thing that looked to be a small flame encased in a bubble, which lit up the entire room from its position on the desk.
“What is that thing?” Kurogane jerked his chin towards the light source; sure that Fai would know what he was talking about despite the fact that his face was already buried in a pillow.
Fai rolled over and glanced at Kurogane before replying. “A simple charm, really. The innkeeper is the wielder of a very small amount of fire-magic, and this is probably simpler and less dangerous than keeping torches in each room.”
“How do we turn it off?” The warrior asked suspiciously. Even after all this time, magic was still a bit uncomfortable to him (although he would never show it). Sure, Tomoyo-hime used magic, but she was mostly a seer and a healer, nothing flashy.
“Easy.” Fai eyed the bubble for a moment before a brief blue ring enclosed it, extinguishing the flame.
“When did your magic become blue?” Kurogane wondered why he hadn’t noticed it before. Admittedly, the magic was a still a very purple-ish blue, but definitely a different color from before.
“It would seem that the more I use it and the stronger it becomes, it also changes color,” Fai shrugged. At first, after he got his magic back from the kid’s clone (and after the big battle), he had used his magic sparingly, but now he was much more casual about it. Although he didn’t show off, it no longer bothered him to do something as simple as say, put out a flame.
“Is the arm bothering you again?” Kurogane started at Fai’s question. He hadn’t even realized he was absentmindedly rubbing his left shoulder, where the artificial arm clamped onto him.
“No, it’s just ...” he trailed off, well aware that the mage would see right through whatever excuse he made up.
Concern flashed across Fai’s face. Kurogane never ceased to be amazed at how much more open and honest the idiot was now, compared to when they had first met. He hadn’t seen that fake smile since …
He yelled in alarm as the artificial arm lit up with blue markings. Once the strange Celesian markings of Fai’s magic had faded away, so did the pain.
“What did you do?” Not that he didn’t trust the mage and all that, he just didn’t want his arm spontaneously combusting in the middle of a battle because the idiot had forgotten to mention the spell would blow up if he tried a certain move or something.
“A modified version of a spell I used to use all the time … although I expected the previous one I cast to last longer than a mere four weeks,” Fai’s brow creased again with an uncharacteristic worry.
“Wait, what previous spell? Wha- When did you put a spell on me?” Kurogane stammered, then regained his composure and adopted a fierce glare.
“The spell I cast is a variation of what I always used to arm our soldiers with before a battle,” Fai explained. “The actual spell is one that renders the receiver devoid of pain, but also devoid of emotions. I told you once that I can’t use healing magic at all – only magic good for wars and killing. The ultimate fighter is someone who isn’t afraid to die on the battlefield; someone who’s greatest concern isn’t their missing arm, but that they had not yet killed enough to be considered a hero.”
Kurogane fought to keep his tone mild. “Please tell me you didn’t just erase all my emotions.”
Fai sighed dramatically and rolled his eyes. “Kuro-chii, if your emotions were gone, you wouldn’t be able to be mad or upset with me.”
Kurogane twitched. He did not appreciate looking like a fool. “Then what exactly did you do?”
“I removed the no emotions part from the script I wrote, and directed the pain reliever into your arm instead of your eyes.” Fai seemed to be rather enjoying his role as teacher.
“Why would you put magic on someone’s eyes?” Kurogane tensed instinctively.
Fai propped himself up to look Kurogane in the eye. “Have you learned nothing from our journey?” Kurogane bristled but did not interrupt. “A person’s eyes are very important. They serve as a conduit for magic, in particular magic that affects the soul, brain, or heart and not simply the body. They’re also somewhat a portal to the three afore mentioned things: eyes can never lie.”
So that’s why even the master actor couldn’t hide all the pain and sadness that was in his eyes, that is still in his eyes.
“Alright, but you still haven’t explained when and why you put a spell on me!” Kurogane refused to drop his glare until he got all his questions answered. “You know I don’t like magic!”
“You don’t?” If Kurogane didn’t know better, he would have thought it was hurt that had flickered across the mage’s face.
“Well, ah …” he shifted uncomfortably and tried to backtrack. “I just don’t like it when it’s so sudden, and when it’s applied to me without my permission!”
“But I would never do anything to hurt my Kuro-myu!” Fai gazed at him, blue eyes wide with mock innocence.
“Will you shut up with the weird names!?” Now that the awkward moment was over, Kurogane was more than ready to fly into a rage again.
“Your name is so long and boring though, Kuro-rin!” Fai beamed at him.
Kurogane roared and swiped at the mage, only to find him already gone from his reach. He tried to grab onto Fai without success for several minutes, until he was at last inclined to pronounce defeat … for the moment, anyway.
Fai was back on the bed and Kurogane came to sit beside him. “You know, you never answered my questions.”
Fai just smiled mischievously. “Now, now, I’m allowed to still keep some secrets from you!” He chuckled happily, once again burying his face in the pillow.
Kurogane tensed. That smile was just like the smile this morning, when they had come into this new world. That smile was a smile Kurogane had hoped he would never see again: a smile that lit up his whole face, a smile that attempted to reach into his eyes, but a smile in which the soul remained gloomy and the heart remained frozen.
