11Disclaimer: I don't own Tsubasa. Its gunna make me cry if I have to keep saying it.
Don't ask. Maybe this will remain a one shot like I hoped.
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The group landed in a market much like Syaoran's and Sakura's in their hometown. The only thing missing was the desert. Everyone was either screaming and running or staring in surprise as the group dispersed from the sky. Kurogane huffed and crossed his arms.
"That's new." The only blonde male in the group chuckled at the man in black, patting him on the shoulder.
"That's cuz they're scared of you, Kuro-puppy."
"I'M NOT A FREAKIN PUPPY, MAGE!" This was continued by the two running, one chasing the other with a sword whilst the other laughed his head off. The two children sitting in the middle of their circles just sighed and watched. Syaoran was the first to notice that someone was smiling at the group. He stood, making the 'parents' stop bickering.
"Syaoran-kun?" Asked Sakura, raising to her feet as well then followed his vision. There stood a petite old man, his hair trailing down his back in a long, silver-gold braid. He just kept smiling at them while they approached him.
"Excuse me sir, but…"
"Hello, travelers, it seems as though you need a place to stay, would you like to join me in my home for a bit while you search for your wanted item?" The group was taken aback by this. How did he know? This question was voiced by the very hyper Mokona.
"I saw you in my dreams for the last month. I've been awaiting your arrival, Syaoran, Sakura." He said, bowing his head to the two youngest. Sakura blushed and smiled while Syaoran just stared, bewildered. Fai smiled back at the old man and Kurogane just glared.
"Come this way, I live a bit from the market. You there, Kuro…oh what was it? The black one, could you carry these for me?" Kurogane made a disbelieving snort but carried the bags anyway, being forced to do so by an angry jab from Fai.
"So, what should we address you by, sir?" asked Fai with his hands behind his head. The old man chuckled, beginning walking with his cane.
"Oh, whatever name seems suitable." Mokona hopped on his shoulder, nuzzling him.
"I'll call you grandpa! Syaoran and Sakura will too! Fai can call you sir like he always does to nice people and Kurogane will just be stubborn and call you 'old man!'" Mokona did his best impression of Kurogane, who swiped him off the shoulder and glared vehemently down at him.
"Manjuu…" He hissed, giving Mokona a squeeze before the white rabbit-like creature dashed away and hid in Fai's arms.
"Whaaa! Daddy's being mean, Mommy!" The old man and Fai just laughed, earning the suspicions of Kurogane.
The arrived at the old man's house, it being petite though very roomy inside. Fai and Kurogane went into the kitchen with the old man while Syaoran, Sakura, and Mokona went to accommodate the rooms that were offered. Kurogane set down his bags on the table roughly, though a photo caught his eyes.
"Hey old man, who is this?" He asked, showing the photo to the blue eyed man. He looked at it through his bifocals, and he smiled sadly.
"That was my… dear friend… His name was… oh… what did I call him? I called him so many names that I can't recall the one I used the most…" Fai was getting the feeling he knew this man a lot more than he should, but Kurogane snorted, bringing him out of his thoughts.
"That's smart. Sounds a lot like the mage. He never calls me by my real name." Fai pinched the ninja on the cheek.
"Oh that can be said the same for you, Kuro-pippi!" Kurogane growled and swatted at Fai's hand. The blonde made crocodile tears come out and wailing ensued, earning a chuckle from the old man as he watched the antics.
"Kuro-daddy hates me! He doesn't love Mommy!"
"LIKE HECK I DO! YOU DESERVE EVERY BEATING YOU GET, YOU RETARD!" Fai then earned a mischievous glint in his eye.
"Every beating, Kuro-kink?" This made the swordsman blush abundantly, turning his head.
"Shut up, magician." Fai laughed, hugging Kurogane.
"Aw! You're so shy, Kuro-man! We all know you like being a sadist!" Kurogane blushed even deeper as the words left Fai's mouth one by one.
"GET OFF ME! I DO N- I AM NOT! G-get off!" Fai giggled as the ninja squirmed out of his grasp. His blushed didn't submerge so he turned his back, facing the picture again.
"…I think I know this guy…" Kurogane said, picking up the picture. It held two men, about 50 or so, playing chess, smiling up at the camera. Well, one was, the other looked extremely bored up at the picture taker with an absolute loathing expression. Fai looked at it as well, then shot a surprised glance at Kurogane.
"Oh no! Kuro-chi, I think that's…I think that's…"
"What?"
"Someone I have no clue about!"
"FREAKIN MAGE! QUIT ACTING ALL SURPISED IF YOU DON'T EVEN KNOW WHO HE IS!" Kurogane chased Fai around the room, screaming whilst he giggled.
"Now, now you two… Fai-san, can you make supper tonight… my arthritis is hurting so bad and I need to go for a walk to loosen up my bones. I don't think that will trouble you so much, will it?" Fai nodded happily before prancing to the table.
"Kuro-chi, could you come with me?"
"WHAT THE HECK?! WHEN DID I GIVE ANYONE PERMISSION TO CALL ME KURO-CHI?!"
"I thought that was your name, Kuro-chi. Maybe I should call you Kuro-kink?"
"…" –blush-
"Ooooo! Kuro-kink likes his new name!"
"I DO NOT!" Scamper CRASH run run run "AH!" Thud "HA! STUPID MAGICIAN! IN YOUR- AH?! GET OFF ME!" giggle giggle giggle "M-MAGE!" run scamper run SLAM
The old man walked into the other room where Kurogane stood, trying to wiggle the doorknob until it unlocked.
"I'll get you for that!" He shouted at the door, and giggling crept up to their ears and Kurogane wiggled it harder.
"Now. Kuro-chi, I would appreciate it if you didn't break anything else." Kurogane turned a flustered glare at the smiling old fart, reddening even more. He let go of the knob, 'tch'ing silently before he headed for the front door.
"We'll be back, Fai-san." The old man called to the door, earning a "Hai hai!" from the other side.
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"Where are we going?" Kurogane asked halfheartedly, glaring holes into all the pedestrians walking the other way.
"I'm going to answer your question, Kuro-chi." The younger man growled deep in his throat, but bit his tongue.
"I know I gave you an answer beforehand in the kitchen, but that just wasn't true. But I did see your arrival in a dream. Just let me tell you, seeing myself and you so young again and still full of so much pep, it almost brought tears to my eyes." Kurogane raised an eyebrow.
"What the heck are you talking about?" the older of the two just smiled and continued walking.
"Ah, here we are." He said, pulling out a bouquet of white flowers from nowhere. They were in front of a well kept cemetery. Kurogane sighed; feeling like this man was just another mystery never going to get solved. They walked for what felt like hours to the ninja until they reached a slightly polished headstone next to one that had a name too worn to see. The name on the first made Kurogane choke on his tongue.
Loving Father, Husband, and Dog
Kurogane Suwa
D.O.B. unknown
D.O.D. 23434
"He was such a strong, caring man. He was nine years older than me, he said. That means he was barely 64 when he was murdered." Kurogane shot a skeptical glance at the tombstone, then back at the old man.
"You're that creepy magician?! I was MURDERED?! How old are you?! What the heck!?" The old man chuckled, placing the flowers down.
"Yes, I am Fai D. Fluorite of this country. Right now I'm 72. Kurogane Suwa, the one that was killed, was my husband. He was murdered while on a hit and run case. My poor Kuro-yell was shot five times before they took him to the hospital. He died a month later due to infection of the heart. –sniff- oh, I'm sorry, I didn't realize I was crying, excuse me." Kurogane watched as the old Fai wiped his face with a handkerchief. He couldn't believe it.
"Hit and run?" He asked, though his voice was completely void of anger but held curiosity.
"Yes. He was after the person who tried to run me over. That's why I walk with a cane, that car almost to my life, but if it wasn't for my Kuro-bah, running out and getting hit himself, I would be here instead. He lived through that and a lot more. He was the bravest, strongest man in this country." He said, placing a hand on Kurogane's shoulder. He smiled, then let his hand move to Kurogane's cheek.
"Now it's like your back from the dead, here to answer my calls…" Again, the ninja could feel his eyebrow raise.
"And what would that be?" Kissing and hugging and chasing were out of the question. Even if it was Fai, he couldn't imagine swapping spit with this geezer. Oh wait, yes he could. He tried hard to suppress his gagging reflex and remain calm. The old Fai smiled, leaning on Kurogane's broad chest for a minute.
"Let me stay here for a second or two, my heart is pounding from all the walking and I see no benches." The ninja felt his blood pressure rise, but calmed it shortly after, feeling almost sorry for him. He watched the shorter man close his eyes, taking in Kurogane's scent while letting a single tear fall.
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"Welcome home, you two! Supper's almost ready! Kuro-wan! Come here and help me with the table!"
"I'M NOT A FREAKIN DOG, YOU TWIT!"
"Kyah! Daddy's scary and now he's gunna eats me up!"
"I-I AM NOT!" –blush-
"Oooo! You're such a pervert, Kuro-sama!"
"I AM NOT!"
"Excuse me for interrupting you two…" The old man said smiling, regarding Fai with his arms being held against the wall due to Kurogane, who was staring up at him with all the blush on the world on his face. He backed away from Fai as fast as he could, busying himself with setting the table. Fai smiled at the old man like the event he just saw didn't just play out.
"…Yes, sir?" Fai said, dusting himself off. The old man pulled Fai into the next room out of hearing range of Kurogane.
"Treasure that man with your life, Fai-san, make sure he doesn't get himself killed and keep him close to your heart. Open up to him and he'll return the favor. Here, give this to him when you reach the next world or so, he will appreciate it." With that, the old man handed Fai a closed locket and headed down the hallway. Fai stared after him, wondering if he had just heard the man say that. He glossed on a grin and walked into the kitchen where Kurogane and the children were sitting.
"Who's hungry?" Fai asked, hiding the locket in his pocket.
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"We have the feather; we can go to the next world now, Mokona." Syaoran said, carrying the past out Sakura from the prairie. Kurogane and Fai soon followed, Kurogane having rips in his this-world clothing and some blood trickling down his arm.
"Nooo Syaoran-kun! We have to heal Kuro-daddy!" Fai said, clinging to the non-scraped arm.
"Tch. I'm fine, mage." He said, trying and failing to shake Fai off his arm.
"Mokona wants to say good bye to that nice old man!" But when they got to the house, the old Fai was no where to be found and dust was collecting on the things they hadn't touched or moved. Kurogane picked up the same photo, it looked a lot older than it did the first time he picked it up and both the men looked a lot younger. Kurogane hid the picture from the rest of them, not wanting to let them know the truth about him. Syaoran went outside and asked a lady about the man who lived there.
"Him? Oh the poor couple who lived here? The blonde one past away after getting hit by a car, though the raven haired tried to save him. The black haired man was killed after he was shot, I think. Bless their souls; I hope they are happy where ever they landed." She said, continuing walking in the direction she had been going. Syaoran stared at her back before turning to his princess, confusion in her eyes.
"The old man who lived here was the mage's other in this world." Said Kurogane, who appeared behind the other three, his hand on his hip and his eyes closed.
"You knew that he was Fai-san?" Asked Syaoran, looking at him with bewilderment.
"When we went for that walk, he took me to the cemetery over there and showed me our graves. Though I couldn't read it, I'm sure the one next to my own was that old guy's." Fai looked at him in shock, and he pulled out the locket.
"Then how…?" Kurogane looked at it, noticing it was polished and clean.
"The old man told me to give it to you once we got out of this world, but… if he was… dead…" Fai looked to the ground while the other three pondered this.
"I… listened to his heart…" Sakura piped up, causing the other three to look at her.
"His heart was sad until yesterday, now he's not crying anymore… He's happy with someone else…" Kurogane blushed, looking up at a tree while Fai sighed.
"That's good. At least we know someone can tolerate Big Puppy's antics."
"I'M NOT A GOD DANG PUPPY, FRACKHOLE!" run run run scamper push splash "AH! Kuro-rin, now I'm wet!" "Serves you right, you little-" tug tumble splash "AH! YOU FREAKIN-"
"Mokonaaaaaaaaaaaa! Can you take us to the next world pleeeeeeeeeeeeeeease?"
"Hai hai! Mokona Modoki is excited! Ahhhh poooo!"
"Mage…" Kurogane whispered as they began to vanish. Fai turned to him, seeing Kurogane plant a peck on his cheek.
"I'll keep your locket…"
"Pi kan!" vwamp. After they left, the old house grew older and soon another young couple moved in, feeling the joy and warmth the two previous lovers shared. The two brunettes with brown and green eyes had a boy and named him Fai. Fai grew to be a toddler and later and received a friend. These two are currently enjoying themselves a park in the sand.
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