Tsubasa Chronicle Fan Fiction ❯ Reciprocity, Part II ❯ Chapter 2

*** Sorry this took so long, I was on vacation! But to make up for it I'll be posting the third chapter later this weekend and the next chapter of Part One will be up next week!

Enjoy!

 

Disclaimer: I don't own Tsubasa.

 

Kurogane had trouble sleeping. He /never/ had trouble sleeping. Tossing and turning in bed, his head looped with thoughts of a smiling face telling him in a silky sweet voice, “Call me Fai.”

 

When he woke it was later than usual, which irritated him. And no sooner had he climbed from his blankets than he heard the chiming of a high, melodic bell ringing through his room. Anyone else would have thought the sound clear and decidedly beautiful, but Kurogane only associated it with a summons to the Queen's audience. He groaned. The samurai was at his best when out in the field, he'd never understand why Tomoyo had insisted he take the role of Commander of the Royal Guard, as well as the Army. The `promotion' required that he move into a wing of the palace and deal directly with her highness in matters of war and security: more negotiation, less action.

 

He hated it.

 

Slipping on his a semi-formal kimono, he headed to the throne room. He still felt uneasy in the silky attire, he missed the sure, heavy weight of his armor. Tomoyo said she disliked the noise of his clinking armor and he now only wore it when necessary- yet another aspect of his new duties which he was less then thrilled about.

 

All these thoughts went through his mind and topped with his uneasy sleep, he was in a terrible mood as he entered her majesty's presence, his feet stomping in irritation as he kneeled before her.

 

The young Queen smiled behind her fan. Kurogane never failed to amuse her.

 

“My Queen, you summoned me?” he asked, voice clipped.

 

Beside Tomoyo a tall woman huffed in annoyance. Soma never felt the swordsman showed the proper respect to the Queen, and let her opinion be known on more than one occasion. Tomoyo merely smiled up at her. The olive-skinned woman was her most immediate and personal bodyguard, since, as a woman, she could attend and protect the Queen within the most inner chambers of her palace where Kurogane could not.

 

Tomoyo looked down at her Commander and tried to calm her glee as she told him, “You have a gift.”

 

Kurogane looked up, unable to hide his surprise.

 

“A gift?” he asked, looking suspicious. The warrior knew how much her majesty enjoyed a good joke, but he hoped he hadn't been summoned only for her amusement. Not that he would put it passed her.

 

The Queen nodded. “From King Ashura.” Tomoyo watched the man's crimson eyes darken dangerously.

 

He stood as he spoke. “There is nothing that the King could possibly give me that I would want.”

 

Tomoyo sighed, but did not sound defeated. Kurogane could still see the mischief dancing in her eyes.

 

His annoyance was building to explosive proportions, he needed to leave before he lost all patience for whatever game his Queen was playing with him. “If there is nothing else, may I be dismissed then?” Kuro asked as politely as he could manage.

 

“Tsk, don't you even want to see it first?” Tomoyo prodded. “It was something that seemed to catch your interest at the banquet, if I remember correctly.”

 

For a moment the painting that Fai had shown him flashed into his mind. Could that be it? Perhaps the blonde had convinced the King to part with it, though this seemed unlikely and he dared not think what methods of persuasion the man would've used on his master in order to secure the release of such a priceless `gift'. His stomach turned sour. He could just imagine that smug Ashura thinking of himself as such a benevolent soul for parting with the work of art and the warrior knew he would never accept it from him. He would never accept /anything/ if it was given to him by King Ashura.

 

The swordsman collected his thoughts and focused his eyes on the floor at his feet. “I told you, it couldn't POSSIBLY be ANYTHING I want!”

 

Suddenly a sweet voice drifted out to his ears, “Nothing, Kuro-sama? How disappointing!”

 

As if the man had materialzed by this thought Kurogane looked up to see Fai standing next to the Queen's throne. Where he had been hiding before he couldn't fathom. The man was so wispy Kuro wouldn't have been surprised if he materialized out of thin air. He felt his skin prickle beneath the soft silk of his clothing as their gazes met- fire meeting ice.

 

Why on earth had Ashura chosen his favorite companion as the messenger-boy? he wondered. Glancing at the man's hands, he saw that the graceful fingers were clasped lightly in front of the blonde's cool blue robe, but they were empty.

 

“What exactly did you bring?” Kurogane asked, trying to figure out what the hell was going on here. A sick feeling was beginning to stir in his belly.

 

Fai glanced at the Queen and they shared a little laugh. Tomoyo inclined her head towards the blonde, signifying him to answer. “I brought /myself/,” he said simply.

 

Kurogane saw then that a deep blue collar had been fastened about Fai's slender neck and attached to this was a fine, silk strap which Tomoyo was holding loosely in one hand. The young Queen saw his ruby eyes widen as the man finally realized what his `gift' was. The sight of his jaw dropping in dumbfounded surprise was priceless and even better than she'd anticipated. However, the look in his eyes momentarily took her aback. His crimson orbs betrayed confusion, anger, and something she had never seen in them before: pain or lust, she couldn't quite be sure. Both maybe and he was torn between them.

 

“I cannot accept,” Kurogane said after collecting himself. “May I be dismissed?”

 

Tomoyo's amused smile had faded. “We cannot refuse such a gift, Kurogane; it would be considered extremely rude, even confrontational and you know we cannot afford to affront Celes' King right now.” The dark haired swordsman recognized the change in her majesty's voice, the authoritative undertone. He knew he must accept. Lowering his eyes, he nodded his compliance.

 

“Where will we… `keep' him?” Kurogane asked, extremely unnerved at this turn of events.

 

As disgruntled as the swordsman normally tended to be, Tomoyo disliked the suddenly cool manner with which he was dealing with Fai. Glancing at the blonde man beside her she thought she saw his eyes betray a brief look of hurt at the man's words. He wasn't a stray pet, after all.

 

The young Queen glanced between the two men and made a decision. She wouldn't push Kurogane to face whatever it was that was stirring between them- not yet. Perhaps it would be better to give them time and space to work it out themselves. At any rate, Fai appeared to need this time to come to terms with this change in his life. From the moment she had noticed him at the King's side during the banquet, she had been unsettled at the imbalance in their relationship. Although she hadn't quite figured out what was between the ruler and his servant, she knew right away that this slim flaxen-haired man was not just another favored lover. No, somehow their bond had been deeper, and much more disturbing, than that. And now that Fai had suddenly been sent to Japan, as if on the King's whim…Well, the Queen didn't know what to make of it.

 

As bright as the plastered smile on the man's face was, the grin rang hollow and she could feel his inner conflict. It was the one the many reassurances she had that the blonde was not sent simply to spy on her court. This had been Soma's concern, but Tomoyo had pointed out that Ashura would never do anything so obvious. No, any spies of his majesty were likely to be extremely secretive and unrecognizable. Besides, she told her bodyguard, they had just signed a treaty of peace, one that the arrogant King never would've belittled himself to accept if he thought he had the remotest chance of winning in battle against her country, and if he had no chance conquering Japan, what was the use of spying on them?

Soma conceded the point.

 

“Fai will stay in the quarters adjacent to your own, I can have Soma show him there so that you can go ahead of them and have a few moments to make sure the rooms are in order,” Tomoyo finally declared. She saw Kurogane scowl and knew the warrior felt he was being pushed around like a glorified servant, but he needed to realize that he must accept these arrangements.

 

“You are dismissed,” she told him.

 

Kurogane turned on his heel and left after giving a perfunctory bow and Tomoyo handed Fai's `leash' to Soma, telling him, “I apologize for Kurogane's behavior, he's a fighter and looks for conflict at every turn, its all he knows really and, “ she added with a smile, “it's what he enjoys above all other things.

 

“Most people find him disagreeable,” she admitted.

 

Fai gave the Queen a genuine smile now. “But you don't, do you?”

 

“No, I like him,” she answered simply.

 

There was a moment's pause, then Fai looked at the space where Kurogane had been standing.

 

“Me too.”

 

Tomoyo and Soma shared a knowing glance. Things just might get interesting…

 

 

*** Reviews welcome!

(Also, I'm getting married tomorrow, so wish me luck! ^_^)