Tsubasa Chronicle Fan Fiction ❯ Though They Wander Far from Home ❯ Insights Into the Mind of a Warrior ( Chapter 5 )
[ X - Adult: No readers under 18. Contains Graphic Adult Themes/Extreme violence. ]
By: StrLtR0se 
Short but insightful. Finally we hear from Kuro
Anime/Manga: Tsubasa Chronicle Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 11.20.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 536 | Status: Work In Progress
Short but insightful. Finally we hear from Kuro
Anime/Manga: Tsubasa Chronicle Fan Fiction | Genre(s): Angst | Type: Yaoi | Uploaded On: 11.20.2006 | Pages: 1 | Words: 2.2K | Visits: 536 | Status: Work In Progress
Disclaimer: No I do not own the characters featured herein, nor the anime they come from. But I still love them, and of course love to torture them.
A/N: Been a long time, sorry but I've had tests every week, one after another. Finally finished this chapter in order to quiet my guilty conscience. It's short, but hopefully it will be insightful and fulfilling, since everyone's been screaming at Kuro to wise up. Now we get to see what's in his head.
I've been working on the manga during my spare time and just got to ch 68 where they verify that Kuro and Fai arrived in Yasha's country 6 months before Sakura and Syaoran landed on the battlefield. Which is good cause it gives me time to work, I was kinda worried about the timeline. I'm going to ignore the fact that their eyes are supposed to instantly turn black though, they will slowly get darker instead.
I'm giving up on the poem I told you about, maybe later I'll pick it up and fix it, but the outline keeps changing and I don't have time to work the poem out.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Chapter 5: Insight Into the Mind of a Warrior
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Kuro rolled over on his futon, trying to figure out what had woken him. He sat up, eyes sharp and alert even after waking from deep sleep, and looked around the tent letting his eyes fall on the restless form of his companion. Kuro could hear the other man's moans and whimpers from across the tent and watched his thin form tossing about on the other futon.
The warrior rose quietly and crossed the tent, kneeling down beside the blonde. He gazed at the sweat drenched body and noted that for once, Fai's true emotions were on display. Fai muttered something, his voice pleading and full of fear. It broke Kuro's heart to know that whatever was happening wouldn't let the magician rest, day or night.
He gently put a hand on Fai's shoulder, ready to wake the blonde up when the man suddenly quieted and went still, his breathe evening out. Kuro sighed, hoping that the nightmare was over but continuing to watch the smaller man. The face before him hadn't calmed and Kuro was glad he had stayed when the tears began pouring down Fai's cheeks.
The magician trembled and gasped in his sleep before whispering one word, a name, the one thing Kuro would understand no matter what language Fai spoke.
Ashura.
It was time for Fai to wake up. There was no way Kuro was letting him sleep any longer if he was dreaming of someone who always brought so much fear to those blue eyes. The warrior began quietly calling out Fai's name, his hands moved to the blonde's small arms and gently shaking him but Fai reacted violently to his touch.
The smaller man began desperately fighting his unseen enemy and Kuro became afraid that his companion would end up hurting himself. He fought vainly to quiet Fai, calling out his name and finally pinning the man's wrists down. Fai struggled underneath him and his eyes finally shot open wide with panic and fear, Kuro could see that the man was still in his dreams.
Blue eyes stared at Kuro, seemingly unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
“Fai-san, you're safe,” he said gently.
“K-kuro-puu,” comprehension finally dawned in blue eyes, and Kuro had to suppress a smile, relieved to be hearing his name in such a familiar form. The warrior let go of the man's slender wrists. Fai sat up and ran a hand through his hair, letting his bangs fall over his eyes.
Kuro could see the pain and stress in the magician's pale face before the mask fell into place and Fai smiled at him, waving the warrior back to bed. Fai laid down again, this time on his side, facing away from the warrior.
Kuro stood but didn't move back to his own futon. Instead he remained in place, silently watching Fai's smaller form. At first the warrior honestly hadn't noticed anything wrong with Fai, he had been too caught up being a true warrior once again and had ignored the magician as often as possible.
When he had finally begun to notice that something was off the red-eyed warrior had really wanted to help but hadn't felt like he had the right to interfere. Who exactly did he think he was wanting to rescue Fai when he had no clue what was wrong? Fai was a grown man and could damned well take care of himself. However, it didn't feel right to sit back and watch anymore. Kuro finally believed, no, he KNEW that whatever was happening was too much for his blonde companion.
Red eyes watched as the smaller man began trembling. Kuro knelt down and put a hand on Fai's shoulder rolling the man onto his back. Fai's tear streaked face looked up into his and the two men just stared at each other for a time before Kuro suddenly pulled the blonde into his arms.
Fai gasped and Kuro could feel the man tense and tremble against him. The blonde let out a small fearful sob. Kuro let his grip loosen, hoping to ease his companion's fear but didn't let go of him. Slowly, the smaller body in his arms began to relax. Fai's arms wrapped around Kuro in return and the blonde laid his head on Kuro's bare shoulder. Kuro could still hear Fai sniffling but as the blonde's arms tightened around him the sniffles turned to sobs and his body began shaking anew.
Kuro held Fai tighter and let Fai cry out his pain. He listened to Fai's anguished voice speaking to him, perhaps telling him all that had happened. The warrior just held his companion and murmured soothing nothings, wishing he could understand the poor blonde in his arms.
Eventually Fai's sobbing and shaking quieted and his breathing evened out. Kuro snuck a look at his face and smiled to find the man peacefully asleep. He had denied it at first but now Kuro let the affection he felt for this frail being sneak into his chest. Kuro would never openly admit his feelings to Fai, but as time had passed he had developed a fondness for the blonde The worry he had been feeling only working to confirm Kuro's fears that the magician meant something to him.
Kuro laid the smaller man on the futon, pulling a blanket over the delicate frame and running a finger down one tear stained cheek. He leaned down and laid a soft kiss on Fai's forehead before pulling away to return to his own futon.
No sooner had Kuro risen from the floor that Fai began to whimper and shiver. The warrior knelt once again and lay a hand against blonde hair instantly soothing the distressed magician. Kuro sighed to himself knowing that it was only his presence that would allow the blonde to rest. He lifted the blanket and lay down next to Fai, pulling the magician into his arms once again and letting the blonde head rest against his bare chest. Fai's breathing grew relaxed and Kuro let himself relax as well. It might end up being a long night if Fai began to dream again but Kuro would be close if he did. Before the magician awoke in the morning Kuro would rise and return to his own futon, the magician need not know that Kuro had lay with him all night.
The warrior let a small smile grace his face as he watched the face of the blonde sleeping in his arms. Remembering Fai's wounded wrists, Kuro gently lifted one of Fai's hands and pushed back the sleeve to see how they were healing. He nodded to himself, pleased to see that the ointment had helped them to improve significantly. Once again, he couldn't help but wonder what had caused the man to struggle so much.
He let his eyes wander over the exposed flesh of Fai's neck, curious to see if there had been anymore damage, he noticed a bruise forming at the magician's collar and cautiously pulled back the fabric. The warrior raised his eyebrows at the obvious fingernail marks left on the pale skin, marks that dragged out of sight down the magician's back. He checked the other shoulder and found the same marks. By the formation of the bruises Kuro guessed that the marks had occurred sometime last night when Fai had been locked up.
It was no wonder that the smaller man had reacted to Kuro's touch the way he had, both when he had put a hand on the man's shoulder and when he had pulled the smaller body into his arms. Kuro's eyes narrowed as he contemplated the way Fai could have gotten marks like that on his shoulders and he couldn't help but wonder if they had occurred before of after his impromptu visit last night. The warrior did not like the conclusions he was drawing, someone had taken advantage of Fai's vulnerable position and Kuro could only guess at how much they had hurt the blonde or how far they had gone.
His mind drew up the memory from their first day, when one of the soldiers had grabbed Fai. Kuro had no doubt that someone had indeed made Fai their pet. The warrior's arms tightened protectively around the smaller form. Kuro wondered what other marks might hide out of sight on the thin form, however he couldn't look or else he might wake the sleeping magician.
Anger began to boil within the warrior, anger that the magician acted like he was so helpless. Surely the the blonde could have stopped whoever had hurt him, he could have protected himself. But then he remembered Fai's wrists and the attack that had taken place. It finally sunk in that Fai HAD tried to fight, and failed.
The anger within Kuro grew into a rage at the people who had hurt Fai like this. But Kuro had never found out who the initial attackers were. He only knew that Shozu had been involved somehow. But had the old scared warrior been an attacker, or a witness? It was Kuro's deepest desire to thoroughly punish someone for what had happened to his companion but if the warrior went off half-cocked without any real evidence then HE would be the one punished and then there would be no way to protect Fai.
The only way for him to find out exactly what had been done to Fai was for the man to actually tell him, or else Kuro would have to catch the man's tormentors in the act. It hurt Kuro to think of Fai coming to any more pain. He certainly couldn't confront the magician. Fai hadn't tried to tell him what had happened and wouldn't start now. The magician had hidden himself from their group from the very beginning. Kuro could see that even though Fai cared about his companions, he still viewed himself as an outcast, afraid to draw his friends into his world, into the pain that the magician was hiding. Any confrontation would only serve for Fai to pull his cracking shields more tightly around him.
Kuro could feel his anger at the magician grow again, why could Fai not try to confide in him? Why did he allow himself to be tormented when all he had to do was show Kuro the wounds, the warrior would have understood. Did the man seriously believe it wouldn't happen again? It was obvious that the magician wasn't a willing participant. Even the strong need help sometimes, Kuro could only shake his head, unable to understand.
The warrior pulled back the fabric on Fai's shoulder again and shuddered, staring at the marks there. Just how far had they gone, he didn't want to think that the men had raped Fai, surely that would be the point at which the magician would come to him for help. Kuro shrugged off his feeling of dread, confident that Fai wouldn't let things go that far.
.
Tomorrow he wouldn't let the blonde leave his side. He would watch both Fai and the men around him for some clue as to who the attackers were. Fai's mask wasn't as flawless as the magician might believe, and lately the cracks had grown larger. He vowed he would keep a better eye on his companion, he would do better to protect the blonde from what he couldn't defend himself from.
With these thoughts of protecting his companion Kuro pulled Fai a little closer and did one thing he had already told himself he wouldn't do, he fell asleep.
A/N: Been a long time, sorry but I've had tests every week, one after another. Finally finished this chapter in order to quiet my guilty conscience. It's short, but hopefully it will be insightful and fulfilling, since everyone's been screaming at Kuro to wise up. Now we get to see what's in his head.
I've been working on the manga during my spare time and just got to ch 68 where they verify that Kuro and Fai arrived in Yasha's country 6 months before Sakura and Syaoran landed on the battlefield. Which is good cause it gives me time to work, I was kinda worried about the timeline. I'm going to ignore the fact that their eyes are supposed to instantly turn black though, they will slowly get darker instead.
I'm giving up on the poem I told you about, maybe later I'll pick it up and fix it, but the outline keeps changing and I don't have time to work the poem out.
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Chapter 5: Insight Into the Mind of a Warrior
IIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIII
Kuro rolled over on his futon, trying to figure out what had woken him. He sat up, eyes sharp and alert even after waking from deep sleep, and looked around the tent letting his eyes fall on the restless form of his companion. Kuro could hear the other man's moans and whimpers from across the tent and watched his thin form tossing about on the other futon.
The warrior rose quietly and crossed the tent, kneeling down beside the blonde. He gazed at the sweat drenched body and noted that for once, Fai's true emotions were on display. Fai muttered something, his voice pleading and full of fear. It broke Kuro's heart to know that whatever was happening wouldn't let the magician rest, day or night.
He gently put a hand on Fai's shoulder, ready to wake the blonde up when the man suddenly quieted and went still, his breathe evening out. Kuro sighed, hoping that the nightmare was over but continuing to watch the smaller man. The face before him hadn't calmed and Kuro was glad he had stayed when the tears began pouring down Fai's cheeks.
The magician trembled and gasped in his sleep before whispering one word, a name, the one thing Kuro would understand no matter what language Fai spoke.
Ashura.
It was time for Fai to wake up. There was no way Kuro was letting him sleep any longer if he was dreaming of someone who always brought so much fear to those blue eyes. The warrior began quietly calling out Fai's name, his hands moved to the blonde's small arms and gently shaking him but Fai reacted violently to his touch.
The smaller man began desperately fighting his unseen enemy and Kuro became afraid that his companion would end up hurting himself. He fought vainly to quiet Fai, calling out his name and finally pinning the man's wrists down. Fai struggled underneath him and his eyes finally shot open wide with panic and fear, Kuro could see that the man was still in his dreams.
Blue eyes stared at Kuro, seemingly unable to comprehend what they were seeing.
“Fai-san, you're safe,” he said gently.
“K-kuro-puu,” comprehension finally dawned in blue eyes, and Kuro had to suppress a smile, relieved to be hearing his name in such a familiar form. The warrior let go of the man's slender wrists. Fai sat up and ran a hand through his hair, letting his bangs fall over his eyes.
Kuro could see the pain and stress in the magician's pale face before the mask fell into place and Fai smiled at him, waving the warrior back to bed. Fai laid down again, this time on his side, facing away from the warrior.
Kuro stood but didn't move back to his own futon. Instead he remained in place, silently watching Fai's smaller form. At first the warrior honestly hadn't noticed anything wrong with Fai, he had been too caught up being a true warrior once again and had ignored the magician as often as possible.
When he had finally begun to notice that something was off the red-eyed warrior had really wanted to help but hadn't felt like he had the right to interfere. Who exactly did he think he was wanting to rescue Fai when he had no clue what was wrong? Fai was a grown man and could damned well take care of himself. However, it didn't feel right to sit back and watch anymore. Kuro finally believed, no, he KNEW that whatever was happening was too much for his blonde companion.
Red eyes watched as the smaller man began trembling. Kuro knelt down and put a hand on Fai's shoulder rolling the man onto his back. Fai's tear streaked face looked up into his and the two men just stared at each other for a time before Kuro suddenly pulled the blonde into his arms.
Fai gasped and Kuro could feel the man tense and tremble against him. The blonde let out a small fearful sob. Kuro let his grip loosen, hoping to ease his companion's fear but didn't let go of him. Slowly, the smaller body in his arms began to relax. Fai's arms wrapped around Kuro in return and the blonde laid his head on Kuro's bare shoulder. Kuro could still hear Fai sniffling but as the blonde's arms tightened around him the sniffles turned to sobs and his body began shaking anew.
Kuro held Fai tighter and let Fai cry out his pain. He listened to Fai's anguished voice speaking to him, perhaps telling him all that had happened. The warrior just held his companion and murmured soothing nothings, wishing he could understand the poor blonde in his arms.
Eventually Fai's sobbing and shaking quieted and his breathing evened out. Kuro snuck a look at his face and smiled to find the man peacefully asleep. He had denied it at first but now Kuro let the affection he felt for this frail being sneak into his chest. Kuro would never openly admit his feelings to Fai, but as time had passed he had developed a fondness for the blonde The worry he had been feeling only working to confirm Kuro's fears that the magician meant something to him.
Kuro laid the smaller man on the futon, pulling a blanket over the delicate frame and running a finger down one tear stained cheek. He leaned down and laid a soft kiss on Fai's forehead before pulling away to return to his own futon.
No sooner had Kuro risen from the floor that Fai began to whimper and shiver. The warrior knelt once again and lay a hand against blonde hair instantly soothing the distressed magician. Kuro sighed to himself knowing that it was only his presence that would allow the blonde to rest. He lifted the blanket and lay down next to Fai, pulling the magician into his arms once again and letting the blonde head rest against his bare chest. Fai's breathing grew relaxed and Kuro let himself relax as well. It might end up being a long night if Fai began to dream again but Kuro would be close if he did. Before the magician awoke in the morning Kuro would rise and return to his own futon, the magician need not know that Kuro had lay with him all night.
The warrior let a small smile grace his face as he watched the face of the blonde sleeping in his arms. Remembering Fai's wounded wrists, Kuro gently lifted one of Fai's hands and pushed back the sleeve to see how they were healing. He nodded to himself, pleased to see that the ointment had helped them to improve significantly. Once again, he couldn't help but wonder what had caused the man to struggle so much.
He let his eyes wander over the exposed flesh of Fai's neck, curious to see if there had been anymore damage, he noticed a bruise forming at the magician's collar and cautiously pulled back the fabric. The warrior raised his eyebrows at the obvious fingernail marks left on the pale skin, marks that dragged out of sight down the magician's back. He checked the other shoulder and found the same marks. By the formation of the bruises Kuro guessed that the marks had occurred sometime last night when Fai had been locked up.
It was no wonder that the smaller man had reacted to Kuro's touch the way he had, both when he had put a hand on the man's shoulder and when he had pulled the smaller body into his arms. Kuro's eyes narrowed as he contemplated the way Fai could have gotten marks like that on his shoulders and he couldn't help but wonder if they had occurred before of after his impromptu visit last night. The warrior did not like the conclusions he was drawing, someone had taken advantage of Fai's vulnerable position and Kuro could only guess at how much they had hurt the blonde or how far they had gone.
His mind drew up the memory from their first day, when one of the soldiers had grabbed Fai. Kuro had no doubt that someone had indeed made Fai their pet. The warrior's arms tightened protectively around the smaller form. Kuro wondered what other marks might hide out of sight on the thin form, however he couldn't look or else he might wake the sleeping magician.
Anger began to boil within the warrior, anger that the magician acted like he was so helpless. Surely the the blonde could have stopped whoever had hurt him, he could have protected himself. But then he remembered Fai's wrists and the attack that had taken place. It finally sunk in that Fai HAD tried to fight, and failed.
The anger within Kuro grew into a rage at the people who had hurt Fai like this. But Kuro had never found out who the initial attackers were. He only knew that Shozu had been involved somehow. But had the old scared warrior been an attacker, or a witness? It was Kuro's deepest desire to thoroughly punish someone for what had happened to his companion but if the warrior went off half-cocked without any real evidence then HE would be the one punished and then there would be no way to protect Fai.
The only way for him to find out exactly what had been done to Fai was for the man to actually tell him, or else Kuro would have to catch the man's tormentors in the act. It hurt Kuro to think of Fai coming to any more pain. He certainly couldn't confront the magician. Fai hadn't tried to tell him what had happened and wouldn't start now. The magician had hidden himself from their group from the very beginning. Kuro could see that even though Fai cared about his companions, he still viewed himself as an outcast, afraid to draw his friends into his world, into the pain that the magician was hiding. Any confrontation would only serve for Fai to pull his cracking shields more tightly around him.
Kuro could feel his anger at the magician grow again, why could Fai not try to confide in him? Why did he allow himself to be tormented when all he had to do was show Kuro the wounds, the warrior would have understood. Did the man seriously believe it wouldn't happen again? It was obvious that the magician wasn't a willing participant. Even the strong need help sometimes, Kuro could only shake his head, unable to understand.
The warrior pulled back the fabric on Fai's shoulder again and shuddered, staring at the marks there. Just how far had they gone, he didn't want to think that the men had raped Fai, surely that would be the point at which the magician would come to him for help. Kuro shrugged off his feeling of dread, confident that Fai wouldn't let things go that far.
.
Tomorrow he wouldn't let the blonde leave his side. He would watch both Fai and the men around him for some clue as to who the attackers were. Fai's mask wasn't as flawless as the magician might believe, and lately the cracks had grown larger. He vowed he would keep a better eye on his companion, he would do better to protect the blonde from what he couldn't defend himself from.
With these thoughts of protecting his companion Kuro pulled Fai a little closer and did one thing he had already told himself he wouldn't do, he fell asleep.