5Ok so this is a new story.
Just a heads up, I will more than likely torture Fai a lot in this fandom. Just saying.
I'd also like to say that I am one of the many people who agree with the idea that the vampire blood in Fai is not completely gone. If anything, its just suppressed because lets face it, Fai is powerful and while he might not be able to heal, he could suppress/destroy if he really wanted to. So yeah I'm going off of the idea he still has vampire blood.
I don't own Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicle. Like I want to, but I doubt I could have made it as amazing. Maybe I can add to it. Hmmmmm.
Anywho, onto the one-shot!
Fai grimaced as a sharp pain shot itself up from the depths of his stomach to his head, making the mage double over at the suddenness of it for a few seconds. A painful dryness coated his throat, the feeling so obvious even when the mage was simply breathing. With a sharp swallow, Fai fought to get his breathing under control so that should anyone stumble across him, they would have no reason to suspect anything was wrong.
Besides, it wasn't as if this was a new feeling to him. No, Fai knew exactly what this piercing feeling was, he's known it ever since Kurogane had saved his life in Tokyo. That choking hunger that felt as if he was burning from the inside out. That insatiable thirst he would try to fight off for as long as he could before being forced into taking that metallic elixir from his friend. The only thing he didn't understand was why he was currently feeling it days after their battle with Fei Wong Reed and he got his magic back. These vampiric urges were supposed to be gone, or at least suppressed, with the return of his magic, his abilities strong enough to effect that. That was what Yuuko said, that as long as he desired it enough, his powers would be enough to purge him of these needs.
But they weren't gone. Two weeks after the fight, his body cried out for the crimson liquid he knew would cure this thirst, this hunger. But he didn't understand why they remained, why it seemed his magic was unable to do as the witch said it would. He wanted it gone, that's all it took, yet here it remained even as he and the other's continued on their journey.
Channelling his magic, Fai focused his abilities in pushing away this feeling, focused on suppressing the monster inside of him. It works, it always does when he focused on it, but it was always a painful process that left him panting and sweating from the process. Of course, that's the reason he always made sure he was alone when he did this. There was no need to worry the others when he was sure that at some point his vampire side would finally fade. It was just...taking a while.
"Fai!" Mokona's voice called cheerfully from behind him, the smallest member of their group no doubt having come looking for Fai after the other had left for the bathroom from dinner and having been away for awhile now. "Hello?! Is Fai ok in there?!"
"I'm just fine, Mokona." Fai called back, keeping his exhaustion and strain out of his voice easily. He turned on the water in the sink as he began to wash his face clean of the evidence of his situation. "I'm almost done."
"Ok!" Mokona called, but they couldn't help but frown from the other side of the door. Fai had been going off a lot lately, but Mokona was unable to pin down the reasoning for this, as nothing obvious ever showed itself on the other besides the fact that the other seemed thinner. However, Fai was eating as normal so Mokona really didn't know what it was. "Mokona and Syaoran found a movie we want to watch tonight! Mokona wants everyone to be there!"
Fai chuckled. "I know, I know. Don't worry, I'll be there. Just give me a few seconds."
"Ok!"
Fai listened as Mokona walked off and let out a sigh. Movie night had become a thing whenever they were in a world that had the ability to allow them to enjoy such a night. It was entertaining, the things they would come across. In fact, the first time they had ever watched a movie had consisted of everyone but Mokona being amazed (Despite Kurogane not admitting to it) at the moving pictures. Ever since then, they tried to do it when they could.
Looking into the mirror one last time to make sure he looked as normal as possible, Fai allowed himself to exit the bathroom. Walking to the living area that held the television, Fai smirked where he stood and spoke. "Aw, thank you for leaving a seat for me Kuro-pii!"
Kurogane scowled from where he sat on the couch, the spot besides him open for the mage as Syaoran and Mokona settled themselves closer to the tv. "It's not like I had much of a choice. I was already comfortable and the kid and pork bun chose to sit on the floor."
"Oh, I'm sure Kuro-pon!" Fai taunted as he sat down. He couldn't help but let some of the hidden tenseness he had vanish when he took in how normal and relaxed this all seemed. They almost felt like a regular family without any worries of when they were going to leave for the next world. Like this was just were they needed to be.
"So," Fai spoke up. "What did you find us this time?"
"Well, we were looking at the pictures and this one seemed to be about a magical war or something."Syaoran spoke with a smile. "I don't really know what it is exactly, but it looked interesting."
"Oooh? Magic war?" Fai gasped, leaning forward a bit. "I wonder what they consider magic here?"
"You mean besides us?" Kurogane asked.
Fai waved his hand in dismissal. "But they don't know that, Kuro-wan. Besides, I want to know if I can do any of the magic in the movie!"
"I thought you could do everything?" Kurogane asked, raising an eyebrow.
"Awwww! I didn't know you had so much faith in me, Kuro-sama!"
"It's not that!" Kurogane protested. "Idiot! I'm just asking a question!"
"Mommy and daddy are fighting again Syaoran!" Mokona cried, pointing at the two older males on the couch. Syaoran just smiled and chuckled a bit at the two. This was nothing new.
"Oi! Don't call me daddy!"
"Aw, but why not?!" Fai cried, a pout on his face.
"Shut up, I'm done with this conversation!" Kurogane growled. "Besides, the movie is starting!"
"Uh?" Fai turns to look at the screen and watched as the movie began its opening scene. "OH! The movie's starting!"
Kurogane just rolled his eyes at the mage and settled back down to watch the movie. As it opened, the warrior couldn't help but notice the similarities between the movie and his homeland. It wasn't unusual for things like that to happen, especially taking in consideration what movies were. There were already many time they had seen things in movies that reminded them of their homelands. The desert scenes that looked similar to Clow Country had made Syaoran tear up and fall silent the first time, but he had since grown use to it, though his longing would still show itself. The first time they watched a movie that took place in a completely frozen country saw Fai having to leave the room, but he was quick to act as though he was unaffected, which was also something the other three were quick to call him out on and break through his walls once more. Fai grew used to it as well (After many late nights that is) but compared to Syaoran's persistent longing, Fai refused to react to the snowy scenes.
Kurogane had also reacted to the first time he saw a similarity to his home, but rather than becoming sad or distant, he just appreciated (silently that is) the reminder of his home land. He knew that one day he would return to Nihon Country, and he also knew that he needed to be here right now rather than anywhere else.
Looking at the current movie, he couldn't help but let out a soft sigh at the familiar sight of sakura trees in the background.
"Kuro-pu?" Fai called, making the warrior turn to look at him. "Are you alright?"
Kurogane quirked an eyebrow at the mage. "Fine. Why?"
"Nothing, just...it looks similar to Nihon if I recall and I wanted to make sure you were alright."
Kurogane rolled his eyes at the mother-hen actions of the blonde, not that it was anything new. "This isn't the first time we've seen something like this, idiot. I've grown used to it. You don't need to worry so much all the time."
"I'm just making sure." Fai laughed. "I don't want Kuro-puppy to feel say or anything."
"I'm not sad." Kurogane huffed. "Why would I be sad when I know we'll eventually end up in Nihon one day?"
"Right, right, of course." Fai agreed. However, as he said this, a familiar sharp pain returned in his stomach and Fai bit his lip to keep the gasp in. Why? Why did it return now? It was like this, more often that is, whenever any of the others brought up returning to their home country. It was odd and Fai didn't understand why his hunger would act up so suddenly at mentions of that. It made absolutely no sense to him. There was no reason for the idea of the two returning to their homes to trigger such a response in him.
"Fai-san?" Fai looked up to find the young boy looking at him in worry and confusion. Ah, perhaps he hadn't been as subtle as he thought he was.
"Yes, Syaoran-kun?" Fai asked with a tilt of his head, trying to pretend as if nothing was off.
Syaoran watched him for a few more seconds, his observant eyes easily and swiftly scanning over his body. Fai just continued to smile in hopes that it through the younger boy off even as another pang hit him. Realizing that it wouldn't go away easily, Fai stood up.
"I'll be right back."
"Where are you going?" Kurogane asked, his red eyes watching the mage closely.
Fai tried to wave him off. "I'm just going to go to the bathroom, Kuro-tan. Nothing to worry about."
Kurogane narrowed his eyes. "I thought you had already gone to the bathroom." It wasn't a question.
"Ah," Fai laughed, his blue eyes closing so that he wouldn't have to make eye contact with the other. "Our meal must not be settling well for me."
Kurogane hummed, his eyes tracing over the other. Fai had to hold back a powerful flinch as at that moment of observation, a sharp pain struck him once more. Hoping that even a little of his magic would help in this situation, Fai allowed his magic to begin trying to suppress the vampiric hunger, hoping that he could escape before the effects of this process began to show themselves.
Kurogane continued to watch him for a few seconds and Fai hoped that the strong observation skills the warrior had would not be at work in this moment and it was one of those times that it seemed unimportant to the other. He knew he was asking a lot, but he could only hope.
It seemed luck was on his side this time since Kurogane looked away once more with a huff. Fai took this as the chance to escape to the bathroom and once he entered, he quickly closed the door and focused on channelling his power into pushing down the other side of him.
However, he only got so far before a crash sounded from outside of the door and Fai's eyes flew open from their closed position. Flinging open the door as he rushed to see what had happened, he found Kurogane in the kitchen, kneeling on the ground and picking up the glass shards of what looked to be a broken cup. Syaoran was off to the side with Mokona, but Fai only took a quick glance at them to make sure they were ok before looking back at Kurogane.
"What happened?!" He cried, rushing to join Kurogane on the floor, his hands waving in the air as he tried to get Kurogane to stop picking up the pieces by hand so he could use magic to safely remove all of the shards.
"I'm testing something." Kurogane replied, his eyes intently focused on Fai as if he was waiting for something.
"Testing something?" Fai questioned. "What on earth are you talking about, Kuro-tan?! What could you be testing-!" He cut himself off as a familiar smell reached his nose making him pause in his words. Letting his eyes fall to the warrior's hand that held the glass, he couldn't help but focus on the bead of red that came up from where a sharp edge had cut the dark-haired male. Without realizing it, his vision narrowed down to that crimson liquid on his friend's right hand and all other things became unimportant.
Kurogane watched the mage's eyes seem to go out of focus as they stared at his hand, gold flashing in the blue orbs for a quick moment. He wasn't surprised by this, he was honestly just doing this to prove what he had been suspecting. Seeing the unfocused, hungry look within those golden eyes, Kurogane's thought behind the blonde's behavior was only proven. After all, he had seen the mage get like this on every occasion he would refuse to feed for a long period of time despite the fact that he needed it.
"Fai-san?" Syaoran called in confusion, his eyes looking over the other before focusing on Kurogane. "Kurogane-san, what happened?"
"It's just as I said, kid. The idiot's been starving himself."
At Kurogane's words, Syaoran's quick mind was easily able to put together what he said and explained beforehand. Kurogane told him that he expected a reaction of some sort and that Syaoran didn't need to worry when he broke the glass. Due to this, the kid stood on the side waiting to see what happened, wanting one of his guardians to feel better.
Coming a bit closer, Syaoran noticed that Fai didn't so much as shift at the noise of his footsteps. Looking at the mage, Syaoran shot a look at Kurogane. "I thought this was supposed to be gone? Didn't Yuuko-san say that when he got his magic back that his vampire side would be gone?"
Kurogane never took his eyes off of the blonde before him. "Yeah, that's what she said. She also said that he had to want it to go away. So clearly, he doesn't want it enough."
"But why?" Syaoran asked, his brow furrowing. "Fai-san would have wanted this gone more than any of us. It should be gone because of that."
"Look, I know about as much as you do in terms of this. We'll ask him when he's thinking again. Right now, however…" Kurogane nodded his head at the mage. "I have to deal with this."
After getting a nod of understanding from the kid after a quick glance at him, Kurogane focused all of his attention on the blonde. Fai's gaze was still locked on his hand and remained locked on it when Kurogane shifted so that he could get closer to the other. With a gesture of his free hand, Syaoran quickly grabbed a plate nearby and allowed Kurogane to dump the glass shards on his hand there. There was a faint growl from Fai as his hand had neared Syaoran but they trusted the mage enough to know that he wouldn't attack any of them even when he didn't appear to be in his right mind.
Once there was no more glass on his hand, Kurogane slowly moved towards Fai, his hand out in front of him and moving towards the mage's face. As his hand got closer, he could see the gold in Fai's eyes deepen and the blonde began to move forward to the smell of his blood that was no doubt tempting the mage after so long without the substance. One of Fai's hands came up to grasp Kurogane's wrist once it was near enough. The paler hand pulled the warrior's cut palm to his mouth and his tongue flicked out to lick the blood off of the hand.
Kurogane watched as the liquid was soon gone from his hand, and Fai seemed to just stare intently at his hand once more. Letting out a frustrated sigh, Kurogane, moved so that his wrist could sit comfortably in front of Fai and spoke. "Did you seriously forget what to do? Idiot mage, you have fangs remember?"
Not that Fai liked to ever pierce Kurogane's skin with his fangs before hand, but Kurogane was hoping that with this starved, unaware mindset of the other would push the other to take what he needed before Kurogane would have to force him to eat once more when that self-hating, guilty mindset returned.
For a few moments, Fai just seemed to stare intently at the now non-bleeding cut on the palm before he pulled the wrist towards himself and soon Kurogane was feeling two sharp, but quick pricks entering his wrist. Kurogane had to admit to himself that this was a bit different from all the other times that he forced Fai to take his blood, the sensation of fangs in his arm being the key factor, but was easily able to push away the discomfort. A bite to the wrist was nothing compared to having your arm cut off.
They sat there in silence while Fai took his fill, eyes closed as he enjoyed the quench to that painful feeling inside. Mokona and Syaoran stayed silent off to the side, neither wanting to do something that would set something bad off. They all knew the exact moment Fai came back to himself. His eyes slowly opened, a hazed look to them as they stared forward. His brows furrowed and for a second his hand tightened its grip on Kurogane's wrist as he came back to himself. The warrior felt his mouth moving, no doubt trying to understand why there was a warm liquid flowing into his mouth with his teeth buried in skin.
Then it clicked.
Fai's eyes, now glowing gold with the fresh blood flowing through his body, widened and he slowly began to pull his teeth from Kurogane's arm. However, that calm was shattered the moment he was free because Fai lurched back and away from him.
"Fai-san-!" Syaoran cried, taking a step towards the mage.
The blonde quickly held up his hand in a way that meant for the younger to stay back while his other hand came up to cover his mouth, hoping to hide all signs of his actions as though the others would judge him for it.
"Ah," He said, voice muffled not only by his hand but by the emotions he was trying to keep out of his words. "I...I'm sorry...I...I don't know what came over me" A choked laugh came from behind the hand. "T-This...shouldn't have happened…"
He trailed off, a silence once again fell upon the group. Syaoran, pulling Mokona to his chest, shot a look over to Kurogane, hoping the older would know what to do in this situation. The last time Fai was dealing with vampiric instincts, Syaoran had been so distant from the group and they had been dealing with one conflict on top of another. When it was over and they really got the chance to get even closer than before, this problem was supposedly gone, never to be seen again.
Apparently they were wrong.
Kurogane felt Syaoran's gaze on him, but he only kept his eyes on the blonde mage before him. Shifting forwards, Kurogane spoke. "You're right, this shouldn't have happened-"
"I know," Fai cut in. "I know a-and I tried to control it and-"
"Oi!" Kurogane cut in. "Don't interrupt me. As I was saying, this shouldn't have happened, but that doesn't mean you should be 'controlling it' either, idiot. Now, we're going to try to understand what happened. If you can't think of a reason why or how to fix this, then we'll deal with it just the way we used to."
"But-"
"Mage." Kurogane bit out when the other tried to speak up. When the other fell quiet again, Kurogane turned to Mokona. "Oi, pork bun, do you have any idea as to why this is happening?"
Mokona's ears fell sadly and they shook their head. "No, Mokona doesn't have any idea. Mokona would contact Yuuko-san, but…" They trailed off, but it didn't need to be completed to know what he was saying. They knew Yuuko was no longer around to help them.
"Right," Kurogane agree, a crease forming in his brow as he thought. "If I remember correctly, the witch said that it would be gone when he got his magic back, right? Well, obviously something went wrong."
"No, you're right." Syaoran spoke up. "Yuuko-san said that with his magic back, he could reject the vampire blood, that he wouldn't need blood anymore when he got it back. But…" He paused, looking at the ground. "If that was the case then why…?"
"But I do reject it," Fai spoke up quietly, but the way he was looking off into the distance told them he was more speaking to himself rather than them. "I...I want it gone...why...why isn't it gone? She said...if I wanted it gone...i-it would be gone!"
Syaoran bit his lip before moving in closer, his footsteps making Fai's head jerk towards his direction.
"Ah, Syaoran-kun, you probably shouldn't get to close." Fai said, the smile on his face trying to play of the trembling of his body.
Syaoran shook his head. "Fai-san, I know you won't hurt me, and you should know that too. Besides, you can only drink Kurogane-san's blood after all."
"A-A...right."
Once he was close enough and at eye level with the mage on the ground, Syaoran looked the other in the eyes and asked, "Fai-san, how long has this been happening? Was there anything specific that set it off?"
"And don't even think about lying, mage." Kurogane broke in, narrowing his eyes at the other.
Fai gave the other a feeble grin before turning his gaze to the ground. "You could say it's always been there. After all, I doubt I'll ever be able to completely reject the blood. It was a change to my body and no matter how powerful my magic, I've never been good at healing or revival magic. I could probably force it down, maybe even destroy it completely, but there's no saying what that would do to me. Yuuko-san probably also knew that I could only push it down to it would no longer affect me unless the situation called for it."
"You were fine for the start of our journey." Kurogane spoke, "So your magic was working then. Something set this off. I bet, if nothing had happened, then you would have continued like normal unless there were some reason for you to no longer suppress that side of you."
"I never not want to suppress it!" Fai cried, his hands clenching. "I don't understand why! My magic is powerful enough to keep it suppressed, even when I'm not thinking about it so...so why?"
"That's it." Syaoran suddenly spoke up, his eyes shining bright with a spark of understanding. "You're subconscious. You said that your magic is so powerful you won't have to think about it to keep the vampire side away. That makes sense, since if you want it so much it shouldn't take much for your magic to do what you want as long as you are capable of doing it, believe you can do it, and actually want it, then it should be possible. Especially if the memories of...of the other Syaoran are anything to go by."
"What are you implying, kid?" Kurogane asked, raising an eyebrow at the other but the look in his eyes said he was catching on to what he was implicating.
Syaoran looked the dark haired male in the eyes this time. "What if Fai-san's subconscious began to doubt in keeping that part of him at bay? What if something happened that made it seem like keeping that part of him around was a good thing?"
"But why would I think that?" Fai laughed with a choked up sound. "I don't want this...I never wanted this! I...I-I never…"
"Oi, calm down." Kurogane snapped, making the blonde jump and focus on him. "Good, now, can you think of when you began feeling it again? Or anything specific? Come on, mage, focus here."
Taking a few breaths to try to calm himself, only to choke slightly as the smell of Kurogane's blood hit his nose and made his not completely satisfied thirst come rearing back, he thought. "I...I think I remember it happening...whenever we...we brought up…." He trailed off as he came to the realization himself.
"Brought up, what?"
"..."
"No lying, either!"
"Fai-san."
"Fai!?"
Fai swallowed thickly and opened and closed his mouth a few times before he could get the words out. "It...It spiked whenever we talked about returning to your worlds."
Silence fell over them again, the three others staring at the blonde in shock before Kurogane's expression formed into that of a scowl.
"But, Fai, why?" Mokona asked, tears in their eyes.
"Because he's an idiot." Kurogane spoke up before Fai could, making all of them look at him, but he kept his eyes on the mage. "Honestly, I knew you could be clueless at times, but this is a big one for you, mage."
"Kuro-pon, that's not nice!" Fai huffed, trying to get rid of the tense air but his words did nothing it seemed and Kurogane just moved closer until he was right before the blonde.
"We have told you many times to stop putting ridiculous thoughts into your head." Kurogane growled. "I especially have. We are not going to leave you behind anytime soon. You need to get that into that over-imaginative head of yours and keep that there. We are not going to let you go so easily so you don't need to resort to insane methods to remain with us, got it?"
Because Kurogane understood now. Fai must have for some reason subconsciously though he'd be left behind, that they would leave him to travel and live by himself once they returned to their homes, so his body no doubt unconsciously realized that if he couldn't separate from Kurogane, then that means the two of them could at least stay together if the kid and Mokona couldn't. By unsuppressing his vampire urges, Fai and Kurogane would have two options: let Fai die or remain with him.
Subconsciously Fai remembered the most efficient way to never be alone again.
That idiot.
"Do you understand?" Kurogane growled, using his finger to jab at Fai's chest. "We are not going to leave you."
Fai was quiet for a few seconds, his gold eyes still staring back at Kurogane's red ones before a soft smile came across his lips and the gold fades from his eyes leaving blue orbs in their place.
"Of course, Kuro-tan!"
Kurogane huffed. "I'm watching you. You better understand that soon because I don't want to remind you every time we watch a movie. I mean it! It would be pointless to repeat the same, known things over and over again."
"Yes, yes, Kuro-puu! Now, let's clean up and go back to watching movies, yes?" He made eye contact with Syaoran and Mokona. "Everythings alright now."
Syaoran and Mokona watched him for a few seconds, each looking for a sign that the other was lying. Finding nothing that seemed off, they each gave nods in return.
"Oh! Kuro-pii! We need to wrap your hand and wrist!" Fai cried as he got up. "That was very silly of you, I want you to know. Hurting yourself to prove a point, honestly!"
Kurogane raised and eyebrow as he got up with the mage and walked to the counter so his wounds could be wrapped up by the other. "I believe I recall you doing a similar thing before."
"Ah, but mine didn't really hurt, yours did!"
Kurogane scoffed. "Please, none of this hurt at all. If anything, the most painful thing was putting up with your obliviousness."
"Kuro-rin! That's so cruel! We should ban you from the movie watching! What do you think, Syaoran-kun? Mokona-chan?"
"No one gets banned from movie night!' Mokona cried, but a smile was on their face. Syaoran just shook his head with a smile.
"Is that so? Well, I guess I'll have to find another way to punish Kuro-pipi then."
"I'm pretty sure you deserve a punch, first for acting like this."
"So violent!"
As Fai wrapped up Kurogane's hand and wrist, he felt no sign of the hunger and thirst from before.
So that was that. Hope y'all liked it! I'm probably going to do more vampire Fai in the future. I'll probably do more TRC in general in the future. So...yeah.
Feel free to comment or anything else.
Until next time! :D
