(A/N: HIYA! MERRY CHRISTMAS! ^^

So, I was rummaging around in my room, and guess what? I found the original version of TPOCRT! So, I finished it, and am posting it here as my present to you all! Uh… Also, I'm sorta just staring at my screen again as far as TPOCRT is concerned, so I thought if I gave you this you might be contented….

Anyway, enjoy! XD )

Of Times and Places

Kurogane hated many, many things in the world—worlds. It would take days, even weeks to name them all. However, at that moment, the thing he loathed the most was mourning.

Kurogane hated the way he looked and the expressions he made. He hated the way the boy's sorrowful brown eyes would trail after the princess, with a mixture of fondness and regret. He hated the way the boy would shy away from the mage's unreadable gaze. He hated that when the only one he truly talked to was Mokona; and even that was only in soft whispers during the night. But most of all, he hated the way his entire being would flinch if Kurogane spoke to him. Kurogane couldn't stand it. That kid, Li Shaoran. He loathed that boy who mourned his own existence.

"Stop that."

Shaoran flinched as Kurogane's voice echoed through the room. "Stop what?" he asked.

"That." The ninja growled. "You flinch every time I speak to you. Stop it."

Shaoran visibly shrank in the face of Kurogane's fury. "Ah…sorry."

The older man sighed in exasperation and closed his eyes. "You keep apologizing, but for what? We don't hate you; you're not him. You only lived through his eyes, right? Learn to loosen up a little." Kurogane opened his eyes and looked up at the ceiling. "Don't let all of your memories of freedom be sorrowful."

The boy stared at Kurogane, shocked. When the ninja finally looked at Shaoran, he flinched. A myriad of emotions burned vehemently in the boy's gaze. Gratitude, Appreciation, Relief, Uncertainty, Respect, and something else that was too dangerous to name. The boy lowered his gaze and smiled.

"Thank you." He murmured.

That was the first time he really spoke to him.

~O_O~

"…Kurogane-san? Are you awake?"

Kurogane never understood the logic behind that question. What was he supposed to say? "No, I am asleep"? Instead of voicing this irritation, he rolled onto his side to look at Shaoran. "What is it?"

"Would you spar with me?"

Kurogane narrowed his eyes and the boy looked away . "He—my other half, hasn't been here because there isn't a feather. We are only stopping so that we can rest. Therefore, I thought that since neither of us is asleep, perhaps you could train with me a little…"

The dark ninja frowned. "You do realize it is the middle of the night, right?"

Shaoran glanced up at Kurogane's face and looked away again. "I'm sorry. It was an unreasonable request."

The ninja sighed and sat up in bed. This kid was way too jumpy. If Syaoran was full of confidence, Shaoran was full of uncertainty. "Let's go, kid." He grunted as he snatched his sword from the corner. Shaoran blinked in confusion.

"Ah, but—!"

"I never said it was unreasonable, I just asked if you realized that it was the middle of the night. The mage and princess should be asleep. We will have to be quieter."

"Oh." Shaoran said. Kurogane could hear it in his voice; he was holding back a smile. "Thank you."

The two wandered out into the cool air of the night. On this world, they had arrived just before winter begun, and that particular night was the night of the winter equinox; the moon was full and so bright that it appeared to be day. Kurogane could see everything around him clearly…including the way the boy's caramel eyes seemed to capture his every movement. He sighed internally.

"Are you ready, kid?"

"Yes." Shaoran said as a determined look crossed over his features. Kurogane couldn't help but think that his response was quite like one that Syaoran would have made.

"Don't try to go easy on me. I won't return the favor."

"I wouldn't dream of it." Shaoran replied, a smirk playing at his lips. That was where the look- a-likes differed. Syaoran would have answered with a simple "Yes," and no facial expression change. The ninja took a deep breath and released it slowly to clear his thoughts; if this boy was anything like his doppelgänger, he would need his concentration.

The boy sprinted toward him without so much of a warning; Kurogane expected nothing less. Shaoran swung his sword in a circular motion, as if to strike at his stomach. Kurogane simply blocked the sword and threw the boy into the air. Shaoran used the opportunity to strike at his back. Kurogane grinned.

"You are ten years too early to be striking at my back, kid." He said as he blocked the boy's sword and threw him over his shoulder. The moment Shaoran's feet touched the ground, the boys launched toward him at a frightening speed. He struck at Kurogane's stomach again, much like his first attempt. This time, Kurogane hesitated a moment. He hadn't been expecting the boy to repeat an attack that had failed once. He dodged it, but Shaoran's sword cut through his hakama (he had been reluctant to part with it), exposing his abdomen. Shaoran froze mid-swing and stared. Suddenly, his dropped his sword, clutched his arm and groaned. Kurogane, although taken aback a little, made his counterattack just as Shaoran was going for a follow-up to that swing that cut his hakama. The boy could have easily blocked it had he been paying attention, but because he had stopped and stared, Kurogane had cut his arm instead.

The dark ninja muttered a curse and hurried to Shaoran's side. He picked up the boy's sword in one hand, and grabbed his uninjured arm in another, dragging them both inside. Once they were back in their room, Kurogane left to find bandages. When he returned, Shaoran was trying to wash his wound, and wincing in pain.

"Give me your arm, kid." He ordered.

Shaoran reluctantly held up his arm, and Kurogane began to wash it correctly and thoroughly. Shaoran winced, but kept silent. When Kurogane was done, he gently but firmly wrapped the boy's arm with the bandages. Never once did he look up from his task, but he could feel the weight of Shaoran's gaze on him.

"There." He sighed. Shaoran inspected his arm while Kurogane placed the remainder of the bandages on a bookshelf in the room. "Pay attention next time; you might not get off so easily." Shaoran looked up and nodded.

"Yes, sir. Thank you." He said softly.

That was the first time Kurogane had ever really touched him.

~O_O~

The second time he touched him wasn't so chaste.

It was after a very difficult battle with his other self, in which Shaoran had lost. The mage and princess retreated to rooms on the other side of the building without as much as a glance at the distraught boy. Kurogane was left alone to try and pick up the pieces. When he entered their shared room after his bath, Shaoran was standing in its center with his back to the entrance. Kurogane walked toward the boy to ask what the problem was, but never got the chance.

"Wha—?" he exclaimed as Shaoran pushed him to the floor and sat on his stomach; there was a dangerous look in his eyes. Kurogane felt something in his being grow cold. "Boy," he hissed, "What are you doing?" Shaoran didn't answer, but leaned forward until his body was parallel with Kurogane's. The ninja grabbed his arm and tried to remove him, but the boy gave a strangled cry and clutched desperately at his frame. Taken aback, Kurogane let him alone.

He tensed only slightly when he felt soft lips at his neck, biting and sucking softly. When a warm tongue caressed the outer shell of his ear, he suppressed a shiver. Kurogane didn't move or show any indication of recognition, but watched the through the corners of his eyes as the boy trailed his lips up his neck and to his own rigid mouth. Frustrated, the boy growled and trailed his previously wandering hands down to Kurogane's belt. At that, Kurogane grabbed his hand.

"That's enough."

Shaoran stared up at him as if waking from a dream. His lowered his head and trembled. Kurogane could see him gritting his teeth, red in the face with shame. With a sigh, he pulled the boy to him and relaxed on the floor. Shaoran continued to tremble, and only when he felt warm liquid on his shoulder did Kurogane realize he was crying. He picked the boy up, carried him to one of the beds, layed him down, and got up to go search for a towel.

"Don't leave me."

Kurogane turned back to Shaoran. The boy was covering his face with his hands, still shaking. His voice sounded something close to broken. He reached and grabbed Kurogane's sleeve. His eyes were pleading in a way that made everything in Kurogane scream in rejection. He was never any good with broken people.

"Please…don't leave—!"

"What do you want me to do?"

Shaoran flinched at the harshness of his voice; it sounded raw even to his own ears. Stricken, the boy fumbled for words.

"I...I…"

Kurogane didn't wait for more, drew the boy to him again. Shaoran froze when he ran his tongue up his cheek, tasting the salt of his tears. Much to his dismay, Shaoran cried harder.

"What now?" Kurogane growled, flustered.

"I'm sorry…would you...stay with me like this?"

Kurogane didn't answer, but pulled the covers over the two of them.

That was the first time he had tried to comfort someone.

~O_O~

"He's smitten with you."

"What?"

They were at a café on a strange world where people took the form of both humans and animals. Shaoran was escorting Sakura as they looked for clues about the next feather. Lately, the atmosphere around the group had softened slightly and Kurogane had been able to breathe a little easier. It wasn't as if all of the earlier tension had disappeared, but they had begun to speak to one another for more than two sentences.

"I think that Shaoran-kun has a crush on you." Fai repeated.

"I heard you the first time."

"Then, what do you plan to do about it?"

Kurogane kneaded his brow. He felt a headache coming on. "I don't plan to do anything."

Fai closed his eyes and sipped at his tea but didn't speak. Soon, Kurogane found himself daydreaming as he half-listened to the peaceful chatter around him. It was a good ten minutes before Fai spoke again.

"You can't do that."

"What?"

"He isn't Syaoran. You can't do that."

"I heard you the firs time." the ninja growled. "And pray tell, why not?"

"Because you would treat him differently, and he would blame himself…and he would despair." Fai said matter-of-factually.

"How is any of that my problem?" Kurogane wanted to know.

Fai motioned for the waiter to refill his peppermint tea before answering. "You don't seem to know yourself very well, Kurogane. You see, if that were to happen, you would blame yourself and despair as well."

Fai gave him a sly grin that filled Kurogane with irritation, but he couldn't retort with anything. Fai was right.

That was the first time Kurogane ever admitted to himself that he was uneasy.

~O_O~

And in that last moment, when they fought against Fei Wong Reed; Kurogane had never felt so powerless. Standing on the ground, bleeding from wounds that would have leveled lesser men, he could only watch. Somewhere in his being, Kurogane's pride hurt at his uselessness. And somewhere in his being, he felt proud, watching the student—students he taught. They had traveled so long and endured so much—all of them. It was a strange thing to struggle and lay down beliefs, and lose something to gain something else. Kurogane wondered if that meant that they had grown and matured. He wondered if he had grown and matured. These were the thoughts circling in his head as he sat, bleeding and watching those children fighting in his stead.

But they won that fight. Even he admitted to himself that he had had doubts. Yet, they won, and the clones disappeared. He never really sorted out all the details of how those children were related to one another, but even he felt some sort of sadness when they disappeared. Kurogane never told Fai, but Shaoran came to him that night, crying, much like that one night ages ago, and Kurogane comforted him until he slept.

"What will you do now?" he had asked him when Shaoran had calmed down. Kurogane was lying on his side watching Shaoran.

"….I think I'll keep traveling to different worlds." The brunette replied softly.

"Hm. I see." The ninja replied. He turned onto his back and closed his eyes. After some minutes of silence, Shaoran spoke again.

"Kurogane-san? Are you awake?"

The large man opened one eye and regarded Shaoran questionably. The boy looked down to avoid his gaze. If Kurogane noticed the rose tint of his cheeks, he didn't comment.

"Would you travel with me again?"

There was no hesitation in his answer. "Of course."

Shaoran smiled softly, and moved closer to Kurogane. The ninja wrapped an arm around him immediately and pulled the brunette to his chest. The silence that engulfed them was pleasant, lulling them both to sleep. There had never been a confession nor had the words "love" or "like" been spoken between them; Shaoran had only been in his bed once before. But the extent to which he trusted Shaoran, and the depth of the fondness for him he had were frightening.

Just before he sank beneath the waves of exhaustion, Kurogane thought briefly to himself that this was most likely the first time he had ever been afraid.

(A/N: And…there you have it! Not the greatest story ever, but I wanted you guys to see where TPOCRT came from (Or not cuz I spontaneously changed the whole thing one day). I feel like this is a prologue of some sort. ^^ It can stand alone, but if there is enough interest *cough* from reviews *cough*, I will continue it in the coming new year. Once again, MERRY CHRISTMAS! )

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