A/N: This was an RP that Tsubasa-fan and I have collaborated on the last three months or so. Tsubasa-fan was in charge of Fai while I was in charge of Kurogane. We wanted to go for a canon AU and set it in Suwa Province, Kurogane's childhood home. Basically in behind-the-scenes Yuuko was able to stop Fei-Wong Reed from pursuing his plans, thus that infamous canon journey never occurs. Therefore, the bastard never touches Suwa and Kurogane's parents live. Many sacrifices still occur though. Ashura-ou still dies and he wishes to send Fai away to a permanent home before Celes is destroyed. We also made it so that Fai did not have a twin brother and he still ages along the same rate as a non-magic user. In summary, we made it so they could grow up together as close friends. Therefore, you will see Kurogane calling Fai by his name when they're young along with other slight changes in their dynamics because of the different circumstances we pit them in versus the canon circumstances.

We are currently in the process of finishing editing and tidying the story up.

Without further ado, we hope you enjoy it!

Two

Toriho, Lord of Suwa, smirked as he looked over to see his son Kurogane staring up at the gates of Shirasagi palace in wonder. They had been asked by the empress herself to come today, though he had thought it strange that he had been asked to bring his son. They had traveled light, bringing only a small band of his men with him as his second in command and the rest of Suwa's army stayed behind to protect their land. He was torn from his thoughts as he looked on at the opened courtyard before him and to his son who rode by his side, taking in all of the sights. "Impressed, brat?"

"I am not a brat!" Kurogane huffed.

The lord was nonetheless amused and tousled his son's hair.

"Oh, but if you insist you aren't one, then you must keep your manners once we go inside the castle's ground." It was the first time that the young lord had ever laid foot and eyes on the castle and it was important that he made a good impression on the empress and court.

"Chichiue, I've never seen anything like this before. There are so many sakura trees. And the castle is so large compared to our home." He expressed in awe, having calmed down. The boy was honored that he was also requested to visit the empress along with his father. Still, he was nervous meeting Empress Amaterasu, wondering what on earth it was he and his father had been summoned for.

"Just remember what your mother said about your manners and you'll be fine." Toriho brought his horse to a stop in front of a beautiful tan skinned woman. With the armor she wore, he had no doubt she was a ninja to the empress. "I hope we're not too late."

"No, my lord, you have arrived just on time," the kunoichi responded.

The lord dismounted, giving the reins over to a stable boy that had rushed up to him. "If you'd be so kind as to have someone direct my men to where they'll be staying, I'd be grateful."

"A castle staff member will arrive shortly to escort your men to their quarters." Surely enough, a man approached.

Looking back to his men he dismissed them. He looked to his son and smirked before looking back to the woman in front of him. "If you could escort me to her majesty now, that would be much appreciated. I was told it was urgent news."

"Of course, my lord. Please follow me."

The woman led them through the courtyard. Kurogane was already amazed at all the sights he saw the moment he, his father, and his men arrived and saw the castle grounds from a noticeable distance. Yet the large doorway leading to the front of the castle immediately caught his attention, thus he found another feature to gawk at. The three of them continued through the entrance and walked along a corridor. At last they approached the throne room at Shirasagi Castle where two large statues of black dragons served as the backdrop along with a large crescent room on a wide tapestry.

On the throne in front of them sat a woman dressed in an elaborate kimono of varying shades of crimson. It was no doubt the Empress Amaterasu of Nihon. When they were close enough, Kurogane's father kneeled. "My empress, we hurried as quickly as we could to reach you. Suwa is at your command for whatever task you wish to ask of us."

"Lord Suwa, I thank you for arriving promptly. I see you brought your son as asked as well," she replied, motioning her hand to Kurogane who was also kneeling on the floor along with his father and the ninja.

"Yes." He couldn't help the smile that came across his lips as he thought back to how excited his son had been at the news. "We're both here for whatever her empress wishes."

"Very well. A boy from another world has recently arrived in Nihon. The Tsukuyomi is currently tending to his needs. The reason I have requested your son to accompany you is because Fai, the boy, is approximately the same age as the young lord." Kurogane flushed at the empress regarding him as the young lord. "Tsukuyomi thought it was appropriate for Fai-san to stay with a youth seeing as they are the same age."

Toriho stared at the empress in surprise as he had never expected a summons for something like this. He bowed his head again, thinking over her words.

"We will take him back to Suwa then. If the Tsukuyomi has seen that this is the best path, then we will welcome this boy." His wife had told him about the Tsukuyomi and just how strong she was. She had even told him of there being different worlds and while it was a lot to accept, he did without protest.

"On behalf of Tsukuyomi and the boy as well as I, we thank you," the empress said. "I believe that soon Fai will come here for formal introductions."

Kurogane sat still, numb with shock and elation. He never knew that there were other worlds beyond Nihon. Already leaving far from Suwa was a huge deal for him. Yet at the same time Kurogane was curious, if not, pleasantly excited to see what would happen as a result of meeting this boy.

"It is my duty to serve my empress." Kurogane's father waited until Amaterasu motioned for them to stand before he was up and waiting on the boy he would be taking back with him. It took only minutes later as two women came out with a small figure trailing behind him. He took in the long curled hair, noting the unusual color and the slightly sunken face that was wrapped in blue and grays.

The young lord stood alongside his father, silently observing the boy that was just brought in. He was aghast the moment he laid eyes on Fai's appearance, and a flare of anger boiled inside him. Did something happen to this boy? Had somebody treated him so badly that the other youth looked so miserable? Putting a hand on his son's shoulder, Suwa's lord tried to calm him.

"Fai-san hasn't spoken to anyone but the Tsukuyomi, but we are hoping that having someone his own age will change that in time." Amaterasu said then and as Toriho looked at her, he knew she wasn't telling him this boy's full story - though he supposed that was for Fai to decide.

"We understand, Your Majesty," Lord Suwa replied. "I entrust that my son will do his best to make our guest as comfortable as possible once we return back to Suwa, which Lady Suwa and I will do likewise." He made sure to look his son in the eyes and knew that Kurogane was silently accepting the request as well.

Amaterasu nodded at that before her gaze fell to the silent boy. She had explained things beforehand; she just hoped her sister was right about this. "Go on then, Fai-san, to your new home. The Tsukuyomi expects letters from you once you're able to write in our language."

Toriho watched events unfold, wondering if his wife had seen what was happening now. Kurogane watched as the boy barely nodded his head to comply with the empress' words. The young lord took a mental note that perhaps he would also need to assist Fai in mastering writing.

"You're dismissed. I expect a report in a month for any progress." The lord bowed once more as he agreed. The empress then told them they were to rest from the journey over the next few days before setting out for Suwa once more. Waiting, he watched as the small boy joined him and Kurogane before he turned to be directed towards his rooms. Smiling gently, he looked at both boys. "Come along Kurogane. You too, Fai-kun."

Kurogane turned to his new companion. "I hope we will get along with each other, Fai-kun," he said with sincerity. Fai opened his mouth for a bit, but didn't make a sound. He closed his mouth and bit his lips before nodding curtly. Kurogane thought for a moment that he would hear the boy say something so he was rather disappointed when nothing happened.

They were led to a large room, most likely set aside for visiting nobles and the like. Beds had already been set up and when he examined the place further he saw that there was an adjoining room with a low table for meals and entertainment. "Alright, looks like we have a couple of days before we head back. Maybe you and Fai-kun can go into the city and explore tomorrow while I take care of our party," the lord suggested.

The allurement of exploring the heart of the city gauged on Kurogane's mind. He beamed at the prospect of showing Fai around the place, yet he wondered if being immersed in the crowd would help the boy feel more at ease or more on edge. "Alright, Chichiue."

Laughing, he ruffled his son's hair playfully. "I hope Fai-kun can keep up with a brat like you."

How dare Chichiue call him a brat in front of someone they just met, not to mention a person his age. "I'll make sure it's going to be one of his best days here ever!"

"Oh yeah?" His father smirked, glad his own son was so easily riled. "You don't mean you're just gonna be climbing trees all day, do you?" Fai stood off to the side, blushing faintly at the scene playing out before him. These two were far different than the other people he had met so far.

Kurogane tried so hard to keep his temper at check, but it was so darn difficult, especially in front of Fai. He didn't want Fai to get the impression that he could be easily messed with. Nor did he want his father to encourage Fai to do the same to him. "Of course I won't!"

"Last time you nearly fell out of the tree, so it's best if you two stay around the food stands. I doubt Fai-kun has eaten a lot of different foods since his arrival." Toriho didn't think the blonde had eaten much at all with how thin he looked. Fai noticed the staring and looked away with a blush as he smoothed out imaginary wrinkles in his clothes for a distraction.

Kurogane didn't have to be reminded about that near incident about four years ago. Yet all the same he realized how much Fai needed to eat and besides he had some idea of what food he would suggest to his new friend.

"That's what I was thinking, Chichiue." All the same, Kurogane wondered why Fai was having the urge to pretend to smooth out a wrinkle in his clothing.

"Good, I'll give you a few coins tomorrow. Now though we need to get cleaned up, I bet Fai-kun is too nice to say we smell like horses and dirt." He chuckled and noticed Fai blushing and fervently shaking his head, denying the teasing claim. "You stay here and tell him about home and stuff. I'll head over to the baths."

Kurogane watched as his father left in search for the baths. Although he arguably didn't mind too much of his father's merciless teasing, he was glad to get a break from them. He realized then that this was the first time that he and Fai were alone in the same room.

"So," he began. "My father is the lord of Suwa Province while my mother is its priestess. She performs duties to protect it. Our land is rich with medicinal herbs too so many other places want what the people harvest. My father fights them off; he's the best swordsman in the whole wide land! He and the army are always ready to fight to keep Suwa safe."

Fai fidgeted as he was the center of attention now. The princess had told him that this boy would be good for him to befriend, but he couldn't help thinking of his home. The guilt swelled in his chest and he could feel his eyes watering.

"And the people in our province are really nice! They love to-" Kurogane stopped himself from rambling when he noticed how still Fai was. Just earlier, the boy had shown some slight attention to what he was talking about, but now Fai seemed to be far away somewhere. "Hey, are you alright?"

Fai snapped out of his thoughts and quickly wiped his eyes dry. He nodded to Kurogane and bit his lip in embarrassment. He knew he shouldn't cry as it would make things worse if he lingered too much on his home. Kurogane remained silent for a bit. He knew he shouldn't press the boy on if he didn't feel comfortable speaking yet at the same time he knew something was upsetting him. He carried on chatting about Suwa.

"Where was I? Oh right, the people are very gentle and they respect my mother and father. See, I heard tales of other provincial lords being terrible to their peasants, but I think my parents are great," he boasted. "Once you meet my mother, I'm sure she will be very nice to you."

They were interrupted by several women sliding open the door to the main room and setting up dishes. It had been late and Fai watched as they quickly set the table, and with low bows, left the boys once more. It was strange, but a familiar sight to him. Fai pointed at the food and then to himself and Kurogane, still not feeling up to talking to the other boy yet.

Kurogane came to accept that the boy won't speak to him for at least today. "Come, we should eat. It's my first time eating at the castle. Well, actually, it's my first time being here." Kurogane went to sit down on one end of the table where the food was neatly set and he motioned Fai to come sit down with him.

Fai did so, looking at the food curiously. He wasn't sure what to eat as the first time he'd been given something other than soup it had been raw fish. Though he did at least figure out that some of the food was cooked and so he ate a few pieces of those.

Meanwhile Kurogane helped himself to his bowl of rice along with a slice of fish. He could taste the difference in quality of the seasoning although by no means did he not appreciate the cook's food back at home. He wasn't sure if he should resume talking yet as he realized he was quite hungry from his journey to here.

Fai struggled with his chopsticks and, deciding not to embarrass himself further, set them down and picked up the few things of food he had picked out. It was something else he would have to learn here, he supposed.

Kurogane was about to bite down on a piece of seaweed but paused midway when he saw that Fai was struggling with his chopsticks. He placed his own set down on the bowl and went to Fai's side.

"Here, let me show you how to use them," he offered the quiet boy. Fai nodded faintly and took up his chopsticks once more. Blue eyes looked up at Kurogane expectantly as he waited.

Kurogane hastily picked up his bowl and chopsticks once again to provide as an example.

"So first, you tuck them under your thumb." He demonstrated in his right hand. "See, it should fall over your middle finger and touch your second finger."

Fai attempted to follow suit, having to use his other hand to move his fingers in place. It was harder than he had thought as his fingers felt odd in their new positions.

"You could practice that first bit some more if you want," Kurogane suggested. Nodding, the blonde tried moving the chopsticks, thinking it was difficult to keep them in place. Kurogane was noting how he moved his chopsticks at ease. Adapting it as a natural habit and paying attention to how he actually does it were two different things. "Hmm…if you flex out your thumb, but not too far, it should not be as slippery. Give it a try."

"So you're a teacher now?" his father asked as he had stepped into the room and noticed Kurogane trying to teach his new friend how to properly hold his chopsticks. It felt wonderful washing off the dirt and grime from their travels. Sighing he sat down across from the boys and made himself a plate.

"I suppose so," Kurogane said meekly, flushing at the thought that he was actually teaching somebody something for once.

"Wait till your mother hears." Toriho laughed, glad there hadn't been any fights when he had come back. "Finish eating, you still need a bath too before bed."

"Fine, Chichiue." Kurogane sighed before he resumed eating his supper, eager to head to the heart of the city with Fai tomorrow.

Rabbit

Fai watched Kurogane as he was being pulled through the streets. He hadn't run like this in a long time and was starting to get tired. The other boy's father had given his son a small pouch of coins and sent them outside the palace to wander around.

"Say, aren't you excited to see what's out here?" Kurogane yelled over his shoulder as he tugged the boy around. There were many vendors with delicious scents whisking out into the air. The dark haired boy had a ridiculously hard time containing his excitement when his father handed over the pouch with the coins and was told to have a good time.

Fai opened his mouth to say something, but quickly shut it. He instead smiled and nodded. Kurogane's energetic mood was rubbing off of him, it seemed, as they wound their way through the crowd.

"Prizes, prizes, we have wonderful prizes if you win! Come on, come all, give your luck a chance!" a vendor cried into the bustling crowd, ringing a bell.

Kurogane grinned at the thought of winning something. "Say, do you think we should go or do you want to eat something first?" he asked Fai.

Fai shook his head in a way that meant either was fine with him. There was a lot to take in after all and they had all day to explore.

"Hmm…" Kurogane stopped for a bit without noticing that Fai was actually glad that he could catch his breath. "If we win, it would be great, but if we kept spending away and lose, we won't get to eat and then Chichiue would get mad."

Fai wiped the light sweat from his brow, thinking of how hot it was in this world. It would take him a very long time to get used to weather like this. When he listened to Kurogane, the blonde pointed at his mouth and gave a small smile, indicating they should eat first then.

Kurogane understood. Now he wondered which of these many stalls they should purchase their food from.

Fai was glad when they didn't start running again while Kurogane led him through the street where food stalls were set up on both sides. This also reminded him of home as he saw smoke from pans and signs hanging up that no doubt said what food were being cooked.

"Say, if there's anything you want to try, point me in the stall you're curious. Or maybe I should ask if there's any food you don't want to try."

He wasn't sure how to gesture that he didn't want any more of those raw fish rolls. Fai sighed. "…Cooked food." He blushed softly at having spoken, his voice sounding far too soft even to him.

Kurogane cracked a grin. "Oh hey, you talked!"

Blue eyes widened in surprise at the exclamation and fidgeted some more, even more embarrassed now. He nodded and squeezed the hand holding his to get Kurogane to move somewhere.

"Oh right, so you want cooked food," Kurogane recalled, taking Fai around the street. The taller boy scanned around until he settled on a sign of a vendor that boasted it was selling the classic takoyaki. Perfect, he thought, since the fried octopus pieces were simple and they were cooked. He nudged Fai towards that direction and together the two walked towards the stall. Fai watched with interest as the vendor smiled down at Kurogane and handed him two sticks with some type of cooked meat on them.

He saw the other quickly hand a few coins over as well. Kurogane thanked the vendor and handed over one of the sticks to Fai. The ones they got were just freshly prepared. "Be careful, it's still pretty hot," he cautioned Fai.

It looked strange to him and heavy in his hand. Fai looked over at Kurogane curiously, not sure how to go about eating his food. Kurogane blew on his takoyaki to cool it down then took a small bite on the meat. He noticed that Fai was still examining his own. "Don't worry, it's all cooked well."

Looking on curiously, Fai followed suit. The food was strange and nothing really like the food he was used to, but Kurogane had paid money for it and he would have felt guilty if he didn't eat it.

"So what do you think?" Kurogane waved to the food as he continued nibbling on his.

Fai offered a small smile and a nod. It wasn't bad, but he added it to a list of things he would have to get used to.

The young lord was glad. Thank goodness he made a good choice. He wouldn't know how he would have felt if Fai expressed disgust for it. Then again, he hoped Fai wasn't lying. "Want to try some more food?"

Fai shrugged. He wouldn't argue if Kurogane did, but he hadn't been all that hungry to begin with. Instead he just smiled.

"That's alright. We still have lots of time here." He remembered the vendor that was hosting a game. "I was thinking about going back to play that game and hopefully win a prize. How about that?"

Nodding, Fai thought it was a good idea. He had never played any games like that and was curious as to how it worked.

"Alright, now let's try to look for that same one again…" As the two walked Kurogane surveyed, trying to hear for that magical bell once again.

Then finally the two heard the same man from before and they ran to look for him. The man who ran the game smiled brightly, where several other children were already playing once they had arrived. Fai took it all in; he hadn't really seen that many kids before and it was an odd experience for him.

The other children surrounding the vendor hushed up all of a sudden. Wondering what on earth the cause of the silence was, Kurogane noticed how many of them were whispering to each other about Fai's light features. All of a sudden he felt his stomach tighten. Fai looked different wherever he went, there was no doubt.

Fai stepped behind Kurogane, trying to hide away from the stares. He had forgotten that he looked more than a little different here. No one he had seen had hair quite as light as his, which made him an oddity.

Kurogane was getting infuriated. The fact that these stares were making Fai hiding behind him was a pretty bad situation. He didn't want to bring more attention to them, especially Fai, by telling the rascals off for being rude, but at the same time he couldn't let them get away from their behaviors. He hoped standing up for the sake of Fai wouldn't make him even more uncomfortable.

"Oi!" he started, doing his best to calm down the anger rising in his voice. "What makes you think you can just stare?"

Fai tugged on the other's arm, not wanting to cause trouble for the young lord. The vendor sighed and clapped his hands together. "Back to your games now, I can't have all of you fighting now."

Kurogane knew it was best not to let things escalate so he dropped it. He turned to the vendor, still seething with fury. Who knows, maybe he could channel it into whatever game the man was hosting.

"We'd like to play," Kurogane declared, fishing in the pouch for some coins.

"Alright then," the man smiled as he took the money.

Fai watched as the other children frowned and went back to playing as well. He was just glad that Kurogane hadn't gotten into a fight. The man retrieved two slingshots from their hooks as well as six small pellets from a sack.

Walking over to the counter the man handed a slingshot to both Fai and Kurogane, as well as put down three pellets for each boy. "You have three tries to aim for any targets that you see. The harder the target you fire down, the better the prize you earn. Sounds like a deal? Only one could play at a time."

Fai turned and looked at the other boy, waiting for him to go so he could see exactly what to do. He was still nervous about actually playing a game like this.

"Deal!" Kurogane fired back eagerly. He was pumped, hoping that his irritation at the other children's behavior would translate well to proper aims. The boy latched one of his pellets into the elastic strand and pulled it back. He closed his left eye, squaring for one of the targets and let go of the strand. The pellet propelled forward…but it missed his intended target. Dumbstruck, Kurogane eased his second one and aimed again. Another miss. Getting frustrated, he made sure to carefully notch the last pellet available and tried aiming for a different target. Firing away, the pellet hit to the left of the target. He lost an opportunity to win something. What upset him even more was how he lost his concentration due to the near scuffle. "Your turn, Fai-kun."

Fai nodded and picked up the slingshot. He raised it to eye level and concentrated for a few seconds before he let the pellet fly. It struck one of the targets on the upper shelves and watched as it wobbled for a moment before he grabbed another and struck the target again. It swayed for a second before it fell with a dull thud into a basket below.

Kurogane stood there rather speechless. This was Fai's very first game in a new world and he had just won a prize. Not just any, but a good one since he secured a hard target. The other children and even the vendor were stunned as well, and Kurogane had to stop himself from smirking back at the other children. Served them right to gawk at Fai like he was a bizarre creature.

"Well done, lad!" the vendor cheered. He turned then, showing a variety of items lining on a shelf behind him. "Now what prize would you like?"

Fai bit his lips as he looked at the simple toys. He pointed towards a small doll, thinking it looked like the best option. He hadn't really expected to win anything and shifted from one foot to the other in embarrassment.

"Are you sure about your choice?" the man asked with a quizzical brow.

He nodded, knowing it was probably odd, but it was rather cute and it had caught his eye. Smiling, he took his prize from the vendor with a small bow of thanks.

"Way to go!" Kurogane beamed. He lightly smacked Fai's shoulder as the two left the vendor and walked away back into the street. "Wait until my father sees what you have won today. I'm sure he would be proud, too."

Fai looked at the small stuffed animal – a rabbit with button eyes and a wide smile sewn on it - before he glanced up at Kurogane with a smile. The blonde then handed his prize to the other. He didn't really have a need for dolls and such and he needed to thank Kurogane somehow.

The other boy held up his hands. "Wait, don't tell me you're handing it over to me you won it fair and square. Are you sure you don't want it?"

Fai nodded that it was okay and all but shoved the thing at the taller boy. Kurogane had been very nice to him after having to be forced to take him in and giving him a stuffed doll was the very least he could do.

Once again, the dark haired boy was stunned. He knew Fai was giving it to him as a thank you token. But more so, this nice gesture was surely a good sign that Fai was warming up to him. Kurogane didn't care much for dolls, but still he knew he couldn't turn down the blond boy's offer. Kurogane retrieved the doll from Fai.

"Thank you," he said softly.

Waiting, Fai wondered what they would be doing now. Surely Kurogane's father would be done doing whatever it was at the castle and would come looking for them as they had been gone for a while now.

Kurogane observed the sky and noticed that the sun was arching far past high noon. "Oh wow, it's already getting late. Chichiue's probably coming over for us soon."

Fai had thought so and grinned. He pointed in the direction for the castle, suggesting they start heading back now. "Hmm…but my father said to wait for him to fetch us," Kurogane noted.

"That's right." A deeper, familiar voice greeted them. The lord of Suwa along with his men approached the two boys smiling.

"Chichiue!"

Fai watched as the man chuckled and grabbed his son in a headlock so he could ruffle his hair. Smiling softly at that, Fai stood off to the side. "Time to go back to the castle, we're setting out before dawn tomorrow so we can be home sooner."

"Aww, why so early, Chichiue?" Kurogane complained, fighting to get out of his father's headlock, which was hard because his father was ridiculously strong.

"It's getting late and I figured Fai-kun could use a break from you. You've probably talked his ear off, kiddo." Toriho smiled and finally released his son from his hold. Pausing from teasing Kurogane, he noticed the small stuffed animal. "Did you win something at one of the games?"

The young lord flushed when he remembered that he was holding the doll.

"Actually," Kurogane beamed, not even letting his father's usual teasing get the best of him, "Fai-kun won it at one of the hardest games I ever participated in."

"Fai-kun beat you?" His father stared incredulously at the blonde who tried not to act shy and then back again to his son. "We should have him spar with you then back home. He'll be a strong warrior some day."

"I like the sound of that. Be great to have a good challenge," the young lord responded, pumping his arms. "That is, if Fai-kun's okay with that."

Fai smiled. He had had training back home and having someone to do it with him could be nice. "It's settled then, looks like you got a new partner." The lord of Suwa laughed as he ushered both boys back towards the castle.

Kurogane turned to Fai. "While it's cool that you're pretty natural at the slingshot, don't think I'm a softy at sword fighting," he said with a playful smirk.

"Oi, don't get a big head. If Fai-kun can beat you at a game he can beat you in a proper match," his father countered and Fai tried not to laugh as he followed along.

"You're ruining the fun," Kurogane huffed. Still he told himself that if Fai will spar with him back at home, it would serve some good purposes. He hoped it would ease Fai's mind away from whatever it was he had to leave behind his original home world.