A/N: A new fic, my first time writing an AU, and I don't know if this will work. Whew. Well, I need to write something. I've been gone for quite long.

Disclaimer: TRC definitely isn't mine. Only the plot is.

0o0o

"Stop moving Kurogane! You're only making it worse!" Tomoyo exclaimed as she sat on the wooden stool beside Kurogane, bandaging the man's wounded upper left arm.

"I've already told you countless of times, you're the one making it worse! Why do you have to fuss all over me when all I have is this stupid scrape? Che. It doesn't even hurt," Kurogane muttered, moving his left arm away from Tomoyo's grasp.

"This will sting a bit," Tomoyo muttered in response, not at all paying attention to Kurogane's complaint.

"I already told you i-AHHHHHHHHHH!!"

"I told you it would sting, but you wouldn't listen," Tomoyo replied, her smile gleaming evidently on the reflection of the bottle of alcohol she had just used to disinfect Kurogane's wounds.

"What happened, Tomoyo-hime? Was there an intruder? Why did I hear Kurogane-san shout?" Syaoran asked, suddenly popping out of nowhere.

"There was no one, kid. And you must have been hallucinating because I didn't shout. Back to practice," Kurogane ordered, to which the kid easily blushed, exited the room and did as Kurogane told.

"Aren't you a bit too harsh on Syaoran-kun?" Tomoyo asked.

Kurogane shrugged the question off.

It took a few seconds for Kurogane to regain his composure. It was embarrassing, really, for a man of his reputation to be shouting at the top of his lungs just because some solution or whatever the hell it was that this tiny girl applied on his wound stung. To top it all off, his apprentice, the kid Syaoran, heard it and went immediately to check on him.

He was a vampire slayer, for Pete's sake.

He was the famous vampire slayer Kurogane.

Just what in the world would the vampires say if they knew that the slayer who seemed to have no weakness at all screams like a lady upon contact with seventy percent isopropyl alcohol? It just didn't suit him. Not at all.

Add the fact that Tomoyo wasn't helping to make matters light. There she was, the culprit; and yet she had the guts to laugh. There were actually times when Kurogane 

meditated whatever it was that made him enter her service. She looked like a princess, she acted like a princess, but she was in every way a witch. Especially when she laughed, that 'oh-ho-ho' evil laughter could rival that of any witch and was enough to drive him out of his sanity.

And she was doing it now.

"You shouldn't have brawled with that drunken man last night, Kurogane. Your job is to hunt down vampires, not drunks,"

"I know that. Quit the lecture. I'm going to bed. You should go too, Hime," Kurogane said seriously.

"Yes, you should. Those wounds must heal before they get worse," Tomoyo said once she stopped laughing.

"Stop nagging. Go to bed,"

"Okay. Goodnight, Kurogane,"

"G'night".

0o0o

"We're leaving now, Tomoyo-hime," Syaoran said, bowing politely before the girl in front of them.

"Take care, my slayers," she said as the two of her best warriors went their way.

It was yet another night. And it was only during the night in which Princess Tomoyo's bodyguards turned into slayers. Princess Tomoyo was not an actual princess. She was in fact, as ordinary as any girl can be. The only difference, aside from her royal bearing, was that she was the sole survivor of a once famous family of slayers who died in line of duty. She was left with everything, but with nobody.

Kurogane was the only son of a slayer family who died along with Tomoyo's parents. His family was but a mere underling of the so called 'royal slayer family' and thus, when his parents died, he swore all loyalty under Tomoyo, calling her his princess and promising to serve her with all of his remaining life.

Syaoran, on the other hand, was an orphan rescued by Kurogane from the hands of a one-man syndicate. Seeing the child's potential, Kurogane trained him under his wing and became his apprentice.

It was a windy night outside, and both Kurogane and Syaoran walked in the streets with their hands in their coats. The streets were dark, as the light from the street posts were dim and blurry.

"Where was he last seen?" Kurogane asked his apprentice in a hushed voice.

"Along Rue de Bernarde. But that was two nights ago, Kurogane-san. It's impossible for him to stay in one place,"

"I know."

"And the murders are getting bigger in number. We need to catch him before the real reason of all the killings is revealed."

"People are stupid. They won't believe that vampires do exist even though the evidence is right before their very eyes. They would seek scientific proof before they believe any of these craps anyway."

"But, Kurogane-san… Just in case they start to believe?"

"They won't."

That settled the issue and they continued walking with heightened attention to anything out of the ordinary or suspicious. Two, three hours of patrolling came and went, but just like the two previous nights, the vampire evaded them.

"This is stupid."

Syaoran felt the irritation rise in his master's voice, but he was too used to it to be bothered now. Besides, he was thankful that they didn't encounter a single vampire for a good few months. The last time they had battled and killed one a few months back, both of them have been gravely wounded and it took them a few weeks to recuperate.

It wasn't until the fifth hour of patrolling that Kurogane decided to head back to the cottage which served as their headquarters. Syaoran meekly followed him, thoughts of Tomoyo-hime's new assistant flooding his mind. He was so absorbed in his own fantasies that he bumped into Kurogane's sturdy back, not realizing that the other had stopped in his tracks.

"Kurogane-san?"

Kurogane motioned for him to be quiet as he pointed to something resembling a shadow near the entrance of a sewer. Upon closer look, Syaoran realized that it was indeed, a shadow.

"Could he be…?"

He followed Kurogane walk slowly, slowly into the entrance of a tower. And there, lying on the pavement was a thin, young man with a mop of unkempt blonde hair covering his closed eyes. And he was wearing very thin clothing at this weather.

"Not a vampire," Kurogane muttered.

"Is he dead?"

Kurogane knelt closer and examined the man very carefully.

"No. He's just drunk,"

"Who is drunk?" the man suddenly spoke. His eyes opened very slowly, as if the very act was a struggle, and then a huge grin crept on his face.

"You are, stupid." Kurogane retorted, not at all amused by the man.

"I am not 'drunk'. I am Fai. You are?"

"Why the hell should I tell you who I am? Come on, kid. We're wasting our time." Kurogane said, as he began to stand up.

"But, Kurogane-san. We can't just leave him here," Syaoran protested, having pity on the man's state.

"Yes, yes. There you go. Thank you…?"

"My name is Syaoran, sir."

"Yes. Thank you, Syaoran. See? I am not drunk, Kuronesan. I am Fai. Will you let me come to your house? Ne? Kuronesan?"

"It's Kurogane! Not Kurone! And no, you can't!"

"Kuronesan is a mean guy. He is." The drunk man, Fai, said, pouting.

"Let's go, kid." Kurogane commanded, his anger already reaching boiling point. There was no way in hell he would bring a drunk home.

He began to walk a few steps and he turned around to see if Syaoran was following him. But the boy wasn't. In fact, he was now beside the drunk, rubbing the drunk's back who now seemed to be puking his guts out.

"Oi, kid! I said let's go!"

"I… I can't leave him here, Kurogane-san! He's obviously suffering. We should take him home and give him shelter for the night," the boy called over to him.

"Fine. Do whatever you want!" Again, he walked a few steps, confident this time that the boy followed for he gave a threat. But looking back, the boy didn't even move from his place beside the wretched man.

"What the hell."

0o0o

"I'm sorry, Kurogane-san! It's just that it really bothers me to think what would happen to Fai-san if we left him alone down in the sewers. He could easily be the next victim. Besides, Tomoyo-hime would do the same if-"

"I know. Shut up."

Kurogane knew exactly what Tomoyo-hime would do in the given situation and he wouldn't like to hear her nag again. That was the only reason why he agreed to take this drunken man home on his back. That was the sole reason. Nothing else.

"Kuronesan is a kind, kind man! Lalalala!" Fai sang at the top of his voice from Kurogane's back.

"Shut up or I'll put you down!"

"Kuronesan is a good, good man! Tralalala!"

"I said shut up! And stop mutilating my name!"

"Kuronesan! Tralalalalalalaaaaaaa!"