1.

Kurogane hates the manjuu, not only because the manjuu lands them in the most attention-grabbing, indemnifying method, but also because the manjuu landed them in a peaceful world with no need of soldiers, and therefore, no job for Kurogane. Nevertheless, the mage did not take this as his excuse to be jobless. Especially not after the manjuu said there are three feathers coming from different directions, meaning they would stay at this world for a longer time. After a whole day of looking through job-wanted posters and walking around the city looking for job openings, Fai got a job as a waiter in a restaurant, and none for him. He finds it so unfair that the mage allows the kid to be jobless, since 'It is Syaoran's job to find Sakura-chan's feathers.", but demands that he get a job, because 'It is a father's responsibility to feed his family.' Since when did he even become a father?

Therefore, they searched everywhere, and eventually ended up in a job that desperately needs someone urgently as desperately as Kurogane needs to find a job so the mage would stop whining on him. He was so desperate that the moment he saw a job opening, he got in it the fastest he could. Nope, he did not notice the postal address outside the building saying it is an orphanage; he did not even notice how grim the place looked like. In an instant, the mighty soldier is reduced to taking care of brats. It is not that he minds orphans, but he definitely minds taking care of orphans, or taking care of children, in general. He is now reluctant to continue the job, as reluctant as the head of the orphanage is to accept him, but since both desperately need each other, the parties agree. Currently, he is trying to convince himself that he can put up with this, as long as they find the three feathers fast, while the head of the orphanage leads him to meet the children.

"You know, I must admit that I was reluctant to admit you, but now that I reflect on it, you must be sent to me by heaven." The owner, Louie, told him as they walk through the long corridor of the orphanage, probably to ease his own awkwardness at the silence. He is a mellow, middle-aged man, with a voice meant to lull a kid to sleep. "You see, the kids can get rowdy, and we need some sort of disciplinarian to get things flowing right. I can guess you are that sort of person, huh?"

"Yeah." Kurogane muttered. He sure is going to beat up any brat who dares go against him.

"They're not all that rowdy, but we have some problems with bullying. Oh, here, this is the dining hall." Louie points to a big room, containing a long, long table and many, many small chairs fit for ten year olds. There are two teenage girls, probably around Sakura's age, wiping the tables, whose blue and pink paints are peeling. A woman is fixing the plastic chairs and sweeping the floor. The floor is dull and dirty, and badly needs fixing.

"Our place isn't the best place, but we do try our best to give the children what they need. Government support and donations have not been pouring in as much as we need it, so we are trying to stretch things out. Therefore, we do not take in new caretakers. There were only three caretakers: me, Angel, the one you saw sweeping in the dining room, and Henry. Unfortunately, Henry died last month. He was old, God bless his soul, and maybe he did need to rest already. You will be filling in his roles in this orphanage. He used to be the one to weed the garden, fix the busted lights … well, the technical stuff… and help the kids fall asleep, so you will have to stay a bit late. Oh, here, this is the hall." Louie stopped and pointed Kurogane to a door. Kurogane pushed

The hall is spacious, and it functions as both the children's living room and the orphanage's lobby. In the side of the room is a counter, a table and an old computer. There is a shabby sofa in the middle of the hall, with two smaller, tattered chairs on each side and beanbags scattered on the floor, where the thirteen children sat, talking, arguing, and playing amongst themselves. The rag under the chairs showed its years. When the door opened, the children turned to look, and stop dead in their tracks when they saw a frowning man walking beside their mellow head caretaker.

"Good afternoon kids! This is Mr. Kurogane, and starting tomorrow, he will be joining us." With this last sentence, there seemed to be a commotion, which everyone held in as they noticed the man's look swept pass them. In an awkward silence that followed, Louie proceeded to introduce each child; each brat, as Kurogane puts in his mind.

Kurogane tries to remember the kids' names, as respect if not for long-term purposes, since he knew that he could not memorize all the brats' names today anyway. The toddlers are Mark, Jane, and Audrey; the young brats – around 4 to 6 – are George, Cedric, Alfred, Denise, Chii, and Ericka; the older brats – around 7 to 10 – are Justine, Jake, Audrey, and Bridgette. La-la-la, yeah, sure, will memorize later but definitely not today.

"Wait. Where are the twins?" Louie asked after he introduced everyone. Another silence hung around them. Louie slapped his hand in his forehead and went out of the hall. "Hey, Angel, have you seen the twins?" His voice, now lower and a bit louder, echoes through the dark halls. There were footsteps that approached the hall, and a timid voice followed, saying no, she did not see the twins, and yes, she will look for them; they are probably in their room or at the study hall.

Louie's head peeped through the doorway. "We'll just look for the twins. Do some bonding with the kids, won't you, Mr. Kurogane?" In an instant, the head is out, and there are footsteps clattering through the corridor's wooden floor.

The kids stared up at Kurogane. Kurogane stared at them. It went on that way, with the awkward silence hanging around them, until a kid spoke up.

"You're not the type of guy to work in an orphanage."

Kurogane turned to look at that kid, and saw that it is an old male brat, with unkempt hair and equally dirty clothes. The older brat had a smirk on his face, one that Kurogane knows from way back to Nihon, seen on the face of a smartass trainee. "No, I'm not, and the more it means that no one should mess with me. What's your name again?"

"Justine." The smirk is gone; now there is only a glare.

"Will you be staying with us?" A young girl brat asked him, and this girl seemed scared at Kurogane. When Kurogane turned his gaze to her, she cowered.

Kurogane tried to make his voice gentler. "Yeah. I'll work, but I won't sleep here. What's your name?"

"I'm Chii."

"You don't remember our names? Louie just introduced us, didn't he?" Justin asked.

'This brat's asking for it.' Kurogane could feel his nerves grating. His first impulse was to shout at the kid and punch the smartass out of him, since Fai, that ass of a magician, deemed it safer to keep his sword out of his hands, and the others just had to agree. However, a part of his brain was warning him that no, even though he does not like his job, he has to stay in it; otherwise the mage would have to grate on his nerves. He followed the advice of the latter.

"I don't want to bother pretending that I can memorize thirteen names in one sitting." Kurogane replied. He then remembered what the orphanage's problem was, bullying, and he was so sure that the bully is right in front of him, testing him.

Justine and Kurogane stared at each other, and the silence that enveloped the hall turned from awkward to tense. Finally, the hall's door swung open, and everybody turned to look, including Kurogane.

Never was he more surprised in his entire life. For there in front of him are two young brat versions of the mage, both pale and sullen.

Louie introduces the newcomers. "Mr. Kurogane, these are Fai and Yuui. They are somewhat silent, and well, they often hide away in their rooms…"

"Which one among you is Fai?" Kurogane cuts Louie.

The twins look at each other, and then back at Kurogane. Finally, one of them steps in front. "I'm Fai." He said. "And this is Yuui. He's younger than me."

Kurogane tries to differentiate Fai to Yuui, but he really cannot, at least not yet. Both have pale, sickly skin, blonde hair, skinny frames, and eyes so blue they hurt, like the mage's, but of course, because these kids are probably this world's version of Fai, though Fai never mentioned having a twin. 'But of course, stupid.' He mentally chided himself 'Of course the mage will never say anything.'

He was still marveling at his newfound discovery on his way home when he saw the mage, still in the waiter outfit, staring at kids playing in the playground. Fai's eyes were a bit shinier and his skin a bit paler than usual. Kurogane followed the mage's eyes and saw identical twins around six years of age, playing catch with a ball bigger than their heads. The ball went back and forth once, twice, until one of the kids threw it too high. The other twin jumped, but it flew over his hands just the same, over the fence, until it landed right in front of the mage and bounced to his face. The mage caught it by instinct.

One of the twins, the one who jumped, ran near the fence and stared at Fai. Fai smiled back, the tug on the corners of his lips looking more relaxed than usual, and went near the kid. The kid beamed at Fai. "Sorry you almost got hit, sir."

"It's fine with me, but be careful the next time, okay?" Fai gave the kid his ball.

"It wasn't me who threw the ball; it was George. I told him to be careful, not to throw the ball too high, but no~, he did not listen and he threw it so high up that even if I jumped I can't catch it." The kid's face scrunched up, shaking his head as he spoke to Fai, and extended his arms in the air when he said 'high.' Fai giggled at the kid and patted his head.

"All right, all right, tell him to be careful the next time." Fai told the kid.

"Yeah, I definitely will. Thank you, sir."

"You're welcome."

The kid waved his hand to Fai, shouting 'Bye-bye!' as he ran back to his twin. Fai waved his hand, gentler than the kid did, wearing a serene smile, both sad and happy. Kurogane knew the smile is genuine, and he wondered at how different Fai looked when he is truly smiling, albeit the smile being both happy and sad.

Fai must have felt that someone was watching him because he turned and had his eyes directly on Kurogane. His eyes widened in surprise, but in a second, he hardened it and forced it to look happy, the one thing he can never managed to do quite right. He tugged his lips harder, his cheeks strained a bit, and waved at Kurogane with forced enthusiasm. "Kuro-pyon~!" His serene face was gone.

Kurogane felt himself glaring at the mage, glaring because he hid behind his mask again. "What do you want?"

"Is Kuro-puppy barking at me?" Fai grinned, poking his cheeks and making funny expression. "Arf, arf!" He continued barking at the sidewalk, both his hands now at the top of his head, waving to make him look like a dog.

Kurogane's eyes narrowed. He stared at the mage and let his thoughts flow. It is probable that this mage had a twin, since this world's Fai had one, and the mage's expression changed a lot when he saw twins playing. He was studying Fai curiously, and saw that the mage already noticed the stare and picked up that he was up for interrogation. The mage continued the stupid antics anyway, probably in the hope that he will not start firing away questions. Wrong. "Do you have a brother?"

Fai stopped in mid-bark, his eye widened. It took him more than five seconds to pull out of his shocked state and tug his cheeks forcefully, but he turned pale and there was a twitch in the corner of his forcefully happy eyes. "Why did Kuro-pyon think of that?"

"It's a simple yes or no question." Kurogane said

"Maa, Kuro-puppy, did you know that good doggies mind their own business?"

Kurogane snorted. "You do, then."

"What if I do? Will it make a difference?" Fai asked.

"Maybe."