Big thanks to user Koko-chan1 for pointing out a huge formatting error that FFN decided I didn't need to see but everyone else did. You are the hero Gotham deserves!

A/N: I have a problem and it's a serious lack of BAMF!Fai and damsel!Kurogane. I'm here to fix this one step at a time. I was gonna make this just a long one-shot but I decided to split it into two parts because it wound up longer than I thought. I'll hopefully have the second part out before I have to start working on the KuroFai gift exchange, but no promises.

Warnings: talk of illness, mild mindcontrol (later chapters), light angst

One of the things that caused them the biggest problems on their travels was magic, without a doubt. Sometimes it was magic being used against them, sometimes it was simply Fai and Syaoran's magic being unwelcome. On occasion it was even the manjuu speaking out of turn and causing a spectacle. Anyway way you looked at it, though, magic was the root of a lot of problems for the travelers.

On the days that Fai and Syaoran's magic was the cause Kurogane was quietly thankful he didn't possess a lick of it. One less thing to worry about and he didn't need it anyway. But on the days where all that could save the day was magic he felt the fleeting ping of regret that he couldn't help. He would never wish for magic, both because he knew very well the dangers of wishing and because he was honestly happy with his strengths. He had seen what magic could do, powerful magic was a danger simply by existing and he didn't envy those who had it.

It was well into the morning by the time Kurogane stepped out of the house. They had arrived in their current world late in the afternoon the previous day. The town they were in seemed to be a port city of some sort along a river. It hadn't taken long for them to realize that magic was a part of everyday life for the people here and Mokona had become very active immediately after. Kurogane supposed he couldn't fault her too much, the manjuu had had to keep a low profile in the last two worlds. Even the ninja supposed she deserved to enjoy her freedom a bit.

Finding lodgings hadn't been an issue either. The sun had hardly set when Fai had merrily led them to an old house. The owner apparently also ran the café they'd stopped in earlier and had been very fond of Fai. The old woman had agreed to let them stay in the empty house if they worked on fixing it up a bit as payment. It was all very convenient. The town as a whole was friendly and lively and all of this probably should have been the first thing to tip Kurogane off that something was going to go very wrong.

"Haa, good morning, Kuro-pii," Fai said brightly from where he was clearing off some vines that had climbed up and around the fence of the house. "You slept late today, how unlike you."

It was true, Kurogane was usually up with the sun, or at least not far behind. Today, though, he felt sluggish and his head hurt like nothing else. Upon taking a proper look at the ninja Fai dropped the winding plants and walked over to him, concern clear on his face. He lifted a hand to Kurogane's forehead and frowned.

"Are you feeling alright?" he asked as his hand made its way down his neck and up the side of his face, touching gently, most likely searching for fever. "You look a mess."

Kurogane grunted and closed his eyes, leaning his head into Fai's gentle touch. He really was not feeling himself. "My head is killing me, and my body feels heavy," he reported. He knew better than to try and play it off as nothing, especially if Fai had already noticed with a simple glance. If he just gave in and let the wizard take care of him he'd be on his feet again in no time. It wasn't ideal, but it would be a lot easier than Fai forcing care on him, and right now Kurogane didn't feel like putting up a fight over something so little.

Clucking softly under his breath Fai began to usher Kurogane back inside. "Looks like you've caught yourself a cold, Kuro-min." Kurogane grunted and allowed himself to be bustled back into the bedroom. "No fever yet, so some bed rest should help. It's a good thing this happened in a place that was friendly. It'd be awful if you caught ill in a dangerous world."

As Fai chattered on Kurogane let himself be manhandled out of his clothing and into a soft shirt and pants and under the blankets of the bed he and Fai had been sharing last night. "Quit fussing," he groused, batting halfheartedly at Fai's hands. "I'll be fine in a day, maybe two."

They should have at least that long in this world. They jumped at all sorts of intervals but it was rare for them to leave after only a day. He'd have time to rest and as embarrassing as it was to be weakened by something so little as a cold he knew his limits and when to push them or not. He also knew when to push back against Fai's fretting and when to just let the wizard have his way. If he played his cards right Fai might let Kurogane up from bed long enough to get some cleaning done.

If there was one thing he hated more than being ill it was how useless it made him feel when there was stuff to be done and he wasn't doing it.

"Let me finish with the fence and then I'll bring you some soup," Fai said, closing the curtains to block out the sun. "Stay here and relax."

Kurogane huffed but otherwise did as he was told. He really was feeling awful. He hadn't felt this bad since he was younger and Tomoyo had to post Souma outside of his door to make sure he didn't try to continue his duties until he was better. He smiled at himself as he thought about what Tomoyo would be saying is she knew he was letting himself be taken care of. For the sake of his dignity, she was never finding out about this.

Not long had passed before the doorknob started jiggling and Mokona all but flew into the room. She bound up to him and landed gently on the bed beside him rather than atop his head as per usual. Fai must have told her he was feeling under the weather. The manjuu could be surprisingly thoughtful when she wanted to be.

Mokona climbed her way up to Kurogane's shoulder and perched there, nuzzling briefly against his face. "Fai told Mokona that Kurogane was sick!" she announced. "Mokona knows Kurogane doesn't like laying around so Mokona came to help!"

"Uh-huh," Kurogane said, raising an eyebrow. "And how do you plan on doing that?"

Apparently there were plenty of things the old lady wanted to have polished - plaques, silverware, knick-knacks of all sorts. It wasn't the sort of thing Kurogane would have chosen to do, but it would keep his hands busy and allow him to be useful.

Kurogane polished each object with practiced ease. Their shapes might have been different than a sword but the motion of polishing was still the same. As Kurogane finished one Mokona would hand him another and then bounce off to add the finished piece to the slowly growing pile. His headache never subsided, but the work was helping keep his mind off of it and Mokona for her part was prattling quietly and keeping from bouncing around too much.

He smelled the food before he saw it or Fai. "There you are Mokona," he said as he set the steaming bowl of broth down on the table. There was also a small plate with a thick slice of bread on it and a cup of water. "I told you Kuro-pon needed to rest."

"Feh," Kurogane said, waving Fai off. "I'm resting plenty. I would be too irritated to properly rest if I were just laying here doing nothing."

Fai just shook his head and shooed Mokona out, pulling up a chair and preparing to spoon feed Kurogane, who was having none of that. He snorted and took the bowl of soup out of Fai's hands, holding the spoon carefully and trying not to spill it all over himself, which was hard for him to manage easily still on a good day. He did fine for the most part, even with Fai sniggering occasionally at how slowly he was eating.

Once he was finished eating Fai set the dishes aside and began to fuss over him again.

"At least you still have an appetite," Fai muttered. "That's always a good sign. Do you feel any better or worse?"

Kurogane shrugged and leaned back against the headboard. "I'm no worse off. A good night's sleep and I'll be fine."

It didn't look like Fai agreed with his assessment. "Maybe I should go into town and see if they have a healer."

With a sigh Kurogane grabbed Fai's hands, stopping them from tucking and retucking the blanket around him. "Give it a few days and I'll be back to normal, if I'm still like this in a week I'll let you take me to a healer."

Fai still didn't look over joyed with the idea, but he still nodded and leaned over to kiss Kurogane's forehead. "You've got four days to get better," he said into Kurogane's hair. The ninja didn't argue, he was sure that was more than enough time.

"Now quit your worrying and let the manjuu back in," he said, tugging lightly on a bit of Fai's hair. "We've got stuff to do."

Logically, Fai knew he was over reacting. Colds happened to everyone, and with all the world jumping it was bound to catch up to Kurogane eventually. Still, it didn't stop the uneasy feeling churning around in his stomach. He wasn't sure if it was just because seeing Kurogane pale and tired was so unusual or if it was a more instinctual reaction bred into him by lack of healing magic. Either way he decided it was probably best to keep himself busy, distract himself before he wound up carrying Kurogane into town to see someone, and he didn't doubt for a moment, especially with Kurogane sick and unable to resist him at full strength, that he'd be able to.

Absently, he started wiping down the kitchen counters and straightening the cabinet doors. He was rooting around in the drawers looking for something to tighten a few of the screws when Syaoran came in. Fai had sent him out into town not long before Kurogane had finally woken up to pick up a few things they needed around the house. The kind old lady who was letting them stay there had offered to buy any tools needed to fix up the place.

"Fai-san, I'm back," Syaoran called, coming into the kitchen and setting several bags down on the counter. "I'm pretty sure I got everything on the list. Where's Kurogane-san?"

Earlier Syaoran had been fairly worried that Kurogane was sleeping in, testament to how unusual it was. It had been part of the reason Fai had sent him out on errands. "It seems Kuro-sama's landed himself a cold," Fai said, rooting around in the bags Syaoran had brought, emerging victorious with a screwdriver. "I''ve put him on bed rest for now. He should be fine in a few days."

Syaoran glanced over at where the bedroom was. "I hope so, it's strange not having him up and about."

Fai hummed quietly in agreement. Kurogane was certainly someone who was always doing something. It wasn't often that he just stopped and relaxed and when he did it was usually after Fai had wheedled him into it. There was something surreal about the sight of Kurogane laid up in bed, pale and subdued. The image sat oddly in Fai's mind.

"We're just going to have to work extra hard so he doesn't worry," Fai said, smiling and wagging a finger at Syaoran. "You know how Kuro-daddy is if there's work to be done."

The look Syaoran gave him suggested that he'd just tried to picture an ill Kurogane fixing a leaky roof and had decided he'd rather not see it play out in real life.

The rest of the afternoon was spent getting the kitchen in tip top shape. There was more to be done than met the eye - shelves and cabinet doors to be secured, dust to be wiped away, and cobwebs to be cleared out. Between the pair of them, though, the work went by easily enough.

The real challenge came when Syaoran discovered that the pipes under the sink were leaking. Try as the pair of them might they could not figure out what exactly was leaking or how to stop it. At some point Syaoran must have angered the pipes with his attempt at stopping the constant dripping because an unprecedented and powerful spray of water soaked both of them before returning to being a slow but unmistakable drip. Just as Fai was about ready to freeze the blasted things until he could figure out a better plan someone behind him spoke.

"What are you doing, mage?"

Fai startled a bit in surprise, apparently even a sick Kurogane could still move like a shadow. He wound up knocking his head on the bottom of the sink before he managed to scramble his way out from under it. Rubbing his head he looked up at Kurogane, who wasn't looking any better for his day spent in bed. "I was trying to fix a leaky pipe. I believe it's cursed."

Kurogane just raised an eyebrow before glancing over at Syaoran, sitting on the counter and looking wet and defeated. "We can't figure out how to fix it." Kurogane sighed and grabbed a few tools off the counter before nudging Fai aside and getting himself under the sink.

"Kuro-wan you're sick," Fai said, folding his arms over his chest and trying to look stern. "Get out of there, it's all damp and dirty."

Of course, Kurogane didn't listen to him. He only huffed and kept moving around under the sink. "Oh no," he said flatly. "Water. How awful."

Both Mokona and Syaoran giggled at that, though at least Syaoran had the decency to look sheepish when Fai shot the pair of them a look. For the next ten minutes Fai resisted the urge to pull Kurogane bodily out from under the sink and drag him off to bed and make him stay there. Eventually a hand appeared from where Kurogane was working along with a demand for a rag. Fai handed it to him and in less than two minutes Kurogane was working himself back up to his feet.

"There, that should work," he said, leaning heavily on the counter. Fai wasn't sure if it was his imagination or if Kurogane looked even worse for wear. The water on his face and shirt was definitely from the leaking pipe but with the way Kurogane was looking it could very well also be a sweat breaking out.

Taking the rag from him Fai used a clean corner to wipe off Kurogane's face, tsking as he went along. The fact that Kurogane didn't even grumble at the treatment, especially in front of Syaoran, just proved even further that he was not anything close to well. If he got much worse Fai was going to go back on his agreement of waiting four days before contacting a doctor or healer.

From his spot on the counter Syaoran watched the pair of them, obviously concerned. This wouldn't do, Fai thought to himself. Pulling Kurogane across the room and easing him into a chair and turned to Syaoran. "I'm going to run a bath and hopefully that'll help, Syaoran-kun could you handle making dinner?"

"Uh, yeah sure," he said, hopping off the counter and setting Mokona down in his place.

"And don't let Kuro-sama do anything," he added on his way out of the room. "Last thing we need is for all of us to get sick."

Kurogane grumbled something after him but it lacked his usual, grumpy enthusiasm and Fai failed to catch it.

Fai hadn't had time to fiddle with the knobs in the bathroom beforehand so it took a big longer than it should have to get the water to work properly. He was glad they'd been in several worlds with plumbing, it meant he knew what temperature Kurogane liked his bathwater to be and could skip the guess work. By the time he had the bath drawn and had come to fetch Kurogane Syaoran was setting down a bowl of stew in front of him and scooping out a second and third helping for Fai and himself. With a few runes Fai charmed the bath water to keep warm while they ate.

It was good news, Fai supposed, that Kurogane hadn't lost his appetite at least. From what Fai knew stomach bugs could get particularly nasty. When a gentle press of his hand against Kurogane's forehead revealed the lack of a fever as well Fai allowed himself to relax a little. A bit of fatigue never killed anyone who rested for a while. He would still be keeping a close eye on Kurogane's condition but he didn't need to worry so much. At least, that's what he tried to tell himself as he took his helping of stew from Syaoran.

The night ended on a quiet note after that. Kurogane allowed Fai to herd him from bath to bed and even managed to scrounge up some token protests. Syaoran slipped off into the yard somewhere clutching a pair of books to his chest. Fai recognized one of them as something they'd picked up a few worlds ago that Syaoran hadn't had a proper chance to read yet. As much as the young man loved adventure Fai knew how much he coveted the calm, quiet time he could spend with his books.

By the time Fai had cleaned up from dinner Kurogane was fast asleep with Mokona nestled contentedly in the crook of his arm. When she looked up at him he put a finger to his lips and gently scooped her up. Not too long ago just entering the room would have been enough to wake Kurogane from a dead sleep and were it anyone other than Fai or Syaoran he would be up, but even in sleep Kurogane seemed to recognize them. So long as Fai was quiet Kurogane didn't stir.

Slipping out of the room as quietly as he had slipped in Fai perched Mokona on his shoulder while he pulled on his boots. He'd been meaning to explore the town and he would have preferred to do that with Kurogane, but with the ninja sleeping and Fai unwilling to take up any of Syaoran's precious reading time he would just have to venture out alone with Mokona.

The town at night was a lovely sight. Innumerable lanterns were strung between buildings and down the roads, casting everything in a soft, golden glow. Occasionally there would be floating balls of light floating in midair rather than lanterns. There didn't seem to be any rhyme or reason between using lanterns or the glowing balls, Fai supposed it must have just been a personal preference.

He really did enjoy worlds where magic was an everyday part of life. The air hummed with the wisps of magic that poured from people, mingling in the air like invisible smoke and invigorating the senses. Everything here felt so alive and vivid Fai was amazed he had gotten to sleep the night before. The world was so energizing he could hardly keep himself still. As he walked he could feel a smile pulling at the corners of his mouth. It had been a long time since their journey had begun, but Fai still marveled at his ability to produce an honest smile sometimes.

It was a shame Kurogane was sick, he thought, peering into shops on a whim and stopping to chat with a few vendors. The glow of the lanterns and their magical counterparts was almost romantic.

"Ahh! What a cutie!"

Fai barely had time to turn around before Mokona was leaping off his shoulder and into the waiting arms of a handful of young children, each of them cooing over her in turn. Mokona giggled happily, bouncing from child to child and soaking up the affection and compliments. She exclaimed proudly about her many admirers, completely caught up in the attention. Warning her not to wander off too far Fai turned back to his conversation with a jeweler he'd stopped to chat with.

"I'm sorry, you were telling me about the river?" he smiled, gesturing to the soft light coming from a few rows of buildings away. He hadn't noticed the glow from the house last night and from what the young jeweler had told him already the light was only to be seen at night.

She smiled up at him and continued explaining as she threaded bead after bead on a necklace. "The water is only ever a few inches deep, you would hardly get your ankles wet if you were to walk in it. It's why you don't see any boats," she explained. She'd found it a bit odd that he hadn't known anything about the river, but a simple explanation of being a traveler from a far off land had been enough to get her to give him an impromptu lesson. "Even when it overflows on the new moon it doesn't get any deeper."

"Why does it overflow?" It seemed to be a regular occurrence the way she nonchalantly explained it, not even anything to make particular notice of.

The look she gave him hinted that even if he was from far away he should still know that much. She did answer him, however. "To take the offerings," she stated. "The water comes ashore and takes just a little bit of magic from each person. It's what gives the moon stones their shine and keeps the river flowing."

Fai wasn't sure he liked the idea of anything coming and taking even a drop of his magic to be honest. The relationship between people and river seemed to be symbiotic, though, and they all seemed perfectly content to allow the river's water to take what it needed, trusting it not to take too much. It was a lovely idea, so long as Fai had no part in it. He glanced up at the clear night sky to see only a tiny sliver of moon. In this world, though, he couldn't tell if it was coming or going.

He would have stayed and talked a bit more, but the laughter of children had grown distant and the last thing he needed was to start talking what might as well be gibberish to this poor girl. He excused himself and went to collect Mokona.

Kurogane woke briefly to Fai worming his way into bed. His mind was still muddled with sleep and sick as he wrapped an arm around Fai's waist and pulled him close to nuzzle at the top of his head. He thought he heard Fai saying something about getting him sick too, but Kurogane was already drifting back to sleep before he could really give it any thought.

When he woke again he felt worse than he had the day before. His head still ached and his entire body felt heavy and sluggish. He was alone in bed and a quick glance out the window showed that he'd nearly slept until noon today. Standing made the world tilt and Kurogane all but stumbled to the sink in the bathroom down the short hall. He splashed cool water on his face and used his shirt to dry his face and wipe more cool water across the back of his neck. He didn't feel feverish but the cool water helped a little with the nausea his dizziness was causing. He felt absolutely miserable. For a moment he considered letting Fai go into town and bring a doctor.

He tossed the idea quickly, though. There was no need to worry Fai or the kid and he remembered some of the servants back home talking about illnesses getting worse before getting better. He would be fine, he told himself as he slowly made his way back towards his room after taking care of his business in the bathroom.

He hung his wet shirt by the doorknob and practically collapsed back into bed, spent from his short walk. It was ridiculous that he was so weak just because he had a cold, embarrassing really.

He didn't know if he had been laying there for an hour or a few minutes when Fai walked in, footsteps light like he was trying not to wake Kurogane. "I'm up, mage," he grunted. "In a manner of speaking."

"You're feeling worse?" Fai asked and Kurogane might have felt guilty about the worry in his voice if he'd been someone else. It was nice, though, to know Fai cared about him so openly. He still remembered the distance that had cropped up between them that had left him aching. He'd take Fai being overly concerned with him than that cold stare any day.

Kurogane grunted the affirmative, deciding that being articulate was too much hassle at the moment. The bed dipped beside him as Fai sat and reached a hand to press against his cheek and neck. The wizard ran soothing fingers through his hair and Kurogane was glad he didn't coo at him like when the manjuu or kid received similar treatment. He kept his eyes closed and let Fai do as he pleased. The spinning had stopped now that he was laying down, but the fatigue of fighting it to get himself to and from the bathroom had taken a toll on him. If he didn't have to Kurogane wasn't going to so much as sit up for the rest of the day.

"Are you sure about going to see someone?" Fai asked, pulling the blanket back over Kurogane.

"You said four days, mage," he mumbled as he felt his eyes drooping. He'd only just woken up but sleep was pulling at him. The last things he remembered were Fai's concerned face and his own reassurances, though he wasn't sure if he had said them out loud or only thought them.

The next time he woke it was dark and he could hear Mokona chattering about something, her voice too muffled by the walls for him to make out without trying. On the little table beside the bed was a cup of water and a few slices of bread. There was a note in Syaoran's unpracticed handwriting that Kurogane was pretty sure was supposed to say "please eat". He sat up and reached for the water, pleased that the world remained firmly in place as he drank. The thought of eating seemed like too much trouble but he knew better than to forgo food when he was ill.

He ate slowly and thought about calling for the manjuu, knowing they still had several knick knacks that still needed polishing but by the time he was finished sleep was already reclaiming him. The world blurred around the edges and Kurogane could have sworn he'd heard voices on the wind.

When he woke next it was to Fai curled against him as the grey light of dawn filtered in through a gap in the curtains. The world around him seemed muddled and he had a hard time pulling a coherent thought forth through the haze. The wind outside was hissing through tree branches and lulling him back to sleep before he could muster the energy to be concerned about his condition.

Someone was talking to him, or maybe just about him. He recognized the voice, it came with blue eyes and silky hair. For some reason he couldn't remember the name.

"We're going into town," the voice told him. He felt something touch his face, brushing against his cheek. "Syaoran-kun and I will be back soon with a healer."

He tried to work through the fog in his brain an understand what was going on but try as he might nothing got any clearer. The voices left and for a while it was silent. Then another voice came. This one he didn't recognize right away, though it felt familiar in an almost painful way. It was saying something and he fought to hear it.

"You-ou."

Something was wrong.

Struggling against the heaviness in his limbs Kurogane sat up and shook his head, hoping to clear it. There shouldn't be anyone there that knew that name. The voice said it again, still achingly familiar though he couldn't place it. Had his mind been clearer he would have cursed himself and this world. They should have known it was too quiet to trust. He stumbled to his feet and looked around the room.

"You-ou," the voice sang as a body began to appear by the door.

With what little strength he had he summoned Ginryuu, the mage's magic rushing through his body granted him a brief moment of clarity, enough to realize that he was in deep shit if Fai and Syaoran didn't come back very soon. He didn't need a healer, he wasn't sick.

He was under attack.

The figure said his true name once more and the last thing Kurogane noticed was Ginryuu clattering to the floor from his slackened hand.