Dizzy Land

Anxious to begin, and curious as ever, Chii chirped to Fay, "Chii good~!" in return, before asking, "Fay-mommy good? Mokona Good?"

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"Mokona good!" replied Mokona cheerfully. Oh, it was looking forward to this!

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"Fay-mommy good," Fay answered cheerfully, crossing his legs and resting his chin on his hands. "And now, let's begin!"

But before he did that, Fay cleared his throat and called over his shoulder through the open door, "Kuro-pipi! Story!"

And then he began.

"There was once a little girl named Chii who lived all alone. Chii would feed herself, and dress herself, and read to herself: there was no one else for her to read to, you see. Poor Chii was very lonely.

One day, Chii decided she didn’t want to be lonely any more. 'I will go and find my special person,' she decided. 'Someone just for me who will look after me and keep me company and like me for who I am.' So Chii changed into her outdoor clothes, picked up some pillows and cuddly toys, and started on her quest."

Fay's imitation of Chii's voice wasn't half bad. Not as good as Mokona, obviously, but not terrible.

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Fay should know by now that Kurogane never comes in for these stories. It's just not something, he's decided, that ninjas do. And he's probably right. Ninjas don't go in and listen to bedtime stories, for the most part.

He does, however, go to stand outside the door sometimes. Just for a while. To... guard, or make sure everyone's okay. Something like that.

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"Kuro-daddy good?" Chii had to ask, even though she was, of course, listening to the story. She liked it, because it sounded like she had learned so much. But, at the same time, lonely didn't sound so good. Normally, she might have to ask about such a word, but for some odd reason, lonely made perfect sense to her, and Chii put a hand over her chest and repeated, "Lonely."

The special person would fix that, though!

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"Mokona is sure Kuro-daddy's good!" Mokona said cheerfully. "Kuro-daddy just won't say it because he's too shy to come to hear the story!"

It then turned towards Chii. "If you're lonely now, you can hug Mokona!"

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The blonde smiled at Kurogane over his shoulder. "Kuro-daddy is keeping his family safe," he said seriously, and winked at the ninja. "Kuro-daddy doesn't want us to get hurt!"

Fay nodded sadly and turned back to Chii and Mokona. "Little Chii was very lonely," he said. "But don't worry, everything will get better!

"The first person she met was a blonde man named Fay. 'Chii has no special person,' she said. 'Will you be Chii’s special person?'

'I’m sorry,' said Fay, 'but I can’t be your special person. But I will be your Fay-mommy. Is that okay?'

'If you are my mommy,' Chii answered carefully, 'does that mean you will look after Chii?'

'Yes,' Fay answered.

'Chii!' Chii nodded, and set off again to find her special person with Fay-mommy beside her."

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Kurogane twitches at Mokona, and doesn't know whether to explode at the mage or relax. His words are actually a bit calming. "I can hear just fine from here, manjuu bun," he grumbles, which is true, even if it does make it sound like he's standing here to listen. Which isn't true.

...He's getting a weird feeling about this story.

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"That means Kuro-daddy's listening!" Mokona said happily. "Yay, Mokona was right!"

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"Of course Kuro-daddy is listening," Fay said. "Kuro-daddy listens to everything Fay-mommy says."

And before Kurogane could answer, he continued the story with, "By and by they came across a white creature named Mokona. ‘Chii has no special person,’ said Chii. ‘Will you be Chii’s special person?’

“‘Mokona is sorry!’ said Mokona. ‘But Mokona can’t be Chii’s special person! Mokona will be Chii’s Mokona!’

“‘If Mokona is Chii’s Mokona,’ Chii answered carefully, ‘does that mean Mokona will snuggle Chii and make her feel better when she’s hurting?’

“‘Mokona will do that and more!’ Mokona answered.

“‘Chii!’ Chii nodded, and set off again to find her special person, with Fay-mommy and Mokona beside her."

His imitation of Mokona wasn't quite so good, but Mokona's voice was a hard one to mimic.

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Kurogane opens his mouth to argue that one, but Fay's already continuing with the story. And yes, he was getting a feeling about this story. It would probably have the words 'Kuro-daddy' next, and if the magician had the Kurogane in the story call himself that, he'd... well, he didn't know what. Probably not much. Damn.

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"Chii...." Chii said happily as she reached over to hug Mokona close. "Thank-you, Mokona." She really liked this story so far, because it was getting better, even if she hadn't found a special person.

It wasn't so lonely.

But first.... "I'm sorry?" she asks, wanting an explanation for those words.

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... How to explain that?

"'Sorry'... you feel bad for not being able to help," Fay attempted to explain, "or for making someone else feel bad. You say 'I'm sorry' the other person forgives you, and it's okay again. Watch." He turned to Kurogane and said soberly, "I'm sorry for getting chocolate spread on you at breakfast, Kuro-tan."

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"Like hell you are," Kurogane mutters. But not loud enough for the kid to hear. Raising his voice a little, he says instead, "It's all right." Because they were teaching Chii, right? Might as well show her the polite way to do things.

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Fay gives him a proud kind of look and turns back to Chii. "See? And now Kuro-daddy and I are friends again!"

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"Chii.... Good?" Chii asked, showing she somewhat understood. Fay apparently did something that upset Kurogane, and Fay said, "I'm sorry," to make it better.

Now the story could continue!

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And so the story did.

"By and by they met a young girl named Sakura. ‘Chii has no special person,’ said Chii. ‘Will you be Chii’s special person?’

"‘I’m sorry,’ said Sakura, smiling kindly, ‘but I cannot. I will be your sister if you want.’

"‘If Sakura is Chii’s sister,’ Chii answered carefully, ‘does that mean Sakura will play games with Chii and always be nice to Chii?’

"‘Of course!’ Sakura answered and smiled warmly.

"‘Chii!’ Chii nodded, and set off again to find her special person, with Fay-mommy and Mokona and Sakura beside her."

He wondered again where Sakura was, and hoped she was safe and would get here soon.

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Kurogane is quiet. At the mention of Sakura, he's thinking pretty much the same thing as Fay. ~~Well, they are her parents.~~

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"Sakura? Sister?" Chii asks, curiously. This is a new one on her.

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"You'll meet Sakura soon," Fay said confidently. "Sister like friend, but family, like mommy and daddy."

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"Sister family," Chii repeated, eyes closed. Sister.... Family.... It all felt so familiar.

She reopened her eyes and looked at Fay, waiting for him to continue the story. She, now more than ever, wanted to see where it would go.

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"Who comes next?" asked Mokona eagerly. "Will it be Syoaran-brother?"

((OMG I'm so sorry. XD I just couldn't resist... Will delete if you'd prefer.))

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Fay nodded at Chii. "Sister family," he confirmed, and smiled. "Good Chii!"

He didn't show any outward signs of discomfort when Mokona asked that. Once, Syaoran would have followed, but this story was for Chii. Chii needed to stay away from the other Syaoran, if not for her own safety then for Fay's peace of mind. "We'll see!" he chirped instead, all happy and energetic.

"By and by they met a dark-haired man named Kurogane. ‘Chii has no special person,’ said Chii. ‘Will you be Chii’s special person?’

"‘No,’ said Kurogane, ‘I can’t. But I’ll be your bodyguard.’

"‘Kuro-daddy!’ Chii decided. ‘If Kuro-daddy will be my daddy, will Kuro-daddy protect me and stay with my Fay-mommy?’

Kurogane opened his mouth to say no, but when he caught sight of Fay-mommy he closed his mouth and said gruffly, ‘Fine.’

"‘Chii!’ Chii nodded, and set off again to find her special person, with Mokona and Sakura beside her and Fay-mommy and Kuro-daddy following behind."

His mimic of Kurogane's voice was probably the best so far, though naturally a few notes higher. Fay wasn't making fun of him.

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Kurogane agrees with Fay on this matter, thinking that even if Syaoran's not actively dangerous there is no way they want Chii going anywhere near him. Dangerous or not, the boy seems twisted, and she doesn't need that.

When the story continues, Kurogane is fully prepared to be annoyed, but... there's nothing in there that he objects to. Not even the part about him and "Fay-mommy," anymore. It's a little unsettling, like taking a step and finding an unexpected stair, and he leans against the door, mollified.

Fay can mimic his voice far too well, too.

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