Chapter Text
“Puu!” Mokona emerged from Fay’s cloak. “It was so warm in here! I don’t want to come out anymore, I don’t!”
He chuckled, cradling the little creature in his hands. “I’m sure you were comfy; I wore extra fluff in this world!” He gazed at the village, nostalgically. The sun was bright in the sky, the forest was no longer haunted. They had saved the people. They had done everything they could. And still, he didn’t feel as though he had accomplished much. Even though he’d done all he could to get the best ending he could, he still felt as though he could have done better. Much better. “Though It’s weird I didn’t notice you had been sealed in no other place than my own pockets! If you think about it, it’s nice I just lost a few coins back in the market. Imagine if I had—"
Someone behind him groaned in exasperation. “Oh, God. You’re still not going to tell us what happened back there? I took out my sword for nothing,” Kurogane grasped the hilt of his katana, swinging the blade angrily as if he was trying to cut the air in half. “I feel as if we got someone killed without reason,” he muttered after his little pout. Was that regret on his face? “It didn’t have to end like that.”
Xiaolang secured the bandage on the blond’s head, the grip tight and snug. He had really overdone it this time with his health. Thinking about it now, that injury could have been the reason for his constant nightmares—or it could have been an omen of what was about to come next—. “I’m sorry Fay, but I’m with Kurogane on this one. Perhaps… Oh!” he scrambled, his cheeks darkening as he raised his palms in the air, apologetically. “I am so sorry; I shouldn’t be so inconsiderate! I understand if you don’t feel like remembering this anytime soon!”
He rambled off, going on about how he hoped the next world would be Clow or at least somewhere warm. Fay snickered, grateful for the boy’s kind soul. He had been blessed with so many things in life, the biggest one being his little family, and he couldn’t be happier they were finally reunited.
However.
“It’s all right,” he muttered as he closed his eyes, relishing the sunlight hitting his skin. “For it is impossible to kill someone that’s already dead. So we didn’t do anything wrong, not at all.”
Silence. Kurogane glanced at him expectantly, his eyebrows furrowing in realization. “Oh,” he gasped. Fay nodded, caressing Mokona’s fur with his knuckles, scratching behind her ears ever so slightly.
“You mean the bad guy I swallowed in that place?” she asked suddenly. All heads turned to her. “The black Mokona told me in a dream that I had to take that ugly book back for payment. So when I sensed it, I just jumped right over him! I hope he wasn’t too scared,” she giggled.
Xiaolang gaped like drowning fish. “I’m not getting it.”
“The person we met in the forest, the priest, my brother,” Fay explained, remembering all the images he saw in those final moments, the memories the other Fay shared with him to give him strength. “He actually died a few years ago. The person we saw was no more than a memory, a wish he'd left just before he exhaled his last breath…” he gazed at the distance, hearing the joyful cries of the village’s children. “Most likely, he died hating the very people that drowned his brother in his own home. Just because he was a wizard.” Just because he had been born with magic, that could have been a better explanation. He remembered how damaged that memory had been, the smell of his pipe, the unspeakable pain he’d had to endure in order to keep going, even if was just a little bit further…
In order to obtain his revenge and bring back his brother to life.
Fay smiled sadly, “It actually reminded me of myself. Back then, I would have done anything to get another hug from my other half. Even if it meant dooming the whole universe to destruction.”
He gasped as he felt little arms embracing his neck in a loving manner. “Mokona…” he uttered, surprised.
“No, no! Fay doesn’t have to be sad anymore; Mokona will hug him as many times as he needs!” the little creature cried, rubbing her face against his collarbone. “And Kuro-puu and Xiaolang too!” She grabbed them with supernatural force, slamming their bodies against the wizard.
“Hmph—! You damn manjū,” Kurogane muffled against Fay’s coat.
He laughed. It was a hearty, borderline childish laugh that shook his chest and blushed his cheeks a healthy shade of red. He cradled the heads of both boys, grasping their hair and pressing them impossibly closer. “Haha! Look what I’ve got here, a super hug!”
“A super hug!”
He giggled, releasing their heads and enduring the complaints over his attitude from his beloved. “You know?” he cut him off, “I learned the most powerful spell in magic’s history. Do you want to hear what it sounded like?”
The wind picked up, the snow melting under the heat as Mokona’s wings unfolded, marking the time to finally go. Gold reflected onto his blue irises as his lips shaped the words he’d listened to back in the castle.
Xiaolang was the first to understand its meaning. “Huh? That sounds like ‘keep going', doesn’t it?’”
“No. It was more like ‘go beyond,’ Kurogane opined.
The blond smiled, waving his hand. “I think it’s a way of saying hello!”
“… And where exactly is the magic in that, huh?!”
And just like that, they left for the next world.