Shome Tsubasa Shtuff

Lanterns

Happy New Year!! A little late, I know.

Woo!! This idea's been rattling around in my head for a while, and I feel like Fai might benefit from this sort of thing.

Toro nagashi: Small paper lanterns containing a burning flame are set afloat to a river, lake, sea, or are let go to float away into the night. Their light is intended to guide the way for deceased family members' spirits. Usually the person who lets the lantern go will write a message on the side.

Little bit happy, little bit sad.

-Maggic

_______________________________________________________________________________

Fai loved Kurogane's country of Japan, he really did. He loved the people, the food(for the most part anyway), and the beautiful flowers that blossomed so often. He loved how there were celebrations so often, even if they were for the most trifle things in Fai's eyes. Kurogane really had a beautiful country.

It was sometime in early summer and Fai had been taking a walk around the gardens, every now and then sneaking glances over at Syaoran and Sakura as they admired the flowers together. The sun shone down warmly, the cool breeze that pressed down from the north the only thing that kept the day at a relatively liveable temperature. Suddenly, a pair of doors further away from the garden opened and people bustled through, carrying anything from tables to boxes upon boxes of small paper things. 'Origami?' Fai wondered, having heard Kurogane explain the art of folding paper to him before. But these all seemed to be the same shape, so he wondered what their purpose was. Fai watched the mass leave the area around the palace and start setting up whatever they were doing along a riverbank a little ways away. He noticed Sakura and Syaoran watching too, eyes wide and curious, and made his way over to them. "Curious too, are we?" He asked, grinning and resting a hand on Syaoran's shoulder. Syaoran nodded and Sakura tilted her head. "I wonder if it's another festival?" She questioned, hands absentmindedly fiddling with the fabric of her kimono. Fai chuckled and looked back at the palace. "We'll have to ask Kuro-pi about it when we see him." "Ask me what?" Kurogane replied, appearing behind them also with a large box in his hands. "We were just wondering what festival was taking place this time." Syaoran answered, polite as always. Kurogane put down the box and rolled his shoulders before crossing his arms over his chest. "It's a lantern festival. Everyone lights a lantern for a deceased member of their family, and the lights guide the spirits to the next world." Fai awkwardly turned to look at some of the flowers, opting to stay out of the conversation. "That sounds amazing!" Sakura awed, bouncing where she stood. "Can we light lanterns too?" Kurogane shrugged and rolled his eyes. "Of course. There's no set rules against who can participate." Syaoran and Sakura exchanged excited looks before Sakura grabbed Syaoran's hand and took off towards where the festival was being set up. Kurogane watched them go, shaking his head and slightly amused. He turned to Fai, who was still looking at the flowers with a vacant expression on his face. "I'm guessing you're not gonna participate in this one?" Fai gave an airy laugh and a smile that didn't quite reach his eyes. "Probably not. I don't want to...have to think of everything again..." Kurogane picked up the box again while he pondered what Fai had said. "It's hard at first, but it helps. You should give it a try." He walked past Fai and out of the garden, towards the set up. "The food is pretty good too, if you'd rather enjoy that sort of thing." Fai watched Kurogane's retreating back and frowned. He turned back to the array of colourful plants. "I'm not strong like you, Kurogane." He muttered to himself. "I can't bring back that pain and walk away from it again."

Fai didn't know what he was doing. He sat by himself in a secluded area off of the river under a willow tree, an intricately designed fabric floating lantern on his lap. What had possessed him to get the lantern, he didn't know, but it was very beautiful. Ribbons of royal blue and gold looped in odd and fascinating shapes around it and weaved through the wooden base like veins. He didn't want to do this, absolutely not. "Figured you wouldn't be able to stay away." Fai glanced over his shoulder to Kurogane, who stood behind him with two beautifully embroidered red lanterns, each one with a flickering light inside. Fai looked back to his lantern. "I don't even know why I decided to do this." Kurogane walked over to him and sat next to him, placing his lanterns gently on the ground in front of him. "That's easy, you want to heal you're just afraid to. You've been holding it up inside you for so long that you don't know how to let it go." Fai felt a lump in his throat and swallowed harshly past it. The light in his lantern flickered. Kurogane looked at him and rested his head on the palm of his hand. "I'm not saying it's easy, or painless, but once you let go of it you'll feel better." Fai didn't respond, just continued to stare at the flickering light in his lantern. Kurogane frowned, wondering what else he could say. After a moment, he cleared his throat and picked up one his lanterns. "You can't always get everything you want to say down, but sometimes a message helps." That caught Fai's attention and he turned to look at the lantern Kurogane was holding up. There, near the base of the lantern written in Kurogane's small scratchy handwriting was two simple words. 'Thank you'. Fai choked on his breath and leaned back against the tree. Kurogane put his lantern back down. "It used to be longer, but I've been doing this for so long that it's just easier this way." Before Fai could react, Kurogane's large warm hands were gently pressing a pen into his own smaller hands. He looked up at him, fear and sadness written on his face. Kurogane shook his head. "It doesn't have to be much."