The Significance Of A Name

[irenegerke]

 Tsubasa Reservoir Chronicles belongs to CLAMP

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This story takes place after the groups' appearance in chapter 204.5 of xxxHolic

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-The Significance Of A Name-

The desert night was cool, the sands shimmering as the last of day's heat dissipated under the white light of the moon. Kurogane was standing with his arms resting on the still warm stone railing of a balcony, absentmindedly turning a cup in his hand. The sounds of the party held to celebrate their return to Clow country, filtering through the curtains at his back and washing past him unheeded; his attention focused on the evening sky. The night sky in Clow country rivaled even that of his own, the moon appearing overly large; as if he were to walk just beyond the horizon he could tread upon its surface. However, as great as the moon appeared it did not overwhelm the sky as it would have in Nihon.

'Perhaps the sky is larger in Clow,' he mused silently, taking a drink from his cup, the potent alcohol stinging his throat briefly before being overridden by the complex richness of the wine. The evening before he had wandered into the desert, until he could see nothing but sand and stars, it had felt as though he were being clothed in a silk made from of the dust of diamonds. It had been a strangely comforting sensation, made more so by the touch of the slim bodied mage wrapped in his arms.

Behind him, he heard the flutter of the curtains as someone slid between their lengths. By the light tap of the shoes on the stone floor and the faint aroma of jasmine, he knew it was the Princess joining him. The girl knelt on a stone bench near him, crossing her arms over the railing, silently watching the night.

"Kurogane-san?" Sakura questioned after several minutes. With the return of her memories and trials she had undergone her voice no longer retained the innocence that only children and the heavily sheltered possessed, but it was soft, a sound that healed rather than wounded.

"What?" Kurogane grunted, watching the girl from the corner of his eye. She had grown since their last visit, more a woman now than the girl he still thought her. He knew the kid had grown, but perhaps it was because he saw the boy every day the changes had not seemed as dramatic. While he would never admit as much aloud, seeing the changes in the Princess he had been saddened, missing, briefly, the young girl the idiot mage had called his daughter.

"Why won't you call me by my name?" she asked her voice curious. Brushing her hair over a shoulder she rested her head on her crossed arms, patiently watching Kurogane, and waiting for his answer.

Kurogane faced the girl, the green color of her eyes had been leached away in the absence of the sun and he was left staring into eyes that seemed as wide and filled with light as the evening sky he had just turned from. "What the hell kind of question is that?" he demanded, his brows creased in apparent irritation.

A small smile tilted Sakura's lips upward, only those closest to the ninja knew the truth behind Kurogane's coarse and violent façade. When she first met the ninja she had been imitated by him a hazy half-aware sort of way, but she had quickly learned to see his true kindness more quickly even than she had realized Fai's smiles were pain filled lies. The warrior possessed emotions of such passion and depth that they could overwhelm anyone who came into contact with them, therefor the warrior tempered and camouflaged them with a seemingly unapproachable exterior. "It isn't just my name. I am sure the only names I have heard you use are Tomoyo-chan's and Souma-san's. I was just curious if there was a reason for it?" she answered, her smile reflected in her words.

Kurogane cocked a brow at her frowning a little "You mean why I don't call you Sakura or the others by the names they gave?" he clarified.

Sakura nodded, finding the growl of Kurogane's voice as soothing a sound as that of her father's.

Kurogane rolled his shoulders in a shrug turning back to the night, "Those aren't your names," he stated matter-of-factly, as though that should be answer enough.

"What about Mokona and Yuuko then?" she pressed after a moment's thought, unable to deny the truth of his words.

Kurogane snorted, "That wasn't the witch's name and I wouldn't call that overstuffed manjuu by its name even if I knew it." He knew he was being deliberately obtuse and his only excuse for the amusement he felt at the flicker of exasperation he saw on the Princess's face was his prolonged exposure to a certain blonde halfwit.

Sakura gave a small annoyed huff the sound reminiscent of the child she was not so long ago, "Kurogane-san, not everyone we have met has used an alias and you didn't use any of their names either."

Kurogane's lips twitched minutely as he turned his back on the desert that was illuminated only by the naturally created light of the night sky and starred at the figures silhouetted against the curtains by the warm glow of the torches. "There isn't a single answer to that question," he told her thoughtfully, his eyes picking out the outline of the mage from among the anonymous shapes of the other guests.

Sakura knowing he would answer question waited patiently, an impish breeze playing with the strands of her hair and ruffling the hem of her dress.

"In Nihon you only use the names of the people you are closest to and in the beginning I had no intention of remaining with any of you longer than I had to," he told her with another shrug. "Since I wouldn't have used the names of the other people we met in Nihon I didn't use their names even though I wasn't in Nihon." Kurogane paused to consider his next words, removing his cloak and draping over the princess. The evening was too cold for the girl to be out of doors in her sleeveless party dress that he protectively thought left too much her skin exposed. "After I decided to help you guys I guess kept calling you Princess and the others as I did because those names were as real as the ones you gave at first."

Sakura cocked her head slightly, pursing her lips thoughtfully. "But, you don't use your true name either, Kurogane-san," she pointed out.

Kurogane nodded his head, "That's correct. Though, I guess I'm not surprised you and others realized it. All of you have more damn magic in you than is good for you. In Nihon when a ninja swears loyalty to his master the ninja will receive his true name. This is a name that may only be known to the ninja and his master. Ninja are unlike any other warrior in the service of their lords. They have greater autonomy and the face highest risk while protecting their lord. Because knowing someone's true name is said to give you power over them it is a sign of loyalty that a ninja's true name is given to them by their lord and known only to the two of them. It also prevents enemies from gaining power over the ninja and insures that a ninja will be less likely to betray his lord."

Sakura nodded her head understanding, "Here usually only a person's parents and spouse will know their true name. The parents know because they are the ones who give the true name during the baby's blessing ceremony and when people are married they exchange their true names as part of their vows."

The silence stretched comfortably between them and Kurogane thought the conversation had ended, until the princess broke the quiet. Shaking her head and frowning she sat up. "Kurogane-san, that doesn't answer why you still refuse to call me by my name," she said, stubbornness creeping into her voice as she resolved to force the answer from the recalcitrant man.

Reaching down Kurogane rested his hand on her head, giving her a one of his rare full smiles when she met his eyes, "I keep calling you Princess and the others like I do because those are the names of my family."

"Kuuurrrrooo-sama," Fai's voice sang through the curtain before he appeared, dancing happily over to them, the slight flush to his cheeks the result of heat of the banquet room or the deceptively potent drinks being served. "So this where you are Sakura-chan, I think the dancing is about to start," he said, his voice lilting. "You should find Syaoran-kun," he advised giving her a wink.

Sakura seemed to glow at the prospect of dancing with her fiancé and she quickly stood up on the bench, wrapping her arms around Kurogane's neck and giving him a quick kiss on the cheek. "Thank you," she said happiness overflowing in her voice, "I'm glad we're family."

The two men watched her disappear, Kurogane's overlong cloak trailing behind her like a train. "What where you two talking about?" Fai asked, as he slipped an arm around Kurogane's waist and the warrior's arm settled across his shoulders pulling Fai tight against his side.

"Hmmm, names," Kurogane answered, pressing his lips to the top of Fai's head and breathing in his scent.

Giving a contented sigh that was nearly a purr Fai tilted his head and raised up on his toes to brush his lips over Kurogane's. "Kuro-sama is a good Daddy," he murmured.

Kurogane grunted noncommittally, savoring the feeling of his family being together.

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Author's Notes:

There's not much to say about this. It's a little idea that came to mind while I was thinking about the significance of people's names for Kurogane. Besides I felt the need to write something fluffy and light after spending so much time writing for "Stray".