[Team Sea] (Royalty) ebb and flow

[hitsusven]

Title: ebb and flow
Prompt: Royalty
Rating: T
Tags: Fantasy AU, Roleswap AU, Canon-typical Violence, Past Minor Character Death, Not Safe for Nick / Newbies.

Summary: Fai is an assassin from Celes sent to kill Suwa's Emperor in exchange for bringing his brother back to life.

Note: Unfortunately due to Life I was unable to complete my fic this year. Deepest apologies and gratitude to my teammates who have been very patient and understanding towards my situation. I included my fic outline so people can at least see what I planned to write, and I hope I can finish this some day! ;v;

There is a Celesian legend passed down for many centuries:

Long, long ago, there existed a kingdom of magic and ice named Valeria. The people there built a gleaming white tower that stretched towards the heavens, honouring their beloved Moon Goddess Tsukuyomi and wishing to draw closer to her. She was touched by this display of devotion and gave them her blessing in return. Valeria prospered under her careful watch.

However, the Dragon Emperor Ginryuu was filled with jealousy and scorned the Valerians, for he wanted Tsukuyomi's love for himself. He caused the seas to rise and rise until Valeria was drowned beneath the mountainous waves, leaving no trace behind except the tower. Tsukuyomi grieved for the destruction of Valeria and placed a curse upon Ginryuu, banishing him to the dark ocean depths where he would remain imprisoned forever, stripped of his strength.

Then Tsukuyomi searched the seas for what remained of Valeria. She found no one except one child with golden hair like starlight, resting at the top of the tower, safe from the rising seas. She cradled this child and wept in sorrow at all the life needlessly lost. "This tower was a symbol of your people's love for me, and it protected you from the Emperor's wrath," she said. "I will bless you so that it may continue protecting you." Her tears poured over the tower and transformed it into ice, which she then shaped into a blade strong enough to pierce through any enchantment or armour. She hid this blessing deep within the child's blood, then brought them to the kingdom of Celes where they would be far from the Emperor's reach.

This is why it is said in Celes that those with golden hair are the children of fortune, destined to strike down Ginryuu if he floods the world ever again, for they are the last bloodline of his sworn enemies.

*

It is an easy task to enter Suwa with King Ashura's assistance.

*

Nothing prepares Fai for the sight of

The Emperor erupts from the sea with a roaring spray, a massive coil of silver whipping its way into the throne room like a stream of water. [nictitating membrane]

This is who I have to kill, Fai thinks, overwhelmed by the task set before him.

*

“Mokona is Mokona,” the strange white fish says very matter-of-factly, as if that statement is sufficient.

“I see,” Fai says, not really seeing at all but deciding to humour the small creature. “Do you like living here?”

*

For as long as Fai can remember, his world was colourless and cold. Celes is beautiful in the same way King Ashura is — alien, distant, a white that covers everything to make it look new again.

*

Ginryuu doesn't trust him. Fai tries his best to be friendly whenever they cross paths, but Ginryuu seems to have little patience for smalltalk and pleasantries. It is a little vexing, if Fai is honest with himself; he thinks he has a fairly decent skill with ‘making friends’, or at least convincing others that he’s closer to them than he really is. He has much practice in diplomacy as a Celesian prince and he assumed getting close to Suwa’s Emperor would be a similarly simple task.

*

Sometimes Fai sees something familiar when drinking sake with Kurogane: loneliness and loss, lurking underneath the surface like a riptide. He wonders if the same can be seen on his own face. But does it really matter when their time together has a clear expiration date?

(It does matter, because Fai is trying very desperately not to get attached, but failing miserably with every minute spent in Kurogane’s company.)

Fai knows that when the moment comes, he will not be able to fulfil his assigned duty. He knows, but…

Self-deception rests easier on his heavy conscience.

*

Ginryuu arches a brow, looking decidedly unimpressed. “... My father was a skilled swordsman, and my mother a mage. I followed in my mother’s footsteps, so I have been assisting Syaoran and Sakura with their magical studies.”

“So you want me to instruct them with the blade?” Fai is surprised, but he is good at improvising; he will not turn down an opportunity to test his strength against Ginryuu. “Well then, I believe I would need a sparring partner to give them something to look at,” he says, smiling.

“You would challenge a dragon?”

“When else would I get the opportunity to?” Fai points out, quite reasonably in his opinion.

Ginryuu grins; it seems more like baring his teeth than something more cheerfully innocuous, and it is very believable in that moment that this was a monster who once laid waste to entire nations. “You are rather confident for a swordsman with no sword.”

Fai shrugs, careful not to glance at or even move his left arm lest he reveal that he isn’t as weaponless as Ginryuu believes. “And you are an Emperor. Surely you have a spare sword in your grand palace somewhere?”

A flicker of characteristic irritation briefly darkens Ginryuu’s face, but it quickly disappears as he shifts into his larger form. “That has never been necessary,” he rumbles; he reaches into his mouth and pries one of his fangs loose with his claws. It falls to the ground with a metallic clatter.

Fai is surprised to see a blade with a draconic hilt lying where the tooth should be. “Unconventional, but it should serve me well,” he says, picking it up to test the weight and balance. It is lighter than he expects for its size. “Does a new tooth grow to replace it or do you have to pop it back in there? Have you considered your true calling may be a salesman of exotic blades?”

“Enough prattling.” Ginryuu’s eyes flash red. “Fight me.”

[dark google how do i write ust]

“... Kurogane.”

“What?”

“My name is Kurogane.”

*

“So that was why you came,” Kurogane says quietly.

Fai stiffens. He turns around but avoids looking at Kurogane, afraid to see what kind of face he’s making. His left palm slowly frosts. “How long have you known?”

“Since the beginning.” Kurogane sounds far too calm and it only serves to make Fai more anxious. “I knew who you were from your clothes and your appearance. I have not left my palace for many centuries, but I still recognize Celesian dress. It is impossible to forget.”

“Then why did you let me live?” Fai asks, resisting the urge to summon Souhi.

“I wanted to know why King Ashura sent you.” Kurogane’s eyes flick towards Fai’s left arm as if he knows what hides there. “He holds no love for me, nor I towards him, but he has never attacked me or my kingdom before. Why now?”

Fai wonders the same. He is beginning to feel like he knows very little about his own father. “I… I don’t know. But isn’t that a stupid reason to keep me alive, roaming freely? When you know what I came here to do?”

Kurogane is silent for a moment. “Because you are not a killer,” he says. “I know what a murderer looks like, and you are not one of them.”

Fai laughs bitterly. “You are mistaken, Ginryuu. I have killed many.”

“No.” Kurogane’s gaze softens for a moment, and it hurts more than the steely judgement earlier. “You have no joy in taking the lives of others. You are too kind a man for that. Anyone could see if they cared to pay attention.”

*

There is a painful history in Suwa that nobody speaks of:

Ginryuu is the name given to all the Emperors of Suwa. What outsiders do not know is that Ginryuu is not one person, but two: one to make the tides rise, and the other to make the tides fall. Together, Ginryuu's sacred duty is to stand guard at the border between life and death, protecting the mortal world from the Lord of Hell who constantly seeks to expand his domain.

One day, Suwa was besieged by an army of demons, crawling out from the deepest chasms in the oceans. Ginryuu defended their home to their last breaths.

Ginryuu's son inherited their title and responsibility, but he was alone and despaired. In his grief, he lashed out at the world.

The Moon Goddess saw Ginryuu's pain and had compassion on him, for his strength was far greater than what he could control. So she placed a seal of binding on him which would only break when he found himself again.

*

Do you know the truth? Tsukuyomi asks.

Fai trembles because he does. He's just a liar to everyone around him and mostly his own heart. There is no treasure here that can bring his brother back. King Ashura lied to him.

*****

FIC OUTLINE

Notable Characters:

• Fai — swordsman / assassin from Celes, wielder of Souhi

• Kurogane (aka Ginryuu) — Emperor of Suwa, Sea God, (Japanese) dragon, mage

• Ashura — King of Celes, Fai's father figure, mage

• Tsukuyomi — Moon Goddess

• Fei Wang Reed (FWR) — Lord of Hell

Details:

There’s a Celesian legend that claims Ginryuu destroyed the country of Valeria a long time ago with a flood because he was jealous that Tsukuyomi loved them.  Tsukuyomi ends up cursing Ginryuu to seal away his strength, and she gave the last Valerian survivor a magic sword (Souhi) to protect them from Ginryuu. Celesians say that whoever possesses Souhi is destined to kill Ginryuu.

Ashura claims that Suwa has a magical treasure that can resurrect people, but it’s guarded by Ginryuu so the only way to get it is to kill him.  In exchange for killing Ginryuu, Ashura says that Fai can use the treasure to resurrect his brother, as long as he brings the treasure back to Celes for Ashura.  Fai agrees because he wants his brother back, and he also feels a sense of duty towards Ashura and Celes.

Fai manages to infiltrate Suwa, but Ginryuu (Kurogane) doesn’t trust him at the start. They slowly grow to respect each other, and eventually Fai doesn’t want to kill Kurogane so he tries to steal the treasure instead.  But he finds out that there is no ‘treasure’; the treasure is the magic sealed in Kurogane’s eyes that he uses to protect Suwa from FWR. Suwa is located at the border between the mortal world and hell, so FWR is constantly attacking Suwa with demons to try and escape.  There’s no way to remove the magic in Kurogane’s eyes without hurting him, and the magic has nothing to do with resurrecting people.

Fai realizes that Ashura lied to him, so he goes back to Celes to confront him.  Ashura reveals that he has been working with FWR to open a path between the mortal world and hell.  Ashura was trying to use Fai to kill Kurogane so that it’d be easier for FWR to invade. Then Ashura curses Fai with magical sleep so that he won’t get in the way.

Tsukuyomi tells Fai in his dream that the Celesian legend was a lie.  “Ginryuu” was always meant to be two people, and each of them had a treasure that controlled the oceans: a tide-ebbing jewel and a tide-flowing jewel.  Kurogane’s parents were the previous Ginryuu, but they were killed by FWR’s demons because Valeria betrayed them. Kurogane ended up inheriting both jewels and destroyed Valeria for their betrayal, so Tsukuyomi stopped him before he killed more people.

Fai wakes up and goes back to Suwa to try and save everyone. He and Kurogane work together to seal FWR away by closing the path Ashura opened between the mortal world and hell.  Fai cuts off the arm containing Souhi to freeze over the entrance so that nothing can pass through it any more. Kurogane gives Fai one of his eyes to keep him from dying, and they end up living together in Suwa.

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