In Death Us Do Part
A X/1999 Fanfiction by Majokai Yukiko
Pairing: Seishirou/Subaru
Rating: R, for disturbing content.
Warning: Contains spoilers for X 16. No, it's not another Rainbow Bridge scene story. And yes, when I say 'disturbing', I mean disturbing.
Status: Need a beta reader.
It was a while when they saw Subaru again. Even so had Yuzuriha not literally ran into him and found herself face to face with a pair of mismatched eyes, they would not have recognized the man. Gone was the severely cropped hair and threadbare coat. His hair had grown out, framing his handsome face with a whimsical look that most men would not be able to pull off; his signature off-white coat was replaced by one with the richest midnight blue. Wherever Subaru had disappeared to for the past few weeks, he had not been harsh on himself. The most drastic change though had to be the brilliant smile that he had greeted them with.
"Yuzuriha-san! Sorata-san!" Subaru exclaimed. "What a surprise!"
"S-Subaru?" Sorata blinked. The last time they saw Subaru was immediately after the Rainbow Bridge incident. The onmyouji then was a sorry sight, sitting alone in his room with the lights out and clutching his bloodstained coat to his chest. "Where have you been? We were so worried!"
If Subaru had picked up on the slight hint of disapproval in Sorata's voice, he did not show it, concentrating instead on gathering his groceries back into their respective bags.
"Yeah, especially Kamui-kun!" Yuzuriha added.
"I found a new apartment." Subaru smiled again, not realizing how devastatingly beautiful he looked when he did so, and picked up a grocery bag with the Tops logo printed on it. He took out a box from the bag, checked its contents and breathed a sigh of relief.
"Are you having someone over at your place tonight?" Sorata asked, suddenly, replacing a box of strawberries into a bag. "You don't usually eat this much, do you?"
If it was even possible, Subaru smiled wider and ducked his head shyly. There was a pale flush on his cheeks.
/Will wonders never cease/ Sorata mused, and held out an unopened pack of cigarettes at Subaru. It was stronger than what he used to smoke, the monk noted. Beside him, Yuzuriha let out a soft squeal.
"Is it someone special? Who is the lucky girl?"
"Er…yes." Subaru replied, getting back onto his feet with his grocery bags held firmly in his hands. "I've been living with him since I…I left, actually."
There was an awkward silence.
"Tell…tell Kamui that I will stop by sometime this week to visit. Please don't worry about me, Sorata-san, Yuzuriha-san."
The Dragons of Heaven watched the disappearing back view in silence, noting the miniscule, yet noticeable, bounce in Subaru's steps.
Kamui would have a fit when he hears about this.
"I'm back."
Silence. A dull thud and some rustling as the bags fell to the floor.
Muffled, but hurried footsteps as he crossed the parquet floor without removing his shoes.
The doors screeched softly as they open. He took a hesitant step into the room. Then, with a relieved cry, he dashed into the room and collapsed in front of his lover, resting his head on the other man's lap.
"You won't leave me, will you?" He asked with an insecure tremble in his voice. Inhaling the scent that is unique to his lover, he smiled and then got back onto his feet.
"I bought you cigarettes and rented a movie. Come, I'll wheel you out to the living room." He leaned over and placed a chaste kiss on the soft lips.
"I love you."
To say Kamui was shell-shocked would have been an understatement.
"That's impossible!" He finally said. "Subaru wouldn't…"
The living room of the Imonoyama Mansion was silent, as the rest of the Dragons of Heaven sat staring at one another, processing Kamui's words. The onmyouji's obsession with the late Sakurazukamori was no secret among them. While Kamui might be the only one who knew the details, the rest of them, especially those who were at the Rainbow Bridge right before it fell, could tell that there were more between the two than clan rivalry or even the end of the world.
"Perhaps…" Arashi reasoned. "Subaru-san finally decides to move on?"
Kamui shook his head. That was impossible. If Subaur hadn't been able to move on after nine years, what made them think he could do so after just a couple of weeks?
"What if…the Sakurazukamori didn't die?"
The room was filled with his presence: a heady mixture of blood, cherry blossoms with just a sour tinge of death. All of what he represented.
He was quiet, unusually so since that incident, just sitting there and enjoying the simple pleasure of having a young beautiful lover leaning against his broad chest. The movie had ended, though it was no loss, really. Neither of them were paying any attention to the screen anyway.
The younger man picked up another strawberry and nudged it gently between his lover's lips, licking at the juice that trickled down his chin.
"Not eating?"
There was no reply, but Subaru could hear the polite refusal nevertheless. He shoved the fruit into his own mouth, closing his eyes to relish the sweetness that exploded against his tongue.
This was not the fairytale ending that Hokuto would have dreamt up of for them, but Hokuto never had her feet too firmly planted in reality either. As far as they were concerned, this was perfect.
"It's time for your medication," Subaru reluctantly removed himself from his lover's embrace, and went to the kitchen to return with a small plastic bottle and a clean syringe.
"Seishirou-san…"
"Can you do this, Sorata?"
"Of course I can," he slapped his chest proudly in affirmation, and then promptly deflated. "But I'm not so sure if I should."
They had nearly done this when Subaru disappeared, no thanks to Kamui's insistence and pleas. But the idea was quickly given up on when Karen pointed out that it was probably better to give Subaru his time and space to grieve and move on. Then again, that was before they knew the Sakurazukamori was still alive and had planted himself back firmly in Subaru's life.
"Please, Sorata."
The monk stared, and sighed. The things I do for you, he thought as he raised his hands and cast the tracking spell.
"Onmyoujis are usually better at this. Let's hope that Subaru won't notice us."
The air before them wavered and parted, revealing the picture of a strange backyard.
They were nearly approaching winter, hardly the season for either cherry blossoms or camellias to be in bloom. But in the backyard, both were bloom vivaciously, uncaring of what nature had otherwise dictated.
"Where is this?" Kamui asked.
"The Sakurazuka estate."
The spell hissed, resisting the wards of the place. Sorata probed deeper.
Behind the shoji doors was a surprisingly modern sitting room of glass and chrome. It seemed that the Sakurazukamori wasn't much for traditions, sparing only that backyard when he did his renovations. Kamui wondered why.
A pair of familiar dark glasses rest on the coffee table, next to a full ashtray. Mild Sevens and Super Lites.
The television was left on, and the screen was still rolling the ending credits of a movie. Wherever the occupants of this place were, they had left it only just recently.
"Check the bedroom…"
"Kamui…?"
"Please."
The vision shifted and changed, stopping behind another set of sliding doors. The wards here were stronger than in other places. It made sense. Subaru had always been a highly private person. Still, the wards were more of a "do not disturb" sign rather than a genuine attempt to keep out unwanted attention. The doors slid open.
An empty syringe lay forgotten on the carpet.
Subaru's back was facing them, as he lavished his attentions on a man whose face was hidden from them.
The tracking spell blurred as it moved closer, focusing again soon on lean, nicotine-stained fingers unknotting a crisp black tie. A mouth descended to tease at the larger man's Adam's apple. The buttons of that expensive white shirt popped open slowly, one by one…
/revealing a broad chest covered with deathly pale skin. So pale that there was a green tinge to it./
The empty syringe on the carpet…
"No…Subaru- stop…" Kamui started, his mind whirling as he processed the scene before him.
Subaru pressed himself closer to his lover and placed a slow lingering kiss on Seishirou's lips. Lips that had already turned black with death.
"NO, SUBARU!"
The spell winked out.
Sorata collapsed onto the floor with a thud, fighting down a wave of nausea. They were right on one count and wrong on so many others: Subaru was indeed living with the Sakurazukamori, on intimate terms even. Only that the other man was most definitely, irrevocably dead.
"We will never be apart again. Right, Seishirou-san?"
Of course, Subaru-kun.
End Notes:
Correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a long while since I'm in the situation to know this for certain – morphine, when injected into a dead body, acts as a preservative to slow down decomposition. That was what Subaru was injecting into Seishirou's corpse.
This piece of knowledge came by me when the doctors asked if we want to inject morphine into my grandmother when she died, so that she would be preserved enough to be presentable for the funeral. Chinese funerals last for days and there's this custom of having an open casket for friends and relatives to take one final look at the dead before he or she moves on to afterlife.
But even if morphine was injected on a regular basis, it could not stop the decomposition process altogether. So the "sour tinge of death" that I referred to, was actually the smell of decay. Have you ever smelt decay before? I suggest not.