Disclaimer: X1999 and TB do not belong to me. They are owned by CLAMP.
AN: It's been years since I've been into the X/TB fandom, and I'm proud to say that I'm a firm SS supporter! Anyway, this is my first fic for X, so please bear with me. I'm terrible at writing, but the idea kinda stuck on, and well, why push it away? Thank you for reading!
Mise en Scène
Prologue: The Book of Days
Tokyo Tower
The Promised Day
25th December 1999
Subaru dodged the blast of energy Fuuma sent at him, and glanced over at Kamui, who was looking worse for wear. Subaru wasn't sure how long he could keep this up; Dark Kamui was powerful, and the Onmyouji was exhausted. Still, he could hold on for a while longer, to give Kamui the time he needed to get back on his feet.
Get up, Kamui, he thought, as Fuuma's next attack narrowly missed him.
"You shouldn't betray your side, Subaru-kun," Fuuma called out cheerfully, as though they were having a light hearted conversation over tea.
"I'm not," Subaru managed to reply, while struggling to catch his breath. He hoped that his voice carried over to Kamui; the boy hadn't taken his initial side-switching very well. In fact, Kamui couldn't accept the fact that Subaru was the Sakurazukamori at all, but that wasn't surprising.
Then Subaru had joined the Dragons of Earth. Given that he had inherited Seishirou's powers, it had seemed to be the only route he had available.
But Subaru knew that Kamui had come to view him as more than just a friend, or elder brother.
And he knew that he would never be able to return those feelings.
But, he could, and would, support the leader he believed in with his life. Hence, the switch back to the Dragons of Heaven.
Tokyo Tower was slowly falling into ruins, and as Fuuma sent another ball of energy hurtling over, Subaru lost his balance and tripped. The attack missed him, but parts of crumbling structure rained over him, the metal knocking him onto the floor. Fuuma seemed satisfied with having Subaru momentarily incapacitated, and turned his attention back to Kamui.
Shit, Subaru thought, and tried frantically to free himself. He managed just in time to see Fuuma raise the Shinken, about to deal the final blow. Kamui looked up, and Subaru saw eyes devoid of feeling. Kamui was tired; he had given up.
Subaru could no longer raise a kekkai. So he did the only thing he could do.
He threw himself over Kamui just as Fuuma brought the blade down.
Tokyo- Shinjuku District
Sumeragi Apartment
12th January 1999
Green eyes flew open with a start.
Subaru jerked upwards into a sitting position, cold sweat trickling down his forehead. Confusion swam in his mind.
Where am I? This isn't Tokyo Tower…am I dead?
The fiery pain that had coursed through his body just seconds ago was gone.
Subaru looked around him and frowned, very much taken aback. While the structure of the apartment was familiar and quite definitely his, there were changes, many in fact, such as how the number of furniture in the room had squared itself.
His room was also very stylish. If Subaru didn't know better, he would think that Hokuto had hired professional interior designers to do the job.
Problem being…Hokuto was dead, and Subaru's apartment was supposed to be as Spartan as ever existed.
Deciding that he'd better find out what happened, Subaru went to his living room where he found the same kind of elaborate furnishings as his bedroom. They weren't ugly, but he just wasn't used to it.
The phone rang.
"Sumeragi speaking."
"Subaruuu" The voice was definitely feminine, and very, very familiar. But…it wasn't possible.
"Hokuto-chan?" He whispered faintly.
"Of course! Mou, did you just wake up?! You're acting like you haven't heard from me in ages!" It was Hokuto alright. Subaru felt his knees give way, and he leaned against the wall for support.
"I-I missed you."
On the other line, Hokuto frowned, puzzled by her brother's reaction. Did something happen to Subaru? She needed to go and check up on him.
"Well, you don't have to! I'm coming over later, so you can see me then, ok? And I'll call before arriving, so you don't accidentally open the door to one of your rabid fans again."
"Ah, thank you, Hokuto-" Wait. What rabid fans.
"What do you mean by rabid fans?" Subaru was confused as hell. Sure, he did get the odd admirer of his onmyoujitsu skills, but they weren't exactly too fanatical about it.
There. He was acting weird again. Hokuto's eyes widened with sudden realisation. This wasn't Subaru Sumeragi the famous actor; this was the 13th Head of the Sumeragi Clan.
Tears began welling up in Hokuto's eyes. She'd missed him so much.
"I'll come over at four later today, alright?" Hokuto desperately wanted to see him again. She knew that he wouldn't look any different, but at long last, she could finally look at him and see the tiny things that made him the Subaru she grew up with, the Subaru who had gone through too much suffering in his past life.
It wasn't that she didn't love the Subaru in this world, with his carefree personality and life without pain and hatred, but ever since she'd died in Seishirou's arms and woke up here, she had missed the other version of Subaru excessively. To her, he was the only real brother she could ever have.
And now, at last, he had returned to her side.
"Ok, I'll see you then."
"Uh huh, and remember to read the script, alright? It's on your coffee table."
With that, she put down.
Subaru heard the receiver click, and blinked. Twice.
What script?
He hadn't seen any scripts…oh wait. It was right there.
Subaru picked up the booklet that he had overlooked when touring his own house, and stared.
On the cover page, were the words: X 1999 Their Destiny Was Foreordained
Staring back at him, was Kamui.
And Fuuma.
With the big picture of the world behind them, the cover looked suspiciously like a movie poster.
With trembling hands, Subaru flipped open the script, and oogled.
No. Way.
What Subaru saw went something like this:
BLACK SCREEN
SUPER: CLAMP Cinema Presents
SUPER: An Imonoyama Films Production
EXT. PROLOGUE -- NIGHT
IMAGE: TOKYO TOWER, MOON IN THE BACKGROUND
CLOAKED FIGURE stands on part of the METALLIC STRUCTURE at the TOP
KAMUI
Tokyo…It's been six years.
CLOSE ON: KAMUI SMILES
KAMUI
I have returned, mother.
ZOOM OUT: UPWARD SHOT of TOKYO TOWER, TINY FIGURE of KAMUI seen JUMPING OFF against the LARGE MOON.
BLACK SCREEN
SUPER: X 1999: THEIR DESTINY WAS FOREORDAINED
Subaru paused in his reading. If this was following the whole string of events…then that meant that…
He flipped forward by about half the book.
"No," he muttered, and flipped again.
After a bit of trial and error, he finally reached the scene he was looking for.
EXT. RAINBOW BRIDGE –NIGHT
Subaru closed his eyes for a minute, as regret flashed across his face. Then, after he pushed down his emotions, he began to read.
He did not stop until he had read through the scene of the final battle.
IMAGE: KAMUI HUGS FUUMA'S BODY, CRYING. He LOOKS OVER AT SUBARU'S BODY.
KAMUI:
(Chanting monotonously)
It was worth it…it had to be…it was worth it…I saved the world…I…
(Screams)
IMAGE: THE TOP PART OF THE TOWER COLLAPSES.
Kamui…
When Hokuto arrived, she opened the apartment door to find Subaru curled up on the couch with the script clutched to his chest. He was fast asleep.
She couldn't ignore the tear stains on his cheeks.
AN: Well, that's the prologue up! Please give me feedback, even if it's just to say whether you liked it or not! Of course, constructive criticism is welcome too!