CHOICE
Chapter 1
Kamui could only stare as Fuma pointed his Holy Sword at his face.
This isn't good.
"It seems you are in doubt," came the cold voice of Fuma and Kamui snapped out of it.
He was able to avoid the attack and more than half of the Holy Sword went through the pile or rocks he was sitting on moments ago, which was destroyed immediately. Pieces as big as a human head hit him and he rolled away.
Fuma: Even if you hurt me, you still want Fuma back, right? That's what you intend to do. But your true wish is different.
Subaru: There is one. You don't realize it, but it's there. If you don't realize it, nothing will change.
Fuma: And that is why...you can't beat me.
Kamui stood up, nursing his left arm where he'd been hit the worst and tried to think.
My true wish? How can it be different from what I've set out to do?
He looked up and saw Subaru looking back with an inscrutable face. He had plenty of questions for the sorcerer, but they would have to wait.
Kamui closed his eyes and gritted his teeth as he tried to focus on his goal.
I've got to bring him back. I want him back. I WILL bring Fuma back no matter what!
He then glared at Fuma who only smirked.
"Ever the little spitfire. That's very amusing and all, but I've told you. That determination will be your undoing. Ah, well. Here goes."
Fuma dived toward Kamui and there was an explosion. Seichiro, Karen and Yuzuriha hurried to get to where Kamui was but were blocked by Subaru.
"Please step aside!" yelled Seichiro, his left hand at his side, ready to use his ability on the interfering sorcerer.
"I can't," answered Subaru matter-of-factly. "This is my duty as a Dragon of Earth."
"Don't be foolish, boy," Karen warned. "It's three against one. And I'd really prefer not to have to hurt you."
"Why did you join the Dragons of Earth?" asked Yuzuriha.
Subaru remained silent.
Seichiro let out a growl of frustration and aimed for Subaru. The Sorcerer dodged.
"Inuki!" Yuzuriha called and the puppy beside her turned into a sword.
Their battle against the former Dragon of Heaven began.
***
"I'm telling you two, that is NOT Princess Hinoto!" Sorata shouted, pointing at the dream gazer. "I'd really love to explain, but we're running out of time here!"
Sohi and Hien looked hesitant but they remained by Hinoto's side.
"Be serious, both of you! You know you can't defend her. Not with your level of power. Not from me. And if you make me say it again, I swear I'll force you off her and you aren't gonna like it. Your choice!"
Hinoto's assistants began to loosen their grip on the dream gazer but stopped when all three of them heard her voice.
"Lord Sorata is not himself. His mind has been corrupted."
Sorata quickly realized that Hinoto's cunning decision to make it known that he also heard what she just said wasn't merely a way to make her act more convincing, but to emphasize the fact that Sohi and Hien were bound to obey her despite their hesitation. It was also an indirect way of saying that even if he knew that much, the information would not be of any use.
"You've got some REAL brass balls, I'll give you that. But I won't let you have your way!" He gave each of her assistants a pointed look. "The only thing being manipulated here is the Princess's body!"
But the dream gazer was already deep in thought, this time careful not to let her mask slip.
Kamui wasn't stabbed by the Holy Sword. What's happenning? He should have died right then and there. I can sense some hesitation, but where's it coming from?
Hinoto felt Sohi and Hien disappear from both her sides, as though they've been snatched away. She then fell on her back as she was hit by a ball of light.
***
Kamui tried to ignore the pain while in an attempt to break free from his twin star's death grip, but to no avail. He ended up looking like he was trying to adjust. Fuma used his right hand to pin the younger boy's arms on the wall above his head, while the left one held the Holy Sword in place so that it was pointing again at Kamui's face which was only a few inches from his.
"You know, you really shouldn't move too much," said Fuma, his cold voice and breath making the younger boy shiver. "You're hurt enough as it is."
Then Fuma held the Holy Sword backwards and used the end of the handle to touch the fresh wound on Kamui's right thigh. The boy screamed.
"Look at these wounds. You may not believe it but it really hurts to see you suffer because of them."
Kamui opened his eyes and was mildly surprised by the half-hearted look on his former friend's face. And then he heard shouts – the Dragons of Heaven and Subaru were still battling it out.
"He's doing a splendid job, isn't he?" asked Fuma plainly. "Protecting our privacy like this, and I used to be jealous of him too. Not that it would make much of a difference if they did manage to come here. Surely they'll make a nuisance of themselves, but I'll just have to use the right amount of power to crush them, one by one…"
Fuma nuzzled Kamui's neck and licked clean the blood that came from the cut on his left cheek, and felt the boy beneath him stiffen. Fuma chuckled.
"You like that, don't you?" he asked and earned himself a nasty look from Kamui. "Do you miss ol' Subaru, little Kamui? Do you…miss me?"
"W-what is...my wish…?" Kamui couldn't keep his face straight because of the pain.
Fuma looked at him for an entire minute without saying anything and smiled. "There's a good boy. You're finally starting to see things differently. You're not so stubborn after all."
"Just tell me what my true wish is, if you're so sure you know it!"
"Now, now. There's no need to be mean. All good things to those who wait."
There was a scream, and Kamui knew it was Yuzuriha's. He forced himself to get up but was pushed back rather harshly, as there was no way Fuma was going to release him now.
"Damn it," whispered his twin star, his voice and face dead serious. "I am sick of this shit. This strong desire to protect those Dragons of Heaven, your willingness to disappear if it means you can get Fuma back…I find it all so detestable."
Kamui didn't know what to say. Somehow what Fuma said made sense and it disturbed him greatly.
"You're really…breaking my heart. If you're so eager to die, then let me end it all for you," said Fuma softly, running his fingers through Kamui's hair.
"But…I don't want to die…I don't want to die no matter what…"
"But you do. I know you do…I should."
"You don't!"
"I do. Just like I knew theirs, Kamui. Subaru, Nataku, I knew all of their deepest desires. And because I am Kamui, the one who haunts the glory of God, I know what your true wish is…better than anyone."
Kakyo: The Kamui who torments and tortures you, is also you.
"What the devil…"
"There you go. You're so close to the truth. But first you have to decide if you're going to accept me or abandon me, like what you did when you chose to become a Dragon of Heaven."
"I decided to protect this world because this is the only place where Kotori and Fuma can have a chance to be happy…that was my choice. That was what I wanted, and still is."
"And in doing so, you have forgotten the most important thing."
Karen: It seems that we care so much about the people around us that we end up hurting someone close to our hearts.
He thought of everyone around him but himself.
He neglected himself for the sake of those he wanted to protect.
He remembered being asked to choose. Whether to protect the present world or to wish for a change. A revolution. In that dream that Hinoto showed him, he thought the sight of the Earth being reborn was beautiful. Still, he chose to become a Dragon of Heaven. To protect this world of jealousy and hatred. For Kotori and Fuuma, not for himself.
That was when he did it. And now that part of him is back to haunt him.
"But…Aunt Tokiko said to think of myself first before I think of the Earth. She told me to think of what I really want to do. And what I want IS to protect Kotori and Fuma. But I made that decision for myself, too…"
"But your true wish is…to be happy."
Kamui's eyes widened as he dreaded what he might hear next.
"I only wanted to make that wish a reality."
"BULL! You killed Kotori and now YOU'RE killing, using Fuma's body!"
Fuma just looked at him, his face blank. "Confused, aren't we? I'll explain."
Kamui's twin star stood up and turned his back on him. Then he began to speak.
To Be Continued