{{--Eccentricity ::version one point zero:: Ivory Light--}}
Prologue
By Kira, Mitsu, and Maduin
The sunrise tainted the sky random shades of orange and yellow, with a splash of the occasional pink to spice up the mix. Sumeragi Subaru leaned on the wall, his face carefully schooled to a calm expression, despite his utter exhaustion. He had thought about attempting to sleep, but found that he knew he wouldn't have been able to. He usually wasn't even lucky enough to have four hours of sleep, so he should be thanking whatever deity had mercy on him.
He sighed, running fingers through his silken black hair, eyelids dropping closed over deep jade eyes. He wondered, to himself, if the only person who understood his pain, too, was awake. He could find out, he knew, by sending his shikigami, but he didn't feel it necessary.
Kamui was more like him than cared to admit, which was why he hadn't liked the boy to begin with. He hated himself, and he didn't like Kamui much either because he wasn't that different. Subaru sighed, letting his head thud against the wall. Still, he was bored, and having someone to talk to might be enjoyable.
"Enough small talk," he said to himself, as if his musings were an entirely different entity. "I have work to do."
Subaru slid out of his shower, hair damp, his skin still slightly red from the shower. He threw off his towel; careful to make sure it didn't land on the bed. The last thing he needed were wet sheets. He slipped on a pair of boxers after a moment, and then pulled his pants on.
He had a job to get to, and he was already running behind. Not that it mattered, he could make up some excuse for his tardiness, or he could be honest. He knew no one would say anything. He was, after all, one of the best-known onmyouji in Tokyo, if not the best. He was also, the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi, and that got him a lot of respect. Not that he hadn't earned it, though. With a sigh, he pulled a black shirt over his head, sliding his arms into the sleeves.
It fit him rather snug, not that it mattered to him. He would never admit it, but he knew he looked good in tight clothing. Especially from the way Seishirou and Kamui both looked at him. Subaru yawned slightly, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. He was rather tired.
"I really need to get Obaa-chan to schedule my appointments for later. Maybe I could have gotten another hour or so of sleep," he muttered, pulling a satin black sock over each of his feet. He sighed a bit, pulling one of his boots onto a foot. He yawned again as he pulled it's twin over his opposite foot, then tucked his pant legs into his boots.
Despite the fact that he knew his twin was probably having a massive tantrum inside of Seishirou's tree, he happened to like his wardrobe. He stood up; stretching the sore muscles in his back, then grabbed his white trench coat off the chair that sat next to his window. There was a reason he kept it there, after all. Sighing again, dramatically, he pulled it on and sauntered out the door.
* * * *
Subaru, Seishirou mused with a slight grin, was quite possibly the most amusing person on the planet. Despite the fact that the onmyouji was always modest, he knew that Subaru had some idea of how good-looking he was. After all, Subaru wore tight shirts, and rather form-fitting pants, all the time.
Seishirou grinned slightly. Unless, of course, the onmyouji was wearing them just to impress him. Seishirou smirked, finding this to be a rather amusing thought.
"My dear Subaru-kun, what are you up to today?" Seishirou asked, tilting his head.
He wasn't usually up this early, but the tree had been rather moody and demanded a meal at that moment, and had said in no uncertain terms that if he didn't get his butt out of bed, he would be having nightmares for months to come. So, to shut the whiney tree up, he got up, fed it, and found that his Subaru-kun was also out of bed.
Seishirou sighed, tilting his head some. "Subaru-kun, I'm missing a perfectly good day of sleep. You had better provide sufficient entertainment," he said softly, watching the younger onmyouji wander out into the street, looking rather disoriented.
* * * *
Subaru was indeed disoriented. Lack of sufficient sleep had caused the onmyouji to waiver in his stride. This was a dangerous working condition, he knew, but seeing as how he really couldn't care less if he dropped dead right here - although he would prefer it if Seishirou were the cause of his death - and doubted if anyone else cared either, he chose to ignore the present unsteady feeling that his knees were currently giving him.
With a twinge of irritation, he felt the beginnings of a headache start to gnaw at the middle of his brain. Great! Another distraction to add to the unusually huge pile of them that he already had. As he walked down the street towards the site of his next job, he counted them off on his fingers. Beginning with his right thumb: he currently hated his life (ok that was a given). Next the index finger: Kamui acted like he wanted to jump in his pants. Subaru rolled his eyes a little at that one. Then the middle finger shot up with the first two: he wanted to jump into Seishirou's pants; granted he hated himself for that, and he had every intention of fighting those urges, but they were there just the same. Ring finger next: he was running low on cigarettes (damn imports, they were always so expensive). And, finally, the pinkie went up with the rest: he was a Dragon of Heaven. But, as he reflected on his list, he just had to add his left thumb as well: Seishirou was a Dragon of the Earth... like that didn't add a cramp to their already screwed up relationship.
He looked down at his hands for a second, his little list of distractions that would surely grow, and let out a bitter laugh. It figured, he would have to be going to work with this kind of crap on his mind.
Subaru blinked as he arrived at the address. It was... an animal clinic. His eyes narrowed as unwanted memories floated to the surface of his mind, of lunches, and afternoons spent at a similar place. With his sister... with Seishirou.
His eyes went from the building's number to the scrap piece of paper in his hand and back again before he realized that he was at the correct address. He shrugged and gripped the door handle, hoping that he wouldn't still want to pet all of the little... wait, was that yet another distraction he could add? Subaru rolled his eyes at himself as he pulled open the door.
Subaru stopped after the first step. He was disconcerted to say the least, the room should be flooded with light from the two large front windows, instead it was filled with an inky blackness. It did not seem dark from lack of light; rather from lack of - how to put it - everything. There was no goodness, no peace. The only emotion he could feel was hate, mixed perhaps with a touch of fear. He almost couldn't stand it! It was crawling over his skin like thousands upon thousands of ants, trying to enter his soul, to infect him with its essence.
With little effort he managed to push down the panic that had begun to rise within him. He quickly found his center, very useful trick that, hopefully he would be able to reason his way out of his current situation. His first priority, he realized, would be to see what he faced; if indeed it was capable of being seen at all, and to do that he would need light. However, no light was allowed to enter where he presently was, so he would have to summon his own. Apparently conventional light, the kind formed by photons, would not work in this case. No, what he needed to use was the light of his soul.
Subaru almost gave over to despair at this, but then managed to calm himself. Normally, to use the light of ones own soul took several hours of meditation, added to that was the fact that Subaru had never done a soul illumination summoning before.
The tidal wave of venomous, hate filled ants appeared to be reaching upwards. They had covered the entire lower half of his body and were slowly moving up his chest. Still within his center, Subaru dimly realized that they had reached his arms and started to move downward, towards his hands. If he didn't react within the next few minutes, he would probably lose the use of them altogether.
Think! They were heading toward his hands. There was something significant in that, but he couldn't think of what. He was beginning to be overwhelmed by the sensation of them. His hands were important. Why? They were a connection to something. Yes, he thought he understood that now. But, a connection to what?
Hate, upon hate, upon hate...
A person.
Surrounding him...
To whom?
Reaching lower...
To... Gods! Why couldn't he think of who it was?
Towards the marks...
The marks? Where had that come from? Were there marks on his hands? Had someone put them there?
Eager in their searching for the outline of the stars imprinted there...
Was it the same person he was linked to?
They were almost to his wrists now...
To...
Almost... there...
Seishirou! His mind supplied him with the name and face simultaneously. The marks on his hands bound his soul to Seishirou. He could use them to dispel the darkness. He quickly went to work, going deeper into his center, trying to find that which had bound his soul to Seishirou years ago. On some surface level of his mind, he recognized that Seishirou would probably notice what he was about to do, but he remained largely unaware of this fact.
At last, he found what he was seeking. It was a river, flowing with the glittery green luminance that was his soul. It flowed outward, towards a destination that he could not see, for it was too distant. He reached toward the glowing river... and built a dam, ceasing its flow.
* * * *
Seishirou's eyes widened ever so slightly, hardly enough for anyone - except maybe one person - to really notice, and he looked up. He had been contemplating his cigarette, watching it burn down really, when he felt his link with Subaru cut off.
He was certain that Subaru was not dead, he would have felt it had that been the case. Actually, he supposed that even in death they would remain bonded; for it is the body that dies, not the soul. With all of his logical prowess, he could find no reason that could explain this sudden loss.
Hmmm... Loss? Why should he consider it as such? Its not as if he cares one way or the other. No, irritation was what it was. He had placed those marks on Subaru's hands sixteen years ago to mark Subaru as his prey, his property. It was no different than a child who marks his name on a favorite toy for the same purpose, to declare it as belonging to him, and he would be damned if he was going to let that declaration of ownership be erased.
"Well Subaru-kun," he began as he dragged the last remaining bit out of his dying cigarette, "it seems as if the time for being entertained is over." With a final release of smoke, he finished with, "This is now a matter of business."
* * * *
Now that Subaru had complete control over the flow of his soul, he directed his attention to diverting it so he was able to use its luminance to his advantage. Still within his center, he cast his gaze about in search of the means to use it in the physical reality.
Attempting to follow the river to its source, he arrived at its mouth, which emptied into a large green pool. It was glowing with an inner light. It appeared so pure and fresh that he almost shed tears for its sheer beauty. Is this what a soul was? Is this what had drawn Seishirou to him on that chance encounter over a decade ago? He almost could not believe it.
Peering to look within the depths of the pool, he seemed to see a very faint shape etched along the bottom. It appeared almost as if a finger had drawn it into sand, the inverted pentagram of the Sakurazukamori. That was the link his hands provided him with, it was also his means of escaping his current situation.
He focused his energy on the outline of the star there, building the pressure within himself. The etched lines were growing deeper... and darker. He continued to focus the pressure... He heard his physical form gasp with the effort to breathe. Apparently the hate had been building from without and was now causing this difficulty, he would have to work quickly.
When it seemed as if the lines could go no deeper, something slithered within and was disintegrated the instant it entered the pure green pool, evaporating with a slight hiss which sent a little ripple across the glowing surface.
Without, Subaru had begun to lose precious life providing oxygen. The crawling wave of hate approached the stars just as they started to radiate from the depths of Subaru's soul. Every moving particle that neared the light was destroyed, and the remaining bits began to shrink away from the threat that Subaru provided.
Subaru was forced from his center, and fell to the floor of the clinic's waiting room in a choking, gasping heap.
* * * *
When Seishirou had initially seen Subaru enter the clinic, he had released a dark laugh at the irony of it. However, he was not laughing now.
As he approached, the windows began to release a beautiful green glow. It was soft at first, then it began to intensify. He had a vivid memory of this particular color...
I'll make a bet with you...
He knew exactly what it was. Seishirou stopped in his tracks as this flashed in his brain, then leaned against the wall of the neighboring building... waiting.
* * * *
Subaru shook his head as the muddled thoughts began to regain their focus once more and clambered to his feet. Ignoring the slight dizziness that threatened to overtake him, from both lack of sleep and food, he saw the light pouring from his hands beginning to fade. After a couple of minutes it had completely vanished, returning to its depths within him.
For the first time he was able to really see the waiting room of the clinic as it really was - very similar to Seishirou's actually - from the light that entered through the front windows.
His hands began to shake as the full weight of his actions slammed into him. He had severed his tie to Seishirou. He ran a hand through his hair, almost not believing. Actually, this was incorrect, and he knew it. What he had done was to gain control over his tie to Seishirou, he could return it if he so chose. However, he did not imagine himself doing that any time in the near future.
Realizing that his work here was now complete, although he did not manage to find out what had caused the vengeful spirit in the first place, he approached the door and stepped out, grateful to be in the sun once again.
* * * *
A voice of honey was awaiting him when he exited the clinic, one that Subaru was not at all surprised to hear. He had known that Seishirou would come running at this violation of his ownership did he not?
"Ohayo Subaru-kun." Was all the voice said. A slight emphasis was placed on the "kun" as Seishirou said this, a gesture that implied so many things. Things in fact that were no longer even appropriate, Subaru was no longer his property.
The corners of Subaru's mouth turned up a little at this. Of course he would smile, he had regained control of his life. Seishirou still owned his heart, he knew all too well, but Seishirou didn't know that, and Subaru doubted if he even cared. Subaru knew one thing he cared about though, and he was going to throw it right back in Seishirou's face, just as Seishirou had done with his love those nine years ago.
Subaru walked right up to Seishirou and looked him directly in the eye. Two deep jade ones, afire with a new light, the light of freedom, to a mismatched pair.
"I," he began, tone cold yet soft, words for Seishirou's ears alone, "am no longer your prey, Sakurazukamori."
Then he brushed past, and continued walking away from Seishirou. Hands thrust deep into his pants pockets to hide their trembling.
Seishirou, who was no longer leaning against the wall, was rendered speechless, a state of being that he had never before experienced in his lifetime.
By Kira, Mitsu, and Maduin
The sunrise tainted the sky random shades of orange and yellow, with a splash of the occasional pink to spice up the mix. Sumeragi Subaru leaned on the wall, his face carefully schooled to a calm expression, despite his utter exhaustion. He had thought about attempting to sleep, but found that he knew he wouldn't have been able to. He usually wasn't even lucky enough to have four hours of sleep, so he should be thanking whatever deity had mercy on him.
He sighed, running fingers through his silken black hair, eyelids dropping closed over deep jade eyes. He wondered, to himself, if the only person who understood his pain, too, was awake. He could find out, he knew, by sending his shikigami, but he didn't feel it necessary.
Kamui was more like him than cared to admit, which was why he hadn't liked the boy to begin with. He hated himself, and he didn't like Kamui much either because he wasn't that different. Subaru sighed, letting his head thud against the wall. Still, he was bored, and having someone to talk to might be enjoyable.
"Enough small talk," he said to himself, as if his musings were an entirely different entity. "I have work to do."
Subaru slid out of his shower, hair damp, his skin still slightly red from the shower. He threw off his towel; careful to make sure it didn't land on the bed. The last thing he needed were wet sheets. He slipped on a pair of boxers after a moment, and then pulled his pants on.
He had a job to get to, and he was already running behind. Not that it mattered, he could make up some excuse for his tardiness, or he could be honest. He knew no one would say anything. He was, after all, one of the best-known onmyouji in Tokyo, if not the best. He was also, the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi, and that got him a lot of respect. Not that he hadn't earned it, though. With a sigh, he pulled a black shirt over his head, sliding his arms into the sleeves.
It fit him rather snug, not that it mattered to him. He would never admit it, but he knew he looked good in tight clothing. Especially from the way Seishirou and Kamui both looked at him. Subaru yawned slightly, rubbing his eyes with the heel of his hand. He was rather tired.
"I really need to get Obaa-chan to schedule my appointments for later. Maybe I could have gotten another hour or so of sleep," he muttered, pulling a satin black sock over each of his feet. He sighed a bit, pulling one of his boots onto a foot. He yawned again as he pulled it's twin over his opposite foot, then tucked his pant legs into his boots.
Despite the fact that he knew his twin was probably having a massive tantrum inside of Seishirou's tree, he happened to like his wardrobe. He stood up; stretching the sore muscles in his back, then grabbed his white trench coat off the chair that sat next to his window. There was a reason he kept it there, after all. Sighing again, dramatically, he pulled it on and sauntered out the door.
Subaru, Seishirou mused with a slight grin, was quite possibly the most amusing person on the planet. Despite the fact that the onmyouji was always modest, he knew that Subaru had some idea of how good-looking he was. After all, Subaru wore tight shirts, and rather form-fitting pants, all the time.
Seishirou grinned slightly. Unless, of course, the onmyouji was wearing them just to impress him. Seishirou smirked, finding this to be a rather amusing thought.
"My dear Subaru-kun, what are you up to today?" Seishirou asked, tilting his head.
He wasn't usually up this early, but the tree had been rather moody and demanded a meal at that moment, and had said in no uncertain terms that if he didn't get his butt out of bed, he would be having nightmares for months to come. So, to shut the whiney tree up, he got up, fed it, and found that his Subaru-kun was also out of bed.
Seishirou sighed, tilting his head some. "Subaru-kun, I'm missing a perfectly good day of sleep. You had better provide sufficient entertainment," he said softly, watching the younger onmyouji wander out into the street, looking rather disoriented.
With a twinge of irritation, he felt the beginnings of a headache start to gnaw at the middle of his brain. Great! Another distraction to add to the unusually huge pile of them that he already had. As he walked down the street towards the site of his next job, he counted them off on his fingers. Beginning with his right thumb: he currently hated his life (ok that was a given). Next the index finger: Kamui acted like he wanted to jump in his pants. Subaru rolled his eyes a little at that one. Then the middle finger shot up with the first two: he wanted to jump into Seishirou's pants; granted he hated himself for that, and he had every intention of fighting those urges, but they were there just the same. Ring finger next: he was running low on cigarettes (damn imports, they were always so expensive). And, finally, the pinkie went up with the rest: he was a Dragon of Heaven. But, as he reflected on his list, he just had to add his left thumb as well: Seishirou was a Dragon of the Earth... like that didn't add a cramp to their already screwed up relationship.
He looked down at his hands for a second, his little list of distractions that would surely grow, and let out a bitter laugh. It figured, he would have to be going to work with this kind of crap on his mind.
Subaru blinked as he arrived at the address. It was... an animal clinic. His eyes narrowed as unwanted memories floated to the surface of his mind, of lunches, and afternoons spent at a similar place. With his sister... with Seishirou.
His eyes went from the building's number to the scrap piece of paper in his hand and back again before he realized that he was at the correct address. He shrugged and gripped the door handle, hoping that he wouldn't still want to pet all of the little... wait, was that yet another distraction he could add? Subaru rolled his eyes at himself as he pulled open the door.
Subaru stopped after the first step. He was disconcerted to say the least, the room should be flooded with light from the two large front windows, instead it was filled with an inky blackness. It did not seem dark from lack of light; rather from lack of - how to put it - everything. There was no goodness, no peace. The only emotion he could feel was hate, mixed perhaps with a touch of fear. He almost couldn't stand it! It was crawling over his skin like thousands upon thousands of ants, trying to enter his soul, to infect him with its essence.
With little effort he managed to push down the panic that had begun to rise within him. He quickly found his center, very useful trick that, hopefully he would be able to reason his way out of his current situation. His first priority, he realized, would be to see what he faced; if indeed it was capable of being seen at all, and to do that he would need light. However, no light was allowed to enter where he presently was, so he would have to summon his own. Apparently conventional light, the kind formed by photons, would not work in this case. No, what he needed to use was the light of his soul.
Subaru almost gave over to despair at this, but then managed to calm himself. Normally, to use the light of ones own soul took several hours of meditation, added to that was the fact that Subaru had never done a soul illumination summoning before.
The tidal wave of venomous, hate filled ants appeared to be reaching upwards. They had covered the entire lower half of his body and were slowly moving up his chest. Still within his center, Subaru dimly realized that they had reached his arms and started to move downward, towards his hands. If he didn't react within the next few minutes, he would probably lose the use of them altogether.
Think! They were heading toward his hands. There was something significant in that, but he couldn't think of what. He was beginning to be overwhelmed by the sensation of them. His hands were important. Why? They were a connection to something. Yes, he thought he understood that now. But, a connection to what?
Hate, upon hate, upon hate...
A person.
Surrounding him...
To whom?
Reaching lower...
To... Gods! Why couldn't he think of who it was?
Towards the marks...
The marks? Where had that come from? Were there marks on his hands? Had someone put them there?
Eager in their searching for the outline of the stars imprinted there...
Was it the same person he was linked to?
They were almost to his wrists now...
To...
Almost... there...
Seishirou! His mind supplied him with the name and face simultaneously. The marks on his hands bound his soul to Seishirou. He could use them to dispel the darkness. He quickly went to work, going deeper into his center, trying to find that which had bound his soul to Seishirou years ago. On some surface level of his mind, he recognized that Seishirou would probably notice what he was about to do, but he remained largely unaware of this fact.
At last, he found what he was seeking. It was a river, flowing with the glittery green luminance that was his soul. It flowed outward, towards a destination that he could not see, for it was too distant. He reached toward the glowing river... and built a dam, ceasing its flow.
He was certain that Subaru was not dead, he would have felt it had that been the case. Actually, he supposed that even in death they would remain bonded; for it is the body that dies, not the soul. With all of his logical prowess, he could find no reason that could explain this sudden loss.
Hmmm... Loss? Why should he consider it as such? Its not as if he cares one way or the other. No, irritation was what it was. He had placed those marks on Subaru's hands sixteen years ago to mark Subaru as his prey, his property. It was no different than a child who marks his name on a favorite toy for the same purpose, to declare it as belonging to him, and he would be damned if he was going to let that declaration of ownership be erased.
"Well Subaru-kun," he began as he dragged the last remaining bit out of his dying cigarette, "it seems as if the time for being entertained is over." With a final release of smoke, he finished with, "This is now a matter of business."
Attempting to follow the river to its source, he arrived at its mouth, which emptied into a large green pool. It was glowing with an inner light. It appeared so pure and fresh that he almost shed tears for its sheer beauty. Is this what a soul was? Is this what had drawn Seishirou to him on that chance encounter over a decade ago? He almost could not believe it.
Peering to look within the depths of the pool, he seemed to see a very faint shape etched along the bottom. It appeared almost as if a finger had drawn it into sand, the inverted pentagram of the Sakurazukamori. That was the link his hands provided him with, it was also his means of escaping his current situation.
He focused his energy on the outline of the star there, building the pressure within himself. The etched lines were growing deeper... and darker. He continued to focus the pressure... He heard his physical form gasp with the effort to breathe. Apparently the hate had been building from without and was now causing this difficulty, he would have to work quickly.
When it seemed as if the lines could go no deeper, something slithered within and was disintegrated the instant it entered the pure green pool, evaporating with a slight hiss which sent a little ripple across the glowing surface.
Without, Subaru had begun to lose precious life providing oxygen. The crawling wave of hate approached the stars just as they started to radiate from the depths of Subaru's soul. Every moving particle that neared the light was destroyed, and the remaining bits began to shrink away from the threat that Subaru provided.
Subaru was forced from his center, and fell to the floor of the clinic's waiting room in a choking, gasping heap.
As he approached, the windows began to release a beautiful green glow. It was soft at first, then it began to intensify. He had a vivid memory of this particular color...
I'll make a bet with you...
He knew exactly what it was. Seishirou stopped in his tracks as this flashed in his brain, then leaned against the wall of the neighboring building... waiting.
For the first time he was able to really see the waiting room of the clinic as it really was - very similar to Seishirou's actually - from the light that entered through the front windows.
His hands began to shake as the full weight of his actions slammed into him. He had severed his tie to Seishirou. He ran a hand through his hair, almost not believing. Actually, this was incorrect, and he knew it. What he had done was to gain control over his tie to Seishirou, he could return it if he so chose. However, he did not imagine himself doing that any time in the near future.
Realizing that his work here was now complete, although he did not manage to find out what had caused the vengeful spirit in the first place, he approached the door and stepped out, grateful to be in the sun once again.
"Ohayo Subaru-kun." Was all the voice said. A slight emphasis was placed on the "kun" as Seishirou said this, a gesture that implied so many things. Things in fact that were no longer even appropriate, Subaru was no longer his property.
The corners of Subaru's mouth turned up a little at this. Of course he would smile, he had regained control of his life. Seishirou still owned his heart, he knew all too well, but Seishirou didn't know that, and Subaru doubted if he even cared. Subaru knew one thing he cared about though, and he was going to throw it right back in Seishirou's face, just as Seishirou had done with his love those nine years ago.
Subaru walked right up to Seishirou and looked him directly in the eye. Two deep jade ones, afire with a new light, the light of freedom, to a mismatched pair.
"I," he began, tone cold yet soft, words for Seishirou's ears alone, "am no longer your prey, Sakurazukamori."
Then he brushed past, and continued walking away from Seishirou. Hands thrust deep into his pants pockets to hide their trembling.
Seishirou, who was no longer leaning against the wall, was rendered speechless, a state of being that he had never before experienced in his lifetime.