Glass and concrete pebbles crunched under his feet as Kamui led him through the crumbling hallway. With an appraiser's eye, Fuuma noted the fresh cracks running floor to ceiling. The protective barrier hadn't even been down that long, but the building had deteriorated enough to make him concerned for the safety of his people. Well, insofar as they were his. They'd looked to him for leadership these past years, but he hadn't been around when their world had turned into an environmental disaster. He couldn't really claim ownership of the Tower group any more than Kamui could say the group in the Government Building belonged to him. Not that the vampire would admit he wanted the authority.
"That has nothing to do--"
"With you, yes."
Fuuma bit back a chuckle and just adjusted his glasses. Kamui glanced over his shoulder, lips set in a firm, hard line. Apart from day-to-day survival, there was little on this world to entertain someone who had seen more dimensions than the people here dreamed existed. Except, of course, someone who'd possibly seen more. After a year alone in this dimension, the sight of another foreign face had been welcome. He remembered enough of Seishirou's stories about the pair of vampires he hunted to know who the newcomer was, and eventually came to understand why he'd stayed so long in a single place.
He'd watched and battled against the tightly-wound kindred for the better part of three years; Kamui thinking Fuuma couldn't read him like a book was ridiculous.
What made the vampire so funny was that he seriously thought Fuuma couldn't.
Ah, Niisan, I'm sure you'd find this all very amusing.
The pair made their way into a small, sparsely-furnished room toward the back. The ragged cloth that covered the doorway seemed in slightly better condition than the others he'd seen; but the thick, semi-hardened layer of concrete dust on the table served as a better indicator of the room's occupant. He'd bet whatever that girl's feather was worth that no one else in the Government Building spent every waking moment in vigil or on patrol. Fuuma brushed off the corner of the table and leaned against it. "So, what're the terms?"
A shrug. "The exchange is equal," Kamui replied, tone flat. "Your guys just better not try and take more than their share."
Another point of self control kept him from laughing again. Though his expression and his tone must have seemed incredibly wry. "And you think they would?"
Kamui folded his arms over his chest. "They tried before."
"Well, their supply was running out. Now that there's enough to go around, I don't think they'll need to steal anything."
As expected, his companion let out a derisive snort. "They got themselves into this situation in the first place. If you come back here in five years, they'll all be dead. I don't care what that witch said."
"Your brother seems to think differently."
That got a reaction out of Kamui. Though they kept their natural color -- for now -- the violet eyes turned catlike, the slanted pupils reminding Fuuma that his companion was as inhuman as his words suggested. "Don't even talk about Subaru," Kamui hissed, lowering his hands to his sides. "We wouldn't even be here if it weren't for your damn brother!"
Fuuma tilted his head, offering nothing to answer that. Though the version of this story that he'd heard spread the weight of blame a little more evenly, he couldn't exactly argue. But surely, blood relation wasn't something to hold against someone. He certainly wasn't. "I'm not exactly my brother," he offered, slightly stung. He was starting to regret revealing his link to the vampire twins aside from being the de-facto head of the Tower group
If anything, Kamui's expression darkened further. "Please, you've been communicating with him, haven't you? Telling him where we were so he'd get here faster. Setting it up so I'd have to fight him on my own."
"I haven't spoken to Niisan since I came here four years ago," Fuuma replied quietly, and watched the first cracks in Kamui's righteous anger. "Probably a little bit longer." I know, better than you, what it's like to be alone.
The inhuman cast left the vampire's eyes, and while he might still be angry, no longer dangerously so. The room was only so big, and the injuries Fuuma'd received from the last fight hadn't completely healed. Besides, if he managed to weather Kamui's wrath, he wouldn't survive Subaru's. But a fight didn't seem likely; the longer the silence stretched out between them, the less angry and more sullen Kamui became. "You should have told me who you were from the start..." he muttered, not quite willing to give up.
Fuuma's laugh echoed around the small room, and he ran a hand through his hair. "Niisan was right about you, Kamui," he said, his tone almost fond. "He told me you were -- to use his words -- the biggest brat he'd ever met."
Baring his teeth, Kamui launched into a rant that contained some blistering terms for Seishirou and continued for some time. When Fuuma started to laugh again, the vampire added some vitriol for Fuuma himself. "--an arrogant, smug, jackass who cheats when he fights! You're worse than he is and--"
Fuuma kissed him to shut him up.
Kamui's sharp intake of breath came out in a grunt of protest, but Fuuma didn't pull away. He caught the hand that flew at him just in time; he felt the sharp edges of clawlike fingers brush the side of his head. The vampire pulled once, twice, and whether he gave up or lost interest wasn't all that important. The claws retracted and Kamui's arm lost much of its tension as the mouth beneath his began to kiss back. Grinning a little, Fuuma gave some ground and let Kamui feel his way through. He'd wondered more than once what would happen if he tried something like this. Most scenarios ended with him missing body parts.
But, he thought as he felt a few hesitant fingers slide up into his hair, maybe he just chose the right time to try.
"Kamui, Fuuma-san, I just spoke with Kurogane-san and I--"
Kamui ripped away from him at the sound of Subaru's voice. He glared hard in Fuuma's direction and wiped his mouth on the back of his hand, but Fuuma noticed he didn't exactly look Subaru in the eye. The green-eyed vampire must have noticed as well, because the hints of outrage in his face faded into a sort of bemusement as he glanced between Fuuma and Kamui. "I... spoke to Kurogane-san, and it seems the princess has returned safely, and the..." Subaru's gaze lingered on Kamui. "The magician is awake."
"They'll leave tomorrow, then," Kamui replied, his voice a little hoarse. He cleared his throat and finally met his twin's eyes. "Then it'll be our turn. There isn't anything tying us down here anymore."
"Aa, we should get underway," Subaru conceded, but he was looking at Fuuma. Under the elder twin's gaze, Fuuma felt a bit more transparent than he was comfortable with. It'd had taken him years to finally understand Kamui in any meaningful way. It didn't appear that Subaru needed much time with him at all. "I'm sure Fuuma-san would like to see his brother again."
"What?"
Subaru's expression softened, and he looked at his brother sadly. "I think we should all be together when Seishirou-san catches up with us."
"Subaru, you can't mean..." The confusion in Kamui's voice made Fuuma wince. There was no misunderstanding what Subaru intended to do, but the implications of such a choice were harder for the younger twin to grasp. "We have to keep running."
"No, Kamui," Subaru replied in an infinitely gentle voice. "You want to keep running." Both their eyes fell closed as Subaru kissed Kamui, touching their lips together in a way completely different from how Fuuma had. "I'm sorry I left you alone for so long. I can't imagine how lonely you've been."
As quietly as he could, Fuuma moved toward the door; the moment between the brothers was a hard one, and he was intruding. He had the curtain lifted before Subaru looked up and mouthed "tomorrow night." Fuuma nodded slowly and ducked out, sparing one more glance at Kamui's eyes, dry but red rimmed and all too human-looking now, before he left.