Title: Babylon Blues
Author: Seshiro Sakurazuka
Chapter: Sakura Blues
Warnings: SPOILERS, blood, death, shonen-ai, angst, sap
Disclaimer: Tokyo Babylon/X/1999 do not belong to the author or any of the author's associates. Tokyo Babylon/X/1999 belongs to CLAMP and their affiliates.
The blurry, impossible sun hung out for the last remaining minutes in Japan. It's last wavering view caught on the boughs of an ancient sakura tree, and lingered on the face of a man called Sakurazuka. The light it cast off was red, like the sun itself was bleeding. The blood of the sun ran in rivers down Sakurazuka's clothes and touched lightly on a girl who had bled as heavily as the sun was doing now. Once, this girl had been named Hokuto Sumeragi, but Hokuto wasn't there any more. She was dead, a victim of the Sakurazukamori in a last ditch attempt to protect her beloved. The Sakurazukamori was a clan of magical assassins, and also a clan of one. The Sakurazukamori felt nothing when killing. The clan of Sakurazukamori was known by the last name, Sakurazuka. In this way, one can deduce that Sakurazuka was also the Sakurazukamori.
"Good bye, Hokuto-chan." Sakurazuka said with malice, a feeling that was unused to him as a killer with no attachments. Now he laughed, a pathetic sound more forced than amused. Unannounced to him, tears were streaming down his face. Highlighted in the dying sun's light, it appeared as if Sakurazuka were crying blood. He brought a hand up to his face, and shaking touched a tear of his. Drawing his hand back for inspection, he found nothing but a drop of saline liquid, which had been pushed forth by his eyes.
He looked at his hand in wonder, unable to figure out what was going on. Never in all his memories could he remember something like this. First the sakura wouldn't accept his sacrifice of human flesh, and now he was crying. What had that girl done with her last breath?
In a small hospital room bearing the nameplate Sumeragi, a young boy identical in looks to the dead girl under the sakura tree wept like a baby on the floor. His obaa-san clung to him, afraid to let go in case he decided to do something stupid, like go after Sakurazukamori. Or seeing if he gained the ability to fly without wings. There was nothing scarier to the motherly figure that was, in truth, the boy's grandmother than the thought of him dying. She held him close to her, rocking them back and forth, legs crumpled on the floor next to her. It was the price she paid to help her sweet grand child out of the clutches of the Sakurazukamori. A low price for a high gift.
"Shhh-hhh-hh Hush, Subaru. What is wrong?" Nothing could be done to placate him until the cause was found. The old lady had a feeling it had to do with his twin sister, but that mattered very little to her. Subaru was the Thirteenth Head, not Hokuto. She was just excess emotional baggage for Subaru, but his sister was one of the few people that meant something to him beyond the general sadness of people. He cared for her, and so she was important to the clan.
Subaru blinked as if coming out of a deep sleep that tried to hold him from this earth. He looked around the room, not recognizing a thing. Tears trailed down his face, and he looked lost. His eyes focused on the space of air just above his Obaa-chan's head and let her rock him.
"Hokuto-chan…" He whispered in shock, calling for the sister he knew would never return to him.
The Sakurazukamori was… agitated. He wasn't used to this, either. It was like a bug had bitten him, and the desire to scratch was always there. He paced back and forth between the operating table and the door at the animal hospital where he worked. His heart was beating like a drum, pounding against his ribs like it was trying to break free of his mortal shell. His eyes wouldn't stop watering, there must be something in the air to cause him to behave like that. He didn't know what the hell was going on! Everything was wrong today, and somehow that girl, Hokuto, was at the center of it. Sakurazukamori was positive that she did something to him to cause this!
Cursing, he sniffed and wiped his eyes with his sleeve. This was not how he was supposed to act. Something was very wrong with him, and if he continued to act like this, he would have to do something about it. In all the time he could remember, his heart never ached like this.
It was all that damned Hokuto's fault! He was sure of that. However, she was dead. Dead girls can't cast spells. Unless she did with her last breath, and she had outright told him that her spell would protect Subaru-kun. Ahh, Subaru-kun, who was at the heart of these… feelings. Why else would he feel like melting every time he thought of the boy? Everything around him felt wrong. Somewhere in the last few days, he had changed beyond the turning point. Ever since Subaru-kun slipped beyond his grasp. Subaru-kun. Why did he feel like this every time he thought of the boy? Like there was a strange-familiar fire that burned him from the inside out?
He settled his mental debate, and decided to sleep off these warm fuzzies. In the morning, he would go to Subaru and set this mess to rights, most likely with the edge of a knife.
A/N: A little aid for those of you who do not speak the Americanized Japanese.
chan – a suffix added to the end of a name to indicate friendship.
jo – A suffix used to indicate a girl of high standing, as in the English miss.
kun – a suffix added to the end of a name to indicate friendship, usually used by girls referring to boys.
O- - A prefix used for someone older than yourself to show respect for that person
Obaa-san – O-, the prefix for someone of a higher station than you, baa, the word meaning grandmother, and –san, the suffix used as a term of respect.
Sakura – Cherry blossoms, specifically the tree that produces them. Usually a pale pink (almost white), to red color.
Sakurazukamori – The name of a clan of assassins. More to the point, a single assassin who uses magic to accomplish his or her work.
san – A suffix the approximate equivalent of Mr., Mrs. or Ms.
(blank) – To leave off the suffix indicates either a grave insult if permission is not given, or complete trust if permission is given.