Title: Finders Keepers

Author: silrayn silverwolf

Status: Unfinished, 1 out of 3?

Disclaimers: Yami no Matsuei, Tokyo Babylon and X1999 don't belong to me.

Warning: PG13, may rise to R - just to be safe, it involves a certain guy after all. Non-canon alert, I don't know very much about X1999 except for a few select scenes so there might be something non-canon there. Shuck that, there is non-canon stuff here! It is a crossover after all!

Teaser: Sometimes, we don't know what we have until something threatens to take it away from us… Seishirou wakes up after being defeated by an oddly changed Subaru in Nakano Sun Plaza.[1] His rescuers ask him to help them on their case involving dead dark onmyouji...[Yami no Matsuei/Tokyo Babylon/X1999 Crossover]

Finders Keepers
YAMI NO MATSUEI - TOKYO BABYLON
- X1999 CROSSOVER FANFICTION




Part 1 - blind man's bluff

The room swam into slowly into Seishirou's view.

"He's awakening." A tenor voice said rather loudly, making him wince.

"Good, maybe he can tell us what happened." A sharper alto voice interjected.

"Hisoka!"

"Well, he is a dark onmyouji or he'd not be in this situation. He's certainly not a good guy."

"That doesn't excuse us!"

Seishirou started to sit up to look at his surroundings and winced, his ribs and arm hurt.

"Easy there, how are you feeling?" Said a pale blob that slowly resolved into a youngish looking face with messy brown hair. Purple eyes stared at him with concern. Slender arms caught him and pulling him up.

"I've been better." Seishirou smirked. He didn't want to confide to this stranger, just how much he'd been injured.

A snort came from the chair beside the bed where a blond sat.

"You must be wondering how you got here?" The brunet continued.

"No, I know exactly how I had gotten here." Seishirou said abruptly, brooking no more questions. His head throbbed and he wanted no more than to sleep but the two strangers wouldn't leave and didn't look like they were leaving any time soon. His eyes drifted shut.

"Whoa! You're not supposed to sleep. The doctor said you might have a concussion. I'm Tsuzuki Asato, by the way, and this is my partner Kurosawa Hisoka. We found you injured and brought you here."

"Aa. Arigato. I'm Sakurazuka Seishirou. Glad to meet you." He said smoothly but coldly.

"So, could you tell us what happened?"

"No." Seishirou didn't want to fence with these helpful strangers. If he couldn't sleep, he wanted to savor his fight with Subaru.

You've grown up since I've seen you, Subaru-kun, I've never thought you could be strong enough to defeat and knock me out...interesting... Yet not strong enough to end me...will you ever be? I wonder...

***

Seishirou blew up another building.

Where are you, Subaru-kun? Do you want to play hide and seek?

He had known upon entering Tokyo after an absence of nine years that the Sumeragi Head was somewhere in the vicinity. He decided to find him using the most expedient method. He started using his powers, as a Dragon of Earth, knowing his opposite wouldn't be able to resist answering.

Ah, there you are...

Subaru had jumped off a building, making a star-shaped kekkai in the process.

"Seishirou-san." Subaru said as he stood in ready stance. His white trench coat flapped in the dragon-born wind.

Seishirou only took his sunglasses off in reply to stare at the Sumeragi Head's looks. He also wanted to see if his blind eye would still disconcert the other. He was rewarded by a slight flinch.

It still does... Ah, some things never changed...

He was pleased to note that the years hadn't been bad for his Subaru-kun's looks. Nine years had made the slender form wiry with muscle, but the large emerald eyes hadn't changed much.

Maybe a little paler...no, it's not that...

Subaru's hair was cropped shorter than he'd like but that was all.

"You were always so cute, Subaru-kun." Seishirou said, as he looked upon his prey.

Subaru didn't deign answer that but tossed a bunch of ofudo at Seishirou. The stiff paper turned into tiny birds that flew at him at deadly speed. Seishirou called his black eagle and allowed them to get close before evading with ease or so it seemed. The birds had twisted around to hit a building behind him.

"Is it your wish then..." He said, as he leaped to another area to get clear of the falling debris.

"To kill me?" He added as Subaru sent another flock seeking him, this time to explode at his feet. He felt warmth drip on his fingers and realized that he hadn't dodged the last attack fast enough.

Maybe it's time to retreat...and I want to play with him some more before the end... It would not do to have the game start so seriously...

"Sorry, I can't play with you any longer. I have an appointment."

Seishirou dipped his finger in the blood and began to sketch the symbol of "ohm" on the back of his hand and began to chant. Then he began to push against the force of the attack Subaru-kun had sent his way. Subaru crumpled down as the force was pushed back.

Ah, as delightfully weak as ever, Subaru-kun... Nine years haven't changed you a bit...

He was about to get out of the kekkai when he heard the screaming of a shikigami. He looked up to see a dark red, almost black, falcon coming at him. He wasn't able to dodge as the thing came at him shrieking. He covered his face with his arm then he felt the splash of something warm, no hot, burning through his clothing, burning to through his skin, then the clawing of talons. Pain and darkness fell like a weight on his head and the last thing he saw was the malevolent glare in the emerald eyes of the bird.

***

So Subaru-kun, you've learned to hate and fight... This is going to be more interesting than I thought it would be...

A niggling disquiet came with the statement as it always. A denial faint, worn away by years. The doubt was a luck stone that his mind had caressed and rubbed till it was all smooth and familiar. He shrugged it away.

What else can I do with my DEAR Subaru-kun?

But…

It didn't feel the same, fighting him… As if I wasn't fighting my Subaru-kun…

What am I thinking?

I wNo matter what he can't kill me, why should I be afraid of him?

"You cannot interfere with what is to come." Seishirou said, finally goaded into telling the persistent person before him.

"We're Shinigami, it is our business to find out who's been killing dark onmyouji hereabouts." Tsuzuki replied to the challenge in Seishirou's voice.

"Ah, I have heard of Shinigami. You who dispense death to those who should've died in one way or another but couldn't for some reason... I know of you. The fight has nothing to do with your case then. It is part of the 1999 Armageddon."

They might make the battle more interesting but it will make it more annoying...to have them looking over my shoulder... Besides, Subaru-kun might end up getting killed in the process...

Seishirou's hand curled to a fist. His Subaru-kun was his to do as he pleased, to kill or to spare. The Sumeragi Head was his.

No one should ever come between us... He is my prey...

"Why don't you let us be the judge of that!" Kurosawa said, in an annoyed tone of voice.

"Because he's the Sumeragi Head." Seishirou's tone took on the condescending tone, rather like an adult lecturing a 5-year old.

"Why you!" The green-eyed bishounen said as he threw a punch at Seishirou.

"Now, Hisoka. Don't hit him. He's our only witness. Besides, he's injured."

"That's right Kurosawa Shinigami-san, it wouldn't do to hit an injured man." Seishirou parroted mockingly.

"You're really not helping you know." Tsuzuki said, glaring at Seishirou as his partner stalked out of the room.

"Well, that's me. Just stay away from this business from now on. It has got nothing to do with you."

"That has yet to be determined." Tsuzuki said as he let himself out of the room.

"Well, see you around then." Seishirou said cheerily.

***

"Hisoka, why did you punch him? We needed his cooperation for this case, you know." Tsuzuki said as they sat in the hospital lounge, invisible to all the passersby.

"I just don't like him. He feels...odd." Hisoka said.

"He's a dark onmyouji, he's bound to be a little strange. They're not known for their good dispositions as a whole."

"He feels different from Kudoh Senji." Hisoka said referring to the first dark onmyouji they had approached for the case. The man had been killed without a trace afterwards.

"A point. So what do you think of him?" Tsuzuki asked seriously. He knew by now to trust his partner's intuition about people. Hisoka's empathy was as good a gauge as any. He found the Sakurazukamori to be quite opaque under the apparent cheerful stubbornness.

"Cold, he was quite amused by us." Hisoka answered in his typical shortness.

"Cold...hm..." Tsuzuki said, staring into space.

***

Hisoka looked on his partner as the violet-eyed baka stared into space. He knew better than to discount his partner for it. Despite how Tsuzuki acted sometimes, the man had an uncanny intuition about these situations. He sighed and got up to get something warm to drink. He really didn't want to have anything to do with that disconcerting golden-eyed man in the hospital room. Sakurazuka Seishirou, the Sakurazukamori, was just too fucked up for words. Not as fucked up, as say, Kazutaka Muraki, no one could be that but maybe a close second. He could sense a great deal of turmoil under the Artic freeze of the man and that made him very uncomfortable.

Speaking of Muraki...

It was largely thanks to the mad doctor that they were here. His presence near the suspicious deaths of dark onmyouji made them worthy of investigation. Hisoka remembered...

***

"You are to investigate some suspicious looking deaths in the Tokyo area. Dark onmyouji in Tokyo had been dying in unnatural numbers for more than five years." Tatsumi said as several bloody corpses flashed across the LCD projected screen.

"If this has been going on for years, why are we only being called on to investigate now?" Hisoka asked.

"The deaths had been considered as accidents. Dark onmyouji were always dying of unnatural causes. They are also the premier causes of unnatural deaths." Tatsumi answered while watching a very hyper Tsuzuki eat a cream puff. The violet-eyed Shinigami had gotten late again and was eating his breakfast in the office.

"Smmwufoobcalminw." Tsuzuki mumbled around a very full mouth.

Tatsumi was leaning in unconsciously to have a better view of the puppy messily devouring the treat.

He looks absolutely fascinated... I wish he'd say something to Tsuzuki...

The office non-romance between the two wasn't a secret. It couldn't be to anyone who'd spent any amount of time in the presence of these two. Hisoka was pleased to see that his weren't the only rolling eyes in the room.

"So why are we being called in now?" Hisoka interpreted the question. He was ignored in favor of a patch of cream on Tsuzuki's cheek.

"Tsuzuki-san, you've got something on your face." Tatsumi said in an undertone while leaning in to wipe the sticky cream with his fingers. The fingers lingered much longer than necessary to get the smudge off, giving the secretary the chance to caress the cheek beneath.

If this gets any more cloying, we're going to be smothered in sweetness...

"Ahem. Hisoka asked a question." The Chief finally interjected.

"Ah, Kurosaki-kun, it's because of this." Tatsumi said as he went back to his terminal and pressed a button.

Several uniformed policeman and yellow strips of plastic surrounded a bloody scene. A box appeared on the right corner of screen. It surrounded a fuzzy form with white hair was standing behind a car in the background.

"This was taken in one of the death scenes, look at the right corner." Tatsumi said with a certain catch in his voice.

"It's him, isn't it?" Hisoka hissed.

Shit! Does he have to pop up at every other case we get assigned to?

"Aa. Computer enhancement reveals that it is Muraki-sinsei." Tatsumi said. His tone was suddenly implacable. The camera focused onto the figure until it became clear enough to show a familiar visage.

"So we're just checking what Muraki is doing?" Hisoka asked, skeptically.

If they cause 'unnatural deaths', they and Muraki deserve one another...

"No. In the light of this discovery, you are called to shadow several known dark onmyoujitsu practitioners and make sure the killer doesn't strike again. They are clearly dying unnaturally and thus the trend must be stopped. That is our job, after all." Tatsumi reprimanded.

"Aa." Hisoka said, unenthusiastically.

"Hai." Tsuzuki replied with more life.

"And about the food budget..." Tatsumi started.

"Pretty please..." Tsuzuki pleaded.

"No, Tsuzuki-san..."

Tsuzuki groaned and the discussion had turned to mundane things.

***

Dark onmyouji, who needs them?

Hisoka's opinion had only worsened as they followed their first subject. Kudoh Senji was a curse seller who sold death curses for exorbitant prices. Heirs with aging relatives who aren't quite cooperative at dying, Yakuza extortionists and other unsavory characters were his customers. The man, himself, was a sadist of the common stripe using human servants to stave off being hit by karmic retribution. He also used them in dark rituals that involved a lot of torture. Some of which looked clearly unnecessary.

What kind of scum are we protecting? Not the killer was lily-white either...

The killer had shown sadistic himself. From the way the internal organs had been splattered across the room, Kudoh had been killed very slowly before he had been finished off. He was also clearly proficient at whatever magical field he specialized in. He'd taken advantage of the lull between the times the Shinigami had to report to Meifu authorities. This indicated that he 'saw' the Shinigami. Hisoka and Tsuzuki had been 'flying undercover', they had been extra careful not to stand out.

He still managed to get under our guard and kill the man...

They had watched four more onmyouji, after that, but each time they just managed to get there after the killer had struck.

Sakurazuka Seishirou was their only chance. The man was top in his field, both as an assassin and an onmyouji. He could conceivably keep himself alive long enough for them to collar the culprit.

But how are we going to get the asshole to cooperate with us...

***

Muraki sat to contemplate his creation that was sipping tea across the low table. They were both wearing loose kimonos. He contemplated the sensuous curve of shoulder and grace of movement as the green-eyed man raised to cup to his lips.

He was always beautiful but look at him now...

Muraki's lips curled into an unpleasant smirk as he remembered that time, eight years ago.

***

"I'm honored, Sumeragi-san." Muraki said, as he bowed to the old lady who sat in a wheelchair.

"You came well recommended, Kazutaka-sinsei." Lady Sumeragi said.

"Still an honor, to serve the premier onmyouji family in Japan." His glasses shimmered in the light, gray eyes intent on the lady.

"I trust that Subaru-san will become well in your care."

"I will care for him like he holds my own life in his hands."

Since he will in 1999...

Muraki lips curled up in a tiny smile.

Besides the little boy, has his own brand of charm... He's "broken in" too...

The white-haired doctor had researched this case when it came to his attention. He had all volunteered for it.

"Aa. Hana will show you to his room." A girl in a kimono came out of a door to wait on him.

Muraki recognized the dismissal and bowed to the matriarch.

He followed the girl down several halls to stand before a screen door. She slid it open to a small chamber. Noiselessly, she let Muraki in and withdrew.

The Sumeragi house followed the traditional Japanese design of paper screens and wooden frames hiding modern conveniences in tradition. Something he appreciated. This room wasn't any different from the rest. White electric light bathed the room with radiance and a dextrose bottle stood on a metal stand attached accordingly to match the futon's height. On the futon was a pale boy, unseeing green eyes staring into space.

"Hmm, so you're Subaru-kun. I'm Dr. Kazutaka Muraki, pleased to meet you. Shall we start?"

***

It had been surprisingly easy to get into the Sumeragi household. For all their vaunted onmyoujitsu powers, the Sumeragi were vulnerable to mundane infiltration techniques. All Muraki had to do was shield his nature and get some recommendations, child's play for him.

And it was too late when the old hag figured it out...much too late...

Subaru-kun had come along nicely from the start, a beautiful doll of a boy. The youngster had been so obedient, more obedient than any other doll Muraki had ever played with. He followed without question and generally took to whatever that white haired doctor taught him. He was also quite willing to do anything in bed.

A true masterpiece...all the time I wasted, trying to break Hisoka-chan...

Lady Sumeragi found that out the hard way.

At least, that was Muraki thought until today. It was the first time Subaru had disobeyed him. The green-eyed bishounen had spared the Sakurazukamori contrary to his orders.

Could he still be harboring foolish feelings for that man...does he have so much hold on you that you would spare his life...we'll see about this...

"It was a pity that your new teammates came to see you just before you could end him." Muraki stalked over to where Subaru sat.

"Aa." Subaru said, sipping his tea calmly. He sat in the correct and traditional manner. He didn't look the least bit perturbed about the doctor's approach.

Or maybe he's just good at hiding his reaction...

"Or...are you sure you truly want to end his life...? I will be very cross if I find out you've been unfaithful to me..." Muraki said, putting a hand down on a curve of cheek.

"Aa, Muraki-sinsei." Subaru said, putting down his tea and bent his head over to look the doctor in the eye.

Muraki felt a slight shiver course over the young man's frame.

Oh, he is still mine...

Subaru let Muraki raise his face for the kiss, opening his mouth to give the doctor access to that sweetness waiting within.

Muraki smiled.

Oh, all mine...maybe I would allow you to live even after your usefulness has passed my little puppet...

The doctor pulled the Sumeragi head up and slammed him to the wall as he fumbled with the sliding door to their bedroom for the night.

A good doll never should be wasted, after all...

***

Subaru kissed his beloved Muraki-sinsei back, happy that his love wasn't angry with him. He would have finished Seishirou-san if those other Dragons hadn't come. He just couldn't do it with them watching. The end he'd prepared for his twin sister's killer was as long drawn out as it could be.

I've had a lot of practice... It was going to be the sweetest revenge...

He just couldn't risk witnesses especially the Dragons of Heaven.

Muraki-sinsei and I have other plans for them...

Plans that required them to trust Subaru, both of them intended to survive the 1999 encounter of the Angels and the Seals.

If humanity were to be saved in the process...so be it...

~TBC~

Author's Notes:

[1] What are the odds of this ever happening with the Clamp version Subaru? Ten thousand to one? One million to one? Subaru is such wimp.

I know I'm insane. I got so many fanfics unfinished but I couldn't just let this one go. It's been pestering me for a while now. I have this whole story in outline format, the first time I thought of it. 20 plot points that keep getting a bit changed when I write them in the chapter. ^^;

I know I've been putting out starts and very little else but rest assured that I will be working on all of my stories even KitKu. "This Time Around" is being stubborn, I can't seem to get around the fact that Kurama is not officially with Hiei in that fic. ^^;