This fic is over a year old which is why quite a lot of things that have recently (or not so recently) in the X manga are not mentioned (certain deaths, the loss of an eye, etc). Think of it as an AU if it keeps your brain from exploding. Whatever floats your boat.
I also know Sorata is supposed to have an accent, which would normally be reflected when speaking in Japanese, but due to my utter ignorance of the language it's been pretty much dropped. Sorry.
Characters all belong to the mightiness that is CLAMP. Fear them! FEEEEAAAAR!!!
.... okay, maybe not.
---
Sorata Arisugawa hummed happily, if badly, as he bounced into the kitchen of the Imonoyama mansion. He was in high spirits because today was the day that "it" was finally going to happen. He had plotted "it" for weeks; making sure he was cleanly shaven, that he had showered thoroughly the night before, that his jeans and shirt weren't wrinkled and were actually hung up in the closet for once, and everything else a guy needed to do to make himself look semi respectable.
"Good morning, Sorata-san!" Akira chirped to him happily, working on what looked like a large batch of pancakes.
"Yes, what a good morning it is!" Sorata replied, a large grin taking over his features. He paused, sniffing the air dramatically. "Wow, that smells really good."
The cook beamed. "Would you like some? They're almost done."
The monk struck a thoughtful pose, hand curled up under his chin, head nodding a little. "Hm... Hm... Hmmmmm.... As much as I'd love to wolf down at least a hundred of those delicious lookin' darlings, I need my teeth squeaky clean and my breath minty fresh," he said with a wink.
"Oh? Why's that, Sorata-san?" Akira blinked gray eyes at him.
"Because today is a very special day!" Sorata proclaimed, loud enough that Seiichiro and Karen in the other room stuck their heads around the massive door frame. "Today! Today is the day that - hey, have you seen Miss around?"
"I think she went for a walk out in the backyard," Karen offered.
Sorata nodded. "Thanks Kasumi-san. Well then, I'm off!" With a whoop, that caused poor Yuzuriha upstairs in bed to snap out of her dream about Kusanagi and ice cream, the monk barreled out of the door and into the early morning sun.
"I wonder what's so special about today," Seiichiro said, eyes wide behind his glasses.
Karen giggled. "I think he's finally going to ask Arashi out."
"But, doesn't he do that every time they're together?"
"Mm-mm," Karen shook her head with a smile. "Usually he's just joking around. I think he's serious today. Did you see how his shirt had no wrinkles and his hair was almost decent looking for once?"
The wind master shrugged. "I really didn't notice," he said, looking down at her. "Well, back to scrabble?"
----
Sorata felt like his soul was up there, dancing around in the slight breeze playing through the many trees that lined his path. He would have skipped if he wasn't afraid that Miss would see him acting like some love-sick school boy (which, technically, he was) and go running for the hills. He frowned a little at that thought. Her fleeing from him really wouldn't fit in with his grand master plan.
/You've always run from me before..../
/Not literally of course (well, so far)..../
/But you constantly shut yourself off to me; to everyone./
/Not anymore./
He peered around the trunk of one particularly large hiba arborvitae tree and snapped his fingers in agitation. Still no sign of his dark haired priestess.
/You won't be alone anymore./
Sorata continued his walk, trying his hardest not to cheat and not to sense out her presence. He wanted his finding her to be nothing more than an innocent 'accident', a 'oh, fancy meeting you here!'-type situation; it would be that much more romantic. Now if only he could actually find her....
He sighed and rubbed the back of his head idly. Glancing to his right he noticed with a small amount of foreboding, that the tree right next to him was the one he had been at only a few minutes ago. "Figures," the monk said with a low groan, "that I get lost. Maybe Miss will have to come find -me-." He perked at that thought, of being alone with her under one of the dark green trees on a lovely morning like this. Of course, she would probably find him, point him back towards the mansion, turn on her heel and walk off thinking about what a numskull he was for getting lost.
Ego deflated a little, but no less determined to find her first, Sorata kept walking, eyes and ears searching for anything that might give away another human presence. He passed by another large (or was it the same?) tree, glanced past it and -
Almost passed out.
Standing there, with her long skirt flowing in the gentle wind, was his lady. Her raven hair played down her back, dancing and shimmering like strings on a violin in the morning sun. Lovely white hands, as delicate looking as porcelain were clasped at her sides in the folds of the dark skirt. She was as enchanting as any princess.
And on her features was a mixture of expressions that the Kouya priest, even in all of his time spent with her, had never seen before.
A faint smile.
And a faint blush.
/What?/
His startled gaze traveled past her and rested on -
- Subaru Sumeragi.
Sorata tightened his grip on the tree trunk to avoid falling over from this new shock to his system and watched them, his mouth slightly open. The Sumeragi looked cool and calm as usual, his face as impassive as ever. But Miss....
If anyone could recognize the shine in her eyes, and what that light meant, it was Sorata.
Carefully, as to not alert the other two Dragons to his presence, he moved back around the tree trunk and let his head come to rest with a small 'thud' on the hard wood. If he hadn't been so afraid of being caught spying, he would have probably continued hitting his head on the bark long into the night.
/Should have.... known...../
Silently, he crept away from them. He wasn't positive that this would get him back to the other Seals; but it would get him away from that light, that -emotion- pouring forth from dark eyes usually so cold, even to him....
Of course, he thought with a mental grumble, this is what I get for my want and desire.
/Have I just been fooling myself?/
Sorata reflected a bit about what he had been doing, or at least what he thought he had been doing, in areas concerning his Miss. He had tried, oh how he had -tried- to lighten her spirits; to make her smile, just once. Everyone needs a good laugh now and then. The Dragons of Heaven more than some....
/I'm there to be the joker. To cheer everyone up and make them forget that we could all be killed and humanity could die out because of something so simple - like us screwing up./
And he had wanted to make them all happy. He really did care a lot about all of them; each and every one of his new friends. Especially Miss. She really didn't have anyone else. Kamui and Subaru both had their own woes and had bonded nicely over that; Yuzuriha wasn't ever really depressed and if she ever was, she always went out for ice cream and that seemed to cheer her up; Aoki-san and Kasumi-san were both obviously close, but to what extent Sorata had no idea. Miss on the other hand didn't have any of the other Dragons that she was close to. She didn't have anyone to make her smile.
/So I had pledged that I'd make her smile./
/I'd make Miss really happy./
But it looked like someone had beaten him to it.
Even if the Sumeragi probably didn't have a damn clue that he had.
Sorata let out a long sigh.
Despite his jokes, despite his charms, despite the smiles he always flashed her; she never responded. Sometimes he'd catch her off guard, but then his reward was usually a shocked look or a solid thumping. Nothing to write home to the old geezer about.
"Wai!"
"Oof!"
Sorata fell back hard and his grimaced as hot pain lanced down through his legs. Rubbing distractedly at his poor abused rear end, he looked up at found himself looking into the large worried eyes of -
"Kamui! Oh geez, I'm sorry! Are you okay kid?" He sprang quickly off of the ground, patting the younger boy down who let out an indignant squawk as Sorata's hands found their way to a few places Kamui wasn't sure he wanted anyone touching yet.
"I'm fine Sora," Kamui said, batting the monk's hands away, "I'm not hurt."
"Well that's good," Sorata said as he stood, his normal grin slipping over his features, "I'd feel awful if anything happened to you. On the other hand, I'm not so sure I'm okay, running straight into you like that! Anyone ever tell you how thick skulled you are, Kamui?" Sorata's grin didn't falter as he offered a hand down to Kamui. Glaring daggers at the smiling face in front of him, Kamui still took the hand and was hefted up to his feet.
"Anyways, have you seen Subaru?"
/That light again...../
The look in Kamui's eyes; that lovely mixture of shyness and something resembling adoration all thinly veiled beneath a guise of coldness and annoyance. Just like Miss' eyes, those exact same emotions except now they were playing in the depths of purple and blue instead of obsidian....
"Sora?"
Sorata blinked, pulled out of his second mental shock of the day. "Eh?"
"You looked kind of pale," Kamui said, large eyes studying his features. Sorata fought the odd blush that threatened to engulf his cheeks under that scrutiny and instead flashed Kamui a wink.
"Of course I look pale compared to a beauty like you!"
He grinned mentally at Kamui's normal flustered reaction and the scowl that always followed it. The best part about being the first guy to meet their leader, Sorata decided, was that he was the best at guessing at and getting reactions from Kamui.
"Sora, you didn't answer me. Do you know where Subaru is or not?" Kamui folded his arms and fixed the monk with the best threatening look he could muster. Sorata sweated and waved his arms.
"Yeah yeah, just don't kill me!"
"Then where is he?" Kamui demanded.
"He's talking to Miss," Sorata thumbed over his shoulder, "somewhere back there."
"He's talking to Arashi?" The slighter boy blinked a few times. "Maybe I should talk to him later then."
Sorata shrugged and then gently turned Kamui around, keeping one hand on the seemingly fragile shoulder. "Well hey, don't worry about it. You can always talk to me, right?" he questioned cheerfully as they began to walk back to where Sorata assumed (and hoped and prayed) was the Imonoyama mansion. Kamui looked up from under thick lashed at him dubiously. Sorata's grin faded. "Listen Kamui, I know it probably doesn't seem the same coming from a guy like me, who hasn't been there and hasn't experienced the same sort of trouble you have, but I'm always here for ya. If you ever need a shoulder to cr- er, someone to talk to, I want you to feel free to come to me. Alright?" His normal cheesy grin found it's way back onto his face. Kamui still looked uncertain but nodded his head all the same.
---
Sorata glanced idly at the clock and at the 2:00 AM it blinked back at him. With a low curse, he reached out to grasp the cup of beer he had been currently nursing. If it wasn't for the fact that they were always on alert because of the Dragons of Earth, he would probably have gotten drunk off his ass.
"Stupid Dragons of Earth," he muttered sullenly and he took another swig, "always ruining our fun and good times." He glanced over at the small stack of empty cans by the foot of his bed a sighed. "I'm gonna have such a hangover if I ever get to sleep."
He glared at the cup in his hand. "And that my friend, is -your- fault."
/ "Anyways, have you seen Subaru?" /
"He didn't even say hi to me," Sorata said to his bedside clock mournfully, setting down the cup for a moment, "ya know that? Not even a 'Hey Sora, how's it going?'. Nope, he wanted to talk to the Sumeragi and right then, right there. He didn't even tell me what about, although he kept pacing like a caged cat all until Subaru and Miss walked in the door and then he looked like he coulda actually jumped with happiness." He leaned over the nightstand, glaring at the tiny alarm clock who blinked it's numbers back at him innocently. "Both him and Miss look like that when they're around Subaru. It just ain't fair, ya know?"
Sorata sat down on the bed, mulling over that last thought. Before he could work it into any sense however, he was out like a light, the alcohol having finally soaked through.
---
"Good morning Sorata-san!"
Sorata blinked, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Mornin', Akira-san."
Akira cocked his head to the side slightly. "You don't seem as in high-spirits are you did yesterday, Sorata-san."
The priest pulled a chair up and sat down at the table. "Yeah, I didn't sleep too well last night."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! Would you like some lunch?"
Sorata perked immediately. After losing most of what he ate yesterday to the porcelain god earlier this morning, he could use something in his stomach. "Sure, whatcha making?"
Akira was about to answer when Yuzuriha came bounding into the room. "Hey, I'm going now!"
The gray eyed man waved while Sorata regarded her, looking puzzled. "Where are ya going, Yuzuriha-chan?"
The girl turned, a bright smile painting her young features. "Oh, no where special. Just out for some ice cream with Inuki."
"Ice cream, eh?" Sorata pondered that for a moment. "Oi, Yuzuriha-chan, would you mind if I tagged along?"
Yuzuriha's eyes widened behind her dark bangs and she blushed deeply. "Uh... um... Well, you see Sorata-san..." She blinked at him apologetically, her smile twisting into a cute little pout. "I sort of... am going to meet someone...."
The pieces came together like a child's 20 part puzzle. "Oh!! Sorry then! Well, you better get going, don't want to keep your date waiting!" Sorata said, flashing his best smile at her.
She blushed again and laughed nervously. "Oh, it's not a date, really.. it's just.. um... um... I'd better be going! Come on Inuki!" She practically leaped out of the door with her dog spirit close behind.
Sorata sighed the moment the two of them left and thunked his head down on the table.
Yuzuriha had someone....
Aoki-san and Kasumi-san had each other.... sorta....
Kamui had Subaru.....
Miss had Subaru....
Subaru had.... well.... the Sakurazukamori?....
And Sorata had....
.... had....
"Sorata-san?"
He peered up from under his unruly bangs at the two large eyes that blinked down at him worriedly. "Are you alright?"
"Hai hai. Just suddenly not real hungry anymore. I think I'm going to go and take a walk for a bit."
---
If anyone had cared to notice, they would have seen a very dejected looking young man, hands stuffed deep in jean pockets, meandering seemingly aimlessly about the streets of Tokyo, but carefully avoiding any ice cream shops.
"They all have someone," he muttered under his breath, stepping gingerly around small group of kindergarten children milling about, "how am I suppose to die for a woman when I can't even find a girl who'll give me a second look?"
He continued walking, speculating on this new thought and found himself eventually at the dead end of an alley. "Whoops." As he prepared to just leap up onto of the building, blackness surrounded him.
/What the hell?!/
He blinked into the darkness and suddenly recognized it; he was in a dream. But who's and how did he get here?
"Sorata Arisugawa, the Seal of Kouya."
Sorata whirled around at the soft voice, baseball cap almost flying off of his head. A pale figure regarded him quietly, so pretty Sorata would have sworn it was female if not for the lack of curves.
"I am Kakyou," the golden-eyed one said with a small bow, "and you are in one of my Dreams."
"Uh-huh, I kind of gathered that." Sorata glanced around nervously, not exactly pleased to be caught in a dream with one of the seven Angels. "Mind if I ask why? Or are you looking for a fight, Dragon of Earth?"
"A fight is not my intention. I was asked to weave this Dream to ensnare you in it. I simply did my duty."
Sorata frowned, tensing a little. "Who asked you to?"
"I did."
That voice.... Now where did he know that voice from?.....
A tall figure melted out of the darkness and the slighter form Sorata had been addressing vanished.
The priest gaped.
/OhmyGodI'mgonnadie./
"You seem surprised, Dragon of Heaven," the 'Kamui' of the Dragons of Earth said with a slight smirk.
Sorata swallowed the growing lump in his throat and took a small step backwards. He didn't lack any confidence in his own abilities, but 'Kamui', both of them, were worlds away in power from himself.
"Well, I'm just a little flattered is all," Sorata said, summoning up a grin, "to decide to harass me out of all of the other Seals."
"I see." The smirk grew wider. "You can calm down, I'm not going to kill you today."
Sorata couldn't quite repress a shudder. "Uh, gee, well, that's good to know right! Ha ha ha..." His gaze left the figure to rake over the darkness, (escape, every instinct told him, /run/) and he took another small step backwards, feeling himself run into something solid but warm. He glanced up behind him.
"Waah!!"
The 'Kamui' smiled down at him, hands reaching out to firmly grasp Sorata's elbows and pulling the monk back against him. "Things don't always work out in Dreams like they do in the 'real world', ne?" He chuckled softly, breath warm against Sorata's ear. Sorata shuddered hard.
/I will not lose control.... I will not lose control.... Plus, he's not gonna kill me, right? Right?.... And hey, I can't die now, I wouldn't be protecting any lady..../
"Do you wish to escape your destiny?"
Sorata's eyes widened.
---
-end chapter one
random notes: I don't know if I'll ever really continue this fic; I have a big chunk of chapter two done but I've kind of just run out of any will to write it, especially since it's so out of date now *sweatdrops* Hope you enjoyed it anyways and if you didn't then please smile politely and pretend you did? My ego is horribly fragile.
And before I'm killed by outraged Sorata and Arashi fans, I really DO like them together. They're probably one of my favorite ClAMP pairings. But! I decided I wanted to do something a lill different. Whee. Also, I stole the idea of Arashi being in love with Subaru from someone... but I can't recall who *sweatdrops* Whatever author came up with the original idea, I salute you and your creativity as opposed to my non.
I also know Sorata is supposed to have an accent, which would normally be reflected when speaking in Japanese, but due to my utter ignorance of the language it's been pretty much dropped. Sorry.
Characters all belong to the mightiness that is CLAMP. Fear them! FEEEEAAAAR!!!
.... okay, maybe not.
---
Sorata Arisugawa hummed happily, if badly, as he bounced into the kitchen of the Imonoyama mansion. He was in high spirits because today was the day that "it" was finally going to happen. He had plotted "it" for weeks; making sure he was cleanly shaven, that he had showered thoroughly the night before, that his jeans and shirt weren't wrinkled and were actually hung up in the closet for once, and everything else a guy needed to do to make himself look semi respectable.
"Good morning, Sorata-san!" Akira chirped to him happily, working on what looked like a large batch of pancakes.
"Yes, what a good morning it is!" Sorata replied, a large grin taking over his features. He paused, sniffing the air dramatically. "Wow, that smells really good."
The cook beamed. "Would you like some? They're almost done."
The monk struck a thoughtful pose, hand curled up under his chin, head nodding a little. "Hm... Hm... Hmmmmm.... As much as I'd love to wolf down at least a hundred of those delicious lookin' darlings, I need my teeth squeaky clean and my breath minty fresh," he said with a wink.
"Oh? Why's that, Sorata-san?" Akira blinked gray eyes at him.
"Because today is a very special day!" Sorata proclaimed, loud enough that Seiichiro and Karen in the other room stuck their heads around the massive door frame. "Today! Today is the day that - hey, have you seen Miss around?"
"I think she went for a walk out in the backyard," Karen offered.
Sorata nodded. "Thanks Kasumi-san. Well then, I'm off!" With a whoop, that caused poor Yuzuriha upstairs in bed to snap out of her dream about Kusanagi and ice cream, the monk barreled out of the door and into the early morning sun.
"I wonder what's so special about today," Seiichiro said, eyes wide behind his glasses.
Karen giggled. "I think he's finally going to ask Arashi out."
"But, doesn't he do that every time they're together?"
"Mm-mm," Karen shook her head with a smile. "Usually he's just joking around. I think he's serious today. Did you see how his shirt had no wrinkles and his hair was almost decent looking for once?"
The wind master shrugged. "I really didn't notice," he said, looking down at her. "Well, back to scrabble?"
----
Sorata felt like his soul was up there, dancing around in the slight breeze playing through the many trees that lined his path. He would have skipped if he wasn't afraid that Miss would see him acting like some love-sick school boy (which, technically, he was) and go running for the hills. He frowned a little at that thought. Her fleeing from him really wouldn't fit in with his grand master plan.
/You've always run from me before..../
/Not literally of course (well, so far)..../
/But you constantly shut yourself off to me; to everyone./
/Not anymore./
He peered around the trunk of one particularly large hiba arborvitae tree and snapped his fingers in agitation. Still no sign of his dark haired priestess.
/You won't be alone anymore./
Sorata continued his walk, trying his hardest not to cheat and not to sense out her presence. He wanted his finding her to be nothing more than an innocent 'accident', a 'oh, fancy meeting you here!'-type situation; it would be that much more romantic. Now if only he could actually find her....
He sighed and rubbed the back of his head idly. Glancing to his right he noticed with a small amount of foreboding, that the tree right next to him was the one he had been at only a few minutes ago. "Figures," the monk said with a low groan, "that I get lost. Maybe Miss will have to come find -me-." He perked at that thought, of being alone with her under one of the dark green trees on a lovely morning like this. Of course, she would probably find him, point him back towards the mansion, turn on her heel and walk off thinking about what a numskull he was for getting lost.
Ego deflated a little, but no less determined to find her first, Sorata kept walking, eyes and ears searching for anything that might give away another human presence. He passed by another large (or was it the same?) tree, glanced past it and -
Almost passed out.
Standing there, with her long skirt flowing in the gentle wind, was his lady. Her raven hair played down her back, dancing and shimmering like strings on a violin in the morning sun. Lovely white hands, as delicate looking as porcelain were clasped at her sides in the folds of the dark skirt. She was as enchanting as any princess.
And on her features was a mixture of expressions that the Kouya priest, even in all of his time spent with her, had never seen before.
A faint smile.
And a faint blush.
/What?/
His startled gaze traveled past her and rested on -
- Subaru Sumeragi.
Sorata tightened his grip on the tree trunk to avoid falling over from this new shock to his system and watched them, his mouth slightly open. The Sumeragi looked cool and calm as usual, his face as impassive as ever. But Miss....
If anyone could recognize the shine in her eyes, and what that light meant, it was Sorata.
Carefully, as to not alert the other two Dragons to his presence, he moved back around the tree trunk and let his head come to rest with a small 'thud' on the hard wood. If he hadn't been so afraid of being caught spying, he would have probably continued hitting his head on the bark long into the night.
/Should have.... known...../
Silently, he crept away from them. He wasn't positive that this would get him back to the other Seals; but it would get him away from that light, that -emotion- pouring forth from dark eyes usually so cold, even to him....
Of course, he thought with a mental grumble, this is what I get for my want and desire.
/Have I just been fooling myself?/
Sorata reflected a bit about what he had been doing, or at least what he thought he had been doing, in areas concerning his Miss. He had tried, oh how he had -tried- to lighten her spirits; to make her smile, just once. Everyone needs a good laugh now and then. The Dragons of Heaven more than some....
/I'm there to be the joker. To cheer everyone up and make them forget that we could all be killed and humanity could die out because of something so simple - like us screwing up./
And he had wanted to make them all happy. He really did care a lot about all of them; each and every one of his new friends. Especially Miss. She really didn't have anyone else. Kamui and Subaru both had their own woes and had bonded nicely over that; Yuzuriha wasn't ever really depressed and if she ever was, she always went out for ice cream and that seemed to cheer her up; Aoki-san and Kasumi-san were both obviously close, but to what extent Sorata had no idea. Miss on the other hand didn't have any of the other Dragons that she was close to. She didn't have anyone to make her smile.
/So I had pledged that I'd make her smile./
/I'd make Miss really happy./
But it looked like someone had beaten him to it.
Even if the Sumeragi probably didn't have a damn clue that he had.
Sorata let out a long sigh.
Despite his jokes, despite his charms, despite the smiles he always flashed her; she never responded. Sometimes he'd catch her off guard, but then his reward was usually a shocked look or a solid thumping. Nothing to write home to the old geezer about.
"Wai!"
"Oof!"
Sorata fell back hard and his grimaced as hot pain lanced down through his legs. Rubbing distractedly at his poor abused rear end, he looked up at found himself looking into the large worried eyes of -
"Kamui! Oh geez, I'm sorry! Are you okay kid?" He sprang quickly off of the ground, patting the younger boy down who let out an indignant squawk as Sorata's hands found their way to a few places Kamui wasn't sure he wanted anyone touching yet.
"I'm fine Sora," Kamui said, batting the monk's hands away, "I'm not hurt."
"Well that's good," Sorata said as he stood, his normal grin slipping over his features, "I'd feel awful if anything happened to you. On the other hand, I'm not so sure I'm okay, running straight into you like that! Anyone ever tell you how thick skulled you are, Kamui?" Sorata's grin didn't falter as he offered a hand down to Kamui. Glaring daggers at the smiling face in front of him, Kamui still took the hand and was hefted up to his feet.
"Anyways, have you seen Subaru?"
/That light again...../
The look in Kamui's eyes; that lovely mixture of shyness and something resembling adoration all thinly veiled beneath a guise of coldness and annoyance. Just like Miss' eyes, those exact same emotions except now they were playing in the depths of purple and blue instead of obsidian....
"Sora?"
Sorata blinked, pulled out of his second mental shock of the day. "Eh?"
"You looked kind of pale," Kamui said, large eyes studying his features. Sorata fought the odd blush that threatened to engulf his cheeks under that scrutiny and instead flashed Kamui a wink.
"Of course I look pale compared to a beauty like you!"
He grinned mentally at Kamui's normal flustered reaction and the scowl that always followed it. The best part about being the first guy to meet their leader, Sorata decided, was that he was the best at guessing at and getting reactions from Kamui.
"Sora, you didn't answer me. Do you know where Subaru is or not?" Kamui folded his arms and fixed the monk with the best threatening look he could muster. Sorata sweated and waved his arms.
"Yeah yeah, just don't kill me!"
"Then where is he?" Kamui demanded.
"He's talking to Miss," Sorata thumbed over his shoulder, "somewhere back there."
"He's talking to Arashi?" The slighter boy blinked a few times. "Maybe I should talk to him later then."
Sorata shrugged and then gently turned Kamui around, keeping one hand on the seemingly fragile shoulder. "Well hey, don't worry about it. You can always talk to me, right?" he questioned cheerfully as they began to walk back to where Sorata assumed (and hoped and prayed) was the Imonoyama mansion. Kamui looked up from under thick lashed at him dubiously. Sorata's grin faded. "Listen Kamui, I know it probably doesn't seem the same coming from a guy like me, who hasn't been there and hasn't experienced the same sort of trouble you have, but I'm always here for ya. If you ever need a shoulder to cr- er, someone to talk to, I want you to feel free to come to me. Alright?" His normal cheesy grin found it's way back onto his face. Kamui still looked uncertain but nodded his head all the same.
---
Sorata glanced idly at the clock and at the 2:00 AM it blinked back at him. With a low curse, he reached out to grasp the cup of beer he had been currently nursing. If it wasn't for the fact that they were always on alert because of the Dragons of Earth, he would probably have gotten drunk off his ass.
"Stupid Dragons of Earth," he muttered sullenly and he took another swig, "always ruining our fun and good times." He glanced over at the small stack of empty cans by the foot of his bed a sighed. "I'm gonna have such a hangover if I ever get to sleep."
He glared at the cup in his hand. "And that my friend, is -your- fault."
/ "Anyways, have you seen Subaru?" /
"He didn't even say hi to me," Sorata said to his bedside clock mournfully, setting down the cup for a moment, "ya know that? Not even a 'Hey Sora, how's it going?'. Nope, he wanted to talk to the Sumeragi and right then, right there. He didn't even tell me what about, although he kept pacing like a caged cat all until Subaru and Miss walked in the door and then he looked like he coulda actually jumped with happiness." He leaned over the nightstand, glaring at the tiny alarm clock who blinked it's numbers back at him innocently. "Both him and Miss look like that when they're around Subaru. It just ain't fair, ya know?"
Sorata sat down on the bed, mulling over that last thought. Before he could work it into any sense however, he was out like a light, the alcohol having finally soaked through.
---
"Good morning Sorata-san!"
Sorata blinked, rubbing his eyes sleepily. "Mornin', Akira-san."
Akira cocked his head to the side slightly. "You don't seem as in high-spirits are you did yesterday, Sorata-san."
The priest pulled a chair up and sat down at the table. "Yeah, I didn't sleep too well last night."
"Oh, I'm sorry to hear that! Would you like some lunch?"
Sorata perked immediately. After losing most of what he ate yesterday to the porcelain god earlier this morning, he could use something in his stomach. "Sure, whatcha making?"
Akira was about to answer when Yuzuriha came bounding into the room. "Hey, I'm going now!"
The gray eyed man waved while Sorata regarded her, looking puzzled. "Where are ya going, Yuzuriha-chan?"
The girl turned, a bright smile painting her young features. "Oh, no where special. Just out for some ice cream with Inuki."
"Ice cream, eh?" Sorata pondered that for a moment. "Oi, Yuzuriha-chan, would you mind if I tagged along?"
Yuzuriha's eyes widened behind her dark bangs and she blushed deeply. "Uh... um... Well, you see Sorata-san..." She blinked at him apologetically, her smile twisting into a cute little pout. "I sort of... am going to meet someone...."
The pieces came together like a child's 20 part puzzle. "Oh!! Sorry then! Well, you better get going, don't want to keep your date waiting!" Sorata said, flashing his best smile at her.
She blushed again and laughed nervously. "Oh, it's not a date, really.. it's just.. um... um... I'd better be going! Come on Inuki!" She practically leaped out of the door with her dog spirit close behind.
Sorata sighed the moment the two of them left and thunked his head down on the table.
Yuzuriha had someone....
Aoki-san and Kasumi-san had each other.... sorta....
Kamui had Subaru.....
Miss had Subaru....
Subaru had.... well.... the Sakurazukamori?....
And Sorata had....
.... had....
"Sorata-san?"
He peered up from under his unruly bangs at the two large eyes that blinked down at him worriedly. "Are you alright?"
"Hai hai. Just suddenly not real hungry anymore. I think I'm going to go and take a walk for a bit."
---
If anyone had cared to notice, they would have seen a very dejected looking young man, hands stuffed deep in jean pockets, meandering seemingly aimlessly about the streets of Tokyo, but carefully avoiding any ice cream shops.
"They all have someone," he muttered under his breath, stepping gingerly around small group of kindergarten children milling about, "how am I suppose to die for a woman when I can't even find a girl who'll give me a second look?"
He continued walking, speculating on this new thought and found himself eventually at the dead end of an alley. "Whoops." As he prepared to just leap up onto of the building, blackness surrounded him.
/What the hell?!/
He blinked into the darkness and suddenly recognized it; he was in a dream. But who's and how did he get here?
"Sorata Arisugawa, the Seal of Kouya."
Sorata whirled around at the soft voice, baseball cap almost flying off of his head. A pale figure regarded him quietly, so pretty Sorata would have sworn it was female if not for the lack of curves.
"I am Kakyou," the golden-eyed one said with a small bow, "and you are in one of my Dreams."
"Uh-huh, I kind of gathered that." Sorata glanced around nervously, not exactly pleased to be caught in a dream with one of the seven Angels. "Mind if I ask why? Or are you looking for a fight, Dragon of Earth?"
"A fight is not my intention. I was asked to weave this Dream to ensnare you in it. I simply did my duty."
Sorata frowned, tensing a little. "Who asked you to?"
"I did."
That voice.... Now where did he know that voice from?.....
A tall figure melted out of the darkness and the slighter form Sorata had been addressing vanished.
The priest gaped.
/OhmyGodI'mgonnadie./
"You seem surprised, Dragon of Heaven," the 'Kamui' of the Dragons of Earth said with a slight smirk.
Sorata swallowed the growing lump in his throat and took a small step backwards. He didn't lack any confidence in his own abilities, but 'Kamui', both of them, were worlds away in power from himself.
"Well, I'm just a little flattered is all," Sorata said, summoning up a grin, "to decide to harass me out of all of the other Seals."
"I see." The smirk grew wider. "You can calm down, I'm not going to kill you today."
Sorata couldn't quite repress a shudder. "Uh, gee, well, that's good to know right! Ha ha ha..." His gaze left the figure to rake over the darkness, (escape, every instinct told him, /run/) and he took another small step backwards, feeling himself run into something solid but warm. He glanced up behind him.
"Waah!!"
The 'Kamui' smiled down at him, hands reaching out to firmly grasp Sorata's elbows and pulling the monk back against him. "Things don't always work out in Dreams like they do in the 'real world', ne?" He chuckled softly, breath warm against Sorata's ear. Sorata shuddered hard.
/I will not lose control.... I will not lose control.... Plus, he's not gonna kill me, right? Right?.... And hey, I can't die now, I wouldn't be protecting any lady..../
"Do you wish to escape your destiny?"
Sorata's eyes widened.
---
-end chapter one
random notes: I don't know if I'll ever really continue this fic; I have a big chunk of chapter two done but I've kind of just run out of any will to write it, especially since it's so out of date now *sweatdrops* Hope you enjoyed it anyways and if you didn't then please smile politely and pretend you did? My ego is horribly fragile.
And before I'm killed by outraged Sorata and Arashi fans, I really DO like them together. They're probably one of my favorite ClAMP pairings. But! I decided I wanted to do something a lill different. Whee. Also, I stole the idea of Arashi being in love with Subaru from someone... but I can't recall who *sweatdrops* Whatever author came up with the original idea, I salute you and your creativity as opposed to my non.