Catching the Mist
Written by: Jeldi
Date: 2009.7.5
Spoilers: General spoilers for the Subaru/Kamui/Seishirou sub-plot that runs through the Tsubasa manga.
Rating: PG
Catching the Mist
Night had set on the city, leaving shadows that covered the buildings and roads in a patchwork-quilt like pattern. This was a nice place, full of people who didn't judge and enjoyed their day to day lives. Normalcy, as much as a person could hope for after a life full of fear and running. In a place that would be nice to call home.
For the brief time they had been here, it seemed like they finally had a place to call home; a place devoid of those who knew of vampires and their powers. The humans that walked these streets and lived in these dwellings laughed at the myth and told stories so far-fetched that even the twins had to smile and laugh. These people only believed in the vampires of their stories, mythical beings fought off by garlic, crosses, wooden stakes and the sunlight. Humans had such strange ideas about vampires.
Finally, it seemed that this was a place where they could be free...
Edonis.
Except that it was no longer an option for the lone figure standing atop one of the taller buildings. They must flee once again, for what they were had once again caught up with them and would soon overtake them if they did not run.
*
Though they had initially received peculiar looks from their odd clothing, the twins mingled in with humans without any trouble. They had actually begun to enjoy their interactions with those around them and even Kamui cracked a smile every so often to Subaru's delight. His twin was always the stoic one who was slow to trust and quick to react and it had been an immensely long time since he had seen Kamui relax.
As they were passing by a street vendor in the marketplace, they caught a drift of conversation between the owner and a customer, "...said that his name was Seishirou and he's looking for information on the location of twin vampires named Subaru and Kamui. That's quite a joke, wouldn't you say!"
The statement made the two stop dead in their tracks and the rest of the conversation faded into a buzz as they looked at each other in panic.
They had been found once again...
*
Seishirou-san..., Subaru mused while he played with the edge of his cape, smoothing out the creases from its timed stored away in a chest, I wonder why he is looking for us...is he the same as everyone else? Does he want to kill us? To take our blood for power?
He paused shifting anxiously and fingering the memento he had decided to take from this wonderful place, Or is it something else this time? Something told him there was more to the pursuit this time.
He sighed, wrapping himself tighter into the folds of cloth, protecting himself against the bitter cold of the night. Kamui had wanted to leave immediately, and yet Subaru had managed to convince him that they should stay and see one last sunrise of the city they had grown to love. Then they would leave...
He doubted that Kamui was resting like his brother said he would, but despite that he had left Subaru on the rooftop alone with his thoughts. They understood each other that way, and knew when to give the other space to sort things out. If they had not learned to acknowledge that, eternity would have been a long time to deal with each other.
There were still many hours left until dawn, and though Subaru knew it was safer to remain where he was and near Kamui, he was restless. The city still held so many things he didn't understand and had wanted to explore and learn. He couldn't help but feel like they were loosing a good friend in their flight, one with many enchanting secrets waiting to be shared.
And so he made a choice from the heart rather than logic.
He would discover some of those secrets before they left the city behind to the shadows of their past. He spent the night hours visiting places that he had yet to explore and others he would miss dearly. And so he saw those things that would leave imprints on his heart long after they left.
A shrine with a nightly visitor praying for something important...
A garden whose trees and plants whispered to those who knew how to listen...
A bakery rumored to have some of the best breads ever tasted...
A church tucked away down a narrow street, stained-glass glittering at the dawn of day...
An orphanage, where children played in the light of the sun...
A bookstore, holding old worn books that conveyed the myriad emotions of this world...
A building with highly-wrought frescos, beautiful iron-worked balconies, and intricate murals...
He had never explored this building before and something drew him to the rooftop of the building this night. As he recalled, the building had once belonged to an influential family. They had this elaborate design built to amaze those traveling from foreign lands, and it still stood as one of the city's inns, impressing those from afar. The vampire had to agree that it was certainly awe-inspiring, examining the complex details on one of the gargoyles guarding the cornerstone of the structure.
Tracing the patterns down the masonry and each tiered floor of balcony, Subaru's eyes lit on a paneled glass door that stood slightly ajar. The slight breeze caught draperies and caused them to dance across the opening in a leisurely wave to and fro. His eyes narrowed as he felt a distinctive tug towards that inviting doorway.
Subaru dropped to the balustrade along the ledge of the balcony, a shadow among the shadows playing across the facade of the building. Brushing the drapes aside and pushing the door further in, the vampire was greeted with pleasing view. A single lamp sat lit on a table, illuminating gold-leaf reliefs and detailing around the room; the folds and contours of luxurious cloth deepened under the shadows caused by that weak light.
His eyes fell to the single occupant of the room, sitting near the light and yet half-hidden from view by the ornate sides of the wingback chair. Though it appeared that the individual had not noticed his presence, he ghosted further into the shadows, slowly edging towards his right for a better view.
The man was asleep, his head resting softly against the chair's high cushion, a small journal and pen in his lap where they had obviously fallen earlier. He was dressed in a simple shirt and slacks, the neck loosened to make his rest more comfortable. His jacket was casually draped across the back of the other chair, along with a peculiar pendant that did not look like it belonged in Edonis.
Edging back out of the shadows slowly and keeping an eye on his "prey" to be sure he was truly slumbering, Subaru traced a gloved finger along the edges of the pendant once it was within reach. This man is nothing like those we have met in Edonis or any other world we have visited before, he reasoned, So, this must be Seishirou-san...
He seemed rather normal, contentedly slumbering and oblivious to his night time intruder. Subaru leaned against the table, watching the rhythmic rise and fall of his chest. A part of his mind wondered how someone who was a Hunter could remain so relaxed in sleep. He was drawn to that handsome sleeping face, almost wishing that he was an "e". Yet, another part of his mind was telling him you can end this right now and remain here with Kamui, and he flexed his hands through the thin barrier of his gloves.
And at that moment his logic left him and survival instinct came over his senses. His breath caught as he removed one of those gloves. As he readied to strike he thought, Kamui has always been the one protecting me, so let me do that in return for once. Then we won't have to run... And his eyes flashed golden for a moment.
As he brought his hand down in a killing blow, the man shifted and sighed, settling into the cushions of the chair further. Startled, Subaru halted his assault, several long whip-like nails having shredded through cloth and yet barely missing skin at his chest.
His nails retracted immediately, as he blinked at the reality of the situation. Surely they had been threatened before, but never so far as him to contemplate taking a person's life. He was leaning over Seishirou, gloved hand braced on the arm of the chair, wondering what had come over him.
Why does this man give me such an anxious feeling?
The light glinted off of something held loosely in Seishirou's hand, something small and clear that had gone unnoticed. Subaru frowned and slowly lifted it from its hiding place. And ornate cut glass vial, with a few drops of what looked like blood left at its bottom. The vampire's eyes widened.
He knew this vial. Reality came crashing down on him in an instant as he thought, This is the vial that Yuuko used when we...paid our price for world-traveling...
And yet, where was the blood? Once again he looked at Seishirou's face, seeing that a slight smile had come to grace his features. No doubt he was currently having a pleasant dream, with no knowledge that he had almost been killed. And then it hit the vampire as to why he was drawn to the man...
He knew not how Seishirou had come by Yuuko's vial or how he knew of vampire blood in the first place...but looking between the now empty vial and that face, Subaru knew that their destinies were intertwined together no matter how far the twins ran.
And he was oddly relieved by it. After all, what sort of vampire hunter would drink vampire's blood? However, that still left the question as to why Seishirou was looking for them. And it was something that Subaru didn't have the courage to find out at the moment.
Placing the vial back in its former place, he then lifted his hand and traced it along the man's jaw line, carefully making sure that Seishirou did not awake. The chase had taken on a slightly different light now that Subaru wasn't afraid of death at the man's hands...in fact he was wondering where it would take them and what their bond really meant.
And yet, Kamui will never let my destiny catch up with me...and this is something I can not tell him....
It almost saddened Subaru that he wouldn't get to know more about this Hunter. He loved his brother, but to mean something to someone else...even if he didn't know what that something was yet, gave him an feeling mixed between joy and anxiousness.
But perhaps... he thought. Subaru knew of something that would be a good luck charm and bring their paths to cross once again. Maybe it would allow the chase to continue even with Kamui's deft ability to avoid trouble.
Reaching into his coat pocket, he produced a single feather, white as snow and yet intricately detailed with a red patterning. It was going to be a remembrance of this city, but somehow it felt right that he leave it in Seishirou's care...almost as if it was telling him that it would help them reunite in another world.
He brought it to his lips, whispering a simple please and gently kissed its surface. Placing it with the vial, he leaned in further, almost looking like he would also kiss the man. Yet he turned his head to the side, whispering softly into Seishirou's ear, "Someday you'll probably catch me...and at that time I hope that you can tell me your real reason for this."
Seishirou subconsciously leaned towards his voice, but he was already backing away lest his dreaming companion awake and find him there. "Sayonara, Seishirou-san..." He said with a final look over his shoulder as he ducked back out of the balcony doors.
* * *
Seishirou awoke as dawn rays streaked through the balcony door he had left open the night before. As he blinked the sleep out of his eyes he noticed a feather tucked discreetly beside the vial he had been holding last night.
Setting the book and vial aside, he gazed at the feather intently for a moment and then closing his eyes. His smile grew as he felt the presence surrounding the feather. Certainly it was a special item full of its own powers, but it had the distinct aura of an otherworldly carrier. "Subaru-kun..." he breathed out softly, as he opened his eyes back up.
He rose from his chair and walked out onto the balcony to greet the day as the sun brought color back into its surfaces. It illuminated the mist that had collected in pockets down streets during the night. And like the dawn chasing that mist, Seishirou would continue pursuing Subaru.
No matter how elusive the vampire was, Subaru knew he existed and had acknowledged it unwittingly. Now they would be inescapably bound together in their destinies. And he knew this simply because he could tell from the feather what those last thoughts were before he left it behind in Seishirou's care.
Come looking for me, Seishirou-san...
Somewhere, I'll be waiting for you...
Without fail...
He chuckled once again raising his hand to look at the feather, feeling its power and how it would help him in his search, and then hiding it away within himself.
And I will find you, Subaru-kun...
No matter how many worlds we travel to...
Without fail...