Title: Rebirth 1/5? Author: Canisa Pairing: start with S+S and progress to S+K/K+S Category: Angst. Dark. Attempted sap. Attempted plot. NOTE: The characters and story background do not belong to me. I am only writing this for my own enjoyment.

WARNING:: Containing many spoilers before V.17

Chapter 1 --- Tears ---

I closed my eye, allowing the darkness to engulf me.

I had killed. for the first time in my life. But it was not supposed to be like that. It should not have happened that way. That fateful day on Rainbow Bridge was supposed to be the day my wish would be fulfilled.

But my wish was never granted to me.

I had wanted to die. yet I lived.. I had wanted that hand to go through my chest like it had done so to many other faceless souls. yet it was mine that went through his...

Was it really him at the Rainbow Bridge?

Could it be that it was another of his Maboroshi?

I screamed soundlessly. My soul struggled to tear apart that which was left in my heart.

Yet no matter how I tried to convince myself.. I could not deny the fact that I could still feel the warmth and stickiness of his crimson blood dripping down my fingertips and pooling at his feet. The weight of his fallen body became heavy as he lost strength and could no longer support himself. The smell of his blood permeated in the smoky air.. The way he gazed up at me with his glossy eye.. The words he whispered softly.... The words that I would never have expected him to say again.after all these years...yet..

Opening my eyes, I reached out.

"Are you sure?"

My fingers hesitated as they hovered just above the magically encased container. The Kamui of the Dragon of the Earth made it sound like I have a choice.

But do I really have a choice? Do I ever really have a choice?

My fate was sealed when he raised his hand that day on Rainbow Bridge with his fingers tightly pressed together like a blade, aiming at my chest the way he did years ago with Hokuto...

No. That was not true.

My fate was sealed long ago when I first met him under that cherry tree..

"If you accept this, you will also inherit his power as the Sakurazukamori."

His words awakened me. Not hesitating this time, I wrapped my pale fingers, which were once stained with blood, firmly around the enchanted container. And instantly I felt the familiar life force pulsing within. Trembling slightly, I drew in the container close to my chest so that it could resonate with my racing heart.

I have never been so close to him like this. Perhaps. this time I would understand him...

Silently, the Kamui of the Dragon of the Earth watched.

And then a breeze of wind blew across and in that, I could feel my white trench coat flapping wildly like the wings of a wounded dove.

Seishiro-san..

I closed my eyes again, feeling his life force beating with mine in one rhythm.

If this was what you had wished for.. then I should grant it to you like I have always done.

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"SUBARU!!!!"

A scream.

"SUBARU!!!!!"

Numerous footsteps suddenly echoed in the hallway.

"SUBARU!!!!!"

The door was flung open without reservation.

"SUBARU!!!!"

"KAMUI!!!"

The young leader of the Dragon of Heaven snapped his violet eyes open as he heard his name being called. The softness of the bed under him reminded him that he was in the safety of his CLAMP Campus bedroom. Yet.. he could still hear the lingering scream ringing in the room. He pulled himself up to a sitting position. A cold sweat broke from his forehead.

Besides him, his comrades watched him with wary eyes. Sorata opened his mouth but the words died in the back of his throat.

"Subaru..." Panting, Kamui buried his face in his palm. He had dreamt... He had dreamt of him dressed in that dreadful black. He had seen his eyes.

Yuzariha could no longer contain herself. She bolted forward and knelt besides Kamui's bed, wrapping her fingers around Kamui's. Her huge eyes shimmered. "Kamui..I .."

"I am fine." Kamui suddenly looked up. The tear that had been on his cheek was gone. His violet eyes were as a mix of determination and calmness. He lightly squeezed Yuzuriha's hand. "I am fine." He assured her.

Subaru was gone. he was gone for a week now and there was nothing he could do but dream of him in his sleep.

But the dream was unsettling tonight. It was full of omens that he could no longer ignore.

.and the eyes..in his dream. Subaru's eyes were restored.. With one so familiar yet the other so chillingly cold..

Kamui shivered.

"Kamui.. do you want me to stay?"

Kamui looked up at Sorata, recognizing the worry in his eyes. He shook his head slightly. "I am fine." He let go of Yuzuriha's hand. "It was just a bad dream..." He assured his comrades as well as trying to assure himself. "It was only a bad dream."

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It rained today. It started out with just a few drops here and there. But suddenly it turned into a pouring rain within a matter of seconds. Soon, clashes of thunder lighted up half of the sky. And people on the street hurriedly dispersed into the safety and dryness of the building.

I perched on the rooftop, watching people running for cover from the freezing rain. The raindrop damped my hair and eventually soaked though my black coat and turtle neck shirt. But I felt neither the cold nor the wetness. The world no longer held any meanings. The people down below no longer concerned me.

I merely watched, like a gargoyle statue on the side of a building.

A car zoomed by, racing to its destination. Its tires parted the water on the street, splashing the pedestrians without concern. Immediately, the drenched pedestrians shouted back some perverted words at the car. But the vehicle raced on, oblivious and unsympathetic.

Far up the road, a middle school teenager, holding a red umbrella, was accompanied with her friend and walking toward the crossing. The rained continued to pour. The traffic light was covered in a shield of mist. Tossing her head back, the youth laughed and waved back at her parted friend who was heading in the other direction before she turned and marched into the street.

A gust of wind swirled through the street, threatening to blow away the skinny girl. But the teenager stood her ground and held on tight to the umbrella, letting it rest on her shoulder, slanting in a way that blocked a section of her view.

The yellow light flashed.

The car raced.

And the red umbrella was now in the middle of the street.

I perched on the rooftop, feeling neither the cold nor the wetness. I merely watched, like the statue of a gargoyle on the building.

The thunder clashed.

The tires squealed.

And the red umbrella suddenly became the only brilliant color in the sky.

I bowed my head.

The rain never stopped. It continued to pour down with the tears from an angel watching from high above.

Seishiro-san. I am sorry that I have failed..

I stood up and leapt off the building only to land the other. My black trench coat flapped in the wind once before I disappeared into the darkness.

....for I could taste the saltiness in the rain.

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TBC