A/N: And Kamui appears this chappie. Yay. :)


The Wood Hunter

Part 2

They had, for the most part, given up looking for Subaru. The network failed to gain a lock on his location. Countless hours of wandering aimless about the dark streets of Tokyo produced no results. A visit to the onmyouji's apartment complex proved simply that the quarters had been abandoned weeks before – before his temporary enrolment as a college student in fact.

It made him wonder if the older man had somehow anticipated such a thing would happen. He disregarded the thought soon-after though, although not without a hint of pain. Sumeragi Subaru had gone into the war to determine the fate of the world with only one wish, and that had been to die at the hand of Sakurazuka Seishirou.

Kamui doubted he had ever anticipated a different conclusion to their battle. But that still didn't answer the question of his location.

Walking into that room and seeing the curtains fluttering in an open breeze had been heart-stopping. He'd gasped…or as Sorata claimed, "screamed" – and the other Seals had come rushing in. Yuzihara shrieked at the open window; no doubt in that moment, they had all been thinking the same thing.

But there was no body. No blood. Nothing to suggest Subaru had not simply jumped out of the window and gone on his merry way. But where?

They'd even, as a last resort of sorts, rang the twelfth Sumeragi head in Kyoto, but she had sadly informed them that the thirteenth had surrendered his post and preparations were being made for a new successor. When asked the last time she'd seen the twenty-five year old, she had admitted to it being more than a year prior.

So the bottom line was the young Sumeragi had vanished into thin air. But that still didn't stop Yuzihara from keenly scanning every sweetshop she entered (even though Subaru never showed much interest in sweets – or food in general). That didn't stop Arashi from fire-gazing every time things settled down. That didn't stop Sorata picking out thin pale men in crowds (even though the Sumeragi was known for being a social recluse). That didn't stop Aoki keeping his ears sharp in the editor's office, or Karen her own workplace. And that certainly did not stop Kamui from wandering the streets and parks in the hopes of stumbling across his friend.

Which was why he almost bypassed the Sakura tree standing in Ueno park before his mind registered the pink petals, gleaming unnaturally in the moonlight. The pale shadow underneath, rising from the ground as something fluttered around –

Unconsciously, he came closer, and the figure turned. Mismatched eyes met his own: one blue like the ocean and the other an earth-brown. Both eyes he'd seen before, but not on the same person. He knew though the Sakurazukamori was dead; he'd seen Karen burn the body himself. Out of respect; Subaru must have still seen something in the man to feel for him, and as time progressed it seemed the Angels weren't necessarily "bad" people. After all, unlike him, they had no choice in their destiny. And he knew how Fuuma used to be. He couldn't accept the idea that they were "evil".

After all, they'd all wound up slaves to fate.

But those eyes

His amber gaze locked in on them, not noting the reddish tint of the Sakura petals as they rose, nor the darkening of the eyes as the moon slid slightly further into the night's shadow. The voice was tentative, doubtful even, as it escaped his lips –

'Subaru..?'

– because the ethereal figure beneath the tree, caught in an image of perturbed beauty, looked like only half the man he knew…or maybe less.

He blinked, rubbed his eyes and straightened from his suddenly slumped form; and then it was only the Sakura tree with its pink petals gleaming like unshed tears. Or blood, he amended, watching the veins of pink crawl up the pale blossoms. He left soon-after, wondering if it had been fatigue playing with his mind.

The scent of Sakura followed him home, mixed with a slightly more bitter tang.