All characters are property of CLAMP. Standard disclaimers apply.
Tsuriai
(Part 3)
An "X" Fanfic
Presented by Harem of Doomed Bishies
A hellish forest of writhing underground electric and communication cables erupted around the two Dragons. For a brief moment, Karen wondered if this was not a trap set by Yuuto, but then she saw the troubled expression on his face and knew that he had not planned for any of this.
Yuuto cast out a water blade, slicing through a cable that was hurtling dangerously in his direction, and cried out, "Satsuki! What's the meaning of all this?"
In response, another mass of wires made its way into a nearby building and pulled out a television set cradled within its tendrils. The screen flashed static for a brief second before Satsuki's face flickered onscreen. She coldly spoke, "You have betrayed us. You have betrayed me." Without giving an opportunity for Yuuto to explain, she renewed her attack.
Karen instantly set up a firewall around them. There was a lot of hissing noises, followed by the smell of burning rubber and wires as Beast's attacks hit against the fiery barrier.
"It was only a harmless dinner!" Yuuto tried to clarify above the din made by Satsuki's attacks, but she continued to ignore his explanations. Another wave of twisting cables charged towards the two Dragons. Suddenly, a teenaged boy jumped in front of them. From his palms, bolts of electrical charges sizzled and crackled as they poured into the attacking wires.
*
Satsuki frowned. Beast was flashing an alarm on the visual unit.
WARNING: POWER SURGE
She had no choice. Without delay, she issued the command to terminate the attack. Beast protested, but she smiled, "Don't worry. I just wanted to give him a scare. We shall have fun with that Seal some other day."
Beast purred.
*
Yuuto heaved a sigh of relief when the attack stopped. He neatly brushed off the dust from his coat and turned his attention back to his dinner partner. Three other Seals now stood beside her: Sorata, who had launched the counterattack on Satsuki, as well as Arashi and Kamui. Yuuto gave them a polite nod and apologised to Karen for the interruption to their short-lived dinner plans.
Karen chided, "You never warned me that your girlfriend was of a jealous disposition. I would have rejected your invitation instantly."
Yuuto replied, "We are only dating casually. There's an unfortunate lack of pretty ladies amongst the Dragons of Earth." He flashed an earnest smile as he eyed both Karen and Arashi appreciatively. Arashi tried to frown but blushed involuntarily instead. Sorata, noticing Yuuto's unwelcomed attention towards Arashi, stepped protectively in front of the shrine maiden and scowled at the Angel.
Realising that he had probably overstepped an invisible boundary, Yuuto cleared his throat and remarked softly to himself, "I have to find a way to appease Satsuki quickly or I'll never be able to go back."
"You don't have to worry about that," a voice chuckled merrily. "I am not prepared to lose another Dragon so soon."
Kamui gasped at the sound of that voice and looked up, his eyes widening at what he saw. Standing poised above a lamppost, Fuuma smirked amusedly.
Sorata was unfazed. He playfully asked, "Are you planning to take on all of us at once now?"
Fuuma did not reply. Instead, he broadened his smile. The Seals were preparing to attack when their perception of their surrounding began to waver and change, and suddenly they found themselves standing in the midst of a desolate city. Buildings collapsed in ruins. Carrion birds fed on the dead whose bodies lay trapped beneath the rubbles. There was a musty scent in the air, a smell of decay. The Seals looked about them and noticed that Kamui was missing, along with the Angel, Yuuto
"What's going on?" Karen asked.
Sorata frowned, "Some kind of illusion, I think."
"Illusion?" Arashi was surprised. There was only one master of illusions amongst the Dragons of Earth that they were aware of, and he was dead. The Sakurazukamori, killed by the hands of Sumeragi Subaru, the young man who had only ever wanted to be held special by the emotionless assassin and who was now trapped within the depths of his own broken soul.
"This is a vision of the Future..." a gentle voice spoke, "The Future that the Dragons of Earth will bring about so that the Earth shall have a chance to live once more."
"Who are you?" the Seals chorused in unison. Hovering above them, they saw a delicate young man dressed in a white kimono. The colour of his hair and his pale skin almost matched that of his clothes, gilding him with an almost haunting aura. His face was serene, almost benign, and yet his golden eyes reflected a deep sadness that tugged at their hearts.
The pale figure gave an almost-smile and replied, "I am Kakyou, dreamgazer of the Dragons of Earth."
"Kakyou?" Karen gasped, "So this is your dreamscape?"
Kakyou nodded.
"Where's Kamui?" she asked.
"With my Kamui," was the simple reply.
*
The light breeze wafted through the young branches of the Sakura tree, sending pale-pink blossoms dancing in the air like winter snowflakes. Kamui silently watched the petals swirl about him, puzzled by his surroundings. There was an almost unreal quality to scene that he could not quite pin down. Beside him was the main entrance to the Tokagushi Shrine, home to the Monou family. He hesitated for a brief moment, unsure if he should enter.
"Kamui-chan!" a sweet voice chirped behind him. He turned around and almost gasped. Smiling prettily before him was Kotori, with all the life in her sparkling eyes. Her long blonde tresses fluttered gently in the wind.
"What's wrong? You look like you've seen a ghost," she commented with amusement in her voice.
"Kotori-chan...you're...alive?" Kamui stammered.
"Of course I am, silly. What a thing to ask!" she chided him and pursed her lips in mock anger. Kamui continued to stare stupidly at her, uncertain of what to say next. However, his awkward gawk only made her giggle. It was a sound not unlike the sweet tinkling of the wind chimes, and Kamui found himself unable to resist a smile in return.
If this is a dream, I do not ever want to wake up...
"Is Kamui bullying my sister?"
"Oniichan!" she exclaimed and ran towards her brother. Kamui turned to face him.
"Fuu...ma...?"
His friend smiled. A smile that was simple and true, full of brotherly love and affection. There was none of the knowing smirk that constantly hung about the lips of the "Kamui" of the Dragons of Earth.
Kamui of the Dragons of Earth.
Somehow, that name seemed so alien to Kamui in this place, as if it did not belong here. Was he really in a dream now? Or was everything about the Promised Day and the Seals and Angels all a dream, and that he was back in reality now? Kamui could not decide.
"Is something wrong, Kamui?" Fuuma asked. Kamui fumbled for an answer but found none.
"Kamui-chan is really acting weird today," Kotori remarked.
Fuuma stepped closer to Kamui and placed a reassuring hand on the latter's shoulders. "Don't worry. I promised to protect you as long as you protected Kotori," he said. Kamui nodded. His heart felt so light, as if he had no worries in the world. The Promised Day meant nothing here. Nobody had been hurt. His friends were still the way he had always fondly remembered them to be.
Very slowly, Fuuma leaned closer and then whispered into Kamui's ears, "However, you've failed Kotori, and it seems like you have been unfaithful to her memory too...."
Those words jarred at Kamui's thoughts, momentarily freezing him. Behind Fuuma, he could see Kotori's form gradually fading away and so were the street, the Shrine and the Sakura tree. Fuuma moved back to look at Kamui directly in the face, his hands around Kamui's delicate throat. Something dark twinkled in his eyes.
"You never change, do you?" the Dark Kamui chuckled. Before Kamui could react, Fuuma discharged a blast of energy from his arm. Kamui screamed as he felt the force tear through his body and he collapsed into unconsciousness.
*
Sorata tried to attack the dreamgazer, but Kakyou simply disappeared and reappeared at another spot. Karen tried to help, using her flames to form a barrier of sorts around the dreamgazer, but it was of no use. Kakyou moved about his dreamscape with perfect ease as if mocking their efforts.
"We have no time for games with him," Karen told her comrades. "Kamui is in danger."
"Perhaps this will have to do," Arashi spoke as she unsheathed her holy sword from her left palm. Holding her sword before her, she prayed to the Goddess Amaterasu for guidance. Then she drew it back and slashed across the dreamscape.
There was a sudden bright flash of light. "Over there!" Karen pointed out. Floating usually in the middle of the "street" was a long gash. The name of the restaurant that Karen had been dining earlier could be read through the gap. However, it was slowly closing again.
"Quickly!" Sorata shouted to the ladies as he sent out bolts of electrical charges to hold the gap apart. With a count to three, the Seals leapt out of the gap and back to the real world. And saw Fuuma smiling ominously over the injured Kamui who was lying unconsciously on the ground. Dark liquid pooled under the boy's face, which Sorata realised, was the blood trickling from Kamui's mouth.
Instantly, Karen fired a column of flames towards the Dark Kamui. He calmly jumped aside, avoiding the attack entirely.
"I guess we have more than enough fun for one evening," he quipped. He motioned to Yuuto by his side. Yuuto shrugged apologetically to Karen and then flew away with his Kamui.
Karen immediately retracted her kekkai. They had to bring Kamui back to campus quickly.
