I The Writing Team of AXQA presents: /I
B Paradigm Shift /B
An Alternate Universe Tokyo Babylon/X:1999 fanfiction
written by lj user"xandrabelle" and lj user"aishuu"
Disclaimer: All X and Tokyo Babylon characters set within this story are the property of CLAMP.
Summary: What if Subaru never bumped into Seishirou at that train station one fine day in 1990 and never had his heart broken? How would the two of them resolve their bet when they meet in 1999 and would fate be content to allow it?
a href"http/ the earlier parts /a
lj-cut text"The Coming of Kamuis /a
Chapter 9: The Coming of Kamuis
Sumeragi Hokuto was furious. Something big was going on and she was being left out of the loop. Subaru was keeping secrets and Kakyou was being evasive. Even Seishirou appeared to have an inkling of what was going on. That two of the men closest to her were being mysterious, she could forgive. But the thought that Seishirou, a reasonably new addition to her circle, knew something she didn't simply blew her mind. It was I not fair. /I
She settled into her regular nap, determined to hunt Kakyou down and pinch the truth out of him if she had to. However, it seemed that he knew her intention and was hiding like a wimp. Her powers were enough for her to direct her energies to penetrate his dreamscape, but once there, all that met her was a limpid darkness.
"KAKYOU! Come. Out. Here! Talk to me! If you think this is enough to make me give up, you're totally mistaken!" Hokuto screeched as loudly as she could. She was certain he could hear her.
Kakyou sighed. Sometimes he wondered why he let Hokuto henpeck him so much. But she was special and didn't make him feel less of a person when he gave in to her. That was the crucial difference between her and those who kept him locked up in his room.
Besides, she didn't wish him any malice - she was merely concerned… for good reason. She had good instincts, and right now, all of her protective ones had kicked in. No one messed with Sumeragi Hokuto when it came to Subaru's welfare.
Kakyou heaved another sigh, knowing that if he kept blocking her, she would do something drastic in the real world, and then might accidentally get herself killed. If she confronted Seishirou over what he knew…
Kakyou could very well see that happening and shivered at the thought. He hurriedly parted the darkness, sitting in the blank Dreamscape. "You don't have to scream, Hokuto. I'm right here," he said softly, studying her. She was dressed in normal streetclothes, a plain orange shirt and tight jeans, without shoes, all thrown haphazardly on. He looked at her in concern. Hokuto without one of her odd outfits she so delighted in?
"Kakyou!" Hokuto exclaimed happily and pounced on him playfully. For a moment, he simply reveled in her caress. It was over all too quickly when she sobered and released him.
"What is going on?"
Kakyou raised an elegant brow, his face a study in blandness. Perhaps he could try to worm his way out of this situation after all. "What do you mean?"
Hokuto was having no more of this evasiveness. She reached out a finger and poked Kakyou right in the chest. "You. Know. What. I. Mean," she enunciated sternly. "Don't take me for an idiot. I'm going mad worrying about the three of you! Especially Subaru. He's just so sad all the time... Tell me!"
That last note made Kakyou wince. Hokuto could get really loud when she wanted. He sat there wondering what half-truth he could tell her. There was really nothing she could do for Subaru or him. Kakyou knew he was not to going to be able to change Subaru's fate no matter what he did. The force of destiny on him was too strong. Likewise for Kakyou.
"There is something at work greater than any of us, Hokuto," he said softly. "Your knowing would only cause you pain," he said, trying to catch her eyes and make her understand.
"Kakyou… would I be any happier not knowing? Knowing nothing, will I stumble blindly between you, who I will lose trust in, and Subaru, who I will try to protect with my inadequate self?" she asked. "I know Subaru is destined for great things and I don't want to know what those things are. But I just don't want to be blind anymore."
He looked at her, and made his choice. Kamui had I the /I Choice to make, but each of the Dragons would have a choice about which side they were destined to fight for, and whom they there destined to protect… or not protect. Outside of the Dreamscape, Hinoto and Kanoe hissed in pain, feeling the small, subtle repercussions of his action.
"There is a battle about to begin and Subaru and I are destined to fight in it," Kakyou began. "Subaru is destined to fight for the side that wishes to save humanity…" It was harder to say than he would have thought?...while I am going to use my powers to protect the Earth." He lowered his eyes slowly, and Hokuto shivered. "I haven't seen everything yet - my visions are only clear for about one month into the future - unless there's some powerful event which is unchangeable - but on New Year's Eve, 1999, we will fight in the Final Battle."
"You… and Subaru?" Hokuto asked in a trembling voice.
"And others. I don't know why I'm fighting - I could care less about the outcome, but I'm there, on Tokyo Tower and so is Subaru."
"These battles… they've begun, haven't they?" Hokuto asked in horror, remembering her brother's injured ankle with a sudden clarity of realization. "He's… he's going to be fighting all year… gentle, sweet Subaru…" Her voice grew shrill with fear.
Kakyou bent his head down, unable to bear her horrified gaze any longer. He was waiting for her to realize his part in the whole business. It was not long in coming. Strong hands seized Kakyou's shoulders, prompting his head to snap back up to meet Hokuto's deep green eyes.
"Let me get this straight. You are going to fight against my brother? Why?" she demanded.
"Because it's fate," Kakyou answered with a pang of deep sorrow. He was not going to tell her his real reason. He still held the hope that he could avert the most terrible part of the future that he saw. Until then, he was not going to tell Hokuto about it. He would not have her worry over him. Her anxiety for Subaru would be enough to occupy her.
"That's... that's..." she sputtered, too outraged at his fatalistic attitude to find the words to continue. Kakyou sometimes had the ability to make her want to do something violent to him. He was just too passive.
She knelt down before him, grabbing his face between his hands. "You and Subaru… the people I love most…" she whispered. "Go tell fate to take a flying leap off a cliff!" she roared suddenly. "And I'll have Seishirou tell Subaru the same, right after I'm through with him! He'll listen to the two of us!"
Kakyou almost started laughing hysterically at the thought of the Sakurazukamori telling the Sumeragi to tell fate to go hang itself. Seishirou had already told Kanoe that, but fate was inevitable. Seishirou would be drawn into the Final Battle, like it or not, and he would fight. "You can't talk to Seishirou or Subaru about this!" he said stubbornly, grabbing her tightly by the wrists. "Now do you see why I didn't want to tell you? I knew what you'd try to do, and you can't."
"Why not?" Hokuto said, staring at Kakyou grim eyes, amazed at the backbone he was suddenly showing her. He had never told her "no" so insistently before, and it frightened her a bit.
Kakyou wanted to make her comprehend. He could understand her frustration but this was vital. He stood up bringing her with him. Holding onto her shoulders, he demanded, "Do you trust me?"
Hokuto was taken aback his sudden vehemence. "I do trust you."
"I've already told you more than you ought to know. These battles, they're not meant for the knowledge of the ordinary world. Knowing about them will do you no good. Any action you take will only drive destiny down a darker path. If you really want to help us all, then go back to Kyoto."
Her eyes widened. "You want to get rid of me?" she whispered.
"For you, I'm only a dream away. It's Subaru you need to leave for… Subaru will worry about you here. Tokyo is built on a series of Kekkai, and they will start to fall soon. The side of Earth, my side, seeks to destroy those structures that stand upon them and bring about the Earth's rebirth. They don't care about the human lives that will be lost. Subaru is protecting these Kekkai, but you could be caught in one of those earthquakes that happen when a Kekkai falls. You could die," he said, trying to make it clear to her exactly why he was so worried.
She firmed her chin. "But Subaru needs me to watch out for him. I may not be able to help him fight, but he needs his sister to love him and talk to. He's entering into a serious romantic relationship on top of this all, and he can't depend on just Seishirou. Sei-chan is really great, and he understands quite a bit about onmyoujitsu, but he doesn't get what Subaru's position really entails."
Kakyou bit his lip, wishing he had the courage to tell the truth about "Sei-chan," but knowing that doing so would undoubtedly send Hokuto to her death.
"It'll be okay," she whispered, leaning forward and embracing her boyfriend's dream self. "I promise I won't give Subaru a hint I know but I'll support him. From Tokyo. If the world is going to end, I want to be close to the people I love."
Kakyou hugged Hokuto back as tightly as he could. It was all going as he had foreseen. She would not leave Tokyo. She had made her choice. He was helpless against it. Her fate was intimately entangled with all of theirs and in the decision that was to come.
"Today... it's today..." Kakyou whispered as he watching Hokuto depart from his dreamscape. Kakyou stood there holding himself back from running after her. What his heart wanted was to hang onto her forever. To keep her safe. It was, however, impossible and Kakyou bowed to the inevitable. Tears threathened to fall from his eyes. "Nothing I do matters... the world's fate's already decided."
HR
Kamui stood outside the door of his childhood friend's room, unaware that he was about to make one of the decisions he would regret for the rest of his life. It wasn't right or wrong… it simply was. Kamui was about to make the Choice and its repercussions would affect the future of the world, despite what Kuzuki Kakyou believed.
His hand hesitated on the door. I I don't really care about the future of the world… /I
HR
Across the city, Sumeragi Subaru was enmeshed in the nightmares that had plagued his sleep ever since childhood. He never remembered them, but they always left him pale and trembling, and never fully rested. Still, today that would change.
I Do you like sakura…? /I
He struggled against the blankets which were choking him.
HR
At Clamp Campus, a concerned teen sat by his sister's bedside. Fuuma was thinking about how his life had started changing with the return of Kamui to Tokyo. First his father, now his sister. Too many changes. His mind was in a whirl of confusion.
Fuuma reached out to finger a golden curl on his sleeping sister's head. "Kotori..." he whispered. "I can't protect you..."
On the other side of the bedroom door, a young boy reached out to take the handle, on the cusp of a decision.
HR
Sakurazuka Seishirou, meanwhile, was in his apartment, apart from his prey and away from both of his jobs for a change. It was tiring, though he would never admit it, to act in all his roles, and sometimes he just needed to be by himself and let his mind idle. The Sakurazakamori was a solitary creature at heart.
He leaned back into the leather couch, watching the smoke from his cigarette curl towards the ceiling as the jazz music played on his expensive CD system. He enjoyed music, particularly the saxophone. There was something about the wail of high notes that spoke to him. He knew Subaru played the violin, though the younger man was still too shy to perform for him. In time, he supposed.
He was sure he'd enjoy listening, for he'd wager a month's pay that Subaru played with his soul.
HR
In the Dreamscape, Kakyou stretched out a hand to a young girl. "Be careful, you can fall so easily here if you don't watch where you step," he said. This meeting was fate, though given the choice, his heart told him he would do it anyway. He could not leave her to flounder in the dreamscape of her mind.
Kotori looked around at the transformed scene. One moment she was in darkness, then the next, there was Kakyou with his gentle presence. "Thank you," she said politely.
"You know what is supposed to happen now," he stated.
"Yes," she replied simply.
"You do not regret it?"
"No. I'm just grateful you're willing to help me," she said. Kotori smiled. "I'm just sad that you will get into trouble."
"My future cannot be changed," Kakyou replied sadly.
"No. I cannot believe that. The future can be changed," she insisted with youthful optimism. "You must find it in yourself to believe that as well. Perhaps one day you can."
Kakyou's golden eyes remained fixed on hers, wishing he could believe she was right.
HR
"…But I want to protect the place where you and Kotori can live happily, Fuuma," Kamui whispered, reaching out to turn the handle.
Outside, church bells chimed , birds shrieked and all through the city, the chosen of Fate turned their head, whispering his name. But it was when he opened the door that Kamui knew something truly momentous had just occurred… that the world had changed, and not necessarily for the better.
HR
Sumeragi Subaru bolted upright from his slumber. His heart was pounding while he tried to shake his dreamfogged mind awake. Something immensely important had just happened. It was as if his entire world view had just changed and he didn't know what had occurred.
"Kamui!" Subaru instinctively shouted, his hand reaching out to someone he had never seen, whether in a desire to stop him or to encourage him, Subaru would never know. He tumbled from his bed to the floor, falling in a heap ungracefully. His head was spinning but he knew he had to get up and out. Somehow, he I knew /I Kamui needed him.
Moments later he was out the door, and headed in the direction of the giant Kekkai that was Clamp Campus.
HR
The ripples of Kamui's choice affected everyone far and near, and someone nearer than Kamui would have chosen. Inside, as the door open Fuuma gasped once, a dying breath, then started to laugh, raising his head to look at the boy who had once had been his best friend. "You seem to have made a decision."
Kamui's puzzled eyes locked on his friend as Fuuma started to advance on him. "Fuuma?"
"You chose your future as a Dragon of Heaven... one of the Seven Seals, 'Kamui.' If you chose your future as a Dragon of Heaven, it is my Destiny to be a Dragon of Earth."
HR
Sakurazuka Seishirou sighed. It appeared he was not going to have the relaxing evening he had been looking forward to. The tidal wave of destiny had rocked him for a moment, instantly alerting him of his need to be elsewhere. Kamui had chosen, and willy nilly, both he and Subaru were getting dragged into the mess.
Deliberately, he slipped on his overcoat and a pair of dark shades. He paused for a moment to consider just how he was going to handle this. He was sure Subaru was already on his way to the scene. He was going to need his maboroshi.
Seishirou smiled to himself as he sped towards the epicenter of what can be accounted the most important event in human history. He wouldn't miss this for the world.
HR
She felt cool wind on her face. Somehow, she was outside… was she in the tree? Was Kamui holding her, to keep her from falling?
She forced her tired eyes open, trying to see through the pain. She saw her brother's silhouette, and smiled. "Oniichan…"
As the sword was raised above her, suddenly everything became clear… and she wished she could speak to Kamui, and tell him of the futures she saw.
HR
Kamui screamed as Kotori was hoisted against the cross, and Fuuma pierced his body, nailing him viciously to the nearby wall.
"KOTORI!"
Fuuma's eyes flashed as he raised the shinken, preparing to kill his sister.
HR
All of Subaru's experience could not prepare him for the sight he beheld on that rooftop. The scene was surreal to the extreme. On one side, a young man was screaming himself hoarse, blood flowing from wounds all over his body. On the other side, a tall teenager stood dramatically with a large sword.
"NO!" Subaru's cry echoed the young man when it because obvious just where he was going to bury that sword. Subaru tried to lunge forward... and stepped into a waking dream.
I In front of a Sakura tree a tall boy stood. "Do you like the sakura?"
Subaru heard himself replying, "Yes."
"Did you know the Sakura are white, like snow, and it is the corpses under the tree that stain the flowers pink?"
"But aren't the people beneath the tree in pain?"
The tall boy approached him. "Let me make a bet with you," he said as he lifted a warm hand to caress his face.
Subaru could feel the soft breath of the other tickling at the juncture of his neck. He was enfolded in the boy's arms. A strong wind rose and he could no longer hear anything, the gushing air drowning out whatever the boy was saying. Subaru tried to shake his head, to make the boy speak louder.
He suddenly found entangled in the Sakura tree, bound and crucified as effectively as Kamui. /I
HR
Some distance away, Seishirou was also watching. However in contrast, what he saw left him unmoved. There was a peculiar surge of recognition when he saw the tall teenager who was preparing to impale the blonde girl. Seishirou had to applaud his technique. It took skill to aim for the aorta for the surest kill. However, Seishirou clinically decided that working with a shinken was probably easier than working with bare hands.
A quick movement caught his eye. He frowned. Subaru appeared to be struggling in the grip of something powerful. It was just so like Subaru to get all upset over watching someone get killed. However this time, there was nothing he could do. Subaru I needed /I to witness this, just like him. The grip of destiny was too powerful.
HR
Kakyou sighed. He could feel the consciousness of the living girl he was currently occupying, slipping away. Dimly, he felt Kotori's soul recoiling in horror. Kakyou supposed that knowing one was doomed was a totally different thing from actually experiencing it. Yet he marveled at her determination to go through with it.
"This girl wishes Kamui to live," Kakyou said to the newly awakened Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. He was holding onto the sword with all his strength.
"You are a Chi no Ryuu. A yumemi who has entered the dream of this dying girl," the Dark Kamui replied. He turned away from Kakyou. "Kamui, I will kill you."
HR
Kotori was dead.
Fuuma had killed her.
I It was his fault. /I
Kamui's eyes remained open, but his mind fell away, unable to cope with the horrible reality in front of him.
HR I
Subaru stood entangled in the Sakura tree, blood and petals of snow and deceptively gentle pink falling around him. He wept, knowing that around him, there was suffering, as the shadowy youth burned the marks into his hands, knowing that the world…
/I
And suddenly, a hawk cried out, and around him, the darkness shattered. The branches that entrapped his arms and limbs retracted, and he fell forward. His eyes widened as reality returned to its normal dimensions.
If he could call it that.
While his memories had entrapped him, the events below had continued to their horrible conclusion. A medical team was around Kamui, trying to treat his wounds, but there was nothing they could do for the girl.
If he had been stronger, he would have been able to go to Kamui's side, and possibly help fight off the Dark Kamui but he had not. He had become overwhelmed with horror at the awakening of the darkness, and fallen to it. The girl was dead, the Dark Kamui fled, and Shirou Kamui's soul was locked away.
All because he was too weak to defeat his own demons.
He wept.
HR
Seishirou remained concealed within his illusion, observing the confused tableau before him. He shook his head. Subaru had come too close to remembering his past. Fortunately Seishirou had realized his stillness was unnatural and acted to awaken him.
He was surprised that the sheer power of the Dark Kamui awakening could trigger such an effect on Subaru. Seishirou took a moment to muse on how odd Fate was. It was as if there was a strange echo between Subaru's fate and Kamui's fate. Seishirou could almost see the threads working and was discomfited. Everything was becoming horribly entangled.
He looked back at Subaru, who was trying to hold back his tears. He had scrambled to Kamui's side and was following the rushing crowd of medical people down the stairs.
"Subaru, when will you stop weeping?" Seishirou asked from his solitary vantage. "If you cry now, what will you do when I teach you real pain?"
END CHAPTER NINE
