XXV. Bones
The answers lie in Nihon.
This is what Seishiro realized.
Of the worlds that he had yet to travel, Nihon appeared to be the one with the most semblances of answers.
Like before, when he first disembarked in Nihon, a whisk of air and water following him, he had arrived under a huge sakura tree not unlike the one in the garden of his childhood home. That proved to be a sign.
Needless to say that there were many others who were by no means pleasantly surprised to see him, given all of the damage he had done in Outo. It looked like the start of a lovely reunion; everyone he had come in contact with so far on his quest was there:
Syaoran and his group of friends – the sleeping princess Sakura, the white bunny creature Mokona, the warrior Kurogane, and the magician Fai.
Fuuma – his younger brother was there as well, with what looked like a glass casing at his side, no doubt the source of Kurogane's new arm.
There were others that he did not know, or care to remember, such as the priestesses Amaterasu and her younger sister Tomoyo, as well as her guard Souma, whom he recognized from Outo.
They had all changed from their times in the country of Outo – they had experienced turbulence, trauma in their hearts and souls, things that had shaken them to the very cores of their beings, Syaoran's group in particular. They had no doubt become stronger since then.
They were no longer nuisances.
Everyone had their hackles up once Seishiro made his entrance, being sure to protect those who were important to them.
And for good reason.
He had sensed something important. He came for answers. And he was going to get them no matter the cost.
They would have been surprised to see that his right eye was now like that of a glass complexion.
" 'It's been a while' is what I would like to say, but I don't know how long it has been for you since time flows differently between worlds." He remarked.
"You haven't changed a bit, Seishiro." Fuuma was the first to speak to him.
"Neither have you, Fuuma."
The two exchanged polite smiles, as politely as the offspring of a dysfunctional family could.
Seishiro turned to Kurogane, Fai, and Tomoyo. "Though I can't say the same for you guys. You guys changed quite a bit – in many ways."
Paying attention to Fai in particular, he states, "You seem to have lost your magical power but acquired a new power in its place…"
His senses heightened, his battle stance at the ready, he continued by saying, "The blood of a vampire."
This had finally confirmed what he'd always known.
He brought an arm out, and with his hand outstretched, he grabbed Fai's neck and squeezed as hard as he could, the mage throwing his head back in response to the spontaneous reaction, struggling to breathe as Seishiro's grip became even tighter. There were shouts and cries of protest as this occurred, but that didn't matter – the pity and outrage of many did not outweigh his need for information right then and there. He had felt the lives of many slip and fall away between his fingers, the pulsation of his lifeblood underneath his hands, and the mage would be no exception.
"I presume it is Kamui's blood, isn't it?" Seishiro said as he continued his intense grip on the magician's neck.
Struggling for air, no doubt his entire body thirsty for it, Fai stated defiantly, an edge to his voice, "And if it is?"
This struck a chord with Seishiro. He did not like this new attitude of the mage's. He asked again, this time his tone more malicious in intent. "Where are Kamui and Subaru?"
His eyes, one glass and the other violet, narrowed in a mix of contempt and curiosity, wondering what Fai would do next. The magician's newly golden orbs thinned as well, a new boldness evident in them. Before, the magician had fought him, but there was not as much effort, no means of fighting for his life as he was at this moment.
He truly had changed.
Fai began to fall backward in Seishiro's grasp, and then, without warning, he flew upward, using his legs to kick the priest's arms away, and as he did so, tried kicking them again, but this time Seishiro drew his arms up defensively. He flipped in the air once, and landed gracefully on the ground.
There was a bit of idle chatter before he heard the warrior bark, "You think that's the way to act when you're asking someone a question?"
The magician turned to the warrior, fully composed, and asked in a tone like that of a mischievous child, "You should tell him."
"Shaddup!"
The sister priestesses simultaneously agreed, "Absolutely."
"Uh huh." The white rabbit creature chimed in.
"I said Shaddup!" The warrior shouted back at them, his face red with embarrassment.
Seishiro straightened up, a light chuckle coming from him. "How rude of me - Then let me try again. You appear to have met the vampire twins."
The wizard answered, "In another world – called Tokyo."
There was no mistaking that the name of this place meant something to the mage, as well as the rest of Syaoran's group.
"Are those two still in Tokyo?"
"Nope," Fuuma responded quickly, "Those two left after these guys moved on with their journey."
"Where?" Seishiro snapped back, feeling especially irritated.
Unfazed by his older sibling's retort, Fuuma replied with some levity, "Do you really think they would tell that to your little brother?"
This also meant that Seishiro had missed another opportunity. He quickly converted from his frustrated disposition to that of slightly masking it with a sardonic smile.
"It is said that Hunters are naturally drawn to their prey. But it seems that the ones that I wish to find continue to elude me."
A slight pause.
Seishiro looks up at the leaves of the sakura tree above him, an uncommon wistfulness growing inside of him. There was something to be said about the chances that he missed – they often led him to new discoveries, new dimensions that before he would never have come across.
Discoveries about his past…
His present…
…About Subaru… the one he…
But as quickly as it came, the look he adopted earlier faded into that of a purposeful one, his violet orbs now focused on his next route.
The ruins of yesterday would become the bones of tomorrow.