Chapter Fifty-One: Awake, and Ready to Die
Shouri looked to the twins for a moment. He was really concerned. He didn't know if he could deal with losing either of them if it ever came to it. He bit his lip and sighed. What was he to do?
A feeling of dread passed through him. What if Subaru did try to go up against Seishirou? ... Well, Shouri'd just have to watch him. He wasn't going to lose anyone, including Subaru. Of course... how he'd follow was the only problem. Subaru was very aware and that would make things difficult. Glancing at the kitten again, he heaved a sigh.
Hokuto's attention shifted to Shouri as he sighed. She smiled slightly and placed her hand on his back again, making her fingers draw circles on his left shoulder. "Shouri-chan...?"
When he looked at her, she gave him a slight grin. "You care about Subaru very much, don't you?"
Subaru seemed to be in his own little world; his eyes closed deeply in meditation, his fists painted white from clenching them too hard, to any normal person, he would seem to have been asleep.
The boy's face nearly turned red as he looked up at Hokuto She had said "-chan". He wasn't little! He looked as though he was about to pout when he realized it. Hadn't she done something similar the first time they had met? He smiled lightly as he glanced down. It was a rather nervous smile. He knew what she meant... he thought.
"Hai." he said in a rather quiet voice.
Hokuto grinned widely, some of her mischievousness returning to her. "Awwww, kawaii!" Hugging Shouri to her, she whispered in his ear. "I knew it."
As she released him, she rejoiced in his flushed face. This was just like it had been with Subaru! She needed to tease them more about it. Perhaps later though, because Subaru hadn't seemed to notice.
Making a vow to mention Shouri's infatuation to Subaru later, she settled back into her seat and nudged Shouri's side. "Don't you think my brother is ignoring us a bit much?"
Shouri glanced off to the side. Okay, perhaps he had misunderstood the way she meant it. If that were true, then why were his cheeks burning? It wasn't like it mattered, but still! It wasn't like such things were possible.
After his blush had faded a little, he looked at Hokuto, then to Subaru, and back again. "... Ano... he looks like he's thinking about something. I-it's probably best not to disturb him."
What had he gotten himself into? He glanced off to the side again to avoid eye contact with Hokuto. Why did he have the feeling that this might not end well?
Hokuto glanced at her brother and taking in his concentration, she gathered he was meditating. Sticking her tongue out at him, she turned to Shouri, only to find him avoiding looking at her.
Mock sighing heavily, she stared at him. For a long long long while, waiting for him to look at her again.
Shouri glanced back at Hokuto again. He had noticed the childish little gesture that she had shot at Subaru and had almost laughed, but held his tongue. He looked back at Hokuto again before picking up the kitten and stroking its head again. What to say. What to say. He had never really thought about what to say. He had never been too much of a conversationalist. He paused. "So.." he said, voice still a bit quiet so as to not disturb Subaru.
"So...what?" Hokuto answered, before lowering her face and smiling at the kitten, her nose against it's cool black one. It licked her and she giggled, glancing up at Shouri.
"What are you doing these days?" She said, her head practically in his lap.
Shouri paused as he thought about it, a little smile finding its way to his face. "Ah, well... I work at the orphanage as a volunteer and I take care of the kids in the neighborhood quite a bit for their parents.
"I'm living at a shrine with my mentor, Matsuko. She adopted me a few years back and is really getting up in her years. I suppose I'm her apprentice." He nodded. "Other then that, I play the flute and I'm an artist, or so the visitors say." He wasn't quite sure about 'artist', but he did like to paint and draw. It was a good way of expressing himself.
"Wow." She straightened up, pushing a strand of hair behind her ear. "You're like Mr. Perfect." She giggled and stroked the kitten again. "Can I hear you play sometime?"
"Sure." He nodded lightly as he noticed the kitten's purring. How could the little koneko be so calm? He envied him for that reason. He looked towards one of the windows. "Hmn..."
Hokuto glanced at her brother, highly annoyed. Sitting forward in her seat, she poked his side. "Subaru...?"
Subaru popped out of his meditative-like state at the calling of his name. "Hai, Hokuto-chan?" He turns his eyes to his sister and Shouri. "Is everything OK?"
His wounds were healing a bit faster than usual while meditating, but not by much. But the calling of his voice was enough to pull him away, especially in the paranoid state he was in.
He was convinced that something would happen to Hokuto and Shouri again. It had gotten to the point where he started to think that just when he would put his guard down, Seishirou'd de-rail the train or abduct them when he wasn't looking. And Subaru wouldn't allow that. Especially now, when everyone was with him now...
Everyone, that is, but Yuurei. Subaru sighed slightly at the though of his name; gazing down at the credit card in his hands, his heart was filled with nostalgia. He wouldn't allow anything to happen to Yuurei. Subaru'd find Yuurei before anything could happen to him.
He would.
Shouri looked at Subaru curiously. He looked like he was worried, at least that was what Shouri was picking up. Perhaps about the Watcher? Who knew. He wasn't half as good as Matsuko at telling precisely how people felt. Either way, it was fine to him. The feeling he got, though, was one that made him uneasy. Perhaps Subaru was close to someone? Why was he thinking about this!? He couldn't figure it out. Why? Why? Why? Taking a deep breath, he leaned back in his seat and closed his eyes again. A light pulse from his neck let him know that the healing process was speeding up a little. He'd have to eat soon. That, or get to the shrine. He felt spent. He opened his eyes again, focusing on calming down and getting his thoughts under control After all... to Subaru and Hokuto, he was probably just that same little boy.
Nataku looked up through snowy bangs, the side of his head throbbing. Fuuma's presence was comforting, as was his approval. He reached up to take the offered hand, the fabric swirling gently and ever so slightly
about his body. The question, however, was met with confusion in the clone's mind.
What would you like to be called?
Images clouded Nataku's thoughts, juxtaposing the face of someone he once knew with that of the young man before him. A voice called out from behind a glass barrier, and a tiny hand that must have been his own at one point reached up towards it.
Kazuki...
His head throbbed in time to the images flooding his thoughts. "Someone who was important to me once called me - Kazuki. Fuuma-san... looks like my last memories of that person."
Uo stood silently as she watched the people going this way and that way. So many people took the subway. She had never really thought about just how many did. Well, too many to count, anyways.
She looked back towards the ticket booth to check to see if Aoki was there or not. She didn't like the idea of being alone, at all. Her concern was also for her journal. Where WAS it? And how was she going to explain all of this to her mother? Her mother was a worldly woman who lost her temper a lot. While she had inherited many things that she absolutely loved, such as dancing, from her, her mother had 'changed' over the years to an extent.
The woman always seemed bitter now, very bitter. It was as if there was something really just plaguing her. What was it? Perhaps her mother just didn't like her because of her laboratory, or because of how she was. It was really rather weird. Well, she didn't doubt she'd get slapped for it.
"Hnn." Uo stood again. Well, whenever she did get home, a bath would be nice- not to mention a change of clothes.
Kaori left soon thereafter. After such an occurrence, it was almost reflexive to want to go home, but she resisted the urge, turning back to the streets. She didn't want Okita finding out about this before she had the opportunity to tell him.
She followed the streets into the worst part of town; somewhere near the ice cream shop and the hospital, which had been destroyed a few nights ago.
It was then that she almost got hit by a car; the bumper leered at her kneecaps, mere inches away.
"LEARN TO DRIVE, ASSHOLE!" Kaori shook an angry fist.
Kotori smiled under her pile of hair. She rubbed at her mouth, thankful that the regurgitation had stopped. Vomiting was not one of her favorite pastimes.
"Kotori, are you alright?"
She was being cradled in his arms. And she clung tightly to him with her weak fingers. Alright? How could anyone think that? She would never be alright, never ever again.
Her breathing was shallow, and she was hot. Everything that had happened in the past few days made her sick. And sometimes, like now, she felt like she was going to die.
"I'm sorry... I didn't get a chance to clean up my mess, and the cake is probably cold by now...I'm so sorry..." she muttered.
Kamui smiled weakly and held the young girl closer to his body. "It's ok..." he whispered. "Don't worry about it..."
Griping the Shinken tightly in his right hand, Kamui picked her up gently in his arms and walked back inside the apartment. The couch seemed like the best place for now, and he laid her down, resting her head on one of the cushions.
Her face looked rather pale and head was warm. Setting the shinken aside, Kamui went to get a cloth from the linen closet and dampened it with cold water from the kitchen faucet. "Maybe this will bring your temperature down a bit..." Kamui said placing it on her forehead.
He feel to his knees and took a hold of Kotori's hand. "I'm sorry..' he whispered to her. "I'm sorry you had to get involved in all this. I never wanted you to get hurt Kotori."
Placing her hand lightly on his cheek now, he looked up at her with warm caring eyes. "But, I'm here now..." he said. "I promise I wont let anything happen to you again..."
"If you're alive, get up."
The harsh voice was like a murmur against the back of his mind. His lashes fluttered. His head felt like a lead weight. He tried to move his lips--to let whoever was above him to know he was indeed alive--but he choked on his voice and quickly ceased his efforts.
Where was he? The last thing he remembered was Kusanagi's words...an apology of sorts. The traitorous bastard had attacked him. The dull ache was still present in the back of Yuuto's neck. Was it broken? No, he could still feel his arms and legs, despite the fact that they would still not obey his mental commands to move.
His vision was distorted. He found himself staring up torpidly at the blurred form of a young man. That essence was familiar. Blinking several times, his sight finally cleared enough to let him recognize the face. The Kouya boy. And his expression was severely agitated.
He would have choked up a chuckle, had his
chest not felt so tight.
Limply he rested back into whatever he
was lying against. What was it? For the first time, he noticed the
horrendous odor around him. It smelled like a dumpster. Yuuto
cringed, then almost laughed at his on vanity when he realized the
first thought that had come into his mind was that he desperately
wanted a shower. He should have been worrying about remaining
alive.
But that would have been futile. Still staring up into Sorata's cold glare, Yuuto managed a weary smile. So it was finally over. He had been abandoned by his supposed comrades, left to die, and now one of the Dragons of Heaven had come to finish him off for good. He breathed in deeply the pungent smell of refuse, and was surprised to feel the wetness in his eyes. Tears? What reason did he have to cry?
-Had I hoped to accomplish something more with my life?- he wondered silently, closing his eyes momentarily. He had tried so hard to get the Angels back on track in Fuuma's absence due to injury. Had all of that been in vain? Had his entire life been in vain?
But, of course, it mattered very little now. Lifting his glassy blue eyes back to the Kouya monk's stone-like face, he smiled again and this time parted his lips. And somehow, he managed to find his voice. "Go ahead," he muttered, finding it surprisingly easier to speak than he had thought. "You look anxious to kill someone. Sorry we couldn't ever have our rematch. I was...really looking forward to it."
And, with a tight chuckle, he closed his eyes again...and waited...
Hokuto eyed her brother in partial mock horror, partial real horror as he paid for the room at the Love Motel. When the 30-ish woman behind the counter has jokingly asked "Ménage à trios?", Hokuto had recoiled at her sexual undertone and mentally gagged.
Thinking about her brother that way... EW!
She followed her brother and Shouri in disbelief up the stairs and into room 218. When Subaru pulled out a shikigami, Hokuto tilted her head, a look of puzzlement on her face.
Why would he need a shikigami..?
He started chanting and Hokuto plopped down on the very red, very heart-shaped bed with VERY tacky sculptures on the nightstands. They turned out to be lamps upon closer inspection.
Brushing her hair behind her ear, Hokuto started. It had grown. Pulling a few tresses in front of her face, she noted in shock that her hair now reached beyond her shoulders. It had been ear-length when she woke up in Kyoto.
Jumping up from the bed, she made her way to the mirror (with an equally tacky frame) and stared. Her hair wasn't the only thing that had grown. Looking over her black clothes, the ones she'd been buried in, she noted that the chest part was a bit tight and the skirt that had once reached her below the knees now was knee short.
Yuurei had been right. She was growing from the 16 year old she had once been to the 25 year old she was.
How much would her hair have grown in nine years? She giggled, picturing herself with hair reaching down to her feet and trailing behind her. It probably wouldn't be that long, but it would be funny. Almost as funny as a rotting Hokuto-body walking around.
Deciding not to cut her hair before she was fully 25, she sat down on the bed again, next to Shouri, watching her brother chant.
There was very little to say in the matter concerning going with the twins, even with Subaru's absurd choice. It was insane! WHY a Love Motel!? WHY!?
Shouri just couldn't understand it. The entire time at the counter and still continuing as they all entered the room, his face was red, hot red. He didn't like it one bit and it showed on his face. Where had his dignity gone? What would Matsuko say if she found out? She'd box his ears! She was in her mid-eighties and she would still box his ears!!!
So, without saying much, Shouri remained seated on the bed with a look of horror upon his face, if not shock. He had never imagined finding himself in such a place... it was almost too disturbing.
He took a breath, the red fading just a little bit from his face. Then he noticed it. Hokuto was growing awfully quick- wait! She was growing?! After a minute or two.. he decided simply not to ask.
Apparently Subaru was looking for something. Most likely the Watcher, or so Shouri supposed. Ah well, he wouldn't comment... he would simply remain silent and fidget.
'I hope Matsuko-sama doesn't ever find out about this.' he thought, still wincing from the mental image of his ear being yanked right off.
Subaru chanted for a long time before his shikigami appeared; its claws dug into his small shoulder, but he didn't mind. Offering his hand for the Shikigami to stand on, he threw his hand upwards, urging the shikigami upwards and into the sky.
"Find Kantoku-sa--no, Yuurei-kun," Subaru corrected himself, before adding, "...and Seishirou."
The shikigami threw its wings upward and flew out of the building and out of sight.
Subaru turned his eyes to Shouri and Hokuto. "Gomen'asi." There he went, apologizing again, like he always had when he was younger.
Hokuto shook her head at her brother. "Don't go apologizing all the time. Though I would have liked to know WHY you choose a Love Motel when there are places called public toilets with locks on the doors."
Winking at Shouri, she turned back to Subaru, standing up, finding it hard. Her body was still tough to move around, but not as much as a few hours earlier in Kyoto.
She steadied herself by grabbing Subaru's shoulder and straightened up. This was the first time she really noticed how much taller than her he had become.
"Subaru... Where do you live?"
