Chapter Fifty-Two: Learning To Cope

Kotori eased back into the couch. She felt funny for a moment. Her Onii-chan used to take care of her when she was sick. And she used to take care of everyone. But now, it wasn't everyone. And it wasn't Fuuma. It was her. And Kamui.

Granted, event though she had pushed him away, and she still wanted too, she was far too weak to even attempt it. Her hand was on his cheek now, without her own doing.

"But I'm here now..." he said. "I promise I wont let anything happen to you again..."

Kotori smiled softly. "Arigato, Kamui-chan." Her fingers stroked his cheek like soft feathers as she studied him. "You're covered in blood...again..." she gagged out.

"Are you okay?" she asked him with her hoarse voice. If he wasn't, she would jump up in a second and take care of him! Like always! Like when they were younger! She would hide her pain and hurt, like she had been doing the past few days, since this junk started, and she wasn't about to show her weakness now. Being tortured by Fuuma had taken something away and given her something. It gave her the courage to be stronger than she was. Even if it was just a little bit, she was stronger.

She thought.

It had donned on him that Tokiko's blood was still stained on his shirt and face. Her death began to play back over and over in his mind. There was nothing he could do, but Kamui still blamed himself.

Honoring her final request, Kamui had planned to protect the ones most dear to him.

"Its...its nothing.." he assured her finally. "Don't worry. Just get some rest now. You need it..."

Kotori nodded. She wasn't in her best form. She didn't even think she could move another inch. Not for a long time anyway.

But...

She took the cold cloth from her head and ran it along Kamui's cheek. She tried to wipe some of the blood away.

"Too bad Yuzuriha doesn't have any brothers. And the only male shirt I have is..." She let her hand drop to her side. She slowly reached up again and took Kamui's own. "Don't leave me..." she whispered.


Shouri glanced up upon hearing the apology, but said nothing. That mental image was still in his head. His eyes went rather wide upon seeing Hokuto wink. Of course, he didn't notice that he was falling for the floor until he hit it. Yes, indeed, mental images and the wink and Love Motel comment had taken their toll upon Shouri.

He scrambled onto his feet again, brushing himself off casually... And he felt the aftershock of suddenly throwing his stomach off. It hurt badly. That was the problem with healing like that.

Again, he bit his lip and held his tongue. He was not going to whine about it. No.


Anzu. A large, red bird resembling a falcon to an extent. She was a marvelous creature, flying with a small trail of fire behind her. She repented the heat of the sun with her bright orange tail and glowing yellow eyes. To most humans she appeared invisible...

She could have cared less though. Her mission was to watch The Dragons of Earth and the Dragons of Heaven with her every-so watchful eyes. She flew swiftly, carried by the winds strong arms.

Like the sun, Anzu saw all things... and now, she wished to see the Dragons of Earth and Heaven. So she would watch as best she could...


Taer. A small, quick male bird with beautiful blue feathers. He represented the falling rain. He was a beautiful creature, resembling an eagle to an extent. With his unusually small body (he as small as a Wren, despite his eagle-like attributes) he was very quick and flitty.

It was his job to stake out the watcher. Once he got there, he could appear larger if he wanted, perhaps at his normal size- about that of a crow. As he rounded downwards into a very deserted away, he slowed. Indeed... he had found the place. Now, all that he was to do was to watch the Watcher.

Not much of a task really..


Last was the Wind Beast himself, Kaze. Kaze was the size of an oversized crow. He was green, his feathers flowing on their own. His job was to watch over Shouri and protect him should something bad happen. After all, it would take Shisa a minute to get there.

Perching upon a tall post, he remained unseen, staring down at the Love Motel intently...


Subaru nearly smiled. Nearly. And he wasn't the only one who had changed. Despite Hokuto being his sister, he couldn't help but notice how she had grown, in other places.

"I live near the same apartment complex we used to, in Shinjuku." Subaru sighed nostalgically. "It's really not too far from there. Seishirou's veterinarian practice was taken over by someone." Why did memories cause him so much pain?

Hokuto sighed softly, placing her hands on each side of his face. His cheeks were pale and she knew he was in a lot of pain, not just emotionally. "Subaru.. You should have moved away from there."

Giving him a weak, smile, she hugged him, having difficulty doing so as he was so much taller than her. "There are too many memories there."

"I know, but something...something kept me there." Subaru gazes up at the ceiling, melding his eyes with that of the Shikigami's for a minute to see what he saw. Tokyo was so beautiful, sometimes. It had been a long time since Subaru was able to think that about this city that brought him so much sorrow. "Maybe it was memories, but...I could never move far from Tokyo."

He blinks, returning his vision to normal. "No sign of either one of them, yet."

"Why do you insist upon tracking down Seishirou?" She let him go, placing her hand at her waist, looking importantly at him. Shaking her head, she brushed away the question, not wanting to go there, not while Shouri was listening. "Never mind... I..."

She frowned, looking up at him again. "Subaru... I just don't want you getting hurt in any way." Poking at one of his wounds, he flinched in pain and she added. "Any more than you are, at least."

Subaru placed a hand on Hokuto's head. "You're one to talk, getting yourself killed and hurting your little brother." He looks down at her. "I never understood why you did that; why you dressed up as me, and allowed Seishirou to kill you."

She looked down at her shoes, not really knowing what to reply. Seishirou had obviously never told Subaru what she had told the Sakurazukamori. "I did it because I love you."

Subaru can't help but feel irate. "You love me? You loved me, so you allowed yourself to be killed by him?" Subaru spat out the word him, as if it were filthy and disgusting. But at this point in time, he had lost all respect for Seishirou. He couldn't love him, not for anything in the world. But even so, why did he...

No.

NO.

NO!

There was no way he felt anything for Seishirou anymore. Not after all he had done, there was no way. There was no way!

He wouldn't allow himself to love someone like that. Someone who killed mercilessly, someone who compared him to a mere object. He wouldn't.

"Yes." She kept her head down, hearing the contempt in his voice for the man that had been their friend, the man that Subaru loved. Shaking her head, she felt tears blurring her vision. "You... You don't understand.. You don't know. I.."

Pausing, she looked back up at him, her eyes full of worry and pain for her twin. "He was special to you and I..." She didn't want him to kill Seishirou, there was still love between the too, though contempt and hate mingled with it. "I couldn't bear seeing you like that."

"I know, Hokuto, I know." Subaru sighs and plops back on the bed. They had a good fifty minutes of room left, so why not at least take advantage of it? "But just because of that...that was no reason to let yourself be killed."

His eyes turned to her, "...you're strong, Hokuto. Maybe not in onmyouji, like me, but you were strong enough to get away. Why didn't you try?" Subaru wasn't going to let this go, was he?

She stood in front of him, looking lost. "I... did a curse." The words came out in a murmur, but she knew Subaru heard them.

"A curse?" Subaru's eyebrows furrowed in confusion. "What sort of curse?"

"So that..." She sighed, kneeling before him. "You remember how he killed me, right? What technique he used?"

Subaru nodded numbly.

"If he ever tried using that technique on you, it would backfire. That is the basic of the spell." She laid her head in his lap and murmured against his leg. "Do you hate me for it?"

Subaru blinked. There wasn't much he could say; it showed the value his sister had for him, but she wouldn't understand what he had to live through because of it. Even so, no matter what, if he were to die, he wanted it to be at the hands of Seishirou.

"No. I don't hate you, Hokuto." He allowed his eyes to become one with the shikigami's once more; he didn't want to see Hokuto's sad face ever again. "How could I ever hate you?"

"Because what I did was selfish. Even if I did it to let you live, it was selfish because I could not bear to live without you." A small sob escaped her and she gulped down air, pulling back from him. Stretching up to touch his face, she saw his glazed eyes and let the hand drop. He didn't want to look at her.

Despite using his vision for other purposes, his mind's eye drew out the image of Hokuto that best suited her voice. And Subaru couldn't stand it. He didn't want to ever see Hokuto's crying face again. He never wanted her to have to weep over something as stupid as her little brother ever again.

"Hokuto-chan, please don't cry..." Subaru said in a soft, monotone voice. His hand groped for Hokuto's, and despite missing several times, finally found its place with Hokuto's.

"I'm not... crying." She looked at their grasped hands and swallowed. "I won't cry.."

"Good," Subaru said firmly, surveying the sky of any sign of Yuurei or Seishirou. "You're strong, Hokuto. So please don't ever cry again. The last time I saw you, I remember you were crying. I don't ever want my last memory of you to be a sad face."

"It won't be. I promise." Her gaze flew to his face, turned upwards, eyes glazed. "But you need to promise me that we will die a long time from now. Like when we're 90 and gray-haired." She tried smiling humorously. "Even if.. it's the End of the World."

Subaru nodded. "Only if you make the same promise." He's not about to lose his beloved older sister again.

"I promise." She once again let her gaze fall, studying the red carpet. "Will you promise me another thing?"

Subaru nodded.

"Don't go looking for Seishirou anymore."

"I can't promise you that."

"Why?" She stood up abruptly and slapped him lightly, making him look at her again. Her face was stern. She didn't want him to look for Seishirou. Subaru still loved him, she could see it. And it would simply be too much for him if he actually killed him.

"Why?" She repeated the question, her voice harsher.

"Because." Not really an answer, but Subaru himself couldn't justify the reason why. It was a feeling that kept him going, that kept him searching for Seishirou.

"No." She shook her head, determination clear. "You need to come up with something better than 'because'. Either justify yourself or give up." She gulped, on the verge of tears again. "It will break you."

Subaru was becoming increasingly frustrated with his sister; while patience had once been his primary virtue nine years ago, he had changed. And Hokuto needed to know that.

"I'm a different person from nine years ago, Hokuto," he said harshly. "I'm not the little sixteen year old boy you remember." Not really relevant, but it was worth a chance reminding her.

"I know that." She stated, her voice as harsh as his had been. "I know that, but you are still the same person. You're still Sumeragi Subaru. And I know Sumeragi Subaru. I have watched over Sumeragi Subaru for nine years, do you not think I have noticed your differences? Do you not think I have seen your suffering and your long search for Seishirou?"

She drew a breath, hurt evident in her eyes. "Do you not think I have seen how it has affected you? How it has changed you? Did you think I didn't care enough to watch over you?"

She backed away from him, not wanting him to see her like this. Accusation and hurt. That was all she had.

Subaru sighed; there was no use arguing with someone as stubborn as his sister. Even now, Hokuto-chan was the same in some ways, but different in others. It was kind of sad; she wasn't nearly as happy as Subaru once remembered.

"What about you? What about your lover?" Subaru's stared down at Tokyo from the eyes of the Shikigami. It'd be best to change the subject.

Lover...? The words echoed in her mind. Kakyou. She needed to see him. Even if he was still in comatose. But... Yuurei. He loved Yuurei.

"He's not... my lover."

"What is he then?" Subaru's cold voice resonates through the room; apparently, he's a bit resentful there was something Hokuto kept from him.

"I don't know." She frowned in confusion at his cold voice and at her own inability to determine what Kakyou was to her. What they were to each other. "I... love him, but he doesn't love me."

Subaru pulled his vision back together, and sat up, staring straight at Hokuto. "What happened to the self-confident Hokuto I used to know? The one who would always push me into doing things that I didn't want to do, the one who had a date every night?"

Subaru pressed a nimble finger against the edge of Hokuto's nose. "Or was that girl not reincarnated?"

"She was revived. She's just been dead for nine years." Hokuto frowned, looking down. She just didn't feel cheerful. She never had since Subaru had gone catatonic.

"I just think I need some time." She lied, wanting it to be true.


Sorata eyed the man for a few second before becoming somewhat irritated about how low this pimp had sank. He simply grabbed Yuuto hand and pulled him out of the dumpster, managing to smile ever so slightly for the first time since he left that message on Arashi's machine.

"You suck you know that?" Sorata turned away from Yuuto and began to walk back to Fuuma. "Come on...Kamui and the cloth boy are waiting for us."

Sorata didn't bother watching his back, that guy was way to injured to mess with him...He did however keep just enough distance to hear if Yuuto collapsed so he could drag his ass back.

A gasp followed by a sharp wince escaped his throat as he was dragged from the dumpster. At least the putrid smell of refuse was not so strong out in the middle of the dark alley, though it most certainly could not be said that the atmosphere was full of anything akin to fresh air. He blinked rapidly. He was still alive. And in dire need of a shower and a new wardrobe.

He stood surprisingly unshaken, for all his shock. Indeed, he was not as injured as he had first thought. The blow to the head from Kusanagi had knocked him out, and at first when he had awoken, he had found it difficult to move. But now that he was forced to stand, his limbs all seemed to be in perfect working order, and the only pain in his body was the dull ache in the back of his neck.

Quickly but cautiously he trotted up behind Sorata. "What's all this about?" he questioned prudently, though he doubted now that the boy would hurt him. Kamui...cloth boy. An amused chuckle made its way through his lips. "Don't tell me you've come over to the 'dark side'," he said more pleasantly. "What ever could make a bright shining star like you take such drastic measures?"


Fuuma smiled gently and took the boy's hand, touching his face with it. He smiled even brighter when the boy had chosen his title.

"Then I too shall call you Kazuki." He removed the hand after a long while and then looked toward the sky. "We're nearing the point where the sides shall be clearly drawn...I trust you wish to remain by my side."


"YAMETE!" A voice finally managed to push through. It was Shouri.

His voice was shaky, very shaky. The sound was very crackly, like he was fighting between frustration, the fear of speaking out, and just general pain.

He had heard everything, listened to it all. He had been right. Seishirou and Subaru HAD something special between them. What was more was that Subaru was still very attached, and apparently had grown attached to the Watcher. His senses had heightened with the growth of the pain in his stomach and neck. His awareness had boosted to the point that it was just a little bit too much for him to handle WITH the conversation.

His heart was racing yet again. Why? Was he angry? No... that wasn't it. He was hurt, wasn't he? Why? ... It struck him hard, but he denied it. He denied it as best he could. He would never admit it. Never.

The boy jumped to his feet, the fearful look replaced with one overly determined and pain-filled.

"Gomen.. but at the least, you two have each other and I won't stand to see you two argue like this!! At least you two will ALWAYS have someone there to count on! Stop pushing at each other! It's stupid! You both know it!" He cried, and then froze stiff. Had.. he said that out loud?

He frowned, stumbling back. His dark bangs shielded his eyes... And his arms fell limp by his sides.

"... Ano... gomen... I-I can't stay here.." he managed, shaking a little as if fighting tears.

.. And Shouri dashed for the door.

It was just too much on his heart. Too much. He needed Sasori. He needed SOMEONE he could embrace. He continued to deny it as he had all his life, but the truth was too strong. The darkness was beating down on his mind far too much. Why..? Why? Why couldn't he have pushed off his denial earlier when he was younger. Perhaps then he wouldn't feel like his heart was bleeding...


Noroku's car skid to a stop when he saw the other car almost hit a woman. He pulled the car to block off this rude party's vehicle, eyeing the driver coldly. "Get out of the car..." He removed the gun from his sleeve and pointed it at the window. The man complied with a scared look on his face. "Hands in the air..."

The man again complied, scared of the blonde hijacker who merely smiled at him. "What do you want from me?!"

"A apology for the lady over there would be a start..." Noroku leaned the gun closer to the man's neck. " DO IT NOW! AND SHE BETTER BUY IT!" His smile faded into a low growl at the sight of the scum he was forced to be near.

The guy turned to Kaori and whined out. "I-I'm SORRY!!! PLEASE FORGIVE ME!! I DON'T WANT TO DIE"

"Now..." He reached into his coat and brought out a wad of yen, smacking the man to the ground. "I own that vehicle you almost ran her over with and everything inside, got it? This is three times it's value and then some...So I trust this is both a blessing and a burden...NOW SCAT!" Noroku stomped his foot and watched the guy run the other direction in hysteria.

Noroku smiled widely and looked at the car beside him, sighing. "At least it's a street racer... otherwise maybe I should've only paid double it's value." He looked to his gun and laughed nervously. "Hmm forgot the clip...guess I couldn't shoot him after all." He looked at Kaori with a half smile. "Are you alright miss?"

Okita watched the whole exchange with wide eyes. Was this guy crazy or something? He proceed to face fault when he heard that he never loaded the gun...Then something else occurred to him.

"Kaori-chan?"

Kaori's eyes lit up at Noroku's heroics! What a sweetie! They didn't make guys like this anymore.

"I-I'm fine." Kaori quickly recovered, trying to hide her slight displeasure that she was "rescued" by a man, and slight pleasure that it was someone as handsome and sweet and charming as him.

"Shinomori--"

"KAORI?"

"OKITA!" Kaori screeched out. It was reflexive for her to want to scream at Okita and thump him on the head, but she repressed it.

He looked like he was hurt.

"Okita!" she cried out, pulling him into her arms. "What happened?"


He sat in the velvety armchair before the roaring fireplace. He had been surprised that there was still some firewood left to start up the blazing furnace. But now none of that was of concern as he stared listlessly into the flames, meditating to keep the pain under control for as long as possible.

It was becoming increasingly more difficult. With the superior power of his mind manipulation, he was still able to dull the ache from the wound that continued to eat him alive from the inside-out, but his concentration was weighing, and the effects of his power were diminishing as well. But he refused to flinch. He sat perfectly motionless, arms rested on the arms of the chair, eyes fixed in dogged determination on the fire before him.

Then suddenly the essence pricked at the back of his neck. His dangerous crimson eyes flitted to the side--to the window. The aura glistened, and at first he thought he was seeing things. His mind was finally going. But no. It was real. A spirit spell, in the form of a bird. Watching him. Almost...as though it were...a conscious, sentient being. Their eyes met.

A faint smile crossed the Watcher's thin, pale lips as he settled back against the cushioned back of the chair. He closed his eyes. How ironic, that the one who had been assigned to Fate to observe the world's end and those involved, was now the very one being watched.

Though somehow...he found a strange sense of comfort in the notion... that he might not be completely alone in death...


Kamui's heart began to ache as he watched Kotori wipe his face with the cloth. He hated seeing her like this. Her spirit had seemed to be crushed. And it was all his fault...

He grasped her hand gently intertwining his fingers with hers. He wanted to cry, but desperately held back his tears.

"Get some sleep," he said brushing some of her hair to the side of her face. "And when you wake up...I'll still be here by your side. I'm not going anywhere...not again..."

Kotori grasped Kamui's hand tightly. "It's okay. I don't blame you. I don't blame you at all."

She smiled softly. Just then, with Kamui looking down on her, she reminded of her childhood. They had been in the park, and had climbed a huge tree to bring a small bird back to the nest it had fell from. The branch snapped from under them, and they went tumbling down...But Kamui caught her. And he held her from falling and hurting herself.

"It's okay if you want to cry..." she said. "I won't laugh..." Kotori said, almost as if she could read his mind.

She closed her eyes for a moment. If Kamui would cry when she wasn't looking, that was fine. But, she wouldn't sleep. Not with Fuuma somewhere out there. Even with Kamui here, she was not safe enough in her mind to sleep.


Subaru ran after the boy; he wasn't going to let him out of his sight again. Grabbing his thin arm, Subaru turned Shouri to face him, "We won't argue anymore. Please stay."

Shouri frowned, shaking his head lightly. Apparently he was simply oblivious that there were a few more reasons why he was so upset. He shook his head lightly, smiling assuredly. "Iie... I.. I really can't..." He managed to stutter.

"Please don't go." Subaru's eyes were pleading; he didn't want Shouri to go, but at the same time, he didn't want to force him to be there. A part of Subaru just wanted to knock the boy unconscious and keep him against his will, but Subaru couldn't bring himself to do that. He'd have to persuade him to stay- of his own free will.

That look. Those eyes. Shouri suddenly glanced down, letting his eyes fall to the ground to avoid Subaru's gaze. It was like trying to say no to... well, he wasn't sure, but still.

"... If you insist." He sighed slightly, not daring to look back up at Subaru.

"Ari--" Subaru's eyes melded with that of the Shikigami's; except this time, he didn't will it to be so. The shikigami had seen something. Something Subaru was looking for.

Subaru didn't finish giving Shouri his thanks. He focused his vision on the target.

There, under the sakura tree Subaru remembered from so long ago. There was only reason why Seishirou'd be there.

He had killed someone.

"Sumeragi-san?" Shouri frowned, sensing that something was wrong with the man. "Sumeragi-san?" His voice grew less shaky, more sure, and concerned.

Subaru blinked, snapping himself out of it. "We've got to go," Subaru said firmly, motioning for Hokuto to hurry. "We've got to go, NOW."

"... I have no complaints." Shouri stated simply, pausing for a moment before he looked at the door.

He was already walking towards it. Perhaps his slight outburst would be noticed by Matsuko? He doubted it.. but still...


He sat against the trunk of the tree, resting. Not that he was terribly injured, but more just to gather his energy and prepare himself for whatever was to come.

And it came. Faster than he had expected. His eyes shot open, his mind alive and alert with the aura that pricked at his every sense. Single-eyed gaze flitting from side to side, he concentrated on finding its origin. A shikigami, no less. Such creations had a very specific essence. Locating the master was the more difficult task.

Closing his eyes, Seishirou focused on snatching a thread of the power that lingered in the spell's aura, tracing it with his mind as he chanted the words that would allow him to all but travel out of his body to find the source.

At last he arrived...at a...Love Motel? He smirked, but continued up to Room 218. Then his brow furrowed. A new aura, yet familiar. His heart plunged to his stomach in the following instant. Hokuto. Sumeragi Hokuto. Subaru and the Watcher had actually managed to pull it off. She was alive.

News of this could not wait. This new factor had not been expected.
Fuuma would need to know of it immediately. So, bidding a temporary farewell to his beloved soul-eating sakura tree, Seishirou vaulted back into the air, making his way as quickly as possible back toward where he had last seen the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth...

...And he never even paused with hesitation at the realization that his course would take him straight through the path of the Love Motel...and Sumeragi Subaru...


Seishirou leaped across successive buildings of various height, heading in a basically straight path toward Fuuma and the place where the kekkai had already disintegrated.

Glancing to his left at the Love Motel, he smirked, but kept going. He had no more time to waste on Subaru...yet. His first priority was letting Fuuma know of this new development.

Shouri froze stiff as he put his hand on the door's handle. His eye suddenly went wide. The presence he was sensing. "Seishirou." He whispered aloud. For a minute he simply stared before flinging the door open without a thought. He began to run as fast as he could for the exit. Why were his wounds hurting so badly? Perhaps the crisis, one out of many, had enhanced his abilities a bit? Probably. He didn't care. His concern, and new obsession for personal vengeance, was with Seishirou. Needless to say, his ki took a boost, quickening his recovery rate to finish the job and add to his strength.

Subaru chased after the boy, leaving Hokuto behind. While he didn't want to leave her, he couldn't allow Shouri to go out alone, especially after his parting words. As he ran, he felt it too.

He felt Seishirou's presence.

He ran faster, his muscles pumping as his longer legs caught up with Shouri's smaller ones. "This isn't your battle," he said, placing a firm hand on his shoulder. "This is between Seishirou and me. Because of me, you were hurt. Let me handle this."

Shouri looked at Subaru, emerald eyes flashing as he shook his head. "It was not because of you, Sumeragi-san, and I won't have you blame yourself. Neither of us can do this without help and right now, we've only got each other. Arguing won't help. It would be foolish for just one of us to go after him, and stupid on our parts for thinking it noble. He can't kill me, anyhow, and I won't let anyone else that I love be hurt if I can help it. I'm sick of being useless and, no matter what you may say, Subaru-san, I'm not standing by and letting you commit suicide."

The look upon Shouri's face was overly determined, one that could kill if he should be angered. He glanced back ahead. Besides, Subaru and Hokuto had no clue what the boy was really capable of...

Subaru smiles down at the young boy, his eyes sympathetic. "Shouri- kun, do you not believe in me? Do you not think I can defeat the Sakurazukamori?" He places a cold hand on Shouri's head.

Shouri pauses as he looks back to him, a faint smile appearing. "I believe in you, Sumeragi-san, and I always have... but never in myself... and it's cost me dearly. I need to do this for everyone, and for me."

"You don't need to do this for anyone. Let me handle it," Subaru said smoothly, unaware of the boy's true power.

Shouri paused a moment as he glanced to the sky. His ki was expending again. It was apparent that he was doing something. Suddenly, he made a motion with his right hand that was a bit awkward. Throwing his right hand in front of him, a sudden energy gathered and was released directly from his hand in the form of a water bird that grew bigger. It wasn't small and friendly like the one he had created to follow Seishirou before. It was not a special attack, entirely. It grew to be the size of a human, taking the appearance of an eagle and went right up for the sky. It's color was red. Red like blood.

"Iku." Shouri said before glancing back to see the man's expression.

Subaru blinks. "Shouri," he said, "...you are strong, but even you can't face the Sakurazukamori. I've spent my whole life training in the onmyouji arts, and even I have failed. Rather than both of us dying..." Subaru pauses, "I'd rather it just be me."

"What makes you think either of us are going to die?" Shouri glanced at Subaru. "We won't. Don't doubt my words. If Fate had wanted us to die, we would be dead. This battle- it's not time for us to die. Fate. It doesn't work like that." Glancing at Subaru again, his emerald eyes shifted. "Besides, he's got to be at least a little worn down, still, even if he heals fast." He knew that he (himself) was. "Sasori-chan didn't let him off easy."

"I don't want you to fight," Subaru said firmly.

"And I don't want you to fight." Shouri replied, for once taking up an arguing tone. "We don't always get what we want, do we?"

Subaru smirked. "You're making this hard for me, Shouri...just...how about we make a deal?"

".. what kind of deal?" He asked, the bird still hovering by his head absent-mindedly. His speech had made it stand still.

"I'll go in first. You'll be my backup." Subaru would fight his hardest to make sure that Shouri didn't have to engage in battle at all. "If it ever looks like I need your help, you come help me."

"... Alright." Shouri nodded, lowering his ki a little. "It's a deal. But don't you dare die, Subaru. Hokuto-sama would have my head if anything happened to you."

The water bird didn't flicker, but rather remained ready-to-go should it be needed. It had been formed, so no energy was needed to uphold its form...

Subaru walked in the direction of Seishirou, forming a kekkai as his long footsteps narrowed the space between them. "Seishirou-san..."


Sorata was silent as he walked to toward Fuuma. "That's my business... Not yours" He didn't want to answer something that close to his heart, it would only get him hurt again. He merely walked silently to the smiling figure, stopping beside him.

He pointed back to Yuuto. "I found your pimp in the garbage."

Fuuma smiled at Yuuto and scratched his head. "Surprised? It seems when we gave up Kusanagi, we got the Kouya boy instead." He laughed nervously and then suddenly stopped. "Truthfully I think him better than Mr. Pacifist but I suppose we should kill him just so he doesn't lead the angels to us."

Sorata leaned against a wall and sighed. "Whatever..." He crossed his arms and looked toward a Kekkai. "Umm, Kamui?"

Fuuma turned and looked, his smile darkening. "I see then we know where another of our comrades are...Well I suppose we should go get them." Fuuma leapt to the top of a building and stood at the top of it. "I'm going to go retrieve our friend over there and I invite you three to follow me."

Sorata sighed and finally stood up straight. He dusted himself off and then looked to Yuuto and Nataku. "You two coming or am I going to back him up solo?" Sorata wouldn't mind either way, it would just determine how much damage and time he took.

Fuuma dashed to the Kekkai, leaping building to building. He felt the presence of something new however...someone he hadn't felt anywhere but the dream world. He stopped dead in his tracks and turned his head to see the lovely figure of the sister of that Seal.

He leapt to the ground and tapped Hokuto on the shoulder before she had much of a chance to react. "Excuse me...I was wondering if you wanted to come with me?" He sent his arms around her and looked toward the battle. "I see my friend is having trouble with your brother...Any idea why?"