Same disclaimers for chapter 1 (shounen ai, charas don't belong to me, yada yada)





---

Time stopped for a moment as the 'Kamui's question sunk slowly into Sorata's mind, weaving and
twisting it's way around his consciousness.

/Escape..../

/Freedom?..../

His mind grasped at those concepts, could almost feel himself reaching out for that one
shining thing that cried "free!" over and over.... He watched it slip through his fingers,
the light becoming bound, dark chains encircling it tightly, strangling as it still cried.....

None of this quite made it out from his lips though.

"Wha... What?", he questioned, half to the being behind him and half to himself,
watching the light slowly fade as the cry echoed back through his mind.

"It is possible for you."

Sorata tensed. "What do you mean?"

An image began to shimmer into existence in front of his startled eyes. It was -

"Miss..."

- talking to Subaru.

He swallowed hard. "Oi, what's the big idea?"

The image shifted slightly, Miss becoming shorter and slimmer until she was replaced by
a doe eyed teenage boy.

The look on the face remained the same.

"Hey! I said what's the big idea?!"

"You sound upset."

"You sound amused."

The 'Kamui' chuckled. "I enjoy seeing other's pain," he said with a lazy shrug, "and
yours is quite pleasant to watch." Sorata hissed a curse out between his clenched teeth.
'Kamui' laughed and then bent his head down, lips to Sorata's ear.

"You can have him, if you like."

Him?....

A thousand images flashed through Sorata's mind: a scowl, a rare smile, wide purple eyes
looking broken beyond repair, tears pouring down like rain, the slight figure, delicate
build, annoyed glare, a sweet blush, tired and worried eyes, always trying to remain in
control and failing miserably.....

A single name blossomed in Sorata's heart like a sakura flower.

Another low laugh brought the monk out of his thoughts. "I thought you would like that."

He fought off the blush that threatened to make this already touchy situation a little
worse. "Hey, well, that's nice and all pal, but I've gotta die for a woman, ya know. And
Kamui's pretty, I'll admit, but he's not female."

"You will die for the sake of a woman...." 'Kamui' said, seeming to recite the words
from memory, "and yet you will give your life protecting Kamui." Sorata blinked at that;
the words of the Stargazer.

"Your Kamui isn't the only one with two destinies." Sorata's eyes widened and broke
free of the taller man's loosening grasp to face him.

"What do you mean? How can I have two destinies?"

A cold hand grasped his throat and Sorata suddenly found it difficult to breath. "You can
choose who you will die for."

---

The monk awoke with a start and blinked at the darkening sky. Looks like it's going to
rain soon, he mused. Maybe there would be a heck of a storm with lots of thunder and
lightening....

He rose up slowly from the ground, rubbing distractedly at the dark imprints on his neck
and wondering exactly -what- that had been about.

Why would the other Kamui come and speak to him like that? Sorata had a feeling, or at
least a hope, that none of the Seals were probably going to die before the 'Promised Day'
(whenever the hell -that- was) and that most of this time they'd already been together was
just part of a long, long waiting game. So if it hadn't been for a fight, or to kill him, why
had he come? Why had he told him.....

Two destinies.....

Sorata shrugged, and rubbed at his temples. Man, he thought, this whole ordeal is already
giving me a headache. With a shake of his head, trying to unfuzz his brain, he leaped up
onto the building and noticed with a start the setting sun.

/How long had I been in that dream?/

He really didn't know any of the intricacies in making or controlling a dream, but he
didn't think that time in a Dream, made by a Dream-weaver, would pass that much
differently. The monk rubbed his neck again and guessed that most of his time he had
spent passed out in that alley after the Kamui had rather forcefully cut off his air. He
blinked and checked quickly for his wallet (one could never be too careful in a big city
like Tokyo), assured himself that it was still there with what little cash he had, and began
to hop from building to building, enjoying the cooler evening air.

Sorata still wanted answers to the growing number of questions he had though.

Why had the other Kamui come to him? The Kouya Seal couldn't find an answer he was
satisfied with. Had he come only to bewilder the monk, to try and confuse him about his
set path in life? Had he been lying? Or....

Maybe what the Dark Kamui said was true - maybe he really could decide his own
destiny and who he would give his life for. Maybe he had simply been in a generous
mood, and had decided he would rather mess with one of the Seal's minds instead of
trying to kill them and Sorata had been the closest one. Maybe that other Dreamseer, the
one with the Dragons of Earth, had foreseen Sorata's future and the Kamui, apon
learning it, decided to pass that little tidbit of information onto the Seal.

Or maybe....

Maybe he was just a psychopath with too much time on his hands.

Sorata looked at that last answer and decided he could live with it, it made more sense
than the Kamui coming to him out of some sort of sense of duty. People sure do have
interesting ways of amusing themselves, he thought, touching down lightly on another
rooftop, you'd think he'd have better things to do with his time, like killing innocents,
destroying kekkais and causing general mass destruction. He was nearly back to the
mansion when another familiar, much less threatening voice, called out behind him.

"Sorata-saaaaaaaaan!"

He turned, almost losing his balance as he had been about to leap into the air again, and
grinned at the slight figure hopping gaily towards him.

"Yuzuriha-chan!"

The girl landed a few feet away, Inuki bounding up to sit next to her. "What are you
doing out, Sorata-san?"

"I was about to ask you the same thing, young lady." He turned, folding his arms and
doing his best impression of Kamui's typical scowl. "What are you doing out this late?
The sun is almost down."

"I, er, well, you see, my friend and I, after ice cream, we decided to go out and walk
around for a little bit and do some shopping. Oooh! That reminds me!" She clapped her
hands thoughtfully in front of her face and leaned foreward, "Sorata-san, do you know
when Kamui-chan's birthday is?"

"Birthday?" The mock scowl vanished to be replaced by a puzzled frown. "Actually, I
have no idea"

"Wah! No one does!" She frowned as well, but it looked more like a pout on her young
face. "Maybe I should just ask Kamui.... but I didn't want to seem rude and be the only
person who didn't know!"

Sorata shrugged. "Go for it, and tell me if you find out. Anyways, we should start getting
back." The inugami master nodded her head eagerly and the two Dragons leapt into the
air, Inuki close behind.

"Yuzuriha-chan?"

"Hai?"

"Why do you want to know Kamui's birthday anyways? Just curious?" He turned to look
at her as they cleared another building.

"Sort of. You see, while I was out, I bought him a present! I want to give it to him, but
it'll seem a little weird if I just walk up to him and say 'Here Kamui-chan!', you know?
So, if his birthday is soon, I could just hold onto it until then and then give it to him! Do
you think that's a good idea?" Her large eyes darted over to the monk who laughed and
nodded.

"It's a great idea! We'll have to throw him a huge party, with lots of cake and ice cream
and pocky and streamers and games and girls (or maybe he would prefer boys?) and
balloons and presents and fun!" He grinned at the thought of Kamui up to his ears in
brightly colored boxes with a large red bow stuck on his constantly ruffled hair. "Yeah!
This could be fantastic! When you find out, tell me please, okay Yuzuriha-chan?"

"Mm!" She nodded and smiled back pleasantly, the thoughts of a party, and a distraction
from the worry she kept hidden inside of herself, dancing through her head.

The two continued to leap until they were on the lawn of the gigantic mansion. Opening
the door and going into the main room, they were greeted to a strange sight.

"Left hand, yellow."

"EEHH?!" The Seals in the doorway said in unison as the little group huddled in the
middle of the room blinked up at them.

"Sorata-san!" Karen smiled cheerfully and waved briefly before setting her hand down
back onto one of the colorful dots. "And Yuzuriha-chan! Do you two want to play?"

"Maybe they should, being younger. They're probably a lot more agile than we are." Seiichiro made a face as he stretched valiantly at the circle just out of his reach.

"Are you calling us old?" Nokoru teased, looking surprisingly at ease despite the pretzel
position he was in.

The pair in the doorway continued to blink at the odd scene while Karen and Nokoru
cheered as Seiichiro finally worked his fingers onto the yellow dot. Subaru Sumeragi
glanced towards Sorata and Yuzuriha, before flicking the spinner with surprising grace.
Figures, Sorata thought idly, that he can look dignified in this sort of situation. Miss and
Kamui sat off to one side; Kamui hiding one of those rare smiles behind a hand and Miss
looking mildly baffled at the trio playing the game.

"Right foot, blue."

Seiichiro groaned as Karen burst into a fit of giggles, watching the suited man twisting
this way and that. Yuzuriha joined in the laughter and skipped over to plop down next to
Subaru. The monk scratched his head for a moment before heading over to sit beside the
Twister mat.

"Can I play next round?", he asked hopefully.

"Of course!", Karen said with a smile, "I think this round may be over soon anyways,
especially if Seiichiro here falls on me like I think he will."

The man scoffed slightly. "I will not."

"Suuuure," the soapland girl purred as Aoki finally lost his balance and crashed down on
top of her and the mat. Nokoru smiled brightly.

"I win!"

"My turn!" Sorata grinned and looked over his shoulder where the priestess was. "Care to
join me, Miss?"

One of Arashi's eyebrows twitched. "No thank-you, Sorata-san."

He fell back onto the mat, hands clutched over his heart and eyes rolled back in his head.
"Refusing my kind invitation? You wound me, Miss!" He sat upright suddenly and
winked at her. "But of course, love can heal all wounds!"

"I thought that was time?" Karen blinked her mahogany eyes at him. Sorata blinked back
and shrugged.

"Well, love can too! Hah hah hah!" He laughed, placing a hand behind his head, and then
looked at Kamui, who had finally won his fight with his smile and was now looking as
somber as usual.

/Hmmmm...../

"Hey, Kamui! You wanna play?"

"Eh?" Large violet eyes became even larger.

"You wanna play?", Sorata repeated, gesturing towards the mat with his other hand.

"I dunno." Kamui frowned slightly, first at the monk and then at the brightly colored
dots.

"Aw, come on! It'll be great!" He leapt to his feet and grasped Kamui's forearm gently in
his hand, tugging the younger boy slightly. Kamui looked up at him, about to voice a
protest as his eyes slid over the floor, past the priest. Sorata glanced over his shoulder and
managed, with some difficulty to keep his mouth from gaping.

Subaru Sumeragi's lips were twitching slightly upwards. And as Sorata watched this new
strange happening, he realized Kamui was now pulling -him- towards the twister mat.

/Today just keeps getting weirder and weirder..../

---

Sorata muttered darkly into his pillow, twisting onto his side, trying to avoid putting any
weight on the shoulder that was screaming 'You need to work out more!' at him. Who
knew Twister could be painful, he thought with a mental grumble. Least it had been fun
while it lasted. Kamui had won the last few rounds, being little and slim had it's
advantages as he had been able to squeeze around under Sorata and Nokoru to get at the
dots.

/Kamui..../

Feeling suddenly restless, the monk pushed himself out of bed and paced in his room for
a moment before deciding to give into his instincts. He crept carefully out of his room
and down the hallway, counting a few doors down until.... Ah-ha!

He turned the knob slowly, not wanting to wake the room's inhabitant, and peered into
the darkness. The dim moonlight shone in through a large window, casting shadows over
the bed. Sorata squinted a little harder and was satisfied to see it was still occupied with
it's slender owner. His odd burst of nervousness resolved, he began to shut the door
slowly when a soft murmur stopped him.

"Sora?"

Sorata blinked for a moment, then stuck his head back around the door. "You awake?"

"Yeah." Kamui sat up in bed a little groggily, his hair in wild disarray and sheets
rumbled. It was obvious he hadn't been sleeping well.

"Mind if I come in?"

"Mm." The slighter boy shook his head, tousling his hair further, and Sorata eased into
the darkness, shutting the door with a soft click behind him. He stood, leaning against it
for a moment before moving over to sit cross-legged at the foot of Kamui's bed.

"Sorry if I woke ya."

"You didn't wake me, I.... I haven't been able to get to sleep for a while now," Kamui
admitted, his hands smoothing idly at the bed sheets bunched around him. He sure did
make a cute picture, Sorata thought, all ruffled in his pajamas like that. The priest
blinked at his own thought and shooed it quickly out of his mind. "You couldn't sleep
either?"

Sorata shrugged a little, then rubbed at his sore shoulder. "Not really, in too much pain
right now. Twister is a harsh game," he said with a grin. Kamui looked up at him, eyes
strangely serious in the shadows. Sorata gulped a little, not liking that look one bit.

"Sora?"

"Yeah?"

"Do you love Arashi?"

It was a simple question, and one the priest had no honest answer for. Of course he cared
about her, he cared for her deeply, but.... love? He imagined for a moment what it would
be like to grow old with her: to have 2.5 children, a dog and a cute house with her, and
realized.... that it really wouldn't be very fun or exciting at all. A person like her, so shut
up inside of themselves and so in control of their own emotions, would probably never
really change, no matter -what- he did.

/Is that why I chose her? Just because she was pretty and seemed lonely? And because
I'm going to.... going to die? Even if she did accept me, I wouldn't have to worry about
staying with her, because of my destiny.... Is that why? Am I really -that- shallow?/

"Sora??"

He blinked, brought out of that train of disturbing thoughts. "Eh?"

"Are you going to answer me?" Those large eyes regarded him carefully.

/Kamui..../

/ "You can have him, if you like." /

Sorata swallowed hard. "Well, you see," he stuttered slightly, looking for the right words
and way he could say he still cared about her but how he didn't.....

.... love her.

/Is it the same with her and Subaru? I saw Miss..... as someone beautiful and refined and
everything I'm not, someone practically perfect but still so very alone.... Does she see
that with him? Is that why she gets that look in her eye? Gods, I'm getting a headache./

"Sora?!"

"Ack! Sorry!" Sorata waved his hands, laughing softly. "My mind is kind of, um, not here
right now. Would you like to leave a message?"

Kamui scowled, lips twisting down into a frown. "You could at least answer me."

Sorata sighed, knowing he wasn't about to get out of this. "Well, I do care for her a lot,
Kamui. She really is someone special, I wouldn't mind giving my life if it's for someone
like that. But if you're asking me, would I marry her, then I'd probably say no. Did that
answer your question?"

Kamui blinked at him. "Not really."

Sorata hung his head in defeat.

---





This chapter was a little corny, gomen. Thank-you to everyone who's reviewed so far by the way, you're doing wonders for my ego =D Chapter three may or may not be coming soon. We shall see.