Notes by Flamebyrd: Again, /this/ is narration by Touya, *this* is an action or sound effect, and Sakura calls Touya oniichan, because 'brother' just sounds stupid. A lot of this was written over ICQ and IRC by Meia and I being silly, so there's a small amount of out of character behaviour. Spoilers for all of Tokyo Babylon and Card Captor Sakura. All characters belong to CLAMP.

Meianotes: A-ra. My fault for not putting this up, it was done /ages/ ago. Yes, again mostly done by her, and she has an ff.n account now, but the first chapter was posted under my name, so. Contains shonen-ai and all that good stuff. Wai.

CLAMP Crossover Detectives II - Ueno Park

It was a beautiful Sunday morning. The sakura in the park were in full bloom, the air wasn't too cool, and it was quiet. It seemed that most people had opted to spend this particular morning inside.

Kinomoto Touya and Tsukishiro Yukito were sitting in the front office of Yukito's house, from where they ran 'Tsukishiro and Kinomoto Psychic Detectives, Inc.' Technically the house belonged to Yukito's grandparents, but since no one was entirely certain whether they actually existed or not (not even Yukito was sure) Touya and Yuki used the office, fortunately located right at the front of the house, for their business.

And occasionally they spent the entire weekend at the house, when they wanted a little privacy.

The clock on the wall clicked over to 10:00am. Yukito was looking out the window longingly and Touya was glowering at the phone, daring it to ring.

"That's it," he said, standing up. "I've had enough."

Yukito blinked at him, confused.

/What with studying for university and running our 'psychic detective agency', Yuki and I don't get nearly enough time to spend entirely by ourselves. There's always some test the next day, or an assignment to be finished, or some ghost to exorcise... And when I have a free day, he doesn't and vice versa./

"We don't get nearly enough time together. It's a beautiful day outside - let's spend it with each other at the park."

There were no arguments from Yukito's side.

Touya remembered to switch the answering machine on as they left.

~ * ~

Yukito leaned against Touya as they walked, Touya's arm around his waist. "We need to do this more often," he said, with a small smile that Touya sensed rather than saw.

Touya just hummed in reply, content to simply enjoy his friend's company and bask in the warmth of Yukito's personality.

They turned a corner to discover a secluded grove, complete with obligatory park bench. Yukito guided him to it, with a little laugh. "Do you ever have that feeling of deja vu?" he asked, settling himself against Touya's side again.

Touya ruffled his friend's hair."You like park benches, do you, Yuki?"

"Mm... When I'm with you..." murmured Yuki against his ear, before moving down to nuzzle at Touya's throat.

/Yuki might seem shy, but you'd be surprised at what he does when we're alone.../

They spent several minutes just enjoying being twenty-three and in love.

Unfortunately, a tickle on the edge of Touya's senses forced him to pull away briefly. "Yuki... there's people coming."

"Mm... people we know?" asked Yukito, just before leaning around to kiss him on the lips.

"Ah..." breathed Touya, when they broke apart. He took a few seconds to compose himself. "Yes..."

Yukito made a small, disappointed noise. /Yuki doesn't like embarrassing his friends - well, those other than me. He's kind of sweet that way./

Seconds later, Kinomoto Sakura and Li Syaoran entered the grove. They were talking quietly and - Touya blinked - holding hands.

/You could say that Li Syaoran and I have Issues with each other. Mostly they stem from the fact that when I first met him, he and my sister had a rather large rivalry thing going on, to do with capturing these cards of Sakura's. As Yuki will cheerfully tell you, I have a small 'sister complex'./

/The fact that he then developed a rather large crush on Yuki didn't help matters much. He and Sakura might have made up - and, predictably, fallen in love as most such rivals do - but that doesn't mean I like him any better. It's probably more habit than anything, else, by now./

/I'm fairly certain the feeling is mutual./

Yukito sat up as he saw who it was. "Good morning, Sakura-chan," he said, smiling sweetly.

"Yukito-san!" exclaimed Sakura. "Oniichan... What are you doing here?"

Touya glanced at Yukito pointedly. "What are you doing here?" he asked of his little sister.

"Well..." began Sakura, uncomfortably. "Syaoran and I were... uh..."

"On a date, yes?" said Yukito, smiling again. "Are you having a good time?"

Sakura blushed. "Yes."

"That's great," said Yukito. /Sometimes I almost feel that my boyfriend is a little too nice... But then, if he wasn't, he wouldn't be Yuki./ "Would you like to join us for ice cream?"

Touya tried to give him a Look, but Yukito was looking at Sakura expectantly.

"Sure!" she said, enthusiastically.

"Let's go find an icecream stall shall we, then?" said Yukito cheerfully. He glanced at Touya and Syaoran. "I think we'd all better go together, ne?" /Yukito isn't half as innocent as he pretends to be. I know this better than anyone - he can read me like a book./

/Although really, anyone would know better than to leave me alone with that boy./

Syaoran blushed. Touya just gave his "best friend" a resigned look. The four of them tramped off, Sakura dragging Syaoran along by the hand.

Yukito was in full spirits, pointing out the brightly coloured leaves, various small birds and insects to Sakura.

Sakura stopped beneath a tall, blooming pink Sakura. "Pretty!" she exclaimed, happily.

Syaoran wasn't so impressed. "I feel something here..." he said, frowning in concentration.

Touya looked, and then had to look away. Yukito regarded him questioningly. "There are a lot of spirits here," explained Touya, very quietly, "and none of them are happy." /Sometimes my 'other' sight is a pain in the neck, and this was definitely one of those times. The screams of wailing, murdured spirits are not the most pleasant things in the world./

"What is it, Li-kun?" asked Sakura, apparently falling back into Card Captor mode and dropping her more usual 'Syaoran'. "It's not a gho... a ghost, is it?" she added, in a small, frightened voice.

Syaoran hesitated.

Whatever he was going to say, however, was interrupted by the sound of someone running towards them, and then by the appearance of a black-haired figure that seemed somehow familiar...

"Subaru-san!" exclaimed Sakura.

Aha. Now Touya made the connection.

"You shouldn't be here!" said Subaru, frantically. "It's dangerous for someone with Power to be here, it's..."

"Now, really, Subaru-kun. That's very rude."

Subaru's look could best be described as distressed, depressed, surprised and resigned, all at once. "Seishirou-san," he said, warningly. "It's me you want. Don't hurt them."

The man Subaru called Seishirou was leaning against the aforementioned tree, looking deceptively casual. "Now, why would I want to do that?"

Subaru glared. "I don't trust you."

"And here I thought we were in love..."

"Seishirou-san!"

Sakura said something that sounded suspiciously like 'hoe?'

"Sakura..." said Syaoran, quietly, tugging on her arm. "I think we should go now..." Touya could tell the younger boy didn't trust the enigmatic Seishirou. /Li Syaoran has no little magic power of his own... I don't blame the kid for being suspicious of him. I don't think I trust him myself./

"Go? Where were you going?" asked Seishirou, seeming interested.

Sakura blinked at him nervously. "Um... we were going to get some icecream..."

Seishirou snapped his fingers. "That's a marvellous idea. Let's all go together."

"Hoe..."

"Seishirou-san," repeated Subaru, warningly.

"Oh, don't worry so much, Subaru-kun. I'm not going to hurt them."

Subaru regarded him doubtfully.

"I promise."

Subaru narrowed his eyes at the older man. "Just make sure you keep it."

Syaoran pulled Sakura out and back onto the path, obviously unimpressed, with Seishirou following closely at their heels. Subaru hurried behind them.

Touya reflected on how they appeared to completely have forgotten his and Yukito's presence. "Yuki?" he asked, regarding his boyfriend worriedly.

"I think we should go with them," said Yukito. The pair of them followed quickly.

"So your name is Sakura, is it? I like that name..." Seishirou was saying, as Touya and Yuki caught up.

Touya glowered at the older man's back.

"Do you like Sakura trees?"

Sakura nodded. "Mm. They're so pretty..."

"Do you know why that Sakura back there is pink?"

"Hoe?"

"It's feeding on the blood..."

"...of corpses buried beneath it", interrupted Subaru. "Yes, Seishirou-san, why don't you try a different pick up line for once?"

"Now, that's not a very Subaru thing to say..." scolded Seishirou.

Subaru rolled his eyes. "You know... Seishirou-san, is it me, or do you hit on anything that moves? And besides, she's half your age," muttered Subaru, quietly.

"Well, so were you..."

"Only when we first met! And speaking of which, I still can't believe you'd make a bet like that with a 6 year old!"

Seishirou muttered something that sounded suspiciously like a comment about PMS. Subaru apparently bit his tongue on whatever he was going to say next.

Touya stared at the pair of them, bewildered. "Now there is a man with very confused sexuality..." he murmured, very, very quietly, in Yukito's ear.

Yukito smiled despite the tense situation.

Sakura spotted the icecream stall first. "Six ice creams please," said Seishirou, with a charming smile.

"But... I was going to pay for Sakura..." began Syaoran.

Touya glowered. "No, /I/ was going to pay..."

"No, no, it's my treat," said Seishirou, in a tone that allowed no argument. Syaoran and Touya subsided, glaring.

"What flavours did you all want?" asked the store lady looking at them all in turn. "We only have strawberry, chocolate and vanilla."

"Chocolate," said Seishirou.

"Vanilla..." Subaru.

"Chocolate." Syaoran.

"All three," said Yukito as if it was the most natural thing in the world. The members of the party that weren't used to Yukito's bottomless pit stomach (that is, everyone except for Touya and Sakura, who lived with him) stared at him in shock.

"Vanilla," said Touya, quickly.

"Strawberry," added Sakura, predictably.

"Here you go..." said the lady, handing them each their ice creams in turn, and giving Yukito three.

"Thank you very much," said Seishirou, paying her substantially.

The six of them made their way to yet another park bench, although there wasn't nearly enough room for all six of them to sit on it. "You can have my lap, Subaru-kun," said Seishirou, generously.

"Seishirou-san!" squeaked Subaru, resolutely moving to sit on the other side of Sakura.

"Hoe..." said Sakura.

Subaru glanced towards her, and seemed to take pity on her for her confusion. "Seishirou's done a lot of things I can't forgive him for..." he said, as if that was an explanation.

Noting the full bench, Touya and Yukito folded themselves up on the grass.

"But you love him, right? And love can overcome anything..." said Sakura, observant, yet somehow tactless, as ever.

"He killed my sister," Subaru said, flatly.

"Hoe..."

That piece of news woke Touya out of his confused and speculative state. He glared at Seishirou in not-so-subtle warning.

"Don't worry, I don't make it a habit..." said Seishirou, smiling casually.

"He killed my sister, broke my heart, paralysed my grandmother, and sexually harasses me whenever the occasion arises," continued Subaru, deadpan.

"HOE..!"

"/And/ he makes car jokes."

Seishirou looked hurt.

"But, Seishirou-san... you must love him back, don't you?" asked Sakura.

/I think my little sister missed the point somewhere there... Last time I checked, the murder of your partner's sister was not something people in love did./

Seishirou just smiled.

Sakura frowned. She jumped off the bench and rummaged in her backpack, eventually bringing out a card out a card. "Libra!" she called. Seishirou watched on, interested.

"Libra?" repeated Subaru, puzzled.

"It's a Clow card," explained Syaoran, patiently. "It tells whether a person is telling the truth or not, and then judges them."

"S-Seishirou-san, what do you really feel for Subaru-san?" asked Sakura, nervously.

Seishirou turned to regard the younger man. "I really do love you, Subaru-kun," he said, smoothly, with an air of quoting something.

"He's telling the truth," said Sakura, staring at her card.

All four non-participants fell over in shock.

"He has Issues..." muttered Touya to Yukito.

"But, Seishirou-san... how can you love me and yet do all that you did?" asked Subaru, looking for all the world like a miserable ten year old.

"Well... we always hurt the ones we love..." began Seishirou.

"Killing of sisters in no way factors in that statement," said Subaru, sharply.

"Why, Subaru... I might even think that you didn't like me."

"I don't!"

"He's not lying... but he's not telling the truth, either. Hooee?!"

"I might still love you... but I can't forgive you," continued Subaru, ignoring Sakura.

"Of course you can," said Seishirou, sliding across the bench and slipping his hand around Subaru's hip.

"Seishirou-san! *slap* *baleful look*

Seishirou pulled Subaru into a heated kiss. Touya looked away, meeting Yukito's eyes on the way. To his amazement, he found himself blushing.

Sakura was making muffled 'hoe' sounds.

"Sei-shi-rou-san..." *deep breaths* "I... oh..." *pause* "Seishirou-san... if you love me, doesn't that mean I won the bet and you don't have to kill me?"

"You know, the French call it the 'little death'."

"SEISHIROU-SAN!"

Before Touya, Yukito or Yue could even step in, Seishirou had scooped Subaru up into his arms and disappeared in a cloud of sakura petals.

/I've seen odd things in my life. But that conversation had to be one of the oddest./

/Did I mention the Sakura petals?/

"Do you think they'll be okay?" said, Yukito, uncertainly.

"I think that Seishirou-san probably won't try to kill him..." said Touya, not very reassuringly.

"...Hoe..."

"I think you should take her home," said Touya to Syaoran, indicating Sakura. Syaoran nodded. He gently guided the still-confused girl towards the nearest exit.

Touya turned to look at Yukito. Yukito looked back at him, expectantly.

"What does Yue have to say about all this?"

Yukito closed his eyes for a moment, which might have been a sign of concentration in anyone else, but in Yukito was a sign of deep internal communication. "He says Seishirou-san is a member of the Sakurazuka clan, the onmouji assassins of Japan. Subaru is a member of the Sumeragi clan, the people that use their magic to protect Japan."

Touya blinked. "That's not very helpful."

"He thinks Subaru will be able to break out of the maboroshi Seishirou pulled them into." Yukito blinked a few times.

Touya sighed. It was all too much to cope with. "Yuki... let's go home."

Yukito nodded.

"To-ya," he added, as they made their way to the car, "we still haven't had a proper date."

Touya groaned.


Epilogue:

*ring* *click*

"Tsukishiro and Kinomoto Psychic Detectives Inc, how may I help you?"

Pause.

"Yes, I remember...."

"...So?"

Longer pause.

"I'm sorry, miss, but this is a Psychic Detectives agency, we don't do social escorting or bodyguard work."

"...No, miss. ... No, I'm afraid that unless your ex-boyfriend dies, this is entirely out of our jurisdiction."

"No, I am not giving you any ideas. ... Sorry. Thank you." *slam*

"Dammit, Yuki, YOU'RE answering the next call."

~ * ~

"Anou..."

Touya looked up from his ferocious pen-jabbing to see a familiar dark-haired, green-eyed young man. "Oh, Subaru-san. Good morning."

"Subaru-san..." said Yukito, uncertainly. "Are you okay?"

Subaru nodded, tiredly. "I'm alright... I wanted to thank you."

"Us? Why?" asked Touya.

"Because... because before, I never knew how he felt. I never knew if I was just a pawn, a toy to him or whether he really did feel something for me... "

"It's okay... but you really should be thanking my sister for that."

Subaru smiled weakly. "But I don't know where your sister is... and I'm not sure she'd really want to see me, anyway."

/He probably had a point there. I think Sakura has been trying to put the entire incident out of her mind... A pity I can't do the same thing./

"And now you know..." said Yukito, quietly. "Are you any happier?"

Subaru closed his eyes for a moment. "I think... knowing that the person that caused me all this pain isn't totally indifferent to me... It helps."

Yukito put a hand on his arm. "Does it?"

"I don't want to die any more," said Subaru, very quietly.

Yukito stroked the other man's hair, gently. Touya couldn't find it in his heart to be jealous. /Yuki gives comfort where it is needed. And Subaru-san needs comfort more than anyone else I know right now./

"I'm not even sure that I do love him anymore... I loved who I thought he was, then. But that Seishirou-san wasn't the Sakurazukamori I know now.

"I can't forgive him. I won't ever be able to forgive him.

"But, maybe, now I can start to forget about this awful pain...

"And maybe some day I'll be able to start living again."

~ * ~

*ring*
*click*
"Hello? No, sorry, that's my brother... Lingerie? /Hoe/?"

-Tsuzuku-