By Maria Szabo
Disclaimer: the
settings and characters of X belong to CLAMP, their publishers and their
respective distributers. This is a work
of fanfiction, no profit is being made and copyright infringement is not
intended. The title "Smiles of a Summer
Night" is a tribute to the 1956 film by Ingmar Bergman and no infringement of
his rights or those of his distributors is intended either. The quotes at the beginning of each chapter
are from Stephen Sondheim's "A Little Night Music" and are used only because I
love the musical so much. Please don't
sue me!
Part 2
Don't you love farce?
My fault, I fear.
I thought that you'd want what I want
Sorry, my dear
Stephen Sondheim Send in the Clowns
Despite the
destruction around it, Hachiko still stood at attention. Through rain, wind, snow and hail, the dog
had waited patiently at Shibuya station for his master's return, even after the
old man had died. Seishiro Sakurazuka
parked himself at the base of the faithful dog's statue and lit a
cigarette. He, too, was used to
waiting.
A touch of
illusion was all it took to fade into the background so that no one would
bother him. Hachiko's monument, while
still a popular place to meet, was also a notorious pick-up spot and he wanted
no such attention today. He watched the
people rush around him, busy about their own lives, which even the recent
earthquakes could not completely disrupt. In his heart, he used to hate them, for having the normal life that he
could just imagine, but that was long ago, in another lifetime, back when he
cared. Then he grew up, took on the
mantle of responsibility that his birth and rank had forced upon him, and put
away such childish things.
Except for that
one time…he took a long drag off his cigarette and blew the smoke into a cloud. He used the backdrop to manipulate a picture
of a delicate boy in magician's robes, whose green eyes reflected all the tears
of the world..so beautiful…
"That's
pretty…who is she?"
"My prey." He
replied sharply. The illusion dissolved
into a vague wisp of smoke. "You're
early, Kigai-san."
"So are
you." Yuuto Kigai gave his blandest
smile. "I take KAMUI contacted you as
well, then."
"Do you know what
this is about?"
"I was hoping
you would. Aren't you hot in that
coat?" He was dressed almost casually
today, in short sleeves because of the hot August weather. Sakurazuka himself barely noticed such
things anymore. "KAMUI said meet him
here, so here we meet. He might have
picked a place less crowded."
"You wish." He
snorted.
"Not around HIM,
I don't." Kigai-san gave an apologetic shrug. "And neither will you, if you're smart."
He gave the
other man a sharp glance. Kigai-san had
not made much of an impression on him the day that they met…pleasant, but
inconsequential. Diplomatic to a
fault. When he'd found out later that
the man was a hydromancer, he'd not been surprised. Those who channel the elements tend to take on their
qualities. It seemed there was more him
than he'd previously thought.
"You're here. Good." KAMUI stood before them suddenly. The boy seemed to like surprise entrances. He was dressed in a black and white yukata and had the construct
with him. "Kazuki, you remember
Sakurazuka-san, don't you?"
Nataku stared
impassively at him. "Yes."
Seishiro smiled
pleasantly at it. "How are you today?"
The thing looked
confused. "I…"
"Don't tease her
like that." Admonished KAMUI. "You
haven't seen Kusanagi-san around, have you?"
Seishiro shook
his head. "No." Which was just as well. One elemental magician was bad enough.
KAMUI
shrugged. "He probably didn't get my
message then."
"He never seems
to get any messages." observed Kigai-san.
"Yes," agreed
KAMUI, "I really need to talk to him about that. But the rest of you are here. That's good. Let's get going."
"Going? Go
where? What are we doing?" asked
Kigai-san.
"Out to a
festival, of course. We might as well
have some fun before we completely destroy the city."
Seishiro
laughed. "You're kidding, right?"
"Not at
all. Kazuki here is really looking
forward to it." Nataku turned to look
at the KAMUI and then turned back, face utterly expressionless. "Don't you like festivals, Sakurazuka-san?"
He really didn't
like anything anymore, but that wasn't something that was safe to say to the
KAMUI. "So where are the others?"
The KAMUI
shrugged. "Satsuki-chan wasn't
interested—too boring, she said. Kakyou
isn't really in any condition to go anywhere. And who knows where Kusanagi-san is?"
"Who ever knows
where he is?" muttered Kigai-san.
"What was that?"
KAMUI glared.
Kigai-san
smiled. "Nothing. And where's the festival?"
"CLAMP Academy,"
replied the KAMUI. "You know it?"
"I'm an alumnus,
actually." Kigai-san gave a real smile
this time. "They're well known for
their festivals. You're right, KAMUI,
this should be fun."
Sakurazuka
rolled his eyes. What a suck-up, he
thought. He lit up another
cigarette. "I'm very busy right
now. Sorry."
The KAMUI didn't
bat an eye. "Subaru-kun should be
there. He's living at the Academy, you
know."
He didn't know,
but filed the fact for future reference. "So?"
"So." The boy was really infuriating
sometimes. "You're coming, right?"
Seishiro
responded with a cloud of sakura petals. When the air was clear, he was gone.
Kamui followed
Sorata and his flapping robes through the main line of booths lining the
largest path in the park. He'd not paid
much attention at his orientation when he'd started CLAMP Academy and was
surprised at the size of the festival. He certainly didn't realize there were this many clubs. Sorata seemed unfazed, and also seemed intent
on finding one particular booth.
"Where are we
going?" KAMUI finally asked.
"The Motor-Club
booth." Sorata gave a mysterious smile. "The Chairman told me that it's a little-known secret that they have the
very best Yakitori in the city. You
like yakitori, don't you?"
"Sure." He had a soft spot for the chicken and
veggies on a stick. Mother used to
bring some home at times, back in Okinawa.
"Great…and
here's the booth!"
The Motor Club
booth was pretty easy to disguish with the rebuilt race car sitting in the
front. The booth itself wasn't very
large and was taken up mostly by a couple of unique portable charcoal-pits that
looked liked they'd been souped-up with non-standard materials.
"Welcome to the
Motor-Club booth!" chorused a couple of nerdy-looking guys in headbands. One wore a Speed Racer t-shirt under his
happi.
"Would you like
some yakitori?"
"Best on the
Campus, you know!"
"Help us in our
attempt to wrest the title from Nekomi Tech!"
"C'mon, Sensei,
what'll it be?"
"Order of four,"
replied Sorata as he fished out a wallet from somewhere in his robes. "How much?"
They walked away
with their bounty. Kamui took out a
stick and nibbled experimentally on what looked like a piece of chicken. It tasted as good as it smelled.
"Delicious,
isn't it?" asked Sorata. He munched
enthusiastically on his, careful not to spill anything on his robes.
Kamui
nodded. Trust the monk to know where
the best food was to be found. They sat
on the edge of a fountain and continued their meal.
"So," began
Sorata, in between bites, "tell me more about this dream of yours."
"There's not
much more to tell."
"Subaru-san
seemed a little concerned." The monk's
eyes were piercing. "He went pretty
white when you mentioned the dragons…em…luuuuv."
"He probably has
more to worry about."
"And why is
that?"
Kamui stopped
right there and wished he could take back his words. Sorata, and the others as well, probably didn't know about
Subaru's past with the Sakurazukamori, and it really wasn't his place to talk
about it. "Nothing."
"C'mon,
Kamui." Sorata's voice lost its usual
teasing edge. "I admit, Subaru-san's
not my favorite person, and I wouldn't pry if it wasn't tied to the end of the
world. Is there some reason for
Subaru-san to think he might be one of those mating dragons?"
"….Yes…"
admitted Kamui.
"Can you tell me
why?"
"I'd rather
not." At Sorata's disappointed look, he
added, "It's not my place."
The priest
seemed to accept that. "Fair
enough. Is it safe to say that we'd
want to take extra measures to protect him?"
Kamui
considered. "Maybe."
Sorata was
silent for a moment while he finished his stick of yakitori. "Could it be someone else? One of the girls, maybe?"
"I don't
know…perhaps." He thought back, trying
to remember who had fought who. "I
don't think Arashi has met any of them besides Fuuma, and we know he's not
involved. Karen-san, now…"
Sorata picked
right up on the idea. "She fought that
Nataku-thing, and Kigai-san. Ok, we'll
probably need to talk to her. She said
she'd try to come by the festival today."
"What about
Yuzuriha? There was that girl, the one
who blew up Shinjuku?""
"Whoa! Kinky! But…no, no chance. She killed
Inuki, remember? Yuzu-chan wouldn't get
within 10 feet of her. And besides,
she's just a kid."
He had a
point. Kamui felt a little better,
knowing that things could be whittled down to a manageable amount. "Ok, so who's left? Aoki-san?"
"Nah."
"I didn't think
so either. How about you?"
"Me?"
"Yeah, you. You've been rather visible."
Sorata
blanched. "But…they're all guys! Kamui, I don't DO guys!"
"There's the
computer-girl?"
"I never met
her. Besides, even if she was a
mega-babe, she still couldn't hold a candle to Nee-chan." Sorata actually blushed a little. "Everyone thinks I'm joking, but I really do
love her, Kamui." He laughed quietly to
himself. "Not that she'd ever believe
me."
He ackwardly
patted the monk's shoulder. Sorata
shook his head, and then laughed.
"Ok!" he said,
"We have a plan! We watch out for
Subaru-san, and talk to Karen-san. Maybe we can make this prophecy work FOR us, eh, Kamui?"
Kamui
nodded. It was worth a shot.
Kusanagi was a
little hesitant as he crossed the moat and approached the open gate of the
CLAMP Academy. He could sense the wards
of protection set about the grounds and hoped his presence wouldn't trigger any
reactions. Yuzuriha had spoken
excitedly about the size and beauty of the grounds, but it really was something
that had to be seen to be believed. The
whole place had an air of grandeur and prestige. He felt a little out of place.
He looked at his
watch. Early again…but then, he was
always early. Even as a child, his
mother often teased him about it.
"You'll be early
for your own funeral, Kusa-chan." She'd laugh.
"But not to
yours." He'd reply with a hug.
And Mother would
bite her lip and ruffle his hair and say nothing. Even then, she knew what he was, and that she would probably
outlive him. She had settled in Sapporo
and he visited when he could get more than a few day's leave. He wondered idly what she would think of
Yuzuriha if he brought her home and smiled at the thought. As if we'll live that long.
Yuzuriha. That was another problem. He'd
long ago become accustomed to his mission in life, his role as an agent of
destruction. His father had told him he
was a weapon of the Goddess, it was his name and his purpose. Mother was a little more helpful, telling
him to think of himself as a flood, or a wildfire, or a typhoon, or an
earthquake. Things that were
destructive, but not evil in and of themselves. And as he grew older, and his senses grew keener to the cries of
the ravaged earth, he began to wholeheartedly embrace his role as a harbinger
of winter, knowing that after a time of death, spring would come again to the
earth.
But that was
before he met her.
She didn't look
anything like what he thought a Dragon of Heaven should be. Instead of a proud, hardened warrior, she
was pretty and delicate and sweet, and her eyes shone with an unquenchable
thirst for life. Every time he saw her,
part of him began to wonder if winter was all that necessary.
Idiot, he told
himself. You know this, and yet she
calls and you come running. You need to
stop this. You have a mission. She's the enemy. Just walk away now, before this goes any further and…
"Kusanagi-san?"
Too late.
He turned at the
sound of her voice and blushed a little. "Missy. You surprised me."
She smiled like
a cat who'd gotten in the cream. "I'm
sorry I'm late."
"No, I was
early. You look really pretty today…I
don't think I've ever seen you in traditional clothes." The yellow suited her, he thought. "I like the pattern."
She blushed in
return. "Thank you. Do you have a yukata, Kusanagi-san?"
"I do. Not as cute as that one. It's just plain—brown and white. It's so hot today, I should have worn it."
Yuzuriha slipped
her hand in his. "That's ok. I like the uniform."
"Yeah, right." He
snorted. "That's what all the pretty
girls say."
She joined his
laughter. "You've never been here
before, have you? Would you like to
take a look around?"
"Sure…but
where's Inuki?" A small yip sounded at
his ankles. He knelt down and patted
the dog, ignoring the startled glances around him. "It seemed a little too quiet around here," he told the puppy and
looked up at Yuzuriha. "Where would you
like to start?"
"Are you
hungry? There are plenty of food
booths!"
He smiled. "You must have read my mind, Missy."
She pulled on
his hand and he followed her into the crowd. What the hell. It was still
summertime. He'd worry about the winter
tomorrow.
To be continued
