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 3
Think of how I adore you
Think of how much you love me
If I were perfect for you
Wouldn't you tire of me
Soon? All too soon?
Stephen Sondheim Soon
Kamui was right,
thought Subaru Sumeragi as he and Arashi wandered into yet another booth. The boy had insisted on him coming to the
festival, saying that the distraction might do him good. And strangely enough, he was feeling better.
Although he'd
offered to accompany Arashi mainly to annoy Arisugawa-kun, he found that he was
enjoying her company. She seemed to be
enjoying looking around the booths, but said very little and didn't seem to
care that he also was quiet. He watched
her as she browsed through the Textile Arts Club booth now, occasionally
picking up an item to admire the handiwork. Despite the sometimes haunted look in her eyes, she was very beautiful,
with a mystic, cool grace that he very much admired, and he had to admit that
if he was the sort to be interested in women, he could have fallen in love with
her as easily as Arisugawa-kun obviously had. She turned and beckoned to him, smiling.
"I'm sorry. This must be boring you." She said.
"No, no. Not at all."
"Is there
something else you'd rather be doing? I
don't mind."
"I'm a little
hungry. Is there a food booth nearby?"
She looked
around. "There's one. Do you like fried noodles?"
"Yes, of
course. Why don't you take a seat over
there, then?" Subaru indicated an open
tent that had several tables and chairs lined up, "I'll go get the food."
It was early enough in the evening that the
noodles were fresh and hot, with plenty of vegetables. He paid for the items, accepted the thanks
of the grateful Audio-Video Club members who ran the booth, and brought the hot
dishes to the table where Arashi was sitting.
"It smells
wonderful." She said. She poked at the
food a little. "Thank you for escorting
me."
"No, it's
nothing. I'm enjoying this."
She was quiet
for another moment. "I'm sorry I'm not
better company."
"You're fine."
"I don't mean to
be ignoring you. I just never know what
to say."
"That's
alright. I'm not very good at that
either. My sister used to make fun me
because of it."
"Really? I didn't know you had a sister, Subaru-san."
Kamui must not
have told the others then. "Yes. She died a few years ago."
"Oh." Arashi reddened. "I'm sorry, I didn't mean…"
"It's ok. I don't mind speaking about her. And remembering her during a festival, it's
fitting, somehow. She was very festive."
"What was she
like?"
How on earth did
one describe Hokuto? He wondered. Even when she was alive, she was a mystery
to him. One he loved dearly, but a
mystery, nonetheless. "Noisy," he
finally said. "Energetic. Very enthusiastic—Yuzuriha-chan often
reminds me of her. She liked to design
clothes and make me wear them."
"That sounds
nice."
"Not really," he
laughed. "She had abominable
taste. But it made her happy to see me
in her designs. And I would do anything
to make her happy." Even live, he added
silently. That's what you wanted,
wasn't it, Nee-san?
"Subaru-kun! Arashi-chan! I thought it was you!" Karen Kasumi ran up to the table. She wore a elegant sundress and a blue hat
on her bright hair. "I had no idea there
would be this many people here—I wasn't sure I would find anyone I knew!"
"Please join
us," Arashi gestured towards an open chair.
"I wouldn't want
to interrupt a date…"
"We were just
seeing the festival together," replied Subaru, while Arashi blushed. "We would be happy for you to join us."
Karen
giggled. "Then I won't insult you by
saying no." she sat down in the empty
chair. "Hot, isn't it?"
"Very," replied
Arashi.
"You don't have
to work today?" asked Subaru.
"Sundays are
usually pretty quiet in my line of work. Most of the men spend time with their families."
He didn't quite
know how to respond to that. "Oh."
Karen-san seemed
to sense his unease. "So I was really
glad to hear from Kamui, when he called this morning to ask me to come. He's such a cutie, I just couldn't turn him
down. Are all the others here as well?"
"The ones who
live here are. I don't know about
Aoki-san."
"I talked to him
on the phone this morning. He said he'd
be here—with his family." Was it his
imagination, or did Karen-san's smile fade a little?
She seemed to
notice his regard, then, and quickly changed the subject. "So, are they having any fireworks tonight?"
At a table not
far away, KAMUI watched the three Dragons of Heaven converse. It was rather boring, actually, but it
wasn't his own reaction he was interested in. Nataku followed his gaze and stiffened.
"Do you want me
to deal with them?" it asked.
"No, no, that
won't be necessary. We're here to have
fun, and that would be too much like work. But, you might want to keep out of their sight."
"But what if
they look over here?"
"Then pretend
you don't see them." He wanted no
trouble today. He had a mystery to
solve. It was really too bad that
Seishiro refused to join them—with the young onmyouji sitting so close, he
thought he'd get a quick answer to the riddle that Kakyou had presented.
Mating dragons,
he thought. And their union might
affect the outcome of the prophecy—the same prophecy that was currently
favoring him. Love like that had not
touched his own life, but he knew, better than most, the power of the human
heart. So it was vital that he nip this
little passion in the bud—whichever little passion it happened to be. Hence, the outing to the festival.
Satsuki, he
knew, was beyond reproach. The girl
loved nothing better than knowledge, except for the piece of her than yearned
after Yuuto. Kakyou was enamoured of a
dead woman. Nataku/Kazuki had no
emotions. So that left Kusanagi,
Seishiro and Yuuto, who was making his way back to the table laden with
beverages.
The
forever-absent Kusanagi was a complete mystery—the only reason KAMUI had tried
to invite him was that odd encounter with that little girl from the Dragons of
Heaven. Before she'd produced that
puppy to chase him off, she'd called out Kusanagi's name. It was worth looking into. But once again, Kusanagi never showed
up. He hoped the soldier would at least
have the courtesy to make it to the Last Battle.
For all his
illusions, Seishiro-san was an open book. He didn't even bother hiding his interest in the Sumeragi. But whether that interest was to continue
torturing his rival or something else was hard to tell.
And Yuuto…well,
after watching the water-master effortlessly juggle both Kanoe-san and
Satsuki-chan, KAMUI would be stupid not to consider Yuuto.
"Here we
go. Tea for me, soda for you and a
fruit juice for Nataku." The blond man
passed out the drinks and took his seat. "Hot, isn't it?"
"Enjoying
yourself, Yuuto-san?"
"I am. It's been a while since I've been back
here. And you, KAMUI?"
"I've been
enjoying the sights." He jerked his
head towards the direction of the three Dragons of Heaven.
Yuuto saw them
right away. "Oh, dear. We're not going to fight them, are we?"
"There's no
point. The kekkai here is bolstered by
at least three more still intact in the city. Even if we beat them, we'd have a hard time of it. Better to wait."
"Good
idea." Yuuto went back to sipping his
tea.
KAMUI eyed
him. "You know, the dreamseer showed me
a vision last night."
"Really?"
"Hmmm. A Dragon of Earth mated to a Dragon of
Heaven."
"Really!"
"What do you
think, Yuuto?"
He considered
for a moment. "That's a strange
dream. Do you know who it is?"
"Oh, I don't
know. You, maybe?"
"Me?" Yuuto laughed, then rubbed the back of his
neck. "Well, I guess that's a fair
assumption, huh? I mean, if she were a
woman, and pretty…"
"Like those
two?" KAMUI indicated the other table
and took a drink from his soda, watching the other man carefully.
Yuuto studied
the women and was quiet for a moment. "I hadn't seen the dark-haired one before. She's lovely. A bit formal
for my taste. That other one, though,
the redhead…we've met before." His eyes
grew hot. "She's powerful, that one. I'm interested, I won't deny it. Given the opportunity, I'd take her in an
instant. But…"
"But?"
He
shrugged. "It'd be too much work. See the man that just walked up there?"
A tall,
bespectacled man with a small child was standing at the table now, talking to
the others. The expression on the
red-head's face spoke volumes.
"I see," said
KAMUI.
"Thought you
would. I take it Sakurazuka-san was
also under suspicion?"
"Can you think
of anyone else?"
He furrowed his
eyebrow. "No, not really, unless you
count Kusanagi-san. He's never around,
though, and really, could you imagine HIM with any of those pretty girls?"
"You have a
point. Stranger things have happened
though."
"Maybe. I still think the Sakurazukamori's your best
bet." Yuuto finished up his tea. "Are we done here, then? I've got some old friends I'd like to look
up."
KAMUI stared at
the man just long enough to make him nervous. "Go on. We'll probably raze this
place before you get another opportunity."
Yuuto just
smiled. "Then I best be on my way."
Yuzuriha was in
heaven, or as close to heaven as a crowded summer festival could be. The day was very hot, but the evening was
coming in, bring with it a refreshing breeze. She strolled down the main fairway, hand in hand with Kusanagi-san, with
Inuki trotting at their heels. She
couldn't believe she'd really asked him out on a date. No, what she really couldn't believe was
that he accepted.
The sad, lonely
part of her that she didn't like to acknowledge sometimes brought up the fact
that there was no way a grown-up man like him could possibly be the least
interested in her. That he was just
being nice to her because he felt sorry for her. But if that was true, why did he look at her the way he did? Why did he take care of her when she was
hurt? He didn't have to visit her in
the hospital, or answer her letters, or meet her for ice cream, did he?
"So many
booths. This school of yours must be
huge." Kusanagi-san commented.
It was a welcome
distraction from her thoughts. "A lot
of them are school clubs, but there's also a bunch of the local merchants as
well. This place is almost like a small
city."
"I can see
that. Mitsumine Shrine must be
wealthier than I thought, to afford to send you here."
She shook her
head. "Hardly! I'm on a scholarship."
He let out an
exaggerated sigh of relief. "That's
good. I wouldn't know what to say to a
rich girl."
"You're not
rich, are you?"
"What a
question, Missy!" he teased. "Of course I'm not rich. I'm an enlisted man in the Self-Defense
Force…if you want money, you need to date someone else."
"No, that's
alright."
They stopped to
watch some young men in the shooting gallery, aiming their cork pop-guns
towards the cheap toys that were lined up as prizes.
"Do you have a
gun?" she asked him. It still
fascinated her that he was a soldier.
"No, they issue
them out to us when we deploy."
"Deploy?"
He grinned down
at her. "Sorry. When the brass sends us out in the field, if
they think we need guns, they'll give them to us."
"So you know how
to shoot?"
"Yeah."
"Really well?"
"Yeah." He followed her eyes to the booth. "But I probably couldn't do you much good
here, Missy. Those aren't real
guns. And they're usually off-balance,
to keep you from winning."
"Oh."
He must have
seen her face fall, for he pulled her to another booth, this one with balls
that were thrown towards a target. "How
about this? Is there something here you
fancy?"
"Oh!" It was the Manga-club booth, with all kinds
of great prizes. There was a plush dog
with markings like Inuki, it's paw raised in greeting. "That one? What do you think, Inuki?"
The puppy
growled uncertainly.
"Don't be
jealous! It's just a toy!" She bent down and cuddled the puppy. "It could never replace my Inuki!"
"Miss? What are you doing?" asked the boy manning the booth, obviously
puzzled. The girls with him tittered.
A sick familiar
feeling overtook her. "I…"
"She was petting
the dog," said Kusanagi-san, calmly. "It was just there…didn't you see it?"
"I …must have
missed it, then." Stammered the boy. "Sorry, sir, I didn't mean…"
"Of course
not. Why don't you give me three of
those balls, there?" He paid the
vendor. She watched him as he weighed
one of the balls in his hand, and looked at the target. He then was very still.
"Sir? Are you going to throw that or not?" asked
the vendor, finally.
Kusanagi-san
flicked his wrist and the ball went sailing through the target hole. He followed the same procedure for the other
two balls, and handed her the prize with a smile.
"Thank
you!" she hugged the small plush dog to
her as they walked away. "But what were
you doing, standing so still like that?"
"Trying to get
grounded. I figured the balls were
weighted, so I was trying to compensate for that. It's what I do when I'm faced with a challenge. Speaking of challenges…do you still get
teased about your dog, Missy?"
She
shrugged. "Sometimes. I try not to be so obvious, but I forget."
"You mustn't let
it get to you like that."
"I know,
but…Kusanagi-san? Don't you sometimes
get in trouble for talking to the trees?"
He looked
startled. "Not lately. But when I was a kid, yeah, I…" He stopped suddenly and his shoulders tensed
up.
"What is it?"
He turned
towards another booth and his eyes grew dark. "The fish."
It was a
goldfish booth, where a customer could try to scoop out goldfish from a tank
and take them home, in easy-to-carry plastic bags.
"You can hear
them?" she asked.
He nodded, lips tight.
She winced. She hadn't thought about his sensitivity.
"I…I don't think
there's anything we can do."
"No." he agreed,
and clenched his fists. "Is there
somewhere else we can go? Away from
here?"
"Yes, of course! There's a performance in the gazebo…Nagisa
Azuya is playing. She's very
famous. If you like traditional music?"
His smile was
pained. "That's fine. Just so long as we get away from here."
"Sure, let's
go." She hurried along in front of him
and nearly ran into someone. A drink
spattered across the ground. Inuki
whimpered.
"Sorry, sorry!"
This is not going well at all, she thought. I picked a bad place for a date, Kusanagi-san's not feeling well, and
now he'll think I'm a clutz, to boot.
"Why, Nekoi-san,
is that you?" a pair of long, graceful
hands steadied her and she found herself looking into the eyes of Akira Ijyuin,
the CLAMP Academy Treasurer.
"Ijyuin-san! I'm so sorry!"
The man smiled
down at her. "No, no, it was me. Forgive me, I'm so clumsy. You're alright, aren't you?"
"I'm fine! But…we're late…the performance…"
"Oh,
Nagisa-chan's concert? You mustn't miss
that, she's very good. Then off you
go." He turned to the elegant blond man
who was with him. "Yuuto-san, you don't
mind if we stop for another tea, do you?"
"Of course not."
The man replied. He smiled at her
kindly. "Enjoy the show." His eyes glinted when he saw
Kusanagi-san. "And such a lovely night,
too…very romantic."
She wasn't sure,
but it seemed like she heard Kusanagi-san curse under his breath. Wow, she thought, he must be really upset
about those fish.
It took a bit of
looking (and a touch of Kamui's intuition), but they finally caught up with
Subaru-san and Arashi-chan on their way to the park. He wasn't pleased to see how comfortable the two seemed around
each other.
"Nee-chan! How's the festival?"
"…Good," she
replied.
"He's not been
giving you too much trouble, has he?" Subaru-san ignored the glare.
"Not at all."
"Have either of
you seen Karen-san today?" asked Kamui. "I need to talk to her."
Subaru-san
nodded. "We were with her just a little
while ago. She's with Aoki-san and his
family."
"Which way?"
"Towards the
games, I think." Subaru-san
pointed. "Do you want me to show you?"
"No, that's
ok. Please wait for me here,
though." Kamui dashed off.
"What was that
about?" the onmyouji turned an almost
accusatory eye towards him.
Sorata shrugged.
"That dream. You know."
"Oh."
"Arisugawa-san!" Nokoru
Imonoyama waved. The Chairman of the
CLAMP Academy looked upset as he approached them, accompanied by his Head of
Security.
"What is
it? Has something happened?"
"Not yet," replied
the Chairman. "There's been a report of
a suspicious man. We're thinking he
might be a terrorist." With the number
of students from wealthy, influential families, the CLAMP Academy was often
prey to kidnapping and extortion attempts, so terrorism was a real threat.
"I'm sure
Takamura-san's got it under control?" The Security Chief was also from a clan of ninja.
"Actually," said
Imonoyama-san, "we thought you might want to look into it, since the man seems
to be spending quite some time talking to Nekoi-san. Akira-kun saw them and was concerned enough to call me about it."
"Waitaminute. Let me get this
straight. That bruiser's harassing
Yuzuriha-chan?" He exchanged a
concerned glance with Arashi. "Don't
you worry none, Chairman. Nee-chan and
I will see to this."
"That's right,"
she agreed, thin-lipped with worry.
"I'll wait here
for Kamui," offered Subaru-san. "He'll
want to know."
Sorata
approved. "Good idea." Plus it would keep him away from Nee-chan.
The Chairman
breathed a sigh and flipped over his fan. GOOD LUCK was written on the side. "Suoh-kun has been keeping track of them—we'll show you where they are."
The tall ninja
nodded gravely. "Please, follow me."
"Lead the way,
Takamura-san. C'mon, Nee-chan." Tendrils of electricity began to weave
between his fingers. "That fella's
gonna learn that we don't let NO ONE mess with our Yuzuriha-chan."
To be continued
