Smiles of a Summer Night
Smiles of a Summer Night

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 4

He smiles sweetly, strokes my hair

Says he misses me

I would murder him right there

But first I'd die

He talks softly

Of his wars

And his horses

And his whores

I think love's a dirty business

Stephen Sondheim Every Day a Little Death

He watched from the shadows as the priest and the maiden hurried after the two tall men. Subaru-kun stood silently, first watching their departure then turning towards the other way where Kamui had run. He then leaned against a lamp post and reached into his back pockets for a slightly crushed pack of cigarettes and a lighter.

Seishiro smiled wryly to himself. He had no doubt that bastard KAMUI had anticipated that he would come to the CLAMP Academy himself, looking for the Sumeragi. The primary Dragon of Earth possessed an almost extreme arrogance, one which was unfortunately backed by nearly unlimited power. In some ways, he reminded Seishiro of himself as a young man, although he'd not had anywhere near the abilities of this boy. He made him feel old.

Maybe that was why he found himself here now, admiring from afar the man who would change his life. In the years since Hokuto-chan's death, he'd successfully eluded Subaru-kun and his quest for vengeance, and had also been successful in forgetting what he once had felt. Almost. When he'd seen the young onmyouji again after nine years, something inside him knew that the time he'd longed for was fast approaching.

Subaru-kun had changed over the years, he mused, in some ways drastically. The girlish beauty that he'd once possessed had been tempered into a fine-boned masculine handsomeness. His shy, diffident manner had been replaced with a curt aloofness. And his once-kind eyes were now haunted with grief. But had he changed enough?

Only one way to find out. Seishiro pulled a pack of cigarettes from his coat and glided noiselessly next to the Sumeragi. "Try one of these," he suggested.

Subaru-kun jumped, then stared.

"You really shouldn't keep them in your back pockets."

Subaru-kun gave him an evil eye, but took the proffered cigarette. "Thank you."

"You're welcome." Seishiro lit up one for himself and took a draw. "Warm evening, huh?"

"What are you doing here?"

"Enjoying the day. Like you." He smiled at the younger man. "I would have spoken to you earlier, but you were with someone."

Subaru-kun did not reply.

"So, you finally discovered girls. And such a lovely one." Too lovely. He'd find and kill her later. Seishiro rarely toyed with his prey much, but that girl would be an exception. "What's her name?"

Subaru-kun did not reply.

"All this time, and you have nothing to say to me. I'm hurt, Subaru-kun, really hurt." He abruptly grabbed the young man and pulled him close. "Don't you love me anymore?"

"Stop it right there." Subaru-kun tried unsuccessfully to pull away. "You have no right…"

Seishiro nibbled on his ear. "What's that have to do with anything?"

"Don't…"

"Don't what? I can feel you, Subaru-kun. You're liking this." He ran his lips over his jawline. "Not something a woman can do for you, is it?"

"No…" the prey whispered, but he wrapped his arms around his shoulders.

"No?" Seishiro claimed his mouth roughly. Subaru-kun struggled for a moment, then responded whole-heartedly. At that point, Seishiro pushed him away.

"You used to taste like strawberrys, Subaru-kun," he said. "Your kisses are bitter now, like smoke." And tears, he thought. The boy wasn't ready yet.

"Bastard."

He smiled. "Don't forget me now," he admonished and drew his illusion around him. In the shower of sakura petals, Subaru-kun put his face in his hands and sunk to his knees.

It didn't take long for the CLAMP Academy Security Chief to find what he was looking for. "There. That's the one." Takamura-san said softly. He rarely spoke above a whisper anyway.

Sorata looked over Arashi's shoulder at the culprit. The Chairman had been right—the guy looked like trouble. He was a tall, muscular man with a harsh visage, dressed in what looked like military clothing. Yuzuriha-chan was with him, chatting away. He seemed to be listening, and nodding occasionally. But what was really suspicious was the way he kept looking about with calculating eyes, as if he was trying to avoid notice. Poor little Yuzu-chan seemed to be complete oblivious to the danger she was in.

"Well, what do you think, Nee-chan? You want to get Yuzuriha-chan away while I deal with this jerk?"

"Yes."

"That's my girl. Let's do it."

Yuzuriha-chan and the creep started walking again, side by side. Sorata grabbed Arashi's hand and pulled her along with him.

"Hey! Yuzu-chaaaaan!" he called out. "There you are!"

She stopped in her tracks and looked none-too-pleased. "Sorata-san…"

"Where have you been? Nee-chan and I have been looking all over for you!" They caught up to her. "We need you right away, isn't that right?"

"Yes," Replied Arashi. She grabbed the other girl's wrist and pulled her along. "It's very important."

"What?" Yuzuriha-chan looked very confused. "What's so important?"

Good work, Nee-chan! Cheered Sorata silently, then turned at a tap on his shoulder. Damn, that fellow was bigger up close. Mean-looking, too.

The bruiser narrowed his eyes. "Is there a problem, sensei?" He sounded as rough as he looked.

"Nothing for you to be concerned with."

The bushy eyebrows drew down menacingly. "Really? So where are you taking Yuzuriha?"

He used her name, thought Sorata in shock, no suffix, no nothing. Who IS this guy? "It's really none of your business. Now, if you'll excuse me."

"I don't think so, sensei." The fellow grabbed his shoulder in a grip of iron. "Now, you're going to tell me what's going on, yes?"

"Yeah, right, " he muttered, and felt the familiar slight, sharp shock of the power building up in his hands. He didn't want to do this in public, but he was no match for this guy one-on-one. "You'd better let me go, mister."

The grip grew tighter. "Not until you tell me what you're doing with her."

"You asked for it." He pulled up his hands, lightning dancing between his hands. The man's eyes went wide with shock.

"What the hell?"

"STOP IT!! Sorata-san! Kusanagi-san!" Yuzuriha-chan pushed herself between them and spread her arms wide, trying to protect the big man behind her. Inuki snarled, although it was not clear at whom. "I mean it!!! Stop now!"

"But Yuzu-chan…this guy…" Sorata started.

"Missy, I was just…" said the other guy, at the same time.

"No. Quit it. Now." Yuzuriha-chan was adamant. "What's going on, Sorata-san?"

Sorata looked past her towards Arashi, who shook her head. "We were trying to protect you from this guy, Yuzu-chan."

"What?" the girl looked at the big man, and they both started laughing.

"Missy," the guy chuckled, "you'd better explain it."

She giggled. "Sorata-san, Kusanagi-san was the person I was going to meet today. We're on a date."

"A date?" asked Arashi.

"Yes, a date."

"You mean, like in 'date' date?" asked Sorata.

Yuzuriha-chan blushed. "Yes, like that."

"No way." The priest stared at the big man, who looked a little sheepish and shrugged.

"Missy and I have been friends a long time." He muttered.

"We met the first day I came to Tokyo." Yuzuriha-chan added, taking the bruiser's arm. "I got lost, and he helped me. This is Kusanagi Shiyuu. He's in the Self-Defense Force. Kusanagi-san, these are some of my friends, Sorata Arisugawa and Arashi Kishuu. They go to school here as well."

Shiyuu-san bowed politely. "I'm sorry for the confusion, sensei, miss."

"No, Shiyuu-san. It was my fault entirely." Replied Sorata, bowing lower.

"It's an easy mistake," replied Shiyuu-san, "and I'm happy to know that her friends are so protective."

"And we have to go now, if you don't mind." Yuzuriha-chan pulled on Shiyuu-san's arm. "Bye!"

Sorata shook his head. "Not in a million years did I see that one coming."

"She's so young," commented Arashi as she watched the couple leaving. "and why him?"

"I don't know, Nee-chan. We're talking about a girl who has a pet inugami. A tough, mean-looking guy like that's probably just her type."

She blinked, then smiled at him. "I hadn't thought of that, but you're right. But, you know, there was something odd about that man."

His ears perked up "Do we need to follow them?"

"No, no. It's probably nothing. We should leave them alone." She blushed and looked a little wistful. "It was kind of sweet the way he smiled at her."

"That's a relief." He rubbed his shoulder and winced a little. "I don't want to fight him again. That man had a hell of a grip."

"Are you alright?"

"No, but you could kiss it and make it better." He suggested with a leer.

She turned on her heel and started walking away.

"Wait! I was kidding! Wait! Nee-chan!"

"I'm really pleased that you were able to come today, Karen-san," said Seiichiro Aoki. "Shimako-san really wanted to meet you."

Karen winced. Somehow, she'd managed to find herself taking in the festival with Aoki-san and his family and she still wasn't quite sure how that had happened. And in spite of everything, she was actually having a good time. She'd known that Aoki-san was good company, but she was surprised to find that Shimako-san so cordial. "I really didn't mean to intrude."

"No! You're fine! I'd rather have you here with us…" and he lowered his voice conspiratorially, "besides, it looked like Subaru-kun and Arashi-chan were on a date, didn't it? I'd hate to interfere!"

"Yes, that's what I thought, too." Poor Sorata-kun, she thought. Looks like I won't be the only one with a broken heart tonight. Aoki-san looked particularly handsome in the green yukata he was wearing. "Yuka-chan sure seems to be enjoying herself on that carousel, doesn't she?"

Aoki-san smiled as he watched his daughter riding up and down upon the wooden horse. Her mother stood next to her, making sure she kept her balance. "She loves horses, even wooden ones. I'm not sure why—I don't recall her ever having seen a real one before."

"Perhaps with Shimako-san?"

A hurt look appeared in his eyes. "Perhaps," he agreed.

"I'm sure she's glad to spend today with you, though." She offered.

"I hope so! And you, Karen-san, are you happy to be here today?"

"It's nice to have someone to go with. Festivals are no fun when you're on your own."

"I'm surprised Kamui was able to get ahold of you. I tried to call your work, but they'd said you had left employment there."

"Hmmm."

His warm brown eyes glowed with concern. "It's not my business, perhaps, but it seems that you've changed employment quite a bit lately."

"You're right. It's not your business." She responded quietly.

Aoki-san sighed and rubbed the back of his head. "I'm a little worried about you, Karen-san. Are you in some kind of trouble?"

Trouble. She laughed. Trouble was a lame word for it. "No more than anyone else in the city today," she lied. "It's sweet of you, really, but you don't need to be concerned."

"But…"

"Karen-san! Aoki-san!" Kamui's husky voice interrupted him, and she and Aoki-san turned to see the boy running towards them. "I've been looking all over for you!"

"So you've found us!" Karen smiled at the young man. He was such an attractive boy—it was really too bad he was so young. "What's the problem?"

"I need to talk to you," he said. "There was a dream…a warning…and I think it may involve you, Karen-san."

"Me? I don't like the sound of that." she was used to being the focus of prophecies—in fact, a lot of her present difficulties stemmed from that. But Kamui, of all people, could sympathize with that.

"So what was the dream?" asked Aoki-san.

"A Dragon of Earth mating with a Dragon of Heaven. I talked it over with Sorata, and we tried to narrow down which of our side was involved."

"And so you came up with me? I'm not so sure that's a compliment…" Karen teased.

"Karen-san!" Kamui turned bright red. "It wasn't just you. We thought maybe Subaru was also in danger."

"That's a safe assumption." Aoki-san stroked his chin, thoughtfully. "I'd heard rumours that he and the Sakurazukamori had clashed before."

"So? The Sakurazuka and Sumeragi clans have been feuding for generations." Karen didn't understand his logic. "Of course, it's likely Subaru-kun has dealt with him before."

"I don't mean professionally." Aoki-san looked a little embarrassed. "What I heard was that they were romantically involved. It was years ago—the Sumeragi clan hushed it up very quickly, but with wind being the element of communication, there's not much news that gets past our Clan."

"So why me, then?" Karen turned back to Kamui, who shrugged.

"You'd faced off a couple of the Dragons of Earth before…"

"Aoki-san was there, too." She turned a mocking eye on the wind master. "Maybe one of them fell in love with him!"

"You're prettier than I am," returned Aoki-san, smiling gently.

"Aoki-san is married." Said Kamui. "We figured he wouldn't be involved."

"You don't know much about married men, do you?" murmured Karen. Poor Kamui looked shocked. She'd better stop before she corrupted the boy completely.

"I have to agree with Kamui here." Aoki-san patted Kamui on the shoulder. "Didn't you notice how that Kigai-fellow was looking at you when he left the station after we fought?"

She did. "That man? I'm not in the least interested in him—except maybe to fight him again. I felt sorry for that poor strange boy with him though."

"Still, it wouldn't hurt to be safe. Would you not consider moving to the CLAMP campus for awhile? Imonoyama-san could probably easily arrange housing for you."

Karen laughed. "I wouldn't do that to him! Could you imagine the scandal if it got out that the Chairman was housing a soapland girl here?"

Aoki-san looked annoyed. "I'm only thinking of your safety."

"I can take care of myself. Kamui, you don't need to…Kamui?"

The boy had tensed up and was looking past them into nothingness. "Subaru…"

To be continued