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
