Wings of Desire
By Maria Szabo
Disclaimer: X belongs to CLAMP, its publishers and distributors. This is a work of fanfiction and no profit is being made save that of enjoyment.
Part 2
It was late in the day, and Yuuto Kigai was trying to make an escape from his office. Although he certainly enjoyed his position as a humble prefectural employee, especially when it required little to no effort on his part, lately he had chafed at the work schedule. Knowing that world would end somehow made the office tedium even more distasteful. Surely half an hour early would make little difference…yes, he thought, I will go. He wanted to check on Satsuki-chan anyway. He was interested to see what she had dug up after his phone call last night. If KAMUI turned his attention elsewhere, then he, Yuuto, could concentrate on his other project. Pulling out a small business card, he ran his fingers over the name. Karen Kasumi, he thought, I'm not finished with you just yet.
The fire-wielding Dragon of Heaven had made quite an impression on him, he had to admit, and he wasn't quite sure why. Yes, she was beautiful, but so were a lot of other women, and much less trouble, besides. Perhaps it was her power, he thought. Like draws like, and they were both elementals. But he'd had no similar reaction to any other elemental he'd met. He'd barely noticed the windmaster who was with her that day, and except for a little surprise at Kusanagi Shiyuu's physical presence when they'd first met, he'd taken slight regard of the geomancer after that. But then again, he reminded himself wryly, the windmaster and Shiyuu-san were both men, and he preferred the fairer sex.
Karen Kasumi, however, was completely, one hundred percent female, from the top of her flaming red hair to the tips of her (he imagined) finely pedicured toes. And something about her had caught his attention. And, stranger still, kept it.
He thought he'd been discreet, but he should have known better. It was quite difficult to hide anything from KAMUI, especially when he was hell-bent on finding out any ties between the Dragons of Earth and the Dragons of Heaven. So Yuuto had instead acknowledged the attraction, then immediately pointed out why it would never work. Sakurazuka had made a convenient dupe. Despite the best efforts of the Sumeragi Clan, the story was fairly well-known amongst certain circles about the tragic involvement of young Subaru Sumeragi with the infamous Sakurazukamori, and how his sister had sacrificed herself to rescue him. KAMUI was familiar with the story, he was sure, and Sakurazuka no doubt was his first suspect. Although why such a thing would matter eluded him. Something about one of Kakyou's visions…tedious, really. Especially when it interfered with his plans.
It had been sheer luck that he had stumbled across Kusanagi. Yuuto smiled. If the fellow wasn't quite so big, he probably wouldn't have even recognized him, but there he was, hand in hand with one of the Dragons of Heaven, the little girl with the inugami. It was perfect. If Sakurazuka's little infatuation couldn't keep KAMUI's attention, then perhaps Kusanagi's could. And then, he would be free to…he looked down at the business card again and smiled, putting it in his shirt pocket. Karen Kasumi. Such a pretty name.
"You wanted to see me, Satsuki-chan?" KAMUI asked, as he entered her lair beneath Tokyo's City Hall. It took a moment for his eyes to adjust to the dark of the room. Satsuki Yatouji was not in her usual place, entombed within the BEAST. Instead, she was standing in front of a control panel, although BEAST's wires still entwined and penetrated her. The incessant hum of the BEAST reverbated through the frigid air.
Satsuki turned to look at him, her eyes cool. "Yes." She replied, flatly. "I have something to show you."
Oh, this should be good, he thought. Satsuki rarely sought out anyone, save Yuuto. He'd been surprised to receive her terse request for his presence.
In her absent way, she was a beautiful woman. Of late, she seemed to have acquired some of Kanoe's dubious fashion sense, but she managed to carry it off with aplomb. Now if I could just convince her to ditch the owl glasses, he thought, we might have a contender. Changing eyewear had done wonders for him. Well, that and the hairstyle. But somehow, he knew that fashion advice was not something Satsuki wanted to hear. Like everything else, fashion bored her.
"Yuuto-san called me last night, from the festival." She reported.
"You missed some excellent fireworks last night." He commented. In more ways than one, he thought. Kakyou's predictions of a Dragon of Earth mating with a Dragon of Heaven had proven quite correct—and Sakurazuka had indeed be shown to be the culprit. But nothing he saw last night led him to believe that Sakurazuka's little infatuation with the hapless Subaru Sumeragi would lead to anything that might affect the outcome of the battle between Earth and Heaven. Rather, it seemed that the assassin was having a little fun at the onmyouji's expense, not much different than his own amusements with the lovely Kamui. Perhaps the dreamseer had overreacted to the vision.
"You should have come with us, Satsuki-chan."
She pushed her glasses back upon her nose. "I was busy." She muttered.
He shrugged. "No matter. So, Yuuto called you?"
"Yes. He saw something he thought might be of interest, and asked if BEAST could do some follow-up."
"Follow-up? To what?"
Satsuki-chan looked away from her screen a brief moment. "It seems the geomancer made an appearance."
That caught his attention. "Kusanagi?"
She typed in a few commands and an image came up on one of BEAST's larger screens. The huge soldier was there, with a firm grip on a young priest, who looked rather defiantly up at the man.
"Isn't that the southern boy?"
"Sorata Arisugawa. The first Seal."
"We've met." He found the priest to be extremely annoying, even before he had become KAMUI, and further acquaintanceship had done nothing to change that opinion. He watched the screen in interest. "I assume our reclusive Kusanagi took care of him?"
"Just watch."
Arisugawa had struggled a bit in the older man's grasp, but to no avail. Kusanagi seemed to be asking him something. Tendrils of electricity seemed to be growing around the two, when suddenly a third small figure burst on the scene and separated them.
"That's…?"
"BEAST says her name is Yuzuriha Nekoi. Records show her residence as Mitsumine Shrine, Saitama prefecture." Satsuki-chan reported in a bored tone. "I thought I had taken care of the dog, but it looks like I was mistaken."
The small girl wedged her way between the two opponents and strangely seemed to be trying to protect the larger Kusanagi. At this point, a fourth figure entered the scene.
"I've seen her with Arisugawa…"
"Her name is Arashi Kishuu. She has some kind of tie with the Ise Shrine. No other information available."
The four of them seemed to be discussing something. Yuzuriha took Kusanagi's arm, there was some bowing, then she pulled him away.
"Yuuto-san saw them earlier. He called me and told me to hack into the CLAMP Academy security system and watch the cameras." A small smile played across her lips. "He's connected there, you know. He managed to get the situation reported and then…"
"You would have the opportunity to record the situation. I wonder what it is that our Kusanagi is up to?"
"It's not obvious?"
"Nothing with that man is obvious."
"No?" Satsuki-chan frowned in concentration. "Then what is this?"
The scene had changed—the camera looked to be focused towards the entrance of the campus, and night had fallen. A number of people passed by. Then Kusanagi came into view, once more accompanied by the much smaller Yuzuriha. They seemed to be talking, and she raised her hand in a gesture of farewell. He took her hand and pulled her to him, and leaned down. They merged for a few moments, then he stroked her hair and turned and walked away.
KAMUI's lips tightened. "I see." So Sakurazuka wasn't the only one sleeping with the enemy.
She flicked off the screen and turned an expectant eye on him. "Is that obvious enough for you?"
"Jealous, Satsuki-chan?"
A sneer ran across her face. "Hardly. I just never trusted him. BEAST doesn't like him either."
"BEAST doesn't like anyone."
"Well, this explains why he's been out of contact."
"Does it now?"
She refused to be baited. "Yes. You remember what he said on that first day we came together, that he wasn't going to waste his time with unnecessary fighting. No one can ever contact him and he's shown no evidence of working on the destruction of the kekkais. He's betrayed us."
"You think so?" KAMUI gave her a lazy smile and reached out to stroke her cheek. "But he answered the summons, Satsuki-chan. In his heart of hearts, he is one of us. He just needs to be reminded of that fact."
She recoiled a bit at his touch. "I still think we need to keep an eye on him."
"Perhaps. It's not a bad idea. But…" and his gaze grew speculative, "I wonder why Yuuto would even care? That's not like him at all."
"Are you sure you don't want some cream with that?" Seiichiro Aoki added a hefty amount to his own cup and stirred in some sugar as well. He had set his briefcase on the seat beside him along with the jacket of his suit.
"No, thank you." Karen Kasumi shook her head. The coffee was hot, black and bitter, and exactly the way she wanted it. Some days called for raw coffee and today had been one of those days.
"Are you feeling alright?" he asked, his warm brown eyes reflecting his concern, "You look…"
"Lovely? Stunning?" she teased.
"…like you're in pain, actually." He replied, honest as ever.
"It's the coffee," she quipped. She was in pain and sore in places she really didn't care to tell him about. Her last customer of the day had been rough, and it was only due to her gift that she wasn't in the hospital. More than that, she was angry. That particular man had caused "damage" before, although not to her, and should never have been allowed to return to the establishment.
"And I'm sure the coffee is making you glare like that as well?"
She took at sip and made a face. "Yes, that's it exactly."
"Ah." And he said no more, although his shrewd look told her that he was well aware that something was wrong. Aoki was like that, and although it annoyed the hell out of her, she also found the trait endearing. Just like almost everything else about him. "Thanks for coming."
"I never turn down a free meal. I take it you're working late tonight?"
He rolled his eyes. "One of my artists asked me to—she was almost finished with her submission and if I could just wait a couple of hours, she'd have it ready for me. It'll save us time in the long run, so I agreed. And you?"
"I'm done for tonight." And the next couple of days, she added silently. "I'm surprised you were able to reach me."
"Trade secret." He joked, and pretended to look wise. "I'm glad you were able to join me. This café is usually quite good."
"So I've heard."
"You've not been here?"
"No, never had the chance." She picked up a menu on the table and perused it. "All of this sounds delicious. I'll go with whatever you order."
"If you're sure?"
"I think I can trust you."
His smile was like a breath of fresh air and he signaled the waitress. Karen watched as he detailed the order. Without his jacket and tie, he didn't look as straitlaced as he usually did and the effect charmed her. He gestured with his hands as he described something, and she noticed how long and finely formed his fingers were. He really was very handsome. It was just too bad that he was taken.
"I ordered their American Hamburgers. They're very good. You'll like it, I'm sure."
"Sounds great."
"Hmm. Oh, Karen-san. I saw a mutual acquaintance today."
"Who?"
"That blond fellow. Kigai-san."
For some reason she couldn't explain, it felt like someone had walked over her grave. "Really?"
"Yes." Aoki frowned, idly playing with his napkin. "It seems he works in the Family Registry office. I was there looking up something for a writer of mine. We spoke for a few minutes."
"Family Registry office…how odd. He looks like he'd be in show-business or something." She'd only met him the one time and that was a battle. He was gorgeous, she'd give him that, and powerful despite his claims to the contrary. There had been something exhilarating in their conflict, she had to admit, but he was a Dragon of Earth and she sensed dangerous currents beneath his pleasant exterior.
"He asked about you, how you were. It's pretty obvious that he…" Aoki's voice sounded a little strained. "Karen-san, I'm worried. That dream of Kamui's about the mating dragons… you may be in danger."
She sighed. "Dreams and prophecies…do you know how sick I am of them?"
"They can be important."
"Ha."
"Listen to me." His hands suddenly grasped hers and held them tightly. "I'm well aware of what you've had to go through because of prophecy. How you have to keep hiding from those of your religion who would make use of you. What was it they called you?"
"Uriel, the Angel of Fire. Or the Whore of Babylon. Sometimes I get to be one of the Four Horsemen." She was silent for a moment. "How do you know all this?"
"Sheer effort." He squeezed her hands and let them go. She felt a playful breeze whisper around her. "Wind is the element of communication. Why do you think I took a job in a publishing house? But it took a quite a bit of work. I take it they wanted to remove you from Japan?"
She nodded. There was no use hiding it anymore. "They would have taken me to Rome or Jerusalem. And I needed to stay here in Tokyo. I knew that this was where I was supposed to be."
"For the final battle."
"Yes." She gave a bitter laugh. "It never occurred to those idiots to cross-reference Buddhist or Shinto prophecies."
"But that's fine. If they can't track you down, then Kigai-san can't either."
"You're kidding. You think he'd try?" she laughed at the thought.
Aoki didn't. "You didn't see his eyes when he asked about you."
To be continued in part 3
