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 7
Kamui could not sleep. He'd done everything he could think of, warm milk, hot bath (having waited patiently for Karen to finish hers), reading boring textbook. He'd had no luck. He lay there quietly in the dark, hoping that maybe he could fool himself into thinking he was sleepy. That wasn't working, either.
He was worried about Sorata and Arashi. It was a good idea for someone to be at the Zojo-ji Temple, especially since odds were high that the Dragons of Earth would strike there again, but he never liked the idea of someone going out to fight what he considered "his" battles. Which was stupid, he knew. The other Dragons of Heaven were as wrapped up in this epoch as he was. But still, his heart broke every time one of them came back hurt, like Subaru had earlier, or little Yuzuriha after Shinjuku, or even Aoki, tonight.
Imonoyama-san had given him an update just before he went to bed. Aoki's wife was now with him, and he was unconscious, but out of danger. Kamui was relieved to hear it. He didn't know Aoki as well as he thought he should, but with the man's hectic schedule, it had been difficult to find the time to talk to him much. It was the same way with Karen, he thought. He really needed to get to know them better, if they were to be fighting together.
He wondered when it had happened, that he had grown to care so much for this group of strangers who were now his family. For such a long time, it had been only himself and his mother. But now he had Sorata and his endless jokes, Arashi, with her reserved kindness, Yuzuriha and her boundless energy, Karen and her sly humor and Aoki and Subaru. Especially Subaru.
The onmyouji had been so kind to him and he wanted to be able to help him out as well. But there was that tragedy in his past that he was just not able to let go of, and Kamui could only watch and hope that Subaru would wake up and realize that his wish would lead to his death.
A scream rent the night. He bolted straight up. Subaru! He thought, as he raced out of his room and down the hall. He knocked on the door only briefly enough to announce his presence, and ran inside.
He was sitting up in bed, his hands clutching his chest, tears pouring from his eyes. Kamui ran to him.
"Are you alright?!"
"A dream…it was a dream…"
"What happened?" he put an arm around the man and rubbed his back.
"Seishiro-san…"he stopped, looking around wildly. "But…"
No sakura petals, Kamui realized. The Sakurazukamori usually scattered them around like confetti.
"Everything okay?" Karen stood at the door, her face concerned. Her face was drawn with exhaustion. "I heard a scream…"
"It was a dream," said Kamui, quickly. "Nothing to worry about."
"A dream," she repeated softly. "Yeah. Hell of a dream."
"Karen-san?"
"I was dreaming, too. An attack…"
Kamui froze. "From who?"
"Kigai…damn, but it seemed real…said he loved me of all things…ridiculous…"
"Karen-san, why don't you sit down?" he indicated a large arm-chair in the room. "Subaru, are you feeling any better?"
"I'm fine." He whispered. "But…we might need to check on the others…"
"He's right," Karen agreed. "Run check on Yuzuriha-chan. I'll call Aoki-san's room…" she reached for the phone on the table next to her chair.
"Yes," he agreed. "Also, please call Imonoyama-san and see if he can contact Sorata and Arashi."
"Good idea," she agreed, and began dialing.
He got up and rushed for Yuzuriha's room. To his surprise, Subaru followed right after. He knocked on the door, but got no response. Hesitating, he put his hand on the door knob.
"Should we go in?" he asked.
Subaru nodded grimly. "If she's in danger, she'll need help. If not, we can explain."
She was lying motionless on the bed, curled up on her side, a soft smile on her lips. She'd kicked off the covers in her sleep. Inuki rose to meet them. The dog seemed agitated. Subaru kneeled to pet the inugami, while Kamui approached the bed.
He tentatively shook her arm. "Yuzuriha? Yuzuriha! Wake up!"
"Mmmm…Kusanagi-san," she murmured, shifting a little. "It's too early."
"Yuzuriha!" he repeated, louder this time. He shook her again, more forcefully.
She awoke with a start and stared up at the both of them like a deer caught in the headlights. "Kamui-san? Subaru-san? What are you doing here?" then, inexplicably, she burst into tears.
Kamui cringed. "I'm sorry, I'm sorry…we were worried…"
"Yuzuriha-chan," Subaru added, "we wanted to make sure you were alright."
Inuki whined in agreement.
"I was just dreaming." Tears were still welling from her eyes.
"Bad dreams?" Kamui asked.
She went crimson and shook her head.
"Unusual, perhaps?"
The blush became more pronounced. "Yes." She whispered. "But it was…it was…" she stopped, and sobbed into her hands.
Kamui handed her a Kleenex from the bedside table. "What was it about?"
"N..N…Nothing." she stuttered.
"But…" he was stopped by Karen's entrance.
"Aoki-san is fine. I think he's drugged up so much he can't dream." She was smoking one of Subaru's cigarettes again. "The Chairman called Sorata-kun. He and Arashi have been wide awake."
He breathed a sigh of relief. "Good. Then it's just you three…"
"Three?" asked Karen, and then she noticed Yuzuriha. She quickly sat down on the bed and wrapped her arms around the girl. "Oh, no…are you alright?"
"I'm f…f…fine. I j…j..just can't stop c…c..rying." she buried her face in Karen's shoulder. "B…but it was…wonderful…"
"Shhh. It's okay, Yuzu-chan, it's okay." The woman smoothed her hand over the girl's back. "You just go ahead and cry."
Kamui felt Subaru's hand on his shoulder.
"Let's go."
"Huh?"
The onmyouji watched the crying girl with a sad expression. "If her dream was like mine, she's better off with Karen."
Karen nodded her head. "You boys go back to bed. I'll see to her."
"If you say so…" Kamui said, hesitantly. "We'll talk in the morning."
He followed Subaru out the door, with one last glance towards the bed. Karen was whispering something to Yuzuriha, who shook her head. Inuki looked back at him with an inscrutable gaze, then jumped into the bed to be with his mistress.
In the hallway, he stopped the onmyouji. "What WAS that dream?"
The man was silent for a moment. "Intense." He finally said. "Very real. But it was manufactured."
"And the Sakurazukamori was involved?"
"He was there, but this wasn't his doing. It was the dreamseer, I'm sure of it."
"Kakyou." Kamui breathed. Then it hit him. "Wait. You said that man was in your dream?"
"Yes."
"And Kigai was in Karen's dream. Aoki-san said something at the festival…that Kigai had seemed attracted to her. And now, Yuzuriha…but who is 'Kusanagi-san?'"
"Her boyfriend, maybe? She's mentioned the name before, I remember."
"Dragon of Heaven with a Dragon of Earth…" muttered Kamui. He knit his brow. "You, Karen and Yuzuriha…Subaru, we need to find out who this Kusanagi is. Quickly."
Ueno Park. It always seemed that he ended up here. Seishiro stood in a soft rain, breathing in slowly the stale night air and willing his heart to slow down. This was no good. That encounter had been a dream, and a constructed one at that, and it had shaken him badly.
He stuck his hands in the pocket of his coat and pulled out his cigarettes and lighter. He lit up and took a leisurely drag, then blew, watching as the smoke dissipated in the darkness before the dawn.
There was little to recommend Ueno this time of day. The museums were all closed, the zoo inaccessible and only the homeless and a few illegal Middle Eastern workers stayed to grace the cherry grove, desperately trying to escape the wet in their little cardboard box constructions. He smiled. If a few undesirables disappeared now and then, little was said and nothing done. And the tree prospered.
As do I, he thought, then shook his head. He knew that the Dragons of Earth had a dreamseer amongst their number, and he vaguely recalled seeing the man, slumped asleep in KAMUI's ridiculous chair, on that day when they had all come together for the first and only time.
Why on earth had he done it? Seishiro wondered. What was the point? Subaru was his, he knew that, Subaru knew that, and that damn KAMUI knew that as well. Did he put the dreemseer up to it? It didn't seem like him, though. KAMUI was usually more direct.
"Nice evening for a stroll. Or morning, I should say."
He turned, surprised by the statement. No one should be able to see him.
"Forgive me for startling you, Sakurazuka-san," Yuuto Kigai gave him one of his innocent looks. The rain did not seem to touch him. "It is a surprise to see you, though."
"You're up early yourself, aren't you?"
"Couldn't sleep." The watermaster gave him a rueful grin. "I had the oddest dream…"
His eyes narrowed. "And not one of your making?"
"Alas." Yuuto looked sorrowful. "Although it could have been. It was very much…hmm…well. And then I felt drawn to come here, of all places. And you?"
"The same." He replied, shortly.
"So, all we need is Kusanagi-san..unless Satsuki-chan is cheating on me with that Southern boy…" He seemed to find the thought amusing.
"What are you talking about?" Seishiro was in no mood to play the watermaster's games. "What does he have to do with all this?"
Yuuto laughed. "Forbidden fruit," he said. "We all three seem to have a taste for it."
It was very tempting just to kill the man right there, feed him to the tree and make excuses to KAMUI later. "Perhaps you should make yourself clearer?"
"I really can't. I don't know the whole story. Only that Kakyou had a vision, and that KAMUI is unhappy about it. And it involves a Dragon of Heaven mating with a Dragon of Earth. And KAMUI has three suspects: you, me and Kusanagi-san." He shrugged.
"So that invitation to the festival?"
"KAMUI wanted an opportunity to observe us and see which one of us was fraternizing with the enemy."
"But he already knew…" Seishiro stopped. "So I take it you…?"
"Well, I never could resist a pretty face. Kusanagi-san surprised me, though."
Seishiro chuckled. Then broke into full fledged laughter. Yuuto joined him, his eyes dancing in the darkness and the rain.
A large silhouette in the distance grew in size as it moved closer, and finally revealed itself as Kusanagi Shiyuu. The big soldier glared at them, wordlessly.
"And good morning to you, Shiyuu-san." Said Yuuto, playfully. "Strange dreams, I take it?"
The man didn't reply, but his eyes narrowed and he nodded his head, once.
"And you felt the need to show up here?"
Kusanagi raised a bushy eyebrow, then nodded again.
"Even though we can never seem to reach you otherwise?"
The geomancer moved very quickly for such a big man. Seishiro blinked as Kusanagi grabbed the cigarette from his lips and slowly, deliberately, snuffed it out on the back of his own hand.
"Yeah." He replied. "You got a problem with that?"
There was no mark, Seishiro noted. Not that there would be. Shiyuu was incredibly resilient. Kigai looked surprised for a moment, then his customary smile returned to his face.
"No, not at all. You knew it was the work of the dreamseer?"
"Figured it would be." Kusanagi suddenly cocked his head, as if listening to something. "Not sure why he bothered."
Seishiro lit another cigarette as Yuuto explained Kakyou's prophecy. He watched as a series of expressions went over the big soldier's face before he schooled his features back in their usual hard mask.
"Hmph." He finally said. He let out a deep breath and rubbed a large hand over the back of his head nervously. "So what was he trying to do? Force the prophecy?"
"Perhaps. A dream of that kind could become reality, although the true interpretation is uncertain." Seishiro spoke with some authority. Dreams and illusions worked in much the same way. "Although…did KAMUI say what the outcome would be?"
Yuuto shook his head. "No."
He pulled out another cigarette and lit it. Smoking always helped him think clearer, and now was definitely the time to think. He had his own agenda, and Subaru-kun was an important part of it. KAMUI and the end of the world be damned…he wasn't going to be around to see it anyway, not if things worked out the way he planned. But he would need a distraction.
"Well." He finally said. "I'm afraid Subaru-kun is a habit I'm not ready to give up yet. And you?"
The blond man's gaze was steady. "I'm hardly ready to give up what I haven't yet begun."
"Shiyuu-san?"
Kusanagi met his eyes. "Fate is fate." He turned, then, and walked alone into the darkness.
To be concluded in part 8
