Sorry, I forgot to mention this is a multi-parter. There are probably going to be between 10 and 15 parts in the end.
Reversal
Part Two
"I want to know the real Seishirou-san."
Subaru was still smiling angelically.
Seishirou was still confused. Know the real Seishirou? It was impossible, it was worse than that, it was laughable!
Subaru wasn't laughing.
Neither was Seishirou.
"Subaru-kun." Seishirou finally found his voice amidst his bewilderment. "You can't stay here."
"Oh?" Subaru reached for the pack of cigarettes. "May I?"
"Go ahead." Seishirou watched Subaru's delicate fingers extract a cigarette and reach for the lighter. He was inexperienced with it, fumbling hands showing none of his usual grace, but he managed to get the cigarette lit. "Subaru-kun, have you lost your mind?"
"Yes." Subaru's voice was even, and he smiled cheerfully, looking for all the world like a Hokuto with short hair. "You've driven me insane, Seishirou-san."
"What are you trying to accomplish?"
"I don't want to be lonely." Subaru poured himself more tea and kept smiling. "And I don't want you to be lonely."
Always, always destined to be alone.
"Such a thing is impossible, Subaru-kun," Seishirou said, voice soft. "Perhaps for both of us, but definitely for me."
"How do you know until you try?" Subaru asked, reasonably enough.
"I tried." Seishirou smiled. "What do you think this last year was?"
Subaru blinked at him. "Don't tell me that was trying. You put absolutely no effort in whatsoever."
Seishirou glared, slightly offended by this. "I assure you I put equal care into - why am I arguing with you over this?"
Subaru smiled. "You were not trying. You were trying to win a bet, and that means you can't possible have opened your heart entirely, because the very fact that the bet existed kept you from looking at me as a normal person. No matter what you believe about humankind."
Seishirou still glared. The damnable thing about it was that there was a possibility Subaru was right.
"Therefore, the bet wasn't fair because the terms were flawed and I'm calling it null and void right now." Subaru smiled brilliantly.
"What's it matter?" Seishirou asked, keeping his voice perfectly calm. "It's over."
"Over?" Subaru laughed. "It's far from over, Seishirou-san. If it was over, I'd either be dead, or you would have let me go. Seeing as I'm not dead, but you obviously still have some sort of hold over me, I say that the bet was, until now, still going. So now I'm rewriting it."
Seishirou stared at him in utter fascination. "Oh, are you now?" He ignored the little voice in his head that was shouting, Run, Seishirou! Run! This was far too intriguing to give up on now. He was intensely curious to know what Subaru's game was.
"Seishirou-san?"
"Nani?"
"How many hours are there in a day?"
Seishirou blinked at this complete non sequitir. "Twenty-four."
"And how many hours do you estimate you spent with me every day?"
Seishirou kept blinking. "An average of six, I suppose, seeing as some days I spent the whole day with you and others only lunch." Why am I even discussing this with him? He was beginning to get a sick feeling in the pit of his stomach from where he suspected Subaru was heading with this.
"That's what I guessed, too. That means that a year has eight thousand, seven hundred and sixty hours in it, while you have spent a mere two thousand, one hundred and ninety with me." Subaru grinned. "The year is far from over, Seishirou-san. I still have six thousand, five hundred and seventy hours to go."
Seishirou stared at him. "That," he finally said, "is ridiculous."
"You made the terms. You said a year."
"I did not say - " Seishirou carefully contained the first flickerings of anger. "It's still ridiculous."
"If you want to consider it thusly, that's your choice, however, as it is obvious the bet is not over, I think you have to admit that the year isn't over either."
Seishirou considered this for a long time. He was sure the Sumeragi was stubborn enough to sit here and argue this mathematical point for a long time, and quite frankly, he didn't have the patience.
Fine, Subaru-kun. Two can play at this game. You think you still have a chance? You go ahead and think that.
"Well, then." He picked up another cigarette and smiled as Subaru lit it for him. "By all means, the bet is still on. Use your time wisely."
Subaru's face split in a mile wide grin. "Arigatou, Seishirou-san."
"Do you still plan on staying here?"
"It would speed it up." Subaru smiled. "After all, six thousand, five hundred hours is a good three or four of your years."
"Does it count if we're sleeping?"
"I don't know," Subaru said gravely. "What do you think?"
Seishirou eyed him. "Are we in the same room?"
Subaru finally turned red, blushing like the teenager Seishirou remembered. That was quite refreshing from this cold, calculating man that he'd become.
Subaru had definitely done some growing up in this past month.
And he definitely still had some growing up left to do.
Seishirou's lips curved in his hunter's smile.
This promised to be most . . . entertaining.
****
"Hokuto-chan . . ." Subaru's breath puffed gently across the glass that separated him from Tokyo. Night had long ago fallen and Seishirou had retreated to his room, handing Subaru a blanket and telling him he was welcome to the sofa. Subaru had little doubt that Seishirou was still at least partly awake, keeping a magician's 'eye' on him. So Subaru stood there and looked out on darkened Tokyo, the twinkling lights that still glimmered here and there.
It was a nice apartment, spacious but well-furnished, modern without being cold. Subaru's eyes traveled around it gently, skimming over the full ashtray and his mug of tea, half-full and cold. Then he looked back out the window. Which direction is Ueno Park from here, I wonder . . .
"Hokuto-chan," he repeated, fingers sliding against the glass. "Gomennasai . . . I feel like I should explain myself to you and I don't know how. Truthfully, I'm not sure what I'm doing . . ." He wondered vaguely if Seishirou was listening in on him, then decided he didn't care if the older man was. "I'm not a child anymore, Hokuto-chan . . . and you were right the entire time. I love Seishirou-san. But I don't know him. And that's wrong.
"When I asked him to kill me, it was not because I wanted to die . . . it was because I wanted to know whether or not he would. As I suspected . . . he wouldn't. Perhaps even couldn't. Which means that there is some reason he wants me alive. And I have to find out what it is. If he truly feels something for me . . . I may be able to make him realize what . . . and I can't give up that chance. I'm so sorry, Hokuto-chan . . . if I hadn't gone inside myself, you might never have died . . ."
Subaru took a deep breath, frost appearing on the window, tears sliding down his cheeks. It was cold outside. And cold inside him. "What was that one spell only you could do . . .?"
He wiped the tears off his cheeks and turned away. "I can't be alone, Hokuto-chan . . . it would kill me. And since you're not with me anymore . . . I have to find out why he did this . . ." His eyes hardened. "If he truly has no feelings for me, I will kill him. But there's that chance . . . and I can't give it up. I'm sorry."
He walked over and drank the last of his tea, then curled up on the sofa with his blanket and fell asleep.
****
Seishirou looked down in dismay.
That little . . . Subaru had smoked every single one of his cigarettes.
He must have done that after I went to bed last night. Seishirou had stayed awake until he was certain that the Sumeragi had gone to sleep, and even then had only dozed lightly. Though it wasn't likely that Subaru would try to kill him, it was a possibility, and Seishirou was not about to leave himself open to it.
No cigarettes.
Subaru himself was still huddled on the sofa. Seishirou looked down at him, trying to resist the urge to throttle the boy right then and there.
Just because he smoked all your cigarettes? Really, Seishirou . . . he's got you flustered if you're contemplating killing him over that.
Seishirou ignored the inner voice and decided to go get another pack. Subaru was still soundly asleep; he wouldn't be waking up for a while. Seishirou pulled his shoes on and left the apartment, locking the door firmly behind him. It was only a few minutes' walk to the closest convenience store. He started to buy a pack, then changed his mind and got a carton. Might as well stock up if Subaru was determined to give himself lung cancer in a day and a half.
My, my, how considerate of you.
Seishirou quelched the irritating inner voice, telling it that keeping Subaru happy would keep him mellow.
Why do you care?
"Because he's turned obnoxious," Seishirou muttered. "Just like a certain inner monologue I could mention."
He could have sworn he heard an innocent whistling.
Subaru was still asleep when he got back to the apartment. He went into the kitchen and started making breakfast, lighting up a cigarette. He was disturbed by this whole entire deal, and wondering how he'd gotten himself talked into it. He didn't know any of Subaru's motivation, and that was a problem, seeing as he could barely figure out his own.
"This is ridiculous," he muttered to himself. "One, huge, big, horrible mess. I - "
"Ohayo, Seishirou-san."
Seishirou jumped. Damn it all, if he'd been paying attention, Subaru never would have been able to sneak up on him like that. How does just thinking about him distract me so much?
Not only was this stupid, it could be dangerous.
Except it had never been a problem before . . .
But before had been the innocent Subaru, the pure Subaru, the Subaru who never would've snuck up on him anyway so of course it hadn't been a problem!
Seishirou collected himself. "Ohayo, Subaru-kun. Did you sleep well?"
"Passably," Subaru said. "I'm sorry for finishing your cigarettes. I didn't realize how many I was smoking." His cheeks were just a tiny bit pink.
Ah, so the old, polite Subaru does still exist. Good to know.
"It's no problem, Subaru-kun," Seishirou lied smoothly, ignoring his irritation from that morning. "I just went to buy more." He slid a pack across the counter to Subaru, who nodded in thanks and pocketed it. "Would you like breakfast?"
"I'm not particularly hungry, thank you," Subaru said, surprising Seishirou even more. Normally Subaru would never turn down an offer of a meal, if only so the other person wouldn't feel awkward. The only time Seishirou had ever seen him do it was a few times when Hokuto had tried to make him eat after a job.
So the old polite Subaru exists, but is in no way in charge. Also good to know.
"At least have some miso soup," Seishirou said, attempting to sound concerned and cheery.
"If you insist," Subaru said evenly.
"Of course I do," Seishirou said genially. "Can't have you wasting away on me, now can I?"
Subaru allowed Seishirou to sit him down on one of the stools and put a bowl of soup and mug of tea in front of him. "Stop pretending, Seishirou-san."
"Eh?"
"I said I wanted to know the real Seishirou-san. Stop pretending to be concerned about me. I'm well aware of the fact that you don't give a damn whether or not I eat breakfast."
Seishirou smiled coldly and picked up the newspaper, scanning for anything that might prove useful. "Hm."
"What?"
Seishirou let the newspaper dip so he could see Subaru. "One of the members of government is having a little . . . family trouble . . . his son just tried to kill himself."
Subaru's eyes went still. "What's his name?"
"Kuzuki Kakyou," Seishirou replied, his mind already on another things.
"Kakyou-san . . ." Subaru breathed the name.
Seishirou glanced up. "You know him."
Subaru nodded once and pushed back from the table. "I have work to attend to. Plus I need to get some things from my own house."
"Let me go with you," Seishirou said with a warm and convincing smile.
"No," Subaru said flatly.
Seishirou blinked, startled by the sharpness in his voice.
"It's personal business," Subaru said, pulling on his coat.
"And will you be back?" Seishirou's voice was teasing.
"Yes. For dinner, no later." Subaru put on his shoes and walked out of the apartment without another word.
Author's Note: Okay, now I know what Subaru's doing . . . all I have to figure out is how he plans on accomplishing it! By the way, here's a disclaimer for you - that thing with a year having eight thousand how many hours in it wasn't my idea, I stole it from a book I read when I was a kid. The problem is, I can't remember what book it was so I can't credit it. R/R please!!!
