Chapter Two. Enter Seishirou, explanation for the title of the piece, and the start of some shounen ai content. Thank yous go to Meia for help with some of the dialogue.
This one has spoilers for all of Tokyo Babylon.
A Little Bet
A Yume Side Story.
Chapter Two
Sakurazuka Seishirou was fighting two of the Seals over a kekkai - the monk, Sorata and the shrine maiden, Arashi. He thought he was going quite well, actually, considering he was outnumbered two to one, when a strikingly familiar voice behind him brought him to his knees, shaken.
"Stop."
There was silence for a moment, then Sorata yelled something at the intruder. "Stay away! You don't know what kind of monster he is!"
Sumeragi Subaru casually walked around in front of Seishirou. "On the contrary, I know exactly what kind of monster he is." He turned to raise an eyebrow at the Sakurazukamori. "Hello, Seishirou-san."
Sorata and Arashi stared at him. Then Sorata slapped himself on the forehead in realisation. " Sumeragi Subaru. Of course."
"Subaru-kun," said Seishirou, recovering his mask and smiling. "It's been a while."
Subaru gave him an even look. "Yes. It has."
"I don't think I've seen you since... Well, not since your sister offered herself as a sacrifice to me instead of you." He'd thought Subaru was gone for good, after that. He certainly hadn't felt a thing through his link to the onmyouji since, not even when the Sumeragi had returned to Tokyo. Whenever that had been.
Subaru glared.
"You let your own sister be killed in your place?" gasped Sorata.
Subaru's eyes flashed with pain and anger. "No! She didn't tell me what she was doing. I had nothing to do with it! When I found out, I..."
"You ran away," said Arashi, simply. "We did our research into the Sumeragi clan history."
He nodded, looking miserable. "I didn't want to be Clan Head anymore. Not after that." A single tear slipped from between his lashes to his cheek. He wiped it off his cheek, seeming almost angry at himself. "I learnt a few things while I was away, though, Seishirou-san."
"Yes?" said Seishirou, interested.
"Yes. I learnt about seals, and warding, and marking people... There are a lot of people out there willing to teach those with talent." Subaru glanced down at the silk gloves that still covered his hands.
"So, let's try again, then, shall we?" continued Subaru, taking a few steps forward.
"I'm sorry?" said Seishirou, missing Subaru's point.
"A year. If, by the end of it, you love me... I won't kill you," said Subaru, taking Seishirou's hand and gently tracing a pentagram on the palm. " Ja ne, Seishirou-san."
~ * ~
Seishirou rubbed at his palm, absently. There wasn't any visible mark there that he could make out, but he could feel it, burning hot, like Subaru's blood.
He wondered what exactly Subaru had meant yesterday, when he talked about 'trying again'. Creating a new 'bet' couldn't change the past, after all.
Perhaps, he thought, it was that Subaru wanted revenge. It was a novel concept and he found himself smiling in morbid amusement. "So, Subaru-kun, you want our game to begin anew, do you? I'll be more than happy to play along..." he said, out loud.
Like a kind of magic, the object of his thoughts appeared before him, trudging along the road with his hands in the pockets of his trenchcoat. He stopped when he saw the Sakurazukamori. "Good morning, Seishirou-san," said Subaru, neutrally.
"Good morning," Seishirou returned. "I must admit, I wasn't expecting to see you again so soon."
"You were expecting me to wait a decade until you'd forgotten?" said Subaru, his expression not changing a bit.
Seishirou laughed, ignoring the needling. "Hardly. I must say, though, I don't quite understand how this new 'bet' works, Subaru-kun. I mean, what's to stop me from saying that I already do love you?"
"The point, Seishirou-san," said Subaru, coolly, "is that you have to convince me that you love me. And that won't be easy."
"How do you mean, convince? Flowers, chocolates?" he said, idly toying with a Sakura blossom.
"If you loved me, you'd know. It's as simple as that."
He gave up on that line of questioning. "Really, Subaru-kun... don't you think it's a little petty, starting this up when there's other, much more important, world-altering things going on?"
"Weren't you paying attention, Seishirou-san? I'm not Clan Head. 1999 is your problem. Not mine."
"You aren't being very fair, are you, Subaru-kun?"
"I didn't see you being fair to me, nine years ago."
"It was perfectly fair. You just lost."
"I'll bear that in mind."
Seishirou decided to drop that subject, too. He regarded Subaru critically. He was taller now, and his hair was shorter. He was also a lot thinner, and Seishirou suspected he wasn't eating enough. The onmyouji was shaking slightly in the cold wind. "It's an interesting change in the weather, don't you think?" said Seishirou, glancing up at the sky.
Subaru glanced at him warily.
"I mean, it's a bright, sunny day, without even a cloud in sight. But in the shadows, it's ice-cold."
Subaru gave him a look. "Rather like someone I know," he said, turning away. "I'll see you around, Seishirou-san."
Seishirou watched him leave, thoughtful.
~ TBC ~
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