Yes, this took me a while. I'm sorry, I suffered a crisis of confidence and gave up fanfic, in the process forgetting to update fanfiction.net with the A Little Bet Extras.
So, here we go now. A Side Story, an Epilogue, and some Author's Notes.
Sidestory
Subaru was woken up at 7:30 in the morning by a frantic call from his cousin. Tsuru, current Head of the Sumeragi Clan, had been called at seven o'clock about an urgent job, but had an eight AM lecture at CLAMP Campus University and didn't have time to take care of the problem.
"It won't take too long," promised Tsuru. "Can you?"
Subaru assured his cousin that it was no trouble at all, quickly taking down the name and address, plus a brief description of the situation. A mis-summoned scrying spirit. Not too difficult.
"Who was that?" asked Seishirou, sleepily, when Subaru returned to the bedroom.
"My cousin," said Subaru, reaching for his day-clothes. "I have a job."
About half an hour later, he was knocking on the apartment door, double-checking the name on the slip of paper. Unsurprisingly, it was opened by a young woman. Mis-summonings were almost always the fault of girls casting spells from a book.
"Kudou-san?" he asked, politely. "I'm Sumeragi Subaru."
She blinked at him. "You're not Tsuru-san," she said, sounding confused.
"Tsuru-san is my cousin," explained Subaru. "He had other committments this morning."
The girl looked vaguely disappointed. "Oh..."
"He said you had trouble with a summoning?"
"Oh. Yes. It's, ah... Well, I noticed it the other day. I thought I could control it, but..."
"Are you trained in onmyoujitsu?" he asked, although he knew full well what the answer would be.
She shook her head. "I have a book," she offered, shyly.
Inwardly, he groaned. Young girls with books were the bane of his existence, he felt.
Lighting some incense, he knelt on the floor and began to chant, only dimly aware of Kudou-san standing nearby, shuffling her feet. He found the spirit easily enough, and wasn't surprised to find it dusted all over with traces of her aura. She hadn't merely tried to bind it, she'd been responsible for its summoning as well.
The spell he used to seal it and send it to its proper place was simple enough. It screamed piercingly as the binding came into existence, forcing him to throw strong mental shields up in defence. The girl had no such shielding, and the sound brought her to her knees in agony.
When it was over, he stood up shakily, and made his way over to help Kudou-san. "I'm sorry," he said, meekly.
She stood up, using the wall for support. "I didn't realise they made noises like that," she said, quietly.
"Spirits have feelings as well, and they're often completely insane," explained Subaru, quietly. "They don't like being sealed up." He glanced around the apartment for a moment. "May I see the book you were using?" he asked.
Looking slighly embarrassed, she went to the bookcase and brought down a tattered softcover volume. He flicked through it disdainfully, taking note of the title and author before handing it back. "You realise this is full of errors?" he said, with a frown.
"Is it?" she asked, not meeting his eyes.
He nodded, watching her carefully. She had known, he was sure of it. So, why...
"Um..." she said, just as the silence was starting to get uncomfortable. "Why couldn't Tsuru-san come this morning?"
"He had a class," said Subaru, absently. He walked to the window and placed a few wards on it, repeating the procedure on the apartment's door. "You shouldn't be bothered by rogue spirits any more," he said, smiling, when he was finished.
"Oh. Thank you..." she said, hesitantly, not seeming very pleased at all.
He gave her a sharp look. "It's dangerous, you know, playing around with magic. You need more than just ability - you need the training and the knowledge of which spell to use, when and how. Phrasing and emphasis is very important."
"I..."
"So, why don't you ask Tsuru-san to teach you?"
"I... what?"
"I'm sure he won't mind. And that way you can see him without an excuse and under less dangerous circumstances."
She blushed very red, but nodded. "Thank you."
~ * ~
Epilogue Two
"What do you think Love is, Seishirou-san?"
Seishirou blinked at him. "Your sister told me once that--"
"I don't want to know what oneesan thought, Seishirou-san. I want to know what you think."
Seishirou sat back and lit a cigarette throughtfully. "I used to think love was inseperable from obsession. That's not quite right, though, is it."
Subaru didn't answer, he just continued to look at him expectantly.
"I think... Love is about being equals. Love is about trust, contentment and being complete. It's about having a person that makes you feel your life is worth living," he said, between smokes.
Subaru leant over and plucked the cigarette from his fingers, twirling it between his fingers but not actually attempting to smoke it. "Do you love me?"
"Yes."
Subaru tapped the cigarette out and moved over to sit beside him. "Good," he said, smiling. He angled around to kiss Seishirou softly. "I love you too," he added pressing the words against Seishirous lips more than actually speaking them.
Seishirou didn't undermine the statement by asking if Subaru was really serious. He wouldn't have said it if he wasn't - that was the sort of person Subaru was.
The kiss lasted for a very long time.
"It's been a year, hasn't it?" said Seishirou, when they finally separated. "Was it worth it?"
"Of course," said Subaru, gently. "I learned to love again."
~ * ~
Author's Notes
Tsuru:
I needed an original character to fill Subaru's place. "Tsuru" means "crane" and it's one of the constellations, thus fitting the pattern in Hokuto and Subaru's names. As a person, I just wanted him to be a nice young man with a small case of hero worship for his cousin. For the curious, he's straight, and I have vague plans for a sidestory involving his girlfriend one day. Subaru usually calls him Tsuru-san because, whilst Subaru is definitely the older, Tsuru is clan head. And we all know how painfull polite Subaru is.
Subaru and his neuroses:
He's insecure and scared to death of Seishirou to a certain point, but that doesn't stop him from achieving his goals. I think that's very like Subaru. As for the shaking, that's just standard reaction to trauma - in Subaru's case, sort of like a small panic attack.
Seishirou and Subaru's relationship:
Subaru is so often written as being hopelessly in love with Seishirou in X, and that's something that just doesn't make sense to me. I mean, Subaru doesn't have any reason to love Seishirou, and nine years is quite enough time to get over any residual feelings for the person he knew in Tokyo Babylon. However, this doesn't mean he doesn't feel hurt or betrayed by Seishirou, nor stop him from wanting what they had back. In Seishirou, Subaru wants to find something worth loving.
As for Seishirou, I think he could fall for Subaru quite easily, given some time and a little magical intervention.
The Eye Scene:
God, this one took me a while to do. We know from other stories in X that Fuuma occasionally grants wishes of non-Dragons, so that's not really an issue. And, yes, I think that Subaru would still be feeling guilty about Seishirou's eye. I hinted at it earlier, when Seishirou moved in. Seishirou is certainly rather a jerk for not coming to visit him in hospital, but would Subaru really have wanted to see him?
The Rainbow Bridge scene:
Another scene that took me a while. I wanted to write it, because it's kind of important in the context of X and it would be that extra little catalyst to getting them where I wanted them to be. Only, I was having a lot of trouble giving Seishirou a reason to attempt Subaru's murder. As you may have noticed, he ended up not attempting it at all, really.
As it stands now, I think the most important thing about it is the pointlessness. It didn't need to happen at all. But that's what we get for not trusting people. (Not that Subaru has any reason to trust Seishirou.)
As for Subaru's state of upset afterwards, it makes perfect sense given his personality, and the fact that Seishirou practically told him he wasn't really going to kill him. Subaru's a bright lad, he'd realise the significance of Hokuto's spell.
Epilogue:
Yes, Kamui won. Why? Because, in my opinion, wiping out humanity would only make the problem worse. Think of all the nuclear plants, nuclear weapons and other silly things that require our supervision. Not to mention introduced species, which are a huge problem here in Australia. Basically, I think the Earth's greatest hope at the moment is for us to beat a bit of sense into our world leaders and work on healing what's already happened as best we can, and preventing more damage. (End mini-rant.)
I would like to credit Kouri and Karasu, who introduced me to the concept of Kamui's Severe Fuuma Trauma in their story Aftermath. I think Kamui/NotEvilAnymore!Fuuma are quite a nice couple, myself, but I have yet to find a readable fic about it.
So, here we go now. A Side Story, an Epilogue, and some Author's Notes.
Sidestory
Subaru was woken up at 7:30 in the morning by a frantic call from his cousin. Tsuru, current Head of the Sumeragi Clan, had been called at seven o'clock about an urgent job, but had an eight AM lecture at CLAMP Campus University and didn't have time to take care of the problem.
"It won't take too long," promised Tsuru. "Can you?"
Subaru assured his cousin that it was no trouble at all, quickly taking down the name and address, plus a brief description of the situation. A mis-summoned scrying spirit. Not too difficult.
"Who was that?" asked Seishirou, sleepily, when Subaru returned to the bedroom.
"My cousin," said Subaru, reaching for his day-clothes. "I have a job."
About half an hour later, he was knocking on the apartment door, double-checking the name on the slip of paper. Unsurprisingly, it was opened by a young woman. Mis-summonings were almost always the fault of girls casting spells from a book.
"Kudou-san?" he asked, politely. "I'm Sumeragi Subaru."
She blinked at him. "You're not Tsuru-san," she said, sounding confused.
"Tsuru-san is my cousin," explained Subaru. "He had other committments this morning."
The girl looked vaguely disappointed. "Oh..."
"He said you had trouble with a summoning?"
"Oh. Yes. It's, ah... Well, I noticed it the other day. I thought I could control it, but..."
"Are you trained in onmyoujitsu?" he asked, although he knew full well what the answer would be.
She shook her head. "I have a book," she offered, shyly.
Inwardly, he groaned. Young girls with books were the bane of his existence, he felt.
Lighting some incense, he knelt on the floor and began to chant, only dimly aware of Kudou-san standing nearby, shuffling her feet. He found the spirit easily enough, and wasn't surprised to find it dusted all over with traces of her aura. She hadn't merely tried to bind it, she'd been responsible for its summoning as well.
The spell he used to seal it and send it to its proper place was simple enough. It screamed piercingly as the binding came into existence, forcing him to throw strong mental shields up in defence. The girl had no such shielding, and the sound brought her to her knees in agony.
When it was over, he stood up shakily, and made his way over to help Kudou-san. "I'm sorry," he said, meekly.
She stood up, using the wall for support. "I didn't realise they made noises like that," she said, quietly.
"Spirits have feelings as well, and they're often completely insane," explained Subaru, quietly. "They don't like being sealed up." He glanced around the apartment for a moment. "May I see the book you were using?" he asked.
Looking slighly embarrassed, she went to the bookcase and brought down a tattered softcover volume. He flicked through it disdainfully, taking note of the title and author before handing it back. "You realise this is full of errors?" he said, with a frown.
"Is it?" she asked, not meeting his eyes.
He nodded, watching her carefully. She had known, he was sure of it. So, why...
"Um..." she said, just as the silence was starting to get uncomfortable. "Why couldn't Tsuru-san come this morning?"
"He had a class," said Subaru, absently. He walked to the window and placed a few wards on it, repeating the procedure on the apartment's door. "You shouldn't be bothered by rogue spirits any more," he said, smiling, when he was finished.
"Oh. Thank you..." she said, hesitantly, not seeming very pleased at all.
He gave her a sharp look. "It's dangerous, you know, playing around with magic. You need more than just ability - you need the training and the knowledge of which spell to use, when and how. Phrasing and emphasis is very important."
"I..."
"So, why don't you ask Tsuru-san to teach you?"
"I... what?"
"I'm sure he won't mind. And that way you can see him without an excuse and under less dangerous circumstances."
She blushed very red, but nodded. "Thank you."
"What do you think Love is, Seishirou-san?"
Seishirou blinked at him. "Your sister told me once that--"
"I don't want to know what oneesan thought, Seishirou-san. I want to know what you think."
Seishirou sat back and lit a cigarette throughtfully. "I used to think love was inseperable from obsession. That's not quite right, though, is it."
Subaru didn't answer, he just continued to look at him expectantly.
"I think... Love is about being equals. Love is about trust, contentment and being complete. It's about having a person that makes you feel your life is worth living," he said, between smokes.
Subaru leant over and plucked the cigarette from his fingers, twirling it between his fingers but not actually attempting to smoke it. "Do you love me?"
"Yes."
Subaru tapped the cigarette out and moved over to sit beside him. "Good," he said, smiling. He angled around to kiss Seishirou softly. "I love you too," he added pressing the words against Seishirous lips more than actually speaking them.
Seishirou didn't undermine the statement by asking if Subaru was really serious. He wouldn't have said it if he wasn't - that was the sort of person Subaru was.
The kiss lasted for a very long time.
"It's been a year, hasn't it?" said Seishirou, when they finally separated. "Was it worth it?"
"Of course," said Subaru, gently. "I learned to love again."
Tsuru:
I needed an original character to fill Subaru's place. "Tsuru" means "crane" and it's one of the constellations, thus fitting the pattern in Hokuto and Subaru's names. As a person, I just wanted him to be a nice young man with a small case of hero worship for his cousin. For the curious, he's straight, and I have vague plans for a sidestory involving his girlfriend one day. Subaru usually calls him Tsuru-san because, whilst Subaru is definitely the older, Tsuru is clan head. And we all know how painfull polite Subaru is.
Subaru and his neuroses:
He's insecure and scared to death of Seishirou to a certain point, but that doesn't stop him from achieving his goals. I think that's very like Subaru. As for the shaking, that's just standard reaction to trauma - in Subaru's case, sort of like a small panic attack.
Seishirou and Subaru's relationship:
Subaru is so often written as being hopelessly in love with Seishirou in X, and that's something that just doesn't make sense to me. I mean, Subaru doesn't have any reason to love Seishirou, and nine years is quite enough time to get over any residual feelings for the person he knew in Tokyo Babylon. However, this doesn't mean he doesn't feel hurt or betrayed by Seishirou, nor stop him from wanting what they had back. In Seishirou, Subaru wants to find something worth loving.
As for Seishirou, I think he could fall for Subaru quite easily, given some time and a little magical intervention.
The Eye Scene:
God, this one took me a while to do. We know from other stories in X that Fuuma occasionally grants wishes of non-Dragons, so that's not really an issue. And, yes, I think that Subaru would still be feeling guilty about Seishirou's eye. I hinted at it earlier, when Seishirou moved in. Seishirou is certainly rather a jerk for not coming to visit him in hospital, but would Subaru really have wanted to see him?
The Rainbow Bridge scene:
Another scene that took me a while. I wanted to write it, because it's kind of important in the context of X and it would be that extra little catalyst to getting them where I wanted them to be. Only, I was having a lot of trouble giving Seishirou a reason to attempt Subaru's murder. As you may have noticed, he ended up not attempting it at all, really.
As it stands now, I think the most important thing about it is the pointlessness. It didn't need to happen at all. But that's what we get for not trusting people. (Not that Subaru has any reason to trust Seishirou.)
As for Subaru's state of upset afterwards, it makes perfect sense given his personality, and the fact that Seishirou practically told him he wasn't really going to kill him. Subaru's a bright lad, he'd realise the significance of Hokuto's spell.
Epilogue:
Yes, Kamui won. Why? Because, in my opinion, wiping out humanity would only make the problem worse. Think of all the nuclear plants, nuclear weapons and other silly things that require our supervision. Not to mention introduced species, which are a huge problem here in Australia. Basically, I think the Earth's greatest hope at the moment is for us to beat a bit of sense into our world leaders and work on healing what's already happened as best we can, and preventing more damage. (End mini-rant.)
I would like to credit Kouri and Karasu, who introduced me to the concept of Kamui's Severe Fuuma Trauma in their story Aftermath. I think Kamui/NotEvilAnymore!Fuuma are quite a nice couple, myself, but I have yet to find a readable fic about it.