Author's Note:
Watch out, Martha, here come the mature thematic elements again! (Also I just really like that phrase.)
Also, just a note to everyone who left feedback: I'm so glad you-all like it so much! ^o^ *bows* And the plot's not even at its twistiest yet. *grin* Buckle your seatbelts.
*`-,--
"Satsuki-chan, I do hope our guest hasn't been bothering you."
The woman who addressed him now was stunningly lovely, with a body whose curves could have formed the new symbol for "sin". Long hair cascaded down her back and over her shapely shoulders, and her dress was red against the room's shadows. For a dizzy moment Subaru wondered if his fevered brain might have conjured her up on its own--surely no human woman actually looked and dressed like this.
She smiled at him, and as her piercing eyes narrowed, he noticed the outlines of a symbol on her forehead--a symbol he had seen only once or twice before, on the forehead of a woman as doll-like as this one was alluring...
"...a... yumemi?" he whispered.
The girl she had called Satsuki brushed past him to stand beside her, leaning gently into the hollow of her shoulder; for the first time, Subaru noticed how tall the strange woman was.
"I'm fine, Kanoe-san," Satsuki said. "He seems confused, though."
"Poor child, I wouldn't expect any less."
"Who are you?" Subaru managed; his voice was little more than a dry rasp.
"Hinoto didn't tell you she has a little sister?" The woman's red, red lips curved into a pout. "I'm wounded."
"So you're--you're a yumemi like she is."
"Correct. Satsuki-chan, would you leave us for a moment? And if you see Yuuto-san, tell him we're expecting a guest for tea."
The girl shot Subaru a glance over the rims of her glasses, but murmured something that sounded like assent and retreated.
"So. Sumeragi-san... it's such a pleasure to finally meet you."
* * *
No one moved.
The young man kept his clear, glass-green eyes fixed on Sorata's face, as if he were puzzled as to why anyone would ask something so very obvious as his name.
"And... may I ask for your name?" he inquired, his tone polite.
Sorata opened his mouth, but his brain refused to cough up the required information, choosing instead to come up with the spectacularly articulate response "...uh."
Fortunately, Karen didn't seem quite as dazed as she looked. "Subaru-san," she said gently, "you don't remember us?"
"I..." A rather pitiful, lost expression began to pull at his features. "...I'm sorry, ma'am... should I?"
Seiichiro felt a small strong hand tug at his sleeve, and then Arashi's voice was hissing in his ear. "Outside. We need to talk."
He let her pull him outside without any protests; Sorata followed, naturally inclined not to leave Arashi's side. Once they were out of earshot of Karen and their visitor, Arashi turned fiercely worried glances on both of them.
"When was the last time you saw Subaru-san?" she demanded.
"Not since his kekkai broke--"
"The boy's telling the truth," Seiichiro said softly. "I'm sure he is."
Arashi frowned up at him, prompting him to continue.
"I don't really know how to explain it--it's--it's his eyes," he explained. "You don't forget eyes that colour. And his voice sounds the same, he looks like he's almost the same height... and... who knows? Maybe the other Kamui's cast a spell on him..."
"Yeah, but why?" Sorata rubbed the back of his neck. "That's what's been makin' my brain burn. I mean, if he is Subaru-san, how come he's not dead? It's not really whatsisname's style to just bespell somebody an' then dump him right back into a safe harbour."
"I'm not sure he is Subaru-san." Arashi frowned. "How could his eye have healed? And he looks at least ten years younger--"
"I'll try talking to him," Seiichiro put in. "After all, he is probably the best person to ask about this. Please wait out here... and if Kamui-san gets up, let him know what's going on, all right?"
"No prob, Aoki-san." Sorata grinned. "You can count on me!"
"On us," Arashi corrected, just before Seiichiro began to jog back down the corridor.
* * *
"Where's Monou-san?"
"Goodness, aren't we anxious to get down to business."
The woman's light, sarcastic tone was beginning to fray Subaru's already-taut nerves. "This isn't funny. I want to know what he did to me--"
"I already told you, as did he, Sumeragi-san." The yumemi tilted her head slightly, dark hair cascading down to coil between her barely-covered breasts like an attendant snake. "He granted your wish."
He frowned. "I don't understand."
"No? Close your eyes."
That caught him by surprise. "Excuse me?"
"Close your eyes, Sumeragi-san. You'll see what I mean."
He felt helpless for a long moment, then humoured her. He closed his eyes, and his range of vision collapsed into darkness--
And then--
"You sounded like you were having quite a nightmare, Subaru-san."
The voice was familiar, a low feminine sound like a clarinet--and then the face it belonged to swam into view behind his eyes.
His eyes. Both eyes. Neither one was ruined; his vision was perfect, and this was no memory--it was too real to be--
"I... did I disturb you, Kasumi-san?"
That voice... his own voice, as clear as if he had spoken aloud, but... changed, a little. Higher, the way it had sounded when he was sixteen.
"Of course not. And you can call me Karen, Subaru-san."
"Ah! I'm sorry, Karen-san."
Soft laughter. "Whoever says the young don't know anything about manners certainly never met you."
He opened his eyes to half a field of vision, all of which was filled by Kanoe's smirking face.
"You wished to forget, Sumeragi-san," she said softly, "and so a part of you has. Do you remember the way you were before you met Sakurazuka-san? The very day before? You knew nothing; you had not yet walked through the flames that would forge you into who you are now. When you became a killer, and your first wish died, your life stretched before you like a wasteland--am I right?"
He didn't move.
"With a life you could not fill except by remembering everything you lost, what was left to wish for but forgetfulness? You wanted a life where you wouldn't have to remember, where your slate had been wiped clean. The day before you met Sakurazuka-san--one very beautiful day when you were sixteen--that was the cleanest you ever were." She chuckled softly. "True, you were marked, but you were not yet prey... and you were still a very promising candidate for the Dragons of Heaven."
He swayed on his feet. "So... what I just saw..."
"No one but Sumeragi Subaru could fill that empty position among the Seals." She brought a hand up to touch his cheek; he nearly shuddered at how cold her palm felt against his face. "The Sumeragi Subaru who is with them now is the embodiment of your wish. He is all emotion and innocence and he remembers nothing. But you..."
The smile that curved her lips was cruel.
"You are power, Sumeragi-san. And you are one of us."
He closed his eyes again, watched the world through the clouded vision of his younger self.
She's right, he thought. I don't belong to that side anymore. I just... don't believe in it.
So what do you believe in? some distant part of his mind nagged.
As Kanoe's hand began to make its way towards his ear, stroking his hair as if he were a child who needed calming, the answer came clear and strong as the sound of a glass breaking.
Power.
"Wise choice, Sumeragi-san," Kanoe purred.
"Please," he said, his voice thoughtful. "Just Sumeragi."
*`-,--
Apologies if Kanoe sounded rather like Agent Smith from The Matrix... *sweatdrop*
Watch out, Martha, here come the mature thematic elements again! (Also I just really like that phrase.)
Also, just a note to everyone who left feedback: I'm so glad you-all like it so much! ^o^ *bows* And the plot's not even at its twistiest yet. *grin* Buckle your seatbelts.
*`-,--
"Satsuki-chan, I do hope our guest hasn't been bothering you."
The woman who addressed him now was stunningly lovely, with a body whose curves could have formed the new symbol for "sin". Long hair cascaded down her back and over her shapely shoulders, and her dress was red against the room's shadows. For a dizzy moment Subaru wondered if his fevered brain might have conjured her up on its own--surely no human woman actually looked and dressed like this.
She smiled at him, and as her piercing eyes narrowed, he noticed the outlines of a symbol on her forehead--a symbol he had seen only once or twice before, on the forehead of a woman as doll-like as this one was alluring...
"...a... yumemi?" he whispered.
The girl she had called Satsuki brushed past him to stand beside her, leaning gently into the hollow of her shoulder; for the first time, Subaru noticed how tall the strange woman was.
"I'm fine, Kanoe-san," Satsuki said. "He seems confused, though."
"Poor child, I wouldn't expect any less."
"Who are you?" Subaru managed; his voice was little more than a dry rasp.
"Hinoto didn't tell you she has a little sister?" The woman's red, red lips curved into a pout. "I'm wounded."
"So you're--you're a yumemi like she is."
"Correct. Satsuki-chan, would you leave us for a moment? And if you see Yuuto-san, tell him we're expecting a guest for tea."
The girl shot Subaru a glance over the rims of her glasses, but murmured something that sounded like assent and retreated.
"So. Sumeragi-san... it's such a pleasure to finally meet you."
* * *
No one moved.
The young man kept his clear, glass-green eyes fixed on Sorata's face, as if he were puzzled as to why anyone would ask something so very obvious as his name.
"And... may I ask for your name?" he inquired, his tone polite.
Sorata opened his mouth, but his brain refused to cough up the required information, choosing instead to come up with the spectacularly articulate response "...uh."
Fortunately, Karen didn't seem quite as dazed as she looked. "Subaru-san," she said gently, "you don't remember us?"
"I..." A rather pitiful, lost expression began to pull at his features. "...I'm sorry, ma'am... should I?"
Seiichiro felt a small strong hand tug at his sleeve, and then Arashi's voice was hissing in his ear. "Outside. We need to talk."
He let her pull him outside without any protests; Sorata followed, naturally inclined not to leave Arashi's side. Once they were out of earshot of Karen and their visitor, Arashi turned fiercely worried glances on both of them.
"When was the last time you saw Subaru-san?" she demanded.
"Not since his kekkai broke--"
"The boy's telling the truth," Seiichiro said softly. "I'm sure he is."
Arashi frowned up at him, prompting him to continue.
"I don't really know how to explain it--it's--it's his eyes," he explained. "You don't forget eyes that colour. And his voice sounds the same, he looks like he's almost the same height... and... who knows? Maybe the other Kamui's cast a spell on him..."
"Yeah, but why?" Sorata rubbed the back of his neck. "That's what's been makin' my brain burn. I mean, if he is Subaru-san, how come he's not dead? It's not really whatsisname's style to just bespell somebody an' then dump him right back into a safe harbour."
"I'm not sure he is Subaru-san." Arashi frowned. "How could his eye have healed? And he looks at least ten years younger--"
"I'll try talking to him," Seiichiro put in. "After all, he is probably the best person to ask about this. Please wait out here... and if Kamui-san gets up, let him know what's going on, all right?"
"No prob, Aoki-san." Sorata grinned. "You can count on me!"
"On us," Arashi corrected, just before Seiichiro began to jog back down the corridor.
* * *
"Where's Monou-san?"
"Goodness, aren't we anxious to get down to business."
The woman's light, sarcastic tone was beginning to fray Subaru's already-taut nerves. "This isn't funny. I want to know what he did to me--"
"I already told you, as did he, Sumeragi-san." The yumemi tilted her head slightly, dark hair cascading down to coil between her barely-covered breasts like an attendant snake. "He granted your wish."
He frowned. "I don't understand."
"No? Close your eyes."
That caught him by surprise. "Excuse me?"
"Close your eyes, Sumeragi-san. You'll see what I mean."
He felt helpless for a long moment, then humoured her. He closed his eyes, and his range of vision collapsed into darkness--
And then--
"You sounded like you were having quite a nightmare, Subaru-san."
The voice was familiar, a low feminine sound like a clarinet--and then the face it belonged to swam into view behind his eyes.
His eyes. Both eyes. Neither one was ruined; his vision was perfect, and this was no memory--it was too real to be--
"I... did I disturb you, Kasumi-san?"
That voice... his own voice, as clear as if he had spoken aloud, but... changed, a little. Higher, the way it had sounded when he was sixteen.
"Of course not. And you can call me Karen, Subaru-san."
"Ah! I'm sorry, Karen-san."
Soft laughter. "Whoever says the young don't know anything about manners certainly never met you."
He opened his eyes to half a field of vision, all of which was filled by Kanoe's smirking face.
"You wished to forget, Sumeragi-san," she said softly, "and so a part of you has. Do you remember the way you were before you met Sakurazuka-san? The very day before? You knew nothing; you had not yet walked through the flames that would forge you into who you are now. When you became a killer, and your first wish died, your life stretched before you like a wasteland--am I right?"
He didn't move.
"With a life you could not fill except by remembering everything you lost, what was left to wish for but forgetfulness? You wanted a life where you wouldn't have to remember, where your slate had been wiped clean. The day before you met Sakurazuka-san--one very beautiful day when you were sixteen--that was the cleanest you ever were." She chuckled softly. "True, you were marked, but you were not yet prey... and you were still a very promising candidate for the Dragons of Heaven."
He swayed on his feet. "So... what I just saw..."
"No one but Sumeragi Subaru could fill that empty position among the Seals." She brought a hand up to touch his cheek; he nearly shuddered at how cold her palm felt against his face. "The Sumeragi Subaru who is with them now is the embodiment of your wish. He is all emotion and innocence and he remembers nothing. But you..."
The smile that curved her lips was cruel.
"You are power, Sumeragi-san. And you are one of us."
He closed his eyes again, watched the world through the clouded vision of his younger self.
She's right, he thought. I don't belong to that side anymore. I just... don't believe in it.
So what do you believe in? some distant part of his mind nagged.
As Kanoe's hand began to make its way towards his ear, stroking his hair as if he were a child who needed calming, the answer came clear and strong as the sound of a glass breaking.
Power.
"Wise choice, Sumeragi-san," Kanoe purred.
"Please," he said, his voice thoughtful. "Just Sumeragi."
*`-,--
Apologies if Kanoe sounded rather like Agent Smith from The Matrix... *sweatdrop*