*****
Did I really think that Kamui could do it? No, that's why I'm sitting here by myself in the middle of nowhere. Somewhere somewhere was it my heart? It doesn't matter. All I can see is blackness, and one set of doors ahead of me. What am I leaning against? Feathers are falling softly but flowing sideways. Reach up, touch one, shatters like a Christmas ornament or a thin sheet of sugar. A large sword is embedded in front of me. On an impulse, I reach up and grasp the blade harshly. It cuts deep into my fingers, and I watch in horror and fascination as the blood flows familiarly down the edges.
Knock. Knock. Knock. Knock. Someone's knocking on the door. It opens slowly, and a refined elf walks in. He has such deep green eyes but my tears blur my vision before I can see more. "Fuuma," he says softly. "Can I come over there?"
"Go away. I don't want you here." The words come out impulsively, harsh in the silence, loud in the darkness.
"My name is Sumeragi Subaru. I'm going to come over there." So he has a name. I kick the blade with the toe of my boot. It teeters towards me and away from me, decides to fall away from me. If it had fallen on me and cut into my thigh, well, who cares? Kotori is dead. Kamui is lost to me, Shiro-kun wetness runs down my face again. Doushite? Doushite?!?!
Subaru is almost next to me now. I look up, take a closer look at him. Fine features, with the most melancholy look I've ever seen. Glance down the ground is liquid, yet supports our weight. Correction, second most melancholy look I've ever seen. I win first place. A mirthless laugh. He takes my hand and looks me straight in the eye.
"Fuuma. I've come down here to tell you to come back. If you'll let me, I'll tell you everything you need to know. Look" The Sumeragi How did I know he was called Sumeragi? pointed off in the distance, and a vision coalesced in my dream. Images so intense I almost cried out in fear, pictures of the past, present, and future that rocked the foundations of my existence and revealed the secrets that had before been left to me. The battle between Ten no Ryuu and Chi no Ryuu, to fight for the existence of the human race.
Fate. It was all about fate. The word disgusts me, as it must have Kamui. I had only met him briefly since he came, but I knew that Kamui did not like the idea any more than I did. Somehow, I knew him still. Somehow, we still had the connection of being more than friends. I had felt it through his touch on that night when he related to me what had happened over the past few years. He was always questioning whether something was preordained or not. Over ten years ago, when Kotori fell from the tree, Kamui should not have had the endurance to hold on for those long hours.
You were great Kamui. You protected Kotori. Thank you Kamui-chan.
And now you killed Kotori. You weren't Kamui then; the Kamui I knew would never harm Kotori even though his soul were bared and the forces of anarchy arrayed against him. If Fate drove you to leave Tokyo after that one night, if Fate drove you to become the Chi no Ryuu Kamui, then I will not believe that it was you.
I'll promise you that if something happens to, I'll always protect you. It's an absolute promise, ok?
I opened my eyes, the dreamscape gone. The concerned eyes of people I don't know are staring at me; one girl had apparently been crying. Realized that the one named Subaru had collapsed on top of me. "Thank you, Subaru." I whispered, instantly knowing the youth though having only met him in thought. His gentle weight was reassuring, as was the attention I was receiving.
"Gonichiwa." I murmured, barely able to muster the strength to speak. A wan smile. "Who are you?" They were with the Ten no Ryuu, and I was to become Kamui.
It's an absolute promise, Kamui. I'll get you back somehow.
*****