Ai no Chikara
Author's Notes
Warning: This X/1999 fanfic has shonen-ai, also known as boys' love. If you don't like it, don't read. You have been warned.
Disclaimer: X/1999 and its character does not belong to me, or I won't be writing this fic, I'll be making it real.
Seluna says: This fic is written in one X/1999 character's POV and it's done deliberately because I don't want to spoil the fun by revealing the person early. The setting is according to the manga, not anime or movie. I'm saying this because I dislike the movie and doesn't know if the anime's plot is similar to the manga's. Oh, I did some grammar editing to this fic too, on 26 Dec 2004.
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It was exactly a year after the Final Day when I saw Subaru. He went missing after the Rainbow Bridge incident and since we had never felt his Ki left this world, we knew very well he did not die at all and survived the Final Day just like me and few other Seals. Kamui was not as fortunate. After he killed the Dark Kamui, he committed suicide on his own Shinken minutes later and as we were too seriously injured to even move, he managed to die before any medical team could arrive.
Back to Subaru. We had tried to find him both before and after Final Day but it was quite apparent that he did not want to be found. That was why his appearance surprised me a lot. However, that was not the only surprise, the other was his change. Subaru was a quiet solitary young man with a distinct clean steady calm aura that was extremely fitting for a Sumeragi Head. But that Subaru who came to me reminded me very badly of the Sakurazukamori he killed. He still had a calm feeling around him but it would be better described as the calm of a storm kind of calm.
We chatted a little about small things, like how Yuzuriha and Kusanagi were doing together and how the Angels' dreamgazer woke from his coma to commit suicide, things like that. It was until the subject somehow switched to Kamui when he suddenly said, "Kamui is hurting no more."
When I finally figured out what he meant, I asked slowly, "You have seen him?"
He took a long drag on his cigarettes and said, "Of course I did. He came to me right after he died and being the ex-head of Sumeragi clan, it's impossible to ignore such a powerful soul."
Before I could voice my question about his position in his clan, he continued, answering my question as if he could read my mind, "My obaasama wouldn't have a grandson who is head of both Sumeragi and Sakurazuka clan. I had already became the Sakurazukamori then, so I have to kindly give up the position of Sumeragi Clan Head. Not that I'm complaining though."
Alarmed by what he said, I jumped and backed away from him a little before he stopped me by speaking again, "I'm not exactly like Seishirou-san, you know. I won't kill those who don't deserve to be killed. You happened to be one of the last people on my list, so don't panic. Please sit down again."
"What did Kamui say to you?" As I did as told, I abruptly changed the topic of conversation in an attempt to calm myself down. Subaru smiled a little nice smile and followed my thread.
"He apologized and thanked me, then asked me to tell any of the surviving Seals that he's sorry he went and killed himself, but he simply can't live knowing that he murdered his only love." He paused and looked at me deeply before speaking on, "He loved Fuuma very much, that is why he couldn't attack the Dark Kamui unless us Seals and his closed one are being hurt. He told me that he realized that the only way to get his Fuuma back is to kill the Dark Kamui and he did."
Unable to absorb all the shocking information, I sat there staring into space for a short while before I managed to ask the first thing in my head, "What have you been doing since you avoided us?"
"Being Sakurazukamori by accepting Seishirou's eye and became a passive Chi no Ryu in the process." How he can calmly tell such news that could render one with a blank mind, I really don't know because my brain did a temporary shutdown. What was worse was he took down the sunglasses he was wearing to reveal a golden left eye opposite his normal green right one, and the amber orb actually seemed to be functioning!
While I was still in a state of shock, Subaru's mobile phone played its assigned tune and he talked softly on the phone long enough for me to recover well. Then, I found out that Subaru had not told me his reason in approaching me. Being practical as I always am, I asked him after he ended his conversation.
He did not answer me but smiled fondly and said, "Seishirou-san is a cunning bastard. He was training his son to be a Sakurazukamori, yet he made me into one. Can you guess why?"
Honestly seeing no connections between anything, I replied with a 'no' and he chuckled, "Because he wants me to be totally his and my becoming Sakurazukamori is accepting that decision and understanding him more. That impatient guy planned it all out to have his son be my heir, so I won't have to waste time training one."
"But what has that got to do with me?"
Subaru looked at me with a strange small smile, "I need you to do me a few favors. In return, I'll get that spirit protecting you to speak to you."
Should I recall correctly, I sounded very dumb as I repeated, "Spirit protecting me?"
"You'll see." He gave me a friendly wink then continued, "Firstly, I need you to inform my obaasama that the conflict between Sakurazuka and Sumeragi clan ends with me killing Seishirou-san and later on, my own death. So tell her not to add my name into list of Sumeragi to avenge."
"Got it. I will deliver the message as original as possible." I was trying hard not laugh at his choice of words for the last sentence.
"Thanks. The second favor I'm asking is that should I die, please don't investigate and avenge my death. Can you tell the other Seals to do the same? I know some of you still regard me as a friend, and might do this for me, I appreciate that but that won't be necessary."
Cold shivers ran down my spine and lingered there as I listened to him mentioning his death twice. I could not help but asked, "Are you going to get yourself killed?"
With a sad but peaceful expression, he answered, "This is what I want."
Solemnly, I nodded. He smiled, a most beautiful smile I ever seen. Then he vanished in a swirl of sakura petals. I sighed, for losing a friend and was about to go to find Yuzuriha in Clamp Campus when I heard a voice. A very familiar voice. I froze, and turned around.
I saw a semi-transparent figure of my love, Sorata. And he was stroking my long hair and smiling gently as his deep eyes captivated me. In a flash, I caught him into an embrace and cried into his shoulder, loudly, something me, Kishuu Arashi, would never ever do in public but did so anyway.
In his maboroshi, Sakurazuka Subaru smiled at the couple and went towards Ueno Park, to his soulmate, his lover, his nemesis, forever.
----------The End----------