*****
Author's Note- I promise this story will pick up speed soon. I was on hiatus for awhile.
*****
Karen leapt silently after the retreating figure. Subaru was too dumbstruck to notice her silent ascent across the skyline. She sighed inwardly; the boy's attachment to the older onmyouji was unhealthy, especially considering the state of the Battle. She didn't want to see the Chi no Ryuu have an edge based on personal strife.
And that was why she was following the Sakurazukamori. She could see his trailing trench coat as he dropped lightly to the sidewalk, and a small white stick that came out of his coat. A cigarette. She fell into step behind him and tapped him on the shoulder. The assassin turned around as if he had been expecting it. Sunglasses hid his eyes, but she felt their presence nonetheless.
"May I? Sorry to interrupt." She favored him with a genial smile and gestured to the cigarette. The assassin grinned, turning acceptably handsome. She brought up her right hand and snapped her fingers once; a spark flew from them and lit the proffered tobacco.
"Oh, so you're the flamecaster. I didn't expect you to be so forward. But a flame will be a flame, isn't it?" Suddenly, Karen felt as if she were in extreme danger. The grin broadened, and she altered her stance, the fighting pose revealing her slit dress and leg. "Are you going to stand there or are you going to do what you came to do?"
Karen paused for a second; a second too much. Out of nowhere, a series of black shoots twisted out of the darkness and entangled her. A small scream erupted from her lips, and Karen found herself elevated in a skein of sakura branches, inside of a blank white illusion. "Sakurazukamori" she whispered, the identity of Subaru's counterpart now apparent.
"Well well, perhaps you'll be more convincing in this state?" He gazed up at her and took off his sunglasses. The grey eye stared back at her, sparkling, mocking.
"I'm not that easy," she spat back. A whirlwind of flame surrounded her and torched the branches. Off in the distance, she felt more than heard a painful scream, and the branches disappeared as swiftly as they had come. The illusion remained, though.
"Unless I pay, of course." His smile remained
A stream of flame shot from her hand towards the figure, and he just stood there. Withdrawing his cigarette from his mouth, he drew a single red line in the air, which quickly expanded to a pentagram, and the fire swirled harmlessly around him. "It's impolite to interrupt someone when they're talking to you." She dropped the assault and nimbly avoided the molten counterattack.
"I wasn't aware that we were having a conversation." His hand followed his voice, and the dark magic tore through the air. A shield of red shattered the attack..
Karen paused and stared. Her dress had been torn across the midriff again. "You've ruined my corset. I'll have to get a new one." What a shame. "I was hoping to talk to you, but I guess that was too much for you."
"It seems as though everyone wants to talk to me tonight. I wasn't aware I was so popular. I grow tired of talk easily, especially if it bores me." The Sakurazukamori raised his finger to the sky. Sakura petals began to fall from the sky.
"Kirei" Karen whispered, and approached the lone figure. "Perhaps some other time, we might be able to talk?" She was close to him now; close enough to feel his breath. It was lightly scented, though not unpleasant.
"Aa. Perhaps. Where are you staying?" He smiled, equal to the game if only for a moment.
"I have an apartment in north Tokyo, but of late I've been staying at Clamp Campus. Though that shouldn't surprise you." She gently wrapped her hands around his neck, fixing his coat collar that had come undone during the small fight. "I don't have work tomorrow, but if you'd prefer to come during my work hours, I would keep you entertained?" A small hint of innuendo entered her voice.
"Alright. I will accept your offer. Tomorrow morning, perhaps? Well, this morning would be more accurate. I'm afraid I've kept you out a little late." He smiled at Karen once.
She leaned up and kissed him on the cheek lightly. "Ja."
The Sakurazukamori dissolved into a flurry of blossoms, and Karen was left alone outside of Clamp Campus.
*****
Five of the seven seals were downstairs having breakfast together. Arashi and Subaru were in separate rooms, meditating, but the rest were indulging in Sora-chan's chocolate-chip pancakes.
"They're ugly, but they taste great!" he promised as he dished them out with practiced ease. Kamui and Seiichirou exchanged a distasteful glance at the morass of brown and darker brown being set before them. Yuzuriha, apparently having a little more faith than her friends, started immediately.
"^_____________^ Hai! They're so good, Sorata-san! Maybe you'll cook for Arashi later, neh?"
"*sighs wistfully* Nee-chan won't let me cook for her." He grinned suggestively. "But if there's another pretty girl willing to try them, I'll cook for her!" He winked at Yuzu-chan.
Karen tried them as well. "Sou desu ne, Yuzuriha. They are good!" Kamui and Seiichirou exchanged another look, and then also sampled the cooking of Kouya. Grudgingly, they also gave their approval, and Sorata beamed.
The doorbell rang. "Haiiii! I'll get it!" Yuzuriha sprang from her chair and bounced to the door. A low, masculine voice answered, but noone could hear what he said. "Seishirou-san! It's you from the other night!" Sorata and Kamui looked up, Sorata with apprehension, Kamui with unbridled fury. Seiichirou noted their reactions and just looked confused.
Karen just smiled.
"Sorata-san! Here's that man I told you about from that one anou what's wrong?" Yuzuriha floundered into the room dragging Seishirou in behind her, before she too saw the welcome her Special Person's friend was receiving.
"Ohayo, Kamui-kun," Seishirou said, grinning broadly. The boy retained his control, barely, saying nothing. His white knuckles and flaring eyes were a testament to his hatred for the Sakurazukamori.
"Oh, he's here for me." Karen smiled again, grabbed her purse from the floor and got up. "Ja." Seishirou winked at Kamui again as he escorted her out the door. The room plunged into silence as the door closed.
"Anou what just happened?" Seiichirou was the first to break the silence. "I somehow think that that was hardly an ordinary date"
Kamui swore passionately and profanely, and a fraction of his power tore through the room, scattering his chair and rippling the curtains. Sorata moved to restrain him, and got thrown aside for his trouble.
"Seishirou-san was here, wasn't he?" A lone figure entered. Subaru watched the door wistfully and entered.
"Kusoooo." Kamui spat again. The other Seals watched in fascination; Kamui being upset was certainly no stranger to the house, but having him thrash around was almost as rare as the date that Karen had just gone on. "Karen-san just went out with Seishirou-san! Doushite?!" Subaru gaped and stared.
"I don't know" Subaru fumbled over his words, his mind going back to his meeting with Seishirou earlier that morning. "She knows who he is. I don't see any reason for her to go with him. Unless she decided to challenge him." His eyes widened at the possibility.
"Karen-san? I don't think so." Seiichirou spoke again. Though not the most powerful of the Seals, he was certainly the eldest and most mature. "The Sakurazukamori came for her, and she left willingly. There would be no reason for him to come here if he was expecting a threat."
"Maybe we should ask her when she comes home." Arashi entered as well, and for once, Sorata didn't haggle her. "I don't think we can risk intruding on their meeting. If she wanted help, she would have asked. Certainly we'll sense a kekkai being created if it comes to that. But not yet."
Kamui came out of his trance. "Are you suggesting that we just wait?" His own failures surfaced in his mind again. Kotori Fuuma Saiki-dono "I don't trust the Sakurazukamori."
"If you respect Karen-san then you'll wait, Kamui-kun." Seiichirou sipped his coffee. "But until then, perhaps we'd best be looking elsewhere for trouble?"
*****
Seishirou walked with the flamecaster for some blocks before breaking the amused silence. "I assume you didn't tell them about this little encounter?" She laughed lightly.
"Of course not. Sumeragi-san wouldn't approve, and apparently Kamui neither. I would love to hear all about your history with the two of them, but perhaps it's best that I don't know." She entwined his arm in hers and leaned into his shoulder. "I'd hate to be in a bad mood on a hot day today," she whispered in his ear, innuendo and threat both.
Seishirou chuckled. They chatted amiably for some blocks, then he purchased her a new corset to replace the one he had torn. She feigned surprise and then accepted, offering to try it on in his presence, to which he somewhat regretfully declined. After that, they ate lunch in an open café, the details of which can be found in any romance novel.
"I would hate to think that a woman of your talents would be so starved of social events as to ask me out on a simple date." Seishirou mused as he walked her back to Clamp Campus. She laughed.
"Of course not, Seishirou-san." She leaned in again, her breast gently rubbing against his arm. "I just came to tell you to stop leading on the poor Sumeragi." Seishirou stared.
"What do you mean?" She laughed again, and he had to give her credit. It wasn't often that he stared at anything.
"This game you play with him. Stop breaking his heart when it clearly belongs somewhere else. I play the game for a living; you do it for fun. But since we are destined to kill each other, I'm telling you to give him what he wants or to withdraw." The tone was convivial, conversational, suggestive, seductive, but Seishirou lost none of the meaning.
"And if I don't?" he left the sentence unfinished and faced her.
She stopped, put her arms around him in an embrace. "Then I will kick your ass," she whispered in his ear, and trailed her tongue from ear to mouth and kissed him on the lips, but leaving the kiss unfulfilled. She turned and leapt up onto a building, and didn't look back.
Seishirou thought about that afternoon for awhile.
A woman of your talents, he mused. Indeed. She attracted him, as few women could. Certainly not as blatantly sexual as the secretary, but with a flair that few could match. She was intelligent, smart enough to see the nature of his relationship with Subaru-kun without actually knowing much about them. And she was strong enough to stick up for her fellow Seal, when he was too much in the past to do so himself. If Kanoe was too shallow, then Subaru was too melancholy. A game that he played, nothing more.
He touched his face where her tongue had been; smiled at the gesture, then continued toward a villa downtown, where fulfillment of a contract awaited him.
*****
"Why did you do that?" Kamui all but shouted at the arrived Karen. He had passed the day pacing in his room. She was shocked at his outburst, merely smiled demurely.
"I don't get to meet very many men of style and wealth. It was an opportunity to relieve stress," she said simply, winking at Seiichirou. He blushed. Karen hugged Kamui lightly, who blushed fiercely in spite of his anger and anxiety. "Don't worry, Kamui-kun, I can certainly take care of myself. I know who he is, but there are times when it is best to sleep with your enemy to get close to him."
Subaru looked up sharply. "Did you?" She laughed again.
"No, no, no. But I did remind him of some things that he may have forgotten. If he knew them at all." The Seals stared at her, confused as to her riddle, but only Subaru correctly guessed what had gone on, and dreaded his next encounter with Seishirou-san.
*****
The wheels turned endlessly, creaking, slowing, but never stopping. Limpid pools created a semblance of a ground, but feathers lilted across the scene above and below the surface without resistance. The wheels disappeared into a flurry of such feathers, and strands of wispy silver appeared. Kakyou sighed; a dream was coming to him.
"Kakyou!" A voice called out to him from the distance. A speck of light dawned in the background.
"Hokuto" he whispered, hoping for that one breath of fresh air.
"Hokuto-chan!" Another voice, a man's voice, called out, and a vision of Hokuto floated across the scene. The man quickly followed.
"Sakurazuka-san," Kakyou whispered, watching the black-clad assassin walk with an amused smile on his face. As Seishirou approached the charming girl, things changed. Hokuto's eyes faded from amber to green, and Seishirou's seemed to grow younger. The clothes twisted and morphed until both were wearing ceremonial kimonos.
"Subaru-kun Aisheteru, Subaru-kun," said Seishirou softly, and the younger twin acknowledged with a kiss. So, this is the new future of the Sakurazukamori, Kakyou thought.
"Sou desu ne," said another voice, coming from his side, as always. Kakyou sighed. "Interesting, dreamgazer. It seems as though you are still useful. I'm afraid that I cannot grant your own wish just yet. But now that of the Sakurazukamori is within my grasp." Fuuma grinned maliciously, and left the dreamscape.
Kakyou dipped his finger into the pool and did not cry, though he wanted to. He was a prisoner against his will, his power slaved to one who would destroy that which he loved. But he did not cry. He called to the Sakurazukamori, beckoning him to come to the tower.
*****
Seishirou stood on the balcony of the villa, smoking a cigarette and relaxing on a dead man's wealth. He had heard the call of /Kamui/, but wished to savor this moment before he went. At last, he dropped the cigarette to the ground below and entered City Hall.
"Konnichiwa, Sakurazuka-san." Kanoe greeted him again. He tried to show his disgust as he ignored her.
He entered the dark halls of the basement, and stood there, waiting for his audience with Fuuma. He waited for a long time.
A flicker of his power warned him of danger, but he couldn't move fast enough in time. The power of /Kamui/ tore through his protection ofuda like paper and dashed him against the wall painfully. Seishirou swore to himself and felt himself bleed from several places, felt the pain, felt the surprise. He had never dreamed that /Kamui/ could have been so powerful
"Is it really true, Seishirou-san, that your wish has changed?" Fuuma walked out of the shadows, his hand still raised, but a glint in his eye. "I warned you of such an alliance, but your wish has still changed."
Seishirou said nothing.
"Is it truly your wish to feel, as others do?" Fuuma knelt down near him and took his hand.
"Then I will grant your wish, Seishirou-san." Fuuma kissed the hand, and leaned in for more.