Warnings: There are spoilers for X.9 in this part.

Words in italics: Inner thoughts

STANDARD DISCLAIMERS APPLIED.

Comradeship, Friendship or More?

Part 1

(TB's Subaru's POV)

How can such a terrible thing happen... How can a brother murder his own sister... How can anyone in the right mind betray his own friend, and even attempted to hurt him so badly... How can any human carry out such a callous act...

My mind was still reeling in a state of total shock and confusion. I simply could not digest the horrendous fact that I had just been forced to witness... something which I would rather not have known about in my entire existence.

Somehow, this brought back the memory of Seishiro-san's revelations earlier...

How can this be? How can nice and gentlemanly Seishiro-san be one with the malicious Sakurazukamori! This just... just doesn't make sense...

Suddenly, a fragment of earlier memory crept through my mind, a memory of an earlier conversation I had with neesan. Hokuto-chan's words, "Sei-san may seem nice, but is he really nice?"...

Does neesan know something that I don't know about?

No! This can't be... Seishiro-san must be joking, right...

But... but the way he was acting earlier...

My head was starting to hurt with all this mind argument, worst still after the totally confusing scenario I had with Seishiro-san, I was next forced to witness the barbarous attack of the Dark Kamui on Kamui.

I really wondered how Kamui would handle this... he so young... approximately my age I would guess, and worst of all, from what I heard from the other Seals, the Dark Kamui was Kamui best friend...

I could feel my tears creeping out from the corner of my eyes, sliding slowly down the smooth surface of my cheek, but I made no attempt to brush away, as I was still too overwhelmed to even think properly now.

As always, the sadness of others had always affected me... and this time too, I could feel myself being dragged down into Kamui's overwhelming pool of sorrow... I feel myself drowning in his sadness... I feel so guilty for not being there for him... for not doing anything to ease his pain...

Luckily for me, Hokuto-chan was not here at the moment, or else my dear neesan would surely have given me a tongue lashing for allowing myself to be suffering in another's grief.

For now, my emotions were beyond control, being overly jeopardised by Kamui's terrible affliction, piling on the earlier shocking revelations of Seishiro-san...

If neesan was here she would surely have killed me for being this sorrowful.

I must help him! I must!A sudden voice scream through my mind.

But... but... what can I do? What can I say? I could not even few a thousandth of his sorrow and his pain... What should I do?Another voice whimpered back in response.

Just do something! Anything is better than nothing. The other voice once again tore through my brain like a hurricane.

Well... but...

At that moment, the room door slam opened, pulling me out from the depths of my mind. I quickly brushed away my tears and then looked up to see Arisugawa-san appearing out from the bedroom where Kamui lies, with a helpless expression in his eyes.

"How is Kamui?" asked Arashi-chan hesitantly."

Arisugawa-san bent his head down dejectedly, and the replied, "No matter how I called him, there is still no response!" He sighed, before continuing, "But well, this is not beyond expectation, after all he was cruelly forced to witness the one he love most, being killed by another that he love most...Maybe... he may even remain in this catatonic state forever..."

The youngest Seal among us, Yuzuriha-chan, with tears flowing freely from her eyes, queried in an agitated manner, "What'll happen to Kamui, if he doesn't wake up?!"

"Remaining the same forever... Can't see or hear anything, and just remains locked up within himself..." The Kansai monk stared aimlessly into mid-air while replying.

I must do something... I must get to him... It maybe hard to enter his mind now that he is so close up, but I must try! I've to!

With this thought, I leave my place by the windowsill, where I had stood silently throughout while trying to straighten out my thoughts, and took big strides heading for the bedroom that Kamui was in.

As I was opening the room's door, Arisugawa-san shouted out to me, "What're you planning to do?!"

I just ignored him and walked on to Kamui's bedside, and reached out to hold his slender hand in mine.

The others not understanding my gestures at all, puzzling entered the room in worry, eyeing my every move.

After staring at Kamui for an audibly long moment, without turning back to face the others, I finally replied, "I want to enter inside Kamui?"

"What? You mean you're planning to enter within his mind?" Arashi-chan asked.

"But that too dangerous, as he is now in a catatonic state!" A college boy with an arm in sling, I presumed to be Saiki-san, continued.

I tilted my head sideways to face them, but still not saying anything, as I was too busy trying my best to smooth out the emotional turmoil within myself, so that I would have a calmer mind to carry out this task at hand.

Arisugawa-san, who had been silent since he entered the room, finally spoke up, "You're planning to use some secret skill of the Sumeragi-clan?"

"Sumeragi-clan?!" The boy whom I assumed to be Saiki-san, well... I wasn't really sure who he was, for I was to distract just now to really pay full attention to all the various introductions, looked up in shock and mumbled aloud.

I ignored all of them once again, putting in my fullest effort on the task at hand. I took in a deep breath. Calmed don my agitated state of mind as best as I could, before chanting...

I could feel my consciousness being slowly dragged out of my own physical shell and plunged into the depths of Kamui...

-- End of Part 1--

C&C is much welcomed.