Haunted Chapter 14 Amazed
by Katalyst

Once again, you'll recognize most of the dialogue in here. . It has, again, been edited for the story's purposes, but almost all of the dialogue has been pulled from volume 16.

There is one more chapter after this, an epilogue, which -will- be released by mid-november. It's... pretty amazing to think that it's almost over. x.x;

Thanks goes to my betas... Mitsu for pointing out my stupid typos and Colin for his constant nit-picks which keep me on track.. and especially to Trisha, for her constant needling for me to write, and her phenomonal patience while I babbled about Subaru being an unreliable narrator and whining about killing the ironic balance of this chapter and how I sucked. Trisha, you rock.

Edit: This chapter was originally all screwed up in its formatting. I apologize, to the people who have already read it. If they come back to read it, that is. X.x;

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It was windy, enough so that I had trouble lighting my cigarette, the flame dancing and flickering even in the protective barrier of my hand.

He was late, but I didn't care. I watched the town; frowning a bit at the thought that this might well be the last time I had the opportunity to stand here, to appreciate this view.

I watched the city, absorbed in thought enough that I didn't sense his approach until I felt the soft brush of fingers over my hand.

I looked back, up into his face. He was smiling carelessly as if this was nothing more than another rendezvous, another conversation that would end in a cheap motel.

I looked down at our hands, tilting my head a little, watching the cigarette burn slowly. Every conversation needs a start. "The ash is going to fall on your hand."

He sounded amused, almost incredulous. "And you're worried about that? As kind as ever, aren't you."

I almost laughed at that. He still underestimated me. Instead I took a slow breath, looking out at the city impassively one last time. It was time to show him.

"No. I've changed." I turned to face him, not quite pulling my hand away. "You changed me."

He smiled condescendingly as he reached for my cigarette, his hand dripping with blood.

So that was the reason he was so late. I had assumed he simply wanted to make an entrance. "You've just killed someone here, haven't you."

He let out a long breath of smoke, smiling at me lazily. "Well, I am the Sakurazukamori."

I looked down, trying to keep from smiling a bit. I suppose he thought I was shocked or upset.

Lightning cracked, close. It was time to begin. I reached into my jacket, pulling out a handful of ofuda, attacking first, barely giving Seishirou enough time to shield himself.

The bridge swayed under the deflected impact of the explosions, and I watched with a smirk as Seishirou's shield began to crumble and he jumped to balance on the thick cable. I was stronger now. I held my hands out, concentrating, building the kekkai around us.

I didn't see him reach for his ofuda, simply shielded as they swirled around me, deflecting them so the force of their explosion would take out a section of the bridge other than the one I was standing on.

Concrete and rebar and steel tore themselves apart, falling to the water below with a crash. Droplets of water fell around us, and energy sizzled through the air, creating our own private typhoon.

I stepped up onto a jagged piece of concrete, looking across the destruction towards him. He was still smiling, though he looked slightly annoyed that he hadn't caught me in the blast.

My turn again.

I chose birds this time, sending them diving at him, most spattering into illusory blood as they hit his shields. My eyes followed Seishirou as he dodged this attack too, and I followed him with it, not intending on letting him get away, redoubling and changing the attack as he set up a shield so that he had to also deflect it with his coat. I smirked. He was such a show-off.

The spent ofuda fell like snow, shredded paper drifting to the ground all around us.

Petals swirled around me, ripping through the wind, and I found myself caught, thin sakura branches twining around me, holding me still as darkness rolled in, pulled along by the flowers, and suddenly everything was calm. There was no noise, no wind, not even the tang of ozone in the air.

I took a moment to catch my breath, calmly twisting my hand in the binding, ignoring the way the bark scraped at my skin to slip an ofuda out of my sleeve. I pressed my thumb to it, carefully using the edge of the paper to part the skin, letting blood well up and soak into the paper, dripping a little onto the ground.

The illusion shattered, exploding out and swept away by the storm.

I shook my head at him, smiling a bit. He should know better. "Even without an illusion like that, I've been caught by the sakura. Ever since that day."

He was smiling at me thinly as he reached up to pull his sunglasses off.

For some reason, I thought he seemed angry, though his voice was as calm and unruffled as ever. "The Kamui of the Dragons of Earth was saying that no one but me can fulfill your true wish."

He paused, letting the silence grow, almost expectant. I raised an eyebrow a bit, realizing belatedly what he was asking. I had to suppress a smile as I answered. "Do you think my wish is to kill you?"

He smiled sweetly at me. "I wouldn't presume."

I let the moment fix itself in my mind, the thick feel of concrete dust in the air, the wind that seemed too dry, devoid of life and feeling.

He wanted more. I could see it in the slight tilt of his head, the way his guarded eyes searched mine. I didn't give it, but I couldn't help the lift of my lips as I held my hands out, fingers curled and twisted precisely.

The wind picked up debris and crackled as it whipped around us, tendrils of power seeming to dance with it. It was almost incandescently bright, our combined powers rendering Seishirou a dark, small silhouette that seemed impossibly far away.

Before it exploded, I wonder if he saw me the same way.

I can't say for certain what happened inside that light that swallowed up sound and air and threatened to burn us both away. One moment, he had been out of reach, the next close enough to kiss. I remember turning to him though, catching the arm of his coat in a hand and pulling him closer.

I didn't hear the explosion, but I heard the strange dull cracking sound as my hand found its way through muscle and bone, tearing a hole through Seishirou.

Something changed in me as Seishirou crumpled in my arms, a floodgate of power abruptly turned off and I looked up, watched my kekkai dissolving slowly.

I let my eyes drift down, to look at him, his hand clenching at my shoulder in a grip that might have been painful if I couldn't feel the weakness behind it. His head rested against my chest, and he was still breathing, slow gasping breaths. I had missed the heart.

Blood seeped from the wound, staining his jacket a darker black, glistening wetly. I pulled my hand back slowly, disentangling myself and lowering us both to the ground carefully, wrapping my arms around his shoulders.

I realized with a start that he was smiling still, looking up at me as he spoke.

"It seems… it wasn't needed…"

I frowned softly, confused. Of all the things I had expected Seishirou to say, that wasn't it. "What?"

He took a shallow breath, which gurgled in his throat softly. His lungs must have been filling with blood. "The final spell... your sister gave her life... to cast..."

"Your sister wished that... when the time came that I tried to kill you in the same way that I killed her... It would turn back upon me instead... However…"

He lifted a hand, weakly pressing it over the hole in his chest, as if it could stop the blood from spilling out, staining our clothes and the ground beneath us, holding us together.

I looked up into the sky. All I could see were phantom sakura petals and real shards of metal and glass, falling out of a wind that had almost died completely.

I closed my eyes for a moment, inhaling deeply. The dust was settling, the air moist again. "The two of us now... are like a mirror image of those figures in the past, aren't we?"

"When I... killed Hokuto-chan... I thought you… intended to kill me. However, later, I thought... you... never have been able to prepare yourself to kill anyone... Because... you're kind..." He reached up to lay his fingers against my cheek, slick and cold with blood.

I looked back down at him, dispassionately taking in the wry smile. His fingers traced my cheekbone, sliding down my face slowly. I took the hand in my own, leaning down to trace his lips with my own.

"Am I still kind?"

He laughed, a bubbling, broken sound. "Yes. There is no greater happiness than being killed by the one you love."

I wonder if he was looking for shock, some outburst of emotion at the admission. Instead I smiled, reaching up to smooth his hair back, dampening it with his own blood. "I wonder who I'll be killed by."

He smiled softly, shaking his head. "No one."

I frowned, opened my mouth to ask him why, what made him so sure, but his muscles were slackening, his eyes falling shut.

I stared at the body in my arms for a moment, then looked up. Kamui was there, staring at me, screaming something. I assumed it was my name. I stood, smiling at him. Feeling impossibly light I leaned down to pull Seishirou into my arms.

The bridge would collapse soon