Chapter 3. Sacrifice and hope.

T: Yaoishojo I'm glad to see that you're asking me questions again! Keeps me going! In answer to this one my inability to post is because my computer is having issues with issues that I hope have been dealt with now! You aren't really ment to completely understand what the tree is going on about, it is a tree after all! Oh and the reunion is the next chapter so I'm afraid you'll have to wait a little longer!

Anyway, warnings remain the same with the addition of spoilers for the ending of Tokyo Babylon for those of you who have only read as far as volume 6 and have not cheated like me!

It's Clamps, can't you tell?

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He had found out his Shifku and had pressed it to him a moment in hopes of catching the last traces of his sisters living scent.

It was silly; of course, the Shifku that Hokuto had died in had faded with the rest of her body to wherever it had gone.

He had believed, at first, that she was in the sakura and after he had brought himself back from the depths of his heart he had gone to that place in search of her soul.

Gone desperate to free her from such a cruel fate.

She had not been there.

He'd puzzled over that until other matters had taken away his attention and the thought of searching for his sister had faded to the back of his mind.

Now however…

Settling himself into a meditative position he allows a calm to fall over him before he begins to chant a summoning spell.

'Hokuto-chan?'

For a moment there was nothing and then the faint call of his name,

'Will you come to me Hokuto-chan?'

A bright shimmer enveloped him a moment and then his sister was before him, her youthful appearance a painful reminder of all he had been, all he had lost,

'Subaru-chan, what have you done to you're hair?' She enquires as she ruffles his fringe.

The sensation is almost as an ice wind blowing across his skin, than a touch and he shivers despite himself.

'Hokuto-chan! I called you here for a reason!'

'You can deal with all that stuffy stuff in a moment. First you have to tell me what you've been doing with yourself…you're so thin, Subaru!'

He knew it was useless to ignore her when she was in this sort of a mood and so he explained about the passing of the years, of Kamui and the battle for earth.

She seemed satisfied at that and though he knew that he could approach her now with his reason for calling her, he could not help but enquire.

'Where have you been, Hokuto-chan? I thought that you had gone into the tree.'

'Had I gone into the tree then my sacrifice would have been empty. Thus I took the liberty of binding a little of my soul to Kakyo, enough so that my spell would hold.'

'What spell?'

'I made it so that if Sei-chan ever tried to kill you as he had me then the attack would re-bound onto him.'

Subaru started at that and he turned in on himself a moment.

Hokuto had assured that his reason for coming back had all but been stolen away and he was angry for the assumptions she must have made to come to such a choice.

If Seishrio had not chosen to stop the attack, if he had clung to the belief that Subaru wished to kill him…

But how had he known that was not the case?

Fuuma, his mind supplied, Fuuma had known his wish and had told Seishrio enough so that he had not attacked.

'Hokuto…' He wished to admonish her, to tell her what her actions had almost cost him and yet…

Had he not given up hope of reaching Seishrio, had he made his wish something other than his own death…

The memory of the kiss burned again on his lips and calming his natural instinct to blush he enquires,

'Would you hate me for loving him? For loving allowing him to love me?'

A long recalled smile blooms onto her face and she begins to laugh, the sound enough to scatter his control at last as he flushes.

'So he finally realised, did he? I would have liked to be alive so that I could design your wedding attire, but I suppose that I will have to content myself with your happiness.'

'Hokuto!'

She sighed and placing a chill hand against his face she said,

'Subaru, I truly believe that love is strong enough to purge all sins and if you truly love him then it is enough.

'I chose to go to give my life in hopes of this eventuality and so how can I be anything but that it has fallen as such?'

'Thank you.' He murmurs before he leases her presence from him at least.

She blows him a kiss as she fades and Subaru knows then that death had merely been an inconvenience as far as his sister was concerned.

It takes him another moment to realise that she had mentioned Kakyo's name and he huffs out a little breath of frustration as he recalls that she had deliberately moved away from the subject, most likely on purpose.

Which ment that for the moment she wished to keep whatever was going on between the dreamseer and herself to remain a secret.

So be it.

He remained in mediation a little while longer and then gaining his feet he changed and went out in search of Seishrio.

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T:I am conforming to the fan cannon idea that Sei-chan did not feed Hokuto to the tree and that she is attempting to wake Kakyo up, I've also added a spin to it as is my tradition. Next chapter asap until then R+R