Onmyoujitsu
Arrhythmic: Ah, gomen for the long, long interval between updates. It's just that this year I've changed schools, and life has gotten busier than ever, with extra-curricular commitments and all that... I haven't given up on this fic, neither have I given up on SK, though! Thank you for all your support...
Chapter Three: Sakurazuka
Sakato Sumeragi.
The formidable old woman watched as Subaru and his little Kamui-chan entered the hall and grinned wolfishly. Kamui did look incredibly adorable in a woman's kimono, if a little off-balance. And Subaru looked delighted, one hand at the small of Kamui's back, guiding the boy even as heads turned to face them.
Kamui was feeling nervous.
Horribly nervous. Subaru would gently elbow someone aside, or speak with a polite 'Excuse me', and they would move aside. The problem was, though; that he was getting too much of the attention considering that it was Subaru who was Clan Head.
Subaru smiled: it was easy enough to tell the boy's thoughts from the fidget-fidget of his motions and his tentative, nervous smiles at everyone and anyone who looked at him. For one, he was almost glad that everyone stared at Kamui, quietly trying to divine amongst themselves whether he was a boy or a girl. For one thing, it kept their attention away from his replaced eye, and secondly, he could already hear his female suitors in the corner, going 'What is Subaru-sama doing with her? And who is she anyway?'
He knew a brief moment of guilt for enjoying the moment when Kamui looked pleadingly at him, but a second later the cousin who had always reminded him of a female version of Sorata- Rika- turned to him and Kamui and grinned widely, politely excusing herself from a grand dame of an aunt to greet them.
Rika smirked briefly at Subaru and pinched Kamui's cheek. "You're Kamui Shiro, aren't you?" she asked, standing back one pace to look him up and down and grin at Subaru with approval. "Never expected you'd look so feminine," mused, tucking a stray strand of Kamui's hair behind one ear. "Well, Hokuto would be proud of you, Subaru-kun. And don't be nervous, Kamui," she added, walking off with a wave over one shoulder.
"She and Hokuto planned to go into fashion design together," Subaru reminisced, smiling softly after the exuberant girl who had just left. "Let's go," Subaru whispered, propelling the younger boy forward with a slight shove. "Grandmother's waiting."
Lady Sumeragi waited impatiently for them at the head of the long table, already seated on the cushion, her palsied legs somehow settled perfectly underneath her. Subaru assumed position just to the right of her, while Kamui sat next to him, taking a while to arrange himself in the kimono. Rika promptly showed up and sat herself down next to Kamui Indian style, grinning cheekily when Lady Sumeragi shot her a pointed look.
Seeing that they were settled, the old woman clapped her hands for silence, and when that didn't work, slammed them down on the table, the roasted duck seeming to spread its wings and jump off the porcelain platter. The clan shut up.
Subaru grinned at Kamui, and Kamui smiled back, reassured as he tried not to fidget. He already knew his legs would be asleep by the time he got back up.
Her smile was grim edged and half-saccharine. "Yes, all eligible ladies of the Sumeragi, Subaru, my grandson, thirteenth head of our Clan, is back home. Cue the whispers." At the old woman's last cutting sentence, the whispers were audibly stifled. "Now, he has Kamui Shiro with him. For those who have been listening to what you shouldn't and know who this boy is, congratulations. For those who don't, Shiro-san honours the Clan with his visit. He is, after all, Mankind's Savior."
Those sitting close enough to the old lady politely stifled laughter at her muttered, "Too skinny for the job, in my opinion."
"And yes, Shiro-san is male. If that's all, I think we shall commence dinner," Lady Sumeragi ended, gesturing towards the table, briskly ignoring the storm of whispers that broke out, most directed in the direction of Kamui. ('He's a guy? What's Subaru-sama doing with him?') "Shiro-san, you should eat more," she added to the boy. "You look too thin for your own good. Subaru, have you been starving this boy?"
"N-no!" Kamui hurriedly said in defense of Subaru, only realizing that the old woman was teasing when she grinned unexpectedly at him, Rika stifling giggles behind her hand.
"Grandmother, stop needling Kamui," Subaru spoke, deftly gripping a piece of sliced duck with chopsticks and depositing it on Kamui's plate. "He's eating. He just metabolizes fast."
"Comes from being the Promised One, I see," Lady Sumeragi observed wryly. "Must take a lot of food to keep up your powers, does it not?"
"I- I suppose..." Kamui's voice lifted at the end, framing more of a question than anything else.
Apparently, though, Lady Sumeragi was satisfied on the topic of his eating. As the servants served dishes of noodles in soup, she used the clink and clatter of plates to mask her question to Subaru. "You do know that you need to tell them you're the Sakurazukamori."
Rika's eyes widened in shock, but to her credit, she made no revelation other than leaning in closer to catch Subaru's reply. "I know, Grandmother." Taking a deep breath, he continued. "The question is, how will they take it?"
"Probably badly," Rika said urgently. 'I don't even want to know how you killed the last Sakurazukamori- they said he was the best they'd seen for quite some time- but I'm assuming it was mixed up with the Promised Day. But you know every person in this Clan, down to the youngest of the children, is taught to hate the Sakurazuka and most of all, the Sakurazukamori."
Kamui watched their conversation more than heard the words, noted the worried posture in Rika's stance, her fingers clenched tightly around the chopsticks. He noticed the tension that hadn't left Subaru's body in days, observed the slight twitch of a facial muscle in Lady Sumeragi's otherwise poker face.
"I have no choice, Rika. I'm already in conflict of duty. I don't kill the Sumeragi, but I do have to feed the Tree. You know the Sakurazuka are guardians of the cherry blossom. To be the Sakurazukamori is to be the guardian of the cherry blossom grave... so, do I take my own life?" his one green eye was bright with irony as he said, "That way, I'd end both the Sumeragi and the Sakurazukamori. Never has a Sakurazukamori killed himself, so the tradition is ended. The Sumeragi will tear themselves apart."
Rika nodded, acknowledging the truth of Subaru's words. "I know, cousin." She took a deep breath, then spoke again. "I'll support you, no matter what the outcome is."
Kamui snaked out one hand and laid it on Subaru's thigh, trying to feel a little less redundant. Feeling the gentle pressure on his leg, Subaru turned to Kamui, who sighed. "I wish I could feel a little less useless," the younger boy admitted. "I know nothing of your Clan politics, and I have the feeling I'm making things worse for you..."
"No," Subaru breathed quietly. "Not that. I need you here, Kamui, believe it or not."
It was then that one of the Clan's elders leaned over from across the table and began questioning Subaru on the Promised Day and the events leading up to it. Rika whispered in Kamui's ear, "That's our Archivist. You and Subaru-kun are going to have several long interviews with him, because he's been dying with curiosity about the Promised Day. And since you guys are here... good luck," the woman whispered, then dumped two dumplings on Kamui's plate. "Eat more."
Kamui soon felt a lot more at ease, putting in bits of information when Subaru seemed to have a couple of gaps in the story, and soon the old man included the youngster in his keen regard, regaling them both with a multitude of questions.
Finally, the last course was served- chilled fruit- and the nervous feeling was back in Kamui's stomach- or was that just the tingling in his legs? At some unspoken signal, Lady Sumeragi tapped her spoon against the dish, the ringing metal made against porcelain combined with her formidable voice. "Sumeragi! Your attention, please. The thirteenth head wishes to speak to you."
All eyes turned towards Subaru, and by extension, to Kamui at his side. "Thank you," Subaru began. "As you all know, I was away in Tokyo for quite some time, mostly to settle the events of the Promised Day as a Dragon of Heaven. As you can tell, we triumphed, partially because we're all still sitting here and haven't been ripped apart by a giant earthquake. However, in the course of this, I killed the twenty-ninth Sakurazukamori- Sakurazuka Seishirou, also a Dragon of Earth."
The sudden whispers that broke out, including the suddenly fearful glances thrown Subaru's way, indicated that at least some of the Sumeragi knew what he was talking about. But Subaru nevertheless pressed on. "As such, I am now the Sakurazukamori."
At that clarification, the noise swelled to a roar and Kamui fought the urge to visibly flinch against it. Subaru steeled himself for the opposition, which came in the form of... Akani.
The other man was just about to open his mouth when Subaru spoke again, silencing him immediately. "Know, however, that I do not do my duty to the Sakurazuka Clan. Only to the Tree in Ueno Park, simply because in that matter I have no other choice."
"That changes nothing, Subaru," Akani shouted over the rising tumult. "You know the purpose of the Sumeragi! To stand against the Sakurazuka, and most of all against the Sakurazukamori!"
"It is a lesson I have been taught from young," Subaru conceded, stalling for as much time as possible. "But I cannot work against myself. Listen to me, Sumeragi!" he shouted, and the Clan momentarily quietened down again, a brief reprieve of seconds: the only window in which Subaru would have to speak in his own defence.
"I will not suicide, because that would end the Sakurazuka line. I have my duties to the Tree. And I cannot give up the Sumeragi. Who would take my place?"
"Me," Akani spoke, no longer needing to shout, since the place was silent. His tone was silently threatening. "My father was your father's younger brother. If we were in any way unfit for our leadership, I would have taken that place. And what more unfit that being our worst enemy, Subaru?"
"If you kill me, Akani- even if you could-" and the derision in Subaru's tone stung the other man visibly. Even standing halfway across the hall, Kamui could feel the anger in his gaze. "You'd become the Sakurazukamori. The Tree will know when its guardian is dead and it will pull you to it. Then what? We kill each other off?"
The logic could not be denied- Subaru had made his point well, and even Akani seemed flabbergasted for a moment, before he stiffened again and pointed one accusing finger at Subaru. "Tomorrow, I'll meet you on the field. If I concede you defeat, Subaru, then you'll kill me and I'll be spared seeing our Clan fall into ruin. And if I defeat you, Subaru- I won't kill you. You'll step down in favour of me."
Subaru opened his mouth, ready to answer, but suddenly an arrow whistled through the air, headed straight for between Subaru's shoulderblades- a fatal blow if Kamui hadn't 'snapped' the arrow before it reached the Clan Head. In the midst of the sudden tumult, Lady Sumeragi shouted, "Assassin! Search the grounds!"
Subaru knelt to pick up the arrow, his lips twisting into a wry, humorless smile as he inspected the dark liquid smeared over the tip. "Looks like the Sakurazuka aren't too pleased with me either, are they? Sumeragi! Let's go. Search the grounds."
Kamui scrambled to his feet, but Subaru pressed him closer to Lady Sumeragi. "Stay with my grandmother. You're unfamiliar with Sumeragi grounds-"
"-and therefore I'd be more of a liability than a help, wouldn't I?" Kamui completed the sentence, giving a reassuring nod at Subaru's hesitation to complete the sentence. "It's alright. Just come back in one piece."
Subaru nodded. As they disappeared from the hall, Kamui saw Akani advancing purposefully on Subaru.
The moments passed by, and the men did not return, but the sounds of combat were not heard, and neither did Kamui sense any form of a kekkai from Subaru, so that was reassuring. Nevertheless, he stood, pacing as best as he could even in the kimono. Lady Sumeragi eyed and decided to let him be- for all that he seemed so fragile, he had proved considerable psychic powers in the way he had just extended his senses and snapped the arrow headed for Subaru. Or was he only so capable when someone he loved was threatened?
The women in the hall were eyeing him too, Rika with a mixture of pride and affection- that girl was too much like Hokuto for her own good- and the grown women with a considering look. However, the gazes of the women within his age bracket and Subaru's was distinctly hostile, and Sakato Sumeragi had every idea why.
She sighed silently. Subaru had problems enough without announcing his relationship with Kamui-san as well: amongst other things, the Sumeragi head was supposed to sire the next generation- something that wouldn't be likely to happen if Subaru and Kamui were allowed to continue their relationship.
She remembered Setsuka Sumeragi... denied their friendship and what promised to come because of rank and oppositions.
Silently she resolved that that would not be happening to her grandson and his chosen. Subaru would never settle for a woman: her grandson had been very obviously gay from a young age, in his affection and infatuation with Seishirou Sakurazuka, and now with the younger boy: Kamui. They had gone through plenty, and they would be one of the few left after the Promised Day who would remember all of what happened. She'd be a fool to think they'd tell everything.
The seconds passed, but there was no return. Sakato sighed- the Sakurazuka assassin would have escaped a long time ago. They were careful- always staking out a proper job. Their chosen assassin might have been here days on end already, hiding, deciding where Subaru would be likely to sit- and he would be their best, because he who killed Subaru would succeed as the Sakurazukamori.
Of course, some wouldn't see it that way. Those besotted with Sumeragi pride would insist that Subaru had given away information about the Sumeragi estates, and even those who were clearheaded but in opposition to Subaru would seize on that point.
Such as Akani.
Sakato sighed; knowing that tomorrow something would be decided. Either Akani would die, or Subaru would. Even if her grandson conceded defeat, the Sakurazuka would still seek to kill him and reinstate one of their own as the rightful guardian of the cherry blossom grave.
Noise at the front entrance of the hall revealed the return of those who had set out. Kamui stopped pacing, eyes straining expectantly to pick Subaru out from the mass of the men. The onmyoujitsu quickly made his way to where Kamui was standing, looking over both his grandmother and Rika. "No other attacks?" he asked.
"No," Kamui replied.
"Did you expect any, grandson?" his grandmother replied a little sharply. "They're after you."
"Still, grandmother, to kill any of us would have been a blow to Subaru and confusion to the Sumeragi, wouldn't it?" Rika asked.
Lady Sumeragi inclined her head, slightly, then snapped her fingers for a maid to bring her back to the wheelchair. "Go and rest, Subaru. I assume you've accepted Akani's challenge; as such, you'll have a tough time ahead of you tomorrow."
Subaru nodded and held out his arm to Kamui. "Let's go."
Kamui took it and leaned into him, more certain than ever that something big was brewing in the future.
Arrhythmic: Okay, I can tell you that chapter four will be a humorous chapter, and that will be the last you see of happy things in a while, because then we're going to descend into the angst – angst angst angst! – that makes up such an integral part of the SubaruKamui relationship...
