10. Choices.

T: Sei-chan is being rational in this chapter and thus you are most likely going to get annoyed with him…yes that is all the warning you are going to get!

No it's not mine.

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He looks so fragile.

This is the very first coherent thought that has entered the mind of Seishiro Sakurazuka since he had watched with a morbid fascination as Subaru's Kekkai had crumbled.

His mind had numbed off at that point, though through some strength of will he cleared his head enough to send Kamui to call for help, strength enough to listen while the doctor had talked of Subaru's injures with offhand gestures and bored demeanour.

Faced with the reality of the situation, the reality of Subaru's lithe form surrounded by tubes and bandages…he comes to sit at the others side and aware of the fragility of the equipment he reaches for his hands.

"Subaru, I understand why you did what you did, understand why that child's life means so much to you.

Kamui will not lease the child without cause and it shall only be a matter of time before he decides Kibou is a nuisance and kills him.

I will not let you suffer in vain…not when it may yet still be the ultimate sacrifice and thus I have chosen to offer myself. Have chosen to join again with the Dragons of Earth.

With you here there shall be no risk of us fighting one another and with Kamui strong there is hope that this world shall endure a little longer."

Seishiro pauses to stare at the floor.

"We will not meet again until the last day, when I will stand at your side. Until then I want you to know that I love you.

He looks back up at Subaru's comatose form and continues.

I want you to know that no matter what I do or say in the following months I shall always love you."

He leans across and kisses Subaru once before he finds his feet and heads for the exit.

Hokuto tries to stop him as he reaches the street, yet he ignores her pleas for him to stay, until her voice fades and he knows she has given in.

He goes first to the tree and after explaining everything to it says,

"If he makes it through all this I want you to protect him…want you to ensure that he is never again in a situation like this."

'Seishrio-sama…perhaps this is not the wisest choice…perhaps it would be better if you stayed at his side.'

"This is the only choice." He responds before he turns and heads for the Government building.

'Kamui' is waiting for him.

"You wish the child returned to safety and yet what will you give in return?"

"My service."

The other gives him an empty smile and says,

"Welcome back, Sakurazukamori."

…………………………………………………………………………………

"Where am I?"

It has been two days since Subaru had been admitted to the hospital and she had began to believe that her brother was never going to regain consciousness…

Had begun to believe that he was gone forever.

"You're in the hospital, Subaru."

"Hokuto-chan…why can't I see anything?"

Her heart clenched at the question and reaching for his hands she replied,

"You received some damage to your eyes."

"Am I blind?"

"The doctor is hopeful that you shall gain your sight back in one eye…she is less confident about you gaining again normal vision in both eyes…"

"Is Seishiro with you?"

"No." She paused and knowing well that this news would break her brother she said, "Subaru. Sei-chan went back to the Dragons of Earth…gave himself in exchange for Kibou."

"Oh." It is a deceptively hollow noise and for a moment she believes that he can not see where this choice leads.

Then he grasps harder to her hands and enquires,

"He is going to stay away, is he not?"

"Yes and unlike the last time you were separated he has to keep away from me also."

He has stilled and she knows that he is processing this information, knows that he is deciding which path he should take.

"Then my only choice is to believe in him and the truth of his love for me." He smiles then and his grip relaxes again.

In the momentary silence she at last presses the call button at Subaru's side in a signal that her brother is awake, but that there is no rush for a doctor as yet.

"How is Kibou?" He enquires eventually.

"A little shaken but apart from that he is unharmed."

"Is he back in Clamp Campus?"

"Yes."

"Good, the wards about that place should keep him safe from the Kamui of earth."

"If only the same could be said for our Kamui."

"This will have shaken his confidence."

"He is angry at being again useless as one he cared for was harmed and yet…

"Twice now the other Kamui has done something not fuelled completely through malice…has done something that might be considered 'kind'."

"I thought you believed that Kamui had given up on restoring Fuuma back to himself."

" I had until I talked to him properly…until I saw what sort of a person he was."

"Kamui is like that…a fragile, weak thing on the surface and yet beneath that veneer is a vast well of strength and confidence.

"Confidence you gave him, Subaru."

"He had his own confidence, Hokuto-chan; all I gave him was friendship when everyone else was treating him as a god."

"You understood him, Subaru and that understanding allowed him to blossom…allowed him to become as he is now."

"Perhaps…is he here, Hokuto-chan?"

"He had to go to school but I am sure that he will be back in an hour or so."

Her brother looks a little crestfallen after that and she is trying to think of a way to cheer him again when the nurse enters and she is bustled out of the room.

Everything is turning sour…

She had hoped that with her brother and Seishiro finally together everything else would sort itself out with an almost perfect finesse.

How ironic that it had been the self appointed granter of Wishes that had spoiled that dream.

Sunshine 60 and the events that had occurred in that place had proved a catalyst for the one pivotal moment of the war in that other future and she could not help but wonder if it would again prove as such.

Could not but wonder what lay in wait upon Rainbow Bridge.

Wishing to satisfy that curiosity she returns to the Government Building and the dark isolation of her husband's room.

As always Kakyo is sat at the edge of an oceanic dreamscape, and she allows the peace of that place to wash over her before she says,

"Good afternoon, Kakyo."

"You are alone today?"

"I wanted to see you without 'Kamui's' presence." She replies as she wraps him into an embrace.

It feels true simply because of their connection and she finds herself again craving his true touch…

Again craving an end to this war.

"You are worried."

"I fear that everything will fall again into the old pattern…fear that Sei-chan will die and take the heart of my brother with him."

"Since I showed you how things might have been between them you have not asked anything further of me. Will you do so now?"

"Yes. I would ask you to show me what will occur on Rainbow Bridge your future."

She is bombarded almost instantly with flashes of what had come before…

Her brother sat on a bench near the tree, his eyes fixated on a figure that could only be Seishiro.

Kamui and Subaru dancing together in the low lights of Babylon.

Seishiro kissing the palms of her brothers hands.

That one terrible moment at sunshine 60 where 'Kamui' had used the guise of Fuuma to gain the upper hand.

Then she sees the silhouette of the Rainbow Bridge.

Two figures stare at one another across the distance, one clearly Seishrio while the other seems to be Kamui and yet something seems out of place.

The younger boy seems different somehow and it takes her a moment to realise that he had allowed his hair to grow out.

They are talking and yet she can hear nothing, something that is not at all normal.

"Why can we not hear them?"

"Because their words and their actions have not yet been completely set…

"Because this day had not yet reached a certainty."

"How is that possible? I believed that the future was open always to you."

"It seems that is no longer the case."

The image has changed and she suppressed the urge to question her husband further and returns to watching this future play out.

Kamui and Seishrio have began to fight and already it is clear who the winner shall be…already the ancient strength of the sakura is proving little match for Divine power.

The fight stops abruptly and for a moment she can see no reason for this.

Once the dust settles, however, the reason for this lull becomes evident, for there in the centre of the Bridge is her brother.

A bandage covers his eyes and she can not but wonder how he has come to this place…

He is saying something and again she can not hear what, something that is beginning to infuriate her just slightly.

All three men glance upwards and then the vision blanks completely.

"What happens next?"

"I am afraid that even that is uncertain now."

They stand in that blank void together, hand in hand, contemplating what this uncertainty shall mean for their continued existence…

What it means for the continuation of all life on earth.

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T: No I will not reveal what is going to happen on Rainbow Bridge…yes I am mean! R+R ta!