B y Y o u r S i d e > f o r e o r d a i n e d ;
Sumeragi Sui
Warnings: Nope, none. Clean for the most part.
Disclaimer: Hokuto-chan, Kakyou-kun, Subaru-kun, Seishirou-san, X, TB, etc., etc. all copyright CLAMP, not me.
Notes: I honestly am totally unsure about how long this whole story will be.Should I stop now meaning at a few more chapters or write a few meaning 10 more chapters, or just go with the flow until I feel like it's come to a definite ending point?What do you readers think?While I'm pondering this, please enjoy. Kakyou may seem a little bit OOC at times, but keeping in mind this was in the TB era when he was still a teenager I think
...their destinies were foreordained...
; t e a /
Hokuto-chan seemed faintly uneasy as she calmly sipped her tea. Kakyou glanced at her with slight concern, frowning at the way she had been rocking her legs back and forth and clutching the table as she rocked, content yet still apprehensive.Kakyou coughed, attempting to shake Hokuto out of her trance. Her eyes widened in surprise at the sudden break of silence, and she managed a yawn, smiling as if she'd just awoken from a long slumber.
"Hmm... Oh, yeah, what were you saying?" Hokuto chirped cheerfully, still appearing disoriented and pouring herself some more tea from the elaborately designed pot Kakyou had materialized in the dream.
"I'm not quite sure," he replied seriously, looking at her anxiously."I just asked how you were and then you went off into your own world," he said softly.Hokuto blushed lightly.
Accidentally knocking over her teacup and spilling her tea all over the table, she tried to clean it up while stammering nervously, "I-it's nothing, really!Just that..." She paused, looking fearfully uncomfortable and fidgety at the same time.
Hesitating slowly, Kakyou frowned."Just that... what?" he asked curiously yet restlessly while taking a battered cloth for himself from the cabinet.He began to help Hokuto mop up the mess, expecting an answer and looking almost impatient.
"Oh, well..." Hokuto sighed, finally looking more relaxed. "You're a yumemi, aren't you?So you must obviously believe that the future has already been chosen, right?"
Kakyou gave a small grin and shook his head simply, seeming somewhat immersed in thought."It's not that I believe it," he said finally, exhaling."It's that I wish it wasn't true, that it wasn't going to really happen.If I weren't a dreamseer, I would like to believe that we decide our own future, because it's ours, and we should choose what happens to us.But, like they say... wishful thinking, eh?"He smiled darkly, as Hokuto appeared to be a bit surprised by his answer.He grinned cheerfully in a sudden change of mood and asked, "Why do you ask, Hokuto-chan?"
Hokuto finally started to look serious, and even grave, for the first time that day."I have a bad feeling..." she faltered for a moment, looking ambivalent."...about Sei-chan.I don't know why... but it just suddenly came to me... like... staying friends with him isn't a good idea.But we've only been friends for maybe ten months or so..."
At this statement, Kakyou became shakily unsettled and mumbled, "Wh-why do you think you feel that way...?Has he been acting s-suspicious lately or something?" he managed to say, plastering on a fake, understanding smile while shivering inside.Was it possible that she had some feeling about what was going to happen in two months, to her brother, her best friend, and herself?
Shrugging, Hokuto seemed worried."I just don't know... it worries me... like something bad is going to happen to my brother... Subaru-chan... I don't know what I'd do if I lost him, Subaru-chan is the person I love most in this world, but he has no attachment to life, he's so selfless, he'd die for anybody else if it meant they'd be happy... he's such an innocent soul..."Almost looking as though she was on the verge of tears, she forced a grin, although it was lacking her usual spunkiness.
She sighed, as Kakyou watched her with slight worry.Hokuto continued, seeming stronger yet at the same time weaker with every word."I want him to be able to enjoy life, to love someone and want to be with them.He's such a pure soul... he worries for everyone except for him... I'm worried he'll just let himself die for the sake of someone, anyone else... but at least, at least it should be for someone he loves."
Pained with the burden of knowing exactly what would happen to Hokuto's brother, Kakyou muttered, "Would you like him to die... for you?"
At this Hokuto looked stern and even offended."Of course not!" she cried indignantly, insulted that he had even thought of such a thing."No... I want him to die... for Seishirou-chan... because I know Subaru loves him, and maybe not in the way he thinks he loves him in... but he won't admit it...It's just that, now, with this feeling, I'm not so sure I should still be putting them together."Kakyou nodded absentmindedly.
"Sei-chan... sometimes seems suspicious," she sighed calmly, appearing to becoming more content and less emotional."His last name is Sakurazuka... and the Sakurazukamori is always in the Sakurazuka family... but even if Subaru says Sei-chan is 'too nice' to be an assassin, for some reason, I don't know... I keep on asking Sei-chan about it, and he never answers my questions, and even if we're just joking..." she cut herself off, and blushed."Oh, I've just been rambling about my own troubles without a care for yours, Kakyou-kun!How are you today?" she piped up energetically.
Kakyou smiled, relieved that she changed the subject."Absolutely great, since I have Hokuto-chan with me," he answered, grinning.
> t e a/ e n d ;
"Hokuto-chan, why have you been sleeping so much lately?" Subaru asked with an expression of utmost concern, leaning on the kitchen counter.Hokuto smiled reassuringly in return, but before she could answer, Seishirou walked up to her and placed his hand on her forehead, checking her temperature.
Removing his hand and looking thoughtful, he examined her curiously."Are you sick?"
She shook her head tirelessly and struck a pose."Of course not!Where do you get these ideas, Sei-chan?" she inquired as she ran around grabbing silverware and china for dinner."Subaru-chan!Please help me set the table," she demanded in a motherly sort of tone.Subaru grinned sheepishly and agreed, taking chopsticks and placing them on the table cheerfully.
As they sat down, Sei-chan repeated Subaru's earlier question."So, Hokuto-chan, why have you been sleeping so frequently lately?" he asked inquisitively.
"Ohohohohohohohoho!" came the reply.Hokuto smiled knowingly, placing her finger on her cheek in a teasing sort of way. She winked, her eyes twinkling. "I've been going on dates!" she responded brightly.Subaru seemed a bit confused, and looked miserably perplexed.Hokuto grinned at her brother's obliviousness and turned to Seishirou, waiting patiently for an answer if one came at all.
"Oh, so you've been dating a dreamgazer, I see," he said in an indifferently casual tone between bites. "Does he, uh, tell you any of the dreams he sees?"While Subaru looked at Hokuto for the answer, a vicious gleam appeared in Seishirou's eyes and a corrupt smile on his face for a short instant.Neither twin noticed the older man's rather suspicious expression in that single split second.
"Nope!" Hokuto answered animatedly."Although, sometimes I wish he would," she pondered out loud, looking thoughtful.
Seishirou smiled again, but in his usual "kind" way, like always.Subaru still seemed a bit bewildered, but attempted to keep up with the conversation.They continued with dinner, discussing random topics, from chickens to television shows.
After the meal was finished, Hokuto hopped off in her regular pleasant demeanor to do the dishes and Subaru went after her, not wanting to be caught alone with Seishirou again and helping her clean up.Alone in the hall stood Seishirou, lighting a cigarette and inhaling the smoky fumes in pure satisfaction.He formed a shadow that seemed to suck in all darkness, and there was the evil flash in his aureate eyes again, no longer full of kindness but cold and empty, unemotional and painfully blank.Hollow of any feelings whatsoever.It was a bit unsettling, but to him, this was him, his real self, without the excruciating mask of being carefree and compassionate.He enjoyed the little moments where he could be himself, and he breathed in the smoke, unaware and indifferent of the fact that it was "bad for his health".No, instead, it helped his powers, and he smiled malevolently, pleased."Because we wouldn't want Miss Hokuto-chan finding out anything beforehand, would we?" he muttered under his breath, hissing in a malicious tone.
f o r e o r d a i n e d + END.