Author's Note: I sincerely apologize for the lack of updating from me. I've got a bunch of things to do this summer to prepare for college, so I'm afraid that a lot of my free time has been diminished. I do intend to eventually finish the fics I have in the works, but after that, I don't know what to say. I don't think that I will be writing a lot after I finish this fic, To Rewrite Destiny, and Ces Larmes Je Pleure. But anyway, again, I apologize for not updating.
Warning: Molestation! Really, actually, I should put that in as a guarantee. And if I haven't mentioned it before or if you haven't figured it out from previous chapters, this is sixteen-year-old Subaru and twenty-five-year-old Seishirou.
Chapter Five
Kamui gaped at the ballet mistress. Had Karen just dropped a hint at the Phantom's true identity? Could it be that the missing son of the deceased assassin was the Phantom of the Opera? No, it couldn't be. Someone would have figured it out a long time ago, if it were true. Then again, if it was true…could Subaru be in danger? One would think that the son of an assassin would learn tricks of the trade from his predecessor. If that were the case, and the Phantom was indeed the son of an assassin…
"Can you tell me more about this, Karen-san?" Kamui asked.
Karen looked around warily. "Not here."
((Author is currently listening to her copy of the special edition Phantom of the Opera soundtrack "Music of the Night" and gods, Gerard Butler's voice is, in the words of SuperSeme Fuuma, "an eargasm".))
Karen led Kamui to the one place she was absolutely sure that it was safe to talk of such things; her own room. She knew that the Phantom would never bother her here. Kamui saw, in the corner of the room, a collection of photographs and newspaper clippings. Upon closer inspection, he saw that they were from ten years previous. Sitting next to the newspaper clippings was an old stuffed bear.
"I was eighteen years old," Karen said. "I was living here to study ballet when my mother died. It was just after my mother's death and I had gone to buy flowers for her grave. It was a horribly cold winter and I was taking as many shortcuts back to the opera house as I could. By chance, I stumbled across the courtyard of an estate and that was where…"
"You were the one…?" Kamui asked.
Karen nodded. "I was the one who found the body. I had known the woman from seeing her and her son at the opera house a few times."
"But if you had seen her son," Kamui interrupted, "wouldn't you know if he were the Phantom?"
"I never forget a person's name, Kamui, but as for their face…unless I knew the person very well, I wouldn't be able to put two and two together."
"Oh," Kamui said.
"I had met her face-to-face before," Karen continued. "Though, never her son. I suppose he didn't care for people all too well.
"We had an open house the night before she was murdered. She came, without her son. She came up to me and introduced herself as Sakurazuka Setsuka, congratulated me on my performance, then went on. I remember…her perfume smelled like a mix of camellias and cherry blossoms. But I'm getting off subject."
"Please, continue," Kamui said, taking a seat.
Karen stepped over to the newspaper clippings. "I suppose it's strange that I would keep articles on the horrible sight I found myself standing before. But I knew Setsuka. And it wasn't just from the open house. I knew she was an assassin. I don't think she knew that I did. I don't think she had seen me that night when I had seen her kill. I remember she wore a beautiful white dress, but didn't seem to mind that it was covered in blood. In fact, I think she rather enjoyed the thought of the off-set crimson stain on the dress."
Karen handed a clipping to Kamui. There was a picture of Setsuka, before she was killed. She had been a beautiful woman; long black tresses and eyes the color of molten gold. She looked young, though Kamui read that she had been in her mid-thirties when she had died.
"Her son was not at the estate, when I went to report what I had seen," Karen said. "I thought it strange; I had seen him pick his mother up from the open house just the night before. He wasn't much younger than I, perhaps fifteen or so. He looked so much like his mother."
"And nobody knows what happened to him?" Kamui asked.
Karen shook her head. "Not a soul."
Kamui stared at the picture of the missing boy, Sakurazuka Seishirou. The picture itself was not in color, like the one of Setsuka, but from what Karen had told him, the Magami heir could picture it in color. He thought back to merely a half hour beforehand, when he had seen the Phantom for the first time. The man's face had been covered by a half-mask, so Kamui couldn't see his eyes clearly. All Kamui knew, was that the Phantom had black hair and that his half-smirk was hauntingly similar to the smirk on the lips of the boy in the photo.
"When did the Phantom first appear here?" Kamui asked.
"Some ten years ago, though still a few months after Setsuka's murder."
Kamui studied the photo again. Was there a slight possibility…?
That night, Subaru found it hard to sleep. His dreams were filled with the haunting smile of the Phantom and the older man's voice was impossible to get out of his head. When he didn't see the Phantom's smirk, Subaru could see his father's death at the hands of a mysterious person. Finally, wanting no more of these horrid nightmares, Subaru threw back the blankets and quietly slipped out of bed. Pulling on a jacket over his pajamas and picking up his shoes, the young man tiptoed out of his room and past the spot where Kamui dozed, just outside the door.
Subaru headed outside of the opera house and around to hail a cab. It was late, but he managed to find someone willing to take him to his destination; the cemetery where his parents were buried. Subaru pulled on his boots as the driver prepared for the trip. He didn't notice when a figure dressed in black rendered the driver unconscious and took his place.
"To the cemetery, please," Subaru said, getting in the vehicle.
((Author is silent for a few minutes, trying to think whether she set this fic in the 1800's or the 1900's. All is still. Thirty minutes pass as the author plays Mahjong until she can figure out a time setting.))
The loud whinny of a horse woke Kamui from his slumber. He started when he saw the door to Subaru's room opened and ran to it, fearing that the green-eyed boy was gone. And sure enough, he was. Kamui hurried over to the window to see an open carriage drive off. Inside it, sat the young Sumeragi boy.
"Subaru!"
Kamui ran out the room and down the stairs towards the stable, grabbing his sword on the way out. It was there that he ran into the regular carriage driver. The man was rubbing his head, where Kamui could see a large red bump under the man's thin, grey hair.
"Where did he go?" Kamui asked, hurriedly.
"The cemetery."
Kamui thanked the man quickly and jumped onto a horse. Holding tightly onto the reins, he urged the horse to go as fast as possible in the direction of the burial grounds. He would have to hurry to get there. That is, if the carriage did go to the cemetery as it was supposed to.
The carriage drove along the roads towards the cemetery, carrying the young singer in the back seat. Subaru looked out the window of the vehicle and watched as the snow covered trees went by. Words came to his mind and softly, slowly came from his mouth in a familiar melody.
"In sleep he sang to me…
In dreams he came…
That voice which calls to me…
And speaks my name…"
Subaru looked down into his lap as the carriage rode on. For several long minutes that felt like several long hours, the horses of the carriage pulled forward until, at last, they came to a halt at the cemetery gates. Subaru climbed out of the stagecoach and pulled his cloak around him as the night's chilly air brushed against his body.
"His Su-kun thought of everything and nothing," Subaru whispered as he slowly stepped through the cemetery. "His father promised him that he would send him the Angel of Music. His father promised him…"
((Author's Note: Su-kun…how cute.))
Subaru looked sadly through the cemetery. "His father promised him…"
A soft night breeze went through the maze of tombstones and statues. It made Subaru's long black bangs wave in his eyes. He closed his eyes for a short moment, recalling the windy night when he last saw his father. The man knew, somehow, that he was going to die. And so, he promised both his children that he would send them angelic guardians. Subaru and Hokuto had been very young; neither of them realized that this would be the last promise their father ever made them.
"You were once my one companion," Subaru softly whispered. His whisper turned from spoken words to a soft melody.
"You were all that mattered.
You were once a friend and father,
Then my world was shattered…"
Subaru shivered in his cloak as a stronger wind blew against him. Continuing on, the boy's voice grew a little louder.
"Wishing you were somehow here again,
Wishing you were somehow near…
Sometimes it seemed, if I just dreamed.
Somehow you would be here…
"Wishing I could hear your voice again,
Knowing that I never would
Dreaming of you won't help me to do,
All that you dreamed I could!"
Hokuto had told Subaru the same when they first went to the opera house. Their father had been a good friend of the previous owner, Aoki Seiichirou's father, Ichirou. So, after their father's death, Ichirou brought Subaru and Hokuto to the Opera Populaire to study. Subaru had been hit harder by his father's death than his sister, mostly because he was the one who had stumbled upon their father's body the next morning. Hokuto had done everything she could to help him through, even though she, too, was very distraught.
((Author's Note: I read somewhere that the name Seiichirou means "first son of Ichirou," so I figured that his father's name should be Ichirou. So, excuse me if you think I'm being unoriginal. I'm just being…lazy, I suppose, for not finding a better name.))
Subaru continued though the cemetery, making his way to the eastern corner of the burial grounds, where the Sumeragi family tombs were located. Both his mother and father were buried there. He remembered coming to the family tombs with his father and Hokuto to pay annual visits to his mother's grave, though he had never known his mother, who had died in childbirth.
"Passing bells and sculpted angels," Subaru sang, taking in the bronze angels, whose faces were strewn with rain marks, making it look as though they cried.
"Cold and monumental,
Seem, for you, the wrong companions;
You were warm and gentle…
Too many years fighting back tears,
Why can't the past just die?
As he drew closer to his father's tomb, Subaru's voice grew in pitch. The empty cemetery echoed with his voice in the silent night.
"Wishing you were somehow here again,
Knowing we must say good-bye!
Try to forgive, teach me to live,
Give me the strength to try!
No more memories, no more silent tears!
No more gazing across the wasted years!"
Reaching his destination, Subaru knelt in front of the large tomb that stood before him. Inside, laid the stone caskets that held his parents' remains. He looked up towards the heavens for a brief moment, as if praying for the courage to say the last few words he yearned to say.
"Help me say good-bye…" he begged, fighting back tears. "Help me say…good-bye."
Silence in return was the response. Subaru bowed before his family's tomb and silently worded a prayer. As he did so, a voice came to him.
"Wandering child, so lost, so helpless," the voice sang, soft. "Yearning for my guidance…"
"Angel or father, friend or phantom?" Subaru asked. "Who is it this, staring."
"Have you forgotten your angel?" came the reply.
"Angel oh, speak," Subaru said, entranced by the voice, "what endless longings, echo in this whisper?"
"Too long you've wandered in winter, far from my fathering gaze…"
"Wildly, my mind beats against you," Subaru whispered, "yet the soul obeys…
"You resist, yet your soul obeys..." the other voice sang.
The gates of the Sumeragi family tomb slowly swung open as Subaru climbed the small flight of stairs towards it. A new melody arose as Subaru and the voice sang together. Their voices combined in a hauntingly familiar duet.
"Angel of music, I denied you, turning from true beauty," Subaru sang.
"Angel of music, my protector, come to me, strange angel…"
At the same time, the mysterious voice, deep and alluring, sang words that different only a little:
"Angel of music, you deny me, turning from true beauty…
Angel of music, do not shun me, come to you strange angel."
Subaru stood just in front of the tomb. A lit torch inside gave off a warm orange glow, which reflected off Subaru's pale skin. The boy hesitated before the open gates. Somewhere, in the back of his mind, he felt as if this was a mistake; that something here was wrong.
However, Subaru was drawn into the tomb by the voice's call.
"I am your Angel of Music…" it beckoned him. "Come to me, Angel of Music."
Subaru stepped inside and the gates shut behind him. A shadow moved to his right and Subaru was drawn into the arms of the man whose voice he had heard. There was a familiar feel to the man's embrace, but Subaru could not put his finger on it. The man drew Subaru as close to his body as possible and turned the boy around to face him.
Subaru let out a small gasp. The man's face was partially hidden behind half a mask. Golden eyes looked deep into frightened green ones. The man gave a small smirk.
"You belong to me, Subaru-kun," the Phantom purred. "To me and only to me."
((Author is tied to her chair with ten feet up duct tape. You should all thank her sister, Ootori, for this. For she is the only reason that Koichi is not in bed at this moment.))
Subaru tried to escape the older man's grip, but the Phantom's grasp was nearly impossible to break. The Phantom held tightly to Subaru, pinning him to the wall of the tomb. His hips brushed against Subaru's, causing the younger man to gasp out loud. The Phantom's predatory smirk returned, as if he enjoyed the way Subaru cried out. He took both of Subaru's slim wrists in one hand and allowed the other to wander over the boy's body.
"N-no…!" Subaru moaned.
"You're mine, Subaru-kun," the silky voice of the Phantom whispered into Subaru's ear. "My Subaru-kun."
The Phantom's hand found its way under the shirt that Subaru was wearing. The young Sumeragi shivered as the older man's hand ran along the skin of his chest. He let out a choked cry and struggled against the Phantom.
"LET HIM GO!"
The Phantom turned to see none other than Shirou Kamui rush up on a horse. The Magami heir jumped from his horse and unsheathed his sword.
((Author's Note: Just to let you know. It's not the Shinken. Duelist of the Sands stole it from Kamui, so the poor boy had to go get himself a cheap broad sword.))
The Phantom released Subaru, who fell to his knees, breathing deeply. Golden eyes darkening with abhorrence towards the younger man, the Phantom left the tomb and headed towards Kamui. He pulled out a sword of his own and faced Kamui. Their swords flashed in the light of the moon and the torch that was lit inside the tomb. Subaru could only watch from where he kneeled, just inside the tomb where his family lay at rest.
The Phantom advanced on Kamui, pushing the violet-eyed boy towards a grave marker. Kamui tripped, but regained his balance; rolling backwards and jumping to his feet. The two continued to fight. The Phantom's sword lashed out suddenly, though, slicing Kamui's left arm. Kamui cried out in pain, but didn't hesitate to keep fighting. In fact, he pushed the Phantom backwards and attacked. The tip of Kamui's sword hit the mask on the Phantom's face, knocking it off as the point slashed the older man's face.
The Phantom cried out and pressed a hand to the right side of his face, covering his eye, from which blood now flowed. The older man fell, pain nearly blinding him completely. Kamui huffed and raised his sword.
"Kamui, stop!" Subaru exclaimed. "You've won! That's enough!"
Still panting, Kamui looked from Subaru to the Phantom, who did not look up at all. The violet-eyed boy's gaze went back to Subaru. He put his sword back in its sheath and reached a hand out to Subaru. The two of them left, getting onto Kamui's horse and riding out of the cemetery.
The Phantom stood with his hand still over his eye. Crimson blood seeped between his fingers, running down the back of his hand.
"This isn't finished, Shirou Kamui," he snarled. "Subaru-kun will be mine."
With those words, the Phantom turned and headed away. His mask lay in the snow, broken into two. But that didn't matter. Something had to be done about his eye. And quickly. Heading back towards the carriage, the Phantom took his sword and cut one of the horses loose. He climbed onto its back and directed it towards town, to the nearest infirmary.
Author's Note: There. An update. Be grateful. I don't know when I'll be able to update this next. I'm looking for a job and getting ready for college. Fic updates will probably be rather sporadic for a while.
Purrrin: I'm not going to spoil anyone by telling them about how this is destined to end. So, all you can do is hope right now about the SeiSu factor in this story. But feel appreciated; the SeixSu bit in this chapter was written especially for you.
Duelist of the Sands: Yes, I did blame you for Kamui having to fight with a cheap broad sword. You stole his Shinken back in chapter three (I think it was that chapter). But anyway. I'm glad you liked that bit with "Our Don Juan must go get laid." It took me a while to figure out what to have the Phantom say to Fuuma.
Tanuki-dono: Thank you for the compliment, imouto! I'm glad you like this fic so much. And to think, I wasn't ever intending to write much more than the first two chapters. But everyone loved it so much; I didn't want to disappoint y'all.
Chenya: I'm so sorry about the SxK. I swear, it was not my idea. ((points to Charon)) It's all Charon's idea! ALL CHARON! But at least you liked the masquerade and the KakyouxHokuto bit. Yes, idolize the SeixSu. IDOLIZE IT! ((is smacked with a biology textbook)) OW! ((rubs head)) But anyways. Oh, yes. The Point of No Return. Koichi's excuse to put in lots of angst and UST. ((plots))
Subaru's Voice: Agh. Damn it. Why does everyone suspect they're going to dislike the ending? I'm telling you, I won't disappoint my fellow SxS fans! By now, you've seen the movie, right? What do you think? Thanks for the review! ((huggle))
MoongirlSelene99: Than you for the review and you're welcome for the review. If you ever need help with your fic, just drop me an e-mail.
Jen: I'm glad you liked it! The leather pants still make me drool. I've gone through four drool buckets. As for the whole "Don Juan must go get laid," Satsuki-chan from our X chat helped out with that. Sorta. I came up with it, but she did help. I love you, too. Now imagine more boys/men in leather pants.
HauntedQuill: ((plays in the sakura petals)) … ((smirks)) Do you like sakura, lit— ((Aquaria comes in with a mallet))
Aquaria- ((thwacks Koichi with Mallet of Doom)) Don't you dare impersonate, Sei-chan, Koichi!
Koichi- ((swirly eyes)) Eeeeehhhhhhhhh……?
Aquaria- Koichi thanks you for your wondiferous review, Haunted Quill-san. But as she is currently indisposed of at the moment, she cannot thank you in person.
Koichi- Ooohh…….inverted penta…star…thing…ies…. ((loses consciousness))