3. Second Touch.
T: Warnings are the same and it's still not mine...still sad!
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Time was the oddest of things.
The last that she recalled she had been holding him in her arms, all but able to break him with one wrong movement and now…
Now it was he who held that power.
She would have simply passed him by in the street had it not been for the spark of her magic in his blood.
That spark had called to her and enthralled still within her illusion of invisibility she had allowed herself to look at the man her boy had become.
He was handsome, a confidence in the liquid brown of his eyes informing her that he knew this well, and yet…
Something of the melancholic edge that had so enticed her to him that first day had burned away and he seemed now as only a dim spark compared to what he might have been.
Despite this the heart of her yearned for him still and abandoning her previous desire to simply go home she instead chose to follow on his heals.
He slowed as he came in view of one of the many restaurants upon the street and as he headed for its entranceway she felt her magical senses flair.
There was one in this place who was as strong as her magically and yet the resonance of their gift was brighter that her own.
Oniichan had told her once of a group of people who were hunting him, who wished to punish him for feeding the sakura…
Sumeragi.
She had not understood then why anyone would wish to hurt Oniichan, he was kind and gentle, after all, yet now she knew all too well whey these individuals would wish death to the Sakurazukamori.
Was her boy here to talk to the Sumeragi about her? Or was it simply co-incidence that both those concerned chose this restaurant rather than any of the others?
Aware of the risk she decides to follow her boy and see what the answer to these questions was.
The one who held the aura of Sumeragi blood was but a child and there was an intoxicating innocence about him that she might have fallen for had she not already have found her One.
Her boy came to the Sumeragi's table and something in the way he sought out the others eyes as he introduced himself, told her that he too could see this fascination.
By the time the waitress came to take their order the pair were talking happily and seeing this she felt a dark envy blossom in the heart of her.
Has this been what Oniichan had felt each time she talked of the admirers she had had? Could this have been another reason for him to take her child from her?
It would be so painfully easy to kill this other even despite his blood and yet if she did that would she not be doing as Oniichan had to her?
She feels a tug from her link top her boy and she knows that he has voiced the name of her clan…knows that he has, indeed, come to learn of her.
The Sumeragi has stilled and suddenly the aura of levity has passed into one of business.
The Sumeragi talks now in a more formal manner and the bright spark in his eyes has faded into something resembling professionalism.
Her boy listens intently; indeed he pulls a notebook free of his bag and begins making notes, something that brings a small smile to the Sumeragi's lips.
Any doubt as to the focus of their discussion flees as she watches him sketch her mark into a blank sheet of notebook paper and passes it to the Sumeragi.
The child nods in understanding and moves as though to touch her boys forehead.
A crack of magic prevents him from actually making skin contact and his face firms into a very grim expression.
She knows that he is telling her boy what she is and what that mark upon his skin means and thus it hurts as her boy reacts in an adverse manner to the news.
She had hoped, vainly, that her boy would recall her kindness and see past the half lie that the Sumeragi had given him in regard to the mark.
For though her mark had been used before as a way to single out her prey, she had not used it as such on her boy.
No, she had marked him simply so that should she wish she could look for him and see whether he was well or no.
Yet then how could she expect him to see such a thing when he only knew the bad things that had been written about the Sakurazukamori? When there was none but herself who knew the truth behind the tales and of the perverse nature of the Sakurazukamori heart?
Perhaps there was a way for her to make him see things from her perspective…perhaps there was a way to get between her boy and the Sumeragi before the fascination between them grew to something more.
Yet how?
She feels a pull on her inner awareness that comes from her connection to the sakura and despite her reservations she allows her mind to turn inwards…
Allows the sakura's world to envelope her.
It is dark here and there is the chill of snow always in the air and yet here and here alone does she feel truly whole…
Truly alive.
In this world the sakura is a gargantuan thing, its size steadily increasing as it feeds form the lives of those she had given to it.
Upon each of its branches stands the shades of the Sakurazukamori that have come before her, their faces as blank and emotionless in death as they had been in life.
On the lowest branch Oniichan stands alone, his face twisted into the mockery of a smile which had graced his face even as he had died within her arms.
'Setsuka.' It is spoken with all the voices of the Sakurazukamori and yet it is Oniichan's voice that is strongest to her…that she desires the most to hear.
'Niichan, what can I do for you?'
He moves, his form blurring about the edges as he does so and then his fingers are upon her face.
They are as ice and she leans towards that chill, yearning for him to numb away every hurt and anxiety she had ever felt.
'We come to do something for you, Setsuka.'
'What?'
'You have found the One who has brought you heat here…' He stretches to touch the skin above her heart and this time there is no chill but rather an odd burning sensation.
'Yes, yes I have found my One.'
'Yet there is a threat, one who could be as everything to you One.'
'That is true and yet what can I do? Seishiro is not truly mine and by stalling I have assured that he is lost to me forever.'
'Not forever.' He remarks as he brings her hard into an embrace. 'I shall bring you as close to him as I can, Setsuka and then it is up to you what happens next.' He remarks before he kisses her once on the lips.
She comes back sharply to reality at that, her invisibility falling away as a sudden sharp pain engulfs her. .
The staff at the restaurant surround her almost instantly, their murmured voices all but inaudible as she hears her boy's voice so very close to her.
She can not stop her traitorous mouth from voicing his name and it is hearing a strangers voice spilling from her that she knows what Oniichan has done.
Her boy's brow furrows and he closes to take a better look of her she can see herself reflected there in his eyes…or rather, she can see the body of the 16 year girl that Oniichan has given her.
"Do I know you?" her boy enquires and thinking on her feet she replies,
"Forgive my familiarity, Yuko-san, but I recognised your face from something that I had seen recently."
He smiles then and enquires,
"Would that be the Clamp Campus handbook by any chance?"
"Yes."
"If you are thinking on enrolling I can highly recommend it; in fact I could ask the Kaichou of the High school division to show you around tomorrow if you would like.
Oniichan's words ring clear in her head and she knows she can not deny the opportunity that has been given to her with such kindness.
"That would be appreciated, Yuko-san."
"Who shall I tell the Kaichou to expect?"
"Sakurazuka Sakura."
"I shall look forward to seeing you on campus, Sakurazuka-san." He remarks before he is gone from her side.
She is tingling with excitement by the time she leaves the café and she diverts from her normal path home to visit the sakura and thank her Niichan for this gift.
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T: Yep Sakura/ Setsuka is going to be causing a great deal of trouble! Subaru is 16 here for those wondering! R+R as I begin to feel I'm talking to myself!
