Flare
In the dark, he watches… stalker-ish Seishirou.
Goodness knows it's not a good idea to wake up at 5:30, stagger to the computer and attempt to do homework and instead end up writing a one-shot. Does anyone else find all the "he"'s confusing? My half asleep brain decided it didn't quite like naming… well, names. Unbetaed, but read over twice so there shouldn't be too many mistakes… hopefully?
And of course, the angst filled X/1999 belongs to CLAMP and their sadistic natures…
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He was awake at the unearthly hour of four thirty, wondering briefly if Subaru will show up if he decided to destroy a kekkai at this hour. Lighting up his cigarette with a quick flick and whoosh of gas from the lighter, he wondered if Subaru was even asleep as this time.
Subaru might still be hopelessly naïve, but he was stubborn, if nothing else.
He brought the lit cigarette to his lips, smoke trailing a whispery path in the air and in haled a lungful. The end of the cigarette flared up, glowing stark orange bright in the darkness.
He reached for the inverted pentagram seals, the edge thin thread of connection that had connected them for almost two decades. He caressed them, gently coaxing the semi-dormant marks into life, knowing that on the Sumeragi's hand, they'd be glowing with the mute intensity of a small star.
Ah, Subaru was at Imonoyama mansion. He hoped he didn't wake him up.
"If you're awake at this time, Sakurazukamori, you could at least help me take down a kekkai. Shall we tackle Nakano Sun Plaza again, perhaps?"
The voice was blend, cynical and satirical all at once and filled with the purring satisfaction that only the Dark /Kamui/ could dredge up.
He laughed, slightly reminiscent of his veterinarian days. "Not now/Kamui/. I have better things to do."
"Like watch the Sumeragi in his sleep, of course. Very useful. Then again, I should have suspected."
Sometimes, he forgot how annoying their side's /Kamui/ could be. The young teen's eye's glowed feral red, and despite the pure alertness in his face he doubted /Kamui/ had even returned to the Diet building that night.
Subaru was tossing lightly in his sleep. Troubled dreams? He chuckled. What was his Subaru-kun dreaming of? The many battles of the Apocalypse, destructive and painful? Did he still think of failed cases, jobs performed below his abilities during his youth because he had been distracted by other things?
Did he still dream of his sister, perhaps, sunny and full of life, cheerfully making breakfast in the kitchen with imagined blood splattered across her ceremonial robes and a gaping hole in her chest?
Or did his beautiful little Subaru dream of him, the man who haunted his every thought, his every breathe, touched upon every memory and twisting them into lies, illusions and games merging into one long nightmare?
Did he see a pair of mismatched eyes, crisp black hair and that enigmatic, deceptive smile, mocking, threatening, looking more like an eagle with his coat billowing out from him and eyes never, never leaving his prey?
"I might remind you never to ignore a guest." A voice cut into his musing. "Especially one who hunts with the power of God."
He felt the hair rising surge of power gather and raised the glowing end of his cigarette, idly tracing the symbol of his clan and drawing up a mild shield. The globe of energy shattered across the barrier, flickering hungrily across its surface before the tendrils died away into nothing.
/Kamui/ wouldn't really fight him. The leader of the Dragons of Earth was powerful and undoubtedly held the edge in any battle, but to pick a fight with the most powerful member on their side wasn't wise.
Why fight your own men when there were kekkais to destroy, humans to overthrow and Seals to maim, molest and traumatize?
"Spirited, aren't we? So feisty for one up so late."
"I hardly require sleep now, do I? Not when the Earth is calling for man's destruction."
And especially because you wanted to plan something extra special to torment the Seal's Kamui with. I should have known.
Subaru had quieted down, the back of his mind observed. Perhaps because the eyes watching him were now distracted?
"You can't expect me to ignore Subaru-kun in favor of you, right? After all, I've been nurturing him scores of years. I wouldn't neglect an old… friend… for a new one, you know."
"Unless it's broken, of course." There was amusement in the dark /Kamui/'s voice.
"Subaru is hardly broken. In fact," the one seeing eye glinted briefly in the dark, "he's rather more amusing this way. I assure you he has, in no way, lost any of the new sparkle and captivating interest he possessed when we first met."
"Not even the Apocalypse could drag you away from your little toy, could it? A pity that you and the Sumeragi are twin stars."
"A pity?" Laughing, he traced the inverted pentagram in the air, watched it solidify, and then imposed a white five-point star upon it.
The Sumeragi symbol.
"I'd call it a blessing, really, knowing we're tied irrevocably to each other in all ways, two sides of the same coin destined to destroy each other."
He watched the two symbols, stark black and white, so symbolic in every way.
Did Subaru think of them this way? Equal, and opposite; neither truly living with the other alive, and yet could never survive without the other?
Seishirou hoped so, because that was how he saw Subaru every night, whether physically with his own eyes and through the aid of his faithful Shikigami shadow.
And of course, there were the dreams…
Dreams in which the Sumeragi stared up at him, not with bitter, dark eyes but with emerald green orbs half clouded with lust and fear and wanting mixed in an exotic blend. Dreams in which he claimed Subaru, heart, body and soul, gathered within his arms where he could covet – protect, even – or destroy with a negligent move.
Subaru manifested in a myriad different and reacted in a countless different ways except for the one key similiarity.
Subaru never looked at anyone else. Not at his sister's ghost, the shadows of a happy but misguided past, not at the numerous innocents he, as a Seal, were bound to protect and certainly not at any of the Seals, especially their Kamui.
Nope, in his dreams, Subaru only had eyes for one person.
Although, in retrospection, that wasn't that far from the truth in real life.
"I have a proposal." The amusement was thick in the dark /Kamui/'s voice.
He smiled slightly, silence prompting /Kamui/ to speak on.
"I'd like you to take down one of the primary kekkai tonight." Red eyes glowed cruelly in the dark. "All by yourself."
"And which is that?"
Bared teeth flashed in a mock smile. "Rainbow Bridge." Now a smirk. "Your Sumeragi will undoubtedly turn up. Perhaps you could fulfill his Wish there."
He pondered this for a minute, guessing quite accurately that this was /Kamui/'s original purpose for seeking him out.
"I accept."
And then he was over the edge, because he knew about Rainbow Bridge, honed other world senses picking up the significance of the location.
"Good. Have fun. I think I'll target a kekkai or two, since you obviously aren't in the mood for anything."
"It is a little too early for ice cream, after all."
"Of course." Without further delay, the dark /Kamui/ swept out his balcony, leaving the drifting curtains as the only reminder of his visit.
He stabbed his cigarette out and flicked the lighter to life, watching its flame burn merrily, a glowing, dancing flicker of light in the large, swallowing dark.
"So we've come to this day." He spoke to himself, or perhaps he was speaking subconsciously to the sleeping young man with twin inverted pentagrams marked on the back of his hand.
No escape, my Subaru-kun. Our fate was foreordained. It's inevitable.
With an expert twist of the hand, he shut the lighter, killing off the small flame and plunging the room back into the darkness he was so comfortable in.
He reached once more for the tenuous, other world line he always kept open to the Sumeragi, imposing his presence within the young man's consciousness, not caring if the intrusion was detected. Cold, fluid feathers brushed briefly across his face as his Shikigami took off, winging towards the Imonoyama mansion.
He strengthened the marks on Subaru's hands, and then he settled down… and watched.
Outside, a glowing purple dragon writhed its way above the sky.
End
I'm sorry if not identifying Seishirou (or using his name) throughout the fic was confusing, but kinda matched what I thought of Sei-chan… hidden, secretive and not revealing his identify. I also thought that Seishirou didn't understand love, but he did understand that his relationship with Subaru was different. So when he had made up his mind to go through the whole Rainbow Bridge thing, I think he'll just watch Subaru until it was time for the battle.
… I'm strange. And those dragons the Angels send up in the anime were purple, right::fixates on this point:
Reviews would be much loved