9. Words.

T: The next chapter is the last and thus there is another CLIFFHANGER warning on this chapter. Other warnings remain the same and the italic usage returns this chapter so be on the look out! I own the plot and that is it I fear!

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He knows that today will prove as an end of his ministrations…either because Seishiro would survive or because the bridge would fall still.

He knows that no matter the outcome of the day he will have to, at last, pay his dept to Yuuko…knows that, should the outcome prove disastrous, there will be no chance to try again.

He also, finally, has an idea of what he shall be using to pay his dept and, should his theory prove correct, he is not upset at the price of this Wish.

He has come to the Rainbow Bridge to observe events and, so as to avoid the temptation to interfere; he has settled himself onto the top of one of the bridge's supportive arches.

His other self is stood already upon the bridge, his fingers wrapped about a cigarette and his face turned to regard the open expanse of Tokyo bay.

Seishiro appears as if from nowhere and desperate not to miss out on proceedings Subaru breaths the tension from his body and forces away the protective influence of the sakura.

After a moment the 'memories' begin to swamp his mind and closing his eyes he allows that world to become, for the moment, his own.

There is blood thick on Seishiro's fingers and, despite himself, he enquires,

"You just killed someone…killed them right here, didn't you?"

The wind kicks up the fabric of his coat, the hard sound of the resistance between air and cloth filling the silence a moment and then Seishiro responds,

"I am the Sakurazukamori, after all."

He registers almost immediately that the other has not truly answered his question…that Seishiro has, in fact, allowed him to draw his own conclusion.

Shaking his head he enquires,

"Is that an admission, Seishiro-san or a denial?"

Seishiro does not reply, nor does he show any clear sign of being disconcerted by the enquiry. Feeling oddly sedate Subaru takes a step towards the other, his hands open so as to show the other that he is unarmed, then he informs Seishiro,

"Kimoru-san came to see me yesterday."

Seishiro seems still unaffected by this line of conversation and yet, when he enquires, "Has he told you everything, then?" there is the faintest hint of discomfort in his voice.

Upon receiving a positive reply Seishiro takes another drag from the stolen cigarette, dashes it to the floor and, while grinding the thing with the heal of his shoe, he enquires,

"What do you Wish for, Subaru?"

"Curious to see how the toy's mechanism works, Seishiro-san?"

"In understanding the purpose of an object we understand its true beauty."

The wind shifts and the faint creaking of the bridge as it catches into the air current is as a momentary distraction for the both of them.

He wishes to simply ask Seishiro about his feelings…wishes to risk himself a little and yet…

No matter Kimoru-san's assurances he can not find the courage that such a risk requires…can not again expose his heart to the despair of rejection.

"Have you come here to defend the Kekkai or no?" Seishiro enquires, his finger reaching to pull free a single ofuda.

His want to fight, for the moment, faded, Subaru shakes his head and replies,

"I came to fulfil my Wish."

"I was told by the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth that your Wish was not what I believed it to be, yet why would you be here other than to kill me, Subaru-kun?"

Pulling at the binding upon his eye he leases the thing into the air and then looks to Seishiro before replying,

"To die."

"Why would you Wish for such a thing, Subaru-kun?"

"Because I believed that it was the only way I could be of significance to you…believed that it would be enough for me to spend my final moments in your arms."

There is a lazy smile present now on Seishiro's lips and though he has seen this smile before…though there is a chance still that this is a game…he can not help but feel that this is, somehow, different.

"What of now, Subaru-kun?"

"Now…" He can feel his fragile confidence failing him, can feel his self loathing taking control and bighting back the desire to backtrack he continues with, "Now I have been told an interesting thing and I desire the chance to learn if it is truth or no before I die."

"Then ask."

"Is it true that the Sakurazukamori are succeeded by the one they love…that because you love me you had little choice but to hurt me in order that I would hate you?"

"If such a thing was true, Subaru-kun, then why would I wish to kill you?"

"Your 'want' to kill me is nothing other than a ruse created to reinforce my 'hatred' or you also…"

He steps forward again and Seishiro is now so close that he can feel the other's warmth and smell his rich, intoxicating, scent.

Lifting his fingers he first removes Seishiro's sunglasses and, that final barrier disposed of, he places the palm of his left hand flat against the other's chest,

"Also you were entertaining the idea of using Hokuto's spell were you not?"

He feels the minute increase of Seishiro's heartbeat and thus he is not, this time, fooled by the mask of calm that coats the others words as he replies,

"How did you learn of that spell?"

"Does it matter, Seishiro? Is not the real issue why you believed such a spell would solve anything…?"

The other shifts a little at that, one hand moving to cover that on his chest and the other tangling into Subaru's hair.

"I killed Hokuto, Subaru-kun and countless others like her…I have participated in heartless activities and I have hurt you beyond belief.

"Why would you wish anything other than to kill me? That was what I had believed and yet I knew that you were a kind boy…knew that even if you were pushed you might not be able to hurt me and so I held to the secret of the spell in the thought that I could use it should you hesitate when the time came."

"Is that the truth, Seishiro, or is it simply another illusion? Might you have used my hate as an excuse to…?"

"I wish only for you to be mine always, Subaru-kun, for you to think of myself alone and for the only mars upon your skin to have come by my hand."

It is not, precisely, the confession he had yearned to hear and yet he knows that it is close…knows that by admitting this dark obsession Seishiro had exposed himself.

Felling a slight increase in confidence Subaru tilts himself a little towards the other and informs him,

"You have such a thing already." Before Seishiro takes him up on his initiative and closes the gap between them.

Kimoru-san had inferred that Seishiro had a passionate edge to his personality and Subaru had disregarded this belief as nothing more than absent fancy…yet caught now into the fevered warmth of the other's lips he realises that the author had been speaking the truth…

Realised that there was a side to Seishiro that he had never seen…a portion of the other that was meant for him alone.

The raw intensity of this hidden Seishiro frightens him a little and yet it excites him also; for there is nothing here if the heartless Sakurazuka or the fatherly vet, no, this passion belongs to but one persona…

"Would you play now at being my lover, Seishiro?" He enquires once the others lips leave him at last.

"Do you not desire such a thing?"

"Not if there is no heart to it, no."

"Then I fear I must disappoint you, Subaru-kun, for no matter what you believe I still care for you only as much as one would care for a glass."

He almost allows himself to believe those words…almost allows himself to be swept back into Seishiro's cunning illusion, and then something sparks suddenly in his mind.

"If that were true then why would it matter to you if I thought of another? Why would you care enough about my 'hate' of you to allow me to kill you and why did you not find another way to destroy me?

"Seishiro, no matter what you believe I do not hate you and no matter what you would have me believe I do not think you hate me."

Seishiro brushes his fingers across the lid of his blind eye and, his smile deepening, he replies,

"No, I do not hate you, Subaru-kun and yet, in the end, my feelings do not matter.

"For as long as I am Sakurazukamori you are forced to hate me and when that title passes on…" He pauses a moment, most likely to seriously consider his words and then he says, "I believe you might come to hate me then, also, for I have chosen you as my successor…chosen, selfishly, to turn you against everything you hold dear in order that you might exist only for my memory."

"Seishiro, I do not care about what you are or how you use your magic, no do I care that destiny seems to have set us apart…

"I love you, after all."

It has been nine years since he had first wished to voice those words and though Seishiro has changed…though he, in turn, has changed…he feels again all of sixteen.

Seishiro pulls him close to him and the beating of his heart in Subaru's ear is as the oddest of comforts to him.

Then the other is pressing his lips to his ear and he hears a whispered, "I love you also," before the heat of the other is gone from his side.

He is little surprised when Seishiro settles next to him, he is, however, taken off guard when the other enquires,

"Why are you doing this, Subaru-kun?"

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T: Yep Sei-chan has finally twigged! What will this mean for the future? What is Subaru's payment? Only the final chapter has the answers! I may post the last one Monday…it depends on whether I get all my coursework done or no! R+R