Inside the Box Trick
Even the midst of this fight, Seishirou found himself thinking. Not that it distracted him from the fight that he has gotten himself into. But as he dodges a rain of ofudas here and there, he can't help but listen to a peculiar voice running in his head. A voice that one would usually hear in old black and white movies announcing a show, smooth and easy as if he'd done this before filling him in about a dream that he remembers having…
"Now for their final act, Sakurazuka Seishirou of the Sakura Estate will do a well-practiced disappearing piece of making his lovely assistant, his beloved Sumeragi Subaru, disappear…!"
Now if he thinks about it, jumping away from any attacks that might ever come his way. Not bothering with any counters with his head deep in thought as he tried to consider everything related to that strange dream. He was the star, yes he was. The Sumeragi, who is the only one attacking as of the moment, was his 'lovely assistant'. The boy followed him around wearing clothes crafted by the skillful hands of his dead sibling, the other Sumeragi whom Seishirou killed. The whole room was thrown into a sea of inky black with the spot light from nowhere to give him luminosity. As he smiled at the audience whose only proof of existence were the voices that echoed around the dark room, one smile filled unhidden mirth almost secretive in his wake with a touch genuine friendliness.
But, he as he broke away for a good two seconds from his daydream, he shot two black talismans at the boy's way to buy himself more time to think about that.
Yes, it was a dream, a dream made up by his sleeping mind, a mind so dangerous being filled with secrets that only he knows. The reality that was trying to pull him back in to the battle was in front of him, heaving ragged breaths with his shirt all in disarray.
The boy stood with another pair of prepared talismans in his hands, positioning himself in a stance that was ready to attack whenever needed.
Grinning, the end of his cigarette glowing red
Subaru's expression was the usual, mean and cold as if carved from white unfeeling stone.
Yes, this was his- their- final act.
"On the prime of his career, here his Seishirou and his beautiful associate-" Subaru waved a shy hand to the crowd that might never exist.
"Yes, and that's not all" Seishirou draped an arm over the boy's shoulders, who let out a small squeak at this motion "I'll even add a little something to liven this boring old, cliché to… 'liven', it up"
Subaru smiled weakly with a sick feeling in the pits of his stomach.
The cards that went to Seishirou's direction morphed into white doves that were hastily reduced to streaks of blood as they slammed their white feathered bodies on the pentacle that Seishirou formed with the end of his cigarette.
Subaru found himself jumping up again, almost floating up with broken floating asphalt. His eyes steady on the man with the black overcoat, and as he found Seishirou he quickly did a pirouette in the air while throwing away the white talismans that he produced out of nowhere.
Seishirou, ever vigilant, surrounded himself with his own black talismans. Circling around him, lighting up a protective faint blue green barrier that shielded him from the explosive ofudas that went his way; as soon as the smoke cleared away he lashed out an attack at the Sumeragi. The boy went out of the way and stationed himself on one side of the bridge for two seconds before jumping away as it exploded. Seishirou just watched this feat of agility with a small grin in his face. He was floating in the air and so was the boy for a second, he lost track where the boy went. Yet, all he had to do was twist his head and see the Sumeragi head positioning his hands to summon an attack. His grin never leaving his, he lifted his hand at the direction of the onmyouji.
A great flashy sphere was ignited as their powers collided.
A man dressed in a black tuxedo came and wheeled a box that was to be used for the magic trick, the box that will be used to make Subaru disappear.
As the help exited, the illusionist helped the boy into the box while saying a small declaration about this act. With the door closed, encasing the Sumeragi in, the same man from before came in with a long sword in his hands which he handed to Seishirou.
The Sakurazukamouri took it in his hands.
The result was catastrophic as they reduced the once beautiful Rainbow Bridge into rubbles.
The white and black smoke was slowly clearing away, revealing to them the damage of their attacks. Subaru seemed composed by the scene, his eyes resting on his Seishirou-san. He noticed the man lift a finger near his face.
It was then that Subaru noticed the sakura petals raining down on him.
And later, he realized that tree branches have snaked around his form grabbing each of his limbs in a span of heart beat. They lashed at him, slim wooden branches dotted with small pink flowers tying around his chest, as if intent on crushing his heart instead.
For a moment, Subaru found that he was staring at his own weak form but as he saw the body of his archenemy he quickly produced a talisman with one hand and gave his thumb a small cut. A drop of blood went crawling out his thumb to fall on the branch that held his hand. With that tiny sacrifice, illusionary branches began to disappear.
"There's no need to use that kind of technique" he said as he stood on a broken piece of the bridge, "My fate is still sealed with the Sakura Estate, ever since that moment…"
Seishirou lifted a hand, but this time not to summon a spell, "Our Kamui told me, that your real wish is something only I can grant…" he removed his glasses to reveal closed eyes.
Subaru's face didn't change.
"But… it is something that is different from my own" he lifted his lids to show his mismatched eyes, "Isn't it your wish to kill me…?"
Subaru's gaze never left him, as they both went up, "You're mistaken…"
Seishirou met him in the dust filled air, his face contorted into a scary smile that made the hairs on the back of his neck standing. His hand was raised, dagger-like, ready to strike at the Seal.
He plunged the steel unto the very center of the box, exactly where Subaru's chest was positioned.
A gasp ripped the crowd.
Blood, a good amount of it, seeped at the bottom.
His hand was covered in blood, bathed in blood, painted in blood; but what made it worst was the fact that it was covered in his blood.
Green eyes grew wide in astonishment as if not believing what was happening now.
"Sei… Seishirou… san…" Subaru chocked.
Seishirou spun the box around in clockwise fashion, with a fake smile plastered on his handsome face.
A nice pool of red was beginning to form on the floor.
He stopped spinning.
Everything that had passed for the last twenty four years, scattered in his head like flashes of lightning one by one showing him a piece of forgotten time where he used to smile. But as they did, they all melted into his sub-consciousness and formed into this one moment.
Seishirou pulled out the sword, red gleaming on its shiny skin.
The fake smile that he tried so hard to keep slowly dropped to the floor and broke into a million pieces.
He pulled out his hand, the hand all covered in blood. The other gripped his shoulders as if scared he'll fall if he doesn't hold tight.
Not that it matter now anyway.
Dead silence all around, as he reached for door, what old saying was that again in said in times like this? Seishirou could almost hear a pin drop.
"On that day you pierced Hokoto's heart out; you killed my sister and vanished right in front of me…" Subaru spoke, his gentle voice cracking slightly with a tear or two slowly caressing his cheek mingling with the blood that tainted the side of his face. "Deep inside me, I had the urge to kill you; I thought I'd erase all traces of your existence from my heart"
His voice dropped a volume lower as he finally aired out his confession. "But I couldn't do it…"
Seishirou was silent all throughout this small speech of the boy, wondering if he was actually feeling the emotion of shock for the first time in his life.
The door was slowly opened.
"That's why… I… I wanted you to kill me…" Subaru was beaming at him ironically, "To forget even when you killed me, even if I am a member of the Sakura Estate…"
"Ta-da!" Subaru sprinted out of the box with a big grin settling on his face, no sign of bleeding on his perfect chest.
In Seishirou's dream, he remembered laughing out loud as he pulled Subaru in a tight embrace, thinking that if he ever lets go he'll slip away from his grip and disappear into the darkness that they were in. From behind, he could hear the delighted shrieks, the relieved chortles and the shout of encore.
"You… were right… all along…" Subaru's eyes closed, his hands letting go of the anchor that kept in him deep all throughout his short life, a sweet smile on his face, "I… was… too kind…"
Subaru's star-shaped kekkai faded.
---Sabishiku natta hana no yoni, ore wa sukoshi shita o muku---
They couldn't find Subaru's body after the fall of his kekkai at Rainbow Bridge. It was after all an impossible task. The long ceremony has finished hours before, the Seals have departed to continue on trying to protect the city of getting back with their lives. But Kamui found himself looking at the empty grave where the body of someone special to him was supposedly laid.
He traced the onmyouji's name with the tip of his finger, a promise of revenge in his head that never escaped his lips.
The leader of the Seals laid the bouquet of flowers that he bought the other day for this occasion.
He stood up willing himself not to cry at this, Subaru wasn't the first one who died in his life and he won't be last. He was going to leave now, moaning won't do anything to save the world and it especially won't wake Subaru from the dead.
As he went away from the stone, the air suddenly stung with sweet scent all too familiar to the head Seal. He made a quick turn in a stance that showed that he was ready to attack. But he faced nothing.
He surveyed everything around and found that nothing was out of place. The dead were still sleeping in their graves and nothing mystical happened. However, he did his survey again and curiously, he found himself staring at a spot between the trees he thought he saw figure of a much darker hue was standing right between those trees. His eyes looked at that spot, almost intent on destroying those trees, on that very spot where the figure stood, with his eyes only.
"I'll kill you" he said to no one in particular, "I'll make sure I will, for Subaru's sake…"
And as he finally left the cemetery, the air produced a small petal of pinkish shade that looked as if it was bleeding. The petal found its way on top of Subaru's empty grave, beside Kamui's flowers. The instant the petal made contact with one of the flowers, they began to wilt.
---hora aoi sora fukaku yoru no hate, mada mienu kagayaki ga mayotteru---
A/N: So… here is another piece from me! I hope for anyone who reads this they'll like it… Oh, the Japanese lyrics? They're from Ken' song Moonflower, the first one is 'Like a flower grown lonely, I look downwards a little bit'. The other is translated as 'Look, deeply as the sky's blue at the end of the night, the yet-unseen radiance has lost its way', the lyrics doesn't really have anything to do with the story except for separating this and that. But if you think it does connect, tell me! R and R, everyone! Arigatou!