Review reply: Feather-chan: Thanks so much for the review! As for all your questions, hate the pull the cliché, but time will most certainly tell what'll happen between everyone. (cheesy cackle, coughs on her own breath) Ngh. Anyway, glad you're liking this! This will be the last chapter for a little while owing to at-sea time, but due to your enjoyment of the story I'll work on it while underway. Look for the newest chapter(s) to appear next year, pro'lly in March. The motivation is much appreciated, as this is a surprisingly difficult story to write (no matter how fun it is!). Thanks again!

DISCLAIMER: I don't own X or Tokyo Babylon, nor do I hold rights to any of the characters held within those works. They all belong to the four goddesses of Clamp. I'm just borrowing them for my own sick pleasure.

WARNINGS: Alternate timeline, Kamui-chan thrown into Tokyo Babylon. Terrible representation of Japan (well, I've never been there. Excuse the hell out of me) with no proper placement of important areas/buildings/etc. Massive Subaru teasing, Sorata cameos, and pretty damned blatant K+S.

Read at your own risk.

-BEGIN FIC-

I'd made the mistake of telling Hokuto-chan that I would be gone the entire weekend, leaving immediately this afternoon (and skipping Saturday with permission, and a considerable homework package, from my instructors) and returning possibly Monday morning in time to change for school and be on my way. When she'd inquired as to the reason I'd be missing for so long and abandoning my dinner date with Seishiro-san on Saturday that she'd arranged for me, I'd truthfully told her that I had an assignment at the request of Stargazer and was going to journey to Koya-san as quickly as possible.

I should have figured that, as she'd never been to Koya-san, she'd spring at the opportunity to travel to one of Japan's highlight spiritual tourist spots.

What had shocked me enough to delay my attempt to talk her out of accompanying me and instead staying to help Seishiro-san in his clinic was that Shiro-kun had turned on the couch, stared at me with his huge amethyst eyes sparkling delightedly, and chirped, "Can I come along? I've never been there either!"

I could provide no argument after that stunning question to prevent either one of them from instantly gathering into a huddle on my couch and talking about what they were going to see, what they were going to eat, what they were going to buy and what they were going to do on their weekend vacation.

I had wanted to scream, to yell out that this was hardly a vacation and was actually a cry for help concerning the appearance of a hostile spirit at a pool utilized for meditation and spiritual cleansing, but they were so enraptured with the idea of going to Koya-san that I couldn't begin to dream of speaking and interrupting their merriment. Oh well.

Leaning back into the soft cushions of my couch, my red trench coat abandoned to the coat hanger at the front door and my black hat with its red decorative ribbon set with it, I pulled the large red cross that adorned my zipper to draw said zipper of my skin-tight long-sleeved tall-necked shirt down to the base of my throat from its resting place near my Adam's apple to make it less uncomfortable to swallow. Crossing my black jean-covered legs, I lifted my mug to my lips to take a sip of the dark liquid held in its innards.

While I sipped my tea and reflected on how much homework I had been given that day to make up for my predetermined lack of attendance that would be following the next, I grumped into my cup. It certainly wasn't shaping up to be the Friday afternoon I had desired. I'd wanted to go to the arcade again with Kyoshi. He was going to play against Shiro-kun on the new Street Fighter game that had come out, and had offered to provide the disadvantaged boy ten thousand yen of tokens. An incredibly kind offer, a prelude to what was certain to be an exceptionally fun afternoon flooded with ice cream, jokes about our instructors, gaming and food to meet its termination with a trip to the Takama household to eat a delicious dinner and save Hokuto-chan from the cooking as she'd expressed her desire for McDonald's that night, finished by trekking to Seishiro-san's clinic and helping him feed the animals and clean their cages for closing.

The phone call to Seishiro-san was the most horrible task I'd had before me when I'd gotten back to my apartment. He was disappointed and saddened by the fact that I couldn't come and that he couldn't accompany us to my job, but as always was very understanding.

I'd rather gushed when he told me to take care of myself, and that I'd get a stern talking to if I allowed myself to be hurt in any way. The sincerity of his voice made that quiet huff of warning precious – it showed me that he cared.

Yes, my Friday, my Saturday with its plans of an after school study session and pizza fest with Kyoshi and Yukio followed by my dinner date with Seishiro-san and my Sunday with my plots to just lay back and take it easy in Shiro-kun's company while Hokuto-chan went grocery shopping were shot down entirely too efficiently by that job request from Koya-san.

Finishing my cup, I slinked back into the kitchen to refill it with the thick brew Hokuto-chan had kindly made for me when I'd gotten home.

I almost sputtered in my cup as a strangled, high-pitched scream roared out of my bedroom.

My mug hit the floor and shattered even as my feet quickly turned me away from the counter and carried me out of the tiled kitchen. Running swiftly to the bedroom door, I wrenched it open, the ofuda I keep in my backpack already summoned to my hand and ready to be thrown.

I nearly fell on my face as I came to a halt, the ridiculousness of the situation before me alleviating any fear that there was truly danger present.

Shiro-kun was sprawled across my bed, his skin so completely flushed that he was nearly purple. Chest bare and legs sprawled, he was clutching desperately to the tops of his unbuttoned and unzipped jeans with one hand and pointing desperately to Hokuto-chan with a shaking finger carried by the other. "Keep her away from me!" he squawked, his voice shivering with fright.

Shaking my head, I stuffed my ofuda into my black jeans' pockets and crossed my arms. "What happened?"

Hokuto-chan looked at me, her brow furrowed. "He's NOT going to Koya-san in your sweats, Subaru! I won't have it! I'm tired of seeing him in those."

"I like the sweats! Leave me here if you won't let me be seen in public in them!"

Ignoring his protests, she continued. "He's a bit thicker in the hips and waist than you are, so I got some of your baggier jeans to get him dressed."

"And he's protesting the change?" I asked.

"She GROPED ME!" Shiro-kun screeched.

"I did NOT!" Hokuto-chan shot back, her eyes flashing with annoyance. "I was adjusting you because you're too idiotic to do it yourself!"

"I-idiotic! Now you listen here-"

I swiftly interrupted with a chirped, "Ah, Hokuto-chan. You have to remember that he's probably not used to being dressed by someone else."

"But-" she tried to interject.

"I suppose he'll just have to get used to it, neh?" I finished smoothly, smiling at her.

Shiro-kun gulped as we grinned at one another, mirroring each other's faces. "But why? I can dress myself!" he quietly simpered.

"Call it earning your keep. I'm the fashion guru around here, so all public clothing is under my discretion. Now be a good boy and stand back up, will you?" Hokuto-chan brightly giggled.

"But…!"

Walking over, I leaned over the bed and smiled at the poor befuddled boy. "It's best just to do as she asks, Shiro-kun. You don't want to get into a match of stubbornness with my sister. She wins against everyone."

"Even Sakurazuka-san?" he whispered.

"Aa. Even Seishiro-san doesn't stand a chance. He's lost more arguments than I can count against her."

Shiro-kun looked entirely amazed before sniffing. "But she groped me."

"She adjusted you," I clarified.

"But…."

"You don't think I'm used to a man's anatomy? For crying out loud, I have a twin brother that I've been dressing our entire lives, Kamui-kun!" Hokuto-chan huffed before smirking demonically. "Besides, you're not all THAT impressive."

"WHAT!"

I left the room as Hokuto-chan began to happily compare his attributes to my own, feeling my ears already starting to burn with the heat of embarrassment. How she could be so open and so readily proclaim such things in so loud of a voice is far beyond me. I think that between the two of us, I was the only one who managed to get any traits our parents carried involving common courtesy and ethical manners.

This time it wasn't so much of a scream as it was an indignant squeal as Hokuto-chan continued her molestation of my houseguest.

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I sighed quietly as I watched the scenery roll past outside of the thick dusty window I was leaning my head against, endlessly scrolling trees flooding my view of the world beyond my own reflection. Beautifully everlasting green that was darker and more full than the mirrored emerald of my eyes, their branches reached for the heavens themselves, striving to touch the life-giving sun they so thirsted for. Every once in a while, the landscape's brilliance would be shaded by a sudden shadow cast by a floating, innocent cloud that hovered in the effervescence above, its merry bulk blocking the sun's warming rays. But soon enough as the train made its way down its tracks and thundered towards its destination at the foot of sacred Koya-san those shadows would be abandoned to the past, the path left behind, and sunlight would flash victoriously across the day star's domain once again.

It was all very beautiful and calming. If only I were witnessing this for some reason other than work.

I'd been contacted by the head of Koya-san's conglomeration of monks, a respected elder gifted with exceptional skill with precognition who saw that which he foretold in the movements of the stars above him aptly referred to as Stargazer. I've never been privy to the man's true name, nor do I acknowledge that I ever shall be – he is simply Stargazer of Koya-san, a man to be respected and obeyed even by the head of all onmyouji in Japan.

I'm certain, of course, that he as all other temple heads have done would deny my view of the order of precedence of our ranks. For some reason, everyone placed me upon a pedestal that they themselves viewed as untouchable, even though they themselves are so overtly deserving of that respect they deign upon me that I feel humbled to even be present along side of them in their sacred keeps.

Of course, it isn't me they respect. It's the title and the power and responsibilities it holds within its lettering. Head of the Sumeragi, supposedly most powerful of all practitioners of onmyoujitsu in the entirety of Japan and director of the foremost of medium clans in our nation was the person that garnered their reverence. Not Sumeragi Subaru, ordinary onmyouji boy who wanted to be a zookeeper when he grew up.

"Neh, you're sulking again."

I nearly jumped as a finger suddenly poked into my left side, startling me cleanly out of my reverie. "H-Hokuto-chan!" I stammered, my shock keeping my words from coming cleanly from my mouth. Taking a deep breath, I let my heart slow its desperate race towards bursting and my brain regurgitate what she had said so I could reply to it in the next instant. "I wasn't."

"So why were you staring blankly out of the window?"

"I was appreciating the scenery."

Leaning back in her chair, Hokuto-chan giggled lightly behind a smooth, cream-skinned hand. "Appreciating the scenery, Subaru? Really?"

I sighed, looking her over, letting envy grasp my heart for the slightest hint of a moment as I stared at her uncovered hands, my own feeling so stifled in their gloves in the warm train's interior that I wished desperately to throw aside Grandmother's warnings and strip the accursed leather sheaths from my sweating skin. "Aa. Really."

She leaned back in the thick rust cushion that was the backrest of the train bench we were seated in near the front of our car and crossed her legs swiftly, kicking one black leotard clad limb casually as she pulled her short denim shorts a bit further down her legs. Really, you thing she'd choose something a bit longer as to keep it from riding uncomfortably. And you think she'd choose something more appropriate, considering that she knew we were going to Koya-san. A black leotard that ended just above her ankles with extremely short denim shorts sporting bright rainbow-hued patches, a flesh-hugging long-sleeved black shirt with a stripped rainbow colored tube top placed over it to accentuate her breasts, an exceptionally bright white rain coat with a loud yellow smiley-face centered upon its back and thickly soled black Vans hardly seemed the outfit to choose when one's aware that they stand the strong probability of being presented before the Stargazer of Koya-san along side of the thirteenth Sumeragi Head.

She had insisted on coming along, after all. It wasn't as if any of this was without her knowledge and she was strapped for time to choose a bundle of clothing in which to cover herself.

The three of us sitting in the same box with Hokuto-chan beside me and with Shiro-kun across from me and facing us, making our way to the destination of my next job, made me suddenly pine for yet another presence to be there with us, filling that vacant seat beside Shiro-kun. No matter how inappropriately we were dressed, no matter that this was for work in my case and a vacation in the situations of my guest and my sister, I longed to add yet another to the fray, to invite further chaos to accompany me to Koya-san's sacred heights.

I found myself wishing that Seishiro-san could have made time to come along with us. It would have been fabulous to have him accompany us. But he has his job, his responsibilities, and his clients. He can't abandon them.

"Neh, Hokuto-san, he's doing it again."

"I see that, Kamui-kun. SUBARU!"

Cleanly shocked out of my thoughts, I rubbed my aching ear and flushed as I realized everyone in the car had to be staring at us. Rising slightly in my seat, I whimpered a quick apology to all whose eyes were turned towards us before turning a rueful stare to her. Crossing my arms and hugging the bulk of my donned red trench coat around me, I let an irritated huff of breath erupt from my nostrils. "What?"

"What are you sulking about? It's a beautiful day! We're going to Koya-san, a place we've gotten to read about but never visit! We're going to meet the Stargazer! And all you do is stare out of the window with a 'ho hum' look on your face, like you're going to either sigh and die right at my side or sniff and cry the next moment."

"I am not!" I shot back.

"Yes, you are," Shiro-kun chirped from his seat across of me, stuffing his hands into the warm sleeves of the waist-length black leather jacket he'd borrowed from my wardrobe. He'd apparently gotten over his initial complaints of discomfort and had settled into the incredibly tight blue jeans that Hokuto-chan had managed to squeeze him into. Tracing his frame from his sneakers, which were an old pair of mine that I hardly wore anymore and which were quite large on his feet, I glanced up his legs in their almost split-seamed jeans to the black belt wrapped around his middle and then took my gaze up the soft dusty purple dress shirt my sister had managed to dredge out of my dresser for him. The sleeves were a bit long and thus had to be rolled to free his hands for use, but other than that it fit him quite nicely. Lifting my gaze, I focused on his face, which was entirely bereft of any obscuring shadows that might have been cast by a hat as mine assuredly was – Hokuto-chan and Shiro-kun were free of the head coverings, even as their hands were free of gloves. Stopping my appreciating trace over his body and how nicely he cleaned up when Hokuto-chan got her hands onto him, I focused on his face.

He was smiling brightly, his eyes alive with merriment.

Normally I would have been enthused to see his smiling face rid of the sorrow that seems to permanently plague it. His sullen attitude has always been sobering around my house, stifling what joy we tried to include him in upon. I'd been longing since he'd entered my household but a week ago that somehow we'd be able to help the boy, to assist him in lifting the dark gray cloud of desperate depression that clung to him as shadow follows its caster. That very moment when the morose attitude that plagued him lifted, however, I couldn't find any bright merriment in the fact that he was enjoying his time with us and living his life a little more happily. As this was entirely at my own expense, I was less than enthralled with the charm he could show with a smile instead of a sulk upon his features. "I am not," I grunted again.

"Oh, I know what the problem is," Hokuto-chan began with a giggle, holding a finger to her lips as she turned her playful emerald gaze to Shiro-kun.

Leaning forward in his seat, Shiro-kun said quietly, "Nani, nani, Hokuto-san?"

I barely found the self-restraint to keep myself from slapping my forehead soundly as she brightly exclaimed for the entire train car to hear, "He's pining over Sei-chan's absence! Ah, an entire weekend without his dear Seishiro-san at his side to hold and molest him!"

My cheeks felt as if they could sizzle eggs to a crisp as I held my head. It didn't make matters any better when she broke into her silvery laughter. "H-Hokuto-chan! It's… it's not like that!" I cried out desperately.

"Oh?" she asked cheerfully, peeking out from behind an upraised hand. "Are you telling me that your heart isn't wailing for Sei-chan? How unfaithful!"

"Hokuto-chan," I simpered into my gloved hands, burying my face into the protective blackness my digits provided.

"Ah, he can not deny the truth! Sei-chan will be so happy to know he had Subaru's longing all weekend long!"

Shiro-kun simply shook his head, no laugh but no denial coming from him.

What a start to a weekend.

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"Sugoi!"

"Wow, it really is as beautiful as Sorata always said it is!"

I didn't bother staring appreciatively at the mountain that rose majestically before us as my sister and Shiro-kun had decided to do. Rather I began my sojourn along the gravel path that was destined to deposit me at the door of the shrine in which those monks who'd met us at Koya-san's foot had told me the Stargazer was to be found. I was already running quite late due to our near inability to garner a cab to get us from the train station to the gates of the massive Koya-san site. Shiro-kun's brilliance was all that had gained us a ride – he'd shoved Hokuto-chan onto the corner of the street we were standing on. We'd both stared, Shiro-kun with triumph in his eyes and myself with disbelief, as a cab roared to a halt and the window rolled down.

It had taken every last shred of decency I had dwelling within me not to march to that cab's driver's door, wrench it open and haul that cab driver out to punch him square in the nose when he'd wolf whistled at my sister and proclaimed that if she'd get into his cab he'd take her anywhere she wanted to go, and if she was strapped for cash he'd let her pay a 'different way.' Normally I'm not a violent person; actually, I'm largely pacifistic, not wishing any harm to any person I come across. However, him referring to my sister as if she was a common street whore nearly set previously inexperienced rage over me.

Of course, given the way she was dressed, I suppose I could almost forgive him for the way he drooled on himself as he looked Hokuto-chan up and down. Almost.

Shiro-kun had just patted me on my shoulder and merrily chirped that we had a ride before grabbing my wrist and hauling me towards the cab. He'd been the one to open the door, shove me in, shove Hokuto-chan in after me, and tell the cab driver where we'd wanted to go.

When the driver had seen that the girl was quite accompanied (and perhaps he'd noticed that me, her nearly identical twin, was glaring murderously at his back for the entire trip) he'd revoked his inappropriate attention and treated us as normal customers for the duration of the trip.

I may not be a violent person, but I've got enough of a vicious streak in me to not give a person like him more than one yen for a tip.

After that eventful little ride, Hokuto-chan had opened her suitcase and drawn free from its confines her dreaded camcorder, intending to record our first trip to Japan's spiritual tourist trap on video. Goodness knows her collection's large enough, but she always felt obligated to add to it. She had quickly scanned the area, managing to catch me in her camera's eye before I'd had the opportunity to dodge away, chirping brightly that she and 'the Subaru' as she always referred to me on video were finally at Koya-san, accompanied by Kamui-kins, her new pretty doll. Shiro-kun had glowered as she caught him in the camera and demanded that he smile on his film debut and sparkle as brightly as the landscape around us.

Yes, it was my first time to Koya-san. I should have, by all rights, taken the time to take in the beauty and splendor of the huge, pristine establishment. However, all that was on my mind was the job I had been hired to accomplish and the thought that if I got it done quickly, I'd be able to return to Tokyo, to Seishiro-san, to my comfortable and familiar bed and my stack of still uncompleted homework just that much sooner.

Sometimes it seems that my dedication to my job ruins my ability to go to any tourist trap and thoroughly enjoy it. Indeed, it had already taken me to Ise, which I'd hardly garnered a glance at due to the fact that first I was busily absorbing information about the job I was to be doing and second I was dodging urns and fighting off an irate deceased Wind Master. It had taken me to Fuji, which while impressive in the first few moments I stared at it soon lost its attention-grabbing attraction when my job contact had approached me to begin presenting her situation to me. The same had happened in Okinawa just a couple of months ago. And the Moss Temple in Kyoto. And Taiwan, when I'd received the opportunity to travel to that country to chase down a rouge onmyouji who was up to absolutely no good and trying to escape the policing eyes of the Sumeragi and all others who practice our art in Japan.

And it was doing the same here at Koya-san, I noticed. While Hokuto-chan was busily filming and Shiro-kun gawking while they meandered with the two monks who'd met us at the foremost gates of the establishment to take in all the sights they could before being shown to their rooms, I was bypassing all of the splendor and antique beauty on my mission to learn more about the job I'd been hired for. My mind was already dedicated to getting to Stargazer before I was too overly late for our appointed meeting.

Breaking into a jog, I hurried as carefully as I could along the path I'd been directed to follow. Tracing its curved and undulating course, I grumbled as I checked my watch. Only three minutes….

And before I'd had the opportunity to notice it, I was staggering as my foot connected with the hard wood of man-made steps leading towards the remote establishment my contact was in. Stumbling in a desperate attempt to maintain my balance, I nearly fell up the stairs and barely managed to catch myself before falling flat on my face on the main deck.

With a relieved sigh as my wobbling came to an end and terminated the chance of a bruised nose with my thankfully upright stance at the end of my moment of awkwardness, I took one step forward as I straightened my hat.

I was promptly bowled over by a little fleeing boy.

We went down in a tangle of orange colored robes denoting the child's connection to Koya-san, of red trench coat and flailing limbs. My hat skittered away even as my head very nearly connected with the floor, my slight roll to my shoulder being all that saved me from a concussion as the wildly wriggling creature came to nestle against my chest.

Lifting his head from the cloth of my shirt he held his bruised nose with a rueful squawk and tears gathered at the corners of his eyes. He'd banged his face solidly against me. My own sternum was aching from having the cross that was attached to my zipper pull firmly mashed into my flesh.

"Are you alright?" I asked a few moments later, reaching up with one hand, utilizing the other to keep my balance, and lightly patting his head.

"Itei!" he whined, rubbing his face even as he plowed his elbows into my ribs to prop his body up. I barely managed to suppress a wince of discomfort.

"SORATA! Get back here!"

The boy turned as the stranger's loud voice boomed along the wooden walkway. Grinning impishly, he picked up the rice ball I'd not even noticed he'd dropped by my side and ran as quickly as his feet could carry him, his first step being a bound off my belly and his second missing my arm by the merest fraction of a centimeter. Moments later two young adults clothed in the robes of Koya-san tore past me in hot pursuit of the fleeing child. The third of the gathering of child-wrangler hopefuls stopped to look me over. Offering me a hand, he smiled gently. "Are you alright?"

I couldn't answer his innocent question. I was far to busy trying to cough my lungs up in a vain attempt to regain the ability to breath, which had been thoroughly stolen by the bounding boy's utilization of my body as a trampoline to grant him momentum.

Saving me the trouble of having to answer him, the monk simply stooped and grasped my arm. Dragging me to my feet, he held me as I wobbled, another cough and a wheeze sliding from between my lips. "Where are you headed?"

Head hanging, I grunted out my answer before trying to inhale again, my wind finally returning to my lungs. "Stargazer."

Blinking once the man shook his head. "One can see the sacred Stargazer of Koya-san by appointment alone, sir."

A third voice interrupted my attempt to answer the young man and inform him that I was permitted to see him. We both turned as one towards the sliding rice paper door that shielded the interior of the humble shrine we were at as a quiet, ancient voice oozed from its hidden depths, "He has my blessing. Please, bring him in."

Without further questions, the monk at my side slid open the door and looked to me.

Forgoing his aid, I smiled and bowed to him as I removed my arm from his grip. "Thank you for your assistance, kind sir," I remembered to say before turning for my destination. Checking my watch, I sighed. Only four minutes late. A record!

Turning my gaze towards the person who was my destination, I smiled. The wrinkled old man turned his bright, sparkling eyes to me and mimicked my beam even as he bowed deeply to me from his seat upon his thick white cushion. Bending at the waist, I returned his bow, sinking as deeply as I could without losing my balance entirely. After all, not only was he an elder to me, he was the revered Stargazer. To do any less would be a blatant lack of respect.

"Thank you for coming so quickly, Sumeragi-san," he began, his thick voice soft and inviting as he waved a hand idly over his shoulder. From behind a partition behind him featuring lightly painted green bamboo leaves and rust colored birds emerged a young boy in the white and orange robes of the territory bearing a cushion similar to the one that Stargazer was seated upon. Laying it before my knees, the boy bowed to me before silently leaving.

Muttering a quick thanks to the boy as he retreated, I bowed as Stargazer waved his hand at me, indicating that I had permission to be seated. Folding my legs under me I sank onto the cushion, relaxing with nearly an audible sigh as the quality cushion saved me from standing any further and bathed my knees in soft downy comfort. Staring at my reflection in the highly waxed floor for a moment, gathering my courage to view this highly revered man in the eyes, I took a breath and lifted my gaze. My smile as bright as before, I nodded. "It is no problem at all, Stargazer-dono. I thank you on the behalf of my family for choosing to utilize us in your time of need."

He seemed quite amused at my answer and chuckled deeply. "Ah, you are as polite as your Grandmother has said. Come now, let us relax some of these formalities."

I could already feel my cheeks heating as I ducked my head. "Hai, Stargazer-dono," I muttered.

"Now, as for the job I have hired you for, would you like me to give you the details of our troubles now or wait until after dinner?"

"Please, let us begin," I said, my business façade falling easily into place, my mind removing itself from my personal discomfort and the awkward situation of being before Japan's most prominent precognition expert and delving into the comfortable familiarity of the onmyouji on the job.

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I rubbed my arms as I paced the shore of the small pond in which the disturbance Koya-san had contracted me to abolish had been noted to occur. It was a chilly night, the cold of the deep autumn environment steeping through the black curtain of sky that covered all the heavens and a cool wind blowing vengefully over the waters of that pond and through the waters of the fall that splashed noisily into it to replenish its depths at all times helping to amplify the effects of the removal of the sun's warming rays. The cool moon's light bathed the darkened landscape, highlighting everything in soft tones of white and gray, casting a nearly midnight blue over all I laid my eyes upon.

It was just the atmosphere to make one's heart race that night. I was in a foreign environment, trapped in a location I'd never before been witness to. Tall trees towered over me, their tops stretching towards the sparkling stars, obscuring from my line of vision the familiar constellations in which I took comfort. Their twisted branches snaked across the sky, casting spider web shadows over the moon and across the stars' home, an image blacker than the sunless sky to my sight. Moonlight skittered over the small pond's surface, highlighting ripples that danced towards the smooth shore, catching on the droplets and sprays of water that flew from the thin yet powerful stream of water that poured from the overhang that shadowed the pond's deepest end. The falls pounded mightily onto the long, flat rocks at its base, those stones that once were the seats of praying monks abandoned now for weeks due to the volatile attacks that had occurred in this sacred place. The howling wind whistled across the landscape, rustling eerily through protesting branches, sweeping away dying leaf, bending weakened grass blades. Gusts of air carried the spray from that fall, stealing its contents even as it fell at times and swiping the splash that erupted from the rocks within that pond's waters and carrying its wet load to shore to be scattered aimlessly amongst plants and upon me.

It only made things worse to be privy to the soft cackling of a human voice, all but obscured by the deafening roar of that small powerhouse of pouring water.

Stargazer had informed me that four attacks had occurred in that pond. At first believing the perpetrator to be of the realms of the living, the monks had resorted to their own magic and incantations. Nothing favorable had resulted from their efforts, predictably.

Every ward placed by those monks had failed. Every attempt to drive the aggressor away had been cast in vain. And after the fourth attack, that one befalling a tourist who had wandered from the beaten path to set eyes upon the small, sacred pond, the head of Koya-san's conglomeration of monks had decided to call upon the Sumeragi clan for assistance.

Walking to the shore, I took another careful look at the waters. Nothing here was overly unique, nothing incredibly special in terms of the Koya-san complex, to warrant a spirit binding itself to it. Simply a pond with a waterfall, a site replicated in multitude about the sacred mountain.

I was bound and determined to discover why the spirit that was troubling this land would tie itself to this particular pond before bothering attempting to confront it. Best to enter a situation with a bit of knowledge, if it could be afforded. It saves ofuda. And it saves my body from the pain of being bludgeoned.

As I glanced at the ground, something caught my eye. Taking a step forward, I decided to get a better look.

It was at the moment my boot was kissed by the lapping ripples of that pond that the quiet cackling erupted into a powerful scream of rage. Before I could assess what had happened, the auras of the world around me twisted, distorting completely.

I couldn't dodge before the spiritual energy surrounding me exploded into action, sending the full force of that small waterfall's energy to me. Sputtering as the freezing liquid slammed into me, I went down.

Clammy hands gripped my wrist as it splashed into the pond.

My eyes shut to ward against the spray of water that was still relentlessly being diverted from its natural termination and instead being sent to pound me into the pond's beach, I screeched in shock even as whatever had grasped me attempted to wrench me into the pond. My body sliding towards that icy reservoir, I struggled as mightily as I could, digging my feet and my fingers into the sandy shore.

As my fingers managed to find a large rock buried into the ground, I resisted the urge to cheer, keeping my lips clamped shut to keep the drenching water from that fall from drowning me. Gripping that stone as tightly as I could, I turned my head to gasp for direly necessitated breath as whatever it was that had my other wrist yanked my limb harshly.

My shoulder popped painfully and I screamed.

Turning as well as I could, I sent my foot towards my attacker, intent on kicking it away.

No effect was granted to my effort. My head swimming as pain raced along my arm and my side, I thought as desperately as I could.

A chant quickly flew to mind.

Speaking the words as quickly and sincerely as I could, my turned head freeing my lips for a few moments between gushes of drenching water to the air, I called upon the spiritual energy about me. I was going to do whatever I could to free myself. Even if it involved severing the hand that held me, that intended to drag me to a watery grave.

Wind burst about me, razor sharp and wicked as it lashed but inches from my fingertips and no further. A startled cry met my ears even as those fingers released me and the waterfall fell immediately back into its natural cascade.

A moment later, that same voice laughed quietly. "I'd forgotten such can't harm me anymore," it hissed softly.

I wasn't paying much attention to that soft chuckle. I was focusing instead on scrambling away from the shore.

Once my feet once again scraped against grass, I turned and stared at the pond.

It was empty.

The cackling was gone.

A soft sigh escaped my lips as realization washed over me. The spirit I'd faced had retreated. There would be no further encounters that night. Why it had left me, I had no inkling of. There was no reason for it to abandon its fight.

Or perhaps it realized that it was dealing with a practitioner of magic and not a simple tourist, and had retreated to formulate a plan focused on crushing me.

Shaking my head, I staggered before seating myself on the ground. Groaning as I laid a hand over my chest, I heaved for breath, fighting to keep the dinner I'd had in the company of Koya-san's head in my stomach and to keep my heart beating as it stumbled clumsily a few times.

I'd not intended to kill or obliterate my attacker. That was all that rescued me from unconsciousness, or worse. Without an established recipient to redirect spiritual energy onto, without the will to mirror such punishment for my actions onto an innocent being that didn't deserve it, I took everything resulting from my casting onto myself. Thus doing what I had just done always carried heavy consequences.

Laying down as my breath returned to me, I groaned as my head pounded relentlessly. I hadn't intended to kill. I had, however, been completely focused on maiming, on harming. That in of itself was wicked, invoking the darker side of our Art.

And curse magic always returns to its caster.

Minutes stretched into nearly an hour as I waited for the headache brought on by my spell's backlash to abate. It took almost as long for my eyes to regain the ability to pinpoint individual stars from the swirling black mass of night that hung above me.

Sight finally returned to me, I rose from the grass to stare at the pond once more. My right hand slid to my wrenched left shoulder, holding it tenderly as my lips turned with a grimace of pain. It hurt, certainly, but it wasn't nearly so bad as what had been delivered to me at Ise just a week ago. Those wounds had barely escaped being reopened, thankfully.

Walking to the shore of that pond once more, I listened carefully for that soft cackling I'd heard before, for any movement other than the whistling wind's stirring about me, for any indication at all that I was not the only being possessing a human spirit in the vicinity of that water mass. As silence filled my ears and my senses became acutely familiar with the lack of that evil aura in my immediate milieu, I allowed myself to relax and instead returned my attention to what had grasped it before.

My eyes took but a second to locate that oddly white sliver I'd spotted amongst the rounded brown stones that littered the pond's shore before I'd been accosted by the resident poltergeist of the area. Walking to it, I knelt and retrieved it swiftly, taking a few paces back once it was in my hand.

Looking at my prize, I felt my stomach turn.

It was a human finger.

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I sat on the porch outside of the room that had been assigned to me and Shiro-kun in my soft navy pajamas, slowly turning that item I'd retrieved at the pond I'd visited over in my hand and pondering exactly what had occurred at that sacred site.

The digit I held was hardly touched by the forces of entropy at all. Possibly preserved by the chilled waters, it was in relatively good condition, only beginning to show hints of decay at the oddly cleanly severed base. The ghastly white flesh shone brightly in the moonlight as I turned it over again to look at that joint where it once had connected to a hand.

A medical professional I am not. Anything but at this point, I'd like to point out. Perhaps someday I would be able to add a more educated analysis to my work, but for the moment I'm naught but a high school student with dreams of being an animal handler.

Seishiro-san would be able to help me with this. Even though he is a veterinarian, he's had to go through the rigors of medical training to attain his degree. He would be able to add a more schooled opinion to my own.

However, to my woefully untrained eye, it looked as if the finger I held in my hand had been deliberately severed. The flesh was smooth, the slightest hint of raggedness eating along the skin. The bone was splintered down the middle, but scored along its termination. It didn't look like a break – I've seen enough broken bones in my life to be able to discern that.

I left that evening looking for answers. I'd returned with naught but more questions.

Shaking my head, I put the finger down on the small table that decorated our porch and decided to leave my mysterious clue and my pursuit of this spirit's purpose to wait for the morning. I'd return to the pond on Saturday to continue my investigation.

Walking inside, I shut the sliding door as quietly as I could. With a nod, I rolled out my futon, grimacing only a little as I put my arm into use. It worked fine thanks to the attentions of those monks who saw to our needs. They'd assisted me in fully relocating it back into its socket. Sorata-chan, the little boy who'd run me over earlier, had insisted that I go to the doctor.

It was fine, actually. A couple of Motrin, and I was feeling worlds better. A bit more massage over the next few days, and I'd be as good as new. It was something I'd experienced before – from falling out of trees and catching myself with one hand on the way down on a limb, from being hurled off of rooftops by irate spirits and snatching a ledge with my fingertips to being shoved out of windows by cursed inugami and barely managing to save myself from death at the cost of my right arm's comfort with nearly dislocated elbow and socket, it was a sensation I was atrociously familiar with.

As the futon flopped noisily, I winced. I'd not meant to make so much noise, especially when Shiro-kun must be sleeping.

Fortunately the boy didn't stir. At least, he didn't stir any beyond his normal tossing and turning that accompanied the nightmares that accosted him.

Looking at him as he folded himself in his blankets and his red satin pajamas then whimpered into his pillow, I let the sigh in my lungs leak past my lips. He really didn't seem to ever be gifted with a decent night's sleep.

I pitied him. I'd had the same problems when I was a child. Hokuto-chan was my savior, helping me through those terrible nights, accompanying me into slumber and chasing those nightmares that threatened to plague me far away.

My eyes blinked rapidly as they took in my new situation. I'd not even noticed that I'd moved to Shiro-kun's futon, or that I'd lightly begun to caress his cheek. Biting my lip nervously, I lifted my hand; my brain turned rapidly in my skull as it attempted to figure out what had just happened and what had driven me to so boldly touch him.

He'd stilled at my touch. I stared as he shifted slightly on his bed, seeming to seek my fingers again when I withdrew them from his cherubic face.

Another sigh escaping me, I shook my head. The boy needed comfort, much as I did when I was younger, much the same as what Hokuto-chan had provided for me. The 'Kamui,' while almighty and all-powerful, was still a human boy in need of human companionship and a soothing touch.

And given how familiarly he addressed me, how pleased he always seemed to be when in my presence over the last week he'd been in my house, something told me that I was one who may have been providing that comfort in his time. That I could offer it in this end of the decade.

Seishiro-san would never have to know, of course. And if he ever did discover, there was nothing he needed to worry about – this wasn't infidelity. It was offering comfort to a friend. Nothing more.

Pushing my futon mat to lay beside Shiro-kun's, I laid down beside him and lightly rested my hand upon his arm. He immediately responded, curling against me with a soft and relieved sigh and wrapping his arms around me in turn.

Closing my eyes, I allowed the warmth of the blanket and the comfort of my environ lull me towards that dark, soothing blackness called sleep. The plush softness of the futon below me, the quality blanket over me, those thin arms around me and that small frame beginning to nestle against my own all pulled me into an irresistible haze of satisfaction that allowed the worries of my day and the horrors of my early night to fade into obscurity, waiting to be resurrected with the sun's rise into the sky. A smile touched my lips as I lightly pressed my nose into the feathery wisps of black hair that brushed along my face while Shiro-kun pushed his nose against my neck, nestling in the comfort of human companionship.

It was quiet. It was peaceful. It brought back so many memories of nights in Kyoto, with another black-haired head nestled under my chin and a different set of arms wrapped about my waist.

"Mmmm… Subaru…."

I sighed as Shiro-kun's soft voice found my ears. Barely aware of the waking world, I distantly heard myself mutter, "What is it?"

The boy pressed himself more firmly against my body. My eyes flew open, the haze of oncoming sleep stolen from me as his condition was presented clearly to me. "Mmmm. Subaru…." He whimpered again.

He was dreaming. And apparently having a decent dream for once.

Blushing furiously, I shook my head before turning him forcefully onto his other side. I was more than shocked that Shiro-kun didn't awaken, but rather whimpered and rolled right back over.

After three more attempts, I simply gave up. Wrapping my arms around his frame, I brought him close once more and pressed my nose back into the warmth of his hair.

As his dream passed and his sleep became calm, I lost myself to slumber as the night finally adopted a sheen of unbreakable serenity.

tbc...