Item 1: the bandage
Disclaimer: I do not own X/1999
Rating: T for some cursing
Story: a spoof about Rainbow Bridge and a certain accessory...
Concept: I thought about writing some one-shots revolving around all those little accessories in X/1999. Hmm, if this doesn't make sense, read this story and tell me if you like the concept
Beta reading: thanks to Shinzona for beta-reading!
Somewhere in Japan…
Somewhere in the heart of Tokyo…
Somewhere across …
... Rainbow Bridge…
A play was being unfold under a sky draped with shiny stars. A play, yes, but not just any play. A play that had been rehearsed a million and million of times in the minds of two individuals eversince their tumultuous story had begun. A play that will decide their ending, their death…
They both had planned it very carefully though: every detail, every word, every spell, every move was chosen meticulously… always bearing in mind the trecherous actions the other would take. Could take.
The time for rehearsal was now over, since the two protagonists had engaged in their respective scripts on this bridge. Great had been their astonishment right from the beginning upon discovering the accuracy of their respective predictions. Their movements and actions seemed so familiar, thus automatic, as they had been experienced a million times before in their imagination. But what they did not know, is that the respective ends they both wished for, were clashing like day and night, like black and white…
And there they were, slowly but surely reaching the finale of their wish… when suddenly… amidst the two men came a cloth. A bandage tightened around Subaru's right eye. The first sign of the unforeseen dilemma. It had come partly loosed during their exchange of several magical spells. Subaru reached for it, finding in the white cloth the perfect symbolism to voice his wish. With a wave of sorrow in his tone, he spoke up.
"Seishirou-san, this bandage is a sign of my surrender… "
Subaru let the wind take hold of the bandage, and at the same time, and for the first time too, revealed the result of his sacrifice at Sunshine 60.
"… take it."
After having the wind guide the bandage through his fingers, Seishirou stopped its journey. He clutched it, eyes closed, before expressing his thoughts in the most soft and fatalistic voice he could create.
"No, Subaru-kun,… I am the one… surrending…"
The way Subaru had used the bandage, and more, what he had said, did not coincide with the predictions Seishirou had laid out for his prey. And the same was true for Subaru whose eyes went wide after hearing his nemesis' response.
"I think you misunderstood …"
He cleared his throat and shifted his feet on the loosen concrete to add some weight in his words.
"I said I am surrending to you, Seishiro-SAN."
Seishirou, slightly annoyed, decided to look up and meet the young man's gaze.
"No, Subaru-KUN, I will surrender to you!"
"Wha…?" Subaru's eyes went even wider as his voice took a pitch. "No, I-I will!"
Seishirou's immediate response was a sudden mocking grin, followed by an amused sigh.
"You don't have what it takes to surrender!"
Offended didn't even come close to the expression on Subaru's face. But when the simple phrase took hold of his mind, the angst sneaked through his veins once more.
"Even after all those years of hard training… I don't have what it takes…But why? Oh why?"
"Why's that, Seishirou-san?"
" 'Cos I am the one owning the white bandage! Which you should've changed earlier by the way…"
Getting sucked in his medical instincts, Seishirou eyed the bandage between his fingers a bit suspiciously. Subaru's angsty set of mismatching eyes had also diverted to the cloth. To the loose end of the cloth… loose… Subaru did the only thing an onmyouji of his rank could do to set the course of events to his advantage again.
"But… but I am the one who brought it here!"
"So?"
"Give it baaaack!"
With this said, he leapt towards Seishirou trying to get a grip on the loose end of white bandage. Seishirou, although he couldn't have had predicted this impulsive action, managed to keep the bandage by holding it high above, out of Subaru's reach. An amused grin played itself up his features at the funny sight of his Subaru-kun jumping like mad kitty-cat. But his amusement ended too quickly as the lean Subaru snatched the loose part.
"Aha! Give me my bandage back now!"
Subaru started to pull on the white cloth stretched out between the two grown-ups, making Seishirou lose his balance for a mere second. But a second seemed to be enough though for the cunning assassin to plot some last-minute plan to trick his prey.
"You will have to kill me first, Subaru-kun. "
A hard pull coming from Seishirou's side was more than enough for him to regain the control over the bandage.
"Consider it done!"
"Oh wait, kill him…?"
Panicking and wishing he could take those words back, he did not feel how his bit of the bandage was getting dangerously shorter.
"NO WAY! Forget what I said!"
"Kill me and the bandage will be all yours! All yours!"
That was accompanied by a rather harsh pull from Seishirou's side making Subaru lose his balance and fall flat on his back. But Subaru had not given in yet, on the contrary, his determination to win over the right to surrender had never been so passionate. The tiny bit of white cloth clutched in his fist would not be taken away from him. His wish would not be taken away from him. Ever. From his seemingly hopeless position on the ground, he started to scream his war cry out of his lungs …
"Aaaaaahhhh!"
Seishirou harboured a wicked smile, and still holding the ribbon with his trademark impeccable style, he searched for a much needed cigarette.
"You're so kawaii, Subaru-kun, really…"
"Kawaii… Kawaii…! KAWAII!"
"Naaaahhhh! Stop it! This is torture…!"
Subaru let out a frustrated sob. Seishirou arched an eyebrow and whispered hypnotisingly to Subaru, a cloud of smoke escaping his lips.
"So, you surrender?"
"Surrender?"
The sentence rang like deliverance in Subaru's ears. Like a distant echo from the heavens above. He could already hear the angels' majestic bells ringing for him.
"Eeh! … Yes, I do!"
"Alright, it looks like I have won. So let go of that bandage so I can surrender myself to you in style, Subaru-kun."
The heavenly bells stopped chiming in the onmyouji's head as confusion plastered itself across his face.
"Huh? But I am the one surrending, Seishirou-san… So how can you also surrender?"
Subaru blinked, waiting for a response from the Sakurazukamori, from his brain, from anything or anyone really… A dust of heavy concrete swirled across the bridge, filling up the sudden silence before Seishirou regained his voice.
"Are you being an idiot on purpose or is it that you're tryi—"
Realzing the pun a second too late to avoid total humiliation, Subaru hurried back on his feet before exploding in rage. Never had a man been so determined in winning a battle in order to lose another one.
"NOOO! I won't be tricked again! Nononono…! NOT AGAIN! And not by YOU! GIMME THAT, you Sakurazaka…Sakuriza… Sakurzakuslm… you fucking bastard!"
Somewhere far far above the ordained playground, somewhere on a for-the-time-being safe pillar, the echoes of two men fighting over a piece of white medical cloth could be heard, accompanied by the sound of crunched pop-corn. Two silhouettes had been listening with much attention, occasionally stuffing their hungry mouths.
"How long are they gonna fight over that?"
With his mouth full, Kamui was leaning over a iron rope. Arashi, sitting next to him, took a sip of soda before responding.
"Last time in Nakano, it lasted half an hour or so. It was quite amusing if you ask me. Just sit back and enjoy."
"Oh well, right…"
Kamui adjusted his binoculars, aka Kamui-eyes TM, to get a closer look on the match of the century. Well, second-best if only he had the courage and muscles to give Fuuma something to weep about. Arashi took out a mirror out of the picnic basket, for the occasion stuffed with Tokyo's finest fast-food and let out a dreamy sigh.
"… wished Sorata was here… He would've loved that! But then again, he wouldn't be looking at THEM, rather at…"
As she let another dreamy sigh, she readjusted her straight hair. Kamui had stood up and was now punching the air fervently.
"On the left! Punch him on the left, Subaru! Don't let that bandage go! Subaru's gonna win, I just know! I feel it! "
Kamui's eyes were filled with a hopefull bright glow, concentrating all the faith he had in Subaru. Arashi, on the contrary, stayed rather sceptical about the outcome of the battle.
"The Sakurazukamori is very strong, you know…"
Kamui turned to Arashi, putting his hands on his non-existent hips to put some defiance in his stance.
"Wanna bet?"
Arashi did not even have the chance to respond as a frustrated voice roared across the sky, presumably from Subaru tangled up with Seishirou in medical strip.
"I HEARD THAT!"
… Owari …
A/N: So, this was the story of the bandage at Rainbow Bridge. That floating bandage holds so much symbolism, don't you think?
Ok, the cast is a bit OOC, but hey, it's meant to be funny ;-D
If you have any comments, or if you want me to post some other crappy stories, review please .
Thanks for reading!