5. Lust and love.
T: Beware the slightly squik worthy paring in this chapter…I promise that it was not planned and that it happened completely spontaneously! Apart from this the warnings remain the same and I own nothing here other than Rose.
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He has reached the school gates when his eyes catch Seishiro's familiar figure and, taking a moment to assure that none of the other Seals have seen the man, he jogs over to him.
"Did we not arrange to meet at the house?"
"It is Saturday today and, as such, the plans have been altered slightly."
"Are you taking me to see another of Subaru's 'old friends'?"
"Yuya-kun had a right to be able to apologise and, no, we are not meeting someone. I am taking you shopping."
"Pardon?"
"You can not go out in a school uniform, Shirou-kun and as that seems to be the only piece of clothing that you own…"
"Why am I 'going out'?"
"In order to learn to let loose and also for another, more important reason."
"One that you are not going to tell me?"
"Bingo." The English word is accompanied by a playful wink and Kamui is struck both by the desire to shiver uncontrollably and an odd sinking sensation.
They visit several intriguing clothes shops and Kamui is poked, prodded and squeezed by several different shop assistants.
The results of this embarrassing and exhausting process are two carrier bags and a comprehensive story for Kamui to give to Soratta.
"Let us run through this one last time, shall we?"
"You have asked me to stay over night in order that we might be able to have an intensive study session."
"How can you be contacted?"
"You will be switching your phone onto silent and so if it is truly important Soratta has to leave a message."
"If he still seems anxious?"
"Assure him that Imonoyama-san is aware of the situation and may possibly call in on us."
"What time shall you be home tomorrow?"
"Eleven and I shall not have another study session until Tuesday in order to allow my mind time to rest."
"Please insure that you give Arisugawa-san the assumed name of 'Nari Hijiri' rather than my true name. I care for this house, after all, and would so hate to have to look for another."
"Is your true home anything like this?"
"No, it is larger and more traditional in style."
"Might I see it one day?"
"I fear not, Shirou-kun, only a Sakurazukamori or one destined for that position may cross the threshold of that house."
"Who is to be your successor?" he asks the question without thought and once the words are spoken he knows he can not erase them again.
Seishiro does not react in the manner he had expected; indeed Kamui could almost call this reaction 'surprise' if it were any other than the Sakurazuka.
Eventually the older man steps a little from him and remarks, "I shall see you tonight at eight, Kamui-kun," before he continues to walk away.
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"I can not go in these!"
"You are being childish, Kamui-kun."
"That's easy enough for you to say, you can move in your trousers."
"I believe you are exaggerating the issue."
"Exaggerating? Exaggerating!" He storms out into the living room and pointing to the offending item of clothing he remarks, "These things are so tight they might as well be painted on!"
"You seemed content enough to buy them in the shop."
"They had a more relaxed fit in the shop." He finally notices the Sakurazuka's smile and, his eyes narrowing, he enquires, "You swapped sizes while I was not looking, didn't you?"
"Of course, for in the clubs the tighter your clothing the better."
"Then why are your trousers such a relaxed fit?"
"Because, alas, I am not longer of the right age to pull of such things…also I have a certain, image, to uphold."
"You do this regularly, do you?"
"I hunt the lowest of the low, Kamui-kun and, surprisingly enough, the best places to find such people is in bars and clubs."
"Are you hunting tonight?"
"No, tonight I am treating you to an experience that you shall never forget."
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They 'hit' a karaoke bar first, the matter of Kamui's legality quickly dealt with in the manner of a fake ID.
"It is not a licence to get yourself stupidly drunk, Kamui-kun. Have one if you find the need but stop after that." Seishiro had informed him as he had bestowed the ID.
The Sakurazuka was currently chatting amiably to the bar tender, his body relaxed in a manner that Kamui has never seen before.
"He's at home here." The comment comes from a heavily tattooed and pierced young woman and Kamui takes a moment to adjust to the oddity of her appearance before enquiring,
"I am sorry?"
"Sakurazuka. He's made the darkness his home and thus he is at ease in places where the darkness is the happiest." She smiles and informs him, "I'm Rose, Sakurazuka asked me to keep an eye on you while he 'networked'."
"Shirou Kamui."
She shakes here head and gesturing to the room she informs him,
"In this world you do not introduce yourself so formally, nor do you give your full name. You tap someone on the shoulder and say 'hey, I'm Shirou.'"
"Shirou?"
"If you have another name in mind then feel free to use it."
"Ryuu."
The peal of her laughter in intoxicating and he finds himself relaxing simply for the sound of it.
Seishiro takes to the stage a little after this and sings something in English that has a rich gothic nature to it that suits his voice well.
"What is he singing about?"
"The one he loves." Kamui listens to the song with a new ear after that, the anguish within the words holding now an undercurrent to them that may or may not be significant.
Once the song has concluded he comes to sit with them and he chats a little to Rose before the woman enquires,
"Where are you moving on to tonight?"
"Ultramarine."
"You're teaching the 'dragon' about illusions, are you?"
The Sakurazuka seems amused at the nickname and glancing a moment to Kamui he replies,
"Indeed."
"I'll let you get on with it then, shall I?"
The club is a dark, heady, place, full of strange people, multi coloured lights and the constant pounding of a base beet.
He is aware always of eyes upon him and occasionally, throughout the night, someone asks if he might dance a while with them.
He is tempted always to agree, to allow himself to become completely enthralled into this world and yet, for the moment, he has not the confidence to take that final step.
Eventually the dance floor begins to clear and, exhausted, he retires to one of the many chairs dotting the edge of the space.
"Not that I haven't enjoyed myself, Sakurazuka-san, but what was the point of tonight?"
"As I said previously I wished to show you that there was a little more to life than the war and I wished also to teach you an important lesson."
"Which is?"
"This." The other's lips are upon his then and he feels himself reacting to the kiss…feels himself pushing closer to the comfort of the other's warmth.
The Sakurazuka pulls away after a moment and smiling gently he remarks,
"What you feel now, Kamui-kun, is the warm insistence of lust; the emotion that possesses you completely and that many confuse with love.
"The lesson I teach you today is that these emotions are two very different things. For lust is as a bright flame, burning strongly and yet quickly guttering away into nothing.
"Love, however, is as a flame without end…a constant light that continues always no matter how much you wish it simply to fade."
He does not understand why the Sakurazuka is giving him this lesson and yet he understands well how important it is.
Understands that, somehow, this simple lesson has altered the course of his destiny.
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T: Don't kill me! With that spineless plea out of the way I wanted to inform you that the song I had in mind for Sei-chan's karaoke was 'Dancer in the Dark' by The Rasmus, but as it was not actually created until 2006 I have not mentioned it specifically…feel free to put in your own song to fit!
See the little blue button down there? If you press that and tell me what you think of this story then I'll give you a big hug and a (semi) constructive reply…feel free to be mean, even negative comments are helpful, after all! Next chapter on Sunday.