7. Freedom.
T: The next chapter is the last for this part of the tale so expect fireworks…yes that is all the warning I am going to give you! I own nothing you see apart from the plot.
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Soratta calls a 'group conference' an hour after he returns from school and, though he knows well why the elder man has asked for such a meeting, he goes willingly.
Soratta has a displeased frown on his face and there is an odd crease at the corner of his mouth that makes him look suddenly stern.
"Sumeragi-san told me something, unsettling, this morning and after talking a while to Imonoyama-san I have called you here to impart this news to you.
"It seems that one amongst us has been talking to one of the Angles…has, on several occasions, fraternised with the enemy."
Kamui notes that Yuzihara has paled slightly and that her eyes have filled, suddenly, with unshed tears.
He wonders at this reaction, indeed he steps a little towards the girl with the intent of asking why she is so moved, when Soratta fixes him in his gaze and says,
"I am afraid to say that that someone is our auspicious leader."
All eyes in the room fall to him then and, for the briefest of instants, Kamui thinks to make good his threat to Subaru. The Sumeragi looks, however, so vulnerable in that instant that the words stick in his throat and he is forced, instead, to say,
"I have kept this confidence merely because I feared for your reaction. Sakurazuka-san has been tutoring me, nothing more, nothing less."
"What of Saturday night?"
He can not stop the flush springing to his cheeks and he is suddenly very aware of the weight of Subaru's gaze upon him.
"What of Saturday night?" The Onmyoji enquires, an ice in his voice that unsettles Kamui further.
"Kamui told me that he was to spend Saturday evening studying with his tutor. I felt uneasy about the story, but I passed it over, now, however, I have a desire to hear the real truth."
He is aware that he can do nothing other than tell them the truth and, his eyes falling closed, he recounts the events of Saturday evening.
The sound of the front door closing stirs him from his state of near meditation and he is little surprised to find that Soratta is now the only Seal within the room.
"I am very disappointed in you, Kamui; I had believed you more aware of the situation than this." He brushes a hand through his hair and, the crease appearing again at the side of his mouth, he says, "You will not be allowed to go anywhere outside the campus without one of us with you, within campus you shall be watched always and you will return here immediately after the conclusion of the days lessons."
"What if Segawa-kun invites me over again?"
"Segawa-kun is better off without you within his life, Kamui and there was always going to be a point where you had to step out of his life, recent events have merely accelerated when that point shall be."
He wishes to scream at Soratta and yet he knows that such a thing will prove of no aid to him.
Thus he places a mask of calm onto his features and smiling a very Seishiro like smile, he informs Soratta,
"I wish to go to my room now."
It takes him but two minutes to gather together enough clothing to last him for a few nights, and then he opens out his bedroom window and leaps out into the night sky.
The majority of the Seals are not quite as good at stalking as they believe and it takes him but a half hour to loose the bulk of the group.
It takes him another half hour to shake Soratta and he is fatigued enough by that point that he glad that Subaru has chosen not to join the hunt.
There is a faint belief in his heart that he shall find the Sumeragi waiting for him at the Sakurazuka's home and yet he knows this belief is a vain thing.
He has, after all, upset the Sumeragi enough that the other will have no want to chase after him.
He receives no answer at Seishiro's house and, after a moment of careful thought, he concentrates his power into the lock upon the door.
There is a hard click and then he is free to cross over the threshold into the warmth of the house.
He has enough energy left to write a short explanatory note to Seishiro and then he passes into the darkness of sleep.
…………………………………………………………………………………..
His body notes, all but the moment of waking, that he is in an unfamiliar place and he can not squash the childish panic that bubbles within him at this revelation.
There is the pressure of a hand upon his torso but a moment after this, the scent of the thing the oddly comforting mix of cigarette smoke and sakura that he has long associated with Subaru.
There is a faint metallic edge to the scent, however, that is unknown to him and, his eyes sliding open, he is met with Seishiro's blank smile.
"Ohiyo, Kamui-kun."
"Ohiyo."
"Would you like to come and join me for breakfast and we can discuss this matter while we eat?"
As this house is but a 'temporary' living space for Seishiro the kitchen is only just large enough for the Sakurazuka to cook within it, thus, once breakfast is prepared, they retire together into the comfort of the living room.
"How were you discovered?"
"Subaru talked to Segawa-kun and as I did not specifically ask for the matter to be kept private…"
"Why did you choose to come here?"
"Did you not read my note?"
"The thing was all but illegible and I deciphered from it only that our arrangement had been discovered."
"I see."
He is about to give as brief an explanation of the matter as he can when there is a knock upon the front door.
Seishiro steps into the hall and there is a moment of muted conversation before he comes again into the living room.
Behind him is Noruko, who is smiling in an overly bright manner, Suoh, who is busy searching the room for hidden dangers and Keiichi, who has a slightly guilty look within his eyes.
"It seems that Imonoyama-san and I have a few things to discuss, Kamui-kun, and so perhaps it is best that you take Segawa-kun to 'your' room."
"I am sorry, Shirou-kun." Keiichi remarks once Kamui closes the bedroom door.
"It is not your fault, Segawa-kun; it is my own…if I had simply been a little more specific…"
"May I ask why Sumeragi-san was so upset over this matter, or is it something you wish kept between the two of you?"
"I believe it best that I give you the whole story, Segawa-kun, otherwise you will remain still confused."
He then proceeds to tell Keiichi about every single detail of his life and the lives of his Seals. At some point Seishiro knocks on the door to inform him that he is going out for a little while, this something that registers with him, for the moment, merely on a subconscious level.
By the time he finishes the tale he is so concentrated on the dryness of his throat that he has forgotten to be apprehensive of Keiichi's reaction to the revelation.
"Imonoyama-san warned me that things were more than they seemed and that I might have wish to reconsider coming here with him…"
"But?"
"Shirou-kun…Kamui…I am amazed that anyone can shoulder such a burden, but for someone so young to hold to it without going mad…"
"I truly am in awe of you."
"What of my part in your father's death?"
"Were you the one responsible for that quake, Kamui?"
"No…but…"
"Then you are not to blame."
"Thank you, Segawa-kun."
"Keiichi."
"Keiichi."
The other smiles then and informs Kamui,
"You are my friend, Kamui and thus I will always be here to listen to you and to understand."
There is something in the other's eyes as he speaks those words that makes Kamui feel suddenly, inexplicably, warm.
Before Seishiro's 'lesson' in the club he might simply have passed in off as embarrassment, now, however, he knew better…
Knew that he had, somewhere along the line, become attracted to Keiichi.
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T: Next chapter is the last and I'll most likely have it up tomorrow. Will not plead with you to review this time, have decided that the choice is yours!