8. The truth within the lies.

T: A little late I know but have been down for the count what with germs and the addictiveness of Full Metal alchemist…not an excuse but there we go! Warnings remain the same and I wish to remind readers that there shall be a sequel to this one and thus not all the loose ends are going to be tied. I own plot, nothing else.
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He waits until he hears the click of the bedroom door closing before he enquires,

"Why are you outside the safety of your campus, Noruko?"

The golden eyes of the Imonoyama's 'companion' narrow at the casual familiarity and he has a thought to turn this into a game when Noruko remarks,

"I wished to inform you of the current situation and please, Sakurazuka-san, I would prefer it if you were a little less familiar."

He recognises the hint to drop the matter, however, he little likes being ordered around in his own home and thus, smiling pleasantly, he remarks,

"I was not aware, Imonoyama-san, that such a task required two individuals to complete it."

"Do you truly believe that I would trust him to come alone to this place?" The words are coated in venom and he thinks to goad the Takumura further when Noruko again intervenes,

"You can tease Suoh later, Sakurazuka-san, for the moment Shirou-kun should be our priority."

"I know that the seals are aware that Kamui and I have become 'friends' and I assume by his presence here that he has 'run away'."

"They had planed to refuse him even the smallest of liberties."

"May I ask is this 'they' the entirety of the Seals or are there those who have remained free from this matter?"

He is caught, momentarily, in the endless blue of the Imonoyama's gaze and, for the first since he has come to the house, Noruko smiles a true smile.

"Sumeragi-san has remained free of the matter and this is something that I find a little odd, for Sumeragi-san was the one to break this news to the other Seals."

"Most likely he regrets such a swift action."

"That or Shirou-kun mentioned something that Sumeragi-san had no want to hear."

"I believe that you are attempting to draw me out, Imonoyama-san, what a pity it is that I am a little more schooled in these things than yourself." He winks playfully and then enquires, "What is your next step to be?"

"I have no want for Kamui to be denied his freedom, for he is still, at heart, a child. However, I can comprehend why the Seals wish him free from your influence.

"Perhaps if you allowed them time to get used to you and time to see how much of a change you are putting upon Kamui…"

"You wish him to stay with me, do you not?"

"It seems the best solution, yes."

"They will search him out on campus."

"Which is why, for the moment, I believe Shirou-kun should concentrate on the lessons he is receiving from you."

There would, most likely, be a swift and messy conclusion to this and yet knowing this merely added an excitement to the matter.

"He can stay for as long as your believe need, Imonoyama-san."

The shrill sound of a mobile ringing eventually cuts into the silence and the Takumura holds a brief, and clearly coded, conversation before informing the Imonoyama,

"We need to get back to campus."

"I'll come again next week, Sakurazuka-san, hopefully with some positive news."

He sees the Imonoyama to the door and, after and hour sat quietly reading, he feels a familiar tug on his senses.

Knocking on the bedroom door he informs Kamui, "I'm just going out for a little while," before he pulls on his coat and shoes and leaves the house.

…………………………………………………………………………….

Subaru is stood beneath the tree, a cigarette clutched in his fingers and a beautifully despondent look within his eyes.

"You'll get cold if you stand there too long without a proper coat."

"Why should such a thing matter to you?"

"Are you angry at me for stealing Kamui from you, Subaru-kun?"

"You have no right to involve him in this matter, Seishiro-san."

"He was involved long before I took an interest." He smiles then and stealing away Subaru's cigarette he remarks, "I thought just to play with him a little but there was so much to him of another little boy whom I had known that I decided to extend the game."

Subaru's expression sours then and the thrill of enticing this reaction is as the greatest of adrenaline.

"I have been foolish enough to allow you to toy with my life, Seishiro-san, but I shall not allow you to interfere with Kamui's…shall not allow you to toss him aside once you have done with him, as though he is nothing more than a used cloth."

Subaru has pulled his Ofuda from his pocket and allowing his smile to dip a little he dips his fingers to respond in kind.

"Why would I treat Kamui-kun as such, Subaru-kun?"

"Because people are to you are glass…because there is no compassion in your heart Sakurazukamori."

"What if Kamui-kun had achieved what you could not? What if, in the space of a week, he has turned my heart and made himself significant in my eyes?"

"It is not true."

"No? I kissed him, Subaru-kun, tasted the essence of him with my lips…"

The Ofuda are trembling now in his opposite's fingers and there is a look in his eyes that Seishiro can not quite decipher.

"If it is true…if he has opened your heart out…then show me proof. Tear away my heart and the disease that you have bread within it."

The Ofuda fall, then, to the floor and the vulnerability within Subaru's eyes passes, so swiftly, into something childish and ugly. Indeed he looks almost precisely as he had on the day that Seishiro had revealed to him the truth of their Bet.

He steps towards the other, his fingers stretching to caress the skin of his hands and his nose breathing in the scent that is almost as a perfect mimicry of his own.

The other is trembling and as he places his hands, open palmed, onto the other's chest he can feel his heart fluttering beneath the ribcage.

"The truth is, Subaru-kun, that though Kamui has forced me to comprehend the truth of my heart, it is not in the manner that you believe.

"I kissed him because I was curious as to what it would feel like to kiss one so innocent and because there was something important that I had want to teach him.

"It was a lesson that I had believed I comprehended well and yet…" His fingers rise to brush at the other's lips and, his smile deepening, he remarks,

"I could not help but wonder if this was how you tasted…could not help but wonder what would have happened had I taken things a step further during the 'Year'."

Almost before he is aware he has trapped the other into a kiss and, after a single moment of hesitation, Subaru pulls him closer.

There was much still for them to discuss…much still to be said…and yet, for the moment, he is content to remain where he is.

For in the warmth of Subaru's arms he feels, at last, one and whole.

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T: I apologise for leaving it in such a place but it made the most sense! The sequel will be entitled 'graduation' and should, buffer chapters pending, be out next Wednesday. Pweeese review…blinks giant shiny eyes at readers…I'll cry if you don't!