Hello! Back again! Hey, I actually met my one month deadline- I only went over by like three days. Well spent days, I might add. Anyway, I fixed as many mistakes as I could find, including the ones you guys pointed out, and some others, so yay!

Fuuma makes a short appearance in this chapter. I know you've all been practically begging me to put in Seishirou/Fuuma, and are dyign for them to come up, well don't worry, there'll be pleny of them in the next chapter.

That said, here comes the chapter, responses to reviews at the bottom. Thanks for your coments!


Falling

Chapter 3: Healing


Kamui Shiro shaded his jeweled amethyst eyes from the bright sun that threatened to temporarily blind him as he glanced up at the immeasurably bright sky, so cruelly opposite from the way his soul felt. Unclear. Dulled, cloudy, hazy... a permanent fog that choked his very existence. The day was mildly cold, but so much warmer than his heart.

But for now, that wasn't what he wanted to think about. For now, he wanted to immerse himself in the calmness of nature, the birds chirping happily in the swaying trees, the gentle trickling of an ornamental fountain, the water glistening in the strong heat of the sun.

It was... odd. These moments of peacefulness, especially outside, were quaint. Like a plateau in the climb of an ever-rising mountain. As if the world of fighting to save the earth, tragedies, mortal injuries, flying sentiments and broken hearts had been suspended, giving them the chance to lick their wounds and heal.

Kamuiwished the world would stay suspended forever.

He felt so content, crystal eyes glowing softly, as he looked gently on to his surroundings. Children laughed around him, playing in the half-broken and bent playground, remnants of the recent earthquakes, playing tag and hide and seek. Small, innocent children.

And it was up to Kamui to decide whether they'd live or die.

He bowed his head, willing the passing thought to flee, to hide, to suffocate in the darkness deeper in his mind, and let him be for now. He just wanted to immerse himself in the beautifulness of it all.

Beautiful. Two images came into mind. One was almost instantaneous, and the other faded into being, next to the first. Fuuma and Subaru. Fuuma was beautiful in his mind, he had an internal beauty that shone with his kindness and concern for others, that flowed in his movements and his grace of mind and body. Fuuma didn't have that external beauty that was often associated with Kamui, or even Subaru, but he had something else inside that made him beautiful in Kamui's desperately clinging mind.

Subaru on the other hand, had a sad beauty that shone even on the outside, on his small weary face, a beautiful face, despite the dread that Kamui had of seeing his ruined blind eye, for his beauty was external as much as internal. Although inside, it was different. Beautiful, in a frozen sense. It was like looking at an icy world, entrancing and commanding, but so very delicate and cold. That was Subaru's beauty, that of ice.

Kamui knew this, knew the difference, felt the tugging pull of his love for both men, but could not decide. They both meant so much to him.

Birds alighted on the wooden park bench, hopping closer to Kamui, looking at him with almost visible curiosity, and he smiled lightly.

"Kotori..."

He leaned back against the wooden park bench, feeling his fever weighing him down, resting his head upon his shoulder and sighing lightly, feeling sort of constricted by the fact that he had to stay sitting on the bench no matter what happened thanks to his inability to walk.

From afar, lighting on the top of streetlight, a tall, bulky body watched with an almost unnerving smirk behind small, round sunglasses, in a disturbing contrast to the almost playful, innocent look his modern, casual clothes gave him. There was a tinge of something else in it his face too, but no one would have been able to figure out what it was unless the tall Harbinger had wanted them to.

The Leader of the Seven Dragons of Earth. Kamui's twin star.

Fuuma.

Kamui felt something watching him through his closed eyes, a familiar presence, but before he could look about, it was gone. People passed by, mothers with children, fathers heading to work. No one his age, since they were all in school, no one he knew. He didn't bother opening his eyes now, it was gone, but nonetheless left a strange feeling in the air.

There was a change in the population. Less people in the parks than usual. The reason for the lack of people was easy; a number were dead. The young boy's head remained leaned back against the back of the bench, eyes closed, as if weighed down by all his thoughts and responsibilities.

He was waiting for short, sure footsteps to reach his ears. Then he would look up.

But instead, he was met with soft, tentative steps that reached his ears, and out of confusion, he looked up. It was a little girl, curly red hair falling over her face and ears, despite the pigtails that fought to hold it back. She was small, still a toddler, no more than seven, yellow, lacy dress fluttering lightly in the wind. Shining, bright eyes, as large as jewels. Kotori's eyes.

"Are you hurt?"

Kamui shook his head without thinking twice, staring at the red-head. The little girl blinked her huge eyes and plopped herself on the bench, looking all the while at the small-built older boy on the bench with open curiosity, and then flashed a wide, innocent smile. The kind only untainted, happy children could have. The kind of smile Fuuma and Kotori and he had had when they little, and still happy. Especially Kotori... dead Kotori...

"Wow, you're pretty!" Kamui blushed despite himself, still not used to comments like that despite how often he was told that. She paused, "But you looksad..."

The black-haired high school student let an ironic, remorsefully sad smile grace his lips, "Yeah. I've had some bad things happening lately."

The young girl remained quiet, smiling sympathetically at him and patting his hand childishly.

"Why did you say my name?" she asked after a while, her voice small, broken with that lack of words that children had as they tried to overly pronounce every word, smooth in its youth.

Kamui blinked blindly, suddenly aware that the birds had not fled from the bench, but only made room for the small girl, "I didn't."

"You said, 'Kotori'. My name is Kotori," she cocked her head to the side, waiting for an explanation, "Do I know you? Do you know me?"

Kamui suddenly laughed below his breath, an almost inaudible chuckle, and smiled at the little red-head girl, one of his rare genuine smiles.

"No, I don't know you. I had a friend, named Kotori. She died."

"Oh, so her name was Kotori?" she said as if recognizing her, then turned back to Kamui, "Is that why you're so sad? Because she died? How did she die?"

The pained youth looked away, "You don't want to know, trust me."

"Did your best friend, her brother, kill her?"

Kamui's head snapped up, "H-How-?" came the strangled response.

The little girl smiled brightly, "A guy told me. He was taaaall, and he said he knew you. And the girl that you called Kotori."

Kamui's breathing quickened, hands tightening, his eyes unfocused. He swallowed, a vain way of regaining composure, "What was his name?"

The green-eyed girl that so looked like Kotori, and furthermore shared her name, put her small fingers up to her mouth, thinking.

"His name was Fuuma, I think."

The violet-eyed boy's heart skipped a beat, "Where did you meet him? Which way did he go?" he said, the urgency ringing strenuously in his voice.

The little girl shrugged, "Here, in the park, a while ago. I think he went...that way?" she pointed to the West, "But I'm not sure. He was fast."

Kamui's head sank back into his hands, his eyes wide. Yet there was nothing he could do about it. He wasn't even healed yet, he couldn't even walk, much less chase after Fuuma. But somehow, he felt like he was losing something, time, opportunity, something.

"Did you like him?" she asked suddenly. Kamui looked at her bright gaze, full of youth and innocence, no blood on her hands, no pain in her eyes, no sinister meaning behind her words. So different from the eyes he'd looked at lately.

He hesitated quite visibly, warring emotions and thoughts in his heart, "I did. I.. do. A lot," the young boy admitted quietly, and then continued with pained determination, "And I'm going to get him back."

The red-haired Kotori smiled, "I think he likes you too. He had a pretty look in his eyes when he mentioned you."

If possible, Kamui's still wide eyes widened further, and his heart squeezed, with hope, and pain, and betrayal, and, most painfully, love. And he couldn't help but respond.

"Really?"

She nodded happily, jumping from the bench and petting the small pigeons and birds, "Yeah! He said he wants to see you again, cause he said there's going to be a reunion at Nakashogo in a couple weeks. It sounds fun!"

The Seal's eyes narrowed at her words, his heart sinking. A reunion? That could only mean another battle... another opportunity for death to spring up and rob him of those he loved. At Nakashogo? But why there? That was only a city district, without any barriers even. What was Fuuma planning? He looked down at his shirt, unbuttoned at the top, and could see the hint of the bandages that encircled him down to his waist. Maybe in a couple weeks he'd be healed enough to battle... and maybe win.

The birds twittered madly, and the young Dragon of Heaven glanced up to find the girl had disappeared. Looking up, he found her small figure ahead, across the busy intersection of the road, and blanched as he saw the tall figure looming behind her, a sinister grin on his face, the amusement in his eyes poison to Kamui's soul.

Fuuma.

Kamui's heart iced over with one look, and his panicked mind feared for the girl's safety. What was Fuuma doing?

But he only patted her head playfully, and she laughed and grinned up at him, as the tall young man gave Kamui an amused look, fully knowing how badly he was playing the crystal-eyed boy, his utter dominance of him. Then the young girl apperead to catch sight of Kamui and waved a goodbye, apparently unaware of the danger posed by the figure behind her, before a car passed by, blocking him of his view of them, and as it reappeared, only the girl was left, who turned and ran into an apartment building.

The dark-haired boy wrapped his arms around himself, already dreading the outcome of the next fight, already willing himself deeper into his subconscious, like he had when Kotori had died and Fuuma changed into his twin star, anything to make the pain disappear. His body and mind were shaken by the brief but powerfully threatening glimpse at his former best friend.

He had hoped for a respite, for it to stop, for the danger and fear to recede long enough for him to be able to enjoy the time he had with Subaru, after all of what they'd gone through- his train of thought was broken, as he was engulfed by despair so black and dense his breath stopped, his chest compressing painfully inside him.

The knowledge that another battle was going to ensue, in only a couple weeks, just barely healed from his last confront with his former friend, that there was another chance for carnage and tragedy just around the bend- was devastating. This was what they all had to live with, everyday.

And the worst part was that it wasn't just him who was endangered, it was everyone else. Yuzuriha, Aoki, Karen, Arashi, Sora, Subaru! All of them, in danger, tied to a fate that rested solely in his, Kamui's hands. His slender arms enfolded his delicate chest even tighter.

Then confident, though soft footsteps reached his ears, slowing as they neared him, and he looked up, knowing without a guess who it was, feeling relief so intense it left him washed out for a moment.

"Kamui?" the soft voice broke his thoughts like splintering glass, but the young Seal couldn't bring himself to smile, even at the sight of the concerned emerald eye bearing upon him, other eye still invisible underneath the gauze shileding it, "Does your chest hurt?" he asked, kneeling in front of Kamui.

"Ah... a little," the sword-bearer lied, unwrapping his arms from around himself, "But I'm fine now."

The omnyoji looked on softly at him, and handed him a vanilla ice-cream cone, keeping one for himself, and looked on disapprovingly at Kamui for a moment before sighing, eyes closed, and sitting down next to him, "I told you to wear a jacket. It's cold, and you still have a fever," the taller man remonstrated gently, lifting the black jacket discarded on the park bench and placing it around Kamui's shoulders.

"Sorry," Kamui closed his eyes, leaning in to Subaru's gentle touch, before resting against the Sumeragi's side, and closing his eyes. His worries faded away, the resolution strong in his mind that he'd tell him what he found out later, but right now, there was nothing to worry about, and they could enjoy themselves for once.

"Are you going to eat the ice cream I got you?" Subaru asked in his soft voice, a hint of detached pain always present in the undercurrent.Violet eyes blinked open, glancing at the snow-fluffy beige colored confection.

"Oh, yeah."

Reluctantly at the unfamiliarity of the action, Kamui bent down to lick the cold vanilla scoop, pink tongue lapping away at a flavor that he hadn't tasted in who knew how long.

It was so weird, to be doing something as superficial, as normal, and blithe as eating ice-cream at a park on a sunny day, with children laughing around them, and flowers and plants, and a blue sky. No blood, no pain, no reminiscence of painful, heart-breaking memories, no death threats, and hurtful, twisted looks, or sinister purposes, or the heaviness of responsibility, and the doubt of choice, and life, and the sacrilege of living.

"Odd..." Subaru murmured, voicing his thoughts out loud, something quite unlike him. Kamui nodded against his shoulder, too busy with his ice-cream to verbally answer.

Then the light violet-eyed boy gave a side-glance to the man besides him, body still slung against him for support, "I didn't know you liked ice-cream?"

Subaru would have smiled, but for the heaviness that was constant in himself and the sorrow and painful agony that had robbed the expression from his soul, and he had never been the type to fake his emotions in any case. As it was, his lips were only tugged a minimal fraction of an inch upward, and that was Subaru Sumeragi's smile.

"Hokuto loved it. The fridge was always stocked with it. She liked vanilla. I liked chocolate, but somehow, now..." he tipped the vanilla cone back to him, licking the top, signaling his unexplained change in taste. It was probably an unconscious attempt at honoring his sister and keeping her remembrance.

"Wow... I've never heard you speak of your sister... after that day," the night-haired boy said softly, leaning his head momentarily on Subaru's shoulder as if to comfort.

And suddenly Subaru stopped. Had he just mentioned Hokuto out loud, to someone else? He had... he stared hard at the back of Kamui's head, his single dark, dull emerald eye watching him take another almost-happy lick at the dessert.

He had never mentioned his sister to anyone after her painful death. Never. Not many people knew how she had died, and he'd never bothered to talk about it. It was too painful. How... he couldn't bring himself to believe that after all these years of carefully hiding the truth and avoiding the subject, he'd spilled out one very relevant fact about her and himself, in such a casual, unexpected way. Was this... what they called healing?

Kamui knew about her, and somehow, that had been the reason he'd slipped up. He knew that the boy already knew about, from that day, when he's sunk so far into his soul that Subaru had had to rescue him, and showed him his past. Had knowing that Kamui knew brought his defenses down?

But it felt good, to finally be able to talk freely about Hokuto, and know that he wasn't going to be judged, or pitied falsely, or that he'd have to lie about her death, because then there would be scorn and hatred aimed at Seishirou, and despite what he'd done to him and his twin sister, he didn't want anyone ever talking bad about him. It felt good to be released from this self-inflicted oppression. Only Kamui...

"Kamui?"

Bright amethysts glanced upon him, brighter than he'd seen them lately. Subaru smiled inwardly, bringing him out for a while had been a good change of pace.

"Thanks. I haven't been able to talk about her in a long time..."

Kamui smiled, and Subaru was filled with a strange, yet distantly remembered feeling of happiness and fulfillment at seeing the young boy's beautiful, shining smile. When Kamui smiled, the world suddenly became brighter. It made his frozen heart thaw which each passing second that he was with the smaller boy.

And Kamui himself was feeling rewarded, happy that Subaru had found some release, and begun the path to healing, and that he'd opened up to him. He was happy, and content, and in response, licked his ice-cream again. His heart felt warm.

"It's melting," he grinned lightly. Subaru blinked and turned to it, hurriedly licking away the dripping edges, melting droplets covering Subaru's mouth and chin as it slipped downward, giving Subaru such a comical appearance Kamui couldn't help but laugh.

Another gift, a blessing so undeserved. His laugh. Small, and timid, but heartfelt, a flower in the arctic, water in the desert. An expression of pleasure that the omnyoji hadn't heard in a long time, and opened a new side of Kamui, the carefree, happy, kind, if shy, youth that he could have been, had he been uninvolved in the end of the world. The sound seemed to awaken something in Subaru that had been sleeping since his life had taken a turn for the worse. Happiness, innocence, pleasure. A new outlook on life was awakened, springing forward to part shreds of the veil that had shrouded his vision.

The dark man wiped the sticky vanilla off his chin with a napkin as Kamui's laugh was abruptly cut off by a grimace and a strained groan. The smaller boy clutched his chest, breathing turning ragged.body shaking constrainedly.

"Kamui!" Subaru turned to place his hands on the boy's shoulders, griping them to steady him as the young boy sucked in a sharp intake of breath as a stake of pain shot through his half-healed ribs with the likeness of a thousand blazing needles piercing through his lungs and heart.

"I guess I shouldn't have laughed..." he whispered, a thin sheen of sweat forming across his forehead. His hands remained clutched around his chest, though he straightened against Subaru's hold.

"Do you want to go back?" the emerald eyed man stroked the back of Kamui's head as he spoke. In truth, he hadn't needed bother with the question, since he was planning to take him back anyway for a checkup, whether he wanted it or not. But he'd rather Kamui agree first.

A part of him welcomed the idea of feeling safe in the CLAMP school's fortified hold, where he could sleep tranquilly, a desire that had abruptly overcome him, but another side didn't want to part from the peacefulness and everyday feeling he'd gotten today, the freedom he'd encountered.

But his body took precedence, and he nodded almost imperceptibly.

Subaru swung him up gently into his arms, cradling his body closer to the former exorcist's for support. Subsequently carrying him calmly but swiftly out of the park, the same way they had come, he ignored for the second time that day the curious glances thrown their way at a tall, mysterious fair-faced young man, the left half of his face covered in thick bandages, carrying a pale, pretty-faced half-conscious boy, bandages visible underneath his shirt, who should have been in school at the moment.


Wow, I got a lot more reviews than I was expecting. -tear- Thank you! -snaps and stops beign overly dramatic- Not my style really to be dramatic. -laughs- Unless it's playing around. Then I'm a little TOO dramatic... hehe...

Miriya V.: Thanks! I don't know if this chapter measured up in imagery quite as much as the last two, but you tell me. I realyl loved your fic too, though, I mean really loved it. . Oh and yes, I fixed 'the Yuzuhira'. Took out the the (what was I thinkign when i wrote that?) and fixed her name (I feel soo bad getting her name wrong- ugh- I could have sworn I'd gotten it right. It's such a long name, -laugh- I only did get the h and r confused though --u)

Ginger Ninja- Thanks, and I hope you liked this chapter too!

Shinzona- I laughed SOOO hard when you said 'And jealous Sei-chan had to ruin SubaruxKamui's moment, neh! He's gotten it so bad for Suby :)' I swear I was crackign up! Suby! He;s got it so bad for Suby... -cracks up again- Aawwwww! They're so cute -huggles them painfully- ah whoops. Anyway, I'm not quite sure how I'm going to have Seishy and Fuuma 'barging' into Subaru and Kamui, but I have a vagues idea... ugh, if you have ANY suggestions, please tell me, cause I'm at a bit of a loss, haha. Haven't planned that far ahead. This fic only started as a short Subaru/Kamui cause I coudlnt' resist the urge to write a little thing with them! Oh and yes... there will be a bit of a Sei/Fuuma pairing, but you know... it's about as odd as you can expect it, with it being THEM TWO anyway...-sweatdrop- yup...

RisuMusume: I love Yuuto! He rocks! Aw... -sorry she's not writing about him- hm... i think I'll stick him in odd places in here. Hehe... -can't resist- He's so cool... I loved when he was fighting against Sorata in the beg of the series! -squeal, laughs- Yeah, so it was an odd Fuuma appearance in this chap, but there'll be a lot more of him next chap.

Sadako Sumeragi: -happy- Thanks! yay! -squeal- Yeah, I love Subaru/Kamui! They're just tooo cute! Waaay too cute. Heck they just are. -starry eyed- -can't stop ranting about how completely kawaii they are-

Chris Pwure: Yay, I'm loved! Yup, but i fixed the names. I just cannot do really long names unless they flow or I memorize them -sweatdrop- Thanks for reading, hope you liked this chapter!

Jaquiel: Oooh! Pretty name! Is that your real name or just a penname? Cause I love it... -claps- Pretty! And thanks a lot for your complements! Hope you liked this chapter as much too. What do you think about a little Fuuma/Seishirou? And are there any other pairings you'd like included?

La Varla-chan: Woohoo, thanks, hope you liked this chapter!

Arrhythmic Song: Yeah, I personally liked describing Subaru's smile too. I'm so glad you think I'm portraying them correctly, now I just have to keep it up -sweatdrop- jeez, X characters are so hard to keep in character... maybe cause they're so human, they're really two-sided. -ponders- anyway, are you saying there aren't that many Su/Ka Su/Sei Ka/Fu fangirls? -faints- Cause you make it sound like there aren't that many! -faints again- How can they not love them! Lol, hahahaha. I'd like to read your fics when I have the time, they sound interesting! -grin- That's going to be a painful bubble to pop. Once again, if you have ANY suggestions about how you want Fuuma and Seishirou to come in, cause I'm at a loss! .! Haven't planned it out, so any ideas would be LOVED.

Angel Kamui: Pretty name! I got a picture of him with his pretty angel wings today... Aw, don't cry! Jeez, I need to stop making people cry -not first fic in which people have said they almost cried- Actually I think someone did cry in Bittersweet... wow. Ah, the suffering of incomplete fics! The pain! I share your feelings. And I am continuing. I hate leaving a fic unfinished, bugs the HECK out of me... even worse sometimes, is when the author writes some lame ending kinda tyign it together half way through the story cause they gave up but wanted to officially 'end' it. The evil!

DVL: Hi! You came to review another one of my fics? Yay! -laugh- angst, fluff, what else am I good for? Just like in my Gil/Ram one. I didn't know you liked X. Yay! -hugs another X lover- Lol, don't worry, I can't say that Subaru/Kamui will stop, but I can tell you that Seishirou and Fuuma will come in large next chapter. Do you want them as a pairing? Well, too bad, cause they are. Not like a lovey-dovey pairing, midn you, but... well, what you can expect from them two. A bit twisted. Ack! -grabs pokign hand before keels over from laughing- It hurts, it hurts! hahahaha... haha... ha.

Thanks for your reivews... Dang, there was somethign I was going to say... grr... forgot it... oh well... Wow, i didn't expect this many reviews, considering there were only 4 for the first chapter and now there's like... 15 for the second? YAY!

Oh and member, Any comments on how you want the storyline to go, or pairinngs or any suggestions/corrections/comments are REALLY appreaciated, and the purple button loves them, as do I. It'll be about another month till I update, so be patient!