Blood.
1. Child.
T: This whole thing started as a random 'what if' in my head and has developed far past the original concept…will muse on this in later chapters, for now I must warn you that this fic is AU, that there will be SLASH later down the line and that this first chapter is stupidly long compared to the others…blame exposition! I own nothing here other than the plot and one other thing that I shall not mention directly for fear of spoiling things!
Oh and italics are when someone is talking to the tree, who, incidentally, talks : as such :
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Occasionally, he mused, the Tree was more a hindrance than a help.
He had thought to eat a long leisurely meal in one of the many little restaurants that were dotted about Tokyo, take a stroll through the sakura strewn streets and perhaps make the acquaintance of an attractive young individual whom could give him a little company and offer a distraction until the dawn came.
He'd just sunk his fork into a chocolate desert of the rich western variety that a man could happily spend hours devouring, when he'd felt the insistent tug of the sakura.
Having learned the hard way what ignoring such a call would mean he's abandoned his desert and, after paying his bill, he had made his way to Ueno…
Only to find that the Tree had called him to extricate a cat from out amongst its branches.
"I hope you realise just how angry I am with you."
: I would have dealt with the matter myself but someone has banned me from doing such 'inhumane' things. :
"Cats cannot provide you with any sort of nutrition, Tree-san and thus you're killing them simply out of spite"
: And your point is::
"You begin to sound like father."
: Of course I do, the bond between myself and the Sakurazukamori is, after all… :
"I do not wish to hear that speech again, Tree-san, it was bad enough the first time."
: One day you shall have to stop running from your fate, Orito-kun. :
"Even if you are right, Tree-san, that day is not today."
The cat regards him with an air of offended dignity as he lifts it free from the Tree's branches and yet, thanks to a constant burble of soft nonsense, he manages to get the thing to the floor without so much as a scratch .
The Tree thus freed of 'unwanted guests' he thinks to rescue what remains of his Sunday evening and is mulling over the best place to purchase another decedent desert when his eyes catch, and latch onto, a figure moving through the park.
The other is dressed in a crisp white trench coat, which is edged in a deep navy that matches well the rich red of his dress shirt and the lighter blue of his trousers.
The crisp, clean, lines of his clothing is reflected well in the short length of the sides of his hair and offset by the longer, more unkempt, length of his bangs.
No matter the draw of this icy beauty it is not this that had initially drawn his attention to the other.
No, the thing that had first drawn his eye was the shear intensity of the others magical aura.
Such a power he had only ever seen about his father and, curious to see who this other is, he alters his path enough so that a collision between them is all but inevitable.
He is treated, a moment, with a glimpse of the brilliant green of the other's eyes…with the emptiness inside of them…then the other is gripping gently to his wrist and he is consumed by an almost feverish heat.
This warmth recedes as the other releases him again and, before he has time to think over such an action, he enquires,
"Who are you?"
The other seems little off put by so direct a question, indeed he responds to this rude manner by himself enquiring, "Who are you?" The tone of his voice as perfect and as ice cold as his general demeanour and appearance.
"My name is Sakurazuka Orito."
Again he is met with the brilliant green of the others eyes and the raw wound within them.
After a moment of scrutiny the other smiles a bitter smile and muttering bowing deeply and says, "I am sorry for bumping into you, Sakurazuka-san and I would ask that your forgive the inconvenience," before he continues in his way.
: It is better that you do not follow him, Orito-kun. :
"Who was that, Tree-san?"
: Someone who you are better off forgetting. :
……………………………………………………………………………
It had been nine long years since Seishiro had left his life…since that one terrible moment when he had believed his sister had been taken from him.
Yet, somehow, Hokuto had lived through her injuries and, after a month in and out of a coma, she had stirred the same bubbly individual he had recalled so very well.
She had helped him 'move on' with his life and he, it turn, had supported and aided her as she had fought to set free the man she had fallen in love with.
A year after awaking Hokuto had married this gentleman and, nine months after that, she had given birth to twins.
Assuring that his young nephews lived a full and happy life had become the defining priority within his life and, month by month, he had begun to forget the hurt of the Year, had begun to again live his life.
Occasionally he found himself thinking of Seishiro…found his traitorous heart yearning for one more glimpse of the other's face or utterance of his voice…
Found his feet treading the soft grass of Ueno.
A young boy is climbing the sakura in an attempt to rescue a cat from amongst the branches and he watches the others slow ascent until the very moment his fingers touch the cat's fur.
Thus assured that the feline has been saved he buries his hands into his pockets and thinks to force himself back onto the normal routine for the day…his attention keeps drifting away from him, however and, all but inevitably, he crashes into one of the parks other visitors.
He has time enough to register that this is the boy he had been watching all but a moment before…time enough to register the fragility of the lad's smile…before his fingers connect to the child's wrist and everything freezes.
His body feels so very cold and yet, at his hands is an intense heat of a sort that he has felt only twice before in his life…
Wishing, desperately, to be free of that heat and the memories help within it, he leases his hold upon the boy.
"Who are you?" The question is very brash considering that they have just met and yet, somehow, he had expected such pertinence from this other.
"Who are you?"
"I am Sakurazuka Orito."
The surname could, of course, be coincidence and yet…
There is a familiar hazel hidden well in the muted green of the boy's eyes and a certain line in his jaw that is so akin to Seishiro's that this child can only be of his bloodline.
He looks to be sixteen years of age and this means that he would have been alive during the Year…
This fact hurts him in a way he can not quite comprehend and, desperate to talk to someone about the matter, he bows stiffly to the child, apologises, and all but runs to his sister's modest apartment.
Hokuto welcomes him with her normal sunny disposition and, after chatting to him a while about her latest collection, she vanishes into the kitchen with the intent of making him a cup of tea.
But moments after she has stepped from the room he is barraged by two warm, and slightly damp, pairs of hands.
"Good afternoon, Kamui-kun, Fuuma-kun."
"Good afternoon, uncle Subaru." The response comes in an almost perfect tandem, the softer cadence of Kamui's voice but a moment slower than his brother's more confident, voice.
The boys were not, unlike Hokuto and himself, identical twins and already there was a marked difference in both their appearance and their mindset.
Fuuma had his father's golden hued eyes and was of a larger set frame that suited well his outgoing, adventurous, nature.
Kamui had inherited his great grandmother's striking blue eyes and was of a smaller size which tallied well with his gentle, if not slightly meek, attitude.
Of the two Kamui was showing the greatest magical potential and he had already begun to train the child as his successor.
"Kamui-kun has been showing me that water spell that you taught him the last you were here, uncle Subaru."
"I'm not as good at it as you were though, uncle Subaru."
"Continue to practice, Kamui-kun and I am sure it shall come to you."
"I shall try my best." The lad bows politely and then returns back to his bedroom, his brother hard upon his heals.
"Those two are growing up in the blink of an eye." His sister remarks when she steps back into the room a moment later, "Sometimes I look at them and think, 'has it only been eight years since you were tiny enough that I could hold you both in my arms at the same time?' It's sad and at the same time it makes me smile so very hard."
There is a wistful smile of his sister's lips and usually he would have made some idle joke to dismiss it and yet today…
"Something is wrong." She remarks as he presses the tea into his fingers.
"I found myself in Ueno again…"
"It's more than that, isn't it?"
"I met someone there who caused the scars on my hands to burn…someone who claimed the Sakurazuka name and who looked enough like Seishiro-san that he could only be his son."
"I suppose that the Sakurazuka lineage needs an heir just as much as the Sumeragi…"
"He was sixteen."
"I fail to see the significance."
"It means that Seishiro-san had a child during the Year…"
"Why should something like that shock you, Subaru? Sei-chan lied to us about everything else in his life, after all." Each time he hears his sister utter that name with such familiarity he can not help but wonder if it is, as his continued use of the 'san' suffix, simply for habit or if it is because she still somehow sees the other as a friend.
He knows there is an easy way to clear this mystery and yet, as with many other things connected to Seishiro, he is fearful of what the ramifications of her reply might be.
"I do not know, neesan."
Hokuto brushes his hair free his eyes and, after a long while simply staring at him, she remarks,
"You still love him."
"Neesan…"
"Do not bother trying to deny it, Subaru, I know you better than you know yourself, after all."
"It is hopeless."
"Why?"
"Because he is Sakurazukamori, because he's proven already how little I mean to him, because I hate him almost as much as I love him and…"
"And there is another in his life to whom you were before ignorant; a child needs a mother, after all."
"That is correct."
"I do not believe that Sei-chan thinks of you as little more than glass, Subaru…we are both still very much alive, after all.
"As to the rest…the only person who can say what is wrong or what is right for you is you Subaru and thus you are the only one who can decide what you want to do now…are the only one who can decide whether to take this meeting as some form of sign or simply let it be."
"Thank you, neesan." He remarks as he pulls her into a strong hug.
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T: Ta da! Couldn't resist the urge to name Hokuto's children as I did…mainly because it made things easier for me but also because of the snigger value of it! Orito's name is stolen from the yaoi manga 'Selfish Love' but everything else about him is mine! I'll attempt to get the next chapter up on Sunday before I go out but if I don't manage it then it'll be up Tuesday!