Conflict of interests.

1. divide.

T: Inspired by the intriguing concept behind Tabula Rasa (please go and read it BTW as it's amazing…link can be found in my bio!) and perverted until I had a plot that seemed complex enough for me to get a few decent chapters out of it! Beware the SEVER AU, SPOILERS for X16, the ANGST and, of course, the SLASH. I do not own X except for in the wonderful, slightly cracked, depths of my imagination!

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

He smoothed his hair back from his face for what seemed like the tenth time and glanced up at the lights just above his head.

One more floor and he'd finally be able to escape the crowed confines of the elevator, could finally be selfish for an hour or so.

He had had a want to come here yesterday, but what with school and the crumbling of the Kekkai over the Yanamoto line…

He'd felt guilty for lying to the other Dragon's about his reasons for skipping school today, an emotion that he'd pushed deep into his heart the moment he'd stepped into the hospital.

Today was, after all, about seeing Subaru and assuring himself of the other man's vitality.

The elevator doors slide open and, breathing a little sigh of relief, he steps out into the 'spaciousness' of a hospital corridor.

His bad mood dissolves with each step he takes away from the lift and he is all but smiling when he senses a familiar power but feet from him.

Instantly his content fades and, gearing himself up for a fight, he follows the aura to its source.

The man at the rout of the power is laid out in a hospital bed, his one remaining eye focused intently upon his doctor and his mouth pressed into a tight line of discontent.

There is something off about the presence of that expression on the other's face, in the general manner in which he is holding himself and yet Kamui's youthful impatience means that he does not dwell on these things, that he simply steps into the other's room and enquires,

"Why the hell are you here?"

The man looks at him for a long moment and then enquires, "Do you know me?" The manner in which he phrases the question staunching a little of his anger and thus causing him to reply,

"How could I forget someone like you?"

The doctor takes a gentle hold of his arm then and, ushering him back out into the corridor, he enquires,

"Are you a relative of the patient?"

"No, I'm an associate."

"I see. Would you know how I might contact his family?"

"I'm afraid not. What is going on, doctor?"

"Your associate was on a train upon the Yanamoto line when the quake struck.

"Luckily he was far back enough in the carriage that he was not instantly crushed, a fate that met many of his fellow passengers; he was, however, thrown forward into the wall of the car.

"The fractures in his ribs were severe enough to require tapping and there's a gash in his left thigh that had us very worried for a while.

"In the end it is the blow he received to his head that has caused him the most harm.

"The blow was hard enough to damage parts of his brain and to cause him to loose a significant portion of his long term memories."

"I see."

"Might you be able to give me a little more information about him? Perhaps once I have a name I'll be able to trace his family."

"Why is it so important for you to find his relatives?"

"He needs to be around familiar faces and in familiar situation. Also, though it will sound callous, his hospital fees will need to be paid."

"His name is Sakurazuka Seishiro, both his mother and father are long since dead, however, as I am sure you shall soon discover, he is more than capable of paying his hospital fees himself." He attempts, then, to carry on his way, this retreat halted as the doctor steps into his path.

"There must be someone other than yourself who knows him, someone who is willing to aid him in the recovery of his memories."

An image of Subaru flashes, momentarily, in his mind and his heart ceases

No matter how happy the other might be, no matter what such a change could mean for the others future, Kamui knew he would be unable to impart this news to the other.

There was a chance, after all, that this was little more than an illusion set out in order to pull the Sumeragi further into the Sakurazuka's influence.

He also wished, selfishly, to keep Subaru to himself as much as he possibly could.

Thus, forcing a smile to his lips, he informs the doctor,

"I shall help him."

……………………………………………………………………….

He had woken to the numbed awareness that means he has been drugged.

A panic rises in his stomach at that thought and yet he does not know why…

Does not understand why he feels as though something is missing.

"How are you feeling?"

The voice comes a little from his left and turning his head he is met with the white coat and genial smile of a doctor,

"Where am I?"

"Shinjuku General."

"I see." He is about to ask why he is here when a faint image enters his mind…

There is the smell of stale body sweat all about him and the incessant pouncing of the base through the headphones of the teenager to his left becomes an annoyance.

One more stop, however, and he can be free of the smell and the noise.

One more stop.

The ground shifts hard beneath his feet and, as the screams begin, he thinks, 'this is not right,' before his world goes black.

"I was caught in an earthquake?"

"That is correct." The doctor makes a note in his chart and then he enquires, "Can you tell me anything else about yourself? Your name, perhaps, or maybe what you do for a living?"

"My name…" He is shocked to find that he can not recall this simple, yet inexorably important, piece of information…that he recalls nothing of his life other than that single moment upon the subway.

"Do not press for the information."

"What is wrong with me, doctor?"

"You received a heavy blow to the head and your brain has been damaged…"

"Enough that I am suffering now from amnesia?"

"I fear so."

"What do you recommend?"

The doctor gives him a stock answer and, his 'nice guy' smile still attached to his lips, he remarks,

"Get some sleep, perhaps tomorrow you'll have recalled a little more."

When he awakes the next day he still recalls only the moment on the train and he is listening to the doctor assure him that there is nothing to be, as yet, concerned about, when a harsh voice enquires,

"Why the hell are you here?" Turning he is met with the face of a handsome young boy who feels strangely familiar to him,

"Do you know me?" The boy looks a little unsettled by the question and, his eyes tightening, he responds,

"How could I forget someone like you?"

The doctor snatches the boy away then and he takes the moment to assess his reaction to the 'stranger'.

He feels oddly playful when he recalls the boy's face, something that makes little sense when placed together with the other's antagonism towards him.

It was possible that he had teased the child relentlessly and yet such a thing still did not explain the almost murderous intent that had been in the boy's eyes the first he had seen him.

The other is smiling, falsely, when he steps back into the room and, curious, he enquires,

"Why did you come back if you dislike me so?"

"I am all you have." It is not quite a lie and, smiling gently, he enquires,

"Would you mind telling me your name?"

"Shirou Kamui and you are Sakurazuka Seishiro." His heart eases a little at that and, though there is much still to recall, it seems less of a task now that he has again his own identity.

"I am curious as to what I am to you, Shirou-kun. When I think of you my heart is filled with a childish need to play with you and yet you look at me with such hatred…

"Have I, perhaps harmed you in some inexcusable manner?"

Kamui stills and, his smiling mask growing all the tighter, he says,

"I am going to help you as much as I can, Sakurazuka-san, but there is much I do not know of you…"

"Then let us learn together, Shirou-kun."

Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx

T: Let the games begin! I apologise for the fact that it's more of a prologue than a first chapter, but I had to set the situation up somehow!

Kamui and Tokyo Babylon Subaru are very similar creatures and Sei-chan's want to tease the Shirou is a reflection upon this fact!

R+R please as you're views are always welcome! Next chapter Tuesday at the latest!