5. Barrier.
T: Warnings remain the same and I still own nothing you see here other than the plot.
Mysty: I wished to address your worries…firstly to the names, I've made a note of how you've spelt them and will do as such from now on! As to the formal nature of the language I use, I fear it's a bad habit created while I was doing my English A-level and that I'm having a hard time breaking! I'm attempting to make the conversations as casual as possible but I'm finding it a hard balancing act between making it sound 'natural' and keeping the tension in the words. I'm glad you like the piece despite the niggles and thank you for your constructive criticism!
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
The words of his 'other self' have remained with him throughout the week and he has become anguished enough in the interim that he does not take the direct rout to Seishiro's 'house'.
Instead he takes a detour and, his heart in his mouth, he crosses into Ueno Park.
He feels the unsettled aura of the Tree almost the moment he steps into the park, the force of Its darkness, as well as Its shear magical strength, as a constant pressure upon his scull.
This discomfort grows the closer that he gets to the thing and, by the time It is within his line of sight, he is all but screaming for the agony of the pain.
: So you are the one who would rob me of my 'master'…you are less than I believed you might be… : This voice, as with that of the Princess's, fall directly into his mind, however, this voice is not one of kindness or comfort, but rather one of selfishness and emptiness. : That is because I am not hiding my true nature. :
The statement makes little sense to him, something the Tree finds great amusement in for there is a short echo of laughter before it remarks,
: This is something you shall understand once the time is right, Kamui, until then, however, there are more pertinent things to discuss.
: You are interfering in the natural course of things…in destiny itself…something that is foolish indeed.
: You are, after all, ignorant of what you are toying with and to what your interference will come. :
"You may threaten me all you like, I'm not afraid of you." He remarks, his voice kept low in order that no other might hear him.
: Yet you care about this world, about the many thousands of vapid, selfish and aimless people that live within it.
: That care is your weakness and it also that which I am 'appealing' to. :
"Would you truly destroy this city simply to prove a point?"
: I would do nothing; my influence does not extent deep enough for me to directly influence the fate of this city.
: However, my essence is tied into the magical balance and, should it be removed, the city would loose what stability it has left. :
"Yet it is not right that he should do something that he has no wish to."
: Then let us form an agreement, shall we::
"What are your terms?"
: Bring Seishiro-sama here, if he recognises me and expresses a want to claim my power, then you must accept that choice and let him be.
: Should he express fear or distrust once he sees me again then I shall accept that he has no more want to be Sakurazukamori and let him go.
: However, the void left by his departure would have to be filled and, as I shall have 'lost' him through your interference, you would be the prime candidate for the role. :
The 'agreement' falls heavily in the favour of the Tree and thus fails to sit comfortably with him.
However, it is painfully clear that this shall be the only way to assure that Seishiro is truly given a 'fresh start'.
Thus for the sake of his tentative friendship with the other, for the sake of the Sakurazuka's happiness, he says,
"I agree."
: Go and get him then, neither of us have a want to draw this out, after all. :
It is but the work of moments to tempt the Sakurazuka out to the park, the older man's smile tensing a little as he steps into the area.
"Is something the matter?"
"The sweet smell in the air, what is it?"
"Sakura blossoms, why?"
"Last night I had an odd nightmare that featured this smell quite predominantly."
"'Odd' how?"
"To begin with it seem as another of my memory induced 'nightmares', for this smell, as well as the chill of the snow beneath me, seemed to very real.
"Yet then a voice began to speak to me even though I was alone…even when the 'nightmare' ended that voice continued to talk, though it sounded truer now, as though it was actually talking to me in that moment."
"You must have imagined the voice; you have not been sleeping well, after all and fatigue is known to cause hallucinations…"
"It makes sense."
"Then why not let the matter go?"
"Why not tell me what this place is?"
"This is Ueno Park and before you grew distant you brought me here often to simply admire the sakura blossoms.
"You told me that you had some fond memories attached to the Park, though you never did tell me what they were."
"I think, perhaps, that might be because I was embarrassed."
"Why do you say that?"
"The 'fond memories' I had of this place were not true ones."
"I do not understand."
"Since 'coming back to myself' I have had a reoccurring 'nightmare', this I have told you once already and I mention it again simply because it is significant.
"You see that 'nightmare' begins always as a simple dream…with me chatting amiably to fey young boy, not unlike yourself, of such simple things.
"The boy and I are sat in this park and it seems to me that this part of the 'nightmare' is actually the 'fond memory' that I talked to you of."
The boy in Seishiro's 'dream' can only be Subaru and, wishing to learn what, if anything, the Sakurazuka recalls of the other, he enquires,
"Would you tell me of the rest of the nightmare?"
"You said before that it was insignificant, that it was simply a remembrance of the violence of others."
"I am sure that that is still the case…"
"That boy is more than a figment of my imagination, isn't he?" Had Kamui been placed in this situation at the very beginning of the matter, he would have, without hesitation, answered that question with a lie.
Now, however, he is torn.
Seishiro senses his reluctance and, a smile gracing his lips, he says,
"You do not have to give me an answer, Kamui-kun."
"I do not know enough of that boy…of what he was to you…to give you a helpful answer, Seishiro-san.
"You see it was for the sake of protecting you 'relationship' with the other that you pushed me away last time."
"I see." The other steps a little from him then, the distance as a clear sign that he wishes a moment to himself.
Eventually he turns, again, to face Kamui, his lips hardened now into a determination that the Shirou recognises well.
"The boy and I talk until nightfall and I am walking him home when suddenly everything turns darker…when the dream turns to a 'nightmare'.
"The pure white suit that the boy had been wearing becomes stained, suddenly, with blood, the mark blooming out from the centre of his chest.
"Panicked I reach for him, my grip strong enough that I hear one of his arms snapping.
"Still I do not relent in my aim to see his face, to assure myself that he is well and, turning him over, I am met with his face and yet it is not him.
"This other smiles despite the pain they must be in and, the smile never leaving their face, they tell me, 'no one in this world is beyond the reach of love. Even if you have sins that can never be made right…you are still allowed to love…'
"That is usually when I wake…occasionally I see the other dying and the boy crying over her body, but that is very rare." The words send a little shiver down Kamui's spine and, recalling Fuuma's other oblique statement, he knows that he must broach the subject of his sister's death with Subaru.
Knows that, to help the Sakurazuka progress, he must expose all of the secrets that have been kept, for so long, between the two Onmyoji.
Xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx
T: I love this particular Hokuto quote and, as it fitted nicely into the storyline, I just had to use it! I still get teary each time I read it! The next chapter is the last for the moment…I'm toying with the idea of a sequel so keep you're eyes open! Oh and I'll most likely be updating Sunday!
