Thirteen Ways to Mess With the X Storyline

Way #4

The child safety gate lay open, for once not carefully latched shut. Before long, little Kusanagi toddled through it, reverting to crawling after a minute of wobbling on uncertain legs.

There was something he had to see.

In front of him was a low table, covered in small potted plants. They whispered, each with a distinct voice, and Kusanagi giggled. He didn't understand all of what the plants were saying, but then, the same went for his parents.

One plant whispered louder than the others. Kusanagi felt like it was talking to him, and telling him to move closer. It looked so much more appealing than the soft toy dog his mother had given him, which couldn't talk except with a squeak when its paw was squeezed. Maybe he could have this instead? He reached out with his chubby right hand to stroke the soft-looking plant.

It was not soft.

Hundreds of little cactus prickles stung his palm. Whipping his hand back in shock, he lost his balance and toppled over, but managed to steady himself on his hands - one of which already felt like it had needles stuck in it.

Taking a break from wailing, Kusanagi glared reproachfully at the offending cactus before starting to cry again.

The cute, cuddly looking cactus would have appeared perfectly normal to an ordinary ear, but to its young victim it was making a Snh snh snh noise very much like a snicker.


Later that week, the child safety gate wasn't shut properly; someone was being careless.

Mr. Cactus might not like him, reasoned Kusanagi, but there were other plants around which might. He was so bored with his other toys.

It turned out that Mr. Venus Flytrap didn't want to be friends either.


"It's break time, so out you all go to play! The weather's lovely," said the smiling schoolteacher.

Kusanagi dragged himself reluctantly away from his desk, and shuffled away, with his shoulders hunched as if trying to make himself look smaller.

"Kusanagi-kun?" A small girl, named Kimiko, walked up to him. "You look lonely. Do you want to play frisbee with me and Yuji and Rika?"

Kusanagi smiled hesitantly. "Yes."

The playground was safe, plain grass, with not a single dangerous plant mixed in with it.

The children laughed, dashing back and forth and jumping up to catch the frisbee. Kusanagi missed catching it a few times on purpose, since his coordination was somehow a lot better than that of the others. It was pleasant, being around other people his own age.

One misdirected toss of the frisbee by Yuji sent it flying furiously in to the branches of a tree at the edge of the playground. It stayed there, with bits of it just visible amongst the leaves, looking like a neon yellow bird nest.

"My frisbee..." said Kimiko, with tears glittering at the corner of her eyes.

"Hey, you're strong, Kusanagi-kun," said Rika. "Can you get the frisbee?"

Kusanagi took a step back, and saw three expectant faces before him. "Okay..."

Biting his lip and striding up to the tree, faking confidence, Kusanagi laid a hand on the tree's trunk. "I know you don't like me," he whispered, "but I need to get that frisbee back. They're relying on me, and I won't take long."

He hoisted himself up on to the lowest branch of the tree, and managed to get to a second branch, then a third, slowly working his way up. It wasn't strenuous activity for him in the way it would have been for his new friends. The wood under his fingers felt pleasantly rough.

Standing carefully on a large forked branch, he was finally able to reach out in to the mess of twigs and leaves that had captured the frisbee. Fingertips brushed cold plastic, and then with a loud snap the branch under his feet broke away from the body of the tree.

An ambulance was called immediately. As Kusanagi was lifted up on to a stretcher, the paramedics heard him speak, apparently to no-one.

"Okay, I get it. I can take a hint," he mumbled. "No need for you t' be like that."

The paramedics checked, but there didn't seem to be any obvious head injuries.


Sato Maiko, president of the high school gardening club, was pleased but not surprised when Shiyuu Kusanagi joined her club. He would have been an asset to most sports clubs, given his build, and some would think that was where his interests lay, but Maiko saw that the young man's hands wore a few pock marks on them, probably from a thorny plant, and she also noticed the soil under his fingernails.

Kusanagi gave every appearance of leading a wholesome lifestyle; he looked as if he hiked ten miles before school every day, lifted weights during break, hiked back home again, and ate only healthy organic meals. He was the sort of person who seemed to be made for the outdoors.

Throughout most of the busy gardening club meeting, Kusanagi sat silently in the corner, seemingly absorbed in a foreign book that Maiko could just about read the title of with her limited knowledge of English: The Day of the Triffids.

Shiyuu-san is just shy, thought Maiko.

A pair of keen gardeners ended their vigorous discussion about the best summer flowers to plant, and a lull in the club's conversation followed.

Kusanagi put down his book, and sat up straighter, his eyes bright and inquisitive. "I want to learn about weedkiller," he said, softly.


A knock sounded on the door. Karen opened it gingerly.

In the corridor stood a girl, short and sleek, dressed in a beautiful Noshi ribbon patterned kimono. A sun symbol was drawn on her forehead. The girl opened her mouth to speak, but closed it when she got a good look at the owner of the apartment.

Karen's hair was black, and scraped back in to a tight bun. She wore no make-up, and her outfit, although of an elegant cut, was of a drab colour, and of the type worn in offices.

The kimono-clad girl tried again. "I am of the Beams of the Sun organization. I seek the flame-witch Kasumi Karen. Does she live here?" The plainly dressed woman in front of her who had answered the door could not be the witch, could she? The witch was said to be beautiful, and to be fair so was this woman, but surely a powerful witch would dress with appropriate flair.

"So sorry. She moved out last month," said Karen.

The cultist's face fell. "We need her power! Where might she have gone?"

Karen almost felt sorry for the cultist. Almost. "Even if I knew - which I don't - I wouldn't tell you. That Kasumi Karen, oh, she's a terror. I hear she said that the first person to disturb her in her new home would be set on fire."

"Oh."

When the sound of footsteps faded, Karen shut the door and smiled, pulling off her wig and freeing her auburn curls from captivity.

Karen didn't know who it was that had posted her address on an occult website last week, but if her suspicions were correct, it would be a long time before she spoke to her mother again.

She tossed the wig up in to the air and caught it as it fell. "You're the best investment I've ever made," she told it.


Subaru was asleep. In the dream he hovered in, everything was hazy and disjointed, and there wan't much to see. An ocean of misty grey surrounded him. It didn't matter; he was content to stay there.

Down the centre of the dream lay a glittering wall - visible one second and gone the next.

Suddenly, Subaru saw someone on the other side.

The someone must have seen him, because he or she moved closer to the divide, slowly becoming less obscured by the mist. It was a little girl with a sleepy expression on her face.

"Excuse me? What are you doing in my dream?" asked Subaru.

"This is my dream," said the girl. Her words were strained at first, as if she hadn't spoken for a long time. "What's your name?"

"My name is Sumeragi Subaru. I thought this was my dream...I'm afraid I don't know why you're here."

"...It's because Kazuki died," said the girl.


Seishirou frowned behind his sunglasses as he saw the 'Many Apologies - We Are Closed' sign on the doors of Tokyo's finest gardening centre. He very much disliked it when his plans were stymied. Today he had carefully planned out his day so that he could conveniently drop by this fine establishment after completing his job (another corrupt government employee: when would they ever learn?) and waste as little time as possible in the process. And now the place was shut.

Still...to the Sakurazukamori, there was rarely anywhere truly inaccessible. The only question was whether he could be bothered wasting energy on a place like this.

He stood for a second, remembered the indignity of having to wear a face mask during his assasination work, and then wrapped a finely crafted illusion about himself.

As it turned out, he needn't have bothered. The garden centre was a mess. Seishirou did not approve. Each plant lay brown and withered, dropping leaves, petals, or in the case of the cacti, spikes, every time the wind brushed them.

This was not the place to find a replacement for the sakura.

Seishirou stalked silently past the shop's whimpering manager, who spoke sadly into a mobile phone. "Yes...everything here...super-strength weedkiller...it's a nightmare...who..."

Outside the building, a burly man was leaning against the wall, smiling in what could be described as a sadistic manner. Seishirou, still clad in illusion, noted that fact, and then dismissed it as soon as he left the area.


Souhi and Hien began to fear for the sanity of their Hinoto-hime. As always, they knew their mistress was regularly subjected to the most terrible of visions. If they could have taken her place, and seen tragedy after tragedy unfold before them instead, they would have done so. The subdued pain in Hinoto's voice and the unshed tears in her eyes as she viewed the future always made them grieve, even as the quiet strength of the woman's spirit inspired them and filled them with pride. But...this time was different.

The petite dreamseer was whispering to herself, over and over again, with her blind eyes wide and her hands shaking. "It changed...it changed...it changed..."

Again, the dream in front of her flickered and one of the Dragons moved, this time to stand with the other group.

"It changed," she said finally.

"Please, Hinoto-hime, is something wrong?"

Hinoto only smiled serenely.

Somehow this made Souhi and Hien more worried, rather than less.


End of Way #4 : Make plants hate Kusanagi.

Thanks to everyone who's reviewed so far. Sorry for the long time between updates!