Changing of Destiny
Chapter One: The Faintest Glimmer of Hope
Kamui and Arashi stared in sickening silence as the scene of carnage played out in front of them. Sumeragi Subaru, Dragon of Heaven, stood frozen where he was; his left hand protruding from….. Sakurazuka Seishiro's back.
"W-what the……" Subaru's mind screamed, as he quickly withdrew his hand, and Seishiro jerked in response, then fell forward into his arms.
"H-how did this……come to pass?" Subaru asked, as shock numbed his senses to all that was around him.
"She did this. It was your sister…..at the end of her time. It was her final spell, created at the risk of her life…." Seishiro choked, coughing as blood came into the back of his throat.
"Why…..?" Subaru whispered, unaware that Arashi and Kamui were walking slowly towards him and Seishiro. Seishiro stiffened and gasped for air before replying, but when he did, it almost shattered Subaru completely.
"She cast it…..to protect you. If I…..ever tried to kill you…..the way I killed her…..she made it…..so my spell….would backfire on me….." Seishiro managed, from between harsh, wheezing gasps. It was then that he looked over Subaru's shoulder and looked Kamui in the eye.
"Ah…..Kamui, Dragon of Heaven……Reminds me of Subaru at that age….." Seishiro mused, before continuing his explanation.
"On that day……it was Hokuto-chan……whose body was pierced….like this…It's like a mirror-image of our past, isn't it?…..The two of us….here?" Seishiro asked, as sweat beaded on his face, and dripped off to land with almost deafening splashes on the pavement under them.
"Since that day….when you murdered her…..when you vanished from my life…..I tried so hard to do away with you….to kill you…in my heart. I tried to live on, vanquishing the stain of your presence from deep within me. ButI couldnot do it!" Subaru murmured, as he hugged Seishiro close to him. At first, Seishiro's eyes widened, then he smiled gently, knowingly.
"You are….such a very kind boy. Why didn't I see that….from the very start? It's not in your nature….to kill. Your heart…..can't take it…..so very kind…..Subaru-kun….." Seishiro whispered, then fell forward again; eyes fluttering shut as he did so.
"Seishiro-san!" Subaru cried, mournfully. Little did any of them realize that, far away, the tree that had supported the Sakurazukamori for so long, had just been destroyed…..by the most unlikely of people…..
………………….
Kamui felt absolutely helpless as he watched what was happening right in front of him. But Arashi, on the other hand, snapped herself out of the trance and rushed forward to see if she could be of any help.
"Sumeragi-san?" Arashi asked, calmly, as she touched him on the shoulder. No response.
"He's in shock." Arashi thought, as she gently reached down and pressed two fingers to Seishiro's neck. Her own eyes widened when she felt the unbelievable; there was a pulse!
"It's weak…..I'm barely able to feel it….But it's there! No mistake…….he's still alive!" Arashi's mind shouted, as she uttered the last phrase out loud. "He's still alive…." Subaru jerked, then looked up and gave her a hard look.
"How could he be? I ran him through! How could he possibly still be alive!" Subaru asked, not believing what he was hearing.
"I don't know either, Sumeragi-san, but there is a pulse…..it's faint, but it's there. Here, feel for yourself." Arashi ordered, as she had Subaru gently set Seishiro down onto the pavement, then pressed Subaru's bloodied fingertips to the older man's neck. Subaru's expression changed from shock to disbelief.
"I can't believe it……you're right! He is still alive…..but I don't know how. I could have sworn that I….." Subaru stated, then shook his head. Somehow or another, he was getting another chance.
"If he's still alive, then let's get him to a hospital. We might be able to save him." Kamui suggested, coming out of his own shock in order to say that.
"Agreed. Will you two help me?" Subaru asked.
"Hai." Kamui said, with a nod.
"Of course. You needn't even ask, Sumeragi-san." Arashi replied, mere seconds before the bridge started to collapse.
"Let's get the heck outta here, then!" Kamui shouted, sounding like the teenager he truly was, just then.
"No arguments, there." Subaru murmured, as he and Arashi shouldered Seishiro's weight, then rushed away from the collapsing Rainbow Bridge.
…………………..
"Well, we're done here, Larva. Let's go home." A girl's voice said, as she dusted herself off, and started walking away from the charred remains of the tree.
"Hai, Miyu-sama." 'Larva' murmured, as he quietly followed the girl.
"See ya around, Miyu!" a boy's voice called.
"Sure thing, Ichiro." 'Miyu' replied, with a slight smile in his direction.
"See you soon, Miyu." Another girl echoed, as she and her companions disappeared into the mists.
"Yes. See you, Yui." Miyu stated, before also vanishing from sight.
………………………
"Punctured left lung and a shredded aorta……Absolute miracle he's survived even this long…." A doctor said, several long hours later to the three anxious people in the hospital waiting room.
"Were you able to repair any of it?" Subaru asked. The doctor sighed.
"We were able to repair the hole in his lung, but it remains to be seen if his aorta will fare as well after surgery. He'll be in an induced coma for awhile, to allow everything to heal….It'll also make it easier to fight infections and the like while he is here." The doctor stated. It was Subaru's turn to sigh.
"Can we see him?" Kamui asked, getting an odd look from Subaru for that.
"Yes. But only for a moment. We've scheduled him for the next open-heart surgery in thirty minutes, so you must make it brief." The doctor said, as he led them into the ICU, and subsequently into the room where Seishiro now lay. Kamui looked up when he heard a soft sob escape from Subaru; and understood how the older man must have felt. His close friendship with Fuma had been cruelly shattered in much the same way.
"History is always repeating itself. Subaru-san and Sakurazuka-san…..Fuma and myself……Reflections…..shadows……ghosts…." Kamui mused, as he gazed at the now peaceful face of the 'Cherry Blossom Assassin', silently wondering if this was what he would have to endure in order to get Fuma back.
"Only time will tell, I suppose……" Kamui thought, as he watched Subaru walk over to Seishiro's bedside, and place a now blood-free left hand on the other man's right for a moment, then turned and looked at them.
"I wonder what Hokuto-chan would've thought of this? Would she have been angry that her spell had failed? Or relieved?" Subaru asked, quietly.
"I really don't know, Sumeragi-san. I never knew your sister….but I can tell you that I think she would be the latter." Arashi stated, as she walked over and placed a cool hand over Subaru's, looking him directly in the eye as she did so.
"You think so?" Subaru questioned.
"We both do, Subaru-san. She knew that it would have killed you if you had killed the Sakurazukamori like that, so she did everything in her power to prevent that from happening. True, what happened, happened; but somehow he managed to survive it. All we can do now is hope he has the strength to live on." Kamui said, with wisdom beyond his years. At first, both of his companions (especially Subaru) gave him a look of surprise, then Subaru did the unexpected. He smiled.
"You're right, Kamui. All we have is hope. It's the least we can give him, ne?" Subaru asked.
"Hai. Now, let's go home. I'm sure everybody else is worried sick about us." Kamui stated.
"Especially Sorata." Subaru added, with something that sounded like a teasing tone laced in his voice.
"Oh, don't start, Sumeragi-san…..Don't even think of starting!" Arashi muttered, blushing as Subaru chuckled at her expense. They didn't notice when the ghostly image of a girl briefly appeared by Seishiro's bedside, kissed the man's forehead, then vanished without a trace after waving goodbye to the departing onmyoji and his companions. Without even turning around, Subaru sensed his elder sister's presence; and bid her a silent farewell.
"Goodbye, Hokuto-chan." Subaru thought, as a single tear slid down his cheek, and as he quickly wiped it away so he wouldn't worry either of his companions.
………………………
Author's Note!
Yes, I know this seems a little odd (and fast-paced), but this is a trial-and-error story. It's one of those 'what if's' that comes into mind after reading the final confrontation between Subaru and Seishiro. What if Seishiro had survived? And what if the tree had been destroyed at the same time? How would this affect the story-line of X/1999?
Also, I know that the part with Miyu, Larva, Ichiro, and Yui seemed disjointed, but I was just doing that part from the Vampire Miyu manga from memory (and also, I wanted it to seem a little bit like a dream).
Well, that's all I have to say. Let me know what ya'll think, all right? Read and Review Please!
Gemini14