Chapter Two: Memories coming to Life
It had been almost a full month since Seishiro had been admitted to the downtown Shinjuku hospital, and already there was marked improvement. His lung had healed almost completely, and the aorta (which the doctors had doubted would ever truly work again to any capacity) was working just as well. Now Subaru, Kamui, Arashi, Sorata, and even Yuzuriha waited for the man to wake up, since the medication keeping him in the induced coma had been cut off.
"He's probably gonna have a royal conniption when he sees us here, ne, Subaru?" Sorata asked, becoming a little concerned when he noticed Seishiro's hands twitch slightly. Subaru shrugged.
"I have no idea, Sorata. Maybe he will, yet, then again, maybe he won't. The Seishiro I had known when I was a teenager was just a mask; I really don't have any idea how he will react to seeing five out of the seven Dragons of Heaven here in front of him." Subaru replied, calmly.
"Be that as it may, Sumeragi-san, Hinoto-hime was definitely not happy about us coming here." Arashi murmured, as she also watched the Dragon of Earth begin to stir.
"At this point, Arashi-san, I don't think he cares." Kamui stated, going silent when a slight moan escaped from between Seishiro's lips.
"Seishiro-san?" Subaru asked, quietly so he wouldn't startle the elder onmyoji.
"Subaru-kun…..?" Seishiro whispered, as he slowly opened his eyes and gazed blearily up at him. Then he turned his gaze to the rest who stood in the room with Subaru.
"Dragons of Heaven…..? Are these to be my executioners, Subaru-kun?" Seishiro again asked, unafraid, yet still disturbed by their presences there.
"Don't be silly, Sakurazuka-san! We're not here to kill you!" Yuzuriha chirped, as Inuki barked in agreement. This got an arched eyebrow, and then a sad smile, from Seishiro in response.
"So much like someone I once knew…..that we both knew….ne, Subaru-kun?" Seishiro questioned, as Subaru silently nodded in agreement.
"She is indeed." Subaru mused, aloud, as Yuzuriha blushed in embarrassment at her own audacity.
"Subaru-kun, Dragons of Heaven, there is something you all should know. Something that you will find unbelievable….." Seishiro said, as he sobered, slowly sat up, and met each of the young Dragons' gazes.
"Speak on, Sakurazuka-san." Arashi said, coolly.
"Yeah, what's on your mind?" Sorata asked, noticing as well as the rest that something was bothering him.
"Subaru-kun knows of the tree that sustained the power of the Sakurazukamori, and of my connection to it. He knows that whatever happens to that tree, happens to me as well……The unbelievable thing about this is the fact that I am no longer able to feel the tree's presence…..I think it is dead." Seishiro said, disbelief filtering into his own voice as he said that. And it was reflected back at him by all of those inside of the room with him.
"You've gotta be kidding! That tree is gone? How? And when?" Sorata yelped. Seishiro shook his head.
"I have no idea. All I know is that the death of that tree should have killed me as well, but it didn't. I am still alive despite that, and being run through with a backfired spell…It seems Hokuto-chan's spell is serving a double-purpose." Seishiro murmured, wincing when he took too deep a breath, and his left lung burned in response. Yuzuriha and Sorata gave Subaru a confused look.
"My elder sister placed a spell on him at the moment of her death. A spell that would turn his deathblow against him. It worked…..to a certain extent…..but it seems to now be sustaining Seishiro-san in place of the tree." Subaru said, answering the unspoken questions.
"But wouldn't that only work if the spell-caster was still alive?" Sorata asked, for once dead serious. Subaru and Seishiro both nodded; confusion reigning in their eyes as well.
"That should be the case…..but I know for certain that Hokuto-chan couldn't possibly be alive….I was the one who had murdered her…." Seishiro mused, hesitantly.
"Do you think, maybe, since the tree is gone, it has released all of the souls it had trapped within it?" Yuzuriha suggested, innocently. Both men froze and gaped at her for a moment, then exchanged a glance: could it be true?
"It's a thought, in any case. Do you want to see if we can find her, Subaru-san?" Kamui asked.
"Why would you want to do that for me, Kamui-kun?" Subaru in turn asked, quietly, surprised by the boy's willingness to try and find someone who shouldn't even exist anymore.
"C'mon, man! Don't be so dense! You're one of us, remember? And we'll do anything for friends. Ne, Arashi-koi?" Sorata asked, getting a flustered look from Arashi as a response. Seishiro laughed softly at those remarks; he could remember very clearly when Hokuto would get after Subaru for being such an 'airhead', and how he had secretly, deep down in his heart, wished that those moments would linger on forever.
"Yet, here is a question that has just come to mind; if Sakurazuka-san is no longer the Sakurazukamori, then is he still a Dragon of Earth?" Arashi pointed out, intelligently.
"That is yet another question that cannot be answered here and now. We'll just have to wait and see." Seishiro murmured, then added, "I suppose that will depend on whether or not the other Kamui comes to finish the job."
"I won't let him. You have my word, Sakurazuka-san." Kamui vowed, surprising Seishiro somewhat. Then the older man gave him a slight, mischievous grin.
"You know, Subaru-kun, he reminds me now, more than ever, of how you were when you were sixteen. Kinda kawaii, is it not?" Seishiro asked, getting a prompt face-fault from both Subaru and Kamui as a response.
"S-Seishiro-san!" Subaru stammered, voicing his exasperation, as the former Sakurazukamori laughed at his discomfiture.
"You all right, Kamui?" Sorata asked, snickering despite himself.
"Ow." Kamui whimpered, as he put a hand to his now-bruised forehead and stood up, wincing as he did so.
"Seishiro-chan is right! Kamui is very kawaii!" Yuzuriha mewed, as she pinched Kamui's cheeks, teasingly; getting a beet-red blush for her efforts.
"If you don't stop teasing him, our Kamui's going to burst a vein." Arashi muttered, dryly, yet not without a smile. She could tell that this was the only way they would ever feel comfortable around their former enemy, and she wasn't going to stop it. Yet, she could tell that Yuzuriha's words had sobered Seishiro somewhat; his expression was now tinged with sadness and regret. Expressions all of the rest of the Dragons of Heaven were familiar with, since they often adorned their Kamui's face and that of Subaru as well.
"And Sumeragi-san hasn't smiled at all up until this point. Maybe this is for the best." Arashi mused, noticing when Seishiro's odd gaze fell upon her.
"Something seems to be troubling you, miko-sama." Seishiro quietly pointed out. Arashi seemed taken aback, now that the attention was solely on her, then she shook her head.
"No, nothing is the matter, everyone. I just happened to notice that Sakurazuka-san is the one who seems the most saddened by Sumeragi-san's loss." Arashi stated, coolly.
"Of course I am, miko of Ise Shrine. I lived through this near-death experience only to find myself, more than ever before, confronted with my past. I killed Subaru-kun's only sister with my own bare hands…..and never truly felt remorse for what I did. I wounded him deeply; an inexcusable act on my part……..Something that should never have happened." Seishiro whispered, the anguish in his good eye convincing those in the room that he actually was capable now of feeling remorse. He visibly jumped when Yuzuriha, pure and innocent Yuzuriha, took one hand in hers' and gave him a smile.
"Don't worry! If Hokuto-san is alive, we'll find her! I promise!" Yuzuriha said, getting an honestly surprised look from Seishiro as a response.
"Yeah, just leave it to us! We'll find her in no time!" Sorata added, with a certainty that only someone like him could have. For one long moment, Seishiro could only stare at the young Dragons in shocked silence, then he sighed.
"Thank you. Just be mindful in the meantime of where the other Dragons of Earth are, and how dangerous they can be. The threat will have increased now that I have 'defected' to your side, so to speak." Seishiro said, as he reclined on some pillows Yuzuriha and Subaru had taken the time to pile up behind him in that brief moment of silence. Kamui nodded.
"And Fuma will be determined to see to it that you don't tell us anything you might know about their plans. Don't worry. We'll protect the earth….and you." Kamui promised, as he quietly took his leave. The other three remaining Dragons of Heaven did the same not too long after.
"So quiet and determined……he certainly has grown up since that first meeting in the Diet Building." Seishiro mused aloud, his expression more thoughtful now than sad.
"He has indeed…..but that is what fate has demanded of him. He's endured experiences I know would have crushed anyone with a weaker heart…..In fact, he dealt with the loss of my own eye better than I did when you'd lost yours' Seishiro-san." Subaru quietly admitted. Seishiro nodded, ruefully rubbing said eye as he did so.
"I wonder how little Yuya-kun is faring now? Did he ever get that kidney he so desperately needed?" Seishiro said, as he remembered the bright-eyed little boy Subaru had befriended so long ago.
"It is more than likely that Yuya is no longer little, anymore. In fact, he'd be about Kamui's age by now…..if he got the kidney, that is." Subaru murmured, as he sat down and reclined in the chair next to Seishiro's bed.
"True enough." Seishiro agreed, noticing now how tired Subaru looked and acted.
"You've been too worried to sleep, haven't you?" Seishiro asked, startling Subaru a little with the observation.
"I guess so." Subaru replied, smiling slightly when Seishiro rolled his eyes and shook his head in exasperation.
"Hokuto-chan would have given you an earful a long time ago, Subaru-kun. You're going to make yourself sick, at this rate." Seishiro muttered, as he carefully leaned forward, brushed a hand against Subaru's forehead, and mumbled something unsavory under his breath when he found a slight fever.
"I know, Seishiro-san, I know. But rest does not come easy when a loved one or a friend is in the hospital….If you would remember, I didn't sleep very well when you first lost your eye." Subaru stated, as he allowed himself to relax slightly; wincing when the tension was relieved from his still-healing injuries.
"Yes. And I can still hear Hokuto-chan's voice ringing in my ears from the dressing down she gave me at one point during my recovery. No doubt she would reiterate everything she'd said then now, if she could." Seishiro muttered, smirking when Subaru made a face at that thought.
"And she would say a lot of things our parents certainly wouldn't approve of…..and that Obaa-chan would not like either." Subaru added, noticing when Seishiro's expression fell again.
"That's another person I have to apologize to; your grandmother. Not only did I kill one of her grandchildren, but I injured her as well. She'll be wheelchair-bound for the rest of her life, thanks to me." Seishiro said, sighing in anger at himself for having caused so much pain.
"I don't know of anything I can say or do that will make you feel any better, Seishiro-san, but all I can do is this." Subaru said, as he stood, bent forward, and hugged his friend gently.
"Subaru-kun…..?" Seishiro whispered, not quite believing what was happening just then.
"Get well soon, my friend." Subaru murmured, then withdrew and quietly left the room. For a few moments, Seishiro could only stare after him in stunned silence; then he regained his senses, and smiled.
"Arigato, Subaru-kun….and be careful out there." Seishiro murmured, before pulling an anti-scroll out of nowhere, summoning a shikigami, and giving it the silent order to follow and protect Subaru.
……………………
Later on that day, Kamui found himself in the park, not too far away from the hospital.
"This is like looking for a needle in a haystack! Where do I begin to find someone I have never even met?" Kamui muttered, as he sat down on a bench for a break.
"Man, you look beat!" a voice commented, startling Kamui into looking up. There, standing about two or three feet away, was a boy about his age.
"Yeah, I am. I've been up since early this morning, looking for someone." Kamui said, as he watched the other youth sit down beside him.
"Hmm, found someone you have. Hmm?" the other boy joked, then said, "Sorry. I'm a bit of a sci-fi fan, so I couldn't resist."
"No problem. I don't really have much time nowadays to watch movies, since homework kills most of my free time." Kamui lied, not that the enthusiastic teen beside him noticed.
"I know the feeling, buddy. My mom often tells me to stop watching long enough to at least turn in an incomplete assignment!" the teen said, with a laugh. Kamui couldn't help but chuckle at his peer's incorrigible view on homework.
"That's pretty bad. By the way, my name's Shiro Kamui." Kamui said, introducing himself.
"Mine's Yuya." The other teen replied, shaking Kamui's hand while he did so.
"Pleased to meet you. So, what series do you watch?" Kamui asked, curious now as to which shows his new friend watched.
"Let's see…..Doctor Who is one, Hitchhiker's Guide is another……some sci-fi anime like Galaxy Express and Captain Harlock….and I've seen all of the Star Wars movies so far." Yuya said, grinning when he saw Kamui's look of surprise.
"Where did you find out about the older series?" Kamui found himself asking.
"I found my dad's old videotapes in storage and decided to check 'em out. It was love at first sight." Yuya stated, with an exaggerated sigh for emphasis.
"Sure sounds like it. Do you have any other hobbies?" Kamui asked, curiously.
"Hai. I build model airplanes from kits my mom brings in." Yuya said, his tone sobering slightly as he went on.
"Is something wrong?" Kamui questioned, having noticed that something was bothering his newfound friend.
"Normally I'm not able to come outside like this, since my health is usually pretty bad. Ya see, I have a form of kidney disease that I've been dealing with since I was small. I lost my onee-chan to it…..and if I don't get a kidney transplant, I'll die too." Yuya explained, his cheerful demeanor replaced by a somber one.
"Is it that difficult to get a transplant?" Kamui asked, touched by his new friend's plight. Yuya nodded.
"The list of people needing a transplant is very long. I've been waiting for almost nine years now, with no end in sight. Unless someone donates a kidney, I'll probably never get one…..At least, not in time to save my life, at any rate." Yuya murmured, then gave Kamui an apologetic glance.
"I'm sorry about this. Didn't mean to spill my guts to someone I've just met." Yuya said, with a sad smile.
"No problem, don't worry about it. It helps sometimes to talk about things that bother you….Otherwise, how will people understand what you're going through?" Kamui replied, knowing that particular truth from personal experience.
"It sounds like you've got a story to tell too, but I won't pressure ya for it." Yuya said, understanding somehow that Kamui's emotional wounds were still too fresh to reopen for an almost complete stranger.
"Thanks." Kamui gratefully responded, as he glanced at his watch, and stood up. Yuya followed suit.
"No prob. See ya." Yuya said, as he started to leave.
"See ya." Kamui repeated, as he jogged away, heading for the CLAMP campus, in hopes that maybe his friends had found some clues.
…………………………………
"All of Tokyo is in a state of emergency. Most of the people from the areas destroyed by fire and earthquake have sought refuge outside of the city." Nokoru Imonoyama, the President of CLAMP Academy, informed, grimly, as he showed a map to the Dragons of Heaven.
"It's awful." Yuzuriha murmured, as her young eyes took in all of the devastation and turmoil the Dragons of Earth were causing.
"What about CLAMP Academy? The students?" Subaru asked, turning slightly when Kamui arrived, and nodding to him in greeting.
"They're staying on campus. The school grounds are still safer here than elsewhere." Nokoru said, quietly.
"The Dragons of Earth have quit playing around. They're serious about wiping Tokyo out with these earthquakes." Sorata stated, his usual carefree attitude gone in the face of the menace.
"Once Tokyo falls, the ties binding the Spirit Shields will give way." Arashi murmured.
"Then all of Japan will go! And once that's over…..!" Yuzuriha yelped, before Kamui finished her statement.
"The earth will fall as well." Kamui said, quietly. He smiled slightly when Sorata teased Arashi a little bit, and when she reacted by blushing and pushing his hand away when he'd impulsively felt her forehead for a fever.
"So, no go? You can't predict which landmark will be destroyed next?" Subaru asked, with some hint of worry in his eyes as he said that.
"It's not that, Sumeragi-san. I…..I think they're trying to gauge our prediction." Nokoru responded.
"What do you mean by that?" Yuzuriha questioned.
"Well, whenever we predict where the next quake will be, it always happens on the other side of the map!" Nokoru stated, as he motioned to said map with a wave of his hand.
"It's almost as if they were doing it be design, so that you all can't get there in time." Ijyuin Akira, one of Nokoru's assistants murmured.
"They are." A strained voice said, and all turned to face the speaker in surprise.
"Seishiro-san! What in the world are you doing here! You should be in bed!" Subaru yelped, as the former Sakurazukamori sank to his knees and smiled tiredly up at those gathered.
"A little birdie told me that things will get rough fairly soon, so I decided to follow up on that and get out of the hospital while I still could." Seishiro said, as he struggled to get his breath back after having walked so far on his own.
"That bit of intuition may have saved your life, in the long run, Sakurazuka-san. But what did you mean by what you'd said just a moment ago?" Arashi asked.
"The Dragons of Earth also have a dream-seer…..and he's been very accurate thus far in his predictions." Seishiro said, when he'd gotten his breath back enough to explain.
"And Hinoto-hime is laid up, for the time being." Arashi stated.
"Man! It's like fighting blind! We don't know what the heck the enemy's up to, or when they'll strike next!" Sorata shouted, in frustration.
"And, to make matters worse, we still do not know where Sumeragi-san's elder sister is. She could be caught up in the next quake, for all we know." Yuzuriha murmured, worriedly.
"If only I was well enough to help you. As it is, I can only give vague ideas as to what the other Kamui has in mind and nothing more." Seishiro said, the frustration very evident in his voice and on his face.
"Don't sweat it, Sei-kun. We'll find Subaru's sis, don't worry. And, as for that little problem with prediction, we'll just have to split up and place ourselves around Tokyo so that one of us will be able to make it no matter where the Dragons of Earth show up." Sorata stated.
"But, if we break up our forces, won't we be in more danger?" Arashi asked, voicing the misgivings of the group (especially those of Subaru and Seishiro) exactly.
"Yeah. But we'll never make it in time if we wander around this city as one unit." Sorata replied, intelligently.
"Divide and conquer…..only this time, it is to protect, not destroy." Seishiro mused aloud, getting a nod from Sorata signaling that he'd gotten the idea.
"Right on. I'll get in touch with Aoki-san and Karen-san. We should work in teams of two." Sorata stated, then asked, when he'd turned to Nokoru, Akira, and Suoh, "Will you keep sorting that data?"
"Yes. Count on it." Nokoru replied, speaking for himself and his two partners as he said that.
"Good." Sorata said, with a smile, then returned his attention to Yuzuriha and Arashi, "For the time being, could you go with Yuzuriha, Arashi-koi?" Arashi nodded.
"And you're with me." Sorata said, as he placed hand on Kamui's shoulder.
"What about me?" Subaru asked, calmly.
"You're still recoverin' from injuries as well, Subaru. You shouldn't strain yourself too much, 'specially since you haven't been sleepin' or eatin' properly for the past few weeks." Sorata stated, smirking when Seishiro gave Subaru a disapproving look about that bit of information.
"I'll give him an earful after you all have gone, so don't worry about him following you." Seishiro muttered, as Subaru gave him an uneasy glance, knowing only too well that Seishiro intended to live up to that promise.
"See ya later then, and don't hurt our onmyoji too much, okay, Sei-kun?" Sorata joked, his usual happy-go-lucky persona returning with that statement.
"I won't." Seishiro promised.
"Then why do you have your fingers crossed behind your back, Seishiro-san?" Subaru asked, dryly. Seishiro only chuckled and gave him a look that said 'Wouldn't you like to know?' before he slowly got to his feet again and limped off.
"Why do I have a bad feeling about this?" Subaru wondered, as he rolled his eyes, sighed, and followed his friend to the underground rooms the Dragons of Heaven sometimes used; hoping the other onmyoji wouldn't get into too much trouble while he was there…….A forlorn hope if ever there was one…….
Author's Note!
Yeah, I know, long wait between chapters! But writer's block had this thing in a death-grip for quite a while before I wrestled it free. (Got the bumps and bruises to prove it, lol). Hope this chapter was worth the wait!
Gemini14