Chapter Five: Run for your Life

Seishiro cursed as he struggled to get away from city hall. In his arms, he carried a precious burden...Sumeragi Hokuto, the elder sister of Subaru, the Dragon of Heaven.

"Sei-chan, those wires are getting closer!" Hokuto shouted, her eyes wide with fear as Seishiro did his best to avoid Satsuki's attack.

"Just hang on to me, Hokuto-chan! Under no circumstances are you to let go!" Seishiro replied, then silently added, "I don't know if I could live with myself if I let you get killed again! I want to do what I can to protect both you and Subaru-kun from further pain."

"Then that could only mean that you have changed sides, Sakurazuka Seishiro." a voice in the back of Seishiro's mind stated, and as a chill raced down the former Sakurazukamori's spine.

"Oh no...Anyone but him..." Seishiro muttered, as he skidded to a halt and looked to his left. There, standing only a couple of buildings away, stood the Twin Star.

"Sei-chan...is that...?" Hokuto asked, as the man who held her trembled slightly.

"Kamui, the Dragon of Earth, otherwise known as the Twin Star? Yes, Hokuto-chan, it is." Seishiro said, as he held her closer to him and prepared to run. Hokuto could tell that this was the origin of the presence she'd felt in the basement of the city hall, and that Seishiro was now very afraid of him as well. Then, she took notice of the young man the Twin Star had with him.

"This is certainly something I have never seen before. While I had thought it was possible for a Dragon of Heaven to become a Dragon of Earth, I didn't think the opposite could occur...Well, it is fortunate for me that I have just found your replacement, Sakurazuka-san. Rikuo-kun, if you would demonstrate your skills, please?" the Twin Star asked, sounding for all the world like an employer asking his newly-hired employee to demonstrate an on the job task.

"Certainly." the other young man, Rikuo, replied; snapping his fingers and causing the concrete beneath Seishiro and Hokuto to buckle.

"Hokuto-chan, we are leaving!" Seishiro murmured, as he leaped as high as he could, and beat a hasty retreat.

"No arguments here!" Hokuto yelped, as she held on for dear life.

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

At the same time, near the border of CLAMP Academy, Subaru quietly wandered the grounds. Something told him to remain in the area, even though he wanted so desperately to go out and search for Seishiro. The other man had turned up missing that morning, and had not been heard from since; causing Subaru to worry about his friend's safety more than ever.

"Where did he go? What was so important that he had to leave without telling anyone?" Subaru wondered, pausing when he thought he heard something off to his right hand side...his blind side.

"Another attack?.! But I didn't sense anything!" Subaru's mind yelped, as he readied an anti-scroll for defense, and froze when an all-too-familiar sight came to his eyes. Out of the foliage that surrounded part of the campus, a young man stumbled. His clothing hung in bloodied tatters from his lean body, and yet, despite his condition, he shouldered the weight of a man that was in even worse shape than he was. Without another thought, Subaru put the scroll away, and rushed to the young man's side; removing the older man from his shoulders and lowering him to the ground to see if there was anything he could do to help.

"T-thanks." the young man whispered, as he sank to his knees in exhaustion.

"No problem. What happened?" Subaru asked, as he started doing what he could to tie off some of the bleeding from the many gashes that now adorned the other man's body.

"You don't wanna know. Believe me." the young man said, shuddering as images of his recent near-death experience returned to him with a vengeance.

"I'll take your word for it." Subaru murmured, even though he had a sneaking suspicion that he knew what had just occurred.

"But why would the Twin Star attack these people? They don't have any connection to the battles that are being fought!" Subaru mused, as he picked up and carried the older man, and motioned for the younger man to follow.

"What's your name?" Subaru asked.

"K-kudou Kazahaya...and the guy you're carrying is my employer, Kakei-san." the young man replied, as he followed Subaru as closely as he could.

"Well, Kazahaya-kun, I hope you'll be able to keep up with me, since we need to hurry and get your employer some immediate medical attention, if he is to live through this." Subaru stated, as he started to pick up the pace.

"Hai..." Kazahaya managed, from between gasps, "I'll do my best..." With only a nod to show that he'd heard the youth beside him, Subaru took off in the direction of the CLAMP Academy's hospital; hoping he could get there in time, despite the grim condition the man in his arms was in.

"I'll go and search for Seishiro-san after these two have been seen by a doctor...I can only hope that he'll be all right until then." Subaru mused, not even realizing the true danger his friend was truly in at that moment...

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Aoki Seiichiro and Karen Kasumi both gazed somberly at the area around the abandoned Ginza strip. They had been sent by Hinoto to protect the Spirit Shield there, and were a bit surprised to see that it was still in one piece.

"This place...it's still mostly intact." Aoki murmured, voicing his surprise at this fact. Karen nodded in agreement.

"Yes, it is...but no one is here." Karen stated, listening as the wind moaned through the buildings and silent streets.

"They've probably all left. Everyone in the city had been advised to evacuate." Aoki said; turning his head when a movement caught his eye.

"Wait a minute...is that...?" Karen muttered, as she noticed the person in question as well.

"It certainly looks like the man Subaru, Kamui, Yuzuriha, and Arashi had brought back over a month ago...and it seems as though he has someone with him..." Aoki stated, as they watched the man leap from building to building; eventually ending up on the clock-tower they both now stood on. It took a few moments for the man to notice that they were there, but, when he did, he and the woman he was carrying almost jumped out of their skins.

"Sei-chan, please tell me that they're on our side!" the woman said, as he set her down and then leaned against the clock-tower's spire; trying to catch his breath.

"They are, Hokuto-chan. No need to worry." the man told her, breathlessly.

"You look like you've been chased out here, Sakurazuka-san. What happened?" Karen asked, as the former Sakurazukamori glanced warily around to make sure that his pursuers were not behind him.

"This and that. Mainly, I found Subaru-kun's sister, and wound up getting a death sentence placed on my head by the Twin Star." Seishiro replied, dryly, as he caught his breath, and gave the pair before him an even look.

"Why did he do that?" Aoki questioned, even though he had the feeling he knew.

"I have something I want to protect." Seishiro simply said, and watched as realization dawned in the two Seals' eyes.

"You're one of us now...No wonder the Twin Star wants you dead..." Karen murmured, stunned by this revelation.

"He wants me dead too...I guess so he can destroy Sei-chan and Subaru's shields at the same time." Hokuto added.

"Then we'll just have to prevent that from happening, won't we?" Karen asked, with a wink and a 'devil-may-care' smile. Hokuto nodded fervently.

"You bet! Even though I'm not as strong an onmyoji as my brother, I'll fight with all the power I've got!" Hokuto stated, looking up in confusion when Seishiro put his arms around her and held her close.

"I will do all I can to protect this new chance at a life with these precious siblings...and the world they live in." Seishiro mused, then gave Aoki and Karen a grave look.

"One of the Dragons of Earth is coming...and I am sure that the Twin Star will follow not too long afterward. Can you two...?" Seishiro asked, uncertain he really wanted to burden the pair with the task of protecting them as they retreated.

"We'll do what we can, Sakurazuka-san..." Karen said, speaking for both herself and Aoki, and trailing off when the former Sakurazukamori did what only a gentleman of a bygone era would do; he took one hand in his, and kissed the top of it.

"Thank you. I can only hope that this isn't going to be the last Hokuto-chan and I see of you." Seishiro stated; hinting at the fact that they had not really had the chance to talk, until now, and that he wished to speak to them again.

"Don't worry. We'll come through. Just tell Kamui not to worry." Aoki said, getting a nod from Seishiro as he picked up Hokuto again, and prepared to leave.

"I will." Seishiro replied, then turned his attention to Hokuto, "Are you ready?"

"Yeah. Take me to Subaru." Hokuto ordered, eager to see her younger brother again, after so long. Seishiro gave her an honest smile, and nodded.

"As you wish." Seishiro said, then took off.

"Godspeed to you both. And I hope you make it." Karen whispered, as she watched them go with hope in her eyes.

"They'll make it, don't worry. Sumeragi-san will have an even stronger Spirit Shield before the day is out, since two pieces of his heart will be returning to him." Aoki murmured, as they both turned to face the direction they could sense their enemies would be coming from, and as they put their Spirit Shields in place...

Vvvvvvvvvvvvvvvvv(divider)

Subaru paused when he sensed something coming towards the campus. Once again, he was on patrol; his restlessness forcing him to keep moving to avoid worry-induced madness.

"Where the hell has he gone? Doesn't he even realize how worried I am right now? Damn it!" Subaru thought, caustically, gritting his teeth and wringing his hands as he turned to face the oncoming threat. With ofuda in both hands, and a preemptive barrier set, Subaru was prepared for whatever came his way; be it a sakanagi, or even a youkai. He wasn't prepared, however, for who he saw emerge from the growing evening shadows.

"Ah...good evening, Subaru-kun." Seishiro's voice said, breathlessly, as the owner of it limped over to him, with a woman at his side helping him walk.

"You look like you've been through hell's half acre, Seishiro-san." Subaru stated, as he looked the man over; his clothing was ripped and torn in some places, and blood soaked one pants leg from a deep cut just over the knee.

"Well, considering who it was that I had run from, it should come as no surprise." Seishiro replied, dryly, watching as Subaru wrapped some bandages around the leg in an effort to curb the bleeding.

"The Twin Star chased you? Why did you go that far out?" Subaru asked, confusedly. Seishiro only gave him a secretive smile.

"I found someone we have both been wanting to see, Subaru-kun, in the city hall building where the Dragons of Earth are based..." Seishiro replied, as he motioned to the woman standing next to him, and removed the illusion from around her features. Subaru's eyes widened, and his jaw dropped.

"H-Hokuto-chan...?" Subaru stammered, as tears gathered in his eyes, and as the woman rushed to embrace him. The floodgates broke when he felt her warmth against him; tears flowing freely down his cheeks.

"Shh...I'm here. I'm right here, Subaru." Hokuto whispered, as her twin brother buried his face in her shoulder and wept, and as she rubbed his back in an attempt to soothe him. Without another word, Seishiro slowly stood, wrapped his own arms around the Sumeragi twins, and held them tightly against him; his wordless vow affirming his decision to fight alongside Subaru as a Dragon of Heaven, and safeguard Hokuto's life while doing so.

"And not even that damned dream-seer, Hinoto, is going to make me renege this promise. I've found what I want to protect now, and it is not going to slip through my fingers again." Seishiro stubbornly thought, completely unaware that this decision was driving a wedge even more firmly into the dark Hinoto's plans...and changing his, Subaru's, and Hokuto's destinies entirely.

Author's Note!

So sorry about the long wait! I hope it was worth it! (And that it wasn't too sappy! ;;)

Gemini14