They slipped their shoes off and donned some slippers as they followed his grandmother. She led them into the tea room in utter silence without a glance backwards. Kamui was taking everything in acutely, but there was a worried furrow on his brow; Subaru supposed he must wonder if this was a typical welcome or if they were in trouble. He would be correct on both counts; his grandmother was always a formal woman, but she was also displeased.

They took a seat on plush cushions and she immediately began preparing the tea ceremony. Subaru was unsurprised to see that all the necessary utensils were already there. For a brief moment, it was like he was sixteen years old again and his grandmother was the chief authority in his life. She had often dispensed her wisdom to him over tea, just like this and he had always done his best to learn from her, to become a proper onmyoji.

He stared down at his hands in quiet reflection. He had not followed in her footsteps in the way he'd once thought he would.

Kamui was seated next to him, looking immensely uncomfortable. He'd never been the most formal of individuals; perhaps this was difficult for him. Even with Princess Hinoto he'd been more casual, much to several of the Dragons of Heaven's chagrin.

When she finally passed them both a chawan they politely took a sip. The matcha was excellent as usual. How he wished he could focus on this and ignore the rest of the world; if he could have nothing but good matcha for the rest of his life, he would be content.

"Subaru," she finally said. "You come to me in a difficult time."

"I won't be long," Subaru replied evenly. "I wanted to make sure you were all right."

Kamui was silent at his side, but he clutched the chawan a little more tightly. He'd placed his sword respectfully at his side.

She studied him for a long moment with weary eyes and a slight frown.

"Who is this with you?" she asked, turning her attention to Kamui. "I sense a great power about him."

"My name is Kamui," he said with a small bow. Subaru repressed a smile; Kamui really was trying to make a good impression with his bowing and quiet manner.

"Which one?" she demanded before shaking her head. "No, you can only be the Dragons of Earth's Kamui. The other would have died afterwards."

"I'm from the Dragons of Heaven," he replied, scowling into his chawan. Subaru knew it wasn't his grandmother he was upset with; he was blaming himself.

She stared at him in marked disbelief. "But how are you alive?"

"That would be my doing," Subaru stated before Kamui could grow any more flustered. He looked very much like he wanted to sink into the ground in shame. "I thought him dead and removed him from the battle."

"You thought I was…?" The shock in his voice burned as much as any accusation.

"That is impossible," she interrupted. "The prophecy stated that there could be only one victor. We cannot have this reality if both Kamuis yet live."

"I cannot explain it, but it is the truth." Subaru took a sip of tea. He'd said his piece and he really couldn't explain it any further. Kamui was alive, prophecy or no.

"Perhaps that is why things are in such a state of flux," she murmured. "There is flooding, but not nearly as much as I expected. The fact that any humans remain whatsoever is another matter I had pondered. This explains much."

"I'm sorry," Kamui whispered, bowing deeply. Subaru restrained himself from grabbing him about the shoulders and pulling him back up. This wasn't his fault. Subaru had a nagging suspicion he knew whose it was, and it wasn't Kamui's.

"It's too late for that," she said tiredly. "Just as I fear it is too late for you, Subaru."

His throat tightened and his eyes prickled faintly. He knew where this was going, he just hadn't expected it to hurt as much as it did.

"I can sense the change in you," she continued. "Do you remember what I told you all those years ago?"

"'Do not let the cherry blossoms seduce you, Subaru. Do not allow them to confuse your mind and heart,'" he repeated diligently. He'd had plenty of time to think over those words over the years. When he'd first started training in order to gain Seishirou's attention, they'd been like a curse. He'd felt the force of the shame whenever they would echo in his mind before sleep overcame him. And sleep was always worse; sleep was where he would see his sister murdered again and again.

Now he didn't know how he felt about the words. It was far too late to fix anything; he'd been taken in by the cherry blossoms thoroughly; there wasn't anything left.

"Subaru…" It was Kamui, looking deeply concerned. He'd grabbed his hand, breaking the formality of the room by doing so. Stiffly, Subaru wrapped his hand about his in turn, feeling strangely distant, as if the whole thing were happening to someone else.

His grandmother was studying the two of them in contemplative silence, no doubt forming her own opinion on their relationship and behavior. She tapped her fan slightly before letting out a deep sigh. "I'm sorry, Subaru. The ultimate blame falls on me. I left you back then and…" She closed her eyes in pain. "I'm so sorry."

"I've made my choice," Subaru replied. "It's not your fault."

"You've chosen this?" she waved her hand at him, something like anger in her voice. "You have chosen to become that which we have always fought against? No, you have been deceived time and again by that wretched clan. I will not blame you for this, but I cannot forgive you it either."

"I know."

She gripped her fan tightly, her lips pursed, but she collected herself before she continued in a calmer voice. "What will you do now?"

"I will assist the Kamui." He stared at the hand clasped in his own. "We hope to find more people."

"And then what?"

"It's my duty to help them," Kamui spoke up softly. Subaru couldn't quite bring himself to make eye contact. "I know I failed, but I have to do something."

"And you intend to do this with the Sakurazukamori at your side?"

Kamui faltered a moment before he gripped Subaru's hand even more tightly, so much so it almost hurt. "I will do this with Subaru at my side."

It was as if his grandmother wilted before his very eyes; she appeared exhausted. "There is no one left," she whispered. "Not enough to preserve humanity."

"I will see that for myself."

"The flooding will only grow worse as will the desolation," she said. "Every day will be a fight for survival."

"What else should I do?" Kamui demanded.

"I don't know," she admitted. "No one knows what was to happen after the war."

Kamui stood and grabbed his sword. He studied it for a moment before saying, "It's up to us. Our fated destiny has happened. Now it's our choice."

He walked out the door. Subaru stared after him in vague disbelief. He knew that Kamui used to have issues with authority figures, Princess Hinoto in particular, but he'd never actually witnessed it for himself. This was just … rude.

What was more shocking was the chuckle coming from his grandmother. "Well, he is an unusual one, isn't he?"

"I-I'm sorry, Grandmother," Subaru hastened. "I'm sure he didn't mean—"

"No, he is correct," she said with an amused huff. "Wallowing in misery is hardly going to fix anything, is it? I'm glad you're traveling with him." She frowned. "But I worry. He is terribly attached to you, Subaru."

He wasn't sure what he was supposed to say to that.

"Try to be kinder to him than your predecessor was to you."

Subaru reeled back, feeling as if he'd just been smacked. He couldn't think of anything more shocking than those words. The implications alone were preposterous.

"I would never," he whispered. "I could never do that to someone."

A flash of Seishirou holding Hokuto in his arms. A shout, a scream. Terror, understanding, devastating grief. And then that horrible moment he woke up and knew reality was worse than any dream for it was starker and colder and there was no longer a sister there to make it better. There was no one at all.

No, he would never do that.

His grandmother merely stared at him sadly. "I wish I had the same confidence as you in this regard, but I wonder. You've changed, Subaru."

"You're disappointed in me."

She said nothing.

"Will you help Kamui and I?" he finally asked tiredly.

"With what?" she asked, looking equally weary. "Much as I appreciate his determination, there really isn't much left to save. And I cannot allow the two of you to remain on these grounds for long. You are … an opposing force."

Subaru closed his eyes in silent acknowledgement of her words. It was true that his opposing energy would eventually corrupt this haven. "Then it seems I am a hindrance to him," Subaru murmured. "And yet I cannot leave him to fend for himself."

She finally took a sip of her own tea with a stern frown. "Why are you at his side?"

"What do you mean?"

"You are no longer a Dragon of Heaven. You abandoned your ties to him to join the opposing force. Do you really think that's something that can be left alone?"

"I don't know," Subaru admitted. "He hasn't said anything about it. As for me, I… should not have left him. Not like that."

"I don't understand you anymore, Subaru," she whispered as she looked away to the large window overlooking the Zen garden. He could see that Kamui had made his way there and was now standing over one of the koi ponds. Even at a distance Subaru could tell he was unhappy.

"Grandmother…"

"I don't understand why you left him or why you travel with him now. I don't understand what the Sakurazukamori meant to you nor do I understand why you have assumed his role, but please. If you are trying to atone for your sins… do not make things worse. Do not let him cling to false hope."

"There isn't another choice available. He has nothing; there's nothing remaining of the Dragons of Heaven. He has no one to turn to. I…" Subaru took a deep, calming breath. "Would you allow him to stay here if I leave?"

"He will not leave your side. You know that."

"Then I must go now, Grandmother." He gave a low bow, bringing his forehead to the ground. "Thank you for your hospitality."

She said nothing as he left and that silence rang throughout the household.


"I see you found the koi pond," Subaru said conversationally on his approach. "It's always been beautiful this time of the year."

Kamui gave a half-hearted grin before sighing. "It is lovely. Your home is beautiful."

"But?" Subaru prompted.

"But we're not staying here, are we?" Kamui appeared distraught. "Was it because I left?"

"No," Subaru murmured. "It has nothing to do with you."

Kamui gave a quiet chuckle. "That's unusual."

"I suppose it is," Subaru replied with a faint smile. "But the Sumeragi household has always been independent. Not even the Kamui could make my grandmother do something she found displeasing."

"Hm." He looked amused briefly, but that, like any good emotion of late, faded swiftly when he said, "What did she mean?"

Subaru didn't have to ask what he was referencing. There was only one fact his grandmother had made reference to that Kamui would have no prior knowledge of.

"When I left I was found by the other Kamui," he explained. "He came with Seishirou-san's final wish, which was that the mark the other Kamui had left would be removed."

Kamui reached out and cupped his cheek, right under the brown eye that he now bore. He was frowning as he usually did whenever Seishirou-san was brought up.

"This is the Sakurazukamori's eye," he stated sadly. "I had wondered."

Subaru gave a slight nod. "I know you had. When the surgery was complete, I inherited more than the eye. I also inherited Seishirou-san's powers and responsibilities."

"And so you became a Dragon of Earth," he said dully.

"I became a Dragon of Earth," he affirmed. "If mankind had continued, I would have had to work as the Sakurazukamori."

Kamui removed his hand and stepped away. His expression was surprisingly difficult to read as he turned to study the gentle swirls in the stone garden. "What about now?" he asked quietly.

"It is impossible for me to fulfill the Sakurazukamori's role now," Subaru said simply.

Kamui shook his head at that with a frown. "But you intend to help me."

Subaru inclined his head in affirmation. "It was kind of you to defend me in front of my grandmother," he said softly, "though you needn't have."

"I wanted to." Kamui heaved a sigh and studied his sword in resignation. "She might be right. There might be no one left to save."

"Perhaps," Subaru admitted hesitantly. "But it can't hurt."

To his surprise, Kamui let out a short, harsh laugh. "I really don't know what I'm doing and for all we know it could hurt, but I suppose that's how it's been since the beginning." He turned to Subaru with a sad smile. "Let's go; I don't want to stay here any longer."

As they retreated from the house and made their way to the edge of the forest, Subaru turned back one last time to take in his final sight of his ancestral home. It sat there, as if from a fable, in picturesque dignity and beauty. He could smell incense and clean air and he was about to lose it all. How many days and nights had he spent here with his sister? How often had she teased him and studied at his side as his grandmother taught them all the skills they would need to be proper onmyoji.

All of that was gone now, but the house would remain, even if Subaru no longer had access to it.

"Goodbye, Grandmother," he uttered softly before turning away one final time to rejoin Kamui's side.