Foolishness wasn't something wholly unfamiliar to Subaru at this point in his life, but even he had to wonder if this was truly a "wise" decision, based on necessity and careful consideration, or if he was being abrupt in an effort to avoid more difficult conundrums he didn't want to think about.

He'd promised Kamui he would be careful in his endeavor to contact a spirit, which was why he was doing his best to replicate a purification ritual despite his limited supplies, rather than send his shiki and contact whatever showed up first. The ideal scenario would have been to go to a Shinto shrine, but that would have taken up significantly more time and they had limited supplies. Hunting and foraging would replenish some of them, but the burden of survival was taking a toll, primarily in the form of their moods. Kamui was even quieter than he'd been before he'd dropped Seishirou-san's and Subaru found he was becoming frustrated himself. What was he supposed to do? He couldn't change himself in this way.

Still, contacting a spirit was a difficult scenario for a great many reasons and had become something of a catch-22 he couldn't readily solve: in order to contact a friendly spirit, he needed to purify himself, except he couldn't because he was a tainted onmyoji.

I might need to find a waterfall, he considered. Meditation under a waterfall was a time-honored tradition and it didn't require any human constructs. It was natural, cleansing, and surely something the Dragons of Earth would have endorsed if they'd been more inclined towards peace rather than a reboot through eradication.

It was as close to a plan as he could manage, so with that settled he gathered a few limited supplies for his pack, carefully calculating how much Kamui would need here at this house, and how much he could take before he would need to set traps.

That was how Kamui found him that morning: by the front door, puzzling through his pack one last time. While they hadn't said much to one another, they'd silently agreed to have their meals together-an awkward affair where sunshine the color of buttercups filtered through frayed curtains only to shiver at the frosty silence between the two men—but they'd otherwise given each other their space.

Subaru was beginning to think it was too much space when Kamui didn't even come to him in the night for comfort as he had done previously. He knew it wasn't because he'd suddenly overcome all his fears or anxiety, either. No, Subaru could still hear the creak of the floorboard as he paced to-and-fro, a bundle of nerves needing some kind of outlet and failing to find any. Subaru had wanted to go to him, but he knew he'd hurt Kamui somehow, even if he didn't fully understand what the issue was.

Oh, he knew it was related to Seishirou-san-Kamui had always reacted poorly to his name—but he wasn't sure why it should matter so much. If anything, he thought Kamui ought to understand to a limited degree; he was quite obsessed with the other Kamui.

Although, he hasn't brought him up at all of late, he realized. That seemed important, but the key to the puzzle was frustratingly out of reach.

He paused in his organizing to meet Kamui's quiet gaze. Like everything else of late, it was awkward.

"Where are you going?" Kamui finally asked.

"I'm looking for a waterfall. It doesn't have to be a large one, and we're near a river, so I'm hoping one will be nearby."

Kamui lowered his gaze and it struck him how much older—and how much more tired—he appeared compared to when he first saved him.

"Am I coming with?" he asked, his weariness palpable. Immediately, Subaru set the pack aside and stood from his crouch, moving swiftly to Kamui's side. He almost reached out for him, but reconsidered at the last minute.

"Traditionally, these kinds of ceremonies are performed alone," he explained hesitantly. Truly, he hadn't meant to abandon Kamui without letting him know where he was going, but it must have looked like that all the same.

"But not always," Kamui pointed out.

"Not always," he agreed.

Kamui slumped ever-so-slightly, but he didn't cease in his persistent line of questioning. "How long will you be gone?"

"I don't know."

"Is the ritual dangerous?"

"Not normally." He wasn't sure if being the Sakurazukamori would change that.

A pause. "Will you come back?"

"Of course," Subaru murmured. "Always."

"But you don't want me to come with," he pointed out dully. "Why?"

At that Subaru hesitated because there were several answers he could give him right now, and they'd all be partially, though not completely, true. He hadn't been sure Kamui would want to come with. He'd wanted some time to think about their next course of action. He wasn't sure how the ritual would go. He wasn't sure Kamui's health should be put to the test, speedy recovery or not.

He didn't want to place Kamui in danger.

Perhaps that was the most honest of all his reasons, so he told him so.

At that, Kamui's expression softened slightly before he shook his head in almost fond exasperation. "I don't want you in any danger either, you know."

"Ah," Subaru acknowledged and some of the heaviness in his chest dissipated. He hadn't even realized it had been there or that Kamui's silence had bothered him quite so much. "Thank you."

"Then, if it's all right, I'll prepare my own pack and we'll leave together." He phrased it like a question, nervous and hopeful all at once, and Subaru could only bring himself to nod. How could he do anything else in the face of such earnestness?

It didn't take long for Kamui to prepare and soon they were out the door, following the winding river until they found what they sought. It didn't escape his notice that everything would have been infinitely easier if he'd never accepted Seishirou-san's final bequeathal. Quite a few things would be different if he'd only refused the other Kamui that day. But how could he? Had Eve ever been capable of refusing the forbidden fruit? Had any human being since? When confronted with a mystery, when confounded by grief, one inevitably had to know, for how could things be any worse than they already were?

Indeed, Subaru still wouldn't say he regretted his actions. He was simply capable of understanding his own failings as well.

If it sounded like denial, well, that wasn't an unfamiliar predicament for him either.

Kamui was quiet at his side as they journeyed on, not rushing as they had been, but keeping an even pace. While he could have worried about Kamui's disposition as he had previously, he found he didn't have to; there was a gaiety to his step that had long been missing and a subtle upward tilt to his lips that spoke of an ease of mind that frankly astounded him. Perhaps simply making the journey together had helped. Subaru was unexpectedly glad himself—perhaps further solitude had not been the answer after all.

There was also the matter of Kamui acting as his tether once the ceremony began proper. He would certainly need to perform a basic purification rite himself and if Subaru had been thinking clearly he would have known it to be so immediately. There were a lot of things escaping his notice of late, but basic onmyodo really shouldn't be one of them.

"Once we find a suitable spot," Subaru began, hesitant to break the peaceful silence that had embraced them, "would you be willing to undergo the ceremony as well?"

"Of course," he responded without a second's hesitation. "If there is anything I can do to help, I am willing."

"I appreciate it," Subaru returned.

"No, I appreciate it," Kamui said, almost sternly. "You've done so much for me of late; I shouldn't grow…" He faltered then, perhaps unwilling to admit to his frustrations. Still, Subaru understood, at least a little.

"It's all right," he offered. "These are strange times." An understatement, but there was no need to belabor the point.

"There's something about that," Kamui began slowly. Subaru glanced over at him curiously.

"How do you mean?"

"That there's something strange," Kamui clarified. "And not just how you meant. There are some things I… haven't told you," he admitted. "I keep getting these impressions that there's something out there, near Tokyo."

Subaru took a moment to consider that. "What kinds of impressions?" he finally asked, unwilling to make a hasty conclusion.

"Like a presence," he continued, looking out at the expanse that would inevitably take them back to the city should they choose to. "It's something dark and aware. That's the one thing I've been most cognizant of; it's aware of my movements, almost as if it's following me."

A tendril of unease settled coldly about his heart for there was only one presence he could readily think of that was both in Tokyo and interested in Kamui's whereabouts: the other Kamui. But surely Kamui would have recognized the eyes of his twin star?

"Is this what has kept you up at night?"

"Partially," Kamui admitted.

"And… it's not a familiar presence?"

"No," Kamui replied, puzzled. "Should it be?"

"No," Subaru settled on reluctantly. "I was just curious." Kamui was doing well right now. Any mention of the other Kamui would surely only hinder his progress.

Subaru was well aware this lie of omission would not go over well should it be discovered. If someone had hidden Seishirou-san's presence from him he would have been devastated, but surely the other Kamui had been given more than enough access to Kamui throughout the battle, and if he wanted his presence known, he could certainly make that a reality.

"What do you think it could be?" Kamui asked, oblivious to the internal debate Subaru was currently undergoing.

"Tokyo was the major metropolis of Japan," Subaru tried. "Population-wise, it was the densest. I wouldn't be surprised if the sheer intensity of their emotions lives on."

"Then you think it's a spiritual hub," Kamui considered. Then, his face fell. "The dead are judging me from beyond the grave."

"Not necessarily," Subaru offered, feeling distinctly as though this were the wrong direction for this conversation to be taking. "It could simply be they're drawn in by the power you possess."

"A power I never mastered," Kamui said bitterly. "I still don't know what else I was supposed to learn. All these prophecies and they couldn't lay that out."

"Prophecies are always fickle in my experience." Subaru had yet to encounter a prophecy he would label as "helpful." Certainly none of the ones involving him had been preventable.

"Do not let the cherry blossoms confuse your heart."

No, there wasn't a thing anyone could have done.

"There's still time to learn," he replied calmly. "Grim though this turnout is, it's not a perfect reflection of how things were supposed to be."

"I guess so."

"It's true," Subaru insisted. "If it were an accurate result of the prophecy, you and I wouldn't be around to have this conversation."

"I have wondered about that," Kamui admitted, kicking a small pebble along the road. "This future was supposed to be beautiful, far more beautiful than if humans had lived. And yet…" he frowned. "It's not. There are corpses everywhere, rubble; it's a giant mess. I had thought…"

Subaru paused for a moment, having never heard this line of reasoning from Kamui before. He'd always been so staunchly in favor of saving the human race.

Kamui heaved a frustrated sigh. "When I saw the destruction of Tokyo, back when you saved me, it looked so much more like the future where humans had lived. When Princess Hinoto showed me that future, it appeared disgusting and I… I didn't want it," he whispered. "I sincerely felt the future the Dragons of the Earth wanted was the more beautiful of the two. But it didn't have Kotori or Fuuma in it, so how could I choose that? But now, the world is hideous and there still isn't any Kotori or Fuuma." He gave a bitter chuckle. "I guess the prophecy was wrong."

It was possibly one of the most unsettling statements Subaru had ever heard. He knew Kamui had had to make a choice, but he hadn't been there for the original decision. Seeing how he'd grappled with it… The world really had been very close to immediate destruction.

But more than that, a prophecy couldn't simply be wrong, but there was no denying that everything about their current scenario felt decidedly off. His grandmother had been bewildered that any humans yet lived, that Kamui lived. He'd brushed it aside, not caring much what destiny had to say for itself, but destiny was Kamui's domain. He had to contend with it and something had happened, just not something anyone had anticipated.

"What do you think?" Kamui asked in a quiet, meek voice. "I know it's horrible to admit, but—"

"It's not horrible," Subaru interjected. "Who wouldn't want a beautiful world or at least be tempted by it? And who wouldn't want to preserve the world their loved ones lived in?"

"But I got neither," he said, grief evident in his tone. "The world is still ugly and my loved ones aren't here. What does that mean?"

An excellent question. He could only think of one thing. "It means you changed the future," he said slowly. "Or the other Kamui did. The prophecy wasn't fulfilled."

"The worst of both worlds," Kamui muttered. "Maybe I shouldn't be surprised."

"Or maybe it's a sign that more change is to come. Perhaps it's good news."

Kamui looked far from convinced, but he shook his head slightly and replied, "If nothing else, I'm glad we can do this. Together."

"As am I." He smiled warmly then blinked as he refocused on their surroundings. They'd reached a small grove, verdant and pure—he could sense the spiritual energy herein. Judging by Kamui's gaping expression, he hadn't been paying attention to their journey much either.

"Shall we set up camp?" he asked. They were unlikely to find a better spot than this. Kamui gave a tentative nod as he took the grove in.

The sanctity of the area could be felt in the air itself; heavy and majestic, it reminded Subaru very much of his outings with his grandmother in the woods surrounding his childhood home. The difference was that there it had been a spiritual space maintained by humans and as such had a certain structure that bespoke of generations tending the land so it might flourish just so. Here, everything grew as it desired. The brush was so thick it was a little difficult to maneuver; Subaru cautioned Kamui to keep an eye out for snakes. The stream rippled by merrily, filling the grove with cheery music, but there was just a touch of chaos, discordant in its attempt at harmony for there were birds dashing downwards to snag unsuspecting worms, scampering feet of a mouse fleeing as a hawk followed suit, and a spider wrapped its victim in a tight cocoon. No, the natural world wasn't kind or cruel; it was strange and stark and balanced. The Dragons of Earth had never fought for peace; they'd simply wanted to remove any meddling from a finely tuned instrument in the form of mankind.

This area would serve well for Subaru's intended purpose: it would absolutely cleanse him and it would be as harsh as the word entailed.

"Is this the spot then?" Kamui asked, looking uneasily at their surroundings.

"Do you have an objection to it?" He set his supplies down and eyed the miniature waterfall. He should be all right sitting beneath it, he determined. It had a solid foothold.

"It's just so… loud," Kamui admitted. "I thought you would need a quieter place to focus."

"Mm, this is as quiet as a forest gets," Subaru pointed out with faint amusement. "Trust me, it will work. Once we've both undergone the ritual, I can move on to summoning a spirit."

He moved with haste, eager to finish this one task so he could move on to the more urgent one. Kamui assisted him with setting up camp, though Subaru was privately hopeful they wouldn't be there long enough to need it. The sun had just reached its zenith, so they had plenty of time left to them.

Once they'd finished that, Subaru divested himself of his outer garments and approached the waterfall, carefully maneuvering himself so he didn't slip on one of the stone outcroppings. Kamui maintained a respectful distance with his gaze averted, the barest hint of pink on his cheeks. Well, Subaru supposed he would have had a similar reaction in his place. Still, he said nothing, so Subaru sat in a meditative stance and closed his eyes with a deep breath. Everything slowed down as he did so and the volume of his surroundings increased. He felt the icy chill of the stream's water as it broke over his head, ceaseless in its persistence to keep on moving. As his breath deepened still, his focus turned inwards. He forced the muscles in his body to relax despite the hard rock, the cold water, and gradually the sound around him dimmed until all he could hear was his own heartbeat.

It had taken several years' worth of training to achieve this state so swiftly. Now was when the purification could really start; it was a matter of acknowledging and letting go.

Subaru had not meditated in years.

At first, it was just as he remembered: peaceful and calm. But then he felt a prickling at his subconscious, a sense of something not quite right. He reached out for it, curious at what he might find. Purification was always harsh, even if meditation wasn't, and he knew that sensation was precisely what he needed to chase after if he wanted to complete the ritual.

He wandered for a bit, following that sense of wrongness, the darkness growing ever darker as he did so. He was beginning to lose his sense of time, which meant he had delved quite deep into his own subconscious.

He wasn't surprised at what he found: images of his sister's bleeding body joined now by Seishirou-san's. Memories of these two had held him back for years, but if he was to help Kamui, he had to face them.

He felt a prickle behind his left eye and winced. Even now, Seishirou-san had an opinion. He lurched forward as he clutched at the eye. He knew it was all merely a symbolic representation of his own thoughts and fears, but that knowledge did nothing to cease the throbbing in his ( Seishirou-san's ) eye, nor did it remove the blood seeping into his clothes.

His sister's deadened eyes turned to face him and with a warm, wheezing breath she gasped, "You have to let us go, Subaru."

"Sister," he murmured.

"You never called me that before."

No, they'd always been more informal, hadn't they? Subaru couldn't bring himself to speak her name anymore, however. It was too sacred.

"Oh, he doesn't have to change," Seishirou-san's corpse piped up. "He's always been his cutest like this."

Subaru frowned and turned away, his eye hurting all the more. It seemed he still wasn't sure what to say to him, even like this. Shouldn't he be able to form the words? Ask him a question? Demand to know if he'd told the truth back then?

But he wasn't even real! What did it matter if he asked? If it was real or not? Seishirou-san was… He was always what Subaru walked toward.

But he can't be if I'm going to do this. He clutched at his throbbing eye and tried to sift through the whirlwind of emotion he was currently engulfed in. Meditation was about analyzing and letting go, purification was about cutting off the rotting limb. It was...

"Subaru…"

"Subaru-kun—"

"Quiet, both of you," Subaru interjected. "Please."

Everything hurt. This was why he'd been so reluctant to embark on this plan to begin with and why Kamui's concerns were so justified. As awful as it was, he didn't want to move on from this. It was his pain to bear, his one constant in nine years of loneliness and isolation.

But then he felt a warm touch on his hand. He didn't see anyone, which meant it was an outside source.

"It's all right," Kamui's voice filtered through. "It's going to be all right, Subaru."

His sister looked surprised, but then her bloodless lips smiled as though delighted. Seishirou-san looked like he'd swallowed a lemon.

Subaru let out a deep, weary sigh. Maybe there were some who would call this progress. He could face their memory now. But the fact of the matter was that he still couldn't let either of them go. All he could do was set them aside like some forlorn toy he had too much nostalgia for to throw away.

He waved the two corpses away and returned to clearing his thoughts. He could just barely make out Kamui's voice, still whispering assurances. He centered himself once more and looked inwards. This time, there was nothing. It was silent, still (lonely), and it was as close to purification as Subaru could come.

When he came to his senses felt sharper and his chest a little lighter. It wasn't as potent as when he'd actually been able to let things go, but it was something. It took him a moment to realize Kamui was at his side, utterly soaked from the rushing water, his eyes beacons of worry.

"What is it?" Subaru murmured, reaching out for his cheek. "You're freezing."

"It's been hours," he replied urgently. "And you're…" He wiped a thumb under his eye and Subaru startled to realize he was crying. "Are you all right?" Kamui finished desperately.

"I think so." He wasn't really sure. He hadn't quite accomplished what he'd set out to do, but it was a step in the right direction. He nearly snorted with laughter. Letting Seishirou-san and his sister go was the right direction? Hadn't he spent the last nine years thinking anything but?

He kept a hysterical laugh down through sheer force of will; Kamui already looked worried enough. "Purification always brings forth dormant emotions; it's taxing," he explained after taking a deep breath. Kamui nodded.

That's when it occurred to him. "You might deal with some unpleasantness, Kamui." Not just some, but a lot.

"Just teach me what to do. I can take it from there."

It was far from ideal—Kamui was already soaked—but it would have to do. He helped get him situated and explained the process. Kamui looked far from confident as he closed his eyes—it was dawning on Subaru that no one had ever taken the time to even teach this much to Kamui and the Dragons of Heaven's failure was all the starker for it—but he seemed to be a natural as his expression soon cleared. Subaru could sense that his attention was pointed inwards now, unaware of anything happening in the physical world

He wondered what it would be that faced Kamui in this state of purification.

Likely the other Kamui. Perhaps the woman he loved, he mused. It would be a strenuous ordeal; these were fresh wounds for him. He wondered if he made the right choice in asking Kamui to be his tether, not that he could have asked anyone else.

Suddenly, as if in response to Subaru's worries, Kamui tensed up, inhaling sharply at whatever visage was before him.

"It's just your mind," he murmured softly, grasping his hand in his. Kamui had done this for him and he would return the favor.

It didn't seem to help much. Kamui remained stiff with his jaw clenched tightly. His hand trembled slightly in his own, but Subaru couldn't interrupt; all he could do was offer comfort as best as he could until the ritual was over.

He whispered reassurances until Kamui's breath began to calm; his eyes opened, but he appeared disoriented and Subaru felt a genuine spike of concern at that. If all had gone well, Kamui should feel better by now, not worse.

"Is… is that really what it's supposed to be like?" he whispered. "It was… it felt so real!"

Subaru hesitated. It was terribly rude to ask, but if something had gone awry… He remembered the first time he'd undergone this ritual. His grandmother had been there to guide him and while it had been difficult, he'd been young. He'd had very little to regret outside of accidentally breaking his sister's favorite doll.

Eventually, practicality won out over decorum and he asked.

"I saw Princess Hinoto," he said, confusion etched in every word. "She asked me 'Why are you still alive?'"

That wasn't at all what he'd expected to hear. "You heard from Princess Hinoto?" he echoed, desperate to make sure this was accurate and not… well, he wasn't sure what. At Kamui's nod, he was forced to consider that rather than undergoing purification, Kamui had touched on… what, exactly? His abilities as the Kamui?

"Let's get you out of this water," he decided. "And then you can tell me what else she said."

He helped Kamui stand and maneuvered him out of the waterfall as he considered his response. Luckily, Subaru had thought to bring towels and they were soon as dry as could be hoped for and fully dressed once more. They sat in their makeshift campsite and Kamui finally began.

"She said I should come back to Tokyo," he began. "That the prophecy isn't fulfilled." At that he glanced at Subaru wryly. "I suppose that much is true."

"Yes," Subaru replied, feeling decidedly unnerved. "Was there anything else?" Because this couldn't be a mere representation of Kamui's own fears; it was far too relevant to actual events, which meant he'd actually been contacted by Princess Hinoto. And for that to be the case…

"She didn't," Kamui said, sounding perplexed. "What's wrong? It makes sense, doesn't it? I feel like I need to fix things and she was always the one telling me that. So, I saw her saying the same thing I feel."

"No," Subaru said distractedly. "That doesn't sound right. I wonder… She must be alive." It was surprising—shocking, in fact—but not beyond the realm of possibility. If it was true, they would need to hasten back to Tokyo, but something nagged at him. It didn't feel right, and Tokyo was far from safe.

"You mean, that wasn't a-a manifestation of my mind? Or something?"

"I don't think so." It was perplexing, to be sure, but unlikely to be a vision. Rather than look reassured, Kamui appeared distressed.

"What's wrong?" he demanded. He'd thought news of any of the Dragons of Heaven surviving would calm him, not upset him further.

"Princess Hinoto was different. Before things … changed with Fuuma, before the battle, Sorata and I were investigating her."

Subaru's eyes widened in shock. Surely he didn't mean…

"We suspected she had betrayed us," he confirmed grimly. "It was the only thing that made sense. You were sent without any backup, Arashi disappeared, and everything… Nothing made sense. Why were we always one step behind the Dragons of Earth?"

"I admit, I had wondered the same…" he admitted faintly. Princess Hinoto was a traitor? It seemed utterly preposterous, but Kamui wasn't joking. He was too firm in his convictions to be doing so.

"Kamui, if what you're telling me is true, Princess Hinoto purposefully interfered with the prophecy. But no, she isn't the Kamui, so that would be for naught," he murmured to himself, "and she would know that. But she did try to affect it by influencing you."

"When I first spoke with her, she was steadfast that one future had to happen. It was always black-and-white with her and… I never really liked that, but I figured that was destiny. She was just the messenger." He sounded bitter. "But she was trying to save humans, I'm certain about that. Something happened later on… I don't know. Maybe she changed her mind."

"Maybe," he allowed. "What now? Will you return to Tokyo?"

Kamui stood shakily, his weapon in hand. "No, I will not."

The day was proving to be filled with surprises. "Then what will you do?"

"Don't you see?" Kamui demanded. "Those eyes I've felt on me must be hers. She's trying to manipulate me even now."

"But to what end?" Subaru's mind was spinning with this newfound knowledge. "Frankly, she has nothing to gain."

"I don't know," he replied heatedly. "But I don't trust her. We're better off on our own, seeking out survivors without her 'aid.'"

It was strange to hear Kamui speak of someone so bitterly. He hadn't even done this with the other Kamui, who most people would agree probably deserved some righteous anger. Just what had happened within the Dragons of Heaven's ranks after he'd left? He'd known things were bad, but this vastly surpassed anything he'd imagined. It meant … it meant he'd been set up with Seishirou-san. They'd all been set up.

Something ugly twisted inside of him, something he'd hoped not to experience ever again.

Perhaps there was someone else to blame for Seishirou-san's death outside of himself and the man in question and there was nothing he could do about it because…

Because it was utterly pointless. It would fix nothing to confront her now except possibly the gaping hole where his sense of peace used to be.

It was disturbing how much he wanted to go back to Tokyo for that reason alone. Vengeance… Seishirou-san had said he'd always been too kind to ever want to harm anyone. He wondered at that.

"I think you may be correct," he finally said to Kamui who was studying his sword with an intensity that suggested he was having similar thoughts about Princess Hinoto. "For now, I will conduct the ceremony."

"I'm not sure I feel any more enlightened than I did when we first left," Kamui murmured. "I don't think I'll be a good tether."

"I'm not sure either of us will reach peak enlightenment right now," Subaru replied tiredly. "But if we aren't going to Tokyo, we need to continue with our original plan."

"Finding survivors." Kamui closed his eyes, then gave a tight nod as he opened them. "You're right."

From there it was simple. He set up several ofuda about the trees in the shape of a pentagram with himself and Kamui in the center. He was seated as if he were about to meditate once again. He had Kamui seated across from him. He was staring right at him, eyes large and contemplative. Subaru tried not to think about how the only person to ever be his tether previously had had green eyes and was more prone to smiling and that having Kamui in her place was both painful and somehow completely right.

"Your job is simple," Subaru began. "At least, it should be for someone of your capabilities."

"I never learned to set up a kekkai," Kamui reminded, as if Subaru had ever forgotten.

"No, but you are familiar with energy manipulation. Even if you can't form it any longer, you should be able to sense it." At that, Kamui nodded. "If you sense my energy getting… disorderly, push a bit of your own into the mix to set it right."

"I… don't think I know how to do that," Kamui replied, looking alarmed. "I never used my powers to help anyone like that, I just…" He glanced away, uncomfortable.

"What did you do?"

"Mostly I sowed chaos," he admitted reluctantly. He was gripping his shoulder in a defensive posture. "Attacked people, property damage, you know…"

"Mm, you were a bit of a juvenile delinquent," Subaru replied with a fond grin. He'd heard about this from Arisugawa-san.

Kamui's face flushed in horror. "I-I mean, yeah, but…"

"Well, here's a chance to try your hand at something else."

"This doesn't seem like a good starting point," Kamui muttered.

"No, it isn't, but I trust you." And it's not like we can do anything else, he added to himself. "Here, try to push a bit of your energy against mine." He raised his hand. Kamui stared at it as if it were a live snake.

"You'll do fine," he said gently. "Just envision a much milder form of what you used to do."

Hesitantly, Kamui raised his hand and rested it against Subaru's own. He grinned a moment later. "I can feel your energy."

"You see? Now give a little push of your own."

Kamui's brow furrowed in concentration and soon Subaru felt a nudge, a bit of Kamui's own essence, pressed against his palm. With it came faint traces of his emotions and a hint of his power, that enormous font he'd never fully tapped into. It felt so different from Subaru's own.

"Very good," he whispered. Suddenly, sound seemed intrusive. This was a private moment. "Now, if my energy shifts from how it feels right now, push some of your own against it, just like this. That should remind me of where I am and help me come back to myself. Understand?"

He nodded, and reluctantly pulled his hand away. "Be careful."

"I will. With any luck, we'll find a friendly spirit and have our directions posthaste."

"Subaru?"

"Yes?"

"Thank you."

Subaru tilted his head slightly, bemused. "It's what we agreed on already."

"No, for… trusting me with this." He stared at him earnestly. "I won't let you down."

He nodded, still puzzled. "I know you won't."

With that, he settled himself into a proper sitting position, full lotus, and closed his eyes.

When he opened them-metaphorically this time-he was met with chaos. His mouth formed into a comical "oh."

There were spirits everywhere, buzzing about, lost, lonely, angry, confused. The sheer force of their emotions threatened to overwhelm him.

This may be more challenging than I implied, he thought faintly. He stood with difficulty. It had been some time since he'd done proper spirit work, but he hadn't been attacked yet, and that was a good sign. He summoned his shiki to him; he was going to need the extra help in sorting through this mess. It blinked down at him, humming with sorrow.

"I know," he whispered. "Things aren't going so well, are they?"

He took a step forward and began the search.


Author's Notes: There's a lot happening in this chapter and it easily could have been twice this length, but I decided to split it into two chapters to keep some consistency in chapter length. I hope to have the next installment up relatively quickly. I'm quite excited with where we're at in the plot right now. :D

Also, that news about the new Tokyo Babylon anime was so unexpected! I wonder if this means we can have a little hope for X/1999 as well?