"Leave me alone." Kamui tried to free his hands, but Fûma just laughed and held Kamui's wrists tighter.
"No, why should I?"
Kamui glared, not deeming the question worth of an answer, before he sent Fûma flying backwards with a sharp kick.
The man laughed, "Is that the best you can do?"
Turning away from him, Kamui whispered, "Yes."
Fûma couldn't hear the answer and strode toward Kamui again, wrapping his arms around him and pressing himself flush with Kamui's back, breathing words against his ear. "It's not; I know it's not. You're betting than this. You can do so much more, but you don't. You don't." He paused to let his words sink in, and Kamui had no counter to them. They were true. But more accurate if you replaced don't with can't.
"You don't want to hurt me." Now that wasn't true. But before Kamui could open his mouth with a retort, Fûma had spun him around and was again pressed against him.
Kamui refused to tolerate this and backhanded him, making him stumble a step away. "Get off of me." Fûma recovered quickly and wrapped his arms around Kamui again, clamping the vampire's arms to his sides. "No. I don't want to. And you're not that keen on it either." His tone dropped lower. "I know you want this."
"I don't," Kamui said stonily.
Fûma grinned, "Yes you do. Why aren't you struggling?" With his smile still radiating cockiness, he leaned down to bring his lips to Kamui's… and found himself staring at the ceiling with the wind knocked out of him.
"Let me make myself clear." Kamui's voice could cut diamond. "I want you to stay away from me. If you try anything like that again I will kill you."
He still had the nerve to laugh. "No you won't. You never will." And it was true. Because whenever Kamui wanted to kill the hunter, he would think of how much Subaru hated it when hi killed. How his bright green eyes would grow bigger with sadness and would look at Kamui as if his twin's actions had been against him, hurting him. And then he couldn't. Never, he could never do anything that would hurt Subaru. Not having his twin by his side only served to heighten the need to think about Subaru in everything. It helped him stay close to his brother, to remember he was not gone. Just waiting.
Kamui was trapped here until Subaru woke up. Trapped, because he couldn't leave. Not without his twin, the other half of himself. Every day was spent in pain, hoping that today he would be restored, made complete again.
Subaru, please wake up.
And while Kamui waited, he had to put up with this man. This man who constantly tried to frustrate Kamui in every possible way. He wouldn't take no for an answer.
Even now, he was standing up and brushing himself off, confident smile still plastered on his face. Turning to leave, he called over his shoulder, "Until we meet again, Kamui, I will be thinking of you."
Kamui let out a hiss of annoyance, which just served to make Fûma laugh as he jogged back to his group.
Kamui waited until the sounds of the tower group returning to their stronghold had faded into the distance before he followed one of the narrow trails that led to the water below ground.
The cavern was expansive, but the main path downward only led to the large platform that had obviously been built into it. However, Kamui had found many other trails that led to smaller, natural cave openings and ledges in the cavern, and he would seek solace there.
Staring at the water, he let his mind be swallowed up by memories. Memories of the time when he was not broken, but all of who he should be. When he and his brother were together. Subaru.
"It's morning already," Subaru said, rubbing his sleepy eyes with the back of his hands. Kamui watched this motion, then leaned towards his twin to place a kiss on each eyelid. Subaru smiled softly and ran his fingers through Kamui's hair languidly. "Do we have to get up?"
"No," Kamui replied with conviction, wrapping his arms around Subaru and pulling his twin closer to him. "We can stay here all day."
Subaru let out a contented sigh and snuggled deeper into the pillow. Kamui brought his lips to Subaru's forehead and rested there, his thumb gently stroking the back of Subaru's hand that he held between them.
After a few minutes of peaceful resting, Subaru opened his eyes and lifted his head. "We have to get up."
Kamui's face turned into a perfect pout. "No we don't."
Subaru sat up and tugged at Kamui's hand. "Yes we do. Come on."
Kamui resisted as Subaru tried to get him out of bed, refusing to accept that he couldn't actually spend the whole day curled against his brother in their bed.
Subaru sighed in frustration at Kamui's obstinacy. "Please?"
"No."
"I'll leave." Kamui looked at him suspiciously, not sure now to take this threat. "I will! I'll leave!" Subaru swung his legs over the side of the bed and started to stand up, but Kamui's hand snaked out and grabbed hold of his arm, stopping him.
"Don't go. Just…five more minutes."
Subaru smiled at this child-like request, but lay back down. "Two."
Kamui frowned. "Four."
"Three."
"Three."
They smiled together and Subaru scooted closer to his brother and kissed him gently. "I love you," he whispered.
"I love you too."
"Never leave me."
"No, never."
He never had. Always, he was always with Subaru. But his brother's request had changed, had turned into a desperate plea of "No, Kamui!" when he'd tried to follow him into the water. He hadn't wanted Kamui with him.
Kamui knew it made sense. Subaru was trying to protect him. The logical side part of him knew that what Subaru had said was because he loved him. But the irrational, lonely, hurt part of him couldn't let go of the fact that by Subaru's request they were separated.
And he was alone.