Title: "Game Over or Continue - Chap 4: 4th Level"
Author: J.J.
Warning: It's an AU BASED ON THE MANGA, it probably contains some OOCness and a bit of sappiness, uses Japanese words (the dictionary is at the bottom) and includes some spoilers...
Notes: Based on the idea that there can't be a Heaven on Earth but that being with your loved one helps a lot...
Disclaimer:
"Tokyo Babylon" and "X" belong to Clamp. I'm merely using their characters because I love them... especially Seishiro and Subaru...
Do I own something here? Oh yes, I own the plot and a sensitive heart which would surely break if you give me harsh reviews, so please be honest but nice, okay?
Thanks: To Ruth for betaing this! Thank you a lot!
Summary: Poor, mentally unstable Subaru is convinced he's finally been killed off on Judgement Day, when he wakes up again in a hospital and discovers things went radically different from how he remembers them... And when he starts getting used to this new reality weird things start to happen that make him wonder whether it's really him who's having distorted memories or if there's something behind all this...

In Seishiro's opinion, things went smoothly enough on Subaru's first day back at home. Of course, Subaru was tense, meek, tense, scared of basically everything, tense, deliciously clingy and did he mention tense? But Seishiro was sure they could cope with that. After all, it wasn't as if he minded spending the day cuddling Subaru… on the contrary, it was a pleasant change. Before the accident Subaru had grown a bit distant… but now he was back to clingy mode and Seishiro thought that, maybe something good would come from that mess if it returned Subaru's attention solely on him. Sure, having Subaru act as if he didn't remember what had happened between the two of them displeased him immensely … but he was sure this was only a small obstacle they would overcome soon. Yes, soon. Soon everything would be back to normal and he and Subaru would be back to their happy life and hopefully Subaru would remain as clingy as he was right now and everything would be fine. Yes, sure, it would happen exactly like that.

When lunchtime came Seishiro, despite Subaru's complaint that he wasn't hungry, prepared him a nutritious lunch, taking care to prepare the things Subaru loved the most.

After all Subaru had eaten nothing the day before and, while he might understand that being fed through tubes for a week might have affected Subaru's appetite (which had never been too healthy in the first place), he had no intention of letting the boy starve himself. He found it cute how Subaru, understanding Seishiro wouldn't give up on his plan to feed him, volunteered to help him in the kitchen. Seishiro, however, turned down his offer, not just because Subaru had never been good in the cooking department but because, in truth, Seishiro simply didn't want him to overtire himself or use a knife ever again. Somehow the idea of having Subaru near a knife gave him a nauseating feeling he couldn't explain.

When Seishiro turned down his offer Subaru looked at him like a cute, lost, wounded puppy, his hands moving to reach for him, then, before they could touch Seishiro, Subaru lowered his gaze unhappily dropping them. It was as if he believed Seishiro was abandoning him but didn't dare to stop him. It was a rather heartbreaking sight. Seishiro softly smiled at him, wrapped his arm around Subaru's shoulders, pulled him close and rested his other hand on Subaru's cheek forcing him to raise his gaze and meet his eyes.

"There's no need for you to help me, Subaru… but this doesn't mean you can't come and keep me company," he suggested. "Actually, I would like that if it's okay for you," he added and was pleased to see Subaru's eyes widening in surprise before the boy nodded eagerly and followed Seishiro into the kitchen, looking as if being allowed to keep Seishiro company was like a precious gift to him.

So, a short while later Seishiro was busy preparing lunch while Subaru was seated at the kitchen table, crossed arms resting on the table as he stared at Seishiro intently, as if the man was the sun of Subaru's world. It was rather pleasant to be back to being the centre of so much attention, an attention bordering on adoration really, even if Subaru was being a tad too quiet and silent. The boy had never really been a talker but… he had never been that silent either. It was almost… as if he was afraid to speak, as if he feared to be chased away, should he say the wrong thing… which was silly really because no matter what he would say Seishiro would never chase him away and loved the sound of his voice to the point that he wouldn't mind if Subaru simply read him the telephone guide. But maybe that wasn't the time to stress Subaru with requests and just leaving him to quietly get used to things would be the best policy. After all, Subaru had always been slow at adapting to new things. So Seishiro took it on himself the role to fill the silence with careless chattering to which Subaru didn't seem able to reply with more than a syllable or two at best. It wasn't really promising but, when Seishiro was about to give up hope of coaxing the boy into talking a little, Subaru finally tried to start a conversation.

"Seishiro-san?" he began in a very hesitant tone, as if he was ready to shut up at the first sign of Seishiro's displeasure at his words. "Why was I at the hospital?" Of course, as nice as it was to have Subaru finally talking, Seishiro found it rather unpleasant the boy had chosen to discuss that particular topic. However, if Subaru's memory was gone and didn't return back soon, they would have to talk about it sooner or later, so… they could as well do it now.

"You had… an accident," Seishiro said slowly, as if searching for words carefully, turning to face him, wondering if it was a good or a bad thing that Subaru was asking him that. Was the boy finally starting to believe that his memories weren't real or was there was another reason for his question, one Seishiro couldn't fathom at the moment.

"An… accident?" Subaru repeated, looking confused, gaze lowered and hands clenched as if he was trying really hard to grasp pieces of his memories and failing.

"Subaru-kun… you don't remember even that?" Seishiro asked, half suspecting the answer was 'no' as he moved closer to Subaru. The boy simply shook his head without daring to look up at him. Seishiro watched him in silence, giving him time to collect his thoughts.

"I…" Subaru finally began hesitantly, pausing a moment as if to see if he was allowed to continue speaking. "I remember the Chi no Ryu's Kamui stabbing me with the ShinKen to explain something to Kamui, the Ten no Ryu's Kamui, but I've no wounds on my stomach, not even scars and… and…" he went on when Seishiro made no attempt to stop him but his last words were said hurriedly and jumbled as he tried hard to remember what had happened afterwards… or to understand how this could match with what Seishiro had told him.

"Subaru," Seishiro interrupted him, resting his hand gently on top of Subaru's and squeezing it lightly. "The Chi no Ryu's Kamui is dead. He died a year ago, during the last battle."

"A year ago?" Subaru echoed, finally turning to look at him and seeming even more lost and confused.

"A year ago. In 1999," Seishiro replied, giving him time to let the information sink into Subaru's confused brain.

"Isn't it now? 1999 I mean. Isn't it 1999 now?" Subaru asked anxiously, his other hand moving instinctively to grip Seishiro's before he realized what he was doing and gave him an unconfident look, as if he had no idea if such familiarity was allowed. Seishiro smiled.

"It's 2000 now," he explained in a reassuring tone, smiling as he caressed Subaru's cheek with his free hand. "February, the 27th. It's okay if you don't remember a couple of months, nothing really interesting happened in them anyway," he assured him as Subaru unconsciously leaned into his touch as if he needed that contact to make sure Seishiro was real. The younger man stared at him, looking as if he was having hard time processing it all.

"Am I… twenty-six now?" he said then, hesitantly, as if trying to grasp the concept.

"Yes, you're twenty-six," Seishiro replied patiently, still smiling at him.

"I don't remember it…" Subaru admitted, lowering his gaze for a moment. "Did I remember to visit Hokuto-chan's grave at the end of the year?" he asked, anxiety back in his voice. Subaru knew he shouldn't count Hokuto-chan's years, so he wouldn't tie her soul to the living world, and therefore he didn't visit her grave on their birthday. Instead he dropped by regularly to visit her at the end of the year.(1)

Seishiro blinked at Subaru's question, studying him quizzically.

"Subaru… Hokuto-chan is alive," he reminded him. "She kept you company at the hospital after you woke up, when I came back here to change and have a shower. She said you were awake and talked to her. Don't you remember any of that?" he asked gently. It was going to be bad if Subaru was starting to lose the memory of what had happened after he had awoken also… it would mean he would never recover since any progress he made and any explanation Seishiro offered would end up being forgotten shortly after…

"But she was a ghost… or a hallucination…" Subaru replied, looking at him pleadingly. "She couldn't be real… Hokuto-chan died when she was seventeen… That Hokuto-chan… she was older than that…" He would have loved for his sister to be alive, truly, it was one of the things he wished for the most, but… but it wouldn't make any sense… hadn't Seishiro-san killed her in Subaru's place? And if he hadn't… why had she let him believe she died? Why had everyone let him believe his sister was dead?

"Subaru, don't you remember? No one died," Seishiro-san reminded him. Subaru remembered the man telling him that but… it hadn't made sense at the time and it still didn't. It didn't match with his memories at all. Had he gone insane? Or had he been deluding himself and this was some sort of dream? And anyway…

"But you said the Chi no Ryu's Kamui died. And I remember Hokuto-chan… I mean… I know you said my memory's not working well but I know I felt Hokuto-chan dying and… and…" Subaru tried to explain but found himself unable to continue. He wanted to believe Hokuto-chan was alive but he was terrified at the mere idea he was deluding himself only to discover he'd been the victim of another illusion.

"No one that matters died," Seishiro clarified. "Well, the Chi no Ryu's Kamui died but I never thought you cared about him…" Well, that wasn't right; Subaru cared for everyone, Seishiro reminded himself but still… why worry about the brat's death? "Hokuto-chan is alive. I also fear she's planning to pay us a visit soon. Hopefully Kakyou will stop her from doing it today. Today I want to have you all for myself and myself only," Seishiro stated, grinning at the boy. "Don't worry, Subaru, right now you're confused because your memories are a bit messed up but everything will make sense in the end. Give yourself some time, okay?"

"Hokuto-chan is alive," Subaru repeated, trying to get used to the idea. It was a good thing that Hokuto-chan was alive only… it was unbelievable. Seishiro-san nodded encouragingly at him. "And today it'll be just the two of us," he added, still holding Seishiro-san's hand between his own.

"Exactly, Subaru," the man confirmed, still smiling at him patiently. It made no sense to Subaru, none at all but… but… but Seishiro's hand was in his own, so warm and… real and…

"I'm glad it will be just the two of us, Seishiro-san," he whispered quietly. It didn't matter really if he didn't understand. It wasn't so important to understand, after all. What truly mattered was that Seishiro-san was there and Hokuto-chan wasn't dead.

"I'm glad too, Subaru. Very glad," Seishiro-san replied, squeezing Subaru's hand tightly as he too needed to make sure Subaru was real. They remained like that in silence for a while as they waited for lunch to be ready but neither of them seemed to mind. They were together again, only this mattered.

Despite the small progresses made, Seishiro had to privately admit to himself he wasn't very pleased with the way Subaru handled lunch now. First there had been a long string of 'really, Seishiro-san, I'm not hungry' then, when Subaru finally gave up on trying to persuade him he didn't need to eat, the boy just spent a good amount of time staring at the food on his plate without touching it. When Seishiro asked him if the problem was that he didn't like what he had cooked for him, Subaru denied it vehemently and tried to eat it. 'Tried' being the operative word.

Basically all he did was rearrange the food on the plate dividing it up into always smaller portions. Seishiro wondered if Subaru was trying to get everything eventually divided on a subatomic level. He had heard that people afflicted with an eating disorder would perform that ritual or one similar to it but, before, Subaru had never done anything like that…

The boy had never had a particularly healthy appetite but he had always eaten regularly…

Seishiro stared at Subaru's meticulous work for a while before deciding he had to take the matter into his own hands if he wanted Subaru to actually eat the food and not just play with it. Subaru looked at him as if he thought Seishiro had suddenly gone insane when he took bowl and chopsticks from him and started to fed him, however the fact he was gaping had made it even simpler for Seishiro to put some food into his mouth. Subaru kept staring at him, chewing only when Seishiro reminded him to do so, actually chewing the food a bit longer than necessary before swallowing, but he didn't argue and he let Seishiro feed him, eating an acceptable amount of food (not all he had on the plate but at least… enough) even if he looked very embarrassed the whole time.

After lunch the phone rang again. Subaru, curled up on the couch, stared at Seishiro-san as the man went to answer, without daring to make so much of a noise and looking a pretty miserable sight. He wasn't sure why but he understood Seishiro-san got angry when the phone rang and he had no idea if the irritation would cause him to get rid of Subaru as well. To make matters worse, it looked like this too was another prank call since no one bothered to answer to Seishiro-san and this definitely didn't please him, if the fact he slammed the receiver down quite violently was any hint. Subaru just cringed and felt rather pathetic but the only thing he could think was he didn't want to be sent away.

Seishiro-san caught his scared gaze, went to sit down next to him and managed to drag him into his arms. It was a quite possessive, tight hold. At first it was very awkward for Subaru, then he finally relaxed and allowed himself to… to enjoy it, to enjoy being embraced, being held close. Despite the embarrassing position they were in he… he liked it and he liked it even more when the man loosened his hold a bit and started petting him as he would have done with a kitten. It was soothing and Subaru didn't even realize he had closed his eyes while enjoying the gentle contact. He was almost about to doze off when Seishiro-san spoke.

"Subaru… what exactly do you remember?" the man asked him in a thoughtful tone.

"That you were dead," Subaru replied immediately, going straight to the thing that mattered the most to him, instinctively clinging to Seishiro-san as he felt all the pain that memory carried in full.

"I got that much. I told you that's not true, didn't I?" the man replied, his tone much gentler. Subaru looked up at him.

"Tell me again. Please…" he asked, almost pleading. Seishiro-san smiled down at him and didn't seem to be angry anymore.

"I'm not dead. We live together. Hokuto-chan isn't dead either but, thank Kami-sama, she doesn't live with us. She's married to Kakyou by the way. Do you remember Kakyou?" he asked. Subaru frowned as he scanned his mind for memories. Kakyou… he had already heard that name…

"He was… a Chi no Ryu… wasn't he? Their YumeMi…" he said hesitantly. Seishiro-san nodded and seemed pleased that Subaru remembered. Subaru tried to remember more about the man that had, apparently, married his sister. He'd been in the Chi no Ryu's headquarters only once.(2) Kamui, the Chi no Ryu's Kamui, had wanted him to meet Kakyou-san, even if he hadn't explained to him why. Subaru remembered a comatose man lying in a bed with many cables attached to his body and computer screens monitoring his condition. He hadn't understood why Kamui had wanted them to meet. It wasn't like they had anything in common. Kakyou had let him enter into his dreamscape but the talk between the two of them had been very formal and meaningless but then everything, after Seishiro-san's death, had seemed meaningless.

"Isn't he in a coma anymore?" he asked then.

"Kakyou has never been in coma as far as I know, Subaru. He'd been suicidal and seriously depressed but that was all. Hokuto-chan's turned him into a much livelier person even if he's still very quiet," Seishiro-san informed him. Subaru didn't comment on that. He couldn't remember it but knowing Hokuto-chan that should have been expected.

"Hokuto-chan… is she happy?" Subaru asked hesitantly. If Hokuto-chan was happy, then it was okay, he decided. Hokuto-chan's happiness was the important thing, not that the man had been a Chi no Ryu or if he'd been in coma.

"Why shouldn't she be?" Seishiro-san replied. "She seems to love Kakyou. Why is beyond me but at least he's less intrusive."

"I always thought Obaachan would try to force her into an arranged marriage with some Onmyouji…" Subaru replied quietly, his gaze lowering. "I had never been sure if I would have managed to stop her, had Hokuto-chan lived…"

"Subaru, Hokuto-chan lived and you stopped your grandmother from forcing her into an unwanted marriage," Seishiro-san told him and Subaru could only stare at him.

"I did?" he asked. He didn't remember it at all and, anyway, he hadn't expected himself to be capable to accomplish something like that.

"You did. No one can stop Sumeragi Subaru when he wants something," Seishiro-san stated cheerfully. Subaru couldn't manage to smile back. He remembered too many instances in which he had been stopped, in which he hadn't gotten what he wanted.

"What… what about the others? The others Chi no Ryu and Ten no Ryu, I mean," Subaru asked. It wasn't what he wanted to ask. What he wanted to ask was how his life with Seishiro-san had been, when they had started living together, why Seishiro-san was being so nice to him, when the man would kick him out and say that, to him, Subaru was nothing else but a glass cup… but he couldn't bring himself to ask that. He just couldn't.

"Let's see… Kusanagi left with the girl with the Pocky and the Inugami…" Seishiro-san said after a moment of reflection.

"Yuzuriha-chan?" Subaru asked. Of all the Ten no Ryu besides Kamui Yuzuriha-chan was the one who had become closest to him, which wasn't much but it was far more than the others. She had given him a stuffed bunny and she had reminded him of Hokuto-chan. She had been the only one with whom he had talked of non 'work related' issues, even if had happened only once when she had come to visit him at the hospital. As for this Kusanagi… no, he didn't remember him. He didn't think he'd met him.(3)

"I think that was her name. Nice girl. She offered me Pocky. No idea how she fell for Kusanagi but maybe she was the reason why we never saw him at the headquarters…" Seishiro observed. "As for Yuto he got himself almost killed and this convinced Satsuki-chan to marry him," he continued. Subaru tried to remember them. They should be the blond guy and the girl with the computer. At least he thought so.

"Nataku died. The Honootsukai too," Seishiro-san continued. "The Chi no Ryu's Kamui killed them both off in one blow."

Subaru remembered Nataku's death but not Karen-san's. He tried to feel sorry for her but he hadn't really talked to her. His lack of caring made him feel guilty and he snuggled closer in Seishiro-san's embrace.

"Kanoe and her sister died too," Seishiro-san went on, listing deaths uncaring like the items on a shopping list. Subaru thought that, for that being a world in which no one who mattered had died, in fact too many had died. However he knew Kanoe-san even less than Karen-san and as for Hinoto-hime… she was the one who sent him to Rainbow Bridge and, according to the Chi no Ryu's Kamui, she did so knowing what was going to happen. Subaru was disgusted by himself at the thought that he didn't mind her death much. What had he become? Some sort of monster?

"The Kazetsukai is fine, as far as I know. The young Bousan managed to get out of the hospital the past month. He's planning to marry the Miko from Ise. That's all, I think," Seishiro-san ended.

"What about Kamui?" Subaru asked anxiously.

"The boy's fine. Imonoyama-san is paying for anything the brat might need," Seishiro-san stated coldly. Subaru had the impression Seishiro didn't like Kamui much, but had no idea why.

"Obaachan?" Subaru questioned then. Seishiro emitted a long suffering sigh.

"Sadly she's still alive and she's still pestering you with work. She's not too pleased about our living together, either… which is too bad for her," he explained. He refrained to comment that the old bitch was so busy being properly offended about Seishiro and Subaru's relationship that she hadn't even bothered to visit her grandson while he was in the hospital. Not that Seishiro had wanted her around. Actually he hadn't wanted anyone around, not even Hokuto-chan. All he had wanted was to be with Subaru, just the two of them, but he knew that a visit would have made Subaru happy while knowing his grandmother hadn't visited would only sadden him.

"Oh," was all that Subaru replied before falling silent, trying to put together all those facts. They didn't really match with the reality he knew…

"Aren't you going to ask about us?" Seishiro questioned in a teasing tone, a grin on his lips. He frowned when he felt Subaru tense, as if that was a topic the boy dreaded to face.

"I…" Subaru tried to say. "I…"

"Subaru, what do you remember about us?"

"You died…" Subaru whimpered. It seemed that this 'memory' was haunting him too much to let it go and that merely thinking of it drove him close to insanity and hysteria. "It was my fault… It was all my fault. I'm so sorry, Seishiro-san, I… I…" he began repeating as if it was a mantra of some sort. Seishiro placed one of his fingers on Subaru's lips, silencing him.

"I didn't die, Subaru," Seishiro reassured him, wondering how many times he would need to repeat it before Subaru would believe him. Oh well at least Subaru hadn't mentioned the 'eye thing' again… Seishiro decided to consider it a progress of some sort. "I'll tell you what happened and you'll tell me if you remember or not, okay?" he continued in a gentle, soothing tone. Subaru hesitated, then nodded. "Okay, then let's see… where to start… We first met when you were around nine…" Seishiro began, affectionately caressing Subaru's hair as he spoke, in such a natural way it seemed he had done it all his life. "When you came here for the ceremony of succession…"

Everything Seishiro-san might have said was interrupted when the phone rang again. Subaru felt Seishiro-san instinctively tightening his grip around him, glaring at the phone without attempting to continue talking. Subaru tensed as well in response to Seishiro-san's reaction. The phone kept ringing obstinately. Subaru looked up at Seishiro-san but the man didn't seem to have any intention to take the call. That obsessive ringing was starting to scare Subaru. He knew it was an irrational fear to feel threatened by a phone but he felt it anyway. That ringing was like an alarm clock that would force him out of a pleasant dream. This pleasant dream.

He didn't want to wake up.

The mere thought of waking up was unbearable.

He squirmed closer to Seishiro-san.

"Make it stop…" he almost begged, covering his ears with his hands as if not hearing it would be enough to make it disappear. He behaved exactly like a scared child. The man looked down at him, then stroked his hair comfortingly.

"Wait here," Seishiro-san instructed him before untangling himself from Subaru's hold and getting up. Subaru shot him a desperate glance. Seishiro-san just smiled back at him. "I'll be right back," he assured him before facing that evil contraption called telephone. Subaru curled on himself, staring at him anxiously. Seishiro-san answered but, apparently, no one replied.

Another prank call. This wasn't good.

Subaru expected Seishiro-san to get angry again but the man simply disconnected the phone and returned back to him. Subaru looked at him warily. Seishiro-san knelt in front of him and stared at him.

"You know I won't let anything tear us apart, don't you, Subaru?" Seishiro-san asked him, slowly caressing Subaru's cheek gently. "You're mine and mine only and I'll protect you from everything." Subaru blinked at the man's statement, which reminded him of the rules of the Bet.

"For how much longer? How much time do I still have?" he asked, pleading, resting his hand on Seishiro-san's one. "I… I…" 'I don't want to fail a second time, I don't want to lose you a second time…' he thought but couldn't say.

It was Seishiro-san's turn to blink, as if what Subaru had said was really strange, as if the man had never thought to set a timeframe.

"Forever, of course. Why should there be a time limit?" Subaru didn't reply and lowered his head. He had no idea why there had been a time limit the first time but that had been how things went and that was his only experience of being with Seishiro-san.

Seishiro looked at him worriedly, then sat next to him and drew him closer and felt Subaru leaning against him with a tired sigh. No, messed up memory or not, Subaru was his and he wouldn't allow anything and anyone to tear them apart again, he vowed to himself, everything else be damned. What had happened that cursed day…

It couldn't be 'that'.

His Subaru would never have tried to leave him willingly, he knew that. And yet…

"You'll stay with me forever, Subaru, I promise," Seishiro vowed and Subaru seemed to find relief in his words as he snuggled closer to him and that was good. Seishiro, however, wasn't sure Subaru would have appreciated his words, had he known Seishiro didn't plan to leave him a choice in the matter…

To be continued...

JJ's Notes:

1. In X Character File 3 it is said that 'you shouldn't count the age of dead people to keep the souls separated from their bodies and at peace. To keep those souls tied down with the remorse of the people still living and grieving over them.'

2. I've no idea if Subaru has ever been in the Chi no Ryu's headquarters and has ever met Kakyou, in person or in dream. Since he showed no interest in the end of the world he might as well never have been there.

3. Subaru's chat with Yuzuriha took place in 'X' Vol. 12.

JJ's Extra Notes:
I know, I know, Subaru's being very passive at the moment. He's also half insane and deeply traumatized so he can't really help the way he is and there are various reasons for this which will be explained in the future. As this is an AU some things about the final battle went very differently from the manga which is why Subaru's memories and Seishiro's tale don't match.

Dictionary:
-chan: Name ending used to express affection and familiarity or to talk with a child
-san: "Mr." or "Mrs."
Bousan: "Monk" or "Buddhist priest"
Chi no Ryu: Dragon of Earth
Hime: Princess
Honootsukai: Fire Caster
Inugami: "Dog God". A dog shaped spirit that someone control
Kazetsukai: Wind Caster
Miko: "Shrine Maiden" or "Priestess"
Obaachan: "Grandmother" or "Old Woman"
Onmyoudo: "Way of Yin and Yang". Yin and Yang are the male and female forces underlying the movement and changes of nature. Onmyoudo is based upon the Chinese arts of astrology, divination and Taoist magic and also represents a mystical way of living in harmony with the forces of nature
Onmyouji: "Person who practices Onmyoudo". Basically a magician, sorcerer, diviner and astrologer
ShinKen: "Sword Given By God" or "Sword Offered To God"
Ten no Ryu: Dragon of Heaven
YumeMi: "Dreamgazer". One that can see the future in dreams

Replies to reviews:

To Everyone who reviewed: Thank you! You're a great encouragement for me!

To FrancescAkira89: Yes, Seishiro is still a Sakurazukamori but that's all I'm going to say about him, for now. You'll discover more in the future. And of course there's a mistery behind why Subaru ended up where he is... Please, feel free to guess which is the reason for him to be there!

To Dark Angel Of Fire Ice: Seishiro's unfailing very super-protective/possessive. You know him...

To Hatori Soma: Here's a new chapter! So you think that's not a lie? :)

To nachan: I'm glad you like this story! I hope the mystery will continue to intrigue you!

To EoEDaD: Well, if it was all happiness and sunshine it won't be much of a plot so yes, Subaru's going to have lot of troubles!

To wraith: What beautiful reviews! They really made my day! Thank you! Hokuto will show up soon, don't worry, even if she'll have troubles to handle this new Subaru. The plot is supposed to be misterious but, in order for this to work, I've to know where the fic is heading. However you're free to try to guess the solution of each mistery. I love when people do it! The answer to who's on the phone will be revealed around the end of the fic, so consider it one of the main misteries of the story... so, if you're curious to know, you're in for a long wait. If there are few mistakes it's solely thanks to my beta. Left on my own I would be lost... THANK AGAIN FOR THE WONDERFUL REVIEW!

To abcdianna: Well, I can't reveal the ending now but I hope you'll enjoy it!

To Mana-Reader: TB/X is sadly, becoming less popular... but I'm glad you enjoy my story!

To Amy Levi: Yes, Subaru isn't in a easy situation and I'm glad you think I managed to keep him IC. Please, feel free to try to guess the solutions to the story's misteries!

To poo82: Well, I can't give you spoilers but yes, Subaru's story is rather sad. I'm happy you like this fic!

To Billy: I won't let it end, don't worry!

To kingleby: Thank you! Subaru really needs a hug!

To KB: Thank you! Sorry for the long wait but here there's the new chap!

Aria DC al Fine: I didn't mean it, I swear! I hope at least it was worth it!

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