Tokyo Babylon Fan Fiction / X/1999 Fan Fiction ❯ In the Hands of an Uncaring God ❯ Chapter 4 ( Chapter 4 )

Summary: An evil cult is trying to get its hands on anyone with power. Kamui is the next victim. Subaru has to race against time to stop him from getting sacrificed. AU

Disclaimer: All characters that belong to CLAMP belong to CLAMP. I don't own them. I just love writing about them. Arimi Yuki and Ikeda Ran are mine.

Rating: PG-13 for violence and quite a bit of shounen-ai (tough to avoid when writing an X fic!)

Pairings: Subaru/Seishirou, Kamui/Fuuma, Fuuma/Kakyou, Sorata/Arashi, a little bit of Karen and Aoki near the end of the story.

Spoilers: Bits and pieces of X. This fic is very AU.

Chapter 4

Sumeragi Subaru was practically jogging across the plaza in his hurry to get to the municipal building which housed the city's social services department. He was however much too polite to curse at the sheer number of people standing in his way as he pushed and shoved through the evening throng of people trying to go home. Instead he was mentally cataloging all the ways he could stop Kamui from being taken away. He hoped the word of a clan head from a family known for serving the Imperial household would be enough to at least delay the process. So intent was he at reaching his goal that he failed to notice a large body in his way. With a hard smack, he bounced off a dark suited chest and fell clumsily on his bottom.

Subaru winced as he tried to recover his dignity. A hand came down in his line of sight. As he automatically reached for it, he looked up and froze. "Seishirou-san!"

Sakurazuka Seishirou was wearing his trademark smirk when he grabbed Subaru's hand and helped him up. "Really Subaru-kun, you ought to be more careful of where you're going."

Subaru gaped at him for a moment, still in shock. He looked about warily, briefly wondering if the assassin was about to try to kill him in such a public place. Not that he was concerned about himself of course, but he was certain the crowds would react in mass panic if he and his nemesis started magically duking it out in earnest. He took a small step back, feeling uncomfortable at the close proximity Seishirou was standing to him.

"What are you doing here? Have you been following me?" Subaru asked suspiciously.

Seishirou continued smirking at the thought of how pretty Subaru looked with his green eyes flashing in agitation. "Oh Subaru-kun, can't I be out for walk without you accusing me of stalking you? I do live in this city as well you know."

"I don't believe you." Subaru said flatly.

"You're right though," Seishirou conceeded. "I did come to talk to you. But why don't we move away from here a bit. This place is a little public for us to be discussing our differences." Seishirou gestured to an alley by the side of the building.

Agreeing, Subaru began walking into the deserted dead end. Then he turned around and bumped right into Seishirou again. "Will you stop that!"

Seishirou laughed. "You're really very cute," he said provocatively.

Subaru's patience was wearing thin. "If you've got nothing better to do than taunt me, you're just wasting my time. I'm going." Subaru made as if to walk back out of the alley but was stopped by Seishirou's hand on his shoulder. Caught off guard, he found himself pushed till his back was to the wall, Seishirou's face leaning very close, with his other hand on the wall above his shoulder.

"You're not going anywhere until I'm done talking to you," said Seishirou.

Subaru was angry with himself for melting like ice cream under a tropical sun whenever Seishirou was close to him. He put up a hand to push him away but Seishirou held steadfast. Not wanting to give up so easily, Subaru tried to go for a kick to his groin, but Seishirou appeared to read his mind and swiftly brought his leg about to block. Then to stop Subaru from struggling further, he pressed his full weight on him, pinning him to the wall. Seishirou was fully aware that all this was token resistance from Subaru, given that the man could have levelled half the city block if he so chose.

"You have my attention. So talk," Subaru said, panting a little from the exertion of tussling with Seishirou.

"You have to stop looking into the Order of the Promised Day."

Subaru hissed, "What's a government assassin doing working for them?"

"Let's just say they can contract my services. You have no idea how far up these people reach, do you?" Seishirou replied.

"I'm beginning to get a very good idea," said Subaru grimly. Then he figured it out. "You're here to stop me from getting to Kamui," he accused.

"What happens has to happen. There is no way you can stop it." Seishirou said flatly.

"That's just being defeatist. I will not let someone who needs me down." Subaru glared stubbornly at Seishirou.

Seishirou studied Subaru's fine features for a moment. He leaned even closer and whispered softly into Subaru's ear, "Do you think I do what I do because I want to?"

Now Subaru was confused. "Seishirou-san, what do you mean?"

The Sakurazukamori shook his head and sighed. "I'll tell you another time, if we survive all this," he replied ominously. The look in his eyes took on a faraway gleam. "Right now, I think you have more to be concerned about than Kamui."

"Stop being cryptic and spit it out." Subaru was reaching the end of his tether. The mood swings Seishirou-san was subjecting him to was getting to be too much for his temper.

"You have a cousin hmmm? Long dark hair, nice green eyes characteristic of you Sumeragis..."

"Yuki..." Subaru grew very afraid. He wondered what it was that Seishirou knew that he was trying to hint.

"I think you'd be better off looking for him instead of running to Kamui." Seishirou advised.

Subaru began shoving Seishirou away in earnest. Seishirou stood back and let him go but not before running the back of his forefinger down Subaru's cheek in an intimate gesture. Subaru shrugged it off, and ran off into the street. Then he stopped and stole a backward glance, to see Seishriou standing like a statue looking after him, a strange pained expression on his face. Subaru filed his confused feelings away and forced himself to focus on his immediate concerns. Whipping out his phone, he dialed Yuki's number.

~~~~~

Meanwhile at the social services office, an ackward scene was unfolding. Kamui, Fuuma and Fuuma's sister, Kotori were seated on a large sofa.

"I don't understand, my mother never mentioned you," Kamui said suspiciously to the long-haired woman before him.

"Ha ha, oh we lost touch just after you were born. But please believe me, we were very very dear friends. You can't imagine how devastated I was when I found out dear Tohru had died," Kanoe said. When Kamui continued looking dubiously at her, she added. "She wrote to me about you and said if anything were to happen to her I was to promise to take care of you."

"But... but... it has been years." Kamui looked about in disbelief.

"Don't worry about anything Kamui, I'm very nicely situated now and can take care of you. Dear Yuuto and I have a very nice place that would welcome you and your friends. I so sympathize with what recently happened. I know you would not want to be separated from them." Kanoe beamed at him.

Kamui didn't know why he was feeling more and more uneasy. On the surface, everything looked ideal. He would have a nice place to stay and he wouldn't be separated from his closest friends. But somehow he was creeped out by this smiling woman and her husband. Kigai Yuuto was actor-handsome and had behaved in a perfectly charming manner to them. He seemed easy going and totally hen-pecked by Kanoe. But it was odd that for such a supposedly devoted husband, he had been flirting non-stop with the social services worker ever since they stepped into the office.

Kamui looked over to meet Fuuma's eyes. Fuuma appeared not to share Kamui's uneasiness. But then he had not seemed to care much about anything since the funeral of his father this morning. Even when Kanoe-san had slithered up and fondled him in greeting when they were introduced, Fuuma had been unaffected, not even a twinge of disgust. At the moment Kamui knew Fuuma's concern was for his sister Kotori. She was sitting in the corner of the sofa, unusually quiet. Kotori was always such a bright chirpy personality so this was a sharp contrast. She had been in hysterics when the three of them had returned to discover his Aunt Tokiko's body at the shrine. But since the news of her father's death, she had gone into a retreat as if she was in a world all of her own. Kamui was beginning to seriously wonder about her mental health.

The social worker, who had introduced herself as Karen Katsumi, appeared to share some of Kamui's concern. "You do realise it's not going to be easy taking care of three teenagers, particularly as they're trying to deal with all the changes in their lives that have taken place recently?" Karen asked Kanoe delicately.

Kanoe smiled and flipped her long wavy hair back. "Oh it's no problem. They will have an extended family who will care and comfort them."

Karen frowned. She wasn't sure she liked that flippant attitude. She had acquired a lot of street smarts from her time as a former Soapland hostess, so Kanoe's act smelt decidedly fishy. She also didn't know what the charming Yuuto was doing married to Kanoe. She also had him pegged for a playboy. Looking over at Kamui's worried face, she really wasn't too sure about giving custody of the three teenagers to the couple.

A strand of her flaming red hair slipped down over her face as she bent to re-examine the papers the couple had given her. The references were impeccable. The couple had character testimonals from people in the highest levels of government. They appeared well-off, lived in a mansion with ample room. They were both securely employed as civil servants. They even had an adopted daughter named Satsuki which attested to their willingness to take in orphans. On the surface, it all seemed ideal. Still Karen couldn't shake off a nagging unease. But there was nothing she could do to legally deny the couple what they wanted. If she did, her boss would have a fit with her for adding to the burdens on the state.

Defeated, Karen turned to Kamui and said, "This will be a good thing for you, Kamui. I hope you realise that it's much better for you to go with her than stay at a children's home. Especially for Kotori. Kanoe-san has promised to get proper help for her to deal with the situation. And she has so kindly offered to give Fuuma a place in her home as well so you won't be separated. You can be assured you will be provided with every comfort." Karen wasn't sure if she was trying to convince Kamui or herself.

Kamui feeling all the more helpless about the situation could only nod in agreement. If he didn't agree to this, he knew that he and Kotori would be sent to separate orphanages as wards of the state while Fuuma would have to make his way out in the world for himself . Kamui was afraid if that happened, he would never see him again.

Kanoe beamed in triumph. "Well if you could provide the release forms, I'll sign them immediately."

Karen, not wanting to let things go so easily, couldn't resist a parting shot, "I'll be by in a few days to check up on their welfare and file a report."

Kamui stood up resignedly to follow them. He was totally surprised when he found himself pressed up against an ample bosom.

"Let me welcome you to my family, Kamui," Kanoe said triumphantly.

"Mmmfph!" Kamui uttered, waving his hands about in panic as he tried to extricate himself from her clasp.

Kanoe let him go, but kept a hand on his wrist as she led the group out the door.

~~~~~

While Subaru was being distracted by Seishirou, Yuki was crossing the street towards one of the many parks dotting Tokyo. He'd planned to cross it as a short cut towards the municipal buildings that housed Tokyo's government offices. He realised that this was a mistake as soon as he entered the park.

Facing him across the wooded area was a group of men, all dressed in black. Their eyes hidden behind shades as they moved stealthily toward him. Definitely suspicious. Yuki decided it would probably be the better part of valour if he made tracks away from them. But as he turned to run back the way he came, he saw that another group had come up behind to surround him. At this point Yuki seriously wondered if he ought to scream for help. But he realised it would do no good. The whole park was deserted except for the men in black. "Damn, not even a decent mugger around when you want one," Yuki cursed under his breath.

Yuki examined the men carefully, feeling something was not quite right with them. He brought his hands up together to look through his fingers, muttering a chant to reveal that which was hidden. As he suspected, these were not real people. He identified them as curse zombies. He knew he was going to be in for a hard time against such a crowd but he saw no way of avoiding it.

Quickly he felt in his pockets for his ofuda and began gathering his strength. A couple of the men rushed forward as he began flipping his talismans at them. He spoke his spells and instantly the ofuda flamed. He saw it had the satisfying effect of setting the creatures on fire. Yuki abstractly noted that they tended to scream like real people. Seeing his chance, Yuki ran toward the opening he had made and broke through. Unfortunately it was in the wrong direction. Left without a choice, he began to race deeper into the park. He thought he would have a chance to survive if he could make it out of the park and back onto the busy streets again.

Panting as he ran, Yuki sneaked a look back. Several of the men were still chasing him but he appeared to have put some distance between them. He allowed himself a moment to feel some relief. It was an instant too soon. From a tree above, a form crashed down on him. Yuki felt himself knocked onto his back, his breath driven out of his lungs in shock. Then pain flared as his attacker struck him right across the face. Desperately he kicked at his opponent's groin. That didn't seem to work too well in hurting it, though it loosened his attacker's grip on him. Rolling over quickly, Yuki managed to get to his feet, but not before taking another blow to his ribs.

Yuki was about to despair. The other curse zombies had caught up and were pacing around him like hungry jackals at their prey. He was aware he was bleeding and his chest hurt. He didn't think he had enough ofuda to take on all of them before they swarmed him. It was then that the phone in his pocket started ringing.

Just great, he thought, like I have time to chat on the phone right now! Still the ringing phone appeared to confuse the curse zombies. Yuki seized the opportunity to launch himself at the two nearest to him, kicking and punching. It proved a futile effort and he soon found himself back on the ground being used as a punching bag.

Just as Yuki thought he was about to black out from the abuse, he heard a shot ring out. The chest of one of the curse zombies above him exploded. Idly he noticed that there was no blood, the creature merely melted as if made of mud when the paper talisman inside it fell to the floor. More gunshots and he realised there were no more zombies around him.

A face appeared in front of his vision. It was Ran. "Yuki, Yuki, are you okay?" He heard Ran calling him frantically. He didn't reply but struggled to sit up. Ran's arms came around him to help. Gasping in pain, Yuki began coughing blood from his mouth. He supposed he must look a mess. Ran continued to hold on to him, frantically checking him over for injuries.

"Yuki, what happened?" Ran asked concern written all over his face.

Yuki took another moment before he said hoarsely, "Curse zombies."

Ran didn't appear to have heard him. "Huh? You lost me there, what were those creatures. They looked like men but just melted away when I shot them."

Yuki repeated, "Curse zombies. Magic constructs. Not real people at all." He was feeling really dizzy now that the attack was over. He took a moment to stop his stomach from heaving. "What are you doing here?" He asked curiously.

"I came over to meet you for dinner but your editor said you'd gone to the social welfare office. I followed and saw something burning in this park and then you fighting off those Things." Ran was absently stroking at Yuki's hair.

"Ah." Yuki said. It felt really nice being held by Ran as he sat leaning on his friend's chest. Trying to focus his eyes, Yuki looked up and noticed one of Subaru's shikigamis perched on a tree above him. Absurdly he gave in to the urge to wave at it. Ran looked at him as if he had lost his marbles.

It wasn't too long before Subaru himself came running up. "Yuki!" his cousin called.

"Yeah, I'm okay, thanks to Ran here." Yuki said in answer to Subaru's unasked question.

Subaru sank down on his knees to hug Yuki. "I came as soon as I could. I was distracted on my way as well."

Detective Inspector Ikeda Ran eyes narrowed as he looked at Subaru hugging Yuki. "Who are you?" He asked suspiciously.

Yuki lifted a hand to wave vaguely at Subaru, "Ikeda Ran, meet my cousin Sumeragi Subaru. Subaru, Ran."

"Ah the famous clan head of the Sumeragis," Ran said, relieved that Subaru was only Yuki's cousin.

Subaru being the ultra polite man that he was, inclined his head formally and said, "Pleased to meet you, Ikeda-san."

Suddenly Yuki remembered why he was here at the park. He reached out to clutch at Subaru's sleeve. "Subaru, you have to go. Kamui!"

Subaru nodded. He turned to Ran and said, "Please take care of my cousin. We will explain everything later."

He jumped up and ran out of the park. Nearing the government offices, Subaru arrived just in time to see Kamui and his friends get into a black limosine and be driven off.

~~~~~

Notes: Well there you have it, Subaru gets his meeting with Seishirou. Don't know if I made the two of them OOC, but since this is an AU world I decided to tone down the aminosity between them. If you're interested, Seishirou was involved in the kidnapping of Hokuto but he didn't kill her. So he's not as much of a bastard as in X. I had thought of having the two of them fight but couldn't bring myself to making them roll about on the floor of a dirty alley, ^_^. Don't worry I do plan on giving these two a nice big battle eventually.

Oooh didn't I torture Yuki good this chapter. I purposely made sure he didn't have enough ofuda to take on those curse zombies. (Remember them? they were all over the place in the early X books but disappeared after that and we all know who sent them right?) Yes, I'm giving them the name in the Viz translation. Yuki's ofuda stash is small, in stark contrast to Subaru who appears to have thousands of ofuda secreted on him, though your guess of where he hides them is as good as mine. (He doesn't appear to have any bulging pockets!) Was it just me or did anyone else count the number of ofuda he had around him during his battle with Seishirou-san at Nagano Sun Plaza? There were hundreds and hundreds drawn around the two of them. Wow. Anyway, Yuki is not a practicing onmyouji, he just dabbles and keeps a few about him for just in case, so a large group of curse zombies is more than he can handle.

I'm not too sure what the legal age of adulthood is in Japan but I'm guessing it's 16. For the purposes of this fic, please take it that both Kamui and Kotori are underaged. Fuuma who is 17? 18? would have to make his own way which is why Karen said Kanoe was kind in offering him a place to stay. Did you guys like Karen versus Kanoe? And yes, the little bit with Kanoe hugging Kamui to her chest was inspired by my dear reviewers! *wink wink* Keep giving me your suggestions!

Coming up... Kamui and gang in Hinoto's clutches. Stay tuned as her diabolical plan is revealed.

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A super-deformed Subaru runs out with Fuuma, Kamui, Yuki and Ran holding placards. They run around and rearrange themselves to form a word while shouting, "Omake, Omake, Omake!" Fireworks and confetti fall.

(Yuki is sitting on the ground in the park after the fight with the curse zombies. Ran is holding onto him. It is an intense moment.)

Yuki (emoting gratitude): What are you doing here?

Ran (concern on his face): I came over to meet you for dinner but your editor said you'd gone to the social welfare office. I followed and saw something burning in this park and then you fighting those Things.

(Suddenly a plop plop falls on Ran)

Ran: What the...!!

(Ran discovers bird shit on his coat)

Yuki (holding his sides and laughing): Ha ha ha ha ha!!

(Ran glares at the shikigami. He whips out his gun. Bang Bang! The bird falls to the ground.)

Subaru (indignantly): Hey that's my shikigami!

Ran: Well it's now pigeon casserole!

Yuki: Meep!