Tokyo Babylon Fan Fiction / X/1999 Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Souls ❯ I ( Chapter 1 )

Author's Note: This is an idea born from an RPG I'm in...and the idea took on a life of its own. I'd like to thank my Seishirou-san, Mars aka The Hanged Man, for helping me with inspiration for this fic. I'd like to thank my Tree-san, Asha aka Larania Drake, for being a wonderful beta and a better friend.

Most importantly, I'd like to thank everyone in advance for reading this fic. I hope you enjoy reading it even half as much as I've enjoyed writing it.

I.

He woke up slowly, and in great pain. His head throbbed, and he felt sick to his stomach. The smell of death and destruction hung in the air, choking him. He didn't want to move. He didn't want to wake up. He really just didn't want to be alive.

"Subaru-kun, you have to wake up."

Hands were brushing hair out of his eyes, caressing his cheeks, lightly touching with a familiarity those hands should never touch him with. Those hands smelled of cigarettes. Of sakura blossoms. Of blood. It was a combination Subaru had managed to ignore the significance of until the end.

He flinched, cringing away from the touch. All he could remember was walking into the hospital room, heart full of hope, and opening the door to find a nightmare. He curled up around himself, clutching his arm protectively, remembering those words as if they'd been etched into his soul forever as Seishirou had casually broken his arm to make his point.

"That's right, wake up. No, no, don't get up yet. You're still injured."

What new mind game was this?

Subaru suddenly sat bolt upright, moving as if to jump away and defend himself, but he nearly passed out from the pain, and his legs refused to support him. He landed in a heap on the floor, shaking, trying to muster the strength to run, but he was far too weak to move.

"Subaru-kun?"

"What...did you...do...to me?" he panted, holding his head in his arms.

"What?"

Subaru looked up to see what appeared to be honest confusion and concern, but he'd been fooled by that before. He would not fall for that again. "What happened? What is this place?"

The world was growing dark around the edges again, but he fought to stay conscious.

"Stay with me, Subaru-kun. Try to stay awake. We're at home. You're safe."

It wasn't any room he knew. It wasn't the apartment in Tokyo...it wasn't the room he remembered Seishirou having before...it certainly wasn't his bedroom at his family home, or the hospital room he'd expected. Then again, he hadn't actually expected to wake again after what he saw there.

How was this safe? How was this home?

"Seishirou-san?"

"Yes, that's right. Now, let's get you back into bed." He smiled and reached for Subaru, but he flinched back.

"Don't!" he cried out.

Seishirou's face went completely blank. Subaru could almost see the thoughts racing behind the older man's eyes. "You haven't been afraid of me like this in a very long time, Subaru-kun."

Subaru fought through hazy recollection, trying to remember just how long it had been. He couldn't think past the moment Seishirou had broken his arm--and the words that had shattered his soul at the same moment. He clutched that arm protectively, reliving the pain. The sickening sound and feel of bone being snapped like a twig within him...it couldn't have been longer ago than yesterday.

His arm was healed though, speaking of a much longer period of time. What could have happened? There was no scenario he could envision that would end with the two of them together after that. This was impossible.

"Am I dead?" he whispered in horror, looking down at his hands. It was the only explanation he had, for all that it was not an explanation and just as impossible as anything else. He certainly felt alive, and was in too much pain to have passed on.

"I know how much you hate hospitals, Subaru-kun, but we're going. Now." There was no longer any yield in the Sakurazukamori's voice. It held a commanding and self-assured tone that Subaru found more believable, but there was concern. Was it genuine? How could it be?

In this circumstance, how could it not?

He was spared further thought though. Seishirou swept Subaru into his arms, and the little bit of strength the younger onmyouji had failed him. Blessed darkness took him, and his confusion was swept away.