Tokyo Babylon Fan Fiction / X/1999 Fan Fiction ❯ Lost Souls ❯ XVI ( Chapter 16 )

Before Subaru had lost consciousness, he thought he'd heard something...felt someone...rushing toward them. A dark figure had filled his view, rushing toward them, as he watched Fuuma's fingers descend. It was at the moment that the pain offered sweet release from consciousness that he felt some secondary, bone-jarring impact. At the same time, he heard Kamui's panicked cry, and that carried him to oblivion like a twisted lullaby.

He fought to regain consciousness despite the pain. He was not out for long, and when he came to he could hear voices arguing nearby. He managed to pry his left eye open and saw through a haze of red that Seishirou was hovering over him protectively, glaring intently at Fuuma.

"Kamui," Seishirou began through clenched teeth, "I don't care what kind of foreplay you indulge in with their Kamui, but I ask you to keep my boyfriend out of it. I don't care what you think he wishes for."

"Ask him yourself, Sakurazukamori. This, like the other, was his Wish."

Subaru curled up in a ball and groaned.

"I think that's my cue to let you two love birds have a little heart-to-heart," Fuuma said with a smirk. He turned and walked to the edge of the building and jumped away.

The building swayed beneath them, though at first Subaru thought it was just vertigo. He heard two voices call out, one male and one female, and running footfalls approached. "Subaru-san! What happened?" It was Arashi's shocked voice that actually caught his ear.

"Kamui...he's hurt..." Subaru gestured vaguely in the direction he thought Kamui was still in, though he could be wrong. He didn't want to bother opening his eye to check. The world was spinning and making him sick.

He felt strong arms pick him up as easily as if he were a child, and Seishirou's protective voice rumbled in his ear. "I will take care of Subaru."

There was a moment of strained silence before Sorata's voice answered, "We'll meet you at the hospital then."

Subaru clung weakly to Seishirou's coat, feeling renewed pain with every shift of position and altitude. Every jolt, every shift, every motion was a new agony, and he no longer remembered why he wanted so much to be conscious. As Seishirou carried him swiftly through the chaos surrounding them, Subaru was unsurprised to hear sirens in the distance, growing closer and then fading away.

"Seishirou-san," he murmured softly into the older man's chest. Even that hurt. No, it wasn't that talking hurt so much, though it did...it was somehow more painful though that Seishirou had been there. He'd seen Subaru give up and give in to what Fuuma had done.

Seishirou looked down, and then cradled him closer. "Hush, it's okay. We're almost there."

Subaru realized that while he was mortified that Seishirou had seen the events, and had witnessed the realization of such a twisted Wish, he was also somewhat satisfied. This is what you do to me, Seishirou-san. This is how you hurt me. This is how you've touched my life.

He hated himself for those thoughts.

"It's not okay," he whispered hoarsely. "I'm sorry, Seishirou-san."

Seishirou didn't even break stride this time. His eyes hardened. "You're the last person who should be apologizing right now, Subaru."

"He was right. It was my Wish."

Seishirou actually winced. They were within sight of the emergency room now, and Seishirou walked forward with quick and purposeful strides. "Can we talk about it later?"

Subaru stiffened, holding his breath as he thought about that request. It really was a request, too. Not just a politely structured command. Maybe that's why Subaru found himself nodding. "Yes."

Then they were inside the emergency room, and didn't have any time to talk further. "My friend was injured in the earthquake. Help him."

That was unmistakably a command, and despite how busy things looked to be already, the nurses hastened to obey. Before he knew it, Subaru found himself stretched out on a gurney, being wheeled quickly down a stark white hall. Seishirou was still by his side. He vaguely heard soft exclamations around him, and heard one nurse gasp about his eye, and that only made it ache worse. He'd never forget this pain....

Seishirou was holding onto his hand, a reassuring strength as they headed toward the operating room. Then, they reached a set of doors, and Seishirou was told he could not go past that point, and Subaru let go of his hand, and it was a twisted mirror of déjà vu, where Seishirou was left looking stricken on the other side of those doors and Subaru was the one to go past them. It was right. It was just. It was balanced.

It was then that he finally passed out again.