X/1999 Fan Fiction / Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Living For You ❯ Getting to Know You ( Chapter 3 )

Disclaimer: The usual, I don't own any of the characters. They belong to CLAMP.

Chapter 3 Getting to Know You.

Kamui was depressed. This was a condition he often found himself in lately, particularly in the past year when life had been dishing him one lemon after another. It had been a few days since he'd woken up. Kotori's funeral had been held, the other Seals had shown up and introductions made all round. Then there had been the business of storing the Shinken. Kamui was totally relieved to keep the sword sealed up. He didn't know what to do with it and was glad he didn't have to keep lugging it around. The thing was bigger than he was. Holding on to it only made him realise he had absolutely no skill whatsoever in using it. How anyone expected him to fight with it he had no idea. Besides, every time he looked at it, the memory of Fuuma shoving the blade through his palm only made him shiver.

Anyway all that business had been wrapped up a few days ago. Now he was supposed to be convalescing. Which left him bored out of his mind and free to mope. Not good. Taking a chance nobody was about, Kamui got up and sneaked out of his room. Or at least tried to, given that he was still wrapped up in bandages tighter than a Christmas present. Fortunately it appeared everyone had departed on their own business thinking he was taking a nap and he was able to hobble all the way to Kotori's tree.

Leaning back on the tree, Kamui looked up at the sky and tried not to think about his aches and pains. Turning his thoughts to his fellow Ten no Ryuu, he realised there was only one of his fellow Seals that he was concerned about.

Hokuto was an enigma. But Kamui found himself thinking he would like to know all her secrets. He'd felt so close to her when all his secrets were bared inside his heart, but since waking up, Kamui had not had much chance to really talk to her. Instead he'd found himself sneaking glances at her whenever they were in the same room together. Then there was the embarrassing fact that he tended to blush whenever she said anything to him. He couldn't help thinking how elegant she looked, how her smile transformed her face or how wonderful her voice sounded. Everytime he looked at her, he felt a warm and fuzzy feeling flow through him. Kamui was aware enough of himself to conclude that he had a very big crush on her.

A rustling attracted his attention. As if his thoughts had summoned her up, Hokuto walked into the glade.

"Hi, thought you might be here," she said.

"Hn," Kamui nodded tongue-tied, feeling a blush rising up his cheeks. Then he realised he was staring and recovered. He patted the ground beside him in invitation, not really wanting to go back to Sorata's mothering and secretly hugging himself in glee at the chance to be alone with Hokuto.

Hokuto came over and plopped herself down beside him. Echoing his thoughts, she said, "Sorata discovered you gone and flew into a panic. But since there weren't any earthquakes, I figured you'd probably just wanted to get out of that sickbed and hadn't been kidnapped. I volunteered to come look for you. Arashi's calming him down."

"He's awfully uptight about keeping track of me," Kamui said. "I shouldn't fault him but that guy can give a stalker tips. He's been following me since the day I came back to Tokyo."

"Wow, I didn't know."

"Yeah, he used to sneak about rooftops and lampposts keeping an eye on me. Like I wasn't supposed to know he was there," said Kamui in disgust.

"Sheesh, no wonder Arashi loses her temper with him all the time." Hokuto was amused.

"It's not like it does any good. I still get hurt, people still die. Nobody can do anything." Kamui sighed bitterly, starting to get depressed again.

Hokuto turned and looked at him but didn't say anything. She wasn't too sure how she ought to go about consoling Kamui. Spirits she knew how to deal with -- you cheered them up, promised them things would be better in the next life and sent them on their way. If they proved difficult about going, then a few well placed ofuda usually did the trick.

But Kamui was another matter. She felt she would be cheating him by offering platitudes. She couldn't even promise to protect him, knowing full well the Dark Kamui's power. Then there was the fact that the last person to promise to protect Kamui had gone ballistic. She was sure Kamui would take any future declarations with a large pinch of salt. She was realistic enough to acknowledge that if it came down to a one on one fight with the Dark Kamui, she would only have a fifty fifty chance of surviving. She was enough of an onmyouji to recognise possession when she saw it. And Fuuma had been possessed, big time. The memory of the icy coldness of his aura made her shiver. She sighed and shook her head. She decided the only thing for her to do would be to just be there for Kamui, to be his friend.

Hokuto's silence prompted Kamui to look at her. He was startled to look into Hokuto's green eyes and see acceptance. He was astonished at how connected he felt with her. He'd always known that he wasn't a person who let people in easily. Ever since he was young, the only friends he'd had were Fuuma and Kotori and that was because their parents were together all the time. His time in Okinawa had been simply awful. He admitted he had pretty much been the loner and teenage delinquent there. He had never been able to let people get close to him. Even after his return to Tokyo, he'd been a brat with Kotori. But with Hokuto, it was as if all his natural barriers weren't there. Seeing her for the first time, after waking from his stay within his heart, he had felt that this was a person who knew all that was bad and unhappy about his life and fully understood, because she had gone through exactly the same pain. He wondered if the reason why he had no barriers against her now was because somehow she was still in his heart.

Hokuto started, realising she had been staring at him for a little too long. A light blush tinted her cheek. Falling back on traditional politeness she asked, "So how are your injuries healing?"

"Um, I'm okay, getting better. I don't hurt so much today," he said, minimising all the pain he was actually feeling in his delight at being in her presence. Then he remembered something he had been wanting to ask. "You were bleeding when I woke up the other day. Did I hurt you?"

Hokuto dismissed her injury. "Oh that, it's alright. It was just your inner defences. You weren't conscious about it. Nothing that a little antibiotic and painkiller didn't cure."

Still Kamui felt inordinately guilty for hurting her. "I'm sorry," he said. "Everyone I come into contact with gets hurt."

Hokuto took a deep breath and said pragmatically, "There's really nothing I can tell you to explain away how awful life can be. To tell the truth, I don't think we can escape destiny or this End of the World business." Then she grinned, "Still, life isn't bad all the time. The least we can do is try to have some fun when we can. Then of course I'm here if you want to vent. You'd be surprised how bitching about things to a sympathetic ear can help cheer one up."

"Fun?" Kamui was caught off guard by her sudden change in mood.

Hokuto couldn't resist smiling even more at the wide eyed surprise on Kamui's face. "Yeah, fun. You know, doing stuff that makes you happy and lets you forget your troubles. When you're better, I'll take you out for some fun."

"Er, okay." Kamui found himself agreeing without really thinking about it, captivated by the smile that lit up Hokuto's face.

"It's a date then!" Hokuto's genkiness was overpowering. "Come on, we'd better totter you back to the house before Sorata starts sending out search parties."

~~~~~

Notes: Short chapter. Just a thought about why Kamui is so attracted to Hokuto and Fuuma. From what I deduce about the Clamp universe, people with power tend to be attracted to others with power. My reference is Card Captor Sakura where Sakura goes Hanyaan whenever she sees Yukito and Kaho-sensei. I considered making Kamui go "Hanyaan" but couldn't pull it off. So it had to remain a warm and fuzzy feeling for Kamui whenever he sees Hokuto. Is anyone even reading this story? Please let me know what you think.

Coming up... Kamui finds out what Hokuto does for a living! And a surprise crossover character makes a cameo. Stay tuned.