X/1999 Fan Fiction ❯ Ces Larmes Je Pleure ❯ Maboroshi ( Chapter 3 )

Warning: Fuuma.

Part Three: Maboroshi

Kamui headed downstairs to the kitchen, where Sorata and Arashi were busily cooking breakfast as Yuzuriha set the table. Subaru had never called back and the teen was beginning to get worried. He told himself that he'd call again after school.

"Oh, Kamui!" Yuzuriha chirped. "You're awake! I was just going to come call you."

"Good morning, Yuzuriha," Kamui said. He went over to her and took the placemats from her. "Here, let me help."

"Thank you, Kamui," the younger teen said. "Oh, by the way, Subaru-san stopped by."

Kamui nearly dropped the placemats as he turned to looked at her. "He did? When?"

"Early. I got up to take Inuki outside and Subaru-san was standing at the door." She paused, ran into another room, only to return moments later with an envelope in her hand. "He asked me to give you this."

Kamui took the envelope and opened it, pulling out the folded letter that was inside. He unfolded the letter and began to read it.

"Kamui,

Sorry, but I won't be able to help you anymore. I can't continue to be one of the Seven Seals. Without Seishirou-san, I have nothing left that I want to protect. I can no longer create a kekkai."

Kamui's eyes began to water. He was going to lose Subaru, his closest friend since Fuuma. And it was his fault, so he thought.

If only I had been there! We could have avoided this entire issue!

Kamui ignored the rest of the note. He dropped it and ran upstairs and into his room, slamming the door behind him. He flopped onto the bed and cried.

Back downstairs, Sorata picked up the letter after seeing Kamui run off. He quickly read it and handed it to Arashi.

"I'll go talk to him," he said.

The Kansai monk headed upstairs as Yuzuriha and Arashi read the letter. Arashi had suspected that Subaru would do something like this when she and Kamui had reached him at Rainbow Bridge.

"So, we've lost Subaru-san?" Yuzuriha asked sadly.

"That's what it looks like," Arashi replied, looking sad herself.

"I'm going to miss him."

Arashi nodded. "I think we all will."

*****

Subaru sat beneath the Tree, dressed all in black, not only to symbolize his mourning, but to remember Seishirou. He held a cigarette between the gloved fingers of his right hand, which rested on his knee. Petals from the sakura tree fell around him, creating a pink carpet on the ground.

::Are you okay with this?:: the Tree asked.

"Seishirou-san wanted this," Subaru replied, taking a drag on his cigarette. "And I don't want to deny what he died for. Besides, I can't let you die."

::Have I already grown on you?::

"No. If you were to die, it would upset Japan's magical balance," Subaru said. He flicked his cigarette, dumping the ash. He stood up, dropped the cigarette and snuffed it out with his foot. Then he turned to face the Tree. "I'm ready to learn."

*****

"Are you still watching him?"

Seishirou looked up from the pond to meet eyes with Hokuto. The dead Sumeragi twin was dressed in a black catsuit with a purple miniskirt made of silk. Her boots were the same color and reached up to her knees, with laces that reached all the way to the top. It was amazing that she could still come up with new and interesting outfits, even in the afterlife.

"Sei-chan, I can't believe you!" Hokuto exclaimed. "You tell Subaru that he needs to let you go and you can't even keep your eyes off him in the afterlife! Talk about your actions contradicting your words!"

Seishirou looked back at the image on the pond's surface. "I don't want to let him go."

"Seishirou, you told him to let you go," Hokuto said. "Now you have to let him go."

"I can't."

"Seishirou, don't make me hit you. I just did my nails."

Seishirou sighed. "I know that I should let him go. But, after having him for nearly twenty years, it's hard."

Hokuto kneeled down next to Seishirou. She looked down at the pond to see what Subaru was doing. She saw a young-looking man with grey hair demonstrating something for her brother.

"Looks like Subaru and the Tree are getting along okay," she said.

"Well, Subaru-kun won't let it die," Seishirou said. "If the Tree were to die, it would upset the country's magical balance. He wouldn't let that happen after protecting the balance for so many years.

"You're right," Hokuto said. "He would never let that happen."

"Just goes to show how much Subaru-kun truly cares, even now. After everything he's been through. Everything that I've done to him."

"Not everything was your fault, Sei-chan," Hokuto told him. "Subaru has always been a fragile person."

"But I was the one who broke him. And I kept breaking him, over and over; just to see how many times he would come back."

"Like I said before, Subaru is a masochist."

"But it was still wrong for me to do," Seishirou protested.

"Yes, but the reason he kept coming back was because he loved you," Hokuto said. "He needed the pain you gave him."

Seishirou sighed. He put his hand into the water and broke the connection to Subaru once again. He stood and began to walk away.

*****

The sun was beginning to set, so the Tree called it a day and let Subaru go back to Seishirou's apartment, which the new Sakurazukamori had practically moved into. The former Sumeragi Head left the park and trudged towards the apartment. He was less than two blocks from the complex when he bumped into someone.

"Sorry," he mumbled.

"I was wondering if I'd ever find you, Subaru-kun," a drawly voice said.

Subaru looked up. He blinked. "Seishirou-san?"

The man chuckled. "Try again, Subaru-kun."

Subaru blinked again. No, this wasn't Seishirou. It was just Fuuma; the Dark Kamui, out for a stroll in the evening. Subaru muttered something under his breath and began to walk on. He knew that Fuuma would follow, but he didn't care.

"Hey, wait up," Fuuma said. "I want to talk."

"Too bad," Subaru said. "I don't."

He turned the corner and walked quicker, just wanting to get to the apartment. The teenager followed, taking in the surroundings, so that he could find the apartment complex again. The Dark Kamui wasn't going to give up on getting Subaru to join his side of the battle, to replace the fallen Seishirou.

Fuuma followed Subaru as far as the hallway where Seishirou's apartment was located. He looked at the number. Room 512, 3 Naka-Ochiai, Shinjuku-ku. Simple to remember. He watched as Subaru unlocked the door and went inside, slamming the door closed behind him. Seeing as Subaru probably wouldn't come out for a while, he turned and left.

He'd come back in the morning. Then he and the former Sumeragi would have a little chat. He would have the new Sakurazukamori replace the old.

*****

The alarm clock went off at 8:00 sharp. Subaru rolled over and slammed a fist onto the snooze button, shutting off the incessant beeping. He rolled back onto his side and pulled the blankets over his body, wanting just a few more minutes of sleep. He had gotten home shortly after his run-in with the Dark Kamui, ate a meager dinner, went to bed and stared at the ceiling till three in the morning, when he finally fell asleep.

Five minutes later, the alarm went off again. Subaru turned it off, climbed out of bed, and dressed in the same clothes he had worn the day before. He would go to his own apartment, gather his belongings, bring them here, then go to buy some clothes that were more appropriate for his lifestyle change. The ones he had in his closet at the moment just no longer worked for him.

Pulling on his jacket, Subaru grabbed his keys, slipped on his shoes and opened the door. He stared for half a second, closed it again, and decided to jump out the window. Really, he didn't need to have to deal with Fuuma at the moment. All he needed was a few hours of peace, a sappy American movie, and some painkillers.

He headed to the balcony, opened the sliding glass door and stepped out. Making sure that no one was looking, he jumped, landing on a rooftop nearby. He made it to his own apartment in record time by leaping from rooftop to rooftop, not caring who saw.

It didn't take Subaru long to pack up his possessions. He'd give what he didn't need to charity He vaguely reflected that he should probably call his grandmother and let her know about the last two weeks' events. After all, now that he was the Sakurazukamori, he could no longer perform his duties as the Sumeragi Head. He shrugged the thought off. He'd call and explain everything later.

Looking around, Subaru realized that there was no way he would be able to carry three heavy boxes down four floors alone. So, he left the boxes in the living room, went into the hall and knocked on his neighbor's door. It opened a few seconds later and a tanned young woman with bleached hair came out.

"Sumeragi-san," she said, bowing.

"Akiyama-san," Subaru replied. "Could I get your help for a few minutes? I'm moving to another apartment and would like some help."

The woman nodded. "Sure."

"Thank you."

The two of them went into Subaru's apartment. Subaru took two of the boxes, leaving the last one for his neighbor. They got down to the ground level, went outside, and Subaru hailed a taxi. He put the boxes in and then turned to his former neighbor. He pulled out his set of keys and took the one to his apartment off the ring. He handed it to the young woman.

"Could you have someone take the rest of my things away? I don't need any of it."

"Not a problem," she replied. "I guess I won't be seeing you around anymore, then. Take care of yourself."

Subaru nodded and got into the taxi.

*****

That night, Subaru was sitting beneath the Tree. He had just lit up a cigarette and was about to take a long drag on it, when a familiar voice reached him.

"Subaru?"

"Go away, Kamui," Subaru said. "It's not safe for you to be out. Much less here."

"I needed to find you. I want to talk to you."

"There's no point. Nothing you can say can help."

"Subaru…" Kamui said. "I know it hurt you to lose him, but you have to stay strong."

Subaru said nothing.

"Please come back to us," Kamui pleaded. "You can find something to protect if you look."

"Seishirou-san was the only thing that truly mattered to me. Now that he's gone, I have to live for what he wanted."

"No, you don't," Kamui said. "You just don't want to let him die. You're trying to become him. I can see it happening."

"Shut up."

"You need to let him go, Subaru. You can't let him keep a hold on you, even in death."

"Shut up."

"Please, Subaru. You have to understand. He's dead and he won't come back. Living in his apartment, doing his job; nothing you do is going to bring him back."

"Kamui. Shut the fuck up."

Kamui closed his mouth and looked at his former friend.

"I know that this won't bring him back. I don't intend to try. He told me that I need to let him go. I'm not trying to become him. I'm only the Sakurazukamori because I killed him. And I can't ignore the duties of this position. If I were to, the Tree would die and that would upset Japan's magical balance, making the kekkai easier to destroy."

He paused and looked at Kamui. "Do you want that? Do you want to lose the war because of me? If I don't do my duties as the Sakurazukamori, you're going to lose and humanity will be wiped out."

"I'm sorry," Kamui said. "I won't bother you again."

With that, the amethyst-eyed boy left the area. Subaru closed his eyes and leaned against the Tree. He watched as Kamui disappeared into the night. He sighed and stood to leave.

"Tomorrow, you'll teach me to feed you," he said. "What I said is true. I won't let you die."

::I can last a while longer,:: the Tree replied. ::You aren't ready to learn that yet, anyway. We still have quite a way to go.::

Subaru took a final drag on his cigarette and flicked it away. He headed home.

*****

A guest awaited the Sakurazukamori. An uninvited guest, a very much unwelcome guest. Subaru looked at Fuuma, who was lounging on the couch, looking through a magazine while crude J-rock blasted from the radio.

"Oh, welcome home, Subaru-kun," the teen said, smirking. "Hope you don't mind that I let myself in."

(("Okaeri," Seishirou said with a smirk on his lips, "Subaru-kun."))

Subaru shook the memory out of his mind. "Get the hell out of here."

Fuuma set down the magazine and turned the music off with the remote that was sitting on the coffee table.

"Now, now, Subaru-kun," he said. "That's very impolite."

(("My, my," Seishirou said. "How impolite, Subaru-kun."))

"Don't," Subaru muttered. "Don't call me that…"

"We need to talk," the Dark Kamui told him.

Author's Note: Whee! Cliffhanger! [dodges rotten vegetables and weapons]

Seriously. Now you have to wait impatiently for the next update.

Subaru's Voice: Don't put yourself down, hon. You write beautifully! I'm still waiting for you to update Onsen. Don't make me stop writing until you update.

Chris Pwure: Don't worry about not being the first to review. I'm just glad that you're reading it. Hope it's not too depressing for you. In your review, you said you wanted me to put your favorite couple together. Elaborate. What's your favorite couple?

Mysterious Blue Eyes: Here's an update for you! [beams] I'm so glad you love this fic. And thanks for the compliment! [hugs you]

Tezuka Eiri: Sorry, but I have to tell you. There are going to be very few SeixSu scenes. This isn't a true SeixSu fanfic. I'd tell you more, but don't want to give away the story.