X/1999 Fan Fiction ❯ Falling ❯ Falling ( Chapter 1 )

Falling

It was the end of spring, and summer was beginning to breeze in slowly with humid, hot winds. When Subaru Sumeragi, thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan, had been very young he used to spend these sultry days on the porch of the Sumeragi mansion dangling his bare feet over the edge of the floor. Hokuto would lounge alongside him, rolling over intermittently and turning her head so that each rosy cheek had a chance to feel the cool wood. In the garden, the cicada hummed their sleepy song, and the water flowed its gentle path, and slowly, the quietness of it all would flow into Subaru and he'd cease to feel uncomfortable. But Hokuto-chan would only moan and toss an arm across her face to shield her from the sunshine. Whenever he'd reach out to take her hand, she'd playfully bat it away with a peeved, "It's hot, Subaru!" Subaru's hand would retreat, and he'd let the questions about the cicada's song, and the water's hidden message die on his tongue. After the curiosity had fully hibernated in his heart, Subaru would murmur a little chant, and summon his shikigami to cool them with the beats of its white wings. When Subaru grew a little older, and a little stronger, he could summon a small artificial breeze to cool them, but Hokuto always whined and said she'd prefer to be fanned by angel-pale plumage. One day, when they were no longer that little, and Subaru could call small hurricanes and make it storm continuously for a whole three days, he asked Hokuto why she still insisted on the ineffective shikigami. Hokuto laughed and said, "Because a wind can not coo so sweetly." Subaru didn't understand her, but that was okay, because she was Hokuto-chan. They were twins and he loved her. Subaru lay back against the wooden floorboards and stared at the blue sky that Hokuto and the whole world lived under and fell in love with the world, too.

It was past the end of spring, and summer had just breezed into the shops of Tokyo. The long-sleeved shirts, thick jeans, leather boots, and wispy jackets that had been so fashionable only a week ago were tossed out like beggars who had over stayed their welcome. Imitation sandals, short T-shirts, swimsuits, sunscreen, visors, dark sunglasses, towels, and mini-fans appeared on the shelves, screaming in loud vibrant colors from behind windowpanes that they were all the rage. Seishirou smiled at him as they walked toward Ueno Park while Hokuto was sidetracked by blowout sales and boys in sweaty tanks along the way. Once they arrived, they picked a shady spot under a great tree with new summer foliage, and celebrated a two-year anniversary with iced drinks and fleshy oranges. It had been awhile since the Sumeragi twins had arrived, since Hokuto-chan had first charmed all of Tokyo with her outrageous outfits, since Subaru had become a young protector of the city in black spandex and a white coat that hung off his frame like Grecian robes because it was too large for him. Hokuto said something witty and Seishirou-san laughed. There was no stream nearby, no water at all, but Subaru felt the high tones of Hokuto's joy and the mysterious baritone-alto of Seishirou's pleasantries wash over him familiarly all the same. Hokuto proudly brought out some homemade ice cream from the cooler as Seishirou punctuated the unexpected treat's arrival with a happy exclamation. Subaru lay on the green, green grass and watched them debate over the flavors. The soft cushion was far more yielding than the familiar floorboards of a home miles away. As Subaru sank into its embrace, that home felt farther and father away, distant and untouchable, not like his beloved Tokyo, which crooned to him, festooned in modern skyscrapers and even more modern delights. Subaru tried to look up through the tree's branches even as his eyelids drooped, but he could not really make out the sky at all. Under the swaying branches of the tree, Hokuto and Seishirou were talking. Under the singing branches of the tree, Seishirou crept close as Subaru began to drift. He cooed into Subaru's ear soft lover's endearments. Under the tree, Subaru forgot to summon the shikigami for his sister. But that was okay, because Hokuto was laughing and Seishirou was moving Subaru's head into his lap. Under the tree, there was Hokuto and Seishirou. Under the tree where the world became a distant thing, Subaru fell in love with Tokyo.

Summer was gone, and fall was beginning. Hokuto laughed in her new knit sweater, and Seishirou smiled around the ton of bags that should have, in all reality, weighed him down like a thousand bars of iron. But it was Seishirou-san, and under that load Seishirou only laughed and managed to take a swipe at Subaru when he wandered too close to offer him some help. Subaru sputtered and turned red as was appropriate, and evaded that hand like always. Seishirou pouted and said, "But Subaru-kun, aren't you cold? Even through those gloves your fingers must feel it. Come press close to me." Subaru had sputtered a second time. He batted away Seishirou's questing fingers once again with a half-peeved, half-embarrassed plea from underneath his triple layer of clothing and through the scarf that Hokuto had wrapped so snuggly around his neck that it was just shy of choking him. "Seishirou-san, it's too hot!" Seishirou blinked as if he did not understand, but then he smiled, so Subaru knew that he did. Hokuto-chan twirled around in the steps of the newest pop song to grace the top ten list and shouted something gleefully up ahead.

The autumn wind hit with sudden ferocity.

Subaru almost lost his hold on the groceries that were enough for a dinner for three that night. The fall leaves from the sidewalk danced around his head, and the wind whipped at Subaru's eyes so that they began to sting with tears. He couldn't see Hokuto anymore, only the leaves, swirling red, orange, and yellow like the neon lights of Tokyo, lit in a thousand crazy ways on a thousand crazy nights. Something inside of Subaru clenched, and he shouted his sister's name. He tried to put his feet forward, to bring them closer together, but the wind howled and Subaru stumbled back - only to be caught in warm arms. Subaru's frightened soul latched onto that anchor and didn't let go. "Subaru-kun! Are you okay?" When the wind and the leaves cleared Subaru could see Hokuto-chan's precious shopping bags scattered on the pavement and Seishirou's gaze peering worriedly into his. Hokuto was a long way away, down the road, and now she came running, frantic that something had happened to her twin. Her shout was too distant to be heard. "Subaru?" A gentle hand caressed his face. Around him, there was nothing but Seishirou. Above him, there were only Seishirou's burning golden eyes. On that stormy autumn day, deep in the heart of Tokyo, Subaru f-
"Subaru!"
Hokuto-chan launched herself against her twin. One steady pair of hands retreated and another slimmer, and more familiar pair rose to the occasion and took their place. An identical set of emerald eyes searched his desperately. "Are you okay?"
Subaru only smiled.
Hokuto did not understand, but Subaru was her twin and she loved him, so she hugged tightly wanting to never let go.

It was cold.
Suddenly, Subaru was old, and it was winter.
In an empty room with the lights off, Subaru Sumeragi, thirteenth head of the Sumeragi, pressed his face against a black bloodstained coat that draped over his smaller frame like a shroud.
Somewhere in the universe, a little boy was dangling his legs off the porch. He was falling in love for the first time.
Subaru wept.

He had fallen out of it.

Owari.