http://clampfix.fanworks.net/tb-fix/fatal3.txt </head><body><pre> An original Tokyo Babylon fanfic The Fatal First Step... "We can't afford to play with fire Or tempt a serpent's bite Nor can we ever think that sin Will bring us delight." -----anon 3rd Path: Sorrow Step 7: [Sumeragi Sonoko] Jiro came rushing home just now. He was very upset, but what upset him, I'm not sure. Who could've upset Jiro? Jiro is such a sweet, harmless boy. Who would want to hurt him? My poor Jiro. How different he is from Yoshiki. Yoshiki. The sinner. I. The mother of the sinner. What can I do? I love him. He's my son, my only son. The only thing his father left me after his death to remember him by. I let him sin, let him fault. I let him whisper warnings into his son's ears. Warnings that will not be heeded. Warnings that held no meaning. Warnings I don't want to believe. Jiro. My son's son. My grandson. His heir. What can I do? What can I do. I sensed the [Sakurazukamori] near him. I smelt the [Sakurazukamori] on him. I saw the marks the [Sakurazukamori] made on him. The [Sakurazukamori]. The Dark. The Sumeragi. The Light. Neither will win, neither will lose. There's never a beginning as there's never an end. I can do nothing. I am but an old woman. I failed to recognise the hints, the warnings. God had given me plenty of those when Yoshiki was growing up, but I heeded none. I chose not to believe. Miya. That cursed woman. The woman who stole my son from me. The woman who bore my grandson. She appeared out of the blue, and charmed my son away from me. She made him make promises to her, and made sure that he would regret every single one of them. Yes, she did love him. She really loved him. She loved him far more than I. She loved him so much that she hurt him, and made sure that no other person could have him. Even if she was not around, she haunted his dreams. She made sure that he would never love another, because it was she that he must only love. Ah, love. What a powerful word. It was true that she changed Yoshiki, for he stopped hanging out with the bunch of hooligans after he met her. She made him promise her that he would leave them; or else she would never be with him. But still she left. She came and left like a shadow; no one really knew when she left. Even if they did, they would not tell. They dared not tell. My Yoshiki fell apart after that, torn by grief, upset by the loss of her. He would've gone crazy, had I not restrained and slapped him then. But my heart still aches at the memory. He was my flesh and blood, I cannot bear to hurt him, but if I didn't shake him out of his grief then, I'd lose him forever. I can't afford that. After that, he was like a ghost, hanging around the house, refusing to do anything. Until a year later. A year later a bundle of hope appeared in his life. She returned, with a baby in arm and told him it was his. Jiro. He _is_ my grandson. I believe that, for Jiro looks exactly like Yoshiki when he was young. When Yoshiki was still hopelessly in love with that- "Obaasama." Jiro walks into the room quietly. He looks troubled. My grandson has returned to me. Of course he will return to me. Aren't I the one who brought him up, comforted him, watch him grow, see him take his first step, learn the first craft of onmyoujitsu? He'll always return to me. "Yes, Jiro?" "Am I disturbing you, Obaasama?" His voice is soft, barely audible. "No." "Obaasama, I have done something wrong," Although he says those words, there's no guilt on his face. "I have met the [Sakurazukamori], and was marked by her." "I know." "You know?" He looks up, surprise written clearly on his face. He then sighs and shakes his head slowly. "Of course you know, you're Obaasama after all." "Go on, Jiro." I nod my head. "Is it wrong to know her, to be her friend?" "Jiro, there's no wrong and right in such matters. She's our family's enemy, and in turn yours. You can be her friend, but eventually, she'll become your enemy. Have you forgotten about your ancestor, Sumeragi Subaru? He was the one who decreed that all [Sakurazukamori] shall become the enemies of the Sumeragi. Have you forgotten that?" "No." He shakes his head slowly. "No. I remember. But why did he do that, if he truly loved the [Sakurazukamori]?" "Though he really loved the [Sakurazukamori], he hated him too. Subaru hated him for making him so weak in will, for making him love him. And there were many other reasons. But the fact remains, the [Sakurazukamori] is our enemy." "Hai, Obaasama." "You're tired, now go and rest. You can be her friend, but be nothing more." I gesture for him to leave, and he does so quietly. Love and Hate. The two strongest emotions of humans. One to destroy and other to heal. Jiro, what are you doing to yourself? Don't love her, Jiro. You mustn't love her. She's you enemy. And she'll always be your... No. It's not true. She only wants your life. She's envious of you and she's jealous of what you have and she doesn't. Just don't listen to her, Jiro. Don't. --------------------------------------------------- Step 8: [Sumeragi Jiro] I mustn't love her. I mustn't love Yuki. She's my enemy, the enemy of the Sumeragi Clan. Always our enemy. But why? Why did Sumeragi Subaru say such a thing? He loved the [Sakurazukamori]. He loved the man who was the [Sakurazukamori]. If he had loved him so, and loved him so deep, why did he want us to hate his Clan? Why? I have so many questions and no answer. All of them are dead. Sumeragi Subaru, Sakurazuka Seishirou, my father, and maybe even my mother. Why did they leave this world with such unhappiness? Is it wrong, to love who your heart desire? Is it wrong, to follow your heart and love the forbidden? I don't know. I don't want to know. I don't know what was wrong with me. Why do I want something so desperately, although I knew it was wrong to have it? Why do I experience such strong emotions against Yuki? I barely knew her for more than a day, yet she had already touched the innermost part of my feelings. My heart. How it aches against such longing, such a wrong feeling. Why must it be me? Why must I be a Sumeragi? Yuki. Snow. It's winter now in Japan. The only snow that ever graced me this year is Sakurazuka Yuki. The most beautiful snow on Earth. The most beautiful snow to me. How I wish winter would never be over... Then Yuki will be with me forever. But that'll never happen, ne? She had marked me, which will only mean my death. My death, like the others. Like Sumeragi Subaru. My ancestor, who bore the same marks on his hands, signifying him as the prey of the [Sakurazukamori]. Signifying him as a property of the [Sakurazukamori]. Will Obaasama be upset when I die? Yes, she will. Of course she will. I'm her grandson after all. Her only grandson. But Yuki, will she be sad? Maybe, when the excitement of the hunt is over she'll feel slightly upset. I wonder how well I know her. Maybe I can be a [Sakurazukamori] too. What a big joke. Obaasama will never forgive me if I ever become the [Sakurazukamori]. How can she forgive me for sinning, wanting to be my enemy? But I want to be like Yuki, to think like Yuki, so that I can understand her. So that I'll die at her hands with no regrets. Of all the wrong things I've done in this short life of mine, I certainly doesn't regret meeting Yuki. She's the only mistake in my life I'll never regret. And even till the moment she puts her hand through my heart, I'll still smile and think of it as a gift. Her last gift to me, of course. Releasing me from this hell, from the pain. Then I'll never die as a sick person. I've heard that dying of brain tumour is very painful. They say you'll have to go through chemotherapy and take all sorts of medicine. Well, it'll be the last thing to cause my death now. Especially if Yuki is going to end it for me. --------------------------------------------------- Step 9: [Sakurazuka Yuki] It's snowing. Pale, beautiful and pure snow, falling from the sky, showering the earth with its beauty, its tranquillity. What a beautiful sight. But I do not appreciate such sights. I do not like white. I only like red- the dark crimson colour of blood. Ever since I became the [Sakurazukamori], I've killed plenty. But none of them held any meaning to me. They are meaningless 'prey', and there is no fun in hunting them down. They ran, but they knew they could never run forever. And in the end, they always give up. How disappointing. They held no excitement, no fun, and killing them brought little joy. Why is Sumeragi Jiro such an interesting 'prey'? Maybe it's because he doesn't even know that he's being hunted. Or maybe it's because of the ties. Whatever they are, he's oblivious to them. He doesn't know. Aah, what a beautiful night this is, Kaasan. With snowflakes falling from the sky, making the world whiter than it's supposed to be. It's 'Beautiful Night'. Just like your name. 3rd Path: End Disclaimers: All characters are solely my own creation except the idea of the Sumeragi and Sakurazukamori belong to CLAMP. All CLAMP characters belong to their creators. Acknowledgements: To Hypertia for inspiring this fic in me and to the UAWCML for helping out so much. Special thanks to Johann for taking pains to go through this. Jenni </pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>