http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-fix/gambit02.txt </head><body><pre>Thanks for all the compliments. Part 2 is now here. Erm, nope, the fic is not ending anytime soon. There are still more surprises to come. Either that, or I'm getting wordy nowadays. Comments and feedback welcome as always. All characters are property of CLAMP. Standard disclaimers apply. --- Gambit (Part 2) An "X" Fanfic Presented by Alison Koh [Shadows of Time 2 - begin] She knelt silently before the Princess and patiently waited for the latter to reveal the purpose for this summoning. Even though Hinoto was blind, Tooru could feel those blank eyes observing her, weighing her. After what seemed like an eternity, Hinoto finally smiled and spoke, "You are Tooru, elder child of the Magami family. You will be graduating from high schools soon?" Tooru nodded respectfully, "In two days' time." "I have a vision of the Earth's Future," Hinoto said, "Do you wish to see it?" She offered her pale child-like hands to Tooru. The girl hesitated but she knew that this was not so much a request than a command. She stilled herself and grasped the proffered hand. And in an instant, she was surrounded by scenes of destruction and despair. Oceans flooded entire cities. Once beautiful green lands turned into desolate dustbowls. The few pockets of humanity still surviving were living an almost ghostlike existence. She closed her eyes to block out the horrifying sight and screamed. "Open your eyes, Tooru-san," the Princess called out, "You are out of my dreamscape now." Tooru shivered but she did open her eyes slowly and was relieved to find that she was back in the present reality. "What happened to the Earth?" Tooru demanded to know. The dream was disturbing to say the least. Hinoto gazed down sadly and replied, "Earth is dying. Centuries of callous exploitation by Humanity have left her weak. At this rate, Earth will certainly die. What you just saw was a shadow of that possible Future." "Possible?" Tooru asked. "The Earth may still be saved by a special child. A child who possesses the Power of God. A child named 'Kamui'." "Where can we find this child?" "That is the reason that you have been summoned here," Hinoto explained, "You are destined to be the mother of this child. But before that happens, you must assume the role of a kage-nie, a Shadow Protector. Only the Magamis have the ability to assume the role of kage-nie, to act as the Shadow of the one they protect, to accept and ward off any misfortune that may befall the one protected." She paused. Tooru was feeling rather uneasy. She did not know if she could fulfil such a major responsibility, but the Princess was a well-respected Dreamgazer in the mystic circles. If the Princess said that it was her destiny then it must be so. She asked, "Who am I supposed to protect?" "The Earth," Hinoto revealed, "Only by being the kage-nie for Earth will you be imbued by Her spirit and when the time is ready, you will bear the child, Kamui, who will save the Earth." "And who will be the father?" Hinoto smiled, "The father is unimportant. Only your role as Earth's kage-nie is. I leave him for you to choose." Tooru blushed slightly at those words. "Will you accept this Fate?" Hinoto continued. Tooru clenched tightly at the edges of her skirt as she tried to digest everything that the Princess had revealed to her. While she never expected her background as a member of the Magami family to afford her the normal life enjoyed by most girls her age, she certainly never expected to be a mother to the saviour of mankind. She almost hesitated but the dream replayed itself in her mind. At last, with a new resolve burning in her eyes, she said, "I accept." This time, it was Hinoto who bowed gratefully to the girl. "Thank you." After that, Tooru left Hinoto's sanctum with a trembling in her heart as she faced a new uncertain future. Hinoto felt the girl leave and heaved a gentle sigh of sorrow. The Promised Day would soon arrive and she was sorry that Tooru's child would have to bear that burden. She dipped into the currents of her dreamscape and saw that Future again. A cloaked youth bearing the Shinken and her future self slumped onto the ground. /"I shall change that Future."/ "Who is that?" Hinoto asked. The voice replied, /"You know who I am. I am you. That Future will not come true."/ "Why do you want to do that?" The voice chuckled, /"Because that is your wish."/ [Shadows of Time 2 - end] * Subaru opened his eye slowly, feeling a little groggy from the drugs which barely managed to numb the pain in his body. The morning light that was streaming through the windows only added to his disorientation. However, even in his foggy state, he could sense a warm presence lying by his side. He turned his head to the blind side on his right and was rather amused, but not surprised, to see Kamui sleeping next to him. Apparently Kamui had felt tired during his vigil and had curled up beside Subaru to sleep. Despite that, the boy was still holding on to Sumeragi's hand. Feeling a numbness creaking up his arm, Subaru tried to gingerly shift himself without disturbing his companion. Nevertheless, at the first hint of motion, the boy's delicate lashes fluttered and he snapped awake. "Subaru, are you feeling all right?" he asked. Subaru nodded. Abruptly the boy noticed where he was and quickly released his grip on the Sumeragi in order to jump out of bed. "I'm so sorry," he said haltingly, "I must have fallen asleep somehow." Subaru smiled to indicate that he did not mind and reached out his hand to touch Kamui's embarrassed face. Kamui held on to that hand gratefully. "Will you forgive me?" Kamui asked. Subaru gazed at the boy, not quite understanding the question. Kamui lowered his head dejectedly, "I'm sorry I was late. I couldn't stop him from hurting you." Instantly, Subaru knew that the boy was referring to the incident at Rainbow Bridge. "You do not have to apologise," Subaru said, "You arrived just in time to save my life. Seishirou-san was about to kill me." At the thought of Seishirou, Subaru turned his face away from Kamui, as tides of sadness and disappointment welled in his heart. "Subaru?" Subaru closed his eye for an instant and then reopened it. "I finally realised that Seishirou-san never cared. All those years when he did not kill me, I carried that one hope in my heart. Yet, his not killing me was also part of the game. He said that he was finally given permission to resume his Hunt to kill me. "But who could possibly be powerful enough to deny the Sakurazukamori his Prey?" "That's strange," Kamui remarked. "We were attacked by mysterious forces at Yasukuni Shrine, trying to delay us from reaching you. But they don't seem to have been sent by the Sakurazukamori. I've fought with the Sakurazukamori before and the signature was different." "Really?" Subaru was disturbed by that news. Kamui then thought of Kakyou's warning regarding Hinoto. Tightening his grip on Subaru's hand for assurance, he said, "Subaru, there's something important I need to discuss, but I don't think the others will believe me. But I hope you will." "What is..." /it?/ was the question that the Sumeragi meant to ask when the door opened and Sorata walked in. The monk paused for a brief moment to digest the scene before him and then his face broke out into a gratified smile. "Good morning, Subaru-san. I'm glad you're finally awake." "Sumeragi-san is awake? That's great news!" Karen said as she sauntered in after the monk. Sorata eyed Kamui and said, "Actually, I came in here to check if you're up to attending classes today? If not, I'll let Segawa-kun know about it so that your teachers could be informed." Kamui was about to tell Sorata that he would prefer to watch over Subaru when Subaru said, "Go ahead, Kamui. I do not want you to miss your lessons." "But..." "I'll be fine," Subaru smiled assuredly. Karen walked up to the boy and squeezed his shoulders gently. "Sumeragi-san is right. You shouldn't be skipping classes too often. Today's my day off. I'll take care of him. Besides, Imonoyama-san has already arranged for some medical staff to stay in the mansion. He'll be in good hands." Outvoted, Kamui conceded defeat and allowed himself to be reluctantly led out by Sorata and Karen. Once they had left, Subaru stared at the ceiling and tried to recall his strange conversation with Kamui. He wondered who the hidden enemy might be. * The empty seat beside Kamui disturbed him as he wondered what had happened to its occupant. Keiichi was seldom absent from class. The last time that occurred was after the Ikebukuro earthquake that killed Keiichi's mother. Kamui decided to ask his other classmates for information. One of the boys replied, "Oh yes. I saw Segawa-kun near the school gates talking to this weird-looking tall guy who was asking for directions." Another girl confirmed. "I think that guy was blind in one eye or something like that too. His gaze scared me so I left hurriedly, but Segawa-kun offered to help him." A tall, one-eyed man? Kamui froze for an instant before he rushed out of the classroom and almost knocked into his English teacher who was just entering the class then. He apologised curtly and disappeared before the teacher could recover from the shock to call him back. Once outside the campus gates, Kamui could easily sense the pulsing aura of the Sakurazukamori clearly. It was obvious even to Kamui that the assassin was baiting him intentionally, but for the sake of his friend, he had to accept the Sakurazukamori's challenge. He followed the source of the aura across a greater part of Tokyo and presently found himself in a remote corner of Ueno Park. Leaning slumped against an unseasonably blooming Sakura Tree was Keiichi. He approached his friend cautiously. After a couple of steps, he stopped as he sensed the crackle of the psychic barrier around the Tree. However, he pressed on, worried about Keiichi's safety and was surprised when he met with no further resistance. He knelt beside Keiichi, calling out his friend's name but there was no response. Somebody laughed behind him. "Don't worry, he is not dead yet, just sleeping," Seishirou smirked. Kamui glared at him, "Why are you involving Segawa-kun? He is not one of the Seven Seals!" "Well, I could invite Subaru-kun if I hadn't hurt him so badly, so I had to use your classmate as an alternative instead." "I already swore to kill you after what you did to Subaru. I am not going to let your hurt Segawa-kun as well." "That would be an interesting situation," Seishirou winked, "You see, I have another reason for inviting your classmate here. I thought it would be good to know the kind of company that my son is keeping." "What?" Kamui exclaimed. "Segawa-kun cannot possibly be your son." Seishirou chuckled, "I wasn't referring to him." He paused to allow his words to sink in. It achieved the desired effect as Kamui instantly went very quiet. "I see that Tooru didn't tell you anything about me. In her defence, she wasn't aware of my identity during our 'courtship'. She must have discovered it somehow after she had left me. Oh yes, she was the one who 'dumped' me, so to speak." Kamui listened to the words in a daze while repeating mentally to himself that it was all a lie. He refused to believe it, that his mysterious father was actually a Dragon of Earth and Subaru's tormentor. As if enjoying himself, Seishirou continued. "I'm really disappointed that she tried to hide my identity from you. I did treat her rather well. I'm not always that cruel, you know?" He feigned a hurt expression. "But she must have felt something for me since she gave you the fictitious family name of 'Shirou' which was obviously modified from my name, 'Seishirou'. This must be her way of admitting that you are my son." "You're lying!" Kamui screamed, "I'm not listening to any of your rubbish!" "Oh really?" Seishirou smirked, "And how do you supposed you got past the Sakura Tree's defences without any effort, when even Subaru-kun had failed countless times? The Tree only accepts a member of our family, with the exception of your friend who has been encased in my magic. Not even the power of the Sumeragi Clan is strong enough to stand against the Tree. "On the other hand, it is actually quite funny how we're both fascinated by Subaru-kun in our own ways." This time, Kamui finally lost his control and hurled a blast of energy against the Sakurazukamori. However, the assassin managed to move away in time and the blast missed him but sent a small tree crashing behind him. In a split second, Kamui found himself surrounded by darkness as the Sakurazukamori wove an intricate maboroshi around him. Seishirou's voice echoed amusedly within the illusion. "I hope I did not frighten my dear son, but I can't have you hurting our family Tree. You may, however, feel free to vent your anger within my maboroshi. It will serve the function of a Dragon of Heaven's kekkai for the present moment." The fury in Kamui's eyes burned more wildly as the assassin broke into a mocking laughter. * "Is that the sea?" Kakyou asked as he pointed at the body of blue water before him in the distance. Fuuma nodded indulgently. Kakyou smiled wistfully, "It is even more beautiful than I have ever imagined it. Hokuto would be happy to know that I have finally seen the sea." Fuuma gently set the frail dreamgazer down onto the beach, propped up against a tree. Kakyou closed his eyes and tasted the salty air, relishing in the flood of new sensations. "Are you happy?" Fuuma asked tenderly. Somehow, he had always felt a soft spot for this errant Angel, the only one who dared to interfere with his plans to kill Kamui, and had, in fact, openly advised his twin-star from the Dragons of Heaven on several occasions. Kakyou nodded. "I am content. Thank you." The dreamgazer allowed the gentle roar of the rolling waves lull him into a sleep while Fuuma watched over him silently. It was only but an hour later when Kakyou opened his eyes again and remarked, "The other /Hinoto/ has sent the Sakurazukamori to kill the Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven." Upon hearing those words, Fuuma frowned. "Kamui is mine." Kakyou said, "I shall be all right alone. It is almost time anyway. You may leave me here." Fuuma gazed at the dreamgazer affectionately and pulled the latter closer in an embrace. "Take care of yourself and fulfil your wish," he said. Then he released the Angel and left for Ueno Park. Kakyou returned his attention to the sea and whispered, "Wait for me, Hokuto. I shall be with you soon." ----- Dreams of Sakura Home -- http://www.starhub.net.sg/~alison X Shrine -- http://www.geocities.com/asuka_sg</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>