http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-fix/heart1.txt </head><body><pre>A very sincere apology to everyone who might be interested to read the continuation to my Kusanagi fic, "The Haunting". I realised that the premise might be a tad too similar to Jade's current wonderful fic, "Litoralis", for my comfort. As such, I've decided to put the project on hold. In fact, I might even overhaul the entire thing. The good news is, I've found an inspiration for the sequel to Vicissitudes. Yep, the one where Sei-chan pretended to be nice and lifted the marks from Subaru in order to be accepted to join the DOEs etc. Hope you like it. All comments and feedback are welcome. I like to inform everyone that I'll try my best to be productive, but with my Psychology exams looming ominously in the near future, that might be a little difficult. Thanks for your patience. All characters are property of CLAMP. Standard disclaimers apply. --- Vicissitudes II: The Heart of the Sakura (Part 1) An "X" Fanfic Presented by Alison Koh /A storm of Sakura petals danced furiously about him. He turned his body around, trying to make out where he was. Then he saw a shadow of a figure approaching where he stood. He could not see the man's face in the hail of petals, except that the man wore a long coat that fluttered gracefully in the wind. Just before the man's face came into view, someone called out his name.../ "Kamui!" "Huh...?" Kamui mumbled groggily from his sleep. "Kamui! Wake up or you're going to be late!" Kamui forced his eyes to open sluggishly and peeked through the gaps between his unruly fringe. And almost jumped when he saw Sorata's amused face grinning at him. "Wh-at?" the younger Seal complained. He forced himself to sit up, realising that the monk was not about to let him off easy. Then he noticed that the morning was too bright outside the window and that Sorata was not in uniform. "It's Sunday," Sorata calmly reminded him. "Then why the hell did you wake me..." Kamui paused and then he remembered. Sorata nodded his head with a sly smile on his face. Almost immediately, the covers flew off the bed and Kamui bounded off to the washroom. "Remember to rinse out the toothpaste from your mouth!" Sorata laughed. "Give him a break. That was a lame joke," a female voice spoke. Sorata glanced to the door and saw Arashi standing there, smiling faintly. Walking to her side, he shrugged and replied, "It's only been three days. I can't imagine what a nervous wreck he'll be if Subaru-san was gone for a month." "And what if I were to return to Ise for a month?" Arashi asked coyly. There was a mischievous twinkle in Sorata's eyes as he told her, "No you won't. You'll miss me, and then rush back to my side after only one day." Arashi's face took on an annoyed expression and she jabbed him hard in his gut. He howled and twisted his body in apparent pain, but she ignored his dramatics and walked away. Realising that his act was not invoking any sympathy from the shrine maiden, he instantly straightened himself and ran after her. Five minutes later, Kamui rushed down the stairs and saw that Sorata, Arashi and Yuzuriha were already waiting for him. "Let's go!" he announced as he adjusted his shirt. Nokoru smiled and said, "The car is ready." * Subaru got off the train arriving from Kyoto, and was both surprised and glad to see Kamui and the others waiting for him at the station. He walked over to the group and spoke to Kamui, "It was only three-day home visit. You needn't have come. I've told you to wait for me back at the campus." "Yeah. If you've been gone any longer, Kamui would have pined away in his room like a maiden from one of those classical love story," Sorata said. "Of course, if it wasn't because he didn't sleep the entire night before last, he wouldn't have almost overslept this morning and missed your arrival." The Sumeragi looked at his young friend quizzically, while Kamui blushed, embarrassed and almost angry that Sorata would openly announce his childish behaviour to Subaru. However, all thoughts of avenging himself on the monk later were banished when Subaru ruffled his hair affectionately and said, "I'm very happy you came." Kamui nodded shyly and was glad when Arashi next spoke, "Let's go back now." Everyone agreed. However, as they headed towards the car, Kamui froze for an instant. "What's wrong?" Subaru asked. "I thought I sensed someone watching us," the boy replied. Then he relaxed his shoulders and said, "No, it's gone now. Perhaps I was only imagining it." Nevertheless he could not shake off the uneasy feeling as they drove back to campus. * >From his vantage point on the roof of the station, Fuuma smiled as he watched the limousine drive off with Kamui and the other Seals inside. "Interesting," he muttered to the bioroid by his side, "That Kamui is getting stronger. I wonder if it has to do with the onmyouji by his side. They seem to be close." Nataku, as usual, stood silently and did not respond. /It/ did not understand what being close with the onmyouji had to do with the Kamui of the Dragons of Heaven getting stronger. It was not as if the onmyouji could provide an energy source to the boy, unlike Nataku's own bio-tanks, which served to feed /it/ with energy and prolong /its/ life. Fuuma chuckled, "I guess I'll have to ask Seishirou about this." He leapt off the roof, followed almost instantly by Nataku. * "How were things in Kyoto?" Kamui asked. "Fine. All the clan matters have been well taken care of," Subaru replied. They were lying next to each other on Kamui's vast bed. Initially, they had undertaken this arrangement so that Subaru could help Kamui deal with the nightmares that plagued him ever since Fuuma took Seishirou with him. The pentagram marks etched clearly on the skin on the back of Kamui's hands were a sign of his link to the Sakurazukamori. Now that the nightmares had subsided, much to both their relief, they had continued to share the same room out of their mutual need for the other's companionship. While a few eyebrows might have been raised amongst their acquaintances, nobody uttered a word of protest. Except, perhaps for Sorata, who had proposed something similar to Arashi and was subsequently silenced with a cold hard stare from the girl. "I talked to grandmother about us," Subaru added. Kamui tensed in apprehension, but relaxed a little as Subaru placed a hand tenderly on his face. "She sounded genuinely happy for me, for us." Even though it was dark, the slight warming of Kamui's cheeks told Subaru that the boy was blushing again. He leaned closer to his partner and planted a light kiss on his lips. Kamui hesitated at the touch and then sought out Subaru's mouth hungrily. The Sumeragi was clearly surprised by Kamui's passion and yet he enjoyed this new sensation. Subaru wrapped his arms about the boy's body, exploring its lithe form, as his mouth sought the sensitive areas along Kamui's neck and earlobes. Kamui welcomed this new stage of development in their relationship, allowing himself to sink back onto the bed, focusing himself on Subaru's gentle and pleasant ministrations. A sharp pain pierced through Kamui's mind and he uttered a cry. Subaru immediately pulled away and switched on the bedside lamp. "Seishirou-san...he's..." Kamui winced. "The other /Kamui/ hasn't stopped tormenting him yet," Subaru noted solemnly. He held the boy's hand and brushed aside a stray lock of hair from his face, only to reveal the agony reflected in his violet gaze. "Don't worry," Subaru assured him, "And try to sleep." He then wove a spell about Kamui, and the boy was soon deep in slumber. Subaru traced the markings on Kamui's hand, the mark of the Sakurazukamori's Prey, which once adorned Subaru's own hands. "No, the mark of his Heir," Subaru corrected himself. "I will save you, Kamui. I don't know how, but I will do it," he promised. * "Why did you do that?" Seishirou glared at his /Kamui/ as the latter released his hand. The assassin rubbed his wrist gently, feeling the pain subside. Fuuma grinned, "Never question my intentions." Seishirou huffed in anger but he knew better than to challenge Fuuma now. He had no intention of going through that horror again. He left the chamber silently. Fuuma watched the assassin leave, the air of bemusement still on his grin. He pondered for a moment and figured that it was time he talked to the dreamgazer. * /Kamui was caught in the blizzard of Sakura petals once more. Curiously, he watched the figure approach. The face was still hidden from him, partially by the storm of swirling petals, and partially by the irregular form of the dream vision. The man collapsed to the ground, and somehow Kamui was dragged down with him. He knelt before the man, and lifted the man's chin with his left hand. The beautifully familiar face smiled sadly to him. "Subaru...?" Kamui asked. Something warm trickled along his right arm. Kamui looked down and his eyes widened when he saw that they were both kneeling in a pool of blood. Then he noticed that the lower half of his right arm was impaled through Subaru's limp body. Kamui screamed./ ----- 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>