http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-fix/setsubo3.txt </head><body><pre>Hello! I just adore all this free time my lack of school is providing me with. So here’s part three, when the story actually starts… took me long enough eh ^^? Oh, by the way, this "< >" denotes flashbacks. K? -Lapin Disclaimer: I know something you don’t know! Umm… well actually you /do/ know, in fact everyone knows -especially Clamp- that these characters don’t belong to me. But dang if I won’t infringe on copyright laws and use ‘em illegally! ----------------------- “Mmmppwffff!” Sorata quirked an eyebrow. He looked back in the general direction that little noise had emitted from. He picked his way across the various items that were now strewn about the floor, and made his way to Yuzuriha’s door. He knocked a few times. “Yuzu-chan! I’m coming inside!” He tried to push open the door, but something was blocking it from the inside. Through the narrow opening he could make, he called, “Hey! What is this?” “Sorata-san! Quick! I’m stuck!” “Stuck?” “Under a bunch of stuff, I need someone to help pull me out.” “The door won’t open far enough for me to get through!” “What do you mean?!I’m stuck here!” “Yes I know! Wait, if anyone could squeeze through it would be Kamui-san! I’ll go and get him to-” “Just hurry up!” Sorata raced down the hall but did a double-take when he passed two conversing figures. He made his way toward them. As he approached, he could hear: “…and unusual that an earthquake would rock the Clamp Campus so badly.” “Oi, Ne-chan!” Arashi turned around, dark hair sliding off her shoulders. “Oh, it’s you. Is everything all right?” “You mean everything that hasn’t fallen over?” He smiled and attempted to touch her face. She dodged his hand and took a step back towards Subaru. “I meant if anyone was injured.” “No one’s injured, but Yuzu-chan is stuck under some stuff in her room. And her door won’t open all the way. But I figure we could cram Kamui-san through the opening.” At the sound of Kamui’s name the Sumeragi’s face begin to take on a little animation. “I’ll get him.” Subaru quietly said. Sorata sidled over a little closer to Arashi. “Hey Ne-chan, were you frightened?” “No.” “Really? It scared the hell out of me! But then again, I’m sure Ne-chan wasn’t awakened out of a lovely sleep when a book fell down and imbedded itself in her forehead.” Sorata touched his a little and winced. Oddly, when he looked down at Arashi, she had an angry expression on her face. “You told me everything was all right, but you’re hurt!” He leaned over very close to her ear and whispered, “Would you kiss me then? I think it’ll distract me from the pain.” As Sorata was writhing on the floor in a new type of pain, they heard a yell from down the hallway. “He’s not here!” And yet another yell from the other end. “Who’s not here? Who! Kamui-san?! But I’m stuck! Someone get me out of here!!!” He took hold of Arashi’s shoulders and pointed her towards Yuzuriha’s end of the hall. “You take care of that,” he started walking towards Subaru, “and I shall deal with this!” It was too cold. Kamui shivered, and started grinding his teeth. He was so tense his body was beginning to hurt, and struggled to control the terror that kept intensifying within him. After breaking out of his staring trance with Fuuma, he had immediately jumped as far away as he could from the clusters of frantic people, hoping that Fuuma would follow him to a deserted area. It hadn’t been that long ago since Kamui was the aggressor. He bitterly recalled how he had pursued Saiki with such heedlessness to the lives of the people around them. And now Saiki was… Kamui fixed his enemy with a deep stare, a confusing mixture of hatred and longing. He would not hesitate to hurt Fuuma, he told himself, no matter what. Too many lives had been compromised by his inability to take action against his former friend. Kamui began to collect streams of power within his hand. He concentrated the energies into a sphere. “Not too much…” he warned himself. With a tremendous burst of light Kamui’s power shot forth and exploded into a searing, crackling sensation all around Fuuma. The Dark Kamui felt rivulets of warm blood slipping down his face, and looked down at where his shirt had tattered and frayed, revealing shredded skin beneath. Why hadn’t he put up a counter attack? He mentally cursed himself for being so slow, and began to call his own power into glowing orbs within his fists. “Fuuma stop this! Not here, not like this! Please listen to me!” Kamui felt like strangling himself for not being able to create a Kekkai. He prayed they were far enough away from the frightened Tokyo masses. But he could tell that pleading was absolutely useless, when he saw the dead expression in Fuuma’s eyes. Kamui tried to put up a good fight, but the incredible force behind Fuuma’s attack bombarded him too quickly, and he was violently shoved backwards several feet, panting and bleeding, as he struggled to regain his footing. Seishirou watched silently from a nearby perch. The Dark Kamui had warned him to stay out of this fight, but he had been tempted to intervene when his leader’s, pretty counter-star had taken the offensive with an impressive assault. But now, he observed Fuuma regaining the advantage, even if he was lashing out at Kamui without the full force of his power. However, some of his attacks would splinter and break apart as the young Kamui managed to put up a substantial defense. “The little mouse has become a bit more cunning since we last fought.” He smiled a little and continued to observe them. “We must hurry!” Three of the Seals swiftly made their way though the chilly, Tokyo night. It hadn’t taken them long to discover that Kamui was nowhere on the Clamp Campus. Especially when impressions of Kamui’s battle began to appear across their consciousness. Sorata had insisted Yuzuriha be left behind. When they finally managed to pull her out beneath the debris she was caught under, they discovered her ankle was injured. She had pouted about it until Akira suggested that she could enjoy some 'appiru pai' as she awaited their return. “Over there!” Arashi pointed to the heavily damaged rooftop and the dueling Kamuis. Seishirou looked up at the recent additions to their gathering. “Well this isn’t very fair, now is it?” He decided it was time to put in an appearance. Subaru put up a Kekkai, and Kamui smiled up at him gratefully. Fuuma was weary, panting, and felt a little lightheaded. He wasn’t used to losing so much blood in a battle. He glanced down at his wounds. The Kamui was giving him much more trouble then he had anticipated, but in the back of his mind he couldn’t help thinking that it was /himself/ who was deciding the outcome of this battle with his strange reluctance to use the full force of his power. Fuuma looked at the three new Seals, and shook his head. He just didn’t have the energy to fight them all. Suddenly, he felt a familiar presence behind himself. Turning, he watched the Sakurazukamori walk up to his side. “You seem a bit under the weather today, so I thought I’d step in. What say /you/ entertain your little friend,” he inclined his head toward the other Seals, “and /I/ occupy our new guests for the meanwhile?” Fuuma nodded and Seishirou took his cue. He smiled happily at the three Seals, and winked at the Sumeragi. “You look cute tonight Subaru-kun. Have you emerged at such a late hour just to play with me?” “Seishirou-san this isn’t a game! Don’t interfere!” Seishirou’s smile darkened, “On the contrary, my dear Subaru-kun, /everything/ can be a game.” Seishirou’s power began to swirl around him. “So why don’t you play with me tonight? Though, I can understand your reluctance… you’ve never relly been much good at winning our little games.” Arashi and Sorata watched the shattered look in Subaru’s remaining eye, and felt, more then heard, the awful cry he gave as he lashed out towards the Sakurazukamori. Fuuma noted his fellow Angel was holding up the Seals. He returned his focus back to Kamui. Enough was enough. He was disgusted by his inept behavior, and forced himself to get over what was plaguing him. “This ends now!” The Dark Kamui concentrated on all the power he could collect. The air crackled with the sheer intensity of his assault, and the young Seal desperately prayed he would be able to withstand it. As Fuuma was about to deliver his blow, time slowed for just an instant, when he saw the desperation in Kamui’s large eyes. <Large eyes? Such large eyes, I swore I would protect. How happy I would be, if those eyes were filled with happiness…> He remembered that odd dream, of Kamui as a child surrounded by nothingness. All this was happening since he had that dream! <Where are you Fuuma?> The memory flooded his mind with an agonizing pain, disrupting his concentration. The bright powerflaring around him broke apart and dissolved within his hands, though the momentum of his attack carried him forward into Kamui’s arms, knocking them both down. There was an interminable moment of silence. Fuuma lay there, quiescent, his mind a horrible tangle of thoughts, each twisting and turning upon itself, leaving him completely lost. Kamui was shocked into silence. One moment he had been blinded by an intense light, and the next he had been thrown backward by a large body on top of him. And he was thoroughly confused by the inactivity of that body slumped against himself. His first, sickening thought was that somehow Fuuma was dead. But he could feel the gentle in out of the other’s stomach against his chest. Then he wondered if he was being pinned down, but that wasn’t the case either. The Dark Kamui was just lying there, doing nothing in particular. Kamui tried to concentrate through the confusion. He pushed himself up a little, and Fuuma’s lax body curled against him. After some brief, halting movements, Kamui ended up cradling Fuuma in his arms. The Angel put his head on Kamui’s shoulder and closed his eyes. Something hurt, and so much… “F-Fuuma?” Kamui pressed his cheek against his friend’s forehead. Hot tears began to fall down his face, and onto his counter-star’s. It had been so long since he had held him! He wrapped his arms more tightly around Fuuma’s body, gently breathing in his scent. And this wasn’t the Dark Kamui trying to hurt him, it was just /Fuuma/, and just Fuuma's breath tickling his ear. Kamui’s fingers traveled across his friend’s back, stopping on the places where his own power and ripped apart Fuuma’s skin. He choked back and sob and held on even tighter. Fuuma moved against him a little when Kamui fingers brushed over a rather deep cut. Kamui sighed and kissed him softly on the hair, rocking them both gently. “Still the same… you still feel the same to me.” Fuuma suddenly struggled a bit. He turned around in Kamui’s embrace and faced his counter-star. He searched Kamui’s, amethyst eyes for something, something which, infuriatingly, he couldn’t put a name to. His voice was hoarse, but the Dark Kamui still spoke, “You asked me ‘where’.” “Were what?” Kamui touched the dried blood on Fuuma’s face. Fuuma shook his head and the swirl of confusing thoughts intensified. “You asked me where ‘Fuuma’ was.” Kamui felt himself crying, but he leaned forward and pressed his lips to his friend's, warm forehead. “You’re right here.” Kamui could feel both their hearts beating, as he pressed himself against Fuuma's chest. “He isn’t here. He’s buried deep inside of me. But, for a moment, I forgot where he was …” Fuuma felt arms wrapping about his neck, and a face nuzzling into his shoulder. “…or, should I say, I remembered?” Seishirou dodged Subaru’s attack and sent a flurry of crows to assault Sorata and Arashi. He was getting a little exhausted of this. He glanced back at his leader, and noticed the curious position he was in. “How interesting, now what do you make of that Subaru-kun?” Subaru, Arashi and Sorata all stopped for a moment to take in the scene that lay before them. Seishirou looked amused for a moment before he realized that Fuuma wasn’t harassing Kamui…he was passively lying there in his arms. “That won’t do…” He left the trio a little gift, in the form of paper wards, and sent burst of power shattering and splitting the ground where the two Kamuis were sitting. As Kamui struggled to sit up from the attack, he saw the Sakurazukamori grabbing the dazed-looking Fuuma by the elbow, and dragging him away. Seishirou glanced back at Kamui and his Seals, “Please forgive me, but I’m afraid I must end our game for tonight. It's getting a little tiring, is it not? Perhaps we could continue this some other time...” Arashi looked at Subaru. “Enough fighting for tonight, Subaru-san, Kamui is injured.” Subaru hesitated, but retracted his Kekkai. Arashi watched as the two Angels disappeared into the night. The Onmyouji was far more interested in what was wrong with Kamui. Subaru leaned down to where Sorata was kneeling at Kamui’s side. He put a hand on the teenager’s back. “Kamui-san, what just happened?” Kamui shook his head, silent tears still falling from his eyes. “I-I don’t know. He… he just stopped. I mean really /stopped/, stopped the attack, stopped moving, stopped being the other Kamui... he was just lying in my arms… I just wanted to hold him a little.” He began to sob in Sorata’s arms. “I’m sorry! I’m sorry I didn’t kill him when I had the chance! I should’ve, I know, but I couldn’t! N-no… I can’t! I can’t do it! I can’t hurt him!” Sorata held Kamui as his frail shoulders heaved. Arashi put a slender hand on Sorata’s shoulder. She looked up at Subaru. “We need to take him back to the mansion. He’s worked himself up too much, and I don’t want him to retreat into his mind again.” Subaru nodded, and as they made their way back to the Clamp Campus he was utterly perplexed. If what Kamui had said was true, and if, for a few moments, Fuuma had forgotten he was the other Kamui, then it must have been the result of re-awakened memories influencing and impairing his judgement. But what could possess the power to unlock something that was so tightly sealed away? And for what purpose? Subaru had an idea of where to look for the answers.</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>