http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-fix/setsubo5.txt </head><body><pre>Hey everyone! Wow I really needed that vacation. Any break from my reality is welcomed/praised/god-like in its essence. So in homage to alternate realities I bring a little Kakyou-ness into this installment, unfortunately, nothing else incredibly interesting happens. O_o well that's never a good thing to say about your own stories... Ah well… on with the fic(Though I might not be typing too much in the coming days, I really ought to be studying for my driver’s exam ^.^). -Lapin Disclaimer: I lied! I lied!! They’re mine!!! They’re all mine!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!!! ALL OF THEM!!!!!! I—I... forgot to take my medication again. --------------------------- Fuuma’s eyes slowly opened. He concentrated on the basement ceiling of the Sunshine 60 Building, feeling his breath coming out evenly, without the strange tightness that had been in his chest the other day. He sat up, swinging his long legs over the side of the bed. His wounds ached when he moved, but with a simple application of will he could ignore it. Walking about with measured steps, Fuuma became conscious of the relative silence around him, interrupted only by the consistent, electrical humming of BEAST, and the occasional sounds of conversation floating from, most likely Yuuto. But mostly, he was aware of the silence within his own mind. The thousands of tumultuous thoughts that had rocked him off balance were gone, leaving him with the familiar emptiness that pervaded his senses since he had come into existence. The absence of emotions left his mind with the ability to function with absolute clarity. He /was/ Kamui. He /would/ destroy the kekkai. He /would/ bring about the apocalypse. He would kill his counter star. The Dark Kamui grinned to himself. It was wonderful to feel that tremendous power flowing through your veins, and still maintain a perfect equilibrium. He only wondered for a moment why he had forgotten himself the other day. “You should really get out of your computer more often Satsuki-chan, can I interest you in a coffee?” BEAST set off a series of alarmed beeps and clicks, and began to whir in agitation. Satsuki touched the cool metal with her fingertips, sliding them across the surface. “Hush BEAST, I’m not going anywhere.” She turned to look down at Yuuto. “ Thank you anyway.” Yuuto frowned, his handsome face taking on a look of frustration. “You know this … /thing/… will be okay if you leave it alone for a little while. It’s a machine, it doesn’t need that much care to keep it functioning.” Satsuki adjusted her glasses and leaned over a little more to look at him. Yuuto started walking closer. “I on the other hand, am terribly spoiled. I must admit that I need rather a lot of attention to continue to ‘function’. Why don’ t you take care of me for a bit? I’m much more inviting to the touch than that hard, metal thing.” Satsuki giggled and the wires began to detach themselves from her body. She heard BEAST whine pathetically. “Don’t be silly BEAST. I’ll be right back.” But the giant computer continued its noise, now amplified as it turned on random alarms and sirens. “Yuuto-san, it’s making such a fuss. Maybe I better stay.” Yuuto resisted the urge to obliterate the cursed thing, instead grabbing Satsuki around the shoulders and pushing her out. “Now now, if you give into its tantrums then it’ll only act up more the next time.” “But Yu-” Suddenly they both stopped dead in their tracks. Yuuto’s arm came more protectively around Satsuki’s shoulders and they both took a few steps back. The Dark Kamui ran long fingers through his hair, a maddeningly cold expression in his eyes. “Shut that thing up.” Satsuki nodded quickly and ran to BEAST. Murmuring soft things and stroking its side, she got BEAST to stop the alarms. However, in the presence of their leader, it beeped nervously. The Dark Kamui walked up to Yuuto, that eerie almost-smile on his face, his voice low in a whisper. Yuuto tried not to shiver. “If I ever hear that much noise again, I will take great pleasure in ripping it apart wire by wire… whether your “Satsuki-chan” is inside of it or not.” Yuuto watched the young girl smiling a little as she continued to pet BEAST, and he felt the soft breath of the other Angel on the side of his face. He turned and watched the Kamui as he left, wondering if it was possible to kill him now and still win on the Promised Day. Fuuma sat in his chair, feeling a little bored, but otherwise in perfect equilibrium. His pet sat at his feet, and he reached over to touch its fine, white hair. It turned its face up and wore an expression that could possibly be affection. Fuuma stroked its cheek, feeling rather contented with the way things were. Except for that episode he had where everything had spiraled out of control, and he had almost let himself be destroyed by his enemy. The Dark Kamui awoke from his drowse, and fidgeted uncomfortably in his seat. Yes, that was still bothering him. “This is fantastic Ne-chan!” “It’s toast.” “Still, it’s the most delicious toast I’ve ever eaten!” Sorata smiled happily at Arashi as the others sat around the table and observed them. “Not only are you beautiful, but you’re a great cook! You’ll make a fabulous wife Ne-chan.” “I’m happy you like my toast.” Arashi said wryly, turning to walk back into the kitchen. Sorata grabbed her around the waist and pulled her close. “Do you want me to show you why I’ll make a fabulous husband and lover?” Kamui tried to ignore Sorata’s yowl of pain, and turned instead to Subaru and Yuzuriha. “Subaru-san, did you stay up much longer after I went to sleep last night?” “Not much longer, but I met with Hinoto-san in my dreams.” Yuzuriha propped her chin up in her hands and leaned towards Subaru. “What did you talk about Subaru-san?” “Mostly about possible reasons for the Dark Kamui’s, recent behavior.” Kamui’s mood was instantly spoiled. He scowled. “Is there something that /wrong/ with him recovering pieces of his humanity? If you noticed he didn’t kill anything the last time. Maybe this is a good thing Subaru-san.” “Kamui-san, you already know how I feel about it. Nothing good can come of it. Even if he wavers with his emotions sometimes, he will /always/ be the other Kamui, all this is doing is causing both of you grief.” “You don’t know that he will always be that way!” Kamui sat up and the chair made a loud sound against the floor as it was pushed pack. He was tired of being told that Fuuma was lost forever. It couldn’t be, it just wasn’t possible. He felt a little cynical. “ Besides, when did you start caring about how either of us feels anyway? All you care about is your wish, just because your sister…” Kamui trailed off when he saw the look of shattered pain across Subaru’s face. His hands flew up to his mouth. “Subaru-san I didn’t mean-“ “I know exactly what you meant. Perhaps you’re right to think all I care about is my wish. But if that’s true, you have no right to judge me, because you’re the same. At least my wish will only affect myself, yours is hurting everyone around you. How many times have you put your friends in danger, put the fate of the world in a precarious position, just because of something you wanted?” Subaru got up from the table and Kamui lowered his head. As the Sumeragi stalked out of the room, all eyes settled on the hunched- over figure in the seat at the end of the table. Kamui looked up, saw the anger in his friends’ eyes. Did they really think he was betraying them? Yuzuriha and Sorata got up from the table. Arashi followed them out the door; they called brief good byes over their shoulders. Yuzuriha stayed a moment longer. “Kamui-san, what you said was just awful. You should apologize.” Kamui felt defeated for a moment, before an old anger began to renew itself in his heart, the same devil-may-care fire that had driven him to do some intense things in the past. “Why should I apologize! Nothing I said was untrue.” It was the first time he had actually seen the young girl with a truly angry expression. “I never thought I’d hear you say such a stupid thing Kamui-san! Of course Subaru-san cares about more than his wish; would he be so intent on protecting you and all of us from /your/ bad decisions if he didn’t care? You’re really selfish Kamui-san, and ignorant too if you can’t see how much he loves you! How much we /all/ love you… oh…oh never mind!” She turned and ran to catch up with the others. Kamui felt too empty to cry. “What’s the matter Shiro-kun?” Keiichi sat on Kamui’s desk, dangling his long legs. He touched Kamui’s face, trailing a finger down his face. That got the violet-eyed beauty to look up, and quickly. Keiichi smiled and mused his hair. Kamui thought about humoring him, and perhaps even gently pressing his lips to those fingers… but he was in a fowl mood. He pulled his head back out of Keiichi’s touch. “It’s my so called “friends”. They all just abandoned me.” “I find that hard to believe, even considering your anti-social behavior recently.” “What would you know! You have no idea who they are Segawa-kun, none of them support what I want to do.” Keiichi stopped swinging his legs and looked down into Kamui’s angry eyes. “I may not know them personally, but I know how much they care about you. You’ve told me so yourself, about how important they are to you. And good friends are always there for you. Even if they’re not supporting you in a choice you make, they’re supporting you by /still/ loving you no matter what you decide.” Kamui was a bit startled. That was what Yuzuriha had been trying to tell him earlier. Keiichi leaned down, his face close to Kamui’s, his hair falling forward to brush lightly against the other’s cheek. He smiled with warmth. “Good friends can even continue to love you when you behave like /this/.” He hopped off the desk. “Though they certainly won’t enjoy your company.” He walked off to another corner of the classroom, leaving Kamui to stew in annoyance on his own. But as the anger settled he felt himself grow a little weary. He was being selfish; his desire for Fuuma was hurting everyone he cared about, and himself. But… but he just couldn’t abandon it, he just could not. Having held Fuuma in his arms, feeling his friend lying so quietly against him, his heart beating against his chest… In a way, seeing Fuuma so vulnerable had been the worst thing that could have happened. Kamui kept relying on that brief interlude of happiness to justify his current actions. And maybe it had happened for a reason. Maybe he was meant to see that fulfilling this wish would only cause /pain/ in the end. And even if there was a chance that it would work, could he afford to risk it? It was already causing him to lose the faith of his closest friends. Kamui shook his head. He could have his wish and protect his friends too. He could do it! After all, he /was/ Kamui… Beneath the Sunshine 60 building, Seishirou watched as the other Kamui’s bandages were removed. Fuuma looked up and gave Seishirou a half-hearted grin. “I’m surprised you decided to come with me down here, considering your distaste for the decorum.” “/Come/ with you? I had to /bring/ you here. Have you forgotten about your head trauma the other day?” He walked over to the Dark Kamui’s side. “So why did you allow yourself to be so badly beaten?” “Couldn’t we just concede that Kamui was stronger than me for that brief moment?” Seishirou bit back his surprise. That was /not/ something he was prepared to hear. “We absolutely may not concede to that. Really, since when have you adopted a defeatist attitude? He didn’t beat you, you beat yourself. Besides, the fight was turning in your favor before you sat down and let him cuddle you.” “What?” “I don’t know what the hell you were thinking, lying down in his arms. Because you and I both know that if hadn’t been bleeding so profusely he might have thought to kill you. It was a dangerous mistake, something I never thought you were capable of.” He crossed his arms and set his mouth in a hard line. “Which is why I know someone else was responsible for it.” He turned an icy stare on Kanoe. “I know that you are relatively useless, but have you intruded upon your sister’s dreaming recently? Is she responsible for this?” Kanoe bit back her initial response, and tried to respond calmly. “I haven’t seen anything to warn me of our Kamui’s instability in Hinoto’s dreams.” “Then it must be our own, sleeping beauty.” Seishirou walked towards Kakyou. Pulling apart the curtain, he saw a frail man wrapped in a thin blanket. Various tubes injected themselves in his body, and a respirator sighed by his bedside. The Sakurazukamori closed his eyes, and felt an odd sensation breaking over his body… like a wave. Instantly, he was in a dreamscape. He saw an endless blue-green ocean, and some lone sea gulls circling the shore. He climbed up the rocks and searched for Kakyou. “Reveal yourself Dreamseer!” Kakyou appeared behind him, sitting idly nearby. Seishirou stared at him unamused. “Why are you helping the Dragons of Heaven? Answer me truthfully or I won’t spare another thought to killing you.” “Don’t spare that thought, Sakurazukamori, go ahead and kill me.” Seishirou looked at him surprised. “Wishing for death? Well, masochism in weaker males can be endearing… except when it turns suicidal.” He walked closer to the Dreamseer and crouched down. “/I’m/ not in the business of granting wishes. You shall remain alive; it seems to be the greatest pain I could cause you anyway. So tell me, what exactly are you doing?” “I’m not helping the Dragons of Heaven, I’m trying to help myself.” “Are you?” “If Kamui succeeds in his wish, and the youth named “Fuuma” returns, my wish will never be granted.” “If you want him to remain the Dark Kamui, why are you enabling him to access his old memories?” “I’m enabling no such things. I only constructed a dream, which I gave to our Kamui a few nights ago. He seems to think it was a memory, but even I could not touch those. They are locked far to deeply within him.” Kakyou listened to the gulls screeching, the eternal waves lapping at the shore. Seishirou, a master of illusions himself, marveled at the intricacy of the dreamscape surrounding him. “But a dream disguised as a memory is good enough to make him unstable. It is good enough to throw the Kamui of the Dragon’s of Heaven off track. I want their Kamui to abandon his wish, to do so I must make it appear as though granting it will only cause suffering.” “So our Kamui isn’t wavering between personas?” “No, he was simple fooled by a dream I wove for him. I’m actually surprised it had such an effect… perhaps his heart is more human than he lets himself believe. And I’m lucky humans are adept at fooling themselves into believing almost anything…” “All this elaborate scheming to have Kamui abandon his wish? Just so you can die?” “What I love the most is no longer in this world. I only wish to leave this existence; I’ll do whatever is in my power to fulfill this purpose. Nothing must stand in my way.” “But still, why all this fuss? On the Promised Day we will all die anyhow.” “Perhaps, but someone once told me that ‘the future is not yet decided’… I must allow for any possibility.” “We’re not going to lose.” Kakyou made no reply. He only stared into the blue, infinity of the ocean. “ Shiro-kun. Go on without me today.” “Eh? Where are you eating lunch?” Keiichi looked a little sad for a moment. He reached out to touch Kamui, but held himself back. The smaller boy took a step closer, and looked up questioningly. Keiichi smiled, but his eyes were forlorn. “Oh, just some things I have to take care of. I’ll see you later Shiro-kun!” Kamui couldn’t help feeling a little disappointed as he watched his friend retreating. He was rather hoping they could talk. They had yet to discuss that impulsive kiss from the other day. It made Kamui blush to think of it, and he felt strangely eager. He walked around a little aimlessly, feeling anxious and alone without his companion. It was then he turned the corner, and came upon Subaru. It made the breath catch in his slender throat, to see the Sumeragi looking so… defenseless. Subaru sat on a bench, hands folded in his lap, his eyes closed with a serene expression across his face. There was over- grown nature all around him, creeping up the sides of the bench, flowers popping out of various branches. And birds pecking at the ground at his feet. He looked almost as though he were communing with nature. That was a rather funny thought. It made Kamui smile, before he frowned. The animosity still lingered from that morning’s encounter. He wondered if he could still talk to Subaru. Kamui approached cautiously.</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>