http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-fix/strange.txt </head><body><pre>Title: Strangest Pairings: Aoki and Fuuma Series/Sequel: If I get feedback on this, I might write another Author: Epeeblade Website: http://www.geocities.com/epeeblade Warnings: Spoilers for much of X, some shonen-ai Rating: PG Feedback: Always appreciated:) Summary: Aoki wanders the streets of Tokyo, searching for something he's lost. Strangest Pairings: Aoki and Fuuma By Epeeblade http://www.geocities.com/epeeblade Seiichiro Aoki hunched over the bar, his elbows resting on the splattered Formica bar-top. Nestled within his posture sat a slim platter of sake. Every so often a ripple would disturb the placid liquid, as a tear slipped past his control. It had finally hit him, this night, as he had tossed and turned next to his peacefully sleeping wife. He should not be there, with his loving family, he would only bring danger to them. So he had packed his bags and left, boarding the first train for Tokyo, eager to get to the campus with the other Seals. Right now, however, he could not face them, could not be his usual cheerful self. And the last thing the Dragons of Heaven needed was another dour spirit. He managed spunk enough to drop off his bags in the room so generously providing by the young Imonoyama, smiling at the aide who had showed him to the room. By the time he got back down the stairs, he could fee the mask crumbling. "Where are you going?" Karen had asked him. He paused, one hand on the doorknob, the other resting upon the frame. What could he say to her? How could he explain this trembling need inside to be away from this building, from her and all the Seals? If he had a choice, he would have preferred to be one of those ignorant to the signs, living out his last happy days oblivious to the chaos and clamor of the Last Battle. Gripping the frame tightly, he murmured, "There are a few things I need to check up on." She did not reply, and her silence hung in the air between them. Finally, she said only, "I'll be here when you return." He twisted the doorknob and fled into the relative freedom of the outdoors. Even flying on the current of wind gave him no respite. Usually he delighted in each motion, grasping tendrils of air that obeyed his command and carried him high above the city. Tonight the wind obeyed as always, but he could not find the joy in it. He pushed himself away from the bar, nearly falling off the stool. He wasn't really drunk, just enough to realize that this wasn't working. He was empty, something had chipped at his soul and he didn't know how to find his lost pieces. "Excuse me," A vaguely familiar voice said from behind him, "You look like someone I've lost. Tell me, is it so wrong for me to have wishes of my own?" Aoki twisted in shock, that young voice belong to the Kamui of the Dragons of Earth. He held out his hand, ready to summon the Kekkai that would protect the area and call him to battle. Instead, that hand was captured and held tightly. "Is it?" /Kamui/ repeated. The teenager looked a bit bedraggled; his clothes smudged with dirt, and his eyes surrounded by dark rings. "What?" Aoki gasped out, stunned as the teenager lifted Aoki's hand and held it to his cheek. The other Kamui raised his free hand and covered one of Aoki's eyes. "Almost perfect. Will you?" "You're not making any sense." And he pulled away from the warmth of the boy's touch, his fingers trembling slightly. Perhaps he tempted death, antagonizing the psychotic /Kamui/ so, however, the boy only stared at him, golden eyes so sad. Those eyes touched something within Aoki. "Are you lonely?" He found himself asking. /Kamui/ closed his eyes, "Yes." He breathed. "Would you, would you care for some ice cream?" Aoki smiled, "I would love some." /Kamui/ held out his hand and Aoki grasped it willingly this time, if a bit hesitant. "I know a good place." He chatted, leading the older man out of the bar and into the streets. "We used to go there all the time." "We?" Aoki wondered, but the boy did not clarify. Instead, he found himself in an ice cream shop, open ridiculously late, seated with a plastic coated menu on his lap. "I recommend the chocolate cherry twist." /Kamui/ commented, staring at the menu intently. Aoki wanted to laugh at the absurdity of it all, but somehow, he retrained himself. Perhaps he had drunk more sake than he had realized. The waitress came and took their order (chocolate cherry twist for /Kamui/, hot fudge sundae for Aoki.) Without the distraction of the menus, Aoki found himself staring at the teenager with nothing to say. /Kamui/ broke the silence, "So what were you doing in that bar? I don't think it's a kekkai you want to preserve." Aoki smiled slightly at that, "I could ask you the same." "My answer is easy, I was looking for you." /Kamui/ said intently, his golden gaze fixed interminably on Aoki's face, as if memorizing the man's features. "Why?" Aoki gasped, surprised. The other /Kamui/ had never shown an interest in him, always eager to molest Kamui, or which ever other Seal was near the poor boy. He shuddered inwardly, thinking of Subaru and how the teen before him had so callously displaced the onmyouji's eye. For once, the /Kamui/ turned his gaze away, intent on the tabletop, immaculately clean of any sticky coating. He rubbed at the gray stone absently. "Because, you look like him. I wanted to see if you were like him at all." "Him?" Aoki asked, startled. Before the teen could respond, the waitress had returned with their orders, and placed the overflowing platters in front of them. /Kamui/ began to eat immediately, his mouth too full to answer Aoki's query. A few moments later, the teen had cleaned the glass container, gently licking the spoon of any trace of ice cream, cherry or chocolate sauce. "So, you never answered me, why were you there?" Aoki frowned into his as yet unfinished sundae. Why not state the truth? Odds were, this boy could see into his heart anyway. "I just left my wife." "For the whore?" "No!" Aoki exclaimed, slamming his hand on the table so hard the platters jumped and clattered. "No." he said again, his forehead furrowed and his eyes sad. "To protect her." "From me?" /Kamui/ grinned at him, a bit of chocolate smeared on his chin endearingly. "If you must know," Aoki began, picking up his napkin and dabbing it against his tongue. "Yes." He said, moving to clear the chocolate off the boy's face. The teen remained frozen until the older man completed his task. "So gentle," he murmured under his breath. "Let's go." He stood abruptly. "Just a moment, I must pay the bill first," Aoki said absently, and pulled out his nearly empty wallet. "So polite," the teen said again in that strangely strangled voice. Aoki wondered what was going on in the boy's head. It seemed so odd for one of such calculating brutality to be acting with such aloofness. He couldn't imagine how the /Kamui's/ mind worked, nor how the boy's soul could stand his own specious activities. He tipped the waitress with the remaining change, and followed the boy out of the shop. /Kamui/ stood under a bright lamppost, the light illuminating his face, yet somehow concealing it as well. "You've passed my test." He announced arrogantly as Aoki entered the circle of light. "I now know whether or not you are like `him'." "Who?" Aoki persisted. "The Sakurazukamori." The boy whispered, his face downcast, so Aoki could not see the expression on his face. Confused, Aoki stepped back, not understanding how in the least he could be like that cold-blooded killer, nor why this teen was obviously missing him so badly. /Kamui/ stepped forward, so that he was only a few inches from the older man, "I will tell you a secret," he murmured, leaning forward to brush his lips against Aoki's, who remained still at the touch. With no resistance, /Kamui/ lifted his hands to cup the man's face and deepen the kiss ever so slightly, licking at the man's bottom lip. Then, just as quickly, he pulled away, a devilish grin on his face, "I'll kill you the next time I see you." And then he was gone, moving too fast for Aoki to catch, even if he weren't so stunned. For it suddenly made sense to him, the /Kamui's/ need to find something of the Sakurazukamori in him. The boy wanted to say goodbye to his lover, and found Aoki as the best physical replacement. He touched his lips gently, remembering the sweet kiss, wondering if /Kamui/ had ever even really kissed the Sakurazukamori. Finally, he wondered what sort of man the Sakurazukamori had been to inspire so much love in teenage boys. Something in his heart had lessened, as he began to walk back to the campus, deciding against flying so that he could use this time to think. If even his enemies could find the time to love, to grieve, should he continue on his destructive course, to set aside love and affection for the pretense of duty? The answer seemed obvious, but he needed to be sure that he was ready, that he could allow the ones he loved to take the risks that his being a Seal involved. He recalled a saying he had read somewhere, something about love not being risking your heart, but letting the ones you loved take risks of their own. He was sure he had gotten the saying wrong, as he invariably did. His wife would say he had too much on his mind to keep any cliché straight. That thought brought a smile to his lips and he stopped at the payphone on the corner. The campus was only a block away, but this needed to be done, now, while the smile remained on his face. He lifted the receiver and dialed his home. When his wife answered, he whispered to her, "Please forgive me, but there is something I need to tell you..." He would let her decide whether or not to face the risks of being the wife of a Dragon of Heaven, instead of deciding for her. She would know if he died, why he died, and would not stalk the city, looking for a face to match his. /Kamui/ he thought to himself, I hope you found what you wanted. end</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>