Those Forsaken Ch. 11
Title: Those Forsaken
Rating: M
Genre: Angst/Horror
Characters: Subaru, Seishirou, Kamui, Fuuma
Summary: It all started when Subaru accidentally brought one home. Now Kamui and Subaru find themselves running for their lives, wrapped up in a fight neither could have foreseen.
Warnings: Vampirism, blood, physical abuse, nondescript nudity, etc.
Word Count: 4,852
Chapter 11
They
"Well," the girl amended, eyes shifting to the body lying crumpled on the ground behind Seishirou, "maybe not the last Sakurazuka. Not anymore. We were quite surprised to see you with the boy though. It's not like you to care about anyone." Seishirou stared back flatly, and she added, "You must really love him." There was a slight flick, a waver in that blank stare as Seishirou schooled a brief scowl back into impassivity. Why did everyone seem to think turning one young boy was any indication of caring? Wouldn't anyone, upon seeing a lovely crystal ornament start to topple from the shelf, reach out to steady it? Didn't children trap snowflakes in their hands just so they could gaze at that fragile, frozen lacework a few minutes longer?
"We've been watching you for years," she continued absently, shrugging. "I'm not convinced it was worth it." Then there was a muffled exclamation, and she turned, attention caught by the struggle going on behind her. Fuuma had been forced back against the wall, fighting the watery restraints that lashed his arms and legs in place. "Having difficulty, Yuuto-san?"
"I'm afraid our guest is rather violent," the blond man called Yuuto smiled pleasantly, brushing the tips of two fingers over a bloody cut along his cheek. It had been rather close.
"It's useless, you know," the girl told Fuuma. "You should stop struggling. You're just going to waste good blood."
"I don't see how that's any of your concern," Fuuma retorted. But the lightheadedness was finally settling in for good, a floating feeling, like the world wasn't entirely substantial, but spinning around him a bit too fast.
"Now, now," Yuuto replied. "There are lots of good people who could use such… miraculous blood."
"Pay for it, you mean." This last came from Seishirou, who had knelt to check on Subaru, who was folded limp across the floor like a broken-winged bird, fallen to the earth. In his hand, he was holding one of the boy's wrists, gently brushing the pad of his thumb across the skin there. His expression might have been perfectly flat, but there was something in that too-perfect stillness that whispered of danger lurking under the surface, a slow burning anger. Fuuma noted that almost tender touch at the boy's wrist and protective posture with a flicker of surprise. The second of the night. And the thought nagged again at the back of his mind that perhaps there was more to the man than he'd thought.
"Well, we do have to make a living somehow," Yuuto replied, and Fuuma turned his attention back to the man in front of him.
"You sell vampire blood?" It wasn't a new concept. Fuuma had heard of it-had known there were humans who would pay anything to get it, because of its miraculous healing properties. But… "You've been tracking us this entire time just for our blood?"
"Sakurazuka-san," the girl suddenly jumped back in, not seeming particularly interested. "Sakurazuka-san is the one we want. You're just an added bonus."
"Satsuki-chan is right." Yuuto walked over to the bound Fuuma now that his struggling had diminished and reached up, beginning to tear pieces of his shredded shirt away to get at the wounds underneath. "We didn't even know about you until several weeks ago when Saiki-san happened to notice your boy wandering through the city. That wasn't a nice thing you did to him…" The hunter's fingers dug into the stab wound at his shoulder and Fuuma hissed, fighting against the darkness that scraped at the edge of his mind as he watched his blood run out into a glass cylinder the man held up. Blinking the fuzziness from his vision, he brought up the memory of that night: Kamui, who would have been all too noticeable, staggering, pale and bloodless, through the streets… And the memory of himself: forgetting to check his speed in his anger, heading straight to the boy. It had been so obvious. Fuuma closed his eyes, partly in annoyance with himself, but mostly because he could feel the claws of unconsciousness scrabbling at his skull, and he couldn't let it take him yet, not when there was something… something just out of reach. He struggled to grasp it through the encroaching darkness, shoving aside tendrils of drowsiness in order to catch it.
"How long… have you been after Sakurazuka-san?"
"Quite awhile," Yuuto replied while he worked. "Decades. We nearly caught him several times in different villages over the years, but he always eluded us."
"You… You're the ones who've been killing everyone."
"They were in the way. We're not hunting vampires to save people after all. That's just how we pay the bills."
It might have been blood loss, the darkness of death dragging at him, but somehow those words seemed empty. Or maybe he was empty. Hollowed out by the relentless surge of time. There was no anger left in him at the revelation. No remorse. It simply… didn't matter. Though it was somehow funny in the end to find out he'd been chasing the wrong party all those years. All that time he'd been so certain it was Seishirou…
A chuckle crawled up his throat, breaking bitterly across his tongue.
And suddenly he was tired. Weary. Worn out by the weight of years-all spent searching futilely for the man who had never killed his sister in the first place. Yet, even as he thought that, something inside whispered warmly, Not pointless. Never pointless. And there was a sheet lightning flash of amethyst among his memories. But he couldn't fight the lethargy dragging at his limbs anymore.
The stagnant water lashing him to the wall suddenly loosened as he slumped forward.
But as the darkness finally closed around his mind, sucking him down, he felt warm liquid against his lips, running into his mouth, and someone whispering, "Don't worry, we'll make sure to keep you alive for a very long time…"
Seishirou held Subaru in his lap, eyes closed, one hand idly running circles along the boy's arm calmingly. Ignoring for the time being the amethyst-eyed one slumped along the wall. In the cold quiet of the room, the soft conversation coming from the other side of the bars was a gentle background hum. Murmured questions. Irrelevant whispers.
"What about the human?"
"Leave him. I'm sure they'll need the extra meal later."
Seishirou wasn't listening. On the surface, he was calm-neutrality personified-breathing balanced, deep and even. But under that tranquil exterior lurked the murky roil of danger-liquid, concentrated danger. He bent his will to his task, all his focus centered and seeking… systematically testing the spell that held them. He could feel it lying like a thick fog across his senses, dampening his perceptions. If there was just one little hole, the slightest crack… that was all he needed. He pressed up against it mercilessly, and everywhere it pressed back down, like a ceiling built too low, forcing him to constantly stoop. He could almost feel the ache along the back of his shoulders, in the bend of his spine. Again and again he tried, sweeping every corner and side. But in the end, he was forced to come to the conclusion that it was flawless. He couldn't break it. Not from the inside at least.
His thumb brushed idly over the marks on Subaru's wrist-a small thing, an incongruency on otherwise soft skin-but it caused ripples along the smooth surface of his concentration until, finally, he let them wash away that sharply tuned focus, let it dissolve. He opened his eyes. Staring down at the scarring on that pretty skin, he frowned. Vampires… didn't scar. Not normally. They healed too quickly, too perfectly to leave marks. Certainly, there were only so many things that could cause the kind of damage that produced scars like that. And none of them were pleasant. These people… they had done that to Subaru-done something so atrocious it had caused aberrations in the normally clean regenerative proficiency of their blood.
They had hurt Subaru. Marred him. Caused irreparable damage.
Dawn was closing on them. He could feel it. Somewhere out of sight. Yet, even as the cold fingers of sleep began closing around his mind, the feel of smooth skin raised by scarring burned itself into his memory.
These hunters weren't perfect. They would make a mistake sooner or later. It was only a matter of time. And he was patient. He'd waited years to find them. Waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt. Not when he was so close. Frustratingly close. He could feel that moment-that final conclusion-when the game would end lying ahead. The wildness of the chase abruptly brought to its startling finish… plunging the world into stillness again.
Yes. He would wait and watch, and he would be ready.
Half-lidded amber eyes observed the people beyond the bars with dark pleasure. The man named Yuuto noticed and smiled, the same way a wave might smile while dragging down a swimmer. Carelessly. You're not going to escape.
And even as the daylight darkened his world, Seishirou returned it. He smiled humorously at them. It was easy, so easy. Oh yes, I know what's going to happen to you. He contemplated the inevitably blood-coated course of the future, smiling cordially at them all the while. A perfect smile, filled with the future's bright potential.
You hurt Subaru.
I'm going to kill you.
You're going to die.
When Subaru finally woke up the night after, he was cold and stiff and sore. He curled up a bit, shivering, but was unable to chase away the frigid ache of the stone.
"How are you feeling?"At the sudden question, he realized that Kamui was already up, sitting stoically beside him, amethyst eyes tired. He uncurled, suddenly self-conscious, and smiled a little.
"I'm fine." And he almost got away with the lie, but the ghost of a knife bit bone through a pale wrist and his smile wavered and died, and he hurried to change the subject. "What about you? Your wrist…"
"It's broken." For a second, Kamui looked as if he wanted to reach out and close that gap between them, but hesitated halfway. Subaru understood that hesitation all too well-the lingering awkwardness of caring familiarity that had turned into something bitter. And every time one of their familiar gestures fell suddenly short, it was like being reminded all over again. How could he not see it every time he looked at his brother? Every time he breathed… Human. All of his senses shouted it. Every little movement drew attention to it. Human. Deliciously human.
Subaru couldn't help but feel guilty for that. It seemed that it was always him causing the problems. After all, he was the one who'd put that distance there, the one who was different now. And he'd been the one to push Kamui away the other night. And he was the one who'd been lying to Kamui for years…
"I dreamed Seishirou-san was here," Subaru used the words to break the moment, trying to lighten the mood. "He was here and he… what?" Kamui had gotten a funny look on his face, half pained, half panic. Subaru looked at him for a second, considering. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Subaru…" Kamui began, but at that point Subaru heard something-a chink sort of sound-and turned to look behind him, out through the bars and the scene he hadn't realized was taking place there.
"No!" Kamui cried out. "Don't look!" And he lunged forward, attempting to stop his twin from seeing… managing only in flattening Subaru to the ground just as emerald eyes flew wide and he started to his feet. Under normal circumstances it would have been an incredibly stupid thing to do, throwing himself at a starved vampire, even if that vampire was his brother. But he was desperate, and luckily Subaru was far too distracted to notice.
"Seishirou-san!" Subaru cried, struggling wildly to free himself. "Kamui, let me go! Seishirou-san!"
"You can't help him! You can't!" Kamui managed to hold his brother for a minute or so, but inevitably, as Subaru squirmed around trying to get out from under him, a flailing arm knocked into his broken wrist. Hissing, he jerked back. It was just enough. Subaru used that distraction to get to his feet and across the room. And cursing, Kamui started after him.
"Stop it! Stop it! Don't hurt him!" Subaru reached through the bars, trying to bridge that gap between him and the other man. But Seishirou didn't turn to look at him, didn't make any indication that he'd heard, didn't, in fact, move at all. At his outburst, the one called Satsuki eyed him disinterestedly before turning back to Seishirou, jerking one knife free with a vicious yank. Swift sickness swept over him, knocking him off his feet so that he had to cling to the bars for stability. And the world was trembling.
"Subaru!"
No, he realized suddenly. It was him. Someone was shaking him with a one-handed grip on his shoulder.
"Seishirou-san," he whispered as Kamui jerked him free of the cold metal, spun him around, and wrapped protective arms around him.
"You can't do anything for him, Subaru," Kamui replied fiercely. "There's nothing you can do." And he silently cursed the man for making his brother go through this. Personally, Kamui could have cared less about Seishirou, but Subaru was obviously attached to the man. He hated it-hated how effectively that man had taken his brother from him, how completely he had stolen his brother's heart. But as much as he hated the man, he knew it would upset Subaru to see him hurt. There were some things his brother just didn't need to see.
So he held him tight and blocked out the sounds with his body and hoped it would all end soon…
Fuuma noticed first the taste that still clung to his tongue, coating his throat. Someone else's blood in his mouth. Then he noticed how the lacerations from the fight with Seishirou had sealed over, leaving him whole and unharmed and very much alive, and the blood suddenly tasted rancid.
For a second he had the overpowering desire to spit it out, but forcefully swallowed instead. Though the physical wounds had closed, the lost and stolen blood had not been fully replaced, leaving an acute ache in its place. Hunger.
A sudden nervous shifting noise behind him startled him. He hadn't heard the soft beating that always accompanied living things, hadn't caught any scent. Even reaching out with his senses, there wasn't anything there. But that nervous little noise came again, and the instinct to chase, to catch, to kill this one that was too close to him flashed like sheet lightning along his nerve endings. All that coiled alertness lashed out at once, stillness blurring into sudden motion, a swift strike.
It was a human. Curled up along the far wall of the little cell, as far from him as possible. Fuuma noted the blue eyes opening wide in surprise, seeing him coming. Then it was too late.
As he drank, the hunger eased away into nothing.
Disconcerting though, even so close, he couldn't really feel a heartbeat. All those little noises he was accustomed to had been muted. Nearly inaudible. And not just sounds. His vision was dimmer, less bright, his entire perception of the world a washed out pastel compared to the usual clarity.
Finished, he let the limp body slump sideways to the floor.
The room beyond the bars was empty except for the blond hunter, who was sitting peaceably by the door. Listening, he could just make out two voices lowered in quiet conversation, one of which was rather familiar.
"Kamui?" he called experimentally, ignoring the hunter's presence.
"Fuuma?" The reply was immediate, followed by a scuffle of feet as someone along the adjacent wall got up and came to the bars, into his line of sight. "Is that you?"
"Yeah. Who's with you?"
"Subaru. Sakurazuka-san's here too, one over."
If Seishirou really was there, however, he made no comment.
Fuuma considered their arrangement for a moment, vaguely annoyed by how quiet voices sounded now. "It's harder to hear in here," he said at last.
"It's a spell." Another voice. Not Kamui's. Fuuma realized it was the brother as he stepped into view and was surprised. "It's suppressing our power." The boy watched him for a moment, then those green eyes shifted nervously away, resting on Kamui instead. "You two know each other?"
"Fuuma found me the night after Sakurazuka-san took you away," Kamui replied, nodding. Subaru stared at him sadly, and the weight of unspoken words hung heavily in the air. Fuuma watched, wondering if he'd say anything. But of course, this was the boy who'd lain there and not made a sound…
"Ah," Subaru replied at last, and Fuuma could only wonder why he'd kept quiet.
"Any ideas on how to get out of here?" Kamui asked, distracting him.
"Not with the spell suppressing my powers," Fuuma replied.
"Well," Yuuto suddenly interrupted from across the room, "it would be a bit of a problem for us if you were able to break out. If you want, I think you'll find you're still quite free to turn anyone you see fit." His smile said that would work out just fine for them.
"Why are you after Seishirou-san?" Subaru's quiet voice asked, and though they were directed elsewhere now, Fuuma could imagine those sad emerald eyes turned on the hunter beseechingly.
"Seishirou's one of the old ones," Fuuma explained. "Blood like his… would be a very powerful thing."
"Yes," Yuuto said. "Quite a catch. Though this time… we were hoping for something a little more. There's a… rumor… that a Sakurazuka will rise who will have the power to save your kind."
"You've spent a lot of time hunting down a mere rumor."
Yuuto shrugged. "If it's not true, we've still got a powerful Sakurazuka. But if it is… and the only remaining Sakurazuka is in our hands…" He smiled, a promising little smile.
Fuuma sighed. At least it didn't have anything to do with him or Kamui…
The next two days fell into a sort of horrible routine, with either Seishirou or Fuuma waking up paralyzed and Kamui stuck watching.
As time slipped slowly away, Kamui came to love and hate the sunlit hours that stretched out before him emptily. Hate, because during those hours he was the only one awake, without anyone to keep him company. Subaru would lie curled up on the cold stone floor, eyes shut in sleep, close enough to touch and too far out of his reach. During those hours he was reminded again and again how completely his brother had been stolen from him. And yet, at the same time, he craved those hours, because it was only then that he could touch Subaru, only then that he could link hands and pretend everything was the way it used to be. At night, Kamui's touch unfailingly caused Subaru to flinch or panic now, shoving him away. So it was only during the day he could curl up beside the still form of his brother and try not to feel lonely.
Sometimes, lying there alone next to the still form of his brother, he wished… he hadn't been left behind. He wished… he could be oblivious to the long day-lit hours too…
It worried him though… how weak Subaru was, and getting weaker fast. He couldn't stand to sit back and watch his brother's strength slowly fade, but when he tried to help, he was pushed away. It was an acute sort of frustration, having to watch and not know what to do…
Yet, as the hours slipped by and he tried to stay as far away from Subaru as possible so as not to make things worse, he found himself more and more often starting conversations with Fuuma, desperate for any distraction. It was strange to find the other man's presence comforting, to look forward to the times when the other man was awake, to wish there weren't bars and stone walls separating them. Not that he wanted to be separated from Subaru! But just… frightening… the realization.
He wanted to be with Fuuma.
Not long after, Seishirou woke up to the cold conversation of two of the hunters on the other side of the bars.
"It's useless. If we take any of his blood, we'll kill him. He's too weak to sustain the loss."
"But if we can't take his blood, there's no point in keeping him…"
"What if he's that Sakurazuka?"
"No." A head shake. "In the state he's in, he couldn't save anyone. It's best to just get rid of him…"
It didn't take Seishirou long to figure out who they were talking about. There was only one person who had been refusing to eat.
"Give the boy to me," he said suddenly, causing two pairs of eyes to shift his direction. "I'll get him to eat. He won't refuse me."
"You'll eat for both of you?" Satsuki asked, eyeing him in a way that said she was weighing the risks against the benefits.
"Yes."
There followed another moment of careful calculation. Then she nodded.
"Back away from the door."
A minute later Seishirou had jerked Subaru quite firmly into his arms, a protesting Kamui (who had been thrown in with Fuuma during the switch) a sort of distant, unimportant, background noise. Subaru was with him now, not with the brother, and that was what mattered. Curling the fingers of one hand, Seishirou held it out, wrist-up to Subaru, because he knew the boy would never take anything without an invitation. It just wasn't in his nature. Subaru's slender hands slid along his arm, tugging faintly at the cuff of his sleeve, gently insistent little jerks. Then those deft fingers had the buttons free and were tracing softer than a sigh across his skin… until they hit the raised scars at his wrist. Emerald eyes turned to glance up at him sadly then-a glimpse of green sorrow shadowed by black lashes-before turning back to tentatively explore the damage with a whisper of fingertips. He enjoyed that soft touch for a second, but when Subaru's hand slid along the back of his, overlapping, he entwined the boy's fingers with his own, lacing them together and bending his wrist back. With a muffled moan, Subaru leaned in, lips tracing the faint blue web of veins before taking Seishirou's wrist carefully between his teeth and biting down. Seishirou pulled the boy against his chest with his free hand, enclosing him in his embrace.
He didn't say anything. It was better that way, with just that desperate contact connecting them. The feel of blood and skin and silky hair.
I've missed you.
I'm glad you're alright.
Better than words. More substantial.
When at last Subaru let go, he licked fitfully at the bite marks for awhile, lovingly tending to the wounds he'd inflicted, before curling up in the warmth of Seishirou's arms. For just that moment he was perfectly content. And between the inexorable warmth and the man's fingers in his hair, he dozed off quite quickly.
It wasn't much later that same night that someone else came in. Seishirou had known there were other hunters in the group, but up till that point only Yuuto and Satsuki had stayed with them for any length of time. If the others came at all, it was during the day. But when the door opened, it was a large, well-built man carrying an unconscious young girl that came in, followed by Yuuto and another pale-haired boy with a three-diamond mark on his forehead. Seishirou held tight to Subaru in his arms, watching them with passive disinterest as they deposited the girl in another cell along the adjacent wall and left, not failing to notice the almost pained look the larger man shot back over his shoulder at the last second.
Four, he thought, when they were gone. Four hunters for sure. Four Power-wielding opponents to be fought through to get out.
Kamui kicked the bars one last time for good measure.
"Considering Seishirou just offered to save your brother, you could be a bit more grateful." Fuuma raised an eyebrow. "Did you want your brother to die?"
"No!" Kamui's one-handed grip on the bars tightened, frustrated. "I… I'm thankful. Subaru will be okay. But why couldn't I have helped? Why wouldn't he let me help?" Something about that irked him-not that it had been Seishirou who had interceded, but that Seishirou could help while he… he couldn't.
"You can help me…" Fuuma wrapped his arms around the boy, and Kamui shuddered as lips whispered along his jaw, a teasingly gentle grate of teeth over the bone.
"Fuuma!"
"What? Don't I deserve your help too?"
"That's not… mmf!"
Fuuma, who wasn't particularly interested in Kamui's reply, decided to use the boy's mouth for his own ends at that point, cutting off any further conversation. Kamui squirmed a bit when the man's hands glided over his hips, pulling him insistently away from the bars, before melting into that hold. There wasn't anything he could do after all. He'd have to trust Seishirou to take care of his brother for the time being, and anyway, having Fuuma pressed tight against him was much more pleasant than curling up against a cold, wet wall. Much more distracting too. And for awhile the time passed pleasantly. It felt good to have company in that cold place. Good to have warm hands around him, occasionally tracing absent circles across his stomach.
His gaze swung swiftly to the door when it was flung open, letting in new faces, but relaxed when it turned out to have nothing to do with them for a change…
After awhile, Kamui realized he'd been distracted from his purpose and picked up the thread of conversation again.
"Why would he go out of his way to save Subaru anyway?" he mused.
Fuuma chuckled, and Kamui felt the vibrations of it against his back. "I think your brother's a good influence on that man."
Kamui smiled a very little. "Subaru would be a good influence on a rock." And then the pleasant closeness that surrounded them was ripped wide open…
"Hello? Hello?!" A young girl poked her head out from between the bars on the other side of the room, a short fall of black hair framing her face. "Is someone there?"
No thanks to Fuuma, Kamui managed to struggle to his feet. "Here!"
"Thank goodness!" She laughed. "It's kind of boring in here by myself. I'm Nekoi Yuzuriha, by the way!"
"Monou Fuuma," Fuuma replied, rising to his feet as well. "Sakurazuka Seishirou." He gestured toward the wall, seeming to startle her and causing Seishirou to glance up. "And this one is Kamui." At which point her eyes widened with astonishment and something like awe.
"Kamui? Did you say your name was Kamui? The one who will save us? Sakurazuka Kamui?"
There followed a moment of utterly baffled and horrified silence while the implications of those words dawned on the other inhabitants of the room. It was Kamui who finally burst out, "You couldn't pay me to be related to that man!" right over top of Seishirou's calmly firm "I am not turning him…"
"But," the girl started, bouncing exuberantly on her toes, "he has to be! It's just like Lady Hinoto predicted!"
"Lady Hinoto?" Fuuma asked, suddenly suspicious. "You're not a member of that group that believes in the end of the world, are you?" The girl's eyes lit up in delight.
"So you've heard of us! Lady Hinoto sees things sometimes in her dreams…"
"And she said Kamui is going to save us?" Fuuma asked.
"That's what she said." Yuzuriha beamed. Everyone looked at Kamui. Kamui blinked back, the picture of ordinary.
"Uh," Kamui said, "I think there's been some mistake."
"Lady Hinoto doesn't make mistakes."
Fuuma snorted and turned away. "You've got the wrong person. Kamui doesn't have any Power…"
"But," Yuzuriha plowed on, undaunted, "you are a Kamui! And you're with a Sakurazuka! It's perfect!"
"Is that so?" A new voice interrupted them, cold and flat, causing Yuzuriha to jump a little in surprise. Satsuki stood in the door, having come in halfway through the conversation. "Kamui's the one we've been looking for all this time?" She considered him, and Kamui felt something cold slip into his stomach.
"Don't be ridiculous," Fuuma replied. "He's obviously not the right Kamui."
"Still," Satsuki said, "it won't hurt to check. Maybe it's a good thing we didn't dispose of you after all…"
"Checking really isn't necessary," Kamui hurried to protest, not liking where this was going.
"Nevertheless…" With one last look at Kamui that promised unspeakable things in store, she glided purposefully back out through the door…
Author Note: Sooo… What's your favorite chapter? Why? And what do you think about all this stuff with Hinoto? Is she for real? Or is the end of the world just a delusional dream in this dimension? This makes the second character we've seen from her side-first Saiki and now Yuzuriha… Any idea who's behind it all yet? (Can you tell I love torturing my readers? :D)
Quick notes about things so far: Nataku is a boy. Sorry, no bio-engineering in this age. There's a little girl version running around of him somewhere though (or maybe that's the little girl Seishirou killed when Subaru met him all those years ago… *smirk*). I've been taking bits and pieces from all sorts of different places, obviously. The pendant was taken from Seishirou in Tsubasa, and because they refer to him as a hunter, the pendant became the symbol of the hunters in this fic, simply because I want to know the importance of it, and correct or not, trying to fill in the gap amused me. (Actually, when I first got a good look at it, the first thing I thought was "Circle Daybreak!" XD Extra credit if you know where 'that' comes from!) Also, Seishirou and Subaru don't have shikigamis. I realized quite early on that while I wanted to stick as close to canon as possible, I couldn't allow them to find each other quite so easily.
Hints leading to this chapter:
"…some occult religion about the end of the world and a vessel that would be the bearer of God's will." -Fuuma, ch. 5
"It's the blood," Fuuma explained, smirking slightly. "Didn't you know? It heals."-Fuuma, ch. 7
"There are those who hunt us for our blood." -Sei, ch. 7
"…concentrating too hard on staying on his feet to notice the prickle of watching eyes from somewhere in the teaming throng behind him." -Kamui, ch. 6
Chapter: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen
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Rating: M
Genre: Angst/Horror
Characters: Subaru, Seishirou, Kamui, Fuuma
Summary: It all started when Subaru accidentally brought one home. Now Kamui and Subaru find themselves running for their lives, wrapped up in a fight neither could have foreseen.
Warnings: Vampirism, blood, physical abuse, nondescript nudity, etc.
Word Count: 4,852
Chapter 11
They
"Well," the girl amended, eyes shifting to the body lying crumpled on the ground behind Seishirou, "maybe not the last Sakurazuka. Not anymore. We were quite surprised to see you with the boy though. It's not like you to care about anyone." Seishirou stared back flatly, and she added, "You must really love him." There was a slight flick, a waver in that blank stare as Seishirou schooled a brief scowl back into impassivity. Why did everyone seem to think turning one young boy was any indication of caring? Wouldn't anyone, upon seeing a lovely crystal ornament start to topple from the shelf, reach out to steady it? Didn't children trap snowflakes in their hands just so they could gaze at that fragile, frozen lacework a few minutes longer?
"We've been watching you for years," she continued absently, shrugging. "I'm not convinced it was worth it." Then there was a muffled exclamation, and she turned, attention caught by the struggle going on behind her. Fuuma had been forced back against the wall, fighting the watery restraints that lashed his arms and legs in place. "Having difficulty, Yuuto-san?"
"I'm afraid our guest is rather violent," the blond man called Yuuto smiled pleasantly, brushing the tips of two fingers over a bloody cut along his cheek. It had been rather close.
"It's useless, you know," the girl told Fuuma. "You should stop struggling. You're just going to waste good blood."
"I don't see how that's any of your concern," Fuuma retorted. But the lightheadedness was finally settling in for good, a floating feeling, like the world wasn't entirely substantial, but spinning around him a bit too fast.
"Now, now," Yuuto replied. "There are lots of good people who could use such… miraculous blood."
"Pay for it, you mean." This last came from Seishirou, who had knelt to check on Subaru, who was folded limp across the floor like a broken-winged bird, fallen to the earth. In his hand, he was holding one of the boy's wrists, gently brushing the pad of his thumb across the skin there. His expression might have been perfectly flat, but there was something in that too-perfect stillness that whispered of danger lurking under the surface, a slow burning anger. Fuuma noted that almost tender touch at the boy's wrist and protective posture with a flicker of surprise. The second of the night. And the thought nagged again at the back of his mind that perhaps there was more to the man than he'd thought.
"Well, we do have to make a living somehow," Yuuto replied, and Fuuma turned his attention back to the man in front of him.
"You sell vampire blood?" It wasn't a new concept. Fuuma had heard of it-had known there were humans who would pay anything to get it, because of its miraculous healing properties. But… "You've been tracking us this entire time just for our blood?"
"Sakurazuka-san," the girl suddenly jumped back in, not seeming particularly interested. "Sakurazuka-san is the one we want. You're just an added bonus."
"Satsuki-chan is right." Yuuto walked over to the bound Fuuma now that his struggling had diminished and reached up, beginning to tear pieces of his shredded shirt away to get at the wounds underneath. "We didn't even know about you until several weeks ago when Saiki-san happened to notice your boy wandering through the city. That wasn't a nice thing you did to him…" The hunter's fingers dug into the stab wound at his shoulder and Fuuma hissed, fighting against the darkness that scraped at the edge of his mind as he watched his blood run out into a glass cylinder the man held up. Blinking the fuzziness from his vision, he brought up the memory of that night: Kamui, who would have been all too noticeable, staggering, pale and bloodless, through the streets… And the memory of himself: forgetting to check his speed in his anger, heading straight to the boy. It had been so obvious. Fuuma closed his eyes, partly in annoyance with himself, but mostly because he could feel the claws of unconsciousness scrabbling at his skull, and he couldn't let it take him yet, not when there was something… something just out of reach. He struggled to grasp it through the encroaching darkness, shoving aside tendrils of drowsiness in order to catch it.
"How long… have you been after Sakurazuka-san?"
"Quite awhile," Yuuto replied while he worked. "Decades. We nearly caught him several times in different villages over the years, but he always eluded us."
"You… You're the ones who've been killing everyone."
"They were in the way. We're not hunting vampires to save people after all. That's just how we pay the bills."
It might have been blood loss, the darkness of death dragging at him, but somehow those words seemed empty. Or maybe he was empty. Hollowed out by the relentless surge of time. There was no anger left in him at the revelation. No remorse. It simply… didn't matter. Though it was somehow funny in the end to find out he'd been chasing the wrong party all those years. All that time he'd been so certain it was Seishirou…
A chuckle crawled up his throat, breaking bitterly across his tongue.
And suddenly he was tired. Weary. Worn out by the weight of years-all spent searching futilely for the man who had never killed his sister in the first place. Yet, even as he thought that, something inside whispered warmly, Not pointless. Never pointless. And there was a sheet lightning flash of amethyst among his memories. But he couldn't fight the lethargy dragging at his limbs anymore.
The stagnant water lashing him to the wall suddenly loosened as he slumped forward.
But as the darkness finally closed around his mind, sucking him down, he felt warm liquid against his lips, running into his mouth, and someone whispering, "Don't worry, we'll make sure to keep you alive for a very long time…"
Seishirou held Subaru in his lap, eyes closed, one hand idly running circles along the boy's arm calmingly. Ignoring for the time being the amethyst-eyed one slumped along the wall. In the cold quiet of the room, the soft conversation coming from the other side of the bars was a gentle background hum. Murmured questions. Irrelevant whispers.
"What about the human?"
"Leave him. I'm sure they'll need the extra meal later."
Seishirou wasn't listening. On the surface, he was calm-neutrality personified-breathing balanced, deep and even. But under that tranquil exterior lurked the murky roil of danger-liquid, concentrated danger. He bent his will to his task, all his focus centered and seeking… systematically testing the spell that held them. He could feel it lying like a thick fog across his senses, dampening his perceptions. If there was just one little hole, the slightest crack… that was all he needed. He pressed up against it mercilessly, and everywhere it pressed back down, like a ceiling built too low, forcing him to constantly stoop. He could almost feel the ache along the back of his shoulders, in the bend of his spine. Again and again he tried, sweeping every corner and side. But in the end, he was forced to come to the conclusion that it was flawless. He couldn't break it. Not from the inside at least.
His thumb brushed idly over the marks on Subaru's wrist-a small thing, an incongruency on otherwise soft skin-but it caused ripples along the smooth surface of his concentration until, finally, he let them wash away that sharply tuned focus, let it dissolve. He opened his eyes. Staring down at the scarring on that pretty skin, he frowned. Vampires… didn't scar. Not normally. They healed too quickly, too perfectly to leave marks. Certainly, there were only so many things that could cause the kind of damage that produced scars like that. And none of them were pleasant. These people… they had done that to Subaru-done something so atrocious it had caused aberrations in the normally clean regenerative proficiency of their blood.
They had hurt Subaru. Marred him. Caused irreparable damage.
Dawn was closing on them. He could feel it. Somewhere out of sight. Yet, even as the cold fingers of sleep began closing around his mind, the feel of smooth skin raised by scarring burned itself into his memory.
These hunters weren't perfect. They would make a mistake sooner or later. It was only a matter of time. And he was patient. He'd waited years to find them. Waiting a little longer wouldn't hurt. Not when he was so close. Frustratingly close. He could feel that moment-that final conclusion-when the game would end lying ahead. The wildness of the chase abruptly brought to its startling finish… plunging the world into stillness again.
Yes. He would wait and watch, and he would be ready.
Half-lidded amber eyes observed the people beyond the bars with dark pleasure. The man named Yuuto noticed and smiled, the same way a wave might smile while dragging down a swimmer. Carelessly. You're not going to escape.
And even as the daylight darkened his world, Seishirou returned it. He smiled humorously at them. It was easy, so easy. Oh yes, I know what's going to happen to you. He contemplated the inevitably blood-coated course of the future, smiling cordially at them all the while. A perfect smile, filled with the future's bright potential.
You hurt Subaru.
I'm going to kill you.
You're going to die.
When Subaru finally woke up the night after, he was cold and stiff and sore. He curled up a bit, shivering, but was unable to chase away the frigid ache of the stone.
"How are you feeling?"At the sudden question, he realized that Kamui was already up, sitting stoically beside him, amethyst eyes tired. He uncurled, suddenly self-conscious, and smiled a little.
"I'm fine." And he almost got away with the lie, but the ghost of a knife bit bone through a pale wrist and his smile wavered and died, and he hurried to change the subject. "What about you? Your wrist…"
"It's broken." For a second, Kamui looked as if he wanted to reach out and close that gap between them, but hesitated halfway. Subaru understood that hesitation all too well-the lingering awkwardness of caring familiarity that had turned into something bitter. And every time one of their familiar gestures fell suddenly short, it was like being reminded all over again. How could he not see it every time he looked at his brother? Every time he breathed… Human. All of his senses shouted it. Every little movement drew attention to it. Human. Deliciously human.
Subaru couldn't help but feel guilty for that. It seemed that it was always him causing the problems. After all, he was the one who'd put that distance there, the one who was different now. And he'd been the one to push Kamui away the other night. And he was the one who'd been lying to Kamui for years…
"I dreamed Seishirou-san was here," Subaru used the words to break the moment, trying to lighten the mood. "He was here and he… what?" Kamui had gotten a funny look on his face, half pained, half panic. Subaru looked at him for a second, considering. "What aren't you telling me?"
"Subaru…" Kamui began, but at that point Subaru heard something-a chink sort of sound-and turned to look behind him, out through the bars and the scene he hadn't realized was taking place there.
"No!" Kamui cried out. "Don't look!" And he lunged forward, attempting to stop his twin from seeing… managing only in flattening Subaru to the ground just as emerald eyes flew wide and he started to his feet. Under normal circumstances it would have been an incredibly stupid thing to do, throwing himself at a starved vampire, even if that vampire was his brother. But he was desperate, and luckily Subaru was far too distracted to notice.
"Seishirou-san!" Subaru cried, struggling wildly to free himself. "Kamui, let me go! Seishirou-san!"
"You can't help him! You can't!" Kamui managed to hold his brother for a minute or so, but inevitably, as Subaru squirmed around trying to get out from under him, a flailing arm knocked into his broken wrist. Hissing, he jerked back. It was just enough. Subaru used that distraction to get to his feet and across the room. And cursing, Kamui started after him.
"Stop it! Stop it! Don't hurt him!" Subaru reached through the bars, trying to bridge that gap between him and the other man. But Seishirou didn't turn to look at him, didn't make any indication that he'd heard, didn't, in fact, move at all. At his outburst, the one called Satsuki eyed him disinterestedly before turning back to Seishirou, jerking one knife free with a vicious yank. Swift sickness swept over him, knocking him off his feet so that he had to cling to the bars for stability. And the world was trembling.
"Subaru!"
No, he realized suddenly. It was him. Someone was shaking him with a one-handed grip on his shoulder.
"Seishirou-san," he whispered as Kamui jerked him free of the cold metal, spun him around, and wrapped protective arms around him.
"You can't do anything for him, Subaru," Kamui replied fiercely. "There's nothing you can do." And he silently cursed the man for making his brother go through this. Personally, Kamui could have cared less about Seishirou, but Subaru was obviously attached to the man. He hated it-hated how effectively that man had taken his brother from him, how completely he had stolen his brother's heart. But as much as he hated the man, he knew it would upset Subaru to see him hurt. There were some things his brother just didn't need to see.
So he held him tight and blocked out the sounds with his body and hoped it would all end soon…
Fuuma noticed first the taste that still clung to his tongue, coating his throat. Someone else's blood in his mouth. Then he noticed how the lacerations from the fight with Seishirou had sealed over, leaving him whole and unharmed and very much alive, and the blood suddenly tasted rancid.
For a second he had the overpowering desire to spit it out, but forcefully swallowed instead. Though the physical wounds had closed, the lost and stolen blood had not been fully replaced, leaving an acute ache in its place. Hunger.
A sudden nervous shifting noise behind him startled him. He hadn't heard the soft beating that always accompanied living things, hadn't caught any scent. Even reaching out with his senses, there wasn't anything there. But that nervous little noise came again, and the instinct to chase, to catch, to kill this one that was too close to him flashed like sheet lightning along his nerve endings. All that coiled alertness lashed out at once, stillness blurring into sudden motion, a swift strike.
It was a human. Curled up along the far wall of the little cell, as far from him as possible. Fuuma noted the blue eyes opening wide in surprise, seeing him coming. Then it was too late.
As he drank, the hunger eased away into nothing.
Disconcerting though, even so close, he couldn't really feel a heartbeat. All those little noises he was accustomed to had been muted. Nearly inaudible. And not just sounds. His vision was dimmer, less bright, his entire perception of the world a washed out pastel compared to the usual clarity.
Finished, he let the limp body slump sideways to the floor.
The room beyond the bars was empty except for the blond hunter, who was sitting peaceably by the door. Listening, he could just make out two voices lowered in quiet conversation, one of which was rather familiar.
"Kamui?" he called experimentally, ignoring the hunter's presence.
"Fuuma?" The reply was immediate, followed by a scuffle of feet as someone along the adjacent wall got up and came to the bars, into his line of sight. "Is that you?"
"Yeah. Who's with you?"
"Subaru. Sakurazuka-san's here too, one over."
If Seishirou really was there, however, he made no comment.
Fuuma considered their arrangement for a moment, vaguely annoyed by how quiet voices sounded now. "It's harder to hear in here," he said at last.
"It's a spell." Another voice. Not Kamui's. Fuuma realized it was the brother as he stepped into view and was surprised. "It's suppressing our power." The boy watched him for a moment, then those green eyes shifted nervously away, resting on Kamui instead. "You two know each other?"
"Fuuma found me the night after Sakurazuka-san took you away," Kamui replied, nodding. Subaru stared at him sadly, and the weight of unspoken words hung heavily in the air. Fuuma watched, wondering if he'd say anything. But of course, this was the boy who'd lain there and not made a sound…
"Ah," Subaru replied at last, and Fuuma could only wonder why he'd kept quiet.
"Any ideas on how to get out of here?" Kamui asked, distracting him.
"Not with the spell suppressing my powers," Fuuma replied.
"Well," Yuuto suddenly interrupted from across the room, "it would be a bit of a problem for us if you were able to break out. If you want, I think you'll find you're still quite free to turn anyone you see fit." His smile said that would work out just fine for them.
"Why are you after Seishirou-san?" Subaru's quiet voice asked, and though they were directed elsewhere now, Fuuma could imagine those sad emerald eyes turned on the hunter beseechingly.
"Seishirou's one of the old ones," Fuuma explained. "Blood like his… would be a very powerful thing."
"Yes," Yuuto said. "Quite a catch. Though this time… we were hoping for something a little more. There's a… rumor… that a Sakurazuka will rise who will have the power to save your kind."
"You've spent a lot of time hunting down a mere rumor."
Yuuto shrugged. "If it's not true, we've still got a powerful Sakurazuka. But if it is… and the only remaining Sakurazuka is in our hands…" He smiled, a promising little smile.
Fuuma sighed. At least it didn't have anything to do with him or Kamui…
The next two days fell into a sort of horrible routine, with either Seishirou or Fuuma waking up paralyzed and Kamui stuck watching.
As time slipped slowly away, Kamui came to love and hate the sunlit hours that stretched out before him emptily. Hate, because during those hours he was the only one awake, without anyone to keep him company. Subaru would lie curled up on the cold stone floor, eyes shut in sleep, close enough to touch and too far out of his reach. During those hours he was reminded again and again how completely his brother had been stolen from him. And yet, at the same time, he craved those hours, because it was only then that he could touch Subaru, only then that he could link hands and pretend everything was the way it used to be. At night, Kamui's touch unfailingly caused Subaru to flinch or panic now, shoving him away. So it was only during the day he could curl up beside the still form of his brother and try not to feel lonely.
Sometimes, lying there alone next to the still form of his brother, he wished… he hadn't been left behind. He wished… he could be oblivious to the long day-lit hours too…
It worried him though… how weak Subaru was, and getting weaker fast. He couldn't stand to sit back and watch his brother's strength slowly fade, but when he tried to help, he was pushed away. It was an acute sort of frustration, having to watch and not know what to do…
Yet, as the hours slipped by and he tried to stay as far away from Subaru as possible so as not to make things worse, he found himself more and more often starting conversations with Fuuma, desperate for any distraction. It was strange to find the other man's presence comforting, to look forward to the times when the other man was awake, to wish there weren't bars and stone walls separating them. Not that he wanted to be separated from Subaru! But just… frightening… the realization.
He wanted to be with Fuuma.
Not long after, Seishirou woke up to the cold conversation of two of the hunters on the other side of the bars.
"It's useless. If we take any of his blood, we'll kill him. He's too weak to sustain the loss."
"But if we can't take his blood, there's no point in keeping him…"
"What if he's that Sakurazuka?"
"No." A head shake. "In the state he's in, he couldn't save anyone. It's best to just get rid of him…"
It didn't take Seishirou long to figure out who they were talking about. There was only one person who had been refusing to eat.
"Give the boy to me," he said suddenly, causing two pairs of eyes to shift his direction. "I'll get him to eat. He won't refuse me."
"You'll eat for both of you?" Satsuki asked, eyeing him in a way that said she was weighing the risks against the benefits.
"Yes."
There followed another moment of careful calculation. Then she nodded.
"Back away from the door."
A minute later Seishirou had jerked Subaru quite firmly into his arms, a protesting Kamui (who had been thrown in with Fuuma during the switch) a sort of distant, unimportant, background noise. Subaru was with him now, not with the brother, and that was what mattered. Curling the fingers of one hand, Seishirou held it out, wrist-up to Subaru, because he knew the boy would never take anything without an invitation. It just wasn't in his nature. Subaru's slender hands slid along his arm, tugging faintly at the cuff of his sleeve, gently insistent little jerks. Then those deft fingers had the buttons free and were tracing softer than a sigh across his skin… until they hit the raised scars at his wrist. Emerald eyes turned to glance up at him sadly then-a glimpse of green sorrow shadowed by black lashes-before turning back to tentatively explore the damage with a whisper of fingertips. He enjoyed that soft touch for a second, but when Subaru's hand slid along the back of his, overlapping, he entwined the boy's fingers with his own, lacing them together and bending his wrist back. With a muffled moan, Subaru leaned in, lips tracing the faint blue web of veins before taking Seishirou's wrist carefully between his teeth and biting down. Seishirou pulled the boy against his chest with his free hand, enclosing him in his embrace.
He didn't say anything. It was better that way, with just that desperate contact connecting them. The feel of blood and skin and silky hair.
I've missed you.
I'm glad you're alright.
Better than words. More substantial.
When at last Subaru let go, he licked fitfully at the bite marks for awhile, lovingly tending to the wounds he'd inflicted, before curling up in the warmth of Seishirou's arms. For just that moment he was perfectly content. And between the inexorable warmth and the man's fingers in his hair, he dozed off quite quickly.
It wasn't much later that same night that someone else came in. Seishirou had known there were other hunters in the group, but up till that point only Yuuto and Satsuki had stayed with them for any length of time. If the others came at all, it was during the day. But when the door opened, it was a large, well-built man carrying an unconscious young girl that came in, followed by Yuuto and another pale-haired boy with a three-diamond mark on his forehead. Seishirou held tight to Subaru in his arms, watching them with passive disinterest as they deposited the girl in another cell along the adjacent wall and left, not failing to notice the almost pained look the larger man shot back over his shoulder at the last second.
Four, he thought, when they were gone. Four hunters for sure. Four Power-wielding opponents to be fought through to get out.
Kamui kicked the bars one last time for good measure.
"Considering Seishirou just offered to save your brother, you could be a bit more grateful." Fuuma raised an eyebrow. "Did you want your brother to die?"
"No!" Kamui's one-handed grip on the bars tightened, frustrated. "I… I'm thankful. Subaru will be okay. But why couldn't I have helped? Why wouldn't he let me help?" Something about that irked him-not that it had been Seishirou who had interceded, but that Seishirou could help while he… he couldn't.
"You can help me…" Fuuma wrapped his arms around the boy, and Kamui shuddered as lips whispered along his jaw, a teasingly gentle grate of teeth over the bone.
"Fuuma!"
"What? Don't I deserve your help too?"
"That's not… mmf!"
Fuuma, who wasn't particularly interested in Kamui's reply, decided to use the boy's mouth for his own ends at that point, cutting off any further conversation. Kamui squirmed a bit when the man's hands glided over his hips, pulling him insistently away from the bars, before melting into that hold. There wasn't anything he could do after all. He'd have to trust Seishirou to take care of his brother for the time being, and anyway, having Fuuma pressed tight against him was much more pleasant than curling up against a cold, wet wall. Much more distracting too. And for awhile the time passed pleasantly. It felt good to have company in that cold place. Good to have warm hands around him, occasionally tracing absent circles across his stomach.
His gaze swung swiftly to the door when it was flung open, letting in new faces, but relaxed when it turned out to have nothing to do with them for a change…
After awhile, Kamui realized he'd been distracted from his purpose and picked up the thread of conversation again.
"Why would he go out of his way to save Subaru anyway?" he mused.
Fuuma chuckled, and Kamui felt the vibrations of it against his back. "I think your brother's a good influence on that man."
Kamui smiled a very little. "Subaru would be a good influence on a rock." And then the pleasant closeness that surrounded them was ripped wide open…
"Hello? Hello?!" A young girl poked her head out from between the bars on the other side of the room, a short fall of black hair framing her face. "Is someone there?"
No thanks to Fuuma, Kamui managed to struggle to his feet. "Here!"
"Thank goodness!" She laughed. "It's kind of boring in here by myself. I'm Nekoi Yuzuriha, by the way!"
"Monou Fuuma," Fuuma replied, rising to his feet as well. "Sakurazuka Seishirou." He gestured toward the wall, seeming to startle her and causing Seishirou to glance up. "And this one is Kamui." At which point her eyes widened with astonishment and something like awe.
"Kamui? Did you say your name was Kamui? The one who will save us? Sakurazuka Kamui?"
There followed a moment of utterly baffled and horrified silence while the implications of those words dawned on the other inhabitants of the room. It was Kamui who finally burst out, "You couldn't pay me to be related to that man!" right over top of Seishirou's calmly firm "I am not turning him…"
"But," the girl started, bouncing exuberantly on her toes, "he has to be! It's just like Lady Hinoto predicted!"
"Lady Hinoto?" Fuuma asked, suddenly suspicious. "You're not a member of that group that believes in the end of the world, are you?" The girl's eyes lit up in delight.
"So you've heard of us! Lady Hinoto sees things sometimes in her dreams…"
"And she said Kamui is going to save us?" Fuuma asked.
"That's what she said." Yuzuriha beamed. Everyone looked at Kamui. Kamui blinked back, the picture of ordinary.
"Uh," Kamui said, "I think there's been some mistake."
"Lady Hinoto doesn't make mistakes."
Fuuma snorted and turned away. "You've got the wrong person. Kamui doesn't have any Power…"
"But," Yuzuriha plowed on, undaunted, "you are a Kamui! And you're with a Sakurazuka! It's perfect!"
"Is that so?" A new voice interrupted them, cold and flat, causing Yuzuriha to jump a little in surprise. Satsuki stood in the door, having come in halfway through the conversation. "Kamui's the one we've been looking for all this time?" She considered him, and Kamui felt something cold slip into his stomach.
"Don't be ridiculous," Fuuma replied. "He's obviously not the right Kamui."
"Still," Satsuki said, "it won't hurt to check. Maybe it's a good thing we didn't dispose of you after all…"
"Checking really isn't necessary," Kamui hurried to protest, not liking where this was going.
"Nevertheless…" With one last look at Kamui that promised unspeakable things in store, she glided purposefully back out through the door…
Author Note: Sooo… What's your favorite chapter? Why? And what do you think about all this stuff with Hinoto? Is she for real? Or is the end of the world just a delusional dream in this dimension? This makes the second character we've seen from her side-first Saiki and now Yuzuriha… Any idea who's behind it all yet? (Can you tell I love torturing my readers? :D)
Quick notes about things so far: Nataku is a boy. Sorry, no bio-engineering in this age. There's a little girl version running around of him somewhere though (or maybe that's the little girl Seishirou killed when Subaru met him all those years ago… *smirk*). I've been taking bits and pieces from all sorts of different places, obviously. The pendant was taken from Seishirou in Tsubasa, and because they refer to him as a hunter, the pendant became the symbol of the hunters in this fic, simply because I want to know the importance of it, and correct or not, trying to fill in the gap amused me. (Actually, when I first got a good look at it, the first thing I thought was "Circle Daybreak!" XD Extra credit if you know where 'that' comes from!) Also, Seishirou and Subaru don't have shikigamis. I realized quite early on that while I wanted to stick as close to canon as possible, I couldn't allow them to find each other quite so easily.
Hints leading to this chapter:
"…some occult religion about the end of the world and a vessel that would be the bearer of God's will." -Fuuma, ch. 5
"It's the blood," Fuuma explained, smirking slightly. "Didn't you know? It heals."-Fuuma, ch. 7
"There are those who hunt us for our blood." -Sei, ch. 7
"…concentrating too hard on staying on his feet to notice the prickle of watching eyes from somewhere in the teaming throng behind him." -Kamui, ch. 6
Chapter: one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, eight, nine, ten, eleven, twelve, thirteen, fourteen
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