Chapter Five
Kakyou was feeling very twitchy indeed. The sun rising outside looked just like any other day, not the last day of 1999. He hadn't heard anything of Fuuma's plans, but was expecting him to appear any minute now.
When he arrived, the Dark Kamui didn't even bother to knock. He just opened the door, marched in and scooped Kakyou into his arms.
"You could at least tell me what you expect me to do," muttered Kakyou as he was dumped unceremoniously in the back seat of the white sportscar Fuuma had presumably stolen.
Fuuma started the engine and drove off with a squeal of tires. "You've been learning onmyoujitsu from Subaru, yes?"
Kakyou nodded.
"So, I want you to use your new-found skills to keep that other nosey dreamgazer out of our way."
"Oh." Kakyou paused for a moment as Fuuma drifted a tight corner. "Do you think she's likely to cause trouble?"
"Kanoe says 'almost definitely'," replied Fuuma, expertly navigating between lanes and traffic on the main roads of Tokyo. Kakyou didn't even want to think about where he had learned to drive. He was almost certain Fuuma was way too young to have a license.
"Besides," continued the Dark Kamui, "it's the final battle. You have to be there."
Kakyou bit back a rude comment about Destiny, and stared out the window blankly. He would have given almost anything, at that moment, for the strength to just open the door at the next traffic light and walk away from it all.
"Tell me," said Fuuma, suddenly, "what do I need to do to win this battle?"
Kakyou closed his eyes. He had been expecting this question. "I don't know," he said, hating to admit it. "All I know is that I die before the battle is over."
He felt the acceleration of the car drop suddenly, and then slowly begin to pick up again. "I see," said Fuuma, slowly.
"Still, I guess that lets you off the hook," continued Kakyou, attempting to make light of the situation.
Fuuma's response was so quiet Kakyou barely heard it. "But... Your Wish has changed."
The rest of the journey passed in silence.
Tokyo Tower stood tall and forbidding against the pink of dawn. Fuuma parked the car crookedly across three parking bays and lifted Kakyou out of the car.
Outside the car, the air was bitterly cold. Fuuma held him close as he walked to the base of the tower, displaying that rare tenderness he only ever showed to Kakyou and Nataku.
"Kakyou..." began Fuuma.
Kakyou looked up at him, quizzically.
Fuuma shook himself, as if shaking off a strange mood. "Nothing. Just... Good luck." He squeezed Kakyou's shoulder gently and took his leave of the Dreamgazer.
Kakyou composed himself in meditation, shutting out the cold silence of the outside world and focussing his attention entirely on the dream realm.
He would be the first she tried to attack. Once he was out of the picture, there would be no further obstacles in her way.
The instant she crossed the barrier, Kakyou knew. He threw up a wall in her way and waited to see how she would react.
She tore it down easily, sending a flock of shikigami at him in retaliation. He was barely able to shield in time.
The other dreamgazer had far more experience with the more physical kinds of magic, even if they were equally matched in their control of the Dreamscape. Before the fight had even really began, he knew he was outclassed.
So, this was it. The future really could not be changed.
Kakyou had never been able to see past his own death, but he knew, nonetheless, that the manner of his death could also affect the future. If, for example, she were trapped within his mind when he died...
Slowly, carefully, he began to weave a trap.
~ * ~
Subaru got home from his job at dawn to find the door wrenched half off its hinges. "Kakyou?" he said in a small voice, knowing the house was empty.
There was, of course, only one place the dreamgazer could be. Muttering to himself at the indignity of it all, Sumeragi Subaru grabbed Seishirou's keys and ran to the black Subaru in the yard.
Thankful that it was still quite early and the streets were not terribly crowded, he made fairly good time to Tokyo Tower. He parked beside a badly-parked car and leapt out without even bothering to lock the door.
He knew, somehow, that the dreamgazer hadn't a chance of survival in this battle. He could only kick himself mentally for not having realised it sooner and done something to stop Fuuma from taking Kakyou.
Just 100 metres from the tower, Subaru ran straight into an impenetrable barrier.
"No... I don't understand, I should be allowed through..." he whispered, bewildered. Pressing his hands flat against the kekkai, he slumped to his knees in front of it. Feeling the familiar pulling of a dreamscape, Subaru surrendered to it gladly.
"This isn't your battle, Sumeragi-san," said the formless figure he met inside.
"But I'm a Dragon of Earth!" he protested.
"You've done your duty as a Dragon adequately. This is not your battle. Your duty is to the city."
"The city...?"
"Protect it. Reinforce the kekkai, make sure none of this reaches the outside world."
"But if the Dragons of Earth win..."
"More will be killed than just people if the city is destroyed, Sumeragi-san. And if they lose it will make all the difference. This is your city, Sumeragi-san."
The dreamscape melted away before his eyes. He could feel the kekkai in front of him weakening, and instinctively threw up his own surrounding it. The concentration and power it required to protect an area the size of Tokyo was incredible, far beyond what he would have thought possible.
When the inner kekkai collapsed, it took all he had just to keep his own up. And when the battle was over, he wasn't certain who had won or lost. All he knew was that he was very, very tired, and that the world was going dark in front of his eyes.
But the city was safe. Yes, the city was protected...
Subaru closed his eyes.
~ * ~
Epilogue
Subaru opened his eyes. "Where am I?" he asked, confused.
"You are on the threshold. You have a choice - to live or die."
"I... I don't understand."
"The battle has been fought. Humanity will live. All that fought for the Earth and died are given this choice - to die in peace, or to live. However, they are given one condition: they must give up the power that made them special. They will all be given a normal life."
Subaru frowned. "But..."
"Yours, however, is a special case. You are neither a true Dragon of Heaven nor of Earth, just as you are neither a true Sumeragi nor Sakurazukamori. You are, in affect, the living Balance."
"If I don't go back, there will be no Sakurazukamori..."
"There is no 14th head of the Sumeragi Clan."
"There isn't? But... My grandmother..." he trailed off into silence.
"Is dead. She was the last."
"But without the Sumeragi, the dead will continue to torment the living. The Sumeragi are necessary!"
"As is the Sakurazukamori. So, we give you this proposal: You will return to Earth and undertake both roles, but only so far as it pertains to the corruption of the barrier between life and death. You will pass this role on to whomever you see fit, should it not be your own child. Thus, there will always be a spiritual protector of Japan. It will be a great burden but not one, I think, that you cannot handle."
Subaru closed his eyes in thought. "I accept."
"Very well. To all others but the fourteen, it will be as if the Sumeragi and Sakurazukamori never existed."
When Subaru awoke again, he was in his room at Seishirou's old house, with morning sunlight streaming through the window. Slowly, he got up. He didn't think it had been a dream but he had no way to be sure.
"Kakyou?" he asked. "Kakyou, are you here?"
Of course, if it had been real, Kakyou probably chose to die. The silence in the house only seemed to confirm that suspicion.
He got up to prepare himself some tea. He didn't quite feel like coffee and the cupboard was devoid of anything edible for breakfast.
Subaru almost dropped the pot when he heard the front door open and somebody else enter the kitchen.
"... Kakyou?" he said.
The young man carrying a basket full of groceries looked a little sheepish. "I was hoping to get home before you got up."
"You're walking," was all Subaru could manage.
"Apparently when they gave me my body back they made a few changes. 'You've never been allowed to live before. I want to give you that chance.' Your sister said that to me, many years ago. I decided to accept that chance, when it was offered to me.
"Besides," he added, in a small voice. "I didn't want you to be alone any more."
Subaru put the pot down on the bench and gently took the basket out of Kakyou's hands, following that action by gently drawing the other man into his arms. "Thank you," he said, smiling.
"You can show me your city now," Kakyou murmured into his shoulder. "I'm sure you can make it beautiful for me."
"We'll go to the memorial grounds to feed the pigeons," promised Subaru, "and mourn those that died in the battle."
Both of them knew that neither 'Kamui' had chosen to come back. Of the others, Subaru knew nothing.
"And... I can stay here?" asked Kakyou, suddenly seeming very insecure.
"Of course." Subaru stroked the other man's hair softly. "We took this second chance together, after all."
They stood there in silence for a moment.
"Do you love Tokyo, Kakyou-san?" Subaru asked, again.
"Not yet," said Kakyou. "But I'm sure I can learn."
THE END
Kakyou was feeling very twitchy indeed. The sun rising outside looked just like any other day, not the last day of 1999. He hadn't heard anything of Fuuma's plans, but was expecting him to appear any minute now.
When he arrived, the Dark Kamui didn't even bother to knock. He just opened the door, marched in and scooped Kakyou into his arms.
"You could at least tell me what you expect me to do," muttered Kakyou as he was dumped unceremoniously in the back seat of the white sportscar Fuuma had presumably stolen.
Fuuma started the engine and drove off with a squeal of tires. "You've been learning onmyoujitsu from Subaru, yes?"
Kakyou nodded.
"So, I want you to use your new-found skills to keep that other nosey dreamgazer out of our way."
"Oh." Kakyou paused for a moment as Fuuma drifted a tight corner. "Do you think she's likely to cause trouble?"
"Kanoe says 'almost definitely'," replied Fuuma, expertly navigating between lanes and traffic on the main roads of Tokyo. Kakyou didn't even want to think about where he had learned to drive. He was almost certain Fuuma was way too young to have a license.
"Besides," continued the Dark Kamui, "it's the final battle. You have to be there."
Kakyou bit back a rude comment about Destiny, and stared out the window blankly. He would have given almost anything, at that moment, for the strength to just open the door at the next traffic light and walk away from it all.
"Tell me," said Fuuma, suddenly, "what do I need to do to win this battle?"
Kakyou closed his eyes. He had been expecting this question. "I don't know," he said, hating to admit it. "All I know is that I die before the battle is over."
He felt the acceleration of the car drop suddenly, and then slowly begin to pick up again. "I see," said Fuuma, slowly.
"Still, I guess that lets you off the hook," continued Kakyou, attempting to make light of the situation.
Fuuma's response was so quiet Kakyou barely heard it. "But... Your Wish has changed."
The rest of the journey passed in silence.
Tokyo Tower stood tall and forbidding against the pink of dawn. Fuuma parked the car crookedly across three parking bays and lifted Kakyou out of the car.
Outside the car, the air was bitterly cold. Fuuma held him close as he walked to the base of the tower, displaying that rare tenderness he only ever showed to Kakyou and Nataku.
"Kakyou..." began Fuuma.
Kakyou looked up at him, quizzically.
Fuuma shook himself, as if shaking off a strange mood. "Nothing. Just... Good luck." He squeezed Kakyou's shoulder gently and took his leave of the Dreamgazer.
Kakyou composed himself in meditation, shutting out the cold silence of the outside world and focussing his attention entirely on the dream realm.
He would be the first she tried to attack. Once he was out of the picture, there would be no further obstacles in her way.
The instant she crossed the barrier, Kakyou knew. He threw up a wall in her way and waited to see how she would react.
She tore it down easily, sending a flock of shikigami at him in retaliation. He was barely able to shield in time.
The other dreamgazer had far more experience with the more physical kinds of magic, even if they were equally matched in their control of the Dreamscape. Before the fight had even really began, he knew he was outclassed.
So, this was it. The future really could not be changed.
Kakyou had never been able to see past his own death, but he knew, nonetheless, that the manner of his death could also affect the future. If, for example, she were trapped within his mind when he died...
Slowly, carefully, he began to weave a trap.
Subaru got home from his job at dawn to find the door wrenched half off its hinges. "Kakyou?" he said in a small voice, knowing the house was empty.
There was, of course, only one place the dreamgazer could be. Muttering to himself at the indignity of it all, Sumeragi Subaru grabbed Seishirou's keys and ran to the black Subaru in the yard.
Thankful that it was still quite early and the streets were not terribly crowded, he made fairly good time to Tokyo Tower. He parked beside a badly-parked car and leapt out without even bothering to lock the door.
He knew, somehow, that the dreamgazer hadn't a chance of survival in this battle. He could only kick himself mentally for not having realised it sooner and done something to stop Fuuma from taking Kakyou.
Just 100 metres from the tower, Subaru ran straight into an impenetrable barrier.
"No... I don't understand, I should be allowed through..." he whispered, bewildered. Pressing his hands flat against the kekkai, he slumped to his knees in front of it. Feeling the familiar pulling of a dreamscape, Subaru surrendered to it gladly.
"This isn't your battle, Sumeragi-san," said the formless figure he met inside.
"But I'm a Dragon of Earth!" he protested.
"You've done your duty as a Dragon adequately. This is not your battle. Your duty is to the city."
"The city...?"
"Protect it. Reinforce the kekkai, make sure none of this reaches the outside world."
"But if the Dragons of Earth win..."
"More will be killed than just people if the city is destroyed, Sumeragi-san. And if they lose it will make all the difference. This is your city, Sumeragi-san."
The dreamscape melted away before his eyes. He could feel the kekkai in front of him weakening, and instinctively threw up his own surrounding it. The concentration and power it required to protect an area the size of Tokyo was incredible, far beyond what he would have thought possible.
When the inner kekkai collapsed, it took all he had just to keep his own up. And when the battle was over, he wasn't certain who had won or lost. All he knew was that he was very, very tired, and that the world was going dark in front of his eyes.
But the city was safe. Yes, the city was protected...
Subaru closed his eyes.
Subaru opened his eyes. "Where am I?" he asked, confused.
"You are on the threshold. You have a choice - to live or die."
"I... I don't understand."
"The battle has been fought. Humanity will live. All that fought for the Earth and died are given this choice - to die in peace, or to live. However, they are given one condition: they must give up the power that made them special. They will all be given a normal life."
Subaru frowned. "But..."
"Yours, however, is a special case. You are neither a true Dragon of Heaven nor of Earth, just as you are neither a true Sumeragi nor Sakurazukamori. You are, in affect, the living Balance."
"If I don't go back, there will be no Sakurazukamori..."
"There is no 14th head of the Sumeragi Clan."
"There isn't? But... My grandmother..." he trailed off into silence.
"Is dead. She was the last."
"But without the Sumeragi, the dead will continue to torment the living. The Sumeragi are necessary!"
"As is the Sakurazukamori. So, we give you this proposal: You will return to Earth and undertake both roles, but only so far as it pertains to the corruption of the barrier between life and death. You will pass this role on to whomever you see fit, should it not be your own child. Thus, there will always be a spiritual protector of Japan. It will be a great burden but not one, I think, that you cannot handle."
Subaru closed his eyes in thought. "I accept."
"Very well. To all others but the fourteen, it will be as if the Sumeragi and Sakurazukamori never existed."
When Subaru awoke again, he was in his room at Seishirou's old house, with morning sunlight streaming through the window. Slowly, he got up. He didn't think it had been a dream but he had no way to be sure.
"Kakyou?" he asked. "Kakyou, are you here?"
Of course, if it had been real, Kakyou probably chose to die. The silence in the house only seemed to confirm that suspicion.
He got up to prepare himself some tea. He didn't quite feel like coffee and the cupboard was devoid of anything edible for breakfast.
Subaru almost dropped the pot when he heard the front door open and somebody else enter the kitchen.
"... Kakyou?" he said.
The young man carrying a basket full of groceries looked a little sheepish. "I was hoping to get home before you got up."
"You're walking," was all Subaru could manage.
"Apparently when they gave me my body back they made a few changes. 'You've never been allowed to live before. I want to give you that chance.' Your sister said that to me, many years ago. I decided to accept that chance, when it was offered to me.
"Besides," he added, in a small voice. "I didn't want you to be alone any more."
Subaru put the pot down on the bench and gently took the basket out of Kakyou's hands, following that action by gently drawing the other man into his arms. "Thank you," he said, smiling.
"You can show me your city now," Kakyou murmured into his shoulder. "I'm sure you can make it beautiful for me."
"We'll go to the memorial grounds to feed the pigeons," promised Subaru, "and mourn those that died in the battle."
Both of them knew that neither 'Kamui' had chosen to come back. Of the others, Subaru knew nothing.
"And... I can stay here?" asked Kakyou, suddenly seeming very insecure.
"Of course." Subaru stroked the other man's hair softly. "We took this second chance together, after all."
They stood there in silence for a moment.
"Do you love Tokyo, Kakyou-san?" Subaru asked, again.
"Not yet," said Kakyou. "But I'm sure I can learn."
THE END