Rainbow Bridge, Tokyo,
October 29, 1999 - 21:57

The sun was falling fast behind Tokyo's skyline. Its blood-colored beams passed nearly horizontally under a low, dark-grey cloud cover and glittered off the distinctive triangular shape of the white skyscraper beyond the yurikamome loop on the west end of the bridge. Faint thunder rolled in the distance. The gusts of wind, tugging at his coat and hair, grew stronger, blowing dust and dead leaves from the Odaiba park and the cannon battery islands around his feet.
     Seishiro narrowed his eyes behind his dark glasses. The first blood had touched the bridge when the sun had touched the horizon, the beginning of nightfall. It wouldn't take long...
     He snipped the cigarette over the railing into the churning sea below and attached the last blood mark, shielding it carefully. The tip of the pentacle glowed crimson in the eerie light. Seishiro allowed himself a wry smile as he turned the ofuda until one tip pointed down. 

A second coat fluttered in the wind. Its wearer turned to protect the flame of a lighter from the gusts with his body. Subaru was a figure of contrasts these days: black clothes to go with the hair, a white coat to match the skin and the bandages still covering the recently blinded eye. 'Kamui' would pay for that. The tip of the cigarette glowed as he sucked the flame into the tobacco, firelight and smoke lining his face. He smoked with his right. 
     Fire on the Yang of the Yin . Seishiro used his own right to catch the slender hand holding the lit cigarette from behind. Fire on the Yang of the Yin in the Yang. As expected, Subaru turned left, favoring his seeing eye. Seishiro's chest stopped the move. The unbandaged eye widened at the unexpected contact. Startlement. Shock. They served well as distractions. Seishiro smiled as his prey caught himself, directing his attention to the cigarette in their grasp.
     "The ash is going to fall on your hand." 
     Calm words, but the pulse under Seishiro's fingers quickened. Yes, Subaru's calm was a deception, too. Albeit... a flawed one.
     "And you're still kind enough to care. You haven't changed."
     "I have changed..." Subaru twisted out of his hold, trying to free his hand. Defiance. Interesting. "You have changed me. Though you don't care about that at all."
     Oh, he cared very much about that. In fact, right now he was counting on it. It just wouldn't do to let Subaru know that. His bloodied left hand unwound the cigarette from his opposite's suddenly limp fingers and brought it to his lips. He dragged on it, inhaled tobacco smoke, nicotine and the scent of spilled blood. The glowing tip flared. Fire and blood on the Yin of the Yang, nothing on its Yang. Nothing for the Yin.
     "You just killed someone here, didn't you?"
     He took his time with his answer, finishing the drag first, then taking the brightly lit cigarette from his lips with his right. Blood on the Yin. Fire on the Yang. Time to begin. 
     "Well, after all, I'm Sakurazukamori..."
     As expected, Subaru was still naïve enough not to notice that his question hadn't been answered...

Debris rained all around them, fragments of ofuda, concrete from the shaken bridge. Magic flared– Dozens of doves splattered on his spiritual shields, feathers and blood raining before the torn bodies turned back into the ofuda they'd sprung from and ended as scraps on the storm. He had to act now, or Subaru would notice... notice that he was holding back, reserving strength. He used his coat to cut through the next flock of shikigami as he raised the maboroshi. The fragments of paper and feathers slowly turned to petals, dancing like snowflakes between them, fluttering towards Subaru as Seishiro called in the previously prepared spells in the blood marks. 
     A whisk of touch as the Tree's presence passed, taking care of the Sakura illusion for him. The Tree's manifestation was a relief. The spells that had been in place when the kekkai was formed were working. Matter over spirit. Reality over intention. Two tips over one. The kekkai shielded the physical world by forming a duplicate in which the fight took place. He hadn't been sure it would duplicate the spells as well, hadn't been sure it would allow them to connect with the outside. Twigs shot forward, reached for, entangled...
     Remember, you have to let him go.
     ...I know... 
     The second illusion formed in his mind. A mirror image of himself in a mirror. A mirror in a mirror giving a perfect image for all the five senses – and the spiritual. He felt it pulling at his resources, knew he had to act fast now, knew he wouldn't get away from it without being harmed...
     He left his mirror image in his place on the edge of the burst upper deck where Subaru was held in the Tree's illusion. He couldn't go far, or he would lose control; couldn't wrap himself in a hiding illusion, either, because that would limit his resources even more. The shadow of the Odaiba tower of the bridge provided a decent view and would keep him out of sight. He looked back at the mirror of his mirror, at a dark coat flying, dishevelled hair, and congealed blood on his hand. Sufficient.
     Blood touched the white ofuda in Subaru's hand, screamed along the strings of magic spanned unknown to the Sumeragi. Seishiro tensed. He wasn't the only one using his opposite's magic tonight. "Subaru-kun... Who'd have thought..." He quickened his pace. Behind him, sakura petals turned from pink-tinged white to green-touched black. The Tree's illusion was about to splinter. He ducked into the shadow of the pillar–
     "No need to use such an illusion. I'm the captive of the Sakura anyway... ever since that day." 
     Dark glasses were removed from mismatched eyes in reply. "The Kamui of the Dragons of Earth said that your true wish is one only I can grant." The bandage around Subaru's eye came loose, its end battering on the wind. A hand reached out, caught the strip of white cloth, held it up to the face. For a brief moment, Subaru's scent filled Seishiro's nose... "but that it doesn't seem to be what I think it is." Subaru looked at him when the bandage fell from his blinded eye. The physical connection severed, the spiritual one–"
     Seishiro felt Hokuto's spell tickling along his spine, running searingly hot across his abdomen and up to his chest. It was as if the magic knew it was going to serve its purpose. 
     "So your wish isn't to kill me?"
     "No!"
     Interesting.
     Unfortunately, it was a tad late to alter the plan now. Subaru would have to deal with it. 
     Subaru raised his spiritual shield again. White ofuda glared in the light of the thunderbolts. Seishiro answered with his own while he called on the black ofuda holding the blood marks, each of them carrying the pentacle as a pentagram. Intention over reality. Matter over spirit. Spiritual energy coming from himself, his opposite, and the spell raced towards the mirror. The forces met. Blinding light flashed up. The bridge shook under an impact that was both real and intended. Matter over spirit. Spirit over matter. If he had calculated wrongly– If he had misjudged the nature of the spell–
     He hadn't. Magic flared. The spell, channelled through the ofuda, triggered on the mirror. Subaru's hand pierced his twice reflected body. Pain tore through his chest. He gagged at the blood in his lungs, struggled. The kekkai was crumbling, dissolving, leaving an untouched building and a touched soul in its wake. A mirror in a mirror. He knew precisely how a body pulsed around an arm through the chest, the scent of blood, the texture of the still living flesh...
     Hold it. No matter what, hold it. He felt the dissipating whispers along the connection he didn't dare cut yet. The contact was too close, Subaru would feel, would know...
     "Wh... why...?"
     He had better come up with an explanation. He better... He couldn't risk having Subaru perform a seance later to get an answer...
     "Your sister..." He felt Subaru's arms around his body, Subaru's breath in his hair. The illusion was close, so close, too close... He allowed the words to flow automatically, didn't have the strength left to direct the talk in addition to covering the senses, he...
     "...I... you..."
     Subaru remained still, clutching the illusion, blood on the concrete, tears, storm, dust, dissipating warmth... so many details to be kept in mind.
     "You never said the words for me which I expected to hear... did you?"
     He was dead! What else did he have to do for the Sumeragi to finally let go? Dark spots danced in front of his eyes. Blood was slowly filling his lungs. He couldn't keep it up much longer. He already needed the pillar at his side for support or he would have fallen for real. His breath sounded loud in his ears even over the howling wind.
     Kamui. And the Ise girl. Two more pairs of eyes to deceive. Sadness. Pain. He released what magic had remained inside the double-edged ofuda. If the bridge shook enough...
     "The bridge is falling!" Kamui. "SUBARU!"
     The scream came barely before the rumble. The double decks fell. Steel cables were severed; released from tension they snapped upwards, lashed against the pillars that had previously held them. Seishiro looked up in time to see half of a pillar falling towards him–

Clamp Campus, Tokyo,
Imonoyama Mansion
October 30, 1999 - 00:36

Blood was falling in thick drops onto the street, scattering on the stones in loud, angry splats. He didn't have the resources to prevent trails any longer. Had there always been five high steps leading up to the door?
     He cursed as he dragged himself on. His blood-covered hand fell on the doorbell. Steps approached on the other side of the thick wooden door. Dark livery flashed in front of him. Whatever was said, he ignored it, forced his way past the startled servant into the house.
     He collapsed on the last few steps toward the elegant man who had stopped dead at the top of the wide flight of stairs, framed in the light emanating from the open door behind him. Someone hastened down the stairs. Running footfalls resounded on the marble. A hand caught his blood-soaked shoulder in the moment his bloodstained lips whispered the words he wasn't supposed to know, much less supposed to use for himself:
     "Help me...."

" Sei–" Hands held him up, supporting. "Takeshi! Help me getting him upstairs!"
     Darkness. His feet staggered up steps. A dark wooden floor followed. He was sat down. The soaked coat was cut off his body. Somebody hissed at the sight of his shoulder. 
     "–Akechi-sensei. Now!"
     Running steps receded. A door closed. Someone was dabbing at his face, apparently trying to remove some of the dust glued to it by sweat and blood. Blond hair flashed through his vision. His hand clenched around Nokoru's wrist. He needed several attempts to get the words past the blood in his mouth. "They– must find... something... from me... or... h–he'd never believe me gone."
     "That doesn't make sense, Sei."
     "It does." Necessity gave him the strength to tell what shouldn't been told. "I'm... involved... foreordained..."
     A gasp. "Dragon... of Earth?"
     He coughed blood. "Not... any more, if... I can help it."
     "I can't possibly leave you in a condition like this!"
     He tightened his grip. "You... have to..." The words were coated in blood; the next hurt his tongue, and his pride. "Please... Can't go... myself... Biomedi– Insti... One... to Rainbow Bridge..." He coughed again, ignored the blood dripping over his chin as he fumbled for the keycard in the depths of his pocket. He handed it over with shaking, blood-stained fingers. "Don't... be seen."
     The other's hand closed around the blood-covered plastic card. "You will be here, when I return," he demanded.
     "I... don't intend... to... go..." Pain seared through his back when he slumped against the soaked upholstery of the chair. He didn't have strength left to care about that. The coughing intensified, as did the bleeding. Darkness came closer. Darkness and–
     "Sei! Don't– Sensei!!"

Clamp Campus, Tokyo,
Imonoyama Mansion
November 1, 1999

Consciousness dawned slowly, crawling through the polluted fog of anaesthetics, antibiotics, and something he couldn't label. Rhythmical electronic beeping forced itself into the silence. Next was scent: disinfectant. Then...
     Reality slowly took shape in the fog. He blinked across an expanse of pale yellow cotton cloth. An instrument table stood next to the bed, a portable life signs monitor – the source of the beeping – was put carelessly on the polished, dark red wood of a carved nightstand.
     "Time hasn't been kind to you, my friend," Imonoyama Nokoru said quietly from an armchair next to the nightstand.
     "It was... most of the time." Seishiro winced at the scent of blood still on his breath. He coughed. New blood.
     Nokoru quietly offered his handkerchief to him. The yellow-and-green globefish logo was artfully embroidered into the visible corner of the pale yellow cloth. "I always seem to hand you a handkerchief for your bloodied lips." Nokoru settled back into his seat while Seishiro dabbed the blood from his chin. He made a dismissive gesture when Seishiro attempted to give it back. "My physician says you were lucky. The shoulder wound is serious but neither muscles nor ligaments were fully severed. It will take time but heal completely." Nokoru's eyes were fixed on the bloodied cloth. "There's bleeding in your left lung for which Akechi-sensei has no explanation, but it's already subsiding."
     Seishiro had expected as much. Since the lung injury was a spiritual wound, the familiar energy stored unintentionally by the campus was helping with it. The shoulder was of greater concern. That was a real one, caused by the falling debris from the bridge, which shouldn't have fallen at all. He wondered if Subaru had lived. If not, his plans might be foiled and–
     "Of all the Seals, only the Sumeragi has fought recently."
     "Really?" Seishiro arched a brow at him. "Did he survive?"
     "In a way..." The sad expression on the other one's face was a surprise. "Kamui said that he killed his opponent." Nokoru hesitated briefly, tapping his index finger against his lower lip, studying Seishiro calmly. "Somehow, I don't quite believe that now."
     Seishiro shrugged. "Let's just say, that 'the report of my death was an exaggeration' ." He coughed violently. Fresh blood soaked into the silk.
     "I guess there's more 'tale' than 'fairy' in that fairytale of your family you told me back then." Nokoru leaned back in his seat, crossing his legs seemingly relaxed. "Am I right?" 
     "Probably."
     "You should consider a straight answer, Sei." Nokoru set his elbows onto the armrests and looked across his folded fingers at him in best business mannerism. "Because I'm not going to leave until I get one."
     "If I say 'yes', you won't leave at all." Seishiro dropped the handkerchief onto the cover. 
     "Probably."
     "Definitely." The blood glowed brightly on the embroidered cloth. The crimson would stain the silk forever. He caught the other's gaze and held it, waited for the finality of the statement to sink in. "I owed you a life," Seishiro said quietly when Nokoru averted his eyes. "You've just called that in."

November 2, 1999

He woke atypically slowly, drowsily, his uninjured shoulder faintly aching. The injured one was still numb – the anaesthetics hadn't worn off yet. He found the slight pain to be the result of his right arm being stretched uncomfortably over the edge of the bed. A brief attempt at changing his position revealed a sleek, polished set of high-security handcuffs connecting his wrist solidly with the bed frame. Charming.
     Turning his attention to his other side, he blinked – likely not very intelligently – at a black, white, and yellow something sitting next to his pillow. A penguin. A fluffy plush penguin. About twice the size of his hand.
     "I remembered your affinity to the Pengin's mascot back then," Nokoru said from the door. "Didn't you name yours Darwin?"
     Instead of answering, Seishiro quietly raised his right wrist as far as the cuffs allowed. "I guess Suoh knows."
     "He noticed Akechi's visits and–" Nokoru actually looked embarrassed as he entered the room, balancing a tray. "Our last conversation wasn't very reassuring."
     "It wasn't meant to be." His faint incantation was followed by a distinct, metallic snap. Seishiro handed the cuffs over when Nokoru put the tray onto the bedside table. The life signs monitor had disappeared overnight. "Tell him I appreciate the gift, but I prefer Cartier's." He made a face as he pulled himself awkwardly up into a sitting position that didn't put too much strain on his bandaged – and he assumed, stitched – shoulder. A dull throb had begun to pulse underneath the wrappings. So much for anaesthetics.
     "Akechi-sensei said that you lost your eye quite a while ago. Why didn't you have it replaced? You of all people know about the options the Biomedical Institute has."
     "Lack of time, mostly," Seishiro croaked, his chest contracting painfully around the spiritual injury in his lung as he reached for the water glass on the tray Nokoru had brought. He squinted up at the standing man after taking a sip. "Do you mind sitting down? I get a stiff neck this way."
     Nokoru watched him, cautiously claiming the armchair he had occupied the last time. "You said you wouldn't be a Dragon of Earth any more – if you could help it. Would you care to elaborate on that?"
     Silence. 
     After a moment, Nokoru said quietly, "I think you owe me that much."
     "What do you know about... all this?" Seishiro waved weakly, his hand not losing contact with the bed covers. "About the end of the world? About Destiny's Chosen Ones?"
     The answer came promptly. "It's the final battle to decide the fate of the world, the decision whether it remains as it is – embodied by the Seven Seals – or if humanity is wiped out and the world restarts fresh – embodied by the Seven Angels."
     "Aptly put," Seishiro mocked. "Why seven?"
     "Huh?"
     "Why seven pairs? If it's just about helping Destiny decide, it should be enough to have the two Kamui cutting each other up and be done with it." He put the glass down. "So why all this fuss? Why a year? Why this year? Why mess up the lives of fourteen people and countless others when two should suffice?"
     "I–" Nokoru stopped. "Don't know. But it's the end of the millennium..."
     "That would be next year on December 31, 2000, doofus," Seishiro snorted, annoyed. "Besides, it's not as if the Gregorian calendar is very significant for the history of Japan. For all that counts we're in the year Heisei 11, not a very remarkable date, if you ask me. The only ones who care about 1999 at all are the fools who are too stupid to read their own calendar!" He coughed and wiped his lips with his hand. A crimson smear shone on his skin afterwards. His hand involuntarily clenched around the plush penguin at the sharp pain that raced through his injured shoulder. He lashed down on his temper. "And us. Why?"
     "You wouldn't ask if you hadn't figured it out already." Nokoru said dryly. "So what is it?"
     "Do you happen to know Matthew Thomas' book 'Before & After'?" At Nokoru's hesitant nod, he asked on. "Do you remember the 'Second Law of Thermotheology' quoted in it?"
     "You don't want to imply–" Nokoru sat straight up. "But it's a satire!" he protested.
     "Wasn't it you who said that it's not important where an idea stems from, as long as it leads to a result?" Seishiro arched a brow at him. "The Law itself is nonsense, of course; the whole book is nonsense, though amusing... But there is some truth in it. Notably: If enough people believe in something, it gains power. That is a fact in my profession. And that's what's going wrong here."
     "And you want to change that?" Nokoru asked disbelievingly. "I don't think–"
     "I don't think that the decision about the fate of the world should be based on erroneous assumptions. I don't think that the fate of this state should be decided by a foreign faith. And I certainly do not intend to die when it's not meant to be a matter of life and death!"
     Nokoru's head jerked up. "What do you mean by that?"
     "That it is meant to be about finding a balance between the Yin and Yang on each of the seven planes of existence for the next cycle. A balance means that both sides coexist, though one may dominate the other. It doesn't mean the annihilation of one side. That is the ultimate disbalance." Seishiro felt suddenly tired. "You need both sides to define something, both sides for the world to exist. If the final battle is about one or the other in absolute terms, there might be nothing left, no matter who wins. I cannot allow that."
     "Because you are–?" Nokoru stopped short at Seishiro's glare. "You cannot fight Destiny," he said softly. "It's not possible."
     "No. But I can cheat."

Clamp Campus, Tokyo,
Imonoyama Mansion
December 27 1999, 00:28

"He's gone." Nokoru pulled the door shut and ventured over to Seishiro still standing behind the open window. "I don't know if he found what he came for."
     "He did. He wouldn't have left otherwise."
     "You know him quite well, don't you?"
     "He's supposed to be my opposite in this." Seishiro's eyes followed the slender figure heading across the plaza. The dark coat seemed to absorb the light of the street lamps. Now, Subaru had changed indeed. Seishiro wondered briefly if 'opposite' was still an appropriate description. He turned away from the window and crossed towards the bar. "Care for a drink?"
     "It's my house."
     "And my suggestion." He raised the glass suggestively. 
     Nokoru took it and gulped its content in one deep swallow. 
     "You seemed to need it." Seishiro commented dryly. "You looked like you'd seen a ghost."
     "He's got your eye," Nokoru said in a flat voice. "The one I brought to the bridge."
     "Indeed?" He shrugged and stared into the depths of his glass. "Interesting." 
     "It was odd. The eye..." Nokoru turned the emptied glass up-side down. "I think I see why the Ethics Commission puts such a tight control on regrown transplants." He shuddered. "How is yours doing?" he asked.
     "It sees."
     Seishiro leaned on the other side of the bar. The golden liquid swirled in his glass as he slowly turned it in his hands, following the ever-changing pattern of reflections in glass and liquor with his eyes. Eyes... He put the half-emptied glass down briskly. "Excuse me for a moment."

The library door closed audibly behind him. The distraction spell he whispered towards the doorknob would counteract any wish Imonoyama might entertain to leave the room while he was gone. The corridor stretched from one end of the large building to the other. It widened near the center where the stairs to the ground floor and up into the second storey ended. Both corridor ends held the high, arched windows that were typical for buildings on the campus. He chose the south one and opened the left wing of the window. Subaru had headed across the plaza, so it was the south or the west side. That meant Odaiba. Not the safest place in Tokyo, especially at night, especially in a state of evacuation.
     He retrieved a golden lighter from his pocket and flicked a flame into existence. "Nandaro ." The familiar frame of his shikigami hawk took form on his right shoulder; a moment later, its claws dug into his jacket as its weight settled in. "Follow. Protect."
     With a hollow scream, the shikigami dived through the open window into the night. Seishiro followed it with his eyes into the dark, before he snapped the lighter shut and slid it back into his pocket. He closed the window quietly. Subaru had always been inattentive about his personal safety. It wouldn't do to have him killed by a felon right now.

Nokoru stood still at the bar when he returned to the library. Seishiro reclaimed his abandoned glass and emptied it before refilling it with slow, precise movements. 
     In front of his inner eye he saw what the shikigami was seeing: Odaiba's dark streets, broken lamps, closed sites...
     His glass was nearly full. He straightened the bottle.
     Small bodies scuttled away in the dark, squeaking at the shadow of the predator drawn onto concrete by the waning moon. 
     The glass of the bottle scraped over the polished wood as he put it down.
     Black alley mouths... the lone figure ahead passed them one by one, ignorant of what they held. Someone was lurking. Golden eyes spotted the gun–
     "–used to having depth perception again? Sei?"
     "Hm. Yes," he answered distractedly.
     The shikigami screamed, dived, claws extended in front of him for the prey whose face filled Seishiro's vision. The Glock fell out of hands raised in panic to save their owner's face from the avian attacker. The dull black weapon skittered over the stones... 
     He cursed silently. The shikigami's claws had missed the carotid. The prey was struggling. The shikigami wouldn't be able to hold him down long. Without hesitation, he ordered it to go for the eyes...
     "Sei?" Something snipped in front of his face. Nokoru's face replaced the prey's torn one. "Are you still here with me?"
     "Of course." He shook his head to clear his vision, leaving the shikigami to its own devices for now. It had its orders. "If you don't mind, I'd like to catch some sleep."

The indirect light of the weak afternoon sun outside was a welcome relief from the strenuous focus training he'd performed all morning. Most of the curtains were drawn. He'd left open only the one behind him. It was still strange not to have a blind side anymore, and he caught himself 'testing' it once in a while to see if it was true. He still relied a lot on his hearing. Strange but useful. The optometrist had adapted his glasses last week. Seishiro was amused about the fact that the owner of a hawk shikigami was needing glasses; it held a touch of the absurd in his eyes. Pun intended.
     Steps were coming up the stairs. The door bell had rung a while ago. December 27. Four more days and this nonsense would be done with. The library door creaked faintly. Someone entered. Someone else closed the door...
     Seishiro closed the book silently, not without marking the spot first, and put it down on the table next to his elbow. His prey's face was ghostly white. He called an amiable smile onto his face while he secretly cursed Imonoyama to the depths of whatever hell came to mind. "Hello, Subaru-kun."

to be continued in
36°-8: Pentacle

Notes:
Yin and Yang. Associations (list incomplete!) are
Yang: sun, day, light, warm, active, masculine, south, summer, left, extroversion, heaven, odd, up, forward, expansion, raise, fire, energy, movement, active 
Yin: moon, night, dark, cold, rest, feminine, north, winter, right, introversion, earth, even, down, backward, contraction, fall, water, matter, inertion, passive
Subaru's shikigami is no less controversial than Seishiro's. In Clamp no kiseki #3 Clamp themselves say that Subaru's shikigami is supposed to be a white crow. However, the birds he directs in Tokyo Babylon and later in X look decidedly like slender doves. A crow is a distinctly strong creature, who would give Seishiro a true "fight for his eye". Besides, who could resist the image of "Hawk and Dove"?
"The report of my death was an exaggeration." - There are various versions of Mark Twain's quote about. This is the original one from a handwritten slip of paper dating back to 1887.
The era Heisei "be there peace" begins in the year 1989. So the year of the bet is "Heisei 2". ;)
Before & After. Had Subaru opened the book on Seishiro's nightstand where the recipe was put in, he would have found this paragraph marked on page 159:
"[...] the Second Law of Thermotheology. Simply put, this states that the Multiverse is awash with faithons, the smallest measurable particles of belief. When enough sentient beings concentrate these sub-belief particles into one particular form the new god appears in a flash of fidelity and in full accordance with the Laws of Conservation and Conviction. [...] when enough entities accepted the Second Law as fact, the Second Law would itself spring into existence in a hail of faithons."
[Matthew Thomas, Before & After, Voyager Press, 1999, p. 159 (ISBN 0-00-648302-X)]
Nandaro (roughly: "Let's see") is the name of Seishiro's shikigami according to the interview Clamp gave in Clamp no Kiseki No. 3 about Tokyo Babylon.