Sagano-cho, Kyoto (West)
Sumeragi Family Residence April 5, 2000 — 22:46 The twelfth head of the Sumeragi sat quietly in her chair and allowed her thoughts to wander while enduring the slight, unavoidable tugging with which her maid Maki combed out her hair before braiding it for the night. She regretted having an anesthetic used on Subaru-san. It was deplorable etiquette, but considering that he had tapped into the black arts, that he was... living with the enemy... a sleeping spell wouldn't have been reliable. Trapanal was. Right now, he was still asleep, but the medic had told her that he would definitely be awake tomorrow morning. She was appalled about the company, the environment in which she'd found him. The Sakurazukamori. The Sakurazukamori's house... Subaru had been working on the garden! ~:~:~:~:~ Edogawa-ku, Tokyo Togakushi Shrine April 5, 2000 — 22:46 Kamui jerked out of sleep, sweat-soaked, panting. He'd been running for his life from two Sakurazukamori and— He rubbed his eyes, tired, trying to calm down. The dream had been weird — Subaru telling him it wouldn't hurt because Kamui wasn't legally of age, and then they'd been running up Tokyo Tower towards safety, towards Fuma... He shivered and hugged his legs close to his chest, resting his forehead against his knees. It was cold in the room and the shadows seemed to be moving, becoming the shapes of his nightmare dancing around him. He was sick of being cold, being lonely. Warmth... Gentleness... he wasn't even sure he knew how that felt; everything seemed to be so far away. And Subaru was sleeping with the Sakurazukamori. Probably right now. He eased the door shut behind him and padded, bare-foot, across the room. In the pale light from the unshuttered window, the scar of the dragon claw gleamed silvery on Fuma's cheek. Scar. Fuma. Kamui kneeled at the side of his futon, hugging himself. Fuma's room seemed even colder than his. Any colder and he'd surely see his breath. He couldn't possibly sit here and— Determinedly, he slipped under the cover, curling up in the warmth. Fuma stirred against him, murmured something, froze. "Kamui?" he asked in the dark. "Are you nuts!? You shouldn't be here." His voice was tight, scared. "I don't want to be alone. Even if it's only for a little while..." Kamui murmured. "Do you remember the puppy when we first met?" "You aren't a puppy, Kamui. You—" "I don't want to be lonely." "You're still hurt. What if— if he— I—?" "M— hm." Kamui snuggled closer against Fuma. "Don't worry. If he shows up, I'll punch him on the nose." ~:~:~:~:~ CLAMP Campus University Hospital April 5, 2000 — 22:46 Akechi sat at his lab table. His hands, gloved in blue nitrile, were folded in front of his chin, while he looked thoughtfully at the sample. The test was already running. He'd been uneasy when he'd treated Sakurazuka Seishiro in Imonoyama's house. And now, after seeing him again two days ago, the similarities had become hard to ignore. Size, eyes, even the wave of the hair and... Sakurazuka had been tense when Akechi had used the opportunity for a final check-up after treating Shiro-kun; so tense that it had been difficult to palpate the injury at all. The man certainly had issues with being touched, but when Akechi had said as much, he'd become malleable in an instant, revealing a physical control that no common dojo exercise could account for. Akechi should know... ...as well as he knew that it took perseverance to reduce the scarring of an extensive injury this much. And endurance. Sakurazuka had declined a renewal of the painkiller prescription, and Akechi's inquiry about other drugs — prescribed or not — was met with a shrug and, "Sex and coffee, but I can cut down on the coffee if required." Akechi had felt tempted to laugh. It was a brand of humor he recognized. Again, he studied the small vial of blood in the tube holder in front of him. He'd taken the sample saying he'd check for possible infections. Instead he was running a Y-STR analysis on it. He watched the progress bar on the screen creep towards "complete", then pricked his fingertip and started a second analysis. ~:~:~:~:~ Kasumigaseki-cho, Tokyo Sakura Enterprises, Inc. April 5, 2000 — 22:46 The conference room was locked; its blinds were drawn, and powerful shiki circled high up in the night sky to avoid surprises. Four wall-mounted monitors showed blurred images of people sitting behind desks resembling Romiro's own; images so blurred that it was impossible to recognize anyone at all. Characters at the bottom of each screen identified the section for which the vague frame was responsible: Hokkaido, Shikoku, Kyushu, and Korea. Sakurazuka Romiro knew that he himself was a blurred image on their screens: one labeled "Honshu". Even though Chigoku and Kinki were controlled by Shikoku, Honshu was the largest section in both size and population, if one discounted the extraterritorial Korea. Unfortunately, this fact didn't give Romiro any additional power within the organization. None. Sometimes, he wished he'd knew the faces of the others. Sometimes, he wished sending spells through scrambled telephone lines weren't impossible. Sometimes... He drew a deep breath and sent the next screenshot. "As you can see, the timed security scanners within the Diet Building show him with the Sumeragi during the exorcism of Hinoto-hime's spirit and—" "Is he also listed in the guards' book?" Hokkaido interrupted him briskly. Romiro blinked. "No, I—" "Then he was wrapped in illusion. We have no reason to assume he didn't cloak himself from the Sumeragi as well." Several of the others signaled approval. "He had no reason to be present in the first place!" Romiro protested. "You forget that the blind dreamseer was an official case of his, Honshu-san," Korea threw in. "The only flaw in his performance is the unresponsiveness during the fourth quarter of 1999, which is excusable given his involvement with the Final Battle. So if this is all you have—" "I have evidence that he's associating with the Sumeragi again," Romiro hastened to say. "A tracer I sent to him by mail came in contact primarily with Sumeragi magic." "Which might be an error of the mail system or another feeble attempt by the Sumeragi to spy on us," Shikoku dismissed it. "Both are not our concern. The latter will be taken care of." "The magic was laced with Sakurazuka's magic. Shikoku-san, you confirmed that the current clan head of the Sumeragi has pentagram scars on his hands. If he's truly marked then—" Shikoku laughed. "Don't be ridiculous." "What if I'm right?" Romiro challenged coldly. "Will you still allow Sakurazuka to flaunt the rules?" "No," Kyushu said in a calm voice. "But I want to see proof of his involvement with the Sumeragi first. He's too good at his job to be replaced on the basis of a mere suspicion." ~:~:~:~:~ Kabuki-cho, Tokyo April 5, 2000 — 22:46 "And it is really okay if we move into here?" Arashi asked doubtfully. "Subaru-san said so," Sorata, looking up the building, hoisted the large duffel bag higher onto his shoulder and fished the key out of his pocket. The entrance door was plain and the mail boxes embedded next to the door were simple brushed steel, but the names on them were engraved rather than labeled and there was an intercom system between the two rows of bell buttons that Sorata was studying now. "It's on the top floor," he said finally, unlocked the door and held it open for her. "The left apartment." "I still wished Sumeragi-san had given us something in writing," Arashi said uncomfortably as they entered, their steps echoing in the polished stone hallway. "What if somebody asks us on the way up?" "We have the key," Sorata shrugged, heading for the stairs. "Besides we can always—" "—use the elevator," Arashi interrupted him with a small smile, pointing to the door next to the stairs. She studied the apartment for a long time before she slowly crossed the threshold and even then she didn't go further in, her eyes resting on empty walls and a bare wooden floor. Fine wood, but no comfort. No tatami. No carpet. Nothing but a thin layer of dust disturbed by footprints... and cart wheels? Sorata blinked, then shrugged and was stopped by Arashi's outstretched arm. She slowly went further into the apartment, opened the doors giving into mostly empty rooms. Little furniture, fewer decorations, no personal items. She stopped in the last door to the right: the bedroom. A ricepaper-wrapped kamidana hung on the south wall; in respectful distance to it was a desk with a fax machine on it. Her eyes followed the telephone cord that curled across the room to the telephone on the floor next to the bed. A planter stood near the balcony door; its only content was a spider's web. Arashi watched it for a long time. "This isn't the place of the Sumeragi-san we met yesterday," she stated finally. "But he said—" "No. This is the place of a man who waited for death." She swallowed. "And was rejected." "Or moved in with him." Sorata grinned, pushing past her. "I mean, come on, we know that Subaru-san and the Sakurazukamori have a history and after what happened on Rainbow Bridge—" He dropped the heavy duffel onto the floor and looked into the first room. "Hey, I've found the kitchen! Let's have a snack and—" he stopped. Arashi was no longer behind him. "Missy?" The clap of hands told him where she was. He found her in the right corner room, kneeling in front of the kamidana, using ceremonial matches to light three sticks of incense before bowing her head deeply... "Are you allowed to pray in front of a somebody else's kamidana?" he asked after she'd clapped her hands again and stood, briefly disturbing the thin threads of smoke emanating from the incense. "Normally, I wouldn't," she said without looking at him. "But the Sumeragi are the only clan besides the Tenno to call the sun goddess their family kami; and Ise is the main shrine of Amaterasu-no-mikoto. I may no longer be the hidden priestess of Ise, but it wouldn't be right for me to rest under Sumeragi-san's roof without paying my respects to the goddess." She studied the narrow, dusty bed with slightly rumpled covers that stood against the east wall. "I will respect his advice regarding Amaterasu's favors." "You mean—?" She nodded. "Tomorrow." ~:~:~:~:~ CLAMP Campus University Hospital April 6, 2000 — 07:05 The University Hospital was a quiet place this early in the morning. Saiga walked swiftly through almost deserted corridors towards the unmarked room on the fifth floor. Personally, he would have preferred to wait until Shige's kitten had grown stronger and more used to him before leaving the hospital. A collision in the corridor and two afternoon strolls together weren't much. But he had a hunch that they were running out of time fast; and he hadn't survived this long by ignoring that kind of feeling. His hand on the doorknob, Saiga glanced briefly up and down the corridor. Then he slipped inside, closing the door behind him as quietly as he'd opened it. He crossed over to the bed. Half an hour after the nurse's morning visit the patient was sound asleep again. Well. He wouldn't be sound asleep much longer. "Hey. Wake up." "Wh—" Startled grey eyes stared up at him. "It's me." Saiga dropped the backpack onto the foot end of the bed. "You're being released today. I brought you clothes." He nodded towards the backpack. "Put them on, then pack your stuff." Kakyo sat up and blinked sleepily, his short sleep-mussed hair standing in all directions. He yawned. "Akechi-sensei hasn't released me yet." "He has. I just have to fill in the date." Saiga took the release forms from his pocket, unfolded them on the table and searched his pockets for Shigetaka's pen. "Use the backpack for your stuff. And hurry. I want to get out of here while we can still disappear in the rush hour traffic." "There's a mistake." Kakyo, looking over his shoulder at the papers, frowned. "My name is written with the characters for 'fang' and 'dawn', not 'flower' and 'firefly'—" "And? Flowered firefly fits you." Saiga smirked at the indignant look that comment got him. "By the way, I'd voted to call you 'Hamtaro' , but Shige thinks you look more like a chinchilla than a hamster." "My last name isn't 'Midori' either!" Saiga sobered. "Kuzuki Kakyo is on the run. Got that? The blind dreamseer is dead. They need a new one. Are you applying for the position?" Kakyo paled. "No! I—" He pushed himself up, holding onto the edge of the table for support. "I don't want to be trapped ever again. I—" He shuddered and reached for the backpack with the clothes. "Then you had better start packing," Saiga said calmly. "Because Midori Kakei-san is going to leave the hospital today." ~:~:~:~:~ Sagano-cho, Kyoto (West) Sumeragi Family Residence April 6, 2000 — 07:36 She sat next to Subaru's futon most of the night. The guards had called her just after midnight, when his sleep had turned fitful, disturbed by nightmares and who knew what. She'd established a banning field around the bed, strengthened with ofuda specifically calling on Amaterasu's power in the deep of the night. Subaru was too vulnerable in this state of not-quite-consciousness, drifting in and out of sleep in which he kept calling, begging for the enemy to come, to touch him, hold him, make the dreams stop— What had the child gone through at the hands of that man? Hidden deep in the wide sleeves of her kimono, her hands formed into fists. She'd sat way too often at his bed because of the Sakurazukamori. Her eyes rested on the broad band of faded bruises across Subaru's throat. If only she'd seen them the day before, but self-conscious as he was, he'd worn one of those turtlenecks, hiding them. The medic had also hinted at the possibility of more intimate injuries... If only she'd known earlier. She'd never have left him with that man. She exchanged the damp cloth on Subaru's forehead for a new one and tried to convince herself that Subaru's deathly pallor wasn't due to the Trapanal. But he'd looked so well yesterday, better than any other time she'd seen him in recent years — which had been seldom enough. And he seemed to be eating. Maybe fighting for a cause as important as the fate of Japan had brought that self-consideration about. Maybe... ...maybe she was deluding herself. She thought of the scandalous way her grandson had touched the Sakurazukamori, had allowed the Sakurazukamori to touch him, to— In front of her, Subaru suddenly choked and she hurried to support his head and shoulders during the painful retching. If she'd known the Trapanal caused this, she'd never have agreed to it being used on him. Subaru shrank away from her, pulling his shaking hands close to himself. "Don't touch me! I—" He glared at her with wide, feverish eyes that swiftly clouded again as he fell back into disturbed sleep. "Seish...."
Notes: Trapanal, also known as sodium thiopental, is a rapid-onset short-acting barbiturate general anaesthetic, causing unconsciousness within 30-45 seconds after injection. It is known to have anesthetic, sedative, and hypnotic properties depending on dosage. Side effects include headache, emergence delirium, prolonged somnolence and nausea. The hangover effects may last up to 36 hours. Y-STR Analysis of the DNA allows - among other things - the identification of paternally related males. Hamtaro is a kiddy cartoon hamster.