I suck at writing Lady Sumeragi. Just so you know. On the upside, this is probably the most in-character version of Seishirou I've ever written.
Chapter Two
“Irishido-chan? Can you hear me?”
Irishido woke up to being shaken roughly. He opened his eyes, and blinked as the world spun and blurred. He blinked again, trying to bring it into focus. “Hokuto?” he murmured. He was slowly becoming aware that he was cold, and not in bed, as might be expected, since he had been sleeping.
“Are you all right?” Hokuto asked, hovering over him anxiously.
“Aa, I’m . . .” he sat up, then pressed one hand against his temple as his head throbbed fiercely. “I have a headache . . .”
“Maybe you hit your head on the way down?” Hokuto suggested.
“Down?” he asked, uncomprehending. He looked around and realized that he was sitting on the bathroom floor. Well, that was odd. “Why am I in the bathroom?”
She gave him an exasperated look. “How should I know? I just came in here to brush my teeth!”
“Is it morning?” he asked, startled.
“Yes, it’s -- ” She stopped and gave him a suspicious look. “What on earth happened to you? Did Seishirou do something to you that I don’t know about?”
“No, I just . . .” Irishido shook his head, trying to clear it. “I came in here last night to wash up, and that’s the last thing I remember. I suppose I must have fainted . . . but that’s odd, because I’ve never had a fainting spell before.”
She stood back to give him some air, folding her arms across her chest and looking at him anxiously. One foot tapped up and down on the cold linoleum. Irishido dazedly realized that he was still wearing the clothes he had gone out in the night before. “Are you feeling all right?” Hokuto asked.
He shook his head. “I’m dizzy, and . . . my head aches.”
She clucked and pressed her hand against his forehead. “You have a fever.”
Irishido’s brain slowly clicked back into gear. A fever and a headache, combined with dizziness, usually indicated some sort of magical backlash. “But I didn’t do any ‘jitsu yesterday,” he said, confused. “None at all.”
Hokuto lifted her hands in the air helplessly. “You must’ve done something. Did you fight Seishirou at all?”
“No . . . there didn’t seem to be any point in it.” He did not mention Seishirou saying that he had put marks on his mind. That would only panic her, and the last thing his headache needed was a shrill, panicky Hokuto. “Maybe I’m just getting sick.”
Hokuto nodded, relieved to be able to accept a mundane explanation. “That must be it. We’ll bring you to the doctor if you aren’t feeling better by tomorrow, okay?”
“Sure,” he said.
“Let me get you some tea,” she said. “Think you can make it to your bedroom without help?”
He nodded. She left the bedroom, and he used the counter to lift himself to his feet. The world spun and divided. He clenched his jaw shut, fighting back nausea, and managed to make it to his bedroom. He stripped to his underwear and crawled into bed. Hokuto came in with some tea.
“Here, drink this,” she said. “I’ve got to go to work, okay? Will you be all right on your own?”
He nodded. “I’ll be fine. Thank you.” He knew that it was not technically necessary that Hokuto work. The Sumeragi Clan had more than enough money to support its members, even those who did not do any ‘jitsu. Hokuto, however, had not accepted the Clan’s money. Instead, she worked for various charities in the Tokyo area, helping them with advertising and fundraising.
Irishido closed his eyes and waited until he heard the sound of the front door closing. He needed to sleep. He was going to sleep, going to ignore this damn feeling that there was somewhere he needed to be, right now damn it, and going to ignore the suspicious gap in his memory that he was certain contained something important.
“Oh, hell,” he said, and got out of bed.
~~~~
Seishirou was rather surprised to see Irishido waiting for him underneath the Tree. He had thought that the Sumeragi would have been frightened enough to fight the marks for at least a few days before returning. However, he saw no need to be rude. “Konnichi wa, ‘Shido-kun.”
“Konnichi wa,” Irishido said listlessly. He was sitting on the ground with his back against the Tree, looking for all the world as if he belonged there. Seishirou noted that he did not look well in the slightest. He supposed he might be short on sleep, given their meeting the previous night. But he was paler than he had been, and looked slightly ill.
“Was there a reason you sought my company?” Seishirou asked, after it became clear that he wasn’t going to say anything else without prompting. “Not that I mind, naturally. But I am a bit curious.”
Irishido shook his head, staring off into the park in morose silence.
Seishirou found himself hoping that he hadn’t lost his backbone so quickly. That would make the game so much less interesting. “No reason at all?”
“I just felt like this is where I should be,” Irishido said with a sigh. He stood up, wavered slightly, and rested one hand against the Tree. “Is this where my cousin is?”
“You know better than I where his body rests, ‘Shido-kun.”
“Not his body,” Irishido said, shaking his head. “His soul. Does his soul feed your Tree?”
“No,” Seishirou said honestly. “It does not.”
Irishido gave him a sharp look.
“It’s true,” Seishirou said with a shrug. “Subaru-kun was stronger in death than in life. He allowed me to kill him; you know that as well as I do. I still probably would have won -- he was young -- but he didn’t put up a fight. However, when I started the spell to bind his soul to the Tree, then he started fighting. Slid right from my grasp.” He shrugged again, unremorsefully. “It’s too bad. I wouldn’t have needed to feed it for days.”
“How can you -- ” Irishido wavered again, and Seishirou started forward to catch him in case he fell. But he did not. He straightened up and glared at Seishirou. “How can you talk about him like that? Like he was just another meal for your Tree? He loved you.”
Seishirou gave Irishido a cool look. “So?”
“So?!” Irishido looked at him incredulously. “So, that demands a certain amount of your respect!”
“Respect?” Seishirou asked, amused. He lit up a cigarette and offered the pack to Irishido, who waved it away angrily. “Why?”
“Because he was willing to give up so much for you,” Irishido said through clenched teeth. “He would have given up anything for you, he loved you so much, and you tossed it back in his face like it didn’t mean a damned thing!”
“It didn’t,” Seishirou said. “Not to me.”
Irishido gave him a scathing look. Then he sighed. “I hate to admit it, but I’m sorry for you.”
“Sorry for me?” Seishirou was again amused. “Don’t be sorry for me, ‘Shido-kun. I’m free of many things that most people suffer from. Regret, remorse, sorrow, anger, pain. I live a good life.”
“You live an empty life,” Irishido shot back. “Because you’ll also never know joy, or love. There is nothing good in your life.”
“I suppose it’s all in how you look at it,” Seishirou said, taking off his sunglasses and hooking them on his coat pocket. He had started wearing them after Subaru’s death; they made people uncomfortable. It amused him terribly. “But I see nothing wrong with being this way. I’m a murderer. Having a conscience would be a lot more trouble than it’s worth.”
“You measure everything’s value by how long it can keep you amused,” Irishido spat out.
“And how do you measure value, ‘Shido-kun? By how much you care for it? It’s the same thing, in the end.”
“It is not,” Irishido said stubbornly. “We are nothing alike.”
“You feel sorry for me,” Seishirou said, his voice smooth. “Perhaps I ought to feel sorry for you.”
Irishido stiffened. “You have no idea who I am, Sakurazuka-san. Nobody does.”
Seishirou laughed. “Well, you’re certainly melodramatic.”
“It’s a simple truth.”
“Of course it is. You’re Subaru-kun’s cousin. No one has ever seen you as anything but, I’m sure. Not even myself. Certainly not your family.”
Irishido looked at him, surprised that he was so perceptive.
“Does it sting?” Seishirou asked mildly. “Most likely. But I wouldn’t care, if I were you. See? The benefits of not caring about anyone is that no one can hurt you.”
“Is that what this is about?” Irishido asked innocently. “You not being hurt?”
“You’d probably like to think that,” Seishirou said mildly. “But unfortunately, no. It’s just a character flaw.”
“I will win this bet,” Irishido said suddenly.
“Oh?” Seishirou glanced at him, finishing his cigarette and throwing the butt to the ground, stubbing it out with his foot. “What makes you say that?”
“I don’t like you,” Irishido said. “I won’t make you feel love, or joy, or compassion. I will hurt you. I will show you what it is to feel pain. I will make you pay for what you did to my cousin.”
Seishirou smiled at him. “I look forward to it.”
He started to walk away.
He was quite startled when Irishido circled around him and grabbed him by the throat, pinning him up against the Tree. He could have gotten free, but chose not to, letting Irishido hold him there. Though he had to admit it was somewhat uncomfortable; Irishido had a very tight grip and it was making it difficult to breathe.
“I will kill you,” Irishido whispered.
Seishirou looked the few inches down into Irishido’s eyes, and realized that he was not being held there by Irishido at all. “Subaru-kun,” he said, with a smile.
“You touch my cousin . . . you harm one hair on his head . . . and I will kill you. I swear to you, I will find a way.”
“I believe you,” Seishirou said sincerely.
Irishido blinked, and then his eyes rolled back in his head. Seishirou caught him and lowered him to the ground, still smiling, still amused. A few seconds later, Irishido sat bolt upright. “What happened?” he asked. “Did I pass out again?”
“Again?” Seishirou was definitely amused. “I don’t know about that, but yes, you passed out. What’s the last thing you remember?”
“Saying that . . . that I would make you pay for what you did to Subaru.” Irishido rubbed one hand against his forehead, looking decidedly unhappy. Seishirou understood the somewhat glassy look in his eyes now, the paleness. He had summoned his cousin. Not on purpose, Seishirou didn’t suppose. It was general practice to let the dead rest.
He also wasn’t powerful enough to do it on his own. Which meant that Subaru had been waiting for years for this chance, for someone to give him enough of a pull that he could do the rest on his own.
Which also meant that he had burned right through Irishido’s energy without permission, sending him into magical backlash that Irishido couldn’t explain.
Seishirou found all this quite interesting. He supposed that five years of being dead could change a man, but he was rather sure that Subaru would not have done anything to this extent previously.
He grinned. “Upping the ante, are we, Subaru-kun?” he murmured to himself.
“What?” Irishido asked sharply.
“Nothing,” Seishirou said with a smile. “You ought to get home, ‘Shido-kun. You look ill.”
He turned and walked away.
~~~~
“Irishido-chan, you look terrible.” Hokuto stood in the doorway of Irishido’s bedroom and glared at him irritably. “Are you actually sick?”
“I don’t know,” Irishido said hoarsely. “I don’t feel bad, but I had another fainting spell earlier. It only lasted a few minutes this time . . . I don’t know what’s wrong.”
Hokuto tsked and walked over, putting her hand on his forehead. “Well, your fever is lower. It’s probably just a twenty-four hour virus or something. Let me make you some soup and then you can get some rest.”
Irishido nodded. His head ached. He had been in bed ever since he had gotten home from his meeting with Seishirou earlier, but he wasn’t feeling any better. He felt . . . it was an odd sensation, one he could only describe as that he felt like he was pushing out against his skin. Like there was too much of him on the inside.
Like something was trying to push him out.
//It would be easier if you would just give in.//
He sat bolt upright in bed, breathing hard. Great, now he was hearing voices in his head. That was the last thing he needed. He forced himself to lie down, concentrated on relaxing his individual muscles one at a time.
It was stress, that was all. He wasn’t used to Tokyo, and the workload that he had received upon arriving had been heavy. Add that to looking for an apartment of his own and this whole mess with Seishirou, and he was worn out. He would rest for a few days and be fine, certainly.
Hokuto came in with his soup. “Now, honestly, Irishido-chan, tell me what’s wrong.”
“Nothing’s wrong,” he said, feeling inexplicably cranky towards her. “I’m tired, I’m stressed, my head hurts. That’s all.”
“You’ve seemed a bit off since meeting Seishirou.” Her eyes narrowed. “You’re sure he didn’t do anything to you?”
Irishido gave up on lying to her. She obviously wasn’t believing him, so what was the point? “He said . . . that he had marked me. Not in a physical way, not like he did Subaru, but . . . in my mind.”
Hokuto scowled. “He shouldn’t have been able to do that.”
Irishido sat up, pulling his knees to his chest. “I’m scared, Hokuto. He’s stronger than I am. He’s so much more powerful. He put his marks on me . . . and I didn’t even notice. I don’t think I can get through this.”
Hokuto gave him a look that went from suspicious to alarmed. “Get through what?” she asked, her voice trembling.
“He . . . offered me the same chance as Subaru had.” Irishido laughed bitterly. “Actually, I don’t think ‘offered’ is really the right word. He pretty much gave me the choice of die now or later.”
“You should leave Tokyo,” Hokuto urged for the second time in twenty-four hours.
“You think that’ll stop him?” Irishido asked quietly.
“No,” she said, wilting.
“Then forget it,” he said stubbornly. “The only option I have is to try to win the bet.”
“Yeah, right,” Hokuto muttered bitterly.
“I don’t plan to do this the hard way,” Irishido said with a laugh. “He said any emotion. I’ll show him emotion. I’ll make him regret ever killing Subaru.”
“That’s dangerous,” she said.
There was a long moment of silence, before Irishido looked at her, his eyes suddenly clear and somehow greener than usual. “Don’t worry,” he said softly, reaching out to touch Hokuto’s cheek. “I will take care of him, Hokuto-chan.”
She stared at him. Irishido never called her Hokuto-chan. “S . . . Su . . .”
Irishido’s eyes closed and he slumped backwards. Hokuto caught him and helped him lie down. She was shivering uncontrollably. It came as no surprise to her when Irishido woke up and didn’t remember what he had said.
~~~~
Hokuto bowed deeply upon entering the room where her grandmother was waiting, then bounced over as her usual self to give the woman a hug. The Lady Sumeragi seemed to have aged terribly with her grandson’s death. Her hair was white and her body frail; she rarely left the Sumeragi compound.
It had taken some doing to explain to Irishido that she wasn’t going to be in Tokyo for a few days. She hadn’t explained to him where she was going, though. In the end, she had made up a story about a friend who needed her help. It had been so complicated that by the end, Irishido had decided that he didn’t want to know.
She had made him promise that he would not go near Seishirou, and that he would stay in bed if he felt sick again.
“What is it that you needed?” Lady Sumeragi asked Hokuto. Her voice was old and creaky, but it was still strong.
Hokuto hesitated. She didn’t want to alarm her grandmother unduly, but after what had happened with Irishido two days before, she was extremely nervous. “Have you sensed . . . anything? Lately? In the past week, maybe?”
Lady Sumeragi frowned, her dark green eyes studying her granddaughter intently. “I have not. But then, I have not particularly been looking. What troubles you?”
“Irishido-chan has been acting . . . strange.”
Lady Sumeragi just looked at her, obviously waiting for further explanation.
“He met Sei-ch . . .” Hokuto’s voice trailed off and she momentarily closed her eyes. “The Sakurazukamori,” she corrected herself. “I don’t think the encounter went well. Irishido-chan confided in me that he doesn’t think he’s capable of fighting him.”
“And he has been acting unusual since then?” Lady Sumeragi asked.
Hokuto nodded.
“What behaviors specifically are you referring to?”
Hokuto took a deep breath and blurted it out. “I think he’s being possessed by Subaru.”
The Lady Sumeragi arched an eyebrow at her. “Why? Subaru has made no appearances since his death nearly five years ago. A particularly strong spell would have been needed to bring him back.”
“But what if . . .” Hokuto felt tears rising to her eyes. “What if he was trying to come back, and we just never realized? What if he was suffering?”
“Child, listen to me,” Lady Sumeragi said, resting her hand on Hokuto’s shoulder. “You know that your brother would have gone on to a better place, if he did indeed move on.”
“But what if he didn’t?” Hokuto asked. “What if he wanted to live so badly that he trapped himself in limbo? In between life and death? He was strong enough. It could have happened! And . . . I think it did.”
“What did Irishido say?” Lady Sumeragi asked.
“He’s been having fainting spells, periods where he’ll faint and then he won’t remember what happened immediately before he collapsed. And the only one that I witnessed . . . we were talking about the Sakurazukamori, and he looked up at me and . . . and told me not to worry. And said that he would protect Irishido.”
The Lady Sumeragi said nothing.
“He called me Hokuto-chan,” Hokuto whispered. “Irishido never calls me Hokuto-chan.”
“You truly believe this,” Lady Sumeragi said. “You are frightened . . . I can see it in your eyes.”
Hokuto nodded silently.
“This . . . may be . . . possible,” she said slowly.
Hokuto’s eyes widened, and she laughed, a high-pitched laugh that wavered on the edge of hysteria. “Half the reason I came here was because I figured you would tell me that I was crazy, that I had nothing to worry about. Are you telling me that I was actually right?”
“I’m not saying you’re right,” she replied. “I’m saying that it is possible that you are right. They’re two different things.”
“Yes, but . . .” Hokuto sighed. “I wish you had never sent him to Tokyo. I knew that it would only end badly. Seishirou is a relentless man. He wouldn’t let a chance like this just slip by.”
“You are still on familiar terms with him?” she asked.
“No!” Hokuto protested immediately. “I haven’t seen him in years. It’s just . . . the habit, you know.”
“I worry for you, my child,” the Lady Sumeragi said. “You were friends with the Sakurazukamori . . . you were close to him . . . it is difficult to let go of those we truly care about.”
“The man I cared about never existed,” Hokuto snapped. “And I believe we’ve had this discussion before. I know you didn’t want to remain in Tokyo after Subaru’s death, but I didn’t want to just leave. I had a life there. I haven’t spoken to Seishirou in five years. He is not my friend!”
“I was not saying that he was,” Lady Sumeragi replied. “Yet you did care for him.”
Hokuto hung her head. “Yes,” she said softly. “I cared for him.”
“What do you think Subaru hopes to accomplish, if he is indeed possessing his cousin?”
“I don’t know,” Hokuto said, feeling like she was ready to cry. “He said he would protect Irishido-chan, and I honestly believe that he will. And yet . . . there was something in his eyes . . . he looked so angry. To be caught . . . between life and death for five years . . .”
“He will have changed,” Lady Sumeragi said with a nod. She looked at the floor. “He will not be the Subaru we knew and loved.”
“But . . .!” Hokuto protested. “But . . . he’ll still be Subaru. He’ll be different, but it’s still Subaru!”
The Lady Sumeragi sighed.
“Should we try to exorcise Irishido?” Hokuto suggested tentatively.
“I don’t believe it would work,” she replied. “Whoever performed it would be fighting against Subaru directly. His spirit may have lost some of its power during its time in limbo, but I doubt any of us are strong enough to fight him. If it were so, Irishido would have pushed him out already.”
Hokuto nodded gloomily. “I suppose that’s true. What should we do, then?”
“Try to talk to him, Hokuto. You may be able to persuade him to move on, pass over. It’s what would be best for him.”
After a long pause, she nodded again.
~~~~
“Hokuto?” Irishido stood up to greet her as she walked in through her front door. “I’m glad you’re back; it’s been boring. I kept dinner warm for you.”
Hokuto walked over to him and put her hand on his cheek. “Subaru? I need to talk to you.”
“Hokuto, what are you -- ” Irishido pressed one hand to his temple for a minute, and his knees buckled. Hokuto caught him as he nearly fell. When he straightened up, his eyes were different. Colder, harder. But he was smiling. “Hokuto-chan, you called?”
She nodded. “You’re hurting Irishido-chan,” she said softly.
“I know.” He looked away, sorrow apparent on his face. “But it’s the only way. I can’t move on until this is finished, Hokuto-chan.”
“Obaasama told me to talk to you. To persuade you that it would be better if you just left,” Hokuto whispered.
Subaru looked at her. “And . . .?”
She straightened up and met his eyes. “Don’t you dare go anywhere until you’ve kicked Seishirou’s ass.”
He smiled. It was not a pretty sight.
“But please . . . don’t hurt your cousin doing it.”
Subaru shook his head. “I wouldn’t have to if he would just let me in for a while. But he’s fighting me.”
“Well, you scared the shit out of him!” Hokuto said, glaring at him imperiously. “Just showing up and trying to hijack his body like that! Talk to him! Convince him!”
“I’ll try,” Subaru said with a sigh.
“Good. Now go lie down so when Irishido comes back to himself, he won’t fall down.”
Subaru nodded, then leaned over and kissed his sister’s cheek. “Thank you.”
~~~~
Chapter Three
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