Loyalties
So, everyone kept asking me “What’s going to happen when your Subaru and Seishirou get to X/99?” And I kept saying “Hell if I know.” Then I read what happened to the *real* Subaru and Seishirou and decided I’d better write some sort of a sequel to Reversal to make myself feel better. So this takes place some 9 years after Reversal happened. Subaru and Seishirou are still together, Kakyou’s still dead (duh), Hokuto is probably still mad at Subaru, and Johnny? Who the hell knows about Johnny.
By nature of the plot I’m dealing with, this is going to be more angsty than Reversal. No strawberries ^_^;; Actually, the last three parts of Reversal were pretty angsty. So maybe on a level with that. Spoilers for... TB, X/99 (just about all of it, who knows what I’ll reference) and, uhm, Reversal. Please don’t attempt to read this without having read Reversal. It will MAKE NO SENSE. Oh yeah, this taps into X/99 somewhere around manga... 7. With the exception that the scene where Seishirou trapped Kamui and the others in that illusion thing never happened.
Warnings: Obviously yaoi, mostly S&S with just a smidge of Subaru+Kamui to complicate matters. Dedicated to all you loyal fans who gave me such great feedback on Reversal, and Karasu for driving around with me at midnight to figure out exactly how to do this.
Part One
“This could be a city,
this could be a graveyard...
everybody’s anxious
for the coming of the crisis,
the collapse of the justice.”
-- Live, “Century”
There was a shrill ringing noise in Subaru’s ears. He couldn’t quite identify it, and he certainly couldn’t make it go away. He moaned a little and burrowed deeper under the blankets. Then there was a thud and the ringing noise abruptly stopped as Seishirou slammed a hand down on the alarm clock.
Subaru cautiously emerged from the blankets and got an eyeful of sun, then ducked back underneath them. “What time is it?” he asked, though his words were somewhat blurred by a huge yawn.
“Eight. You don’t have to be up yet,” Seishirou answered, sitting up in bed and pushing his hair out of his face.
“Neither do you,” Subaru said, reasonably if somewhat sleepily. He snuggled closer to Seishirou, pulling the older man so he was lying down again.
Seishirou laughed and let him, wrapping an arm around the Sumeragi’s waist. “No, but I should get up.”
“It’s Sunday,” Subaru mumbled. “No hurry. Why’d you set the damned alarm anyway?”
“I have something planned,” Seishirou said, very close to Subaru’s ear, then got out of bed before the younger man could stop him.
Subaru sat up, the blankets pooling in his lap, and watched as Seishirou walked into the bathroom, swinging the door shut behind him. He rubbed his eyes sleepily and smiled, despite the early hour. It was nice to have routine. After everything they’d both been through to be together, the years that had followed had been relatively uneventful, and Subaru was just as glad. Whoever had said ‘may your life be interesting’ was a curse was definitely right.
The only real thing of note that had happened was all the stir that Kakyou’s unexplainable death had caused. Subaru had given his grandmother his new number, telling her that he had moved to a new apartment. He had simply never mentioned who he was living in the new apartment with. Whenever Seishirou picked up the phone, Subaru just told her that he’d had ‘company.’ His grandmother was so busy being glad that Subaru was finally making human contact, that she never thought to ask exactly who this company was.
It was a rather nice balance, really. Seishirou helped Subaru on his more difficult cases, and in return, Subaru looked the other way when Seishirou killed people. Maybe not the best arrangement possible, but Subaru was willing to take what he could get. Hokuto had convinced him that it really wasn’t his fault that he’d fallen in love with Seishirou, and Subaru was glad he’d managed to come to terms with it at all. He could overlook certain things.
Subaru flopped backwards onto the covers and rubbed his eyes again, sure that sooner or later he would wake up entirely. His life was hardly based on routine, it just had a good healthy dose of it. But Sundays . . . Sundays were their special day. It was the one day neither of them had any work, and could spend it solely on each other. Of course, what they did varied from week to week. Sometimes they would drive to the beach, sometimes they would just stay at home in bed all day. (Usually with some things to keep them entertained, such as chocolate sauce and strawberries. Seishirou had a definite liking for strawberries.)
Today, apparently, Seishirou had plans. Subaru climbed out of bed and pushed the bathroom door open. “You’re taking too long in there.”
Seishirou poked his head out from the shower stall. “So come in and get me.”
****
“So what are your plans?” It was an hour and a half later before they finally sat down for breakfast. Subaru poured the tea and regarded Seishirou curiously. “Why did they involve getting up so early?”
Seishirou looked at his watch. “Because I knew that by the time we had our act together, it would be eleven.”
Subaru checked the kitchen clock and realized that, by the time they’d eaten breakfast, it would be eleven. He blushed slightly. “It’s not my fault you take so long in the shower.”
Seishirou raised an eyebrow. “I’m having pronoun difficulty here . . . it’s not your fault I take so long in the shower? Subaru-kun . . . I think it is your fault that we took so long in the shower.”
Subaru turned bright pink. “Yeah, well . . . it’s not like I heard you complaining.”
Seishirou smirked. “Of course not. I’m just pointing out that I got up at eight because I suspected this would happen.”
Subaru made a pouting face. “Our love life is getting predictable.”
“Hardly. You still don’t know what I have planned for today.”
“Just don’t make it something that I can’t equal next weekend when it’s my turn to plan.”
“I’ll do my best. Now eat your breakfast.”
Subaru grinned and complied. They both glanced up as the room started to shake a little. “Another earthquake?”
Seishirou was looking cautiously displeased. “Mild one, I think.” No sooner had he spoken the words than the shaking increased. “Or maybe not. Better get in the doorway.”
There had been several earthquakes over the course of the past week. Subaru and Seishirou were both avoiding talking about them, though they both knew what they meant. They stood in the kitchen doorway and braced themselves until the shaking stopped. Then Subaru made an irritated noise and walked over to straighten the pictures on the walls and pick up the various things that had fallen.
Seishirou flipped on the TV and kept half an eye on it while he helped Subaru clean up.
“Nakano Sun Plaza . . .” Seishirou said as Subaru emerged from the kitchen and looked at him questioningly.
“Destroyed?” Subaru asked.
Seishirou nodded.
“A kekkai,” Subaru stated flatly, and sat on the sofa with a thud.
Seishirou nodded again, righted a small table, and sat down next to him. “Seems we’re not going to be able to avoid this forever.”
Subaru gave him a wan smile. “We could move to America . . .”
Seishirou couldn’t help but laugh. “What should we -- ”
“Later.” Subaru put a finger over Seishirou’s mouth. “Not today.” He managed a more genuine smile. “It’s Sunday. It’s our day. Nothing can stop that, not even the end of the world. We’ll talk about it tomorrow.”
Seishirou nodded.
“So where are we going?” Subaru asked, standing up.
“You’ll see when we get there.”
Subaru rolled his eyes. “Seishirou, sometimes you really are a jerk.”
“I know.”
****
Arashi looked questioningly at Sorata as his eyes suddenly widened. “Th-the former head of the Sumeragi Clan? No . . . that’s great, thanks . . .”
He waited, making a gawking face at Arashi, until an elderly woman’s voice came over the line. “I am sorry to keep you waiting.”
“No, no, I’m grateful to be able to talk with you,” Sorata said hurriedly.
“This is Sorata-san, right?”
“Yes.”
“I have been contacted by someone from Kouya.”
Sorata made a face and muttered under his breath, “I hope Grandpa hasn't told her all of my mischief . . .”
“The current head is in Tokyo right now.”
The flat statement took Sorata off-guard. He blinked a few times. “Then he really is . . .”
“It is going to start after all . . . Dragon of Heaven, Dragon of Earth . . . At Tokyo . . . the battle for this world . . . He has to go through hardships once again . . .” The elderly Sumeragi’s voice had drifted, as if she was talking to herself.
“Former head . . .” Sorata said uncertainly.
“He is destined to fight Sakurazukamori once again . . .” she mused to herself.
“Ano . . .” Sorata said. “I don’t suppose I may be so presumptuous as to ask for his phone or address? We need to get in touch with him.”
The woman cleared her throat, apparently coming back to reality. “I will call him for you and ask him to contact you. Where might he find you?”
Sorata quickly gave the woman the phone number of the apartment he was sharing with Arashi, Kamui, and Yuzuriha. “It’s very important, so . . .”
“Of course,” she replied. “I’ll ask him to get in touch with you as soon as possible.”
“Thank you very much for speaking with me,” Sorata said.
“It was my pleasure.” There was a click, then nothing.
Sorata hung up the phone, looking puzzled.
“What?” Arashi asked.
“I think the old lady’s cracked,” Sorata said.
Arashi just rolled her eyes.
“I’m serious . . . she kept babbling about how the guy’s destined to fight the Sakurazukamori again. Which is weird. I mean, we haven’t seen hide or hair of the guy. You’d think he’d be out here trying to kick our collective ass.”
Arashi’s face was blank as she politely but coldly stated, “Yes, but you’d also think we would have seen the Sumeragi by now. Which we haven’t.”
“Hm, good point, miss,” Sorata said. “Well, if the old lady lives up to her word, he should give us a call soon. Now let’s go see what trouble Kamui’s gotten himself into.”
****
I will never get used to that alarm clock, Subaru thought with a sigh as the shrill sound interrupted his sleep yet again. Seishirou was up and out of bed before Subaru had even twitched, worn out by the previous day’s -- and night’s -- activities. Damn the man for having to be at work at eight, anyway. He rolled over and contemplated the empty space in the bed somberly. It seemed that their life was about to get more complicated. Subaru, for one, had been happy when it had been simple. He loved Seishirou, Seishirou loved him, and nothing else mattered.
It seemed the days for that were over.
Should’ve known better than to think it would last, he thought bitterly, getting out of bed. He pulled on jeans and a sweatshirt, then went out into the kitchen to make breakfast. He knew that he and Seishirou wouldn’t talk this morning -- he was always too groggy in the mornings and anyway Seishirou rarely had more than a half hour to eat before he had to leave. He bounced from job to job with a lack of enthusiasm that amused Subaru. At the moment he was doing something with computers. Subaru wasn’t even sure what. He didn’t expect the job to last long; from what he could tell, Seishirou loathed it. And he had to be up early.
“Ohayo,” Seishirou greeted him, still buttoning up his shirt as he walked into the kitchen.
“Ohayo,” Subaru returned, giving him a smile and a quick kiss.
“What, no breakfast?” Seishirou teased.
“It’s not ready yet. Don’t try that ‘you’re only good for food and sex’ thing with me, Seishirou-san.”
Seishirou smirked. “I’m amused by the way you’ve taken to using the honorific when you’re irritated with me.”
Subaru smiled and shrugged. He was about to retaliate when the phone rang. He walked over and scooped it up. “Moshi moshi . . . ohayo, obaasan . . .”
Seishirou made a face and started poking at the eggs in the hope that they would cook faster, listening to the one-sided conversation.
“Yes, of course I know that . . . yes . . . yes . . . Obaasan . . .” Subaru’s voice took on an exasperated tinge. “They were?” Now he sounded worried. “They called you? . . . no, of course there’s nothing wrong . . . okay . . . of course. Let me get pen and paper.” Subaru shuffled around. Seishirou handed him a small notepad and a pen and Subaru smiled his thanks. “Okay . . . mm hmm . . . all right . . . Yes, I’ll call him . . . Obaasan . . . No, I’m taking perfectly good care of myself . . . A few things fell off the walls, that’s all . . . no . . . no . . . I’ll call him. I promise . . . jaa mata.” He hung up the phone, looking frustrated.
“Someone looking for you?” Seishirou dished up breakfast and put a plate down in front of each of them.
“Arisugawa Sorata,” Subaru supplied.
Seishirou looked blank.
“One of the Seven Seals,” Subaru added.
“Oh.”
“Yes. Oh.”
“I suppose it won’t be long before the others come looking for me,” Seishirou said in a resigned tone of voice. “What are you going to tell him when you call?”
“I’m not going to call,” Subaru said sharply.
“You promised you would,” Seishirou said, eyebrows raised.
“I didn’t say when I would,” Subaru replied.
Seishirou laughed. “You’re learning, Subaru-kun.” He paused. “Neither Kamui has awakened yet. We’d know if they had.”
Subaru nodded, poking at his breakfast.
“Eat that,” Seishirou said reprovingly.
“Not really hungry.” Subaru pushed it away. “Seishirou, what are we going to do? I didn’t come this far to lose you over something paltry like the end of the world.”
Seishirou couldn’t help but laugh at Subaru’s way of phrasing it. “We’ll figure something out. Not now, though.”
“We can’t put it off forever.”
“I know, but I have to be at work in twenty minutes.”
“You hate your job anyway.”
“Yes, that’s true,” Seishirou mused. “Okay, I’ll call in, and we can figure out what to do.” He stood and headed for the phone. He was back a minute later and sat down. “My breakfast is cold,” he said, disappointed.
“You weren’t going to eat it anyway,” Subaru said tiredly.
“True.” Seishirou shoved it aside and poured himself another cup of tea, then lit himself a cigarette and extended the pack to Subaru.
“Thanks.” Subaru took a cigarette and lit it up. “So.”
“So,” Seishirou said, and they both regarded each other seriously.
“We knew this was coming,” Subaru said softly.
Seishirou just nodded.
“Well, I hold to my earlier statement,” Subaru said. “We’ve been through too much together. We’ll have to simply sit on the sidelines.”
Seishirou tapped his cigarette thoughtfully. “I’m not sure it’s allowed. The Seals are looking for you. I doubt it’ll take long for the Angels to come looking for me. We’re too powerful to pass up.”
“But if we both sit out, that at least keeps the sides balanced.”
“True,” Seishirou said. “However, the Angels, at least, won’t stand for that. Because they’re already one man down.”
Subaru blinked across the table at him. “How do you mean?”
Seishirou gave him an amused smile. “You don’t know?”
Subaru shook his head.
“Kakyou,” Seishirou said. “Kakyou was an Angel.”
Subaru nearly choked on his cigarette. “He was?”
Seishirou just nodded.
“Well,” Subaru said. “This complicates matters. I thought, if an Angel or Seal died before the appointed time . . .”
“The universe compensated?” Seishirou asked. “It may have. I’m not sure.”
Subaru bit his lower lip thoughtfully. “So that’s it? We just sit out?”
“You have a better idea?” Seishirou asked.
Subaru tapped on the table. “Just not entirely comfortable with it. It’s sort of in my nature to want to prevent the end of the world.”
“You may want to help,” Seishirou said. “But I’m not sure it’s allowed. The sides have to remain balanced. And if I have to sit out, I think you do too.”
“The Kamuis won’t like it,” Subaru said flatly.
“No, they won’t,” Seishirou replied. “But if we join the battle, sooner or later we’d end up . . .”
“Fighting each other,” Subaru finished softly.
“And that is simply unacceptable,” Seishirou said.
Subaru contemplated this for a long minute, then stubbed out his cigarette and looked up, meeting Seishirou’s eyes. “I risked everything for you, Seishirou. I’ll do it again.”
Seishirou smiled a little, though his eyes were sad. He leaned over and kissed Subaru softly. “So will I,” he whispered.
“Think we’ll make it through this?” Subaru asked, not curiously, just resigned.
Seishirou lit another cigarette and gave the only answer he could. “I don’t know.”
****
The conversation between Sorata and Subaru’s Grandmother is *straight* from the manga. I got my translations from Rabi’s X Page... I credited so nobody can kill me, right?
Um.... feedback? Please? I’m unsure of how this one is coming out.