Part Seventeen
“I’m glad I found you,” Subaru said. “I was just on my way back from talking to Nokoru. How’ve you been?”
Keichii was not looking like his normal genki self. “Okay. You?”
“Been better.”
“How’s Kamui? I . . . I heard that he was injured, but Sorata-san said he didn’t want to see anybody.”
“Let’s sit down,” Subaru said, heading for a park bench.
Keichii looked a little alarmed at this reply, but went with him willingly. “What’s wrong?”
“Did Kamui ever explain anything to you?” Subaru asked.
Keichii nodded. “You mean the whole end of the world thing? Yeah, he told me about it.”
“Did he tell you about his friend Fuuma?”
Keichii nodded again.
“In the final battle, which you can probably tell that we won, since we’re still here, Fuuma was killed. Kamui . . . killed him.”
Keichii closed his eyes for a second, a pained expression on his face.
“He had to,” Subaru said softly.
“I know,” Keichii answered. “The question is, does he?”
“Yes,” Subaru said. “And somehow, I think it might hurt more that way.”
“Is he okay?” Keichii asked.
“In a manner of speaking,” Subaru replied. “But he’s not the same.”
Keichii laughed, but there was no humor in the sound. “No, I don’t imagine so.”
“He’s lost his memory,” Subaru said. “Well, that’s not really the right way of putting it. His memory was . . . erased. By Seishirou. Kamui asked him to, and if we hadn’t, he just would have . . .”
“All his memory?” Keichii asked, eyes wide.
Subaru nodded. “I can tell him whatever you want . . . about you.”
Keichii got at his meaning. “No,” he said with a grin. “I can win him over myself. I’m sure of it!”
Subaru half-smiled. “He’s going to be pretty confused and disoriented today, but you can go by and visit tomorrow. I think . . . he’d like that.”
Keichii grinned wider. “I’ll do that.”
“Here,” Subaru said, handing him a piece of paper. “Take this before I go. It’s a copy of what we’re going to tell him when he wakes up. You might want to look at it, so you don’t say anything by accident.”
“Gotcha,” Keichii said. “I’ll see you tomorrow.”
****
Subaru waited anxiously as a pair of violet eyes flickered open. After another long argument, the others had agreed to let him be the only one there when Kamui woke up. Everyone had been given a copy of what Subaru was going to tell him; Nokoru had promised to change his school records to match.
“Nnngh,” Kamui moaned. “Wh . . . Where am I?”
“You’re at home.” Subaru took his hand and pretended to not know what was going on. “How are you feeling?”
“Kinda dizzy . . . okay other than that,” Kamui replied. “I . . . I don’t . . .”
Subaru saw his eyes widen with confusion as realization set in.
“Wh-who are you?” Kamui quavered.
“You don’t remember, do you,” Subaru said softly.
“No . . . gomen . . .” Kamui frowned. “Do I . . . know you?”
Subaru half-smiled. “Yes. You do.”
“Who am I?” Kamui asked quietly.
“Your name is Kamui,” Subaru replied. He paused, then took a deep breath and went on, committing himself to living a lie, but all for the best. “Sumeragi Kamui. You’re my younger brother.”
****
“How’d it go?” Seishirou asked, handing Subaru a mug of tea. Sorata was hovering over them anxiously.
“Pretty well,” Subaru replied. “He . . . he accepted it all, without question.”
“I still don’t see how you could make him your younger brother,” Sorata said, frowning. “Won’t your relatives get suspicious at a random cousin popping up out of nowhere?”
“Some of them will, most not,” Subaru said. “The only one who bothers to keep track of every single family member is my grandmother.” He gave a little half-smiled. “And right now, she owes me a favor.”
“What for?” Sorata asked skeptically.
“I’m not going to loose Johnny on her for trying to kill Seishirou,” Subaru said dryly. “Anyway, most of the family is never going to find out about him. I told him he was my younger half-brother, actually, and allowed him to draw the conclusion that he was an illegitimate child and not properly recognized as one of the Sumeragi Clan. That gets him out of all formal gatherings and such. And since both my parents are dead, who’s to tell my secret?”
Sorata nodded slowly. “I see. Good thinking. How’s he feeling?”
“He seemed okay,” Subaru said. “I did tell him that he saved the world, but that during the battle he was hit on the head and we thought he might have lost his memory from what he’d been saying in his sleep. I figured I might as well let him feel good about himself right from the get-go.”
“He doesn’t remember Fuuma or Kotori at all?” Sorata asked.
“No,” Subaru said. He smiled wanly. “He’s okay, Sorata. I promise. He fell asleep again before I left. Make sure he eats some dinner, though.”
Sorata winked. “You can count on me. I’ll make a housewife out of Miss yet - oof!”
Subaru just shook his head. “Anyway, I’m going to go see my cousin and my grandmother. I’ll be back tomorrow. Keichii is coming to visit tomorrow, too; I told Kamui that he was.”
“We’ll see you then,” Arashi said, speaking for Sorata since she’d knocked the wind out of him.
Seishirou took Subaru’s hand as they left the house. “Out of curiosity, why did you want Kamui to be your younger brother?” he asked. “It would’ve been easier if he was just a regular orphan.”
“Two reasons,” Subaru said. “For one thing, I didn’t want any lingering emotions to cause him to latch onto me romantically again. Telling him we were brothers effectively prevented that. For another, I . . . I just wanted that. I didn’t want to lose him.”
Seishirou put an arm around his shoulders and changed the subject. “So where are we going?”
“You’re going home,” Subaru replied. “I’m going to go see my cousin and then my grandmother. Heads are going to roll. Well, my grandmother’s head, anyway. Kai’s not such a bad sort.”
Seishirou laughed. “You’re sure I can’t come?”
“I really think you’d better not,” Subaru answered. “I don’t want to add fuel to the flames, okay?”
“Okay,” Seishirou said. He checked his watch. “Meet you for a late lunch afterwards?”
“Sure,” Subaru said. They quickly set up a place and time, then went their separate ways. Subaru got a cab and went to his cousin’s house, waiting patiently until Kai came to the door. His ‘successor’ was only seventeen, studious and quiet. He looked different from how Subaru remembered him; there were dark circles under his eyes and he’d gotten thinner. He looked older.
“Subaru-san,” he said in surprise. “Come in.”
“Thanks,” Subaru said. He gave the younger man a sympathetic smile. “I came by to see how you were doing. Sorry I haven’t been around earlier; I’ve been busy. How’s it going?”
“It’s . . . going,” Kai said. “Would you like some tea?”
“I’m fine, thanks,” Subaru said.
“I’m sorry about, uhm, usurping your position and all.” Kai blushed. “Obaasama didn’t really give me much choice in the matter. I don’t really see how it’s such a big deal, anyway. The whole thing with, uhm, the Sakurazukamori.”
Subaru smiled. “Don’t worry about it.”
“I don’t suppose you’d want it back?” Kai asked hopefully. “Now that all the fuss is over?”
“I wouldn’t want it back,” Subaru said with a laugh. “But I’ll take it, if you’re that desperate.”
“Well . . .” Kai looked away. “I don’t want obaasama mad at me . . .”
“I know that feeling,” Subaru said with a nod.
“But I really don’t think I’m cut out for it,” Kai continued. “I mean, I wanted to get through school, and I know that you never did . . .”
“That was my own choice, not because I was Head, but it did make it difficult to get through classes,” Subaru said. “I’m still at a loss of what to do about an heir, though.”
“Well,” Kai said, “if obaasama could just pick someone randomly to be Head, presumably you can pick someone randomly to be your successor. Ne?”
Subaru laughed. “I suppose. Though I think obaasan needs her head examined; that’s a different story. I need to find someone with the appropriate magical skills.” Plus, technically speaking, Seishirou needs a successor too. Hm . . . that’s a quandary. “I’m sure I could find someone appropriate. You’re sure about this?”
Kai nodded vigorously. “Thanks, Subaru-san.”
“No problem,” Subaru said.
“Will you tell obaasama?” Kai asked hopefully.
Subaru laughed. “Yes, I’ll tell her. I have some business with her anyway. Did I miss anything while I was gone?”
Kai shrugged. “Did you hear about Kaori?”
“No, I didn’t,” Subaru said, not really caring but trying to be polite. Kaori was one of his closest cousins, after all.
“She was killed in a car accident,” Kai said, fiddling with his shirt.
Subaru blinked. Obaasan really was mad at me if she didn’t even inform me of that. “Oh.” He frowned. “Wasn’t she the one who just had a baby?”
“Twins,” Kai said with a nod. “Obaasama has custody of them.”
“God forbid,” Subaru muttered. “I’ll have to drop by and see them while I’m there.”
He managed to free himself from the clutches of Kai’s good will without much trouble and took a cab over to his grandmother’s house. “Obaasan,” he said coolly, smiling at his grandmother. “It’s good to see you.”
Lady Sumeragi nodded stiffly in his direction. “I see you’re feeling better.”
“Much, thank you. I was just visiting Kai, in fact.”
She arched an eyebrow. “Oh?”
“Yes. Seems he doesn’t really like being Head very much.” Subaru paused to let that sink in. “So he turned the position back over to me.”
She blinked. “He can’t do that.”
“Of course he can. He’s the Head. Well, was, anyway. He’s entitled to turn the position over to whomever he so chooses. Just as I’m allowed to choose my Heir, if I can’t or don’t want to have children.”
“And the Sakurazukamori?” she asked.
“I’m getting to that,” Subaru said coldly. “Here’s how this is going to happen, obaasan. I’m going to be allowed to choose my heir, and I’m going to be allowed to live with Seishirou. And if you don’t want me to have those two things, I’m going to tell the Council that you tried to kill him yourself.”
She paled, only slightly, but still visible.
“Don’t think neither of us noticed,” Subaru said. “We were lucky that I was awake enough to stop the spell myself, or he probably would have died.” He gave his grandmother a piercing stare. “It’s not the way of the Sumeragi to kill.”
“I wasn’t killing him,” she answered icily. “I was allowing his death.”
“It’s really no different,” Subaru replied. “I doubt the Council will look too kindly on it. And as my living with Seishirou doesn’t really hurt anyone . . .”
“What about the innocents he murders?” she hissed.
“He doesn’t murder innocents,” Subaru said. “And I refuse to discuss this with you until you do your research and know what you’re talking about. Until you try to bring it up to the Council again, I have my position back.” He gave a slight bow. “Sayonara, obaasan.”
He turned and walked out.
****
“I already ordered,” Seishirou said as Subaru slid into the booth next to him. “How’d it go with your grandmother?”
“Oh, no worse than expected,” Subaru said. “I’m the head of the Sumeragi again, though.” He was half-smiling. “I didn’t bring up Kamui. Figured I’d leave that for later.”
“So your cousin turned the position back to you?” Seishirou asked.
Subaru nodded. “He didn’t want it. I knew that he wouldn’t.”
“Good,” Seishirou finally said. “What are you doing about a successor?”
“Oh, yes, I meant to ask you about that.” Subaru paused as the waitress set their food down in front of them, then gave Seishirou a wide smile. “How would you like to have kids?”
Seishirou paused. “Subaru-kun, I think you’re overlooking a large biological factor.”
Subaru laughed. “Seriously. My cousin just died, and she just gave birth a few months ago. Currently the children are in the custody of my grandmother, and we know how much fun that is.”
“Children, plural?” Seishirou asked.
“Twins,” Subaru said with a nod. “Boy and girl.”
“That runs in your family, I see.”
“Actually, it does,” Subaru said. “It’s a handy genetic quirk to have. You have twins, it doesn’t matter as much if the one being trained to be the next head gets killed or, I don’t know, chosen by the Sakurazukamori as his new plaything.”
Seishirou looked guilty.
Subaru laughed. “Anyway, if we rescue them from my grandmother, we can train one to be my successor and one to be yours. If they’re brought up to respect and understand each other, that ought to end the feud far more efficiently than you and I ever did.”
“I suppose,” Seishirou said. “But I’m foreseeing a few problems.”
“Fire away.”
“First of all, I can’t picture myself as a father.” Seishirou looked faintly disturbed at this prospect.
Subaru laughed. “You’ll be a great father. What else?”
Seishirou paused. “Your grandmother will never let us get away with it.”
“Well, she won’t know that one of them is being trained to be your successor. Trust me, I have no plans of telling anyone that until she’s gone. And as for whether or not she’ll let us take the children . . . I do have the right to choose my successor, no matter what she says. Anyway, if she gives us any trouble, you can just kill her.”
Seishirou blinked at him for a second, then smiled. “I love you, Subaru.”
Subaru grinned cheerfully. “I know. Any other objections?”
“Just one,” Seishirou said. “Technically, my successor has to kill me before he can inherit the position.”
Subaru paused. “Hm. That is a bit of a problem. Presumably they have to go through training, however, and the Tree recognizes them as an authority figure?”
Seishirou nodded.
“Well, what you do is you train them, then let them ‘take over,’ so to speak. Technically, you’ll still be the Sakurazukamori, but you won’t be acting as it. Then, when you’re old and gray . . . though here the nine-year-age difference is going to pose a bit of a problem . . . Hm.”
“Let’s burn that bridge when we get to it,” Seishirou decided. “I’m sick of planning for the future.”
Subaru smiled. “Me too. Let’s just enjoy the present.”
****
Epilogue
“Hey, Uncle Seishirou!!”
Seishirou looked pained. “Must you call me that?”
Kamui grinned impishly. “Sure. You’re aniki’s one true love, so I should call you something like that, right?”
Seishirou sighed.
“Course, technically, I should call you niisan, since that’s what you are, sort of, but you’re too imposing to be a niisan. So you’re an uncle.”
“I think you make a very good uncle,” Subaru said, taking Seishirou’s hand. “And an excellent father, before you ask.”
Kamui snickered. “I can’t believe the two of you have kids.”
“Yeah, where are they today, Subaru?” Sorata asked.
Subaru caught a sakura petal as it drifted down from the trees. “Since we didn’t want them crawling around everywhere while we were having our picnic, we left them with Yuzuriha. She’s a good baby-sitter.”
“Miss is great with kids,” Sorata said with a nod, and gave Arashi an innocent expression as she glared at him. “What? You are!”
Arashi just sighed.
“We tried to get Johnny to watch them,” Subaru said with a smirk. “But he’s not baby-sitter material.” He pitched his voice different, doing a fairly good imitation of his friend. “You. Want me. To watch That.”
Johnny shrugged, not looking remorseful in the least.
Sorata had earlier designated that it was ‘Couples Day.’ Once he’d gotten over the beating Arashi gave him, he then had to deal with a series of blushing denials from Kamui. Subaru was watching him and Keichii very closely and had determined that no, they weren’t a couple, but it certainly wasn’t going to be very long before they were.
Seishirou settled himself on the ground with his back against an innocent sakura tree and motioned for Subaru to join him. Subaru was only too glad to do so, settling against Seishirou’s chest and ignoring the varying snickers from his present company. Before long, the rest of the group had settled in like fashion. Well, as like as they could without getting punched. Sorata was sitting as close to Arashi as he dared, playing with her hair. She was, surprisingly, submitting to this treatment and apparently rather enjoying it as well. Keichii had an arm slung around Kamui’s shoulders. To the casual glance, it could have been mistaken for a brotherly arm, but Subaru knew better, and smiled. Johnny was sitting in Liam’s lap, amusing himself by making observations about the varying couples. The fact that three quarters of his company was ignoring him didn’t seem to phase him a bit; at least he was getting blushes out of Kamui and Arashi.
Subaru snuggled closer to Seishirou. It was a perfect day for a picnic now that spring had finally arrived; sakura in full bloom, blue sky, warm sun. He was sure he was going to doze off.
“Subaru-kun?” Seishirou poked him in the ribs.
“Nani?” Subaru asked sleepily.
“What do you want to do tomorrow? It is Sunday, after all.”
Subaru thought about it for a minute, examining the infinite possibilities that tomorrow could hold. “Anything,” he said, and smiled. “I’ll do anything, as long as it’s with you.”
Seishirou smiled back and kissed him, and they stayed that way until Kamui remembered that he’d brought a water gun with him.
Finis