X/1999 Fan Fiction / Fruits Basket Fan Fiction ❯ Living For You ❯ Battle at Ebisu ( Chapter 8 )

Xandra presents Living For You - chapter 8.

Disclaimer: Don't own any of the characters. They belong to CLAMP. I think the things I've done to them aren't all that horrible compared to the serious torture CLAMP has/is putting them through lately. But that hasn't stopped me from buying their stuff. Hail to CLAMP.

Chapter 8 - Battle at Ebisu.

Subaru was a little down in the dumps following the meeting with his grandmother. The thought of having to part with her again after so many years of separation depressed him. After a couple days, however, he soon grew less morose and began to exhibit a little of the spiritedness that had characterized him while he was pretending to be Hokuto. For what it was worth, Kamui thought the reconciliation had done him a world of good. It was enough to cheer Kamui's heart when he came to breakfast one morning to see Subaru chewing away at a pencil, a sketchpad by his plate, bantering away with Yuzuriha about her cooking.

After exchanging good morning greetings with his fellow Seals, Kamui sat down and said to Subaru, "Aren't you supposed to be eating food? I think a pencil has no nutritional value."

Subaru started with surprise. It was the first time he'd heard Kamui crack a joke. A brilliant smile broke over his face. Kamui, too, smiled happily in return. Yuzuriha was so astonished to see her two normally moody dragons actually smile at each other that her mouth gaped open. Her eyes darted from Kamui to Subaru and back for so long that Inuki whined, wondering at his mistress' frozen state. She shook herself and gave him a reassuring pat, before returning to her meal with a pleased grin on her face.

Bearing more breakfast dishes, Sorata and Arashi entered the room and stopped at the unusual sight before them. They exchanged glances, wondering whether they had interrupted something. No one bothered to enlighten them, so the couple shrugged resignedly and set the food down before bidding everyone to eat. They were used to both Kamui and Subaru being uncommunicative, all they hoped was that the condition wasn't going to spread to Yuzuriha too.

The meal occupied everyone's attention for a while. Eventually Subaru turned to Kamui and asked, "What are you doing today?"

Kamui was caught off guard with his chopsticks in his mouth. He quickly removed them, swallowed, blinking at Subaru. "I have no plans," he replied.

"Oh good, come with me to Ebisu, then," Subaru said.

"Sure. Why?" The question was academic. Kamui would have been willing to go to the ends of the earth with Subaru, if the Sumeragi but asked. However, he was certain Subaru had a reason for asking him out.

"Remember I promised to design you an outfit? Well, Ayame-san says it's ready. He wants to meet us at Ebisu for lunch."

That caught the attention of the other Seals. "An outfit for Kamui?" Yuzuriha asked. The intrigued expression on her face left Kamui feeling rather dismayed.

Kamui wondered what was it about him that prompted people to want to play dress-up with him as if he were a living model. Did he look like such a doll?

A slight smile hovered on Subaru's lips. He reached out to touch Kamui's hand in assurance. "Don't worry, it'll be very nice. Trust me."

And Kamui did. He blinked a bit and looked down, trying to hide the slight tinge of red he was sure was spreading across his cheeks. A pair of chopsticks stuck a piece of fish into his bowl. He was astonished to see that it was Arashi who had handed him the food.

"Eat," she said tersely.

Kamui saw her knowing eyes and was grateful for her understanding and providing the distraction. He made a small sound of concession and dug in. Sorata noticed their interchange and began to harangue Arashi over her favoritism in not giving him any food. That prompted Yuzuriha to dissolve into giggles at the sight of Arashi rolling her eyes at the Kansai monk. The rest of the meal passed quickly amid an atmosphere of warm camaraderie. Observing his friends, Kamui was struck by how five such different personalities as they, could live harmoniously together, but they did it. In fact, Kamui realized that they were all coming to care for each other greatly. This was a development alien to him. All his life, he had been a loner with only his mother for company. He felt a small pang as he remembered the loss of Fuuma and Kotori, his only childhood friends. This was different, but just as nice.

Breakfast done, dishes cleared, the Seals all departed on their own business. It was summer holidays, and school was still out. Kamui wasn't looking forward to the new term, despite the special arrangements Imonoyama-san had made to get him into Clamp Campus Academy. How he was supposed to save the world while worrying about homework was beyond him. He heaved a silent sigh. He'd cross that bridge when he came to it.

The two Dragons soon caught a train to get into town. They could have traveled by the showy means of leaping from rooftop to rooftop, but that was asking for trouble from a stray curious eye. Sitting in the quietly rumbling train, Kamui leaned back and savored the pleasure of spending time simply chatting with Subaru. Some might have called it a waste of time, but for Kamui, whose life so far had been short on him doing simple mundane things, this was sheer bliss.

They were a little early on arrival and mutually agreed to take a leisurely walk around the shops. However, none of the wares on offer appealed to either and eventually Subaru proposed they waited for Ayame on a bench in the arcade area.

"I think I might like to go back to school," Subaru suddenly remarked after settling down.

Kamui was astounded that Subaru would actually want to attend school when he didn't have to. "Why?" The question slipped from his tongue before he could recall it. He was still terribly shy about asking personal things of his friend.

Subaru long lashes were lowered as he heaved a little sigh. "I never graduated, you know. All that business with... the Sakurazukamori happened just before my graduation. Sometimes... sometimes I'm uncomfortable with my lack of knowledge," Subaru explained haltingly.

"I don't see where being able to calculate sine and cosine or know about equations is of any good in the normal world, particularly with the...." Kamui coughed delicately before continuing, "Fight coming up." Kamui hated to bring up the topic of their destiny as Seals but it was unavoidable. It was always there, hovering over his consciousness, a weight on his mind.

Subaru raised his eyes to Kamui's and understood. "You can't think that way," he said gently. "The point of what we're fighting for is so everyone can live normal lives. That means we have to live that way as well, as if there will be a future beyond the... you know... 1999."

"And school is good because..." Kamui prompted skeptically.

"School is good because you can learn social skills, explore subjects that may interest you and simply exercise your brain," Subaru said in a lecturing tone. Then his smile turned playful. "Besides, you can also meet some very nice girls there!"

"Subaru!" Kamui exclaimed, blushing hotly. It wasn't that he wasn't interested in girls, he had liked Kotori well enough, but he'd never thought of them much before. Now, his heart lurched a little at the thought of Subaru meeting a nice girl and leaving him behind. Or guy, he thought silently. Although he knew that was unlikely to happen, it was still a troubling thought. He shelved it away and turned his attention to Subaru's previous point. Subaru had certainly made a good case for education. Then he groaned. "But.. I hate the exams and homework!" he protested.

Subaru laughed. His face lit up so much that Kamui was transfixed by the sight. A sudden wish flashed through Kamui's heart, that he could always be able to make Subaru laugh. The moment passed and was lost when a large whirlwind suddenly descended on them. "Souma-san!" Kamui gasped while he watched Souma Ayame glomp onto Subaru.

"Oh am I late? Am I late? I saw this gorgeous outfit in one of the windows and absolutely had to examine it up close. Then there was this crowd of sales assistants that I simply had to let admire me!" Ayame held a hand to his chest and spoke in his characteristic melodramatic, rapid-fire fashion.

Subaru struggled a little to get Ayame to release his choking embrace. "Stop that, you're behaving like an exuberant dog!" he chided, trying to get his breath.

Ayame made a face but didn't take the scolding tone to heart. He knew Subaru was very fond of him. Dramatically he tipped back, striking the back of his hand to his brow. "Oh what an insult! I'm certainly not a dog, I'm far more graceful and charming!" he said, raising an eyebrow at Subaru haughtily.

Subaru shook his head affectionately. "All right, all right," he conceded. Changing the subject, he asked, "Did you bring Kamui's outfit?"

Ayame's mercurial mood transformed into pleased glee. " Oh yes!" he exclaimed. "It's wonderful, you're a genius, I'm a genius!" Ayame danced around Kamui for a bit, before tossing a bag at him.

"Kamui, would you go try it on? We'll wait here for you," Subaru asked gently.

Kamui nodded. He got the impression the two of them wanted to be alone for a while.

He didn't take very long to change. Making a reappearance in his new clothes, Kamui's hunch proved true. The two were sitting with their backs to him and speaking softly. Kamui was astonished that Ayame could do that in a perfectly subdued manner.

"I'm glad you made up with your grandmother, I know how important family is to you. You shouldn't have to pretend to be something you're not, Subaru," Ayame said.

The soft 'thank you' from Subaru brought a tiny surge of envy to Kamui's heart. Nevertheless, he was selfless enough to be glad that Subaru had such a good friend. Kamui continued to listen, a little ashamed but still making no effort to interrupt their conversation.

"I just wish you too could come to terms with your brother," Subaru was saying.

"Yuki may never forgive me for choosing my freedom over ignoring him while he was abused," Ayame replied. Then his mood shifted back to his natural optimism. "But I'm going to do my best to change his mind and have a new beginning. You must remember that it's possible for that to happen for you too, Subaru!"

Whatever Subaru would have said in reply to that Kamui never found out. Ayame turned around suddenly and saw the teenager. He jumped up and sidled over to Kamui, saying seductively, "Oh we're geniuses, we're geniuses. Doesn't he look at absolute dreamboat?"

Kamui blushed when he saw Subaru's assessing gaze on him. The clothes did make him look good. There was a soft silky white shirt, laced together tightly at the front and tucked into his dark blue pants. It was the jacket, light enough for a cool summer day, that set the whole outfit off. It had wide lapels and fit his upper body snugly, before flaring out at his waist to fall to just below his knees. Its color was a deep shade of ultramarine blue, which in the sunlight, reflected its violet base and complimented the beautiful shade of amethyst in Kamui's eyes. It was the sort of clothing that shouldn't be out of place anywhere but he knew he made an impact. All through his way back to his companions, he had noticed people turning their heads to look at him. Kamui wasn't sure he was comfortable at being the object of so many people's attention. Still, he was polite and said shyly, "I like it very much, thank you."

Subaru smiled at him, pleased. The sight made Kamui feel much better about himself. He promptly forgot about anyone else looking at him.

Kamui's thoughts were abruptly cut short when he felt the first tremors of the earthquake. There was a distinct not-right feel to the quake, and both Seals immediately knew it was the presence of a Dragon. Chaos erupted around them, as glass shattered and people began to shriek.

"Is this a Kekkai?" Kamui asked Subaru quickly.

Subaru nodded. He put his hands together and thought deeply, summoning that ephemeral wish of his to protect his special someone. Just who that person was, the Sumeragi wasn't telling. Subaru's star-shaped Kekkai soon expanded out to envelop everything for miles around.

Suddenly Ayame lurched forward and pushed Kamui to the side, shouting, "Look out!"

Kamui fell heavily. A large concrete block smashed down where he had been standing, shattering explosively into tiny sharp pieces. Kamui didn't feel any of the pieces slicing into him, he was too concerned by the appearance the tall teenager standing lazily some distance away. "Fuuma..." Kamui whispered.

"This is the first time I've seen you do this," Ayame was saying to Subaru in awed tones. His friend, however, waved him to keep quiet, his attention focused entirely on the other /Kamui/.

"What an interesting day this is turning out to be," Fuuma said conversationally . "So you've brought some friends along, Kamui?" He turned to survey the other two. "Another Dragon of Heaven and a rather unusual bystander. Did you know the easiest way to leave a Kekkai is to kill the creator?"

"Fuuma, don't do this!" Kamui pleaded with his former friend. He didn't want to fight Fuuma. Seeing Fuuma like this hurt him deeply. Somehow he had to believe his childhood friend was still there. Kamui couldn't accept that he was gone, turned into this merciless stranger who killed without a qualm, all his fault, from a choice he had made.

Fuuma didn't answer him. He examined Subaru for a moment before abruptly leveling a powerful blast at him. The bolt whistled close to the Sumeragi as he ducked to one side, shouting at his friend to take cover.

Ayame sensibly slid behind a relatively safe corner as the boom of the blast impacted. This was like nothing he'd ever experienced but he could tell Subaru was much more capable of handling it. He was just a normal mortal, curse of the Jyunnishi notwithstanding. He was not equipped to deal with any of this.

While Subaru and Ayame were distracted, Fuuma had come up to Kamui and grabbed hold of him. "You're not awake yet. You cannot create a Kekkai. You don't even know what you wish," he said, almost sadly to the younger boy.

Kamui couldn't stop himself from making a small sound of despair, an almost whimper that he immediately berated himself for. Now was not the time to be behaving like a pathetic fool. Yet even as he tried to gather his wits together, he found his eyes caught in Fuuma's intense gaze.

"Can you find it in yourself to harm me?" Fuuma asked. His tone was so gentle that Kamui was lulled into a strange lassitude. Fuuma bent down and licked at a streak of blood flowing down the tender curve of his neck, then nipped at him lightly, making Kamui gasp aloud. Whatever thoughts Kamui had of attacking his friend flew straight out of his mind.

The fluttering sound of a flock of white doves recalled Kamui to reality. He looked over to see them dashing against Fuuma's casually erected barrier. Kamui began to struggle to extricate himself from Fuuma's clasp.

The older teenager turned his focus back to Kamui with a frown. "Looks like I'll have to take care of your friend first before we finish this," he said calmly, one hand keeping an almost choking grip around Kamui's neck. Massive cables suddenly sprung up from the ground to tangle themselves around the Dragon of Heaven, holding him firmly in place.

"Damn you, Fuuma, why do you always do this to me!" Kamui exclaimed. He was getting sick of being physically and mentally mauled whenever he encountered his opposite. And what was with this fetish for bondage he always had!

Fuuma had jumped onto a jagged piece of debris, casually flinging blasts at the Sumeragi. Kamui craned his neck, filled with concern for his friend. He could see Subaru deftly dodging while throwing stacks of ofuda back at Fuuma. He shook his head in denial, his heart falling in dismay, unsure of who to be more worried for. Both meant so much to him.

Kamui couldn't stop himself from crying out loud when a particularly huge explosion smashed into a building just where Subaru was standing. The onmyouji emerged from the dust some distance away but the streaks of blood flowing down his arm was clear proof he hadn't managed to evade the blow entirely. "Stop, Fuuma!" Kamui yelled, as he pulled at the wires holding him, unheeding of the deep cuts they made on his skin.

Subaru dimly heard Kamui calling but was too occupied with defending himself and trying to lead the fight away from Ayame. He didn't know how it was that his friend was trapped in the Kekkai too but laid it down to his magical nature. Breathing heavily, the Sumeragi dodged yet another deadly blast as he weighed his options. Kamui, he thought, the key was Kamui. If he could get him free, two against one odds might convince the Chi no Ryuu to leave. Subaru hoped it would be enough -- he could sense Kamui's reluctance to do any harm to his childhood friend.

Jumping out from under cover, Subaru raced towards his leader. He could see the teenager's face light up with gratitude as he neared. Then something hit him fully from the side, slamming him into a pile of concrete. He heard something snap within him and his vision blanked.

The sound of his name being screamed was the first thing Subaru heard as he regained consciousness. Subaru groggily shook his head, trying to get back up. He didn't make it very far. A hand came out of nowhere and grabbed him by the neck, pinning him against the wall. Subaru's gaze focused on a pair of hard eyes. His vision suddenly wavered and for a moment, he thought he saw Seishirou. The sight so surprised Subaru that he gasped aloud. He couldn't stop the flood of raw pain that coursed through him as he was transported into the past. The memory of his former love and his betrayal hurt as freshly as if it had happened yesterday. Oh Hokuto... Subaru thought, he missed her so much. All around, his Kekkai began to break.

"How... why?" Subaru whispered despairingly, not even sure whether he was talking to Seishirou or Fuuma.

Fuuma's answering smile was like cold ice, but his eyes reflected a depth of sorrow within them. The effect confused Subaru further. "Why do I look like him? Because you wish it to be so. You have a rather peculiar Wish. Shall I grant it to you?" The Dark Kamui lifted one hand and poised it to strike.

The thought that he would be getting his Wish today filled Subaru with resignation. Perhaps it was for the best... death would be a pleasant release. Yet on some level, he struggled against it, for how could he leave Kamui like this?

"Stop!" The cry rang out, joined by a savage growl as Inuki leaped at Fuuma's arm. The Dark Kamui calmly flung the Inugami away from him. He released Subaru to fall into a heap by his feet. Straightening, Fuuma confronted the small girl standing trembling some distance away, her eyes wide in horror as she stared at her dog, lying frighteningly still at her side.

"Yuzuriha!" Kamui screamed at the girl, willing her to get away as Fuuma advanced towards her. He pulled again at his bindings and one cable snapped away, but his heart fell with the realization that he wasn't going to be able to get free in time to help her.

But someone else was there first.

"This has to be one of the craziest things I've ever done!" Ayame yelled as he dashed forward to throw his arms around Yuzuriha. A big puff of smoke later, the girl found herself holding onto a large golden snake. Naturally she screamed.

"Don't just stand there holding onto me girl, throw me!" Ayame instructed.

In what was more a reflex than anything else, Yuzuriha tossed the snake in her arms at Fuuma. The snake hit him squarely, prompting the Dark Kamui to reflexively shy away. Before he could bat it off, the snake curled about his arm and bit down, hard.

The Dark Kamui blinked at it. Psychic bolts, ofuda and other such magic he could handle, but a snake appearing out of nowhere took a bit of adjustment for him. He tossed the snake away, absently considering the blood flowing from the bite marks on his arm.

"Go away, Fuuma!" Kamui said, so fiercely that he surprised himself. He had freed himself and was kneeling beside Subaru's prone form. Yuzuriha too was glaring at the Fuuma, in battle ready mode, the sword form of Inuki in her hands. The determination of the Ten no Ryuu to defend against him shone brightly in their eyes.

"I am Kamui," the Chi no Ryuu gently reminded him. Then he shrugged and leaped up. "Until next time, Kamui."

~~~~~

Author's Notes: Don't get upset with me please. I know Ikebukuro is where Subaru engages Fuuma and has his eye poked out but since I mentioned that I was throwing the whole X timeline out the window and going AU, I decided to script this battle scene instead. Why Ebisu you ask? Well, I needed a shopping centre and I rather liked the scene where Fuuma was talking to the frog girl before he tried to take down this Kekkai. So that's that! Wasn't Ayame cool? Yes as a Fruits Basket Jyunnishi member, Ayame is the snake. For those of you who don't know, he only turns into the snake when he hugs a member of the opposite sex, which is why he's fine glomping Subaru but transforms when he hugs Yuzu. I have no idea if he's poisonous or not though. I hope I got the characterisation of Yuzuriha down properly since she's a Seal that I like but find a little hard to script.

Many thanks to Leareth for beta-ing this chapter and giving me pointers on grammar and how to do action scenes. I'm not sure if I succeeded in making this as good as she might want, but since this chapter took 4 months to rewrite, I think I'm not going to work on it anymore.

And since this story has been in hiatus for so long, you might want to read the rest of it at my fanfic site, or take a look at my other stuff here: http://www.midnightrevolution.org/quicksilver/xandra/xandraindex.htm