 |
All over Tokyo the cherry trees were in bloom, but nowhere as luxuriantly as in Ueno Park. The park was unusually empty, however, despite the fine
spring weather. Though ordinarily it would be a solid mass of salarymen
and office ladies, happy, exuberant families and paired-off couples, today
few people were there at all. And those who did come to spread their
blankets on the grass, to laugh and eat and drink as they watched the
petals drifting down, often seemed to be at least a little nervous.
That was not surprising. The talk on every blanket was mostly of the earthquake, which had struck the city earlier that day. Nakano Sun Plaza had been entirely destroyed. It was a terrible thing. Heedlessly, though, a few young children ran and shouted under the cherry trees, oblivious to the conversations or the concerns that troubled grown-ups. The rose-pink petals tumbled all about them. Sakurazuka Seishirou touched the trunk of one particular tree. He smiled.
A tremendous burst of light split earth and sky-- A Dragon of power coiled into the air./
He was remembering.
Nakano Sun Plaza...the sound of hurrying footsteps echoed from shattered walls. Seishirou turned around. He smiled, very softly, at that person. "Subaru-kun."/
No, he had never forgotten this one. The one he had permitted to escape him. The one that he was someday going to kill. He had already chosen the moment.
"Why?" "To make my wish a reality." From Subaru's hand a star-shaped space sprang out, luminous and growing-- The kekkai of one of the Seven Seals./
.: Now that I know you're a Seal, Subaru-kun, I've decided it at last. :. .: I'll kill you on the final day. :. .: Because you and this fragile "cornerstone," this Tokyo, have been two projects I've spent a lot of time on, and your fates are so closely intertwined-- :. .: It's an elegant conclusion, to finish both at once. :. A wind moved strongly through the sakura, combing the waves of Seishirou's dark hair. It picked out a stray petal that had nestled there, and stole it swiftly away. The branches of the trees whispered against each other, soft sound of wood contacting wood. Slow clouds began to pass before the sun. .: Sumeragi and Sakurazukamori...two faces of the coin of onmyoudo, the light and the dark. It would have been appropriate for us to meet in any event, on the threshold of this human world's destruction, even if I hadn't marked you as my catch so many years ago. And considering that, considering how long I've been meddling in your life already-- :. .: Yes. To see you die on the final day would be right. :. .: So for those reasons, I'll continue to overlook you for a while. For those reasons-- :. .: --and for one more. :.
"You really are cute, Subaru-kun."/
.: You want to fight me, don't you? Well, I want that too...I want to see how well you'll do against me. :. .: The thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan-- :. .: Will you challenge me on that day, Sumeragi Subaru? :.
"_On makayakisha bazara sataba....jakuunban kohara beisha un._" Torrents of supernatural energy wove around Subaru's hands. He stood fast among the screaming, lashing winds, and his green eyes never left the figure of his enemy. Seishirou appraised the strength of this opponent. When he was satisfied with his knowledge, he exerted himself in a certain way. The unseen threads that held magic to Subaru's will were abruptly bound. "_On asanmagini unhatta...on bazarato...shikoku._" Subaru gasped-- Seishirou's winds hurled Subaru backwards, and he struck the wall of the building./
The children trampled over the fallen petals, and where it had been crushed that tender silk turned darker, like a human bruise. A stain of blood, spread out beneath the skin.
Powerful, yes, as the leader of Japan's onmyouji should be...far more powerful than he had been. Of the Seven Seals, he might stand second only to Kamui himself. He was highly trained, intensely disciplined; his workings were carried out with all the skill that single-minded dedication and years of experience could give. But he was not Seishirou's equal. There was a "flaw" in him somewhere, a fracturing of his energies that hindered him from his full potential. The tremendous promise of his spiritual power had never been fulfilled./
.: Subaru-kun. :. .: You're strong enough now to be an amusing test of my own powers, but not possibly strong enough to defeat me. :. .: Another sure bet like this.... :. Seishirou laughed again. .: How can I resist? :.
He smiled down at the injured onmyouji. "Then...I will see you again."/
.: On that final day.... :. A child's voice shouted: "Wait! Hey, wait for me! It isn't _fair_!" Small figures scattered in-between the trees. The sound of high-pitched laughter echoed among the sakura, gradually dying away into the distance. That single voice cried out to them again, and then was still. Seishirou laid his hand upon the tree once more. .: Subaru-kun, everything dies.... :. .: Like this city's future, your time is running out. :. .: It's not that I "hate" you, or that I particularly "wish" for you to die-- :. .: It's just something that's going to happen, is all. :. .: I'm Sakurazukamori. :. .: And I'll kill you. :. .: It really is that simple. :. Still smiling, Seishirou let his hand slip from the cherry tree. After a little while, he turned and walked away. On all sides the petals fell without surcease, pitiless and beautiful. Somewhere, a mother was calling for her son.
The flashback sequences are taken from Rika's translation of the Subaru character file CD. At the time of writing this, I did not have any visual reference materials for this scene, so you'll notice a few differences between this and the manga. I may rewrite it in the future, if anyone finds the inconsistencies bothersome.... I also took a few poetic liberties with the transcriptions of Subaru and Seishirou's spells: I broke up those multisyllabics into pieces easier for this gaijin to pronounce, and I swapped a couple of "l"s and "r"s purely because I liked the words better that way. Gomen ne, Rika!
What you've just read is the prologue of what will be a *very* long story. As you can probably guess, it's primarily about Subaru and Seishirou, although the other X characters will also be appearing eventually. Unfortunately, I'm something of a slow writer--once everything that I've written so far has been posted, there might be an extended wait between chapters. Sorry about that.... My goal, though, is to finish "Sakura" before CLAMP finishes X. I think that might just be achievable. :) Just a few comments on the story in general: * Like most fics, this story contains [SPOILERS]. If you haven't read up through the end of Tokyo Babylon and the most recent issue of X, and if you don't want to find out what happens in those books, then don't read this. (Anyway, you'll get more out of this story if you *are* familiar with the manga.) * This fic contains occasional [LEMON] material of a yaoi nature, yaoi being male/male. The explicit sections are relatively few, though, and will be clearly marked. There's a lot more to the story than just sex, so even if you're not into yaoi or etchi I hope you'll find this story worthwhile and enjoyable. If you think you're likely to be offended, however, please stop reading now. * This story is based on characters, places, and events in works created and copyrighted by CLAMP. I am using these sources without permission, and I hope CLAMP will forgive me if they ever find out. This work is intended as homage and adoration, and not as any threat to their copyright. *The actual text and situations of this story, however, unless otherwise noted are copyrighted to me. Please do not adapt, mutate, or deform this story for your own nefarious purposes. I have no objections to my work being archived or published on web sites; however, if you'd like to make it publicly available I'd appreciate being informed. Thanks. * Also, C&Cs are always extremely welcome. Flames are not, but I'll read them anyway and then sink into a morass of self-pity for about a week, after which time I'll go on with my miserable existence horribly scarred for life. (Happy now? ;)
|
