Seishirou, Subaru, Hokuto and the worlds of Tokyo Babylon and X are 
owned by the manga foursome, Clamp. All bow down before their greatness. 
(For those who don't recognize the term, manga are Japanese comic books.)

Not much plot here. More of a character study. I may do more with the 
characters, though. Also, I'm not sure that this can really be counted as 
slash, since the relationship is completely canon in the original form.

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Memories and Cherry Blossoms
by Lianne Burwell
June 1998
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"Another year has gone by, Nee-san. Another year since you died in my 
place."

The young man stood in front of a grave stone, marked with the name 
Hokuto Sumeragi. He was dressed simply, in blue jeans, t-shirt and a 
trenchcoat. His dark hair was cut short, not very fashionably styled, and 
his almond-shaped eyes showed only sadness, when they showed any 
expression at all.

"I still haven't found him," he continued, talking to his dead twin. "But 
I will. I promise you. And when I do, I *will* kill him."

Subaru Sumeragi, thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan, and sorceror, 
bowed his head and let the memories run through him. In his mind, he 
could still see Hokuto, eternally sixteen years old. She was laughing, 
dressed in one of her flamboyant outfits that were more costume than 
clothing. Seishirou-san was there too. He could see, now, how the vet had 
held himself aloof, showing his amusement at the twins' behavior. At the 
time, he had been blinded by how flattered he had been by the attention 
from the handsome, older man.

He had believed that Seishirou actually cared about him. Loved him, even. 
*He* had loved the man, but it had all been a game for Seishirou. A game 
to see if he could *make* Subaru fall in love with him.

Subaru looked down at his bare hands. For years he had worn gloves, 
ordered by his grandmother. The gloves had blocked his memory, covered 
the mark. The mark of the Sakurazukamori.

Now he knew the truth. Seishirou *was* the Sakurazukamori, head of a clan 
of assassins whose lineage stretched back as far as that of the Sumeragi 
clan. As a child, he had seen the then teenaged assassin kill. Seishirou 
had been intrigued by the child Subaru. Intrigued enough that instead of 
killing the boy, he had made a bet with the child.

"When you are older," he had told the child. "I will come and live with 
you for a year. At the end of that year, if I feal nothing for you, I 
will kill you."

Then he had marked Subaru, so that none would interfere with his prey.

Subaru's grandmother had blocked his memory of that day, and covered his 
hands with spelled gloves. As a result, when he met Seishirou again, 
years later, he didn't recognize him. Instead, he had accepted the 
assassin's guise of a kindly vet.

Subaru frowned. Even now, he couldn't remember how he hand his sister had 
ended up living with the man. After all, orphaned sixteen year-old twins 
suddenly going to live with a man who was not even a relative was not 
exactly normal.

But they had gone to live with him, for a year, and Subaru had fallen 
head-over-heels in love, encouraged by his sister. And at the end of that 
year, the bet had come due.

Hokuto had known, even when Subaru had not. She had thrown the boy and 
the man together, hoping that she could save Subaru by making Seishirou 
fall in love with him. When she had realized that she had failed, she had 
managed to substitute herself for her twin.

Instead of killing Subaru, Seishirou had killed Hokuto.

Subaru's eyes burned, but stayed dry. He had been in a coma at the time. 
He had cried when he had woke to find his love gone, and his beloved twin 
dead at the hands of that love. He had cried for an entire day, then the 
tears had stopped.

Since then, he'd had only one purpose in life, one wish. To kill the 
Sakurazukamori. To kill Seishirou. He had dropped out of school, and 
devoted himself to his magic studies, but for all the wrong reasons. He 
knew they were wrong. He just didn't care.

Subaru brushed a hand over the grave stone, then stood back. Another year 
had passed. Perhaps next year he would be able to tell Hokuto that he had 
avenged her. He gave a bitter imitation of a smile. She would tell him to 
stop obsessing with the past, to get on with his life, but this was the 
only purpose he had left in life. Without it, what would be the point?

As he turned to leave, he saw him. A tall figure in a black coat, head 
wreathed in cigarette smoke, leaning against a tree. He strode towards 
the figure, angry.

"What are *you* doing her," he spat. The figure smiled, a lazy smile.

"Paying my respects, of course." The man dropped the cigarette, and 
stepped on it. "You look well, Subaru-kun. Too thin, though, and 
Hokuto-chan would be horrified by the clothing."

Subaru's hands tightened into fists, and he prepared his spells, though 
he knew he was too angry to properly control them. "How dare you use her 
name? Do you usually visit the graves of your victims?"

Seishirou stepped closer, and Subaru backed up without realizing it. "She 
was a remarkable girl. I regret not having the chance to see her as a 
woman. But... she *asked* me to kill her."

Subaru turned away. It was a foolish thing to do, but he couldn't bear to 
look at the smiling face anymore. "She was trying to save me."

"Was she?" was the mild reply.

Subaru opened his mouth, intending to demand a reply. He did not have the 
chance to say a word. Instead, a large hand gripped his upper arm. and he 
was turned and pressed up against the tree. He struggled, but even now 
Seishirou was larger and stronger than him.

He was held immobile, and a mouth descended on his. It was hot and 
demanding, and tasted of nicotine. He twisted, trying to pull away, and 
kept his mouth firmly shut. It was no use. Seishirou was patient, waiting 
for a weak moment, and he took advantage of it when his chance came.

His head was reeling from lack of oxygen, and Subaru felt his lips part 
in an unwilling gasp for air. The gasp quickly became a whimper, as a 
tongue slipped between his lips. His mouth was thoroughly explored, and 
he was horrified to feel arousal flood through his veins for the first 
time since his twin's death.

As his head spun, Subaru relaxed. He was no longer fighting the kiss, 
though he wondered when it would end. *If* it would end. The hands no 
longer held him still. Instead, one cupped his face, and the other cupped 
his ass, pulling him tight against the heat of an erection. He moaned as 
he realized that he was erect as well.

Then the pressure was gone. He opened eyes that he did not remember 
closing, and found himself alone. He whirled, but the area was deserted.

He could almost convince himself that it hadn't happened at all, but his 
lips were swollen, and there was a crushed cigarette butt at his feet. 
When he lifted a hand to his face, he found it damp with tears that he 
had not shed in years.

Angrily, he brushed tears and confusion away. This changed nothing. 
Seishirou would still die. He had promised himself. He had promised 
Hokuto.

* * * * *

Seishirou stood a short distance away, cloaked in a spell so strong that 
not even a sorceror of the Sumeragi clan would be able to pierce it. He 
watched, with a smile, as the confused young man left the cemetary.

"Subaru-kun..." he whispered, removing his sunglasses to show one dark 
eye, and one glass. "You can be so naive."

After all, did he *really* believe that Seishirou would step between him 
and a knife, losing an eye in the process, simply so that he could kill 
the boy himself? Did he *really* believe that the Sakurazukamori could be 
deflected, merely by the substitution of one twin for the other?

"No, Subaru-kun. You won the bet."

And in losing, Seishirou had lost everything, for the dreams had already 
begun. Dreams of two young men, one with sad eyes and the bat-wings of a 
demon, the other with mad eyes and the feathered wings of an angel. 
Dreams of a battle where the seven dragons of earth would battle the 
seven dragons of heaven to determine the fate of the world. The fate of 
humanity.

A battle in which destiny had decided that he and Subaru would fight on 
opposite sides.

No. Far kinder that Subaru hate him. Then, perhaps, he would be able to 
do what he must to survive. Without this hate, the kind-hearted boy that 
had been would die quickly.

"You understood that, Hokuto-chan. Didn't you?" he asked the grave stone. 
"That's why you asked me to kill  you. So that Subaru would have a reason 
to fight. And because I love him, I granted your request."

Seishirou lit another cigarette, and briefly considered what might have 
been. No matter. Fate had already been decided, and there was no point in 
trying to fight it. 1999 would be here soon.

The man was gone, between one beat of the heart and the next. All that 
was left behind was a swirl of cherry blossoms. Sakura blossoms, pink 
with the blood of the dead and the dying.

THE END