[ Watashi ]

[ Tomodachi ]

[ Saint Seiya ]

[ Clamp ]

[ Fanfiction ]

The volume of the radio suddenly went up, covering the relentless sound of the rain. I smiled thankfully at Nami, the daughter of owner of the restaurant and continued cleaning the tables. As the heart of Summer had come, the temperature had gone up steadily, and eventually a thunderstorm had broken out. Nami mumbled something indistinct as the thunder resounded loudly in the restaurant. She was afraid of the noise, she hated it. Even though I found lightning beautiful, I understood her fear.

I opened a closet and cursed softly.

"Damn... I forgot..."

I sighed heavily, looking at the tons of dishes that had to be washed by the end of the afternoon. Nami looked at me curiously.

"What is it Shun ?"

Yuto chuckled.

"There is no more powder for the dishwasher... He didn't think of buying any yesterday."

Ignoring him, I looked at the water running down the windows and smiled helplessly.

"I guess I'll have to go buy some now... Or your father will be angry with me, Nami-san..."

She made a face at me.

"I told you not to call me that. I'm not that old... And besides we're friends, nee ?"

I shrugged.

"As you wish, Nami-sama..."

Seeing the scowl on her face, I hastily added :

"Okay, from now on I shall call you Nami-chan... Is that better ?"

She nodded.

"Yes, I like it !"

Giggling, she went to the coat rack and brought me one of her father's raincoats.

"Take this... Or you're sure to catch a cold !"

I obeyed and went to the door, saying :

"It shouldn't be long. I only hope there will still be enough time to wash everything..."

Yuto grumbled.

"If it's not finished you'll do the washing up all by yourself during the whole night !"

I shuddered, feigning terror, and quickly went out.

I stared helplessly at the shop's front. The notice read : "closed until Friday for improvements". I sighed, thinking that the next store was quite a ways farther. I'd have to use a shortcut, going through a park, or it would take too much time. Cursing the bad luck, I ran towards the end of the street, trying to ignore the rain.

I looked at my shoes and smiled disgustedly : although it had only been raining for an hour, the ground was soaked and my shoes were stained with mud. Oh well... There wasn't much help for it now. Thunder roared in the distance and I shook my head, flying my hair like a cat. Suddenly, a strange sound resounded, very close. I froze. It was half whine, half howl. What could it be ? I strained my ears, to try and hear it again despite the rain and the thunder... Yes, there on the left, towards those brushes.

There was nothing here... Could I have been wrong ? It was hard to see with the rain pouring down and the darkness caused by the storm. Suddenly, lightning illuminated the scene.

I listened to the rain, unable to move. This could not be. It was a nightmare... There were three bodies hidden behind the brush, a man, a woman and a child. I fell on my knees in the grass, feeling distantly tears stinging my eyes. Each had but a single, horrible wound, a hole in the chest, and were soaked in a pool of their own blood mixed with mud. Their eyes were closed, or had been closed, but the adults' faces were marked with terror and despair. Only the child's features were peaceful, as if the boy had never known what happened.

A cry resounded in the air, a cry of sorrow and anger, of remorse. Dimly, I knew it was coming from me. Savagely, I thrust a fist on the ground and the earth shook under me. Panting, I got a grip on myself with difficulty, and walled away my cosmo. The strange sound that had alerted me cut through the air again, and this time I saw what was doing it. A dog, badly wounded, the boy's dog. Numbly, I went towards her and touched her very gently, whispering :

"Hush girl, it's over... Don't be afraid, I only want to help... you remember me, don't you ?"

I gathered her cautiously in my arms, and she closed her eyes, trusting. It looked as if she had several broken ribs, and she could be bleeding inside... But it just might be she had a chance. I bit my lower lip. I wouldn't let her die like her masters. I looked at the bodies one last time before turning away, and fixed the image of their death in my heart. It was my fault... And I knew who had done this. The gaping wound was the same. Sakurazukamori... Yes, that had to be him. Walling away my emotions, I went away.

The young woman in white uniform looked at me, a bit alarmed while dialing a number on the telephone. Almost at once, she was answered.

"There is somemone here with a dog requiring immediate care. Is doctor Tanaka still on duty ?... Oh, please excuse me doctor, I didn't mean to... You'll take it ?... Thank you very much..."

She put down the receiver and looked at me.

"It's okay, one of the doctors will see your dog now..."

She smiled gently.

"You're lucky, he's the best in all of Tokyo. I'm sure he'll be able to help... Poor girl..."

She lead me to a door and knocked. A muffled voice came from the other side.

"Come in please..."

She opened the door to let me in, bowing slightly, and then went away.

"Well, I knew we would meet again... But I'm sorry it must be in these circumstances..."

Absentmindedly, I looked at the man. There was something familiar about him... Sakurazuka Seishirou... Yes... Unable to show I recognized him, I walked up to him, asking :

"Please, can you help this poor animal ?"

He looked at me during a long time, then took the dog from my arms, very gently. Without paying furhter attention to me, he went to another room, calling :

"Sato-san, Tokishima-san, I will need your assistance."

He was joined by two young men and they went to yet another place, likely an operating room. Slowly, I walked to the office's window, and watched the rain fall.

Why kill those innocent people ? Why kill a child ? I could still hear the Lady Sumeragi's words. She had said that he was an assassin, a perfect killer, without the smallest trace of human feeling... But this... This went beyond a clan war... Could it be I had made a mistake ? Could it be the Sumeragi's attitude was not that of a family blindly following a feud that was generations old ? Could it be they were not acting for themselves ? If that was so...

"Once you're done, you can go home. Thank you for your help, you did well..."

The voice seemed to come from very far away. Suddenly, I saw Sakurazuka's reflection in the window, and turned to him.

"Will she be all right ?"

He nodded, smiling gently.

"Yes, don't worry... I wonder what hit her to make wounds like that. Was she struck by a car ?"

I shrugged.

"I don't know. I found her in the park close to this clinic, so I thought I had better bring her here... Thank you for her. Now I'll have to go."

Before I could make a move, his left hand settled on my shoulder.

"You could at least tell me your name this time, no ?"

I looked at him as if he were mad, then said :

"I am Kido Shun... Now, if you'll excuse me, I really must go..."

As I reached his office's door, he asked :

"What's wrong ?"

Ignoring him, I turned the handle but suddenly he blocked the door.

"You won't leave this place before telling me what is going on."

I turned to him and said angrily :

"Look, I'm late, people expect me and I must go. I'm in no mood for games. Nothing is wrong, so please let me pass."

He looked at me steadily.

"You lie."

My whole body tensed. My fists closed and I fought the tremor that was running through me, I fought the storm of feelings warring inside of me. I shook my head.

"Sakurazuka-san..."

His eyes held mine.

"I am a kind person, remember ? You said that yourself..."

Suddenly, I realised that he had lost an eye. That was why he wore glasses... But these were not sunglasses, and by watching attentively one could see that his right eye was artificial.

"You are soaked through, you are shivering with cold and horror... Your eyes are those of a trapped animal and you expect me to believe nothing is wrong ? Come on, tell me."

Woodenly, I let him take me back towards a chair. I looked at my hands, wondering what I was doing there, why I had let him do that. Suddenly, I felt him putting something heavy and warm on my shoulders : a blanket. I realised I was shaking and fought for control.

"There, that should help..."

I heard him only dimly. In front of my eyes, there was only the picture of the three bodies on the grass. I whispered :

"The dog was not alone. There were also three people, dead. A young child and his parents. They were murdered... I must call the police..."

There was a long silence, and then he said :

"I will do it for you. It's clear you're under shock... You're in no condition to do it yourself..."

His words registered in my mind and I looked at him.

"Sakurazuka-san..."

He smiled gently.

"My firstname is Seishirou, I'm sure you remember that, don't you Shun-san ?"

He picked up his phone receiver and frowned.

"Mmmh... The line seems to be dead... Well, with this thunderstorm... I'll try from another office."

I didn't hear him walking away. Slowly, I shook my head, unable to accept what I had seen, unable to bear the burden of responsability.

I had felt it when I had taken the child and his dog away from the grove of trees. Evil... He had been there for the child... Even though I had known there might be a threat on the child's life, I had refused to believe it. I had let him go with a stupid warning, as if it could have been enough... I had forgotten him readily, unwilling to break my dear illusion of normal life, of peace... And Death had caught up with him...

I felt tremors running through me, stronger. Suddenly, I thought I felt a familiar presence. I whispered :

"Ikki-niisan... Oh niisan I need you now... I need you... I can't bear this... It's my fault... It's my fault they died..."

Two powerful arms hugged me gently, comforting, soothing, while a voice was softly whispering :

"Hush... It's over... It's over..."

Abruptly, the illusion shattered and I realised that the one holding me was Seishirou Sakurazuka. Unable to restrain myself, I broke his embrace and got up, turning to face him and saying in a strained voice :

"Let me be... Let me be..."

Suddenly, I realised what I was doing and saying. I lowered my head, ashamed.

"Forgive me... I had no right to act like that..."

He shook his head, smiling gently.

"Nonsense. You're badly shaken, I understand... You look like you could use a strong drink right now..."

I smiled bitterly.

"No... Don't worry about me, I'm used to Death."

He cocked his head to the side.

"You don't look like it... No, you certainly don't..."

I turned to the window as the thunder roared again.

"Death and I, we have known each other for as long as I can remember..."

For the thousandth time, I saw in my mind the faces of all the people who had died at my hands.

"It is my fault they died... this child, this woman, this man... I knew the child... I knew there was danger... And I ignored it... I..."

Very softly, a finger wiped away tears I hadn't even known were there. His eyes held mine during a long minute, then he shook his head.

"You're not making any sense you know..."

I smiled sadly.

"You're not supposed to understand... I'm sorry I told you that... I shouldn't have. I'd rather you forgot about it..."

He shrugged.

"If you wish me to, I will."

He backed away.

"Ah yes, I managed to reach the police. They should be here soon... Are you sure you're up to facing them now ?"

I sighed.

"I don't have much choice about it... Have I ?"

His left hand gently squeezed my shoulder.

"If I can help in any way, I will."

I nodded, and took my eyes from him to face the window and the thunderstorm again.

This time, I couldn't keep on pretending I could live like any human being. I had to redeem myself, I had to do something. If Sakurazukamori had restrained himself to petty clan wars, I would never have moved against him, I would never have taken sides. But it seemed he played for higher stakes than that. Onmyoujutsu wielder or not, he had a new enemy from now on.

As I reached this decision, I began to regain control of myself, and covered his hand with mine, smiling warmly :

"Thank you Seishirou-san... Thank you for everything... You really are a nice person."

End of part 4.

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