[X] Tilt, ch.4
"You know this isn't funny anymore, right?"
"What, you're still on the frog thing, Yuuto?"
"Yeah. It's a little creepy, is it not? And have you noticed Kamui's change of mood?"
"No, but you'll experience my change of mood if you don't stop talking about that stupid frog and join me in bed..."
Subaru arrived at the Imonoyama mansion exactly fifteen minutes later, though when Kamui opened the door to join him outside, he greeted, "You're late. But that doesn't matter. Let's go! And quick, before Sorata and Arashi come home..."
"What, do they think you're in school?"
"No, I just don't want to deal with them..." Kamui murmured as he took Subaru by the elbow and led him off the grounds.
Once they got to a small street and a sidewalk, Subaru asked, "So which park did you want to go to?", hoping he wouldn't say Ueno.
"Changed my mind. I don't want to go to a park anymore. Let's walk through Shibuya district and watch the people that go in and out of expensive department stores and see their expressions in relation to what they come out with."
Subaru considered this particular act and made a small "hmm".
A few steps later, Kamui changed his mind again. "...Actually, there's a small pond in one of the apartment complex's courtyards not too far from here. Do you want to go there and try to catch frogs?"
Subaru's expression matched the distaste in his voice, "Not really, no. You can catch them, though, if you want. Do you know which apartment complex this is? I know that some prohibit non-residents, after all."
"No, I don't know what it's called...but I know where it is. It's by that little grocery store with all the stupid sayings painted on the windows."
"I can't say I know where this is."
"Well, I'll just have to show you the way, then," Kamui said as he took Subaru's elbow and led him off into an alley between a tall and a small building. A few more alley turns later, and they arrived at a small apartment complex with a well-cared-for pond in its courtyard.
"Kamui, I think non-residents are not welcome here," Subaru remarked cautiously as they sat on grass beside the water.
Leaning over the water's edge and watching his reflection, Kamui asked, "What makes you say that?"
"The four signs explicitly stating that non-residents are not allowed on the premises," Subaru answered dryly.
Kamui snorted and the water rippled slightly in response. "If anyone comes up to us and says anything, we'll just pretend to not speak Japanese. Can you pull off any Korean?"
"I hardly think that would make us any more welcome."
"Hn, well. ...Hey, do you see any frogs? All I see are just these lovecarp swimmin' around."
"...Lovecarp?"
"Ah, sorry," Kamui said as he snickered slightly, "it's just a little joke I have with Yuzuriha..." After that, it seemed as if the water, fish, and Kamui deadened a bit. "...She still hasn't come back, you know."
Subaru drew his knees in and rest his chin atop them. "Is this what this is about?" he asked finally.
"Kind of, I guess. I don't know," Kamui admitted as he leaned back on the grass. "It's just...one more thing, you know? Fuuma, Saiki, and now Yuzuriha... Not to mention all the people killed in the earthquakes, like Keiichi's father. You know that his father was killed at...was it Nakago? But he and his mother are still so perky, trying to deal and move on. I found all this out when I ate dinner at their house one night. It was really weird. I really envy them, though, you know? I wish I could cope like that."
"Well...I don't believe that Yuzuriha's dead..."
"No, no neither do I. But she's not here so it's pretty much the same thing, right? I guess I'm just kind of stressed. I mean, this whole end of the world thing. Why the hell is it happening? Who just randomly decided ohh, I think I'll put these people against these people and have this guy choose the fate of the world for the hell of it? Because I want to meet him and kick his ass."
Subaru offered weakly, "Well, it could have been a woman."
"Then I'll kick her ass."
"But...I suppose it's just fate. These things are bigger than our limited comprehensions can allow."
Kamui shook his head. "It's still bullshit."
"...You're probably right," Subaru sighed, thinking of other things.
"And you know what's even more bullshit?" Kamui continued, "The fact that I can't even make a kekkai yet, and I'm a Kamui. So it's like I have no purpose here other than to waste time and space until the final battle, whenever that is. But I don't know, maybe my inability to make one is my own personal incompetance. Maybe I'll never get it and we'll lose because of me. ...Not like I could ever...use the shinken against Fuuma anyway. I didn't choose to help save humanity to fucking kill my friend."
"I would like to have the answers to everything to make you feel better...but I know only as much as you. You know that I do not really care about humanity itself, but...I do think that you will be able to do the right thing in the end."
"And what is that 'right thing'?"
"...I don't know. But I'm sure you'll find it. Have a little more faith in yourself, Kamui," Subaru said softly as he watched the fish swim around.
Kamui sighed and drew his knees up to his chin like Subaru and watched the water. After a while, he remarked softly, "I don't think there are any frogs here. ...Do you think there are any in Tokyo?"
"I don't know. I can't say that I've ever gone around looking for them, though. I remember there were always lots of frogs on our property in Kyoto because they made a lot of noise if you went outside at night."
"Then let's go there," Kamui decided.
"Go where, to Kyoto?" Subaru asked with a bit of skepticism.
Kamui's eyes suddenly brightened and he became more animate. "Yeah! Let's go to Kyoto. We'll make a roadtrip of it. How long does it take to get there by car? It doesn't matter, we can just take a week or so to drive down there. And we can visit your family if you want, or not if you don't. There's lots that we can do in Kyoto, though, right? So it doesn't matter what we do as long as we do it. Come on! What do you say? Call your grandmother and tell her not to send you any more jobs 'cause we're comin' down there."
Subaru stared at the boy incredulously. "You're not serious, are you? As nice as that might be, there is simply no way we could do something like that."
"And why not?"
"W-why not? Kamui, the fate of the earth is why not. We have to stay in Tokyo to protect the major kekkai. And what if the day of the final battle should occur and you are not there?"
"Can the final battle happen without me? And you have the ability to protect any major kekkai. I don't, yet, so it doesn't matter whether or not I'm here. Though, it wouldn't matter much if you weren't here, either, since all of our side is involved in protecting kekkai while only a few of the harbingers actively destroy them. So if we were to disappear for a while to Kyoto for a little while, it wouldn't matter much."
"...Kamui."
"Subaru!" he countered. "...Please. You know you want to get away, too. A vacation won't hurt you."
The onmyouji dug around in his coat pockets and murmured, "I need a cigarette."
"And you can smoke plenty of those while we're on vacation."
"Assuming that we actually go and do this stupidly spontaneous thing... When were you wanting to go?"
Kamui answered simply, "Now."
"Well, we can't go now," Subaru said in a tone that suggested finality as he lit a cigarette he found. "If we were to do this...I would have to rent a car, assuming you haven't yet changed your mind about driving down there. And we would have to clear it with Hinoto."
"Fine. Let's spend the rest of the day getting ready, renting cars, and talking to Hinoto, and then we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."
Subaru put the cigarette to his lips for a few moments and exhaled a light stream of smoke. "But what about you missing school? You missed today, and you're behind on your schoolwork already, right?"
"I'm failing already as it is, actually. Normally they'd kick me out, but since I'm a Kamui..."
"...Look," Subaru said with a hint of authority, "if we do this, you have to promise me that you'll attend every single day of school you can after we come back."
"I promise."
"And you have to actually try. And go in for tutoring and extra help."
Kamui made a face but eventually agreed, "Fine, fine, I promise I'll do all that, too."
"You cannot back out on your word for any reason."
"Not even if the final battle occurs during statistics?"
"I'll tell Fuuma to wait until you get out of school."
Kamui stared a Subaru for a few seconds before dissolving into snickers.
"You know, sometimes I entertain thoughts of zapping him with electric currents while he's in the shower. Does that make me a bad person?"
"He probably isn't serious," Arashi said simply as she handed Sorata back the note they found from Kamui with 'Gone to Canada' written on it.
Tilt
by ryutsuki
Possibly: (S/K, K/K, default S/S)ish, spoilers for X14+ except not at all, and inspired by Haruki Murakami and long drives.
[AU in that...nothing that's supposed to happen ever really does]
ch.1 > ch.2 > ch.3
"What, you're still on the frog thing, Yuuto?"
"Yeah. It's a little creepy, is it not? And have you noticed Kamui's change of mood?"
"No, but you'll experience my change of mood if you don't stop talking about that stupid frog and join me in bed..."
Subaru arrived at the Imonoyama mansion exactly fifteen minutes later, though when Kamui opened the door to join him outside, he greeted, "You're late. But that doesn't matter. Let's go! And quick, before Sorata and Arashi come home..."
"What, do they think you're in school?"
"No, I just don't want to deal with them..." Kamui murmured as he took Subaru by the elbow and led him off the grounds.
Once they got to a small street and a sidewalk, Subaru asked, "So which park did you want to go to?", hoping he wouldn't say Ueno.
"Changed my mind. I don't want to go to a park anymore. Let's walk through Shibuya district and watch the people that go in and out of expensive department stores and see their expressions in relation to what they come out with."
Subaru considered this particular act and made a small "hmm".
A few steps later, Kamui changed his mind again. "...Actually, there's a small pond in one of the apartment complex's courtyards not too far from here. Do you want to go there and try to catch frogs?"
Subaru's expression matched the distaste in his voice, "Not really, no. You can catch them, though, if you want. Do you know which apartment complex this is? I know that some prohibit non-residents, after all."
"No, I don't know what it's called...but I know where it is. It's by that little grocery store with all the stupid sayings painted on the windows."
"I can't say I know where this is."
"Well, I'll just have to show you the way, then," Kamui said as he took Subaru's elbow and led him off into an alley between a tall and a small building. A few more alley turns later, and they arrived at a small apartment complex with a well-cared-for pond in its courtyard.
"Kamui, I think non-residents are not welcome here," Subaru remarked cautiously as they sat on grass beside the water.
Leaning over the water's edge and watching his reflection, Kamui asked, "What makes you say that?"
"The four signs explicitly stating that non-residents are not allowed on the premises," Subaru answered dryly.
Kamui snorted and the water rippled slightly in response. "If anyone comes up to us and says anything, we'll just pretend to not speak Japanese. Can you pull off any Korean?"
"I hardly think that would make us any more welcome."
"Hn, well. ...Hey, do you see any frogs? All I see are just these lovecarp swimmin' around."
"...Lovecarp?"
"Ah, sorry," Kamui said as he snickered slightly, "it's just a little joke I have with Yuzuriha..." After that, it seemed as if the water, fish, and Kamui deadened a bit. "...She still hasn't come back, you know."
Subaru drew his knees in and rest his chin atop them. "Is this what this is about?" he asked finally.
"Kind of, I guess. I don't know," Kamui admitted as he leaned back on the grass. "It's just...one more thing, you know? Fuuma, Saiki, and now Yuzuriha... Not to mention all the people killed in the earthquakes, like Keiichi's father. You know that his father was killed at...was it Nakago? But he and his mother are still so perky, trying to deal and move on. I found all this out when I ate dinner at their house one night. It was really weird. I really envy them, though, you know? I wish I could cope like that."
"Well...I don't believe that Yuzuriha's dead..."
"No, no neither do I. But she's not here so it's pretty much the same thing, right? I guess I'm just kind of stressed. I mean, this whole end of the world thing. Why the hell is it happening? Who just randomly decided ohh, I think I'll put these people against these people and have this guy choose the fate of the world for the hell of it? Because I want to meet him and kick his ass."
Subaru offered weakly, "Well, it could have been a woman."
"Then I'll kick her ass."
"But...I suppose it's just fate. These things are bigger than our limited comprehensions can allow."
Kamui shook his head. "It's still bullshit."
"...You're probably right," Subaru sighed, thinking of other things.
"And you know what's even more bullshit?" Kamui continued, "The fact that I can't even make a kekkai yet, and I'm a Kamui. So it's like I have no purpose here other than to waste time and space until the final battle, whenever that is. But I don't know, maybe my inability to make one is my own personal incompetance. Maybe I'll never get it and we'll lose because of me. ...Not like I could ever...use the shinken against Fuuma anyway. I didn't choose to help save humanity to fucking kill my friend."
"I would like to have the answers to everything to make you feel better...but I know only as much as you. You know that I do not really care about humanity itself, but...I do think that you will be able to do the right thing in the end."
"And what is that 'right thing'?"
"...I don't know. But I'm sure you'll find it. Have a little more faith in yourself, Kamui," Subaru said softly as he watched the fish swim around.
Kamui sighed and drew his knees up to his chin like Subaru and watched the water. After a while, he remarked softly, "I don't think there are any frogs here. ...Do you think there are any in Tokyo?"
"I don't know. I can't say that I've ever gone around looking for them, though. I remember there were always lots of frogs on our property in Kyoto because they made a lot of noise if you went outside at night."
"Then let's go there," Kamui decided.
"Go where, to Kyoto?" Subaru asked with a bit of skepticism.
Kamui's eyes suddenly brightened and he became more animate. "Yeah! Let's go to Kyoto. We'll make a roadtrip of it. How long does it take to get there by car? It doesn't matter, we can just take a week or so to drive down there. And we can visit your family if you want, or not if you don't. There's lots that we can do in Kyoto, though, right? So it doesn't matter what we do as long as we do it. Come on! What do you say? Call your grandmother and tell her not to send you any more jobs 'cause we're comin' down there."
Subaru stared at the boy incredulously. "You're not serious, are you? As nice as that might be, there is simply no way we could do something like that."
"And why not?"
"W-why not? Kamui, the fate of the earth is why not. We have to stay in Tokyo to protect the major kekkai. And what if the day of the final battle should occur and you are not there?"
"Can the final battle happen without me? And you have the ability to protect any major kekkai. I don't, yet, so it doesn't matter whether or not I'm here. Though, it wouldn't matter much if you weren't here, either, since all of our side is involved in protecting kekkai while only a few of the harbingers actively destroy them. So if we were to disappear for a while to Kyoto for a little while, it wouldn't matter much."
"...Kamui."
"Subaru!" he countered. "...Please. You know you want to get away, too. A vacation won't hurt you."
The onmyouji dug around in his coat pockets and murmured, "I need a cigarette."
"And you can smoke plenty of those while we're on vacation."
"Assuming that we actually go and do this stupidly spontaneous thing... When were you wanting to go?"
Kamui answered simply, "Now."
"Well, we can't go now," Subaru said in a tone that suggested finality as he lit a cigarette he found. "If we were to do this...I would have to rent a car, assuming you haven't yet changed your mind about driving down there. And we would have to clear it with Hinoto."
"Fine. Let's spend the rest of the day getting ready, renting cars, and talking to Hinoto, and then we'll leave first thing tomorrow morning."
Subaru put the cigarette to his lips for a few moments and exhaled a light stream of smoke. "But what about you missing school? You missed today, and you're behind on your schoolwork already, right?"
"I'm failing already as it is, actually. Normally they'd kick me out, but since I'm a Kamui..."
"...Look," Subaru said with a hint of authority, "if we do this, you have to promise me that you'll attend every single day of school you can after we come back."
"I promise."
"And you have to actually try. And go in for tutoring and extra help."
Kamui made a face but eventually agreed, "Fine, fine, I promise I'll do all that, too."
"You cannot back out on your word for any reason."
"Not even if the final battle occurs during statistics?"
"I'll tell Fuuma to wait until you get out of school."
Kamui stared a Subaru for a few seconds before dissolving into snickers.
"You know, sometimes I entertain thoughts of zapping him with electric currents while he's in the shower. Does that make me a bad person?"
"He probably isn't serious," Arashi said simply as she handed Sorata back the note they found from Kamui with 'Gone to Canada' written on it.
Tilt
by ryutsuki
Possibly: (S/K, K/K, default S/S)ish, spoilers for X14+ except not at all, and inspired by Haruki Murakami and long drives.
[AU in that...nothing that's supposed to happen ever really does]
ch.1 > ch.2 > ch.3