Interlude
Title: Tainted Purity
Author: Tankyasue
Warning: Shounen-ai. Lime in later chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Babylon, Clamp does.
Summary: Subaru discovers who Seishirou really is before the end of the bet.
Interlude
She had known that he was dangerous from the very beginning. No simple veterinarian could use
magic, and it certainly wasn’t a coincidence that Sakurazuka was his last name. But that had not
stopped her from encouraging Subaru to spend more time with him. Hokuto had thought that
Sakurazuka Seishirou was someone who would become very special to her brother, and she had
wanted Subaru to have someone special more than anything else. But, she had been wrong, and
now Subaru would be the one who would have to suffer because of her foolish romantic
idealism.
Subaru didn’t love Seishirou. That had been obvious from the very beginning, though she hadn’t
had the courage to acknowledge it until a few hours ago. When Subaru had returned from Kyoto
with tired eyes and tousled hair he had smiled at her genuinely, and she had never seen anything
more beautiful, but that smile had disappeared from her brother’s face when Seishirou had made
his presence known.
At that moment, she’d realized that Subaru hadn’t been spending so much time of his time with
Seishirou because he wanted to. Seishirou had to be manipulating him somehow, though it was
possible that he might not even be aware of it. Of course, Subaru wasn’t going to tell her
anything about what was going on between them. She’d tried to ask him about it before (in a
playful manner since then she hadn’t let herself believe that anything could be wrong), but
Subaru had only smiled at her and told her that everything was fine. Even then, she had known
deep down that he had been lying, but she’d convinced herself that everything would work out
between them in the end because they were meant for each other.
In a way, it was comforting that Subaru still couldn’t lie to save his life, despite how much he
seemed to have changed. He was so much sadder now, and his bland, new wardrobe filled with
blacks, dull-blues, and greys only made his sorrow more noticeable. She’d told him that he
shouldn’t wear such dull colours because they made his vibrant, green eyes appear so much
duller, but he hadn’t listened, and since then, they had gotten further and further away from each
other.
Hokuto forced herself to get out of Subaru’s bed, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She couldn’t
allow herself lie around and cry when her brother needed her. She had seen the way that
Seishirou had looked at her when Subaru had been holding onto her, and afterwards in the
parking lot...
Subconsciously, Hokuto tore her latest creation off of her body and left it in a pathetic heap on
the floor. She didn’t care if she’d damaged it or not. Really. She’d never liked it very much
anyway.
It didn’t take her long to replace her torn dress with a black turtleneck from her brother’s dresser,
and a pair of plain, blue jeans. She didn’t feel bad about stealing her brother’s clothing because
she knew that he wouldn’t have cared anyway. For a moment, she considered putting on a pair of
her brother’s gloves as well, just to complete the ensemble, but decided against it. A quick glance
in the mirror in the washroom showed her that she already looked more like her brother than
she’d ever wanted to.
Hokuto touched the handle of the door leading out of Subaru’s apartment just as the phone began
to ring. Without thinking, she picked it up, and whispered a timid, ‘hello’.
“Subaru-san, this is your grandmother,” the voice on the other line replied with so much austerity
that she nearly cringed. “I’ve been trying to get in contact with you since you left this afternoon,
but you never answered the phone. You left a little abruptly during our meeting, and... I’m
concerned. Could you please tell me what has been going on? Your behavior has seemed off
recently.”
Hokuto desperately wanted tell her grandmother that she wasn’t Subaru, and that her brother was
being held captive by the Sakurazukamori. She wanted to ask her grandmother to help her save
him, but she couldn’t make a sound. Her throat was hoarse, and her tongue felt swollen, as if she
had bitten it before, which was quite possible since she could taste blood in her mouth.
After a long pause, her grandmother finally said, “I’m going to be coming to Tokyo tomorrow
morning to speak with you directly. I hope that you are more articulate then.”
Her grandmother hung up the phone a moment later, without giving her a chance to reply.
Hokuto couldn’t help but wonder what her brother had done that would make her grandmother
behave so rudely.
Hokuto dropped the receiver and let it dangle just above the floor before she walked out of the
room. She barely remembered to put on some shoes before leaving the apartment; Subaru’s coat
hung forgotten in the closet despite the chill of the early morning air.
Hokuto arrived at Seishirou’s apartment long before she’d expected to, but paused before
opening the door. She wasn’t sure what she would find in there anymore, and while a part of her
hoped she’d find Seishirou and Subaru laughing over a pancake breakfast, it was difficult for her
to believe that after what had occurred last night.
She stood there stupidly for a moment before she took a deep breath and knocked softly on the
front door.
Author: Tankyasue
Warning: Shounen-ai. Lime in later chapters.
Disclaimer: I don't own Tokyo Babylon, Clamp does.
Summary: Subaru discovers who Seishirou really is before the end of the bet.
Interlude
She had known that he was dangerous from the very beginning. No simple veterinarian could use
magic, and it certainly wasn’t a coincidence that Sakurazuka was his last name. But that had not
stopped her from encouraging Subaru to spend more time with him. Hokuto had thought that
Sakurazuka Seishirou was someone who would become very special to her brother, and she had
wanted Subaru to have someone special more than anything else. But, she had been wrong, and
now Subaru would be the one who would have to suffer because of her foolish romantic
idealism.
Subaru didn’t love Seishirou. That had been obvious from the very beginning, though she hadn’t
had the courage to acknowledge it until a few hours ago. When Subaru had returned from Kyoto
with tired eyes and tousled hair he had smiled at her genuinely, and she had never seen anything
more beautiful, but that smile had disappeared from her brother’s face when Seishirou had made
his presence known.
At that moment, she’d realized that Subaru hadn’t been spending so much time of his time with
Seishirou because he wanted to. Seishirou had to be manipulating him somehow, though it was
possible that he might not even be aware of it. Of course, Subaru wasn’t going to tell her
anything about what was going on between them. She’d tried to ask him about it before (in a
playful manner since then she hadn’t let herself believe that anything could be wrong), but
Subaru had only smiled at her and told her that everything was fine. Even then, she had known
deep down that he had been lying, but she’d convinced herself that everything would work out
between them in the end because they were meant for each other.
In a way, it was comforting that Subaru still couldn’t lie to save his life, despite how much he
seemed to have changed. He was so much sadder now, and his bland, new wardrobe filled with
blacks, dull-blues, and greys only made his sorrow more noticeable. She’d told him that he
shouldn’t wear such dull colours because they made his vibrant, green eyes appear so much
duller, but he hadn’t listened, and since then, they had gotten further and further away from each
other.
Hokuto forced herself to get out of Subaru’s bed, and wiped the tears from her eyes. She couldn’t
allow herself lie around and cry when her brother needed her. She had seen the way that
Seishirou had looked at her when Subaru had been holding onto her, and afterwards in the
parking lot...
Subconsciously, Hokuto tore her latest creation off of her body and left it in a pathetic heap on
the floor. She didn’t care if she’d damaged it or not. Really. She’d never liked it very much
anyway.
It didn’t take her long to replace her torn dress with a black turtleneck from her brother’s dresser,
and a pair of plain, blue jeans. She didn’t feel bad about stealing her brother’s clothing because
she knew that he wouldn’t have cared anyway. For a moment, she considered putting on a pair of
her brother’s gloves as well, just to complete the ensemble, but decided against it. A quick glance
in the mirror in the washroom showed her that she already looked more like her brother than
she’d ever wanted to.
Hokuto touched the handle of the door leading out of Subaru’s apartment just as the phone began
to ring. Without thinking, she picked it up, and whispered a timid, ‘hello’.
“Subaru-san, this is your grandmother,” the voice on the other line replied with so much austerity
that she nearly cringed. “I’ve been trying to get in contact with you since you left this afternoon,
but you never answered the phone. You left a little abruptly during our meeting, and... I’m
concerned. Could you please tell me what has been going on? Your behavior has seemed off
recently.”
Hokuto desperately wanted tell her grandmother that she wasn’t Subaru, and that her brother was
being held captive by the Sakurazukamori. She wanted to ask her grandmother to help her save
him, but she couldn’t make a sound. Her throat was hoarse, and her tongue felt swollen, as if she
had bitten it before, which was quite possible since she could taste blood in her mouth.
After a long pause, her grandmother finally said, “I’m going to be coming to Tokyo tomorrow
morning to speak with you directly. I hope that you are more articulate then.”
Her grandmother hung up the phone a moment later, without giving her a chance to reply.
Hokuto couldn’t help but wonder what her brother had done that would make her grandmother
behave so rudely.
Hokuto dropped the receiver and let it dangle just above the floor before she walked out of the
room. She barely remembered to put on some shoes before leaving the apartment; Subaru’s coat
hung forgotten in the closet despite the chill of the early morning air.
Hokuto arrived at Seishirou’s apartment long before she’d expected to, but paused before
opening the door. She wasn’t sure what she would find in there anymore, and while a part of her
hoped she’d find Seishirou and Subaru laughing over a pancake breakfast, it was difficult for her
to believe that after what had occurred last night.
She stood there stupidly for a moment before she took a deep breath and knocked softly on the
front door.