Chapter 3

The wind howled as Tokyo lay in ruins. Buildings were burning like lamps among the destroyed city streets. Even more of those buildings lay on its sides like dead soldiers. 
"This is Tokyo?"  Shirushi stood in a glass earth, watching the fires burn, the wind blowing more sand over them. 
"N-nii-chan. . . ." A little girl, hands bloodied, stood not too far away. Her clothes were torn and dirty, and she was crying. 
"Get up! Nii-chan, stop sleeping-wake up!! Usotsuki!! Uso, uso, uso! You said you wouldn't leave me!!" She shook the body harder, as if shaking hard enough might resurrect him. Then Shirushi tried to reach out, to comfort the little girl-
"No. She can't see you," Hinoto looked at her. "You will go right through her."
Shirushi watched as the little girl limped away sobbing. "What the hell is this place anyway. . . how come she's the only one alive!? What happened to all these buildings? And how come everything's covered in sand!?"
Before Hinoto could answer, a dragon swept through the rubble, with a huge roar, followed by another one, and suddenly there were seven in all, tearing up the city as if it was paper. 
Guarding them was an angel , and where he went whatever was the city immediately turned to ashes and dust. 
Shirushi muttered a spell, energy glowing around her as the spell progressed.
"UUUAAAAAA!!!!"
All the energy blasted toward the dragons and the angel, turning them into feathers. 
Hinoto sighed and answered.
"This is Tokyo, after the last battle-if the Dragons of Earth-the Seven Angels-win." 
"What do they want? Were they those dragons?"
 The blind woman stared in silence, the scene reflected in her red eyes. "The Dragons of Earth wish to destroy the world, killing humanity. The Dragons of Heaven try to stop this," she said finally.
"How?"
"There are several kekkais protecting Tokyo. The Dragons of Heaven have the power to make their own kekkais. However, one kekkai has already been broken-Nakano's Sunshine Plaza."
"And?"
"The Dragons of Earth have the power to break each and every kekkai. If they win this battle, the kekkai surrounding this earth will be destroyed, destroying the earth with it."
"So the Dragons of Heaven are trying to keep the kekkais. But why is it at Tokyo?"
"Tokyo is the lynchpin of the kekkai surrounding the earth. The central point of that is Tokyo Tower."
"The Tokyo Tower?"
"Yes."
"But what do Kamui and I have to do with it?"
Hinoto pointed. 
"Your friend is very important in the End of the World, as you are." Shirushi saw Kamui standing at Tokyo Tower, with a sword. Suddenly another Kamui appeared. They suddenly started fighting. 
"Why is there another Kamui!? How come they're fighting!?" Shirushi floated over to Hinoto. "Make them stop!"
"Kamui-do you know what the name means, Shirushi-dono?"
"Well, it is a strange name, but what does it have to do with this fight?"
"Do you know what it means?"
"The characters kami, and i. . . 'one who has the authority of the gods', and there's another meaning. . ."
" 'One who hunts the authority of the gods' ," Hinoto finished. "Kamui was supposed to make a decision over whether the earth would be destroyed, or spared. However, there was a twin star, the other 'Kamui', and when your friend chose his side. . ." Hinoto trailed off. 
" The twin star awoke. And now they're on opposite sides, trying to fight for what they want. Is that correct?" Shirushi asked, finally understanding the situation. 
Hinoto nodded. "To balance things out."
"But will one of them die?"
Hinoto pointed down at the scene. The 'Kamuis' disappeared, replaced by two six-winged angels. The angels started to fight. 
"Wha-!? What are those angels!? Where did Kamui and his twin go!?"
"That is supposed to be you, Shirushi-dono. You are a Seraph, taking over the battle for Kamui."
"A-a Seraph!?"
"One from the highest hierarchy of angels-the order closest to the gods, you protect Kamui and fight for him."
"But why is there two? Is there a twin star involved too?" Shirushi asked. 
Hinoto looked down. "Yes, to settle the balance. Two 'Kamuis', two Seraphim. The women of your ancestry posessed great powers. I suppose you know what your name means?"
"Shirushi-something like a sign or seal or symbol?"
"Exactly. The women of the Kamimura clan-their powers grew with each generation. You are the last one to remain-the last Kamimura with the greatest powers of all your generations. You are evidence of the clan's power in this war. 
"The Kamimuras' powers have been unknown-only the last three generations have been aware of the powers they posess. Therefore, your clan isn't known for that. But now with you taking part as a Seraph, that power will now be revealed-the power of the Kamimuras at it's greatest."
"But do I already have to make a decision?" Shirushi asked. She wasn't too happy about this business anyhow, but she did want to see whether she had *some* control over her fate. 
Hinoto looked at her sadly. "At first, it was going to be the true Seraph making the decision. However," she said,
"Your twin star has made the decision instead. He stole your choice. Now you must fight for the Dragons of Heaven."
Shirushi suddenly was shocked. Her twin had done that? Stolen a part of her destiny that was rightfully hers?
"He what!? Who is the other Seraph!? Why did he do that!?" Shirushi demanded.
"The other Seraph," said Hinoto, "is someone you already know. . ."
"But the only other person I know here in Tokyo is Kamui! Who else could it be!?"
"If you had made the decision, who would you be with? Would you have joined the Dragons of Earth and have the world destroyed?"
"I-I don't know," said Shirushi, in a sad tone. "I think I would have wanted to join the Dragons of Heaven anyway. . ." Suddenly as Hinoto was to respond, another person appeared. 
"Hello, Seraph."
Shirushi whirled around. "Who are you!?" 
"I am the DreamGazer of the Dragons of Earth-the Seven Angels. My name is Kakyou."
"Kakyou. . ." Shirushi trailed off. 
"Your roles as Seraphim are important. Yes, it is true. The other Seraph has already chosen. However, why would you want to join the Dragons of Heaven?"
"I don't know why I would," said Shirushi slowly. "Tokyo is a nice place, and I don't understand why would you want to destroy the earth. It's just that I don't think all humanity should really suffer."
"Humans," said Kakyou, "are the ones that destroy this planet. The earth is alive, like you and me. We are going to give the earth a chance to heal itself and be fruitful again. However, with how the humans are treating it, it is dying much quicker than it should.
" So we are going to change the earth's fate so that we may let it heal without humans getting in our way. If the Dragons of Heaven are left behind after the war, then the present will keep on going, and humans will continue to keep accelerating the demise of our world. If the Dragons of Earth are left behind, however, then humanity will be eliminated, giving the earth a chance to heal itself and be reborn into what it once was."
Kakyou looked at the girl with golden cat-eyes radiating calmness.
"Do you think that it is wonderful for the earth? To be reborn without humanity?"
Shirushi paused thoughtfully. 
"The earth is where the humans live. The earth has given us everything we need, and it's true that we are polluting the earth with our activities,"
She continued, "But without humanity, the earth would be silent, and the use for it would become obsolete. The change is good, but what is the use if there's no one to enjoy it? No one to enjoy the fresh air and the clean water. And what about the people you care for? They would be all dead. 
"Even a beautiful place can seem horrible and worthless if the people you love are gone. I value the people I care about. I'd rather die than not have them around."
Kakyou stared at her in silence. 
"So it seems. If that is what you want, I cannot stop you. However, there is only one -"
"SHIRUSHI!!!!" screamed Hinoto. Kakyou faded into nothingness as Shirushi regained consciousness. 

She woke up to find Sorata supporting her. 
"What was that?" she asked, jumping bolt upright to a standing position. 
"Hey, hey," Sorata said. "Take it easy-you fell as soon as you took Hinoto's hand. Good reflexes," he muttered. 
"No, no," said Shirushi. "Do you know what Kakyou was saying?" she asked, turning to Hinoto. 
"What do you mean?" Arashi asked. 
"I met a DreamGazer who was of the Dragons of Earth. His name was Kakyou, and he said something about the earth dying. He was saying something about only one thing. . .do you know what that is, princess?"
Hinoto looked at her. "I cannot tell you."
"Well, do you know or don't you!? Are you hiding something from me!?"
"Here we go again," muttered Sorata. 
"Stop threatening the princess!" Hien cried out.
"Hien!" Hinoto's tone was sharp. "Shirushi-dono, if I would have known, I would tell you. But the truth is, I don't know what he was saying."
Shirushi was taken aback. "Gomen nesai, Hinoto-hime. I thought that since he knew. . ." The sentence was left unfinished as she slid open the doors and ran out. 
"Shirushi-dono!!" Hinoto was shocked. 
"Don't worry, princess. She's just a little out of sorts today," Sorata chuckled. "She's usually very friendly. Kamui, would you mind running out and finding her before she causes mass destruction?"
Arashi's fist caught him right on the shoulder. 
"OW!!!! Miss, you sure are one helluva fighter! Ow. . .that's gonna leave a huge bruise."
"I'm sure Shirushi just doesn't understand everything here quite yet," Arashi said calmly, although she felt like giving Sorata a good neck wringing to stop him from ogling her along with some other ways of prevention. "I don't think she will choose to go against us however. . ."
"There's still someone that she cares about."

"Why me? Why now?" Shirushi asked when the elevator opened. She glared at the officials staring at her. 

The whole *thing* concerning her future was weird. She didn't want to be a part of any of it. All her mother had told her in the note was that Tokyo was going to be her new home-for her destiny. She had heard about being the last person left of her family. That wasn't a surprise. But what Hinoto had told her did explain why her mother was so bent on teaching her spells and swordplay. At first she had just thought her mother was crazy.
*You are a Seraph. . .you protect Kamui. . .* The words still rang in her head. 
*There is only one. . .* What had Kakyou been trying to say? For some reason, she felt like Hinoto hadn't been telling her the truth-but she had run out because she couldn't handle everything being given to her. It was as if someone had taken her old life and given her a completely different one. 

She walked on the street, wishing she had her skateboard with her. It would've been nice to be able to get home a little faster. 
 
Until she figured out that she didn't know her way around Tokyo. 
"Damn," she muttered as she sat down on a bench. "I'm really in for it." She stared at the fountain nearby.  "Looks like I didn't go too far. Why aren't the others out yet?" She sighed. "Guess they're trying to find a way to scream at me for running out like that. Can't blame them. I was awful there."
Shirushi looked around at the Tokyo street. "Doesn't even look like my old town. . .not at all, aw man, I miss America already."
The fountain only spouted in response.  she thought. 
"Shirushi! There you are." Kamui ran up to her, but she didn't notice. 

Fiona Apple's songs made a lot of sense at this time about her life. 
"Oh, hey!" Shirushi said, looking up. "Man, I was stupid out there. I'm sorry. . .it's just too much to take right now."
"I know."
"You what!?" Shirushi didn't believe what she had just heard-she was expecting something along the lines of  "You had no right to behave that way toward Hinoto," like those annoying twins. "You're kidding," she continued. "Aren't you?"
Kamui shook his head. 
"Oh, come on-everyone has pretty much settled with their Fate. How could Hinoto possibly be like that towards you of all people!? Actually, how could *you* behave that way towards her? You know everything!" She grasped her knees. 
"I was much worse." 
"Mm-hm. . ." The sunglasses rested on him skeptically. "Really. . ."
"The first time I went there she also showed me a dream. She didn't tell me all of it though."
"So you. . ."
"I was upset. I nearly strangled her."
Shirushi was taken aback. "No way. Absolutely not." She laughed nervously. 
"It's true. So I understand _exactly _ how you feel." He looked straight at her-the violet eyes staring right through her shaded ones. 
"You're serious. Well," she said, changing the mood, "that's all well and good. It's nice to have someone here who knows what you're like." She leaned back on the bench and sighed. "Where are the others?"
"They're still in the Diet Building." Kamui sat down next to her. 
"So they'll be coming out soon?"
He nodded. 
"Great, I hope they forgive me for how I acted. . ."

Kamui cast a sideways glance at Shirushi. She seemed like she hadn't changed a bit since she went back to the U.S. A little grown up, maybe. . .lost the chubbiness but still the same. Same sense of humor, same interest with computers and still a bit sarcastic. 
But what had happened to her smiling? It wasn't that frequent now. She had always smiled when her friends were talking to her, and always cute. 
There was also still that nagging intuitive thought that she was hiding something about her family. What had happened to her mother? Her father? Shinya? She hadn't talked about them at all. And she had gotten slightly uncomfortable when he brought up the subject too. 
Yes, still the same Shirushi except a bit sadder and mysterious. 
What had happened to her anyway? What had happened to her family? Was she alone like he was?

Motomi was bored. Bored bored bored. 
"Hey, Yuuto-san, why don't we go out and have a fight with our enemies?"
"Why would you want to do that?"
"I'm bored! I'm so damn bored that I think I'll need to be committed to a mental house if I don't throw my power around."
"Maybe if we go take a walk we'll run into a few of them."
"Can I join you?" Seishirou walked in. "I'd like to have some fun with Subaru-kun. . ."
Motomi smiled. "Sure, why not? You can watch me beat Shirushi to a pulp if you want."
"Very confident, isn't he?" Kanoe said dryly. 
"Yeah, but this agressiveness is good," said Kusanagi. 
Nataku stood up. "I'd like to go too," it said. "I've never really seen what Tokyo is like."
"Hey, are you guys gonna go or not?" Satsuki was irritated. "Beast can't stand all that chatter!"
"Oh, we're sorry, Satsuki-chan. We're going right away!" Motomi flashed another bright smile. With that, they left. 
"Stupid humans. . ." Satsuki muttered under her breath.

"Aah. . .man it's soo nice out here," said Shirushi. 
"Are you excited about school?" Seiichirou asked. 
"Mmm, no, not really. School wasn't really anything to be excited about in the first place. Then again, I _am_ excited but that will go away very soon as soon as there is homework and papers and tests."
"Right, right," Seiichirou laughed. 
"What's an American school like, Shi-chan?" Yuzuriha was curious. 
"Hmm. . .well, you get to choose your classes. It's from eight to two or three depending on how many classes you have. And you have to go to different rooms for each class-there's no homeroom at my school. Of course you have a seven-minute passing time to go to your locker or whatever, and at lunch you get to go off campus. Some schools have dress codes but ours don't really. We just wear what we want."
"Wow!!" Yuzuriha giggled. "I wanna go there!"
"Yeah, sure, move to America or Canada sometime. I'm sure you'd be happy. But you might have to go to. . .JAPANESE SCHOOL!!!!!"
"What's so bad about that?"
"Excuse me? What's so bad about it? The teachers can't teach, we have tests every time we go there and there's lots of homework and such and the parents would push you around. . ."
"Oh," said Yuzuriha. 
"You Americans are spoiled. . .we have more homework in school, not to mention a lot of tests," Sorata grumbled. 
"But college seems so fun!" Yuzuriha explained. "It might be a little harder though. . ."
"Actually in my school you could take classes for college credit. So I don't have to stay in college for that long now," Shirushi said. "I took a few advanced placement classes in my senior year."
"Damn, you really are smart! First you skip two grades and you're even advanced for where they place you! That's one helluva IQ you got there, Shi-chan."
"Actually, IQ only determines how quick you learn things, Sora-chan. Who told you I skipped two grades anyway?"
"It's the only thing special about her, I'm afraid," a voice said from above. 
Shirushi started. "Who's there!?"
"She's not as good as I am. . .as if reciting math theorems and stuff like that will get you anywhere in this holy war!!" 
"Who's there!? Show me who you are!!"
Wordlessly, Motomi stepped out of the shadows from where he had been hiding. At Shirushi's shocked stare, he smiled and said, "Hello, Shirushi. Long time no see."

Shirushi's shocked countenance immediately turned into a stare of hatred. Her hands clenched into fists. 
"Motomi. . .you're back huh? Heh," she said quietly. "You haven't changed a bit have you? Always walkin' around making a lot of noise and other bullshit, I see."
"You know," Motomi said quietly. "I am the other Seraph. I was the one who took your choice."
"Seems awfully happy about it, doesn't he?" Sorata commented. 
"I decided to take a walk, Shirushi-to show my fellow colleagues just how incompetent you are." With that, Motomi threw a strong ki attack at Shirushi. 
"Watch out!!" Shirushi screamed, pushing the group aside as she got knocked down by by the blast. 
"Is she all right?" Arashi asked, showing a small sign of worry. 
Shirushi got up. "I'm fine," she said, despite a badly bruised shoulder. Then she turned to Motomi. "But you. . .you're not. That was pretty fucking dirty for a battle. And from the looks of it," she said quietly, as lightning energy built up in her hand in mere seconds, "you're screwed right now 'cause you're gonna get THIS!!!" The blast sucessfully hit Motomi, shocking him and sending him into a nearby street light. 
Motomi got up, extremely shocked but still maintaining his composure. 
"Well. . .not bad for someone of the likes of you. But let's see how long we can keep this up now, shall we?" Motomi muttered a spell that sent energy in a huge wave, washing over Shirushi. 
"Hey, that's not fair," Sorata said, getting up. "He's trying to bully a poor lady as soon as she arrived."
"My, my, quite trigger happy with her attacks. . ." Karen murmured as street lights sucessively fell down due to powerful telekinesis, missing Motomi by millimeters each time. 
"Hey, Shirushi!" taunted Motomi, directing a blast at her. "Think fast!!"
Shirushi had barely enough time to counter it with a shield, and even so it knocked her down, and she tasted blood and felt a piece of glass in one of her arms. 
"That's it," Sorata said. "That's no way to treat any lady. . .and I'm gonna help poor Shi-chan out and teach that bastard something." 
"We're not having any FUN!!!" Motomi shouted as he directed another blast at Shirushi, who did a wallride without the skateboard to escape the blast. 
"You want fun? Over my dead BODY you'll get it!!" She sent a beam of light up toward Motomi. 
"Only one of us," Motomi sneered, "is coming out alive." 
"Ooh, what a predicament! Keep on talkin' like a bitch and I'll hafta KILL ya like a bitch!!!" Shirushi taunted back. Suddenly she felt something strange. 
"Wha-?"
"Something's interrupting our fight. . ." 
"I am," Sorata stepped out. " It's my kekkai. Motomi-san. . .haven't you been taught not to treat a lady like that? Get some respect, man."
"Sora-chan. . .it's okay. I can handle this bastard. His mouth's bigger than his powers. Sometimes you gotta kick his ass to tell him that," Shirushi said. For the first time, she recognzed the cube-shaped kekkai neatly sectioning off three kilometers. 
"No. I want to teach him something he'll never forget. He's got no reason to pick on you." 
"My, my. . .such heroic words. Well if it isn't Mr. Superhero himself. . ." 
"Need some help, Motomi?" Yuuto walked out. "Hey man, it's been a while, ne?"
"Yeah. . ."
"What fun. May I join you?" Seishirou also stepped out. 
"Oh shit, not Mr. Psycho. Didn't I already meetcha today?"
"It's not you I want to deal with," Seishirou said menacingly. "I believe Subaru-kun is also here. . ."
Subaru glared at him. 
"Ah yes, there you are, Subaru-kun. I've been wanting to play with you. . ."
"Fine," Subaru said tonelessly. 
"Great, three on three, even odds, let's START!!!!" Motomi immediately launched another attack on Shirushi. 
"Dammit, you never give up now, doncha?" Shirushi grumbled as she sucessfully blocked the attack. 
"Wahahaha. . .nice moves mister!!" Sorata laughed as he dodged a blast. 
"Thank you, I always knew that," Yuuto said cheerfully. 
The only sounds from Subaru and Seishirou were incantations and fluttering of ofudas. 
The battle went on for another hour, and then Motomi finally had to back down from Shirushi. 
"Well done, Shirushi. I have to say for someone as inferior as you, you've certainly learned. . ."
"Hey man, why can't ya show some respect for your counterpart, huh? Oh, I know!! Because you're a smarmy BI-YOTCH who's also a perverted sodomite too!! Don'cha know what happens to those people!? You're about the same level as those anal rapist policemen!! I don't care what happens, 'cause you're gonna go to HELL if you DIE!!!" 
An evil smirk crossed Shirushi's face. "You're gonna go to hell, you bastard. . .oh yeah. . .you're gonna go down there. . . the seventh layer of hell. . ." she taunted softly. 
Yuuto couldn't help but snicker. Seishirou quietly chuckled. Motomi was in a controlled rage. . .but as soon as he spoke, he was calm. 
"Well. Still haven't changed an iota. . ." He smirked again. "We'll just see about that, won't we? You've won the battle, but not the war." So saying, he walked off along with his cohorts. 
"What, no disappearing into thin air? What about jumpin' or flyin' off? Oww. . . ." Shirushi winced as she felt the wounds from the battle. "How the hell did I get that?" she asked as she looked at the piece of glass in her arm. "Damn, he sure meant business this time." A shot of pain ran up her shoulder. "Damn!" She gritted her teeth as Sorata helped her to walk home. 


"You should be more careful," Kamui said as he helped Shirushi bandage her arm. 
"Sorry. . .but when I'm in a battle I don't really see that happening. It's you, the bad guy, and the field. Nothing else matters. Besides, I'm lucky I survived. And on the other hand, maybe I'm still supposed to be alive for some weird reason," she responded casually. 
"You've been in these battles before, haven't you? The way you were looking at that man. . ."
"Motomi. What a bastard, one sick, egotistical, sonnuvabitch that I know. My counterpart-of all the surplus population in the place I have to be up against him." Shirushi gritted her teeth and clenched her fists. "The only thing that's good about it is that I could wipe his existence off the earth. I have the power to actually do that. . .and I will if I have to."
Kamui was frightened by the look on her face-a look of determination, tinged with anger and deep hurt. Her voice had become suddenly toneless, losing all signs of anything casual and mellow that was once there. 
Suddenly Kamui saw some flashes of disturbing images.
A knife in the ribcage. 
The closet door slamming. 
Someone screaming and rattling the door. 
Mocking laughter, cries for help. 
Motomi. . . .?
Shirushi broke the silence, casual all over again. "Well, thanks for helping me take care of my arm, Kamui.  Listen, I gotta go to my room for a while. . .I'm kinda tired and I think I need to shut my eyes for a while. 'Kay?" Hands in her pockets, she walked out. 
Kamui watched her walk out, still speechless. One minute Shirushi was the same cool, casual girl she always had been, and the next she had become someone cold and ruthless. 
Could it. . . ? 
No, it couldn't. She was on their side. She wouldn't turn against them at all. It wasn't her nature. But where did the images come from? What had happened when she had left for the States?


Shirushi leaned against the door of her room.  
She decided to lay down on her bed. 
After the death of her brother things had been quite unstable. Her mother had gotten weepy and cranky very easily, and her father would go to his office for long periods of time. Shirushi remembered one time when she came home to find that her mother had swallowed an overdose of sleeping pills. 
But she missed Shinya the most. 
Shinya had been her best friend, her tutor, and surrogate parent all in one. Skipping two grades had been bad enough. Everyone had treated her like a little kid all the way up into senior year, and were still doing so. 
Not that she expected it to get better around college. In fact, maybe it *was* better that she wasn't in a dorm. 
If Shinya-niichan had been here. . .maybe it wouldn't have been as bad. He would have told her what to do, how to act, etc. 
 Her mother and father, in a way of teaching her how to be independent , never really showed affection for her. Maybe a "good job" when she got her grades or when she told them about a hard test she had passed. In fact, all she really did with her mother was train and learn more spells for the past six years. 

She sighed. Learning to swordfight and cast spells from your mom would have been considered neat by those necromancers at her school, and other such people. But in reality, she didn't think that baking or watching soaps would've been bad. 

So she had grown up without many hugs, kisses, pats on the backs, or any other friendly touches. In fact, the  few times she was touched was usually a sock, a punch, a shove, a slam in the wall, or most frequently, a tap to get her attention. But to ask for a hug or a kiss seemed. . .weak to her. 

With that, she closed her eyes, and was instantly asleep. 

"So that's your counterpart," Yuuto mumbled. "Very loud, isn't she?"
"She seems very interesting," Kanoe said. "Almost like our cute Satsuki here, just more obnoxious."
"Shut up, I'm not cute."
Motomi was boiling inside. Shirushi, of all people had managed to insult him and make him look like a fool. Not to mention nearly revealed what he had done to Shinya, and technically prove him wrong about her skills to everyone. With this way, it didn't seem that he *was* going to win the fight one way or another. He hated to admit it, but Shirushi had far surpassed his expectations with her powers.
Unless. . . 
All humans had a weak spot in them. Even Shirushi. All he had to do was pinpoint that weak spot, and mercilessly attack it. The answer for that was crystal clear. 
She was obviously still traumatized by Shinya's death. If he was right, then it followed that if someone she cared about was the victim in the same crime. . .it would cause a backlash into her very psyche. . .
He smiled. Two birds with one stone. The first, his winning the Holy War would be secure, and so would his plans.
Second, the first child of the newly reborn world would come to life. 

Satsuki was even more worried, which troubled her since it was seldom she was that way. 
Motomi was extremely preoccupied with something, something that did not look too good. The way he was smiling evilly and gazing at everyone like prey. 

Normally humans acting crazy were nothing to worry about. At least with Satsuki, all humans were crazy. *Harmlessly* crazy. 
"Ah, Satsuki-chan, anything wrong?" Yuuto popped up beside her. 
"Oh, nothing. . .but does Motomi seem a little weird to you by any chance?"
"He's got a swelled head if that's what you mean. Overconfident, but I think he'll take his role more seriously. . ."
"No, that's not what I meant. . .I don't think it looks like he just wants to fight for our cause. It looks more than that. . ."
"You know, he was looking at us a little funny today. . ."

Kanoe looked frustrated. Motomi didn't seem to be taking his job too seriously. Then again, neither was Shirushi. Both Seraphim seemed to not really care about the battle itself. 
Motomi's overconfidence was also beginning to become quite a problem. . . after all, seeing the job that Shirushi had done it most certainly wasn't pretty. The way he was acting, Shirushi would easily kill him if she got serious enough. She snuck another look at him. 
He was grinning evilly. 

Maybe it was just a facade. Obviously there was more to Motomi that met the eye. . .

Fuuma also didn't seem to like everything that was going on. He did have to admit, however that the other Seraph *was* quite funny after taunting his own. She seemed to take everything as a pure joke. . .merely just like a normal day. Somewhat like a magical girl, her frail build a deceiving appearance for her strength.
Both were flippant in the battle with the taunts, however the wounds inflicted looked like they meant business. They didn't look too well off at the end of the battle. He grimaced at the sheer memory of where a few wounds were. 
 he thought.  
The Seraphim here were quite a strange pair. Whatever how the battle may turn out, it wasn't likely to be boring. 

Hinoto was back in her dreams once more. She had narrowly escaped telling Shirushi what had been in the future. . .that it had been distraught. 
"So you know too," a voice said. Hinoto looked up. 
"Kakyou. . ."
"There is only supposed to be one Future as foretold, however, that girl has been correct."
"That the Future isn't decided yet?"
"How it is all supposed to go has made a turn for the worse. . .you know as well as I do that one of the Seraphim will sabotage the battle for a selfish desire. Who that Seraph is, we don't know. But it will benefit neither side. Both the Dragons of Heaven and the Dragons of Earth are in danger."
"What shall we do?" Hinoto asked. 
"Keeping a close watch on them and making sure that their emotions are in balance is the best. They wield formidable power, and if they are emotionally unstable it will put Tokyo at stake, breaking the kekkai you so much want to protect, or destroying the earth to the point that it can never achieve rebirth. I do not think it will work, however."
"Even if we take those steps, it won't prevent it?"
"It will only keep it from happening earlier than it is supposed to. If *both* are emotionally unstable during the battle. . ." There was fear in his eyes. "The gods help us all. Both sides will be doomed."
"Everyone. . .will be dead?"
". . . .Have you had dreams about stars, princess?"
"Yes. . .but you can't be saying that. ."
"It is supposed that one of the "Kamuis" and his Seraph will both die. However, it seems that is not the case. . ."
"O-hime-san!!" Souhi woke the princess. 
"Souhi. . .get Saiki-dono. Hurry."

Shirushi was having those weird dreams again. Not like those dreams about squid in the air, but one of those surreal dreams. Twice she thought a ghost had tried to sit on her, the feeling that you were going to die and the inability to move or scream certainly told her so. . .
But what was this? It seemed that she was watching something instead of participating. . .
Laughter. Children's laughter. She looked and saw three children playing. One of them was Kamui, and he seemed to be laughing with this little girl with curly blonde hair. 
 Seeing this made her feel incredibly lonely. 
The scene shifted, this time to the body parts of a woman on the floor, along with the bright blood streaks. Shirushi watched in startlement as the young girl screamed in sheer terror, as the other boy ran onto the scene. 
The scene shifted once again to reveal Tooru engulfed in flames, the house in Okinawa. 
Then another woman, closely resembling Tooru, pulled a sword out, tearing her body apart in front of Kamui and his friend, who looked on with horror. 
The same blonde girl, holding the head of the woman, giggling crazily, eyes vacant. 
The girl giggling once more, in a swimming pool, blissfully unaware of the horror of her friend and her brother. 
There she was once again, this time on a cross made from rubble, pinned there with wires. 
Shirushi couldn't move or react, it was like a movie where her eyes were the projectors, and she didn't want to watch anymore. 
 she thought frantically. 
Then she spotted Kamui pinned to a pillar of concrete. Shards of glass through his arms, with a pole in one leg. 
 she thought again. 
Then the other friend raised a sword above the girl with pure malice in his eyes. 
"Oniichan. . ." she whispered. 
Unheeding, he thrust the sword into her chest, the blade tearing right through her as if she was paper. 
Kamui screamed, and suddenly the dream was over. 

"NO!!!!" Shirushi screamed as she bolted upright from the covers. Then suddenly realizing she was awake, sighed in relief. 
"Why can't I ever have those normal dreams?" she muttered, getting up from the bed. 
A knock on the door. "Are you all right in there?" Yuzuriha asked. 
"Yeah, Yuzu, I'm okay. Just a bad dream. . .that's all." 
"Oh. . .well, it's time for dinner anyways."
"Be down in a sec." She sat down in a chair near her desk and looked out at the window. 
That dream wasn't normal. . .it seemed that it was actually true. Not a prophetic dream, but they were flashbacks. Not hers. Whose? 
Kamui's. . .? But why would she be seeing his memories? She had her own memories to worry about. But if that was what his past events were like, then she wouldn't tell him about what had happened to her. 
If she could keep it up for that long. . .it already looked like he might be seeing what was going on with *her*. 
"Ouch. . .my head. Where's that Tylenol I put in my bag?" She found the bottle, shaking out two of the pills and swallowed them without water. 
"Seems like something is going to be _very_ wrong. . ."
"Imoooto-chaaan!!!!!! Don't let it get cold!!" Sorata cheerfully called from the stairs. 
"Okay, okay," Shirushi mumbled as she walked down. "Gee, is this a little 'family' game we're playing?"
"Yuzu's idea. Aoki-san is the dad, Karen's the mom, and we're all the kids."
"Depends on who's playing now, huh?"
"We're all playing. . .Nokoru-san said that it would help us get along better. You should be happy. .you're a triplet!"
"Triplets?"
"Yeah, Subaru-kun's the oldest, I'm the second oldest, you, Kamui, and Arashi are the triplets, and Yuzu's the baby."
"Oh, we're all the same age. . ." Shirushi chuckled a little as they walked to the dinner table. 

"Nice 'game' you thought up, Yuzu."
"Isn't it?"
"Yeah, my hockey team used to have the same thing. But I was the baby."
"I think it's fun," Karen said. 
"Wait, question. . .who's like the first-born, second-born, and youngest of the triplets? I can't go around calling someone older than me imoto or ototo. What the hell would they think?"
"I think you're the youngest," Arashi said primly.
"Hai, oneechan. . ."  She didn't like being treated like a kid that much as she was with her classmates in high school. In fact, Kamui was the only person she knew that actually was nice to her without making her feel like a baby. . .probably because they were the same age. But if Arashi tried to pull anything like that on her, there would be a little trouble. 
Sorata must have noticed, because he patted her on the head. 
 she thought. She cracked a smile(which was a rare occasion nowadays) and leaned back in her chair. 

    Source: geocities.com/tokyo/fuji/2352/clampfics