Chapter 4


Beep-beep-beep-beep-beep-THONK!! The alarm clock was silenced by the pillow of a very disgruntled girl.
"I knew I shoulda gotten a cow alarm clock," Shirushi muttered as she got up from the covers. "I wonder how long it's been since it went off-8:15!? Shimatta!!!!!" She went into a mad dash of grabbing clothes to wear, while still trying to match and look decent, brushing her teeth and hair, finally grabbing her bag and running downstairs. 
"Ohaiyo, minna!!" she said hurriedly as she tried to make a run for the door. 
"Shirushi, wait!" Nokoru ran up to her. "Here's your obento. . . I don't want you having to go broke because of the food prices. . .you should spend your money on better things."
"Arigato, Nokoru-san!! I'm sorry-I must have overslept, and now I'm going to be late if I don't go now. . it's not good to be late on the first day of school!"
"Shirushi, Shirushi, calm down. . .show me your schedule. . ." Shirushi waited impatiently, muttering "What am I going to do? This isn't good. . ." while twirling around in place. 
Finally, Nokoru laughed. 
"Your first class is practically next to us, don't worry!! In fact, you could have slept a while longer, and you'd still get there in time. . ."
"I what?"
"Your class doesn't start until 8:30, right? To get to the literature building only takes two minutes."
Shirushi sank down in a chair. "I cannot believe I just did that. . .panicked and deprived myself of an extra five minutes of sleep." 
Subaru smiled a little from behind his newspaper.  he thought. 
"Is there any coffee around here? I can drink it on the way to class." 
"There's some tea in the kitchen," Nokoru called. "It's better than coffee. Doesn't make you as hyper."
"That'll do," Shirushi grumbled as she walked to get a cup. "Hey, Subaru-where's everyone else?"
"Karen's at work, so is Aoki-san. . .he'll be here to visit for a while before going back home, and everyone else except Sorata is on their way to school."
"Oh, but shouldn't he still be at school. . .?"
"He took a leave of absence."
"Ah," Shirushi took a sip. "Hey, this tea is pretty good. . .I could get used to this! This is green tea, right? Waa! It's 8:28! Sorry, niisan," she said, getting up and grabbing her skateboard. "I have to go now, I don't want my professor to be mad at me on the first day of classes!! Bye everyone!!" she called as she ran out the door and skateboarded to the first class. 

Subaru watched as the girl made a mad dash for the literature building, ollieing benches and any other obstacles that got in her way, at one point even jumping over a kindergarten class before she bolted into the building. 
To say the least, he actually liked talking to her. For some reason, it was almost like having Hokuto back. She apparently took the "Family" game seriously enough, a little more than her place in the battle, but maybe because Hinoto-hime hadn't told her something, and she still didn't know what to do about it. She didn't talk to him like Seishirou-san, mocking and twisted like, but she seemed to just treat him like a friend. 
Speaking of Seishirou. . .he hadn't seen any sakura petals lately. . .since the day of Shirushi's arrival. Not that he really wanted to see Seishirou, but you had to wonder. . .

Motomi was still fuming over the humiliation that Shirushi had given him. As of right now, if Kanoe had told him to kill his other Seraph as soon as possible, he would have done so gladly. She was his enemy in the war, but did she have to taunt him like that and wear such a smug look on her face at the same time?

He thought that since he was older, and more "experienced", that naturally she would be much weaker than he was. Of course, he was still healing from his wounds that he had received and such. 
Right now, except for Satsuki, Kakyou and Nataku, he was the only one at the Tokyo Government building. Kanoe-sama was at her job as a secretary for the mayor, Fuuma was at school, and Yuuto and Seishirou were at their jobs as a civil servant and a veterinarian, respectively. Naturally he didn't seem to know where the hell Kusanagi had gone. . .
He tried to find sympathy among his fellow Dragons, but almost to no avail. Satsuki had shrugged it off with disdain. 
On a note about Satsuki, Motomi thought that she might be seeing through his plans, or at least piecing them together. She had been standoffish , but now whenever she looked at him, she had a suspicious look on her face. 
Kusanagi, Yuuto and Seishirou had actually found her amusing. 
Nataku had wanted to know what taunting was and why it made him so mad, making Motomi extremely aggravated when he tried to explain to it with no avail. According to Satsuki, it was a bioroid, an experimental human being from a pharmateucials company. . .and it had no concept of emotion whatsoever, not to mention sexless. 
Kakyou had been dreaming, and seemed preoccupied with something else altogether. 
Maybe he *was* being a bit oversensitive, but if he didn't do something about Shirushi, there wasn't any way his plans could go into action. It seemed pretty simple. 
Just re-enact her brother's murder in front of her. The victim didn't have to die necessarily, but just enough to weaken, not kill. It was the same with Shirushi. Just weaken her a bit, don't kill her. 
After all, she wasn't what he really wanted. She was just a mere obstacle in his otherwise smooth planning. 
However, just a bit harder. When he had struck before, when she was twelve, her powers hadn't fully grown and also she was much frailer. 
 In his realization of being seen by Shirushi. . .he had tried to kill her and leave her for dead in the closet. . .but it hadn't worked,, no matter that the police even diagrammed her body and were a few seconds away from the body bag. Good thing that she was so "traumatized" that she didn't try to pursue him, instead trying to let out her anger in other places while he looked on. 
The spell he had given her blocked it out. She had thought it was all her fault, and couldn't seem to remember who had done what. 

The look on her face was a look of pure hatred, just as ready to kill him as he was her. He feared the day she would say those words. 
*I know you did it.*
But even so, she wouldn't be able to do much about it. Maybe try to kill him a few times. . .not as hard.

"Hey, Motomi, aren't you supposed to be in school?" Satsuki said from behind him. 
"Oh, yeah. . .thanks for reminding me, Satsuki-chan!" He gave a winning smile and walked from the building. "See you this afternoon!"

"I REALLY wish my classes weren't so far apart."
Shirushi was riding her trusty skateboard once again to the media center. The way the computer had arranged her classes had been unrealistic. Two subsequent classes were practically on the opposite sides of the campus! 
"Abunai!!" She looked up just in time to see a soccer ball knock her in the stomach, sending her down out of breath and incredible pain. 

"Good one, Mizuhara-kun!! You just hurt someone!" a girl's voice called out. 
"Itai. . ." Shirushi muttered as she struggled to pull herself up. 
"Daijoubu desu ka?" the same girl asked. She ran over to Shirushi and held out a hand. "I'm sorry, Masaya is a good soccer player, but sometimes if someone's in the way they can be in for a pretty bad shock. . .hey, are you new here, by any chance?"
"Yeah," Shirushi mumbled, picking up her skateboard and making sure everything was intact.
"You're late for class, you know. How come you're not wearing your uniform?"
"Uniform. . .?" 
"Your school uniform, baka-chan."
"I'm a college student-we don't wear uniforms."
"Hey, hey, don't get smart with me. Don't you know this is Clamp Campus Senior High School?"
"Look, I was on the way to class at the media center when I got hit with Mizuhara-kun's ball. I'm not too familiar with the campus so don't think I came here just for getting in trouble with the headmaster because they think I'm skippin'."
"Sorry, didn't know that," the girl countered. "But," she said, "you look kinda young for your age. Are you really nineteen?"
"No, I'm sixteen. I just skipped a few grades."
"Uh-huh, so then what school did you go to?"
"What?" 
"You know, like did you go to that school that's known for how smart the students are? Oh, wait, I know, you went to that missionary all-girls school! I've always wanted to meet someone who went to that school! What is it like?"
"Um. . ." Shirushi stuttered. "I-I come from America."
"America? No way."
"Hell yeah."
"But your Japanese. . .it's so GOOD!!"
"Yeah, so what's your point? I spent a year in Japan, and slaved through thirteen years of Japanese school."  Shirushi thought. 
"I thought you were from around Tokyo!"
"Well, my parents came from Tokyo. . ."
"Wow, this is soo cool! I never thought I'd meet someone from my country!" the girl said, reverting to English.
"You're from the US too?" Shirushi asked, obviously surprised. 
"Straight from Brooklyn!" the girl said, accent and all. "It's been about a year since I came to Japan."
"Wow, it's a small world after all."
"Are you okay?" The kicker of the ball came over. 
"Hey, Masaya-here's a gaijin, just like us!"
"Gai-jin. . .?" Shirushi asked. 
"Oh, cool, so you come from the US too?" Masaya asked. 
"Yeah, college. . .I might move back after that."
"You don't look like you're old enough to. . ."
"She skipped a few grades. . ." the girl said. 
"I'm proud of you! You do our culture proud!!" Masaya answered. "By the way, what's your name?"
"It's Shirushi. Shirushi Kamimura."
"Shirushi. . .that's an interesting name. . .my name's Sana Takai."
"Actually, I hate my name. It means symbol or sign, but most people think about that little stamp that you use to sign your name when you say it."
"Yeah. . ." 
"I became the laughingstock of my class when they found out."
"Oh, well. . .listen to it. Shi-ru-shi. It flows. It's a pretty name!"
"Thanks, Sana-chan! Oh, I'm sorry," Shirushi said, looking at her watch. "I have to go! Class starts really soon!"
"Well, you can't be late then, ne? Are you going to be coming around here often?" 
"Yeah."
"Oh, good! It's nice to have someone to talk to besides Masaya-and will you ever tell me where you got that outfit sometime? That's such a cute outfit!!"
"Sure, we can go shopping sometime! Oh, I really have to go now. Bye!" Shirushi called as she went on her skateboard and went off to class. 
She didn't notice someone watching her from the field, however. Someone she hadn't met yet, but who she would soon know. 

Fuuma smiled as he watched the girl go to her next college class. Today was a perfect day for striking.  
But not now, not yet. It still wasn't clear enough to attack.  He greedily anticipated the meeting. 

"Shit, I'm late again!" Shirushi dejectedly tried to sneak into the lecture hall without being noticed by the professor. 
"Hey, good one." Satoru grinned from the seat next to her. 
"He doesn't see me?" Shirushi asked. 
"Oh, hell no. I just came in a second before and he didn't screw me."
"Geez, at least you can't get kicked out of here!"
"Be quiet! Some people are trying to learn here!" a girl said angrily. 
"Excuse me?" asked Shirushi. "Were you talking to us?"
"You gaijin are so dumb. No one should be talking during class!" 
"Oh, yeah? You really think so, ne? The lecture hasn't even started yet!" Shirushi snapped back. 
"That's because maybe you two are talking so much."
"Yeah, yeah," muttered Shirushi. "Bitch," she muttered under her breath. 
"Okay, if Hayashida-san and Kamimura-san will stop bickering, we can get started," said the professor. 
Someone put a hand on Shirushi's shoulder. "Don't worry, Noriko's always like that to people." 
Shirushi turned around to see a girl with long hair. "Who are you?"
"I'm Asuka. Asuka Honda, but you can call me Asuka-chan. Don't mind Noriko."
"Ugly skank," Shirushi muttered before the professor went into a lecture introducing them into the wonderful world of vector calculus. The lecture was awfully boring too, as she could see the class slowly drifting off into sleep. But since she heard that the classes here were harder, she decided to fight the urge and just take notes, although that degraded into doodling on paper when the professor started babbling nonsense about his own experience with the vectors and engineering. 
"Hey, that's a good drawing," Asuka said. 
"Naah, something I just doodle when I'm in class. . .not much. I'm just an avid fan of anime and manga, who's trying to look for a job."
"A job? You know, I work at a manga store at the Shinjuku district. Have you ever heard of Manga no Mori?"
"Really? Do you think I could work there?"
"We'll see. I'll talk with Sakaruda-san, and I'll see if we have an opening. Oh yeah, we also have a manga-bu here at Clamp."
"Manga-bu?"
"You know, a manga club. We do all these kinds of mangas, and then we submit them to the magazines-like ASUKA, Ribon, LaLa, Shonen Ace, and they pick out which could be in their magazines."
"Wow. . ."
"Here-I'll write down when the next meeting is."
"Thanks!" 
"Kamimura-san, Honda-san, stop talking! Kamimura-san, I know you're only sixteen, but you are mature enough to know when to talk and when not to."
 Shirushi thought as she used her telekinesis to spin the blackboard around while he tried to lecture. She had to laugh-the results of the poor teacher trying to write while the damn thing was moving were amusing. 

"Whew, I thought that school would never end," Yuzuriha said cheerfully as Inuki trotted at her heels. She stopped to buy some Haagen-Daaz  from an ice-cream store, and sat down. 
"It's good to know that I can at least walk home now. It's not good to be bad with directions."
"Hello, Missy." She looked up to see Kusanagi standing over the bench. 
"Hello, Kusa-kun! How has everything been?" Yuzuriha was happy to see him; he had not been around for a long time. 
"Did you get my letter?" he asked. 
"Yes! I did, thank you for the flower petal!" she said. "I really did like the color." 
"You're welcome. Hey old boy," he said as he patted Inuki on the head, "how are ya? Still a good dog, I hope!"
Inuki barked happily in response. 
"Isn't it a nice day out?" Kusanagi asked. "All the birds are happy."
"They are?"
"Yes, they like this place. This park's the only place where everything's still pretty, and left the way it is. See? That bird likes you." 
"It does, doesn't it?" Yuzuriha said. "Don't you wish all days could be like this?"
"Yeah. . ." They sat in silence, enjoying the sun and the singing birds. 
"Oh, I'm sorry. . .I have to go home now. They'll be worried if I don't show up there," Yuzuriha said. 
"Maybe one of these days, we can get together again," Kusanagi responded. 
"Yeah!" Yuzuriha said. "Good-bye!" she called as she made her way to the Imonoyama Mansion. 

Shirushi winced as Noriko slammed her against the wall. It turned out that the way she had behaved in the classes she had had with Noriko. . .well, Noriko thought that Shirushi had been too obnoxious and had tried to solve the problem on her own, although Shirushi did have second thoughts about those comments she had made on the inkblots in a psychology class. 

Besides the bashing Noriko was giving her, the teacher had thought that there was something wrong with her and was going to call Nokoru over it. 
"The next time you act obnoxious in class, I am going to beat you so bad that you will not be able to get out of bed for a YEAR!! Do you hear me!?" Noriko said, punctuating each word with a slam and then letting her drop to the floor. 
"You're not my boss, you 'ho!" Shirushi said back.  she thought as Noriko then pushed her on the floor and began stomping on her.
"Don't get smart with me, girl!" she snapped. "You're never gonna act like that in class again, you hear me?" 
"You know what? I don't think so," Shirushi said while looking full into Noriko's eyes. "I think I'll act any way I WANT!!!" she screamed as she got up and gave Noriko a good right hook in the face. Noriko merely growled. 
"Yeah, come on! You wanna fight, doncha? Let's see how the gaijin fights!" Shirushi shouted. 
Meanwhile, the crowd had gathered and had started cheering them on. 
Noriko tried to throw her down, but then Shirushi stopped her with a flying kick and flipped back onto the wall. 
"You're not gonna get away with that, Kamimura-san!" Noriko landed a good punch in the stomach, right where Shirushi had gotten hit with the ball that day. 
"Ah, you guys! It's the dean!" someone shouted, and then as the crowd broke up, Noriko grabbed Shirushi by her shirt. 
"I'm warning you, if you ever try to do that to me again, you will regret it."
"Sure," Shirushi said, "but next time don't wear clunky shoes when you're stompin' on someone, okay? If you have to stomp on someone, at least look cool when you're doing it."
"Why you little. . ."
"Ahem." Noriko looked behind her to see the dean. 
"This way, Hayashida-san." Noriko glumly followed the dean to his office. 
 Shirushi thought with another devilish grin as she walked out of the building on her way to the mansion. 
"Man, what a shitty first day at school. First I'm late for a few classes, get hit in the stomach with a soccer ball, and then some super-bitch of a classmate decides to jump me. And now I'll probably get a lecture from Nokoru-san for being sarcastic in that basic psychology class," she muttered as she rode her board back home. 
"I just want to get home and rest, maybe read a little," she said again. 
"So sorry your day went so horribly, Kamimura-san." The voice came from the trees. 
"Who's there!?" Shirushi started. The voice didn't sound too friendly, in fact it sounded cold, even mocking. 
The owner just chuckled evilly. "It's too bad that our dear Seraph is worn out. But won't you come and play with me before throwing in the towel? I'm sure it won't take too long," he continued. 
"Maybe tomorrow, 'cause I'm afraid that I'll whip your butt before you even have a chance. I'm really p'd off today, so maybe tomorrow, okay?" 
"I'm afraid I'm a very impatient person," the voice said, and the owner stepped out, shocking Shirushi. 
It was the same boy in her dream. The same boy who had stabbed the girl on the cross. And suddenly, everything came together in her mind. 
"It's you!" she choked out. 
"We finally meet, Kamimura-san," the boy said with an evil smile on his face, just as cold as his voice. 
"You're the one, the one who. . ." The sentence was left hanging as she dodged a ki attack. 
"Damn. . .and I thought  I'd be able to get home on time today. All right, you wanna play, man? We play MY way," she said as she launched a blast of flame and ice towards her opponent. It caught him by surprise and sent him into a wall nearby, leaving a crater. 
"My my, destroying property. . .I guess that's a little bit *too* excessive." Shirushi got back onto her skateboard. "Well, I'll be leaving now. See ya at the final battle. . ." as she turned and started to continue her way back. 
"You're not going anywhere, ojosan," the boy said again. "I've only begun. . ."
She turned around. "So desu ka. . .?" and threw up a barrier just in time to block his attack. 
He smiled. "That was quick, Kamimura-san, but your flippancy will be the end of you."
Shirushi only responded by telekinetically attempting to crash a pole onto him. "You're really pissing me off, you know. . ." her language changing into talking like a boy. In fact, she was so distracted that she didn't seem to notice the blast that was coming straight for her, and it knocked her to the ground.
"Hmm. . .impressive," she said calmly. "But if you've only begun, then the only thing left is to finish it, ne?" An evil smile appeared on her face as she directed a wind blast towards him. "Don't get too carried away, now. It's not me you really want anyway, 'Kamui'." 
"Cut the backtalk, and get on with it!" was the response. 
During the conversation, Shirushi had been gathering ki for her final blast, and siphoning a little from her enemy's. Now she collected it all together, and sent the blast careening towards him, sending him into the neighborhood houses. 
"Ten no Ryu one, Chi no Ryu zero. Game over, and I'm going home," she grumbled as she walked back home, carrying her skateboard as she didn't trust her balance after the battle. 
 she thought as the rest of the trip was completed in silence. 

"Shirushi? Can I come in?" Kamui asked. 
"It's open. . .onii-san," she said with somewhat of a snicker. 
Kamui entered the room to find Shirushi laying on her bed with her head at the foot. She looked slightly depressed, and was holding a very thick textbook in one hand. 
"Is Nokoru mad at me? If he comes looking for me, say that I'm sorry that I mouthed off at one of my classes, and that I don't need to be transferred," she said absentmindedly while typing some numbers quickly into a calculator. "Of course, I'll probably have to listen to a lecture, but that's just a slap on the wrist. . ."
"Doesn't sound like your day went too well," Kamui said quietly. 
"Well, being late to a few classes and getting a ball in the stomach and then getting beat up by this classmate isn't what I'd say was perfect. I can't believe it. I'm old enough to drive-in the US," she said after noticing Kamui's confused look, "and I have college kids beating me up. It was bad enough when the people at my junior high school put me in a mesh garbage can and poked me with pencils for about fifteen minutes. . .and here I get slammed into a wall and stomped on. . .I feel like I'm on Jerry Springer, where all those people beat each other up because this thirty-year old guy wants to marry a fourteen year old. . ." She was looking at him now while writing down the answers to her work. 
"Well. . .it couldn't have been that bad," Kamui ventured. 
"True. Because I encountered another one involved with the Final Battle after classes. . .that's why I was home late. . ."  she thought.  "I believe it was your twin star also. . ." 
"Fuuma!?"
"Is that what he's called?" she asked quietly. "Interesting. . .it seems that you know him. Do you?"
". . . . ." There was an uncomfortable silence. 
"If you don't want to talk about it, it's okay with me. Just that I thought you might know him," she said as she put away the book. 
"I-I do," he finally said. 
Shirushi merely looked at him calmly, a sign for him to go on. 
"It was a long time ago. . .I knew him before I moved from Tokyo."
"He was a close friend of yours, wasn't he?" 
". . . .Yeah." That came out with a sigh. "How did you know that?"
"Long time ago, when you were a kid. . .it all falls into place. . .and I don't think that you're too happy with how Fate is treating you two, but that's just based on stuff I've read." She looked at him again with those sunglasses, and Kamui wondered what she was hiding underneath. 
"Based on. . .what you've read? What do you mean?" 
"It's the basis of a lot of stories. That's all," she said quietly and in a terse manner. "Anyhow," she continued, "how was everything else? Are you here by yourself?"
Another silence. "Yeah. . ."
"So am I, to tell you the truth. But I suppose that's to be expected of me. Otou-san and oka-san didn't care how old I was, once I reached college, I'd probably be on my own. It's sad, really," she said, leaning her chin on her hands, "that they said that." 
"Don't they love you. . .? They couldn't have done that. You could've been too young."
"Yeah. But age doesn't really seem to matter to my parents. As for them loving me, well, I don't know about that. . .my mother would help me train for the battle, but she said that was her obligation as a mother. They never got too attached."
"Where are they? How come they're not here, in Tokyo? They could at least do that."
"Because," said Shirushi, slight pain in her voice, "they're *dead*. Both of them at the same time."
"B-but how?" Kamui stammered. 
"A double suicide."
"Suicide. . .?"
"Two weeks ago. I knew I shouldn't have left for work, and they had to go ahead and die on me."
"But did Shinya. . ."
"He's dead too. All dead. I'm the only one left of them." The answer was as terse as before. 
 Kamui stared at her in shock. She was just like him. . .almost no one left in the world that she cared about, and she was also in this fight. No wonder she didn't seem to care about the battle, no wonder she was so flippant. When there wasn't anyone left to care about, there was no use in protecting the world. 
Or was that the case. . .? Obviously there had to be some reason that she was with the Dragons of Heaven. Sorata had said that she probably would have joined them anyway, choice or no choice. Did she still care about him? Even if it didn't really appear so, *he* really cared about Shirushi. In fact, he thought that she wouldn't be involved at all, making him glad that at least he wouldn't lose her, but now she had been involved. 
And that made him very worried. . .that maybe she would die like Kotori. . .

Motomi watched from a tree beside the mansion. He rubbed his hands together, smiling gleefully. 
"I didn't know that I'd be this lucky on my first try. . .ooh. . ." he leered. 
Shirushi was talking to one of the boys he had seen at the fight. . .and from what it looked like, it seemed that she had a bit of a crush on him, or at least cared about him. 
 he thought. The boy had a slender, graceful, build with a very pretty face. He seemed engaged deep in conversation with Shirushi, and it seemed that she was actually *looking* at him, not with a sideways glance like other people, but directly. 

"So this is the boy that my dear Seraph cares about," he said aloud. "Well, it looks like not only have I found something, it ensures my victory over the Dragons of Heaven. . .and in the meantime, I'll certainly have some fun with that young man. . ." He envisioned how it would all go. . .and an evil smile appeared on his face. 
 he thought.  
With that, he disappeared with a swirl of ashes in the breeze. 

"Come on, babe! Just this once, pleeeeeeease?????? I promise I won't act stupid while we're there. You'll have a great time!" Sorata said pleadingly. 
"Sorata," Arashi said in an exasperated voice. "For the last time, I'm busy tonight!"
"But it's okonomiyaki!! How can you resist that!?"
"Oniichan, are you still trying to ask out oneechan?" Yuzuriha asked cheerfully.
"You know, sometimes, the way you act, it's like you're married," Shirushi said. 
"Excuse me?" Arashi said. 
"I'm not gonna say it again. You heard me perfectly."
"Ooooh. . . .can I be the bridesmaid at your wedding, oneechan!? I love weddings!" Yuzuriha said in a jocular tone.
"What do you mean?" Sorata asked. 
"You know, Arashi beating you up and everything and all this joking around. . .everything a newlywed couple does. Okay," Shirushi said, meeting Arashi's glare with a sideways glance, "at least brother and sister. Better enough analysis for you, oneesan?" 
"What are you trying to do, Shirushi?" 
"Um. . . I'm trying to persuade you to go out with him. Look, what are you busy with? I'm sure I can help because I don't have anything planned for today. Give oniichan a chance with you. If you don't like him, fine, but at least try it out." 
Arashi gave her a suspicious look. "Really. . ."
Shirushi exhaled loudly. "Look. I'm not looking for a fight, whether it's with psychic powers or just a catfight. I've had both of those today and I certainly don't want another one with one of my triplet comrades. How bad can it be? It's just a date he's asking you out for. It's not like he's asking for your undying love to him."
"Yeah!" Sorata chimed, although it *would* be nice to have Arashi love him back, but he saw where his "imoto-chan" was headed with this.
"Oh, you do not know. . ." Arashi could not believe how direct Shirushi was being toward personal matters. In fact, from hearing how she had behaved today in college from Nokoru, Arashi had thought she would certainly be trouble. "What business is it of yours anyway?" 
"Business? Oneesan, we know he likes you. Didn't he already say he'd die for you? Well, you're not acknowledging that, in the first place. That could cause friction among the Seals, and then we'd probably lose the battle because two of our important people kinda have problems with each other. So in a way," Shirushi continued much to the surprise of Sorata and Yuzuriha(they thought she'd just end it right then and there), "it IS my business, and imoto-chan's over here, and Karen-okasan's and Seiichirou-otousan's business. It's also Subaru-oniisan's business. And," she continued, ignoring Arashi turning slightly pink in the cheeks, "I don't think that Kamui would appreciate it very much if his Dragons were involved in a little bickering dispute over love, because it's wasted energy. Energy that should be used to beat the other guy. In conclusion, if you give Sorata a chance, not only will you make him happy, it'll smooth over the social problems, and you'll be doing us a favor by letting us cooperate more efficiently and do some duty."
"Smooth talker," Subaru said upon observing the scene.
". . . ." Arashi thought for a moment, and finally sighed. 
"I guess what I have to do can wait. . .all right, Sorata, we'll go tonight. But," she said, turning around, "you have to behave yourself, all right?"
"Yes, oneesama," Sorata said meekly. As soon as she was out of earshot, he whooped and jumped up in the air. 
"Yatta!!! I finally got a date with her!! Thanks, imoto-chan," he said to Shirushi. 
"Hayaku, oniichan. . .you don't want to get your date upset 'cause you're late."
"Hai, hai! Thank you soooo much though. . . ." he said, giving her a fond squeeze, one that deprived her of air for a few seconds, and then went merrily upstairs to get ready.
"How did you do that?" Yuzuriha asked once Shirushi regained the ability to breathe. 
"It's just an adaptation to my surroundings. . .either you could fight or you could talk your way out of it." She looked upstairs where Sorata was taking a shower and singing quite loudly. "Of course, you can do it in situations like this too." 
Karen walked in. "What is that noise?" she asked. 
"Hi, okasan. Sorata's got a date tonight," Shirushi said. "He's very happy."
"Shirushi-oneechan talked Arashi into going out with him."
"Really. . ." Karen murmured. "We didn't think that was likely to happen. . .good job, Shirushi."
"It was nothing."
"Although. . .we should probably tell Sora-chan to not sing quite so loud," Karen said while grimacing.
"Or at least sing something in his vocal range," Yuzuriha said, giggling. "I bet if we opened the door right now, we'd see him with a comb in his hand singing in the mirror."
All Shirushi did was stifle a snicker. 

"I don't care. . .who you are. . .where you're from. . .what you did. . .as long as you love me. . .who you are. . .where you're from. . .what you did. . ." Sorata sang with a comb in front of the mirror. To prepare for his date, he had scrubbed himself almost to the point where he was bleeding, slicked his hair back, and was now putting on aftershave as to show Arashi that he could be a gentleman. 
It didn't seem to matter that he was singing loud enough to annoy or amuse anyone within the mansion. He was just too happy today, with Arashi finally accepting him. 
"Sorata?" 
". . .as long as you love me, ooh baby. . ." Sorata continued, not hearing who was outside the door.
"Sorata. . .could you. . ."
Sorata still didn't hear. 
"SORATA!!!!" Kamui opened the door, kind of upset that he wasn't being heard, and stopped short at what he saw. 
Sorata was standing there in a towel with a comb in his hand, singing a song from the American group Backstreet Boys, and he apparently still hadn't noticed that he was being watched, since he was also trying to do some dance moves. 
Kamui watched, cracking an amused smile for the first time in weeks or months, until he was noticed. 
"Um. . ." Sorata said, turning quite red. "Well, see-um, I have a date tonight, so I'm preparing."
"Didn't think Arashi would say yes."
"Originally, no," Sorata said, putting on more aftershave. "But Shirushi talked her into it. Something about how the whole group would be affected. . ."
"I'm not surprised."
"Of course not. You've known her longer than any of us." 
"Right, well-I won't bother you anymore. . ." Kamui quietly shut the door behind him and went downstairs to talk to Shirushi again, trying to keep a straight face at the same time. He smiled a little to himself. Hadn't changed at all with those remarks, and getting into trouble and out of it just as quickly. 

Shirushi was sitting on the couch looking out the window when he came down. 
"Hi," she said absent-mindedly. Then she saw the look on his face. "What? What is it?"
Kamui finally couldn't hold it in any longer and burst out laughing. 
"What's so funny?" Shirushi asked. 
"Sorata. . .he's in the bathroom. . .singing. . .in front of the mirror. . ." he finally gasped out. 
"I knew it. With a comb in his hand?" 
He nodded. 
She snickered a little. "I suppose that he'll be doing that for a long time. . ."
"I didn't think that Arashi would ever go out with him."
"Well, that's because I'm just good at talking people into things like that, I guess."
"Do you think Arashi is happy about this?"
"That's hard to say. . .one thing is that she's really happy, but she won't admit it. The other is that she's probably wondering how the hell I got her into this in the first place. But let's just see how the date goes first. . .because then she'll probably have a better opinion of him."
"Or she'll probably want to kill him." For a little while, Kamui was actually happy, forgetting about Destiny or Fate and the battle. For some reason, it was as if everything was better again. 

"How can this be. . .?" Hinoto said. "It's only logical that either the 'Kamui' of the Dragons of Heaven or the Dragons of Earth dies _along_ with the Seraph." 
"But it does not seem that way," Kakyou responded. "It seems that only one person will die out of those four people. It looks like the Seraphim are more in danger of this, however. Both seem to have had a little trouble."
"Really. . ." Hinoto said. "But what about the fate of the earth? What do they have to do with that?"
"The Seraphim, you know, are the highest hierarchy of angels. Therefore they carry tremendous amounts of power. . .enough to destroy the earth and our universe. If any of them are angered or in such a state, they can and will do it. Both of us will lose."
"But the earth's destruction-wasn't that what you wanted?"
"It is impossible," Kakyou said, "to have a rebirth if the earth is reduced to mere ashes. We may even have to ally if the situation becomes deadly. However, if the remaining Seraph is all right, it's possible that it could be saved."
"You mean. . .another kekkai?"
"This one doesn't protect Tokyo alone. It protects the earth."
"But that shield isn't there right now. . ."
"That's right. It is the Seraph alone who can produce it. That's the reason if Tokyo Tower's kekkai is broken, humanity will be destroyed. . . .the earth's kekkai isn't there.But since the Seraphs have entered the game, they can create the shield to keep the planet intact for whatever purposes you or I want."
"But who is it? Who is it that will become unstable?"
"We should just keep a watch on our Seraphs, O-hime-san. I trust that you are, as I am mine, secretly however."
Hinoto merely nodded. 

"Arashi-oneesan. . ." Yuzuriha said at her bedroom. "Aren't you ready for the date yet?"
"I don't know what I should wear," Arashi said impatiently. 
"Aha! So you do care about the date!" Yuzuriha said triumphantly. "I knew it!"
"No, it's just that it's important to look good when you're going out," Arashi said, but she was slightly blushing. 
"Maybe I can help. How about this?" Yuzuriha held up a black skirt. 
"I don't know. . .it's too short. . ." 
"All right then. Then wear some jeans or something, or maybe this," Yuzuriha chimed, holding up yet another skirt, but longer. "This is nice too. . .and with this top. . .hmm. Yeah! That'll look good enough. Go try those on," she urged. 
"Hello, Yuzu-chan. What are you doing?" Karen asked. 
"Oh! Um. . .I'm trying to help Arashi out with her outfit for the date."
Arashi finally stepped out. "Well?"
"Hmm. . ." Karen deliberated for a moment. "It's a bit conservative and stuffy. . .here, let me handle this." 
The three of them walked into her room, and didn't come out for a while. When they did, Arashi looked considerably different from her normal appearance, but toned down enough, because, after all it was just a date. 

"Oh. . .I'm so nervous. . .what do I do!? How come she's taking so long? What is she doing up there!?" Sorata asked frantically. 
/It's alright to tell me/ 
/What you think about me/ 
/I won't try to argue/ 
/I'll hold it against you/ 
"Maybe she's trying to look nice for you," Aoki said. 
"How does my hair look? Do I look okay? Imoto-chan, are you listening?"
Shirushi was listening to her Discman while reading "The Rainmaker". She saw Sorata jumping around frantically, but she figured he was just nervous. 
/I know that you're leaving/
/You must have your reasons/ 
/The season is falling/
/Your pictures are falling down/
 she thought. 
Sorata ripped off the headphones. "How do I look!?" 
"Sorata. . .you look fine, for the last time. It's only a date."
"But I care about how she thinks about my appearance!"
"Fine, you're the finest hunk I've ever seen. You should be on TV. Save your energy for ogling oneesan already." With that, Shirushi put back on the headphones.
/And it's happened once again/
/I'll turn to a friend/
/Someone to understand/
/Sees through the master plan/
/And everybody's gone/ 
/And I've been here for too long/
/The places I might go/
/Well I guess this is growing up/
 she thought. 
"I'm ready!" Arashi called from the stairs. 
"She's ready! She's ready! Did you hear that?" Sorata shrieked. 
Shirushi thought that she heard Subaru snicker a little. "So go see her."
"All right. . ." Sorata said nervously. 
"Ganbatte, oniichan!" Shirushi called. As soon as he left, she snuck up to the stairwell to see what was going on. 
"Wow. . .you look really good tonight, Arashi. . ."
"Arigato. . .shall we go now?"
"Sure, sure! Yeah. . ." Sorata said looking down. "Let's go!"
As they passed by, Arashi made an excuse that she forgot something, and went to Shirushi. 
"Imoto-san. . .how do I look?" she asked. 
Shirushi looked the priestess up and down critically. Finally she sighed. "You'll do," she said. "Oh, and good luck on the date. It'd be nice to see you two hit it off." 
For the first time, Arashi smiled. 
"Imoto-san. . ." Subaru said. "I thought that they'd never be going out. Did you do something by any chance?"
"No. . ." Shirushi said innocently. "I didn't do anything. I just talked Arashi into this one date. All right, I said that if we weren't friends with each other, we were gonna lose."
Subaru chuckled. "You're a funny one, aren't you?"

Motomi watched again, this time from a bench near the mansion. 

He smiled. 

With that in mind, he was gone to put the plan in action, leaving only ashes behind.

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

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