Well.. it's almost to the end...
Comments, edits, c&c... Flames too, but only if you explain why.. 
All would be rather appreciated...

===Chap 7===

        "Wow, Duncan! You really weren't kidding when you said that his
apartment was empty..." Duncan put his hand over his eyes for a moment,
unable to say anything to combat Richie's incredible rudeness. Subaru smiled
at the red head, and answered, "I don't need anything besides a place to
sleep, so why should I have anything else here?" 

        Richie looked like he was about to argue for a moment- no doubt he
had just noticed the lack of a television or hard liquor- but then shut his
mouth. "I suppose..." he said in a uncertain tone, and then sighed. "So,
what are we going to sleep on, anyway? I'd rather not take floor-" Subaru
replied in a embarrassed tone, "Oh, I'm sorry- I'd forgotten all about that.
Let me go to the storage closet and get out the futon- I have to get some
other things out of there anyway."

        Duncan gave Richie a hard look, making the younger man sigh. "All
right, Mac- Subaru, let us help you. It's the least we can do, after staying
at your apartment." The two followed Subaru through a hallway into what
looked like a guest bedroom- that is, it looked as if it hadn't been slept
in for a long time, but was kept scrupulously clean. Going to the corner
where the closet was, Subaru pulled out a folded up futon. 

        He left to put it into the empty main room, while leaving the other
two in the curious bedroom. "Hey Mac- get a load of these clothes!" Duncan
walked up next to Richie, who had gone peeping into the open closet, and saw
why the younger man had waved him over. The closet was full of bright,
unconventional clothing with riotous designs or themes. Strange shapes and
shades abounded so that it seemed more like a collection of costumes than of
real clothing.

        "Hokuto-chan loved to design these clothes for me to where- she had
an interesting fashion sense, but it always reflected her happy mood..."
Duncan and Richie started as Subaru spoke up. "Suburu, I'm sorry- we're
being really rude, going through all of you things-" Duncan couldn't help
but feel abashed, if only because he hadn't sensed Subaru's presence at all
behind him...

        Subaru gave him a bleak smile and shook his head. "Don't worry about
it- these clothes aren't mine anymore- they belonged to someone who was lost
years ago, killed with Neesan... The only reason I keep them around is
because they remind me of her, and of my wish..." He stared at the room for
a moment, remember what he had been like when he'd slept there, and then sighed.

        Duncan gave him a close look, and then got a thoughtful expression
on his face. "I wanted to ask you a question. Hokuto... she was your
sister?" Subaru nodded. "We were twins- she was born first." Richie and
Duncan shared a thoughtful look, making Subaru feel a bit confused. "What's
so strange about having a twin?" Duncan gave him a serious look, and
replied, "It's impossible for you to have had a twin. Immortals... we don't
have families, and we can never have true, blood relations. It's what we
give up for being immortal..."

        Subaru shook his head. "That may be true for you, but for me, it's
different! Hokuto-chan looked exactly like me. We had to have been-" Subaru
stopped speaking for a moment, and when Duncan saw Subaru's stricken
expression, he asked, "What?" Subaru sat down on the bed for a moment. "I-
I'd never thought of it that way..." At Richie's inquiring look, Subaru
continued. 

        "At our birth, there were... strange happenings. That is why I was
marked as the thirteenth head, and not my sister. There were signs that a
power had entered the world at that time, and my mother claimed to have seen
a dragon sweep from the heavens to place me next to my sister." Subaru
sighed, and shook his head. 

        Continuing in a slightly disbelieving tone, he said, "Of course, she
had been unconscious the whole time, and the midwife denied any such thing,
but the mystery stayed, and made me the prime candidate for the leadership
of my clan..." Subaru looked at them for a moment, his eyes confused. Then
they closed, and re-opened. "Not that it matters now, right? I have no
family anymore... even if they weren't truly mine, Hokuto-chan was my twin,
and my other half in soul, no matter what differences we might have had..."

        Getting up from the bed, Subaru tried to lighten the mood- or at
least move away from this conversation. "Anyway, Duncan-san, you're welcome
to stay here, or on the couch. I'll take the futon." Duncan shook his head.
"Why don't you sleep in here? I'll take the couch again, and Richie can have
the floor, since he was so obviously in favor of it before." 

        Duncan gave Richie a cocky grin as Richie started to protest, and
then pushed the younger immortal out of the room. "Come on- let's go."
Subaru could hear the two argue like old friends as Richie tried to persuade
Duncan out of the couch, but to no avail. As he listened, he heard them calm
down, and then lie down in their make-shift sleeping arrangements. *Those
two...* Subaru knew that they had just done all of that to try to distract
him. *They really could be true friends...*

        He sat down on bed that felt so alien, and yet so familiar, and
stared at the hallway just beyond his open door. *Just around the corner...
she would be there, cheering me on about this if-* Subaru knew that his old
room was rousing too many of his suppressed memories, but couldn't help
remember how happy he had been, as he had been so badly teased by the two
people he most loved... *And my thoughts return to Seishirou-san yet again...*

        Seishirou-san. What was he going to do about the fight? He had a
chance to win now, if only because he wasn't going to die. But... *Admit it.
He's strong... much too strong for you to even have a real chance.* It
rankled, admitting that. But truth was always the best for looking at
situations, even if it hurt...

        It would be so easy just to be killed, and then keep on going back
until Seishirou-san found a way to truly kill him- after all, he was
Sakurazukamori. Then he could rest... see Hokuto again... *Except I promised
Duncan-san that I would try...* A bitter smile crossed his face as Subaru
stretched himself onto the bed. "I did promise, didn't I? So what could I
possibly do..." 

        Subaru gazed up at the ceiling, and tried to think of some plan that
would work, some means... He was surprised to find that he couldn't fit
comfortably in his bed anymore. *I suppose I have grown, haven't I?* He
could imagine Hokuto-chan fluttering all around him, and trying to fit him
in all the new clothes that she had just designed... *And I would wear them
happily if it meant-*

        Deciding that brooding was unlikely to help, he got off the bed and
went back to the closet. Opening the door, he knelt and reached for a
special wooden box. It was warded, and had an old, powerful feeling to it.
*I will need this soon...* Reaching into the box, he took out his ceremonial
robes, those worn by ones such as he when in the midst of a great casting or
challenge. Looking at them made his heart hurt, as the pure white fabric
brought back memories of a blood-stained torn costume that had been worn by
another...

        Putting those aside, he also drew out the other accruements of his
art- the mirror, and the blade. *I may not be able to kill Seishirou-san,
but I can protect those that should not have gotten involved... It is good
that they are in my domain- warding them fully will be much easier now.*
Quickly, he changed into full regalia, until he looked as he would for the
final fight.

        Suppressing a bit of anxiety at that thought, he quickly put the
ornaments of the ritual in front of him, and started to center himself.
Subaru knew that if he did this correctly, and devoted enough power to it,
even Sakurazukamori could not break these barriers. *Of course, they are
only against mental and magical attacks- I have a feeling they could defend
against physical ones very well...*

        Subaru knelt in front of the mirror, and stabbed the knife's blade
into the wood. He focused his energies, and ignored the little corner of his
mind that warned against using so much of his energy before the final day.
*They are my responsiblitity, and I will not shirk it... Duty is all I have...*

        Softly, as to not awaken those occupying his living room, he started
to chant. Building up the power and forces, he wove multiple shields and
wards around both of them. As he felt the power drain from him to the
protections, he prayed that it would be enough. Finally, the spell was done,
and he lay exhausted on the floor. *Now I remember why I don't like to do
that very often...* 

---

        Seishirou smiled. The apartment was dark, and looked unoccupied. Of
course, he could not just 'peek' occultly into the place as he had done
elsewhere- after all, this was the dwelling of the thirteenth head of the
Sumeragi Clan. Revenge-stricken and obsessed as Subaru may be, he was still
very good at wards... *It's almost as if he had an affinity with kekkais...*

        Quietly, he landed in the balcony right outside of the large glass
door that seperated it from the apartment. He used his mind to probe for a
flaw in the shields that layered the place, and found a very slight crack
near the lock. Nodding to himself, Seishirou carefully used a slight touch
of power to crack the lock, and then withdrew.

        He shook his head at Subaru's folly. "Subaru-kun. Don't you realize
that all the mystical barriers in the world won't stop a physical entry?" He
reached to the door and opened it easily. Stepping inside, he stopped as he
saw two figures, both sleeping. One was on the couch, and the other on a
futon- *Who?* Then, he realized as he felt their signatures, so distinctive
in its composition. *That guy..." 

        Seishirou's grimaced involuntarily, making his annoyance obvious to
any who had even an inkling of what he truly was. *So... Subaru-kun has
decided to protect his protector. I find this... annoying...* Seeing that
one of his flashier modes of execution had failed, he walked over to the
sleeping man to do a more subdued, less risky execution- first making sure
that they would stay asleep with a simple suggestion to their already
sleeping minds.

        *Somehow, I get the feeling the usual killing won't be as
satisfying...* Looking at the gaijin below him, the tree and his hands both
itched to taste blood. *Perhaps a quiet death... smothering him will be easy
like this...* He reached out and started to manipulate the spirits and
forces around him to become tendrils of tangible fog that would reach out
and strangle his victim when-

        Seishirou was forced back a little when the first tendril collided
against a shield, making it explode noiselessly, and disappate back to its
harmless components. The other fog-weapons also disappeared the same way,
subjecting Seishirou to the backlash of that aborted spell. *Subaru-kun... you-*

        Subaru came running into the room. "Seishirou-san..." His whisper
was quiet, forced. "I felt your touch upon my shields... I should have known
that you would come." Seishirou gazed upon his prey, and felt the barest
stirrings of shock. "Subaru-kun... are you preparing for our fight?
Hokuto-chan looked just as you did..."

        Subaru looked down, and remembered what he was wearing. Glaring at
his hunter, he snapped back, "Do you want to fight? I'm ready to kill you
anytime, Sakurazukamori-" At that fierce rejoinder, Seishirou took off his
sunglasses. Smiling the gentle smile that he knew drove Subaru mad, he said,
"So, your protector has given you fire as well... for that alone, I will
wait until after your death to kill him. Our final act will be much more
interesting now that you sound like you actually think you may win."

        Subaru, who had flinched back a little at the sight of Seishirou's
sightless eye, now looked squarely upon his face. "I can beat you,
Seishirou-san. I must, or else all the sacrifices, all the pain... it would
have been for nothing. If only for that, I must stop Sakurazukamori..." The
green eyes were radiating true willingness to destroy, giving Subaru a
presence he had never had before- one that made him feel like an actual threat.

        Seishirou stepped closer to Subaru, as if daring him to back down.
Subaru lifted his chin and stood his ground, flinging the challenge back to
his face. "Subaru-kun..." Seishirou put his right hand under Subaru's chin,
and pulled it close to his face. Eye to blind eye, he smiled. "You've caught
my attention now... Let's finish it. You know where we should meet, and when."

        Stepping away, he left in a flurry of petals that floated throughout
the room. Picking up a few, Subaru flung them away. "Finally..." His voice
whispered through the still quiet room, not rousing either of the
still-sleeping men. "Seishirou-san... finally." Then, he used his own powers
to clear the place of Sakurazukamori's taint, and then went back to his own
room, to prepare, to think- to try to envision his life after... if there
was an after...

        As Subaru put his robes back into the box, he knew that he couldn't
let Duncan or Richie know. *Duncan-san would try to stop me... and
Richie-san would probably tag along to see more magic...* He couldn't help
but shake his head at the thought of Richie nagging Sakurazukamori to kill
him with magic, so he could see what it looked like... 

        But that thought sobered him- Subaru knew that if he died, and came
back to life, Seishirou would also feel it. *We are linked too deeply, he
and I... My hunter will come again, and this time, he will have true
knowledge of what Richie-san and Duncan-san are trying to hide...* 

---

        /FOOD!/
        
        Seishirou shook his head in annoyance. The tree was getting more
frustrated with the game, annoyed that he had let his prey go yet again. 

        /Hush- it was not yet time to end it./

        It had not been time... not yet. But soon... Seishirou did not
realize that his eyes also held the same relieved gleam that Subaru's had
had. If he had, he probably would have wondered why this game had gotten so
important to him... why he was investing so much time to this enterprise... 

        *Subaru-kun. It will end for you as it should have done long ago.* A
dark expression of satisfaction crossed the killer's face as he watched the
sun rise. *Treasure this day, for it will be your last...*

===End Chap 7===
-----
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