Diem Perdidi Yeah! Chapter with Sei-chan at long last! Sorry-I promise you'll all find out what's happened to Subaru... he's not dead, I swear. Disclaimer: TB and X/1999 are not mine! I borrow the characters for torture occasionally, but unfortunately, they belong to CLAMP. Part 3: Hunting Looking back, it might not have been the smartest thing Hokuto had ever done. True, she was just about the only person who could have pulled it off, but it was incredibly dangerous. Seishirou was unpredictable and certainly untrustworthy. The repercussions of this could be fatal when he found out. However, she was counting on the tree to keep up its end of the bargain and keep him from murdering her again when he discovered what the heck she had done to him. Plus, she wasn't even sure this was going to work. In Subaru's clothes she could pass as her twin for short periods of time, as long as no one saw her face, but there were very obvious anatomical differences between the two of them. For one, Subaru was much taller than she was and his clothes hung off her like sacks. For two, she was female and Seishirou was bound to notice something if he looked hard enough. Swallowing her fear, Hokuto walked towards Ueno Park lamenting both her promise and her brother's lack of fashion sense. The white coat was so obviously plain it hurt. * * * * Seishirou watched uninterested as the tree devoured the latest victim he had brought for it. The girl had been most frustrating. Running around, screaming like that, he was surprised she hadn't brought the whole police department down on him. Not that it would have mattered, but it was the principle of the thing. People marked by the Sakurazukamori should learn that their deaths would be quick (although not entirely painless) if they didn't struggle. It irked him when people fought and screamed. Didn't they realize that they only made it worse for themselves? He pulled out a cigarette from his pocket and was about to light it when he noticed a flash of white from the corner of his eye. Turning slightly, he saw Subaru, who had paused under a streetlight. Seishirou smiled. It had been a week since the incident at Nakano and he had missed the presence of his favorite victim a little since them. Subaru noticed his approach and turned down the street, walking quickly. Seishirou's smile grew substantially. It looked as if the onmyouji wasn't looking for a confrontation. He had probably not expected to find Seishirou at the park and hadn't wanted another injury like the one Seishirou had given him the last time they met. The Sakurazukamori stalked after Subaru quietly. The boy would feel his presence, but wouldn't see him. Seishirou smirked as he realized that for the first time in a long while, he was hunting Subaru. * * * * Hokuto could feel the faint shadow of Seishirou's power on the edge of her vision and she picked up her pace. She needed to get back to the apartment before Seishirou realized that she wasn't Subaru and got angry. She really didn't want to deal with an angry Seishirou. She wasn't entirely sure she'd ever seen him angry (or that he got angry at all), but what she was doing would definitely annoy him at least. Of course, that would be before he found out what she'd done to Subaru. Seishirou probably wouldn't approve of anyone drugging the onmyouji unless he was the one doing it. Then again, he might just thank her if he knew what she was planning. Seishirou had always been happy to assist in messing with her twin's love life. * * * * As Subaru quickened his pace, Seishirou began to notice something odd. He couldn't feel his marks on the boy's hands. Well, that wasn't entirely true, he could still feel the marks, but they were coming from about 500m in front of where Subaru was heading. Which meant the person he was following wasn't Subaru. Which meant someone was trying to deceive him. Which meant that someone was in for a very big surprise. He decided to test the abilities of the person he was following. Stepping up the pace a bit, he started to let the sounds of his footsteps echo on the pavement and the illusion of sakura petals start floating around the general vicinity. It had the desired effect. The person picked up his pace to a half jog. Seishirou was pleased; he was making them nervous. As they neared the apartment where Seishirou sensed the real Subaru's presence, the figure half-ran to the door, entering the building in a hurried frenzy. He vaguely wondered if his latest victim had kidnapped the younger onmyouji and was using him as bait. Unlikely, he decided. There were few people that knew of his connection to the 13th Sumeragi Head and all of them knew to leave Seishirou alone. As Seishirou followed the man into the building, he heard the echoing pounds of boots on the stairway above him. Lazily, he climbed the stairs slowing, savoring the sounds that his feet made on the metal, knowing that this new person was afraid. Fear was a very delicious thing, and he intended to use this fear to the best of his abilities. As he reached the second floor he noticed a door ajar in the middle of the hall. The person was very careless too. As he entered the apartment silently, the presence of the marks on Subaru's hands drew him to look for the onmyouji before going after his impersonator. He looked through the bedroom door and smiled faintly. He had always loved beautiful things. Subaru was stretched out on a bed, the moonlight from the window playing with long purple shadows on his skin and highlights on his dark hair. Seishirou fought the urge to go to Subaru and caress the young man, turning instead to the living room to find the person who had led him here. "Well, Sei-chan, aren't you going to thank me?" Seishirou whirled as the voice hit his ears. It was impossible, he had killed her... but... Hokuto sat calmly on the couch, dressed in her brother's black slacks and shirt as well as his white trench. She was smiling slightly and looked thoroughly amused at his discomfort. "Would you like something to drink?" "You're... alive..." Seishirou said, amazed at the truth of his words. He stopped his words at once. The Sakurazukamori was not surprised. At least, he had been foolish to let it show. Still, he had killed her, he knew he had. He had felt her blood covering his hand, her heart stopping. And yet... the person in front of him was most definitely alive. He could tell spirits and ghosts from the living quite easily, it was practically second nature, and Hokuto showed no signs of even being unhealthy, let alone dead. He would have said something then, he would have pulled the mask of congeniality over his face, but he felt something odd happen. His power... the power of the Sakurazukamori, was gone. He hadn't felt it leaving, but it definitely wasn't there. Panicked, but not willing to show it, he frantically searched the folds of his mind for the tree's presence... and found nothing. He turned to Hokuto, ready to demand an explanation (although he wasn't sure she had one), when the tree came back. He relaxed visibly until... he couldn't believe it... the tree was attacking him. As he felt the sleep spell settle over him, he felt horribly betrayed. End Part 3 Note: OHOHOHO!!! I just love toying with people! (Poor Subaru-chan got no screen time at all). Anyway... please stick it out 'till the next chapter, it's going to get very interesting.