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A New World	By : Meirav Category: +S to Z > X/1999 Views: 2658 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 0
Disclaimer: I do not own X/1999, nor any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 21
- 22
- 23
Disclaimer: I don�t own X/1999, I didn�t come up
with any of their brilliant characters, they�re the geniuses not me!

The character of Alex,
Jacob, Venus, Charlie, David and Dimitri are all mine. The Noters are half
reality. The rest belong to all the book/movie/TV/anime/manga they came from.
If you can spot where they�re from then good for you!

A.N: another
not-planned-in-advance chapter. This came to me after reading Hellsing 4. I
never knew there were ukes in shonen
manga ;p

A.N 2: dear Hikaru,
please be a bit more specific about your reviews, okay dear?

*********************************************************************

Part 22 � Kamui�s
Companion

Seishiro went to the forest to hunt.

Their traveling had brought them next to
yet another forest. This one was huge, spreading across the horizon like a deep
green rug all the way to the feet of a distant chain of mountains. Little lush
bright green meadows dotted the forest here and there, dotted themselves by
little flowerbeds in a rich colorful mix.

The air was clear here, fresh with the
smell of often falling rain and sweet-smelling. Several small lakes scattered
around the forest, some of which were hot water springs.

These the Japanese in the group enjoyed
to no end. The moment steam coming from the ground was spotted by Subaru he wildly
turned his horse and, once his suspicions were confirmed, rode back to camp
with only one word in his mouth: �onsen!�.

They spent the next three days basking in
the warm water doing very little beyond that.

This served Alex nicely because it was
the thing that made Kamui first walk out of his tent to attempt with others.

Kamui mostly sat boiling in the steaming
water with Subaru or lying in the sun to dry off after a long soak. They spoke
a lot, slowly mending the holes torn into their friendship.

Seishiro couldn�t tolerate it.

In his world he watched as his Subaru-kun
found a new friend to share his pain with. Back then there was a nagging
thought in the back of his mind; Kamui might distract his Subaru-kun from him
until he wouldn�t care about him anymore.

The thought came back; it nagged even
more because Seishiro became so much more involved with Subaru. It was open
jealousy now.

Whenever Kamui and Subaru spent too much
time talking Seishiro would stomp into their conversation and take Subaru away.
Sometimes he was just about to do that when Alex walked over and distracted
him.

Hunting was his suggestion of a better
way to spend time.

Hunting was a brilliant idea. Seishiro
didn�t know how much he missed everything about the hunt itself until he killed
the first deer all by himself.

Once, in his world, he hunted humans and
saw his strength in that. Here, without a tree to kill humans for, he felt
himself weakening.

He had almost forgotten the thrill of the
chase, the intellectual stimuli of observing the hunted animal, the joy of the
kill.

Alex once taught him how to use a bow and
arrow they set off together, returning with the evening�s meal across their
shoulders.

Once again Seishiro had blood dripping
down on his hands and it felt great. What was even better was that Subaru
wouldn�t be able to scold him or hate him for these kills; all he did was to
bring everybody their dinner meat.

Seishiro went hunting alone more and
more, discovering that when he didn�t have the all powerful source of help
beside him he felt himself becoming better. If a wild boar would attack them
when Alex was there Seishiro would need to do nothing to help himself survive. When
he was alone it was all up to him and it felt great.

Amongst these thick green walls is where Seishiro
discovered himself anew. Where he learned that his own strength did not come
from a tree in Ueno Park but from the magical power and spells he learnt for
years. Here he finally came to a realization that he was not half a man without
the sakura, as he thought so far, he was complete and strong even without it.

All this time he walked amongst people
feeling like a captive soldier whose weapon was taken from him. He tolerated
everything, worked hard to fit in with the rest because he knew he had lost his
ability and reason to keep hiding in the shadows aloof. Here he learnt he was
himself again, he had his weapon back.

His thoughts were torn back to reality when
he heard a soft crushing sound under his foot. He looked down at the soft
forest bed and saw that, as he walked around sunk in his thoughts, he stepped
on the skull of a small mammal.

Remembering Alex�s words he began carefully
looking at the ground to see if there were any others like this. Death had told
him that where there�s a gathering of bones from different animals, a
predator�s resting place or den is.

Seishiro has yet to develop a true forest
hunter�s eyes and so he had to examine the area for a long time before he could
see the great picture come out of the little details:

The broken and bend branches slowly
became trails of the predators� steps towards his cave. The gathering of bones
became the exact spot where the predator would sit to feast. The holes in the
ground and the pile of earth heaped sloppily into a little mound became the den
the predator dug for himself.

Seishiro blinked at this big picture and
felt a small surge of delight at the thought of how he gained yet another
hunter�s skill.

His thoughts were distracted by another
cracking sound. This one was of a broken twig and was not caused by his feet.
He wove a maboroshi around himself and moved smoothly away from the den to
perhaps get a glimpse of the incoming predator before it entered his domain. He
hid himself behind a thick bush from where he could observe the den clearly.

But the predator could still sense him and
made no move. The mere disappearance of the intruder wasn�t enough.

Remembering that most predators have a
good sense of smell and the simple maboroshi he wove did not conceal this, Seishiro
switched to a different illusion. This one was ancient and served his ancestors
back when their pray was often guarded by dogs.

Finally the predator sensed the danger
passed and walked into his den.

Seishiro saw a boy with a dead wild hare
in his hand stepping carefully into his home�s territory.

The boy�s steps were far better then what
Seishiro will ever achieve in forest secrecy, he seemed to be a forest animal
himself rather then a human as he appeared. Seishiro wouldn�t give the boy more
then Kamui�s years by the delicate body frame and
good skin condition.

The boy had a mop of mucky wheat colored
hair, dirt, leaves and small twigs clinging to it at the edges. To the sides of
his head, laying flatly and aimed backwards a little, a pair of fringy black
ears like a dog�s stuck out.

Seishiro blinked at that, a human with
dog ears�strange. He was definitely the predator to whom this den belonged. He
wasn�t, to Seishiro�s disappointment, this session�s
kill due to his human appearance and lack of edibility. Still, observing this
boy would surely prove fascinating.

There was a somewhat disturbing thing
about the boys� outfit though, something that rang a dim bell somewhere at the back
of Seishiro�s mind.

Though dirty and torn here and there, the
brown color of the boy�s short sleeved shirt and short pants was obvious, it
was what rang the bell and made Seishiro scrutinize his outfit onwards.

He had a black strap from his right
shoulder to the left of his black pants. The hare in his hand was strangled by
a black tie around its neck, a tie that surely once belonged to the boy. He had
long socks that almost reached up to his knees with a white stripe before their
end.

He wasn�t wearing any shoes; he tip toed
across the forest letting his feet tell him about the ground he was stepping
and choosing the soft padded sole of his feet over the hard senseless sole of a
shoe.

Alex would do the same when he was
hunting, it helped him make no noise and sense when he might step on something
dangerous.

Seishiro didn�t know exactly where to
place the boy�s mucky outfit until the little dog-eared youth crouched to the
floor by his den to smell his observer�s footprints. It was then that he placed
both his hands to his side and, on one raised arm, Seishiro could see a broad
band wrapped around the bottom of his left sleeve.

The color of the ribbon was black. The color
of the circle on the ribbon was burning red. The background inside the circle
was white. The swastika inside the circle was black.

A vicious smile slowly spread across Seishiro�s lips. True, he couldn�t bring this boy as a
juicy meal like the various deer, boars or birds he had brought before. These
would be accepted with praise in the camp.

He couldn�t bring this boy as a trinket
of the forest like a cast away deer horns he found once, or the colorful large
feather he found in another time. These trinkets he�d give Subaru as a present.

This boy was indeed a juicy prey, but not
his prey. He would gain great praises for this boy and many thanks too.
He�ll bring this boy to Alex and David, surely they�ll know what to do with him
better then he ever will.

As the boy noted his observer�s smell
trails disappeared half way across his den he shrugged most humanly and began
preparing the hare in his hand for eating.

Seishiro placed an arrow on his bow and
entered the right position. He stretched the sinew made string, feeling that
little jolt of excitement from power gathering to one spot preparing to be
launched, and released the arrow at the youth.

The arrow hit the boy right through his
shoulder, staying there still wobbling a bit with the force of its release. The
boy screamed and whimpered something in german.

Seishiro�s smile widened, thinking of how perfect the
boy was of his kind and how even more delighting it would be for his Death to
torment.

The youth grabbed the arrow and tried to
pull it out screaming in pain when he found he couldn�t.

Seishiro waited for the moment for his
prey to put himself into enough panic to be weakened mentally as well as
physically before he�ll step into the scene.

The boy got to his feet, stumbling here
and there as he tried to look across his shoulder at the other end of the
arrow. When he collapsed to the ground in pain he heard, again, the footsteps
of another man near his den. He smelled this stranger to be his den�s earlier
invader.

Through the disrupted hairs falling
across his face the boy looked up and saw a tall Asian man in a neat black suit
smiling down at him. The man had one blind white eye and one golden beaming
with malice. He saw the bow in the stranger�s hand and the quiver hung across
his back. He cringed.

Suddenly he was under some sort of spell.
Fog spread inside his head, sending him into sleep. The boy closed his eyes and
collapsed on the ground completely. A sleep spell to
quiet him while Seishiro carried him to camp.

Seishiro raised the limp boy to lay him
across his shoulder. He was surprised at how light the boy was and how thin his
frame. He must have come from a world where he wasn�t out in the forest, and
though he had good animal instincts, he was not raised in his natural environment
so now that he lived here he hardly caught enough food and starved a little.

Whoever he is, whatever his strange black
ears meant it didn�t matter for long did it? Alex would probably have the boy
dead after a long torture so why bother with questions about something that�s
as good as dead?

As he walked towards the exit of the
forest he saw David walking out of the forest towards the camp as well. The
undertaker had a huge pile of twigs tied across his shoulder. He seemed
oblivious to Seishiro�s steps nearing him. Not until
he beckoned him did David note Seishiro�s existence,
he was somewhere in his own world.

�David! Hello!� Seishiro waved his hand in the air beaming
brightly. It was most uncharacteristic of him to do but he couldn�t wait to see
the look on the fire keeper�s face when he sees the boy, it�d be a preview to
Alex�s reaction.

David merely stared at him raising one
eyebrow in question. Then his eyes focused on Seishiro�s
unusual prey. The quiver that hung to Seishiro�s left
hid most of the boy�s outfit but from the human legs dangling on Seishiro�s front David could see it was something other
then tonight�s dinner.

�What is it you brought? You found a
person?� he walked towards the hunter who stood grinning happily.

�Look what I found� Seishiro couldn�t
hold the excitement and glee out of his voice when he turned himself around so
that David could see the band on the boy�s left arm.

David�s face froze from all expression
but his eyes slowly began burning. It seemed he was trying to skewer the symbol
itself with his deadly stare. �What are you going to do with it?� he asked in a
voice cold and hard as steel.

Seishiro cringed inwardly at the powerful
cruel glare turned at him now �I�m going to bring him for Alex to see too, then
you can play with him as much as you want�

David nodded and began walking with
Seishiro towards Alex�s tent.

The boy was awake by the time his
capturer met up with David. The other man�s name told the boy to shut his mouth
tightly and keep playing dead.

*****************************

Alex added yet another bright green cloud-like
shape to the map he was making.

He thought it his duty, as someone who
still saw himself as Ace�s friend, to keep on making the map the hologram
worked on so well.

Ace loved strategy and maps so when he
traveled he couldn�t help making a map of where he�s been. This war/journey was
a perfect opportunity for him to extend that map until most of their world was
revealed and known. When he�ll return he�ll show him these new maps and
together he and Ace could make a full globe map of this dimension.

The thought of sitting together with Ace
sent a small shiver through Alex and he brushed the thought away quickly.

Seishiro and David burst into his tent
like a storm just as he dipped his brush in a bright shade of blue to represent
the various springs and lakes they came across. A shout of his name from David
made Alex almost drop his paintbrush on the carefully dyed map.

He turned around hoping that what he�s
done this time wouldn�t be too much of a hassle. The very fact that Seishiro
and David, two very different and most unsocial men, walked into his tent together
made him happy. He hoped to work on the social bonds between the various camp
members and apparently something worked.

He forgot about it all when Seishiro
dropped the boy to the ground where he lay on his belly, his band arm splayed
so that Alex could see the symbol on it.

Just like David�s eyes, Alex�s burned
green fire at the very sight of it.

�Where� he growled �did
you find it?�

�In the forest, apparently he was living
there for some time; he had a den there and�.�

�It doesn�t matter, it�s as good as dead�
David growled, sending a kick to the boy�s groin.

The boy whimpered and curled a little on
the floor.

�Shut up!� is what he received
from Alex and another kick to the ribs.

�He has these funny black dog ears as you
can see�.� Seishiro hoped to get some sort of a descent conversation from the
two who seemed to be sunk in their blinding rage.

�Yes�.he�s a werewolf, a cub at that�
Alex circled the curled boy who had given up on any hope to receive anything
more then blows.

�A werewolf cub you say? How do you know
that?� Seishiro crouched by the boy�s head taking his time to examine the ears
while they still had blood pumping through them.

�I saw werewolves in some of the worlds I
traveled through�none of them where like this though.� Alex pulled his sword
out, poking the boy in the ribs with it. �They were more hairy, not
so�.esthetically human�

Seishiro took one ear and raised it a
little, noting the soft silken fur covering it.

Sensing a soft harmless touch, the boy
raised his head to look into the eyes of the man who captured him. Something
about him wiped the smile off of his capturer�s face.

As the boy�s eyes made contact with Seishiro�s and his dirty face was completely seen by
Seishiro, a numbing shock spread through his mind.

True, the boy�s hair was wheat colored
and not raven but under the dirt was Kamui�s face
staring back at him.

�Oh my�.� Is all he managed to mumble
�this is going to cause some trouble� he thought.

Noting there was some sort of an effect
to his face, the boy filled with hope. He noted the man he was brought to, the
man with the mucky turquoise boots, was these other two men�s obvious leader so
he aimed his pleading to him.

He crawled to where the boots now stood
and grabbed them forcefully. He raised his eyes to the man glaring fire down at
him. Tears gathered in his eyes, tears of despair. �Please�..� he whimpered,
begging for his life. The number on the man�s right arm made him heavily doubt
his pleads will work something but he still begged �Please, don�t kill me�..�

Alex stood frozen with the boy crying at
his feet, not making a sound or moving. All he could see was Kamui with blond
hair and black dog ears�.and a swastika on his armband�..but Kamui,
crying to him�..and�.that�.symbol�.

His head spun madly, his vision fogged
around the boy�s face. Nothing like this ever happened to him and the storm
within him threatened to destroy him. He focused himself on the harsh nausea
that spread inside him to pull himself out of the
storm.

Now it became so bad he shook the boy off
of him and stormed out to spew everything he had in him out.

*********************

Kamui picked Seishiro carrying something
human across his shoulder at the corner of his eye. He stopped to frown at the
sight of David tagging along like a puppy and the two men walking into Alex�s
tent together.

Who was it that they brought for Alex to
see? The brown of the boy�s clothes rang a bell in Kamui�s
mind and so he walked over to the tent to investigate further.

He hadn�t spoken to Alex in a long time.
His memory returning fully in view of their last conversation only made Kamui
wish to limit their time in each other�s presence to as minimal as possible.

Something told him to investigate this
boy and so he walked to the tent despite the knowledge that he�ll have to start
a conversation with Alex.

Seishiro�s presence there didn�t help Kamui�s
awkwardness. The more Kamui spent time with Subaru was the more he hated
Seishiro and dug into his opinion that the assassin should be killed.

Just as he was about to enter the tent he
was almost knocked off his feet by Alex storming out and brushing against him.
Death crouched by the tent and violently threw up this morning�s breakfast. What
on earth made Alex react so harshly?!

He walked into the tent to another unusual
sight. David was pacing the room cursing under his breath while mentioning his
name and Alex�s here and there in his language.

Seishiro stood awkwardly near the
entrance, rubbing the back of his neck with a confused expression on his face.

On the floor sat a mucky boy about his
age with black ears and clothes that explained Kamui why he was brought to Alex
and why David followed the assassin like a puppy dog waiting for his meal.

Kamui sighed deeply, whomever, whatever
this boy is he�s going to be dead very soon so he better leave before they
start shedding blood.

He didn�t mind the boy�s punishment. His
memory�s return meant his memory of Alex�s story returned too. He had no mercy
in him.

But what about this boy made Alex hurl
his meal out? The answer came very quickly. The boy raised his eyes to Kamui,
getting the same reaction from him as he got from Seishiro.

Kamui�s resemblance to himself aided the boy�s hope. He
crawled to Kamui�s feet, grabbing his pants bottoms
as he did with Alex�s boots. This time it worked, Kamui crouched by him,
examining his face.

This boy looked exactly like
him!!! Kamui felt disgust mixing with
his surprise as well and for a moment he wanted to storm out and join Alex in
his activities.

But the boy was crying desperately,
miserably. There was no malice or anything in him now, he was a condemned man
begging for his life.

�Please�please�..help me�.zey�..zey vant
to kill me�..� the boy wept, burying his face in his dirty hands.

Kamui swallowed down his disgust. He had
to clear his mind in order to help this boy. There was something to him beyond
the clothes he wore, something that, if Kamui insisted upon it, could save his
life.

He embraced the boy, sitting traditionally
on the floor in preparation for a long conversation. The boy curled up into his
embrace, digging his head under his arm like a frightened dog. Of course, he
must be something like that with those strange ears pocking out of his head.

The boy was shaking under his embrace. His
tears soaked into Kamui�s shirt.

�Listen, whatever you do, don�t talk,
your accent will only upset them, let me do all the talking� he whispered to
the boy, monitoring David�s proximity to them.

The boy raised his teary eyes to Kamui�s �You�.you mean you�ll help me?� he whimpered.

�Yes now be quiet�and get that arm off of
me!� he snarled back, referring to the boy�s left arm and its ribbon.

The boy lowered his ears in surrender and
looked away to David. He cringed as the undertaker discovered Kamui�s �adoption� of the boy.

�AAAAAALEEEEEEEX!� David roared in rage.

Alex wobbly walked back into the tent.
His eyes were weary, grave and angry. He looked down at Kamui who looked up at
him neutrally.

He stared at the two for a while,
analyzing the headache about to unfurl upon him.

Seishiro left the tent realizing he was
now quite redundant. He wondered if it was a good thing to bring the boy to the
camp in the first place.

�Kamui, what are you doing with that?�
is what Alex managed to say after calming himself enough to sound sane.

�He�s hugging him Alex� David stomped
over to Death�s side �and I know exactly what�s going to happen next so don�t
start talking yet brat� he said, pointing at Kamui who merely stared back in cold
surprise.

�He�s going to argue about why we
shouldn�t kill the boy before a proper trial. And no matter what I�ll say, this
brat, who knows shit about any of this, will make a pretty face and say
�please�. Then you�ll melt into a little pool and let him have his way. I know
exactly what�s going on and it�s making me sick! Will you forgive anything if
it had to do with this brat?�

A long tense silence spread through the
tent.

Kamui stared at David angrily knowing his
words were too true to be brushed off.

Alex glared at David, torn between his
Kamui interests and his friendship. David�s words after he hit Kamui with a
shovel still rang in his ears. Those who stab him in the back, those who are
his brothers�.

The youth shivered in Kamui�s
embrace watching the two men stare each other down.

�I�m not going to make a pretty face and
say please� Kamui cut through the silence his voice clear and mature. �Nor am I
going to say that he deserves a trial before his death� he had to soften their
hearts before he lands the blow.

Both men turned to glare at him. The boy
raised his eyes to the other version of him. He was still shivering and
sobbing.

�He is going to die and nothing
you�ll say will change it Kamui� Alex snarled down at him.

�Why would you kill him?�

�Are you mad or just dumb?� David spat
back �Isn�t it obvious?!�

Kamui brushed the insult off and kept his
eyes on Alex, there was no point talking to a man blinded by rage �I can see a
crime in a man�s heart and this boy is innocent; he never hurt a single living
soul, political opinions or no political opinions�

�Oh, a fine judgment from the judge who�s
here because he gave the wrong verdict� David�s snarl was oozing o gleeful
cruelty.

Kamui snapped his eyes to the undertaker,
they burnt in anger and hurt.

�It doesn�t matter that he never killed
anyone, it�s enough that he chose to be what he is� Alex pointed at the arm
band.

�I�.I never chose�� came a muffled
whimper from the boy in Kamui�s arms.

Kamui snapped down to him �I thought I
told you to leave me all the talking� he whispered.

�But�I didn�t� he straightened his
sitting a bit, raising his head to look at the two men towering above him and
Kamui �I�I vas made by zem, zey
never told me zere vaz anysing else�..I never had ze
choice�

David and Alex glare back at him, only
enraged to hear him dare to speak to them. �Ugggh,
that accent, just hearing him talk is like nails on blackboard� David added in
a hiss.

�You see, he�s innocent. He never knew
another way!�

�It doesn�t matter!!!� both Alex
and David shouted. David turned his head surprised to see that Alex still kept
his line of thought all this time.

�It does!!!� Kamui shouted back.
He got up, shaking the boy gently off of him �Look, he never knew another way
of thinking and he never did anything about this way of thinking.

�He doesn�t know how wrong his way is!
Perhaps�..� he looked down at the boy plotting his next move and his last
effort to save this boy�s life.

It would mean great pain for the boy but
it was pain Kamui understood and agreed with. It�s not that the boy�s innocence
blinded Kamui to the opinions or the people who carried and taught those
opinions to the boy.

He turned to Alex and David trying to
sound as clear and mature as he could �Look, without fully understanding how
wrong his opinions are there is no way he�ll ever feel regret about them and so
there will be no way to really change him��

�We�re not here to change him; we�re here
to kill him!� David snapped, cutting Kamui�s speech.

Kamui straightened his gaze at Alex.

Alex gazed back, seeing Kamui was forming
some sort of a plan. �Let him speak for a little while David� he said finally.

David whipped his head to his companion
and glared. �Oh I knew it, I just knew it! Big Justice Talk,
yeah right, innocent or not, blah blah blah. All you did was make
a pretty face and here he goes giving you everything you want.� He walked to
the other end of the tent, turning his back to the four men behind him �My god
Alex, how low will this brat bend you?!�

Kamui ignored him and continued with the
same calm tone �Alex, you told me that if you showed me what you�ve been
through then I would be in great pain, remember? Your memories, David, are just
as bad if not worse, I�m sure of it.�

He stopped to observe the two, they began listening to him though David was still with
his back to him

�If you showed him everything both
of you have been through then he will both see how his opinions had a horrible
other side and it will serve as a good mean of torture�

The boy crawled frantically back to Kamui�s feet, clutching the edges of his pants again �Torture?!
No�.no torture�.please�.� he begged, his eyes running again.

He only met a short icy mauve gaze as an
answer.

David began turning to Kamui. Alex�s eyes
were clear from their blind rage earlier. They were both listening.

�Show him and he�ll learn how bad these
people who raised him were in the most painful way. You have a chance here to reform
instead of destroy. Plus, think of the damage it will leave; the mental scar
will surely serve as the best lesson possibly�

�And once we�re finished with him? What
do you suggest we do with him? Free him back to the wild?� David neared them
again. A sneaking suspicious started nagging him; there was something fishy
about Kamui�s plan.

�Hand him over to me�

�And you�ll do what?�

�I�ll keep him as a companion� Kamui
returned his gaze to Alex.

�What?! And let him live here with us?! Alex�.�
David glared at Death.

Alex remained silent, staring at Kamui
looking for the boy�s real intentions.

�I�m lonely here, I have no companions, you made sure of that. My only companion is Subaru and
that�s starting to cause trouble too� it was Kamui�s
second strongest point and he hung all his hope for the boy�s life on it.

Alex stared at him for a while, almost
completely convinced now.

�ALEX!!!� David grabbed his friend
by the shoulders shaking him a bit. His face was red with the anger, his eyes
burned. If he could he would beat Kamui and the boy with one equal blow.

�David� Alex�s voice was calm and strong
and his eyes, never leaving David�s pupils, were powerful �if we kill him now
then it�ll be it, end of punishment. If we keep him here, imprisoned as Kamui
is, with the bunch of our joined memories stuck inside his mind it�ll be
far more of a better torture�

David stared back, sneaking glances at
the boy from time to time.

Kamui looked down at the boy trying to
smile to cheer him up yet finding no will in him to do so.

�I thought you vere
going to help me�� the boy whimpered, sobbing as he looked at the two ominous
men.

Kamui said nothing and waited for the two
men�s word.

Finally Alex turned to Kamui and nodded
lightly �Leave us, we�ll tell you when we�re done�

Kamui nodded. He had to gently shake the
boy off of his leg again. He sent one last encouraging look at the crying youth
and left.

************************

As he walked out he came across Subaru
who was just about to light a cigarette. Remembering what might happen soon he
ran up to the onmyouji and grabbed him by the hand, leading him along towards the
forest.

�Kamui?! What are you doing? Where are we going?�

�Come on Subaru, I�ll explain it to you
once we�re far enough from here�

By then the first scream came out of
Death�s tent and Subaru froze on his spot, digging his heels into the ground �What
was that? What�s happening?�

Kamui only tugged more at his hand �Come
on, I�ll explain you later, just come on!�

The second scream, a longer one filled
with deep horror and pain, was heard.

Subaru glared at Kamui and pulled the boy
closer to him �Tell me what was that, now!�

Kamui sighed and explained Subaru, in
short, what�s going on. �I wanted to take you away from it because I know
you�re sensitive to other people�s pain and you wouldn�t like to hear the
screaming�

Subaru stared back and sighed �So what
are we going to do?�

Kamui shrugged �I don�t know�walk around
the forest a bit?�

Subaru shook his head and followed his
friend, another long scream escorting them into the forest.

By the time they returned evening began
falling. Short erratic screams still stabbed the usually peaceful night.

Subaru walked up to his lover who was
making himself another arrow instead of the one he lost today. He was covering
his ears as he walked and frowned quite childishly, which amused the older man.

�What are you doing Subaru-kun?� he
couldn�t help a giggle enter his speech.

Subaru removed his hands from his ears
and, still frowning, lit cigarettes for them both �I didn�t hear you well, what
did you say?� just as he lit his cigarette another scream pierced the night,
making his hand shake with the flame in it.

�You know who this boy is and still you
cannot tolerate his sounds of pain?�

Subaru looked at the tent, where whimpers
now came from, low and miserable �I�I just can�t stand hearing anyone in
pain, never mind who it is��

Seishiro merely smiled his all too familiar
soft grin and purred �My Subaru-kun is so kind�

His lover glared back at him �Don�t you
start that now!�

Seishiro laughed softly and resumed his
carving.

*************************

Alex�s three years and David�s year and a
half of imprisonment ended flashing before the boy�s eyes, leaving him in a nervous
breakdown stupor.

He lay on the ground on his side, his
arms stretched out limply before him. His eyes were wide open, their stare glossed
and frozen. His mouth was limply open, shaking from time to time with broken
syllables his mind tried to from words from and failed due to the overload of
information and emotions.

From time to time he did mutter a word or
two in his language.

Alex and David stood above him, staring
down at the mess.

David couldn�t understand the boy�s
language, he never bothered learning. �What�s he saying all the time?�

�He�s calling out to some major, asking
him something or trying to anyway�

�Asking what?�

��why� something, he never finishes his sentence.
I think we really tortured him here, I don�t know how long it�ll take for him
to get over it really. He might be like this for some time�

�Good, let him suffer. I still think we
should have killed him� he turned his back to the boy, folding his arms on his
chest.

�Look at him David, wouldn�t you like
everyone that ever hurt you to be this mess as payback?�

David merely snarled and turned to the
boy again. He kicked him lightly in the stomach �Oi!
Get up! Come on scumbag, get up!�

The boy only looked up at David, turning
his gaze-less eyes to the man above in a slow shocked movement.

�I said� the undertaker bent down and
picked the boy by his hair, twisting it a bit �GET UP!�

This time the boy didn�t whimper or start
crying. He stood there limp and lost, staring forward pointlessly.

�Take off your clothes, all of them. Come
on hurry up!!�

The boy did as he was told.

�Now this is what we should have done�
David smiled cruelly at his friend.

Alex smiled back. He began missing his
map and his paintbrushes now that most of the thrill was over.

Once the boy was naked David pushed him
out of the tent violently, almost making the boy trip. All the boy did was
cover his loin and walk slowly towards where David let him.

Where David dropped his pile of twigs a
fire burst out to life with a violent beastly roar. The undertaker pushed the
boy further towards the great fire.

Lestate, who was examining one of the
twigs and leaped away elegantly once the fire was started, now stared at the
sight intrigued.

�Throw them into the fire� came the next command.

The boy turned his head slowly, his face
breaking out with a small plea.

It fell on deaf ears �I said put them on
the fire or I�ll push you into it along with them!!!�

The boy hung his head and cast his
clothes into the fire, leaving himself naked and defenseless against the harsh
cold evening air around them and the harsh cold man behind him.

Lestate watched David�s behavior
carefully, noting there was a tone of familiarity to the way he spoke to the
boy. It seemed he must have heard these words once before. He caught a glimpse
of the ribbon that once hung on the boy�s left hand before the fire consumed
it. He nodded to himself. This would prove most interesting.

Alex walked out of his tent with a small
pile of clothes and turned to Kamui who stood at the entrance to his tent.

He handed the clothes to the boy�s new
owner, hardly making eye contact. �Give these to him. I don�t want to hear any
complains or demands about him, I�ll give him nothing! You take care of him
from now on, he�s yours!�

Kamui nodded silently.

Alex made a brief, harsh eye contact �You
have no idea what you asked for Kamui� he began walking away, his shoulder
hunched the way they were when he was violently angry within.

�Thank you�

He stopped dead, turning his head to look
at Kamui, and then resumed walking to Victoria�s tent.

Victoria stared at the boy before the fire, wincing as she
tried avoiding the strong light�s irritation of her eyes and focus on the boy
himself.

�He�s from your dimension Vicky� Alex
smiled down at her. She could see that when he looked at her he also scanned
her face to note if she was hungry for blood or not. Such a mother hen he was,
but as a child without a mother like she was she didn�t mind at all.

�My dimension?�

�Yeah, he mentioned a name from an
organization that attacked Hellsing in your world�

Victoria stared at him for a few seconds �H�how do you know? I
never heard of any organization attacking Hellsing�.the Vatican thingie you mean?�

Alex began moving uncomfortably, frantically
breaking their eye contact. �I visited your world once when I looked for
Kamui�.� He finally said, lowering his head a little.

Victoria nearly jumped a mile in the air with happiness. She
turned to Alex, almost leaning against him trying to make eye contact �Did you
see Master?�

Alex remained silent and turned away from
her face looking for something else to talk about. �Yeah�I met him� he muttered

Luckily for him David signaled him he was
done with the boy. He patted Victoria on the shoulder lightly and walked towards the boy,
leaving their conversation unfinished.

As he walked towards the young werewolf
Alex�s uncomfortable and somewhat shame filled stance changed into the powerful
slightly violent way of carrying himself.

The boy hardly noted it; he merely gazed
at the fire and the ashes that were once his clothes. His mind was blank now
and empty from even the tiniest of thoughts. He was in a level of shock that
erased any other sensation. It erased the heat coming from the fire or the cold
forming from the evening around his bare body. It erased the pain of bruises
from his punishers� blows. It even erased the searing pain coming from the
arrow still stuck in his shoulder.

�Now you listen and listen carefully mutt!�
Alex growled, tearing the boy�s attention from the shock back to some focus on
reality.

The purple eyes turned to Alex were empty.
That�s how Alex liked them; shocked to the core just like he and David once
were. Kamui had a very good point.

�Kamui is your master now, you belong to
him. Don�t you move from his side, not even an inch! Whatever he tells you, you
do! As for the others it�s up to them but don�t you even dare get
slightly close to me and David. One wrong word, one wrong move and you�re dead!
Got that?�

The boy nodded faintly.

�Now get out of my sight!�

The boy walked away, limping a bit
towards Kamui beckoning him over.

As the boy passed him by into the tent
Kamui tried saying something but the youth didn�t seem like he was in any
situation to talk.

************************

The boy was now sitting at the foot of Kamui�s bed staring down at the food bowl in his hands.

Kamui smuggled it as his dinner�s seconds
knowing that while their rage was still burning Alex or David wouldn�t let the
boy eat or enjoy anything at all.

The boy was wearing his pants only. A
pair of sack-like black pants that had to be tied around his waist by two
strings attached to the fabric to keep them from falling. Those must have been
some spare pajamas Alex got at the oriental market as Kamui recognized by the
fabric�s quality and style.

The boy�s new loose dark purple tunic
shirt he couldn�t wear yet. It was the arrow that still stuck out of his
shoulder on both sides that kept him from covering himself more. Kamui was
completely helpless as for that and feeling rather stupid because of it. He was
afraid that if he did anything to pull the arrow out he�ll do even more damage.
He knew the boy couldn�t stay like this forever but he gathered that while the
boy ate he�ll think of something.

The boy didn�t really comply with that.
He just stared down at the bowl as if he was a toy running low on battery power.

Kamui sat down on the floor by him,
shaking him a little by his healthy shoulder �Say�what�s you�re name?�

The boy raised his head slowly and turned
his vacant stare at Kamui �Varrant officer Schrodinger�. His tone was monotonous and emotionless, it also showed a great amount of fatigue.

�Hmmm�.that�s a very long name and it has
a bad ring to it that you better not have around those two�.how about�.� Kamui
tried to find a piece of the name that would sound good to him. �How�.about�..Din?
Dean? No, Din sounds better�Schro? Nah, it still has
a bad ring to it�.don�t you have a first name?�

The boy stared for a while before
answering �Vilhelem�

�No, that�s no good
either�how about Will? Yeah,
sounds way better then �Din�. I�ll call you Will from now on, can you get used
to it?�

The boy nodded and returned to stare at
the food bowl. He stared at it for a while looking sadder and greyer by the
minute. �I lost my appetite�.� He mumbled.

�Yeah but you have to eat, you�re not
healthy you know�� Kamui hated how he started sounding like Alex suddenly.

The boy now called Will stared at Kamui
again then nodded and began eating slowly, forcing the lumpy broth down his
throat.

Kamui examined his new companion noting
his little quirks.

Besides the black dog ears, the boy had
many other signs that he was half wolf. As he chewed on the various components
in the broth Kamui noted the small sharp teeth in his mouth where most people
had flatter teeth moderated for eating vegetables. The two relatively big
canine fangs were unavoidable.

He had a line of short, soft light brown fur
running down his spine starting at the mop of mucky wheat hair atop his head.

Kamui noted,
when the boy had nothing on himself, that he had a short canine tail. It had
thick black fur with a bright brown tip and grew right from the end of his back
where most humans only had an evolutionally repressed tail bone.

When he first saw Will he noted no such
existence as the tail despite the fact that his shorts were rather tight on
him. He must have spent most of his life with his tail tucked in to keep the
humans around him undisturbed by its abnormal existence. Kamui cut a hole in
Will�s new pants which allowed the tail its freedom. So far the tail was still
tucked well between the boy�s legs as its owner was in a very low mood.

Will�s finger nails were slightly darker
then usual. Kamui figured that if he didn�t clip them to give himself a human
appearance they�d grow into powerful claws.

What stroke Kamui as most shocking were
not the non-human features in Will, but the human ones and how horribly he resembled
him:

They were exactly the same in height,
weight and shape. Kamui�s hands were long and
delicate, so were Will�s. Kamui�s feet were
relatively small and gentle and, despite the logic that a wolf like creature
would have bigger or at least furrier feet, Will�s feet were exactly like Kamui�s!

They were equally thin and frail. They
even had beauty spots in the same locations on their body and a same small
birthmark right above their left ankle. Kamui had mauve eyes that changed in
brightness as the light played with them, so did Will
and Kamui never met another person with purple eyes.

The hair difference between raven black
and wheat blond, Kamui presumed, was the result of the people who created
Will�s �genetic preferences�.

There was a very, very disturbing thing about
the way Will resembled him; to think that in another world he wore that,
being a part of that. Kamui shuddered and rose to sit on his bed, away
from Will.

He�ll change Will, set him free and teach
him how to see the world in a better way. After all he was Justice so teaching
the boy truly good values was his duty.

As if reading his mind about Kamui�s Justice abilities, Seishiro
casually walked into the tent carrying his veterinarian bag. He hardly paid
Kamui the slightest attention, and crouched by Will who finished his food by
now.

�What are you doing here?� Kamui growled
not bothering to hide the absolute hate he felt towards the older man.

Seishiro gave him a short mocking glance
with that annoying sly smile on his face �This boy is half wolf. I happen to be
a vet�

�I thought that was just an excuse to get
into Subaru�s pants�

Seishiro�s smile only widened a little as he turned Will�s
damaged shoulder towards him and tested the arrow�s location. The wound was red
and swollen now; he assumed there would be some stitching needed.

Hearing Kamui bitch and hiss while he did
it would be a nice background noise. He sniggered a bit, knowing anything he
says will trigger his condemner into more anger and inconvenience.

He broke the arrow gently and pulled it
out, noting the young werewolf made no reaction, not even wincing. Whatever it
is Alex did to him, it was pretty bad.

Kamui watched as Will complied every
request Seishiro gave him, how he didn�t fight or whimper or make any form of
showing pain. He was stitched without anesthetics, the arrow was taken out of
his flesh, and the inflated flesh was cleansed with alcohol; all that and no
sign of pain. Will�s face was blank and empty; all they showed was little signs
of exhaustion.

Next Seishiro examined Will�s ears,
pulling little black bugs out of them one after another with his tweezers. He
flung them into the small bowl of alcohol he used to clean Will�s
wound with. The ticks and mites twitched madly in the burning stuff until they
seized.

When he was done with both the boy�s ears
Seishiro moved to the fur line down his back and to the tail. There he stopped
and examined the boy�s hair. He shook his head and gave off a deep sigh.

He dug into his bag and pulled a large
bottle out. He nearly threw the bottle at Kamui, almost hitting him in the
stomach if Kamui didn�t catch it.

�Here, give him a good bath with it once
every month to keep all the pests off of him or they�ll crawl on you too� and
with that he dug deep into his suit�s sleeve and picked a tick out, swearing
under his breath.

�You�ll also need to clean his ears with
this� he handed another smaller bottle and a small pile of gauze to Kamui�s brief angry hands.

�And these� he handed a pile of larger
gauze squares and a long strip of gauze �are for bandaging his shoulder. Clean
it with alcohol (he handed him the bottle) three times a day and come to me in
two weeks time to get the stitches out.� He got to his feet, carrying his bowl
of alcohol and dead ticks by the very tips of his finger in pure disgust.

�The bandaging would be the easiest part
for you I presume, I remember your boyfriend gave you plenty of bandaging
experience back in his good days� he said just before he left the tent,
sniggering to himself when he was completely out.

Kamui sat seething atop his bed, cursing
at Seishiro. He hated that man so much, oh so much! mostly for what he did to
Subaru. If only the younger onmyouji could open his eyes and see how evil this
man is he�d surely give him up and move on�..

Move on to whom?! Kamui shook the
thoughts out of his head and focused on the werewolf still sitting at the foot
of his bed.

Will was struggling to wear his shirt
with the painful stitches in his shoulder. Kamui helped him, giving him short
encouraging pets from time to time.

He cleaned Will�s ears as Seishiro
ordered him to until the skin inside was white and shiny again. He never had a
dog or a cat before and this pampering and caring was starting to feel fun.

Will still didn�t show any signs of
recognition or care about anything. He sat there and allowed his look-alike to
do with him as he wanted. Finally the fatigue and his full stomach took over
him and he collapsed into sleep on Kamui�s lap.

He sunk into a whirlpool of nightmares
and memories he received today.

All along a face repeatedly appeared
before him as if the man was really there. With his usual grin some saw as revolting
and some saw as victorious. His eyes still held that look of confidence and
fire in them behind their glasses. But as Will looked into them he knew now
that what this man showed him was not the complete truth, it wasn�t all the
parts of the story.

In his sleep, swapped over waves of one nightmare
after the other, slightly feverish, Will mumbled to the man over and over again
�Major�.why�why did you lie to me?�

**********************

A few days afterwards, once Will got over his pains and shock, he gathered enough
courage to go out of the tent on his own. So far he only did it following Kamui
like a baby chick after its hen, refusing to move anywhere sideways.

Kamui washed him in a small pond they
came across until all the ticks and flees jumped off or died. Now his fur was
clean and shiny and his hair shone of gold in the sun. He still looked
miserable.

Kamui tried cheering him up but to no
avail. He tried talking to him but there was only little to talk about.

Kamui didn�t want to know about the
people Will came from and his forest living time mostly consisted of making a
den and scavenging for food.

Kamui spoke of himself, explaining the Battle of the Apocalypse in short and explaining how he had
got here. Will stared at him.

But those days passed and Will became a
little more responsive, enough to properly start becoming Kamui�s
companion. They could talk about anything but their own pasts. The silence that
was once the result of shock slowly cleared away from Will�s life.

Subaru mostly shunned Will
out, staying loyal to Alex�s anger and out of his own knowledge of history and
his small experiences.

When he and Kamui hung out Subaru would
give Will a reprimanding glare. The boy would leave them to their talk and sit
aside, a little away from the two, sulking and musing.

Victoria tried talking to him once,
asking him of what he knew of her master. He knew quite a lot actually, even a
little more then she knew. They spoke for some time until Alex came over to
feed her and Will was literally kicked away.

He avoided David at all costs, hiding
behind Kamui as much as he could when the boy and the man walked past each
other.

Lestate was quite amused with Will. He
was clever enough to pay attention to his senses when he spoke shortly to Will
and made sure Alex was not in ear shot or wasn�t about to come near. Mostly
Lestate observed Will rather then talked to him and their chats consisted
mostly of �Taking dinner to Kamui then?� or �Was your walk in the forest
pleasant?�

He sat on a rock a little away from the
pond where Kamui gave Will a bath the first time. Lestate had just woken up and
sat to play his newly carved wooden flute to the moon and whoever else came
within ear shot.

When the two boys walked up to him, drawn
by the sweet music, he lay his flute down and examined the werewolf, smiling
softly.

�So this is the boy Alex was getting so
worked up about.� he smiled kindly, running his eyes from one boy to the other
�How much he resembles you Kamui. That must have caused some troubles�

Kamui waited Will�s deeming.

Will tried hiding behind Kamui. The
beautiful man with the flute was giving off a strange aura in the moon�s light
and his sharp eyes unnatural scanning his body unnerved him.

�I�ve never met a werewolf before. I hate
wolfs yet mortals intrigue me endlessly, you should prove as very interesting�

No answer from either of the boys.

�Do you want to listen to my music? Very
well then� he returned the flute to his lips and resumed his playing.

The boys sat before him and listened.
Both began feeling tired of constantly tip toeing around people afraid of their
reaction, so having this simple quiet time with someone not hostile was just
what they needed.

Lestate�s music had a quality to it, surely nothing a mortal
could conjure, that relaxed and soothed any tense
nerve and muscle in its listeners.

After a long time Lestate put his flute
down and rose to his feet preparing to leave.

�V�vhy did you
stop?� it was the first thing Will dared to say to someone other then Kamui.

Lestate smiled wanly �I have to go. It�s
not your company that exasperates me puppy� he sent a short disappointed glare
at Kamui �I dislike traitors, that is all� he turned
and left, working his abilities to mingle in the forest�s shadows until he
disappeared.

Kamui stared after him solemnly. His jaw
was fixed forward like it always was when he was stubbornly insisting over something.

�Kamui, vhat vas that about?�

Kamui gave a long sigh and explained
things in more details. So far he didn�t tell Will about his own history with
Alex, only the Justice-Death war.

That knowledge didn�t leave Will
undisturbed. It only explained him why Kamui could be slightly rough and
careless towards him at time.

************************

Roughness was something Will began
getting used to here. Little aches and pains, little fears and worries began
imbedding into his daily routine. When he mumbled something about it to Kamui
his counterpart reminded him that at least he is alive. Will
couldn�t argue with that.

And Will did feel a great deal of
gratitude towards Kamui. Despite their great resemblance,
Will saw Kamui as his superior and master. He�d get up early in the
morning and fetch Kamui his breakfast, endangering himself by getting close to
the big cooking pot where Alex stood monitoring everyone�s proper feeding
accompanied by David.

He himself was left to eat scraps and
take whatever insult or abuse dealt to him while he licked the pot clean. Many
times his stomach complained over his new diet making Kamui bring him to
Seishiro to be looked over.

The unnerving tension between his master
and his doctor made Will fight whatever uncomfortably and nausea coming over
him and keep himself from making Kamui come anywhere near the vet.

Actually Seishiro was the only one, other
then Kamui, who ever showed him any sort of softness. After each checkup he�d
ruffle his hair or tickle behind his ears sending a small smile at him and
telling him that he�s a good boy.

Kamui hated Seishiro with all his heart
but Will still thought the man wasn�t bad at all, even if he was a vet.

Alex and David were something that Will
feared the most. He couldn�t really feel anything towards them but fear. Kamui
told him that he should feel guilt but Will had to know something good about
them to feel guilt over them. So far all he knew from them was pain and misery.

David, as Will learnt in pain, was the
one who lashed out hardest on him.

once when he and Kamui were playing �fetch�
in the forest Will accidentally ran straight into David, earning such a slap
from the undertaker that the whole right side of his face ached for days more,
decorated by a large palm shaped dark bruise. Kamui didn�t try to defend him;
he merely looked at David apologetically and hurried Will away from the man.

Due to Kamui�s
presence around Will Alex toned down his anger to mere deadly glares and mute
threats. When Kamui wasn�t around Alex wouldn�t stop himself at all from
tripping Will or sending short electric currents when the boy wasn�t moving out
of his sight fast enough. If Will was speaking to someone other then Kamui Alex
wouldn�t mind growling him away and glaring at the other person.

At nights Will would lay on the ground at
the foot of Kamui�s bed where he liked to be the most,
and think of his current life.

He thought a lot of his past life and the
people he thought he knew.

He was always an underdog but at least
now he had someone who was his master and wasn�t pure evil.

***********************

Kamui was glad to have a companion all to
himself. When he was depressed over Fuma Will would sit at his feet and stare
up at him trying to cheer him up. He saw Inuki do the same when Yuzuriha was
grieving Kusanagi and he liked the idea that he had that sort of company now.

Will was often clumsy around his new
environment, and a hostile one at that. It seemed that no matter how much he
cautioned himself he�d still end up in trouble.

The large bruise that covered his right
cheek was a disturbing reminder that his companion was not completely perfect.

In the forest they�d walk around Will
would show him what berries and nuts to eat or how to catch small quick
animals. They could spend hours like that, just walking around aimlessly.

They enjoyed each other�s company, Kamui decided;
they had a common enemy to look out of together.

But they weren�t equals and Kamui
recognized it somewhat guiltily. Will was very submissive, eager to serve and
please. Kamui caught himself often giving him short commands like fetching
something a little away from him that he could have done easily without help.

Owning someone was something almost
addictive and Kamui kept himself in check, making sure he won�t enslave the boy
despite the total acceptance of it from Will.

Will brightened up Kamui�s
stay in his kidnapping camp and for that Kamui was grateful. Many times, when a
short argument would break out between him and Alex, Kamui would run to Will
and cry about it, about Fuma and his misery. The comfort the young werewolf
gave him was something Kamui needed greatly.

Yet there was a sting to Will�s company: his past. Kamui often felt its presence
hanging like stale air over the boy and many times he�d find himself contemplating
it until he couldn�t stand the boy around him anymore. Times like these he�d go
for a walk alone, leaving the boy in his tent.

He realized that what Alex gave him in
this companion was not a perfect gift. Kamui thought Alex knew it, maybe even did
it on purpose.

Just like he would only keep Seishiro
from taking Subaru away from him sometimes, now he allowed him a companion only
a little short from perfection. Because he wanted to remind him that he�s not
here to have fun; he�s here to suffer and contemplate until he�ll break and see
things his way.

When he realized that Kamui swore to
never forgive Seishiro, ever!

****************************

One night Will was woken from his slumber
by the sounds coming from above him; sobbing.

His master turned from one side to the
other in sharp sudden moves trying to shake something away from him. His face
twitched from sadness to anger to agony. He was mumbling names Will often heard
Kamui speak in his sleep, Kotori, Mother, Saiki, Tokiko.

Dreams that made Kamui mumble Fuma�s name were usually quieter but just as tear filled.

However this dream seemed to be
tormenting Kamui until the boy forced himself out of
it. He opened his eyes and sat up in his bed, never stopping to cry and sob. He
was shaking violently, sweating and whimpering even after the sights his nightmare
played before him remained far away in the realm of dreams.

Will was about to say something and offer
comfort when his trained senses warned him that Alex was near.

Sure enough, the flap in Kamui�s tent entrance opened and Alex stepped silently in,
keeping himself in the dark.

�Kamui� he whispered, his voice unlike
anything Will ever heard before. It was soft and
silent, so rich with emotions that Will could hardly place
it with the usual cruel and gruff Alex he knew.

Kamui wasn�t as uncomfortable and angered
as he was usually around Alex. He stared to Alex�s and kept crying.

�May I?� Alex asked, nearing Kamui until
he was within the faint golden circle of light Kamui�s
bedside candle cast around them. The man wasn�t in his armor or in a nighttime
tunic. He only wore a black pants and vest that made Will
cringe a little as they amplified the man�s strong body.

Kamui nodded faintly, a violent sobbing
fit taking over him again.

Alex walked a few more careful steps
towards Kamui�s bed and sat down gently. He wrapped
his arms around Kamui, placing the boy�s head on his chest and leaning his head
on the boy�s. He gently ran his fingers through Kamui�s
hair rubbing Kamui�s back encouragingly.

Despite the way Kamui always described
Alex as an old lecher, there was nothing sexual or sexually encouraging in
Alex�s touches.

Kamui melted into the embrace, allowing
himself to cry as hard as he could. It seemed this wasn�t the first time he did
it.

�Shhh. Kamui,
what happened? Was it a nightmare?� Alex was rocking Kamui back a forth gently.

Kamui choked a few sobs, stopping to wipe
his nose before answering �Tokiko�and Kotori�and mother��Saiki too��all of
them�such violent deaths�.� He began sobbing again.

Kamui�s fingers were digging into Alex�s arms, clutching them
in tears, but Alex didn�t as much as wince, he awaited Kamui�s
next words in silence.

�And I saw it �.� He whimpered
finally, sobbing again �why did I have to see it all�.why?!� he stopped
to cry for a good few minutes �so much blood�.such horrible sights�.why me?! I didn�t
mind all the responsibility of the earth�s fate. I didn�t mind the battles and
the conflicts but the sights�.why�..�

Will stopped paying attention to his
master�s words and began looking at the bigger picture.

He never saw either of the men like this
before.

He saw Kamui crying and depressed, only
never that badly. He never saw him so helpless and miserable, so weak and
fragile.

Kamui was emotionally magnetic when he
was suffering; you could hardly stand aside and not get attached to him when he
was weakened.

Although his master�s face was exactly
like his, Will had to admit that Kamui was breathtakingly beautiful.

Will felt a short sharp pain in his chest
for a moment, as he watched and realized he will never be able to comfort Kamui
this way. he will never be able to get this close to the boy.

He also observed Alex who now seemed to
have become a completely different person.

Never did he see the man, who was usually
his tormentor, so kind and caring. How the cruel and powerful Death turned to
such a soft, warm and comforting person was the biggest puzzle of all to Will.

There was a glow to Alex when he was like
this, when he was protecting and helping someone he loved, an awe-filling aura.
Alex himself was quite handsome and a heroic looking man when he wasn�t picking
on him. Now seeing him in a light like this�

Will had his own aches and depression and
he could only wish for someone to love and comfort him like this. There once
was a man who did that but from what Will saw from
Alex�s memories that man was dead; slaughtered mercilessly by Death.

He felt the sharp pain in his chest
again, yet another person he will never, ever be able to get that close to
never mind what he might say or do.

He waited until Kamui fell asleep. Alex tucked
him in left before Will could move again.

Will had to get out of the tent, suddenly
he felt out of place. It was the first time he began feeling guilt over his
past and origins. He just couldn�t stand to be around Kamui or anyone else while
it�s washing over him.

He ran deep into the forest to curl up
somewhere and cry. Cry over his past, over his guilt, over the wounds his first
punishment left in him and over his fresh wounds. Though he�ll always be around
people, he�ll always be lonely. It was his bane and his punishment.

The night�s cool air blew around him and he
looked for sources of heat and warmth. Kamui gave him warmth, limited and often
restrained, but still he gave him warmth.

He got back on his feet and began walking
to his tent.

He was making a silent vow: he�ll always be
by Kamui�s side as gratitude for standing up for him
against those who wished to kill him, for taking him in the first place and for
keeping him company.

For that he�ll do everything he could for
this boy, he�ll give his heart and soul, be the best companion as he could,
he�ll die for Kamui if he needs to.

He began running back to the tent.

Once he was in, he tip toed to the
sleeping boy and, most hesitatively, slid beside him on the bed. He curled up
against the boy.

Kamui snuggled closer in sleep, attracted
to another body�s warmth in the cold night.

Just before he closed his eyes to sleep, Will
smiled at the sleeping face and planted a soft kiss on the other boy�s forehead.

*********************************************************************************************************

Little extra

(A.N: you might call it a deleted
scene if you wish. To fully enjoy this bit, please insert Chobits
�side dish� noises in the right places)

The next morning no one came out of Kamui�s tent to fetch breakfast.

Alex stood by the cooking pot and glared
over at the tent.

It wasn�t funny, testing his slight
obsession with everybody�s healthy feeding. If it was Kamui trying to rebel by
starting a food strike he�ll force feed him if he has to.

If Will is being lazy and won�t wake up
to fetch his master�s breakfast Alex is going to kick his ass so many times
it�ll go into his body making him look like a hunchback!

The onmyoujis were quietly enjoying their
morning coffee with a cigarette, lazing on a flat rock by the cooking pot,
basking in the morning sun like a pair of lizards.

David was silently spilling sand on the cooking
fire to turn it off.

Having enough of waiting, Alex charged
over to Kamui�s tent, ready for a rout. He stormed
into the tent so charged with anger he felt like he was burning. He walked up
to Kamui�s bed, ready to pull the boy out of it by
his hairs if he needs to.

Yet the moment his eyes adjusted to the
slight darkness in the tent he stopped dead on his tracks, his anger
extinguished quickly, replaced by shock.

He ogled at the bed below him with the
two identical boys sleeping in it.

These two youths were the ideal of
perfect beauty to Alex, and now they were together, curled up into each other,
painfully close to one another. Their arms were encircled around the other�s
body, pieces of their fine skin showing through little holes in their tunics or
under their duvet. Their perfect sleeping faces so innocent and clear, so close
to each other�s, their lips inches from one another�s.

Alex was too numb to think about anything
but thoughts he would bash himself over later. He was too distracted to note a
single bubble magically popping out of his head.

Once he collected enough sane intellect
within him, he sharply turned on his heels and stormed out of there. By then
his head released another bubble.

David, Subaru and Seishiro stared at him
as he walked with glossy eyes, back to the cooking pot and his earlier
position.

He stood and stared forward passively.

Another bubble popped out of his head.

David frowned.

Subaru stifled a chuckle.

Seishiro didn�t bother stifling his.

�What�s the matter with you?� the
undertaker snarled, a sneaking suspicion of what might have happened nagging
him into irritation.

Alex kept staring forward for a while
before he answered �They�re�.� another bobble appeared �sleeping�.in the same��
and another �bed�..together�.� a third bubble appeared above Alex�s head,
peacefully hovering up into the morning sky.

David looked away resisting the urge to
whack his friend across the head.

Seishiro covered his mouth might he laugh
too hard.

Subaru stared at his lover trying to understand
the big joke.

Another bubble popped out of Death,
following it�s previous in their silent course.

Alex shook his head violently, a blazing
glare in his eyes �Oh this is ridiculous!� he roared. He grabbed a bowl
from David�s hand, sunk it into the breakfast porridge and bolted over to Kamui�s tent again.

�KAMUI!� he hollered as he
charged, once again, into Kamui�s tent �Wake up. You
need to eat your break�.�

Now the two boys were up.

Kamui sat up on the bed, his hair
ruffled, his tunic slipping off of his shoulder exposing a good chunk of skin,
his face a bit flushed at the slight heat in his room and his eyes dimmed with
sleepiness.

Will just raised
his head from Kamui�s shoulder, his state the same as
his master�s, only he was sleeping without a shirt on.

They both stared at Alex in a slight daze
too close to pleasure�s to be healthy for Death.

��fast�� Alex�s voice was so high
pitched he sounded like he was on helium.

Two bubbles popped out of Alex�s head,
together.

Once again, he sharply turned on his
heels and retreated.

The boys rubbed their eyes and stared at
each other confused.

�Vat�s viz him zis morning?�

�I think he was mumbling something about
breakfast�

�Oh schyse! I forgot your breakfast!� Will began squirming out of
the bed to get it.

Alex�s reaction suddenly clicked in Kamui�s mind. He hurried to grab the werewolf�s arm and
stop him �Wait!�

�Vas?�

Kamui smirked maliciously �Let�s go out
together�

Will blinked at
him.

When they exited the tent they saw David whacking
Alex over the head with a shovel and Alex passively succumbing to the blows
while grunting monotonous �ow� with each blow.

Subaru and Seishiro�s
faces were red, their eyes tearing as they both covered their mouths to silence
their mad laughter.

Kamui restrained the smirk sneaking
across his lips and walked towards the cooking pot.

Will stayed behind, too
weary of the two men by pot to go near them.

David stopped hitting Alex and glared
fire at Kamui.

Kamui brushed it off and serenely took
the bowl from Alex�s hand. �Is that my break�fast� he asked
nonchalantly.

The onmyoujis laughed so hard they fell
off their rock. They lay on the ground giggling madly.

Alex hung miserable eyes at Kamui.
Another bobble appeared from his head after the short break they had while
David whacked their inducing ideas out.

David hit Death again, swearing under his
breath.

With his breakfast in hand, Kamui
elegantly turned on his heals and walked back to his tent, fetching Will along
with him.

Will blushed into a deep shade of
burgundy when Kamui explained him what happened.

(tbc)
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A New World