#fuusei

"How'd you figure out drinking the blood from your creator to the point it would kill him would free you?" 

"It was a guess~" 

The treasure hunter let out a sigh, typical Seishirou. Doing things without really thinking them through. That's how he got himself into this position to begin with. "Kamui is going to be so pissed...." 

"I'm not scared of Kamui." Seishirou laughed. 

"You probably should at least be worried... That's a vampire with absolutely nothing to lose and you're on his shit list." There was no denying that Kamui would come for his brother now. Subaru's death would not go unavenged. 

And it was something he remembered fondly as he continued to work for the slave driving witch. Lots of things were being set in motion and so he was busier than ever. He even got to see Seishirou for a little while. That idiot brother of his causing all sorts of troubles and acting irrationally which... which isn't something that his brother would do in the past. His brother had changed drastically over time and it wasn't something he enjoyed seeing. 

He'd seen his brother shortly after the incident with the vampires, where Seishirou had apparently slaughtered the clan. The elder brother was an unrecognizable and bloody mess. That was the first time he'd ever actually been frightened of Seishirou. Now, it wasn't so much. More like he was afraid if he touched the other he'd crumple to dust under his fingertips. His fear might not have been too far off. 

After all that business with saving the worlds a great deal of time passed, even for him. And it made him wonder what had ever become of his brother. He didn't have to ponder that long. He felt his own medallion heat up. Sometimes, it called to him meaning that Seishirou was in need of him and calling out. Well, kinda. The hunter had no idea what it did. Just that it connected him. So it meant that somewhere in these vast worlds his brother was alone and putting a few moments of thought into his brother and not the vampires. 

Feeling he had some time to spare he indulged it's warm glow and allowed himself to travel the dimensions to locate his brother.

Fuuma was transported onto a bridge, it seemed. The city they were in roared around him, but it wasn't unbearable sound. He'd been in busier and more advanced. However, this wasn't just any city or bridge... he recognized it. He recognized this exact spot to be more accurate. Yuuko had sent him on a mission here once. A rather... grim mission. Collecting an eye from a corpse of a body that looked horridly similar to his brother to give to someone who looked much like himself, who in turn would give it to someone who looked remarkably like Subaru. It was all unpleasant business and certainly something he hadn't forgotten.

All that aside, he'd been summoned here, so where...?  

By chance he happened to glance over the railing of the bridge, meeting mismatched eyes looking up at him. His brother had taken a seat precariously close to the ledge and on the opposite side of the guard rail. Of course. 

All the same he couldn't help but smile at the familiar face. "Found you~" 

"You always seem to." the elder mused, his gaze slowly returning back to the water beneath him. 

"You're pretty close to raging rapids for someone whose always been deathly afraid of the water since the day I met him." 

"Hmm... In all my dreams I drown..." 

Interesting... He'd never really pieced Seishirou's dreams as a kid to a fate that one of his other selves. It was also interesting that he came to this bridge specifically and-- 

"O-Kay!" he said, it all clicking together. He reached over the railing and grabbed his brother by the back of his collar and tugged him up, or at least made it so no regrettable actions could be taken. It was a good thing he decided to come at the medallion's calling. Sometimes, he ignored it. Which was really a selfish thing to do. His brother was all alone in the world. In all of the worlds. He couldn't find the vampires and he didn't have a single friend. Only him. And while his brother was a pain he couldn't and shouldn't abandon him. 

"Come on. Let's go get ice cream." 

"Ah..." No way did Fuuma miss that enthused influx in his brother's tone. "Though I can't eat... I'm--" 

"Don't care," The younger brother informed the elder, tugging the smaller man over the rest of the railing with relative ease. He was pretty strong and the sibling was incredibly light. "We're getting ice cream. What's the worst thing that's going to happen? You'll get sick? Then you get sick. Or it goes right through you. Or maybe by chance you actually absorb some of those nutrients cause you look like death itself." 

He wasn't entirely sure what the rules to all that was. He'd never asked Subaru or Kamui. But he had to imagine that the elder brother really couldn't eat otherwise he'd truly be doing it all the time. Seishirou loved to eat. One of his top three favorite things to do.  Although, the younger imagined that with the amount of time that had passed there wasn't enough vampire in his brother left to deny him the pleasures of eating. Just enough to hold him together and keep him going. 

Time had sure mellowed out his brother. He followed and didn't argue and really had very little to say. It was nice for about a second before Fuuma began to miss how things used to be. The entire huffing and puffing and this and that. The talk of kills and how the trees were doing. Complaining about trees that weren't quite pink enough. Seishirou never had too little to say. 

"I hate to bring up stuff like this, but I take it you haven't found the vampires?" 

The hunter shook his head slowly. "I'm still looking," 

"Do you want me to take you back home? You can stop all this and just live out the rest of your life under the trees. You should not die so far from the sakura trees. Our mother, well, your mother would be upset that you weren't under there with her." Just Seishirou's mother. That mad woman was nothing to him. As much as they called each other brother they were not actually blood related. She'd brought him in to be the one to one day kill Seishirou but things hadn't worked out that way. He never wanted that life so any attachments, other than brotherly, were never even thought of. Just in case... 

But that didn't mean he didn't care about this idiot. He did, very much. 

"What flavor you want?" Fuuma asked once they approached the vendor. 

"I imagine you still remember my favorite flavor, so I'll let you pick for me," 

It was so absurd that Seishirou didn't know this. He loved ice cream. The younger brotherwanted to comment or say something but... what could he say? It all hit hard that if he gave his brother and he ate the ice cream the affect it might have could kill him. 

"Never mind, we'll get some when you're feeling better. Come on. I think you need to rest first," he gripped the elder's arm and tugged him along. 

A few blocks and one decent motel room later he was pushing his brother towards the bed, forcing him to sit on it. "Just stay there." 

Into the bathroom he went grabbing one of the towels and soaking it with water. He had hesitated with the thought of hot or cold but in the end felt it didn't matter too much. Seishirou's vampire skin might not be able to tell. In the end he'd opted with warm. The elder brother's skin already felt chilled. 

Returning he tilted his brother's chin up a bit so he could clean the dust and grime of countless worlds off of him. The skin was pale underneath the layer of dirt. Like a corpse, was what Fuuma couldn't help but think. And that golden eye was just about lifeless. There wasn't much separating the body he'd collected the eye from and his brother right here. He didn't want to have to collect the other eye from his brother in a few months. Or days... Or ever. 

Blood. The solution to all of this was blood. Truth be told he wasn't exactly sure how all that vampire stuff worked. He recalled the travelers having used Kamui's blood but they'd mixed it with the ninja's blood allowing the wizard to be able to drink from either, but mostly Kurogane for the purpose of their mission. Eventually, when a vampire was strong enough they can break free of that bind. Newly made vampires needed to stick with their creator. 

To pay the price to travel the brothers had severed current and future bonds leaving his brother not only to be without the one that created him but to basically die. Starving to death for years upon years. Fuuma had to assume it was his brother's pure strength of will and stubbornness was what kept him alive to this day. The remnants of dried up vampire blood were just keeping him together for his brother should be dead. But Seishirou had always been amazingly stubborn and resilient... 

But time was running out. That much was evident. Fuuma felt like going to that bridge was a sign. 

"Sei..." Fumma began, taking his brother's hands in his own. "Don't die tonight. I'll find the blood. I'll bring it to you. I'll do it for the rest of my life. I'll work something out with Subaru. He doesn't want you to die. You know he doesn't. If he knew the shape you were in he'd want to help." 

The hunter slowly shook his head, "No... I'd rather, just go back home. With the sakura trees. And you would visit and bring all sorts of things and treats. Those were my favorite days." 

Fuuma's eyes widened just slightly. Those days, huh? Before vampires and all that. He'd left home and found Yuuko and he'd started being her errand boy. A world here. A world there. But he always returned home to show his brother this and that but mostly to bring him food. Yeah... He preferred those days as well. All the technology that Seishirou had never seen before. The cooler he'd brought to store the ice cream and keep it frozen. The ice cream itself. The weapons he had. Even his jacket with all it's buckles and gadgets enthralled the elder brother. He found it all so captivating and interesting. 

He didn't ask questions about the worlds he went or what he was actually doing. Maybe cause he couldn't actually fathom that concept or it'd be too much to take in, tainting the simple life of their world. Seishirou's life, like those of all his counterparts in other worlds was to be a killer. But in their home it was a cycle. Killing for the trees that attracted people, which caused the village to flourish, which brought more people for the trees. Simple. A life his brother enjoyed. It was his duty to maintain the trees and ensure the life here flourished. The fancy things that he'd bring back were interesting to the elder brother but nothing he'd leave his home over. 

All the irritating things Yuuko made him do was worth it when he could see that smile on his brother's face as he returned home with new toys and treats. 

Back when Seishirou smiled sincerely... 

"You told me not to die too far from the sakura trees. So I won't die here." Seishirou said simply, a smile appearing on those pale features. 

"I'd make you promise but you're lousy at keeping those," 

"Hmm~" the hunter hummed, amused at his brother's words. "I do my best." 

"Liar," Fuuma growled releasing the elder's hands so he could pull at his cheeks, earning an unhappy sound from the other. Childish... Childish antics and banter. But they just felt so necessary in this situation. Seishirou said he wasn't going to die but... Fuuma couldn't help but shake the feeling that in the morning he'd be dead. The fear clung to his heart and refused to let go. 

"I did get to meet them, your vampires. I harassed Kamui for three years," he admitted with a cheeky smile. "They're pretty fun.  Well, Kamui is. And when they left there was this thought to chase them. I just... wanted to tease Kamui some more. And even though I didn't I always hoped to see them again. And I kinda realized... that's what you felt. You spent everyday of a year with Subaru. And then, he connected you two by blood only to cut it away. I can only imagine the desire you felt to find them again. A desire so strong you'd mutilate and cripple yourself..." Those golden eyes, now just a single one. Fuuma couldn't help but slide his hand upwards so he could run his thumb over the eyelid of the sightless one. "I felt, I understood you a bit better after meeting them." He hesitated just a bit before just going for it and asking. "Are you in love with Subaru?"

To his surprise, the hunter let out a soft laugh, his hand reaching up to tangle themselves in dark hair. "I don't remember. I don't remember what it is that I felt. I'd been so sure at one point. I knew exactly what I was going to say and I went over it and over it for when we'd meet. But time just kept passing. And the memories of that year together started to dim. The words that'd I'd planned to say started slipping through my fingers. At some point, I was only chasing because that's what I'd been doing for as long as I can remember. At the end of it all... I wasn't properly taken care of as a vampire. In a sense, despite the lifespan and powers, I'm just a human. Everything is old and ancient. I remember so little about Subaru. If he appeared before me now, I don't know if I'd know who he was." 

And that was the sad truth. It hurt more that he was the one that sent Seishirou out to find the vampires, on Yuuko's orders, but all the same. He'd set his brother on this path. He'd doomed him... You could consider it for the greater good. They each needed to be where they were when they encountered the travelling children. And what was one more sakura flower on the ground with countless others? He was a small price to pay so that numerous lives could be saved and the universe intact. But... Seishirou wasn't just some sakura, Seishirou was his brother. 

"But I remember you. No matter how much time passes. You're always the same. And you always come... eventually," Seishirou continued with a smile. "You're the only constant in my world." 

Setsuka... 

That woman was the first thing that came to his mind. Seishirou's mother and the woman that took him in with the plan that he'd become the person that would eventually kill her son. 

"Seishirou is a stubborn child. It will take time but I know you can be that person for him. Whatever happens, you must always look after him. It's the most important task I will ever assign to you. Don't let Seishirou stray too far from the sakura trees, Fuuma." 

Her foresight had to be equivalent to Yuuko's for her to have known that this would all come to pass. Eventually, through trial and great suffering they'd end up exactly where she wanted them. It would be his job to bring Seishirou back home and find a way to keep his brother alive with Subaru's blood. In theory he never had to kill his brother which was the fate of those that loved a Sakurazukamori, so long as he was able to get Subaru's blood to him. And with enough of it eventually Sei wouldn't need it anymore and he could drink from his victims or him. He would be able to drink the same substance his sakura trees needed.

It was the perfect thing for Seishirou... Setsuka, who loved her son more than anything, would never want him to parish. She'd want him to live for as long as he could, as well as he could. But due to events beyond her control she was at risk of this all turning to ruin. The Sakurazukamori line of their world would cease to exist and their home would decay. But it could be saved so long as he took to heart the role that was designed for him. His choices going forward could save everything.  

He would do it. 

He would save his brother. He would become that which he had been brought here to be. Long before Seishirou went on his quest he took great happiness in making the other smile and bringing him gifts. That was the life that he wanted to last forever. It was domestic and happy and the long time apart made seeing one another again helped strengthen their bond from little brothers to something else... something he hadn't realized. 

They weren't really brothers. They never had been... That was never Setsuka's intent. 

Fuuma's hand slid to the back of Seishirou's head so he could push the other forward just a bit and press their lips together. It was gentle and there was no resistance from the other party. In fact, he felt Seishirou's hands come up to rest on his shoulders, his legs spreading just a bit so that Fuuma could fit himself between them and be closer. 

Whether his elder brother was up for this emotional investment or not remained to be seen. Fuuma would not be so foolish and assume that this was something completely sincere from his brother. There was quite often a need to feel something physical. Not necessarily sex but just contact. A connecting. Just a touch. His brother who had been all alone for so long needed to feel that. And he too, to some extent. 

He would not let this escalate. That would be taking advantage of the situation more than he already was. His brother was not well enough to be doing anything like that, regardless. 

He needed to be careful as there was still the fear that his elder brother would not make it through the night. But if he did... He would find a way to get blood to Seishirou. Hunting for Subaru would take too long, he'd have to go through the new shopkeeper and find a way to make things work that way. He had more ways to pay for things than his brother. He had more opportunities to pay off any debts. 

He'd get them back home and continue the life they once had. Seishirou living the rest of his lifetimes taking care of the trees and he traveling between worlds, bringing home treats and presents. And of course, blood. They could make this life work and he'd be completely the duties that had been assigned to him so long ago by the previous Sakurazukamori clan leader. 

Plotting this ever so important future was interrupted as he was suddenly lurched forward. He hadn't really been paying attention and had put too much weight on his brother, forcing the weekend vampire to just topple backwards in the dusty bed. 

"Oh. Sorry, sorry." he laughed, bringing his hand up to wipe his mouth a bit. Apparently he'd also shoved his tongue in his brother's mouth without thinking, which hadn't been terrible. Just dry... Seishirou was thirsty though so it was only natural. It would be different going forward. He'd see to it.

"Get some rest..." Fuuma encouraged, helping the other up so he could get more comfortable in the bed, the gleam of gold cathing his eye. Seishirou really wore that thing everywhere? All this time... He'd given it him just before he departed to seek out the vampires. With a faint smile, Fuuma reached forward and removing he heavy chain from around his neck. "I'll be here when you wake up..." His brother wouldn't be needing this thing anymore.  

If Seishirou could make it one more night... That's all he needed was one more night to attempt to set everything right.