Gundam Babylon
A Gundam Wing / Tokyo Babylon crossover
Part 8: Should Have Listened When You Called My Name
By Beth 

Rating: G to PG-13 now, later R (for violence)
Pairing: Heero + Duo, Seishirou + Subaru

WARNING: Shounen-ai ahead, SEVERE spoilers for Tokyo Babylon
volume 7, including cut-and-pasted dialogue
DISCLAIMER: Gundam Wing owned by Bandai, Tokyo Babylon and CLAMP Campus Detectives (CLAMP Gakuen Tantei Dan) owned by CLAMP. This is an unauthorized not-for-profit work inspired and using elements of both for purposes of personal and shared entertainment. Some of the best mangaka get their start in doujinshi... I'm trying to see if the same goes for writers ^_^

mini-dictionary:
onmyoujitsu - traditional Japanese yin-yang magic
onmyouji - magician using onmyoujitsu
sakura - cherry, cherry tree, cherry blossom
sakurazukamori - guardian of the cherry tree grave
obaa-sama - grandmother (very respectful)
hime - princess (literally "sun maiden")

"I believe that it is time to conclude our bet, now." Seishirou was smiling. "Subaru Sumeragi."

"Sei...shirou...san?" The young onmyouji was stunned.

"I have created this illusion with my magical power."

Trapped behind the barrier, Heero nodded. He had figured as much... now how to dispel it. This would take some time, he realized. He decided to observe for now, grateful for the small circle of light in which the two onmyouji stood.

"Exactly a year has passed, now..." the man continued, "since we have met, you and I. Today, we are going to finalize our promise."

"Since we have...?" Subaru repeated numbly. "Our promise...?"

The darkness of the illusion swirled and lightened to reveal a familiar place. Standing in the doorway, Heero recognized it as well.

Ueno Park, under a certain sakura tree. But while this one bloomed in full, the others sported only the green leaves of full summer.

"Where am I?" Subaru whispered.

A small child walked through the grass, wearing a white traditional robe. His face was determined, a dedicated fire shining in the green eyes that were too large for the elfin features.

Subaru gasped. "That boy... is me... when I was little." He remembered now, the memories coming half from the time far in the past and half from the dream that had hunted him since then. "It was 7 years ago... The day in which I worked my first assignment. It's the dream I had this morning. This tree..."

Another figure shimmered into view, leaning on the sakura tree. The boy was perhaps eighteen, with wavy black hair falling down his face and shading his eyes. He wore a high-school uniform.

"These cherry blossoms are magnificent," the newcomer addressed the child. "You like its flowers, then?"

The little Subaru-chan smiled. "Yes!"

"I've always wondered who he was..." his sixteen-year-old self mused. "That boy?"

"I'm going to tell you a story," the teenage apparition said. "There are bodies buried underneath the foot of this cherry tree."

You don't know, Hee-chan? There are bodies buried underneath this tree!. "Duo..." Heero whispered.

Pushing through the Ginza crowd, Duo shuddered, feeling a cold shiver run over his body. An angel passed, a line from an old book came to him.

"Bodies?" the small boy asked.

"The reason this tree blooms so beautifully each year is the bodies buried under its roots. Look, the other sakura trees have blossoms as white as the snow. Do you know why this sakura is pink? It's because it feeds on the blood of the bodies buried beneath it."

Subaru-chan looked uncertain. "But... the bodies buried under the sakura... don't they suffer?"

The teenager smiled. He knelt by the child. "Let's make a bet," he said.

"I made a bet with this boy," the real Subaru whispered. "A bet..."

"The next time we meet..." the ghost-boy continued.

"I can't hear you," Subaru whispered fervently. "The wind..."

"Note well," Seishirou said behind him, "just who you met that day."

Behind the barrier, Heero gathered his energy.

The ghost-boy took the child's hands in his. He looked up at the two onlookers and smiled, his eyes a very familiar gold. Subaru turned his head, and met the single golden eye that remained.

"Was it you, Seishirou-san?" he asked.

"Yes." Seishirou's smile was a mirror of his younger self's. "We met seven years ago under this sakura tree."

"Why did I forget?"

"Because I erased your memory."

"You..." Subaru's voice broke. He raised his gloved hand to his mouth.

"You don't remember what you saw under the sakura?" Seishirou's single eye looked at him mesmerizingly. "You don't remember what I buried?"

Blood on a white dress, a small body embraced by the tree's hungry roots-

The dream-scene in front of them changed.

"A little girl?!" Subaru gasped.

The exclamation broke through Heero's concentration. No, not another little girl... lost...

The young onmyouji started towards the door, but was stopped by Seishirou's outstretched arm.

"Even if you run away as fast as you can," the man said, "it is already too late."

"Who... who killed this girl?" the green-eyed boy demanded.

"You don't remember? I killed her."

Heero's eyes widened at the admission.

"I remember," Subaru whispered. "My grandmother had an appointment with people from the government... I was supposed to wait for her... I heard a voice calling me; I walked the streets of Tokyo, the streets that are strange to me even now. I noticed the sakura.

"It radiated the hate and pain of so many... I wanted to ease their pain, to stop it." The words were flowing more surely now. "I had just learned onmyoujitsu. It was the first time I used it. But there was already a spell there and nothing that I could do. It was then, when..." He stopped, puzzlement on his face. "Raining... red?" He clutched his head. "No! It's not possible... I don't believe it!"

"You have regained your memories." Seishirou smiled. "I locked them away seven years ago. When you witnessed me kill that girl."

"It's a lie!" Subaru screamed. "You are- that child- you couldn't have possibly-"

"It's nothing but the truth. I am the Sakurazukamori. I use onmyoujitsu to kill my victims."

They also practice onmyoujitsu, but where the Sumeragi are the light, they are the darkness... Subaru's words in the park came to Heero. He drew his energy again, recalling words he had read in Odin Lowe's books so long ago - words he never thought he would need. "Domine..."

"It's a lie..." Subaru whispered inside the darkness. With visible difficulty the boy forced himself to speak calmly. "If you are the Sakurazukamori, then why do I still live? I thought that all that meet with you, meet with death."

"Because we made a bet," Seishirou replied calmly.

"What?"

"Do you know why your grandmother forbade you from ever removing those gloves in front of anyone else? Why you've worn those gloves she enchanted since you were nine years old?" He gestured to the illusion of the sakura tree.

"I can't hear you because of the wind," the little Subaru said.

"This is why, today, I shall let you go," the young Seishirou continued. "So that I may recognize you the next time we meet, I'm going to brand your hands." He brought the child's hands to his lips and kissed their backs tenderly. "These brands show that you are my prey." Blue inverted pentagrams burned on the flesh for a moment, then faded as the small boy fainted into the Sakurazukamori's arms.

"I never realized," Seishirou said, stopping the illusion again and taking Subaru's hands in his, "that you were the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan. I imagine your grandmother was in for quite a surprise upon seeing the brands of the Sakurazukamori on the hands of her grandson."

"I remember," the young onmyouji said softly. "That day, obaa-sama told me never to remove my gloves in front of anyone. She told me never to reveal my hands."

"But a year ago," Seishirou smiled, "those gloves didn't help when we met at the subway station. I understood immediately. Now, the moment has come to conclude our bet." He slipped off Subaru's gloves, revealing the pentagrams that glowed dimly.

"Our bet?"

"Don't you remember? 'The next time we meet...'"

During that conversation, the dream-scene had been frozen, but now the figures kneeling on the grass started to move again. This time, there was no wind to obscure the words.

"The next time we meet," young Seishirou said, "we will live together for one year. Your spirit is the opposite of mine; you are gentle, pure and sincere. When you grow up, you will be the image of what you are now. Your spirit will always be pure."

You, Heero Yuy, are the purest being I have seen. Duo's words coming back to haunt him... DUO.

Rushing down the stairs to a subway station, Duo Maxwell stumbled and would have fallen if Hokuto had not caught him.

"When we meet again," Seishirou-kun continued. "I will do everything possible to love you. And if at the end of that year I feel something true for you, I will not kill you. On the other hand, if you mean nothing more to me than this body, then I will kill you." He smiled. "That is why, today, I shall let you go."

"Seishirou-san..." Subaru whispered. His face seemed frozen in an expression of desperate disbelief, his eyes fixed on his bare hands held in an unwavering grasp.

The man whose name he called smiled at him radiantly. "I feel nothing - nothing. Even when I kill. Do you want to know why?

"There is always one Sakurazukamori. To become one, there is a ceremony of succession, like in the Sumeragi family. Our ceremony is the murder of the previous Sakurazukamori. The Sakurazukamori is always alone. To become one, one must kill one's predecessor and all those close to him.

"The first time I killed a human being... I was fifteen years old. I killed the last Sakurazukamori.

"My mother.

"But I didn't feel anything. The sight of my mother's body awash with her own blood didn't move my heart. Since that day nothing has changed; it doesn't matter who I kill - I never feel anything.

"For me," the Sakurazukamori shrugged ruefully, "there is no difference between a human being and an object. For me, breaking your arm," he brought Subaru's hands to his lips, the five-point stars lighting with unholy blue fire, "is like breaking glass... there is no difference. To me, a body is nothing more than dust. Do you think I'm a good Sakurazukamori?"

"Seishirou-san..."

Beyond the darkness, Heero closed his eyes. "Domine," he whispered, "da mihi virtutem contra hostes tuos."

Seishirou did not pay attention to the concentration of power just outside the illusion he had created. "You understand why we made that bet," he told Subaru. " 'We will live together for a year'," he quoted. " 'If at the end of that year I feel something true for you, I will not kill you.' But- As I thought, it's impossible." He squeezed Subaru's hands to the point of pain. "And seeing you suffer now, I feel nothing. Now we will conclude our bet... I'm going to kill you." He chuckled at the empty, stunned green eyes staring into his own. "What, are you not going to defend yourself? You might just be able to."

Defend. The word flashed lightning-white against Heero's eyelids. Protect. "Esse quam videri..." he intoned under his breath.

"Seishirou-san..." Subaru seemed to have forgotten all words except this single name.

"Est scelerum vindicta..." Heero squeezed his fists tight.

"Why such a sad look?" the Sakurazukamori asked. "Do you think I've betrayed you? Every day, there are new tales in Tokyo. Betrayal of one by another, that's an everyday occurrence in this glorious city."

"Est poena malorum..." Starwind, brightlight, godstrenght. Still a whisper.

The assassin moved Subaru's hands to the secure hold of one palm and touched his cheek with the other. "I don't hate you. But I don't love you either. To me, you're nothing but a simple object. Even if I have touched your spirit, in the end that does not change anything." His eye gleamed gold in the darkness. "All the people I have murdered... they are waiting for you."

Heero's eyes snapped open. "Brevibus momentis summa verti." Words that cannot be disobeyed.

The dark barrier shattered, and with it the Sakurazukamori's illusions. The assassin's head snapped around, his arm still holding the Sumeragi by his side.

"Ah, Heero-kun!" he beamed. "I did not think you'd choose to join us."

"Apage."

The single word flared into life between the two, chiseled letters arching out to strike at Seishirou, who caught and dispelled them effortlessly. "Tsk, tsk..." he sighed. "You'll need more than that."

"I have more," Heero snarled. "Ab igne..." he intoned. The air around his hands glowed gold. He raised them, crossing his arms in front of his face. "Ignem!" he cried.

And the flames flew bright and true, a whip of pure fire.

This time the Sakurazukamori used both hands to stop the attack, but his smile did not fade. By his side Subaru sank to his knees, eyes downcast and face devoid of any expression.

"Nice try," Seishirou admitted. "A Latin translation of Qaballah incantations, wasn't it?"

Heero did not reply, merely took a step forward, lifting his hands for another attempt.

"My turn now," the assassin said softly. He raised his own hand and the darkness around it swirled, taking on the form of a giant eagle perched on his wrist. "Go."

"Shikigami..." Heero whispered. They're spirits that obey the magician's orders. Subaru's words, the first time they met.

The shikigami spread its wings and lunged at Heero, beak and talons at the ready.

Heero's eyes widened-

-running down the street, Duo swore violently, feeling a sharp tug at his soul-

-and the bird attacked.

But Heero wasn't there, a slim figure pushing him out of the way, then shuddering as the wicked talons struck flesh.

Heero's arms went around Subaru automatically, steadying them both. His fingers touched warm blood and he realized that the Sakurazukamori's attack had hit the other boy instead, cutting a deep gash over the ribs.

"No way!" the Sumeragi snarled at Seishirou, leaning heavily on Heero. "I won't let you hurt anyone else!"

"My, my, Subaru-kun!" The assassin smiled. "I must say I'm impressed. But I'm afraid that I have to take care of a certain nuisance before we can fight."

One snap of his fingers sent Subaru flying across the dark space, finally skidding to a stop beside the door.

The shikigami shrieked and turned back for another attack.

"Noli me tangere!" Heero hissed.

The words echoed in the darkness, weaving a barrier around the brown-haired boy. The eagle-spirit struck against this shield and screeched in obvious pain. The powerful wings flapped helplessly as the bird plummeted to the ground.

"Not bad." Seishirou was smiling again. "But still-" and he was by Heero, his hands closing on the boy's throat- "not good enough."

The receptionist tried to stop the two figures who rushed past her, but her hand closed only on Duo's braid. A brief moment later, all she was holding was a broken hair tie, as Duo and Hokuto disappeared in the staircase, the former surrounded by a storm of golden-brown hair.

"Now... you die."

Sakura petals surrounded them in a swirl of pink-

clinging to his skin-

blood-

pain-

"So you see, Nokoru-kun, sometimes security measures are necess-" Quatre stumbled, then sank to his knees, clutching at his heart.

"Quatre-kun? Are you alright?" Nokoru asked, hurrying to his side.

"My... uchuu no- kokoro..." The Arabian gasped for air for a moment, then looked up at the other boy. His face was serious but no longer expressed pain.

"What happened?"

"Heero is... in danger, I think. We should-"

Quatre was about to say something more when he heard a sound he knew all to well.

A gun's safety catch being slipped off.

"Put your hands up and don't try anything stupid."

Heero struggled in vain against Seishirou's hands at his throat, weakening with each passing moment. A few more seconds and-

"CAW!!!!!" Black wings and a wicked beak.

The Sakurazukamori let go of his prey and covered his head, preventing the furious raven from picking out his remaining eye. He swatted futilely at the bird.

Heero slumped to the ground, panting. The sakura petals dissolved into thin air.

"What in the seven hells do you think you're doing?!" The voice was at once familiar and eerie; the usual cheerful bounce was absent and a cold anger replaced it. The raven ceased its attack and fluttered to perch on Duo's shoulder. The light from the corridor threw an impenetrable shadow over the long-haired boy's face.

Then Hokuto ran in, out of breath. She stopped when she saw who was in the room. "Sei-chan?! But grandmother said-" She reached out, but was stopped by Subaru's outstretched hand.

"Be careful, Hokuto-chan," her brother said. "He's the Sakurazukamori."

"No..." she whispered.

Seishirou ignored the twins, turning his attention to Duo. "I'm doing what I want to do. That is the way of the Sakurazukamori. You, on the other hand, are naught but a messenger. You cannot interfere."

"Au contraire." There was a cold amusement in the boy's voice. "I've left all that messenger shit behind when I first flew a Mobile Suit."

"You cannot change what you are, no matter what whims you succumb to."

"But I can change who I am. Death may still follow in my footsteps, yet I choose who he takes."

"Neither your or my duty is about choice."

Duo took a few steps forward, Seishirou taking a step back every time. Finally the American reached the circle of light in the middle of the darkness. His face was drawn into his usual joyful smile, but his eyes gleamed bright silver. He helped Heero to his feet, putting an arm around the brown-haired boy.

"I've chosen a long time ago. You might have been right about the Gundams being a whim, but I changed on the day I saw Heero's eyes. Took me a while to realize it, but I think I prefer his light to my darkness."

Tears started flowing down Subaru's face. Hokuto put her arms around him.

"And," Duo continued, "I've warned you about hurting him, Sakurazukamori."

"Then is it war, Shinigami no Tsukai?" Death's Messenger.

Duo's lips twisted in a predatory grin. "So it is."

Seishirou shrugged. "Maybe another time." A whirl of sakura petals surrounded him and he faded, the darkness fading with him. Duo, Heero, Subaru and Hokuto were left standing in a regular hospital room. There was no sign of the American boy's raven.

Duo turned to Subaru. "We'd better get a doctor to look at this wound of yours, Su-chan."

"Wait." Heero grabbed his arm. "What was that all about?"

"Y'see, Hee-chan..." Duo smiled ruefully. "Seishirou isn't the only one who was tempted by a pure spirit. Only, in my case, I lost utterly." He hugged his lover. Heero's arms stayed by his sides, his eyes blank with surprise and confusion.

"So Seishirou Sakurazuka-" Hokuto said, "-is the Sakurazukamori?"

"Yes," Subaru answered her with an emotionless voice. "I-" He tried to reach out to Heero, but stumbled and collapsed to the floor.

Duo was by his side immediately. "Doctor, now," he said curtly. "You need it."

Subaru's wound turned out to be superficial, his collapse owing more to his exhausted emotional state. The duty nurse informed the waiting trio of this, as well as the fact that the boy had been sedated and now slept.

"What do we do now?" Heero asked.

Duo grinned the grin he used to wear when slicing through Leos back during the war. "I'm going to go give Seishirou a beating he won't forget in a hurry."

"I'm going with you!" Hokuto said. "I'm the one who threw them at each other... I want to pay him back for what he did to my brother!"

The American eyed her warily, then shrugged. "Okay, I guess. Just be careful." He put his hand on her arm. "Please be careful, Sumeragi-hime."

"I'm going too," Heero added.

"No way, Hee-chan. You don't even realize how much blood and energy you've lost to the sakura."

"Duo-"

"I said, no way. Hokuto-chan, I need to pay someone a visit first. Meet me at the main entrance to Ueno Park in two hours."

"Alright, I need to get something from my apartment anyway."

"It'll be almost dark in two hours," Heero pointed out.

"I know." Duo shrugged. "But if we don't get him first, he's bound to attack Subaru again."

"So two hours from now, Ueno. I'll be there," Hokuto said and exited the waiting room.

"Duo," Heero said, "you knew about Seishirou. Why didn't you do anything?"

"I'm wondering myself," the other boy snarled. "I thought he was like me - I couldn't hurt you if the fate of the world depended on it. Turns out I was wrong."

"What was that 'Shinigami no Tsukai' you were talking about?"

"That's me," Duo smiled, "the one and only. I only learned about it after the orphanage I was in was burned down by OZ, killing everyone inside. I had this... vision, you might say. I learned stuff that came together with what had already happened. 'Shinigami no Tsukai' are special persons born in times of turmoil; we always look the same and use the same power. Like the raven, we are harbingers of doom. Thing is, we're not supposed to actually take part in resolving conflicts, merely set them in motion. I guess I'm too stubborn to be a proper Tsukai, 'cause the first thing I did after learning all this was to go snoop after a way I could fight against OZ. You could say I'm a rogue."

Heero's eyebrow quirked upwards. "And you're not a bloodthirsty killer feeding some ancient tree?"

"No. I don't kill with magic, period."

"I'm glad." Heero's arms drew Duo tightly against himself, their foreheads coming together. "I... love you, Duo."

"Love you, too." The braided boy's smile was that of an angel.

Once alone, Heero sat still for a moment, then got out his cellphone and dialed.

"Barton here." Trowa's voice was monotone and emotionless, the way he got during a mission.

"01." Heero fell into the same pattern, mission-speak. "Trouble here, might need back-up."

"Negative, not possible."

What?! "Elaborate, 03."

"We've got a situation here."

Notes: Dialogue between Sei-chan and Subaru taken mostly verbatim or only slightly tweaked from the translation by Amarythia and Ryoppei. I don't have this volume, so I improvised a bit with the choreography and shortened the words. I hope I've managed to preserve some of the emotional impact of the story.
"An angel passed" -- from "Neuromancer" by William Gibson. My fave book of all time ^_^
Ginza (this should have been in the previous chapter) is according to my sources a busy shopping street in Tokyo, sort of like Oxford Street in London.
Latin phrases courtesy of "Everyday Latin", by Czeslaw Jedraszko (Warsaw, 1988)

Latin mini-dictionary:
Domine - Lord
Da mihi virtuem contra hoses tuos - give me courage (strength) against your enemies
Esse quam videri - To be, rather than to be seen
Est scelerum vindicta - There is vengeance for crimes
Est poena malorum - There is punishment for evil
Brevibus momentis summa verti - In a brief moment, everything changes
Apage - begone (as in 'apage satanas' ^_^)
Ab igne, ignem - from fire, fire
Noli me tangere - touch me not

In the next chapter: What does Trowa mean? What trouble has befallen the other pilots, trouble that can compare with having a bloodthirsty magician after their heads? Read the next installment of Gundam Babylon, "Campus under fire"!