Title: Forgotten
Standing: Teaser
Setting: Book 9, with references to book 5
Additional warnings: Choppy. Very choppy. But for the life of me, 
with all the web-building I've been doing lately, my brain is too 
fried to write good fanfiction.

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"Subaru?" the voice had been so soft and unexpected that, for a 
moment, he wasn't sure that he'd actually heard it. Straining 
slightly in the dark, he reached out for that voice calling to him, 
struggling to find the strength to answer.

"Subaru... are... are you awake?" the voice came again, nearer this 
time, accompanied by the soft rustling of cloth as his visitor drew 
closer to him under the veil of shadow.

"Ne?" he finally managed, a dry, shaky whisper.

A slight shifting in what felt like a mattress beneath him alerted 
the onmyouji to another body settling onto the bed beside him--
perhaps perched uncertainly on the very edge, by the feel of it.

"Are you feeling better now? The others... they were worried..."

The Sumeragi lay still, letting his eyes adjust to the dark, drawing 
on the filtering light of the stars beyond the window to illuminate 
the room. Truthfully, he wasn't quite sure of where he was or how 
he'd gotten there--only that there was a dull throbbing in his skull 
and a disquieting drowsiness enveloping him.

"Others?" he echoed uncertainly, twisting fractionally to look up at 
the other person talking to him. The voice was smooth, young, and 
faintly masculine... perhaps that of teenaged boy--which made 
sense, he supposed, as he studied the slight outline coming into 
focus before him.

"Yes, they were all very upset when you fainted," the boy said 
quietly, leaning forward to place a cool hand on his forehead as if 
to gauge his temperature. A light, medicinal scent followed that 
movement, coupling with the soft, ribbed sensation of gauze.

How ironic.

Whoever was checking on him was injured. He even had bandages on 
his hands.

The shadows had begun to melt away and the residual glow from the 
world beyond finally started to manifest in dim poolings around the 
boy's face, bringing him into view for the first time.

Subaru blinked uncomprehendingly at the sight before him.

Longish, windswept hair, attractive in its disarray... slender, 
finely boned features caught strikingly between masculine and 
feminine... and those eyes...

Those eyes... a strange, but beautiful shade of violet he was 
certain he'd only seen twice before in his lifetime...

"Subaru?" 

In fact, he was sure that...

"Subaru, are you alright?"

...yes.

"It's you..."

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\\Flashback\\


A singular breeze, a cool touch upon his cheek. The afternoon sun, 
warm upon his hair. Luminous violet eyes, staring up at him, wide 
with wonder.

"Nii-chan, how can you say that?" the little boy looked perplexed.

"Ah--how? How can I NOT?" Subaru worried the brim of his hat 
nervously between his fingers, his earlier anxiety still weighing 
heavily upon him.

It did not help either that the little boy was covered from head to 
toe in small cuts and scratches from climbing that tree--and that 
particularly large gash from when he had fallen down, right across 
his forearm... Subaru was just glad he'd been there to break his 
fall...

"You could've been hurt badly! Even worse than you already are..."

"But I wasn't," those bottomless eyes were completely serious, 
though a small smile was beginning to warm their edges, " And 
besides, nii-chan, I had to."

The young onmyouji glanced up despairingly at the topmost branches 
of the offending tree where he had seen the boy fall from, clutching 
a tiny Sunday hat tightly against himself as he went. It was MUCH 
too high for his liking.

What worried him most was that this child could have fallen any 
number of times before he'd gotten there, and that the extent of 
those injuries were worse than the boy let on.

"How is that hat so important to you that you HAD to risk your life 
instead of asking for help?"

The little boy drew away from him then, dark head bowed, but the 
smile did not fade. It looked most peculiar, considering that the 
child looked like he'd emerged from a playground brawl.

"It's important because there are people that I care about," the boy 
said slowly, looking down at the hat thoughtfully, "And I would do 
ANYTHING to make them happy, because they mean so much to me."

The boy backed away then, preparing to go, "Nii-chan, don't you have 
people you would do anything for? Just so that you would never see 
them crying?"

The Sumeragi was taken aback by the sudden question and, in his 
surprise, had forgotten that it was his responsibility to detain the 
boy and see him somewhere where he could get his injuries looked 
at. His hand went still in mid-reach. "Huh?"

"Don't you have anyone 'special'?"

"Ah... why, I... uh--"

"Subaru-kuuuuunnnn!!!" another, familiar voice interrupted his 
stumbling.

Looking over his shoulder, Subaru spotted two figures standing on 
the corner about half a block away, waving him over toward the store 
they'd just come out of. With a flush of embarrassment, he 
remembered that he'd slipped out for just a moment to get something, 
but had seen this young boy struggling in the tree...

...and as he'd approached, the bending and resounding crack of one 
of the limbs giving under his weight...

His attention riveted back to the child, unconsciously squashing his 
own hat back on his head.

The child was peering over his shoulder with a look of good natured 
curiosity, his smile widening even further.

"I see," he breathed, "those are your special people?"

"I... uh..." Subaru looked back again. This time, the figures were 
coming closer, crossing the street at a pace that was both hurried 
and yet still casual.

"Subaru?" the smaller of the two shouted at him, "What do you think 
you're doing, running away like that?"

"Yes, Subaru-kun," the taller one piped up, sounding somewhat hurt 
in a rather comical way, "Am I really so unworthy that you must flee 
my presence?"

"Ah--chigau! Seishirou-san!" he stuttered, dragging himself to his 
feet. But when he turned around, the little boy was already running 
in the opposite direction, hat clutched firmly under his arm.

"WAIT!" Subaru cried out.

The boy slowed and stopped for a moment, regarding him from across 
the distance.

"Yes."

He decided that he's never seen a more beautiful smile in his life.

"Subaru-kun?"

"Huh?" Subaru turned to find that his 'special people' had caught up 
with him.

"Who were you talking to?" the older man queried.

"Well, ah-- he... oh dear..." Subaru trailed off with a frown when 
he realized that the boy was no longer anywhere to be seen, "I didn't 
even get his name..."

"What were you talking about?" emerald eyes of a shade identical to 
his own sparkled curiously.

Subaru was quiet for a moment, "He... was reminding me of something 
I'd forgotten..."

"And you went and forgot to ask his name?" the other asked with no 
small amount of amusement.

"Oh, don't tease him like that, Hokuto-chan," the older one chided 
gently, placing a hand on the onmyouji's shoulder 
affectionately, "After all, Subaru-kun is quite cute when he forgets 
things..."

"Sei-Seishirou-san!" Subaru protested, flushing hotly.

"Oh well, come now, before he forgets that we were going out tonight 
to eat!" Hokuto grinned and winked conspiratorially at 
Seishirou, "We're not letting him get out of that 'date' you to had 
planned!"

"H-Hokuto-chan!"

"Ahahahahahaha!!! Of course not!"

Subaru cast one final glance behind him as he was steered back in 
the opposite direction, toward the Sakurazuka's van.

'I wonder... if he will forget me...?'

\\end flashback\\
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TO BE CONTINUED