Mini-Gallery

 

In 1999, the world is coming to an end. Eight years after the events that tragically ripped his life apart, Subaru is a Dragon of Heaven – also known as the Seven Seals - one of seven fated to save humanity from extinction. However, the Onmyoji has no care for his Destiny. The only thing that concerns him is meeting his opposite - now a Dragon of Earth (the Seven Angels, those who seek to cause the extinction of humanity) – and making his wish come true.

 

 

Confrontation

While on a search for the Sakurazukamori in Tokyo, Subaru senses his presence in Nakano. Rushing to that area of the city, attracting the attention of Sorata and Arashi (two fellow Seals), he arrives just in time to see it already heavily destroyed by his old friend. If he doesn't raise his kekkai, there will be no hope for the district and the people within it.

Subaru, feeling that this is his chance to achieve his wish, faces off against the man. However, the Sakurazukamori has other plans; indulging Subaru by fighting for a short time, he then retreats from the battle with the excuse that he's busy. Using an illusion, he makes himself invisible. Although he knows the assassin is still somewhere with the confines of the kekkai, Subaru lets him go. If the Sakurazukamori won't fully engage in battle, then there is no way for him to grant Subaru his wish.

Defeated and deflated, he brings down the shield and prepares to leave, only to be met by Sorata and Arashi, both of whom had watched the fight from afar. They introduce themselves and Subaru goes as far as to give them his name, but he is not interested in what they have to say.

However, the three are then overcome with a mental image of Shirou Kamui, the fifteen-year-old leader of the Seven Seals, in severe pain. For some reason this convinces Subaru to go back to CLAMP Campus with the others.

 

 

Playing his part

Subaru's resolve to take no part in the battle for the future of the human race is shattered when he first meets Kamui. The boy has just seen the girl he loved murdered by his best friend - her own brother - a perfect parallel of what Subaru endured in 1991. He now lies in catatonia, as Subaru did after the Sakurazukamori almost took his life.

Scared that Kamui will end up like himself, Subaru uses the secret art of the Sumeragi and delves within his leader's mind. At first, Kamui resists, but Subaru is able to break through to him, showing him the pain within his own heart. He tells Kamui that, if it would make him truly happy, he can stay within his own heart forever; however, that way nothing would ever change. Strengthen by this stranger's words, Kamui pulls himself out of his sleep with the hope of saving Fuuma.

In Kamui, for the first time in eight years, Subaru is able to feel connected to another human being and the two quickly become close friends. They not only understand and confide in each other, but Subaru, despite dropping out of high school when he wasn't much older than Kamui, starts to tutor the boy.

From this point on, Subaru decides to protect his leader and to fight for something other than his secret wish. However, that wish is still more important to him than anything; even if others couldn't understand why, even if it hurt those who loved him, he would still seek to achieve it.

When Kamui is attacked by 'Kamui', Dragon of Earth, it is Subaru who comes to his rescue. At first, Subaru fights against Nataku, but when he is able to hold his own against the Angel, 'Kamui' decides to take the Onmyoji's kekkai down himself. Subaru fights the leader of the Angel's admirably; however, when he starts to see the Sakurazukamori's face instead of his opponent’s, his concentration begins to waver. Weakened and lying upon the ground, 'Kamui' is able to get the upper hand against him. In almost the exact same way as the Sakurazukamori beat Subaru at the end of the bet, 'Kamui' kicks and beats Subaru. Subaru can't understand why he sees Seishirou-san's face and 'Kamui's only explanation is that it is because Subaru wants to see him again. 'Kamui' gouges out Subaru's right eye, before leaving the crumbling kekkai. Bleeding heavily and unconscious, Subaru is comforted by a shocked Kamui until he is taken to Shinjuku Hospital 1.

Kamui stays with Subaru when the man is admitted to recovery, holding his older friend's hand. Even with surgery, there is no possibility of him regaining sight in his damaged eye. Although Kamui feels guilty for the injury, Subaru tries to convince him that the fault is his own and that it was what he had once wished to happen. But he himself feels guilty for the occurrence as it could have lead to someone else being hurt.

After he is able to convince Kamui to go home, Subaru is left alone to his own thoughts. He can't understand how the leader of the Dragons of Earth was able to see his wish of losing sight in his right eye, a desire constructed years before by his guilt over Seishirou-san losing his eye when protecting him. And if he was able to sense this wish, does he know the true desire within Subaru's heart?

After another encounter with 'Kamui', Dragon of Earth, Kamui is severely injured. Just as Kamui was there for Subaru, Subaru stays by his friend's bedside, holding his hand.

When Kamui tells him that, even though he feels responsible for Subaru losing sight in his eye, he can't give up on Fuuma, Subaru is glad. His sister believed that what one fights for defines who they are, and that making one's wish a reality is the only path to a happy life. Everyone classifies happiness differently and Kamui should continue in his own quest for that. Kamui correctly guesses that the only one who can make Subaru truly happy is the Sakurazukamori as he is the one who has the power to make Subaru's own wish come true. Kamui's understanding of his situation gives Subaru the piece of mind to reveal what his true wish is. However, before he is able to utter the words, Sorata and Arashi interrupt the pair.

 

 

Rainbow Bridge

After a few months of feeling less isolated and even somewhat happy, Subaru's life is once again plunged into tragedy. Hinoto, the dreamseer for the Seals, has been taken over by a darker persona within herself. In a plan to kill off the Seals one by one, she sends the others on a wild goose chase while directing Subaru to where the Dragons of Earth truly plan to strike next: Rainbow Bridge.

…and the Angel waiting at this location is none other than the Sakurazukamori.

Waiting for a confrontation, Subaru is shocked when the Sakurazukamori appears behind him. Reaching for the cigarette Subaru had been smoking, the Seal notices blood dripping from his hand; he has come fresh from a murder. This fact seriously angers Subaru and he attacks his opposite, throwing up his kekkai to protect the area.

The ensuing battle is fierce as the two seem equally matched, and tears the bridge apart. At one point, the Sakurazukamori creates an illusion of sakura branches to ensnare Subaru, but by using his own blood, the Onmyoji is able to break the spell.

"You can stop using illusions against me. There's no point. I've been held captive by the sakura for so long ... ever since that day..."

~ Subaru

The Sakurazukamori asks him about the desire Subaru has that only he can grant, about how it isn't what he expects: to kill him to avenge Hokuto. Subaru answers that his wish is indeed something else.

From afar, the other Seals, currently rushing to help their comrade, see Subaru's kekkai fading. Predicting the worst, they are shocked when the debris clears to see Subaru's hand in the Sakurazukamori's chest, near to where his heart is.

The realisation of what has happened stuns Subaru; he can't understand how it has ended this way. He withdraws his hand before grabbing onto the man who had been his adversary for so long. Seishirou-san explains this twist of fate: the spell Hokuto had sacrificed her life to cast was one that would protect her brother from the Sakurazukamori. If Seishirou-san was to ever attempt to kill Subaru in the same way as she was killed - a hand through the chest - the strike would be reversed, and it would be Seishirou-san's chest that would be punctured, not Subaru's.

Since Seishirou-san's betrayal and Hokuto's death, Subaru had done all he could to banish the stain of Seishirou-san's presence from his heart. But he couldn't do it; even if Subaru meant nothing more than a grain of sand to him, he couldn't let him go. Due to this, his true wish was to die by Seishirou-san's hand. He would accept the possibility that the Sakurazukamori would forget about his death, as at least then Subaru would have the chance to rest with him in his last moments.

Seishirou-san reiterates his belief that Subaru is a very kind boy, this time with more serenity, and that he should have known that it wasn't in him to kill; that his heart wouldn't be able to take it. He then whispers something to Subaru before his life fades that Subaru never expected to hear from him. Subaru begins to weep even harder due to the impact the words have 2.

As his kekkai vanishes and the bridge collapses, Subaru is rooted to the spot, holding Seishirou-san's body. If it were not for the other Seals, he would have died along with the one special to him.

Back in his room at CLAMP Campus, Subaru sits alone in the dark, still wearing the coat covered in Seishirou-san's blood. Worried over the effect this will have upon his friend, Kamui comes to see him. He wants to apologise for taking Subaru out of the wreckage despite the fact he knew his friend would have rather been left to die, but Subaru tells him there is no need to.

Kamui can't understand why, if Subaru's desire had been to die by the Sakurazukamori's hand, he did things like smoke in an attempt to strengthen his powers. Subaru explains how when the Sakurazukamori had failed to take his life, the assassin never came back to try again, even though Subaru was marked by his symbol and therefore easy to find. Then he recalled the look the man gave him when he lost the chance to murder him: one of disdain, as if Subaru wasn't even worth his time or effort. This caused Subaru to want to become stronger so he could at least be an annoyance to the Sakurazukamori. Then maybe Seishirou-san would take enough notice of him to kill him.

But he had gotten it all wrong, and Subaru only realises so due to the last words Seishirou-san uttered to him. He wonders if the words one says before death are always true, or can they also be lies. But he'll never know the answer to that question, as he can no longer ask Seishirou-san.

He once again makes an appeal to Kamui, telling him that all he needs to think about is making his wish come true. But Kamui worries that his wish could make others sad. Subaru, however, gives him the answer:

“There is no one path that will make everyone happy.”

~ Subaru

After telling Kamui to get some rest, Subaru kisses the marks upon his hands before opening the window and leaving the campus, and his fellow Seals, behind.

 

 

The New Sakurazukamori

Now that Subaru has lost the thing he wanted to protect most in this world, he no longer has the ability to create a kekkai. This means that he is no longer a Seal and will take Seishirou-san’s place as an Angel and the Sakurazukamori. But the man has no desire to play any further role in the battle.

Unsure if his life still has a path, he ends up at the home where Seishirou-san lived with his mother. There the camellias and sakuras are unseasonably in bloom, heralding the birth of a new Sakurazukamori.

As Subaru basks in the beauty of the scene, ‘Kamui’ approaches. When Subaru tells him he refuses to fight in the coming battle, ‘Kamui’ reveals that that is not the reason for his appearance. He is there to carry out the final wish of the previous Sakurazukamori. Seishirou-san was affronted by the mark ‘Kamui’ left upon Subaru, the disabled eye, and wished that scar to be removed; he wanted the only scars on Subaru’s body to be his, and not those of another man. In ‘Kamui’s hand is a vial containing the only piece of Seishirou-san’s body he could recover: his left eye. Subaru can either accept this “gift” or reject the organ.

As it was the wish of the one he loved so deeply, Subaru agrees to take the vial, clucking the object to himself in devotion. He has the working eye replace his damaged one, leaving him with mismatched green and brown eyes.

Despite fulfilling Seishirou-san’s wish, Subaru is still locked in a deep depression. Changing his white trench coat for one of pure black and wearing gloves for the first time since Seishirou-san removed them eight years before, Subaru wonders the city.

When the Promised Day comes, Subaru goes along with the leader of the Dragons of Earth. At first he simply watches, cloaked, the fight between the two Kamuis, refusing to play any part in the battle between the two sides. However, when Kamui begins to lose the fight, Subaru reveals himself. He appeals to Kamui to search for his true wish; it is only then that the predetermined outcome of the battle can be altered.

 

 

Subaru’s Future

Although he has the powers and the position of Sakurazukamori, this doesn’t necessarily mean he will accept the role he has been forced into.

Fandom often dictates that the sakura tree in Ueno Park needs a supply of souls to feast upon and that the Sakurazukamori, bonded to the tree, must provide these or suffer consquences. However, we have few canon facts that support this. The tree may simply be part of the clan’s assassin rituals, having no sentient element at all. Naturally a tree under which bodies have been buried will bloom strongly, and as the bodies have died under tragic circumstances, there will be trapped negative energy attached to that place, which is what drew Subaru to the tree as a child. If this is true, then Subaru is not bound to carry out assassinations to feed the tree and to protect himself from its wraith; as Seishirou-san said as he was dying, the Onmyoji’s heart can’t bear to kill another.

But until we see a conclusion to Subaru’s long tale, we won’t know if the pure soul turned dark will been given a happy ending.

 

 

NOTES:
1. Shinjuku Hospital is the same hospital where Seishirou-san lost his eye and most of the scenes from the last few volumes of Tokyo Babylon take place, thus setting up parallels with these events in X/1999.

2. Although the reader only catches a few of Seishirou-san's words (whereas Subaru hears the full sentence) they indicate that he tells Subaru he does in fact love him.

 

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