Morning
by Leareth

Chapter Four

Karen was considered an early riser for a woman who worked in the adult industry, regularly getting up and starting her day at around eight o'clock despite finishing shifts at hours most clubbers called it quits. On this particular morning she had arranged to meet Aoki Seiichiro for morning coffee before going with him to see the younger Seals at CLAMP Campus. Fond as she was of all the Seals Seiichiro was the one closest to her age and as a result they had struck up a genuine friendship, regularly making time to see each other. Whether or not Aoki's wife was aware of these meetings Karen wasn't sure, but she certainly wasn't going to ask. Most likely his wife did know; Aoki didn't strike Karen as the type of man who'd keep secrets from his spouse – other than his involvement in the End of the World, of course.

Karen wondered if she was selfish for being glad Aoki was a Seal like her.

Anyway. The two of them had met at the Ginza café Karen so liked and had a thoroughly enjoyable time with coffee and cake talking about anything but kekkai and earthquakes. Thus far the Ginza area of Tokyo had mostly escaped the destructive skirmishes between the Seals and Angels, so Karen could almost believe it was a normal morning out between friends. In fact, she had been having such a good time chatting with Aoki that they managed to maintain the illusion of normalcy all the way to the train station, through the ride to CLAMP Campus, through the walk to the house where the younger Seals stayed, right up until the point Karen had rung the doorbell and said good morning to Sorata. Then reality gatecrashed in style.

"Good morning," said the stranger who had materialised in the Seals' doorway. He casually leant one arm on a half-prostrate and spluttering Sorata and paid no attention to the way Inuki was snarling barely restrained by Yuzuriha at his feet. "You must be two of the other Dragons of Heaven. If you've come for breakfast, you've arrived at the right time though I think we now need more fish."

If Karen had encountered this man as a prospective customer she wouldn't have seen him - unsavoury types were part of a soapgirl's job but she drew the line at dangerous. Right now every one of Karen's instincts was telling her to defend herself because given the strength of the man's aura he couldn't be anything other than a Dragon of Earth, which meant the area around them was seconds away from being turned into a warzone. Immediately Karen summoned a flame into her hand that danced as behind her Aoki Seiichiro brought the winds in. "Who are you," she demanded.

"Sakurazuka Seishirou of the Dragons of Earth." The man in the doorway smiled, ignoring the growls from Inuki and the irritated yelps of 'get off me you creep' and 'nee-chan help' from Sorata. "Would you like to come in?"

Karen's eyes narrowed. Just what was going on here? Why was this man inviting them into the house even though he certainly didn't belong there? She wished she'd dare take her gaze off him long enough to see what Aoki was making of this, because from where Karen was standing it looked like they had inadvertently walked into some kind of hostage situation … except the hostages weren't acting like hostages. Actually—

"ARGH!" Pinioned beneath the Dragon of Earth's arm Sorata's flailing was growing more and more infuriated. "Let me up you – ack!" Without warning the Dragon of Earth stepped away, sending Sorata stumbling backwards just in time to intercept a very startled Arashi who had apparently been trying to creep up behind them with her sword. The two of them fell to the floor in a crash.

"Sora-chan! Arashi-san!" cried Yuzuriha, still kneeling on the welcome mat with Inuki barking in her arms. "Are you all right?"

"I'm fine." Arashi's voice was only mildly ruffled in stark contrast to Sorata's, "Nee-chan, you saved me – ow!"

"The perils of young love," sighed the Dragon of Earth dramatically as Arashi presumedly kneed Sorata somewhere painful. "I expect thanks later, Arisugawa-kun."

Karen couldn't help but smile. Actually, the situation looked like some kind of quirky domestic comedy.

"Thank you?" Sorata stood up with hands in fists and face as black as storm clouds. "What the hell would I thank you for? I almost got skewered when you made me slam into Nee-chan!"

The Dragon of Earth smirked. "My point exactly, but it's not my fault you didn't take advantage of your position."

"Take advan—" Sorata turned from black to pink as his thoughts took the inevitable path of all teenaged boys.

"Of course, by 'take advantage', I meant this." Before Sorata could do anything, the Dragon of Earth stepped past him and bowed with hand extended down towards Arashi who was still half-sprawled on the floor, her sword dismissed. It was hard to see from Karen's position, but she could easily imagine how startled Arashi would look at such a gesture and how manners and upbringing would make her accept it. "There we go," said the Dragon of Earth as he helped Arashi to her feet.

Sorata was doing a fantastic impression of a fish. It struck Karen then that Sorata was exactly the type of boy whose buttons would be pushed by irritatingly perfect politeness. "You, you—"

"Should we do something?" Aoki's voice was low and very close to Karen's ear. "That man, he—"

"Isn't supposed to be here, yes," murmured Karen, extinguishing her flame. "But it looks like he's been here for a while and doesn't seem to have done anything." Actually, if Karen hadn't known the man was a Dragon of Earth, from his behaviour he could have been some mischievous uncle who had dropped in unannounced and was taking delight in the commotion that ensued. Right now the man was laughing off Sorata's ranting which kept losing most of its impact as the young monk tried to look both angry and cool in front of an unimpressed Arashi. Even Yuzuriha was giggling at the show. "Let's just see what happens for now, all right?"

"—turn up here and take over the kitchen without so much as asking even the Kigai dude wasn't this uncool—"

"Speaking of the kitchen, Arisugawa-kun," interrupted the Dragon of Earth cheerfully. "Since so many guests have turned up breakfast plans have been changed. I need you to go back and buy more food."

Sorata gaped. "Why?"

"Because, as you can see, breakfast isn't just for one anymore; there's you, the Ise Priestess, Yuzuriha-chan, myself and Subaru-kun, and now our two guests here." He nodded at Karen and Aoki. "Hurry up, you don't want the shop to run out of salmon."

"If you think I'm going to go all the way back—"

"I have an idea," said Karen aloud. Everyone turned to look at her. "Sorata-kun, why don't you and Arashi-chan go to the shops together with Aoki-san? I can look after things here for a while."

The younger Seals blinked at her. "Are you sure?" asked Arashi uncertainly, obviously wondering whether Karen knew what she was suggesting.

"Don't worry, I'll be fine." Karen smiled, carefully noting the look that had dropped over the Dragon of Earth's face. Her smile widened, and she let him see her teeth.

She sensed Aoki lean over her shoulder. "Do you know what you're doing?" the Windmaster murmured into her ear.

"It's okay." Karen kept smiling at the Dragon of Earth as she spoke. "We can't really do anything until we know what's going on anyway. You go with the children and get them to tell you what's been happening; I'll keep an eye on our friend here."

"Will you be all right?"

Oh, he was such a dear man. "Saa, Aoki-san, I deal with bad boys all the time at work, I'll be perfectly fine. Just don't take too long, okay?"

"I'll be quick." A breath of wind against her cheek, and Aoki stepped back – he didn't like the idea but he was willing to trust her abilities. "Very well, then, Sorata-kun, Arashi-san, let's be off, all right?"

Sorata looked at Aoki, then at Karen, then at the Dragon of Earth and back, trying to figure out what was going on. Then he shrugged. "If you say so." Suddenly a huge grin spread over his face. "I get to go to the shops with Nee-chan!"

Arashi's only response to this was to roll her eyes. "How come I'm not going?" asked Yuzuriha plaintively.

"You're still in your pajamas, dear." Gracefully Karen leaned down to pull the girl to her feet, giving Inuki a pat as she did so. "Why don't you run upstairs and get ready for breakfast."

Sorata and Arashi got their shoes, still casting suspicious looks at the Dragon of Earth who politely stood aside to let them through. "Do we need to buy anything other than fish?" Aoki asked the other man.

"Hm, it's Arisugawa-kun's kitchen, he should know what there isn't enough of." The Dragon of Earth took out his wallet and counted out several notes that he gave to Sorata. "Make sure you pick the fresh cuts of fish, all right?"

"Yare, yare." Sorata pocketed the money with an 'I don't believe this is happening' scowl. "But if there's any change left over I'm keeping it as payment for services rendered."

"Certainly."

"Don't take too long!" called out Yuzuriha as the three of them turned to leave. Sorata cheerfully waved at them before hurrying to Arashi's side, saying something about domesticity with his beautiful wife. Arashi elbowed him almost absently, getting a laugh out of Karen and Yuzuriha. Together with Aoki they disappeared down the street.

Karen turned to the Dragon of Earth. "Well then," she said brightly. "Shall we go inside?"

"Of course," said the Dragon of Earth. He wore a pleasant, amiable expression that did nothing to hide the alertness in his eyes. "Please, after you."

He extended an arm down the hallway, graciously waiting for her to precede him. Karen felt her smile grow wider; enemy or not, this man was a performer, adept at masking the tensions of a situation with social grace. Karen was more than happy to play along. "Come on, Yuzuriha-chan," she said, gently pushing the girl to stand and walk in front of her. "Go and get dressed while we make breakfast."

"Um …" Yuzuriha glanced wide-eyed over her shoulder, one hand resting between Inuki's ears as the Dragon of Earth closed the front door behind them. "Are you sure?"

"It's fine, dear. Go on, off with you."

"… Okay. Inuki, you stay here and help Karen-san, all right?" The inugami gave a short affirmative bark. Yuzuriha petted him quickly then turned to dash up the stairs, though not before giving the Dragon of Earth and Karen one last glance of uncertainty. Then she was gone, finally leaving Karen alone with the Dragon of Earth, which was exactly what she wanted.

Still smiling, Karen eased off her shoes in what seemed an offhand manner but was precisely calculated to take advantage of the slit in her skirt. As a soapgirl Karen was highly adept in ways to get the measure of a man, and she fully intended on using those abilities now. "Sakurazuka-san, was it?" she asked, letting her peep-hole heels daintily fall to one side as she slid off her coat. The man nodded slightly, and Karen noted the cool appreciation with which he watched her disrobe – she hardly expected him to be the kind of man who dropped sensible thought at the flash of a shapely thigh, but it was good to know he wasn't blind despite the whiteness of his right eye. She wondered if there was a story behind it as she held out her coat. "Could you hang this up for me?"

The Dragon of Earth didn't even hesitate. "Of course," he said, taking the coat from her and opening the side wardrobe behind the door. Impressively he didn't just drape Karen's coat on the pegs, but actually found a coat hanger and hung her coat properly so that it wouldn't become creased. Karen's estimation of him went up another notch. He caught her eye as they went into the kitchen followed silently by Inuki who went to sit near the dining table where he could keep an eye on the kitchen. "I'm afraid I didn't get your name …?"

"Kasumi Karen." The kitchen was full of steam, created by the combination of busy rice cooker and bubbling pot on the gas stove. Karen immediately went to turn down the stove's heat and switch on the exhaust fan. She couldn't resist taking a look inside the pot; the bottom was thick with bonito flakes. "Mm, this smells good – are you cooking a traditional breakfast?" The man nodded, putting the fish Sorata had bought earlier into the fridge and fetching a sieve. "Well, aren't you a prize. Men aren't generally so handy in the kitchen, let alone thoughtful enough to go to so much effort. Are you someone's prize, Sakurazuka-san?"

"Me?" The man laughed as he returned to the stove. "Certainly not – I'm a bachelor and look to stay that way. What about you, Kasumi-san, surely a woman like you can't be single – is the man you arrived with this morning your partner? "

"Heavens, no, he's just a friend and already happily married, which only goes to prove my theory that all good men are taken or gay."

"Your theory?" Carefully Sakurazuka poured the soup through the sieve, filtering out the bonito. "Interesting – tell me, how would I fit in your theory?"

"You don't." Karen winked at him. "No offence, Mr. Dragon of Earth, but I don't think you count as a good man."

"That's your conclusion?" he replied. He laughed softly as if at some personal joke. "Ah well. Personally I'd argue that there are different contexts for 'good', but I suppose my reputation probably precedes me. I shall have to put extra effort into my cooking in a hope to win some goodwill from you, Kasumi-san."

"My, don't you sound confident. Are you a chef, Sakurazuka-san?"

"Oh no, this is just an indulgence of mine – living alone one tends to pick up some household skills." He lifted the ladle and tasted the soup. "Not bad. Would you like to try?"

Sakurazuka held the ladle out to her. Karen's smile widened. "Why not."

She stepped up to the stove, a move which brought her within inches of the Dragon of Earth. Up close and without high heels it turned out he was almost a head taller than her, and Karen gracefully went up on stockinged toes to drink from the soup ladle, the smell of dashi filling her nose. She glanced up through her eyelashes as she did so, meeting the challenge in the man's mismatched eyes – oh this was fun. Enemy or not the man knew how to play the flirting game and since there was no chance that it would go further the two of them could simply enjoy the game for itself. Besides, the soup did taste delicious. Karen stood down. "Mm, that is good. You certainly are full of surprises."

"I aim to please." Back went the ladle into the soup, and then Sakurazuka was heading to the bin to discard the used bonito before putting the sieve in the sink. "So tell me, Kasumi-san, what kind of job does a beautiful woman like you have that keeps her single?"

Karen gave a disarming smile. "What do you think my work is?"

"Hm." Sakurazuka put one hand on his chin in a show of deep thought. "Modelling?"

Oh, he was a flatterer. "Try again."

"Fashion industry?"

"One more guess. Something less mainstream."

Deliberately the mismatched eyes looked her up and down, slow in the way that implied a mental undressing. It was a look Karen was very familiar with. "Adult films?" he asked.

Karen giggled. "Close, but not quite. I'm a soapgirl."

"Ah." An amused smile. "Well, I'm sure you must be highly requested. May I ask which soapland you're at?"

"You may, but given our situation you'll forgive me if I decline to answer. Why, do you frequent such places, Sakurazuka-san?"

"I've visited on occasion. Mostly for work purposes, though I have gone for myself sometimes."

"Really?" Karen lifted a finely-shaped eyebrow. "You didn't strike me as the type; I would have expected you to find satisfaction in a more personal arrangement."

"Oh? Why do you say that?"

"In my work one quickly learns how to place a customer into a general ‘type', and yours, Sakurazuka-san, is one I've met plenty of times before – you're the ambitious and/or obsessive ones working a high-powered career in politics or business who woo and keep stimulating mistresses to add spice to your life. If you visit a soapland or brothel it's only because you're looking for a pleasant distraction to pass the time, because fun as soapgirls can be anything what we do is purely business: you get what you want when you pay and you can walk away without complications. There's no challenge in that, and I can see you getting bored very quickly, hence my opinion that you'd find a less predictable intimacy with higher stakes far more fulfilling."

Silence for a little while, broken only by hum of the kitchen exhaust fan. "I see," said Sakurazuka at last, a small, strange smile on his face. "You have a unique insight, Kasumi-san. Do you know where Arisugawa-kun keeps the miso?"

Karen smiled herself – the change of subject was abruptly obvious, but given what she had just done to him she let it go. "Top shelf of the fridge at the back. Would you like any help? You're cooking for a lot of people."

"If you like," replied Sakurazuka, closing the fridge door. "The omelette needs to be started on to serve with the rice. There are only five eggs, though, so the omelette will have to be rationed, either that or someone will have to go without."

"I'm sure Sorata-kun would be happy to sacrifice his portion for Arashi-chan," said Karen reassuringly. She went to get a mixing bowl, something which required her to open a cupboard to Sakurazuka's blind side. He moved politely aside, though Karen didn't miss the way he turned his head slightly so as to watch her. "I have to ask, Sakurazuka-san, just how did you end up here making breakfast for the Dragons of Heaven anyway?"

"It's a long story. I came to pay a private convalescence visit and thought it would be a nice touch to make the patient breakfast, only I was found by Arisugawa-kun followed in quick succession by the Ise priestess and Yuzuriha-chan, so what was supposed to be a quiet meal for one suddenly became breakfast for the house. I certainly didn't plan things to turn out this way, believe me."

"I see," said Karen uncertainly as she opened the fridge. The explanation still didn't make much sense, but then her brain caught up with her. "Wait, convalescence visit? Just who are you visiting?"

Sakurazuka gave her an enigmatic look but otherwise did not reply. Mentally Karen began to run through the inhabitants of the house. Of course all of them had been hurt in battle at some point, but right now there was only person actively recovering from a serious injury …

Karen's eyes narrowed. Suspiciously she looked over at Sakurazuka but before she could say anything there was the sound of hurrying feet from the top of the stairs. Inuki, obediently watching them from the dining area, immediately got up and began to wag his tail as Yuzuriha thumped down into the kitchen. "Sorry I took so long!" the girl said breathlessly, short damp hair flying about her face. "Karen-san, are you all right?"

"I'm perfectly fine." Karen beamed at her, showing her the eggs in the bowl. "I was just helping Sakurazuka-san make breakfast."

"Oh, good." Briefly Yuzuriha glanced at the Sakurazukamori, a little apprehensive but otherwise her usual self. "Um, what are you making?" she asked.

Sakurazuka lifted the soup ladle. "Right now I'm making the miso soup, and Kasumi-san has kindly taken charge over the omelette while we wait for the others to come back. That's a very cute outfit you're wearing, Yuzuriha-chan."

Yuzuriha glanced down at her outfit, which was a sleeveless yellow dress over a white turtle-neck and white stockings. The dress had a Hello Kitty face in the middle. "Th-thanks!" she said, blushing. "Ah, can I help with anything?"

"You certainly can," said Sakurazuka genially. "Check on the rice, if it's done I presume Arisugawa-kun has a wooden pot somewhere to scoop it into, and if you can pass me the tofu and wakame that would be very helpful. Oh, and put the kettle on for tea, please."

"Okay!"

Obediently, Yuzuriha went to check on the rice-cooker; seeing it still busy she then went to the pantry. Karen, cracking eggs into the mixing bowl, kept a close eye on her; while it certainly seemed that Sakurazuka really didn't have any ulterior motives in being in their kitchen other than cooking, there was no getting around the fact that he was the enemy and Karen was well aware of the Sakurazukamori's lethal reputation. Cute little Yuzuriha could very well be a lamb around a leopard, and Karen was rather protective of little lambs. "Is anyone else awake upstairs, Yuzu-chan?" she asked as the girl put the wakame and tofu on the counter.

"Mm. Kamui isn't in his room, so I guess he's gone for a walk. Subaru-san is still asleep, which is really weird because he's usually up early, should I go call him?"

"Leave him be," said Sakurazuka, and Karen glanced at him, alerted by the sharp note in what had up until now been a congenial voice. "After the past few nights Subaru-kun is finally getting some proper rest, so don't disturb him until his breakfast is ready."

Slightly intimidated by the firmness of this order Yuzuriha nodded before hurrying to the tea; Karen for her part was studying the man's profile. Steadily the hints were falling into place … "And how would you know so much about Subaru-san's sleep patterns, Sakurazuka-san?" she asked archly.

"Personal observation." Sakurazuka had his back to her as he said this, and he didn't turn around. Convenient. "I wouldn't ask him about it, though; Subaru-kun tends to be rather sensitive about such things."

"As he should be," Karen murmured, hiding a smile as she beat the eggs. Oh dear. So Sakurazuka thought of Subaru as Subaru-kun, not Sumeragi-san or even Subaru-san which was what all the Seals used, and even more tellingly the familiarity was deep enough for Sakurazuka to go into the heart of enemy territory to visit and cook breakfast for the onmyouji. Sakurazuka's motivations for being here were getting rapidly clearer. Next question – did Subaru himself know that Sakurazuka was in their kitchen?

There was a loud creak from the front door, and then the sound of shoes being kicked off. Inuki and Yuzuriha looked up. "Oh, the others must be back from the shops!" the inugami mistress said excitedly. "About time – I'm getting really hungry!"

"Aren't we all," said Karen as footsteps began to make their way down the hall, a counterpoint to Yuzuriha's light steps as she went to meet them. Off-side Sakurazuka was chopping the white block of tofu into neat squares; it probably wasn't the best idea to give him a knife, but given how well the morning truce was going it was probably all right—

"Eh? Kamui-chan, you're back! Hey, you'll never guess what's happened this morning—"

"What. The. HELL?!"

Karen whipped her head around. Sure enough, there, standing in middle of the dining room was Kamui, all unruly black hair and stiff limbs frozen in shock. His purple eyes, usually haunted and sorrowful, were currently wide and looked to be made of two parts disbelief and three parts death glare. Or maybe the ratio was the other way around. Whatever; in any case it was patently and excruciatingly obvious that the recipient of Kamui's attention was the Dragon of Earth at the stove, and what was also patently and excruciatingly obvious was the fact that if Karen or Yuzuriha didn't do something soon the morning truce was going to go up in smoke or—

"How the fuck did you get in and what the hell are you doing with Sorata's cooking things if you're here to do anything to hurt Subaru I swear I'll—"

"Good morning, Kamui-kun," said Sakurazuka cheerfully. "You're looking well, and no, I haven't done anything to hurt Subaru-kun and yes, I have permission to use the kitchen. Would you like some soup?"

Or Sakurazuka could throw fuel on the fire and make Kamui's disbelieving death glare an incredulous outraged death glare. A death glare that was now surrounded by an intensifying battle-aura. Inwardly Karen sighed – men! – and, bracing herself, stepped out to intervene …

 

Chapter Three

Chapter Five