Subaru Sumeragi

**Subaru Sumeragi** (皇昴流, *Sumeragi Subaru*) is the protagonist of the *Tokyo Babylon* series. He is the 13th leader of Sumeragi Clan. He is the twin brother of Hokuto Sumeragi.

## Appearance

He constantly wears gloves over his hands for reasons known only to his grandmother. A shadowy childhood moment may provide the answer.

## Personality

In *Tokyo Babylon* Subaru appears as a cheerful yet bashful teenager from Tokyo, utterly devoted to helping others—both in his capacity as Japan's most powerful *onmyōji*. As well as exorcizing demons, helping lost souls ascend to the afterlife, entering the minds of comatose people to bring them back to the world, and fighting those who abused spiritual powers, he would often also stand up to bullies and provide comfort and friendship to their victims. Subaru lives alongside his sister Hokuto, whose personality had become the polar opposite to his own—eccentric and outgoing. Subaru and Hokuto are good friends with a kindly and magically-aware veterinarian named Seishiro Sakurazuka, whom they met at a railway station after Subaru's *shikigami* led him on a bizarre chase. Seishiro acts as guardian to both and claims to love Subaru romantically.

After Seishiro loses the sight in his right eye protecting Subaru, the *onmyoji* realizes he loves the man. However, Seishiro reveals that he is the Sakurazukamori, a ruthless magical assassin raised to be incapable of either love or hate. Lifting the veil he had placed on the boy's memory, Seishiro reveals he met Subaru as a child and made a promise with him: that if they met again, he would live with the boy for a year to see if his heart could be moved. However, the assassin claims he was as barren of emotion as ever, and attempts to kill Subaru, only for the boy's grandmother to rescue him at great personal cost. Subaru becomes catatonic as a result, but recovers when Hokuto dies at the Sakurazukamori's hands to spare Subaru. Subaru decides at this point to drop out of school so that he can focus on training. He continues his work as an *onmyōji*, remaining compassionate to others but acting more reserved; he also takes up smoking, like Seishiro before him.

Subaru has also appeared in two adaptations of the *Tokyo Babylon* manga. In the original video animation, Subaru investigates the tragedies occurring in a construction while in the second he searches a murderer. The live-action film *Tokyo Babylon 1999* features Subaru portrayed by Tonesaku Toshihide. In the story Subaru meets seven teenage *onmyōji* who wish to avenge their teacher murdered by Seishiro. A drama CD for the film was also released featuring Subaru investigating a murder case by Seishiro.

## Appearances in Other Media

### Tsubasa: Reservoir Chronicle

Subaru reappears as one of a pair of twin vampires alongside Kamui for whom Seishirō is searching. He makes his first appearance in the Tokyo arc, in which he talks to a comatose Sakura and urges her to wake up before she is lost to her dreams. It turns out that he himself was left in a comatose state at the bottom of a large water reservoir, leading to Kamui's fierce protection of the site. Eventually he wakes and is at last rejoined with his twin.

### xxxHOLiC

In volume one of *xxxHolic*, the witch Yūko Ichihara mentions knowing an onmyōji with a twin sister whom she has known since the onmyōji was very young. She hopes that the boy will be happy, but there are many definitions for happiness. This onmyōji is Subaru.