Manga
A Karen Specific Summary of X/1999
The manga begins with Kamui returning to Tokyo at the request of his recently deceased mother. His intention is to retrieve a special sword that is being kept in the shrine maintained by the father of Kamui's two dearest childhood friends, Fuuma and Kotori Mouno. Because his life is so marred by tragedy and he wants to spare his friends, he tries to have as little contact with them as possible, but their destinies are too intertwined for contact to be avoided. Although they are startled by Kamui's cold demeanor, they continue to support him and, in the end, their friendship continues.
Because of Kamui's return to Tokyo, other people involved in the end of the world began gathering in the city as well. The two sides are the Dragons of Heaven, those who seek to protect humankind, and the Dragons of Earth, those who want to revive the Earth by killing off humanity. Both sides want Kamui to join their side in order to achieve their goals so they try to talk to him. Soon after his arrival, Kamui is attacked by men in suits who turn out to be spells attached to little slips of paper. He also ends up in a fight against a young man named Saiki, who is not a Dragon on either side, but rather a person working with those who are trying to protect the Earth. He doubts that Kamui is the true savior because of his violent temper. One of the Dragons of Heaven, a young Buddhist monk named Sorata, becomes Kamui's companion, despite Kamui's hostility towards him.
Eventually Kamui learns that his mother has a sister who is interested in telling him about the history of his family. He and Sorata go to her house to talk to her, but when they sense a kekkai appearing nearby, they leave to find out what was going on. They meet Arashi who was just attacked by the same men in suits who attacked Kamui earlier, but she was able to fight them off with the help of another Seal, named Aoki Seiichirou, Saiki's uncle. Kamui, Sorata, and Arashi go back to talk further to Kamui's aunt, but when they get there her house is on fire. Since Kamui's mother died in a fire, he is considerably upset by what he assumes is the similar death of his newly discovered aunt. Sorata assures him that since there is no sign of any people in the house, his aunt was probably not inside when the fire started; however, this may mean that his aunt was taken by someone.
From on top of a light pole, Karen observes Kamui and the others as they leave the burning building. Her negligee flutters in the wind and a small smile crosses her face as she watches Kamui. Quickly and silently, she disappears.
Eventually, Arashi takes Kamui and Sorata to the Diet Building to visit Princess Hinoto, a dream seer who seeks to guide the Dragons of Heaven. Although Hinoto tries to explain the situation, Kamui is rather hostile towards her, particularly because he already fought a battle with her young guardian, Saiki. Things get pretty tense until a strange spirit dog shows up, soon followed by his master, another young Seal named Nekoi Yuzuriha. At this point, four of the seals, plus Kamui, have been confirmed, leaving only two places left. Seishirou, of the Dragons of Earth, attacks the group by placing them in an illusion that they each have to break, even though this move makes little sense at all (other than the fact that it allows each person to show off his/her powers).
After the curse is dispelled, Kamui storms out and goes to angst about his fate as the one who will protect the world. While he is out, Sorata and Arashi take a walk and discuss several issues, including their special powers and the need to find their remaining allies. Sorata suggests that since each of the Seals are people of some importance from different religious sects, that the two remaining allies are probably in the same position. The two hypothesize (correctly) that the sixth member of their team is the thirteenth head of the Sumeragi clan, Sumeragi Subaru.
Sorata jokes that he is happy to be a Dragon of Heaven because everyone on their side is so pretty. From in the treetops a voice says, “Oh, then I can't be friends, can I? Not unless I'm pretty?” Surprised that somebody has been listening in on their conversation without them knowing, Sorata and Arashi turn around and see Karen sitting on a tree branch wearing a light colored negligee. Sorata assures her that she is very pretty, but observes that her clothes are rather strange. Karen replies that she just came from work, but that she has a very important message that she simply had to give them. She points to the burnt ashes of Kamui's aunt's house and explains that the message is from her. Sorata asks if she was in on the plot to capture her, but Karen replies that, while she was not with those who were behind the kidnapping, she was the one who started the fire. She explains, “I've come back often, to look at this house. The house where Kamui lived.” She than reveals that she is the seventh seal, Kasumi Karen. She was sitting in the tree, observing the house, when the men who came for Kamui's aunt and dragged her away, but while they were forcing into a car, her eyes met Karen's and she sent her a physic message to burn down the house. Also, she wanted Karen to tell Kamui to “protect the sacred sword.” The others are confused by this message since the sacred sword was stolen already, but Karen replies that she has already told them what she knows and she needs to get back to work. Sorata, still thinking about his hypothesis that all the Seals are important people from different religious sects, asks her about her religious affiliation, and she giggles as she replies, “Flower.” Sorata is confused until she gives him her card and disappears in a blast of flames. He reads the back and realizes that “Flower” is a soapland, meaning that Karen is a bathhouse hostess.