http://clampfix.fanworks.net/ccd-fix/clan7.txt </head><body><pre>Two more parts after this. Everybody calm down and recall your respective hitmen, because I will SEND THEM ALL BY TOMORROW EVENING. Just watch your blood pressure and try to remain coherent. ^_^ Everybody's being so NICE to me by being mean. A Clan-Destine Vacation Part 7 by Kay Willow "Kaichou!" Eight men and women burst from four rooms at the cry. Ryoko didn't pause at the doorway to look for the source as did the others; she simply rocketed across the hall with a shuriken in each hand. Omi made as if to follow her, but Shigeru - who had an air of terrifying intensity all of a sudden - slammed the side of his hand into the man's wounded torso. As Omi drew in his breath in sharp agony, his guardian seized his shoulder and moved in front of him protectively. Hahaue and Chichiue watched with a curious air; Hahaue genuinely not caring what had happened and Chichiue having seen it too many times to be alarmed so suddenly. "Kaichou is gone," Akira said in horrified tones. "He's gone." Suoh was searching the room frantically, even going so far as to check the hole in the closet. He set off traps left and right and dodged them without even thinking about it; Akira yelped once and threw himself backwards to avoid a flaming arrow that ignited without warning and flew at his head. He immediately rebounded lithely off the wall and twisted to avoid a blade that fell from the ceiling. Ryoko scowled at him as Meri peeked over her shoulder. "You CONTINUE to not move right," she said sourly. Meri smacked her. "When are you going to leave this poor boy alone?" Shigeru shoved his way past both of them, holding a GUN in one hand. Both Suoh and Akira froze completely as the edgy man guided the firearm around the room cautiously. He relaxed moderately and allowed Omi to enter the room. "And I thought YOU were overprotective," Meri whispered. "Now you've met the man who TAUGHT me to be like that," Ryoko muttered back. It was a mark of how much Nokoru's disappearance had unsettled Shigeru that he didn't turn to give her a rakish grin. And while Nokoru's vanishing act hadn't bothered Ryoko, her brother's unusual brevity got to her. Omi sucked in his breath. "Imonoyama Nokoru," he whispered, his eyes assuming a strange, unfocused look. "Blond hair, blue eyes, twelve years of age. Approximately five feet tall, weighs an estimated hundred pounds. IQ reportedly of plus one-hundred-fifty, official recipient of 'genius' intellectual grading. Infamous for maintaining an easy distance from classmates and associates. Well-known for defense of women and love of logic--" Shigeru listened distractedly with half an ear, nodding occasionally as his bonded chanted the information like a mantra. The rest of the family stared at the playboy blankly. Akira murmured, "I guess he really DOES have a perfect memory." When Omi fell silent again, Shigeru snapped flatly, "Suoh-kun, have I overestimated you as a ninja and a guardian? I never thought you were so easily suckered!" Suoh flushed. "If you knew Kaichou, you'd realize that he can 'easily sucker' ANYONE." He came to a sudden halt near the window. He leaned close and opened the pane slowly, casting a wary eye at the surroundings. "This is where he got out," he volunteered. "He did so under his own power; there aren't any other footprints out here." Shigeru snorted and began to load the gun methodically. "You are unworthy of such an important charge," he said shortly. "If you can not keep track of him, then small wonder Obasama thinks you need to be taught a lesson!" Suoh stiffened defensively. "I have no use for tirades given to me by a Takamura who MURDERS." The two ninja stared at each other. Akira visibly wilted under the tension, caught between wanting to defend his friend and simple fear of the gun-toting ninja. Omi shifted uneasily, shaking his head as if to clear away all hints of his lingering trance. "Shigeru," he said distinctly. "LET BE." Almost instantly, Shigeru stood down; his muscles relaxed, his gun vanished up his sleeve and the kunai nobody had noticed him draw disappeared as well, and his focus evaporated like so much morning mist. Within seconds, he was wry and teasing again, wearing the same cocky grin he'd worn when they'd first met. Akira blinked at him for a moment, as if not sure what he'd seen. Suoh wasn't so easily fooled. <Oh, very good, itoko-san. Now you're the good guy again. After all, you've been with your One since BEFORE YOU CAN REMEMBER, so you can't HELP but obey him.> Suoh grit his teeth, returning to the search. <Maybe nobody will notice you for being the manipulative bastard you are if you hide behind a genial smile and the Takamura guardianship.> Rei had been gazing around with a befuddled expression, looking as if he wasn't quite sure what he was expecting to find but sensing that something was missing. Suddenly, he darted for his room. "Wakaba-sama is gone, too!" he cried. Suoh slammed a fist into the wall. "It took you this long to notice that?" he demanded angrily. "Why couldn't you FEEL that she was gone, Rei-chan? You should have been able to tell before you even woke up." Rei paled. "I... I never had a real bond with her," he said lamely. "You..." The Takamura clan stared at him disbelievingly. After a moment, Ryoko demanded, "You never had a bond with your bonded?" Flushing with embarrassment, the boy amended, "We never had much of a bond. I TOLD you guys this, while we were on the ferry. Wakaba-sama doesn't WANT a Takamura. I can't feel her the way Shigeru-san feels Nigana-san, or even the way Aniue feels Nokoru-san." "What is THAT implying?" "Well gee, Suoh-kun, I don't know," Shigeru drawled amusedly. "Maybe it has something to do with the way MY One is here, and YOURS is not." Suoh glared at his cousin, who only smirked in response. Kasumi threw herself at Suoh; he had to divert his attention and catch her quickly before she could bowl him over. Hahaue's benign attention focused on Rei, who immediately began to sweat. "Akurei-san," she said sweetly. "How is it that you didn't wake up when she left?" "I... I did," Rei admitted, his fists clenching in shame. "I thought she was just getting a drink, like she usually does... I didn't bother going out with her." "Bad form," Shigeru said softly. "Bad form, Rei-kun." Omi hissed something at him which he defended with a hurt expression. "Come on," Kasumi whined. "Let's go FIND him!" "EVERYBODY!" The Takamura clan froze in defensive positions, even Hahaue going so far as to step in front of Chichiue and stare suspiciously in the direction of the voice. Meri and Akira began to move for the door, but Omi caught both their arms. "I KNOW THAT YOU'RE IN THERE! I WANT ALL OF YOU TO COME OUT REALLY SLOW, WITH YOUR HANDS ABOVE YOUR HEADS. IF I SEE ANY WEAPONS, THIS GIRL HERE GETS IT!" Wakaba's shrill scream punctuated the order. Rei immediately exited the building, face drawn. Meri and Akira followed quickly, with Ryoko and Suoh on their respective heels. <I have a very bad feeling about this,> Suoh thought darkly. There were two men standing there. One of them held Wakaba in front of him, with a gun pointed at the back of her neck. "I hope they're done with the stock villain dialogue," Ryoko snarled. She did so, however, very quietly and under her breath. The man holding Wakaba said in a more normal tone, "The rest of them better plan on coming out. Because once she's dead, I know who else to aim for." He waved the gun at Akira and Meri vaguely; the American and the black-haired boy were quite obviously not of the Takamura clan. Kasumi crawled out of the house on her haunches, scowling at the men. Shigeru and Omi were next, and she immediately proceeded to walk up Shigeru's front and huddle on his shoulders. <Where she can get at his knife-belt easier. I swear, Kasumi, that if you even try you'd better PRAY Shigeru-san kills you.> Suoh turned his attention back to the strangers, knowing Hahaue and Chichiue would be right behind them. "That's better," said the second man, taking a head count. "Now, I want all of you to accompany us down to the ferry. If you see any clever little openings where you could kill us and save the girl, then you should be warned that we've got the Imonoyama waiting for us down there. And if our companion down at the docks doesn't see us making a very specific pattern with flares, he'll kill the golden boy with one of Takamura clan's own naginata." Kasumi's eyes widened. Rei hissed to her, "How did they get your naginata?" "How did they get your ONE?" she snapped back. "They DON'T have my naginata!" "And I know that most of you don't care about this one," the first man added, making Wakaba squeak. "But those of you who do had better keep the rest in line. And out of respect for your future Head, I should hope you would hold HIS One valuable." Suoh kept a tight rein on his emotions, managing to keep admirably calm. He knew - better than anyone - that most likely Nokoru wasn't in any danger at all. If anyone was in danger, it was probably his kidnappers. Nonetheless, the knowledge didn't completely reassure him, and he only prayed nothing had already happened to his twelve-year-old charge. "Which one of you is Takamura Shigeru?" asked the other man. "That'd be me," Shigeru volunteered cheerily, holding his hands behind his head. Absently, he began stretching from side to side, startling the man who'd last spoken. "You want something?" Both men looked a trifle unsettled at his casual air. "Are you sure he's the guy, Nanasi?" began the second man hesitantly. "Yes, I'm sure," Nanasi snapped. "Shigeru-san. We're going to shoot you now because we don't want to have to worry about you and what's gonna happen to our necks if you get ahold of us. If you want either of the hostages to live, you'll just die with dignity." Omi's eyes widened, but that was the only visible reaction from the entire lot. Everyone was wired so tensely that there was absolutely no motion after that statement, and Shigeru studied the men with eyes that were sharper and more alert than they should've been, given his goofy grin. "Okay," he said easily. "Kasumi-chan? You're gonna want to get down for this." Kasumi sank very slowly down his back, studying his face intently as if trying to predict his action. When her arms were around his neck, she squeezed tightly in encouragement of whatever she read there and slunk off to curl at her mother's feet. <Shigeru-san, whatever it is you've got up your sleeve had better not get Kaichou in any more trouble than he's already in,> Suoh thought darkly, watching his older cousin shift deliberately to a more relaxed position. Almost instantly, Omi's muscles also lost that tension. Suoh stared at the man, shaken by a sudden irrepressible image... <An empath. This man is an empath and probably a bard in the ancient manner as well, considering what a memory he's got.> Suoh smiled to himself. <Well, if he's easing up then I'm pretty sure Shigeru-san's not planning anything too dangerous.> The man Nanasi swung the gun around to aim at Shigeru, and his companion pointed his own weapon at Wakaba's head. Nanasi aimed carefully. It wasn't until the criminal's finger had tightened on the trigger that Suoh remembered that Takamura were trained to give off false emotions to distract empaths. The bullet flew. Shigeru fell. There was utter silence for a very long moment as everyone stared in horror. Rivulets of blood crept across the leaf-strewn ground, staining the very earth from the wound in the Takamura's chest. Suddenly, with a wrenching cry, Omi clutched at his own chest and staggered. Nanasi automatically focused the gun on him and very nearly shot again until Hahaue began to move. She stepped right over Shigeru's shuddering body and walked across to rest a hand on Omi's shoulder. "It's all right," she said soothingly, oblivious to the guns aimed at her. "He wasn't that good a Takamura, anyway." All at once the small mob began to rush for Shigeru; a single shot in the air from the as-yet unnamed kidnapper stilled them again. Meri was shaking violently and Akira couldn't tear his eyes from the blood; Kasumi had curled in on herself and was rocking back and forth. Omi stared at Hahaue, shaking in shared agony and grief. "How can you say that?" he whispered, tears in his voice if not in his eyes. <He's an empath. He never learned how to cry...> Kasumi crawled over to Shigeru's side and grabbed his blood-stained hand from his wound. "You're an idiot," she gritted through her teeth, glaring down at him. Shigeru laughed, a choked sound that brought blood to his lips. "You'd... have done it... too," he told her slowly, every word an obvious effort and his eyes watery with the pain. "Couldn't... put the clan... in danger." "What's the stupid clan mean?!" "Look, this is all very touching," said Nanasi snidely, jerking Wakaba suddenly and making her cry out to catch their attention again. "But we have to make it to the ferry. We wouldn't want any of you to be late, would we?" Suoh stared straight ahead as the others collected themselves, blocking Shigeru out of their minds. <A ridiculous fate, even for a murderer.> Akira was weeping, now, and Suoh wished he could reassure the younger boy. <Itoko-san sure knows how to make an exit. He's going to die, and I know that everyone else is going to escape unscathed because that's the way it ALWAYS works out but Shigeru's still going to be dead.> Ryoko moved to step nearer her brother, now gasping in shorter breaths and coughing horribly; Meri jerked her back when the men aimed for her. <They're going to pay. If I have to become a murderer myself, they're going to pay.> "Everyone file down the path," the other kidnapper said, gesturing with his weapon. "Take it nice and easy, or Nigana-san is next. We'll take it real slow, because we've got all day for you to point out the traps and tell us how to avoid them. Remember, we die and the Imonoyama goes with us." 'An Imonoyama is too important a person to risk for our little practice-games, I think.' Shigeru's words floated between the Takamura and their charges. It wasn't a game any longer, and it was all the more drastic now. <No risks.> Everyone understood. Suoh began the walk down the path. He didn't wait to see if the rest of the clan would follow him, but he heard Akira scramble and soon felt the young Treasurer's presence at his back. Omi shuffled down the path reluctantly, unwilling to leave his dying friend but not left with much choice as there was a gun pointed at his head. Ryoko and Meri each linked an arm through Kasumi's and more or less carried the little girl along with them. There was a scuffle; no doubt Rei had tried to walk beside Nanasi, the man holding Wakaba. Suoh could hear his younger brother's footsteps fall heavily, weighed by Shigeru's sacrifice and his own failure as a bodyguard. "Stop, you freaks!" cried the unnamed kidnapper. The group stopped and glanced back. "Hey, Takamura-san - we're not hosting a tour here! You can't just stop to admire the scenery!" Hahaue knelt by Shigeru's side, her face frozen in a rather uncharacteristic frown. "A Takamura shall not die without proper burial ceremonies," she said in a frigid voice. "I'm not... DEAD YET!" Shigeru yelled, gasping for breath amidst the pain. "You can't... BURY me!" "We don't give a fuck about your stupid burial rites," Nanasi snarled, pointing the gun at Chichiue. "And unless you MOVE, this one gets it." "Don't you know any other words to replace the verb 'to die'?" she asked acidly. After a moment of consideration, she sniffed disdainfully. "Fine." She reached into her kimono; both kidnappers tensed uneasily, moving behind other people in self-defense. However, the kit she drew out was not a weapon. Hahaue opened the top. "Sacrificial wine," she said tonelessly, dropping a small container onto Shigeru's stomach and ignoring his pained cry. "Holy rod, to be held between the teeth to conduct the dying's last breath to the worlds beyond. Gauze cloth, to cover the deceased and contain his spirit within. Firestarter, to light the gauze aflame and destroy the body." All the aforementioned items were dropped onto the fallen Takamura, who cringed as each ran through him like a blow. "Perform your own burial rights, unworthy one," she added nastily. "Try not to burn down the island." "I'm not lighting myself on fire!" Shigeru snarled at her. It was as if he had already died; she walked away without hearing and proceeded down the path with a pleasant expression once more. Slowly, reluctantly, the others followed her. Before they passed around the bend around which Hahaue cheerfully advised the criminals the traps began, Suoh glanced back. Shigeru lay perfectly still outside the door to the cabin, the gauze still draped across his chest limply. His eyes were closed and his body was limp; the blood had stopped spreading. <Itoko-san...> Memories of Shigeru's visits were distant and dim; Suoh could only barely recall standing in awe of the older boy whenever they'd met. Shigeru had possessed all the grace of a gazelle and the personal charisma of a siren - he'd always been gentle with his immature relations and comfortable even as the only Takamura ever to have claimed a bonded so young. Omi had most likely been with him during those events, but Suoh didn't remember ever seeing him - as a child, Shigeru had been his idol and guiding force, and little else had mattered to him until Suoh had begun his own journey for his One. Shigeru was the only living soul Suoh had been unafraid to talk to, until he'd met Nokoru. <Shigeru-san...> Laughing as he watched the younger Suoh practice his aim, soberly demonstrating a better technique with bokken, eyes twinkling as he raised all the most embarrassing topics and made the most outrageous claims. Never allowing his thoughts to be controlled by tradition, never accepting 'no' for an answer, never denying himself even as he never balked at any task... Shigeru had challenged every authority, especially those who dared to openly disapprove of him. And Suoh, always watching him when he thought the older boy wasn't looking, always admiring his determination and his cleverness and his resourcefulness, always envying his luck and his carefree nature. Suoh had refused to allow his inappropriate and unwanted hero-worship to show, and even now that he was older and could recognize qualities in his cousin that he'd sooner die before allowing in himself - even now that he knew that Shigeru's was a manipulative mind on par with the best of them - he still respected him more than anyone else in the family. <Sayonara, itoko-san. Sayonara.> Suoh trailed after Akira, refusing to acknowledge the single tear that escaped to glide down his cheek. DISCLAIMER: *sweatdrop* Now everybody who had actually learned that somebody would die can calm down and stop pestering me with incessant questions. How could anybody think I was gonna kill Kasumi-chan? Ah, right. (That should've been an Absent-Minded Note, actually...) Well, CLAMP Campus Detectives belongs to CLAMP and any other respective people who own the rights to it. The Takamura clan members, minus Suoh and Hahaue but including their someones, are all mine. MINE, and I can kill them if I want to. (...Omi's gonna hurt me...)</pre><p><a href="./">Back</a></p><p><a href=http://www.dreamhost.com/donate.cgi?id=216><img border=0 alt="Donate towards our web hosting bill!" src=https://secure.newdream.net/donate1.gif></a></p></body></html>