http://clampfix.fanworks.net/ccd-fix/family1.txt </head><body><pre>Hi, I know it's been a bit... I am still working on re-editing the last fic, but I also started this one. Frankly I am thouroughly swamped and my English skills seem to be going down the drain ^_^; This fic is a crossover between CLAMP Gakuen Tantaiden and Hanazakari no Kimitachi e. Both of them are way up on my list of favorites and I really want to see something with both of them in it. ^_^ I want to thank shara for doing the initial reading of this, and to assure you all that I made many changes before putting it up...if I missed something, feel free to tell me about it. ------------------------------------------------------------ Family Stage 1: Entrance by miai ________________________________________________________________ This is a fanfic. That means that no money was made off using characters that belong to talented people. I wrote this because I wanted to. I didn't ask to use any name's likenesses or anything else. CLAMP holds copy write on all the characters that originate on CLAMP Campus, Hisaya Nakajo owns all the denizens of Ohsaka Academy. Also. This would work better in Japanese, since a person can easily get around using gender specific pronouns, but since this is English I will use "he" when people talk to "Mizuki," UNLESS they know she is masquerading as a boy, because as far as the general population of Mizuki's school is concerned, she is a he. Thanks to M. who gave me the dorm that Masao Himejima leads...did that come out right? ^_^; Thanks Shara for doing beta reading^^ Thanks for reading this disclaimer. ________________________________________________________________ Somewhere nearby, a lark sang. Moving her carved wooden fan delicately away from her mouth, the rijichou of CLAMP School calmly regarded the teen across the table from her. She drew a wood covered lighter from the folds of her green summer kimono. Bending forward, Rijichou, lit the three sparklers, replaced the lighter to her person, and bowed as she slid the carefully prepared banana split across the table with both hands. A faint breeze blew the stray strands of her hair. The President of CLAMP School's Student Body Government lifted a long-limbed spoon from the napkin to his right. "I will need my most trusted associates." Rijichou smiled, "I have made preparations." * * * "A dog!" Akira dropped his suitcase and ran to the mutt that pulled it's chain to reach him. "So soft!" he had his arms around the animal's neck and was pushing his face into the dog's fragrant fur. A small laugh turned their head, "Her name's Yuujirou...I'm Mizuki Ashiya." the boy bowed quickly. As his head came down Yuujirou jumped, forcing the food bowel in Mizuki's hand closer to the ground. "OK, OK." Nokoru spoke for the group, "I am Nokoru Imonoyama," he gestured to Akira and Suoh, "He is Akira Injyuin, and ..." "He's as pretty as Kaichou." Akira watched in awe as the youth cleaned and refilled a water dish near Yuujirou's doghouse. Suoh carefully studied the wall surrounding Ohsaka's Dorm two. [How did you talk me into this?] He stepped forward, "I am Suoh Takamura." Mizuki bowed, "It's nice to meet you." Suoh looked at the building then turned to speak to Nokoru quietly, "I should see the room." Nokoru watched as Akira talked to Mizuki about the novelty of a dog on campus. "No, I am going to be a normal student here. There's no reason for you to have to check on my room." Suoh's mouth moved in what Nokoru recognized to be nothing more than dissaproval, though his words were angry, "Excuse me, it's late and I need to get to the dorm-dining hall before it closes." Nokoru allowed Suoh to extract himself and watched him walk away. "Akira!" Akira snapped to attention, "Yes, Kaichou!" "While living away from campus we must experience life as students in a boarding school do!" Nokoru made a fist and lifted his chin, "We must experience everything! Partake in every dorm activity, eat every meal with our peers, become one with the members of this community!" Akira clapped, "Wonderful." Mizuki waved, "Hello, hello!" "AH! hahaha" Nokoru horridly laughed. "Takamura-san was right, the eating halls will be closing soon." Mizuki enthusiastically ran up the steps to the dorm, "I can lead you to your rooms, and then we could grab something to eat. I think Nanba-sempai was just going to the dining hall now..." Nokoru and Akira followed Mizuki in the door before he turned to them, "What rooms are you in?" "We're together, room 207," Akira supplied while Nokoru watched Mizuki. Mizuki lead them to the stairs, "I'm in 205. We'll be close by." His smile was infectious. Nokoru decided listening to the boy that Mizuki must be from an English speaking country. He spoke Japanese well, but he had an accent. Akira continued to talk jovially with Mizuki until they got to their room, when Nokoru yelled "bunk beds," and ran to put his bags on the desk nearest the door. He then realized that this wasn't behaviour becomming to a teenager and coughed to cover his excitement. "We should get down if we're going to get something to eat," Mizuki ventured, "I think that there are brownies for desert." Nokoru's sweet tooth got the better of him, "Yes! Let's go!" He was still thin and had no skin problems, but he knew that many people his age actually denied themselves sweets to ensure a clear face. Nokoru realized as he walked to the cafeteria that self denial wasn't one of his stronger suits. * * * Suoh went into the room he had been assigned and sighed. He didn't know whether he should allow this farce to continue. It was the first night and Suoh already realized that this situation was not promising for his own interests. [Takamura's protect their special one], Suoh reminded himself as he climbed the stairs to his room. To stay in a separate building from Nokoru was unthinkable, but somehow the mistevious Imonoyama had somehow phrased the virtual slumber party into a neccessary mission for CLAMP School. Nokoru had proposed posing as students to further a dorm project on CLAMP campus. Apparently there was a reason that the present dorms were not suitable to the Rijichou's purposes. And, since the young Imonoyama was going to be staying off campus without bodyguards, Suoh had agreed to accompany Nokoru to serve as a bodyguard. Suoh walked up the stairs in his dorm, pausing to look at room numbers nailed on the wooden doors.They got larger to the right, and smaller in the other direction. He turned left and continued on his way. [He didn't tell me what he's doing, either.] Suoh realized that what bothered him most about this situation was that he was no longer in Nokoru's confidence. And now he was also not in Nokoru's presence. He rounded a corner and stopped as he entered what would be his room. Sitting on the lower bunk was a man with hair nearly as long as Suoh's beloved Nagisa's hair. When he stood, the stranger's hair was draped becomingly over an ornately ruffled shirt with ribbons as cufflinks and necktie. The older boy, probably Nokoru's age, flourished a rose, "I am this dorm's student chairman. Oscar M. Himejima." Suoh crossed his arms. "We will be sharing a room, as Dorm One was full, and I have my space to myself to allow me to deal with the many trials of dorm leadership." Oscar M. Mimejima threw his forearm dramatically over his well-combed bangs. Just as Suoh was beginning to ask himself why on earth these were the sorts of people he attracted, Himejima took the Takamura's dark chin in his hand, "I requested an athlete be brought to my dorm. It's good to see that I got one." He released Suoh and looked him up and down, "Like a horse, you have a strong build, but good lines." Himejima nodded to himself for a moment, "Still you are not complimentary enough to my own beauty to be my permanent roommate." Suoh looked around his well-appointed room. It looked as if it came form a designer's catalogue, only the designer was fond of flowers. He threw his bags up on his bunk a little harder than he needed to, "I'm going down to get some food." He turned back to the door and saw an elegant ivory carving of a vase and roses set upon a delicatelyinlaid table near the bathroom door. [At least this will be preparation for living with a lady.] He reddened at the thought. * * * Mizuki was worried when she heard the, "Pretty as Kaichou" remark. Could they have discovered her secret so quickly? But after listening to the two newcomers interact, she discovered that Nokoru was 'kaichou.' It didn't explain everything, though. [Why does Nokoru-sempai keep looking at me like that?] He was a thin young man, blond, and actually, come to think of it, he was very pretty. Efeminantly pretty. That only served to make Mizuki nervous. Mizuki had enough problems without new people in the dorm mistaking her for a girl, or worse thinking she was a man they could get close to. She shook her head as she imagined another Nakatsu in the dorm. "All the dorms eat together. It's really nice, we can easily keep friends with everyone." Nokoru nodded, "Yes, that would be good. It is nice to have the familial feeling of the dorm, and the comradely of open meal times." Mizuki smiled [He's far to serious.] "Really I think it's just easier to have only once cafeteria. But we can see people from our classes here and arrange study sessions." Akira spoke up, "It's Takamura-sempai!" The dark haired youth waved energetically. "He doesn't look happy..." Mizuki had noticed before that the three were very close. "Go ahead and get your dinners, I'll save you a spot at that table." [I'll also tell Nanba-sempai that you're here.] Nokoru and Akira went a door on the north end of the hall and Minami Nanba looked up as Mizuki took a seat near him, "Ashiya, I thought you ate with Nakatsu and Sano earlier." Mizuki nodded, "I brought the new students." She happily accepted a stick of pocky from Kayashima, a student who shared her dorm. Himejima seemed to be picking up a lost thread of conversation, "I, Oscar M. Himejima, of course will win the tournament. My dorm cannot loose." Mizuki and Nakatsu chorused, "Why do you call yourself Oscar?" Nokoru and Akira brought trays of rice with curry and side dishes to the table and looked on in confusion. Kyashima leaned close to Suoh, as though he was going to tell a secret, then he spoke in a slightly loud voice, "Masao-sempai likes to think he's good-looking, and therefore a winner in all things." Himejima reddened to the color of his silk hair ribbon, "What did you call me?" "Ma-Sa-O - san." Kayashima looked proud of himself for a moment before turning to the newcomers. "Masao Himejima-sempai is the leader of Dorm Three. But with the decathlon coming up, we will prove that dorm two is the best." Suoh and Nokoru looked up a the same time, "Decathlon?" To Mizuki, they seemed to have gone a little pale Minami spoke quickly , "Just a bit of friendly competition!" Suoh looked at Himejima for a moment. "Of course." Himejima stood dramatically with a rose between his first and middle fingers and spoke in German, "I will rise to the occasion and fulfill the roll given to me!" He threw his rose to Mizuki and changed back to Japanese, "My men will prevail!" Everyone was silent for a moment, watching Himejima's ponytail swing from side to side across his narrow back as he left the hall. Suoh turned to his friends. "Kai--Nokoru-san. Perhaps," He needed to phrase this delicately, "It may be for the best that I change places with Injyuin." Mizuki and the others watched the exchange in fascination. The dorm assignments had been picked by mutual consent of all the leaders. Nokoru's seemed overly cheerful. "A decathlon is just the challenge I was looking for in changing schools!!!" Akira nodded, "And putting Himejima-sempai and Nokoru-sempai in the same room would overflow the closet space." * * * Mizuki sat at her desk. She was going over her trig, again. For some reason she was missing something. It had been well explained in class. She remembered understanding everything while under the teacher's scrutinizing gaze, but something was wrong now that she was trying to apply the lesson alone in her room. Instead she sat and watched the bathroom door. Sano was in there. She blushed at the thought. She had come all the way from Claifornia just for him. She was sure that he had no idea. A girl in an all boys' school was unheard of. At first even her best friend had been skeptical. But the more she reasoned it out, even Ohsaka's sister school wouldn't do. She had to be here. It was only her own blind luck that she became Izumi Sano's roommate. She felt a little sheepish, remembering. She had run into him in the hall before their first class and all she could do was stare at him, and then walk up declaring, "I like you Izumi Sano. Let's be friends." Now, a year later, she could look back and see she was lucky that he ever spoke to her again. But when she came into her room to find that she was his roommate, she couldn't have been happier. And she was always careful. How could he know he was acutally living with a girl? Briefly images flashed through her mind: he had walked into the shower, but she was turned the other way; they had slept in the same bed, but they were always sleeping; he had kissed her, but he was drunk; they had baithed together, but they were both so embarrased to be caught alone in the bath that even stumbling into him had seemed to make no difference to him; and he had become her protector. How many fights had he been in to keep her safe? She heard the shower turn off and realized that she should make a pretence at homework. She heard him come out and move around the room. Mizuki looked at her handsome roommate, and found he was watching her. Once again she was at a loss to figure out what he was thinking. But she had to say something, "Sano, do you think that two students will tip the balance for our dorm?" He started drying his hair. "Why not?" She tried to stop noticing the spots of water on his cheeks, "I, I thought that, maybe with so many great athletes in the dorm, two students wouldn't change the outcome. You and Nakatsu are just two of the people we have going for us." He was silent for a moment, then he came over. Mizuki was sitting at her desk, leaning her knees brought up to her chin. She seemed completely oblivious to Sano's wandering eyes. "They aren't in this dorm to help with the athletic events, they are to raise our overall academic standing." He threw his towel on the upper bed and looked over Mizuki's shoulder at her cluttered desk. She had been working on trig while he was in the shower, and as usual had changed while he was out of the room. "Here," he took the pencil she had been chewing and began working the equation on a scrap paper. She looked up at his face as he worked. Their door swung open, "Mizuki! My mother sent Tako Yaki lollip--AAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!" Mizuki jumped up, "Nakatsu!" She got behind him and preformed he hemlich to rescue him from the lollipop that was caught in his throat. Sano sat in the chair, when he seemed sure that Nakatsu was fine he turned back to Mizuki's math problem. Mizuki was sincerely worried. "Are you ok?" Nokoru, with Akira close behind, ran to the door behind Nakatsu, "Is everything ok?" As Mizuki turned to look at them she saw Nanba-sempai coming up behind Akira before Nakatsu pulled her attention back to himself. "Don't let him sit with you like that!" He took in Mizuki's t-shirt and gym shorts. "You just...Life is great!" He calmed a little and hugged her close. "You saved my life!" Nokoru and Akira looked confused. Mizuki assured them, "Everything's fine." She looked over at Sano pouring over her homework, "actually I was just working on my math..." Nokoru looked interested, "May I?" At Mizuki's nod he entered and looked over Sano's shoulder, but he kept farther distance than Sano had when Mizuki was in the chair. "Oh, I think ..." he picked up a pencil from the case on the edge of the desk and began adding notations to Sano's work. "There..." Sano looked in the back of the book, "Right. How did you know to skip all the intermediate steps?" Nokoru looked happy, "Math is one of my favorite subjects." Jaws dropped all over the room. Nakatsu came over and frantically slapped the blond boy on the back, "You will help us so much." "I'm sorry?" Nokoru looked confused. Nanba explained, "The all student decathlon is set up dorm by dorm and subject by subject. We have to choose our scholars, our athletes, and our artists by dinner tomorrow." * * * Nokoru and Akira sat in the chairs at their desks. Akira returned to memorizing the history he would have to know for his first class in the morning. Nokoru looked bemused as he saw that it was a general view, and not the deep history that they were accustomed to in their first year at CLAMP campus. He needed to remind himself occasionally that only the brightest and fastest learners were generally around him at his home school. For himself, Nokoru was envisioning a holiday. Coming to Ohsaka Academy was the same as a vacation for the three CLAMP students. They could pass their classes without much studying and focus on the life of dormers. Now he just needed to convince his friends of the same thing. "It's just like you Akira to be so contentious." Akira smiled, "I won't dissapoint our school." He went back to studying. If he was thinking anything more, he wasn't sharing it with Nokoru. Nokoru tried again, "How about that decathelon." [Boy that sounded forced.] "We came at just the right time!" Akira looked at him, "Imagine a decathlon that involves learning and art as well as sports!" Nokoru nodded absently. He picked up a cup of tea Akira had given him before the commotion down the hall. Generally students who tested high enough in their bailiwick were admitted to CLAMP Campus, regardless of their parent's standing in the world outside. The students came from all walks of life and excelled at nearly every facet of sports, sciences, humanities, and more activities than Nokoru could focus his intellect upon. Most of the students who lived too far from campus moved their families on campus, or stayed in the dorms. Many of the student's parents worked on campus. But not all of them. There was a growing percentage of the schools population that needed on-campus housing away from their families. Nokoru's dear friend Akira was but one of the many children who CLAMP Campus welcomed each day while their parents were far off in business or pleasure, or whose parent's were too involved in the world outside academia to stay in the relatively isolated environment the campus created. Rijichou had been concerned that with more families splitting up to allow the children to attend prestigious schools and the parents to continue living as though they had no children, some of the students may be suffering. Nokoru sipped his royal milk tea and studied the side of his friend's head. As long as he had known Akira, the younger boy's mothers had been traveling the world, returning for brief stays of months or years. It had never occurred to the normally empathetic Imonoyama successor that Akira, the now- high-school-freshman, could be unhappy with his home life. Nor could he imagine, the person he thought of as the cheerful bastion of his own compassion could be unhappy with his living arrangements. Akira returned to a nearly empty house every night, but it never seemed to bother him. Nokoru himself lived a rather lonely life, true. But it is one thing to choose to separate oneself from those you could, potentially love, and to be distant from the ones you love with all your heart. That, Nokoru also knew. There was a knock at the door. Akira looked at Nokoru. Nokoru called, "Come in," and turned around. Minami Nanba entered and looked approvingly at the orderly room and open books on the desks. He sat on the lower bunk. "I thought I should explain to you both that you came at difficult time for us." Nokoru and Akira both turned their chairs around and listened. "We have a number of skilled athletes in our dorm. But the majority of our people are average or excel in only one or two areas." He looked at them carefully, "As leader of this dorm I researched your last school. Now, I'm asking if you think that you could be on our scholastic team." When neither the blond nor brunet answered Nanba seemed to waver, "Himejima seems to think new student in dorm three may turn their athletic team to a slight advantage over us. Dorm 1 has historically been sports minded, though. Really we would be trying to see who comes in second. That is really because the Decathlon's events are not in our favor." Nokoru nodded, "I know Suoh, he would more than turn the balance in any event if he is allowed to compete with anyone nearing a competent athlete." Nanba looked concerned for a moment, "The main thing that I worry about is the art section." He sighed, "We have people with great imaginations in this dorm, but after our attempts to put our ideas into solid reality in the past, I think we can assume enough of the other dorm's populations will be wary enough of us to come up with increasable designs." Akira spoke for the first time, "What do you mean?" Nanba smiled, "We've had dorm competitions before, and we did well. The girls from our sister school would come and we can attract them, now. But Drom Three's haunted house got most of the girls last year." He smiled, seemingly lost in memory for a moment. "But since then Himejima was beat out for being crowned king at our dance I think that we may beat him yet." Akira smiled, "There aren't any worries there, anything Nokoru-san does is attractive to ladies." Nokoru looked innocent, "So the girls of our sister school will be our judges." When Nanba nodded Nokoru asked, "What are the criterion and events?" Nanba-sempai sighed. "Sports, Art and Acedemic. We already know that we can't match Dorm One in Karate. Mizuki was just thrown around the room last time..." Akira nodded, "Takamura-sempai will be able to help his dorm a lot there." "Then at least One will have a challenger." Nanba seemed to think for a moment, "But that still leaves swimming and archery. We have good swimmers, and we're fair with bows...We might be able to get a few points in these events. It is easier to take points in a clear cut case of win or lose." Nokoru looked relieved, but added, "There's no reason Suoh wouldn't help win those, too. He has been in nearly all sporting events since kindergarten. And he excels in traditional sports especially." Akira perked up, "They may need Takamura-sempai in the academic events, though." "There is a limit: No resident may participate in more than three activities." Nanba-sempai seemed to fall a little, "The academic subjects are math, history and physics. Art is poetry, watercolor, drawing, and a free style event for originality." Nokoru spoke softly, "It will depend on who else they have. Suoh can take position on academic and athletic teams with equal ease, but I have never asked about his artistic abilities." This was a new thought for Nokoru, could Suoh paint? * * * Suoh saw images of Nokoru running, tripping on his shoelaces and falling on his face. He shook his head. Of course even Nokoru was not so clumsy. But there were no women at this school, there was no telling what would happen. Usually if there was a lady involved Nokoru did very well. Even if the only involvment the lady played was as a spectator in need of a winner to make her smile. Suoh remembered many times when Nokoru had gotten a gleam in his eyes and told Suoh about great legends where kights and princesses looked longinly at one another across the jousting arena. Suoh looked at his roommate incredulously. "You mean I have to participate?" He'd never thought of himself as a quitter, but this didn't seem like his fight. He hadn't even been here a full day. Himejima smiled, "I have no doubt we can win through our ingenuity." Suoh sighed and held a finger to his temple. "Undoubtedly, Nokoru-san will enter the academic events with the other dorm members. Injyuin, though, he could be placed anywhere." He stood and paced. He though hurriedly [I don't want to have to challenge either of them.] But he had already told Himejima where he did his best. Suoh climbed into the top bunk, but even doing that he imagined Nokoru slipping on the ladder of his own. It was just like Nokoru to want to try out the highest bed. He closed the curtain on his bed and tried to ignore Himejima's humming. Suoh had been told to select his best three sporting events, he picked karate and archery, naturally. His third choice, soccer hadn't seemed to excite Himejima. And his best academic subject of three Himejima had presented. He knew he was stronger in math and physics than he was in history. In spite of being a member of an old family, he had no passion for history. He was more interested in the now, as was suitable to his training. Himejima had been very interested in his math experiance and had actually fallen into a chair when Suoh told him about his class at CLAMP School. They had eventually chosen Math as his strongest suit. With that Himejima had seemed very pleased. Only then was he told that he would be in a decathlon that included such events. He was sure that he could come up agains his friends in math. Afterall, Nokoru was a genious, and Akira was no less. And Akira was the student government treasurer as well as high school student body treasurer. Akira could do calculations in his head fast enough to amaze. On top of that Akira did well in karate. If Suoh himself wasn't in the school, there was no doubt that Akira would be head of the high school competitive division. Suoh dedicated himself to doing his best, no matter who his competition was. The thought allowed him to sleep. * * * Mizuki rushed to get her tie on and her belt buckled at the same time. The result was a knot around mid chest and a poking the metal of her belt through the tie. She looked with dismay at the metal spear that had emerged through the regulation black tie. "WHY?" she moaned as she started trying to undo her tie. Sano came out of the bathroom with his toothbrush hanging out of his mouth, his hair was falling across his forehead and he looked surprised, "Whah hahen?" Mizuki turned around so he wouldn't see the mess she had made just trying to get dressed. But when the leather started sneaking out pant's loops as she tried to disengage it, she gave up and turned to face him. He seemed to laugh. He disappeared into the bathroom and emerged wiping his chin. "It's been a year, and you still can't get your tie." He pulled the tie to restart the knot, and found the belt following. "How'd this happen?" Mizuki put one arm behind her head, "First one thing then another." Sano sighed and extracted the belt from Mizuki's tie. Then he concentrated on the knot she had made. When it was loose he tied it, counting aloud for her benefit, and showing her the loops as he moved them. He tightened it and pushed the knot up to her neck. He stood back a moment then ran his finger through her hair. "Better finish fast if you want to be in on the choosing. I'll meet you at breakfast." At breakfast, the petitioners and candidates were going to make their cases for being in the decathelon. All day people would be talking to Nanba-sempai. Each dorm was going to take all applications, but it was the dorm leaders decision in the end. Sano picked up his school issued bookbage and slung it over his shoulder, waving on his way out. Mizuki quickly pulled her belt on and ran to the mirror. She would need to fix her hair, alright. After Sano's hand had been through it, she looked like a girl who had pulled her hair back, not at all like the boy she was pretending to be. She ran a comb through her hair, pushing it all forward. Then parted it in the middle, tucking the loose strands behind her ears. She ran out of the bathroom, only to realize she wasn't in her shoes yet. Someone passed by outside the door while she was tying, but she didn't have time to look up and see who was there. She gathered her books and stuffed them into her bag as she closed the door and ran down the stairs. She as she turned the corner at the stairs landing, she turned to start down the next flight and the buckle on her bag began being stubborn. Mizuki focused on the buckle, taking the stairs as quickly as she could. Her toes missed the third step, leaving her heel to tred on its curved edge. Her mouth made an "O" of surprise and she found herself descending far faster than she had meant to. She squeezed her eyes closed and fully expected to hit hard, maybe even slide a little, but she stopped. She looked and saw wide brown eyes directly above her face. "Are you hurt?" That sound came from below. She shook her head slightly. Then realized that she was not yet on solid ground. She was sure she should have hit the steps by now. Mizuki looked around. She was in Nokoru Imonoyama's arms. From his positioning, his head at nearer the top than the bottom of the steps, he must have run up the stairs to save her. "I'm fine. Just scared." She suddenly realized that she was in his arms, on his chest, her weight pressing him to the stairs. "I'm sorry!" She started to move. "Hold on." Nokoru began to turn his body to allow Mizuki to get off his chest without having her hurt him in the process. "There." Akira helped her to her feet, "Kaichou, are you alright?" He put his accent on the "you." Nokoru smiled, looking at Mizuki. "I'm alright." Mizuki flushed as she realized Nokoru was staring. She began to fear of another Nakatsu running around the dorm. Two boys swearing their love to all who would hear, while everyone thought she was a boy herself, was more than she could bear. "Uh, I'll take you to the doctor's office." She and Akira each took part of Nokoru's weight to help him up. "Really, I'm fine," he protested. He was trying to walk for himself, but the stairs must have hurt him. * As they approached the doctor's office Nokoru was walking himself with Akira and Mizuki as worried attendants. Mizuki walked slightly ahead, serving as a guide, but when she entered the infirmary door she stopped dead and her mouth dropped open. "Se-sensei!" Umeda-sensei had his coat off and was laying across a student. The student was layed out on a bench with his shirt off. From Mizuki's position she could see only the student's flushed face and shoulders, with Hokuto Umeda's head dropped on the bench next to the prone upperclassman. Umeda looked up annoyed, "What?" His glasses where off. Nokoru spoke Mizuki before she could take the school nurse's annoyance, "I fell on the stairs." He saw from Mizuki's reaction that they had come upon an delicate situation. "It can wait, though." "No, no. Just take a seat on the chair near my desk." Umeda leaned over again and grunted slightly. The student under him groaned, "That's it!" Umeda stood up and took put his lab coat on. "Try to take care of it before you go to bed, that was the problem this morning. Don't go back to practice for a few days at least." He walked over to the desk where Nokoru sat and put his thin rimmed glasses on. The student put his shirt on, "Thank you sensei!" Umeda-sensei waved and made a notation on his desk calendar, "OK, so you fell?" Mizuki spoke up, "Actually, I fell." Umeda-sensei nodded as though he wasn't surprised. "Are you OK?" "Yeah, I was just scared." Mizuki realized belatedly if she had been hurt as well as Nokoru-sempai, Umeda-sensei would have to come up with an excuse to treat her behind a screen or kick everyone else out. She resolved not to be the reason any one else missed recieving medical attention. When she looked up she realized that Umeda-sensai was already talking to Nokoru-sempai. He nodded as though Nokoru had made a point, "Where does it hurt?" Nokoru replied promptly, "My back." The nurse nodded, "Shirt off." "Uh, I'll see you after breakfast...Thank you again!" Mizuki retreated quickly and ran to the breakfast hall. * Nakatsu was talking about a scoring a goal in his dreams, and how Mizuki had praised him just before he woke up. Several centimeters short of a hug, according to Nakatsu with tears in his eyes. His roommate and Kayashima talking about how they wished Nakatsu just wouldn't share his dreams with them. Sano was waiting for her with a bored look. "You're late." "Sorry! I had a fall on the stairs." Mizuki sat and started stuffing rice in her mouth. She saw Takamura-sempai watching the door. She remembered how close he was to Akira-san and Nokoru-sempai. "When I fell and Nokoru-sempai caught me." Takamura-sempai's head came around quickly. "He's in the infirmary." Sano's eyes widened and Nakatsu yelled, "What!?" Takamura-sempai was already on his way out the door. * * * He imagined Nokoru's blond head on a pillow, eyes closed. In his mind Akira was sitting next to the pillow, crying. He could imagine a severe woman with a bun telling him that Nokoru was in a coma. He was already imagining the punmishments he would force himself endure for allowing Nokoru to fall to such a common foe as a one-story flight of stairs. [I will not allow this to happen again] When he reached the infirmary, Nokoru was chatting familiarly with a man in fashionable black clothing and glasses. Akira was sitting close by nodding enthusiastically. "Kaichou!" Suoh yelled. He was as frustrated to see Nokoru sitting calmly as though nothing had happened as if he had been only paying a social call. Nokoru smiled happily, "Suoh! I was just telling Umeda-senei about our short stay at the school. He wanted to know what we were doing here." Suoh growled, "One of us should know." He couldn't get the gruffness out of his voice. He realized that this is what mothers felt when their childern put themselves in great risk. How anyone could anyone bear to let their loved ones out of their site for a moment? "I was going to tell you after next week, but I guess this is as good a time as any. And you are right," Nokoru turned his attention to Umeda as he spoke, "it is very rare for students, especially three at once, to leave CLAMP School." By the time Nokoru had outlined Rijichou's plan to make the dorms and communities, Akira really was near tears. "How thoughtful! I know everyone will be happy to have such a change!" The morning bell rang and they realized breakfast was well over and it was time to get on to class. They gave hasty goodbyes to Umeda-sensei. Strangely, smelled tobacco smoke as they were leaving the nurse's office. * * * Nokoru walked with assurance towards his first class. He had parted ways with Suoh and Akira off already, and was glad to have finally explained his plan to them, even if he had wanted their impressions as people living in the dorms rather than as dorm observers for at least the first week. Manipulating his dearest friends was simply not in him. Not for extended periods, anyway. And it was getting hard to tell little half truths to these two in particular. He cared about them too much. [Not that I don't have a couple of surprises for them] he thought not bothering to repress his grin. He turned a corner and stopped short as he saw Nakatsu. He had noticed that Nakatsu was almost always smiling, but now, he looked like he was ready for trouble. "Leave Mizuki alone!" Nakatsu came in close and grabbed Nokoru's shirt. "I mean it!" _______________________________________________________________ So tell me what you think! Questions, comments, and criticism welcome. miai h_miai@hotmail.com</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>