http://clampfix.fanworks.net/ccd-fix/saving3.txt </head><body><pre>Hello, here's another small bit of Saving Grace, basically all I could convince myself to write today^_^ please send comments and criticism to h_miai@hotmail.com ___________________________________________________________ Saving Grace part 3 by miai ----------------------------------------------------------- all the chacaracters here belong to CLAMP and I am just using them for fun...I make no money. Litterally ----------------------------------------------------------- Casablanca released Nokoru's hand as soon as they stepped out of the building. It seemed that Foudouya-san had been telling the truth. They were in Geihinkan, not far from the Imperial Palace. As Casablanca had lead them out of the building, the detectives had worried about how open the yard was, but Nokoru had assured his more skittish friends that if they were meant to be killed, it would have happened already. But the youngest two did not relax until they were back on campus, though Casablanca and Nokoru seemed to enjoy the cab ride back immensely. * * * They sat on the sofa in the CLAMP Elementary Division Student council office silently while Akira served tea with a shaky hand. The orange and gold of the sunset coming through the window added deep solomness to the uncommonly quiet room. "Kaichou," Suoh stopped and looked at Casablanca carefully. "Our escape was too easy." Nokoru smiled happily and bit into a biscuit. "Perhaps, but we are away from them now." Suoh inclined his head at Nokoru's words, but obviously did not believe them. Especially not with one of the kidnappers in the room. Akira sat beside this immediate senpai on a short-legged couch. Casablanca regarded the blue-haired boy steadily. Then placed one hand on her breast and spoke with downcast eyes, "I understand your reluctance to believe I am not one of them. I have captured you in the past." Suoh was unmoved, but Akira's eyes went wide as he turned to his dark friend. "And that was not right. But it is my job." She saw Suoh's mouth open and was certain of the next protest, "While that in no way excuses my actions, I do believe that the outcome, as it was in your favor, should give you some consolation." Nokoru did not want to mention the other unseemly incident with Casablanca, but he did have to bring some peace to the room, "I do not believe Casablanca-san acted on her own will." He crossed his arms seriously, "But for now we must work together to ensure that the cause of our trouble is removed." Akira looked from one person to another, his eyes large and watery. "Why would someone do such things?" Nokoru looked at his young friend sympathetically, remembering the first time he had been kidnapped. "I am sure we can discuss this in the morning, after a refreshing night's sleep." His smile was reassuring. He stood, the movement causing the other council members to follow his lead. As he came around the table he put his hand on Akira's shoulder. "Please, try to sleep." Akira nodded and walked out of the room turning only at the door to see Nokoru and Suoh with their heads close together. To someone who did not know his friends as well as he did it would look like a discussion. But he saw the signs of a true argument in their eyes. Akira closed the door and walked slowly down the hall to the elevator. He took a deep breath to steel himself for the long walk home. Closing his eyes and counting to fourteen he pressed the button to go down to ground level. * * * Nokoru watched Suoh leave and turned back to Casablanca. "I'm very sorry about that." Fighting with Suoh was never easy, but when there was a lady present, they both kept their tempers and arguments in line. Not that it had ever happened before. "But I do need to know what it is they were after." Casablanca nodded and sipped her tea. "I don't know all the details..." "But you are much freer to talk here, where they can’t monitor you." She looked at the ceiling. "CLAMP Campus' security is well known." "I am afraid that I cannot let you remain on the campus proper. Would you mind spending a few days at the Imonoyama house on campus?" Casablanca was surprised. "Of course I don’t mind. But are you certain you can allow me to stay so close to you?" Nokoru smiled brilliantly, "I just worked it all out." * * * Akira jumped when he felt a presence to his left. "AH! Takamura- senpai." He put a hand on his heart. "I didn't hear you come up." Suoh looked at his friend, remembering his gray eyes through the "dungeon" they were in. "Injuin, you did very well today." Akira looked strait ahead. Suoh cleared his throat. "You tied them up with their own clothing, a great method, and most efficient." "Thank you, Takamura-senpai." Akira preferred not to talk about his methods or ability in that area. "Thank goodness we got out, though." Suoh nodded. The elevator opened and they stepped in. Akira realized that Casablanca could not go back home. "Where will she stay? Suoh's eyebrows came together. Akira had apparently found the subject of his argument with Nokoru. "She will stay at the Imonoyama mansion temporarily." Akira remained silent as they waited for the door to part enough to exit the elevator. As they were headed down the path, not speaking. Akira thought about how horrible it must have been for Suoh to have been captured by those people alone. His own experience was bad enough. Suoh went down and Akira tried to duck away from the hand that came towards him. He got past the closest but while trying to help Suoh. He watched Suoh pull Nokoru away from the bag he was holding. As Akira watched, his friends began to fall to the ground. He was caught while he stood in horror. Suoh's eyes closed just after he hit the ground. Nokoru turned to his fallen friend, hands on Suoh's chest and his eyes wide. One of the thugs pulled the bag away and brought it Akira. He saw one dressed as a woman put a cloth over Nokoru's mouth as the boy got up and ran towards Akira. Akira struggled, but couldn't get away from the large hands. He saw Nokoru go down, but thankfully they caught him and pulled him toward a car with the inert Takamura. Akira watched as the bag was brought towards his head, but thankful that the gas was no longer apparent. He held his breath as the bag closed over his head. He felt the blood in his face and a pounding in his chest. He kept his mouth closed and didn't let himself breath. He squeezed his eyes closed and tried not to think about the pain in his head. "Goodnight, Injuin." Suoh waved as he went down his separate path off campus. Akira pulled himself back to the present, "Goodnight..." He watched his friend leave, then sat on a bench, head in hands. He was glad that he had held his breath. It was all that had allowed him to wake up when he did. Not that it really got him anywhere. He stood up and resolutely walked to the main gate. * * * Nokoru stood near a large window in the north parlor of his large home. Though he was a perfect host, his eyes drifted into the night. He smiled and his shoulders relaxed a little as he front door opened. Finally he turned to Casablanca, "Thank you for waiting so long to talk. It has been most rude of me to keep you up so late." Casablanca gestured to indicate that didn't consider it a trial. They had spoken and had a pleasant evening, in her opinion. When she had first kidnapped the Imonoyama heir, she had tried to seduce the boy. Now she found herself falling for his charms far harder than she wanted. Nokoru turned to the parlor door as his blue-haired friend entered. The younger boy bowed in deference, "I am sorry. The evening meal was...interesting." Nokoru smiled and sat on a chair near Casablanca. "I am glad you could come this late at night." Suoh knew that to be a lie. It was his own insistence that Nokoru could not be safe in the same district as that woman. And Suoh would never have allowed them to stay in the same house for a night without far better protection than guards who were not personally involved in Nokoru's life. The result of their argument had been a "sleep over." Suoh stood behind Nokoru's chair, regarding Casablanca. "I believe it is best to discuss this now." Nokoru nodded slightly, crossing his legs comfortably. Casablanca nodded, standing slowly. She had not expected to be invited into Nokoru's home, much less to be treated as an honored guest, rather than one grudgingly tolerated. She looked out the velvet trimmed window and sighed. "All I was told was that I had to catch you, keep you, and convince you that Japan needed your mind." Nokoru blinked twice, "My mind?" "It was supposed to be a patriotic appeal. Most of the work is done. They have very talented minds working...but there needs to be a person who understands all of it. Someone who can take all the kludge and streamline it." Nokoru nodded. "Did they tell you what kind of work it is?" She shook her head. "I just know that it had something to do with airplanes and ...I don't remember the word..." "Guided missiles," Suoh supplied. Casablanca shrugged. "It has nothing to do with me." She stood silhouetted by the light on a table. The boys remained silent as they watched he move one designer shod foot then the other. She turned. The light haloed around her head, but her words were harsh. "Like I know anything. They would do much better to keep you and force you to work for them. None of this one job then goes home at night." Nokoru nodded, " 'We're not a company, we're a mob.' " He smiled sweetly and looked up at Suoh as he moved nearer his kaichou. Suoh's voice was dangerous, "If that is what you really think." Casablanca smiled and walked towards the pair, "It is only logical. If you let him get away he will never come back. It's not like he wants to work for us." Nokoru interrupted, "Why didn't you make your pitch while we were alone together." Casablanca crossed her arms and turned her chin the other way. "I didn't have enough time." Nokoru stood. "I think that we have enough to think about tonight. Please let me escort you to a guest room." Casablanca nodded and allowed Nokoru to walk her to a room up the dark wood stairs. "I hope that this is acceptable. Please don't hesitate to ask if you need anything." He indicated a phone, "Just dial zero and the operator can find me at any time." Casablanca's eyes narrowed with her smile, "Thank you." * * * Akira went directly to the kitchen and made himself dinner. He hated being out of the loop and ate while thinking about what connection Suoh would have had to Casablanca. >From what he had seen, she was much more interested in his Kaichou. Suoh usually took care of Nokoru. It didn't take long for him to realize that she knew Suoh only through association with his happy kaichou. The thought that anyone could have hurt his best friend...Then he realized as he pushed himself away from the table and felt his bruised side that he would probably never know what they did unless he asked directly. * * * He and Suoh left, heading towards Nokoru's room. They didn't speak until the door closed behind them. Suoh stopped Nokoru with a hand on his arm, "She is being much kinder than before, but just because she no longer treats you like a servant does not mean she truly respects you." Nokoru patted Suoh's other arm, "I know. But I don't think that she means most of her gruffness either. She hasn't been in a good position lately." "Kaichou! She is not a lady to save. She is the enemy." "Her position was harmed by the earlier shame of losing us." Nokoru smiled and went to his desk. Turning on his computer he sat pulled another chair over and sat. He typed "Nakasouda" into the CLAMP search engine. Then, as they waited for the list of sites, Nokoru turned his head to Suoh, "Why do you think guided missiles?" Suoh stood at ease, "While Injuin and I were leaving we ran across files on companies that specialize in missiles, both defensive and offensive, and a merger concerning bombers. The documents were focusing on mergers, of American companies." Nokoru quickly scanned the descriptions that came up. "None of these relate to the Emperor..." Suoh watched Nokoru's fingers dance across the keyboard, "The Emperor?" "Foudouya Koichi said they had an interested person near the Emperor. What could that do?" He asked as he moved to another document. "The prime minister is not a stable position right now. It would be good to find a point everyone can recognize...Only recently have their been troubles with public image." "Of course you would figure it out." Nokoru smiled and pulled himself away from the computer. "Definately time for bed." ...to be continued... ___________________________________________________________________ That's it for now... thank you for reading it. miai</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>