http://clampfix.fanworks.net/x-fix/beyond01.txt </head><body><pre>Beyond Eternity By Ayanosuke Part 1 "Ow! Shit!" Kamui yelled in pain after getting a small paper cut from the note he was writing on. He was in his room at the Innoyama Mansion, trying to do his homework. But no matter how hard he concentrated, Kamui just couldn't get his mind of what happened to Fuuma. His heart felt heavy the minute he thought about it. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door. "Kamui? You okay in there?" Subaru called out from outside in the hallway. Kamui quickly clear his throat and spoke. "Yes, I'm alright." "How's your homework going?" This is where Kamui froze. He was having problems concentrating but he didn't want his friend to know and waste his time helping him. So he lied. "It's, uh, going great. I'm doing fine, thanks Subaru." "Okay then. Just checking on ya." Subaru turned and walked away from Kamui's door. He went downstairs and met with Yuzuriha, who was busy making pancakes. "Hello Yuzuriha." Yuzu looked up and saw that her friend Subaru was across the counter looking her, giving her a slight smile like he usual does. "Oh, hey there Subaru-san! I'm making breakfast. Would you like some?" Subaru shook his head. "Thanks, but that's okay. I'm not really that hungry." He sat down at the counter and grabbed a newpaper. "Just thought I'd check on you all before I leave." He opened it and read few article in the World section. Yuzu kept cooking and place the batter into the pancake maker. She pressed down hard and left it there for a few minutes. Then she lifted it up and saw that the pancake was done. "By the way, did you know that a new student just arrived here?" "Hmm?" Subaru looked up halfway from the newspaper and met with Yuzu's eyes. "A new student? Who?" "Miko Nakamura. She's from Hiroshima" Yuzu chirped as she kept making more pancakes. "I see. I'll remember that." "Oh! And there's a new teacher named Kurama Iwasaki. She came from Kyoto." Subaru arched an eyebrow at Yuzu after hearing the name of his birthplace. "Kyoto, eh?" "Hai!" Soon the pancakes were done. Yuzu went over to stairway and called out to the others. "Breakfast is ready!" She walked back to the counter and grabbed the plate that was loaded with her cooking. Kamui was the first to come downstairs as he quickly fixed his tie and sat down at the table. Arashi came down second and slowly bowed her head towards the omnyouiji. Subaru did the same although he was into the newspaper. She sat down besides Kamui and took a whiff at the pancakes. "They look delicious, Yuzu-san." "Thanks. Where's Sorata? Isn't he gonna eat?" Yuzu asked while giving placing two pancakes to each person. Arashi sighed and began to eat. "Unfortunately, Sorata won't be joining us. He's sick." "He is?" Yuzu was surprised by this. "But how?" "He caught the flu last night...." Kamui murmured while eating his pancakes. "When Sorata was still working on his homework, his head felt real hot and he almost fainted." "Oh my....I hope he feels better." All three students continued eating while Subaru kept reading the newspaper. Kamui noticed and turned to see him. But before he could say anything, the doorbell rang. "Someone's at the door?" Arashi looked up after hearing it. She was about to get up to answer the door until Subaru spoke. "I'll get it." Still holding the newpaper, Subaru sprang from his seat and went into the living room. He arrived at the door and opened it. To his surprise, a tall woman with auburn eyes and emerald-colored hair tied up was standing at the doorway holding a fruit basket. She also wore a gray embroided kimono with a sterile silver pendant around her neck. "Good morning. Is this the Immoyanna Residence?" She spoke sweetly at Subaru while holding a slighly smile. After being taking aback by this woman, Subaru shook his head slightly and forced a smile on his face. "Yes, this is it. And who are you?" "My name is Kurama Iwasaki. I'm the new teacher here. I just thought I'd bring a fruit basket here to this place." The woman was holding a wooden basket filled with apples, grapes, tangerines, and oranges. "Thank you, Miss Iwasaki." Subaru took it from her and placed it by his feet. "Your welcome. And you must be?" "Subaru Sumeragi." Subaru bowed his head quickly and looked at the woman again. "Wanna come in?" "No, that's okay. I have to get back to my cousin Miko." "Miko? The new student here?" Kurama nodded. "Hai. She is my cousin and I'll be going to the same school here with her." "I see." "I better go now. See ya later, Subaru-san." Yoko waved good-bye to him and left the mansion. Subaru just stood there and watched as she walked away and disppeared towards a bunch of sakura petals floating in the air. The omnyouji couldn't help but stare at this. Somehow, there was something strange about the woman's appearance. He could tell by the way she appeared at the doorway wearing a gray kimono with a silver pendant. It seemed very familiar that way. /I know my grandmother told me something about women who wear gray kimonos and a silver pendant. What were they?/ Suddenly, his thoughts were suddenly interrupted by the sounds of glass breaking. He quickly turned around and saw that Sorata leaning against the counter, with Yuzu and Arashi trying to help him up. Kamui was picking up the broken pieces of a glass vase Sorata had accidently pushed off. Subaru grabbed the fruit basket and closed the door. He went back to the kitchen and placed the gift Kurama gave him on the other side of the counter. Then he went to the other where his friends were. "What happened? I thought Sorata was sick?" Subaru looked at Kansai monk with a concerned frown on his face. Sorata was breathing heavy as he clutched to his chest. Arashi, worried, turned to Subaru. "Sorata came downstairs and trying to get something to eat. We kept telling him that he needed to get some rest." "Heh! No flu can ever stop me, Miss." Sorata spoke triumphly. Then he started coughing. "Oh please! You can't even stand on your feet without speaking that way." Arashi said in exaggeration. Sorata smirked and winked her. The priestess sighed and helped him back up to his room Yuzu followed. Subaru sighed and kneeled down to help Kamui with the broken glasses. "I'll do that for you." "Subaru?" Kamui looked up at him almost worried that he might cut himself. "I'll be fine. Just go ahead and be on your way to school." "H-hai..." The young boy got up and walked over to door. He put on his shoes and grabbed his case. With one more look at Subaru, Kamui sighed and opened the door. "Wait!!" There was a sudden yell from Yuzu as she scrambled downstairs and met up with Kamui at the doorway. She also put on her shoes and grabbed her case. Arashi also came downstairs after having to deal with Sorata's whining and complaining. She grumbled and put her shoes on. Then she grabbed her case and they all hurried out of the door. Since Arashi was last, she closed the door behind her and they all were on their way to school. Subaru kept picking up the glass pieces until his mind started trailing off to when he had first met that woman at the door. It was quite strange that she knew where he and his friends lived. Yet it was nearly quite suspicious for her to even know who's mansion it was. /Wait a minute....What am I saying? She's just a teacher. Maybe Suoh or Nokoru told her where we lived/ I have no right to be that suspicious of a person who just arrived here in Tokyo--/ "Ow!!" Subaru's thoughts were cut off the minute he felt pain coming from his hands. They were bleeding from the broken pieces he had grabbed. Probably because he squeezed them too tight after he felt a little guilt. Sighing in resignation, the omnyouji placed the pieces on the counter and went over to the sink to tend to his own hands. At school, the bell had already rung and mostly all the students were in their seats. In one classroom, Kamui was sitting near his friend Keiichi. Both were listening to their teacher lecturing about science. "Hey Kamui-kun" Keiichi whispered to his friend trying not to get anyone else's attention. "Did you hear about that new student who just arrived here today?" Kamui was too bored while listening to the teacher. When his friend whispered in his ear, he turned to him almost about to fall asleep. "Huh? What was that, Segawa-kun?" "You're bored, aren't you?" The classmate gave Kamui an actual smirk. "I thought you'd be so I wanted to tell you about that new student." "What new student? Who is he?" "It's a she. And she's sitting right across from us at the other side of the classroom." Keiichi pointed to the girl across from Kamui. They both looked and saw a young girl with apricot-colored hair and auburn eyes. Her skin was slightly pale. She wore a Clamp uniform too. Kamui couldn't help but stare at her for awhile, then he turned back to his friend. "Segawa-kun, who is that girl over there?" "Her name is Miko Nakamura." "Really? Where is she from?" "Hiroshima. And her cousin is here too." "The teacher, right?" Kamui remembered his friend Yuzuriha saying something about a new teacher from Kyoto, the same city Subaru had came from, coming here to Tokyo to teach students about literature. "Hai. She's gonna be in our last class." "I see." Taking one more glance at Miko, Kamui turned back to the front of the board and felt boredom creep onto him once again. A few hours later, lunch time had came. Kamui and Keiichi were taking a walk around the courtyard in front of the school. They had at least 40 minutes until the next bell rang. "What do you think we should have for lunch, Kamui-kun?" Keiichi asked as he sat down on the bench. Kamui was still standing near him while glancing around the trees. "I dunno. The usual?" "You mean, chow mein sandwhiches?" "Yeah..." Keiichi groaned at the sound of that. Both students ate that meal yesterday. Now it was like they were going to have once again. "Shouldn't we try something different this time? We've always ate chow mein for this week." This was getting annoying. Kamui could understand that they were eating the same meal everyday this week, but he couldn't afford to buy something more expensive when he didn't have enough. "I know that. But the price-- Aah!" Kamui's sentence was cut off after someone bumped into him. He nearly fell to the ground and caught himself before he could hit the pavement floor. Suddenly, there was a loud thud. Keiichi got up and helped him friend stand straight. He could tell there was a sudden look of anger in his eyes. "Kamui-kun, you alright?" Kamui didn't say anything; he just turned and faced whoever bumped into him. But then his eyes went soft as he realized it was the new student, Miko. She was clutching at her basket like an innocent victim. There was also whimpering coming out of her mouth. Kneeling down to her, Kamui offered a hand to help her up. "Are you okay?" "Y-yes..." Miko said this in a little voice as she faced the other student who looked at her with a sudden look of quilt on his face. "I'm not hurt." When she saw his hand, she took it and was pulled up. After she stood up, Miko brushed part of her light apricot hair back from her face. "Forgive me for bumping into you, but I was in a hurry." "For what?" "Well, I was looking for someone to have lunch with. I cooked a few things and they're inside this basket." "Really?!" Keiichi suddenly perked up after feeling bored without food. He leaped out of his seat from the bench and ran over to Kamui's side while looking at Miko. "What's in the basket? Anything good?" Miko was astonished by this guy's sudden behavior but she smiled anyway and opened the lid. "Here, take a look for yourself." Kamui and Keiichi leaned forward and peeked inside the basket. Their mouths opened as they saw the most delicious food they had ever laid their eyes on. There was pork buns, egg rolls, pork spring rolls, fried rice, pocky sticks, sushi, three cans of coke, and a couple of napkins. "You cooked all of this?!!" Kamui exclaimed as he looked up at Miko. "Hai, this was all I cooked before coming to school today." "We'll eat with you anyway!" "Thanks!" Miko smiled widely as they all sat down on the bench. Miko opened the basket once more and gave some food to Kamui and Keiichi. They all munched on their egg rolls happily, especially Kamui. He was glad he didn't have to use his money to buy some more chow mein sandwhiches. Maybe he should think about getting a job after school? Meanwhile, up in the trees, two shadowy figures were watching the three young students eat their lunch. They spoke quietly in their deep, husky voices. "I knew it. She did come back to Tokyo after all." "Hey, wait! Isn't that Kamui with her?" "Yeah." "That's not a good sign. But what about the other guy sitting next them?" "Him? He's just a bystander. He probably doesn't have any powers." "I see. Shall we kill him then?" "Not now, Maru. We still have another assignment to finish up. We'll just let them have their fun for now." "But won't the boss be made if we tried anything without her knowing it?" "She doesn't care if we kill a human being. The only important thing we must do is kill the Seals." "I know that, Rikou." "Let's go." Soon, the two shadow figures disappeared from the trees. Only giggling and chattering from the three students filled the courtyard. To Be Continued....</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>