[X/TB/CCD] Clamp Campus X (3/5)
Aug. 1st, 2003 09:55 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
winterSeries: X, CCD, TB
Pairings: Seishirou + Subaru, Tooru x Saya, OMC x Kazuki, Karen + Aoki
Warnings: Almost total AU, fluff, major OOC, semi-original characters, shojo-ai, shonen-ai, romantic attachment of a child to a teenager (platonic only)
Summary: A WAFFy school fic concerning a special group of friends in Clamp High. One of them is followed by sakura petals, another loves computers, yet another's surname is Magami...
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Clamp, except Ogata (who belongs to whoever owns Hikaru no Go) and Tetsuo (who's mine)
This chapter dedicated to Lashtal - you know why ^_^
CLAMP CAMPUS X
Chapter 3: Cherry Blossoms
There is no doubt that Ueno Park is at its most beautiful when the cherry trees are in full bloom. The slowly falling petals blanket the sound like snow, and one has the feeling of being in another world.
"Magami-chan! Yatouji-kun! Sakurazuka-kun! We're going *this* way, if you'd be so kind!"
Kanoe-sensei's loudest voice could not possibly be ignored, and the three friends fell back in line quickly. Tooru found herself among the gaggle of girls from her class.
"Kanoe-sensei sure is scary!" Ai Niwa whispered to her.
"She's not so bad once you get to know her," Tooru whispered back.
"Oh yeah, you're in her science study group, right?"
"Part-time. I'm not saying she's not crazy with all those experiments, but not so scary."
"I guess... Ow!" Ai jumped up, holding a hand to her head. "Who hit me?"
"Sorry," Tetsuo muttered, walking up to them. "Was aiming for the tomboy."
"Yeah, right." Tooru cuffed him lightly on the arm. "I know you can't *live* without me. Catch you later, Niwa-chan, my men need me."
Seishirou had evidently heard her comment, because he shot her a wounded look when they caught up with him. "What are you implying, Tooru-chan?"
"Nothing that'd make sense to your perverted mind," she shot back gleefully. "So, Tetsuo-kun, why did you drag me away from girl talk?"
The pink-haired boy scowled. "I just wanted to ask you if you found any new control techniques... I mean..."
"Oh," she sighed. "No, not yet I'm afraid. But I'm sure we can work something out. It's been bad, hasn't it?"
"I - I was in the family computer lab. Suddenly there were sparks everywhere... I almost hurt my aunt. A few more meters and I would've fried her."
"But you didn't," Seishirou pointed out. "You're getting better with control."
"I hope so." Tetsuo's hands clenched. "I... I don't know what I'd do if I hurt Kazuki. And they've been talking to me again."
"The freemasons?" Seishirou asked.
"Yeah. They want me to work for them. They even found some girl they want me to marry, they say our children will have even more power with absolute control."
"So that settles it," Tooru said. "No way you'd leave Kazuki-chan."
"If it was the only way to protect her from me? I would."
"Now see here, Yatouji-" Tooru started.
But in that moment they arrived on the clearing where a sizeable portion of the Clamp Campus had gathered. There was a podium set up on one side, and a woman was standing on it. She raised her fan to silence the murmuring crowd.
The fan read, "happy to be here!".
"Those fans must be genetic," Tooru muttered. "Never saw an Imonoyama without one."
"You think baby Imonoyamas are born with fans in their hands?" Seishirou smirked.
"Wouldn't be surprised. Ow!" Tooru yelped when Kanoe rapped her sharply on the arm.
"Quiet, children!"
"I am happy to see that so many of my students enjoy the beauty of cherry blossoms!" the Director of Clamp Campus said without the help of a microphone. Still her voice carried all over the clearing. "I feel lucky I can live in a time peaceful enough to allow young people such pastimes. Today you can devote yourselves to it completely, and I will not stand in your way by talking overly long. Just please don't destroy the park, we're supposed to return it tomorrow."
Laughter greeted the speech and the students dispersed among the trees.
# # #
Seiichiro Aoki didn't like cherry blossoms as much as others did. He'd always remember the groves at his family estate, where he and his cousins would compete in stripping petals from the trees. He was sure suggesting this pastime would get him lynched here, especially as Sakurazuka seemed to be an absolute cherry blossom fanatic.
When Aoki left his friends, they had been sitting among the remnants of their picnic, allowing petals to settle in their hair. He had given them a wide berth because he could tell Yatouji wanted to talk to Tooru and Seishirou alone, probably about his power problems again...
A warm wind heralded Karen Kasumi's arrival. The junior firestarter materialized a careful two feet above the grass, so that her flames did not touch the vegetation. He was surprised to see an almost melancholy seriousness on her usually cheerful face.
"It's beautiful, isn't it, Aoki-san?" she asked softly, walking up to him. "So fragile... so easy to tear away and destroy."
"Sometimes I want to do that," he half-hissed, looking at the trees. "Tear it all away. Sometimes I'm... not normal, like that."
"You sound like my mother," Karen said. "She always wanted to be like everyone else. To obey rules."
"You don't like you mother much?" he hazarded a guess.
"No. She was obsessed. My father divorced her, and raised me, but she kidnapped me when I was eight." She closed her eyes and started to shiver. "She hated my power so much... she beat me... and I was only free when she died."
Without thinking he caught her in his arms, hugging her tightly.
"It's alright. She can't hurt you now."
"That's why I use my power so much," she whispered, burying her head in his chest. "Because she said I was a monster - so I am one, as much as I can, don't you see? And she said I was so evil, ruled by emotions and never up to any good..."
"That's not right," he said, sinking down to his knees while still hugging her. "You're a good person, Karen-chan. I can see that."
Tear-filled eyes looked up at him. "So it's alright to be not normal."
He smiled at her. "Yes. It's alright."
They were alike, despite their differences, and that was what made them close, what made them fit together so well.
They didn't notice Seishirou watching them from the trees, and he didn't interrupt them.
# # #
Several minutes later Seishirou finally saw someone who could help him in his search.
"Hello, Ijyuin-chan," he greeted him politely. "Have you seen Subaru-chan anywhere?"
"He excused himself from the trip," the diminutive treasurer of the elementary school division informed him. "His grandmother is in Tokyo and requested his company today."
"That's too bad," Seishirou sighed dramatically. He made a mental note to berate his intelligence network for not informing him that Lady Sumeragi was in town.
"I'm sure he'll try to come here later if he'll be able to," Akira Ijyuin offered.
Suddenly they both turned with unerring instinct. The surprise on Suoh's face showed clearly that he was sure he'd made no sound.
"Have you seen Kaichou?" the ninja asked finally.
"I think he's watching the game," Akira offered. "You know - the go game set up by the five-storied pagoda. He said he wanted to learn from the professional player who's teaching shidougo there."
"Ogata-san, right?" Seishirou asked. "He became a pro this year, right?"
Akira nodded.
Seishirou grinned. "I'll go with you. I like watching your attempts to drag Nokoru-chan to work."
"And Takamura-sempai always manages it in the end."
Suoh's head snapped around, but Akira's look was as innocent as ever.
They found the gobans set up near the five-storied pagoda. There were not many onlookers, since the weather was far too good and the trees far too beautiful for people to stare at a game most of them did not understand. Even most of the Clamp Campus go club had wandered off to other parts of the park.
Nokoru was kneeling by the one goban that still held a game. The game had evidently finished a few moments ago, and the players were currently discussing it.
Kazuki's hair was tied back in an intricate knot that looked like a snow sculpture. "I pushed too hard here. I should have waited, saved my strength."
"Yes," the young professional player agreed. Ogata was taller than her, and his eyes were hidden behind rimless photochromic glasses, almost black in the sunlight. "If you had, I would have been in serious trouble. I believe I set you a too high handicap - I underestimated the strength of your play. I'm sorry."
"No need." Her smile was like a lamp in the dark. "Most people don't suspect I play well - I'm not in the go club, and I don't play often. But I got a lot of practice as a child, and that kind of skill never really goes away."
"As a child?" Nokoru asked from his place at her side, where he had been watching the game. "I didn't think many children play go, unless their parents do."
"I was often sick as a child," she explained. "There is only so much reading you can do, so I kept playing games. I know all of them - go, chess, checkers, and others as well."
"You must have been ill for a long time," Nokoru mused.
"I have. But I'm alright now." She smiled again.
"Having fun, White Princess?" Seishirou called out as he and his small companions approached. He bowed extravagantly to her, like a Renaissance courtier.
"Of course, with such charming company," she bantered back.
"Sakurazuka-sempai," Ogata greeted him. "Would you care for a game?"
"Maybe later," Seishirou said. "Right now I think Takamura-kun has something to say."
Nokoru yelped and hid behind Kazuki. This did not discourage Suoh in the slightest. The ninja simply vaulted over the goban and seized his friend's arm. "Paperwork."
"But Suoh, it's the day for watching cherry blossoms! Not for working!" The blond boy almost kneeled at his friend's feet. "How about we go and see the zoo? Akira, what do you think?"
"I think that's a splendid idea," the dark-haired boy put in.
The three teenagers laughed as the little ninja was dragged away by his friends.
"They make a great team, don't they?" Kazuki asked.
"A perfect one," Seishirou agreed.
"If no-one wants to play, I'll guess I'll go watch the cherry blossoms too," Ogata mused. "Sakurazuka-sempai - Kazuki-san." He bowed to them, European style, a decent copy of the bow Seishirou had given minutes before.
"There goes your greatest fan," Kazuki laughed.
Seishirou seemed surprised.
"Oh, he idolizes you," the girl explained. "It kept messing up my play - he kept trying to copy the way you look at your kendo opponents, and he almost had it."
"Well, you have to admit he couldn't have picked a better model."
"You and your big head." But she was smiling. "I guess it will help his games - you can look very scary when smiling, and he's got that one down pat, too."
"I guess."
She looked around. "Have you seen Tetsuo-kun around? If you and Tooru-chan finished talking to him-"
"Yes, we have." He shook his head at her enquiring look. "He's in the southern corner of the park now. He'll have to tell you himself. He's worried about your health and didn't want to trouble you, but Tooru-chan persuaded him."
"You mean she threatened to blow him up."
"You have an uncanny insight into human nature."
She winked at him. "Go through clinical death half a dozen times and you might get it yourself."
She ran off, careless and graceful in the scattered sunlight.
Seishirou's eyes narrowed as he looked to the direction of the sakura groove. The tree was strangely distracted suddenly, almost - fascinated? He caught a feeling from it, a flash of green eyes and white cloth. He decided to investigate.
The sight that greeted him was breathtaking. Subaru stood under the tree, white ceremonial clothes only accentuating the paleness of his skin. In the old clothes, the child seemed a ghost of another world, a time past of grace and might.
"Subaru-chan," Seishirou acknowledged him.
The doll-like face brightened with a smile. "Seishirou-sempai! I was afraid you've already left. I came as fast as I could, but Grandmother took so long in that meeting..."
The older boy nodded. "And yet you managed to find my favorite place in the entire park."
"It is? Those flowers are wonderful... Pink sakura are so rare."
Seishirou leaned comfortably against his Tree - *greeneyes*whiteskin*beautyfragileworthy* - and summoned a surprisingly earnest smile to his own face. "Do you know why those sakura are pink?"
"No..."
"Under each and every one of those trees, a body is buried. The first ones were mighty warriors who sacrificed their lives to protect Japan. That is why the sakura's petals are pink... because the trees feed on human blood."
Subaru shivered. "You're scaring me," he said softly.
"No." Seishirou stepped away from the tree and towards the boy. "Don't be afraid. Not as long as I am by your side."
A small hand rose tentatively to be caught by a larger one.
"I will protect you." The words were the rustle of branches, the fall of petals, the deep non-voice of the sakura behind him. "I promise you."
He looked up over the child's head, at a woman barely visible on the edge of the grove. He saw her old lips tightened into a straight line.
He smiled at her.
Mine.
~ TO BE CONTINUED ~
Author's notes:
Shidougo is a go game played to teach the weaker of the players.
For more info about go (and more of Ogata, who's a kind of Seishirou lite, really) you're advised to check out Hikaru no Go, soon coming to a manga store near you. Warning: it's supremely addictive; Kenshin level or higher.
Last scene is based on the variation of the Bet scene that's in the second Tokyo Babylon OVA. For some reason the minute differences stayed with me... what if *this* was an alternate reality?
Pairings: Seishirou + Subaru, Tooru x Saya, OMC x Kazuki, Karen + Aoki
Warnings: Almost total AU, fluff, major OOC, semi-original characters, shojo-ai, shonen-ai, romantic attachment of a child to a teenager (platonic only)
Summary: A WAFFy school fic concerning a special group of friends in Clamp High. One of them is followed by sakura petals, another loves computers, yet another's surname is Magami...
Rating: PG-13
Disclaimer: Everything belongs to Clamp, except Ogata (who belongs to whoever owns Hikaru no Go) and Tetsuo (who's mine)
This chapter dedicated to Lashtal - you know why ^_^
CLAMP CAMPUS X
Chapter 3: Cherry Blossoms
There is no doubt that Ueno Park is at its most beautiful when the cherry trees are in full bloom. The slowly falling petals blanket the sound like snow, and one has the feeling of being in another world.
"Magami-chan! Yatouji-kun! Sakurazuka-kun! We're going *this* way, if you'd be so kind!"
Kanoe-sensei's loudest voice could not possibly be ignored, and the three friends fell back in line quickly. Tooru found herself among the gaggle of girls from her class.
"Kanoe-sensei sure is scary!" Ai Niwa whispered to her.
"She's not so bad once you get to know her," Tooru whispered back.
"Oh yeah, you're in her science study group, right?"
"Part-time. I'm not saying she's not crazy with all those experiments, but not so scary."
"I guess... Ow!" Ai jumped up, holding a hand to her head. "Who hit me?"
"Sorry," Tetsuo muttered, walking up to them. "Was aiming for the tomboy."
"Yeah, right." Tooru cuffed him lightly on the arm. "I know you can't *live* without me. Catch you later, Niwa-chan, my men need me."
Seishirou had evidently heard her comment, because he shot her a wounded look when they caught up with him. "What are you implying, Tooru-chan?"
"Nothing that'd make sense to your perverted mind," she shot back gleefully. "So, Tetsuo-kun, why did you drag me away from girl talk?"
The pink-haired boy scowled. "I just wanted to ask you if you found any new control techniques... I mean..."
"Oh," she sighed. "No, not yet I'm afraid. But I'm sure we can work something out. It's been bad, hasn't it?"
"I - I was in the family computer lab. Suddenly there were sparks everywhere... I almost hurt my aunt. A few more meters and I would've fried her."
"But you didn't," Seishirou pointed out. "You're getting better with control."
"I hope so." Tetsuo's hands clenched. "I... I don't know what I'd do if I hurt Kazuki. And they've been talking to me again."
"The freemasons?" Seishirou asked.
"Yeah. They want me to work for them. They even found some girl they want me to marry, they say our children will have even more power with absolute control."
"So that settles it," Tooru said. "No way you'd leave Kazuki-chan."
"If it was the only way to protect her from me? I would."
"Now see here, Yatouji-" Tooru started.
But in that moment they arrived on the clearing where a sizeable portion of the Clamp Campus had gathered. There was a podium set up on one side, and a woman was standing on it. She raised her fan to silence the murmuring crowd.
The fan read, "happy to be here!".
"Those fans must be genetic," Tooru muttered. "Never saw an Imonoyama without one."
"You think baby Imonoyamas are born with fans in their hands?" Seishirou smirked.
"Wouldn't be surprised. Ow!" Tooru yelped when Kanoe rapped her sharply on the arm.
"Quiet, children!"
"I am happy to see that so many of my students enjoy the beauty of cherry blossoms!" the Director of Clamp Campus said without the help of a microphone. Still her voice carried all over the clearing. "I feel lucky I can live in a time peaceful enough to allow young people such pastimes. Today you can devote yourselves to it completely, and I will not stand in your way by talking overly long. Just please don't destroy the park, we're supposed to return it tomorrow."
Laughter greeted the speech and the students dispersed among the trees.
# # #
Seiichiro Aoki didn't like cherry blossoms as much as others did. He'd always remember the groves at his family estate, where he and his cousins would compete in stripping petals from the trees. He was sure suggesting this pastime would get him lynched here, especially as Sakurazuka seemed to be an absolute cherry blossom fanatic.
When Aoki left his friends, they had been sitting among the remnants of their picnic, allowing petals to settle in their hair. He had given them a wide berth because he could tell Yatouji wanted to talk to Tooru and Seishirou alone, probably about his power problems again...
A warm wind heralded Karen Kasumi's arrival. The junior firestarter materialized a careful two feet above the grass, so that her flames did not touch the vegetation. He was surprised to see an almost melancholy seriousness on her usually cheerful face.
"It's beautiful, isn't it, Aoki-san?" she asked softly, walking up to him. "So fragile... so easy to tear away and destroy."
"Sometimes I want to do that," he half-hissed, looking at the trees. "Tear it all away. Sometimes I'm... not normal, like that."
"You sound like my mother," Karen said. "She always wanted to be like everyone else. To obey rules."
"You don't like you mother much?" he hazarded a guess.
"No. She was obsessed. My father divorced her, and raised me, but she kidnapped me when I was eight." She closed her eyes and started to shiver. "She hated my power so much... she beat me... and I was only free when she died."
Without thinking he caught her in his arms, hugging her tightly.
"It's alright. She can't hurt you now."
"That's why I use my power so much," she whispered, burying her head in his chest. "Because she said I was a monster - so I am one, as much as I can, don't you see? And she said I was so evil, ruled by emotions and never up to any good..."
"That's not right," he said, sinking down to his knees while still hugging her. "You're a good person, Karen-chan. I can see that."
Tear-filled eyes looked up at him. "So it's alright to be not normal."
He smiled at her. "Yes. It's alright."
They were alike, despite their differences, and that was what made them close, what made them fit together so well.
They didn't notice Seishirou watching them from the trees, and he didn't interrupt them.
# # #
Several minutes later Seishirou finally saw someone who could help him in his search.
"Hello, Ijyuin-chan," he greeted him politely. "Have you seen Subaru-chan anywhere?"
"He excused himself from the trip," the diminutive treasurer of the elementary school division informed him. "His grandmother is in Tokyo and requested his company today."
"That's too bad," Seishirou sighed dramatically. He made a mental note to berate his intelligence network for not informing him that Lady Sumeragi was in town.
"I'm sure he'll try to come here later if he'll be able to," Akira Ijyuin offered.
Suddenly they both turned with unerring instinct. The surprise on Suoh's face showed clearly that he was sure he'd made no sound.
"Have you seen Kaichou?" the ninja asked finally.
"I think he's watching the game," Akira offered. "You know - the go game set up by the five-storied pagoda. He said he wanted to learn from the professional player who's teaching shidougo there."
"Ogata-san, right?" Seishirou asked. "He became a pro this year, right?"
Akira nodded.
Seishirou grinned. "I'll go with you. I like watching your attempts to drag Nokoru-chan to work."
"And Takamura-sempai always manages it in the end."
Suoh's head snapped around, but Akira's look was as innocent as ever.
They found the gobans set up near the five-storied pagoda. There were not many onlookers, since the weather was far too good and the trees far too beautiful for people to stare at a game most of them did not understand. Even most of the Clamp Campus go club had wandered off to other parts of the park.
Nokoru was kneeling by the one goban that still held a game. The game had evidently finished a few moments ago, and the players were currently discussing it.
Kazuki's hair was tied back in an intricate knot that looked like a snow sculpture. "I pushed too hard here. I should have waited, saved my strength."
"Yes," the young professional player agreed. Ogata was taller than her, and his eyes were hidden behind rimless photochromic glasses, almost black in the sunlight. "If you had, I would have been in serious trouble. I believe I set you a too high handicap - I underestimated the strength of your play. I'm sorry."
"No need." Her smile was like a lamp in the dark. "Most people don't suspect I play well - I'm not in the go club, and I don't play often. But I got a lot of practice as a child, and that kind of skill never really goes away."
"As a child?" Nokoru asked from his place at her side, where he had been watching the game. "I didn't think many children play go, unless their parents do."
"I was often sick as a child," she explained. "There is only so much reading you can do, so I kept playing games. I know all of them - go, chess, checkers, and others as well."
"You must have been ill for a long time," Nokoru mused.
"I have. But I'm alright now." She smiled again.
"Having fun, White Princess?" Seishirou called out as he and his small companions approached. He bowed extravagantly to her, like a Renaissance courtier.
"Of course, with such charming company," she bantered back.
"Sakurazuka-sempai," Ogata greeted him. "Would you care for a game?"
"Maybe later," Seishirou said. "Right now I think Takamura-kun has something to say."
Nokoru yelped and hid behind Kazuki. This did not discourage Suoh in the slightest. The ninja simply vaulted over the goban and seized his friend's arm. "Paperwork."
"But Suoh, it's the day for watching cherry blossoms! Not for working!" The blond boy almost kneeled at his friend's feet. "How about we go and see the zoo? Akira, what do you think?"
"I think that's a splendid idea," the dark-haired boy put in.
The three teenagers laughed as the little ninja was dragged away by his friends.
"They make a great team, don't they?" Kazuki asked.
"A perfect one," Seishirou agreed.
"If no-one wants to play, I'll guess I'll go watch the cherry blossoms too," Ogata mused. "Sakurazuka-sempai - Kazuki-san." He bowed to them, European style, a decent copy of the bow Seishirou had given minutes before.
"There goes your greatest fan," Kazuki laughed.
Seishirou seemed surprised.
"Oh, he idolizes you," the girl explained. "It kept messing up my play - he kept trying to copy the way you look at your kendo opponents, and he almost had it."
"Well, you have to admit he couldn't have picked a better model."
"You and your big head." But she was smiling. "I guess it will help his games - you can look very scary when smiling, and he's got that one down pat, too."
"I guess."
She looked around. "Have you seen Tetsuo-kun around? If you and Tooru-chan finished talking to him-"
"Yes, we have." He shook his head at her enquiring look. "He's in the southern corner of the park now. He'll have to tell you himself. He's worried about your health and didn't want to trouble you, but Tooru-chan persuaded him."
"You mean she threatened to blow him up."
"You have an uncanny insight into human nature."
She winked at him. "Go through clinical death half a dozen times and you might get it yourself."
She ran off, careless and graceful in the scattered sunlight.
Seishirou's eyes narrowed as he looked to the direction of the sakura groove. The tree was strangely distracted suddenly, almost - fascinated? He caught a feeling from it, a flash of green eyes and white cloth. He decided to investigate.
The sight that greeted him was breathtaking. Subaru stood under the tree, white ceremonial clothes only accentuating the paleness of his skin. In the old clothes, the child seemed a ghost of another world, a time past of grace and might.
"Subaru-chan," Seishirou acknowledged him.
The doll-like face brightened with a smile. "Seishirou-sempai! I was afraid you've already left. I came as fast as I could, but Grandmother took so long in that meeting..."
The older boy nodded. "And yet you managed to find my favorite place in the entire park."
"It is? Those flowers are wonderful... Pink sakura are so rare."
Seishirou leaned comfortably against his Tree - *greeneyes*whiteskin*beautyfragileworthy* - and summoned a surprisingly earnest smile to his own face. "Do you know why those sakura are pink?"
"No..."
"Under each and every one of those trees, a body is buried. The first ones were mighty warriors who sacrificed their lives to protect Japan. That is why the sakura's petals are pink... because the trees feed on human blood."
Subaru shivered. "You're scaring me," he said softly.
"No." Seishirou stepped away from the tree and towards the boy. "Don't be afraid. Not as long as I am by your side."
A small hand rose tentatively to be caught by a larger one.
"I will protect you." The words were the rustle of branches, the fall of petals, the deep non-voice of the sakura behind him. "I promise you."
He looked up over the child's head, at a woman barely visible on the edge of the grove. He saw her old lips tightened into a straight line.
He smiled at her.
Mine.
~ TO BE CONTINUED ~
Author's notes:
Shidougo is a go game played to teach the weaker of the players.
For more info about go (and more of Ogata, who's a kind of Seishirou lite, really) you're advised to check out Hikaru no Go, soon coming to a manga store near you. Warning: it's supremely addictive; Kenshin level or higher.
Last scene is based on the variation of the Bet scene that's in the second Tokyo Babylon OVA. For some reason the minute differences stayed with me... what if *this* was an alternate reality?
