Something To Last Forever Chapter 1, a clamp fanfic

Something To Last Forever

Chapter 1

Note: Clamp School Detectives happens to be one of the first animes I have seen and was much moved by the simplicity yet the subtle adressal of relevant issues. My decision to make a fanfic on it has been rather sudden even though the ideas have been swirling around in the hard disk of my mind for years. Enjoy!

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Nokoru stared at the document on his desk, intending to finish the work before the end of the afternoon. The piles of paperwork almost filled the entire room, something that never should have happened had he actually taken the initiative to do it regularly. But it is Nokoru Imonoyama we are talking about: he is just not serious about his student council duties, even though the jobs are relatively effortless for a genius like him.

He is in high school now; 11th grade to be exact. He hadn't changed his selection of board members: Suoh Takamura was still the secretary, in 10th grade, and Akira Ijuiin was the treasurer, in 9th grade. Last year had been hard, because Akira had been in junior high then and they couldn't use his services for the high school council. It was sheer relief to them both when he graduated to high school.

Recently things had been getting a bit hard. Even though Nokoru had been doing his work diligently for the past few days, the backlog of paperwork never seemed clear off. But that was not what was eating his head at the moment.

His relationship with Hikaru Hisaragi had blossomed when he entered junior high. She was in Suoh's class and was a professional when it came to horse riding. She had ranked second to Suoh in the annual horse riding competition that was part of the Cherry Blossom festival when he was in 6th grade. He had asked her to the ball, and after sometime, they started going out. But lately, things had been difficult.

She wanted to proceed with competing at a professional level, not the national level that she usually competed in. He did not have a problem with it, but due to the immense workload of schoolwork and the council board, he was not able to give her time. And that was causing a major crack in their love. She was busy as well, since the 10th graders were supposed to appear for state exams at the end of the session. He never expected it to make him space out even in class.

"Chairman!" Suoh shouted, his hands on the desk. Akira mumbled behind Suoh, "Takamura-senpai, go easy on him."

Nokoru broke out of his reverie to face an irate Suoh and an equally worried Akira. "I have been almost shouting for the last five minutes, Nokoru. Finally, you respond." Suoh let out through gritted teeth.

"Sorry Suoh! Had certain things in mind, wasn't paying attention." Nokoru said, his voice near shouting, his voice betraying his emotions.

Suoh's eyes widened at the tone of his voice. "What's wrong? Is it about Hisaragi-san?" Suoh asked, settling himself on the chair opposite Nokoru. Nokoru jerked up his head in astonishment and put down the pen, resting his folded arms on the desk.

"Yeah…you guessed huh?" Nokoru asked gloomily. Suoh nodded. "Hisaragi-san told me about the problem between you two. I know it is not my business but I think if you let her go abroad, things will not get any better." Suoh said.

"Takamura-senpai is right. Even though going abroad to compete will enhance her skills more, it will take a toll on your relationship." Said Akira, sitting on the chair beside Suoh.

"But it will be good for her won't it? Besides, it's not like she's gonna leave now. It's at the end of the year." said Nokoru, a wry smile on his face. "But… I don't think I can keep up with the arguments anymore. I never thought it would come to this." He added with a grimace, looking at the paper piled up on his desk. "And the workload is not really helping me out in any way."

"That leads me to discuss another important matter with you." Suoh said.

"What is it?" asked Nokoru.

"Ijuiin-kun and I think that we should take another member into the board. Someone who can help us out by being your assistant." Said Suoh.

"I have actually been thinking about that. But I don't think I can select someone just like that, especially with the pressure I am in right now. It was easier when it came to choosing you both." Nakoru said, leaning back on his chair.

"We were thinking of having someone from Takamura-senpai's class. She doesn't really know of this yet. But, maybe, if she agrees, it would be of great help. We could have her on the board on a temporary basis and maybe if, she makes things a bit more bearable around here, then we could take her on a permanent basis. But that is for you to decide." Akira said.

Nokoru smiled at his kouhais. "Thank you so much for caring enough for me. You two are truly the best. So, who's the lucky young lady?"

Akira flipped open the laptop on Nokoru's desk and inserted a CD into the disk drive. The new window opening on the screen showed the student profile of a young girl, around Suoh's age, with long hair and hazel eyes.

"Yamazaki Nadeshiko-san. Third child to Yamazaki Sachiko-san and Yamazaki Sanosuke-san. Second youngest daughter of the Yamazaki clan. She is a good student and is good at sports and apparently talented in three instruments. Incidentally though…" Akira was cut off in mid-sentence.

"You don't need to tell him that, Ijuiin-kun. And you know why!" Suoh cut in, a bit annoyed.

"C'mon, Imonoyama-san of all people knows that you are not partial. This is for the best, right, senpai?" Akira asked Suoh. Suoh leant back on his seat and let out an exasperated sigh. "Go ahead." He mumbled.

Nokoru looked at Akira, his eyes dancing with amusement. "She happens to be Takamura-senpai's cousin." Akira said as Suoh sighed yet again.

"Suoh, you know I trust you enough to know that you are not partial. Especially when it is something as serious as this." Nokoru said, smiling at Suoh. Akira gave Suoh a what-did-I-tell-ya? look. "You tell me something more about Yamazaki-san, Suoh. The student profiles usually don't tell much about working habits though you can guess from their talents." Said Nokoru.

Suoh put his folded arms on the table and began, "Nadeshiko happens to be a month younger than me. Has a twin brother, an older sister and a younger sister. We kinda took Ikido lessons together. She specializes in fighting with a pair of Sai. She wants to proceed with music in college, but her parents want her to control their companies alongwith her brother. Mostly because her older sister is a fashion designer and her younger sister, Ayala, is not interested in the business and has made it known to both her parents."

"Her mother runs the ad company ClearDreamz, am I right? She has quite a reputation in the ad world." Nokoru said, leaning forward.

Suoh nodded. "She is a hard worker and is known to not crack under pressure. In these times, I think she would be a wise addition to the board."

Nokoru nodded happily. "I trust your judgement, guys. Today is Friday, how about you let her know on Monday morning. We can meet here after school if she has not got a problem with it."

Akira and Suoh nodded in response. "Alright then. Lemme get this pile over with. I hope Yamazaki-san's arrival will help. Right now, I am willing to take any help that comes my way." Said Nakoru, pulling a pile of papers towards him and picking up his pen.

"Besides, a little feminine touch to the board would not hurt." Nokoru added in a low voice. Akira chuckled at his words and said, "Yeah, I guess that wouldn't hurt, Imonoyama-san. But do remember that you have a girlfriend."

Nokoru went red at his words. "Hey! I said feminine touch, I didn't say I was gonna forget my troubles by indulging in something like that!" He blurted out.

Seeing Akira's reaction, he said resignedly, "I am hoping work wise we can be a bit more content by her arrival. I will never do that to Hikaru, no matter in what state our relationship is."

'I just hope that she won't be a distraction to these two.' Thought Suoh silently. 'Oh boy, let Monday come soon.'

Author's note: Here is the first chapter. It's pretty short but since it is the introductory chapter, I made it so. Nadeshiko is my own character and she will be introduced in the next chapter. Hisaragi Hikaru is one of my favourite characters in the anime. I am not sure she is mentioned in the manga as I have not finished reading it yet, but I haven't found a mention of her as yet. Can anyone tell me if she is mentioned or not?? Sai is a short sword like weapon of Okinawan origin. They are effective in swordfights. They can cause considerable damage to the solar plexus region when the body is hit by it. Do review, I would love to hear your opinion on it. All constructive criticism is appreciated. Happy reading, minna san!