Something To Last Forever

Chapter 3

Note: I would like to thank Jaya and can-pom23 for pointing out a major mistake; the spelling of Nokoru's name. The mistake arose from the way his name is pronounced. Thanks a lot! And a big thank you and muah to all of you who reviewed my earlier chapter! Onto chapter 3!

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Nadeshiko gaped at the boy standing before her. She closed her mouth and smiled at him politely. "Ijuiin-kun." She said. Akira smiled back at her and bowing greeted them. "Good evening, Yamazaki-senpai, Hisaragi-senpai. How are you, Hisaragi-senpai?" He asked Hikaru. Hikaru smiled and bowed respectfully. "Good evening to you too, Ijuiin-kun. I am doing well, thank you for asking." Turning to Nadeshiko she said, "I am going ahead. Okaa-san told me to be home early." Nadeshiko replied, "Alright, see you tomorrow then." Hikaru bid them goodbye and went in the direction of the stables.

Nadeshiko turned to Akira and said, "What did you wish to speak to me about, Ijuiin-kun?" Akira replied, "After you left, the chairman said that he was free this Saturday, so if you have nothing else to do, we could meet up at his place and you could brief him on the matters that you took care of as vice-chairman and vice versa. Is that alright with you senpai?" she nodded in response and said, "I am free on Saturday. What time should we meet?" He said, "Around 6:30 AM. This was Takamura-senpai's idea actually; he likes to get things done early in the morning."

Nadeshiko giggled at his answer and said, "Yeah, that sounds like Suoh alright. He is sometimes a slave driver, isn't he?" Akira smiled sheepishly and answered, "Kinda. Sometimes. Though, if he ever heard me say that, I don't think he would spare me the wrath he showers upon Imonoyama-senpai." Nadeshiko laughed out loud on hearing his response.

"Uhm…senpai?" Akira said hesitantly. "Yes?" Nadeshiko answered, her eyes still beholding some of the amusement from their laugh earlier.

Akira took a deep breath before he continued. "Uhm…I did not wish to overhear your conversation with Hisaragi-senpai, but I did. Does she have someone else in mind? Because Imonoyama-senpai has been really distracted by their relationship, for the past few days." He said, his eyes serious.

Nadeshiko stared at him for a while before replying, "Honestly, I don't know. I just hope she is not cheating on him. I have known her for a long time now, and I don't think she would do that to him without breaking up with him first. She has enough dignity to not do something like that. But I have no idea what is going through her mind at that moment. Like I said, I just hope for the best outcome of this entire mess."

Akira nodded at her words. "I am hoping for that as well. But, let me say this, I will not be very surprised if they split up soon. Although I am not quite prepared for the effect of that decision on Imonoyama-senpai."

Nadeshiko kept silent. After a while she said, "You are right about that, Ijuiin-kun. But let this conversation remain between us. In the meantime, I think we should lessen the burden on him should anything like that happen. I wouldn't mind working a couple of hours extra to keep the Council working smoothly."

Akira nodded at her and said, "You are right, that would help a lot. Better prepare for the worst time, huh?" She smiled weakly at him, "You could put it that way."

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Nadeshiko gaped at the living room in Nokoru's home. She knew he was part of the Imonoyama zaibatsu, but never in her dreams had she expected his living room to be this big. Even the size of her own home, which she considered to be fairly big, felt minuscule next to his.

It was Saturday; the day they had agreed to meet up at Nokoru's place so that he could be briefed on the issues that Nadeshiko took care of in his place. The idea was working quite well actually, they were having a lot less backlogs than before even though Nokoru tended to slack off a bit.

She shut her mouth quickly, reprimanding herself for forgetting the manners that her upbringing had taught her. Nokoru smiled slightly at her reaction; after all, he still remembered how Akira and even, Suoh, had reacted when he brought them home for the first time.

Finally noticing Nokoru's apparent amusement, she looked at him indignantly, but the look was marred by the furious blush that appeared on her cheeks. He let loose a small laugh and covered his mouth while apologizing, "I am sorry Yamazaki-san, you just remind me of how Akira and Suoh reacted so many years before," he finished, finally restraining from laughter.

Nadeshiko could feel her face burning away, and said, "Well, we should get started soon, ne? There is really a lot of work to finish." She walked over to the chaise where Suoh and Akira were busily sifting through files. As she walked, she did not notice the admiring gaze that Nakoru cast over her, admiring how her dress flattered her curves and emphasized her toned legs. Unfortunately for him, Suoh caught him looking, and let out a sigh, a twinge of regret surfacing in his mind, in bringing her to the Student Council. Nokoru caught Suoh's exasperated look and smiled mischievously at him.

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"Yamazaki-san, do you mind if I walk you home?" Nokoru asked, hands in the pockets of his cargo pants. Nadeshiko suddenly noticed what he was wearing; stone washed cargo pants and a white shirt, with the top two buttons left unbuttoned, giving her a glimpse of his toned chest. She shook her head, denying both his request and her wayward thoughts. 'He is Hikaru's boyfriend, HER boyfriend, why am I forgetting this?' She looked at him and spoke, "Thanks for the offer, senpai, but it would be quite out of your way. I will go by myself, it is not a problem." A smile graced his lips as he answered in a low tone, "You afraid of walking with me? I won't eat you, you know."

They were standing outside his house. Akira and Suoh both had something to do after the meeting so they went away earlier while Nadeshiko and Nokoru stayed back, chatting for a while. He wouldn't ever deny that she was attractive, but drew him in most about her was her happy nature—thoughtful, caring and understanding. It sometimes made him think how could she not have an influence on Hikaru, provided they had been childhood friends. Hikaru was everything opposite to her—moody, sometimes brash, but shy. She was also a happy person by nature, but they didn't even match up. 'Why do I even compare them? I should simply accept Hikaru for what she is, but somehow…I can't.'

Nadeshiko let out a sigh, drawing him away from his brooding. "You shouldn't flirt with every girl you talk to, senpai. It will arouse unwanted thoughts in people and you will draw unnecessary attention upon yourself, more than you already do," she finished, as she looked straight at him. Nokoru gaped at her and then burst out laughing. "Sorry, sorry," he finally stopped, seeing her glare at him, hands on her hips. "Gosh, someone has not said that to me in the longest time. Ah well, I was just having a bit of fun. Please don't mind, Yamazaki-san." She huffed and folded her arms in response. "Come on, I will walk you home. As an apology." She caught him looking at her with amusement and nodded at him, muttering, when he was out of earshot, "You look anything but apologetic to me." But he had heard her comment and chuckled in response.

"Senpai, may I pry?" Nadeshiko asked when Nakoru handed her a vanilla and chocolate ice cream cone. She thanked him and looked at him for his answer. He said, while licking away his ice cream cone, "Yes, you may, I don't mind."

"It's about Hikaru. Have you done something to her that may have upset her? Please don't mind me putting this to you in such a manner, because I really care for her a lot, and I respect you, so…" She trailed off, looking at her ice cream and began eating, as Nokoru's gaze fell upon her. She met his gaze and could tell that the issue was paining him as much as it was paining her.

"Will you promise to keep this between us, Yamazaki-san? Because Hikaru trusts you, and you have known each other your entire lives, I am going to talk about this with you." Nadeshiko nodded as Nokoru began. "You and I both know that we have been busy with the Student Council a lot. To the extent that even the twice a month dates that we used to have were stopped because I was either busy with the work, or with studies. I take full responsibility for that, but there was nothing I could do at that point of time. With your coming, things have eased up a bit and I am grateful for that." He smiled at her and she reciprocated warmly. He continued, while finishing the cone, "I took her out on a date yesterday, after you two finished practice. Just that she seemed too distracted."

Nadeshiko stopped walking. "What do you mean by too distracted? Hikaru has been frustrated that she has not been able to go out with you, so she should have been thrilled to be able to at last, right?" Nokoru said, "That is what I thought. But I just could not—" He stopped in mid sentence.

Nadeshiko looked up at him, having heard him not complete his sentence. She was surprised to see a look of shock written all over his face as he looked straight ahead. She followed his line of sight and found her thoughts being erased by the scene unfolding before her.

A couple was kissing passionately, in the middle of the walk, in broad daylight, oblivious to the looks thrown at them both. It was Hikaru.

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Author's note: My apologies for the late update. I have been pretty busy with admissions to colleges and stuff, so I barely got time to write. It is still not over, will be in a few weeks. But I was getting bored from not writing, so I decided to slip this in. I finally finished reading the Clamp manga; there is no mention of Hikaru in it, or Idomu! Seems like they are anime-exclusive characters only. Anyways, I hope you like the chapter. I will be updating in a week. Leave me a review to lemme know how you liked the chapter; flames will be ignored, if possible replied back with flames, all constructive criticism is appreciated. Happy reading! :-)