(Standard disclaimer applies.) This fanfic is written purely for entertainment purposes only. No disrespect, etc. is intended, and no profit had been/ is being/ will ever be made. Don't hunt me, don't sue me, and don't hurt me in anyway And please kindly acknowledge that Shizumi is my character, so don't use her without asking for my permission first!

Author's memo: The Clamp Campus Detectives are in the middle school division (and Utako and Nagisa are in the elementary division) when the events in this story happened. And yes, Laughter is the best medicine'. I like starting my chapters with a few pages of fluff / laughter before getting serious – i.e. Warnings: stupidity, silliness and fluff abound! If you can't take it sorry, but you will just have to bear with me ^^;;

Dedication: originally for anyone who enjoys a good dose of laughter; Now for Jared, who complained in her review that Nokoru was so mean!' in the last chapter (hope you find this one better! ^^), and particularly Monica, the second person who bothered sending me an email It's the least I could do to show how grateful I am for their comments. (glares at those who just read and forget. humph.) A million thanks to Meryl too, who still continues to support me ^^

Priceless Treasures

A Clamp Campus Detectives fanfic

By Apus000

Chapter 4 – Happy Times

"It is time," the challenger spoke in a quiet, strong voice, his silver-grey eyes shone with determination.

On the other side of the battlefield, with his eyes calmly shut, his proud opponent responded, "Are you sure that this is what you want?" The voice held calculated strength.

"The battle must end." A statement. Neutral. Stating the obvious.

His opponent's eyes opened a little to peer at him. "What makes you think that you can defeat me?" he asked nonchalantly.

"It must end NOW!" came the repeat.

His opponent opened his eyes fully, revealing a pool of sapphire-blue, and regarded him with a smugly confident look. "As you wish."

The wind howled around them. The two stared fixedly at each other for a while, their eyes, granite gray locked with opulent blue. Then, with a cry from both sides, the battle began.

But it ended as abruptly as it had started. Within seconds, the challenger had already knocked out his opponent with a few shots. However, instead of jumping with joy for his victory, he looked alarmed

"Kaichou!!!" he cried out.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Kaichou!!!"

At the cry, everyone who had been in the house rushed to the front garden. Suoh was in the lead, followed by Shizumi, then Utako and Nagisa. They found a teary puppy-eyed Akira crying over a motionless body in the snow. Upon closer inspection, the body was that of Nokoru's Alarmed, the four ran to Nokoru's side.

"Ijyuin! What happened to kaichou!" Suoh shouted as he and Shizumi searched for Nokoru's pulse and looked for any signs of injury. "What did you do to him!"

"I am sorry Takamura-sempai!" Akira sobbed, "I must have hit kaichou too hard on the head"

"You WHAT?!" Suoh and Shizumi exclaimed in unison.

"You had hit him?!"

"Whatever did you do that for?!"

"Listen to me, Ijyuin! WHAT HAPPENED?!"

A faint moan cut short all the confusion.

"Kaichou!" Suoh shouted. He looked down, and shook Nokoru softly, trying to wake him.

"I swear I am never going to have a snow-fight again" the kaichou mumbled. With some help from Shizumi, he sat up and shook his head, trying to clear away the stars.

At the sight of Nokoru's awakening, Akira cried out with joy, Kaichou! Thank goodness you are alright! I thought I had killed you!" (Skeptical looks from Utako and Suoh.)

Nokoru said with a faint smile, "Those were some excellent shots, Akira, but not enough to kill yet."

"I think some explanation is needed here, Nokoru-san," said an annoyed Utako. Others nodded in agreement. It seemed that their rushing-out had been pointless.

"Oh, it's nothing much, really," Nokoru said off-handedly, "As soon as we have unpacked, Akira and I came out to have a serious' snow-fight. Unfortunately, Akira had managed to dodge all my shots, while I coped with the heap that he had attacked me with. The last thing I remembered was being knocked out by one of his shots."

"That was all?" Suoh asked.

"I told you it was nothing much."

Before Suoh could launch into another lecture about Nokoru and his stupid games, Akira interrupted, "Look! It's three o'clock already! I will go and prepare tea. Could all of you please wait for me in the drawing room?" Having said that, the now carefree treasurer went back into the mansion.

Nokoru flourished his fan and stood up, brushing snow off his pants. He turned around to face the annoyed foursome behind him and gave them a big, angelic smile. "Come on everyone! Don't look so grumpy! I invited you all to spend this holiday in Sweden so that we could have fun together, not to become my unhappy guests. And no, Suoh," he added, silencing Suoh with his fan, "Don't bother wasting your breath lecturing me today, because it wouldn't even reach my ears. Remember, a promise is a promise." The last sentence was said in a sing-song voice.

The girls giggled at that, while Suoh growled. Mental note to myself: Never EVER again bribe Kaichou into doing his paperwork by promising to let him do whatever he wants afterwards. the ninja thought.

Yes, the group of Clamp Campus students was currently spending their summer holiday in Sweden. The trip was a result of a compromise' between one work-frustrated Suoh and his less-than-willing-to-work kaichou:

"Look, I promise that you can do whatever you want," Suoh had said, "AFTER you have finished you work!" He indicated the paper mountains that would have caused some serious damage if touched. The girls, who were once again using the middle-school council room as their private tearoom, had wisely kept a great distance between them and the workload. They and Akira watched the usual drama between Suoh and Nokoru with interest. The only difference in plot was that this time, the secretary had actually resorted to bribery

Nokoru's cat ears immediately popped out and twitched when he heard those words. He turned to face Suoh with eyes curved in a mischievous grin. "A~nything?" he stretched out the word.

"Anything! Just get them done! They have to be handed in by TOMORROW, you know!"

The girls concluded that the secretary must have been really desperate if he actually missed the catty look and promised Nokoru such a good chance for mischief-making. Meanwhile, Akira putted on his usual innocent but worried look. They were all convinced that the blue-haired secretary would regret his promise.

And as expected, he did.

Returning back to the present though

"Let's go inside," Shizumi said finally, "I still need to unpack anyway."

So Nokoru led everyone back into the house.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Time had past quickly. The afternoon came and went, and night soon fell on the quiet street where the Imonoyama's Sweden mansion was located. Since Akira had insisted on making dinner and Utako had insisted on helping him, everyone else left the love-birds to their own devices. Nokoru then somehow managed to badger the remaining three people into playing the Dance Machine located in the first floor entertainment room. Needless to say, Suoh and Nagisa were continually forced to dance together – that is, until Nokoru was caught filming them with a handy camera and Shizumi was identified as the Swedish voice-over that commented on the complicated dance movements' the camera had captured. That, of course, resulted in a merry chase around the mansion with Suoh hard at Nokoru's heels. (Shizumi remained in the room to calm an embarrassed Nagisa – whilst teasing her at the same time ^^) The chase ended when Nokoru retreated to his own bedroom and locked the double doors behind him.

"GIVE ME THE TAPE KAICHOU!" Suoh stormed and pounded on the bedroom door.

"But I haven't even made a copy for Shizumi-san yet," Nokoru responded mischievously through the doors. "She has done an excellent job with the Swedish commentating. Don't you think that she deserves a copy?"

"WHAT!?" Suoh exclaimed.

"Just wait a second," Nokoru said. Suoh listened through the door. He heard a few twitches and a click, then the noises ended in a reverse pattern. A frown appeared on Suoh's face. What the heck was that about? Suddenly, the double doors opened again, and Suoh fell forward into the room.

Nokoru bent down and patted Suoh's head. He said, "Don't worry, everything's fine. The tape is now secured in my safe, so no-one could get to it except me."

"That is not comforting, kaichou." Suoh said flatly.

"But Suoh!" Nokoru summoned another angelic expression on his face, his voice a coaxing tone, "I am your best friend! Surely you can trust me.?"

Suoh was about to make a reply, but was interrupted by the dinner bell.

Phew! Saved by the bell. Nokoru thought. Out loud, he said to Suoh, "I can assure you that everything is now safe in my hands. Come along now, and we shall have dinner."

What could he do? Suoh gave one last look at the safe that sat harmlessly next to Nokoru's bed. He wished wistfully that he had brought some ammunition along... But without further ado, he followed Nokoru down to the ground floor, where Utako had begun to set up the table in the dinning hall.

Dinner was a simple but delicious three-course meal. Caesar salad and rich tomato soup were served first, followed by eye-fillet in cranberry sauce, and ended with a scrumptious fruit-tart as dessert. A great deal of chatter, teasing and frolic were made throughout the whole course. The evening wore on merrily. After dinner, the girls decided to have a bath together and took advantage of the huge adjoined bathroom and sauna found on the second floor of the mansion. Meanwhile, the boys enjoyed tea in the ground-floor study, making plans on how to spend the next day.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The snow glistened in the gentle sunlight when the gang arrived in Stockholm' s town square the next day. It was a lovely day for sightseeing. They walked about the marketplace for a while, taking photos and looking at the different stalls. It was during this time that Suoh's allergy to feathers was found, Nokoru's huge collection of credit cards was discovered, and Shizumi's supernatural ability in bargaining was encountered

After lunch, the gang agreed on free time'- a period in the day when everyone could do whatever they want. When the place and time at which they will rejoin each other was settled, the group scattered. Suoh and Akira joined their respective partners and went to look at the variety of novelties offered by other stalls. Shizumi, tired of shopping, consulted with a waitress and decided to take a walk around a nearby bay. Nokoru, ever the gentleman, accompanied her.

"Thank you very much for inviting me along to this trip, Nokoru-san," Shizumi said as they walked around the bay. The fresh wind that blew in from the sea was rather chilly, but their coats kept them safe from the cold.

"The pleasure is all mine," the kaichou said with a smile, "Besides, the trip would not be as..." his smile grew wider, remembering last evening's round of Teasing-Suoh, "...entertaining, without you coming along to join in on the fun."

That's only a part of the truth, Nokoru-san, if not a sincere lie. Shizumi knew. She was no fool. She understood that Nokoru had invited her to come along mainly because he didn't want her to spend a lonely holiday; he wanted her to enjoy herself. Holidays are suppose to be times when family and friends get together and have fun, be it a luxurious overseas holiday or a simple picnic the park. But for Shizumi, an orphan, these are times of loneliness: she had no one - save a few boarders - with whom she can enjoy the holidays. This holiday would have been the same lonely experience again if not for Nokoru's offer. For this, she was eternally thankful.

However, despite all her gratitude for the kaichou, she commented, "You know, sometimes you are too kind for your own good. I would have thought that as the youngest son of the Imonoyama Saibetsu, you would be careful of strangers and put up your guard. You hardly know me, yet you allow me to come so close to you and some of the most important people in your life. Have you ever thought about whether or not I am trustworthy?"

Nokoru just shrugged, his smile still pleasant as ever, and gave a similar answer to one he had uttered one long-ago Summer:

"I am just thoughtless."

Try the trick on someone else, Nokoru-san. Shizumi shook her head. "No diversions please, gentleman."

Indeed, Shizumi-san, you are no fool. Out loud, Nokoru tested, "But you already know the answer, don't you?"

She just gave him a look.

"Because I know that I can trust you," he told her simply, "Because 'some of the most important people' in my life trusts you too."

An indescribable warmth took over when she heard those words, but she said nothing. Both of them knew that it was not the full answer though; something much deeper had remained unsaid.

But it would do for now.

They continued their walk in peaceful silence, completely content and at ease with each other's presence. The sentiment may have perhaps lasted longer if Nokoru had not suddenly looked up and spotted a middle-aged woman. The lady was leaning against the low stone wall that bordered the bay, staring sadly at the waters. From her pinned-up hair and respectable kimono-attire, one could harzard a guess on her nationality. Shizumi followed his gaze and saw her too. Boy and girl looked at each other and an agreement was formed. The two walked up to the lady quietly. It was Nokoru who spoke first.

"Lady, do you require assistance in any way?"

The woman jumped a bit and slightly turned her head. She saw the two teenagers regarding her with genuine concern. She cocked her head to one side and looked questioningly at them, her porcelain face innocent as a child's, her wide but wavering dark eyes seemed lost. Perhaps she is not Japanese after all?

"Madam, would you like some help?" Shizumi asked in Swedish. (Why not? They are in Sweden afterall.)

The woman continued to stare at them for some longer time, searching their faces, as though trying to find a way to express herself. Then, quietly, she said in Japanese:

"I am looking for a very precious thing... a priceless treasure which I had lost many years ago" Her voice was filled with unbearable sadness and painful regret. A burdened heart.

Nokoru prompted slowly, "It is something that money cannot replace?"

"Money?" the woman echoed, then scoffed with childish disdain, "Of course not, what's the use of money? People care too much about money. I am not talking about money."

Child-like sentences. Although these words were conveyed with some degree of certainty, the manner in which the woman had said them was like a child's. Her voice sounded as if her mind was far away; dreamy and distant. Her face was slightly frowned, much like when a child was choosing what flavoured ice-cream she wants to have.

The heart knows something deeper, but the mind cannot quite grasp it.

All these did not escape the two teenagers.

Shizumi was curious to know. She asked, "What are you looking for?" The words were carefully spoken, an indication that the usually confident girl was a little unsure of what to do.

"Many years ago, I met a young man"

"If it is a person you are looking for, I am sure that we can - "

"No, no, I am not looking for anyone at all." She gave a sigh. "I have been looking for happiness my whole life, but to no avail. And yet, I know that there is such thing, because when I was with that young man, I had felt happiness even if it was only the briefest of moments" She clutched at her own chest and bowed her head in sadness. After a long pause, she looked up again, her whole being suddenly tinged with desperation, and pleaded to the two teenagers:

"Please help me find happiness."

Shizumi was struck speechless. Even Nokoru seemed at lost. There, standing in front of them, was a lady who must have gone through the worst of life's challenges, but she has the mind of a child.

So is it true, afterall, that adults are merely grown-up children?

An 'adult-child'?

The first thought that occured to them, rude as it may seem, was that this lady's sanity was questionable. They stared, dumbstruck, astonished, at the desperate look on the woman's face.

Underneath the pleading, however, was what one might perceive as hope.

Yes, beneath those desperate brown eyes was a child's utter trust and hope. The face spoke of immense innocence and genuineness. So full of faith and expectation. A child asking Santa Claus if she can have that one precious, priceless thing. The perfection in that naivete was breath-taking.

It is almost a sin that children can have something so perfect and beautiful.

It was too pure to destroy.

For perhaps the first time in their lives, Nokoru and Shizumi panicked. The two prides of Clamp Campus were unprepared, caught off guard. Never before had either of them encountered such a case. They frantically racked their brains for something appropriate to say, but to no avail.

"Ryoko!"

The sudden shout made the woman turn around. The teenagers peered past her and saw an Asian man - perhaps a Japanese merchant? - running up to them, worry written all over his face.

"There you are!" His voice was full of relief. As soon as he reached the woman, he took her hand and started to steer her away, whilst apologising at the same time, "I am sorry, my wife must have disturbed you." He turned back to the woman. "Come with me now, Ryoko," he said gently, "The doctor is waiting for you."

The couple was about to walk away, but Nokoru intercepted them.

"Please wait sir," he said.

The man turned around, and repeated apologetically, "I am sorry for the inconvenience."

"Please do not mention it," Nokoru said politely, but his voice held a strained and demanding tone, "However, you need to take great care of your lady's heart." He was about to say more, but Shizumi had cut in and summarised all he wanted to say in one simple sentence: "She needs you more than the doctor."

The man gave them a brief smile and led his wife away. The lady acted exactly like an obedient child and followed her husband. A good little girl that did not even forget to wave goodbye to the two teenagers.

The man's smile... Was it a smile of gratefulness? Understanding? Regret? Or annoyance?

Or was it just one of those fake smiles used to get rid of unwanted attention?

One of the many mysteries of the human mind. One which Nokoru and Shizumi contemplated as they watch the couple disappear down a busy street. After that, they began to walk back the way they had came.

" Non omnia possumus omnes'," Shizumi quoted suddenly. She stopped walking and turned to regard her companion.

Nokoru, who had been absorbed in his own thoughts, stopped in his tracks too, and stared at her questioningly.

There was pain. They were well aware of it.

His pain in not being able to help a distressed lady.

Her pain when looking into Nokoru's eyes and saw no twinkles.

Nevertheless, Shizumi gave a chuckle and explained, "It means We can't all do everything'." She looked at Nokoru meaningfully. "Our abilities are limited. We cannot retrieve happiness; nor can we buy back time that had past. As clever and wealthy as you may be, you are only a middle-school student," she stressed, "a human."

He remained silent. His demeanour though, was a different story. Perhaps even he was unaware it. "What's your point?" challenged his defiant stance.

Shizumi decided to ignore and continued, "Back there, you have already done all you can to help the lady. Shocked as you and I may have been, you must have acknowledged that she is unwilling to leave the past. She is clinging onto something which is already gone. Tell me, who can possibly help a person that continues to dwell in the past, unwilling to move on?" Turning to face the lapping waters, she gave a short pause, letting her words sink in. "Besides, that lady already has a husband. Yes, the gentleman probably does not yet understand her needs, but I'm sure that even you can tell he cares for her. He cares enough to go into the streets and look for her, take her to the doctor, and not let her condition get any worse. Isn't that enough?

"Tell me, Nokoru-san, what can you offer that the gentleman cannot? Do you have any proof that you can do better than what the gentleman is already doing?" Turning back to face Nokoru, Shizumi mentally winced at his glare. However, she did back away.

No, wait, it is not really a glare... His eyes are not hard at all...

It was more like... a look of conflicting emotions: anger, helplessness, surprise... warmth...?

And that may well be what Nokoru was feeling: anger and helplessness at his inability to help the desperate lady, surprise at Shizumi's straightforward manner... warmth at the thought that another person cares enough to challenge and correct him...

He heaved a sigh. In the past, he had offered all sorts of assistance to ladies. It had seemed that no matter how complicated the problem might be, he can always work out a solution to sort out all their troubles. Never had he or anyone questioned his ability to help ladies in need. However, this case -

He felt an unexpected touch on his left hand, and saw that Shizumi had both of hers wrapped around it.

"Forgive me," she said apologetically, "but you must see it. You need to know that there are limits to everything."

Then she brought his hand to her face, such that it cupped her cheek, and said in a bearly audible voice:

"I trust you too, always, so please do not ever doubt yourself"

He stared at her, startled and speechless.

She held his stare, comforting and gentle.

If a photographer had been walking past, he would not have hesitated to take out his camera and capture the moment. It would have been a perfect image: two teenagers, a boy and a girl, gazing at each other, the girl holding onto the hand that held her face. A simple gesture - and therein lies the mystery, for simple and innocent though the gesture did seem, it felt as if there was something much deeper that was being conveyed. The air was thick with the spell woven between the two people.

The wind blew around them, ruffling their hair, pulling back their coats and scarfs, but they took no notice. It was as though time had chosen to stop for just a little while, giving them a special moment to hold each other's unwavering gaze; letting them communicate a flow of unspoken but meaningful words...

Then Nokoru gave her a smile - not one of those fake, charming smiles used for public display, but a unique and true smile - and said, "Thank you."

Only then did Shizumi let go of his hand. And as though nothing had happened, she childishly skipped a few steps forward, before turning her head back and smiled at him mischievously, "The last one back to the meeting place has to cook dinner tonight!" Saying so, she ran ahead.

Merriment once again dancing in his eyes, Nokoru gave chase.

-------------------------------------------------------------

Free talk:

I have always wanted to write a fanfic where, for once, Nokoru comes across a case which he cannot solve. Well, here it is – with a little spice of my own ^^ I apologise if the little bit of light romance here was too much, but trust me, I have brutally rubbed out a whole chunk of it already so that people won't feel sick when reading it. I hope that you have enjoyed reading it as much as I have enjoyed writing it

Also, I'm sorry that the paragraphs are so broken-up in this chapter. I hope it doesn't destroy the flow of the story It's the first time I try writing an emotional piece and I wasn't quite sure how I should emphasise certain descriptions, so I broke them into single-sentenced paragraphs' instead ^^;;; It wasn't too bad, was it?

BTW, the quote said by Shizumi was from Virgil, Eclogues.

That's all for now! Did you enjoy the story? C&C are appreciated, so please send them to apus000@yahoo.com.au

Thanks ^^