DAY SEVEN
Hokuto stared at the dreamgazer for a few seconds, then leapt out of bed. "When?" she asked, hunting around for a dressing gown and ignoring Kakyou's furious blush.
"A few hours," he said, still blushing. "I know the girl's name, but I don't have an address..."
"I'll wake Subaru."
Several minutes later, they were all at the table holding a council of war. At least, that was how it felt.
"So, what are we going to do?" asked Subaru. "I can't find the girl without at least an image to work from, preferably some part of her. Shiki can't find anyone with just a name. And without the address, we have no hope of getting to her in time."
"Can't you contact the police for information? They'd have names and addresses of everybody in the city, surely!" said Hokuto.
"No, I'd never get clearance that quickly," said Subaru, frowning.
"You could hack into their systems?" suggested Kakyou, as if it were perfectly logical.
Hokuto resolved to have a small talk with the dreamgazer about morals and invasion of privacy.
"I can't do that!" protested Subaru, but then he snapped his fingers and picked up the phone. "However, I know somebody who can."
"Hi, Imonoyama-san? It's Sumeragi Subaru ... Yes, I do know what time it is, but this is important. It's for the sake of a lady ... No, I don't need you to come here, I just need you to find me an address. Her name is Mihari Suzuka ... I'm at my sister's, you can fax the information here so we can check." He listed the number, and wandered into the office, Hokuto and Kakyou trailing behind.
A few minutes later, the fax came through. Subaru glanced at it and then passed it to Kakyou, who nodded. "Yes, that's it," said Subaru, into the phone. "Thank you very much, Nokoru-san."
Hokuto hid a smile. "Nokoru Imonoyama-san? My, aren't we high class!" Nokoru had been the class president in her world, but he was also the youngest son of one of Japan's wealthiest - and most influential - families. "At least you know which buttons to press."
"We were in high school together," said Subaru, distractedly. "Nokoru-san has a soft spot for damsels in distress." [1]
Hokuto glanced over Kakyou's shoulder at the fax. "That address is on the other side of the city!" she exclaimed.
Subaru nodded. "We'd better get moving."
Kakyou nodded. "I'll stay here, and if I See anything else I'll ring you, okay?"
Hokuto nodded and scribbled her mobile number down on a piece of paper, once she'd asked Subaru what it was.
"So... what are you going to do, exactly?" asked Kakyou, curiously.
Hokuto paused in her dash to the bedroom (in order to get changed, since even an urgent rescue mission couldn't justify her staying in her pyjamas). "Get her out of there, of course!"
"Will you be okay if... You know. Someone tries to hurt you."
"Mo~u! Of course! And I'll have Subaru here to protect me," protested Hokuto, rummaging around in her drawers for something decent to wear.
"Nokoru-san and Suoh-san too, probably," said Subaru, wearily. "I don't think I succeeded in discouraging Nokoru-san at all."
"Well, more people can't hurt," Hokuto called from her bedroom. "And Suoh-san, at least, knows what he's doing in a fight. At least, the Suoh-san I knew did." The Takamura Suoh she remembered had been a rather talented young ninja, as a matter of fact.
She emerged from her room dressed in a simple black catsuit. "Right. Are we ready?"
Subaru nodded.
~ * ~
Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at the address in question. It turned out to be a ground floor unit in a small block. The other units in the block were lifeless and dark, but the one they wanted definitely had lights on.
"I think Nokuro-san-tachi are already here," said Subaru, glancing at the car parked inconspicuously to the side. [2]
Hokuto nodded. They approached the house cautiously.
Suddenly, Subaru stiffened.
"What is it?" asked Hokuto, in a small voice.
"Sakurazukamori." He dashed for the door.
Swearing, Hokuto followed.
Subaru's first act, once inside, was to throw up wards to prevent the struggle within from attracting anybody else's attention. His second was to attract the attention of the assassin, who was currently struggling with a certain blue-haired ninja. The intended victim, a small blonde with a dazed expression, was curled up in the corner of the room with a battered teddy bear clutched to her chest.
"You take care of the girl!" he told the rest of the people in the room. "I can handle this."
Nokoru, Akira and Hokuto obediently ushered the frightened girl out of the room, although Suoh remained behind.
"Um... How did you get into the house?" asked the girl, in a small voice.
The two young men regarded each other uncomfortably, but said nothing. However, Akira blushed. [3]
"We're here to help," said Hokuto. "Where are your parents?"
"Out," said the girl. "They're staying at my aunt's for a week and let me look after the house all on my own and I'm so proud they've never let me do that before and..." She was babbling, obviously in shock.
"Ssh," said Hokuto, placing her hand to the girl's forehead and working a small sleep spell. "It's okay." The girl slumped into her arms, out like a light. "Will you two take her away somewhere?" she asked Nokoru and Akira, quietly. "Somewhere secure."
"I'll take her to CLAMP Campus," promised Nokoru. He gathered her in his arms and headed out to the car, Akira trailing behind. Hokuto headed back to the bedroom, worried about her brother.
Someone brushed past her roughly.
"Hey!" she yelled, without thinking. Then she got a closer look and ran to catch the man before he opened the bedroom door. "Seishirou! What are you doing here?" Hokuto demanded an answer.
"It's none of your business," he said, stiffly. "Please let me through."
Hokuto spluttered incoherently for a few seconds - enough time for him to push her out of the way and open the door.
"Ah," he said, seeing the people within. "So it is you."
The room feel ominously silent. The Sakurazukamori turned pale and backed into a corner of the room. Subaru stepped back himself, moving to stand beside Suoh on the far wall.
"You know, I was quite prepared to let you go," continued Seishirou. "I was getting along so well with Hokuto-chan and it just didn't seem all that important anymore. But you had to go and take that all away, didn't you?"
"Seishirou-san..." said Hokuto, suddenly completely certain of what was to happen next. "Seishirou-san, don't do this."
He ignored her. "I must say, you were doing quite well at hiding yourself. I tried nearly everything I could to find you, and it never worked. I even made friends with the Sumeragi in the hope that he would lead me closer to you." Seishirou smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant sight. "I guess it finally worked."
"Seishirou-san... please," Hokuto pleaded.
"Must have been quite a shock, to find the girl you killed was one of my closest friends."
"You weren't supposed to find that out," said the assassin, in a terrified tone.
Seishirou laughed, bitterly. "How could I not? All of a sudden the woman I loved was terrified of me. She forgot things she would never in a million years have forgotten. She acted like a complete stranger. Of course I knew what had happened! And of course I knew the spell you'd used, and that there was only person that could have used that spell... You would have been better off leaving her dead."
"If she were dead you would have come after me again."
"Well," said Seishirou, cheerfully. "Looks like you were out of luck, either way." His expression turned serious again. "There are only two women I have ever cared about. You killed both of them."
"Seishirou-san... As the memory of Hokuto-chan, as a friend, and your damned CONSCIENCE please, I'm telling you not to do this!" screamed Hokuto.
"Friends are a liability," he said, and calmly plunged his hand through the other man's chest.
"SEI-CHAN NO BAKA!" [4]
She fled out of the house and into the streets. Dawn was beginning to peek over the horizon and it was all very, very quiet.
Hokuto kicked over a few rubbish bins.
"We could have been friends, damn you!" she said, furiously. "How could you... how could you..."
It was all so desperately, miserably unfair.
~ * ~
Hokuto paid the taxi driver and unlocked her door, vaguely wondering who would be inside.
"Hokuto-chan!" It was only Kakyou, regarding her with an air of apprehensive apology. "I'm sorry. I saw what was going to happen, but when I tried to ring it told me my call couldn't be connected..."
Hokuto fished around in her pocket for her mobile only to find it was switched off. She hit the button and it flashed a "Very low battery!" warning before switching itself off again. "The battery is dead," she said, softly.
"And Subaru's was turned off," continued Kakyou.
"A comedy of errors, then," Hokuto continued, faintly.
"He rang me earlier. You, er, might want to ring him back to tell him you're all right. I have his number here. He was awfully worried about you," said Kakyou, earnestly.
She took the proffered phone and dialled her brother's number.
Her brother sounded extremely relieved to hear her voice. "I'm so glad you called, I was so worried when you just ran off like that..."
"I'm fine," said Hokuto, shortly. "I caught a taxi back home."
"Hokuto-chan... you knew what was going to happen. You knew Seishirou-san would... do that. How?"
"Well," said Hokuto, slowly, "he wanted to get revenge on his mother's killer. Seishirou's mother was the Sakurazukamori."
"Oh," said Subaru, eventually. "Hokuto-chan... I'm sure he didn't..."
"Seishirou-san is...?"
Subaru was silent.
"Where is he, Subaru?"
"He disappeared. I don't know where he went."
"I see," said Hokuto.
"What happened to the girl?" asked Subaru, obviously wanting to change the subject.
"The girl?" said Hokuto, blankly. Memory returned. "Oh! Nokoru and Akira took her to CLAMP Campus."
"CLAMP Campus. Why didn't I think of that?" muttered Subaru. "Okay. I'll take care of it. You go get some sleep, okay?"
"Okay," said Hokuto, meekly. She hung up the phone and returned to where Kakyou sat with twin cups of tea.
"Here," he said, offering her cup.
"Thank you," she said, vaguely. She sipped at the tea for a few seconds before putting it down again. She felt... flat. She'd been so mad earlier, but now she just felt exhausted.
"Are you okay, Hoku-"
"You won't leave me, will you, Kakyou-san?" she interrupted.
"I... What?"
"You won't betray me! You won't go, will you?"
He shook his head. "No... How could I?"
"Thank you," she said, softly. Then she burst into tears.
--
Footnotes
[1] - Nokoru, Suoh and Akira are, of course, the three boys from CLAMP Campus Detectives. I put in a few explanations in case you don't know them.
[2] - "Nokoru-san-tachi". -tachi is used to indicate a group, so this is basically "Nokoru-san and co." or "Nokoru-san's group", only less clumsy.
[3] - Read 20 Mensou ni Onegai for an explanation of Akira's blush. Or just watch the CCD anime.
[4] - "Sei-chan no baka!" means something like "Sei-chan is an idiot" but it works better in Japanese.
Hokuto stared at the dreamgazer for a few seconds, then leapt out of bed. "When?" she asked, hunting around for a dressing gown and ignoring Kakyou's furious blush.
"A few hours," he said, still blushing. "I know the girl's name, but I don't have an address..."
"I'll wake Subaru."
Several minutes later, they were all at the table holding a council of war. At least, that was how it felt.
"So, what are we going to do?" asked Subaru. "I can't find the girl without at least an image to work from, preferably some part of her. Shiki can't find anyone with just a name. And without the address, we have no hope of getting to her in time."
"Can't you contact the police for information? They'd have names and addresses of everybody in the city, surely!" said Hokuto.
"No, I'd never get clearance that quickly," said Subaru, frowning.
"You could hack into their systems?" suggested Kakyou, as if it were perfectly logical.
Hokuto resolved to have a small talk with the dreamgazer about morals and invasion of privacy.
"I can't do that!" protested Subaru, but then he snapped his fingers and picked up the phone. "However, I know somebody who can."
"Hi, Imonoyama-san? It's Sumeragi Subaru ... Yes, I do know what time it is, but this is important. It's for the sake of a lady ... No, I don't need you to come here, I just need you to find me an address. Her name is Mihari Suzuka ... I'm at my sister's, you can fax the information here so we can check." He listed the number, and wandered into the office, Hokuto and Kakyou trailing behind.
A few minutes later, the fax came through. Subaru glanced at it and then passed it to Kakyou, who nodded. "Yes, that's it," said Subaru, into the phone. "Thank you very much, Nokoru-san."
Hokuto hid a smile. "Nokoru Imonoyama-san? My, aren't we high class!" Nokoru had been the class president in her world, but he was also the youngest son of one of Japan's wealthiest - and most influential - families. "At least you know which buttons to press."
"We were in high school together," said Subaru, distractedly. "Nokoru-san has a soft spot for damsels in distress." [1]
Hokuto glanced over Kakyou's shoulder at the fax. "That address is on the other side of the city!" she exclaimed.
Subaru nodded. "We'd better get moving."
Kakyou nodded. "I'll stay here, and if I See anything else I'll ring you, okay?"
Hokuto nodded and scribbled her mobile number down on a piece of paper, once she'd asked Subaru what it was.
"So... what are you going to do, exactly?" asked Kakyou, curiously.
Hokuto paused in her dash to the bedroom (in order to get changed, since even an urgent rescue mission couldn't justify her staying in her pyjamas). "Get her out of there, of course!"
"Will you be okay if... You know. Someone tries to hurt you."
"Mo~u! Of course! And I'll have Subaru here to protect me," protested Hokuto, rummaging around in her drawers for something decent to wear.
"Nokoru-san and Suoh-san too, probably," said Subaru, wearily. "I don't think I succeeded in discouraging Nokoru-san at all."
"Well, more people can't hurt," Hokuto called from her bedroom. "And Suoh-san, at least, knows what he's doing in a fight. At least, the Suoh-san I knew did." The Takamura Suoh she remembered had been a rather talented young ninja, as a matter of fact.
She emerged from her room dressed in a simple black catsuit. "Right. Are we ready?"
Subaru nodded.
Forty-five minutes later, they arrived at the address in question. It turned out to be a ground floor unit in a small block. The other units in the block were lifeless and dark, but the one they wanted definitely had lights on.
"I think Nokuro-san-tachi are already here," said Subaru, glancing at the car parked inconspicuously to the side. [2]
Hokuto nodded. They approached the house cautiously.
Suddenly, Subaru stiffened.
"What is it?" asked Hokuto, in a small voice.
"Sakurazukamori." He dashed for the door.
Swearing, Hokuto followed.
Subaru's first act, once inside, was to throw up wards to prevent the struggle within from attracting anybody else's attention. His second was to attract the attention of the assassin, who was currently struggling with a certain blue-haired ninja. The intended victim, a small blonde with a dazed expression, was curled up in the corner of the room with a battered teddy bear clutched to her chest.
"You take care of the girl!" he told the rest of the people in the room. "I can handle this."
Nokoru, Akira and Hokuto obediently ushered the frightened girl out of the room, although Suoh remained behind.
"Um... How did you get into the house?" asked the girl, in a small voice.
The two young men regarded each other uncomfortably, but said nothing. However, Akira blushed. [3]
"We're here to help," said Hokuto. "Where are your parents?"
"Out," said the girl. "They're staying at my aunt's for a week and let me look after the house all on my own and I'm so proud they've never let me do that before and..." She was babbling, obviously in shock.
"Ssh," said Hokuto, placing her hand to the girl's forehead and working a small sleep spell. "It's okay." The girl slumped into her arms, out like a light. "Will you two take her away somewhere?" she asked Nokoru and Akira, quietly. "Somewhere secure."
"I'll take her to CLAMP Campus," promised Nokoru. He gathered her in his arms and headed out to the car, Akira trailing behind. Hokuto headed back to the bedroom, worried about her brother.
Someone brushed past her roughly.
"Hey!" she yelled, without thinking. Then she got a closer look and ran to catch the man before he opened the bedroom door. "Seishirou! What are you doing here?" Hokuto demanded an answer.
"It's none of your business," he said, stiffly. "Please let me through."
Hokuto spluttered incoherently for a few seconds - enough time for him to push her out of the way and open the door.
"Ah," he said, seeing the people within. "So it is you."
The room feel ominously silent. The Sakurazukamori turned pale and backed into a corner of the room. Subaru stepped back himself, moving to stand beside Suoh on the far wall.
"You know, I was quite prepared to let you go," continued Seishirou. "I was getting along so well with Hokuto-chan and it just didn't seem all that important anymore. But you had to go and take that all away, didn't you?"
"Seishirou-san..." said Hokuto, suddenly completely certain of what was to happen next. "Seishirou-san, don't do this."
He ignored her. "I must say, you were doing quite well at hiding yourself. I tried nearly everything I could to find you, and it never worked. I even made friends with the Sumeragi in the hope that he would lead me closer to you." Seishirou smiled, but it wasn't a pleasant sight. "I guess it finally worked."
"Seishirou-san... please," Hokuto pleaded.
"Must have been quite a shock, to find the girl you killed was one of my closest friends."
"You weren't supposed to find that out," said the assassin, in a terrified tone.
Seishirou laughed, bitterly. "How could I not? All of a sudden the woman I loved was terrified of me. She forgot things she would never in a million years have forgotten. She acted like a complete stranger. Of course I knew what had happened! And of course I knew the spell you'd used, and that there was only person that could have used that spell... You would have been better off leaving her dead."
"If she were dead you would have come after me again."
"Well," said Seishirou, cheerfully. "Looks like you were out of luck, either way." His expression turned serious again. "There are only two women I have ever cared about. You killed both of them."
"Seishirou-san... As the memory of Hokuto-chan, as a friend, and your damned CONSCIENCE please, I'm telling you not to do this!" screamed Hokuto.
"Friends are a liability," he said, and calmly plunged his hand through the other man's chest.
"SEI-CHAN NO BAKA!" [4]
She fled out of the house and into the streets. Dawn was beginning to peek over the horizon and it was all very, very quiet.
Hokuto kicked over a few rubbish bins.
"We could have been friends, damn you!" she said, furiously. "How could you... how could you..."
It was all so desperately, miserably unfair.
Hokuto paid the taxi driver and unlocked her door, vaguely wondering who would be inside.
"Hokuto-chan!" It was only Kakyou, regarding her with an air of apprehensive apology. "I'm sorry. I saw what was going to happen, but when I tried to ring it told me my call couldn't be connected..."
Hokuto fished around in her pocket for her mobile only to find it was switched off. She hit the button and it flashed a "Very low battery!" warning before switching itself off again. "The battery is dead," she said, softly.
"And Subaru's was turned off," continued Kakyou.
"A comedy of errors, then," Hokuto continued, faintly.
"He rang me earlier. You, er, might want to ring him back to tell him you're all right. I have his number here. He was awfully worried about you," said Kakyou, earnestly.
She took the proffered phone and dialled her brother's number.
Her brother sounded extremely relieved to hear her voice. "I'm so glad you called, I was so worried when you just ran off like that..."
"I'm fine," said Hokuto, shortly. "I caught a taxi back home."
"Hokuto-chan... you knew what was going to happen. You knew Seishirou-san would... do that. How?"
"Well," said Hokuto, slowly, "he wanted to get revenge on his mother's killer. Seishirou's mother was the Sakurazukamori."
"Oh," said Subaru, eventually. "Hokuto-chan... I'm sure he didn't..."
"Seishirou-san is...?"
Subaru was silent.
"Where is he, Subaru?"
"He disappeared. I don't know where he went."
"I see," said Hokuto.
"What happened to the girl?" asked Subaru, obviously wanting to change the subject.
"The girl?" said Hokuto, blankly. Memory returned. "Oh! Nokoru and Akira took her to CLAMP Campus."
"CLAMP Campus. Why didn't I think of that?" muttered Subaru. "Okay. I'll take care of it. You go get some sleep, okay?"
"Okay," said Hokuto, meekly. She hung up the phone and returned to where Kakyou sat with twin cups of tea.
"Here," he said, offering her cup.
"Thank you," she said, vaguely. She sipped at the tea for a few seconds before putting it down again. She felt... flat. She'd been so mad earlier, but now she just felt exhausted.
"Are you okay, Hoku-"
"You won't leave me, will you, Kakyou-san?" she interrupted.
"I... What?"
"You won't betray me! You won't go, will you?"
He shook his head. "No... How could I?"
"Thank you," she said, softly. Then she burst into tears.
--
Footnotes
[1] - Nokoru, Suoh and Akira are, of course, the three boys from CLAMP Campus Detectives. I put in a few explanations in case you don't know them.
[2] - "Nokoru-san-tachi". -tachi is used to indicate a group, so this is basically "Nokoru-san and co." or "Nokoru-san's group", only less clumsy.
[3] - Read 20 Mensou ni Onegai for an explanation of Akira's blush. Or just watch the CCD anime.
[4] - "Sei-chan no baka!" means something like "Sei-chan is an idiot" but it works better in Japanese.