Chapter 2: New Challenges
Umi rolled her eyes as she spotted her cousin behind a tree during a lunch period. A few weeks had already passed by, and everyone seemed to be getting used to being at CLAMP. Well, everyone except for Ferio.
The handsome green-haired boy seemed to be hiding for who knows what reason, but Umi just assumed that he was afraid of girls. She had seen some other females earlier trying to flirt with him out of the corner of her eye as poor Ferio stood there, frozen.
And now he was hiding behind a tree, and stealing glances at her and her new best friends Hikaru and Fuu. Fuu, being the brilliant mind she was, offered a helpful question as she too watched the shy sophomore behind the foliage. "Is he playing hide and seek?" Okay, maybe it wasn't that helpful at all.....
But it did get Hikaru up and running, screaming, "I want to play too!!!" Before he knew it, Ferio was knocked to the ground, the little redhead crooning, "I found you, so I win!! Do you have any sweets for me as a prize?"
Umi sighed and got up from the table that she and the other girls were eating at to go grab her hyper friend and numbskull cousin. She took Ferio by the shirt collar and dragged him all the way back to where Fuu remained, Hikaru following close behind and demanding her prize.
As soon as they sat down, Fuu threw Hikaru a treat, and looked back to Umi. She stared, puzzled, as her blue-haired friend slapped Ferio across the face. "It's rude to stare!" Umi stated. "You should have just come to sit with us in the first place!"
Ferio looked away shamefully and muttered something incomprehensible. "What was that?" Umi asked her cousin skeptically.
He spoke louder, "I said, I don't belong here....."
"Umm," Fuu popped in. "Excuse me, but what were you staring at anyway?" Ferio blushed and looked down. The blonde thought of analyzing his actions to try and decipher what exactly was going through his head by examining his body language, but thinking of all that made her head hurt already. So, she merely shook her head and went back to her puffer fish.
Meanwhile, a devilish little grin had crept onto Umi's face. Hikaru, who had already scarfed down what Fuu had given her, stared wide-eyed at Umi. "Umi, what're you happy about?" the little girl asked.
Umi snapped out of it and quickly covered up, saying, "Oh, I was just thinking about that last class I had with Akira-san......we made the most delicious apple pies!" An elbow to her ribs from her cousin signalled that he definitely wasn't buying that excuse. But, no more was said about the subject of scrumptious apple pies, as everyone's attention was called to the gazebo that stood in the middle of the park where many had their lunch.
"ATTENTION!" cried out a tall, tan girl in a white lab coat. "My name is Tarta, and I am from the CLAMP College Division! A robot with very advanced artificial intelligence has been stolen from the Technology Laboratory!"
Her older sister, Tatra nudged her out of the way gently, exclaiming, "Oh yes! We were working on this darling little persocom with Icchan! She's about so high with beautiful long hair and the most adorable little face, and she answers to the name...."
She was pushed out of the way as Tarta announced, "IT. It is an object with no name! We have been developing special technology, and this robot just happens to be one of our Chobits!"
A few people gasped, including Fuu. Hikaru and Umi were, however, left in the dark. As soon as the sisters left to go tell more people about their missing project, they both turned to Fuu and questioned her.
"What's a Chibit?" Hikaru asked.
"It's CHOBIT!" Umi yelled at her. "Yeah, Fuu! 'Fess up! What's a Chobit?"
Fuu smiled. "I learned about them in my technology class! And my sister is one of the scientists working on it with those sisters!"
"Nice to know, but we still don't know what a Chobit is....." Umi said, drooping her head.
"Is it food?" Hikaru asked, her mouth dribbling drool on the table.
"Edible robots? Hmm, maybe it's a new culinary advance!" screamed Umi, punching her fist in the air.
Fuu's eyes lit up, as if she were just comprehending what Umi was asking of her now. Slow reflexes there....."Oh, Chobits are robots programmed to feel. They can experience emotions as complex as even love, caring, and compassion....."
Umi let her fist drop and Hikaru stopped drooling. "Wow," they both replied at the same time.
"That's amazing! A machine that can feel!!" Hikaru bubbled.
"What a predicament......I mean, who could love a machine?!" Umi pondered.
Fuu slammed her hand on the table. "The most important question is, where is this Chobit now? I've heard my sister talk about it.....it could potentially be a very dangerous piece of technology! They have to find it soon, before it does any damage."
Hikaru looked up, confused. "They?"
Fuu winked. "The CLAMP School Detectives of course!" Both Hikaru and Umi gave her a look of dismay. "Trust me, I've heard enough about them from my sister."
"How, then, do we call them up?" Umi inquired. She was very curious as how those little brats always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.....they always were on the case, especially if a lady was involved.
Fuu shrugged. "Maybe some music will summon them?"
"OKAY!" giggled Hikaru. She whipped out a stereo from who knows where and pressed the play button on the tape player. Some weird, superhero theme music came on.
"OHMIGOSH! We're being called!" screamed a brunette boy named Kentaro. "C'mon, Takepon!!" Kentaro grabbed another boy, whose real name was Takeshi, and dragged him off.
"Riiiiiight," Umi said, cocking one eyebrow as she watched them run away. She picked up her chopsticks and was about to take in her last bit of rice when something struck her mind. She glanced around, panic rushing into her. "Speaking of missing persons, where the heck is FERIO?!?!" Her cousin had taken advantage of the situation and run away once again.
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Hikaru whistled as she strolled to her last class of the day, Kendo. She was in a particularly happy mood, since Suoh, the best Kendo fighter, had dropped out of her class within the first month. He had already conquered the teacher, and found it much too easy a class to take. That made little Hikaru overjoyed, since that left her the number one spot, for now. Boy, was she in for a surprise that day.
She skipped into the class of all boys, and quickly made it up to the teacher. Hikaru bowed reverently before taking her position in the front row, in between a quiet and subdued Ferio and someone she had never seen before in her life. Yet, the guy seemed so familiar..... He had black hair and these dark eyes that were so deep that you could get lost in them......
Little Hikaru ignored that thought and continued on with the rest of her classmates, doing the usual warm-ups and stretches. Then came her favorite part, sparring. Of course, Ferio had already gone to the bathroom for an extended period of time.
She was challenged by many, and came out undefeated. After all, that Suoh was the only person that ever beat her ever since she had bested her own father as a small kindergartner. Grinning and giggling after each match, she went through boy after boy, males of all ages.
The end of class was drawing to a close as she stared innocently around the dojo to see so many injured boys. But then she saw one last man that hadn't challenged her yet, standing in the corner. He emerged from the shadow that had cloaked him in darkness and walked straight up to her. He bowed low to her and then stood up straight again, announcing, "My name is Lantis Sol, and I've heard much about you, Miss Shidou. Therefore, I challenge you to a fight."
Her eyes widened in surprise. Hikaru had never faced this guy before, let alone talked to him! What amazed her more was that he knew her name! Nevertheless, she herself bowed down, bravely replying, "And so I accept your challenge!"
Lantis grinned back and walked to the wall, grabbing two of the wooden swords stored on the shelves. He threw Hikaru one and then, without warning, started charging at her.
The little girl was taken by surprise, but was able to jump and flip backwards before the wood could even touch her. She twisted in the air and landed as perfectly as a gymnast, proud of her escape. That feeling didn't last as the guy launched another attack at her, this time from the side. Hikaru ducked and kicked out Lantis's legs from under him.
He fell backwards and hit the ground hard. Hikaru clapped her hands and jumped up and down. She leaned over him, resting her hands on her knees to gloat. "I beat ya! I beat ya!!" she squealed.
Lantis grinned at her. "Not quite yet," he said slyly as he swung one of his own legs into hers, successfully bringing her to the ground as well.
This time, it was his turn to get up and stare back down at her. Lantis playfully stuck out his tongue. "Look who's beat now!" The redhead frowned with disappointment. She was no longer the best. Poor Hikaru had lasted only half a day in the number one position, and it was all this guy's fault!!
Ferio walked in just as Lantis was leaving and saw Hikaru sprawled on the floor. "Did Suoh come back or something?" he asked politely.
Hikaru got up without a word, her head bent down low in shame as she left the dojo.
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Fuu stared at Hikaru as they made their way to Umi's house. It was their usual route to the bus stop in the morning. Hikaru would start out alone, pick up Fuu on the way, and then the two of them would finally get Umi, and possibly Ferio. Hikaru had, ironically, had her bike stolen that first day of school, but hadn't bothered looking for it.
The blonde was concerned for her little friend, seeing that Hikaru had a few more bruises than usual. The redhead also seemed to have lost her usual vivacity. Fuu noticed her sigh as they passed by a particularly unusual house that always had rain pouring down on it, even though it was perfectly sunny on the houses directly next to it.
Two black cats appeared out of the doorway of the unusual house and followed the two freshman girls all the way to Umi's house. Umi rushed out with a piece of toast in her mouth, her lunch bag in one hand, her books almost falling out of the other. The girl with the pretty blue hair rushed up to them and gave them each hugs, giving Hikaru an even closer one.
"Oh honey," Umi cried sympathetically. "I just heard from Ferio. It's okay, you don't always have to be on top!"
"Hey, that's kinda dirty......" came a voice from behind her. Umi punched her fist to the face behind her, immediately knowing that it was Ferio making that raunchy remark. "Ouch!" he yelped, grabbing his bleeding nose. "What'd you do that for?"
Umi stuck her nose up in the air and just walked away. Hikaru walked away too, but Fuu stuck behind and gave Ferio a tissue. "Umi's moody a lot," she told him, patting him on the back.
"I should know," he replied. "She is my cousin." Fuu shrugged and started walking towards the bus stop where her two best friends were already waiting for their ride. Ferio followed her like a loyal dog.
The blonde beamed at her companion. "Did you know that we'll be taking a philosophy class together? It's for all freshman and sophomores and it starts today! I wonder who the teacher will be....." Fuu babbled on and on about the new joint class as they stood at the bus stop. She didn't shut her mouth as they boarded the bus, or even as they arrived at the school. All Ferio could do was smile, nod, and realize that he could never live up to her high standards.
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Umi's first class for that day was her cooking class, but for some reason, today it was being taught by a woman instead of "that pipsqueak Akira" as she called him. She grinned, thinking of how many admirers that little boy had and how ridiculous it was that an elementary school student could be so popular. It was positively hilarious in her mind.
She turned her attention to the front of the classroom, where the new teacher was putting on an apron. The woman had long blonde hair tied into a high ponytail and was wearing a toga-like shirt and dress pants. She patted her apron down a little, straightening it, and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Mrs. Presea Li, and I'm here to substitute for Akira today." 'Li,' Umi repeated to herself. 'That sounds oddly familiar.......'
"As some of you may know," Presea continued, "I am the head of the Cooking Department. I am holding an audition in this very class for a job position as chef in a very prestigious place. So, today, cook your best and I will choose!"
Umi's eyes widened in surprise. She could never possibly earn that job! Ever since she came to CLAMP, she considered her dishes to be poor and inedible. Sighing, she made up her mind to bake a chocolate cake as the other would-be chefs started bustling around.
Every culinary student was already making a mad dash to gather his or her ingredients. But, unfortunately for Umi, she was standing in the way. Her cooking station was right in front of the shelves holding everything from flour to vanilla. The others crowded around her and started pushing and shoving trying to grab the necessary elements for their own recipe.
Finally, Umi was forced to slam her pot down on a nearby table. "EVERYONE, CALM DOWN!" she bellowed, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Let's get everything done in an orderly fashion, please!!" She then directed her classmates to make lines for the shelves, resolved arguments over cups of sugar and teaspoons of salt, and generally served as the manager of all the ingredients.
Even through all that, she was still able to bake that chocolate cake. Yet, the girl with the long blue hair was still very unhappy with her work. Perhaps that was because her chocolate cake was only a small cupcake with a modest share of icing. That, in fact, was all she had time to make, not to mention that it was all she could make with the ingredients she was left with. Groaning, she offered her small sweet to Presea at the end of class, as everyone else offered main dishes, fancy appetizers, and desserts that looked even far more appetizing than her own.
Umi even stayed behind after class and cleaned up. She shined the counters with her already soiled apron and put the ingredients back. That girl was pretty much used to always serving her fellow chefs-in-training.
Throwing her apron in a bin where all the other aprons lay to be washed, Umi headed out the door of the empty classroom. But, she was held back. Someone had grabbed her arm and tugged her into the classroom once again.
"Ms. Ryuuzaki," Presea said, with a smile on her face. "I've heard much about you from your parents."
Something clicked in Umi's head as her eyes lit up with realization. "Oh! That's where I know you from! The Li's are great family friends of ours!"
"Why, yes my dear," Presea replied, clasping her hands together. "And may I say, I have never laid my eyes on a person with so good a heart as yours! I couldn't believe my eyes as you put all the others before you, giving them their ingredients and even cleaning up after them!"
Umi blushed and looked at the ground, shyly saying, "Yes sempai....."
"Your cupcake also tasted exquisite. I believe you are just the perfect person for the job!"
At this point, the teenager's jaw dropped to the floor. "W-w-w-what? Are you joking?!"
"No, you are just the girl for the babysitting gig!"
"Babysitting?!"
"Yes, Clef and I have been looking for a babysitter for some time! You see, we're leaving for America in a week, and we need someone to cook and look after the children....."
"That's the job? Cooking and cleaning for some little kids?"
"Yes, we're willing to pay you one hundred thousand yen [A/N: one thousand American dollars, I think....] a month for cooking for the darlings. You won't need to care for them much, since they are not so little, but you will still need to keep watch over them!"
Umi gaped at her. "How many days a week are we talking about? How long will you be gone?! And how much money was that?!"
"Oh, it's merely after school for five days a week, and all day on weekends as well! And we'll be gone until Christmas....."
Umi was ready to faint. One hundred thousand yen a month just to cook and take care of some kids? 'This should be easy,' she thought to herself. 'I can just take the brats with me if I want to go out with my friends, no problem.' Yet, she was still unsure.... Would she want to drag around a group of little kids with her everywhere she went? Could she even handle babysitting the children in their house?
"So, do you want the job?" Presea asked, knocking Umi out of her thoughts.
"Sure," her student replied a little shakily. And it was set. Umi would babysit and cook for the Li children until Christmas.
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Fuu had been right after all. After lunch, the whole freshman class was grouped with the whole sophomore class to take a philosophy class. The classroom was much like a forum, or Greek amphitheater, like the classes usually seen at college. Everyone sat in their seats, getting acquainted with each other. This was because all the students had assigned seats, meaning the teacher either wanted everyone to make new friends, or wanted to make it easier to learn names. The seating was, after all, alphabetical.
All the classmates were a buzz over who exactly this new teacher was. Many of the girls were passing around the gossip that he was very attractive and suave. Just as many of the boys had heard what a superb martial artist he was. And naturally, that led everyone to think that it was Suoh, of the elementary school division.
Hikaru, however, sat in her own seat daydreaming of the fight she had had with Lantis Sol, and how he had humiliated her the day before. Sitting to her right was a sophomore with long light blue hair with purple streaks. She seemed as cute as a pixie, and twice as hyper.
"Hi there!!" she called to Hikaru, waving her hand. Hikaru looked over to her next door neighbor. "I'm Primera!"
"Oh, I'm Hikaru," the redhead replied lazily. Suddenly, a hand came down and mussed up her hair.
"Don't mind her!" cried the owner of the hand, Umi. "She's really a happy, optimistic person! Karu's just been down lately. Don't you agree, Fuu?"
No answer. Umi raised an eyebrow. "Fuu?" Still no answer. Umi looked behind her and saw Fuu gazing around the classroom with a look of suspicion on her face.
"Fuu, what's wrong?"
Fuu snapped out of her train of thought. "Someone's watching me.....I can feel it. I just don't know who it is...."
Umi stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Eww, creepy.....maybe you have a stalker!!"
Primera, who had just been watching the two talking, and Hikaru still brooding, tried to switch the direction of their conversation. "Have you three heard who the new teacher is? Oh, he is sooo hot!! He saved me from a runaway bus the other day......"
Fuu and Umi ignored Primera and continued to talk about who the blonde's potential stalker could be, but that bit of information did manage to cheer Hikaru up. "Ooh," she said, her eyes lighting up. "Is he really that cute?"
"Sure is!" Primera said, adding a wink. "He's only 20, a student at the CLAMP college, but he's so brilliant! He has a student assistant too. We can ask her about him!"
"Really?"
"She's right over there!" Primera pointed one graceful finger to the front of the classroom where a blonde girl looked like she was being harassed by a handsome young man with fangs and long dark hair. He reminded Hikaru of the devil for some reason. "See her? The one over there with a flat chest? I guess she never developed...but anyway, Kohaku is one of the nicest girls around! So sweet and gentle-hearted.....I wonder why Koryuu is always teasing and taunting her......"
"Koryuu? Is he that guy with her?"
Primera nodded her head. "Sure is." Then, the pixie-like girl turned her eyes to the door that was at the back of the large classroom. She clapped her hands together, squealing, "He's here! Lantis-sempai is here!!"
Hikaru nearly fell over sideways in her seat, but was caught just in time by hands that she recognized. She looked up into those deep beautiful eyes of her humiliator, Lantis Sol. "You be careful, my little Hikaru," he said as she sat back straight in her chair. He continued on down to his desk at the front of the classroom, and many of the women swooned.
He walked around to the back of his desk and wrote his name in white board marker on the white board. Lantis turned around and recapped his marker. "My name is Lantis Sol," he said, pointing simultaneously to his name scrawled on the board. "And I am your new philosophy teacher."
Hikaru looked like she was about to gag. How could she have HIM as a teacher?! This man was going to make her life a living hell.....
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Thank you to my reviewers!!
Mimi~ Thank you! I'll try and update as soon as I can next time...
Kyaa Kyaff~ I try to make my stories cute by adding bows and ribbons and polka dots...Just kidding!! Thanks for reviewing!
Momentum~ I love humor!! Can't keep it out of my writing...hehehe
GoddessLD~ I'm glad you love it!
Lady Storm~ It's fun to stick in so many random CLAMP characters in there....Get ready for more!
Amber13~ Hope you get a feel for my writing with this chapter!
Kitty-sama~ No more Pepsi for you!!
Anime Goddess6~ I'm honored that I'm on your faves list!!
Animechick~ I've only gotten through the first two volumes of CLAMP School Detectives, and I desperately need the third one!!
Repori~ I'm not sure if I understand your whole review, and I can't fit in Angelic Layer because I haven't read it yet, but when I can get my hands on some AL, I'll be sure to fit some in kay?
Crying Forever~ Weirdness is my specialty ^_^ teehee
Once again, one big THANK YOU to my reviewers!!
AND YOU ALL BETTER REVIEW THIS ONE!!! I don't care if you flame me, criticism will always help my writing to improve!
Later people! bunniehoney ^_~
Umi rolled her eyes as she spotted her cousin behind a tree during a lunch period. A few weeks had already passed by, and everyone seemed to be getting used to being at CLAMP. Well, everyone except for Ferio.
The handsome green-haired boy seemed to be hiding for who knows what reason, but Umi just assumed that he was afraid of girls. She had seen some other females earlier trying to flirt with him out of the corner of her eye as poor Ferio stood there, frozen.
And now he was hiding behind a tree, and stealing glances at her and her new best friends Hikaru and Fuu. Fuu, being the brilliant mind she was, offered a helpful question as she too watched the shy sophomore behind the foliage. "Is he playing hide and seek?" Okay, maybe it wasn't that helpful at all.....
But it did get Hikaru up and running, screaming, "I want to play too!!!" Before he knew it, Ferio was knocked to the ground, the little redhead crooning, "I found you, so I win!! Do you have any sweets for me as a prize?"
Umi sighed and got up from the table that she and the other girls were eating at to go grab her hyper friend and numbskull cousin. She took Ferio by the shirt collar and dragged him all the way back to where Fuu remained, Hikaru following close behind and demanding her prize.
As soon as they sat down, Fuu threw Hikaru a treat, and looked back to Umi. She stared, puzzled, as her blue-haired friend slapped Ferio across the face. "It's rude to stare!" Umi stated. "You should have just come to sit with us in the first place!"
Ferio looked away shamefully and muttered something incomprehensible. "What was that?" Umi asked her cousin skeptically.
He spoke louder, "I said, I don't belong here....."
"Umm," Fuu popped in. "Excuse me, but what were you staring at anyway?" Ferio blushed and looked down. The blonde thought of analyzing his actions to try and decipher what exactly was going through his head by examining his body language, but thinking of all that made her head hurt already. So, she merely shook her head and went back to her puffer fish.
Meanwhile, a devilish little grin had crept onto Umi's face. Hikaru, who had already scarfed down what Fuu had given her, stared wide-eyed at Umi. "Umi, what're you happy about?" the little girl asked.
Umi snapped out of it and quickly covered up, saying, "Oh, I was just thinking about that last class I had with Akira-san......we made the most delicious apple pies!" An elbow to her ribs from her cousin signalled that he definitely wasn't buying that excuse. But, no more was said about the subject of scrumptious apple pies, as everyone's attention was called to the gazebo that stood in the middle of the park where many had their lunch.
"ATTENTION!" cried out a tall, tan girl in a white lab coat. "My name is Tarta, and I am from the CLAMP College Division! A robot with very advanced artificial intelligence has been stolen from the Technology Laboratory!"
Her older sister, Tatra nudged her out of the way gently, exclaiming, "Oh yes! We were working on this darling little persocom with Icchan! She's about so high with beautiful long hair and the most adorable little face, and she answers to the name...."
She was pushed out of the way as Tarta announced, "IT. It is an object with no name! We have been developing special technology, and this robot just happens to be one of our Chobits!"
A few people gasped, including Fuu. Hikaru and Umi were, however, left in the dark. As soon as the sisters left to go tell more people about their missing project, they both turned to Fuu and questioned her.
"What's a Chibit?" Hikaru asked.
"It's CHOBIT!" Umi yelled at her. "Yeah, Fuu! 'Fess up! What's a Chobit?"
Fuu smiled. "I learned about them in my technology class! And my sister is one of the scientists working on it with those sisters!"
"Nice to know, but we still don't know what a Chobit is....." Umi said, drooping her head.
"Is it food?" Hikaru asked, her mouth dribbling drool on the table.
"Edible robots? Hmm, maybe it's a new culinary advance!" screamed Umi, punching her fist in the air.
Fuu's eyes lit up, as if she were just comprehending what Umi was asking of her now. Slow reflexes there....."Oh, Chobits are robots programmed to feel. They can experience emotions as complex as even love, caring, and compassion....."
Umi let her fist drop and Hikaru stopped drooling. "Wow," they both replied at the same time.
"That's amazing! A machine that can feel!!" Hikaru bubbled.
"What a predicament......I mean, who could love a machine?!" Umi pondered.
Fuu slammed her hand on the table. "The most important question is, where is this Chobit now? I've heard my sister talk about it.....it could potentially be a very dangerous piece of technology! They have to find it soon, before it does any damage."
Hikaru looked up, confused. "They?"
Fuu winked. "The CLAMP School Detectives of course!" Both Hikaru and Umi gave her a look of dismay. "Trust me, I've heard enough about them from my sister."
"How, then, do we call them up?" Umi inquired. She was very curious as how those little brats always seemed to be in the right place at the right time.....they always were on the case, especially if a lady was involved.
Fuu shrugged. "Maybe some music will summon them?"
"OKAY!" giggled Hikaru. She whipped out a stereo from who knows where and pressed the play button on the tape player. Some weird, superhero theme music came on.
"OHMIGOSH! We're being called!" screamed a brunette boy named Kentaro. "C'mon, Takepon!!" Kentaro grabbed another boy, whose real name was Takeshi, and dragged him off.
"Riiiiiight," Umi said, cocking one eyebrow as she watched them run away. She picked up her chopsticks and was about to take in her last bit of rice when something struck her mind. She glanced around, panic rushing into her. "Speaking of missing persons, where the heck is FERIO?!?!" Her cousin had taken advantage of the situation and run away once again.
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Hikaru whistled as she strolled to her last class of the day, Kendo. She was in a particularly happy mood, since Suoh, the best Kendo fighter, had dropped out of her class within the first month. He had already conquered the teacher, and found it much too easy a class to take. That made little Hikaru overjoyed, since that left her the number one spot, for now. Boy, was she in for a surprise that day.
She skipped into the class of all boys, and quickly made it up to the teacher. Hikaru bowed reverently before taking her position in the front row, in between a quiet and subdued Ferio and someone she had never seen before in her life. Yet, the guy seemed so familiar..... He had black hair and these dark eyes that were so deep that you could get lost in them......
Little Hikaru ignored that thought and continued on with the rest of her classmates, doing the usual warm-ups and stretches. Then came her favorite part, sparring. Of course, Ferio had already gone to the bathroom for an extended period of time.
She was challenged by many, and came out undefeated. After all, that Suoh was the only person that ever beat her ever since she had bested her own father as a small kindergartner. Grinning and giggling after each match, she went through boy after boy, males of all ages.
The end of class was drawing to a close as she stared innocently around the dojo to see so many injured boys. But then she saw one last man that hadn't challenged her yet, standing in the corner. He emerged from the shadow that had cloaked him in darkness and walked straight up to her. He bowed low to her and then stood up straight again, announcing, "My name is Lantis Sol, and I've heard much about you, Miss Shidou. Therefore, I challenge you to a fight."
Her eyes widened in surprise. Hikaru had never faced this guy before, let alone talked to him! What amazed her more was that he knew her name! Nevertheless, she herself bowed down, bravely replying, "And so I accept your challenge!"
Lantis grinned back and walked to the wall, grabbing two of the wooden swords stored on the shelves. He threw Hikaru one and then, without warning, started charging at her.
The little girl was taken by surprise, but was able to jump and flip backwards before the wood could even touch her. She twisted in the air and landed as perfectly as a gymnast, proud of her escape. That feeling didn't last as the guy launched another attack at her, this time from the side. Hikaru ducked and kicked out Lantis's legs from under him.
He fell backwards and hit the ground hard. Hikaru clapped her hands and jumped up and down. She leaned over him, resting her hands on her knees to gloat. "I beat ya! I beat ya!!" she squealed.
Lantis grinned at her. "Not quite yet," he said slyly as he swung one of his own legs into hers, successfully bringing her to the ground as well.
This time, it was his turn to get up and stare back down at her. Lantis playfully stuck out his tongue. "Look who's beat now!" The redhead frowned with disappointment. She was no longer the best. Poor Hikaru had lasted only half a day in the number one position, and it was all this guy's fault!!
Ferio walked in just as Lantis was leaving and saw Hikaru sprawled on the floor. "Did Suoh come back or something?" he asked politely.
Hikaru got up without a word, her head bent down low in shame as she left the dojo.
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Fuu stared at Hikaru as they made their way to Umi's house. It was their usual route to the bus stop in the morning. Hikaru would start out alone, pick up Fuu on the way, and then the two of them would finally get Umi, and possibly Ferio. Hikaru had, ironically, had her bike stolen that first day of school, but hadn't bothered looking for it.
The blonde was concerned for her little friend, seeing that Hikaru had a few more bruises than usual. The redhead also seemed to have lost her usual vivacity. Fuu noticed her sigh as they passed by a particularly unusual house that always had rain pouring down on it, even though it was perfectly sunny on the houses directly next to it.
Two black cats appeared out of the doorway of the unusual house and followed the two freshman girls all the way to Umi's house. Umi rushed out with a piece of toast in her mouth, her lunch bag in one hand, her books almost falling out of the other. The girl with the pretty blue hair rushed up to them and gave them each hugs, giving Hikaru an even closer one.
"Oh honey," Umi cried sympathetically. "I just heard from Ferio. It's okay, you don't always have to be on top!"
"Hey, that's kinda dirty......" came a voice from behind her. Umi punched her fist to the face behind her, immediately knowing that it was Ferio making that raunchy remark. "Ouch!" he yelped, grabbing his bleeding nose. "What'd you do that for?"
Umi stuck her nose up in the air and just walked away. Hikaru walked away too, but Fuu stuck behind and gave Ferio a tissue. "Umi's moody a lot," she told him, patting him on the back.
"I should know," he replied. "She is my cousin." Fuu shrugged and started walking towards the bus stop where her two best friends were already waiting for their ride. Ferio followed her like a loyal dog.
The blonde beamed at her companion. "Did you know that we'll be taking a philosophy class together? It's for all freshman and sophomores and it starts today! I wonder who the teacher will be....." Fuu babbled on and on about the new joint class as they stood at the bus stop. She didn't shut her mouth as they boarded the bus, or even as they arrived at the school. All Ferio could do was smile, nod, and realize that he could never live up to her high standards.
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Umi's first class for that day was her cooking class, but for some reason, today it was being taught by a woman instead of "that pipsqueak Akira" as she called him. She grinned, thinking of how many admirers that little boy had and how ridiculous it was that an elementary school student could be so popular. It was positively hilarious in her mind.
She turned her attention to the front of the classroom, where the new teacher was putting on an apron. The woman had long blonde hair tied into a high ponytail and was wearing a toga-like shirt and dress pants. She patted her apron down a little, straightening it, and introduced herself. "Hello, my name is Mrs. Presea Li, and I'm here to substitute for Akira today." 'Li,' Umi repeated to herself. 'That sounds oddly familiar.......'
"As some of you may know," Presea continued, "I am the head of the Cooking Department. I am holding an audition in this very class for a job position as chef in a very prestigious place. So, today, cook your best and I will choose!"
Umi's eyes widened in surprise. She could never possibly earn that job! Ever since she came to CLAMP, she considered her dishes to be poor and inedible. Sighing, she made up her mind to bake a chocolate cake as the other would-be chefs started bustling around.
Every culinary student was already making a mad dash to gather his or her ingredients. But, unfortunately for Umi, she was standing in the way. Her cooking station was right in front of the shelves holding everything from flour to vanilla. The others crowded around her and started pushing and shoving trying to grab the necessary elements for their own recipe.
Finally, Umi was forced to slam her pot down on a nearby table. "EVERYONE, CALM DOWN!" she bellowed, cupping her hands around her mouth. "Let's get everything done in an orderly fashion, please!!" She then directed her classmates to make lines for the shelves, resolved arguments over cups of sugar and teaspoons of salt, and generally served as the manager of all the ingredients.
Even through all that, she was still able to bake that chocolate cake. Yet, the girl with the long blue hair was still very unhappy with her work. Perhaps that was because her chocolate cake was only a small cupcake with a modest share of icing. That, in fact, was all she had time to make, not to mention that it was all she could make with the ingredients she was left with. Groaning, she offered her small sweet to Presea at the end of class, as everyone else offered main dishes, fancy appetizers, and desserts that looked even far more appetizing than her own.
Umi even stayed behind after class and cleaned up. She shined the counters with her already soiled apron and put the ingredients back. That girl was pretty much used to always serving her fellow chefs-in-training.
Throwing her apron in a bin where all the other aprons lay to be washed, Umi headed out the door of the empty classroom. But, she was held back. Someone had grabbed her arm and tugged her into the classroom once again.
"Ms. Ryuuzaki," Presea said, with a smile on her face. "I've heard much about you from your parents."
Something clicked in Umi's head as her eyes lit up with realization. "Oh! That's where I know you from! The Li's are great family friends of ours!"
"Why, yes my dear," Presea replied, clasping her hands together. "And may I say, I have never laid my eyes on a person with so good a heart as yours! I couldn't believe my eyes as you put all the others before you, giving them their ingredients and even cleaning up after them!"
Umi blushed and looked at the ground, shyly saying, "Yes sempai....."
"Your cupcake also tasted exquisite. I believe you are just the perfect person for the job!"
At this point, the teenager's jaw dropped to the floor. "W-w-w-what? Are you joking?!"
"No, you are just the girl for the babysitting gig!"
"Babysitting?!"
"Yes, Clef and I have been looking for a babysitter for some time! You see, we're leaving for America in a week, and we need someone to cook and look after the children....."
"That's the job? Cooking and cleaning for some little kids?"
"Yes, we're willing to pay you one hundred thousand yen [A/N: one thousand American dollars, I think....] a month for cooking for the darlings. You won't need to care for them much, since they are not so little, but you will still need to keep watch over them!"
Umi gaped at her. "How many days a week are we talking about? How long will you be gone?! And how much money was that?!"
"Oh, it's merely after school for five days a week, and all day on weekends as well! And we'll be gone until Christmas....."
Umi was ready to faint. One hundred thousand yen a month just to cook and take care of some kids? 'This should be easy,' she thought to herself. 'I can just take the brats with me if I want to go out with my friends, no problem.' Yet, she was still unsure.... Would she want to drag around a group of little kids with her everywhere she went? Could she even handle babysitting the children in their house?
"So, do you want the job?" Presea asked, knocking Umi out of her thoughts.
"Sure," her student replied a little shakily. And it was set. Umi would babysit and cook for the Li children until Christmas.
*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*
Fuu had been right after all. After lunch, the whole freshman class was grouped with the whole sophomore class to take a philosophy class. The classroom was much like a forum, or Greek amphitheater, like the classes usually seen at college. Everyone sat in their seats, getting acquainted with each other. This was because all the students had assigned seats, meaning the teacher either wanted everyone to make new friends, or wanted to make it easier to learn names. The seating was, after all, alphabetical.
All the classmates were a buzz over who exactly this new teacher was. Many of the girls were passing around the gossip that he was very attractive and suave. Just as many of the boys had heard what a superb martial artist he was. And naturally, that led everyone to think that it was Suoh, of the elementary school division.
Hikaru, however, sat in her own seat daydreaming of the fight she had had with Lantis Sol, and how he had humiliated her the day before. Sitting to her right was a sophomore with long light blue hair with purple streaks. She seemed as cute as a pixie, and twice as hyper.
"Hi there!!" she called to Hikaru, waving her hand. Hikaru looked over to her next door neighbor. "I'm Primera!"
"Oh, I'm Hikaru," the redhead replied lazily. Suddenly, a hand came down and mussed up her hair.
"Don't mind her!" cried the owner of the hand, Umi. "She's really a happy, optimistic person! Karu's just been down lately. Don't you agree, Fuu?"
No answer. Umi raised an eyebrow. "Fuu?" Still no answer. Umi looked behind her and saw Fuu gazing around the classroom with a look of suspicion on her face.
"Fuu, what's wrong?"
Fuu snapped out of her train of thought. "Someone's watching me.....I can feel it. I just don't know who it is...."
Umi stuck out her tongue in disgust. "Eww, creepy.....maybe you have a stalker!!"
Primera, who had just been watching the two talking, and Hikaru still brooding, tried to switch the direction of their conversation. "Have you three heard who the new teacher is? Oh, he is sooo hot!! He saved me from a runaway bus the other day......"
Fuu and Umi ignored Primera and continued to talk about who the blonde's potential stalker could be, but that bit of information did manage to cheer Hikaru up. "Ooh," she said, her eyes lighting up. "Is he really that cute?"
"Sure is!" Primera said, adding a wink. "He's only 20, a student at the CLAMP college, but he's so brilliant! He has a student assistant too. We can ask her about him!"
"Really?"
"She's right over there!" Primera pointed one graceful finger to the front of the classroom where a blonde girl looked like she was being harassed by a handsome young man with fangs and long dark hair. He reminded Hikaru of the devil for some reason. "See her? The one over there with a flat chest? I guess she never developed...but anyway, Kohaku is one of the nicest girls around! So sweet and gentle-hearted.....I wonder why Koryuu is always teasing and taunting her......"
"Koryuu? Is he that guy with her?"
Primera nodded her head. "Sure is." Then, the pixie-like girl turned her eyes to the door that was at the back of the large classroom. She clapped her hands together, squealing, "He's here! Lantis-sempai is here!!"
Hikaru nearly fell over sideways in her seat, but was caught just in time by hands that she recognized. She looked up into those deep beautiful eyes of her humiliator, Lantis Sol. "You be careful, my little Hikaru," he said as she sat back straight in her chair. He continued on down to his desk at the front of the classroom, and many of the women swooned.
He walked around to the back of his desk and wrote his name in white board marker on the white board. Lantis turned around and recapped his marker. "My name is Lantis Sol," he said, pointing simultaneously to his name scrawled on the board. "And I am your new philosophy teacher."
Hikaru looked like she was about to gag. How could she have HIM as a teacher?! This man was going to make her life a living hell.....
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Thank you to my reviewers!!
Mimi~ Thank you! I'll try and update as soon as I can next time...
Kyaa Kyaff~ I try to make my stories cute by adding bows and ribbons and polka dots...Just kidding!! Thanks for reviewing!
Momentum~ I love humor!! Can't keep it out of my writing...hehehe
GoddessLD~ I'm glad you love it!
Lady Storm~ It's fun to stick in so many random CLAMP characters in there....Get ready for more!
Amber13~ Hope you get a feel for my writing with this chapter!
Kitty-sama~ No more Pepsi for you!!
Anime Goddess6~ I'm honored that I'm on your faves list!!
Animechick~ I've only gotten through the first two volumes of CLAMP School Detectives, and I desperately need the third one!!
Repori~ I'm not sure if I understand your whole review, and I can't fit in Angelic Layer because I haven't read it yet, but when I can get my hands on some AL, I'll be sure to fit some in kay?
Crying Forever~ Weirdness is my specialty ^_^ teehee
Once again, one big THANK YOU to my reviewers!!
AND YOU ALL BETTER REVIEW THIS ONE!!! I don't care if you flame me, criticism will always help my writing to improve!
Later people! bunniehoney ^_~