Disclaimer: I do not own X.
Author's note: This story is an attempt to draw some kind of a background story for parts of X's characters' lives that Clamp did not light for us. It is not a statement but a mere opinion.
Author's thanks: To Trench Kamen who commented on the Arashi chapter on my Lj and to Iwannasleep from (thank you! I did write a Sei-Sei chapter but pulled it out. I will write another, better one soon).
And many great thanks to my beta Cait who paints my fics pink! .
Imonoyama Nokoru, Takamura Suoh and Akira Ijuin – Backstage Actors.
"The stars have changed their positions; they are in motion to show us a new future….
"Fates are reorganized and sealed, many lives will end…..or change forever…..
"The fate of our planet Earth hangs in the balance; will it be destroyed or will we be the ones to perish? ….
"The pieces are moving as warriors of both sides are already brandishing their weapons…..
"Dragons of Heaven….
"Dragons of Earth……"
Papers flew into the air with a burst, soaring high in the cosy room before falling down to the bed with large swinging arches or wild spinning flips.
"AAAAAAAAAAAAAH! We won't have a single spare moment to throw a party!" the young man who spoke so far, the one who threw the papers in the air, wailed.
The other young man sighed and turned his back to the speaker, "Is that all you can think about in that context Kaicho?"
"Suooooooh, don't call me Kaicho again," the blond wiggled himself nearer to Suoh and wrapped an arm around the bigger man's waist.
"I will call you 'Kaicho' whenever you'll act like a third grader," resilient golden eyes turned to childish sapphire ones, daring them to a stare down competition.
Nokoru buried his face in Suoh's pillow and pouted.
Suoh turned his head forward again and sighed, exasperated. Since they've grown this close he found the blond's pouts were irresistible. But this is a very serious matter and his personal emotions should have nothing to do with his judgment over next year's events.
Nokoru nuzzled the small valley between Suoh's powerful shoulder blades, inhaling the man's scent and smiling happily. He wrapped his arm tighter around the muscular waist.
Suoh ran his finger idly across his lover's palm all the way up to the elbow where the rest of the arm disappeared behind his back.
"We will be accommodating the Dragons of Heaven?"
"Yes, well, some of them anyway."
"Oh?"
"Two of them are adults with apartments of their own."
"I see."
"One of them is a family man….he has a little girl, she'll be in kindergarten next year."
"Perhaps we should offer her a place in next year's class?"
"Hmm….I'm afraid the classes are organized and sealed already."
"Can't we make room for her?"
"You're right."
Convinced of his chairman's renewed serious mood, Suoh rewarded Nokoru by turning to face him. He smiled softly and planted a kiss on that sweet little button nose.
Nokoru closed his eyes and titled his head backwards a little, asking for a deeper kiss.
Suoh sighed inwardly; his chairman was such a spoiled little thing. He was like a kitten; curling up to you and acting cutely to make you pet him some more.
"And the Dragons of Heaven who will be living here? How many are there?"
"Five….no, four….I think….it depends."
"Depends!"
"Well there's one in university age but he has an apartment of his own already so I don't know if he'll be living here or not."
"We'll offer him residence anyway. Although he has no record of a high school degree…"
Nokoru nodded and snuggled up closer to Suoh, rubbing against his lover's body seductively.
"Kaicho…..not now."
Nokoru whimpered and manoeuvred himself some more.
"Don't complain Kaicho, you're the one who brought up the subject in bed."
"Well I had to go over paperwork didn't I? And what other time was I left with but in bed?"
"If you would have done your paperwork in time instead of lingering around to make sure the café goes through the right re-designing, and if you wouldn't insist on going over the plans for the Salad Bowl's new gardening scheme you wouldn't need to go over this in bed!"
The idea behind Nokoru's light-headed behaviour sunk in fully enough to anger the blue haired man. He sat up and glared down at the blond beneath him.
"This is a very important topic Kaicho, why, the fate of humanity is at stake here! Look at all the papers, look how they're scattered and messy! How are we supposed to take this seriously with such a bad start?"
Nokoru, pouting and halfway in the pillow again, stared up at him like an abused puppy. He was still clinging to Suoh's side.
"Do you think this is another case of a lady in distress! Do you think it's just a silly missing file about a meeting next week! This is for the sake of humanity, it'll decide if we'll stay alive next year or not! Why can't you get it into your head!"
Nokoru let go of his lover and rolled to lie on his stomach, hugging the pillow and burying his chin into it.
"It's not like we're doing anything important really," his voice was low and mature now, no longer childish and silly.
Suoh blinked at his lover's exposed back.
"W-what do you mean?"
"We're just here to give them a place to live aren't we?"
"We….we'll put them into classes too."
Nokoru shot him a withering glare across his naked shoulder and turned his face to the pillow again.
"The heart of the divine protection! We keep the holy sword within our campus Nokoru; you can't overlook that as something unimportant."
"Bah! All we really do is supply electricity to that damned facility; the rest is done by everyone else, isn't it?"
"…Nokoru…"
"We never get to do the fun stuff do we? We never do anything of real value like fighting or the saving of lives or anything."
There was something very grave and important amongst the papers he gave Nokoru today; where was it?
Suoh began fishing for the papers across the bed. When he couldn't find what he wanted on the bed itself he began searching on the floor and under the huge, fancy, overused bed.
Nokoru followed him with his eyes and allowed a cunning smile to break through his foul mood.
"You're a very handsome man, Suoh"
The bodyguard, who was squatting on the floor gathering lost papers in the nude, glared at the blond so hard he could have set the man's pillow afire under him.
His golden eyes expanded in horror as he spotted the paper he was looking for, half buried under their nightstand. The discarded Jell-O tube dripped on it idly. Suoh stifled a panicked whimper.
He snatched the page from under the slow current and began wiping it with the sheet's edge.
"Great, absolutely brilliant" he hissed.
"Hmn?"
Suoh shook the half drenched paper before his lover's eyes "We have a meeting with Magami-san, where we'll be reviewing and discussing all the issues in these papers and what do we do with them? Look! Just look at this!"
Nokoru wiggled to sit up, drawing his knees under his chin lazily.
"Can you imagine the meeting tomorrow!" Suoh raved on, making Nokoru giggle inwardly at how his voice became an undignified high-pitch when he was distressed. "'I see you've brought all the papers I faxed you yesterday boys, but what's this? Where's the health issue papers?'
"'Oh we're sorry Magami-san, but it's not here because, well you see…we dripped lubricant all over it.'"
Nokoru burst out laughing under his lover's intense angry glare.
"It's not funny, Kaicho."
But Nokoru wouldn't stop; his laughter reached hysterical levels. He stopped ten minutes later when he noticed just how pissed off Suoh was.
Suoh stared at the blond in silence until he was absolutely sure the man was in a serious listening mode again.
He took a deep breath and gathered the other man into his arms, bringing the now dry patch of papers to his view.
"This one discusses the health and healing services we are to provide the Dragons of Heaven."
"There's a different page for that!"
"Yes….." Suoh's voice was uncharacteristically low, "It appears they will need very heavy healing, our little hospital's current equipment and staff will not do."
Nokoru's eyes met Suoh's, "But…..our hospital is the best in Tokyo, maybe in the whole of Japan…."
"According to Magami-san's demands it's not good enough."
Nokoru exhaled half a giggle, insulted, "Why? She expects us to be able to bring people back from the dead!"
"It appears the hospital will be doing almost that….." Suoh's silence meant the subject was not to be doubted, that they had no word in it.
"…..What are they asking for?"
"More experienced staff on the E.R, bigger surgery staff, better trained nurses….oh…and a small army of physiotherapists…."
Nokoru blinked in shock. When he stopped there was fear in his eyes, "Suoh…" he whispered, unable to say the words in any louder a tone, "What are we going to accommodate? What will they be doing to those kids!"
Suoh stared back, just as alarmed and grave. He embraced his lover, feeling the body in his arms shudder.
"This is serious….Suoh….."
"Yes….it is….."
"Why?"
"Why is it serious? I thought we already covered the whole 'fate of humanity in the balance' subject."
"No….I mean why those children? Why would they be in need of such heavy healing?"
Suoh couldn't find an answer to that. He tightened his embrace.
"One of them is only fourteen years old…..the other kids we'll accommodate aren't even old enough to drink…"
"I don't know Nokoru, fate is cruel."
"It is, isn't it?"
"Nokoru…."
"Hmmn?"
"We'll be needing a counsellor."
"Why?"
"Because there are going to be earthquakes all over the city and….well….families of our other students….I mean….."
"They might be hurt….."
"Exactly….."
"Oh shit."
"Nokoru!"
"What? You think you're the only one manly enough to use such words?"
"I thought you were the only one noble enough to not use them."
"Well think again. I found nothing better to describe the situation….well….except for 'FUBAR'."
"'FUBAR'….!"
"Fucked Up Beyond All Recognition; it's American slang from the second World War."
"……'FUBAR' it is then….you know too much Nokoru," Suoh allowed himself to chuckle into the heavy dark tension around them.
His lover sighed.
"It's going to be a tough year, 1999."
"…..Yes."
"Many people will be hurt."
"….I suppose…it's inevitable."
"Many people will die."
"……."
"And many will grieve……"
"…..Nokoru."
"Suoh," the fear was so deep in those bright blue eyes that, gazing into them, Suoh's heart twitched. The arms that encircled his body grew tighter, the fingers clawed at him desperately.
"Suoh….don't leave campus grounds next year," tears spilled down Nokoru's immaculate cheeks.
Suoh kissed them one by one, kissing his lovers' eyes shut as well.
"I won't, I promise."
"1999 will be a very tough year, a sad, bloody, horrid, grave year."
"Yes…."
"All the more reason to throw as many parties as possible!"
"KAICHO!"
The three old friends met half an hour before their original meeting's time with Magami Tokiko so they'd have time to get updated with each other's life since the last time they spoke.
Sat in the campus' Café Terrace, they found a secluded spot where they could enjoy a nice relaxed atmosphere and not be heard by too many people once Tokiko joined them.
As he walked towards their table, Suoh and Nokoru scanned Akira's approaching figure.
"Is it just me or did he gain weight?"
"It seems he did. I think he's growing a small belly"
"Beer belly?"
"Good home cooking of a devoted wife belly."
"…….I can see you've never eaten anything Utako-san cooks."
"She only brings us cakes and cookies and they seem extremely sweet so, no, I don't get the chance to eat anything she cooks….why?"
Nokoru giggled. "Let's just say that if he had only her home cooking to eat he'd starve to death by now. Or die of food poisoning."
"I see….his own home cooking belly?"
"I think he's gaining weight with the delight of married life, if you know what I mean," the blond winked and poked his tongue out.
"You lose weight from that, Nokoru. You burn energy when you're doing that, if I may remind you."
Nokoru leaned towards Suoh, looking seductive. "Well I'm not the one doing much, so I guess I wouldn't know."
Suoh blushed so hard it plunged deep beyond his collar and past his shoulders. His neat navy blue suit hid it, though. Knowing the ninja's body well enough, Nokoru knew exactly how low it went.
"Ah, so easy to fluster by mentioning matters of the heart in public; you're so sweet Suoh."
"He's practically here Kaicho, enough of that!"
"Aw, I didn't deserve a 'kaicho' now!"
"Hey you guys! What's up?"
Akira was greeted by a double-voiced, "Akira-kun, hello, please sit down!"
When they realized they said the same thing together they stared at each other and blushed.
"The two of you are so cute!" the youngest man chirped and took off his jacket, hung it on his chair and sat down.
A pair of golden eyes stared at Akira, twitching with terror. A pair of blue eyes stared at him in amazement.
"You….uh…."
Akira folded his arms on his chest "Oh, c-o-m-e o-n, Kaicho, I'm not dumb you know."
"Please refer to me as 'Nokoru', it's high time you got used to it."
The young man blushed and looked away.
Noting that Suoh was still in shock, Nokoru beamed a smile at Akira, "So, how is the little missy?"
"Oh Utako-san's great! She's wonderful; as usual that is...tee hee."
"I heard she was feeling a bit faint lately, all weak and…nauseous… do you have something to tell us Akira-kun?" the blond nudged the man next to him.
Akira stared at him vacantly, "….Yeah, she caught a summertime stomach virus, something she ate in a shady ramen stand on her way back home from campus."
Suoh wondered if it would be weird for whoever happened to be watching them to see him and Nokoru suddenly crush their faces into the table.
"But she's way better now, she's up and about again."
Nokoru sighed, "Well….that's good then isn't it…."
"What about children Akira-kun," Suoh cut to the chase, tired of Nokoru's polite way of poking at Akira's strange marriage.
Akira stared at him, shocked.
Suoh stifled a yelp when Nokoru kicked him under the table.
"Utako wants to finish university first, and then have kids."
"Ah, I see."
Nokoru wondered if bad cooking can deem someone impotent.
Suoh leaped to his feet, "There's Magami-san," the other two did the same, bowing deeply before the bespectacled woman walking towards them.
"Hello there! My, what lovely young men I'm fated to deal with!" Tokiko chirped as soon as the men straightened their backs and faced her.
"Anyone here single by any chance? Tee hee," she winked before taking the chair Nokoru pulled out for her.
"Oh, I'm married and they're gay so, no, I guess. Sorry," Akira chirped back.
Suoh felt the frozen shower of horror pour down his spine. Nokoru paled and laughed nervously.
"Ah, that's fine. My sister was the same; gay, not married, that is," Tokiko shrugged and motioned for a waiter to come to their table.
"What'll you drink, boys?"
"Tea please, thank you!...Kai, eh, Nokoru-san, Suoh-san, what will you drink? Why are you staring at me like that? Have a seat."
Nokoru ordered himself a glass of cider, and a strong black coffee with cardamom and no sugar for Suoh.
As soon as the waiter was out of their hair, Tokiko grabbed for the files in a small neat plastic folder placed before Nokoru.
Poking her glasses up her nose, she scanned through her faxes and the documents Nokoru attached to each of them.
She nodded enthusiastically whenever she read something she liked, even made encouraging remarks about the chairman's good ideas when she came across one.
When she saw something she didn't like or regarded as unfitting and unsatisfactory she nearly glared Nokoru's eyes out and made her remarks sharp as Suoh's mom's training daggers.
It seemed that for Clamp Campus, improvising wasn't an option; things were to be run the way Tokiko said, to the smallest detail, or they will not be run by Nokoru (which was heavily hinted) at all.
Finally Nokoru'd had enough of the woman's snappy remarks. "Surely you don't think I don't know this campus' ins and outs, cans and can'ts. Why do you insist on getting things clear to the tiniest detail? If a problem comes up in this department I'll have it fixed immediately, you really shouldn't bother yourself with such…."
"Imonoyama-kun! May I remind you that, though you are the current chairman of Clamp campus, you are not the one who built it nor are you one of those who were around to see this place built," she leaned forward until the blond had no other choice but to look directly into her pointy brown eyes, "This place was built for next year, not in order to be your school, not for you to run it."
Nokoru mouthed a bit before giving up and turning his head away. This was the fate of humanity they were dealing with here….and she was a lady. He couldn't snarl back, no matter how much he wanted to.
Once they'd smoothed every problem and came up with solutions for everything, the sky was dark and the air around them filled with the calls of cicadas. Tiny fireflies filled the grass and trees in the nearby park with blinking tiny stars. The Terrace buzzed with students out to enjoy the lovely night.
Tokiko looked past Akira's shoulder, at the park. Then she turned and scanned the people around them in the Café Terrace and the lights in the windows of the great library at the bottom of which the Terrace lay. She sighed deeply and removed her glasses to clean them with the napkin on which her cake spoon lay.
She ordered two slices of cheese and crumb cake. She didn't ask what the boys wanted.
Once the slices lay before her she grabbed her spoon (the one she used on her cup of orange flavoured jelly and Special Clamp Hot Fudge Cupcake she ordered before the slices she had now) as if it were a murder weapon.
"Bon appetit," Nokoru smiled sweetly, trying to bitch in subtext.
Hunched over her slices, weapon of murder in hand, her eyebrows highly set was the only indication she understood Nokuro's remark. She placed a bite in her mouth, finished chewing it and, without looking up, asked them calmly, "Have you ever seen a car crash boys?"
The boys remained silent.
Tokiko took another bite, "Ever seen pictures fresh from the scene of a terrorist bombing attack?"
Silence.
Another bite, a bigger one this time. Then she took a large gulp from her third milkshake, "I see. Make sure you lay your eyes on loads of those two before we meet for the last time boys or you'll never be prepared for the first thing you'll do for humanity's fate."
The boys stuck to their silence.
"The holy sword will be born from my body, which means that it will emerge from me. Since the sword is almost as big as my body it will rip me apart. I'll be, to make a bad pun, all over the place."
Akira gasped, the Terrace's fancy Venetian street lamps reflecting in his tears.
"If you're going to stand there like three idiots behaving the way he does," stabbing the air Akira-wards with her little fork, "you might as well not be there at all. My nephew will need someone strong to pick him up from the shock he'll receive and deliver him safely here. You must be prepared."
"I see," Nokoru broke their silence finally, his tone grave and low now, "then that is what we will do. Please, Magami-san, worry not about our part in next year. Your nephew will be in good hands and so will the rest of the Seals."
Tokiko stabbed her last piece of cake and sighed, "If he joins the Seals, that is."
"Where would you prefer him to be?" Suoh leaned forward, placing his second cup of coffee on the table.
Tokiko scanned the Café around them quickly, "It's too crowded here to continue this conversation."
She got up, taking her handbag with her and tucking it neatly under her arm.
The boys climbed to their feet and bowed their goodbyes.
"I know I might have sounded like a bitch to you today but if that's what it takes to get things done properly then that's what I'll be."
She scanned them with soft eyes now, as sad and heavy as their own, "I…..I'm really, really sorry about this boys. I'll bring you the doll and the board next week. Until then, goodbye."
Nokoru cried that night and begged Suoh not to set foot outside of Clamp campus next year.
Suoh hugged his lover tightly and stated his love for the blond endlessly, begging Nokoru to make the same promises.
Akira sank into a small depression and refused to eat or sleep, which ended when he fainted from low blood sugar levels in the first 36 hour hospital shift he had after the meeting. With encouragement from his wife he recovered and did his best to prepare himself for the year to come.
Utako suggested they try to conceive, her last semester was at its end. Akira thought of next year, the year their baby would be due and immediately cancelled the idea.
During endless preparations, hiring and firing of half their hospital staff, fortification of the Heart of the Divine Protection, the tear-drenched filming of Tokiko's last words to her kin, many nights of endless alcohol and drowning sad sex, the trio fought to accept and understand what was about to happen next year.
When Nokoru pushed the Monou's sliding door open he, Suoh and Akira were prepared, as well as the rest of Clamp campus.
(End)