Shadow of the Hazy Moon
By Warm-Ice
Disclaimer: I don't own anything except the OCs.
Summary: Why can't the Clamp School Detectives catch this thief? Not a trace, not a clue. All Nokoru could see were the eyes of the shadow of the hazy moon.
Chapter 1: The Pearl of the Night
RIIIIIIIIINNNNGGGG!
They looked up, alerted from their companionable silence as the Security Alarms went off everywhere in the rather large museum.
"Suoh! Akira!" Nokoru called. "Spread out and find the thief!"
"Roger!" the two said, running off in opposite directions. Nokoru went through the West wing, looking around for anything out of place or amiss. Recently there had been a series of burglaries that had invaded the school. Not a single trace was left and the stolen artifacts seemed absolutely random.
The thief had already stolen quite a few items –all quite valuable and rare- from different branches of the school and it had caused quite an up roar. Complaints had been piling up and the demand for the Clamp School Detectives to be on the case was understandable.
For a while now, the detectives had tracked down this felon but he always seemed to elude them. It was always like they were thrown into the wrong track. When they thought he would be here, he was actually there. And before they knew it, it had been far too late for them to catch him.
As expected, Nokoru became excited by this new challenge and swore to pursue this criminal that cannot be caught. And soon they had come to the conclusion that the thief's next target would be in the museum since that –with the exemption of the Scientific Research building- was the only place left that he had not stolen from.
Nokoru smirked to himself, feeling a bit triumphant. This time, he was on the right track.
He turned a corner and kept up his pace until he saw a shadow cast upon his own. He swiftly turned around and his eyes widened. There, on the sill of the large opened arc window, stood a silhouette of the thief, his shadow cast down onto Nokoru by the full moon set high up in the starry night sky.
"Stop right there!" Nokoru commanded, running to him.
Strangely enough, the thief turned to him, the shadows of the night hiding his face but not—
Nokoru faltered at the sight of the thief's eyes—
Those solemn, sorrowful, chocolate hued orbs…
How? How could something so regretful, so apologetic, so soft be in the eyes of a thief so skilled? It was strangely disconcerting and at the same time… hypnotizing…
For a long while, they stared at each other before the thief turned away and jumped off the window sill of the second floor.
"Ah!" Nokoru yelled out of reflex, running to the window and looking down to the ground where the thief should be but couldn't find a trace of him anywhere. "No way…" he muttered to himself. Even if he had super reflexes, the thief couldn't have been that fast. There was no way.
For a moment, Nokoru's eyebrows furrowed but that expression was then replaced by a smirk. "A challenge indeed." He said to himself.
"What went missing from the museum, Suoh?" Nokoru asked, leaning back in his large office chair, entwining his fingers with each other in font of him as he rested his elbows on the arm rest.
"Well, let's see…" Suoh said, sifting through the papers in the small folder on his lap. "It says here…that the thief took the famed Pearl of the Night."
"The Pearl of the Night, huh?"
"The Pearl of the Night?" Akira questioned as he came into the room with a tray of Mille Feuilles.
"Yes, it's the large black pearl that the museum hides in the West Wing." Suoh explained as Akira set the tray down on the table.
"A black pearl? Oh, yes! I think I've seen it before." Akira remembered with a finger to his chin, looking thoughtfully. He remembered getting a glance of it a few months ago as it was transferred into the west wing where the most precious artifacts were kept safe and secure.
"Yes, well, it's a rather famous pearl because of its distinct hue. And because it's so famous, many collectors from all over the world want to get their hands on it. Some have tried to steal it but thankfully, the pearl had been transferred again and again to keep its whereabouts anonymous. Only a few months earlier, it was transferred to our school because no one would suspect it to be here." Nokoru explain.
"Besides, we have a state of the art security system ensuring the safety of the pearl and only a few choice people actually know where it is."
"Oh? So the culprit must be some thief to be able to steal it and not even leave a trace." Akira praised.
"Yes, but what do you think the thief planned to do with it?" Suoh asked speculatively.
"Maybe he planned to sell it in the black market?" Akira suggested.
"And what connection does the Pearl of the Night have with the other stolen items?" Suoh added.
"Hm…" was all Nokoru said, his mind replaying repeatedly the image of the thief on the window sill. Those eyes… the sight seemed to have burned itself into his memory. He needed to find that thief soon. They were running out of leads and they had very few leads to start with. But more over… he was dying to find out who could possess such deep eyes…
There was a soft knock on the door, snatching them out of their own train of thoughts. Akira was the one to open it.
"O-Ohkawa-san! Azuya-san!" he exclaimed in surprise, seeing the two girls at their doorway, smiling brightly at them. Immediately, Suoh blushed as he stood -along with Nokoru- out of courtesy. He hadn't expected them to come and he couldn't help but redden at the sight of Nagisa smiling.
"Good afternoon, ladies." Nokoru was first to greet them with that sunshiny smile.
"Good afternoon, Mr. Chairman, Takamura-san, Ijuuin-san." Utako greeted back -coming in with a bashful Nagisa in tow- wearing that all-knowing smile of hers.
"To what do we owe the honor?" Nokoru asked, seeing that his two friends were far too busy blushing to speak.
"Well, we were thinking…" then she smiled brightly at Nokoru, "You three have been so busy with this investigation. It's high time that you take a little break!"
"A break?" Suoh finally spoke.
"Hai. Sometimes one looks at a problem for too long and misses what is the obvious. It's only when he steps back that he can see it." Nagisa answered with that gentle tone of hers.
"Well, that does sound inviting." Nokoru said thoughtfully.
"So, what do you suggest, Ohkawa-san?" Akira asked.
Utako took out six green tickets from her pocket and presented it to Nokoru.
Nokoru took a glance and knew exactly what it was for. It seemed that so did the others.
"The tickets to Dannen Hikiageru-san's concert tonight?" Akira incredulously spoke.
Utako smiled proudly and said, "Yes, I heard it's gonna be great!"
"She's the one that transferred here a few weeks ago, isn't she?" Suoh recognized, knowing that they were the one that checked the safety of the gardens she was going to perform in.
"Yes, so you have heard of her!" Utako smiled brightly.
"They say she got here because of her wide range of talent in the arts." Akira supplied. "I heard she excels in all of them but was too shy to enroll in our school."
"That's right. It was her older brother who enrolled her to the school." Utako said.
"Is that right?" Nokoru said, only a little interested.
"I heard her practicing her songs last week and couldn't help but want to see her perform. She sings beautifully." Nagisa complimented.
"That's why I bought these tickets. I'm sure everyone will enjoy the show." Utako declared, clapping her hands together.
"Oh, but why do you have six tickets? Aren't we just five?" Suoh asked.
"Because!" Utako said, "If we're gonna watch the concert, I don't want Mr. Chairman to feel left out."
"How very kind of you, Ohkawa-san." Nokoru smiled, taking out a fan that had 'Treasure Wonderful Friends' written on it. "So, tell me, who am I to go with?"
"That's for you to figure out." She said.
Nokoru blinked twice in question.
"You mean I have to find someone to go with me?"
"Yup!"
Flipping his fan closed, Nokoru put his fist up theatrically with a determined look. "Alright, I understand! I will go and find a young lady to go with me! I will not fail!" Flipping the fan open, it now said 'Applause'.
Akira clapped enthusiastically just for the heck of it. "I'll cheer you on, Chairman!"
Suoh sweat-dropped but then slammed his hands angrily down the table. "Chairman!"
Akira and Nokoru both blinked at him. "What is it Takamura-san?" Nokoru asked.
"You are not going to the concert without finishing up all your paperwork first!"
"Aaaw, but Suoh…"
"No! Chairman, you have to be more responsible!"
"The Chairman might be late for the concert if he has to finish all his work today." Nagisa suggested.
Suoh felt powerless and blushed but then sighed and slumped his shoulders. "Alright. At least half."
Nokoru cheered up and smiled brightly at Suoh, "Thank you, Azuya-san!" He sang, flipping his fan open. It read, 'Cheerfulness!'
Suoh sweat-dropped again. He turned away and sighed, bringing his hand to his head. Chairman was hopelessly carefree.
As the sun started to set, Nokoru stood in his office, staring out through the large arc windows at the roseate sky. Only a small pile of paperwork was left standing on his desk behind him and its height cast shadows over the almost empty room.
How was it that the thief always seemed to enter a building and snatch the treasures with ease? How does he know how to open the safes and the vaults? How does he manage to take things in the middle of a room full of laser detectors?
And how was it that the thief always managed to suddenly disappear? There were no footprints where he was supposed to have landed and there was no sign of vehicles he could have mounted to escape.
The thief was a smart one, knowing how busy they, the Clamp School Detectives, were. He would make a two week interval before striking again, knowing that in those two weeks other problems would be piling up over his case, causing the detectives to adjourn him for a moment. It only took a moment.
Also, why was it that the thief always stole small treasures? Judging from his skill, he could have stolen much bigger and more expensive items. Like paintings and ancient artifacts. The stolen items would always be so small. Why would that be so?
He sighed. Maybe a look from outside the box was a good idea. Suoh and Akira were both already getting ready for tonight. He didn't even have a partner yet. He needed to look for one soon even though Akira offered to help find one for him. But they would most likely have the wrong conception and think that he was interested in them. Oh, how he just hated to make women cry…
Just then, the flapping of wings met his ears as pigeons of various colors flew before his very eyes. His eyes widened in surprise as the pigeons flew across his view, the sun's orange rays flashing wildly upon his form.
Strange. Why would pigeons be flying at sunset?
He looked down to the first floor and found himself staring at a young girl with one cage at her feet and another held open in her grip. She was waving to the pigeons, perhaps bidding them a safe trip. Her wavy black hair swayed behind her, caused by her motions.
He looked up again to the pigeons as they stopped circling the area and went straight off towards what Nokoru supposed was their home. His curiosity was ignited. Quickly, he took his coat and walked out of the office, walking hastily to the entrance hall where the mystery girl was.
When he arrived there, he was a bit thankful that she was just starting to leave. "Excuse me." He called out.
She faltered and turned around to look at him. Nokoru felt as if icy water had just been thrown over him in the middle of a snowy winter night. Deep mahogany eyes stared at him, beholding nothing…absolutely nothing.
He stared at her and she stared back. For a long while, Nokoru found that his mind was a blank as he watched her watch him, the setting sun's rays bathing her lithe form. But as soon as he realized that, he gathered his wits and smiled brightly. "Good evening." He greeted cheerily, coming towards her.
She turned to him fully and bowed, surprising him. "Oh, please, no need for formalities." He smiled as she straightened her posture and looked up at him blankly. "Pardon me for asking, but are those pigeons yours?"
"Yes." She answered in a meek blank tone.
"May I ask why you are setting them free at this time? You see, I'm no pigeon expert. But isn't it said that pigeons can't see their way home at night?" he asked.
"Yes, that's true." She answered, her lips twitching upwards just a little bit. "But one out of a hundred pigeons can find their way home even at night. I am training my pigeons so that they will be that one percent."
"Really?" Nokoru asked, interest caught. "Can they do that?"
Her smile grew into a smirk and Nokoru couldn't help but feel that she could rival the smile of Mona Lisa. That smile that said 'I know something you don't know'. It entranced him, along with the fact that she was quite attractive in her own way. "I have…ways of teaching them…" she answered.
A smile grew onto Nokoru's own face and he couldn't help but ask, "I don't seem to remember seeing you around. Are you new?"
"Yes, I am."
"Oh, I see." He smiled brightly and bowed in a gentlemanly way, startling the young girl. "My name is Imonoyama Nokoru. And you are?"
She hesitated for a while before, "Heaven Winggates."
"So, you are American?"
"Half American, half Filipina."
"How interesting." He opened a fan and it read, 'Philippines!' Seeing the fan, Heaven chuckled a little and looked at him strangely, no doubt thinking how weird Nokoru was. "It's nice to meet you, Heaven-san. And may I say, your Japanese is very fluent."
"Thank you, Imonoyama-san. The pleasure is all mine."
"Heaven-san, do you have anything planned tonight?"
Her eyebrows raised and she looked at him warily. "Excuse me?"
"You see, my friends gave me two tickets to a concert later on tonight. Unfortunately I don't have anyone to bring with me. So I wondered if you might be free tonight and honor me with your presence." He said, smiling charmingly the smile that could make anyone melt.
She blinked at him for a few times before she broke out into a full fledged smile. It made Nokoru falter for a moment, surprised in a pleasing way. In the back of his mind he knew she would say yes.
"Gomen, Imonoyama-san. I…have an appointment tonight."
It took Nokoru a few seconds to register in his mind that he had just been rejected by a girl. Rejected. Rejection. So that was what it felt like.
Smiling it away he said, "Oh, it's alright, really. Thank you for your time anyway. I shouldn't have kept you."
"Iie, it's alright." She said, shaking her head softly. "Thank you for the offer." With that she bowed and turned to leave.
Nokoru watched her as she swayed the empty cages by either side of her while walking idly away. He looked down at his feet and thought about the earlier events. "So…that was rejection…?" he'd never felt it before.
"Chairman!" he looked up and found Akira waving at him, Suoh, Utako, Nagisa and a pretty girl who's name he couldn't recall standing by his side. "We found someone you can go with!" he said.
Nokoru went to them and found that the pretty girl with short brunette hair and green-blue eyes was his partner to be. Her name was Chouoogata and she had a very pretty smile, especially when she blushed as Nokoru smiled at her. She was an older friend of Nagisa's and had been itching to see the concert as well.
The blonde could tell that the girl had a crush on him. Being the gentleman that he was, he offered his arm to her. She blushed prettily again and took his arm, following the group as they went to the concert garden.
Nokoru turned to the west, watching the sun slowly sinking from his sight. He wondered. Would those pigeons go back to her like she expected? Would they come home to her through the darkness of the night? Would she be disappointed if some of them got lost?
But in the back of his mind, one meek question remained even when he pushed all thoughts aside and concentrated on the conversation Chouoogata started.
Would he be able to meet her again?