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.

Short Author's note:

Dedicated to yellingatthemonkeys for digging the Tagalog. Hehehehe…Thanks, I'm glad you liked it! I wanted her to be tan as well but because Stefan hardly ever lets her out of the house, I suppose she wouldn't get enough sun to be tan. Thanks for the suggestion and the support! I hope you like this chapter!

Chapter 4: Hanging out and Dating

"Tea, Dannen-san?" Akira offered with a smile to the silent young lady sitting on the couch next to Suoh who was speaking to Nokoru who sat on the couch across them.

"Thank you." Hikiageru nodded, taking the tea cup carefully from Akira's own. Akira beamed brightly at her before taking his seat beside Nokoru, soon joining in their conversation as well.

Hikiageru sipped her tea quietly, Nokoru noticed. It felt like she was actually doing her best to stay unnoticed. However it was quite a task since she was after, Dannen Hikiageru—viewed as the new pop star of Clamp School. It was puzzling how quiet she was being, almost like she wasn't there at all.

He wouldn't have that. For one, it would be quite rude to ignore their guest. And another thing was that…her eyes had lost their emotion again. It was like the first time he'd seen her. Completely detached and unapproachable…unlike the Heaven Winggates he had come to know.

He returned his attention to what Akira was saying, "Yes, I like that idea, Akira. What do you think, Hikiageru-san?"

She blinked once her name was spoken and she looked up at him dumbly. "Ha?"

"Akira was just talking about the new Garden project for our school. They said that planting more trees would add to its beauty." Suoh explained kindly.

"I proposed for another Sakura tree since the Clamp School is well known for it." Akira cheerfully said.

"What do you think, Hikiageru-san?" Nokoru asked again.

Heaven looked down at her tea for a moment before looking back up. "A Sakura tree would be beautiful…"

Hidden in Nokoru's smile was a bit of disappointment. He was hoping for a less…what was he hoping for? Perhaps an answer that might give him a clue as to how her mind worked? He was not happy with her answer. It was too agreeable. But he was a boy known for being relentless. "What do you suggest, Hikiageru-san?"

Heaven looked at him for a while, seemingly hesitating to speak. He wondered why she was hesitating and had a vague idea. Finally, she spoke, "I suppose…a Narra tree…"

"A Narra tree?" Suoh asked.

"I see," Nokoru smiled, "A Narra tree is a deciduous, long stemmed tree. It's also the national tree of your home country, isn't it, Hikiageru-san?"

"Yes. It's a…surprising tree…"

"Why would you say that, Dannen-san?" Akira asked.

"When I was younger, our home in the Philippines had a Narra tree in our garden. I used to think it was just a normal tree. There was nothing that special about it except it's known for its durability. But then…around the month of February or May…I was surprised when something bright yellow fell from over my head when the wind blew. I looked up and found that the Narra tree had blossomed. The bright yellow petals were so beautiful…I wanted to catch each and every one of them."

For a moment, Nokoru felt captivated. Something had surfaced in those brown eyes of hers. Something he had only seen when she was on stage. The emptiness vanished, if only for a moment. But it was too fast to recognize…too faint to discern.

"Please…go on…" he found himself saying. She looked up at him with hesitation, calculating if trust should be given.

"Yes, please do continue." Suoh said as well.

Thinking it was impolite to ignore their pleas, she looked down and continued. "But then I heard my mother say that it will only bloom for a short time. And so I took a handful of those blossoms and kept them in a jar. I placed it on my desk and looked at it as much as I could. Unfortunately, a few days later, the petals grew moss in my jar and I had to throw it out."

"How sad…" Akira sympathized.

"Not really." Heaven said, shaking her head softly. "It was beautiful while it lasted…" she said, looking up and giving a small shrug with a smile that didn't seem to reach her eyes.

"But you wanted it to stay, didn't you?" Nokoru asked knowingly. She turned to him with those unreadable eyes and he continued, flipping his fan open. "That's why you put some of those blossoms in a jar, wasn't it? Because you wanted it to last…"

Slowly a small frown appeared on her expressionless face, almost unnoticeable to the untrained eye. He just smiled at her again, cocking his head to the side. Oh, did he strike a chord? He hoped so.

"It sounds magnificent." Suoh finally said, smiling at Heaven softly. "I hope I see a Narra tree one day."

She looked at Suoh with well hidden surprise before Akira chimed in, "Yes, me too! I'd love to see a Narra tree some day!" she turned to him too.

"Why not? When we're older, let's all go see a Narra tree together." Nokoru brightly suggested, fanning himself slowly.

"Great! Then it's all settled!" Akira cheerfully declared.

A small smile appeared on Hikiageru's lips as she watched the three boys plan out their lives together. Nokoru was truly so blessed. Having friends who'd want to stay with him for as long as they could…

"And you will come too, won't you, Hikiageru-san?" she blinked up at him, caught by surprise and alarmed by the question. How would she answer that?

"If…God want us to meet again…then we will…" she said hesitantly.

"I suppose I'll just have to pray hard then."

She knew it was wrong. She was hanging out with Nokoru. Not only Nokoru but with his friends as well. Her brother told her not to…but she couldn't be impolite when they had offered her lunch so kindly. Sitting with them in their office, drinking tea and eating a slice of cake…this was hanging out…this was what she wasn't supposed to do…

She had stayed long enough…

Softly she smiled at him and set down her tea. "Thank you for your kindness, Nokoru-san, Ijuiin-san, Takamura-san. But I'm afraid I'm going to be late for my next class if I stay any longer."

"Oh, well then," Nokoru started, the three boys getting onto their feet when she stood as well. "Thank you for joining us, Hikiageru-san."

"It was a pleasure to meet you." Akira added happily.

"We hope to see you again soon." Suoh said.

She bowed to them and they bowed back. Nokoru escorted her to the exit and held the door open for her. "Thank you." She said meekly to him before passing him by, though she herself was a bit unsure as to what she was thankful for. Nokoru smiled his ever charming smile at her and watched her step out of their office.

"I should be thanking you. For the story you told us, I mean."

She graced him with a small smile.

"Would you like me to escort you to your next class?" Nokoru offered. She was just about to answer when…

"Imonoyama-san?"

They turned to the figure before them and Nokoru immediately smiled. "Chouoogata-san! Good afternoon!"

"I just came to see if you had received my letter, Imonoyama-san. I was hoping to receive your answer today…" she said with that shy smile of hers, looking up at him with her beautiful blue-green eyes.

"Of course, Chouoogata-san. How can I deny anything from a beautiful lady such as yourself?" Nokoru smiled, being the charming man that he was.

Her eyes widened and so did her smile, she clasped her hands together in front of her and said, "Really! Oh, thank you, Imonoyama-san! A-Am I disturbing?" she asked with a worried face, looking from him to Heaven. Nokoru hadn't noticed the way Heaven averted her gaze from Chouoogata.

"Oh, well—" Nokoru was about to reply. But then Heaven spoke up.

"Thank you again for your time, Imonoyama-san." Nokoru faltered at that. His smile vanished as he looked at her with worry.

She smiled that smile at him; the smile that didn't reach her eyes. "You've been…kind…" She said. Bowing her leave, she turned and walked away.

"Oh, wasn't that Dannen Hikiageru-san?" Nokoru heard Chouoogata ask.

Instantly his smile returned, "Yes, she is. She was kind enough to join us for lunch."

"Really? I hope I hadn't interrupted anything—"

"No, please don't worry about it."

"That's good." She smiled, "So, I'll see you at around…seven…?"

"I can't wait." He smiled.

Suoh stared at Nokoru with eyes wide and mouth agape. Akira gasped happily at the sight before him.

"I…I can't believe it." Suoh stated dumbly.

"What's not to believe, Suoh? You really should have more faith in me." Nokoru said happily fanning himself and leaning back in his seat.

"It's not that…I—I just…can't believe it…"

"This is really a momentous occasion, Takamura-san! We should celebrate the day—er—night that Mr. Chairman has finished all his paperwork!" Akira clapped his hands together.

"Uh—y-yeah, I suppose…" Suoh said, still in a daze while staring at the neat pile of papers sitting on the 'OUT' box and the empty box of 'IN'. It was a miracle.

"Sorry to burst your bubble, Akira, but I won't be able to celebrate with you guys." Nokoru said, standing to look out into the night sky.

"Huh?" Akira asked.

"You see…" he turned to face them with a cheery smile and flipped his fan open in an adorable fashion only Nokoru could do. "I have a date tonight."

"A DATE!"

Nokoru could only chuckle at the incredulous looks on their faces. "Take care of the office for me while I'm gone, okay?"

"With whom?" Akira asked excitedly.

"Don't tell me! It's with Dannen-san, isn't it!" Suoh guessed.

Nokoru chuckled again and wagged his finger at Suoh, "No, no. Hikiageru-san isn't really that type of girl."

"What do you mean, Chairman?"

"Well, from the short time I've met her I've already deduced that she's a very pragmatic person. And since I've only met her for a couple of days, I don't think she'll fall in love with me any time soon." Nokoru admitted with modesty aside. It wasn't like he was proud of the fact that women adored him in an almost unhealthy way. He was just stating facts and facing the undeniable and eminent truth. Akira and Suoh understood that, he knew.

"Why do you say she's pragmatic, Mr. Chairman?"

Nokoru looked out at the sky again, setting his eyes on a hazy crescent moon, before turning back to them and covering his mischievous smile with his fan for effect. "It's a Secret!"

"Mr. Chairman!" Akira was just about to whine when Suoh spoke up.

"Then who are you on a date with?"

"With the beautiful Miss Zairu Chouoogata-san."

"EEHHH!"

"B-But when—"

"It was in the letter."

"And it's an official date?"

"Yes, she wanted it to be so."

"And you said yes!"

"Of course! I can never say no to a lady."

Suoh leaned forward to the desk so as to support his weary self. This was just too sudden. Their Nokoru…was actually going on a date with a girl?

"Wow…" Akira said, finding that it was all he actually could say. But then, he supposed Chouoogata was the first to actually ever ask Nokoru out. He cheered up and smiled at their Chairman. "Well, good luck, Mr. Chairman!"

"Yeah," Suoh added, smirking at his friend, "I hope you sweep her off her feet."

"Thanks, guys." Nokoru smiled happily before flipping his fan closed and starting for the door. "Well I'm off! Ja ne!"

Once Nokoru had left, Suoh and Akira had a big talk about Nokoru's 'date'.

"I can't believe he's actually on a date." Suoh said, holding his chin in his hand thoughtfully.

"Yes, I never would have imagined Chairman on a date with someone like Chouoogata-san." Akira said, starting to clean up the tray of food on Nokoru's desk. "Well, maybe I would. But I really hadn't expected it."

"I didn't know he liked her type."

"Neither did I. I didn't even know that Chairman had any preference."

"This is really something big, Akira."

"Yes, I agree, Takamura-san."

Silence…and then…

"Wanna spy on them?"

"Isn't that a bad thing?"

"Don't you wanna know?"

"Let's go."