A.N.: Hi again!
Here we end the first phase of this fic (KIDNAPPED). Next chapter will be a (VERY) short interlude with Nokoru's thoughts on a rainy day, but they'll serve as background info for the second phase (DEPRIVED). I'm not sure yet if there'll be a third phase and what it would be called… --''''
Oh, and I'm not a doctor or anything of the sort, so please don't kill me if the medical report is lousy or completely wrong!
And now, ending of PHASE 1: KIDNAPPED, I bring you:
THE WAY YOU ARE IS FINE ENOUGH
CHAPTER 5 – UNFORGETTABLE MEMORY
PATIENT STATUS REPORT
Patient: Imonoyama Nokoru
Activities Description: CLAMP Gakuen Shoutobu Seitokai Kaichou, CLAMP Gakuen Tanteidan Kaichou, (Shoutobu) 6th-grader at Z classroom, commands the Imonoyama Energy Resources Company
Checked-in status: violent head concussion, bleeding, unconscious, scratches all over lithe body, great number of shallow cuts observed - a few deeper and serious cuts observed
Arrival: hectic; brought by Takamura Suoh, Ijyuuin Akira, Higashikunimaru Kentarou, Shyuukaidou Takeshi, Sukiyabashi Kotobuki and Chyuusouji Erii
Time period (to date of report): 7th day/1st week
Current status: remains unconscious, recovered 2
Further notes: 2 is too little to recover in 3 days… this boy's metabolism is extremely slow and his health hasn't been observed to be very stable either. Past registries inform of 5 heart attacks, 3 mental breakdowns, 3 stress attacks, 7 depression cases and countless serious injuries caused by different weapons, including firearms, at different times. Unless a miracle happens, this boy won't wake up for another 2 years.
Checked-out status:
Time period (total time hospitalized):
Further notes:
Dr. Kaori Mutsumi read the report for the tenth time in three minutes and sighed for the 14th. Her patient should have been up by now, but according to her observations and calculations, with the rate he was going, it'd take a miracle if he woke up in less than a year.
The Doctor was also very worried about the patient's visitors too: they were all children, but the two that visited regularly seemed to be the ones most affected: they always seemed near a mental breakdown themselves… and it got worse with each visit, almost driving her to the point of effectively forbidding them to visit, were it not for the fact that their faces had gone even paler when she mentioned the possibility, obviously meaning that they'd get much worse if the visits were no longer allowed.
She had noticed, however, that there were no adults coming, and at first she thought the parents were irresponsible or dead, but when it finally dawned on her that she was treating the Imonoyama Nokoru, the only son of the Imonoyama family, she immediately called the doctor responsible for him and understood why no family member had visited yet: they were just too busy… most probably didn't even know that the youngest member was in the Hospital… either that or, according to the notes on the report, they were just very used to it by now, after all, the kid had been hospitalized countless times in the past.
As a matter of fact, he had been treated there just the day before he was checked in with her… and suddenly got kidnapped right before the Hospital doors.
"Poor kid!" The Doctor thought as she stepped out of the long corridor leading to the private room.
Imonoyama Nokoru was hospitalized with such frequency, that the Hospital had a room reserved especially and only for him. When he wasn't there, the room would only be occupied by the cleaning staff and janitors while they did their jobs… and that's it.
Suoh and Akira walked down the corridor for the 7th time in 8 days to check their kaichou's progress.
With the President's absence, both the Secretary and the Treasurer had to fill in for him, so their tired states was becoming obvious.
"MOU (Argh)! I can't believe kaichou does all that! I mean, that's ten times our paperwork when we're full of it! How can he stand it and still smile all the time!" Akira pouted as they walked, undoubtedly marveled at his kaichou's efficiency.
Suoh remained quiet, but inwardly he knew Akira was right… maybe he should lighten up a bit when the President comes back… then again, every time he did do that, it would only make the stacks of papers grow even larger…
"When he comes back, let's take a break… all three of us, ne, Ijyuuin?" The Takamura boy asked the black-haired 4th-grader beside him.
"If he comes back," his mind told him, but Suoh brushed that dark thought aside.
"Hai! I hope he gets up soon!" The kouhai answered with a wide grin.
As they entered the private room, however the scene that greeted them was pretty much the same they had been witnessing for the past week: Nokoru was still unconscious, many machines plugged in and out of his body.
Sighing, Suoh came closer and pulled a chair next to the bed, Akira sitting on another chair right across him. Caressing the pale face, the 5th-grader tried talking a bit, in the hopes of somehow reaching his kaichou's currently deaf mind - and perhaps wake him up - as the Treasurer and the Secretary had been doing for the past 7 days.
"Kaichou, how long do you plan to make us suffer like this? It's too much work on our backs, but the worst, the worst thing is… that you're not here. School Council work is tremendously tedious without you around," the ninja whispered.
Akira remained there, listening, but he couldn't suppress the tears in his eyes and just let them flow quietly. "Kaichou, please… come back to us! It's just too hard without you… it's too hard seeing you like this!" The black-haired boy whispered… pleading.
Suoh tried hard to suppress his own urge to cry. "Oi, Ijyuuin, stop crying… kaichou wouldn't like that." He said gently.
In a sudden outburst, the smaller boy uncharacteristically let out all his frustration, "I don't care, Takamura-senpai! If he wants me to stop crying, then he better get up already and tell me that himself or I'll flood the room!" Akira screamed, the sadness in his voce evidently contrary to his usual smiling self. "KAICHOU!"
Suoh sighed… in truth, he was happy Akira was doing that, at least he was letting out anger and anguish for the both of them… and it was also a good thing that this room was so far off from the rest of the Hospital, as there would be no problems with Akira's screaming. "How come they put him in a room that's so far off anyway?" He asked himself mentally. "I'll have to take a better look into that, since it leaves kaichou's security with a serious flaw.
A few more hours passed by and there was no progress. Disappointment clutching his heart once more, Suoh got up and told a still sobbing Akira it was time to go - they had a lot of paperwork to do… and the blue-haired ninja had a report to give the Dunklyon team, as they had requested a regular update on the boy.
Of course, they would come check him themselves, but that might raise suspicions, and the last thing they needed at the moment was another problem on their minds to deal with… and Nokoru wouldn't need another dilemma on his back once he woke up either…
So, as it was, both Elementary Student Council members left the room their President rested in, completing a week of anguishing night visits, their hearts once more filled with grief.
One month had passed, and still there was no sign of the Imonoyama boy waking up. His companions were pretty much worried sick, almost to the point of actually becoming ill themselves, and the doctors were getting very desperate as no matter how hard they worked, the boy just wouldn't return from his long sleep.
And still, there was no sign of his family…
Suoh had found it very hard to concentrate on his studies, on his work and on his practices, especially after the news had finally spread throughout the campus that the beloved Elementary Division Student Council President Imonoyama Nokoru had been hospitalized as a consequence of a very bad incident…
Rumor had it he had been hit by a car…
Others thought he had been working on a project when something exploded…
But the closest to the truth was actually the one rumor that would seem the most distant from reality: that the President had been followed because, "He's so wonderful others wanted him for themselves," as his fan girls had put it.
The situation had suddenly exploded, and in respect for the President, the whole campus had declared the day off for everyone, as if it were an official holiday.
From the following day and on, however, it was the only thing everyone would talk about ever since the news broke out two weeks after the incident, published by the CLAMP Campus Daily Paper. Even in classes the students wouldn't pay attention and talked about it instead… leaving a very frustrated Suoh trying not to listen to it. Of course, since it was well known that he was the closest to the President, people wouldn't stop asking him if he knew anything about it, to which he would always reply the same answer… with the same cold voice, leaving no room for any more conversation.
"Kaichou's life is no concern for media sensationalists."
And that's that.
For his sanity, however, Suoh had begun a study on Nokoru's background… and had come upon the startling results. He found out about many of the kidnappings the boy had gone through and accidentally stumbled upon some medical reports on the blonde, indicating a few of the depression cases he'd suffered and a stress attack. He also found out that the room Nokoru was hospitalized in was a room reserved for him, but the ninja assumed it was merely a thankful gesture since the Hospital had been founded by the Imonoyama Foundation, like the whole campus had been, or perhaps the family had built that part of the Hospital especially for him.
Of course, as much as Suoh thought he knew, the blue-haired boy didn't know that he was nowhere near the whole picture of Nokoru's real health background and the real reason why the room was reserved only for him.
And of course, he kept the information to himself… troubling Akira wasn't something he needed right then… and his kaichou wouldn't exactly want the fact published either.
So, for the moment, allSuoh could do was keep visiting the blond 6th-grader and urge him to wake up soon… before he had a stress attack from all the work on his back.
"I don't know how he did it! Kaichou always finished those mountains of paperwork so fast, I was always admiring it... but now that I'm trying to do at least a quarter of what he usually accomplishes, I'm even more impressed," Suoh thought. "And he always found time and energy to play the detective, arrange those beautiful parties and keep smiling at us and at his fan girls too. Both Akira and I barely have the strength to keep a social air around us at the moment, and we've only been doing this together for a few weeks; kaichou's done this for years by himself."
Beside the Secretary, the Treasurer was also thinking the same things as they walked in silence toward the Hospital to visit their President, until the Takamura boy broke the tension in the air with an almost whispered question. "Ijyuuin, your mothers haven't asked for anything recently, haven't they?" He asked his kouhai, remembering the conversation they'd had along with the Dunlyon members, when the young thief had explained his whole situation as they waited for updates on Nokoru. Of course, they had been careful not to be overheard by any passerbys.
Surprised a bit, Akira soon answered as he too remembered the conversation. "No, they haven't, Takamura-senpai. I think they've noticed I've been kind of down lately, so they have pretty much let me on my own. Good thing, too. Now that the Dunlyon team knows who I am, even if they have let me off the hook for now, I don't know what could've happened if I went on another mission like this."
"Really? That's good to hear," Suoh answered.
Right then, they once again fell into silence as the two boys set foot in the big CLAMP Campus Hospital.
"Two months, Takamura-senpai! Two months and he's still sleeping! How much longer will we have to keep reminding ourselves that he's not here! I'm on the verge of a stress attack and I know you are too! We can't take this much longer, Takamura-senpai!" Akira shouted, his arms banging against Suoh's chest, the elders arms around the 4th-grader's smaller body. "Kaichou…" he whispered.
The 5th-grader held on to his kouhai with a firm embrace. Sighing, he looked behind him at the unconscious blonde. "Kaichou, you better wake up soon, or Ijyuuin will soon be joining you. I don't think you'd want that, do you?" The Takamura boy asked his senpai mentally... not like the latter would hear him, though.
After a few minutes, when the black-haired boy finally calmed down a bit, Suoh let go and placed him on a chair beside the bed... andthis time sat himself beside the crying boy, instead of across fromthe latter'schair on the other side of the hospital bed.
"Kaichou, Azuya sends her regards. She's pretty worried, you know. Are you going to keep letting all the girls in the campus worry themselves like this?" The blue-haired boy spoke softly.
"Utako-san too. She's very sad that you won't see the events she's organizing, since you always gave her great support on them. Kaichou, she was crying today when she told me that… are you going to let her continue spilling so many tears? Please, come back to us…" Akira whispered.
"There's something else too," Suoh continued. "The CLAMP Gakuen Students, especially the girls, are not achieving their usual results. Everyone's so worried; they haven't been doing their studies or work lately. No one has the spirit to organize or even think about parties. You, who loves parties so much, are you really going to drag the campus and the parties down with you?"
"All you have to do is come back, you know? Wake up, open your eyes… or at least murmur something! Just give us a sign that you're coming back, kaichou, so we can tell the whole campus and have our spirits upagain, even if only a little bit." Akira pleaded, his eyes seriously locked on the blonde's still pale face.
They remained quiet again, silence surrounding the white room.
After ten minutes of practically no sound, footsteps were heard coming down the hall towards the room. Suoh would have reacted, ready to protect the President, were it not for the fact that he recognized the familiar sound of Dr. Saiyonji Makoto's heels clicking on the floor with each step… and sure enough, as the door opened, the Doctor who was in charge of their kaichou came in.
"Konbanwa (Good night), Akira-kun, Suoh-kun." She greeted them.
"Konbanwa." The two boys greeted back in unison, though none held any life in their respective voices.
She smiled at them, but the expression quickly turned into a frown as she explained with a low voice what she was doing there. "I'm afraid I've only come to give you bad news. Nokoru-san's condition isn't improving at all, and our projections indicate he won't be waking for a good three years or so, if he ever does. His recovery is just… it's just always been too slow."
When her eyes met their desperate ones, the Doctor's heart instantly cringed at their downcast expressions, the shock evident, but she had come to deliver a full message, and as painful as it would be, it was her job as a Doctor. "We've been meaning to tell you this for some time now, but none of us from the Hospital staff were ever able to gather enough courage to do so. Please don't be angry, but there's nothing more we can do except make sure he keeps getting a good nutrition and fresh air and clothes."
They sighed, truly wishing such a situation was nothing but a dream from which they would wake up at any minute and find that their kaichou was there, smiling at them, cheerful as always, but the thought was interrupted by Dr. Makoto's voice.
"And… we may have to forbid you coming here… for your own safety." She whispered, her face completely downcast, knowing just how much such news would affect them now.
Not looking at them spared her from seeing the complete look of horror on both boys' faces as they stared back.
It had been one week and three days since they were forbidden to visit Nokoru, and as much as neither wanted to admit it, the weight on their hearts seemed to have lift off a bit, even if nowhere near before the whole incident took place.
Suoh and Akira were still harshly reminded everyday of the condition their kaichou was in the moment they stepped in the Student Council Roomafter their classesand were greeted with nothing but silence, and it was at that time that they were mostly troubled by his absence. Still, they couldn't deny, even if only to themselves, that not visiting him seemed to be doing them some good.
However, on the night of the 11th day since the prohibition, both boys were woken up with a start around 2am by the ringing of their phones. Picking them up, their eyes widened as an urgent call from the Hospital was heard through the speakers.
In a flash, both were out of their respective beds and dressed up in their school uniforms, which was the closest clothing either could find, losing no time in running out of their houses and telling their night chauffeurs to head to the Hospital at top speed.
When they arrived, coincidentally at the same moment, both barely greeted each other as they ran side by side in silence - despite the nurses' warnings of "NO running in the hallways!" – and straight to Nokoru's room. In truth, the people who called them hadn't given a reason why they were being called, so neither had any idea of what to expect, but they feared the worse.
When they reached doors to the room, Dr. Makoto was standing there, a troubled expression on her face.
"Boys, I'm sure you want to know why you're here, but I'll have to warn you this first: Nokoru-san gave some signs of waking up just about an hour ago, but there's a problem… The head concussion he had acquired when you checked him in has caused a serious consequence that, although not unexpected, is quite troublesome and usually irreversible."
"What happened, Saiyonji-sensei?" Akira asked. Suoh remained quiet, processing the information in his head and silently whispering her answer wouldn't match his suspicions…
No such luck…
"Amnesia." She stated sadly, observing the boys' reactions.
Akira gasped, but let the Doctor continue.
"Amnesia is not just forgetting names, places and situations, as we see in movies. When a person has amnesia, it's like he or she is a baby once again, except with considerable less learning capability. So, if you enter right now, what you'll see is only the shell of the Nokoru-san you know, but with no memory… He doesn't even know how to speak any longer, and probably won't be able to understand you at all." She explained with a heavy heart. "Such a pity for such a genius mind." The Doctor commented. Then, looking alternately at the two boys straight in the eyes with a serious expression, she asked them the one question that was most important at that moment. "If you understand the conditions, will you still see him?"
None of the two lost time answering, their simple replies held no doubt in them. "Yes."
She smiled at that. "Then please go in, and remember: don't lose your patience or get angry, after all, it's like he's a baby once again, therefore he'll also react as one. I think you two know how a baby reacts when it senses anger or impatience, especially if such emotions are directed to it, don't you?" Dr. Makoto asked, the small ghost of a smile still on her lips as she removed herself from the doorway, giving the two boys passage. "Good luck."
"Doumo arigatou gozaimasu, Saiyonji-sensei!" Akira replied somewhat cheerfully and Suoh simply bowed in respect and gratefulness before both boys walked passed her.
"Good luck. I hope he remembers such good friends as you," the Doctor whispered to herself as the two boys entered the room quietly.
When they set foot in the large white room, the first thing they saw was Nokoru plopped up against the white pillows, a dazed out expression on his face. Remembering the Doctor's words, they held back the urge to run up to him and hug the older boy, since that would surely startle him, deciding to just walk up to him calmly instead.
As they neared him, Nokoru's head, which had been directing his gazeto the wall right in front of him, turned to face the two visitors, his big innocent eyes clearly showing confusion and curiosity simultaneously. It was such a different expression from the usual shining eyes they were used to; it pained their hearts to see their President that way.
Akira couldn't control his actions and, before he realized it,one word escaped his lips in a whispered question. "Kaichou?"
The blonde looked at him, clearly not understanding… the big eyes and the blank expression he now held told them so, and Akira barely suppressed more tears.
They slowly walked up tohis resting spot, both with small smiles on their faces, but that constant distant look they kept receiving from the blond boy was enough to shatter their resolve.Bothyounger studentsfell on their knees beside the bed where the older one sat, one at each side, heads hidden in their folded arms on top of the blankets.
Akira just sobbed whileSuoh was crying silently, hiding the tears from the world, but the movements his back made were unmistakable.
After minutes of just laying there - the blonde with the blank expression as he looked at them not understanding anything at all and the other two crying - Suoh couldn't keep it in anymore; with his head still down, the words flew out.
"Sumimasen, kaichou! Sumimasen! Zettai ni mamorimasu yakusoku o shimashita no ni… zutto soba ni imasu yakusoku o shimashita no ni... konna koto... SUMIMASEN (I'm sorry, Kaichou! I'm sorry! Though I promised I'd always protect you… that I'd always be by your side… and something like this… I'M SO SORRY)!" He cried in a low voice, and although he didn't shout the words, the pain in them was evident.
Akira just heard the confession, not knowing the details, but still understanding how much more than him his senpai was suffering… after all, Suoh was also carrying guilt within his heart, and the black-haired boy knew that was even worse in situations like the one they were in.
Many minutes later, Suoh finally raised his head and Akira, who had long since managed to do so, was surprised at just how wet the blanket had gotten bythe Takamura boy's tears. "It's like he has finally let out all the grief and tears he's been holding back these past two months and a half," the black-haired student thought.
As the 5th-grader looked at theblue-eyed boy with the dazed expression in front of him, he did something that surprised both Akira and the other greatly, not to mention himself:Suoh embraced the frail body with his young yet strong arms. "I'm sorry, kaichou." He whispered again. "This was all my fault. I should have been there, I should have protected you… I should have never left your side! But I wasn't, I didn't, and because of my mistake, you're paying dearly! I'm so sorry!" He cried out again, the tears he thought finished were starting to fall down his cheeks all over again.
Akira looked at his senpai with pity… He'd never seen the stern Takamura Suoh so broken-hearted before… never seen him in any other mood other than a little upset, very worried, rather happy or extremely thoughtful when the Secretary was around the cheerful Imonoyama Nokoru… never,but this was as far opposite as North is from South.
It just showed how much the President meant to the Secretary…
This thought, however, and Suoh's now silent cries were interrupted as a soft and pale hand placed itself on the blue-haired boy's back.
"It's not your fault, Suoh, it would have happened anyway. You have your own life to live, so I don't expect you to always be around me… Your life does not revolve around me, I know that. Don't blame yourself… and stop crying… please."
Suoh could hardly believe his ears, but that voice, even if a bit weak and shaky, that voice surely belonged to…
Lifting his head, but still with his arms around the other's body, Suoh came eye to eye with that familiar expression he was so attached to… the same expression he had been longing to see again for the past two months and so.
Akira, still on the other side of the bed, was just as speechless as the Secretary was…
"Kaichou," they both murmured, still not believing their eyes and ears. This was the dream the two boys had been longing to wake up to.
"Tadaima, Suoh, Akira," Nokoru replied with a weak butbrilliant smile... that same smile he used only for them.
"How… how come… Saiyonji-sensei said you would only wake up in at least three years, and when she told us you had forgotten everything, it didn't seem like there was any hope of recovery…" Akira asked, his voice quivering as he did so.
"I guess I have a stronger memory than I thought…" Nokoru replied, a mischievous smile on his face.
"That would certainly be a reasonable explanation, after all, you do have an incredible memory, kaichou. I hope it's fully restored by now." Suoh commented as he smiled inwardly.
Yes, that definitely sounded like something only his amazing kaichou could do…
Nokoru gave a genuine smile at that, and before he knew it, Akira and Suoh, filled by happiness and relief by the simple action, suddenly jumped on him and hugged the older boy so tightly, the blonde ran out of air instantly.
"Thanks goodness you're back, kaichou! We've missed you!" They both cried as they embraced him strongly, Nokoru hugging them back once air was returned to his lungs when they loosened the hold eventually.
At the door to the big white room, Dr. Saiyonji Makoto watched the three boys through a small opening with a smile on her lips. "I thought this time he surely wouldn't come back to us... The damage was very serious." She whispered. "But… Nokoru-san, I'm sure you know it too, the reason you were able to wake up so fast when we didn't expect you to, and the reason why you recovered your memories, wasn't because a miracle happened or just because you have good memory power, even if the latter was really important for you to remember everything. I'm sure you heard them… and I'm sure you wanted to answer their pleas, didn't you? If anything, these boys have done a better job restoring you than we doctors did."
And as a tear escaped each of her eyes, she silently thanked the Secretary and the Treasurer for bringing back one of her few long-time patients… After all, Dr. Saiyonji Makoto was the doctor that took care of Imonoyama Nokoru since the day the boy was born… and what a long ride that has been…
END of CHAPTER 5 – UNFORGETTABLE MEMORY
A.N.: All right! PHASE 1: KIDNAPPED is done, through, finished, finito, owatta! Now we have a little interlude before the second phase – PHASE 2: DEPRIVED!
I know this chapter was too dramatic and that it takes a lot of patience to read it because of all the unsuccessful attempts of Akira and Suoh to wake Nokoru up, but I just wanted it clear that they didn't just wait for him to wake up, they really tried to make him come back… and that took a LOT of time to happen… not a day or two…
Did you like it?
I know I did!
I swearI tried to get this up sooner, but I had my first case of flu in all my lifetime, followed by problems with so I couldn't have it up sooner.
Oh, and as for YAOI or shounen-ai, I like it a lot, but that's not what this fic is about. I repeat, this fic will contain no YAOI or shounen-ai, that will become quite clear in PHASE 2. That doesn't mean, however, that I won't insert complicated relationships here...
If anyone likes CLAMP YAOI, I'm currently working on a Card Captor Sakura one, but it'll still be some time befire that's up. For those who don't like it, I have a collection of non-yaoi oneshots on the way (again of CCS). They'll be up after I finish this fic.
And, yes, I'm trying to keep up with the manga plotline, so the anime plotline is not to be considered here!
Write ya' all next chapter (INTERLUDE – RAINY MOMENTS)!
Syaoran-Lover signing out!