Author's Note: Omg, I know this took forever to put up you guys and I'm sorry. ^^; Hopefully the fact that it's almost four times as long as the other chapters will make up for it? Again, apologies. Oh and there are a lot of references to other CLAMP works in this particular chapter so if you're interested, I included a list at the bottom of the chapter of what series' different characters who cameo in here are from. Also, the song I kept listening to, especially for the later parts of this chapter was the "When the Stars Go Blue" (the Tim McGraw cover) and I still imagine it being the last song even though I realize it would more likely be something Japanese. ^^; It's just such a sweet song though…
Anyway, shutting up now and at long last, letting you get to Chapter 17: In which there is a lot of dancing. ^_^
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Kamui took a deep breath as he fastened his shirt sleeve cuffs and pulled on the sleek black vest the boys had agreed to wear. He glanced in the mirror once and tried to make his hair lie a little straighter for once without much success. He gave up when Subaru knocked on the door and asked if he was ready to go.
Let's get this show on the road.
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Kusanagi remembered Yuzuriha mentioning her school arts festival back before the camping trip. She had seemed really excited about it and invited him to come back then and Kusanagi wondered if the invitation still stood. He certainly hoped so as he stood outside the school gates now, a flyer for the festival clenched in his hand and quickly rumpling into a sweaty mess. He realized this was a mistake as he tried uncrumpling and reading it so he could remember where Yuzuriha's class was holding their café.
Eventually he managed to make out the room number through the smudged ink and made his way toward the home economics room which had a large banner over its entrance declaring it the Cat's Eye Café. It looked cute, friendly and inviting, rather like Yuzuriha herself, he thought. Inside the café though, he quickly discovered, was utter chaos.
"Oi! Watanuki! Hurry up with the fondants- I need some more!" a boy with a dark look about him shouted to another student who was hastily stirring the contents of a mixing bowl.
"I'm going I'm going! As if it isn't enough that I have slave over Yuko's stove all the time…" the bespectacled boy grumbled into the mix.
"What was that?" A woman in a revealing silk Chinese-style dress whacked him with a fan.
"What are you doing here!" the boy growled at her as he massaged the sore spot on the back of his head.
"I came for the desserts of course!" She announced loudly.
Kusanagi could have sworn the strange black plushie sticking out of her purse waved at him. Disconcerted, he turned away and began scanning the rest of the room for Yuzuriha. He spotted her on the opposite side of the room, talking to a group of students in blue and white uniforms who were all holding small dolls for some reason, even the two boys. He wondered briefly about the man in the glasses and the white lab coat, hiding behind the potted plant nearby, watching them, or more specifically, he realized, watching the short girl with a pink-haired doll. He frowned, wondering if the guy was some kind of pervert stalking her then felt like a complete idiot as it occurred to him he must look the same, standing here watching Yuzuriha.
Feeling suddenly ashamed, he lost courage and decided he could come back later. He wandered out of the room without her even noticing and proceeded to explore the rest of the festival, curious as to what Yuzuriha's life outside of the training facility was like.
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Daisuke resisted the urge to toss the paper aside and drop his head to his desk. The girl wanted a paper rose and a paper rose she would have, although he did wonder why at her age she was still carrying around a teddy bear. Based on the body guard's resigned expression as he held another bear, Daisuke guessed that this was a usual thing for her and against his better judgment, offered to make one for the bear as well.
When at last he was finished he presented the cheerfully childish girl with the paper rose and watched her skip away happily, bodyguard and teddy bears in tow. Daisuke sighed in relief but it was short lived as a tap on his shoulder caught his attention.
He turned to see, to his horror, Hinoto. All day long he had been hoping he could avoid running into her so that when he saw Arashi the next day, he would have the excuse of not having seen her. He was beginning to regret the deal they had made and dreading the moment when he would have to fulfill his end of the bargain.
"Um… hi…" he muttered, trying to meet her eye but finding he just couldn't.
"Hi there." Could a voice be more soft and graceful? "I just came to return some notes that Chiharu said she borrowed from you the other day."
"Oh." Daisuke took the notebook with considerable disappointment and watched Hinoto turn to leave. Before she walked away though she glanced over her shoulder and with a shy smile added,
"Your flowers look really nice."
Daisuke felt his heart skip a beat as she disappeared into the crowd of people. Once she was out of sight he stared down at the various kinds of paper scattered across the table. Wasn't there one that was… aha, there it was: the snowy white paper with a winding silver pattern delicately traced over its smooth surface.
"She likes lilies."
Daisuke grinned as he began folding.
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"Oh Saya! Over here!" Kotori called with a wave.
Kamui turned around and had to do a double take when he saw the young woman who was approaching with Saya.
"Kotori-chan!"
Kamui was momentarily distracted by the sisters. He had always known that Kotori looked a lot like her mother but now that he saw them standing together closer in age, the similarities really struck him. Really, the only difference that one could tell immediately was that Saya overall gave the impression of graceful and serene beauty while Kotori was more energetic and cute. He remembered thinking in his childhood that Aunt Saya was pretty but had not wondered until just now if Kotori would look like that when she was older. If so, his attraction to her was not going to lessen any time soon…
He quickly shook his head of the thought and turned his attention back to the one that had caught his eye in the first place.
She was younger than Kamui ever remembered seeing her, and there was something else different about her that he could not quite put his finger on, but it was unmistakable who she was.
"Kotori-chan, this is Tooru, Tooru, my little sister Kotori and…" Saya turned to him with a blank look. "Oh I'm so sorry- we were in such a rush when we first met; I've completely forgotten your name!"
"Kamui." He supplied, somewhat numbly.
"Oh that's right! Tooru, Kamui, Kamui Tooru." She completed her introductions.
"Kamui…" Tooru repeated, thinking. "That's an interesting name; I like it."
"Me too! We should name our first child that." Saya joked.
Tooru laughed and wrapped an arm around Saya, pulling her to her side.
Kamui blinked.
"Okaa-san?"
"Yes Kamui?" His mother helped him climb onto the bed.
"Did you love Oto-san?" He asked her with serious violet eyes.
She kissed his forehead and pulled him into her lap to wrap her arms around him. "I cared for your Oto-san, but I did not love him. He wasn't my special person."
"Special person?" Kamui clutched at her shoulder. He liked how soft her skin was. It made him feel safe and warm here.
"Yes, the person who you love more than anything else. The one who was made just for you, and you were made just for them."
"Who is your special person then?"
"Aunt Saya."
"What about me?" Kamui looked up from where had been tracing various shapes he had just learned in school on her forearm.
She chuckled, a gentle laugh that ran through him as well. "Of course I love you too."
Kamui had known that Aunt Saya was his mother's best friend and he had assumed that's what she meant by special person at the time. It was only now, seeing the way she looked at Saya that it suddenly occurred to him that that wasn't what she meant. He felt a blush start to creep up his neck.
"You know, I thought you looked familiar when we first met." Saya suddenly addressed him. "I know why now I think." She looked between him and Tooru a couple of times. "You two look a lot alike."
"Oh my gosh, you do!" Kotori exclaimed, looking back forth as well. She grabbed Kamui's hand and much to his embarrassment, pulled him over to stand next to Tooru. "You look like you could be siblings! Are you guys maybe somewhat related?"
"I dunno", Tooru turned to Kamui. "What's your last name?"
"Sh- Shirou." He stammered.
She shook her head. "Never heard of anyone with that last name, much less any relatives. Sorry."
"S'okay." He mumbled.
An upbeat song began blaring through the loudspeakers.
"Oh- Tooru I love this song! Let's go dance!" Saya laughed, taking her hand and pulling her toward the dance floor.
Tooru laughed as well as they disappeared into the crowd and suddenly it occurred to Kamui what was different about her.
She looked happy.
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Backstage behind the makeshift puppet theater was pandemonium. Kentaro and Takeshi had disappeared again with some bizarre excuse involving straws and menorahs, Miyuki was being molested yet again and was nearly down to just her underwear this time, and Chun Hyang was fighting with an older male student about something to do with a swing set in a shouting match which would put all others to shame, drowning out everyone else. Worst of all, Sorata couldn't find Arashi anywhere.
He searched all of the classrooms in their hallway, asking every person he passed if they had seen her without any luck before moving out into the outdoor stands, scouring every inch of the grounds for any sign of her. After nearly an hour of searching, he sighed and glanced up at the clock tower to check the time. That was when he noticed a figure with long billowing black hair standing on the roof of a nearby science building.
He dashed inside, wandering past lab rooms with their black countertops strewn with beakers and test tubes in preparation for some sort of demonstration that would probably take place later that day. He didn't know this building very well, having avoided taking too many science classes over the years. Science was never his strongest subject; he never liked the idea that life could be broken down into analyzable data to be labeled and categorized in neat little black and white notebooks.
After some failed attempts to find a stairwell that led to the roof, he discovered a fire escape just outside one office on the third floor and slipped out onto it, pulling himself up to the roof that way.
Sure enough, there she was, standing by the fencing that lined the rooftop, staring at a script and murmuring lines to herself as the puppet hung limp in her pocket.
"Hey there!" Sorata called cheerfully.
She jumped at the sound of his voice and dropped the script, a breeze catching the papers and blowing them over the edge of the roof like strangely shaped feathers. Arashi grasped at a few, trying to recover them but watched in dismay as they drifted out of reach.
"Oops… sorry…" Sorata rubbed the back of his neck.
Arashi shot him a glare that he half-expected to melt his face off. "What do you want?"
"I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
"I'm fine." She snapped, picking up her book bag and pushing past him to head back downstairs.
"Hey, um… If you wanna run lines together we can. I know them all by heart, even yours." Sorata offered.
Arashi hesitated by the door to the stairwell.
"I mean most of our lines are together and it would be easiest to you know, actually practice with the puppets." Sorata pulled his own puppet out and held it up with a hopeful smile. Arashi sighed and they settled down beside him on the concrete, rehearsing one of the last scenes in the superhero skit their classmates had devised.
It took several tries to get through get through all of the lines without any mistakes on either part but when at last they did, they moved on to the finale. Arashi blushed, remembering that the last scene included a kiss on the cheek. Granted it was between their puppet and not them, but it was still incredibly embarrassing, especially when the puppets were designed to look like them.
"We have until midnight the day of the Arts Festival to confess."
Arashi felt her face grow even hotter as the blush deepened and she tilted her head, hoping her hair would cover the unsightly look.
"Are you okay?" Sorata suddenly asked, his eyes widening in concern.
Arashi nodded, praying that she didn't blush more.
"Are you sure? You look slightly feverish…"
Arashi stared at her lap, clutching at her school uniform skirt. "I'm sorry if I look a mess." She mumbled.
A hand suddenly appeared before her and slipped beneath her chin, tilting her head up to face him again before leaning forward to brush the hair back, out of her face. "But you're beautiful, even when you're a so-called 'mess'." Sorata's smile was sincere rather than joking for once.
Arashi stared at him for a long moment before realizing how close their faces were and hastily withdrawing, suggesting that they continue their rehearsal.
When the kiss finally came up, a loud popping sound as someone accidentally set off a small firework below distracted her and Arashi glanced away for a moment and when she turned back around, she was horrified to see that rather than kissing Sorata's puppet's cheek, she had moved her hand so that they were kissing on their little red felt lips.
Sorata laughed. "See? The puppets think we should be together!" He proclaimed.
Arashi blushed again and jerked her hand back as though it had been burned. She stared at her hands, humiliated until Sorata leaned over again.
"I'm sorry." At a glance up, he did really look sorry. "I didn't mean to tease."
Arashi slowly lifted her head, studying the deep, muddy eyes before her. She wasn't sure who moved first but the next thing she knew they were imitating the puppets.
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Subaru stared at the clock tower of CLAMP campus, amused to see that the blowfish mascot was still perched in its usual spot on top with its absurdly enormous eyes and grin. It had been a while since he had spent any time in the high school division here, having graduated from the school himself years before, and seeing it now brought back fond memories.
He did not have very much time to reminisce though as he was suddenly nearly knocked over by a fierce glomp accompanying an excited cry of "SUBARU!".
"Hokuto?" Subaru attempted unsuccessfully to extricate himself from his sister's death grip. "What are you doing here?"
"Well we're thinking of doing a line of juniors clothing now and I was thinking I needed to reconnect with the modern teen! And what better way to do so than to submerge myself in their culture?"
"Um… right."
"Also these things always have the best sweets."
"Ah."
"Kakyou. Note that baggy socks seem to be making a current comeback. Actually get a quick sketch of that girl's particular look over there if you can."
The secretary standing nervously behind her nodded and began scribbling on his clipboard.
"So what are YOU doing here anyway beloved little brother?" Hokuto gave him a mischievous look. "Scouting for another addition to your collection of young boys?"
"No!" Subaru quickly cried. "I'm just here to see Kamui and what his class is doing."
"Oh yes. About that. This 'Kamui' kid. Who is he?"
Subaru bit his lip. "Um, he's a cousin of ours."
"Really. Our 'cousin' huh?" Hokuto narrowed her eyes.
"Is it just me or does it seem like the teacher is really close to that one student he keeps dancing with?" Seishirou asked, suddenly popping up beside them with an ice cream cone in hand.
"Yes well you would notice that wouldn't you." Hokuto shot back, stealing a lick from the cone.
"Eh?"
"Just sayin'. Like recognizes like. You should recognize pedophilia when you see it."
"I'll have you know I never laid a hand on Subaru until he was well over the age of consent."
"Except for that time you kissed him."
"He kissed me."
"I was drunk!" Subaru protested. "And that was all your fault!" He glared at his sister. "YOU spiked my drink, remember?"
"And aren't you glad I did?"
"Why should I be?"
"Because that was when you finally told him you liked him. Just think how many more years it would have taken if I hadn't done that."
Subaru rolled his eyes.
"She has a point you know." Seishirou added between bites of ice cream.
"This is ridiculously good." Hokuto added, taking another bite herself. "Where did you get it?"
"There's a class doing a little dessert café in one of the home economics rooms."
"Are the servers in costumes?"
"Yup."
"Sweet! Kakyou- let's go check it out!"
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"Daddy- can we get ice cream?" Kazuki asked, tugging on her father's pant leg.
"No honey, not right now. We're here to see Kamui, remember?" Seiichiro replied, picking her up before she got lost in the crowd of people.
"But Paul really wants some." She held the teddy bear up to his face insistently.
"Me too! Except I want cake! Or a popsicle!" Nataku chimed in, eyeing a little menu some students had put outside a classroom labeled the Cat's Eye Café.
Seiichiro started to protest but Karen cut in. "Actually it's okay. Kamui's class doesn't do their performance until the sun goes down so we have a couple of hours. I wanted to arrive early so we could just look around and be there to wish him good luck beforehand."
"Ah well okay then." He conceded, following his wife into the little café where girls were dressed in frilly pink and black dresses with cat ears and tails and the boys were in matching black and blue tuxes with dog ears.
A slender girl with a bell around her neck glanced up as soon as they walked in and bounced away mid-sentence from a tall rough-and-tumble looking man in camouflage pants to greet and seat them.
"These costumes are just too cute! Oh- those leggings, see the design down the side? Write that down."
"Oh Hokuto-chan!" Karen called out, recognizing her boss's voice as she ordered Kakyou to take more notes on a particular outfit. "Want to join us?" She offered, pulling up two more chairs from a nearby table.
"Absolument!" Hokuto cried, plopping down next to her and giving Nataku a quick side hug. "I've just been trying to pry some information out of my little brother. You would think I would know better what's going on in that head of his sometimes but alas, no."
"I forget that you two are twins sometimes." Seiichiro laughed. "You're so different."
The teacher that had come over to take their orders laughed as he tied his longish blond hair back with a small black ribbon. "I'm sorry." He apologized quickly. "I have a twin brother myself who is a bit… different." He explained.
"Oho? How so?" Hokuto asked, eyeing the chocolate fondant a girl with short black hair and a bell around her neck was carrying by.
"Well for one thing he loves fashion. Especially more… adventurous fashion shall we say." The young man's face was a mixture of amusement and exhasperation.
Hokuto waved a hand nonchalantly. "Well nothing odd about that! Clothes are my favorite thing in the world too! After my baby brother of course."
"Really? Then you should go see the student-run fashion show he's sponsoring."
"There's a student-run fashion show?" Hokuto cried, clapping her hands together in excitement. "That's absolutely perfect! Where is it?"
The teacher directed her across the walkway and stepped back quickly as she jumped up, grabbing Kakyou's sleeve and dragging him out with her. "Come on Karen!" she called over her shoulder. "We should both go check it out!"
The three of them made their way to the small stage with its makeshift catwalk, Hokuto and Karen taking seats at the very front so as to have the best view. The teacher, a blond young man whose resemblance to the one in the café was only tempered by the fact that he was wearing a woman's kimono, announced that the show would begin in a few moments.
"Hokuto-chan!" A voice cried from a few feet away, drawing their attention away from the stage.
"NOKORU!" Hokuto leapt out of her seat to air kiss each cheek of the impeccably dressed chairman. "Oh my god, this cravat! Is it Armani?" She asked, lightly fingering the silk fabric.
"But of course!" Nokoru replied. "And the shoes you sent along!" He gestured at his feet. "They are simply to die for! You absolutely should continue making some like this."
Hokuto giggled. "How about the boxers?"
Nokoru winked. "Wearing them right now. Fabulous as well. So breathable! I swear my dear, you're going to bankrupt all other high fashion industries just by stealing away all my business at this rate."
"Ohohoho! Well that's just their own faults for not being as awesome as me isn't it!"
Nokoru joined her laughter. "Oh but my dear is that really their fault? I mean who really can compete with your awesomeness?"
"True! True!" Hokuto lead him back to where they were sitting as the lights dimmed and music began, signaling the start of the show.
A young girl with long wavy black hair and enormous violet eyes quietly asked if she could take a seat by them as well.
"Certainly!" Hokuto whispered as students began parading out.
A young girl with short hair came out in a pink and white dress with a fluffy matching hat and wings and did a quick twirl at the end before returning to disappear behind the curtains at the end of the catwalk.
"She was adorable!" Karen exclaimed as a boy in a green Chinese-inspired outfit walked out with a face so red it looked as though he were a Christmas ornament.
"Isn't she?" the dark-haired girl enthusiastically agreed.
"She certainly was!" Nokoru replied, much to the girl's delight.
"She truly did pull off that outfit." Hokuto nodded.
"What is her name, if I may ask?" Nokoru inquired.
"Sakura Kinomoto." The girl answered brightly.
"Kinomoto? Why does that name sound so familiar?" Hokuto frowned in puzzlement.
"Wait, she isn't related to Nadeshiko Kinomoto is she?" Karen asked.
"Yes ma'am. She's her daughter." The girl nodded.
"OH! Well no wonder she's so cute then!" Karen cried.
"Eh?" Hokuto still looked puzzled.
"Nadeshiko Kinomoto was a model who I always admired when I was young! She was what inspired me to go into modeling myself." Karen explained.
"Oh is she the one you have a print of in your office?"
"In the Victorian style dress? Yes, that's her."
"Ooooh, I see the resemblance now." Hokuto nodded, turning her attention back to the young girl on the makeshift catwalk. "I really wish I had brought a camera… You can't get all of the fine details down in a sketch can you?" Hokuto sadly asked Kakyou who shook his head.
"Oh I'm filming the whole thing!" the girl announced, pointing to a video camcorder she had set up on a tripod nearby. "I can send you a copy of the tape if you like."
Hokuto's eyes shone. "Can you?"
"Sure!"
Hokuto ordered Kakyou to give the girl the address to her office and then asked the girl who designed all of the outfits. "Was it a class effort or what? They're absolutely fantastic! And all so different!"
"It has the feel of a lot of different creative energies." Nokoru agreed.
"Oh." The girl suddenly turned shy and embarrassed. "I designed them."
"ALL of them?" Hokuto was shocked.
At a nod Nokoru jumped in again. "But you all made them together right?"
"Oh no. I sewed them too."
"You put this whole thing together yourself?" Karen asked, impressed.
"Oh no, not all by myself." The girl protested. "Other students built the catwalk and designed the lighting and music and did the advertising for us. And of course they're modeling."
Hokuto dismissed this information with a wave of her hand. "But you designed and made all of the clothes?"
The girl nodded.
"Have you by chance ever considered a career in fashion?" She asked, throwing an arm around the girl.
Karen shook her head and stood with a smile, starting to return to where Seiichiro was busy cleaning bits of cake frosting off of Kazuki's cheek. She noticed though as she was starting to walk away that Kakyou, sitting quietly in the row behind where they had been, was sadly watching the animated discussion between Hokuto and Nokoru about the girl's prodigy.
"They're not a couple you know." She rested a hand on his shoulder briefly, causing him to jump and give her a startled and somewhat sheepish look that reminded her of the time she had first caught Seiichiro singing loudly in the shower. "They've never dated. And I doubt they ever could." Karen told him quietly, with a small laugh. "Hokuto does not want a man who flirts with every woman in sight. She would greatly prefer someone who was hopelessly devoted to her." She gave Kakyou a pointed look then returned to her husband before he could stammer out a response.
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Kusanagi took a deep breath this time before entering the little café again. He glanced around, scanning the ever-growing crowd of people without much success. At long last he spotted Yuzuriha's boyishly short hair as she laughed with a group of friends in one corner of the room. Kusanagi felt his own lips curl into a smile in response and he began to pick his way between the tables to make his way over to her.
He had only gotten a few steps though when a boy with narrow eyes appeared. Yuzuriha seemed delighted to see him, pulling him into a warm hug that froze Kusanagi in his path.
"Maybe you should spend more time with boys your age"
He turned and slipped back out of the café without a word.
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One more fold…
Another costumer appeared, requesting a paper rose for his wife.
Daisuke nearly lashed out in frustration, having been stopped repeatedly all afternoon by various people seeking the flowers. He was so close to being done…
Then he realized it was his Uncle Aoki before him, with his usual slightly scattered-looking smile.
"Hi!" Kazuki gave a sticky wave from her perch on her father's shoulders, nearly dripping a bit of ice cream into his disheveled hair.
Daisuke smiled and made one large red rose he assumed was for Karen, and a small pink one he handed up to Kazuki, earning a brilliant beam of the kind of whole-hearted gratitude only a small child could muster.
Aoki thanked him and after lingering a few moments to ask how school and the festival were going, he finally made his way back into the crowd with his fair-haired little daughter happily playing with her rose on his shoulders and asking him if she could put it in her toy pony's hair.
Daisuke sighed and returned to his papers.
One more neat crease later, he at last had a bouquet of fourteen white and silver lilies. He wasn't sure exactly why he had made fourteen. He had originally intended to make a dozen, but somehow fourteen seemed more significant. Something nagged at the back of his mind as he held up the flowers, examining his creation…
He shook his head, banishing the niggling feeling and asked his teacher if he could go wander the festival now and upon receiving permission, he set out in search of Hinoto.
He found her on the edge of a dance floor, watching a couple onstage demonstrate a waltz with a dreamy expression on her face. Daisuke recognize Kotori and the new guy, Kamui, as the pair doing the demonstration and suddenly the feeling that he was forgetting something important returned in a wave of nostalgia that left him feeling disoriented and dizzy for just a moment .
Pulling himself back together quickly and shoving away the feeling with more force this time, he approached Hinoto and cleared his throat to get her attention.
She turned to give him that deep, penetrating look that never failed to stir up the butterflies in his stomach.
"I um… made these for you." He suddenly felt embarrassed, holding out the paper bouquet. She was a priestess and the daughter of a decidedly wealthy family, what use would she have for a bit of folded paper?
She gasped softly.
"Did you make all of these yourself?" she gathered them into her arms, running a fingertip over the swirling pattern of the paper.
Daisuke gulped and nodded.
"They're beautiful." She breathed.
"I really… I really like you." Daisuke suddenly blurted then mentally kicked himself once again for being so brash.
She merely gave him a gentle smile. "That's so sweet of you."
"Daisuke!" A classmate called behind him. "Hey, come help clean up!"
Daisuke gritted his teeth in frustration. He had been hoping to ask her for a dance. "I'll be right there!" he shouted back.
"You should go help." Hinoto smiled serenely. "Thank you though for the flowers, they're lovely."
"You're welcome."
"Daisuke! Now!"
"I'll see you at the temple I guess." Daisuke reluctantly turned and ran after the impatient student, leaving Hinoto with the lilies.
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The puppet show had been a complete hit, despite the numerous near-disasters backstage and the ending with the kiss went off without a hitch despite Arashi's furious blushing just below the stage. Arashi managed to keep busy though, helping clean everything up as the sun began to sink, deepening the sky to an orangeish glow. She avoided even looking at Sorata as she gathered up her things and headed out of their classroom.
He caught up to her though as she was getting ready to leave and asked if he had done something wrong.
She shook her head, staring at the ground as an upbeat melody blared from a loudspeaker nearby.
"Are you mad about… about earlier?" Sorata inquired.
She shook her head again, feeling that blush creeping into her cheeks again.
Sorata gave a sigh of relief. "Then why…"
Arashi shrugged. Out of the corner of her eye she saw Hinoto throwing away some flowers and briefly wondered at it before another question from Sorata pulled her attention back to him.
"That was your first kiss wasn't it?"
Arashi nodded.
"Are you upset that it was me?"
She shook her head.
Sorata studied her for a long moment before running his hand through his hair. "Feel free to correct me if I'm wrong, but I've suspected for a long time that even though you usually act all distant and annoyed you actually kind of like me back."
Arashi stiffened.
"Am I right?"
A slower song began to play.
Arashi slowly nodded.
"Really?" Sorata pulled her into a tight embrace. "Oh man, Onee-san, that's so great!" He pulled away and gave her a serious look. "Can we start planning the wedding now?" He asked in a deadpan voice that left her half wondering if he was serious but she rolled her eyes.
"Don't get ahead of yourself."
He laughed. "Alright, alright, too soon to ask you to marry me." He grinned and took her hand. "But tell me, Onee-san, is it too soon to ask for a dance?"
She smiled softly.
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Kamui gave Kotori one last twirl then caught her in dip, eliciting enthusiastic applause from the crowd that had drawn.
"There you have it ladies and gentlemen!" Terada-sensei announced, joining them onstage. "You are more than welcome to try the dance yourself or our students are lined up on either side of the stage if you would like some pointers…"
"This has been really fun." Kotori giggled as she and Kamui made their way down the steps of the stage to join the other students.
Kamui agreed, feeling a little high from the adrenaline rush of performance still.
They paused at the edge of the dance floor, watching the others step out as the music began.
"I guess we should head out there too, huh?" she asked. "People seem to really want pointers from you and I."
Kamui nodded reluctantly. He was coming down from the rush of exhilaration and beginning to feel the aches of weary and protestant muscles.
Kotori beamed at him. "I'm really glad that you were my partner." Then without warning she hopped up onto her tiptoes and left a quick peck on his cheek before bouncing off onto the dance floor.
Kamui stared after her in shock, unconsciously raising his fingertips to the spot she had kissed, a grin growing slowly as realization set in.
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Subaru had been on his way to compliment Kamui and see how he was doing when he saw Kotori kiss his cheek. Subaru smiled to himself, heart-warmed by the sincerely happy smile blossoming on Kamui's face.
"I remember when you were young and cute like that." Seishirou grinned, walking up beside him.
Subaru gave him a level look. "Yes but you were never as pretty as Kotori."
After a slightly stunned look Seishirou drew back with an overly dramatic pained face. "You mean you don't find me attractive?"
Subaru blushed and turned away to stare at the grass. "I never said that…"
Seishirou chuckled. "I take it back. You're still that cute."
Another song began and Seishirou held a hand out to him. "Shall we dance?"
Subaru's blush deepened. "I don't know how."
Seishirou raised an eyebrow. "You're from one of the most traditional families in all of Japan and they never made you take dance lessons?"
Subaru shook his head. "No they did, but I was only ever taught… how to lead."
Seishirou laughed again. "What makes you think I wouldn't let you lead?"
Subaru fidgeted slightly. "I don't want to."
With a softer smile, Seishirou took his hand. "Then just follow.".
.
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Hokuto watched delightedly as Seishirou wrapped an arm around her brother's waist and led him into a waltz.
"Aren't they just too cute?" She asked Kakyou fondly.
Kakyou didn't even glance in their direction.
"Is something wrong?" Hokuto tilted her head, wondering why his gaze had not left her. "Do you want me to let you go and look around? You've been working really hard lately, I think you deserve it."
Kakyou shook his head.
Hokuto's confusion deepened. "Well then, what do you want to do?"
Kakyou took a deep breath as if he were about to plunge into cold water but found that even with that he couldn't convince himself to ask.
Hokuto stared at him for a long moment then broke into an inviting smile. "Hey Kakyou. Let's dance."
He followed her out onto the floor, knowing very well that he would follow her anywhere.
.
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Karen gave a thumbs up to Kakyou when he glanced back at her for a moment over Hokuto's shoulder as they whirled by.
It's about time. She thought with an inward chuckle.
"Hey Dad."
Karen turned as Nataku chirped a greeting to her husband.
"For you." Seiichiro presented her with a red paper rose. "I rather liked the idea of bringing you one that wouldn't wither."
"Look Mommy! We match!" Kazuki proudly held out her own pink rose.
"We do!" Karen laughed.
A familiar tune began to play behind her and she and Seiichiro's eyes met as they both broke into smiles.
"Nataku, sweetie, do you think you could watch Kazuki for a few moments for me?" Karen tucked the flower into her hair.
"Uh-huh" Nataku took the little girl's hand as Seiichiro set her down beside him and took Karen's hand, following her out onto the dance floor.
"You remember it then?" She asked, settling a hand on his shoulder.
"Of course."
She laughed. "You say that like it's a given. Most men I know never even remember their anniversaries, much less the first song they danced to at their wedding."
Seiichiro chuckled and pulled her closer. He glanced up to check on the kids and laughed, nodding his head at them and turning so that Karen could see. She giggled to see that Nataku had taken Kazuki's hands and they were swaying with the music too.
.
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Kusanagi sighed, mentally kicking himself for not finding a map of the campus. He had gotten himself so turned around that he had spent most of the afternoon wandering around, still trying to find the exit.
Just when he finally found a sign indicating the way out, a voice like sunshine called out to him. He turned, surprised to see Yuzuriha running to catch up, drawing strange looks in her kitten costume with its little jingling bell and furry black ears.
"Are you leaving already?"
Kusanagi nodded, shoving his hands in his pockets.
Yuzuriha's face fell. "Well… before you go… do you have a moment?"
"Yeah." Kusanagi shifted slightly, wanting more than anything to be out of there.
" I know that you probably don't want to hear this and I'm really sorry if this is just a burden to you but I really thought that I should say it one more time. I still really like you. I understand if you want me to go away- "
Kusanagi quickly shook his head. "Nono. I- I'm sorry Yuzuriha-chan."
She looked up at him, clutching at the edge of her apron still.
"I shouldn't have turned you away the first time around. It was, that is, I've missed you. You were fun to have around the shelter and the animals all seem to like you so much and well, if you wanted to come back… that'd be great actually…" He trailed off, rubbing the back of his neck nervously.
"Really?" Yuzuriha's eyes shone in the lantern light with tears and hope.
"Yeah. I mean, I really do miss you. And you aren't a burden at all-"
Before Yuzuriha could respond though Yamazaki popped up beside them. "Did you know that the word 'burden' used to be two words?"
Yuzuriha gave him a curious look and Kusanagi drew back somewhat, startled by the boy's sudden appearance.
"Yes it actually used to be 'bird den' because birds used to live in dens instead of nests."
Kusanagi's brow furrowed.
"Oh really?" Yuzuriha asked with a giggle.
"Yes and whenever birds had to migrate they would have to carry their homes with them and dens were very heavy. That's how 'bird den' came to mean something heavy or difficult to manage. Then it just got squished together after being used repeatedly and now is the word 'burden'."
"But…" Kusanagi began with a befuddled frown before he was cut off by another student with brown pigtails snatching Yamazaki's collar and dragging him away, muttering.
"Oh my… it seems I'm becoming a bird den to her." Yamazaki observed cheerfully, seemingly unfazed by the gesture.
Kusanagi frown remained, however. "I'm pretty sure he was making that up."
Yuzuriha cracked up. "Oh I'm sure he was. Yamazaki does that a lot."
"Oh. Is he a good friend of yours?"
Yuzuriha thought on this for a moment. "I don't know if I would call him a good friend but he is nice and funny to talk to."
"Oh." The sun had at last set, leaving behind only strains of red tint to the violet velvet sky and Kusanagi could hear an announcement in the distance for some sort of demonstration. "Are you… interested in him by chance?"
Yuzuriha tilted her head. "Interested? I guess. He is interesting ." She giggled again. "As you saw."
"No I mean are you interested in dating him?"
"Oh! No! That's actually why I came over to you…" Yuzuriha's blush was warmly accentuated by the firefly shaped lanterns above their heads. "I thought when I first met him that maybe I did like him, you know, in that way. But then I saw you earlier at the café and I realized that Yamazaki- he's fun to talk to and all but he doesn't make my heart skip a beat when I see him."
Almost as if it thought it were a command, Kusanagi's own heart skipped a beat.
An announcer called out that this was everyone's last chance to dance over on a dance floor lit with golden lanterns.
Yuzuriha's smile brightened beyond even its usual cheerful radiance. "Can we dance?" She asked shyly.
Kusanagi laughed and took her hand.
.
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Saya sighed and leaned her head on Tooru's shoulder, letting the other girl wrap an arm around her warmly.
"It's been a perfect day." She whispered as the dance floor began to fill with people.
Tooru agreed.
.
.
Kamui was still floating on a metaphorical cloud as he sat on the steps on the edge of the stage, watching all of the other participants dancing to the last song of the evening. He rested his chin in his hands, dreamily watching the colors shift and sway without really noticing much of anything until the swift movement of a dark shadow caught the corner of his eye. He turned quickly, suddenly more alert as a spiky-haired figure disappeared into the wooded area next to the stage. Kamui bolted to his feet and ran after the figure, certain he had recognized him in that brief flash. After several minutes of running, he found himself on the other side of the little woods, in front of the gazebo where he had once met Subaru on a regular basis.
He panted, scanning the area, every sense alert and tingling with anticipation. "Fuuma?" he called hopefully but there came no answer.
Disappointment welled up behind his eyes and Kamui wandered over to the marble table within the gazebo's ivy-clad columns and sat down.
"I don't know if you can hear me, Fuuma." He spoke into the darkness. "But I miss you. I still wish that I could see you again." Kamui sighed. "I wish.. I wish that things would go back to normal. You know, you me and Kotori just being friends again like we used to be when we were little." He laughed bitterly. "But I guess you wouldn't want things to go back to that would you? I never really appreciated you I guess. You were a really good friend. The best I ever had, in fact." Kamui laughed again, this time at himself. "I guess that's why they call it a best friend, huh? I'm sorry for everything that happened… before." He stood up and bit his lip, holding his breath for a moment before adding, "I love you.".
He waited several minutes, not daring to move, just in case Fuuma stepped out from wherever he was. If he was there at all.
But the silence just stretched on and on and with a heart heavy with regrets, Kamui made his way back to the festival.
At the edge of the woods near the dance floor, Kamui was startled to run into a silver-haired girl, standing off to one side alone, staring off into space.
"Hinoto?"
The look she gave him was unsettling.
"Do I know you?" She asked, in a distant voice.
"Oh, um, no. Sorry." Kamui awkwardly hurried away, realizing that she must not remember anything. Yet as he made his way to the parking lot where Subaru and Seishirou were waiting, he was certain felt a pair of eyes watching his every move.
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A/N: Whew. Okay. Done. Finally. As promised, the list and explanation of references to other CLAMP series!
References to other CLAMP works that appeared in this chapter:
1. The Cat's Eye Café: This was the café that the group in Tsubasa opened in the video game world. Yuzuriha and Kusanagi actually appear as acquaintances in that particular arc and it is the first time Sakura and Syaoran meet either of them.
2. In that same section, Watanuki is mentioned by name and the "boy with a dark look about him" was meant to be a reference to Doumeki. The woman in the Chinese dress is of course Yuko and the black plushie is Black Mokona, all characters from XxxHolic.
3. The group that Kusanagi first sees Yuzuriha talking to (with the blue and white uniforms) is the kids from Angelic Layer. Specifically, the brown-haired girl is the main character, Misaki and the doll is her "angel", Hikaru (which in Angelic Layer was a reference to the main character of Magic Knight Rayearth). The guy in the glasses is "Icchan" and I had to include him somewhere because he always cracked me up. XD
4. The girl that Daisuke is making a flower for is Hinata and the bodyguard is Asou from Suki. (The bears have names too actually, they're Waka and Tono.)
5. Kentaro and Takeshi are from Duklyon CLAMP School Defenders; they're always running off in the middle of things to defend the school from random, Power-Rangers-level-of-ridiculous villains.
6. Miyuki is from Miyuki-chan in Wonderland; if you've never read it, it's entirely her getting molested by half-to-completely-naked women.
7. Chun Hyang is the main character of the Legend of Chun Hyang (although more likely you've seen the little version of her in Tsubasa).
8. The teacher and student that Seishirou mentions being awfully close are Rika and Terada. I mentioned them earlier in this story too but in case you guys didn't know, they're from Cardcaptor Sakura as well and were romantically involved in that story despite an enormous age gap.
9. The blond cooking teacher at the Cat's Eye Café is Yuui from Shiritsu Horitsuba Gakuen, which was a set of short stories CLAMP did as a kind of spin-off of XxxHolic and Tsubasa. In them, the main characters of both series are all either students, teachers, or in Yuko's case, the chairman, of a school called Horitsuba and Yuui (Fai's twin from Tsubasa; they reversed their names in Horitsuba) is a cooking teacher. Fai is in the stories too and is mentioned here as the one wearing a woman's kimono (as he did in Horitsuba. XD)
10. In the same section, Nokoru shows up in X of course, so he should be familiar even if that's all you've read but I did want to point out that he was originally from CLAMP School Detectives and in X was in fact the chairman of CLAMP school.
11. The girl that designed and made all of the clothes for the fashion show, you have probably guessed, is Tomoyo from Cardcaptor Sakura. From the same series, Sakura herself of course is mentioned, as well as her mother, Nadeshiko, who they say in the series used to be a model. Syaoran is also vaguely mentioned, or at least that's who I meant to reference with the embarrassed boy in the green outfit. :P
12. Yamazaki I said in a previous chapter was from Cardcaptor Sakura. The girl who drags him away from Yuzuriha and Kusanagi is Chiharu who he seems to be romantically involved with in the original series.