I wanted these one-shots to be independent of each other, and they sort of are. But, I think the stories aren't as independent as I wanted them to be because they mention events from previous chapters. Also, I'll probably be writing an arc sometime soon. Anyway, enough rambling, here's the next chapter, I hope you like it.
CLAMP School Kurogane
Suwano Kurogane
A first grade student and a Suwa ninja. He was sent by his family to CLAMP school because of a prediction of their resident dream seer Tomoyo that he would find his "one", the one he would protect for the rest of his life, there. Kurogane is a very talented fighter and athlete despite his age, but is somewhat short-tempered. He believes he is a strong warrior and hates it when he is looked down upon and treated like a child (or a puppy ).
Fai D. Flowright
A fifth grade student. He is a foreigner and is reasons for being transferred to the school are not clear. All that is known about his family life is that he was raised by a person named Ashura and Ashura's bodyguard and friend Yasha. Fai is shown to be brilliant in almost all arts from painting to culinary. He is well mannered and appears to be from a well-to-do family.
Imonoyama Nokoru
A sixth grade student and president of the Elementary Student Council. He and Fai are very similar in nature as they are both always ready with a smile and a kind word. He is the youngest son of the head of the Imonoyama zaibatsu. He is very charming and intelligent and is always ready to help a damsel in distress.
Takamura Suoh
Fai's classmate and Nokoru's long-suffering secretary. He is also a ninja and his "one" is Nokoru. He is shy and quiet, except when he is forcing Nokoru to finish his student council paperwork. He is almost always by Nokoru's side. He has a crush on a kindergartner named Nagisa.
Ijyuin Akira
A fourth grade student and Nokoru's treasurer. He is (not so) secretly the thief 20 faces at night. He is very cheerful and seemingly naïve. He always supports Nokoru's exploits and is a very talented chef. He likes the kindergarten student council president Utako.
RoommatesIt was 20:58, according to his bedside clock. There were only three hours left in the day. What more could possibly happen?
This day couldn't possibly get any worse, Kurogane comforted himself, as he lay awake on his bed, contemplating that day's events.
He had been unceremoniously transferred to a new school where he could not train properly. A clingy blond fifth-grade idiot had nearly suffocated him to death first thing in the morning. He had been bored to death by the first-grade classes, which he had no interest in, because he did not see their value in everyday living. He was constantly hounded by fangirls whose vocabularies seemed to consist exclusively of adjectives that, in his opinion, should be reserved for small helpless little things like babies, puppies and kittens, and puff pastries. And, just as he was about to go home, relieved that his day was through, Tomoyo came over to "check up on him" and tell him that he was going to be staying in the dorms.
"Why do I have to do that?" Kurogane had demanded in a voice that would have been classified as a whine, had it not been the great and mighty Kurogane speaking. He really didn't want to be kept away from their home and his badass ninja training any more than necessary.
"Because," Tomoyo explained patiently, regarding him the way she would a small child; something that infuriated the little ninja even more. "No matter what you say, the three hour trip to and from our home is not practical."
"I can make that commute every day!" the little boy puffed proudly. "That's nothing to a strong ninja like me!"
Tomoyo sighed and gently ruffled her young relative's hair. "But, someone here needs you more than you need to be at home."
That had ended the argument. After that conversation with Tomoyo, Kurogane's parents came in and told him that his living arrangements had been settled and that all the things he needed had been moved into his room that afternoon.
"Don't let yourself down, Kurogane."
His father had said those words just before leaving. "What was the old man talking about?" Kurogane groused as he buried himself deeper under his blankets. "Stupid Tomoyo and her stupid prophesies," he grumbled as he slowly drifted off to sleep.
He had not been asleep long when the door to his room opened. His ninja senses were honed so that he woke up when the newcomers stepped into the room. Kurogane jumped out of bed and grabbed the nearest weapon-like object, which was a pencil on his nightstand, and threw it at the intruders.
"Watch it!"
Kurogane was certain that, despite his sleep-muddled brain, he had aimed perfectly. But, somehow, the two intruders—he was sure there were only two—both managed to dodge. He was somewhat relieved, because the person who had yelled had a voice that he recognized.
"Takamura-senpai?" Kurogane blinked as Takamura Suoh, a fifth-grader and secretary of the elementary student council, flipped on the light switch. Behind Suoh was the idiot blond who had strangled him with a hug earlier. "Fai?"
"Little black?"
"That's not my name!" Kurogane growled. "Just what are you doing here at this..." And then he remembered that he was supposed to have a roommate. The ninja turned pleading red eyes at Suoh just as things started to click into place in his head. "...Don't tell me he's my roommate!"
Suoh nodded, his face completely serious. "It's a new system CLAMP elementary is trying out. The first and second graders are roomed in with fifth and sixth graders who will help them get used to grade school. Fai, here, just turns out to be your senior."
"But that doesn't make sense!" Kurogane protested. "How can he help me out when he isn't even that used to Japan, yet."
Fai grinned, "Kuroi-chan has a point."
"It's Kurogane!"
"The president thought it was a good idea," Suoh mused wondering what exactly Nokoru was thinking about when he said that the two new students were getting along perfectly. He sighed heavily and decided that it was too late in the night to do anything about the matter. "I'll talk to him about it tomorrow. In the meantime, you two will have to room with each other."
Kurogane watched, unhappily as Fai thanked Suoh for escorting him. He had been proven wrong again. The day could get worse and it just did. At 22:46, he got the weird blond pervert who hugged little boys to death for a roommate.
Thankfully, Fai opted to quietly settle down. As the older boy began to change for bed, Kurogane blushed and turned away. He didn't know why he was suddenly so self-conscious when the two of them were both boys. The minutes ticked by and the room remained silent so Kurogane felt himself slowly falling asleep again.
The clock read 2:39 when Kurogane was awakened a second time that night. The door was closed, the windows were locked, and the room was still. He couldn't put his finger on what had awakened him this time around. He had just decided to go back to sleep when he realized that the room was still, but it was not perfectly quiet. There was quiet sniffling coming from Fai's bed. When Kurogane shifted around in his bed, the sniffling stopped. When Kurogane stayed still long enough, the sniffling slowly resumed accompanied by soft sobs and hiccups. Kurogane shifted again, and this cued the occupant of Fai's bed to, apparently, stop breathing. Now, Kurogane knew two things: 1. Fai was awake and 2. Fai was crying. And Fai was also trying to hide both facts.
"Oi."
There was a barely audible gasp from the other bed, but there was no other response. As Kurogane watched the other's back, which was turned to him, he noticed the older boy's muscles tense.
"I know you're awake."
A few moments of silence, as if Fai was debating with himself, and then, "Sorry, Kuro-tan, did I wake you?"
What irked the ninja was that he could practically hear the other boy smiling. "Stop that. I know you were crying just now."
Silence again. Kurogane knew the blond regretted letting on that he was awake.
"If you want to cry, do it, stop trying to smile it off," Kurogane lectured as he turned his back to the blond. "Do what you want to do."
As Kurogane did this, Fai turned over and sat up, "Kuro-myu?"
"Stop calling me weird names."
Kurogane's mattress shifted making him roll over to see what was happening. He found Fai sitting on his bed, clutching a downy pillow tightly to his chest. Fai's golden locks were plastered to his face with tears. He wasn't smiling, but he had already stopped crying.
"What do you think you're doing?" the ninja roared, thoughts of how this fifth-grader was the pervert who had hugged him uninvited, earlier. But his voice didn't come as strong as he wanted, the anger dying at his lips as he stared at sad blue eyes. Despite his words, he scooted a bit to the side, but he reasoned that he was just trying to get away from Fai and not giving the blond room.
Fai blinked innocently. "You told me to do what I want to do."
"I was talking about crying!" Kurogane clarified wondering how his words could be so misunderstood. "And why would you want to sleep with me, anyway? How old are you?!"
Fai kept his blue eyes guarded and evaded the red-eyed gaze in front of him. "I'm sorry. It 's just that I've never slept alone in a bed that wasn't mine before. It makes me sad."
Somehow, Kurogane felt that this wasn't the full story, but it really wasn't his business to ask. So, exhausted by being awakened several times that night, Kurogane's sleepy brain—yes, it was his sleepy brain—that decided that allowing Fai this favor for one night wouldn't kill him. As Fai cuddled him and they both began the peaceful ride to dreamland, Kurogane caught sight of the clock.
2:52. A bit late, but the day didn't turn out for the worst after all.
-
It was lunchtime when Kurogane was summoned to the elementary student council's office.
"Why does he have to do that?" Kurogane demanded in a voice that would have been classified as a whine, had it not been the great and mighty Kurogane speaking. He couldn't explain it, but he felt that Fai wouldn't do well with another roommate. Besides, if Fai changed rooms, he'd have to get used to his new bed all over again and would probably spend the night awake and crying. Of course, he didn't offer either explanation to the student council members.
Imonoyama Nokoru, the sixth-grade president of the student council was uncharacteristically quiet, listening to the conversation from behind his desk. Suoh was the one who explained, though he was bewildered by the sudden change of heart. "Because you need to be with someone who can guide you through CLAMP elementary school life."
"I can take care of myself!" the little boy puffed proudly. "That's nothing to me!"
"But Fai needs to be with someone who can not only teach him about Japan, but guide him through CLAMP elementary school life, as well," Nokoru reasoned from where he was sitting. "So I've arranged for him to stay with me for the time being while you will be staying with Suoh."
"But..."
"It was my decision, Kuro-pon," Fai walked into the room carrying a tray of sweet pastries. The treasurer Ijyuin Akira walked in behind him carrying tea.
"It's Kurogane!" Kurogane said grumpily.
"I don't want to give you any more trouble," the blond set the pastries down and patted Kurogane's head affectionately. "The way I caused you trouble last night," this was said in low tones so the others wouldn't hear.
Kurogane swatted Fai's hand away. "Stop that! How many times do I have to tell you that I'm not a puppy!" he complained. Fai only smiled back.
The discussion was over. It was 12:15 when Kurogane lost his pervert roommate while gaining an older and more experienced ninja roommate. It was the best thing that could have happened to him other than being told to come home from CLAMP school.
But his father's and Tomoyo's reminders echoed in his head while Kurogane wondered why he felt that the day couldn't possibly get any worse.
-
A/N: A bit longer than usual, but I hope it wasn't boring. Reviews are always appreciated. I'm worried about characterization at this point; so feel free to comment on the depiction of the characters.
Thanks for reading!