Clamp School Fan Fiction ❯ Our History ❯ The Third ( Chapter 1 )

"Our History"

Chapter 1: The Third

A CLAMP Campus Detectives fanfic

These characters belong to CLAMP and associated copyright owners. This is a work of fan fiction for fan entertainment purposes only. (In short: please don't sue me.)

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CLAMP Campus Detectives Image Song

After a Saturday morning spent on Council duties, Kaichou had decided that he wanted to grab lunch over at Café Terrace. He was in the 4th grade and I was in 3rd at the time. It was just the two of us back then. It had been a little over a year since I had met him and ever since I had told him I would protect him; I was by his side always, just as I had promised.

That morning he was prattling on about something as he normally would while I shook my head and thought of ways to subvert whatever fool idea I knew he was planning now. We were just passing by the botanical gardens when we happened upon an unusual sight near the fountain.

"I wonder what is happening down there?" Kaichou mused to himself as we neared a group of girls gathered around something - or someone - chattering excitedly.

"Please, Akira-kun? We would all like a picture of you!"

As we got closer we could see a wide-eyed, black haired boy looking for all the world like he was trapped by the group of girls he stood in the middle of.

"B-b-but I'm sure there are better things to take pictures of than me!" I could hear him stammer in protest, red-faced with embarrassment and looking frantically for a possible escape route.

"Please? It would make us so happy if you would pose for just one picture. Just one!"

"What a shy person," Kaichou observed, giggling behind his fan.

As though a beacon went off, two of the girls turned around and pointed. "Look, it's Nokoru-sama and Suoh-san!!" they squealed and I groaned inwardly. Whenever Kaichou was involved, there were bound to be hoards of screaming females.

"Good afternoon, ladies," he called out and waved to the group. The group turned, as if one body, and let out an excited squeal.

"Good afternoon, Nokoru-sama and Suoh-san!" they chorused, hearts practically floating in their eyes.

Glancing over at the other boy, I could see him start to smile with relief until one of the girls grabbed him eagerly by the arm. I recognized him then as a student who had transferred into the school approximately one month ago. As division Secretary, it was my job to be informed of new students entering the Elementary school division. Ijyuin Akira-kun.

"What luck!" The girl who had him by the arm squealed. "Nokoru-sama? May we take a picture of you together with Suoh-san and Akira-kun?"

"Suoh and I would be honored." Kaichou bowed graciously. While I never particularly liked these photo opportunities, I had quickly resigned myself to the fact that it was simply a reality of life with Kaichou. "That is," he amended, "as long as you are okay with it." Kaichou looked questioningly to Ijyuin-kun.

"Oh yes, of course!" Ijyuin-kun extracted himself from the girl's iron grip with apologetic smile and bowed. "My name is Ijyuin Akira! I just transferred into class 2-Z a few weeks ago. I'm pleased to meet you."

Kaichou bowed too. "My name is Imonoyama Nokoru and I am in class 4-Z. And this is Takamura Suoh from class 3-Z." I bowed as he introduced me.

Ijyuin-kun's eyes grew wide in surprise and recognition. "Y-y-you two are the student council Chairman and Secretary! I am honored to meet you both," he said, barely controlling a nervous stammer while bowing even lower.

"So, Ijyuin-kun," Kaichou asked. "Would you mind posing with us to honor the ladies' request?"

Ijyuin-kun straightened and looked like a deer caught in headlights for just a moment. But he quickly got his wits about him and nodded. "I'd be happy to," he agreed politely. Smiling brightly, he obediently stood to Kaichou's other side and faced the girls with the two of us.

"Smile, Suoh," Kaichou reminded me. "Think of how happy this makes the ladies." As he said that, I could not help but smile a little, for his sake. Making the ladies happy made him happy after all. The girls let out another collective squeal and then the flashes began. A moment or two later it was all over and we parted ways.

* *

Back in the Student Government room later that afternoon, Kaichou cleared his throat. "Ijyuin Akira," he said thoughtfully. "Suoh, what have you heard about him?"

I told him what I knew, mostly from the files of transfer students into the elementary division. Ijyuin-kun had just transferred to the school a month ago but was already very popular with his classmates. He was the top student, a whiz at math and polished in many other subjects as well. He was to compete in some upcoming martial arts tournaments. Rumor also had it that he was quite the chef and the university division was currently considering asking him to teach some courses.

He sat back, the thoughtful expression still on his face. "I'd like you to find everything you can about Ijyuin-kun," he said.

One of the things I had been taught from a young age was to not question the motives of my charge. Generations upon generations of Takamura have protected a variety of people - politicians, royalty, celebrities and even mobsters. In the Takamura clan, whether or not your person is moral does not matter. You chose them, for better or worse. And subsequently you protect them, no matter what. They entrust their life to you and you trust them wholly. You are loyal to them and them alone. And on your honor, you do not question them.

So I did not question his motives when he asked me to investigate. But the more I found out about Ijyuin-kun, the more I found myself wondering at Kaichou's judgment.

"Well?" Kaichou asked the next day after finishing the day's council duties. "What did you discover?"

"Plenty," I told him and gave him a rundown of my findings. I discovered he had at least one relation on campus - one of the school doctors - who looked to be his paternal uncle. It seemed that Ijyuin-kun had a very unique upbringing, living with two mothers, no siblings and no father figure that lived with them. It was unusual but psychologically Ijyuin-kun seemed to be happy and well-adjusted. He seemed to be a normal boy with extraordinary athletic and intellectual talents with math being his best subject.

"So is that all you have on Ijyuin-kun, Suoh?" he asked, his hands folded on his desk, listening to my report with rapt interest.

"No." I took out several pieces of information from the folder I was holding and placed them before him. "There have been a number of thefts on campus from a masked thief that calls himself '20 Faces'," I said, handing him the campus police reports.

"Ah yes, I remember this. A vase was taken from the Elementary School library three weeks ago," Kaichou said, studying the report. "A note had been sent several days before, detailing the crime down to the second. Adorned in a top hat, tuxedo, a cape and even a mask as though he were going to a masked ball. But even our best security could not stop the thief."

"The thief's MO seemed familiar so I did some further investigation. Another thief used the same MO and became somewhat of an internationally-known figure in crime syndicates." I paused and then shook my head. "As well as an international fan club."

"A dashing thief in the night," Kaichou murmured. "'The Man of Many Faces.' One of my brothers was on a crime investigation for the former." He studied the paperwork I had handed him thoughtfully. "I see the police believe this Campus version to be a copy-cat." He smiled again and looked at me. "So tell me, Suoh. What do you think of this report?"

"It is incomplete."

Kaichou looked satisfied and leaned back. "What is the report missing?"

"A name, of course," I replied. "I have found no jurisdictions - foreign or otherwise - that have been able to ever identify the former culprit. The original '20 Faces' never left any clues aside from his notes. Even video surveillance footage could not accurately lead to identifying him. This is quite impressive considering the number of witnesses at most of the crimes."

"And what did you, eldest son of the Takamura Clan, discover?"

I take out another piece of paper from my folder with a photo clipped to the top. "Ijyuin Shigetoshi-san. His current whereabouts are unknown. He disappeared from even the Takamura information network about seven years ago. To the best of our intelligence, he was quite taken with a pair of identical twin sisters, Eiko-san and Biko-san(1). Since his disappearance they have been raising a son together."

"Ijyuin Akira-kun." Kaichou sat back in his chair, satisfied. "Thanks, Suoh."

"Kaichou…" I shook my head as I realized something. "You knew, didn't you?"

"I had my suspicions," he confessed. "There were too many similarities between the '20 Faces' of CLAMP Campus and the one my brother had investigated nearly a decade ago. I dug up his old files on the case a little bit after the incidents started here."

I raised an eyebrow.

"I'll spare you having to ask me, Suoh," he said, studying me for a bit. "I don't know why, but Ijyuin-kun caught my attention."

A million thoughts went through my mind at once. "I see." I handed him the file folder and was halfway to returning to my desk when I felt his hand on my shoulder.

"Hey, are you upset?" he asked, concerned.

I served him. I had chosen him. Takamura obey their daimyou (2) and do not question them. He entrusted his life to me and I am to be forever in his service.

I wanted to say no, I was not upset, but that would not have been the truth and I could never lie to him. But at the same time I could not bring myself to tell him that I was and have to admit to feeling hurt. Whether or not I was hurt should not matter. I am a Takamura. We live to serve the One we chose. And so I kept silent.

"If I asked you to tell me truthfully if you were upset, would you?" he tried again. He knew me so well.

I was silent for a moment longer and then finally I nodded.

Before him, I never felt any kind of interest in anyone. It is not to say that I thought of people in general as insignificant but yet everyone around me was just another person. They existed but I did not exist for them. And then he came and I realized that I had found the one I was destined to protect.

In the same way that I never showed interest in anyone in particular, neither did he. To be sure, he was popular with the ladies, gentlemanly polite and well-known among his classmates, but he never had any friends in particular before me. He never wanted anyone to suffer as a result of being his friend; the fact that he was a constant target for kidnappings was strong deterrent. But since we met, we had found a friend in each other.

To hear him talking now about how he was interested in this Ijyuin-kun confused me. I was not prepared to hear that much less understand how to feel about it. Jealousy? Was that what I was feeling? If jealousy meant feeling slighted and betrayed then yes, I was certainly most jealous.

Kaichou took me by the shoulders and turned me around. "I'm not looking to replace you, Suoh."

I know now that he said that to reassure me but my eight-year-old mind could not fully understand his intentions. "Then why…?" I could not stop myself from asking. "What has you so interested in Ijyuin-kun?"

He studied me for a moment and then shook his head. "I'm not sure. It's just a feeling that I have to go with. Ijyuin-kun interests me in the same way you did. There's just something about him." He paused and I saw the way he was looking at me. "I'm not out to replace you," he said again. "You'll always have a place with me."

"Then what are you thinking?" I asked. "Why pursue Ijyuin-kun like this?"

In answer, he crossed the room to a plaque on the wall that listed the governing officers of the Elementary School Division throughout the years. There were three officers: the Chairman, the Secretary and Treasurer. Two years ago, the name "Nokoru Imonoyama" stood alone. Last year, my name was added to the list.

"No matter how much a person can accomplish by themselves, there is a limit to what can be done alone, Suoh," he went on. "I was not so vain to believe that I would be able to run the Council on my own forever. I just wanted to be absolutely sure that whomever I chose to help me would be the right person for the job. When I met you, I found the perfect person to be my Secretary. And with you, we've been able to run this Council better than I was ever able to do alone." He paused then. "You're athletic. You've ridden a bike before, haven't you?"

The seemingly sudden change in subject caught me off guard and I found myself giving him a quizzical look. "Well, yes, of course."

"Bicycles can be a great mode of transportation," he said. "Two wheels. It's great when the bike is in motion, always being propelled forward. But what happens when there is no longer anything to propel the bicycle forward?"

"It stops."

"And? Can it stand on its own?"

I saw where he was going with this and sighed heavily. "No, it cannot."

"Exactly!" Kaichou said, flipping out his fan with the word "CORRECT!" written upon it. "Now with a tricycle, you have three wheels. Whether it is still or in movement, it can stand independently." He stopped for a moment and realized that he was now looking at the empty Treasurer space. "It is time to add our third," he said, looking back at me. "Don't you think, Suoh?"

Part of me wanted to say no, that we were fine alone, that somehow between the two of us we could balance the duties without need for a third. But the logical part of me argued that we did need a third, someone who could handle the things that I could not do for him.

Kaichou smiled at me then and crossed over to his desk. "One of the young ladies from yesterday slipped this to me," he said, taking a snapshot from his desk drawer and handing it to me. "I thought you may want to take a look at it."

I took the picture from him and studied it. Kaichou stood in the middle, his face smiling, a charming and mischievous glint in his eyes as always. There I was, to his side. I was taller than him, my eyes not nearly as mercurial as his, my smile much more reserved. And then there was Ijyuin-kun, smiling with a huge, honest grin on his face, his eyes wide with an innocence that neither I nor Kaichou possessed.

Even back then, Kaichou was a splendid judge of character. I was always somewhat numb to others; not particularly caring to get to know anyone. As Kaichou once told me, social situations were not my strong point. But in this picture, I began to see what Kaichou had seen in the brief meeting with Ijyuin-kun. Ijyuin-kun had traits that neither he nor I possessed. His innocence, forthrightness, open honesty. It was so strange to see this stranger in the photograph with us, smiling as though we had been friends for years. As though he belonged.

"I like this picture," Kaichou said simply, looking at it beside me. "It seems somehow…"

"Complete," I finish for him before handing the picture over.

Kaichou regarded it for a few more moments. "Suoh," he said quietly, as though asking permission, "how would you feel about asking Ijyuin-kun to join us on the Council? After we've gotten to know him better, of course," he added hastily, which confirmed to me that this had been his motive all along.

I paused. "It's not my decision to make," I replied. "You have to do what you think is best for this Council. You're the Chairman."

"And you're the Secretary," he countered. "My decisions as Chairman do not affect me alone. They affect the Council as a whole, as well as the Elementary Division. And as a member of the Council, a member of the school and my best friend, my decision to add another member to this council does affect you too, Suoh."

I sighed again and thought hard about what he said. I knew what he was getting at. By adding this Ijyuin-kun to the Council, Kaichou really meant that he intended to add him as another one of his friends.

Perhaps that was what bothered me the most at first. That and the disruption to the normal order of things. Kaichou and I had just been able to clear things up and work together as seamlessly as a team. But for whatever reason, he believed that this Ijyuin-kun could add to our machine.

"All right," I said finally. "If you think Ijyuin-kun has something to bring to this Council then I'll accept him."

He paused then and his shining blue eyes regarded me seriously for a moment. I had seen him like this once before, back at the mansion. "He'll be your kouhai, Suoh. Technically he'll mine too but he will be looking to you for direction. Remember that. We'll all be learning from each other. Take a good look at him," he said, putting on hand on my shoulder and gesturing towards the picture with the other. "Can you really accept him as your kouhai for yourself and not simply because you know I want him to join us?"

I took another look at that picture and thought about Kaichou's words. I trusted Kaichou. If he said that he was doing this for my sake as well as his own and the Council's I was sure that he believed that.

The bright eyed Ijyuin-kun continued to smile up at me from the picture. Bright and happy. So unlike me yet so like Kaichou. It was then that I allowed myself to believe it. We did need him in ways neither of us could fully understand. And finally, I gave Kaichou the nod.

* *

Notes:

(1) Eiko & Biko - I fudged a bit here. Akira's mothers were never given proper names. The most they were ever given was the name "Mama A" and "Mama B" on their coffee cups. Akira always just calls them "Okaasan" or "Mom"

(2) daimyou - feudal lord. Back in the days, these were who the ninja worked for. Since Suoh is the eldest son of a ninja clan, his relationship with Nokoru is probably best quantified since it is to Nokoru that his has sworn his eternal fealty.

(3) kouhai - underclassman. In Council position and in grade level, Akira is both Suoh and Nokoru's kouhai. Since Suoh has held a position longer in the Council than Akira, Akira would look to Suoh for advice.