Disclaimer: The usual. CCD doesn't belong to me, only the original characters in this story are mine and there will be plenty.

A/N: So sorry for the late update. It seems that a weekly schedule would be too much after being inactive for so long. So I'll try to keep a monthly update. Here's the next chapter. It will still be boring until the next few chapters but the pace should pick up by the end of next chapter and Idomu makes an appearance!

Chapter 2 – Of New Students & Misunderstandings

That night Nokoru finds himself alone in the student council room. Suoh already departed to meet up with Nagisa, while Akira had gone home to cook for his mothers. He himself should've already gone home as well since tonight there would be a special dinner at home as his brothers and sisters would all be home. It would be a really rare event for all the Imonoyama children to be gathered under one roof since the age difference from him to his oldest brother was quite large that even before he was born, Yaten-nii-sama had already left the house to train as the heir of the Imonoyama Zaibatsu. But there was something that was stopping him from going home, what he was still not sure.

Suddenly he spotted something in the distance as he was looking outside the window. There, in the trees several metres across from him was a young woman crying. Finding the agility and strength he gets whenever a damsel in distress is involved, Nokoru quickly jumps out the window and runs as fast as he can to just below the DID was residing.

"My fair lady," Nokoru spoke up, a bit out of breath, making the lady in question notice him and face downwards thus making Nokoru realize that she has stopped crying. "I notice that you were crying a few minutes ago, may I ask what the problem is? Maybe I can help."

"What are you talking about? I wasn't crying!" the lady said a little too quickly as she carefully climbs down the tree, her eyes scrutinizing him. "Besides, from where did you see me anyway? There was noone around here a few minutes ago."

"I saw you from the student council room window a few miles from here," Nokoru replies, finally getting a good look at the girl as she arrives on the ground. She seems familiar but Nokoru was sure that he has never seen the girl. He would remember if he had saw her before. She was much shorter than him, not even coming up to his chest and looks to be in her 12th or 13th year, which means she would either be in the elementary or middle school division. Her long brown hair is tied in a ponytail and now that he looks closely, her eyes were almost as blue as his. Even so, if she had gone to school here, he would know exactly who she was, so either she's a family member of a student here or she just transferred.

"What?" she asks, a bit dumbfounded, then as if getting back her wits, she immediately continued, "You're really the smooth talker type, aren't you? Because there is no way you'd be able to see me from that far in this darkness." She laughs.

Of course, as usual she wouldn't believe him and would think that he was just joking. But even so, Nokoru doesn't bother to correct her and just waits patiently for her to confide in him. He knows that he has a way with girls and as long as he is patient, they would usually tell him so that he could help them. And right on cue, the young girl talks, "Anyway, I was crying because I was happy, so I don't have any problems, which means you can just go now and leave me alone."

"Really? I thought you said that you weren't crying before?"

"Wh…what?" the girl asks, immediately blushing, seeming to realize her blunder. "Uh…uhm…"

"Its alright," Nokoru says, smiling, finding her expression cute. "I won't ask if you don't want to share, but just know that the Clamp Campus Detectives is always here if you need help with any problem at all." Just then Nokoru realizes why she seems familiar. She looks a bit similar to the girl in the photo he saw just that afternoon, though there were notable differences. So perhaps this is the sister that Akira was talking about?

"Clamp Campus Detectives? What's that?" the girl asks, breaking him from his sudden realization.

"Ah…yes…you're new to this campus so perhaps you haven't heard of us. My name is Imonoyama Nokoru and with my two close friends at the High School Division Student Council, the secretary Takamura Suoh and the treasurer Ijyuin Akira, we make up the Clamp Campus Detectives and whenever you have trouble or a case that needs solving, you can always come to us and we'd gladly help."

"Hoooh…neat. I didn't know there was a detective agency in this school. Wait a minute, how did you know I was new here?"

"You are related to Minamiya Seina, are you not? She had just transferred to Akira's class today."

"You know Seina-nee?!"

"Just from Akira."

"Then how would you know what she looks like?" she asks, suspicious.

"All transfer students profiles of the high school division are sent to me since I am the president of the high school division student council."

"Oh. And you knew I'm her sister just from her profile? Coz from what people say, Seina-nee and I aren't really alike."

Nokoru noted there was an obvious bitter tone at the end of that sentence. Maybe that was why she was crying here in the middle of the woods instead of at home? If it has something to do with her older sister, she might not want to be near her at the moment. But before Nokoru could answer her question or even reasure her, another voice cut in.

"Kyoko! There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Why did you run off from the room like that?"

The both of them look towards where the voice was coming from and there from within the darkness, the figure of a young woman appears like a specter. Speak of the devil. This time, this girl is definitely the one in the picture that he had just saw that afternoon. Like her sister, she also has brown hair and blue eyes, though her hair is lighter and is currently tied in a braid down her back. He doesn't understand how people can say that the sisters don't look alike when he can spot the obvious similarities. At that moment, the young woman suddenly realizes that her sister was talking to someone, namely him.

"Who are you?" she asks suspiciously, immediately stepping in between her sister and him, as if wanting to protect her from him. But before Nokoru could properly introduce himself to remove the obvious misunderstanding she had assumed, Seina turns towards her sister whom Nokoru now knows as Minamiya Kyoko. "I've told you many times not to speak to suspicious people! Lets go!" Then she turns towards Nokoru, "Leave us alone please." And with that she left, dragging the protesting Kyoko behind her, leaving Nokoru to stare speechless after them.

After a moment, he got back his bearings. "Hmm…that was the first time I've ever been seen as a suspicious person in my own school." He laughs to himself.

~Hard Fate~

Minamiya Seina sighs as Minamiya Kyoko slams the door open, barging into their small appartment on the outskirts of Clamp Campus. Clamp Campus does provide housing in the vicinity of the school-like city. There are dormitories, appartments and even small houses. Unfortunately, they are not a part of the scholarship that Seina had obtained and their prices are not really cheap. Which is why, they had opted to rent a small, cheap appartment outside of campus. Besides, by living outside of the campus, the both of them are able to socialize with others and not limited to those that goes to the school. Seina thinks that Kyoko also prefers it this way since it would be easier for her to see her boyfriend since it's hard to get in Clamp when you are not part of that community.

"Kyoko, what would you like to have for dinner?" She asks, going into the kitchen part that is divided from the living room/dining room by a counter. Peeking over the counter at Kyoko who had just dumped herself on the sofa and turned on the television, Seina bit back another sigh. It seems that once again she had done something to upset her sister. So she decides to just let her younger sister cool off a bit and start making something from whatever they have in the fridge. She wonders what she had done this time. Is it because she had dragged her from the young man from before? But it didn't seem that Kyoko even knew him and you can't ever be too careful especially since they are two young girls that are living alone in a foreign country. It has been almost 10 years since either of them has sat foot here and so many things has changed. But then again, even before she had dragged her off, Kyoko had suddenly stormed out of the classroom when they were discussing her admission.

Before she knows it, dinner is ready and it is time to confront her sister. Placing the two bowls of rice and the chicken and vegetable stirfries on the dining table, she calls out to Kyoko, "Dinner's ready!"

For a moment, it seems that Kyoko was once again going to ignore her. But then she huffs and gets up and sits down at the dining table across from Seina. They start eating silently, until Seina couldn't take it anymore and had to break the tense silence between them.

"Kyoko-chan, did I do something to upset you?" Seina watches her sister carefully as Kyoko bites her lip, seeming to be contemplating something, "Look, I'm sorry I dragged you from that man before. But we can't be too careful, you know? We don't really know anyone here since its been so long."

"It's not that. Besides, that guy wasn't anyone suspicious. You said so yourself, didn't you? Clamp Campus' security is top-notch so there's no way some unknown outsider could get in. That guy's the president of the High School Division Student Council."

"Wait a sec. That guy was Imonoyama Nokoru?!" Seina was shocked. That was him? She didn't even recognize him! And now that she thinks about it…she had just dissed her student council president! Oh no…what will become of her scholarship now?

"You didn't know? I thought he's really famous?"

"He is. But… I've never seen what he looks like. I just know him from rumors since it seems that everyone from kindergarten to university admires him, even the lady selling bread." She feels a little guilty lying a little to her sister. But that wasn't what they were talking about so Seina changes back to the topic at hand. "Okay, so if it wasn't me dragging you off, then what did I do this time?"

For a while only the sound of their utensils as they eat could be heard as Seina watches Kyoko. Though Seina could guess what Kyoko's problem is, she would prefer if Kyoko was the one to bring it up. The two sisters have always been close and usually Kyoko would never hold back any of her complaints. But there was one thing that Kyoko has always despised and she has always been reluctant to tell Seina of that. Other people comparing Kyoko to her.

But since it seems that Kyoko would never broach the subject unless she brings it up, Seina did just that, "Is it about what the teacher said before?"

Really, Kyoko didn't need to look so surprised. They have always been able to read each other.

"Do you remember Sei-nii-sama?" Seina suddenly asks, making Kyoko taken aback by the sudden change of topic.

"You know I don't," Kyoko replies dryly, "I was barely three years old when we got separated from him."

Seina laughs, "Yeah, I guess so. But you know, back then I sometimes really hated him."

"What? Why?"

"Because I was always compared to him. You know, Sei-nii-sama was this perfect genius. He excels at school without even trying. He was active in more sports than you can count on one hand. Plus he was our parents little angel and he could do no wrong in their eyes. But one day, he made me realize something. We are our own person and each of us is unique. Just do what you like and do your best in it. Never mind about what other people think of you." She smiles gently at her younger sister, "You know you have your own talents, Kyoko. I would never be able to draw or paint as good as you, and I would never be able to make dresses as beautiful. Just try to focus more, instead of thinking about your boyfriend all the time."

She ends her monologue with a little teasing.

"Well, at least I have a boyfriend, unlike someone who has been single for as long as I can remember." Kyoko teases back, a playful smile finally back on her face.

"Hey!" Seina protests, though the smile on her face shows that she's just glad that the Kyoko she knows and loves is back to her usual self.

~Hard Fate~

The next day in the chemistry lab before class, Nokoru finds himself conversing with a few of his female classmates around his lab table as they were waiting for the teacher to come when the newest addition to his class, Sakurai Hinano suddenly approaches him and asks, "Nokoru-kun, would you like to be lab partners for today?"

Behind her, the other girls of his class were glaring daggers at her back that he is surprised she doesn't feel uncomfortable from the killing intent. Even the ones that he was conversing with seemed to become uncomfortable. He could guess why. It is nearing the ending of her first semester so he is sure that they have informed her of the pact they made amongst themselves, that no females would be his partner either in labs or projects unless he asks them first (of course this is made without him knowing, but he always have a way of gaining information, if not, he would be a very bad detective indeed). But of course, she would totally ignore it, with how she was behaving these past few weeks it seems it is now his turn to become her target like all the other boys she has dated this past semester. He sighs inwardly. He had been hoping that he won't become one as he knows that there is no way that he would date her and no matter how he treasures a lady's happiness, he would treasure their safety first and foremost.

"I'm very sorry, Sakurai-san. But I'm afraid I've already promised Idomu-kun to be his partner." He says, smiling apologetically feeling real regret that he has to dissapoint a lady, though there is a small part of him that felt relief Idomu has always been his partner since he returned.

"It's Hi-na-no. Hi-na-no. How…" Whatever she was about to say was interrupted by Sugiyama-sensei coming in and instructing everyone to go sit down. Right on time. Idomu who had been conversing with someone a few seats away also sits down in the seat next to him but accompanied by giving a look directed at him.

As the teacher starts the usual lecture before they do their practical work, he whispers to Idomu, "What?"

"Why don't you go and just give her a date? You notice how she is right? After a date, she'll lose interest in you."

"Even so, I don't think that's an appropriate way to treat a lady. Besides, you know how dangerous it is to be seen alone with me."

"Then just stay in campus for the date. Come on Nokoru, are you saying you'll never go on a date your whole life?"

"Why are you giving me the third degree anyway? It's not like you have a girlfriend."

"I just broke up two months ago remember?"

"Ah yeah, sorry."

Idomu just shrugs in answer as if its not a big deal. "Okay if you don't want to date her fine. But what will you do if you find that one in a million chance coming true, meeting someone that you actually love?"

Nokoru stays silent for a while, appearing as if listening to the teacher's lecture.

"Of course, I'll treat her as I do any other lady."

"What? Treat her with respect, prioritize her happiness but always keep her at an arms distance?" he whispers dryly, "Then what if she loves you back? Will you push her away or actually be a man?"

"I already told you what I will do," Nokoru sighs.

"Imonoyama, Yudaiji, is there something wrong with my lesson?"

"No sensei," they answer together, as if orchestrated.

"Very well then, Imonoyama, solve this question." Usually most teachers would avoid asking him to answer questions for two reasons, the first as he was a part of the Imonoyama family (even though his family asks that teachers would treat him without discrimination, unconsciously, they would still treat him as such), the second, though he would not usually brag, he knows that he is quite smart (understatement of the century) thanks to his eidetic memory. But it is different for Sugiyama-sensei especially, it is exactly because he is the son of the Imonoyama Zaibatsu, that he would ask him questions, hoping to catch him off guard. Though since Idomu came to this school other teachers have also started asking him and his friend questions, because since then, they had taken the habit of whispering to each other in class. Before that he had no friends close enough that he'd talk to them by disrupting the class. Plus he wouldn't usually be so disrespectful to the teachers as to ignore their teachings.

"Its 2Cr(OH)3 + 10OH- + 3Br2 ..-.. 2CrO42- + 8H20 + 6Br-"

Hearing his fast and correct answer he sees that he is making the teacher frustrated. He just shrugs it off, Sugiyama-sensei should be used to this by now. So far there has been no questions he asks that he couldn't answer a beat later.

"Yudaiji, answer the next question,"

"Hold on a second." He says, scribbling furiously in his notebook, and after a moment, he answers, "The answer is 5HC00H +2MnO4- + 6H+ ..-.. 5CO2 + 2Mn2 + 8H2O."

"…Both correct…" Sugiyama-sensei grumbles, "Don't let me catch you disrupting class again,"

"Hai…" Here they are already almost finish with high school but they are still treated like children when in class. He smiles at Idomu at the irony. Though to his surprise it seems that he interpreted the smile differently because he immediately whispers to him, "Well, excuse me, but not everyone is such a genius that they can solve a complicated redox equation with just one look."

In reply, he just smiles at him, not taking offense. "But you still solved it in record time. Most would take longer than that to solve it. So you're quite impressive yourself. Especially since chemistry isn't one of your strong suits."

Idomu only grumbles to himself though Nokoru could see that he was embarrassed at the compliment. Nokoru laughs quitely to himself. Really, his friends are just so cute. And so fun to tease.

~Hard Fate~

つずく

End note: Please review. You know you want to. ;)