from skybluescramble:
hello (:
just like my other stories, i tend to change some details from the original plot so that it will fit into my plot. you don't need to throw me every single thing about Card Captor Sakura because just like you, I know the whole story.
this fic probably has a not-so-original idea on the storyline (i got influenced by several titles of novels and movies), but still...
read and review, kay? :D
no flames, please.
DISCLAIMER:
Card Captor Sakura/カードキャップたーさくら
CLAMP©1997
:: Damsel in Distress, Daidouji ::
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SUMMARY:
Hiiragizawa Eriol, who just came back from London to Japan, accidentally found out that Daidouji Tomoyo suffered a peculiar 'sickness'. What if things didn't go as he had predicted, when he finally decided on helping Tomoyo to overcome her problem?
.
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SEIJOU University in the afternoon had the most comfy atmosphere that was what she always thought, moreover, if it was in spring or autumn. The cozy feeling, strengthened by friendly breeze which makes the leaves fell down to the earth—or in case of spring, leaves would be replaced by Sakura petals—never fails to amaze her. She liked it when the sun started to set behind the main building, creating a massive silhouette on the ground she found pretty.
Holding her binder notes tight, Daidouji Tomoyo continued walking across the center yard towards the dormitory. Brushing her hair past her shoulder with a hand, Tomoyo took a look at her surroundings. Most of the students had left the college; the remaining ones must be them who stayed at the campus dorm, just like her.
"Tomoyo!"
The called raven-haired girl stopped before turning around to see who had shouted her name loud enough to be heard from the end of the yard. A certain brunette ran towards her direction, waving something in her hand that seemed like a piece of paper excitedly.
Wow. That girl could run fast.
"Sakura?"
"Tomoyo-chan, you won't believe it!" Kinomoto Sakura exclaimed after reaching her best friend, rasping for breath. With trembling fingers, she hurriedly opened the wrinkled letter in her hand as though she would die by the next second. "Kero just brought me this letter from the library's window an hour ago, and I knew I must tell you! I've been searching you for about thirty minutes, I'd asked some people in the dorm but—"
Tomoyo raised her hand immediately in an interrupting fashion.
"Breathe, Sakura. Breathe," she instructed, "Just... take it easy. Calm down first."
Some silence took in as the Card Mistress relaxed. Then, "Listen. Eriol is coming back here! And he will stay in Tomoeda from now on! Isn't that great? We'll be able to meet him again!"
"W-what?"
"It's Eriol! Let's pick him up at the airport! His plane will touch down in two hours, Tomoyo-chan. We don't have much time left!"
Almost forcing, Sakura dragged a dumbfounded Daidouji Tomoyo to the main gate of Seijou High; she didn't bother to hear yelp of protests that left her cousin's mouth. And that was how this story started.
CHAPTER 01:
After Eight Years...
PERFECTION. It was the very first thought that passed Tomoyo's mind the moment she saw Hiiragizawa Eriol emerged from the Arrival gate, walking confidently beside an immortal beauty named Akizuki Nakuru who hugged a black plushie doll-like feline they had known as Spinel Sun in her temporary form. They attracted so much attention from others for real (those passerbies couldn't just walk away without stealing a glance towards them as though they were some Hollywood celebrities). Averting her eyes from both of Eriol's guardians, Tomoyo began to scrutinize the young mage further. She took some mental notes while doing so, to compare the newly found data with how he looked like when they were twelve.
He had quite changed, as a matter of fact.
Eriol had grown into a tall man. Perhaps taller than Syaoran, who snorted disrespectfully when the Londoner spotted their presence and called out for Sakura. They shared a friendly hug whereas Tomoyo nailed on her feet, watching.
"Long time no see, Sakura-chan." He greeted politely.
Syaoran grunted low in his throat as his face got sulkier.
"And," Eriol turned around to face his descendant, "nice to meet you again, Syaoran-kun, Daidouji-san."
Tomoyo smiled. Daidouji-san.
"I thought you are past formalities towards me, Hiiragizawa." She replied, causing his brows to twitch slightly.
"So, 'Tomoyo' is fine?"
"I see no problem in that."
They both exchanged smile before Nakuru interrupted them by asking what will they do next. Eriol had politely declined Sakura's offer to take them home; he said they had called for a rental car beforehand. So, after some cups of good coffee in a cafe they found inside the airport, they parted ways. Sakura had successfully forced Eriol to accept an offer to help him unpack things tomorrow, and as usual, the Card Mistress always dragged her best friend's along.
Tomoyo just couldn't say no.
It wasn't only because Sakura had her soft spot, but she simply didn't get the slightest chance to speak up.
SLAMMING her door shut, Tomoyo let out a deep sigh. Today was absolutely tiring. She could just passed out and spend her whole Sunday by sleeping in her dorm room and not doing anything else. She leaned her back against the door, face buried in both hands before they moved upwards to brush her hair. Sighing one more time, Tomoyo walked towards a calendar hung near her wardrobe and snatched a ballpoint from her desk. Carefully, she circled the twenty-third of March—tomorrow's date—and scribbled some notes under the red-colored digits.
Helping Hiiragizawa unpack stuffs with Sakura.
She slouched down on the floor and began removing her shoes she forgot to take off. After hanging her jacket, Tomoyo flexed her fingers with anticipation as she sat in front of her desk. Study time. If she wouldn't have much time tomorrow, then the best chance she had for studying was only tonight. She needed to keep up her good grades if she didn't wish to lose her scholarship.
"Alright, let's do it." Tomoyo whispered to herself.
Two and half an hour later, the young Daidouji had fallen asleep on her desk, her notes and textbooks scattered everywhere.
It was the sunlight warming up the room that woke her up the next day. Her lids fluttered open, and the first thing she knew was the excruciating pain on her back from having a bad sleeping form. Straightening her posture, Tomoyo's eyes transfixed at the alarm clock in front of her.
Five past seven.
Still too early.
She rose on her feet and began cleaning her room. When she finished showering, the alarm clock showed ten past eight. Tomoyo sighed as she dressed up and put light make-up on to give her face a fresh look. She'd better hurry; she still had to go to a convenient store to buy her breakfast. Quickly, Tomoyo packed all the necessary things into a small sling bag before stepping out of her room, locking the key and taking her leave.
"Discount day! Discount day! Only one hundred yen for all variant of donuts! Don't miss this wonderful chance!"
Tomoyo stopped walking. She turned her head towards the source of noise. Mister Donut cafe seemed to have its last day of one hundred yen donuts selling. Her hand unconsciously crept downwards and she felt her stomach grumbled in protest, begging to be filled. She grinned sheepishly.
"I still have some more time," Tomoyo mumbled as she stepped past the automatic-lock door. Five minutes later she already sat down on a couple chair with potato donut, crunch donut, mont blanc and a glass of water in front of her. Happily, Tomoyo picked up her first choice—crunch donut—and whispered, "Itadakimasu."
Closing her eyes, Tomoyo tried to enjoy every single moment when she chew her breakfast. It wasn't everyday Mister Donut gave the customers one hundred yen donut selling, and the event was unpredictable. Besides, having breakfast other than rice balls felt good.
"Do you mind a company, Miss?"
Startled, Tomoyo choked on her drink. Her head immediately shot upwards to see who the guest was.
"Hiiragizawa!" she gasped nervously, "You almost killed me!"
He let out a crisp laugh. "I didn't expect to meet you here."
"Have a seat, then." Tomoyo smiled sweetly. Despite that, Eriol somehow caught a glimpse of her shifting her chair backward, as though wanting to create an additional distance between them. Nevertheless, seeing the way she spoke made him just shrugged it off. "Mister Donut is always my favorite."
"I didn't know that."
Tomoyo giggled. "Now you do."
"Yeah, I guess so..."
"What brings you here, Hiiragizawa?"
A smile. "Nothing. I just feel like walking around and coincidentally found this place. And you...?"
"I'm having my breakfast, you see." Tomoyo raised her half-empty glass. "If I want to help you, then I need to fill my energy beforehand. Sakura probably does the same at home."
Eriol's face went blank for a moment. He looked serious, almost like someone who was thinking hard to remember something important. This caught Tomoyo's curiosity, and she attentively asked him. "What's wrong?"
"Ah—no. It's just... It's just Sakura called me this morning."
The raven-haired girl glanced at the nearest clock. "It's still morning."
"Before I went here," Eriol corrected, "she said something like having a menstrual pain and she can't come with you to my house."
"Pardon me?"
"Sakura won't be able to come today."
"Oh," was all Tomoyo said in response, but for some reasons she felt her nervousness grew. She inwardly hoped Eriol would change the subject soon. Luck was on her side, anyway. Eriol chose to ask her about different matter—although in the end it turned out to be a not-so-nice topic either.
"It's not like you to have breakfast outside," he started. "Didn't your maids cook something?"
"No." Tomoyo gulped down the last drop of her water. "I don't have any maids."
"Then, who are they, those working women in Daidouji Mansion?"
"I'm not staying at that mansion anymore."
Hiiragizawa Eriol went silent. He had said his last question in a very casual way—too casual, probably, he could even tell the mocking tone hidden beneath every single word himself—but her feedback perfectly got him off-guard.
"Really?"
"Yes."
"Did you leave home? Run away? Having fight with your mom?"
Tomoyo almost laughed. "No, no, and no. My mother died last year, Hiiragizawa, sorry for not telling you anything, but I didn't want to make a fuss about it. You were in England back then, and I felt bad to make you come to Tomoeda just for attending my mom's funeral."
His face fell. "Sorry to hear that."
"It's fine, really." Tomoyo waved her hand casually to assure him.
"So, where do you live now?" Eriol asked in curiosity, but he added immediately when he saw her body tense again. "It's okay if you don't want to answer. I didn't intend to pry."
"I'm living at the dorm in Seijou University."
Eriol looked unsure. "Dorm?"
"Yes."
"Why...?"
"Because I have nowhere else to go."
The young mage straightened his back, his tone became serious. "Tell me, Daidouji. What happened in these eight years? Be honest with me."
Tomoyo always knew when he used only her last name (and no suffix), Hiiragizawa Eriol was at his most serious state. She sighed heavily.
"It's quite a long story."
"I have plenty of time."
Frustrated already, the girl with amethyst orbs raised both of her hands in defeat. "Alright."
Then she begun, "In summary, after the death of my mother—it was a heart attack, by the way—her business rivals somehow managed to take over the company. They had all the documents needed and a letter which had my mother's signature in it. They took everything, I mean, everything, the company and my house. They said if I still wanted to live in the mansion I must behave, but I couldn't stand their way of treating me. I fled away right after entering university and the Headmaster allowed me to stay in the dorm even though it's usually only for the exchange students."
Tomoyo paused to take a breath.
"For daily needs, I cover it up by working part-time in a cafe nearby. I don't have to pay my school tuition since I got a scholarship. All I have to do is watch my grades. That's all."
Eriol blinked slowly, mouth agape. He never expected to hear such a mirthless story from the enigmatic Daidouji Tomoyo, whom he knew as 'The Little Princess Can-Do-It-All' in Tomoeda Elementary. Yeah, it was like nothing could not be done by her. She was an excellent cook, good at sewing, gifted with angelic voice (also, definitely had the capability of singing), friendly, clever, and not to mention, beautiful.
"I let you know too much, Hiiragizawa..." she gave him a weak smile. "But I don't want your pity."
"No, no," said Eriol with rush, "that's not it. Instead, I just find that you—"
His knees suddenly made a contact with their table with a thud. The noise was far from loud, but the result of that small accident was clear. His glass got off-balance. It fell, spilling its content all over the table. Some of them splashed on Tomoyo's left arm and skirt, creating ugly blotches of cola on her teal dress. The chill sensation made her jolt in surprise.
"Sorry!" Eriol apologized, standing at his feet to see how bad her dress gets wet. "I wasn't careful."
"No. It's fine, really."
"Here. Use my handkerchief."
Tomoyo was about to utter her gratitude for the handkerchief when she felt something that made her freeze. Her hand stopped moving in the mid-air as though she had been stupefied, not daring to blink. Both of her amethyst orbs were fixated on her other wrist, which was held by Hiiragizawa Eriol.
Every sense in her body seemed to react at the same time.
She jerked off, stumbled backwards, yanked her hand away at full force and before she could stop it, her voice found its escape. "NO! DON'T TOUCH ME!"
...
Silence followed after. Tomoyo gulped nervously as she glanced around; almost all of the guests had turned their direction towards them, and the waiters awkwardly tried to distract their attention by apologizing. But what created a pang of guilt inside her chest was the confused look across Eriol's handsome feature. He stared at her questioningly, as though silently asking what he had done wrong.
Yet, Tomoyo felt she had her tongue tied.
"I'M SORRY!"
Dashing out of the cafe, she didn't notice that a certain boy with spectacles was after her. Tomoyo ran, ran, and ran until she felt her leg muscles were near from breaking apart. Slowly her speed decreased and totally stopped when she reached a big tree. She was leaning her back against its thick bole to catch breath. Still in her panic state, Tomoyo's palm crept up to touch her forehead. Her facial expression cringed in anticipation while doing that.
Warm.
Almost hot, actually.
She could tell her face heated up as well as her entire body. She was getting nervous and dizzy, like someone who suddenly got a bad fever.
"Shit," cursed Tomoyo under her breath when her vision started to blur. In her remaining consciousness, she saw the tall figure of Hiiragizawa Eriol approaching her with worried look across his features. They were quite distant, but somehow Tomoyo knew he saw her body slid down the trunk and collapsed onto the hard ground.
.
to be continued.
skybluescramble again:
can you guess what i'm planning on this fic? :3
please leave reviews!