Summary: On the eve of his departure to England, Eriol receives a visitor who asks him to stay. (An ongoing, if I take my motivational pills. Plenty of ExT interactions so stay away if that stuff makes you mad.)

Disclaimer: CCS be not mine, it be CLAMP's. Duh.

The Tomoeda Arcana

Prologue

Shadows cowered against the walls, banished there by the reading lamp that stood sentinel on Eriol's desk. Eriol hunched over the desk, regarding the two-thousand-page book that bathed in the pool of light. It's tissue thin leaves crackled as he flicked through them. He bit his lip as he drew his finger down a column of densely packed text. He paused at a promising looking entry and then copied the information into his notepad.

"Aren't great and powerful sorcerers suppose to write with quills?" said a voice just above his shoulder.

Eriol kept on writing. "Biros aren't likely to leak ink all over my page and hands, and they don't tickle my nose." Eriol turned towards the voice. "Good evening, Nadeshiko-san."

Nadeshiko reached out and ruffled Eriol's hair, folded her wings and floated to the desk. She perched herself on top of a stack of papers and fiddled with the Hello Kitty pencil holder that Nakuru had given Eriol for his birthday. She tilted her head and peered at the book on the table.

"Is this book a long lost diary of some powerful and mysterious mage, detailing his dangerous experiments and wondrous discoveries into the forbidden realm of magic?" Nadeshiko whispered in wonder. She pointed to the tiny, black script, "Does this describe a spell one could use to call forth elementals and bind them to your will? And this picture, surely it is some hideous monster birthed from the spell caster's imagination." Nadeshiko looked up with wide eyes, "Eriol-kun, why would you study such a terrible thing?"

"It's the London phonebook."

"Oh," Nadeshiko slumped in disappointment.

"That hideous monster is actually a removalist's truck."

"From here it looks like a monster. See, this is its tail; and there are three eyes, here, here and here; and its got sharp fangs over here..."

"It's a truck, Nadeshiko-san." Nadeshiko moved her head from side to side, trying to trick her eyes into seeing a truck.

Eriol looked at all the notes he had made. "We leave for England in the morning and I've still got so much to do. I have to arrange transport from Heathrow Airport; accommodation while the estate is cleaned, new furniture for the estate. Nakuru will demand a whole new wardrobe; you can't wear Japanese clothes in England apparently, though I can't tell the difference."

He was dimly aware that Nadeshiko had turned her attention away from the phonebook and was now staring vacantly in her lap at Hello Kitty. Hello Kitty stared vacantly back.

"I'll have to find someone willing to sell and deliver sugar by the truckload," Eriol continued, filling Nadeshiko's silences. "I'm really excited about going back to England."

Eriol looked up. He had expected Nadeshiko to be as happy as he was; instead, she sat, sullen, on his stack of papers, fingering the ears of Hello Kitty. Her wings drooped, just like the corners of her mouth; Nadeshiko gave a little sigh.

"You didn't come to hear my plans for England, did you?"

Nadeshiko slowly shook her head.

"Then why did you visit?"

Nadeshiko's bowed her head further; her hair fell forward and became a curtain, covering her face. In a small voice she said, "You have to stay."

Eriol blinked in surprise. "Stay where?"

"Stay here, in Tomoeda." Eriol noticed that she was gripping Hello Kitty tightly, her knuckles white around the ceramic kitten's neck.

"Why?" Eriol wished Nadeshiko would just say what she wanted to say; the message was making her very anxious. Instead he had to drag the information out of her.

Nadeshiko sighed and flicked her wings, "Because there are forces that wish to trap her. And you are the only person who can hold her to life."

"Her? Sakura? Something plans to harm Sakura-san?"

"Tomoyo-chan."

"Daidouji-san is going to hurt Sakura?" That didn't make any sense; Tomoyo would rather hurt herself than cause any harm to Sakura.

"No. Something between the worlds wants to hurt Tomoyo-chan." Nadeshiko spoke slowly, giving each word weight; Eriol had to understand. "Tomoyo-chan is the reason you can't leave for England."

"Daidouji?" Eriol was incredulous. "You want me to stay in Tomoeda for Daidouji? This whole visit was for Daidouji?"

Nadeshiko's head shot up, sending a ripple through her hair. "This is important Eriol. I wouldn't ask if it wasn't important."

Eriol went cold, "You expect me to put my life on hold for a person I barely know, a person I have barely spoken to."

She dropped her gaze back to Hello Kitty. "I knew you'd react this way."

"Then why did you ask me?"

"Because you're the only one I could ask, the only one who could help. And because I hoped I was wrong and that you'd agree anyway, because of what she means to me, and my cousin, and Sakura." Nadeshiko wasn't pleading, but she did sound wistful.

Eriol had an idea that could get him out of this request. "Sakura-san!" he cried in relief. "Sakura-san can help her. She is Daidouji-san's best friend and she is the Mistress of the Sakura Cards, a powerful magician in her own right. Sakura-san can save Daidouji from these dark forces," he said eagerly, trying to convince himself as much as Nadeshiko.

"They have already taken measures to remove Sakura from the picture." Then Nadeshiko whispered to herself, "And Sakura, like me, may be part of the problem."

Nadeshiko seemed certain that something was threatening Daidouji and that he was the only one who could help. Perhaps if he showed Nadeshiko that there wasn't any danger. After all he, reincarnation of Clow Read, had not detected any malevolent forces lurking around Tomoeda, let alone Tomoyo.

"Are you sure Daidouji-san's in danger? Why would the beings of the other worlds be interested in her; she has no magic."

"It is not for me to say."

Eriol was annoyed; spirits tended to tell only half of the story, but he thought Nadeshiko was different, that she could tell him anything. Nadeshiko was really making this difficult. "Then maybe you're wrong. Maybe there are no dark forces out to get Daidouji. Maybe you're imagining all this," Eriol hissed.

Nadeshiko seemed equally exasperated. "Then let me show you," she said. She snatched Eriol's wrist and swept her wings open, her hair a nimbus around her face. She spread her essence outward and literally lit up the room. The empty bookshelves and dormant fireplace were clearly illuminated; Eriol's study was a pocket of day in the dark cloak of night. The light got brighter and brighter till Eriol's eyes could stand no more and they shut themselves in surrender.

A change in the soundscape caused Eriol to open his eyes. He was in the middle of a wheat field, a sea of gold that stretched to every horizon. Eriol knew at once that Nadeshiko had sent him to the astral plane.

The astral plane allows those with the knowledge to view those forces hidden from the material plane, or travel between worlds. Everyone perceives the astral plane in a different way: some see it as a desert of silver sand, others a vast mountain range, while some might perceive it as a city. Eriol always perceived it as a wheat field, just before the harvest.

Eriol turned slowly around; Nadeshiko was nowhere to be seen. He stayed still, refusing to heed the siren song of the other worlds. He reached out a hand and gently brushed the ears of wheat, sending them into a dance against his leg.

Eriol looked up suddenly. He could have sworn he had seen something, a black patch at the corner of his eye, a quick and subtle movement. He strained his eyes to the horizon.

"You saw it, didn't you?" Nadeshiko's voice whispered into his ear. Eriol was aware of a faint pressure around his wrist, as if someone was holding it.

"I saw something. Or I think I did." Eriol kept searching the horizon, trying for another glimpse.

"That was it. You won't see it if you look for it. You have to look at something else, and let it accidentally stray into your vision."

Eriol tried that; he dropped his gaze to his feet but kept watch on his peripheral vision. "What is it?" he whispered.

"That is what you're up against. It sticks to the shadows and steals the light. It won't directly challenge you; it is sneaky in its manipulations."

"Some people say that about me." Eriol patiently waited for another sight of the creature.

"That is why you're ideal for the job." Nadeshiko's voice couldn't hide the smirk.

Then he saw it; just for a moment but it was enough for the sight to imprint itself on his memory. Keeping with the wheat field theme, it took the form of a scarecrow: stick thin and dressed in rags of shadow. He could feel the nature of this thing, its cold malevolence. It orbited just out of reach, a scavenger on the borders of existence

"How did you know of this, Nadeshiko?"

Nadeshiko considered her response, but in the end she just said, "I cannot say." Eriol had to be content with that.

"Close your eyes." Eriol did as he was told. He felt a gentle tug on his wrist and had a sensation of falling forward. When he opened his eyes he found himself back in his study, Nadeshiko was still perched on the desk, her wings mantled above her.

"Now do you see what she's up against? No one can stand alone against something like that."

Eriol remained silent. He was torn; torn between his responsibility as someone with power to protect those without, and his chance at a normal life with the people, creatures in Spinel's case, that he loved. To grant Nadeshiko's request would have to put his life on hold, again.

Nadeshiko watched him warily, giving him time to think things through.

"I guess," Eriol said hesitantly, "that I should tell Spinel and Nakuru to unpack; we'll be staying in Tomoeda for now."

Nadeshiko was a swirl of light and feathers as she rushed to give Eriol a kiss. "You have a good heart, Eriol-kun," she said tenderly and faded from the room; she could tell Eriol wanted to be alone.

Eriol closed the phonebook with a thump and pushed it to the side. He tore up all the notes he had painstakingly made; he tossed the pieces into the air where they turned into dragonflies and then vanished, just like all his plans and dreams. He slumped against his chair but his eyes strayed to Hello Kitty, who cheerfully waved, instead of a pen, a snowy white feather.

AN: Congratulations, you made it this far. Here's a gold star for your patience. I should mention that I'll be using the manga as the reference material since I have never seen the anime. Okay, I saw the first season of the Nelvana version but that doesn't count. I apologize if they seem out of character. As for negative comments: Flame On!