A/N: Hey guys! I've had this ET fic bubbling around in my head for a while and I've finally decided to publish it. This will be part one in a two possibly three chapter oneshot (or is it threeshot?) Follows the manga timeline. Part two (and three) will be post manga. Enjoy! :)

Disclaimer: The characters of CLAMP do not belong to me!

"There were some things that neither I nor Clow Reed could predict." – Eriol Hiiragizawa

It all started that one time he watched her, although secretly, he had been watching her all along. He was always watching everyone anyhow—the best at watching, he thought—watching others, watching situations, watching flowers bloom and die before his very eyes. Flowers were always blooming and dying, something he had observed for more than one lifetime. Life, growth, death: it was simply an inescapable cycle of human existence, of nature.

Something began to bloom that afternoon when he watched her—something different and unexpected, but he didn't know what it was at the time. Was it friendship? Pleasant agreement? Or was it just a passing moment?

Sakura-san and Li-kun were being blissfully unaware as usual, shaking pinkies and unknowingly falling in love. The pure-hearted are so fortunate in a way he would never understand, and as he looked at her, he knew she would never either.

Watching Sakura-san was his job; watching everyone else was just for fun. Watching her watching Sakura-san, however, he extracted more insight than she probably realized.

So he had decided to speak up, to make a mere observation. Where was the harm in doing so?

"You're always doing that," he commented, eyes glinting, "watching Sakura-san with kind eyes."

She won't know what hit her, he thought slyly as he walked up behind her. Her dark ebony hair fell in gentle cascades down her back and the soft curls flung around with her as she turned to face him, a stack of paper in her arms. Their eyes met for a split second before hers crinkled into a sweet smile—too suspiciously sweet.

"The same as you, Hiiragizawa-kun," she responded, still smiling.

And for a moment then, he forgot his façade. Quickly recovering from his mild shock, he recomposed his face, mirroring her in mustering up his most suspicious sweet smile.

Indeed, something blossomed that afternoon—something different and unexpected—and he knew what it was.

It was competition.

––

Something was growing, but he never intended to water it. He had a job to do and decided to spare no further thought to her while he focused on Sakura-san. Finally, with time, the cards had all been transformed. His work in Japan was finally finished.

They were all sitting in his dining room around him, asking questions but nonetheless celebrating—all except Yue, but that was to be expected. He would get to him later.

Because if there was anything he prided himself on—and he prided himself on a lot of things—it was his perception. He noticed Yue's displeasure the moment the solemn guardian stepped over the threshold of his mansion. Yes, he was perceptive, and he didn't know anyone who could feasibly match his, him the reincarnation of Clow Reed…

…until that day after Sakura had transformed all the cards, he thought maybe, just maybe.

"But with your initial power, it would have been dangerous to change the Clow Cards without a purpose," he explained.

"Therefore, you had to make the situations where I had to change the cards," Sakura-san realized, comprehension dawning on her then. It was endearing how glorious she looked when she finally figured it out, as if nothing could tarnish her joy.

"So…it was like that…" Li-kun mumbled.

Then, as if right on cue, Daidouji-san opened her mouth and began to speak. Inwardly, he gathered himself. He would be prepared this time for whatever quip she sent his way.

"I knew that you were really a kind person, Hiiragizawa-kun," she supplied.

He studied her carefully, trying to find a weak point, something to point out and catch her off guard. She was the only one in the room who knew and saw. She had to have a motive for doing what she did.

"Why do you say that?"

"You were always watching Sakura-chan and Li-kun with kind eyes and looking out for them," she said, continuing to grin. Yes, he knew she knew that. He figured that out last time they talked.

Maybe she recognized him as a force to be reckoned with, he thought smugly. He really was, if he did say so himself, and perhaps that made her worry for her and her friends.

"You were worried about the kind of person I am?" he tried, fishing for more information, or hopefully, prompting a reaction that knocked her off her usual put-togetherness. He was inwardly rather flattered, really, if she was so worried about him she observed him this closely.

"No, that's not it," was all she simply said.

Alright, that's how it's going to be, he thought as he looked at her smiling back at him, she was always on her guard. Give her a compliment, then, why not.

"You may not have magical powers, but your sharp insights and your gentle heart are perhaps worth more than magic."

She continued to smile. Eriol leaned back in his chair, slightly impressed against his own will.

––

"What's something even Clow couldn't predict?" he asked.

Eriol hesitated, giving the moment the proper weight and suspense. He wanted to laugh at their confused and eager expressions as the two sat next to each other, completely mystified and curious. Oh, the delight of watching them figure it out for themselves—he couldn't tell them, he had to remain cryptic. They would know eventually; it was inevitable. They would know.

"That's a secret."

And out of the corner of his eye he saw her smug grin and knew that she knew what he meant.

She was on the same page, then, he thought. In that moment, they were both even as they watched the other two cluelessly tilt their heads.

––

"No matter how much magic you may have, hearts are hard to predict."

And he knew she understood this, too.

––

Stealth and secrecy have always been his longtime companions. Yes, he may intentionally reveal little fragments of himself here and there, allowing himself to be known in small parts, but overall, whatever he guarded was never seen by anyone on the outside. So what was going on that day when Sakura-san and Daidouji-san paid him one last visit before he left?

Sakura-san, he observed with a silent smirk, was clearly preoccupied. Her cheeks were flushed, her energy was focused elsewhere, and she was acting more withdrawn than usual. She knows now, he thought cheerfully, the boy has already told her how he feels. It won't be long before she begins to understand the advice he gave her the other day about people leaving her.

Kaho was running around the house, trying to find their gifts from England. When she returned, Sakura-san ran over eagerly to see what was going on and he simply grinned, highly amused at the situation.

"You watch Mizuki-sensei with kind eyes," a voice said behind him. He had forgotten she stayed behind when Sakura-san ran forward but she was right there beside him. Slowly, he turned around to face her, trying to suppress his look of momentary surprise.

"Now you have the kindest eyes," Daidouji-san noted. She looked genuine but he knew she was quietly challenging him, daring him to falter, just as she did with Li-kun a few weeks ago.

Unlike Li-kun though, he immediately smiled back. Stealth and secrecy was the key but somehow, he had let himself slip for the tiniest of seconds because he didn't bother to notice her.

"You truly do have amazing powers of observation," he replied.

Her eyes crinkled again in that all familiar sweet smile. What was behind that enigmatic grinning mask? They stood for a moment, simply smiling at each other; a moment that made him wonder about the thing that was slowly blossoming and growing. The competition, yes, but what more?

In the next second, however, the spell was broken by the voices of Kaho and Sakura-san. Daidouji's attention focused back onto Sakura-san instantly and he knew his suspicions about her to be true. But to bring it up right now, right then—that would be too cruel.

He didn't intend to water it, no. He never intended to water it, ever. After all, she was only a child.

And he? Well, that was complicated.

All he could think of in that moment instead was how secretly frustrated he was that she was now two points above him. Completely unacceptable.

-to be continued-

A/N: Aw, yisss! Part one complete! Tomoyo is the best. So like I mentioned, part two will be post manga and will be coming soon to this fanfic near you. :)