Author's Note: First and foremost, I would like to thank Hidden Tala for being an inspiration to this fic. Years ago, I've read her work, Now and Forever, and I found it great. It has a kind of heavy feel, so I wanted to do a lighter version of her idea. I thank her for being such a good sport when I asked her permission to do this fic.
Err yeah... this is my idea of / attempt at humor...
PROLOGUE
"Son," a middle-aged Hiiragizawa Eriol cautiously approached his first-born who was almost the exact replica of his younger self, sans the purple eyes, "could you pick up Little Eriol in the nursery as he is about to cry any minute now?"
"Oh, you mean Kurorii otousan," Hiiragizawa Eiri emphasized the nickname of his youngest brother. As the fifth and avowed last-born child, Little Eriol was named after his father and it caused quite a confusion among the household. Thanks to an incident wherein the little tot had managed to cover himself with soot, his mother decided, firmly if I may just add, that the nickname was just perfect.
"Ah yes," Eriol pointedly ignored the accursed nickname, but he visibly cringed as he remembered the saccharine smile his wife gives him whenever she insists on calling their son by such name. He would not give-up his being the namesake, but alas, he's only that strong against his wife's wishes. "And check up on Yoru-kun too, I bet he's up to no good."
'For someone who insists he doesn't use magic anymore, he sure knows A LOT about what's going on,' Eiri thought as he raised an eyebrow. He was about to turn his back to comply with his father's requests when his attention was called back.
"And Eiri-kun, it IS the 25th already, is it not?"
After he replied in the affirmative, his father gave him his Cheshire Cat Grin™ and it made him think that the older man was the one who was up to no good.
"Sonoko-chan, where are you?" Tomoyo entered her daughter's bedroom and was astonished to see the biggest pile of clothes in the middle of the room. A rustle was heard before the top part of the pile slid-off to reveal a dark-haired head.
"Over here okaasan! Whew! I thought I was going to suffocate back there!" Sonoko extracted herself from the pile before she flipped her long straight hair over her shoulders to bring back some semblance of order into her person.
"Are you all right dear? What were you doing there in the first place?" a hint of worry crept into Tomoyo's voice. Between being a famous fashion designer with a natural penchant for clothes, and having a husband who couldn't say no to their daughter's whims, Tomoyo should not have been surprised that her daughter would posses enough clothes to... well... endanger her life as to say.
"I'm fine okaasan. I was just looking for a particular tank top with this shade of blue. They say it matches my eyes very well," a pair of midnight blue orbs stared at purple ones as if pleading for help.
"All right, all right, I'll help you look for it," Tomoyo started rummaging through the pile, roughly folding the clothes and segregating them by colors.
"What would I do without you okaasan?"
"That is really sweet my dear. But that could actually be a problem. You should start taking your responsibilities more seriously. You are the woman of the house when I am not around. Your siblings are still quite young. They would need guidance from a firm hand. In this house, we are dominated by men, but we are the silent source of their strength. You may have the privilege of having an older brother, and I admit that most of the responsibilities repose with him, but you are the one with the stronger personality. If things get too tough for him, please do lend him your support. I trust you to be better in keeping your head once faced with an overwhelming predicament," Tomoyo's voice was filled with more worry than the situation warrants.
"What's wrong okaasan? Are you and otousan going away for a vacation or something?" Sonoko felt the strange pensive mood her mother was in.
"Iie, not really. But we'll never know, won't we?" Tomoyo gave a sweet smile to her daughter that managed to erase the apprehension the younger female was feeling.
"Kurorii, don't move about too much, what is it that you want?" Eiri was balancing his 14-month old brother in his arms.
"Eiri-nii no baka," Sonoko affectionately teased her brother as she slipped into the nursery, "Kurorii wants to go outside the room, can't you see him flailing his arms and pointing at the door?"
"Aa! Erini, Kurori, out! Erini out!" Kurorii puffed at the stray strands of almost black hair that fell across his purple eyes.
"See? He wants to go out,"
"But he's supposed to take his nap right now. And I thought he was chasing me out of the room when he kept yelling 'out'," Eiri sheepishly grinned at his sister.
"Just because he chases you out most of the time, it doesn't mean he doesn't want you near him all the time. It's your fault for always hiding his favorite toy. Come on, I'll take him," Sonoko reached out her arms while Kurorii stretched out his pudgy arms to meet hers.
"Thanks, I'm supposed to check up on Yoru-kun afterwards. Dad sensed that the little menace is up to some mischief—"
"'Niisan, 'neesan," Tomoko rushed into the room, her dress and face smudged with some dust or dirt, "Yoru-niisan went into the shed and opened the door to the room otousan forbade us to go into!"
The two eldest of the siblings looked at each other with alarm in their eyes. That room was where their father stored his paraphernalia for magic. Both of them stumbled into the said room by accident when they were aged twelve and eleven respectively, that's why they've learned of its existence. Yoru, Tomoko, and of course Kurorii were still too young to be exposed to equipment which would enhance their magical powers. The three were still to be taught, and they should first master, how to control their powers before their father would let them into the room.
In their haste, they didn't realize that they've taken Kurorii with them to the shed. As the siblings neared the room, they could hear Yoru's voice reading something out loud. Eiri pushed open the door and saw Yoru sitting in the middle of the room, with his legs crossed and a book spread out in front of him.
"The key that hides the forces of darkness, reveal your true form to me. I, Eriol, command you under our contract?" Yoru continued on reading out loud either oblivious of or pointedly ignoring the presence of his siblings.
"Yoru! What are you doing?!" Eiri stomped his way into the room and approached the bespectacled boy in the middle of the room.
Eiri was about to snatch the book away from Yoru when suddenly, Little Eriol yelled, "Ri-riisu!"
They all found themselves being swallowed by a blinding white light.
Tsuzuku
Author's Notes:
Regarding the names of the kids, I really killed myself to come up with suitable names.
Eiri – meaning Crystal Village. In a basic Jap Class I attended, our sensei taught us to pronounce "ei" as "eh". I don't know if it's applicable to all "ei" used in Nihongo. But I chose the name Eiri because of the first letters of Eriol's name.
Sonoko – meaning Garden's Child. She was named after her grandmother Sonomi ("beautiful garden")
Yoru – meaning Night. It's a common generic word and is not often used for names. But I chose it as it is the second part of Eriol's name. (Eri + Yoru - Eriyoru - Eriol)
Tomoko – meaning Wise Child. She was named after her mother Tomoyo ("wise era/person")
Kurorii – kuro means black. I got the nickname from Kurogane of Tsubasa Chronicles. I chose it because it's supposed to sound like Clow Reed (clow-kuro; reed-riido)
Next chapter's preview:
Eighteen-year-old Hiiragizawa Eriol was expecting Daidouji Tomoyo at his house one morning before coming to school. Between the doorbell ringing and someone answering the door, a ball of light materialized in the middle of the living room. Afterwhich, five kids with Clow Reed's aura stared at Eriol with incredulous eyes. When Eriol heard a sweet-sounding voice coming from the hall, realization dawned upon him, then all he saw was black.
