Author's Note: Thanks for the awesome reviews! I love reading them. We're getting into the crossover part of the story now. Let me know if you think anyone's OOC. I'm not hating on Eriol, I swear, he's just freaking out a little. Who could blame him really. XD I do like him though, even if he does act like the ghost of Tomoeda at times. ;)
Enjoy!
"Oh Watanuki! I'm out of sake. Be a dear and get me some more, will you." Yuko said as she idly twirled the empty bottle in her hand.
"Grrr...Get it yourself! What am I? Your personal servant! Do you think I exist just to serve your gluttonous needs!" Watanuki spazzed through gritted teeth.
When Yuko answered "Why yes of course, you silly boy. Why else would you still be here?" it seemed to unnerve him even further. The shouting match went on for quite a while before Yuko held up a hand. Her face had a somber expression.
"Well well, we have a visitor it seems" Yuko said in a forbidding tone "please, show him in Watanuki and get out the good sake if you would."
Watanuki turned to see a boy, no more than twelve years of age, dark suit with a cloak to match. His hair was midnight blue. A pair of elegantly framed glasses were perched on his nose. Beneath them were a pair of mysteriously dark eyes. Those eyes made Watanuki shiver slightly, because he could sense the sheer power behind them. He quickly escaped to the kitchen to carry out Yuko's request.
Yuko surveyed her guest with a speculative eye. She knew this person or had known his original form. The child before her was merely a shade of what Clow Reed had once been.
"I have an urgent request for you, my dear Yuko." Eriol answered her unspoken question.
She chose to ignore the hollowness of those words. Such an endearment had lost its meaning long ago. This boy was only a shade, the imperfect reincarnation of the man she had once loved. He would never again exist in this world. The witch gestured for him to continue. She would do what she could, but this was dependent upon whether he could pay the price for what he desired.
"I want you to reverse what happened last night in the Sakura Kinomoto's basement." Eriol said rather firmly "It should never have happened."
" Clow. Or would you prefer Eriol?" Yuko inquired politely.
"Eriol, if you wouldn't mind" the boy stated. Yuko noted his slight British accent and concluded he had spent a great deal of time in that region in his present form.
"You understand the usual price for a time reversal." It was a statement, not a question.
"I just want things to return to the way he planned them to be." Eriol said convincingly "I am not as familiar with Touya's heart the way I am with Sakura's. I have doubts about whether the boy could fully master the Clow cards"
"I see nothing wrong with another practitioner of magic happening upon your favorite deck of cards." Yuko said idly as she reached a hand out to touch his face. Her nails touching the edge of Eriol's chin. "Even if the new practitioner may not be quite what you expected them to be, my dear Clow. Would you like to change your wish perhaps?"
Eriol shivered slightly. The unpredictability of the situation had unnerved him slightly and though he was weary of Yuko's prodding, her help would not go amiss if he were to test Touya's worth.
"He changed the form of a Clow Card and made it his own. No one should be able to perform such a task without my giving them the power to do so." Eriol said calmly, eyes betraying his inner confusion. "I would like to test limit of his power and his true intentions toward the cards."
Yuko's lips twitched slightly upward.
"So, just to clarify. Your wish is for me to help you test the Touya Kinomoto to ensure that he is worthy enough to be the Cardcaptor and possibly his intentions toward your favorite guardian? " Yuko asked silkily. "That can be arranged, though I will require payment."
Eriol nodded his head, face flushing at the mention of Yue.
"I beseech you, old friend." pleaded the boy "If nothing else. At least help me to make sure the book of Clow and the cards are safe in Touya's hands. He should never have been able to bypass my safeguard enchantments, even if it was an accident. I did not choose him to be the Cardcaptor. However, the book and Kero have spoken, if the Kinomoto boy is truly worthy then I will not question his status as Clow's successor."
"Your price will be something of Clow's a connection to your past self, be it a possession or a feeling" Yuko stated. Her voice invoking an edge of finality. "Something that holds sentimental value."
He removed a tattered looking necklace from around his neck and placed in Yuko's outstretched hand as payment for his wish. Yuko nodded. This would be enough.
"Don't forget Clow's other descendents" the witch warned.
Eriol's left hand curled into a fist. His expression losing some of its steadiness.
"Then it seems I will have to be wary of the Li Clan. They have become greedy and want the power of the Clow cards for selfish reasons." Eriol told Yuko as he shot her a meaningful look. "There is at least one member in every generation with enough skills to capture the cards. Li Syaoran may be a problem in the future."
"What will you do when he arrives, Eriol?" Yuko asked speculatively.
"I will distract him to the best of my ability, my dear Yuko" Eriol replied, the look in his eye similar to one of Clow's old expressions. "There must be something I can do to keep him away from Touya and Yue's false form. He must not interfere."
Clow's incarnation rose and bowed before turning to exit the shop.
"Thank you for the tea" he said "I will leave Touya in your hands."
Yuko sat there in contemplation for a few moments before going back to her work. She couldn't directly interfere with the capturing of the Clow cards, but she could use other means to test Touya Kinomoto's true intentions. He had it seemed, already converted five more cards with the help of Kero, the guardian of the seal, and Yukito Tsukishiro. Yuko giggled slightly at the thought of Yue existing within such a delightful form. Not that guardian of judgment wasn't quite the looker himself. The fact that both guardians stood by Touya's side coupled with the teen's miraculous ability to make the Clow Cards his own, would likely ensure that Eriol accepted the new card master and the Li Clan came up short in the end.
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"Oh Watanuki! I have some candy for you to collect!" Yuko called through a fit of giggles.
"You already have me making dinner for you. And dessert. What more could you possibly want?" Watanuki replied indignantly.
"Oh but this is special candy" Yuko informed him as he entered the room with another glass of sake "it's from another world. I'm going to need you to go there and get it for me. Oh and take Doumeki with you. Consider the return trip part of your White Day gift."
"What?! You want me to go to another world just to get you sweets? Do you think I'm Mokona or something?" the teen raged.
"mm...speaking of Mokona. He will also be coming with you on your trip." Yuko mused as she gestured to the small black Mokona who promptly jumped up onto Watanuki's shoulder.
"Another world, we're going to another world. Tralalalala!" Mokona sang causing Watanuki to have another spaz attack.
"Where exactly are we going?" Watanuki grumbled once he'd calmed down a bit.
"A little shop called the Urahara Shoten" Yuko said gleefully "the owner owes me chocolate. At least if he wants his wish to come true."
"I don't wanna know" Watanunki said shaking his head. Why did people keep making deals with Yuko that obviously weren't doing them any good? He really didn't want to know what this Urahara person was getting out of the deal, because it couldn't possibly be worth it.
The teen and the Mokona got ready and left the shop.
"Oh and Watanuki." Yuko called after them. "Be careful of cats while you're there."
