A/N: Chapter dedication to mysticalphoenix-avalon.


Present Tomoyo watched as her past self hurried into the chapel, unmindful of the admiring attention she was receiving from passersby-people who either knew her as the beautiful Daidouji heiress, or strangers who simply appreciated the sight of a lovely lady who capably held her poise despite her brisk, furious steps.

There were still ten minutes to spare before practice starts, but she wanted to round up her girls first to announce Mamoru-san's leave. They loved the old man dearly, as much as he loved them back, so she wanted to make sure she could answer all their questions about his condition with utmost clarity.

When she arrived, she found her small group clustered together, furiously whispering to each other. Odd. She clapped her hands to call their attention.

Eh? The girls seemed to barely register her presence—they were still consumed by a round of schoolgirl giggles and whispers.

Her mauve eyes silently followed the direction of their happy sighs, and quickly discovered who the source of the commotion was.

Eriol sat on the second row of pews, legs elegantly crossed. He was wearing a light blue dress shirt, dark blue tie, and gray vest. In his hands was the black music sheets binder that was lent to him by Mamoru during their last meeting. At first glance, it seemed he was intently studying the pieces for the practice. But it didn't take her too long to figure out that this was less about diligence and more on avoiding the girls' barely-furtive glances.

She cleared her throat loudly, and this time, it caught everyone's attention. The Londoner looked up from his sheets to smile brightly at her. A second later, he was swiftly up on his feet to join their huddle.

"Girls, as you know, Mamoru-san is undergoing treatment for his arthritis," began Tomoyo. "He will be away for a couple of weeks with his family, and so I would like to ask each of you to offer a prayer for his speedy recovery. And you remember what Pastor John Calvin says, don't you?"

"The highest form of prayer is a song," chorused the young ladies.

"Very good," the raven-haired woman nodded. "So, let us please give our best performance, starting from this rehearsal up to our live performance on the Sunday masses. Can I count on you?"

Different affirmative replies filled the air. One of the girls shot her hand up. "Will Mamoru-san be alright?"

"Absolutely!" was her confident reply. She called on another girl who has raised her hand, too. "Ayeka-chan?"

"U-Uh…" The girl's cheeks burned as she gave the blue-haired stranger a curious glance once more. "W-Who is he, Tomoyo-san?"

A buzz of excitement filled the air as the sixty-four-dollar question was finally raised.

"Well," She began, ready to launch into the introduction she had rehearsed last night, "everyone, please meet Hiiragizawa Eriol-kun. He will be helping us with our accompaniment while Mamoru-san is recovering." The Londoner was about to speak up when she subtly pushed him towards the piano. "Hiiragizawa-kun, if you may, let's start with Ave Maria."

"What should we call you, Hiiragizawa Eriol-san?" one of the taller girls, Minaho, asked excitedly.

"Anything you like," he answered with a good-natured grin.

"Where are you from?" another girl, Haruka, piped in.

"I've lived in England most of my life."

"Oh! England has kings and queens, don't they? Have you met the Queen?" Haruka gushed.

He nodded. "As a matter of fact, I have, indeed. Back then, she was still a little girl—"

"Hiiragizawa-kun," interrupted Tomoyo quickly, all subtlety lost as she dragged the amused Londoner to the piano bench. "Let's get started so we can cover more ground, shall we?"

"As Daidouji-san wishes," he acquiesced, bowing slightly. The girls let out a stifled chorus of swooning.

"England-san, are you dating someone right now?" One of her alto voices, Risa, asked excitedly. Evidently, Tomoyo needed not fear any adjustment issues between her new pianist and her girls.

He let out a chuckle as he rolled the sleeves of his shirt up to his elbows. "You heard your sensei. Let's get started with practice!"


"Not a bad first day, England-san," remarked Tomoyo as she and Eriol made their way out of the chapel. The last member of the choir had just been fetched by her parents, so they were now free to leave as well.

"Coming from the Tomoeda's Nightingale, I must say I am moved. Deeply." He bowed exaggeratedly at her.

She sighed at him, and then continued, "The girls like you a lot. I was afraid they were going to get distracted by your…"

He threw her an inquisitive look.

"… novelty," she supplied quickly. "But I felt so relieved that they immediately behaved when they heard you play. I could see it on their faces when they realized that you're taking this practice seriously."

"They're a talented bunch, and quite sweet, too," he agreed. "I can see why you and Mamoru-san look at them with such fond eyes."

Despite herself, a small smile formed on her face. "Someone once told me the same thing, back in elementary."

"Even a blind man cannot deny seeing the warmth your eyes hold for Sakura-san," he quipped teasingly.

"I will have you known that I've moved on, Hiiragizawa-kun. E-Except in a few instances when I really have not," she reluctantly added when the sophisticated gentleman let out what sounded like a snort. "Some days, I feel everyone else's circumstances changed, while mine remained stuck in the past."

"And nobody wants to be the one left behind," he agreed.

Her eyes flew to his face, surprised that he voiced out one of her many inner sentiments. He returned her gaze, prompting her to go on, which was what she did. "Sometimes, I purposely make myself inaccessible to her so I can feel what it's like to be missed. But this tiny rational voice in my head tells me that it's useless in the long run.

"I can't change things back to my liking. I can't make Sakura-chan choose between me and Li-kun. The best consolation I could get from them is guilt." She let out an audible sigh. "So, even without your cheer-up brigade, I've already realized a few things. I really, really am trying, Hiiragizawa-kun, but… " She bit her lip, wondering how to articulate her next thoughts.

"But us helping you feels like a pressure to do what's right for everyone, as opposed to what feels right for you personally?" he offered.

A small nod from her.

"Then take as much time as you need," he told her reassuringly. "Take as many steps forward, and even more steps backward as you need, so long as you don't stay in the same place. Soon enough, you'll find it—the strength to stand on your own and move on. I'll take care of Sakura-san and my cute little descendant with my bald-faced lying and no-good, rotten, dirty tricks."

And for some reason, the sincerity in his voice made her secretly want to believe in him, in a way she had never felt before when hearing other people's platitudes towards her.

"Tell me, Hiiragizawa-kun."

"Anything but Yue's dress size, Daidouji-san." He flashed her a wide grin.

She fought valiantly to keep the ridiculous image of Yue and Clow Reed exchanging sartorial opinions off her head. "What did Sakura-chan and Li-kun bargain for in order to get your cooperation for 'Operation: Cheer Daidouji Tomoyo Up'? We weren't exactly the chummiest of pals back in elementary."

"How cold. You break my heart, Daidouji-san," he feigned pain, but his tone was immediately replaced by earnestness. "I agreed to help because I thought you were an interesting person."

"Interesting?" she echoed. Now that was a first.

He nodded. "Even at eleven, I can see in you the makings of an old soul. You possess maturity beyond your years, and you have a remarkable gift for reading people and making connections. I reckon that the few times you couldn't "read" them are instances when you actively refuse to do so."

She exhaled sharply at that.

"Truth to be told, I am relieved that you weren't endowed with magical abilities, or I fear you would have been a bigger complication to the card mistress' trials," he admitted sheepishly.

"But why would you leave your life in England behind?" she pressed. And Mizuki-sensei…

"After Sakura-san, Li-kun, and I talked about handing over the stewardship of Yue and Cerberus to you, I thought I might as well make that trip to Japan and see you all again." He gave her a bright smile. "Don't worry! It's not like Sakura-san promised me her firstborn or anything."

Thank goodness Sakura-chan hadn't thought of that, sighed Tomoyo.

"My desire to be here, dear Daidouji-san, stems from neither a place of pity nor over-extended generosity in my heart. Most of all, no one is indebted to me," he explained. "It was of my own volition to return and hope you would let me watch you do interesting things up close."

"Ah, so my personal life is now a source of entertainment to cure your boredom?" she asked, hoping she could muster more offense than she felt at the moment.

"That's really cold, Daidouji-san," he laughed.

"I don't really mind," she admitted. "Anything's better than being a beneficiary of someone's emotional charity."

"That's the spirit!" he remarked cheerfully.

She suddenly stopped walking, and so did he. The breeze enveloped them both as they gazed at each other wordlessly for a moment, before Tomoyo's face blossomed into a shy smile. "Thank you, Hiiragizawa-kun."

"No thanks needed." To her surprise, Eriol suddenly stepped closer to her. Wide-eyed, she watched as he placed his right hand carefully on her hair.

"Heavens forbid that the birds mistake your head for a nice, cozy nest," he murmured as he flicked away the blown leaves caught in her raven strands one by one.

"T-Thank you… for your concern," she stammered, feeling the heat on her cheeks. Like in the chapel and in the elevator, his proximity had an uncanny way of making a fool out of her body's impulses. "The birds must be just as grateful."

Seemingly satisfied that her hair would not be mistaken for an avian habitat anymore, he stepped back respectfully. "No thanks needed," he repeated, just as the Daidouji black limo pulled up in the corner not too far away from where they stood.

"See you around," she bade, turning his way.

"As you wish, Daidouji-san." He gave her a slight bow.


That night, Tomoyo was hunched over her laptop screen, browsing the web. From time to time, she pushed the bridge of her oversized anti-glare glasses, which kept sliding down, up her nose.

For a change, she wasn't hard at work over a Sakura costume or editing a concert video of her choir students. She was scouring the web for the answer to one question which Eriol Hiiragizawa chose not to respond to directly.

She started by searching an academic depository of papers for authors named 'Kaho Mizuki'. Upon finding a UK-based researcher named K. Mizuki, she looked up her profile and found her affiliated university. Currently, she was searching the directory for her contact e-mail address.

It was easier, of course, to ask Kinomoto Sakura for the woman's details, knowing that the two were in close contact with each other since elementary. However, she knew her second cousin was perpetually curious, and would not stop until she gets an explanation for the Daidouji heiress' sudden interest in their former grade school teacher.

"Bingo!" she exclaimed upon seeing Kaho's school e-mail address, phone, and mailing address. She deliberated on which contact route to go through, and then opted for the easiest. She opened an e-mail client to start writing.

Dear Mizuki-sensei,

I hope you are well! It's been several years since we last met, so I apologize for this sudden communication. Something interesting happened recently, and I thought I'd write you about it.

Tomoyo momentarily adjusted her glasses as she wondered how to phrase her next few lines.

Hiiragizawa-kun returned to Tomoeda earlier this week. He is renting his old mansion with Suppi-chan and Nakuru-san. He kindly volunteered to play the piano for our choir because our regular pianist, Mamoru-san, is recovering from a sickness. He is excellent, as expected of a man with centuries' worth of memories. My little singers are smitten by his English charm. They call him 'England-san', and I certainly hope he lives up to your host country's name.

After another pause, she exhaled deeply and decided to just push through with her question.

Hiiragizawa-kun told me that he returned to Japan after talking to Sakura-chan (she and Li-kun had been aggressively recruiting nearly everyone in a grand campaign to cheer me up. Long story.) But I feel there's more to this. I apologize in advance because I know this is yours and Hiiragizawa-kun's business alone. However, I know you are both good people, and I would like to do everything I can to repay your kindness to us—to Sakura-chan especially, for helping her succeed in her trials as a card mistress.

I pray that this didn't offend you. I honestly couldn't think of a better way to reach out. Also, I read your abstract on Japanese mysticism and its links to Western magic (it's how I got your contact details—please don't tell Sakura-chan or Hiiragizawa-kun about this e-mail!). You've done well on your scholarly work, and as your former student, I couldn't be any prouder of you.

My best,

Daidouji Tomoyo

She pressed Send before she could lose her nerve.


"Ah, so that's how you managed to contact Kaho," Present Eriol chuckled. "Darn these newfangled technologies."

"Stop complaining, Hiiragizawa-kun. It levels the playing field for the rest of us." Present Tomoyo pursed her lips. "Not everyone can conjure a vision of someone else's preferred mailing address at will, like you can."

"But thinking of mine and Kaho's sake that way… you are kind and helpful to a fault, Daidouji-san." His voice barely concealed a blend of amusement and fondness.

"If that's your way of saying that I should be minding my own affairs, then yes, I am kind and helpful to a fault, Hiiragizawa-kun," she shot back. "Anyway…" Her purple eyes softened.

"Thank you, Hiiragizawa-kun. Seeing that day unfold again made me realize that it had been some time since I gained another friend. An ally, if you must. So, thank you."

"And as always, Daidouji-san, no thanks is needed. Because it wasn't just you who gained a friend and an ally back then."

"So, we're even?" she asked.

"Even-steven," he confirmed smilingly. "By the way, how come you never wear glasses in public? It suits you quite nicely!"

"Spare me your eyeglasses fetish, Hiiragizawa-kun," she sighed, rolling her eyes at him.

TO BE CONTINUED