That night, Tomoyo had just finished her chat with Yamazaki regarding the changes on the site. He, too, was thrilled about the idea, and was glad that his old buddy from Tomoeda Elementary will be on board. He promised to visit the set with Chiharu during the shoot.
She had also e-mailed Naoko earlier to see if she was available to come and shoot this weekend, and her trusty former schoolmate enthusiastically agreed. There wasn't even a script yet, but she imagined that the project wouldn't need to write much—she just planned to have her actors go through several exciting action sequences.
And speaking of action… Tomoyo turned to her drawers. "Kero-chan, are you awake?"
"Maybe," a tiny muffled voice replied. "Are we having tea and cakes?"
"Hmm, maybe?" she said teasingly.
In an instant, the yellow winged guardian popped out of the third drawer to greet its mistress. "Gooood evening, Tomoyo-chaaaan!"
"And Yue-san?" She searched the room for signs of the lunar guardian.
"He'll be home late. He's helping Sakura's brother with the soccer team," informed Kero-chan, shrugging carelessly.
"Oh!" She forced a carefree smile on her face. "I was excited to see him, as this is our first night together." And I need to talk to him about Hiiragizawa-kun, too, like what Mizuki-sensei said.
Deep inside, she knew that the moon guardian's absence was also a show of disapproval for the transfer of guardianship duties as decided upon between the current card mistress and the reincarnation of the card creator. To Yue, it was tantamount to demotion to glorified babysitter.
And she couldn't blame him; having none of the special powers that the Kinomoto family had, she didn't have much to show for as their new mistress.
The sun creature landed on her desk, peering up at her sympathetically. "Ah, don't look so down, Tomoyo-chan! There's nothing in the world that the snobbish Yue can do that I can't!"
"Thank you, Kero-chan!" She fondly rubbed its tiny yellow head. "We're actually shooting a new video for my boutique. Sakura-chan and Hiiragizawa-kun will be there, and it will be great if you can make an appearance, too."
"Hah, you can count on me!" The creature bumped its chest twice with its hand. "Well of course, my acting may be a little rusty after so many years, but my coolness will make up for it!"
"I'm counting on you, Kero-chan!" Tomoyo clapped her hands like a doting mother egging her child. "But actually, I have another request for you."
"A request, you say?"
She nodded. "I was hoping you and Yue-san can help with the effects, too. Basically, we're simulating a card captor battle between Sakura-chan and Hiiragizawa-kun, and we would like both of you to use a little magic to show how tough the clothes I make are."
"Piece of cake! I can take care of Firey and Earthy. I'll talk to Yue about the other cards later," promised the sun guardian confidently.
"I appreciate your help so much, Kero-chan! And as a reward…" She handed the winged guardian a small bag bearing the logo of a famous pastry shop in town.
Kero let out a cry of joy and excitedly grabbed the bag from her. "Oh boy, oh boy, oh boy!" It fetched for itself a plate and a fork and began to dig in. "I knew I'm gonna love it here!"
Just then, her bedside phone rang. Having learned her lesson from the last time, she was mindful of her greeting as she lifted the handset. "Sakura-chan? Hiiragizawa-kun?"
"Bummer—no sexy after-bath chitchat today." Hiiragizawa Eriol's laughter was barely concealed by his voice . "Good evening, Daidouji-san."
"Is that Master Clow's reincarnation?" asked Kero in between bites.
"I see that the guardians have finally moved in," remarked the Londoner, not without amusement. "I believe I'm hearing Cerberus speaking with its mouth full, again."
Tomoyo made a hushing motion with her fingers, and the winged guardian complied by bringing the plate to the far end of the room.
"But Yue isn't there, is he?" he asked gently.
"He needed to stay out late with Touya and the soccer team tonight," she replied, perhaps a little too quickly.
"Tsukishiro-san will be sure to be conscious about the clock, don't worry."
"I hope so. Yukito-san tends to over-exert himself at times." She adjusted her hold on the phone. "So did you call to update me on whether the roboticist finally managed to kill the virginal heroine?"
"He managed to get her to his torture chamber, but alas, she wouldn't sign his stupid NDA," replied the mage sorrowfully. "So, he's now throwing a hissy fit every other page or so. Perhaps being cooped up in a glass tower can really take a toll on one's personality, huh."
Tomoyo's eyes twinkled in mirth. "Thankfully, Clow Reed didn't end up with a similar perspective despite living alone in his mansion for so long. I mean, can you imagine Sakura-chan summoning a Bondage card? Or holding a riding crop instead of a wand?"
"Ah, the tragedy of missed opportunities!" The Clow Reincarnation chuckled from the other end of the phone line.
"But why do you have to create guardians instead of reaching out to mortals like us for company?" she asked out of the blue. She heard a tentative pause from him before he answered.
"Clow Reed and I have different glass towers to deal with so I can't accurately speak for him," said Eriol thoughtfully. "What I do know is this: Clow's life memories in me may have been vastly different had he not created the sun and moon guardians."
Noting his pensive tone, she quickly tried to lighten up the mood. "Both of whom you have now passed on to a powerless mortal as myself, all because you guys think I can stand to have more friends so I can obsess less on Sakura-chan."
He let out what she thought was the Londoner's version of a delicate snort. "A mortal? Yes. Powerless? Not by a long shot. I am most certain my descendant will concur with my assessment."
Her eyes fell on the sun guardian, who was licking the last few crumbles off the plate with gusto. "Hiiragizawa-kun, what will become of Yue and Kero-chan?" she asked worriedly. "I don't have any magical powers to speak of, like Sakura-chan and Touya, or even Uncle Fujitaka. As the guardian's mistress, how will I support their existence?"
"Set your mind at ease, Daidouji-san," he advised. "Keroberos has been designed to be self-sufficient and not rely on its master to live. Yue, on the other hand, was generously gifted by Sakura-chan's brother with an alternative source of energy, so Yue's well-being should be the least of your worries."
"But will I make them happy?" Her grip on the phone tightened. "What if I'm not good enough for them? What if I bore them? I'm not as wise as Clow Reed, or as spirited as Sakura-chan."
"Comparing yourself to them is like fretting about a fish that couldn't reach the heights of a vulture," he said reassuringly. "Yue and Cerberus will love you differently than they did with Sakura-san and my former incarnation, and that isn't a bad thing. It simply means they see you as you, and not as a placeholder for anyone else."
His words felt like balm to her soul. Unwittingly, she smilingly cupped the handset microphone closer to her face. "Thank you, Hiiragizawa-kun. You're just what the doctor ordered."
"That's me, Hiiragizawa Eriol: foreigner poster boy in doctor's secret catalogs everywhere!" he quipped cheerfully.
Her eyes fell on her on-screen calendar. "By the way, we're shooting on Saturday. You're more than welcome to join us."
"Count me in," he immediately replied. "Where do you plan to shoot?"
"The Tokyo Tower," she replied. "The moon will happen to be full that night, and I can't wait to see how beautiful Sakura-chan will be with the moon and the tower silhouette as the backdrop!"
He chuckled at her excitement. "Ah, why do I feel that I will be relegated to an extra in the shoot?"
"Don't be silly! I've already envisioned your role. You're going to be a dark magical vampire who Princess Sakura needs to defeat in order to rescue the town from eternal night!"
He sounded amused. "A magical vampire, eh?"
"Vampires are totally in nowadays, especially if you're the dazzling kind."
"So I heard. Are you planning to make me dazzle?" he suddenly asked, a bit worried.
She smiled sweetly. "Unless you want me to make you wear a silver and gray necktie instead—same difference."
"Then a vampire it most certainly is. Thank you, Daidouji-san! I've dreamt of becoming a dark magical vampire since I was reborn," he chirped.
"Glad to hear your enthusiasm!" Tomoyo scanned her calendar again. "I'm shopping for fabrics tomorrow. Would you like to come and accompany Tomoeda's lonely spinster? We can meet in the Penguin Park at around 9, if that's not too early for you."
"But I thought you didn't want other people to see us together?" he asked, confused.
That's right. Tomoyo's brows knitted together. But she had grown so used to spending time with him that she didn't really put much thought into the invitation. It felt as natural and comfortable as asking Sakura to hang out with her- an odd thing, considering that it had barely been a month since she and Eriol became friends. Why?
It's simple. You want to see him, a voice within her replied.
Nonsense, she shot back. I only ever saw people because I needed to. Where is this coming from?
You take pleasure in his company. You like to hear him speak. You enjoy seeing him listen while you talk. You are soothed by his mere presence, explained the inner voice in what seemed like its most patient schoolteacher voice.
Stop. Don't go there, she warned herself.
Why not?
Because it's irrelevant to what I intend to do, she told herself firmly. To bring him back together with the love of his life, as what a true friend, ally, and supporter should do.
"—Daidouji-san?" prompted Eriol from the other end of the line.
"O-Oh, I'm sorry! I didn't realize I was dozing off." She fervently hoped he didn't see through her lie— sleep was the farthest thing in her mind right now. Her heartbeat raced in a maddening pace as she mentally fought back against the tiny, insistent voice of her wayward heart. "What was that again?"
"Don't worry about it," he replied genially. "Get some rest."
"I will." She just realized how exhausting it was to hold debates with herself. She blamed the Londoner and his book's influence for summoning her own argumentative inner goddess. "Good night, Hiiragizawa-kun."
"Good night, Daidouji-san."
Tomoyo carefully placed the handset back on the phone, then leaned back against her swiveling computer chair. A few seconds later, Kero-chan flew to her, looking at her worriedly.
"Did he say something mean?" asked the winged creature.
"Hiiragizawa-kun?" She shook her head hastily. "He didn't. And he never would."
The sun guardian flopped down on her shoulder. "Is that so? I can't tell. He's got my master's memories and powers, but he's still like a different person, y'know?"
"He would be so happy to hear that," she remarked. "Since his duties over the Clow Cards have been taken over by Sakura-chan, Hiiragizawa-kun now wants to live in his own way."
"Yeah," agreed Kero-chan, more timidly than usual. "But what will happen to me and Yue, Tomoyo-chan? Now that everything is alright, am I going to go back to sleep? Will Yue disappear back into Yukito?"
Tomoyo pressed the creature closer to her cheek. "It's all up to you, Kero-chan. Would you and Yue want to stay with a normal human girl? My life is terribly mundane, though."
"I don't mind watching over you, Tomoyo-chan."
A radiant smile blossomed on her face. "Then please do so, for as long as you want."
"Hear that, Yue?" snickered Kero-chan. "Tomoyo-chan says I can stay!"
"Oh!" Tomoyo turned to her window and saw the tall, silver-haired guardian standing outside her window. "Yue-san, welcome back!"
He eyed her silently for a moment before gracefully entering the room.
"Thank you for coming home," she continued, smiling warmly at him. "I leave myself in yours and Kero-chan's care."
The moon guardian still refused to speak. He headed to the corner of the room, where he stood and studied the new surroundings wordlessly.
Kero-chan sweatdropped. "Don't mind him, Tomoyo-chan. Yue can be pretty cold with people he's just met. He once threatened to shoot at Sakura-chan, y'know?"
Tomoyo stood and walked over to where the lunar guardian stood. He eyed her back with nothing but cool detachment on his face. Undaunted, she gave him a tentative smile. "Please join me and Kero-chan on Saturday evening. We are shooting a short pretend battle with Sakura-chan and everyone else."
Beside her, the stuffed lion materialized and flapped its wings excitedly. "Yeah, Yue! It's our chance to finally use our powers after a long time of keeping it locked down! Who knows when we'll get to do this again?"
Not breaking her eye contact with the guardian, she carefully reached out and clasped his pale hands in hers. "Sakura-chan and Hiiragizawa-kun would love to see you."
Yue stiffened at her touch. But perhaps sensing that his new mistress would not let go of his hands without a response from him, he finally gave her a curt nod.
"Wonderful." She released him from her grip and headed to her bed, with Kero-chan following her gleefully. "Good night, everyone!" She was about to flick off her bedside lamp when she turned to the moon guardian again. "Oh, Yue-san! I left you a slice of cake on my computer desk. Please consider it as my welcome treat. Yukito-san can take care of it for you."
He gave her another curt nod, and with that, she finally turned off the lights.
.
.
.
When Tomoyo woke up the next morning, she didn't see Yue anywhere. However, she did saw that the cake plate was empty, so that was good enough for her at this point.
However... I forgot to ask him about Hiiragizawa-kun! She let out a loud sigh and hit her forehead lightly with her knuckle. I hope he comes in tonight.
At exactly 9, she was seated on one of the park swings, undecided whether she was going to head for the market or wait a bit more. She knew she was not able to confirm with Eriol last night whether he was going to make it today, but a part of her stubbornly hoped that he would come anyway.
"Tomoyo-chan," whispered Kero-chan, who was drooped over her shoulder like a stuffed toy. "Who are we waiting for?"
"A-Ah, we're waiting for the shops to open," she stammered.
"Eh? Those people are already coming in to the shops," the toy pointed out, scanning the stores over the horizon.
"I-Is that so?" Tomoyo checked her wristwatch, and then finally sighed in clandestine surrender. He wasn't coming.
She rose to her feet and headed for the shops, willing away the disappointment forming within her.
.
.
.
After a couple of hours of shopping, Tomoyo was walking back to the park with an armful of bags from her favorite fabric store. Her lilac eyes scanned the surroundings for the black limo or her bodyguards, but felt herself drawn towards a familiar-looking figure seated on the swings instead.
Sensing the aura, Kero-chan's head popped out of her bag, too. "That presence… could it be…?"
The figure looked up, a visible look of displeasure on her face. She daintily pushed the swing seat back with her pointed toes, and then in a rapid burst of force that could only be described as feral-mad, she swung wildly towards them. She even managed to do a somersault in mid-air before landing perfectly on her feet.
"Well, that took you long enough," Akizuki Nakuru flung her braided hair over the slender slope of her left shoulder. "What did you try to get, the whole shopping block?"
Kero-chan scooted out of her backpack and hovered by her head. "Tomoyo-chan can buy you, your friends, and the whole town! But she wouldn't, because Tomoyo-chan and I are just considerate and cool like that."
"Oh, you're with her now. So it IS true!" Nakuru's brown eyes glinted. "The card mistress did give you and Yue away."
Tomoyo witnessed the flash of wince on the sun guardian's face before it zoomed determinedly towards the brown-headed servant. "HEY! It was a request from Sakura-chan and the brat and your master, who by the way was originally *MY* master! Don't make it sound like we're hand-me-downs."
The lunar servant's fingertips touched the corner of the devilish grin that formed on her face. "Hmm, interesting. I bet Yue wasn't very happy about this latest development. So, did he throw any tantrums? Pierced random passersby with his cute little crystal shards?"
"Please do not speak about Yue-san that way, Akizuki-san," she admonished gently.
Nakuru's scrutinizing gaze momentarily fell on her, and it was enough time for her to see the distinct resentment that the servant felt for her. It puzzled her, to be truthful, for she could not recall anything she said or did towards the guardian which can be perceived as injurious. The last time she saw and talked to her was back in elementary, when Eriol hosted a farewell tea party for everyone. Certainly, none of the exchange merited such ill feelings that Nakuru clearly held for her now. Right?
"Yeah, well." Nakuru smoothed the creases of her short plaid skirt. "Only Eriol can tell me what to do."
"I understand, but you see, Yue-san and Kero-chan are my friends." She offered the servant a warm smile. "I'm sure that if they say mean things about Hiiragizawa-kun, too, you will feel compelled to defend him, whether he explicitly said so or not."
"No way! Who'd defend someone as stubborn and stupid as Eriol?" Nakuru folded her arms across her chest grumpily, as the two sweatdropped. "Anyway, Eriol told me to meet you here at 9, but I got a bit lost. He wants me to tell you he's sorry he couldn't make it personally, but he wants to give you this." She produced a transparent plastic bag from her light jacket and handed this over to Tomoyo.
The raven-haired woman curiously peeked at the contents and instantly knew what these were. "Hiiragizawa-kun remembered my request," she murmured aloud, a touched smile on her face.
"There's a scrap paper there somewhere. It contains Eriol's measurements, which he laments is 'terribly unexciting for someone who's supposed to be at the age of primal virility', or something like that," added Nakuru, wrinkling her nose.
Tomoyo giggled at that. "Thank you so much, Akizuki-san. I appreciate your coming here to deliver us these. Having Hiiragizawa-kun's actual costume will be a huge help to us!"
Nakuru cast a wary glance her way, and then shook her head with a sigh. "I can't accept your thanks, Daidouji Tomoyo."
Oddly, she felt more curious than offended. "Why is that, Akizuki-san?"
"Because…" But just as quickly, Nakuru turned her back on them. "I would rather that you stay away from Eriol. Like I said, he's stupid and stubborn, and for some super weird reason, he only ever listens to you. So, won't you," The brown-haired servant faced her, eyes somber. "just disappear from his life?"
Kero waved its tiny fists at the lunar guardian in ire. "Don't talk to Tomoyo-chan that way! She and Clow, uh, that person… they're friends! She's not going to change things just because you said so!" It turned to its new mistress expectantly. "Ne, Tomoyo—ehh?!" Its jaw dropped when it saw that Tomoyo had calmly fished out her mobile phone and was talking patiently to someone else on the line.
"Yes. Remember the mansion where we took my sick friend from the park the other day? Can you please take me there? Terrific. I'll see you in a couple of minutes." She pushed the 'end' button, just as Kero swiftly returned to her bag.
Within a few minutes, a black limo emerged shortly from the park façade. It stopped right beside them, and out came the black-clad bodyguards of the Daidouji heiress. Tomoyo, on the other hand, gestured for Nakuru to join her in the car.
"Let me guess: you're going to snitch on me and tell my master everything that I said." Nakuru held her chin up smugly. "Well, sorry to burst your bubble, but he already knows everything I told you beforehand."
Tomoyo smiled at her serenely. "It's almost noon, Akizuki-san, and the summer's heat can be unbearable. I'll take you home."
Nakuru's brown eyes met her lavender ones, and for a moment, swept her face in a measuring manner. But interest won in the end; Nakuru quietly joined her in the limo.
.
.
.
"So why did you suddenly decide to do this?" asked Nakuru after a while, breaking the silence in the car.
"What do you mean, Akizuki-san?"
"Becoming close to my master," replied the servant, looking out at the heavily tinted window. "You're rich and popular, aren't you? Surely you can pick anyone in this town to be a friend."
She kept her hands poised over her lap as she spoke. "I'm afraid you are mistaken. The truth is, he was the one who picked me to be his friend, because no one else in town would. He took pity on me and offered me his hand, and for that, I will always be grateful to him." Her lips unwittingly formed a tender smile upon remembering how he persisted to chat her up the first time they met as adults in front of his mansion, using the choir as conversation leverage.
"Typically, grateful people can just say 'thanks' and move on. Can't you just do the same?" complained Nakuru.
She shook her head. "I have my own way of expressing my gratitude, Akizuki-san. I need to do just one thing for Hiiragizawa-kun, and then I'll gladly 'disappear', as you put it."
"And what's that one thing you have to do?" Nakuru finally glanced at her, but seeing that she was keeping her mum, the guardian groaned audibly. "Fine, I see you're not going to tell. But whatever you need to do, just do it quickly so you can go. He didn't leave England just to be saddled with another woman."
Tomoyo's heart raced at the prospect of learning more about something she had been meaning to uncover for days. "Do you mean Mizuki-sensei?"
Nakuru pursed her lips. "He cares for her, but he can't do what he really wanted to do while she's around. Maybe that woman knew, so she left. She knew Eriol was terrible with goodbyes. Or maybe it's her way of getting back at him, too, because as awesome as Eriol can be, him being all-knowing at all times can be annoying. It must be greatly satisfying to pull the rug off his feet at least once."
"What does Hiiragizawa-san want to do that he can't do unless he breaks things off with Mizuki-sensei?" she probed.
The moon servant's eyebrows arched. "Oh, you don't know? Good, let's keep it that way," she decided meaningfully, just as the car slowed down to a stop in front of Hiiragizawa Eriol's mansion.
.
.
.
"Eriooool, I'm baaack!" chirped Nakuru as she barged into her master's bedroom. Behind her was Tomoyo, who was taking in the sparse decoration of the Londoner's room. It only had curtained windows, a vertical rosewood bookshelf, a circular side table with chair, and a single-sized bed. The walls were all painted in neutral gray—no accents or panels, not even a single picture frame. It strangely looked unlived in and unloved.
"I can hear you quite fine, Nakuru," answered Eriol good-naturedly, who was lying on the bed. He was still in pajamas, his hair still disheveled, and his ubiquitous glasses placed on the table. On the wall, his staff—the only hint that he was no ordinary human—leaned casually against the wall. "I wish I can see you just as clearly, though. Can you please be a dear and hand me my glasses—oh, thank you, Na—" He blinked when he saw who helpfully put his eyewear on its place.
Tomoyo gave the eyeglasses a final push against the bridge of his nose, and then smiled at him. "Hey."
"H-Hey." He took off the glasses and wiped the lenses with the sleeve of his dress shirt, and then put it back on to inspect her again. "So it's not my eyes playing tricks on me… you're really here, Daidouji-san."
"She insisted to come," explained Nakuru. "I couldn't stop her because the lion is threatening to squish me."
"Ah, you're here, too, Keroberos," Eriol smiled at the direction of Tomoyo's bag.
The sun guardian stuck its head out to look at its master's reincarnated form. "It's been a while, Clow." Its face was a mixture of uncertainty and longing.
He shook his head slowly. "Now, Keroberos, I implore you not to call me that. I am merely a vessel of your master's memories."
Kero-chan shot out of the bag and flew towards his face. "Then stop calling me 'Keroberos' the way Clow used to!"
"I apologize-I'll do my best," he promised. Then he turned his attention back to Tomoyo. "Pray tell, what brought the Tomoeda nightingale to this lonely cage?"
She smoothed her dress and sat on the nearby chair. "You stalked me at my school before, so I thought I should return that favor and make you uncomfortable in your very own home."
"How exciting. I've never been intruded upon like this in any of my previous lifetimes" Eriol turned his azure eyes to the moon guardian. "Nakuru, would you please bring our stalkers some tea?"
The servant was about to protest, but seeing her master's pointed look, she threw up her hands in resignation and marched away.
"Kero-chan?" called Tomoyo lightly. "Can you please see if you can help Akizuki-san?"
"By making sure that she doesn't *cough* accidentally *cough* kill you? Alrighty." Kero-chan obediently trooped to the kitchen, leaving the two alone.
Eriol turned to her curiously. "What's that I heard about my moon servant contemplating murderous thoughts about you?"
"Kero-chan is just exaggerating. But more importantly," Tomoyo leaned closer towards him. "I have a request. I realize I've imposed myself a lot on you several times, but will you hear me out just one more time, Hiiragizawa-kun?"
Intrigued, he gave her a nod asking her to go on.
TO BE CONTINUED