Rewrite
By: Angel Kamiya
Chapter 25
Tomoyo was in trouble. When she opened the refrigerator to see what was inside, she couldn't find what she had really wanted. It was mostly filled with food that neither she nor her mother had gotten the opportunity to finish yet. Looking down at the ground at the cat, Tomoyo thought about what to do now that there was nothing for her pet to eat. The black kitten looked up curiously at her.
"Is there anything I could do for you Tomoyo?" a maid asked, walking into the kitchen.
"Oh, I was just looking for a carton of milk. It looks like we ran out."
The maid sighed after getting that reminder. That was what she had forgotten to do that morning. Putting a few of the glass cups that were on the table into the sink, she began washing them.
"I'm sorry. I haven't gotten the opportunity to go to the store yet. I'll get going right-"
"That won't be necessary, Eika," Tomoyo interrupted. "I'll go by myself. I wanted to spend some more time outside of the house anyway. Can you please look after this kitty until I get back?"
"I'm happy you found yourself a pet! Have you named her yet?" Eika asked.
Tomoyo didn't know what to say. After getting home that afternoon, the first thing she had been planning to do was to find something for the kitten to eat. She had known that she wouldn't be able to stand seeing an animal starving, so that had been her only priority. She would also have to tell her mother about the kitty when her mom got home back from work.
"I don't know what to call her yet. I'll probably figure out something later."
After the maid nodded, Tomoyo quickly left the house. It wasn't raining like it had just been earlier, but she had brought along an umbrella to be on the safe side. While walking through the street she found herself thinking about Sakura.
A part of her had wished that she had gone to help Sakura make the cookies that she was planning to bake, but in the end she had decided not to because she thought that it would had been better if he friend made all of them by herself. Recently Tomoyo had become more and more worried about her friend. A few days back Sakura had told the person that she liked what she felt, and now would probably be spending less time with her. It didn't bother her that much, but she was still a little disappointed at the thought.
Tomoyo realized that someone had started walking right besides her while she had been thinking. At first she hadn't noticed him being there, but as she saw his feet she looked up to see a familiar face.
"Li! What are you doing here?"
"I'm just checking around the neighborhood for anything out of the ordinary," Syaoran responded, not surprised at running into her. "It's nice to see you again, Tomoyo."
Tomoyo smiled at his good manners, not finding it difficult understanding why Sakura thought so highly of Syaoran. There weren't many guys in school that acted that way. At times Tomoyo considered Syaoran to be an adult already.
"So are you looking forward to seeing Sakura later today?"
After hearing the question, Syaoran found himself getting anxious. In the past he really didn't react much whenever someone mentioned Sakura's name to him. Now all that had changed.
"Yeah," Syaoran muttered, trying to act as though everything was fine. "I... I wanted to thank you for what you did earlier at school. Making me talk to Sakura."
"I'm only glad things didn't turn bad. I was very worried about you two."
"Tomoyo, can I ask you something about Sakura?"
"What do you want to know?"
"Do you know what kinds of places Sakura likes to spend her free time at?"
"Oh! Are you planning to ask her out or something?"
"May... maybe."
Tomoyo was enjoying all this. It was really cute how Syaoran didn't know what to do whenever he was supposed to be around Sakura. To someone that had never met Syaoran, they would have probably expected him to be good at everything. But in reality Syaoran needed help at times too. For a moment Tomoyo wondered if they would let her follow them on their first date, to record everything since it would be such an important point in her Sakura's life.
"Well..." Tomoyo started, trying her hardest not to smile. "She has really been talking about that new restaurant that had just opened up by the mall."
"I have to find out what kind of food they serve..." Syaoran uttered, looking determined. "Do you know if Sakura is at home right now?"
"You just missed Sakura-chan. I was with her just a few minutes ago."
"Really?"
Tomoyo wondered where they would be going if she hadn't told him about the restaurant. It probably wouldn't have mattered all that much. For some reason she pictured Sakura being happy wherever the date with Syaoran ended up at.
"Yeah, we actually found a poor kitten that had been abandoned earlier on the way back from school. I decided to take it with me back home after realizing that I wouldn't just leave it there."
"That was kind of you."
Tomoyo didn't think of it as that big of a deal. At the time she had done it only because she wanted to help the cat. It had also been because of something that she needed. As the two of them entered the park, Tomoyo noticed that there were less people than usually there that afternoon.
"I guess I needed the company. My mom has been really busy these past few weeks, we rarely see each other anymore."
"I'm sorry to hear that. Maybe you should tell her you want to spend some more time with her?"
"I don't know if I should do something like that. I'm worried that she would just tell me that her work comes first, while I come second."
Looking at her Syaoran wondered if that was what Tomoyo really thought. It wasn't unusual that a single parent that had to work to spend more time at the office than with their children, or in this case Tomoyo. However, it was something Syaoran couldn't see continuing if Tomoyo ever told her mother.
"If it really bothers you that much, then you should let her know."
"Li, how do you deal with living by yourself? Don't you hate being at your apartment all the time without company?"
"I've never really thought much about it, but I think I just got used to living alone."
Tomoyo wasn't sure if she could ever live by herself. There were many reasons why she liked school, and one of them was getting the opportunity to see her friends on the weekdays. She wasn't sure if she would have enjoyed nearly as much had she been taught alone.
"Maybe I should ask my mom if I can get my own apartment," Tomoyo smirked.
"Good luck. You'll need it," Syaoran answered.
"I hope you realize that you're not alone anymore, Li. You have Sakura now."
"I guess I do."
"Li, don't hesitate to call Sakura whenever you need to talk to someone. I've always found it makes me feel better after talking with her."
Syaoran knew that he could talk to Sakura whenever he needed someone to listen to him. It was something that he always liked about her. Sakura was one of those people that you knew would always be there for you in case you needed help.
"I understand. Are you going to be okay with your mother?"
"Yeah, don't worry about me. The next time I see her I'll tell her exactly what has been bothering me."
Tomoyo gave him a smile. She wasn't sure how things would be turning out between her mother and her, but talking to him had made her feel better. Now she only hoped that things would get better after she had told her mother the things that had been bothering her.
Syaoran froze sensing something. It was felt as though he was near something very powerful. Looking around he tried to find what could had been causing something like that. Tomoyo was looking at him with a concerned face. After several seconds he finally saw what had been creating the magic aura. It was that same little girl from last night! The girl was standing besides a tree not far away.
Syaoran ran to where she was at.
"Li, what are you doing?" Tomoyo uttered, trying to catch up with him.
"I saw that little girl last night," Li explained, stopped right before a couple of trees and bushes.
There was no one there.
"Are you sure you saw someone?" Tomoyo asked, wondering who Syaoran had been speaking about. "I didn't see anything."
Syaoran raised his hand, looking for what he had seen moments ago. He took out the talisman from his pocket. There was a flash of bright light and the object had transformed into a sword. When he looked back at Tomoyo, he put a finger against his mouth.
Tomoyo nodded understanding that he wanted her to be quiet. Now she was really starting to get worried about what would be happening next because of how he was acting. Syaoran didn't say anything for several moments as he tried searching for anything that could be nearby. Suddenly there was rustling sounds, making Syaoran glad that he had brought along the Clow cards. Somebody walked out from the bushes. Syaoran immediately took a step back and hid the sword behind his back.
"Yukito-san! What are you doing here?" Tomoyo exclaimed, having expected some kind of monster or something that had been dangerous.
"Yukito?" Syaoran said, alarmed.
"Where have you been the past few days? Everyone has been looking for you!" Tomoyo cried.
"Are you okay?" Syaoran asked, glad that he hadn't done anything that he would regret.
Yukito didn't respond. It was like he was sleep walking or something.
Tomoyo walked closer to where Yukito had been be standing. Over the past few months she had gotten to know him because of all the times he had visited the Kinomoto residence. Yukito was close friends with Touya. At times she had thought he spent more time there than she did.
"I can't say," Yukito finally answered, looking at Tomoyo and Syaoran as though he was seeing them for the first time. "Everything is a little hazy."
"Things might start coming back to you if you wait a while," Syaoran commented, wondering if Yukito's condition had anything to do with everything that had been happening with Sakura.
"The last thing that I remember was walking home after work and then I woke up here. I'm not sure what happened in between."
Tomoyo was glad that Yukito wasn't hurt, but there was something about seeing him like this that was unsettling. Perhaps it had been because Sakura had experienced something similar not too long ago? Suddenly Tomoyo found herself wondering if his disappearance had been related to Eriol not showing up for school.
"Do you want us to walk you home?" Tomoyo asked, concerned.
"I would like that."
Syaoran knew something was wrong. After standing there for a few moments he had already began feeling the strange aura hadn't left. It was coming from Yukito.
"Tomoyo get away from Yukito!"
Syaoran ran forward and stopped right between where the two of them were standing. Syaoran was pointing his sword at Yukito as though he was something dangerous. Tomoyo was too shocked to say anything at first. As she took several steps back, she stared at Syaoran in confusion.
"Li-kun!" Tomoyo replied, confused. "What are you doing? That's Yukito!"
"I don't think that's really him! Stay away!" Syaoran muttered, keeping an eye on the person that they had run into.
There was a light that suddenly appeared. Before the either of them knew was happening Yukito was gone and in his place was man in dark clothes. Syaoran noticed that he looked as though he was having a hard time standing up. Narrowing his eyes, Syaoran immediately recognized him from the drawing that Sakura had showed him from before.
"You have the Clow cards as well," the man muttered.
Tomoyo was speechless; as she looked around she quickly realized that there is no one around. Everyone else was gone. It had almost seemed as though they were alone now. Trying to be calm she looked at the person that had caused them so much grief.
"Why did you hurt Sakura-chan for? What did she ever do to you?" Tomoyo demanded.
"You have five seconds to tell us why you are here and what you want," Syaoran announced. "Are you Yue?"
"As long as you two hold the cards the world is in danger."
Syaoran didn't understand what he was trying to tell him. How could the Clow cards be dangerous? While the cards were in Sakura and his possessions, they would be safe for everyone around them. Waiting more than long enough for a reply, Syaoran raised his sword to attack.
"FIRE!"
There was a bright light as Syaoran cast the spell. Flames shot forward and surrounded the man in dark trapping him, the wet weather not putting out the flames at all. Not taking his eyes off him, Syaoran started backing slowly to where Tomoyo was standing. Tomoyo wasn't safe if he didn't get near her fast. There was a burst of wind and the man that had been trapped by the fire was gone. Syaoran immediately turned to look at Tomoyo and saw them together.
Tomoyo felt someone had gotten a hold of her arm.
"Li! Help!" Tomoyo yelled.
Syaoran froze. There was no way he could get to her now! If he tried attacking the person that was holding onto Tomoyo then she could end up getting hurt.