Touya was back in front of the sink... scrubbing dishes. The more soap and water that splashed over his hands the more he wondered if this was peak adulthood - making breakfast for your family and then washing dishes before you go to work. He turned off the water and dried his hands.
A soap bubble on his shirt caught his attention and he groaned. For once though, Touya had gotten a full night's sleep. He didn't want to jinx it, but he felt pretty good today. So good that he had gotten up early and started cooking.
As Touya pat his shirt he looked up at the clock. Sakura had actually woken up early today too. And as a result, she left on time for school. More than on-time actually - if he wasn't mistaken, she would probably get there early.
It had been a few days since the market and everything felt calm around them... for now.
It was kind of funny, Touya thought. Amidst the chaos of work, school and looming magical threats, there were moments of just sheer normalcy and... peace. He was oh-too-familiar with the phrase the 'calm before the storm' but wasn't the calm always kind of... nice? Was it weird that for the first time in a long time he was actually kind of... enjoying it? Touya thought maybe it was because they identified the threat. But they still didn't know what the strange magician wanted. It was much more likely that any peace Touya felt was due to the fact that he was trusting in his sister more and... leaning on Yukito, and... he felt his cheeks heat up... talking to Yue.
Quickly he shook his head as if it was the best way to clear his thoughts. Lately, every time he thought of Yukito, he thought of Yue and how he just kissed him because he felt compelled to. It was short and sweet but it was somehow still affecting him.
All of me loves you, Touya.
He stepped away from the sink, his whole face feeling on fire. Sometimes Yukito's eyes would flicker between grey and blue and Touya would just pause and want to lean in closer and- he breathed out.
Yue was different than Yukito. He had his own memories, his own life, he wasn't... his. But however Yue's presence made Touya feel was irrelevant. Touya dated Yukito - his best friend; the love of his life. Not the icy, mysterious alter-ego who took his breath away and made him feel like-
Ugh. It didn't matter. It... couldn't matter. Because two on one was... Touya gulped. He had to stop thinking about this.
The kitchen could probably be cleaned some more and the living room too. Yeah, for his sanity, that was a much better use of time. Touya walked through the kitchen and... stopped. There was something weird sitting in the middle of the table.
Slowly, Touya approached it. It was a small bundle wrapped in a green... cloth? Touya laughed when it finally registered. This was Sakura's homework. Unbelievable. If his sister wasn't stumbling out the door late then she was on time and forgetting things. He turned his head towards the door. She was probably a bit too far to come back now. Although... he could still sense her so that meant she wasn't too too far.
Without another thought, Touya grabbed the package, his keys, and phone and walked out the door.
The sun shone down the moment he hit the street. There were big white fluffy clouds in the sky. He heard a bird sing, its quiet hymn filling the air. It was as peaceful as Touya felt when he woke up. It was still so early that morning traffic hadn't yet begun. There was no one on the sidewalks aside from school kids and the occasional businessman. Pretty soon these streets would be full of people and instead of bird songs the air would be full of honking cars and bicycles.
Touya closed his eyes, reveling in the peace while it was still here. He let his senses guide him forward. Sakura's presence was getting stronger with every stride. He adjusted her homework under his arm. Besides knowing it was for Econ, he actually didn't know what it was or if it was fragile. He shrugged, hoping it'd be fine.
When Touya heard giggling, he opened his eyes. Laughing schoolgirls was a surefire sign that he was almost to his destination.
And as the sun warmed his hair, Touya's mind drifted back to his heart, replaying the very scene he was trying not to think about - his lips on the moon guardian's cheek. And the accompanying surge of electricity he felt dance along every inch of his skin. He loved Yukito, adored Yukito. So why, did he so often think of Yue? Could it be because he was an extension of the man he loved or was it something more?
All of me loves you, Touya.
And all of Touya loved all of Yukito, but... did that also mean he loved... Yue? Could he... love Yue?
Touya sighed as he closed his eyes again. He waited for a breeze to come so he could relax into it and hopefully ease this confusion he felt in his heart, but... he opened his eyes. Why was no breeze coming to him?
His eyes scanned the area around him. It was a clear sunny day. How could there be no wind at all? He stood still for a few seconds and then, instantly, as if on cue, a breeze hit him square in the chest. The burst of air was so forceful that he almost fell over.
"You're late," Touya said, steadying himself.
But the breeze did not let up. In fact, the wind that was now in full force. It was scattered, blowing through the trees and knocking hats off of people and children passing by. Touya stood confused, taking it all in. And then it occurred to him, probably a beat too late, but he could no longer sense Sakura's presence.
Touya took a deep breath and let it out. He didn't want to let go of his feelings of peace, but he could feel his grasp on Sakura's homework tighten. Something had happened, and it wasn't good. He felt like yelling.
It was one thing to face magic after school, another thing entirely to do it during class, but first thing in the morning? What the hell did this Magician want? Could it be something so serious it couldn't wait?
For once, Sakura had woken up on time. For once, she was going to be early to school. Did he just see an opportunity and cease it? if that was the case, then he was glad for his sister's lateness. He might actually start encouraging it.
The breeze flew around him and Touya nodded. Let's try this again, he thought.
Touya closed his eyes and brought the package to his heart. He honed in on everything around him. Woven through the birds' hymns, the now noisy wind, the faint giggling, and steadfast footsteps, there was a strong sense of magic. The more Touya concentrated, the more of it he could pick up. There was one overarching force that stuck out like no other. It was woven through the air all around him and there was no mistaking who it belonged to. this was the same magic he sensed in the market, the same looming magic he felt ever since following his sister like a silent rain cloud. Yuna D. Kaito.
Touya tried to push past it. He had to find Sakura, he had to make sure she was okay. But the Magician's magic was so intricate and layered that it was hard to push past it. He probably looked crazy – standing still on the sidewalk with his eyes shut tight holding a package to his chest. But he didn't care. He wouldn't stop until he found where his sister was. And his determination as paying off. There was another force he was picking up on - somebody else's magical signature. It felt familiar, but it wasn't quite Sakura's it was… it was… the kid's! Syaoran, right? He was here. Unconsciously, Touya's feet started moving. His senses guiding him forward. Touya kept on Syaoran's trail. The more he focused in on the kid's magic, the closer he felt.
And all of a sudden Touya's feet stopped moving. He had found Sakura's presence, but it was faint like it had been shrunk down. He opened his eyes. His senses had guided him to a group of school girls. Touya looked around. There were thick bushes and trees around him. Syaoran and Sakura had to be in there.
He felt a bit of relief. Whatever Sakura was facing, at least she wasn't facing it alone. Syaoran had helped her at the aquarium. He had dove headfirst into the water to save her and then dove in again to save their lunch. He probably helped her a lot more than Touya realized.
A breakout of giggling caused Touya to turn to the group of schoolgirls he was standing behind. He cocked his head to the side to get a good look. One of those girls looked almost exactly like his sister, Sakura. Touya narrowed his eyes. Same height, same hair color, same school outfit, and backpack.
One of the girls in the group seemed to notice him staring. She looked towards him and then the fake Sakura slowly turned around. Touya's eyes widened as he looked into his sister's face on someone who wasn't his sister. He blinked a few times as the imposter took a step back, clearly recognizing him.
Ah. Touya had met this girl before. It was a long time ago, but this was definitely her.
Once upon a time when Sakura would sneak out and tackle magical forces in the night, this girl, this carbon copy of Sakura, would wait at home in order to fool him and his dad. It was Sakura's silly way of making sure no one worried about her. Touya found himself smiling at the girl. They had met so long ago he wasn't sure if she'd recognize him.
"Who might this be?" the other schoolgirl said.
"I'm Sakura's brother," Touya responded.
The girl's face lit up as Touya turned to face his fake sister. She looked very nervous, so he smiled a bit bigger and hoped it came off genuine. He didn't blame her for doing whatever she was doing. Sure she was meant to be a deception – some kind of magical illusion, but she also served as a sign that Sakura knew what she was doing. In a way, this fake Sakura was kind of like a promise. A promise that his sister would return when her business was taken care of.
"You forgot this," Touya said, handing her the package. "Your home economics homework. It was on the table."
"Thank you!" Fake Sakura answered. Her face was so kind. So much like his sister.
Touya couldn't help himself, he patted the top of her head, leaned down to her level, and quietly in her ear said. "I'm sure Sakura's gotten herself in some kind of mess again. But don't," he stressed, "don't push yourself too hard as you cover for her." He stood back up and addressed both girls together, "take care of yourselves."
The other girl beamed her thanks at him, while fake Sakura nodded sweetly, standing frozen in place. That girl might not have been his sister, but she was so close to it, that he couldn't help but feel fond of her.
As they walked away from him, Touya found himself looking out into the bushes. The fake Sakura was enough to fool that new girl she was with, and maybe some other classmates, but it wouldn't fool everyone. Certainly not Touya, Yukito, Yue, even Daidouji and... Syaoran. From where he was standing, he could still sense both of them – but, he couldn't see them.
Silently, he willed the breeze to him. Though it was still frantic, the wind was much less chaotic than it had been earlier.
"Help them," he said when he felt it.
The breeze ruffled his hair and then took off in their direction. Touya nodded hopefully and then turned his gaze homeward. Yukito was in class, but there was someone else who could help his sister. Someone who's magical energy was still radiating from their home.
Touya couldn't believe he was about to do this. Honestly, he had tried to talk himself out of it on the walk over, but… alas, here he was... standing in front of his little sister's room.
The mumbled sounds of a video game came streaming out from underneath the door. Kero was his name if Touya remembered correctly. Though he was fairly certain that was short for something. Touya took a deep breath in and let it out.
It was just a conversation, he told himself. A conversation… with a stuffed toy, who was also magical. Yeah, Touya couldn't do this. He lowered his hand that was about to knock and instead crossed his arms over his chest. Bringing his head down he rested his forehead on the door in front of him.
He had only ever spoken to Yue. Yue, whose guardian form was not a plush toy, but something extraordinarily human and… beautiful. Touya lowered his head a bit further until a fake siren sounded and honestly- did this thing really think no one would notice his presence?
Okay - on the count of three Touya would go in. Yue had called him a third guardian after all. They should all be able to speak to each other. They should all be on the same page.
One. Two.
Okay he was definitely doing this.
Three.
Touya opened the door and his eyes immediately found the plush toy sitting eerily still in front of Sakura's tv. There was a controller in the toy's hands and a broken headset a little bit behind him. Well, that certainly explained the sounds.
Touya shook his head at the charade. His dad wasn't home, but still, Touya wanted to be careful so he stepped inside and closed the door behind him. He didn't even have to keep his eyes on the stuffed toy guardian because impressively, it remained entirely motionless. Touya guessed if he spent all his time pretending to be a toy, maybe he too would've mastered the art of becoming completely still at the drop of a hat.
"Pretty cute that Sakura leaves games on for her toys," he said, as he found his way to Sakura's bed.
The toy said nothing.
"Kero, right?" Touya sat down and crossing his arms over his chest, stared intently at the small thing in front of him.
But still, the toy said nothing.
Touya sighed, growing a bit impatient. "Please, it's about Sakura." When the toy still didn't respond, Touya followed it up with, "I think she's in trouble."
That seemed to do it. Slowly, the toy turned around and Touya found himself nodding in a sort of thanks. But just as he was about to say something else, a bright light filled the room. Touya would've flinched if he wasn't so used to Yue. His heart rate spiked as if just for a moment, he thought someone different would appear before him. but as the light receded, standing before him was a large beast that resembled a lion.
"We finally meet," Kero said.
Touya stood up as he felt a bit weird still sitting. "We've met before."
"Ah, right," Kero nodded. "I wasn't sure if you'd remember."
Touya smirked. "You guardians are a bit hard to forget."
Kero seemed to like that. He looked like he was about to smile, but stopped himself. "What's wrong with Sakura?"
Touya searched his mind for the best way to respond. Truthfully, he didn't know the answer to that. "Why aren't you with her?"
Kero seemed a bit taken back by that. "She wanted me to, she was…" he hesitated and it made Touya raise his eyebrow, "meeting someone." The beast finished quickly.
But that didn't make sense. The only person she was with was- Touya paused- it was the kid, Syaoran. Suddenly, Touya felt uncomfortable. Kero seemed to pick up on it. Touya quickly shook his head. "She left her homework here and I went to bring it to her, except it wasn't her that I gave it to."
The beast cocked his head. "So, you… gave it to someone else?"
Touya sighed. "I gave it to a girl pretending to be Sakura, one who looked exactly like her, but who isn't her."
Kero's eyes widened as a quiet realization seemed to flash before him. "Thank you," he said.
And then in a flash of bright light, the beast disappeared and the small plush toy that was playing video games was now floating in the air before him. He nodded to Touya and then a moment later, flew out the window. Touya got up after him, but Kero was already gone out of sight.
Touya exhaled a breath that he didn't realize he was holding. He felt hopeful and a bit accomplished. As he looked out the window, his eyes naturally gazed upwards towards the white fluffy clouds and clear blue sky. He hoped that amidst the magical chaos, Sakura could soon find her peace.
A second later Touya felt his phone vibrate in his pocket. He pulled it out and smiled as Yukito's name appeared across the screen.
Can I see you later? :) the message read.
Yes, please. Touya responded.