Eriol woke up to the feeling of dampness on his face,
He also had a distinct feeling that he was lying on someone's lap...
...
*Which somehow felt familiar...
...
...
Eriol slowly opened his eyes...
...
*He thought he heard a few loud gasps,
But was too shocked by what he saw to register any of them...
...
Because...
...
Yue was crying...
...
Not just a few tears,
But heavily...
…
...
-...Y-Yue...? -He said in shock , as he saw the latter's red and tear stricken face. -...W-why are you...?
"...Yue is actually crying heavily...!", Clow said in apparent shock, with a tint of sadness in his voice, "...But, why...? W-what could have possibly happened to...?"
-Whatever the reason is...-Eriol quietly interrupted, as he couldn't avert his eyes of Yue who was intently watching him. -...I-it's actually a little unevering to see him like this...
Which was a big understatement,
Since Yue didn't cry...
...
He could be sad, annoyed or mad...
...
But Eriol never saw him cry before,
Neither in his "past life" nor in his "current one"...
...
He didn't cry even when...!
"...I-I think I know why he is like this...", Clow suddenly said in a sad and guilty sounding voice, remembering a time when Yue almost cried, "...I hope I am wrong, though..."
...
Eriol couldn't avert his eyes,
Why did Yue look like that...?
...
*He actually also had a distinct idea why that was,
But he didn't want to believe it...
...
*He didn't want to feel guiltier than he was already feeling...
...
-...Y-Yue...? -Eriol tried to ask again, slower and more cautious this time. -...Can you tell me what's wrong, please...? -Instead of a reply Yue continued to quietly watch him. -...Yue...? -He asked in concern. I-it couldn't be because he nearly...? -...Yue?! -He started getting really worried now. H-he couldn't have broken his poor moon guardian, right...?! -...YUE!
...
"...He is not answering...!" ,Clow frantically said, as he was also starting to get worried, "...It doesn't seem like he is even registering the question or anything you said!"
...
Eriol looked around at the others,
Waiting for some kind of explanation...
...
*And trying not to feel guilty about how bad they looked,
Which as he soon found out was really hard for him to do...
-...Yue is like this...Because he thought that you died...-Kereberos finally answered, before heavily sighing when Eriol's eyes widened in horror. Was this really so shocking...? -...Considering how much Yue always cherished Clow, which I am sure you now finally know about. -He saw Eriol look conflicted. -...And how Clow "died" before...Yue becoming cold because of it and closing his heart for years...-This time Eriol looked sad and guilty. -...From what I understood of Yue's mumbling, the nightmare relieving spell showed you dying...Which only worsened his current state of mind...-At this Eriol looked at Yue in sadness. -Yue was already pretty broken after that kind of experience...-He explained, while becoming very sad himself. -...Then, when we thought that your possession was over, with the Hope card's sacrifice no less...-He sadly looked down on the ground. -...We thought you were...Dead...Even after we paid the price for the wish's fulfilment...-The horror that he felt at the time...He didn't really want to remember it...-...And Yue...Being...-He had a hard time finding the right word for him, as even "Loyal" wasn't quite it...-...Yue...He just...-Describing how he reacted was hard as well.-...He completely...Shattered...
There were a few seconds of suffocating silence...
...
As Eriol didn't know what to say or think,
And Clow was also being really quiet...
...
"...W-we hurt Yue...!", Clow finally mumbled, his voice latched with shock and deep guilt, "...R-really badly..."
-...I-I know...-Eriol said in a quiet voice which was also latched with guilt, as he put his hands on his face. -...W-we traumatized him...!
At this, Eriol received concerned looks...
-...Are you feeling alright...? -Syoran slowly asked, as he looked at him in concern. Did the wish somehow go wrong and...? He wasn't going to suddenly start dying on them again, was he...? And was he getting insane...? -...Why do you keep talking to yourself...?
Was he really getting insane?
Was if from being almost?/kind of? dead for a while...?
-...I-I am not alright...-Eriol quietly said, as he still had his hands on his face. -...D-during this whole "chaos energy" situation...I-I hurt others, both physically and mentally...I-I stole their souls...-He moved his hands away, and everyone were shocked to see that he was actually crying. -...I-I worried everyone...G-got the hope card killed...G-got Kaho on the verge of tears...G-got Sakura-san and Ruby Moon to cry heavily for me...A-and got Yue traumatized...-He looked more and more guilty by the second. -...A-and all of this in a few days' time...!
"...And if only I wasn't late that time...", He heard Clow quietly mumble, his voice full of sadness and guilt, "...This whole situation would have been avoided altogether..."
-...O-other than that I am fine, just sleepy since my magic is currently very low...-Eriol admitted in a quiet voice, as he tried to ignore how Yue started wiping his tears away. He looked so broken that it was hard to watch...-...B-but, it would be a really bad idea to fall asleep right now...
He added in a guilty sounding voice...
-Why would it be bad...? -Sakura asked, in a confused and slightly scared voice. -I-is there some kind of problem or…?
Was Eriol-kun still in danger of dying...?
Even thought he just said that he was okay...?
...
Was he lying to everyone, AGAIN...?
-...It's because of Yue...-Kereberos said in a serious voice, as he looked at Yue's expression. It still looked really bad...-...Isn't it...?
Yue was already deeply traumatized,
Who knows how he would react in the state that he is in...
-...Yes, it's because of Yue...-Eriol slowly answered, still feeling very guilty and sad even thought he wasn't crying anymore. -...I don't want him to do something drastic...
"Which he would probably have done", was left unsaid...
-...T-then does that mean...T-that I can't go to sleep as well...? -Sakura sleepily asked while trying to keep her eyes open, as all the adrenaline that kept her going until now was diminished. -...I-I still remember that...Talk about the...Moon guardians...And how they...To their masters...
-...I am afraid so...-Eriol slowly admitted in a voice laced in sadness and guilt, as he also started to feel sleepy. -...I am sorry, Sakura-san...Because I broke Yue...With my near death...
He admitted in shame,
Wondering just how much he hurt everyone...
...
It wasn't a nice feeling...
...
At all...
...
-...It's...Okay...-Yue quietly mumbled, as he moved Eriol to Ruby Moon's lap and shakily stood up. -...I am...Going...To be...Okay...
Then Sakura's circle appeared under him,
And he transformed into Yukito...
...
Who was standing around in a daze...
-...What happened while Yue was in control of our body...? -Yukito asked in confusion, as he noticed the tears on his face and started wiping them. -...I can feel deep sadness and regret seeping from our link...
He sadly admitted...
...
What could have happened to make Yue feel like this,
That he could feel his other half's emotions so strongly...?
-...I am sorry, Yukito-san...It's because of me...-Eriol admitted in shame and regret, as he found it hard to look him in the eyes. -...It's because I nearly died...
Yukito looked at him in rising shock,
Before nodding in understanding...
...
He and Yue were sharing one body,
So he knew that Eriol was telling the truth...
...
The reason Yue was traumatized,
It made perfect sense to him...
-...It's...Alright...Now...Yukito...San...-Sakura sleepily said, as she had a hard time keeping her eyes open. -...Eriol...Kun...Is...Okay...No...W...
She said right before falling unconscious,
Only to be caught by Touya before hitting the ground...
...
Almost instantly Yukito was at her side,
Frantically checking for her pulse...
...
With everyone looking at him in rising worry...
...
After a minute he stopped panicking,
And sighed deeply in relief...
...
Which made everyone even more worried...
-...I-I am sorry, it's just Yue...H-he is still watching everything from the back of my mind...-Yukito started explaining in a frantic voice, as he saw the concerned looks he was getting. -...H-he thought that Sakura-san was dying...A-and got really concerned...C-cue the frantic checking of her pulse in hopes that she's still alive...!
There were a few seconds of eerie silence,
As everyone watched Yukito intensively...
-...I-I am okay now...-Yukito answered them, in a reassuring and slightly concerned voice. -...Really, I am...! Believe me, I won't suddenly snap or anything!
Everyone still couldn't quite believe him,
But he looked sincere enough so they decided to leave it for now...
-...To answer your second question, Syoran-kun...No, I am not talking to myself. I...-Eriol said in a serious voice as he tried to forget what just happened(And deciding that he should try to stay awake for now), before pausing slightly. -...Well, in a way, I am...-He added, in a slightly amused and sentimental voice. -...Remember when I told you that I started seeing..."Clow"'s current memories and he started seeing mine...? -He waited until people nodded in confirmation. -...Well, thought the whole possession, we became in tune (So to speak)...And can now communicate with each other without any problems...-He explained to everyone. There were still things that he didn't tell them...Though, there were still enough hints thrown around...How will they react if they knew the truth about him...? -That's also the reason why I know that Yuuko was here...Even thought I didn't have any magic at the time...As "Clow" felt her presence and told me about it...
-...You can meantally talk with each other? -Yelan asked, in a serious and thoughtful voice. -As well as see and feel what the other does...?
-...Yes, we do. -Eriol answered, before becoming thoughtful. -...It actually feels a little like having two bodies...Which is not that far from the truth...
He quietly mumbled...
"A pretty acute observation", Clow said, in a thoughtful voice, "Everyone seems overly surprised, though..."
-...They probably didn't expect this...-Eriol quietly told him, wondering if it was a good idea to ever tell them more. -...At all...
-"Clow", you can hear me, right...? -Spinel suddenly said, in a thoughtful and serious voice. There was more to it that just sharing memories, wasn't it...?-Can you make it so we can hear "your" voice and not just "Eriol"s...? -Then he started to look annoyed. -...Because hearing half of the conversation is highly irritating...!
Everyone turned to him in surprise,
He was so quiet until now that they forgot he was even there...
"It seems that your current sun guardian knows that you still hide things from everyone.", Clow noted, sounding impressed and slightly concerned, "...Well, it should be fine, as long as neither of us blurts it out..."
He reassured before mumbling a spell,
A second later Eriol felt that something changed...
-I can already feel that it worked. -Eriol noted, sounding slightly amused. -But, won't everyone be even more surprised now...?
-...There's one way to find out...-Clow thoughtfully said, also in a slightly amused voice. -You all can hear me now, can't you...?
In reply most people looked at Eriol in shock,
Spinel, Yelan and Touya just looked thoughtful...
...
-It's nice to hear from you again, "Clow". -Yuuko said in an amused voice, while at the same time confirming that she knew. -We hadn't talked in decades.
-That is unfortunately very true. It was sad not hearing your beautiful voice for so long. -Clow told her, sounding slightly amused. -You look as charming as ever.
He said as their talk soon evolved into a full discussion...
...
...
At the same time Eriol was deep in though...
...
This whole situation...
...
He couldn't stop blaming himself,
For what he made everyone go through...
...
*The only good thing was that Tomoyo-san and everyone else got their souls back...
...
He hurt everyone physically and mentally,
Made them sad and anguished because of him...
...
*Even Li and the "new arrivals" looked sad and/or shocked...
...
And even made some of them cry heavily and/or traumatized...
...
Kaho was barely holding back her tears,
Thought it seemed that she felt better now...
...
Sakura-san was crying heavily,
He hoped she would be refreshed when she wakes up...
...
Ruby Moon was also crying heavily for him,
Thought now thankfully she stopped...
...
And Yue got his mind completely shattered,
He hoped Yukito-san could calm him down...
...
...
He wasn't sure it was going to work, though...
...
To begin with,
Yue transformed because he was concerned...
...
Worried that he "Eriol" and Sakura-san,
Won't be able to rest if he was around...
...
And he stayed watching inside of his and Yukito's mind,
To make sure that nothing happens to his past master and/or mistress...
...
Which made Eriol feel even more guilty,
Yue was way too loyal for his own good...
...
*Probably already realized the truth about "Eriol" and "Clow", as well...
...
Thought it seems that moon guardians are like that in general,
Considering how anguished and tear stricken Ruby Moon looked...
...
*Thought unlike Yue, Ruby Moon didn't see him "die" before this...
...
The sun guardians were also loyal,
Even if not as much as the Moon guardians...
...
...
And even those who weren't guardians,
Some of the people he knew were as loyal as them...
...
...
Which brought him back to the current situation,
He nearly died because he didn't have any magic to sustain his current form...
...
Yet he was brought back thanks to Yuuko's wish granting powers,
Which needed a price of equal value to successfully work...
...
And a price for a life would be...
...
...
He wasn't sure he wanted to know the answer...
...
But he had to...
-...Yuuko, tell me, what was the price for the wish...? -Eriol suddenly asked, while interrupting the discussion, as he moved his head to look at her. -In order for you to save me, what did they had to pay with...? -He asked in sadness and guilt. -...Just what was happening when I was slowly dying...?