Chapter Three:

At Eriol's mansion.

"Hi Spinnel! We have a visitor today." Eriol didn't look for Nakuru anymore since he knew where the guardian is.

Spinnel flew lazily toward them and told him, "It's heaven without any nuisance around. I bet you made a grave mistake when you made Nakuru." Tomoyo laughed and patted Spinnel on the head. As Eriol watched Spinnel and Tomoyo, he knew they have some chemistry together. Then Tomoyo turned to him, "What shall we do next?"



Hours passed by. They played video games and of course, Eriol always won.

"What? I lost again?" she let out an exasperated breath.

Eriol smiled at her and said, "Maybe it's not just your expertise," he tried consoling her. She retorted, "but this is the 100th game! I can't believe you can be so perfect in everything you do," she shot him a rueful look. Spinnel was just eating happily.

"Hey, watch it, ok?" she patted the creature's head. Next, they watched movies with an exception that it would be anything but her tapes. They chose "My Bestfriend's Wedding". Suddenly, Tomoyo seemed to be able to compare her situation to Julia Roberts, having loved her best friend only to have her best friend fall in love with another person.

"Eriol. I..." she wanted to say.

"Yeah, I know." He switched the screen off. "Let's do other things instead," he offered.

"But I want to talk about it," she wanted it badly. After seeing the movie, she felt like she might burst if she did not. Eriol understood and sat beside her, his eyes never leaving his face yet very patient. "Eriol, somewhere before, I told Sakura how much I loved her. She really got worried because. because she knew it's for real and she can't love me back," she swallowed the lump in her throat, "because. because she has already given it to Syaoran. Eriol, I still love Sakura and I feel jealous every now and then. I sometimes feel I can't take it anymore." She cut what she's saying. She wanted to add that lately she's feeling loneliness more and annoyance rather than jealousy but she's just confused. She just laid her head on Eriol's shoulders for support as she spoke. Eriol gave her a gentle shake.

"Hey, you're here to forget all about it. Besides, honestly, I think you're ready to move on. Believe me. Let's not spoil the day by getting all teary, okay? We still have lots to do! You don't wana miss Spinnel's antics, do you?" he cheered her up. Tomoyo suddenly found courage to laugh as they went out of the movie room.



Later, they sung together. She never heard Eriol sing before and she didn't know he possessed such a beautiful voice. Nakuru went home when they were having dinner.

"Surprise!" she yelled as she burst out of the room and jumped to her chair. "My, Spinnel, why did you prepare such foods? Those will make me fat," she wrinkled her nose like a prim and proper lady.

"Since when did you replace a demure "My" to your loud "Ohmigod!" and since when did you learn to wrinkle your nose like that? Honestly Nakuru, it doesn't suit you," he pointed out. Nerves stood out.

"Oh really huh? Take this!" she said as she picked up a loaf of bread and hurled it at Spinnel. It hit Spinnel bull's eye his eyes popped out so he picked a jelly and threw it to her.

"Knock it off, the two of you," Eriol cautioned obviously practiced from years of experience. But Nakuru ducked it so it hit Eriol point blank. Tomoyo seeing Eriol with jelly all over laughed loudly. Eriol taking the chance balled the baked mac and hurled it at Tomoyo.

"What?" she yelled then good humoredly ground her fist on his head. "Hey, that hurts," his eyes smiled boyishly behind his glasses.

"Oh really huh? But that's baked mac!" she yelled at him even more. Eriol smiled and bubbles appeared, washing and cleaning everything. "Hey." Tomoyo stopped shaking him and watched it. "That was great! I think it's like bubble card, huh?" she laughed because she's ticklish.

Eriol played with his spoon. "Don't you think our house is dark?" he asked her.

"Actually, I do. But candlelights and fireplaces adds mystery here and. ethereal ambience here," before she finished it, tiny golden balls of light appeared everywhere, lighting every corner of the room. Eriol looked amused and thought, 'Ethereal? This place is ethereal?'

"Whoa." she marveled. "Don't you think it's beautiful?" Eriol set his spoon down.

"I do!" she stood up and dragged Eriol towards the terrace. "Let's go outside!" she ran like an excited child. When they were outside, Tomoyo looked at the spectacle amazed. Golden lights slowly fell on the lawn like snow. A delicate ball landed on her hair. Eriol caught it and gave it to her. "Thanks," she smiled at him. "I bet Christmas here is great. I mean, with all your powers and all." She wondered.

"You know, not really. We are kinda lonely here too."

She nodded then pointed a tree. "That's quite big."

"Yeah. Oh well, that was Clow Reed's favorite place to read. And that," he pointed a fountain with an angel at the top, "is about 250 years old already," he told Tomoyo many things about the house, it's every nook and stuff. Tomoyo was amazed by everything.

"I wana do some documentary tape about it and you the reporter! That would be very very great! I would play over and over again at my place," she told him. "Oh no not me, it would be very boring," he said sheepishly.

"Oh no. You're not!" she said as she ruffled his hair hard. Nakuru and Spinnel watched Eriol's reaction when he's looking at Tomoyo while she is busy looking at the glowing balls of light. They glanced at each other unbelieving.



Slowly, Eriol seemed to be no more of a mystery man but like a friend whom she has known all her life. With every passing moment with Tomoyo, Eriol found himself open and barriers of reserved shattered to pieces, his silent and quiet aura down. Soon it was getting dark and the fun should end. Eriol walked her home but before Tomoyo go Eriol gave her a gift. She was surprised and opened the box. Inside was a pretty white rose suspended in a clear blue liquid that glows. It was all in a crystal container. She was so astounded.

"Oh it's so beautiful." She traced the sides of the crystal lightly.

"Wouldn't it wilt?" she wondered then looked at him straight in the eyes.

"No as long as you love and keep it well." He said softly.

"Another show-off of your powers, Clow Reed? God knows I've had enough of that this day." She playfully joked but seriously added, "I had such a wonderful time, Eriol. Thank you very much." Eriol smiled and squeezed her hand.

"Me too. So long. Good bye and good night." He started to leave.

"Uh-Eriol.?" she called after him. Eriol turned and asked, "Yes?" Tomoyo bathed with the glow of lamplight, he thought, 'now this is what I call ethereal.' Then he focused on what she was saying.

"Would you want to go bicycle riding tomorrow? We don't have any classes tomorrow. oh well, just thinking, if you won't have anything to." Tomoyo gave up talking. She was explaining herself badly. Eriol understood where she was driving at. "Okay. Then, after that, spend dinner with us."

"Really?" Tomoyo's face glowed. Eriol found his breath caught somewhere in his chest. "See you tomorrow morning around 8:00 then. I'll pick you up here. Is it okay?" he just asked instead. Tomoyo nodded gently and smiled at him one last time then went inside the house.

Later that evening at Kinomoto's household.

Yukito dined with them again. Sakura wasn't able to ask him about the dream last night because she was busy worrying about Tomoyo. Now is the time to ask him.

They were all in the living room watching TV when she asked Yukito, "I have something very important to ask you, Yue. Meet me and Kero- chan tonight." Touya would never wanted to be left alone.

"Hey monster, don't lean to Yukito too close else he might get flattened up." Nerves stood out of Sakura's forehead and she balled her hands into fists as she deliberately ground Touya's feet.

"I'm not a monster!" "Awwwwwwww!" Touya howled.

Yue stood by her bedroom door and for the first time, Kero-chan (in his true form) was silent when Sakura broke them the news. After a long uneasy silence, Kero-chan was the first to speak up.

"I'm sorry I didn't tell you about it soon because I was still trying to figure it out. It means something very important but I really don't know what it is." he apologetically told Sakura.

Sakura's brows creased with anxiety as Yue told her, "That's a given fact, Kero-chan. It's an important thing. You need not state it." Nerves stood out. Yue, however, remained unruffled by Kero-chan's ranting. He continued, "The best thing to do is to search about it in the ancient books. I have a feeling we will crack this mystery soon. as soon as you tell Clow. Eriol about it."

The next day.

By quarter to eight, Tomoyo was hastily putting final touches to her appearance. She had her hair in one single high braid and she wore an apple green sleeveless shirt with hood and white Capri pants. By eight o'clock sharp, she heard the doorbell ring.

She jumped to her sneakers and told the maid, "No, I will answer the door." She opened the door and there Eriol was.. For a moment, she wondered briefly if she has ever seen Eriol in other clothes before besides formal and their uniform. She realized that she hasn't. Eriol was wearing a jacket over a loose striped polo shirt and a pair of khaki pants. He looks like he's just freshly showered and he smelled clean and fresh like soap. Tomoyo found herself staring at him. He smiled at her, his eyes disappearing behind his glasses as he offered his hand.

"Shall we go?" he asked like an English gentleman. Tomoyo laughed and lightly punched his arm. "Just forget any formalities. Oh did I ever tell you I love that smile?"



They toured Tomoeda went to the park that morning, enjoying the morning's freshness. They found a small hill just in a middle of nowhere.

"C'mon, let's go up." Tomoyo was feeling adventurous by now. Eriol scratched his head and tried sounding aloof, "I doubt you can do it. It's kinda steep, you know." Tomoyo accepted the challenge.

"Oh really huh? Let me show you." She mounted her bicycle and did zigzag while pumping up the slope, her braid wildly flinging in the air. Eriol was left at the foothill mouth hanging wide open.

"So, what do you say now, Mr. Hiragizawa?" Then she playfully stuck out her tongue. Eriol looked amused. He couldn't believe Tomoyo. She's not just a singer but an athletic too? He felt a strangely in ease with Tomoyo. Whoa.



They discovered that that hill was a very special place that overlooks Tomoeda. They sat under the shade of the tree and admired the view before them.

"Hey, that's our school, right?" Tomoyo pointed a small series of buildings in the east. "Yeah." Eriol agreed. "That's King Penguin Park," he pointed out. Tomoyo laid back and closed her eyes.

"Whew. I'm so exhausted. Let's rest for a moment," she sighed then smiled dreamily. Eriol studied her face. A soft smile spread across his face. After sometime, she wanted to say something and she suddenly bolted up at the same time he was leaning above her because he was about to reach daffodil blossoms growing under the shade of the tree. Both of their heartbeats stopped. The only thing they knew is Tomoyo's on her back and Eriol's above her and they have their lips met. Time, everything, everybody seemed stop. Eriol found himself suddenly looking straight at those deep purple depths and her lips soft and sweet against his. He was so surprised. Tomoyo, on the other hand, felt a sudden rush of tingling feeling inside her that spread from the roots of her hair to her toenails. She was looking straight at those deep blue eyes behind the glasses that were ever secretive, calm and depthless. For a moment, her mind whirled and she just wanted to let this go on and on forever. Suddenly, they jerked from each other, both of red and embarrassed. For a time, they thought they could never move anymore. Eriol tried breaking the silence.

"Tomoyo," he said in a low voice, "I was trying to say a while ago before the accident. let's go here again sometime, would you like that?" then, his face heated up again. He couldn't believe he's blushing. Tomoyo looked from her hands to his eyes instantly. "I would love to," she breathed out.



It was later in that afternoon when they decided to try out ice cream. They went to the nearest ice cream parlor. Tomoyo ordered a chocolate vanilla smashed with granola and shredded coconut and sprinkled with M & M's. For Eriol, he ordered hot fudge chocolate with crushed Heath bars and granola. "I'm so hungry!" she declared then she poised her spoon to attack the ice cream.

"Did you know ice creams are just mainly bubbles? What you see is not what you get," he said as he set second finger up. "Uh really?" she stopped eating and looked hard on her ice cream. "Oh well, whatever. I'm still hungry!" she declared more determinedly this time.

Eriol laughed quietly. "Want some of mine?" he offered. Tomoyo laughed and dug on Eriol's ice cream. "Try mine too." Then suddenly, Eriol reached out and gently rubbed Tomoyo's chin. "You're smudged." This time, Tomoyo blushed but decided to play it game. She gently rubbed Eriol chin and said, "You too."

After eating dinner at Eriol's (where for once, Nakuru and Spinnel combined forces in teasing them) they went to the rooftop and just lay back, gazing at the stars.

"Isn't it beautiful?" Tomoyo breathed.

'Not as beautiful as you are,' Eriol thought but decided to keep it to himself. He asked instead, "Won't your mom get mad because you're staying late tonight?"

Tomoyo shook her head. She sat up. "She's out of the country. Business matters." She sighed then smiled. "Don't worry. I'm used in leading a lonely life. But she's a very caring and understanding woman. I admire Sunomi a lot," she smiled rather sadly then asked, " Eriol can I ask you something?"

"Sure," he asnwered back. "Uh, Eriol, you said every person is in their quest of finding happiness. Eriol, are you already happy?" she asked like a lost child. It was his turn to sit up. Eriol looked far, his eyes becoming distant.

"No, Tomoyo. You were wrong when you told me I can't feel anything. When I was a child, I was just the same as yours. Actually, you were luckier, having Sakura as a friend. Before, I never had anyone. I never had anybody. I was alone. Whenever I receive awards at school, model student, medals, they were all trashes. I never had anyone to give them to. When I created Ruby moon and Spinnel sun, they were the first real friends I ever had."

He looked up at the stars, those blue eyes caught the glint of celestial lights. Tomoyo knew that now, she's seeing the real Eriol, not Clow Reed. For the first time, Tomoyo could see the human in him. The side that could feel pain and loneliness too. Now, she realized being the reincarnation of Clow Reed is no exemptions to these shattering emotions. She finally understood that he's not just a wise, all-knowing and powerful magician but a complicated lonely person as well whom you couldn't fathom his depths of personality. Like her. She reached out and touched his face. Eriol looked straight to Tomoyo's loving eyes. He never knew anyone could share this experience like Tomoyo did.

"It's all right," she whispered. "We have so much in common, Eriol. I understand." Then, she withdrew her hands and looked up. 'Why does the stars seemed to hold something that when we're revealing something we have to look up?' she wondered then continued.

"Eriol, I owe you an explanation. It's about me and Sakura. You're right. I felt nobody could ever understand. I felt betrayed, jealous. After everything that happened, she and Syaoran just lived happily ever after. And what about me? Yes, she's happy. I was supposed to be happy too, but I wasn't. After sealing the Clow cards, what happened to me? Nobody questions or asks what am I feeling. Nobody cared what happened to the costumes, to the tapes to everything. Nobody ever saw beneath my happy façade. Nobody did. I'm so lonely. I hated myself. I pitied myself. I was living under Sakura's shadow. Forever chained to it. I wanted to be free. But I can't free myself," she then, took Eriol's hands. "But I realized I was wrong. You were always there, Eriol. Thank so much. thank you for being there." Eriol nodded. He hugged Tomoyo tightly both of them trying to steady each other's hearts.



The next day at school.



It was Science subject. They were studying about heavenly bodies and Sakura felt she couldn't take it anymore. Slowly, she felt her eyes droop and she was about to head to the stars. The teacher rapped at the table and got everybody's attention.

He told them, "The longest eclipse since history began is about to happen by next week. It could last up to three hours. Studies showed that by the current angle of the moon, sun and our planet, this spectacular even causes phenomena that are hard to explain." By this time, Sakura was fully awake and the four of them are at the edge of their seats, waiting for more.

"What's more, archeologist have dug artifacts in a temple in Cambodia, that is the Angkor Wat, and found that the temple was made as an observatory. The ancient people believed that in our time today we are heading towards the last stage that leads to the center." He paused then showed a picture of Angkor Wat. There were concentric circles and there was a sign in the center. Divided times. Constellations. Sun. moon. "That would mean, more or less, they believed judgement day would come. If not, something terrible might happen. But of course, we don't believe in those stuff, do we?" That's it. The next thing the teacher was saying is quite irrelevant already.

Sakura remembered what Yue told her. She faced the three and said, "I have something very important to tell you guys." Sakura told them in a very low voice barely above a whisper what Yue told her.

Eriol considered it and said, "I have a lot of ancient prophecy books at my library. Let's search for it there. You might as well as spend the night there. After all there are only three of us living in that big house." Then he smiled at Sakura, his eyes disappearing again, "With Yue, uh, Yukito I mean and Kero-chan of course. And oh, you can invite Touya too, to complete the gang." They didn't notice the special smile Eriol and Tomoyo shared.