Chapter Four:

At Hiragizawa's home.



Hours passed by as they searched for it diligently in the library. A constant joke about something then followed by silence save for shuffling of pages and low mumblings. Suddenly something crashed. And a scream. Touya's scream. Everybody dashed out of the library to find out what happened.

"NOOOO! NAKURU, I DON'T WANA DIE! PLEASE!" Touya was on his fours, crawling slowly to the corner. Nakuru was holding a knife. Sakura shouted and grabbed Nakuru by shoulders, "Nakuru, what are you trying to do!" Then, Nakuru turned abruptly to them, a knife on one hand and a burnt cake on the other. Sweat drops.

"Uh. I was just trying to make Touya taste my cake made specially for him." She answered sheepishly. Sweat drops on her. More on Touya.

They went back to the library and searched for more. Suddenly, Yue stood up and calmly announced, "Found it."

"You did?!" they all asked in unison. Sakura jumped happily up and down, "Great!"

"Let's see. Yue, can you hand it to me?" Eriol walked toward him. Yue looked at him strangely something like longing and handed him the book. After that, he looked away. Eriol read it. It was a book by Chuang Tzu, a well-known Taoist philosopher whose principles in life were based on cosmos and heavens. He read:

When the Moon and the Sun will come face to face;

They will be one and darkness will cover every land; every race

A great evil will arise as an answer to this age

It has a mission to start; the mission to gauge

It possesses a great terrible power

This is the only call it bears:

To Return everything to the Loom

Because everything issues from the Loom

Unless it would be stopped; stopped by a greater force

This force I know not; you're bound to it find out.



Everybody was silent, unmoving. Then Sakura asked nobody in particular, "When did teacher said the eclipse take place?"

"The day after tomorrow."



There was a knock on a door. Eriol suddenly turned. Lightning seemed to jolt through his mind and his eyes suddenly bulged. 'Oh no, she's back,' he thought but asked instead, "Come in, Kaho."

The door swung open and Kaho came inside, "I'm sorry I came in such an unlikely time. The plane was quite delayed." She leaned down and planted a kiss on his forehead then squeezed his hand. Eriol remained unmoving. As for the rest of them, they stood there dumbfounded, their mouths agape. Yue just turned his head sideways and looked at the shelf instead.

"K-Kaho, what are you doing here?" Nakuru asked as she and Spinnel exchanged panic-stricken looks.

"Don't you remember? I said I would come later to Tomoeda. I just arranged my flight and my leave," she explained unhurriedly. She could feel the taut atmosphere in the library. She doesn't exactly like barging in and do this to them but, she glanced at Tomoyo. But she has to.

Eriol just looked at the floor hard, his hands balled into fists at his sides. How can he be so stupid? He knew Kaho would return. How could he let himself fall for Tomoyo? He was so confused. He looked up and faced everybody. "Let's have some dinner first. A full stomach makes a person think clearer." He shot Tomoyo a sideward glance. Her head was bowed and he can see the slight heaving of her chest and the clenched fists. He looked away. He just tried to sound happy although he himself is shattering into small pieces.



At the dinner table, everybody was quiet. Yue sat the dinner out and remained outside with Touya. As for Nakuru, she just served the dinner and left. Same with Spinnel. There were only six beings eating dinner: Sakura, Syaoran, Keroberus, Tomoyo, Eriol and Kaho. Both Sakura and Syaoran didn't feel like eating because of Kaho's presence. But they knew it would be bad enough for Eriol. Although Sakura admired the woman greatly, she could feel some sort of antagonism toward her. Everybody knows that Eriol and Tomoyo genuinely like each other although none of them made a move. So, save for the clinking of glasses and spoons and plates, the dinner hall was unmistakably silent. It was unbearable enough but Kaho seemed to add fuel to the fire more. She started joking with Eriol. Eriol, out of politeness, smiled or even laughed quietly with her. He wished the Clow Reed inside him would tell him what to do but no, only confusion came into his mind. She even wiped Eriol's chin. Tomoyo's stomach seemed to double up. She remembered the day when they ate at the ice cream parlor. She could feel something like a stone settling at the pit of her stomach.

'This is too much,' she wanted to break into tears. 'But no, not with all my friends and people here. I don't want Sakura to get all worried.' She tried acting brave and tough. Then, she tried to talk to Tomoyo. Tomoyo, sick at heart, tried smiling at her. But she wasn't prepared for this blow. Her cover up wasn't perfectly made. Anybody can see the hurt in her face. Sakura reached out under the table and squeezed Tomoyo's hand. She knew Tomoyo was already drawn tight like a bow.

'One wrong move and she might break. Break into tears? Oh no,' she thought. She gave a stricken look at Syaoran. Syaoran was enraged, she realized. She then, turned to Tomoyo.

Tomoyo looked at Sakura; her perfect lashes framing those purple eyes bright with unshed tears. Sakura patted her back and whispered, "It's all right, Tomoyo. Let's eat."



Nakuru and Spinnel were at the kitchen. Spinnel was flying back and forth and Nakuru was pacing back and forth on the kitchen floor.

"What shall we do next?" they asked each other face to face. Nakuru transformed into Ruby Moon. Spinnel eyed her sarcastically.

"Like it can do good to the situation," he muttered. Ruby Moon wanted to yank the beast down by the tail and shook it until she could knock some sense to it but she restrained herself. For once, she has to think. Then, she came up with an idea, "Let's make Kaho's stay a living hell so she will leave at once. You agree?" she asked the damned beast she so much hated at this point. For once, Spinnel flashed her a smile. "Transforming into Ruby Moon does help clear your mind, after all."



The next thing they knew they were (Nakuru and Spinnel Sun) marching in the dining hall with cakes and pastries as weapons. They pretended to serve dinner. When Nakuru was about to serve Kaho, they shared one evil look and with one graceless step, Nakuru dumped the cake (icing and all) on Kaho. Kaho shrieked and stood up as she tried hopelessly to clean her chest and skirt from the icing. Nakuru and Spinnel wanted to double up with laughter but then, to their surprise, Eriol stood up and cast them one stern look. They would've turned to stone right there and then. Then he took one of the napkins and helped Kaho clean her ruined dress. Kaho was softly crying and Eriol was comforting her softly.

"What a big crybaby," Nakuru muttered as she rolled her eyes. Eriol gave her a bone-chilling look then he smiled and tweaked Kaho's nose.

After that, Kaho laughed shakily and said, "There's no use in crying over the spilled milk anyway." She inhaled deeply struggling to regain countenance again. For Tomoyo, she felt like she's taping every event on her brain. She felt like it was burning it's way through her mind. She didn't miss any single reaction on Eriol, Kaho or the two guardian's faces. She didn't miss any single word Eriol used to soothe Kaho. That's it. She has just had enough. She couldn't take it anymore. She wanted to scream.

She stood up, "Excuse me," and ran till she reached the room she was supposed to sleep in tonight.



She closed the door behind her and slowly sat behind it. It was dark in the room, only the beautiful moonlight streaming out of the fresh window. She felt every single energy left in her sapping away. She couldn't believe everything that happened. She prepared herself so much for this. She even wore that special sleeveless blue chinese collared knee-high dress and tied her hair in a high chignon with loose strands at the temples. Then everything. Suddenly, she broke in heaving, gasping sobs, wrapping herself into a tight ball and burying her head in her arms. Her long hair loosened and was spread about her forming some shelter. She could now point out the reason why was she crying even more. She realized something she thought she would be grateful if she would. She has a chance of loving another person. She loved another person. She loved Eriol. more than she ever loved Sakura. More than she ever loved anyone. She let herself drown into her sobs and cries until she slipped into her tumultuous dreams.