Well, hello! And Welcome to My Little World of Weirdness!

I state for the record that, despite the fact I really, really wish I did, I don't own any of the characters that will grace this story; it's all CLAMP's! Always has been, always will be!

Also I don't pretend to have any Mastery over the language of Japanese or any clue as to correct grammatical structure. I put it in and hope it gets across the point I'm trying to make!

"Speaking"

*Stress/emphasis*

//Thinking//

Guardian Beast of the Seal, Wimpy, Scaredy Cat.

By Dr Megalomania.

Part Twelve: What The Hell Is Sesquideolophobia?

A few days later . . .

"Neeeeooooooooooowwwww!!"

A spoon piled high with green soup, with bits of what he assumed was dry toast, moved in lazy loops in front of him. He scowled and narrowed his eyes at the latest insult to his dignity.

Keroberos had been getting increasingly frustrated over the last few days. He'd gotten better enough to move around by himself, but he wasn't allowed to fly. He still didn't have enough strength to go through his transformation. So, because of that, he was only allowed to be up and about for a few hours a day. He was getting mighty sick of being walked everywhere. Damnit, he couldn't even take care of his lion's business without someone outside the door asking him every few seconds if he was okay? Did he need any help? He'd put his paw down when Touya suggested that they set up a kitty litter in Sakura's room. 

"Why not Kero?" Sakura had blinked at him in confusion. It sounded like a good idea to her.

Keroberos had struggled to find the right words to explained to her that there were times when a lion had to take care of his own business and that a real Guardian Beast like him did not *do* his stuff in a kitty litter.

"Neeeeoooowwww! Chug-chug-chug! Bruuuuummmm!" The spoon dipped and soared, and his frown grew deeper.

Kero sighed, he was also mighty sick of being spoon-fed. He'd thrown up again, it was because Meilin's soup was so inedible he had protested, not because he had finished three helpings in six minutes, but now he was rationed to nothing but dry toast and very small amounts of hot soup. And even that had bits of dry toast mashed up in it . . .

"Neeeeeeeeoooooooooooowwwwwww!! Chitzzzzzz! Kero-chan's breakfast to landing bay! We're ready to land! Over?"

. . . *And* they spoon-fed him so he wouldn't gulp down his food in his normal manner. Much as he loved the idea of the Gaki feeding him at his every beck and call, he did object to Ruby making little plane noises. "Wheeeeee!!" Ruby squealed happily, "Open up wide Kero-chan, here comes the airplane!"

Kero growled threateningly as she nudged the spoon against his lips.

Downstairs . . .

"You know what?" Syaoran said as he and Sakura pulled off their training gear, Tomoyo had slipped back into her old ways and had been providing Sakura with varied outfits for her early morning bouts, how she did it was beyond everyone. And when asked where or when she found the time to create these masterpieces, she just smiled and asked if anyone wanted tea.

"What?" Asked Eriol, he had been getting much more like his old self, he wasn't as worried about Keroberos anymore. He could sense that the old guardian's power levels were reaching their optimum.

"I think Keroberos is better, I mean, I think he isn't ill anymore." Syaoran untied his orange sash; his white slacks were muddied again. But that wasn't his fault; Sakura's latest attempt to get him to admit defeat against her had her chasing after him on the back of the Rain's rain cloud. The back garden was filled with two feet's worth of water before he had tricked her into running into a wall.

Sakura peeled off her wet gloves and handed them to the ever-helpful Mirror card, "That's good, because then life can return to normal."

"What do you mean 'normal'?" Touya carried the laundry basket into the kitchen to pick up the pair's soaked clothes. The Mirror lifted her mistress' clothes into the basket, and yawned. "Mistress . . ." she murmured sadly.

"Mmm . . ." Sakura wrapped an arm around her card, "What's wrong?"

"I'm sorry, but I must return to my card confine . . . I'm getting a little too tired to maintain my form."

Sakura smiled, and gave the girl a quick hug; "You've been wonderful, thank you for all of your help. Please don't feel guilty about needing some sleep."

Touya gave the Mirror one last nod and smiled faintly, as the girl smiled weakly at him. She returned to her card form and floated back to Sakura's hand. Sakura held her card close to her chest before turning to her brother. "I mean normal like . . . our life is normal." She shrugged.

"Excuse us . . ." the group spun to find two elderly cards standing in the doorway, the Return and the Time. "We'd like to ask Kinomoto-san a question please . . ."

While the two approached them, the Dash card, the Change card and the Freeze card ran . . . well, the Freeze card sorta flopped a little. . . past the doorway, they were being chased by the Create card, essentially, by a giant book which was crashing end over end. This fairly random display was followed by the Jump card, which took a wrong turn and bounced into the kitchen, it ricocheted off a couple of walls until Syaoran got sick of it's bouncing and held up a frying pan.

**BAM!!**

As the Jump card slip down the pan, the Dream card fumbled her way into the room. "Excuseth the intrusion . . . however . . . A little help?" She painfully walked into a couple of walls before the Return turned and lifted the dream's hat off her eyes. "Arigato!" She said brightly as the world was revealed to her. The Return turned back to her conversation with Touya and the Time. "Basically young sire, we willt desire to knowth the true nature of thy acquaintance wit'. . ."

Touya held up a hand to them, and turned to Sakura, "And you call this normal?!" He sighed and shook his head, "What in the hell are they saying?"

"Oh. . ." Eriol nodded knowingly, "It's ye olde English."

"How old's that?" Syaoran asked.

"We've been through this. . ." Eriol quickly grabbed Syaoran's cheek and pulled it annoyingly, ". . . My cute little descendant." He let go and turned back to Touya, "They basically want you to settle an old dispute between them; they want to know if you really ever got it on with Kaho, or if it was a figment of your crazed hormones . . ."

Touya's eyes widened, he snapped his head towards the two gossipy cards. "Thy can kissth my buttocks!" He pointed out the door, "GET—"

He paused as the Dash, the Change and the Freeze ran . . . well, the Freeze sort just flopped a little . . . past the door, the Create card crash end over end after them. The Jump shook it's head, and ran after them, misjudge the width of the door, and crashed into the wall, it shook itself again and ran out the door. "Oh golly! They're at it again!" Cried the Dream card and ran out of the room, followed quickly by the Time and the Return, who had begun to bicker about who was right.

"And I repeat myself . . . you call this normal?"

Meilin scratched her head; "I thought that the cards couldn't operate by themselves . . ."

"They can't." Eriol murmured.

"Then why are they . . .?"

"Well, it's not like they are using their powers . . ." Eriol shrugged, "Besides they're free spirits, let them stretch their . . ." The Freeze flopped by again, followed by the Create. " . . . Legs . . ."

"GAAAAAAARGGAAAAAAAHHHHH!!!" Keroberos yelled.

Yukito, who had been silently chomping away at his breakfast, sat bolt up right. The transformation took place quickly, and when the glow died down, Yue started to choke. Touya leapt over to slam his palm down on moon guardian's back. "Just don't fight it!" he advised, "Try to swallow."

Still coughing, Yue swivelled in his seat, and eyed Touya with incredibility written all over his face. He shook his hands at the foot long club sandwich that Yuki had been eating for breakfast, which was lodged in his mouth. Touya nodded in understanding and lifted the large sandwich out of the guardian's mouth. "Let me give you a hand with that . . ."

Once the large sandwich had been dislodged from Yue's mouth, he flew up the stairs as quickly as he could; Keroberos' voice nearly shook the walls.

"ARRRRRGAAAAHHHHH!!! KILL! MAIM!! DESTROY!!" Keroberos screamed at the top of his lungs, "I DON'T CARE HOW YOU DO IT, JUST DEPART THIS LIFE! BREATHE YOUR LAST! GO MEET YOUR MAKER . . . THEN TAKE THE HALF BLOODY REINCARNATION WITH YOU! ARRAAAAGGAAAAA!!!"

Sakura and Yue the first to get upstairs found Ruby moon standing outside Sakura's bedroom covered head to nail-polished toe with Keroberos' breakfast. Keroberos was still screaming abuse at her, "THAT'S IT!! I'VE HAD ENOUGH! I CANNOT TAKE IT ANYMORE!!! I'M BETTER, AND I'M GOING TO STAY BETTER . . . JUST DON'T MAKE ME HAVE TO SIT THROUGH BREAKFAST WITH RUBY!!"

Sakura walked hesitantly into the room, "Ke-Kero-chan. . .?" She ventured quietly.

Keroberos was sitting bolt upright in his bed, a mixture of his own and the pillow's feathers floating all around him, "I can't take it anymore!" He growled as he ripped up another pillow, "I can't! I won't! Enough is enough is enough! No more soup, no more dry toast, no more I tell you! Enough!"

"Keroberos!" Yue stepped into the room, "much as it amuses me to see Ruby covered in your food, you will cease this needlessly destructive scene this moment."

Keroberos panted as he paused and glared at Yue, "I can *not* do this being sick thing anymore! I am well enough to take on the Fight card powered by the Power card, and-and-and-and AND DAMNIT!! SOMEONE BRING ME PUDDING!!" He extended his sharp claws and started to rip another pillow. "ARRRRGAAAAAHHHHH!!!"

Tomoyo and the rest of the gang arrived in time to see Yue and Sakura back slowly out of the room, "I think we should just leave him for a few moments . . ." Yue suggested wisely, Sakura nodded her agreement and shut the door on her raging sun guardian. "Hoeee!"! She sighed as she slid down the door. There was a muffled crash as her head fell into her knees. As Meilin, Tomoyo, and Syaoran went to comfort Sakura, Spinel quietly cleared his throat twice and held his paw up to Eriol, who rolled his lavender grey eyes and dug into his pocket. "How did you know?" He eyed his sun guardian's stuffed toy self.

Spinel smiled, "I've been fed breakfast by Ruby before . . . I just knew he would do it . . ." Eriol dumped a crisp two thousand Yen note into Spinel's paw, "Thank you very muchly!" He quickly folded the note and slipped it into his . . . his . . . "Can you hold on to this for me?" He handed the note back, "I don't have any pockets."

Ruby sniffed pathetically, and threw herself at Touya. "He threw his breakfast at me!"

"Really?" Touya said sweetly, "And I just thought you had begun to see some fashion sense . . ."

She moaned aloud, "To-YAAAA!! You'll just have to take me into the bathroom and clean me!! " She sobbed heartily into his chest, and got Touya equally covered in the messy slop. "Oh!" Her head jerked back as if she was only just realising what she was doing. "Oh dear!" Ruby tried to sound disappointed, "Did I do that? C'mon, we can clean each other in the shower."

Touya winced, as Ruby tried to drag him into the bathroom. He winced because Keroberos wasn't the only one getting frustrated over the last few days. Since the lion had interrupted them, Yue *and* Yukito had both been dropping fairly broad hints to Touya that the combined being was . . . well, suffice to say, someone hadn't been getting any and, unlike Meilin, that someone *did* mind.

Yue was in front of them in a nano-second. His eyes narrowed as he glared at Ruby, the two moon guardians exchanged a heated glare. Ruby clamped her hands tighter on Touya's arm, her sharp pink nails digging deeper into his tanned flesh. Yue's eyes flashed, and he jerked his head towards Sakura's door. Sakura fell backwards unexpectedly, as the door flung itself open and the Rain card bobbed into view. "HOEE!"

Ruby looked at the Rain, who giggled and bounced happily on her little cloud, then Ruby whipped her head back towards Yue, who had folded his arms and had raised his customary eyebrow. "Oh no. . .!"

Yue nodded.

"No." Ruby shook her head.

Yue glared passed her to the Rain, and then nodded his head at Ruby. The Rain quite merrily raced over to position herself over Ruby. Ruby looked up, "Yue. . . you wouldn't dare. . ." She uttered, then looked at Yue, who cocked his head in a manner that said 'don't insult me! Of course I would!'.

"You bastar—Gurgle!" A thick downpour of water cut off Ruby.

He waited for a few minutes, before Yue nodded at the Rain card, the tiny cute rain girl giggled once more then turned back to her card form. Ruby coughed, and glared at him hotly. "I can't believe you did that."

Yue raised an eyebrow, "Well, now you're clean . . ." he yanked Touya's arm out of her clutches, "*I* shall help Touya get sparkly fresh . . ."

And with that the frisky moon guardian pulled a grinning Touya quickly into the bathroom.

Eriol quietly cleared his throat twice and held his palm up to Spinel, who rolled his azure blue eyes.  "How did you know?" He eyed his midnight blue haired creator.

Eriol smiled, "I used to . . . I mean, Clow used to sleep with Yue . . .we were always at it, we were like . . ." Eriol blushed slightly, "Well, let's just say there's a reason why Yuki was called 'rabbit' . . ."

Spinel winced, then contorted his face as his imagination took a hold, he narrowed his eyes; "Do I even want to know about it?"

Eriol turned to look at him and raised his eyebrows in two short, sharp, suggestive motions, "I can't help it . . . it was *always* very good . . ." Spinel's eyes narrowed even further, and Eriol sniggered quietly, "I just knew he would snap . . . sooooo?" He clicked his fingers in Spinel's face, and cleared his throat again.

Spinel nodded grudgingly, Eriol grinned as he snapped the two thousand Yen note in his sun guardian's face. "Thank you . . . *very*much!"

A little while later. . .

Meilin and Ruby were out in the garden again; Ruby going into bitchy over-drive, and Sakura was carrying a tray of tea and biscuit up the stairs. "Hey, let me give you a hand with that!"

Syaoran rushed up the stairs after her, Sakura laughed, "It's okay, I can do it myself."

"But I want to help!" They paused on the stairs, as Syaoran held his hand out.

Sakura squinted at him thoughtfully, "Shouldn't you be sleeping?"

"For what?"

"Your shift tonight."

Syaoran clasped his hands behind his back and blushed slightly, "Oh. . . I uh, I swapped with Eriol. . . he really wanted the night shift with Tomoyo, and I uh. . ."

"You're so sweet!" Sakura beamed.

Syaoran smiled at her, she really was cute, he felt another blush building on his cheeks, he quashed it by stepping up another step, "Give me that tray now."

"No." she held the tray out of his reach.

"Give it to me!"

"No!" Sakura giggled softly.

"So. . ." he folded his arms, feeling playful, "You have the Clow tray! I will be collecting the Clow trays from now on, so hand over the tray you are already carrying!"

"I can't!" Sakura smiled, "I promised mackerel-chan I would collect the trays!!"

"Can-of-mackerel? The silver tin packed with the stinky fish? Why is he allowing such a child to carry the trays!"

Sakura gasped, "Unless you haven't noticed, I'm very much a young woman now!" She turned and walked up the stairs, "Sheesh! You're just like my brother, you just haven't notice I'm not a little girl anymore!"

Syaoran paused before he followed her; "Trust me I've noticed."

Touya past the bottom of the stairs, he didn't look up as he sorted through the morning's mail and yelled up, "No, you haven't . . . trust me, you haven't!"

Syaoran blushed and ran up the stairs.

"And so . . . I heroically sacrifice my shift with Sakura to Syaoran, to keep her Royal Genki-ness in a potentially kawaii romantic situation thus I must manfully take my place beside you during tonight's shift . . ."

"Uh-huh . . ." Tomoyo folded her arms, unconvinced of Eriol's heroic tale. They were cleaning up the sleeping area in the living room together.

". . . And it just so happens that I know a little spell," he made a motion with his hand, "An off switch if you like, for Keroberos, you and I could . . ." He tutted as if he didn't already have this carefully thought out. "Oh, I dunno, explore the powers of darkness that reside in my wretched reincarnated soul . . ." he beamed brightly at her, "So, did I ever tell you the one about the ferret?"

"No. . ."

"Hmmm. . . Maybe I'll save that one 'til later . . ." he slid behind her and wrapped his arms about her slim waist, "Wouldn't want to corrupt those delicate little ears of yours . . ."

"Is it the one where the barkeep sells him the ferret and the guy takes it home and tells his wife to get lost because—"

Eriol smirked as he watched the smile grow on her lips, "I see you have heard that one before . . . You're not as innocent as you like people to think!"

Now, there aren't many things Kinomoto Touya ever expected to see in this life, such as Eriol and Syaoran being not frustrating little creeps that kept hitting on his sister, or even Tomoyo not filming, or even Nakuru not being gratuitously annoying . . . however, as he strolled into the kitchen to find out the source of the delicious double chocolate cookie smell that had been wafting through out the house since Kero's outburst, he never thought he'd see the day when Yue donned an apron that read: 'Kiss The Cordon Bleu!' . . . he grinned, "What are you doing?"

Yue stood up, and blinked at Touya, "Baking."

"Baking?"

Yue held up a baking trey filled with cookies, "Baking!" He enthused.

Touya snickered bemused, "Why?"

"Because Keroberos is better . . . and because I like baking." Yue bent down again and slid another tray of unbaked cookies into the oven.

"Since when?"

"I've always loved baking . . ." Yue raised a sceptical eyebrow, he motioned down his own body, "Do you really think Yukito is the one who can cook in this body?"

Touya smiled and moved closer, and wrapped his arms around Yue. Pecking the moon guardian on the cheek lightly, he murmured, "So, you are the one who keeps making tons of cookies?"

"Not tons," Yue glared at him, "I only make enough for three people . . ." He held up three pale fingers and counted off, "It used to be for me, Clow and Keroberos."

Touya looked at the kitchen table, there was already at least a dozen cooling racks filled with cookies . . . "You never eat . . ."

"Not any more, no." Yue smiled at him, letting him know he was humouring Touya.

"And Clow was human, right?"

"Mmm-hmm." Yue hummed as he turned back to the oven and slid a new tray in.

"And Keroberos can't eat that much . . ." Touya squinted at Yue, " . . . Can he?"

Yue stood and rested a hand on his hip; he cocked his head and looked at Touya, as if he was assessing the taller boy. "You really haven't lived with him have you?" Yue cocked an eyebrow, "I once made three thousand shrimp rolls and I turned my back for five minutes . . ." he raised his hand and wiggled his fingers, "Five minutes and do you know how many shrimp rolls I had left when I turned around?"

"Two thousand and forty-seven?"

Yue snorted, "I wish! When I turned back to the shrimp rolls, I found I had *no* shrimp rolls to speak of and Clow accused me of being lazy and not making dinner!" he rolled his flour dusted hands one over the other in front of him, "Never mind Keroberos was virtually rolling out of the door because he was so fat!" Yue turned and slide yet another batch of the cookies into the oven.

Touya sniggered as he moved slyly towards the table; "I bet that was a sight!"

"Oh, yeah, so will your hand be—" Yue turned quickly and shook an oven glove at Touya, "If you *touch* those cookies before they're done!"

Eriol sighed as he closed his eyes . . . and travelled to a land far, far—well, actually just the inside of his mind . . .

"Clow!"

"Mmmm?"

"Kero's better now . . ."

"Oh . . ." Clow smiled at him falsely, "That's, um, good for, er, him!" He rested back in his window seat and commenced his reading. Eriol sighed and moved closer.

"Don't you have something to share?"

"Oh?" Clow looked around him, "Oooh! Yeah . . ." he picked up the small platter, "Have a cookie!" Eriol fold his arms. Clow raised a questioning eyebrow, and his glass, "Milk?" Eriol raised an eyebrow; Clow glanced at his hands, and held up the book. "Book?"

"You know exactly what I mean!"

"Oh . . ." Clow rolled his eyes and slouched further into his seat, "You mean . . . That . . ."

"Yes, that!"

"I'll do it tomorrow . . ." Clow waved his hand dismissively.

"That's what you said about the book explaining everything you need to know about Yue . . ." Eriol climbed into the window seat, and sat opposite Clow, "You know, the one that would tell everyone about how to take on the Judgement Maker?"

Clow looked at his desk, "It's sitting right there on my desk . . ."

"That's not going to help anyone, Clow!" Eriol spammed his forehead, "You're dead, your desk doesn't exist anymore and on top of that THIS IS MY HEAD!!"

"My desk doesn't exist anymore?! I loved that desk!" Clow cried in disappointment, "What happ—wait!" He gasped and pointed accusingly at his half reincarnation, "I left it to you! What did you do with my desk?!"

"It wasn't my fault it wasn't Spinel Sun proof . . ." Eriol rolled his eyes, and made sweeping motions with his hands, "I can't help it when my guardians were teething . . . wait, I'm supposed to be telling you off!" He frowned and pointed back at Clow, "Will you tell them now and get it over and done with?!"

Clow sighed and slowly rolled out of the window seat, "If I must . . . Geez Louise, you're worse than that Tomoyo girl. . . which by the way. . ." He shook a fuming finger at his younger self ". . . you are a very unscrupulous old man! Evidently my sense of morality wasn't past down to you! You're older than her by--"

Eriol pressed a finger against his lips, "Shh!"

Syaoran nearly skipped down the stairs, Sakura loved him, and he loved her . . . he almost felt like singing. He grinned broadly, "I love Sakura!" He murmured to himself.

"Kawaii!!" Tomoyo squeaked from the bottom of the stairs, "You're so sweet!"

"Don't you ever stop?" Syaoran shook his hands at her pleadingly.

Tomoyo blinked and looked around her camera, "Stop?"

"Yes, cease, desist, halt, end, discontinue, finish your filming . . ."

"Stop filming?" Tomoyo's eyes widened, and he could have been wrong, but he thought he could see tears brimming.

Syaoran raised one of his deep dark eyebrows, "Yes, turn off the camera."

"Turn off?" Tomoyo looked aghast, her camera seemed to start to tremble in mortal fear.

"Switch off, cease the power flow, put the camera down." He motioned with his hands.

"Put the camera down?" Tomoyo instinctively held the camera closer. Syaoran winced, Tomoyo did truly not comprehend what he was saying, "Surely you put the camera down when you are editing the tape?"

"Oh, yeah, but that's when I'm watching the tape . . ." she snorted in laughter, "Put down the camera . . . that's such a bizarre notion!"

She laughed as they entered the living room together, Meilin looked up. "Hey, do either of you guys know if . . ." she glanced down at the scribble board, and read slowly, " . . .Sesquideolophobia is actually a word?"

Tomoyo and Syaoran blinked, glanced at each other and then stared at the red-eyed girl.

"Well, that was fairly random . . ." Syaoran muttered, "Why do you wanna know what . . . what did you just say?"

"Sesquideolophobia." Spinel smiled, Ruby stared at him.

"You're making it up!" She accused. "You have to be!"

"I am not!" Spinel sniffed haughtily.

Ruby folded her arms obstinately, "Are too!"

"Am not!" He roared back.

"Are too!" Meilin and Ruby yelled at him, Meilin turned to the others, "That's the second word he's used during this game that we've never heard of!"

Spinel smiled, "Just because I am so intellectually superior, doesn't mean I should compensate for your inanity."

"There you go again!" Ruby blinked and pointed her finger at him accusingly, "Stop it! Stop talking like that!"

He chuckled as he smugly started to total his word score. Meilin turned to Syaoran, "Seriously, is that word?"

"Yes, it is. . ." Eriol opened an eye, "It's a very silly word, but it's definitely a word . . ."

"All right smarty-pants . . ." Syaoran folded his arms and glared at the half recreation, "What the hell is sesquideolophobia?"

Eriol chuckled slightly, and closed his eyes again, "Sesquideolophobia . . . my endearing diminutive progeny, is an authentic medicinal idiom defining the condition held by a minority of persons within the populace, a distinct apprehension of elongated prose, an inexplicable trepidation of protracted communication in print, the zealous repugnance of magnanimous composed expressions . . ." he smiled as he drew a breath and added quickly, ". . . or to the layman, the insane fear of long words . . ."

"What?! What . . . What . . . are you?" Meilin stood and leant over him, "Seriously, what are you? A British phrase book?"

"No. . ." Eriol chuckled, "Just a meticulous re-embodiment of the exquisite, mythological, roguish Clow Reed."

Meilin's mouth hung open, she raised a finger as if she was going to tell him off, but then thought better of it. She turned slowly and said to Ruby, "I'd smack him upside the head . . . if I didn't think he'd start talking again . . ."

Ruby snorted, "You've only been here with him for two weeks . . . Damnit, I've lived with him for—"

"Your go, Ruby!" Spinel chucked the bag of letters at her. The heavy bag hit her squarely in the middle of her forehead.

"Ouch!"

As Ruby and Spinel argued, and Syaoran and Meilin dug out a dictionary to look up 'sesquideolophobia', Tomoyo turned to Eriol. He looked very concentrated. "Hiirawagizawa-kun?"

He smiled to let her know he had heard her, but didn't open his eyes, "Hiirawagizawa-kun?" He smiled again and turned his head away, she giggled, "Fine then, Eriol?"

"Hai!" Eriol's lavender-grey eyes popped open, "How can I help you o, most beauteous one?"

Tomoyo smiled, "I've been meaning to ask you . . ."

"Of course, I can bring you breakfast in the morning!"

"Pardon me?"

"Oh, sorry," he took her hands, and pulled them up, he looked sincerely into her violet eyes, "Yes, my darling . . . I will respect you in the morning . . ."

Tomoyo cocked her head; "Actually, I was going to ask what was the true nature of *your* affiliation with Kaho? It seems a little bizarre that you hook up with such an older woman."

Eriol blinked and looked at her bemusedly, "Older woman?" He laughed, as Ruby started to noggie Spinel.

Tomoyo stared at him keenly, "Yes, older woman."

He wasn't paying her his full attention as he answered, "How can she be the older woman when I'm well over a—"

Syaoran's ear suddenly twitched, Eriol clapped his hands over his mouth as Tomoyo raised interested eyebrows. "Sorry, what was that?"

Eriol suddenly started to cough and that cough started to turn into a choke, soon Eriol was being pushed out of the door by Spinel and Ruby, who shouted over their shoulders, "Just gonna perform the Heimlich manoeuvre on the ol' creator here. . . don't mind us!"

"Thanks!" Eriol smiled at his guardians as they turned to return to their game, "That was a close one. . ." he muttered.

"What were you going to say?!" Syaoran popped up from behind him, earning a very un-Eriol like squeak.

"AHH!" Eriol clutched his chest and panted, "Where did you come from?!"

Syaoran smiled, "I've been taking lessons from the master . . ."

Eriol blushed, "Aww . . . I'm not a master! Well, I am but . . ."

"Who says I've been taking lessons from you, I'm talking about Yamazaki!" He glowered at Eriol, "Now, what were you about to say? Well over a hundred? A thousand?!"

Eriol started towards the kitchen, Syaoran following him keenly, "Huh? Huh? What were you about to say?!"

Eriol paused and turned, "If I tell you how old I am, will you leave me alone?"

Syaoran eyed him, "Yes. . ."

"Fine then," Eriol folded his arm, "I am precisely--- My god! Sakura! That is a very sexy bellybutton ring! When did you get that?!"

Eriol grinned as Syaoran, gullible as ever, turned instantly. When there was no sign of Sakura sporting a very sexy bellybutton ring at the stairwell, he slapped his forehead and turned back to where Eriol had been. The only sign that the little creep had ever been there was a rapidly disappearing puff of sparkling lilac smoke.

Syaoran growled and went back into the living room, at least he knew that he could catch Eriol unawares, although keeping him in one place . . . now that was a challenge.

-----------------------

And Now It's Time For LEAVE IT TO DOCTOR MEGALOMANIA!!!

DrM: Konnichiwa!!

Kaho: What is it you have against me?

DrM: You're icky! You dated Touya when he was . . . by my estimations, *15* . . . and then . . . if I'm right about the end of CCS, you go back to England with Eriol!! Ewwww!!

Eriol: You do realise that I'm actually the older by. . .

DrM: Oh shush you or. . . no Tomoyo scenes!

Eriol: [gasps] NO!

DrM: Yes! Think about it carefully! [Smiles] I'm glad to announce that TMMMMC. . .

Clow: The one about the guardians . . . Wait, they are all about the guardians . . . Okay, okay, the one with those initials . . .

DrM: You finished?

Clow: No, not really but . . . yeah, I'm good.

DrM: Where was I?

Yue: Please read and review?

DrM: Oh yeah!! Please R&R!! Please? Pwetty please!! Thank you!!!