Disclaimer: I don't own any ccs characters. :( They all belong to CLAMP.
i guess this chapter would make this a strong pg-13....you have been warned.
Tomoyo stayed at home for the next month. Sonomi thought her daughter was ill because she locked herself away in her room for hours at a time. When Tomoyo found out, she obligingly pretended that she was interested in the affairs of the Elite world; she really just wanted to find out about affairs of the heart.
Since that night, almost four weeks ago, the question of love had constantly plagued her. Every time she thought of Eli, her heartbeat would speed up, so she tried to avoid thinking about him...the problem was, she couldn't. Tomoyo was afraid that her mumbo-jumbo feelings would cause her to do something stupid and risk Eli's life even more than it already was.
Something else had started bothering her as well. Why was Spiral so interested in her? This question, recently had weighed more heavily on her than anything else. Did he want money? A new identity? A new life? Or...this scared her...could he possibly be wanting....her?
Tomoyo took to wandering the streets one day and ended up in the Underground. She went into the Jester. Eli wasn't there. Good. She sat down in her normal seat and watched Spiral very closely.
He did look extremely fatigued. The bags under his eyes were more pronounced than usual and he would clench his jaw a lot, as if he were trying to keep from showing any other expression. Tomoyo wondered how much pain he was in. If she could get a good look at his eyes, she would be able to tell what was bothering him, but the lighting in the bar wasn't very good and Spiral had dark eyes.
"Hello, Phoenix." Tomoyo's heart skipped a beat and she almost jumped out of her chair. Eli. Tomoyo took a good look at him. He was so gorgeous. What am I thinking? No one from the Underground...or should I perhaps make an exception?? Tomoyo cast a glance in his direction again. YYYYYEEEESSSSSS!! I should make an exception...NONONONONONONONO! What the heck?
Eli had catalyzed something in her. Something she could not very well explain, and it scared her. She had the notion that what she was feeling was not quite sensible, but that her heart still insisted on jumping when ever his image popped into her mind! The nerve!
Her consternation must have been showing up on her face. "Are you ok?" Eli queried.
Tomoyo's heart told her to say no and go to him for comfort, but her head told her to maintain her "ice queen" attitude. "I'm perfectly fine," she scathingly replied. Eli winced and Tomoyo saw. She felt awful for making him feel bad.
They sat in silence for a few minutes. Eriol couldn't help but notice Phoenix's expression. She was going through some kind of internal battle and not hiding it very well. Finally she burst out. "Well, do you have it?"
Eriol was confused for a short time. Then he remembered. He was her client. "No."
"Leave." Tomoyo caught his eye and for a split second, let raw emotion show on her face. "Leave."
Eriol didn't quite understand. Did she really want him to leave, or did she want him to hang around outside? Did she purposely give her a pleading look, or was he just flattering himself? Eli left the Jester and waited close by.
Spiral watched Eli's departure with glee. His way was clear. Much to his dismay, Phoenix left soon after. As if she had changed her mind about something. He nodded to his spies and they followed her out the door. Spiral sighed inwardly. His head was hurting again and a customer was yelling for him. Phoenix would have to wait another day.
Tomoyo easily caught up with Eli. They walked for a while. "Get out of here before it's too late," she whispered from the side of her mouth. She could see the two spies, Guy and Shrimp, following closely.
"Say what?"
"There are people who want you dead for being around me."
Eriol thought for a moment. "They don't know who they're messing with then," he solemnly pronounced.
Tomoyo could not believe her ears. Eli was a rookie in the Underground. What did he know that could save him? She stopped and looked at him. "You don't know what you're getting yourself into," she glared and hoped that she didn't sound too much like she was begging.
Eriol reached into his coat pocket. "Duck." He pulled Phoenix down to the ground just as a knife whizzed past her. Eriol brought out a small pistol and started shooting at where the two spies were. He was a very good shot. Tomoyo heard two sets of feet running, then a moan and only one set of feet was running. Eli must have killed one.
She looked in wonder at Eli. The cool look of concentration on his face reminded her of herself. Now she knew for sure that Eli had broken the iron curtain she had drawn around her heart. Maybe love did exist after all. "You killed one of them."
"Did I? How can you tell?"
"I have excellent hearing."
Eli reached out his hand to help her up. For a moment, their faces were perilously close. Once again, Tomoyo's head and heart told her two different things. She followed her head and looked away. She wanted to pull her hand away too, and at the same time, she wanted it to stay with his; she didn't know what she wanted. Eriol looked at Phoenix. She was falling in love with him! Eriol touched her face; her skin was surprisingly soft. She turned red. "Eli...I...I...I have to go." Phoenix tugged her hand away from him and ran away.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Guy limped back to the Jester. A bullet had grazed him. He had tried to save Shrimp, but that would have gotten himself killed. Guy really wanted to see Spiral die. Spiral was furious when he found out that one of his spies had gotten killed and the other wanted out of the job.
"You're on this job until I tell you otherwise, Guy."
"Who the hell do you think you are, telling me what to do?" Guy had to struggle to keep from blurting out his true plans. Shrimp's death was just another life Guy needed to get revenge for. Spiral was perilously close to dying, only a few more days of poison. Two weeks. Tops! But Guy already had enough of being used by Spiral in his little game for Phoenix.
"The man who pays you money."
Guy emptied a glass of beer. "Well, I'm out. If you're so interested in killing Eli, kill him yourself." He rose and got ready to leave. Right as he stepped out the door though, Spiral stabbed him. Guy turned around, and threw a powder into Spiral's face. "You may have my life, but I already have my revenge." With that, Guy fell onto the floor, unconscious forever.
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Tomoyo shifted into a bird and flew home. The day's events had seriously shaken her. Eli was not just any Underground man. He was probably someone else....the way she wasn't really just Phoenix.
Guns were expensive. Knives were easily obtained. Unless you had money, you could not get a gun. His aim was steady and sure, showing that he had the time and money to go find a place to practice. That and her heart had betrayed her. She had once vowed that she would never fall in love, yet here she was, lusting after the one man she probably could never have!
All this time, she had been falling in love and she did not realize it until it was too late to quash the feeling. What had she gotten herself into this time?