Disclaimer: I don't own any ccs characters. :( They all belong to CLAMP.
The Hiragizawas had no problem with Spiral for the next month. Ignoring Eriol's protestations, Tomoyo brought Jo home and relaxed security. Spiral on the other hand, had no idea of the changes. He was so ill and weak that he did not realize much of anything. He was delirious with fever and hunger. All he could think about was getting money for food.
Spiral had given up the Jester when he started getting so physically ill that he could not stand. The illness had crept up and surprised him, so he was not prepared to support himself. Half the time, he went about starving.
Spiral coughed. There was a time when he scoffed at those who were ill, taking his own health for granted. He regretted that now, because it was that much harder for him to forage for food. He thought about his past. His glorious past.
He hadn't really been a true foundling, because he wasn't abandoned until he was three. He could remember having a lot of brothers and sisters. He never was full, but he always had a warm place to stay and enough food to keep his hunger at bay. The color of the room he shared with others was a soft green. Even now, after all these years, seeing that particular shade of green would always comfort him. Too bad the Underground was a place of drab grays, browns and blacks. The only color in his life had been Phoenix.
Except she, like his parents, had deserted him. He remembered a woman, presumably his mother, crying over him as he fell asleep one night. Then the next morning, he was in a box, in the Underground. He had lived off scraps for a few years before he joined a street gang. He didn't understand right from wrong, and did whatever the "boss" told him to do. As he grew older, he drifted away from the gang and tried to make his way into the world by doing business. His type of business though, was the shady type.
Spiral vividly remembered the first time he was hired to kill. He had never killed anyone before, so he just closed his eyes and stabbed. Then he got the Jester. The boss from his childhood gang had given it to him. Sprial thought that this was honest living, much better than being hired to kill people. He honestly believed that he would be able to make a good living running a bar.
Unfortunately, drink was expensive for him to purchase and many times, his customers left fake money, so he was still always poor.
He had owned the Jester for three years when he first heard the name Phoenix. She was a petite little woman who acted twice the age she looked. Her first deal was made because she was eaves dropping. She had information other people wanted and she walked up to them and offered. People didn't fear her at first because she was a woman, but she soon taught the Underground to fear her. She had ways of getting information. Information that no one else could get.
The Jester was the bar she favored and soon became her informal headquarters. Spiral had admired Phoenix from afar for a long time. Her reputation had made him afraid to make a move. Then Eli came. He took her from him. He took her. She fell in love with him and she was no longer only his.
Thinking about Eli made him hurt more, but how could he not? His Phoenix had married him, made love to him, bore him a child. This was too much. The mental image of her in bed turned him on, but her in bed with Eli made him wretch. He had it all planned out, how he was going to steal Phoenix from Eli. He had it all planned out. But the child and his illness complicated things. Now, he could only thank his lucky star for each day he was able to wake up. Who knew when the next time he would be strong enough to make the long trek to his beloved's house would be?
~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~
Another month passed and Spiral never again showed his face near their house. The security around their house returned to normal and their lives resumed their normal pace. Tomoyo was planning a party for Eriol's twenty fifth birthday. She wanted it to be the most spectacular party ever. Everything had to be perfect.
Tomoyo had personally supervised decorations and food. She also made sure that there would be no alcohol served; Jo would be present, and Tomoyo had another surprise for Eriol that she had been wanting to tell for a while.
Eriol and Tomoyo greeted everyone. The guest list was select, only about 50 people were invited. No body wanted to turn down an invitation to anything that had the name Hiragizawa attached to it, so all fifty attended, bring lavish gifts for the couple. Eriol made the customary thank-yous and the customary speech. What surprised him was his wife's insistence on speaking as well.
She first spoke of Eriol, how nice he was, how caring, loving, handsome he was. Then she spoke of Melly, the missing one. There was a seat near Tomoyo that was purposely kept empty for her. She talked of their marriage, their love for each other and their daughter, Josephine, who had already gone to bed. Then she looked at Eriol and told him what she had known for almost a month. She was again going to have a child.
Eriol's eyes widened. The audience felt sure that this was the moment when they could tell whether or not the couple really loved each other. He smiled. "I like that news better than anything I've seen or heard all day, sweetie," and he kissed her. In front of everyone. Sonomi, Edith, and Harold were dumbfounded. Their children were madly in love after five years. Amazing!
A maid walked in and whispered something to Tomoyo. She smiled and said something to Eriol and followed the maid. "Madam, I know how you like to help the poor and this man was just walking around in the street, so I took him in and feed him. I knew you wouldn't mind."
"No, I don't mind. So, why do I need to see him?"
"He wants to see you. He's delirious..."
She opened the door to the servants kitchen and Tomoyo glanced in. His back was facing her, but she did not need to see his face to know who he was. Her breath speed up and she frantically whispered, "don't go in. Leave him to me. I'll be right back." She raced back to the dining room to find the guests chatting in groups amongst themselves. Tomoyo ran to Eriol. "You have to come see this, Eriol. You have to," she breathlessly said.
Eriol excused himself and followed his wife, wondering at her odd behavior. The maid held open the door for them to see. Eriol too, recognized him. He pulled Tomoyo into the hallway. She was trembling. "What are we going to do? What are we going to do?" she kept repeating.
"Calm down, calm down. There must be something we can do. You must remember, we have the upper hand here."
"Eriol, I don't want to kill him...." an involuntary shiver passed through her.
"No, we don't have to do that. We can just-" He never finished his sentence. Their unwanted guest had heard the hushed whispers and come out to investigate.
"Phoenix!" he cried, falling onto Tomoyo and groping.
She muffled a scream. "Get you hands off my wife, Spiral," Eriol ordered coolly wresting Tomoyo from him.
"She was mine first," he slurred, his tongue loose from liquor. "You took her away from me."
"I was never yours," she spat.
"Never the less," he tried to sound sophisticated, to win her over. "I loved you and you deserted me." He forcefully grabbed her arm and started caressing her cheek. She winced and tried to get away. "Why are you so afraid of me, my love?"
Eriol pulled out a gun from under his jacket. He aimed at Spiral, who upon noticing the gun, pulled out his own knife and pressed it to Tomoyo's throat. "Don't even think about it."
"Eriol, don't shoot at him," she pleaded, her voice cracking.
Spiral looked at her in surprise. Grabbing a fistful of hair, he forced her face close to his and kissed her, just to show Eriol the kind of power he had. Tomoyo stomped on his foot, the one that was hurt. Spiral yelled. The commotion had attracted the attention of the servants, who had gathered around behind Eriol and were watching through terrified eyes.
While Sprial was moaning about his foot, Tomoyo neatly threw him to the ground and disarmed him. Sprial saw what she was intending on doing and scrambled for the knife, but Eriol picked it up. Fearfully and rebelliously, Spiral looked up. Phoenix was standing behind Eli now.
Phoenix, his beautiful, flawless Phoenix, had just one flaw: she was in love with someone else. He could see the hatred smoldering in her eyes. Hatred that was for him. For him. It burned into his soul. She really had deserted him now. He would not forget. And Eli. Eli, was just Eli. His cold, calculating gaze refused to let Spiral go. His innerds squirmed under his scrutiny. He did not seemed to be affected by Spiral or what he had done.
Phoenix, seemed shaken, he had never seen her like that before. Her anger and frustration were barely concealed. Her body trembled as she physically tried to fight for control of her emotions. Eli seemed to harness the energy of his anger and turn it against the aggressor, in this case, Spiral. Spiral could remember learning that cold anger was the best kind of anger to have because it was easily controlled. Hot anger was volatile. Cold anger could be used as a weapon. Eli had a bounty of cold anger, cold anger that was directed to Spiral.
Eriol finally spoke, each word falling from his lips and shattering like glass on Spiral's ears. "Now who has the power?"
The party guests weren't quite sure what was taking Eriol and Tomoyo so long, and the thought of looking for them never occurred. The servant had gathered around watching the drama, but Spiral, Eriol, and Tomoyo were oblivious to their audience.
As Eriol spoke, Tomoyo watched, her rationality was almost gone, she really wanted Spiral dead now. His refusal to accept what was happening probably had something to do with the fact that he was half drunk. Spiral studied Phoenix's face after Eli spoke. She showed nothing on her face. That was when he made the decision.
If he couldn't have her, no one could. He knew that somewhere, he had another knife, he just had to remember where he put it, so he stalled. He looked up at Eriol and said, "you wouldn't shoot a drunk man who's delirious would you?"
Eriol looked down with the disgust apparent on his face. "Stop sniveling or else I will shoot."
Spiral remembered where he put his other knife, under his shirt! He felt for it. When he had the handle, he shifted slightly. Tomoyo would have been able to spot this, except she was looking away, telling some servants to call the police. Spiral quickly pulled out his knife and ran to Phoenix.
She turned around.
The guests heard a scream and then a gun shot.
a.n:I'm so evil....^-^