'Nother part 'nother part.
Thank you to all those who have reviewed and given me their comments.
Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptors/Card Captor Sakura
::telepathy::
AN: I've decided to define the characters of Emma and Daniel a little more as they will play a larger role in the sequel I'm planning. It's going to be blatantly obvious.
____________________________________________________________________________ ______
A twelve year old Tomoyo Daidouji mentally smirked when she heard four voices simultaneously cry out, "Eriol will you work with me?" or some other variant. They had just been told by their teacher to do an assignment in pairs and the Eriol fan club as Tomoyo like to call them, seized upon the chance to work with their idol.
Eriol took it all in stride and answered, "Though I would love to work with one of you lovely ladies, it would be impossible." He answered in mock sorrow. His hand raised to stop further protests, "I would be hard pressed to choose between you and when I did, one of you wouldn't have a partner. I do not want to break up your beautiful friendship for my needs."
Tomoyo stifled a giggle as all four girls sighed in unison. ::Flirt.:: She accused Eriol mentally.
::Me?:: The answering call radiated with false innocence.
"Who will you be working with Eriol?" Fan number one asked.
Tomoyo decided this was a good time to interrupt, "I can work with him." Before she could get any death glares from the fans, she continued. "I was going to ask if I could work with one of you, but Eriol made a good point. One of you would be left out and that would be horrible. It would be better if I just worked with him instead of being with you guys and making things worse."
Fan number two almost felt bad for Tomoyo having been pushed into this position, "It's okay Tomoyo, you don't-"
"Think nothing of it, I'll be glad to do this."
Eriol also added, "This way we can all work with someone we know."
Number three smiled and said, "Thank you for doing this for us guys."
"It is really no trouble at all." They both assured the girls. Number four seemed oddly troubled about what had just happened, but dismissed the feeling. Tomoyo was the nicest girl in the class. She was always polite and never said a mean word to anyone in school. She was doing this for their own good, too.
"I'm quite proud of you Ms. Daidouji." Eriol whispered as they started working on the assignment.
"What for?" She asked.
"You are becoming quite skilled in... altering people's thoughts."
"You mean, I'm becoming more like you."
"Is that a bad thing?" Eriol asked. Tomoyo simply smiled to herself and silently started to work. She carefully stored the memory of his innocent smile in the back of her mind behind the strongest barriers she could create. It was the place where she stored all the thoughts and memories that evoked her more than friendly feelings for him. It was where she kept them safe from his prying mind. When she had first discovered that she had a crush on her friend, she had resolved to herself on thing, he would never know.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------
He waited for her a block away from school. They stopped meeting outside school as rumors were starting to spread about them. They had soon died down as they saw that Eriol never flirted with Tomoyo and Tomoyo only engaged in polite conversation when necessary with him. Still, they wanted to stop stories from going around before they started. When Tomoyo arrived, he instantly saw that something was wrong. They started walking silently for about one minute before he asked, "Is there something wrong?" He knew that there was, but he had to follow rule number three in their unspoken but mutually acknowledged list of rules.
"I'm fine, thank you." She was putting rule one into play.
If one doesn't tell, the other doesn't ask.
Eriol nodded and continued walking beside her, though there was a foot of space between them.
Rule number two: Never touch each other.
The aforementioned rule number three was:
Always give the other time the chance to change a topic if they do not want to discuss it. Never get directly to the crux of the matter. Go about it in the normal steps of discovery.
Rule number three was enforced by rule number four.
Always speak politely to one another, even when arguing. The only exception to this was when they both decided to banter with each other.
The last rule elaborated on the previous one.
Bantering only takes place alone or in front of those that knew them well. The only beings that fell into that category were Eriol's family, guardians, and Kaho. All others could only see the polite side of their friendship.
Generally, all these rules were followed accordingly. There were some exceptions when they had both agreed to disregard them, the night on the roof being one of them, but most of the time they were in place. They were nearing Eriol's house when she spoke up. "I'll be gone soon."
He paused and asked, "Oh?"
"Yes." They continued walking for a bit in silence before she elaborated. "I know my father is recovering, but..."
"You have a 'feeling'." Eriol knew he was being direct, but this fell into the realm of her talent. That was part of their student/teacher relationship, which had a completely different set of rules. He had worked with Tomoyo to develop her sight, it was still very unreliable, but that was the nature of prophesy.
"Yes, Syaoran will return at the same time I do, so..." She stopped as she realized what she had just said. She could never control when or on what subject her talent manifested itself and it normally happened in words or phrases she would say like what happened just then.
"So I will probably follow you after a few months." Eriol finished her sentence. The silence that reigned was not an uncomfortable one and they walked in it for the remainder of their journey. Tomoyo had come to terms with her father's upcoming death a while ago. She loved him and would be very sad when he was gone, but she felt it would be easier on her if she tried accept the fact sooner and not get her hopes up when he started recovering.
Inside Eriol's house they smelled the smell of someone, most likely Daniel, making grilled cheese sandwiches. Sitting at the dining room table was Emma, engrossed in a book. Tomoyo soon learned that the exuberant side of the younger twin was only a front she showed to strangers. When she was younger she used to get teased for her intelligence and, even though her brother tried to beat up anyone who did so, she had started to act cheerful and, for lack of a better term, ditzy. She had found people liked her better that way and for some reason all the guys she knew, besides her family, didn't like girls who were smarter than them. Though for all her brains, she did lack common sense. Dan tended to make up for both of them on that.
On top of Emma's head was what seemed to be a cat with wings. It stretched deeply and flew off the twins head and landed on the table before saying, "Good afternoon Master." He then turned to Tomoyo and added, "Mistress." It seemed that both Nakuru and Spinel, when they had been created, decided to call Tomoyo their mistress, but for two different reasons. Nakuru had tried to play match maker with them, but, after failing utterly, gave up. She still didn't get out of the habit of calling Tomoyo by that title, though. Spinel's reason was that an order Tomoyo gave had Eriol's full approval behind it unless he said otherwise. She was, in that way, their mistress.
When Spinel spoke Emma finally noticed that they were their. She looked up from her book and said cheerfully, "Hi Tomoyo. Hi Eriol. Oh, Tomoyo, the info you wanted is right there." She pointed to a stack of papers on the table.
"Thank you, you didn't have to do this for me."
"Don't worry about it, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to. Besides, Daniel helped." That was true. One word that described Emma was lazy. She wouldn't do any work unless she had to. Her essays and assignments for school had always been the bare minimum required, or she didn't do them at all. The only time she did put any effort into anything was when she wanted to. It didn't surprise Tomoyo that Dan helped, he was a hard worker. The two twins were almost complete opposites. Dan was solemn and quiet while Emma was cheerful and loud. Dan had a lot of magic while Emma had very little. There were more comparisons, but the two would gladly die for each other.
"Thank you Daniel." Tomoyo said when he came out of the kitchen with four grilled cheese sandwiches and bowls of tomato soup floating in front of him. He smiled at her as they lowered.
"He says that it was no problem." Emma translated as she returned to her book. Daniel shoved a plate in front of her, but she was too drawn into the world of her story to notice. He finally reached up and closed the book in front of her face. "Hey!" She complained, "It was just getting good." He took the book away from her and pointed at the sandwich. "Fine," she sighed, and started eating. Dan tended take care of his sister because she wouldn't do it herself. She spent most of her time off in her own world and he sometimes needed to make her eat or sleep or she wouldn't do it herself.
Emma rushed through her meal as the rest took a more sedate pace. She was just about to return to her book when the phone rang. She shouted, "I got it!" Quickly diving for the phone, it hadn't even gotten through it's second ring when she answered, "Hello?...Hey Ryan!" She automatically slipped into her ditzy persona.
Eriol looked at his brother, "Isn't that the same guy she was dating two months ago?" Dan nodded, his jaw clenching. He obviously didn't care for Ryan. Tomoyo couldn't help but agree with him. Though Dan would probably not like any of his sister's boyfriends, anybody who made his sister have to become an airhead to get him to like her wasn't someone worth dating. Emma didn't seem to realize it though, but then again, she didn't seem to realize many things that weren't mathematical equations. "She must be somewhat serious about him." Eriol mused. He sounded innocent enough, but his voice had a slightly steely tone to it that only Tomoyo heard. Maybe brotherly protectiveness didn't come just from Emma's twin.
Trying to dispel the silence that fell over the room, she grabbed the papers that Emma had pointed out before. She had asked her to do a little research on seers using her more extensive access to the magical world. Unfortunately, there wasn't much information of any use for the most part. Most seers that were known to the wizarding world that Dan and Emma belonged to made maybe one or two accurate predictions in a life time. Divination seemed to be a very inaccurate form of magic and seers came maybe once or twice in a lifetime.
Tomoyo was subconsciously aware of Eriol and Daniel cleaning up the dining room and Spinel running for cover when Nakuru returned from school. For once, the moon guardian didn't squeeze her to death when she saw her. Instead, she grabbed a bag of sugar and started searching for a certain winged black furred creature. The young girl had spent almost an hour going through some completely irrelevant facts and was almost to the end of the papers when she found something interesting.
Supposedly there were seers who didn't have any magical power like theirs, but their Sight manifested itself right before puberty, but, if untrained, would disappear in a few years. It was an urban legend in the twins' world and Eriol had asked the two not to reveal that it was true. This she already knew and more, Eriol had told her of her latent psychic abilities. She couldn't read anybody's mind, but she could pick up general emotions, speak with someone who knew about her ability, and build walls in her mind that would hide her inner thoughts.
What the information that Emma had collected did tell her was that not only could Tomoyo have those flashes of prescience that she had no control over, but she could also focus her ability by using a magical means of divination. Unfortunately, what type of divination wasn't specified. Tomoyo sighed, more information, but still nothing to help her control what happened. She had no idea if she was harnessing her powers or not. They were so weak that they might disappear in a couple of months because she had no control over them.
The doorbell rang and Eriol went to open the door. Tomoyo heard Kaho greet Eriol in Japanese. They had progressed very quickly and their lessons consisted of speaking only in Japanese about whatever topic their teacher decided to bring up. She got up and went out to meet her. They were sitting in the living room eating some biscuits that Eriol's brother had made. Tomoyo sat on the couch next to her teacher as she began the lesson. "How are your studies going?" She asked Tomoyo in Japanese.
"I'm doing well in school." Tomoyo answered.
"And you?" Kaho asked Eriol.
"Very well I think, Mizuki-sensei."
"What about your other studies Daidouji-san?" Kaho asked. She knew about Eriol, Tomoyo, and Eriol's family. When she had returned from Japan, Eriol decided it would be fun to see how she would react when he asked how the card mistress was doing. Needless to say, after a few cups of calming tea, there was a lot of explaining to be done.
Tomoyo grimaced, "Not so well."
At the same time, Eriol said, "She is making fine progress." He continued after she had stopped. "It isn't very noticeable, but you must have patience."
"Oh, and you are one who is full of that virtue." Tomoyo said sarcastically. This conversation was going to be one of the exceptions mentioned in rule for, that is if Eriol rose to the bait.
"You are speaking to the veritable master of patience."
"Oh?" Tomoyo arched one eyebrow in an expression that had become as natural to her as Eriol's innocent smile was to him. "May I remind you of the ice cream incident?"
"The ice cream incident?" Kaho interrupted, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"You truly don't want to know." Tomoyo told her, "Even I'm not sure what quite happened." She turned to Eriol. "So? What do you have to say for yourself."
"That had entirely different circumstances than you believe."
"And what were they?"
"Hamsters."
"Hamsters?" Tomoyo repeated incredulously.
"Yes, hamsters."
There conversation was stopped by a giggle sounding from their teacher. When they turned to her she smiled. "Perfect example of a conversation, now let's translate everything that was said after I asked Tomoyo about her studies." It was only then that the two realized that they had been speaking in English. That was not a good thing because, unless otherwise allowed, all conversations had to be in Japanese and their teacher could be a stern taskmaster when she wanted to be. The two children locked eyes containing a mutual feeling of dread as Kaho continued, "And then you're going to copy it down fifteen times on paper." Yes, their teacher could be very strict when she wanted to be.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------
The funeral was a quiet affair with only a few co-workers and friends. Tomoyo stood off to the side alone as she heard the preacher speak. Had it only been a few months ago that she was talking to Eriol about having a feeling? Her father's cancer had returned very quickly and he simply didn't get better. She had prepared herself for this day, but even enough preparation couldn't stop the overwhelming pain that was gnawing at her from the inside. She kept telling herself that if she had only had one more minute she would tell him how much she loved him and how much she would miss him and then she could let him go, but she was just kidding herself. It would never be enough, no matter how much more time was granted for her to spend with her father, it would never be enough.
Distantly, she heard a car drive by and stop, and a door open, but she didn't care. She didn't care when a ripple went through the crowd as two people made their way through, and she didn't care when one came to stand beside her and the other to stand behind them both. All she cared about was the fact that he father was gone and she would never see him again. She heard the preacher finish his eulogy and a silence descend. What was supposed to happen now? She wondered, then she remembered.
Tomoyo stepped forward and took the shovel leaning next to a table. Dipping it into the dirt, she showered the closed coffin with the brown earth. She stepped back and watched as the rest of the crowd did the same. Once everyone had finished, they slowly left. Tomoyo had decided not to have a reception, she knew she wouldn't be staying long enough to go.
When almost all the guests had left, Tomoyo turned to the person she hadn't seen in ten years and said softly, "Hello mother."
When Sonomi Daidouji received word that her husband had died and that her daughter would be returning to her, she was shocked. She had created a life for herself where no one depended on her. Now she would have a thirteen year old girl living with her. She had gone to ask help from her cousin-in-law for advice on what to do in the middle of the night. Even though she had never forgiven him for taking her Nadeshiko from her, they had formed and uneasy friendship, especially after her husband had left her. After calming her down with a cup of tea, he had immediately told her that his family would give her all the help she would need. A few hours later, she was on a private jet to England.
Arriving on the day of the funeral, she had driven with her bodyguard to the cemetery and pushed through the crowd to stand next to her daughter. Tomoyo had been standing alone next to the open grave and hadn't turned to even acknowledge her mother's presence. Sonomi knew she hadn't known they were coming and would have been surprised if her daughter even remembered who she was, so when Tomoyo had turned around and greeted her, her eyes widened in shock. She calmed down quickly and replied, "Hello Tomoyo." She had done enough business trips to England to speak the language understandably.
"When are we leaving?"
"As soon as you are ready to go."
"My belongings are all packed and are waiting at the house."
"Then let us return." Her daughter turned to walk in the direction of the car. It wasn't the meeting that Sonomi had anticipated. At least her daughter was being civil to her. She sighed, it wasn't that surprising that Tomoyo knew she was coming. Where else would she have gone? Sonomi still hadn't left her spot. She had been standing there since she arrived. She couldn't bring herself to put dirt on the coffin of a man who she hadn't seen for ten years. Her hand, which had been behind her back raised of its own accord. She looked at its contents. Sonomis. It was fitting in a way. She walked over and dropped them onto the coffin. He would have liked it.
Eriol's family was waiting by her mother's car. Nancy was crying as she took Tomoyo into her arms. "Be good." She whispered between sobs. Tomoyo told her she would and turned to Emma.
The girl smiled at her before awkwardly hugging Tomoyo. "I'll miss you."
The other twin put his hand on her shoulder and leaned over and said in her ear, "I know it'll be hard, but give your mother a chance."
Tomoyo nodded and murmured something non-committal about trying before she stood in front of Eriol. "Nakuru and Spinel wanted to come, but I wouldn't let them." Tomoyo nodded, she was trying to take in the face of him looking at her and, for once, not smiling one last time before she left. Finally he pulled her into an almost hug, breaking rule two, and whispered, "Don't get into trouble."
Tomoyo smiled slightly. "Me? I'm insulted." They fell silent. Finally, Tomoyo followed her mother into the car. Looking back, she did one final mental call before she was out of range. ::See you soon.::
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomoyo looked over at her mother sleeping beside her. The jet was spacious. The girl didn't think that she would ever be able to get used to luxuries of the rich. She was leaving England and her best friend to go to a foreign country with a woman she barely knew. She felt a strange feeling of deja vu. At least she wouldn't be completely lost. She had a mission that she was going to complete, no matter what. Still, she felt so alone. She leaned her head against the window and finally, she cried.
____________________________________________________________________________ ______
AN: I believe Sonomis are a type of flower, correct me if I'm wrong. That was the last you will see of Dan, Emma, and Nancy in this story.
Thank you to all those who have reviewed and given me their comments.
Disclaimer: I don't own Cardcaptors/Card Captor Sakura
::telepathy::
AN: I've decided to define the characters of Emma and Daniel a little more as they will play a larger role in the sequel I'm planning. It's going to be blatantly obvious.
____________________________________________________________________________ ______
A twelve year old Tomoyo Daidouji mentally smirked when she heard four voices simultaneously cry out, "Eriol will you work with me?" or some other variant. They had just been told by their teacher to do an assignment in pairs and the Eriol fan club as Tomoyo like to call them, seized upon the chance to work with their idol.
Eriol took it all in stride and answered, "Though I would love to work with one of you lovely ladies, it would be impossible." He answered in mock sorrow. His hand raised to stop further protests, "I would be hard pressed to choose between you and when I did, one of you wouldn't have a partner. I do not want to break up your beautiful friendship for my needs."
Tomoyo stifled a giggle as all four girls sighed in unison. ::Flirt.:: She accused Eriol mentally.
::Me?:: The answering call radiated with false innocence.
"Who will you be working with Eriol?" Fan number one asked.
Tomoyo decided this was a good time to interrupt, "I can work with him." Before she could get any death glares from the fans, she continued. "I was going to ask if I could work with one of you, but Eriol made a good point. One of you would be left out and that would be horrible. It would be better if I just worked with him instead of being with you guys and making things worse."
Fan number two almost felt bad for Tomoyo having been pushed into this position, "It's okay Tomoyo, you don't-"
"Think nothing of it, I'll be glad to do this."
Eriol also added, "This way we can all work with someone we know."
Number three smiled and said, "Thank you for doing this for us guys."
"It is really no trouble at all." They both assured the girls. Number four seemed oddly troubled about what had just happened, but dismissed the feeling. Tomoyo was the nicest girl in the class. She was always polite and never said a mean word to anyone in school. She was doing this for their own good, too.
"I'm quite proud of you Ms. Daidouji." Eriol whispered as they started working on the assignment.
"What for?" She asked.
"You are becoming quite skilled in... altering people's thoughts."
"You mean, I'm becoming more like you."
"Is that a bad thing?" Eriol asked. Tomoyo simply smiled to herself and silently started to work. She carefully stored the memory of his innocent smile in the back of her mind behind the strongest barriers she could create. It was the place where she stored all the thoughts and memories that evoked her more than friendly feelings for him. It was where she kept them safe from his prying mind. When she had first discovered that she had a crush on her friend, she had resolved to herself on thing, he would never know.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------
He waited for her a block away from school. They stopped meeting outside school as rumors were starting to spread about them. They had soon died down as they saw that Eriol never flirted with Tomoyo and Tomoyo only engaged in polite conversation when necessary with him. Still, they wanted to stop stories from going around before they started. When Tomoyo arrived, he instantly saw that something was wrong. They started walking silently for about one minute before he asked, "Is there something wrong?" He knew that there was, but he had to follow rule number three in their unspoken but mutually acknowledged list of rules.
"I'm fine, thank you." She was putting rule one into play.
If one doesn't tell, the other doesn't ask.
Eriol nodded and continued walking beside her, though there was a foot of space between them.
Rule number two: Never touch each other.
The aforementioned rule number three was:
Always give the other time the chance to change a topic if they do not want to discuss it. Never get directly to the crux of the matter. Go about it in the normal steps of discovery.
Rule number three was enforced by rule number four.
Always speak politely to one another, even when arguing. The only exception to this was when they both decided to banter with each other.
The last rule elaborated on the previous one.
Bantering only takes place alone or in front of those that knew them well. The only beings that fell into that category were Eriol's family, guardians, and Kaho. All others could only see the polite side of their friendship.
Generally, all these rules were followed accordingly. There were some exceptions when they had both agreed to disregard them, the night on the roof being one of them, but most of the time they were in place. They were nearing Eriol's house when she spoke up. "I'll be gone soon."
He paused and asked, "Oh?"
"Yes." They continued walking for a bit in silence before she elaborated. "I know my father is recovering, but..."
"You have a 'feeling'." Eriol knew he was being direct, but this fell into the realm of her talent. That was part of their student/teacher relationship, which had a completely different set of rules. He had worked with Tomoyo to develop her sight, it was still very unreliable, but that was the nature of prophesy.
"Yes, Syaoran will return at the same time I do, so..." She stopped as she realized what she had just said. She could never control when or on what subject her talent manifested itself and it normally happened in words or phrases she would say like what happened just then.
"So I will probably follow you after a few months." Eriol finished her sentence. The silence that reigned was not an uncomfortable one and they walked in it for the remainder of their journey. Tomoyo had come to terms with her father's upcoming death a while ago. She loved him and would be very sad when he was gone, but she felt it would be easier on her if she tried accept the fact sooner and not get her hopes up when he started recovering.
Inside Eriol's house they smelled the smell of someone, most likely Daniel, making grilled cheese sandwiches. Sitting at the dining room table was Emma, engrossed in a book. Tomoyo soon learned that the exuberant side of the younger twin was only a front she showed to strangers. When she was younger she used to get teased for her intelligence and, even though her brother tried to beat up anyone who did so, she had started to act cheerful and, for lack of a better term, ditzy. She had found people liked her better that way and for some reason all the guys she knew, besides her family, didn't like girls who were smarter than them. Though for all her brains, she did lack common sense. Dan tended to make up for both of them on that.
On top of Emma's head was what seemed to be a cat with wings. It stretched deeply and flew off the twins head and landed on the table before saying, "Good afternoon Master." He then turned to Tomoyo and added, "Mistress." It seemed that both Nakuru and Spinel, when they had been created, decided to call Tomoyo their mistress, but for two different reasons. Nakuru had tried to play match maker with them, but, after failing utterly, gave up. She still didn't get out of the habit of calling Tomoyo by that title, though. Spinel's reason was that an order Tomoyo gave had Eriol's full approval behind it unless he said otherwise. She was, in that way, their mistress.
When Spinel spoke Emma finally noticed that they were their. She looked up from her book and said cheerfully, "Hi Tomoyo. Hi Eriol. Oh, Tomoyo, the info you wanted is right there." She pointed to a stack of papers on the table.
"Thank you, you didn't have to do this for me."
"Don't worry about it, I wouldn't have done it if I didn't want to. Besides, Daniel helped." That was true. One word that described Emma was lazy. She wouldn't do any work unless she had to. Her essays and assignments for school had always been the bare minimum required, or she didn't do them at all. The only time she did put any effort into anything was when she wanted to. It didn't surprise Tomoyo that Dan helped, he was a hard worker. The two twins were almost complete opposites. Dan was solemn and quiet while Emma was cheerful and loud. Dan had a lot of magic while Emma had very little. There were more comparisons, but the two would gladly die for each other.
"Thank you Daniel." Tomoyo said when he came out of the kitchen with four grilled cheese sandwiches and bowls of tomato soup floating in front of him. He smiled at her as they lowered.
"He says that it was no problem." Emma translated as she returned to her book. Daniel shoved a plate in front of her, but she was too drawn into the world of her story to notice. He finally reached up and closed the book in front of her face. "Hey!" She complained, "It was just getting good." He took the book away from her and pointed at the sandwich. "Fine," she sighed, and started eating. Dan tended take care of his sister because she wouldn't do it herself. She spent most of her time off in her own world and he sometimes needed to make her eat or sleep or she wouldn't do it herself.
Emma rushed through her meal as the rest took a more sedate pace. She was just about to return to her book when the phone rang. She shouted, "I got it!" Quickly diving for the phone, it hadn't even gotten through it's second ring when she answered, "Hello?...Hey Ryan!" She automatically slipped into her ditzy persona.
Eriol looked at his brother, "Isn't that the same guy she was dating two months ago?" Dan nodded, his jaw clenching. He obviously didn't care for Ryan. Tomoyo couldn't help but agree with him. Though Dan would probably not like any of his sister's boyfriends, anybody who made his sister have to become an airhead to get him to like her wasn't someone worth dating. Emma didn't seem to realize it though, but then again, she didn't seem to realize many things that weren't mathematical equations. "She must be somewhat serious about him." Eriol mused. He sounded innocent enough, but his voice had a slightly steely tone to it that only Tomoyo heard. Maybe brotherly protectiveness didn't come just from Emma's twin.
Trying to dispel the silence that fell over the room, she grabbed the papers that Emma had pointed out before. She had asked her to do a little research on seers using her more extensive access to the magical world. Unfortunately, there wasn't much information of any use for the most part. Most seers that were known to the wizarding world that Dan and Emma belonged to made maybe one or two accurate predictions in a life time. Divination seemed to be a very inaccurate form of magic and seers came maybe once or twice in a lifetime.
Tomoyo was subconsciously aware of Eriol and Daniel cleaning up the dining room and Spinel running for cover when Nakuru returned from school. For once, the moon guardian didn't squeeze her to death when she saw her. Instead, she grabbed a bag of sugar and started searching for a certain winged black furred creature. The young girl had spent almost an hour going through some completely irrelevant facts and was almost to the end of the papers when she found something interesting.
Supposedly there were seers who didn't have any magical power like theirs, but their Sight manifested itself right before puberty, but, if untrained, would disappear in a few years. It was an urban legend in the twins' world and Eriol had asked the two not to reveal that it was true. This she already knew and more, Eriol had told her of her latent psychic abilities. She couldn't read anybody's mind, but she could pick up general emotions, speak with someone who knew about her ability, and build walls in her mind that would hide her inner thoughts.
What the information that Emma had collected did tell her was that not only could Tomoyo have those flashes of prescience that she had no control over, but she could also focus her ability by using a magical means of divination. Unfortunately, what type of divination wasn't specified. Tomoyo sighed, more information, but still nothing to help her control what happened. She had no idea if she was harnessing her powers or not. They were so weak that they might disappear in a couple of months because she had no control over them.
The doorbell rang and Eriol went to open the door. Tomoyo heard Kaho greet Eriol in Japanese. They had progressed very quickly and their lessons consisted of speaking only in Japanese about whatever topic their teacher decided to bring up. She got up and went out to meet her. They were sitting in the living room eating some biscuits that Eriol's brother had made. Tomoyo sat on the couch next to her teacher as she began the lesson. "How are your studies going?" She asked Tomoyo in Japanese.
"I'm doing well in school." Tomoyo answered.
"And you?" Kaho asked Eriol.
"Very well I think, Mizuki-sensei."
"What about your other studies Daidouji-san?" Kaho asked. She knew about Eriol, Tomoyo, and Eriol's family. When she had returned from Japan, Eriol decided it would be fun to see how she would react when he asked how the card mistress was doing. Needless to say, after a few cups of calming tea, there was a lot of explaining to be done.
Tomoyo grimaced, "Not so well."
At the same time, Eriol said, "She is making fine progress." He continued after she had stopped. "It isn't very noticeable, but you must have patience."
"Oh, and you are one who is full of that virtue." Tomoyo said sarcastically. This conversation was going to be one of the exceptions mentioned in rule for, that is if Eriol rose to the bait.
"You are speaking to the veritable master of patience."
"Oh?" Tomoyo arched one eyebrow in an expression that had become as natural to her as Eriol's innocent smile was to him. "May I remind you of the ice cream incident?"
"The ice cream incident?" Kaho interrupted, her curiosity getting the better of her.
"You truly don't want to know." Tomoyo told her, "Even I'm not sure what quite happened." She turned to Eriol. "So? What do you have to say for yourself."
"That had entirely different circumstances than you believe."
"And what were they?"
"Hamsters."
"Hamsters?" Tomoyo repeated incredulously.
"Yes, hamsters."
There conversation was stopped by a giggle sounding from their teacher. When they turned to her she smiled. "Perfect example of a conversation, now let's translate everything that was said after I asked Tomoyo about her studies." It was only then that the two realized that they had been speaking in English. That was not a good thing because, unless otherwise allowed, all conversations had to be in Japanese and their teacher could be a stern taskmaster when she wanted to be. The two children locked eyes containing a mutual feeling of dread as Kaho continued, "And then you're going to copy it down fifteen times on paper." Yes, their teacher could be very strict when she wanted to be.
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------
The funeral was a quiet affair with only a few co-workers and friends. Tomoyo stood off to the side alone as she heard the preacher speak. Had it only been a few months ago that she was talking to Eriol about having a feeling? Her father's cancer had returned very quickly and he simply didn't get better. She had prepared herself for this day, but even enough preparation couldn't stop the overwhelming pain that was gnawing at her from the inside. She kept telling herself that if she had only had one more minute she would tell him how much she loved him and how much she would miss him and then she could let him go, but she was just kidding herself. It would never be enough, no matter how much more time was granted for her to spend with her father, it would never be enough.
Distantly, she heard a car drive by and stop, and a door open, but she didn't care. She didn't care when a ripple went through the crowd as two people made their way through, and she didn't care when one came to stand beside her and the other to stand behind them both. All she cared about was the fact that he father was gone and she would never see him again. She heard the preacher finish his eulogy and a silence descend. What was supposed to happen now? She wondered, then she remembered.
Tomoyo stepped forward and took the shovel leaning next to a table. Dipping it into the dirt, she showered the closed coffin with the brown earth. She stepped back and watched as the rest of the crowd did the same. Once everyone had finished, they slowly left. Tomoyo had decided not to have a reception, she knew she wouldn't be staying long enough to go.
When almost all the guests had left, Tomoyo turned to the person she hadn't seen in ten years and said softly, "Hello mother."
When Sonomi Daidouji received word that her husband had died and that her daughter would be returning to her, she was shocked. She had created a life for herself where no one depended on her. Now she would have a thirteen year old girl living with her. She had gone to ask help from her cousin-in-law for advice on what to do in the middle of the night. Even though she had never forgiven him for taking her Nadeshiko from her, they had formed and uneasy friendship, especially after her husband had left her. After calming her down with a cup of tea, he had immediately told her that his family would give her all the help she would need. A few hours later, she was on a private jet to England.
Arriving on the day of the funeral, she had driven with her bodyguard to the cemetery and pushed through the crowd to stand next to her daughter. Tomoyo had been standing alone next to the open grave and hadn't turned to even acknowledge her mother's presence. Sonomi knew she hadn't known they were coming and would have been surprised if her daughter even remembered who she was, so when Tomoyo had turned around and greeted her, her eyes widened in shock. She calmed down quickly and replied, "Hello Tomoyo." She had done enough business trips to England to speak the language understandably.
"When are we leaving?"
"As soon as you are ready to go."
"My belongings are all packed and are waiting at the house."
"Then let us return." Her daughter turned to walk in the direction of the car. It wasn't the meeting that Sonomi had anticipated. At least her daughter was being civil to her. She sighed, it wasn't that surprising that Tomoyo knew she was coming. Where else would she have gone? Sonomi still hadn't left her spot. She had been standing there since she arrived. She couldn't bring herself to put dirt on the coffin of a man who she hadn't seen for ten years. Her hand, which had been behind her back raised of its own accord. She looked at its contents. Sonomis. It was fitting in a way. She walked over and dropped them onto the coffin. He would have liked it.
Eriol's family was waiting by her mother's car. Nancy was crying as she took Tomoyo into her arms. "Be good." She whispered between sobs. Tomoyo told her she would and turned to Emma.
The girl smiled at her before awkwardly hugging Tomoyo. "I'll miss you."
The other twin put his hand on her shoulder and leaned over and said in her ear, "I know it'll be hard, but give your mother a chance."
Tomoyo nodded and murmured something non-committal about trying before she stood in front of Eriol. "Nakuru and Spinel wanted to come, but I wouldn't let them." Tomoyo nodded, she was trying to take in the face of him looking at her and, for once, not smiling one last time before she left. Finally he pulled her into an almost hug, breaking rule two, and whispered, "Don't get into trouble."
Tomoyo smiled slightly. "Me? I'm insulted." They fell silent. Finally, Tomoyo followed her mother into the car. Looking back, she did one final mental call before she was out of range. ::See you soon.::
---------------------------------------------------------------------------- -------------------------------------------------------------------
Tomoyo looked over at her mother sleeping beside her. The jet was spacious. The girl didn't think that she would ever be able to get used to luxuries of the rich. She was leaving England and her best friend to go to a foreign country with a woman she barely knew. She felt a strange feeling of deja vu. At least she wouldn't be completely lost. She had a mission that she was going to complete, no matter what. Still, she felt so alone. She leaned her head against the window and finally, she cried.
____________________________________________________________________________ ______
AN: I believe Sonomis are a type of flower, correct me if I'm wrong. That was the last you will see of Dan, Emma, and Nancy in this story.