Disclaimer: Refer to previous chapters.
Aratamete
Chapter Seven
Eriol stared at the small, black device he held in his hand. "No," he thought desperately. "This can't be happening." He held the phone up to his ear again and listened tentatively. This was no time to overreact; he needed to find out who she was and how…just, how.
"Explain," he demanded, not the slightest bit of courtesy finding its way into his tone. He heard the woman on the other end give a low, husky laugh and his stomach twisted as if he had an infatuation gone wrong. [AN: For some reason, that sentence strikes me as funny…*shrugs*] Eriol could feel his skin tingling.
"Explain?…What is there to explain, my dear, beloved Clow?" For some odd reason, when the word beloved reached Eriol's ears, he shivered with a strange sort of arousal. His deranged fascination quickly turned to anger.
"Who are you to call me 'beloved', you…" he muttered a string of curse words, which appeared to have delighted the woman; she laughed.
"I'm flattered you still think so highly of me," she said easily, annunciating every syllable so that Eriol wouldn't miss a key word or phrase. He didn't.
"What do you mean, 'still'?" He asked, a tone of anxiety creeping into his voice. He was confused, something that didn't happen very often. Normally he was the one confusing, not the one being confused. It was a very unsettling experience; similar to one of taking a college exam and discovering you have a minute left, while staring at a question that just didn't want to make sense. A sense of dread tickled his mind as he waited for her answer, his rapid intakes of breath magnified by the telephone. It seemed almost deafening.
"Ah, all in due time, Eriol, all in due time…" he started to snap at her, but she continued with a perverse sort of fervor. "However, if you truly desire to know…you will meet me." She paused, and Eriol took this moment to attempt his retort.
"Call me Eriol-san…no, Eriol- sama," he said, his voice burning yet freezing at the same moment. "…Wait; meet you?" The astonishment overrode his hate. She continued as if she hadn't heard a thing. Who knows, maybe she didn't.
"…Or perhaps I will meet you…Eriol." Yes, she had heard him. She was spiting him; using just his first name for mockery.
"What the hell-" But she had already hung up; or perhaps the line had been cut. Eriol thought the former.
He sighed, and gently placed the phone back. It gave a small "click" as it rested, contently, into its hold. Unlike the small black apparatus, however, Eriol was not content, and certainly not giving small clicking noises to portray his hypothetical contentment. He eased himself into his chair, and brought his head into his hands as his elbows rested on the small coffee table in front of him. The nimble fingers that ran through his hair gave him even more of an unruly hairstyle, making him seem a bit troubled rather than mystifying. And, three hours later, Tomoyo walked into the room with him still holding the same position…and atmosphere.
Tomoyo's light footsteps caught Eriol's ears and she walked into the room. He glanced up, and she caught the gaze. Tomoyo felt a bit self-conscious for a moment, but shoved it away. "It's just Hiirigizawa-kun, the reincarnation of the most powerful sorcerer of all time. What's there to be nervous about?" She giggled, and Eriol's scrutinizing stare turned into an inquisitive one.
"What's wrong?" He asked, pushing his troubles away. He'd get back to them later.
Tomoyo just shook her head; giggles didn't suit the mood in the room. "Nothing," she said lightly. Then she continued: "…but I should be asking you that, not the other way around. So I will." She walked over, suddenly feeling an urge to get close to him. The current aloofness of the sorcerer was somewhat stimulating. She bent over, and studied him much the way he had previously studied her. She then asked quietly, "What's wrong?"
Eriol stilled, and he sat in silence briefly. "I was going to tell you, wasn't I," he sighed, speaking yet not speaking to Tomoyo. Eriol stood, and placed his hands on Tomoyo's shoulders. "Let's go."
Tomoyo blinked as Eriol removed his hands and started walking away. "Where are we going?" She called, following him.
Eriol smiled in spite of himself. "Where she can't find us…and where we won't be interrupted." Tomoyo blushed at the innuendo; even though it wasn't meant in the way her mind interpreted it.
"Come on, Tomoyo, get a grip on yourself," She thought angrily.
Tomoyo followed Eriol through a series of hallways until they stopped in front a door, just like the others except for the small symbols carved on the side of the plain doorknob. They entered, and she looked around confusedly. It wasn't anything special, dark red carpets and two navy, padded chairs- mini sofas. They were the only two articles of furniture (besides a small wooden table) in the entire room, and they were centered smack-dab in the middle of the room. There was an identical phone to the one in the other room, and a small silver laptop on the table. "Who would've thought a sorcerer would need a laptop," she thought absently. Suddenly, Eriol turned and stood facing her, his faces inches away. She gulped; she couldn't help it! The distance, of deficiency of, was disturbing.
"Come." He told her, and sat on one of the chairs. She did the same.
Eriol closed his eyes and his hand rubbed his chin, a strange habit he picked up when in deep thought. Without warning, his eyes snapped open and he leaned over to Tomoyo, their faces level. She was officially "freaked out" by now (for lack of better wording). Then, Eriol sighed and leaned back again, his face unreadable.
"I don't know how to tell you this," he started, obviously having know idea what to do. He continued: "I suppose I might as well be blunt…but, tell me- have you…have you ever…done something rather unusual when you were frightened, or mad, or…just, experiencing a negative emotion?" Eriol was stumbling over his words a bit. Explaining himself and events to Sakura was simple, but this was Tomoyo. A delicate flower. Eriol grimaced at that thought, he usually wasn't that sappy.
'What has she done to me?' he thought desperately, his mind taken off of his spoken question.
Tomoyo answered quietly. "I'm not quite sure what you're asking, but…" she hesitated, as if her answer would hurt him. "No, I don't think so." She paused. "Why do you ask, Hiirigizawa-kun?" Eriol grimaced, this was the part he was dreading most.
"Because, my dear Daidouji-san," (Eriol was attempting to make his news lighter by the use of his pet name) "You're…you're an e- a magic user." 'Better to tell her she has magic first, and then dwell deeper,' he decided silently. Eriol started to watch and gauge Tomoyo's reaction. She was just sitting quietly, a lost sort of look in her eyes. Her face was emotionless, and seemed a bit two-dimensional; a piece of paper with the typical facial appendages painted on it. She was staring down at her hands, which were folded in her lap. Tomoyo seemed so small, Eriol thought. So…fragile.
Tomoyo lifted her head at asked quietly, "what kind of magic user?" Her eyes didn't quite meet Eriol's as she spoke. Eriol sighed; 'of all the questions to ask,' he thought ruefully.
"I'm not going to hide anything from you, Daidouji-san." Tomoyo winced at the formal name, even though it was his custom- and he had never called her anything else. She felt that he should call her- no, no. Tomoyo quickly rid the thought. Like that would ever happen. Eriol continued. "I will not protect you from the truth."
Tomoyo shivered. Why was he saying this as if someone was dying?
"You're an emossion."
Wait. What? "What the hell is that?" Tomoyo asked, mirroring her thoughts. Eriol seemed a bit taken aback at her use of profanity. He'd never heard her curse before.
"It's a type of magic user. Not much is known about them yet, but as their name seems to have combined the words "emotion" and "passion", their magic has something to do with their sensations or emotions at a given time. I have reason to believe that their so to speak "power" is not only physical representations of their feelings, but their actual emotions materialized. Of course, I have had no one to test my theories on before now; you, I believe, are the first emossion in a while. So I could be wrong, remember."
"In a while…? What do you consider a while?"
"Generally, a few hundred years. Give or take a century or so…in this case, take." Eriol said this easily. Tomoyo, on the other hand, felt a bit faint.
"They- we're that rare?"
"No." Eriol caught Tomoyo's confused expression, and raised a hand to stop further inquiries. "I shall explain later. Now, you need rest. This is a lot to absorb in such a brief time, and…" he hesitated. "…And I'm proud of you, Tomoyo-san."
Eriol watched as Tomoyo's face lit up, delighted with his riddance of formality. "You may call me Tomoyo on one condition…may I call you by your first name, also?" This, of course, wasn't said without a significant amount of blushing. Eriol smiled kindly, already having made up his mind hours ago.
"Of course."
"Then, Eriol-kun," –Eriol couldn't help but blush- "I agree to rest now. Y' know, you should, too."
"Hai, Tomoyo-san…or should I say mother?" Tomoyo whacked the back of his head playfully.
"Oh, just shut up, baka." She smiled happily, and walked out of the room. "Oyasumi nasai! See you in the morning!"
Eriol just returned the grin, and once she had headed out, he collapsed on his chair in relief. Soon, he was in deep sleep, breathing softly. Even the ominous sound of the mirror dropping out of his pocket and cracking upon its impact with the floor didn't wake him up.
Unfortunately.
AN: Sorry for the (in my opinion) bad quality of this chapter. I thought it was a bit…er…ARGH! I can't even think af a good adjective to describe it. Probably fatigue. Now back to business…Well, um…it's my birthday today! (July 21). So, could you give me a review? (I'm so shameless. ^^;;) Please? It would be a great present! ^_^
Next chapter: Bad news…of course. ^^;; Climax coming soon; not sure whether it'll be next chapter or the one after. (Wow, this fic is almost over…*sob*)
--hazelwand