AN: Okay. This will be the last chapter until the epilogue. Definitely. (Warning- a bit of a tearjerker at some parts.)
Shadowscribe: I am SO glad you aren't confused. That makes one of us…just kidding. ^~ Well, I'm also pleased you're hooked, because so am I!
Kasumi: Yes, it is ironic, isn't it? (BTW, I forgot to say this: that line is roughly the same as one from Harry Potter and the Philosopher's (Sorcerer's) Stone. I didn't mean to (kind of) quote it; I just realized afterwards that I did. ^^;;) I'm also gratified that you liked how I handled the Kaho/Eriol conflict.
Disclaimer: Refer to previous chapters.
Aratamete
Chapter Eleven
As the tears stopped pouring down Eriol face, he clumsily stepped away from Tomoyo and whispered a "sorry," to her while nervously eyeing her sleeve, which was slightly damp at the shoulders. She just shook her head gently.
"It's fine," she said soothingly. "The shirt's all torn anyways." Tomoyo gave Eriol a genuine smile, her first in hours. Eriol weakly returned the smile; they had both momentarily forgotten about their current predicament. He then brought a hand to his cheek, and quickly wiped away the tears while rubbing his face.
"It feels so strange," he murmured. "The after-effect of crying, I mean. My face feels so tight…" He said whilst scrunching his nose. Tomoyo didn't respond, and he looked at her inquiringly. She was staring at some not-so-far-off object; Eriol followed her gaze, and his eyes landed upon the limp form of Sakura and Syaoran. Reacting upon instinct, he wrapped his arms around her again, and held her tightly- but this time, he wasn't the one who needed comfort. Tomoyo just stood still, and eventually, gently pushed Eriol away.
"I'm fine. We-we need to finish this," she said, removing her gaze on her two friends and placing it upon Salanor. Eriol was slightly hurt, but understood. So he just nodded his assent.
But, before either of them made any move, Eriol whispered tentatively, "I missed you, you know. For a while, I thought I would never see you again…" Tomoyo glanced quickly at him, and then opened her mouth to speak- but at that moment, a soft blue glow enveloped her. Eriol panicked, knowing what would happen next- and she couldn't become unconscious; Eriol needed her- both physically and mentally. Salanor wasn't affected by Clow magic, and Syaoran's attacks simply weren't strong enough to do any real damage. Tomoyo's magic had the potential to be more powerful than either Syaoran or Sakura could imagine… "Had the potential." Eriol wasn't sure if she was strong enough yet; or could control her magic enough- but he had to take the risk. If he didn't, then they would inevitably die…but if he did, they at least had a chance…
Not even taking a second's hesitation, he (literally) threw himself in front of Tomoyo right before she was flung onto the ground. The result was her landing directly on top of him, he providing an impromptu cushion for her. Eriol winced as he propped himself up, first examining Tomoyo before himself. Her eyes were fluttering; that was a good sign. She emitted a soft groan and slowly stood up, looking concernedly at Eriol who was pressing a palm to the back of his arm, trying desperately to stop the bleeding. He tried to stand up also, but immediately cried out in pain and collapsed…but he was still alive and conscious.
"Oh, god, no…" she whispered, horrified, barely aware of Salanor laughing in the background. His side was bleeding profusely; it was twice as bad as his arm- and probably ten times as painful.
She dropped to her knees and tore off both her sleeves. Tomoyo tied them together and then tightly but gently wrapped the fabric around Eriol's side. He looked embarrassed to be the injured one now, and he quietly muttered his thanks as he once again attempted to stand. It didn't work. Tomoyo sighed and gently pressed him down to the ground. "I think you have a couple broken ribs on your right side," She told him softly. "Don't make them worse. …I can take Salanor all by myself; don't worry!" She smiled calmly at him, and Eriol was surprised at that. He made a desperate move to run his fingers through her thick hair, and his fingertips had barely touched her mane of rich, dark tresses when he gave a muffled cry and immediately retracted his hand.
Tomoyo looked at him, her quiet smile changing into a worried frown. "I said to not make it worse," she scolded him gently. She got up- albeit a bit tediously- and walked with light steps over to Salanor, her opponent.
"Ready?" She asked with, once again, a calm smile. Salanor just scowled angrily; her temper rising every minute that Tomoyo wasn't scared or worried.
"Don't give me that bull," she snarled. "You don't have a chance! You have no idea how to control your powers, you have no idea what your powers even are!" Salanor chattered uncontrollably, not remembering that Tomoyo wasn't the person to say this to…
A wild look crossed Tomoyo's features but was immediately doused. 'You can't get riled up,' she told herself. 'You can't control your powers yet…you have no idea what would happen if you got mad or sad or…' her thoughts stopped as she realized that her opponent had stopped rambling, and was looking at Tomoyo with a furrowed brow. Tomoyo returned the look, puzzled. Salanor grinned- she had Tomoyo's attention. She slowly and deliberately swiveled her head; she was now looking at Eriol, who was watching the "action" intently. He blinked upon seeing that Salanor had her eyes fixed upon him, and shivered involuntarily.
"The perfect opportunity," Salanor announced with a sadistic grin. Eriol and Tomoyo's eyes widened.
"No," Tomoyo whispered in a pleading tone. "No."
Salanor's grin was ever-so present as she said, "Yes, yes!" And with that, she held out her hand and made a fist, grunting a bit in concentration. A small, flickering red light gradually became visible, and her fist opened then clenched the ball of light in her palm. Thin streams of light escaped between her fingers as she paused. Then, she threw it straight towards Eriol.
Tomoyo didn't even bother to breathe as she cried out, shaking her head violently with tears running wild. "ERIOL!…"
The small red ball hit him right in the chest…and then- a blinding light. Once Tomoyo would see again…all that she saw was Eriol's limp form, lying chest-down on the dirty ground; his cape draped over him like a dark blanket of sorrow. Tomoyo couldn't stop her tears as she screamed…and screamed…and screamed…
As Tomoyo's eyes were shut tight, she didn't notice that Salanor bringing her hand up to her throat, and desperately clawing at it. Salanor let out a muffled shriek, which instantly turned into a hacking cough- she was choking. Tomoyo's eyes opened, with water from tears still running down her face, and looked with wide eyes at her foe. Salanor was convulsing- being strangled by an unseen force. The dark-haired emossion- Tomoyo- knew what was happening.
Tomoyo narrowed her eyes, and with one swift, enraged motion, brought her hand into a tight fist- her knuckles white, her nails digging into her pale skin. She held the fist out triumphantly in front of her, and watched the defeated Salanor. The amber-eyed sorceress suddenly stilled…she was unable to move her legs…now her hands…Oh, yes- she also knew what was happening; she was dying.
Tomoyo watched with an emotionless countenance. Death was slowly creeping into her opponent, invading every nook and cranny. Abruptly Salanor's expression also went blank- and then, with her last dying breath, Kaho spoke in her gentle voice.
"Thank you." And Kaho smiled her smile; one that made people feel as if they were floating. Tomoyo just gazed with regret-filled eyes as Kaho fell gracefully to the ground, a peaceful smile still gracing her face. The emossion would have shed more tears for Kaho's sake; but none would come. It was as if she couldn't, wouldn't, cry anymore.
'I killed her,' Tomoyo thought sadly, her uncontrolled moment over. 'Me.' She knew that Kaho understood; but the fact that she had ended a life clung to her like drenched clothing. She just couldn't control herself- some other force was controlling her for those thirty-some seconds that mattered so much. Bowing her head, she gave her last respects to her previous mentor; Sakura's savior; Syaoran's helper (in a way); and Eriol's lover- as well as loved.
Tomoyo watched quietly as Kaho's body faded, leaving not even a trace. Turning slowly, she walked without emotion to Eriol's body. She was aware of the burning feeling in her eyes again, but then felt the burning sensation quickly subside. Kneeling next to him, she took his staff in her hands. It was still warm. Tomoyo smiled miserably.
She took a sharp intake of breath as she heard footsteps behind her, and whirled around, still on her knees. 'It's only Sakura-chan and Li-kun,' she thought with relief. Tomoyo forced her expression to look neutral. "Glad to see you're awake," she said to the pair. They just glanced at one other, not knowing what to say.
"Tomoyo-chan…" Sakura murmured. Tomoyo just looked back at Eriol, hiding her face.
"How much did you see?" Tomoyo asked, her voice cracking a bit.
"Enough." Syaoran said, ending that turn on the conversation. "He's…" Syaoran trailed off.
"Yes, he's dead," Tomoyo said quietly. She didn't quite trust her voice now.
Sakura looked at her best friend. Her face was shining from the wetness of the tears, but her eyes were almost the opposite. They used to be so full of life, and sparkled at the mention of almost anything- now they were dull. The only hint to their previous verve was the shimmering aspects of unshed tears.
Tomoyo continued. "I- I couldn't control myself," she mumbled. "I was so mad…"
"We know," Sakura interrupted. "And we don't blame you, Tomoyo-chan. It had to happen- and Mizuki-sensei understands, trust me."
"I know." Tomoyo smiled softly. "Right…Right before she died, I-I think Mizuki-sensei got in control- because she told me something. She said "thank you" to me." Tomoyo bowed her head. "But I couldn't stop Eriol from dying…" Her voice soon became racked with sobs as it became clear that, yes, Tomoyo still had many tears to shed. "I'm sorry," she said. "But I just can't seem to stop crying!" Tomoyo almost laughed, but cried instead. She rested her head down on Eriol's shoulders, and she couldn't prevent the wry thought, 'well, it seems that now Eriol's the one getting wet.'
Tomoyo's sobs soon subsided, as she remained where was- kneeling next to Eriol, her head now buried next to his neck. Sakura spoke hesitantly.
"You really loved him, didn't you, Tomoyo-chan?" Tomoyo's head jerked up and she stared at Sakura, who was shocked when Tomoyo smiled.
"Yes, I suppose I did," Tomoyo said at she looked at Eriol again fondly. She slowly ran a hand through his hair, and a thought occurred to her.
Finding a jagged edge of metal where a car had been ripped in half, Tomoyo took a lock of her hair and cut off two inches of it at the bottom. Ignoring Sakura and Syaoran's puzzled looks, she placed the small lock of hair on Eriol's chest, once she had rolled him over onto his back. She studied him for a minute, and then kissed his cheek lightly.
Suddenly, she felt very empty- as if a part of her had left. She quickly stood, brushed the dirt off of her clothing, and started to walk away without so much as a glance back. Looking at Eriol once more, Sakura and Syaoran hurried after Tomoyo.
They had gotten but three feet when Tomoyo suddenly gasped and grabbed her chest. Her two companions looked at her worriedly as Tomoyo made small noises of pain, and nearly fainted as Sakura and Syaoran rushed over to support her.
"I…don't know…what's happening…" She gasped. She clutched her chest tighter and screamed softly.
Then, just as suddenly as it had started- it stopped. Tomoyo was suddenly aware that Sakura and Syaoran were no longer supporting her. The brief thought of "why" crossed her mind before she stumbled a bit- stumbled straight into a pair of waiting arms. Confused, she looked up- and was arrested by a pair of warm midnight blue eyes, which possessed a teasing twinkle.
Tomoyo felt as if her chest was about to explode with warmth and affection. She had a million things to say; a million questions to ask; but all that came out of her mouth was a simple: "how?" And, then the unspoken question- "am I dreaming? Maybe I'm dying and having a hallucination…"
Eriol laughed and held her tight. "No. Definitely not a dream…" Tomoyo couldn't breathe, but it wasn't because of his hold. It was because her heart was beating so fast, so strongly…
"Oh, my dear Tomoyo," Eriol chuckled. Tomoyo felt a smile and, inevitable, a blush rise to her face.
"What happened to 'my dear Daidouji-san' or Tomoyo-chan?" She asked teasingly; hoping against all hope.
"They died along with me," Eriol responded, but knowing that this would bring along another barrage of questions. So he just put a fingertip to her lips and told her, "later."
And then he kissed her.
Tomoyo felt her body fill with warmth, and she sighed softly against Eriol's lips. Returning the gentle kiss softly, she wasn't even aware of anything but Eriol; not even of Sakura smiling in approval and elbowing her fiancé, who was grinning with an evil gleam in his eyes.
Eriol broke the kiss slowly, but didn't budge an inch. Tomoyo placed her face in the crook of his shoulders and neck and smiled contently. Then, Eriol's deep voice broke the magic of the moment- or, perhaps, increased it.
"Youi alacro con na, alacro conli; aere; youi migau na, alacro migauli." Eriol said with a slight tone of amazement in his voice. Tomoyo looked up at him, puzzled. Seeing her confused expression, he chuckled again, and said simply:
"What one has not known, one will know; therefore…" Eriol paused, and a mischievous tenor came into his voice.
"What one has not done, one will do."
AN: I hope you found this satisfying. …I'm not sure whether to laugh or cry now that it's done…well, except for the epilogue. And, since I just know that I'll be getting this question…: yes, Eriol is actually alive; it's not a hallucination or dream. It will be explained in the epilogue…and I do have an explanation!! ^^;; (By the way…did I give you readers a new respect for Kaho?)
--hazelwand