Entering Eternity

Time: 12 yrs post Xiaolang's leaving according to the manga, go figure

Disclaimer: CCS will never ever belong to me as much as I dream of it. Neither does the concept

of a tesseract.

All answers regarding the story will be answered in due time. It is after all my fic and some parts of the story should not be disclosed to protect the suspense of the story ;). As to the age issue, they are 22 (count properly ppl) and are in university. Japan's education system consists of 6 years in elementary school, 3 years in junior high school and another 3 years in senior high school. That means by the time they finish senior high school, they will be 18. Then they go on to spend 4 years in university that means they are all in their last year at the university.

Tesseration is a concept taken from Madeline L'Engle's Science Fiction/ fantasy time quartet. It is basically moving in the fifth dimension, taking a wrinkle in both time and space.

I hope that it is not too confusing and yeah, as usual, feedbacks are strongly welcome.

Chapter 2: Jealousy

Nadeshiko smiled to herself. Her daughter had finally found true happiness with Xiaolang. Although she knew that Sakura did not have the power to see her, she did know that Sakura had an uncanny way of feeling her aura whenever she was around. She smiled peacefully and sighed as though to release whatever built-up stress she had inside of her.

A soft, airy voice spoke, at the same time giving the listener the impression that the owner had strength and determination, " What's the matter?"

Nadeshiko turned around slowly, chuckling mischievously. " I was wondering how long you were going to shadow me and the children without letting anyone know. What made you change your mind so fast? If I knew you well enough, you would have probably carried on this charade forever without informing us, Li Weilong."

Nadeshiko found herself unwillingly drawn into the immense depths of the intense gaze of her first love. Li Weilong would always claim her love, the mighty ex-clan leader and the proud father of 4 healthy adult girls and Li Xiaolang. Yes, Fujitaka was only a "replacement" for the love that Weilong had never fully given her, yet Fujitaka had somehow won her love over the years to the point that she FELT that Weilong mattered no more to her. Until this day, where she had confronted him for the first time in 19 years, she realised that she had been living a life of lies, she had lied to herself that Weilong mattered no more to her, she had lied to Fujitaka that he was the only man that she had ever loved, she had lied to Sonomi, to everyone who had ever known her.

Weilong's dark chocolate eye's danced with merriment and at the same time betrayed whatever sorrow he felt inside.

"It's nice to see you again Nade, I have my own reasons for not showing myself. Don't you think that our children look so happy together?"

" Yes. I'm glad that they had finally gotten married. In some ways, I feel that they are righting the wrongs we did. They are like the replicas of what we were before. Before all that happened." Nadeshiko involuntarily gave a slight shudder at the thought of the incident that had changed her life forever.

Weilong thought he had heard a sign of resentment in her voice, the longing for the old days. He brushed it off as his own imagination wishing for her to sound so reminiscence. He had also noted the slight shudder that Nadeshiko had given; nothing had ever escaped him. He reached out comfortingly and touched her arm briefly and lightly.

"I hate to be the bearer of bad news but it is because of that incident that is why I am here now. Nade, it is not over yet. It will never be over until the prophecy is fulfilled and that monster destroyed."

His voice dropped dangerously to a whisper that was just barely audible over the wind.

"We must contact the reincarnations of Clow immediately. They will know how to help in the matter."

"You mean my husband and Tomoyo-chan's husband."

Weilong nearly frowned at her statement; his hatred for her husband was quite evident yet he managed to keep it discreet from Nadeshiko. It would hurt her deeply if she had found out about his imaginary rivalry with Fujitaka.

Remember that you are also married and it was your own stupid fault that the both of you had broken up.

He sighed heavily, desperation filling him up.

"Yes the two of them. You shall contact your husband and I will contact Hiiragizawa-san. We shall meet at your house later. Remember that the mission is highly important and is a matter of life or death. Sakura and Xiaolang must not know about this for now until we can figure out what to do, they are key players in this mission."

With that order, he disappeared from sight to round up Eriol before he left for school. Nadeshiko allowed herself one longing glance at the spot where he had just stood on and quickly became serious, burying all her compassion for Weilong. She then quickly tessered to her buttercup-yellow house.

She appeared just before Fujitaka left home. Touya had since left home to house with Yukito and did occasionally return home to visit his father and sister.

"Nade! It is such a surprise to see you. It's been a long time since we last met. It's really great to see you again. Is anything wrong? I mean you just suddenly show up to me and you look so serious. What is wrong?"

"My dear husband, it has been such a long time indeed. So many things have happened. I am sure that you are aware of the growing evil aura in Japan. Weilong and I have come back to inform you and Eriol about that matter. It is more serious than anyone could have imagined. Please, stay here with me. We need to talk to you, for the future of Japan, the world and for Sakura and Xiaolang. Only Eriol and you can help them. They must not know of this matter yet until we can figure out a satisfactory solution."

Nadeshiko gently caressed her husband's face. It pained her greatly to see him like with worry and anxiousness etched all over his face but there was nothing she could do. It was fate that decided the end result of this matter. She noted absently that he was looking very tired and there were a few wisps of grey hair peeking out at the sides of his chestnut brown hair.

Fujitaka sighed dejectedly. He knew that this day would come sooner or later, a day when he had to meet his wife's ex-love. No, he chastised himself, her TRUE love, he added sarcastically.

He was not jealous, he was not jealous, he was not jealous. He repeated that like a mantra over and over again inside his head. Why should he be jealous? Nadeshiko loved him as much as she loved Weilong if not more. But if that was so, then why was he suddenly overwhelmed with a sense of anger? Why was there a tightening feeling in his chest? Why did he feel that Weilong was an enemy and not an ally?

Jealousy.

Jealousy, that one word was the simple answer to all his questions. Jealousy and the knowledge of the fact that he can never replace Weilong in Nadeshiko's heart. He had known all along, ever since he first met her that she had another love already. He had known since that day when an angel fell on him, that HE could never replace Weilong. Yet he had kept up his cheerful facade day by day when he felt his heart being consumed away bit by bit for the whole world to know that HE did not mind playing second fiddle to another man.

Some people may say that he is stupid to act that way and allow Nade to make a gigolo out of him, others may applaud his bravery and responsibility to face facts and accept the world the way it is. Yet, he did not want any of these comments, he did not care for them at all. All that he wanted and required was her love. He wished that it were so, that all he needed was a tiny part of her love. He was selfish he admitted. He did not only want her love, he wanted to be her only love.

Fujitaka quickly pushed these sinning thoughts away and hid them well deep inside his heart where no one could penetrate. He turned his thoughts to those of the Kinomoto Fujitaka whom everyone knows and love, the Kinomoto Fujitaka who does not get jealous so easily. He nodded determinedly to Nade and went back into the house with her to await the arrival of the members of their council, Eriol and THAT MAN.

Li Weilong took great care to take a time tesser as well as a space tesser, arriving just nice when Eriol was alone in his bedroom just after Tomoyo had left to prepare the breakfast.

"Good morning Hiiragizawa-san, or should I say Clow Reed's half reincarnation?"

Eriol turned around calmly with no hint of fright showing in his stature.

"I think you may call me Eriol. I am no longer Clow and a good morning to you too Li-san. What honor do I have to have you visit me so early in the morning?"

"Weilong please. The honor is all mine Eriol-san. I have important business to talk to you with you and Kinomoto-san. We must meet him at his house – along with Nade."

The short conversation was excruciatingly, painfully polite, both men had a fixed smile on the lips that suggested otherwise that they did not wish to be having a conversation at all.

Eriol narrowed his eyes at the mention of Nadeshiko's name; he could hear Weilong's feelings for her by the way he had murmured her name. He nodded once to acknowledge the seriousness of the situation and merely said that he needed to write a note to Tomoyo to inform her where he was going.

After placing the note in a position that should be easy to spot, Eriol turned around to look directly into Weilong's eyes that had been focusing on one spot the whole time he had been writing the note. Eriol absently noted that Weilong had not moved a single inch since his arrival. With a brief nod, both of them had tessered immediately to the peaceful road outside the calm looking house.

Fujitaka had left Nadeshiko alone in the living room whilst he prepared tea for their "visitors". He could hear her walking around the room straightening things out and chuckling at pictures strewn everywhere. Just as the kettle started to whistle indicating that the water was boiling, he sensed that Eriol and THAT MAN had arrived. He heard Nadeshiko asking them to make themselves comfortable while he got the tea ready.

Hah, he thought, Li Weilong, you had better not make yourself too comfortable with MY wife.

Allowing the fire of jealousy to infiltrate and consume him slowly, he was not aware that Eriol could sense his feelings. He looked up in pity, eyes full of compassion at Fujitaka when he entered, the cheerful smile as usual plastered on his face, the smile that Sonomi had always hated, precariously balancing the tray of teacups and teapot in his hands.

My poor brother, I hope that your suffering will reduce before the greatest danger begins. It was unfortunate that it was fated to be for you, Nadeshiko, Weilong and Yelan to be stuck in this tangled web of love.

His eyes followed Fujitaka's every move and greatly admired the man who still could smile so cheerfully while his heart was being torn into two by Nadeshiko and Weilong laughing and smiling together. Deep inside his heart, Eriol cursed Nadeshiko for being so heartless and oblivious to the pain that she was causing Fujitaka.

If only... Only what? He thought to himself spitefully, berating himself for succumbing to such immature thoughts. You know well enough that the past cannot be altered and the future is set. Nothing can change that, only the prophesied two have the power to overcome the evil and set the course for humanity.

"...Eriol-san? Are you fine?" Nadeshiko's worried voice knocked him out of his reverie. Eriol looked around and found three pairs of watchful eyes staring at him wondering what could have caused the stately magician to blank out like that suddenly.

With as much dignity as he could muster and trying to control the spite in his voice, he answered deliberately changing the subject, " Oh yes, I'm fine. Nothing's wrong. Where were we? And why did the two of you come to find us?"

Nadeshiko and Weilong shared a brief glance at each other before focusing on Eriol and Fujitaka. Both men stared back at them curiously, confused at their present situation.

" Well you see, the situation is like this, as far as we know, there is evil brewing up in Japan. The man or monster who once tried to release the evil has returned again and is bidding his time until his powers and followers have grown then he will strike to destroy humanity. We have no idea how he plans to go about it, why he wants to do it and when he is going to strike. What we do know is that he will attack Japan, where his powers seem to stem from. All these we have gathered from past observations and assumptions. So it may not entirely be true. As both Weilong and I are not able to participate in this fight, it is naturally left to our children. We have concluded that Xiaolang and Sakura are important figures in that man's plan to destroy humanity. As we are unable to be there by them always, we entrust this task to both of you to handle, to protect them and make sure you know of every move they make. However, we can contact them through their dreams to guide them regularly. You must take good care of them, we cannot afford to lose them so early on in the fight."

Nadeshiko paused a moment to catch her breath and allow the revelation to sink in.

Both men were looking thoughtful, having made up their mind to get to the bottom of the matter and readily accepting the task entrusted to them, to act as extra guardians of the couple.

" So what do you actually propose we do to protect both of them?" Fujitaka asked, always calm. Nothing could ever ruffle his feathers.

" That is the purpose of our visit today. For now, just following their every move would suffice. He will not dare to launch an attack so early on when his powers are still a mere fraction of his greatness. Even if he does attack, Xiaolang and Sakura should be strong enough to evade him. I suggest that the guardians be reawakened and sent back to their posts with extra vigilance around them. Eriol-san, as their close friend, you should have the extra advantage of monitoring them, they should never be separated, their powers are heightened when they are around each other. Kinomoto-san, Eriol-san, the both of you must find an appropriate time to inform them. It is best not to drag it out too long, they have the right to know and they MUST know. I suggest you tell them tomorrow night so that leaves us with today and tomorrow to come up with a plan."

Fujitaka and Eriol nodded gravely, aware of the heavy responsibilities given to them. The four people holed up inside the sunny living room of the house further continued to discuss and plan their strategy for overthrowing the evil once and for all.

Outside the house life carried on as usual, the birds chirped musically to their usual tunes, people walked at their normal pace enjoying the sensations that spring stirred inside them unaware of the evil that is rising, unaware of the price they were being forced to pay.