Complicated Life
by: Na-chan

Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura is owned by CLAMP. Duh!

Chapter 8: The Spinel Conspiracy

Author's Notes: This is the second to the last chapter, people! Or maybe the last. I don't know
for sure. I refer to Spinel as 'it' sometimes since that's the pronoun for animals but I also
address Spinel as a 'he'. I don't know but please don't get confused.

Dedication: This is for all those who reviewed (and those who just read it)! Thanks for taking
the time to read this lil' fic of mine.

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The operation was set. Tsubasa and Kazuma had schemed for exactly 3 days, 9 hours and 34 minutes
before the plan was perfected. Now, the only problem where Eriol and Tomoyo and the correct
execution. Mistakes were not tolerated in this game.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

"Spinel. Spinel!" Tomoyo called, waiting for the cat to come out of its hiding place and grace
its master with its presence. She was standing inside her apartment, fresh from the hard day at
school. Now she wanted to see at least one carefree face.

No such luck. The feline was nowhere in sight. The bowl of milk the girl had set on the floor was
still full from earlier.

She shrugged the matter off. Spinel was probably taking a nap on her bed-she'd have to reprimand
it again. Dropping her bag on the marble floor, she headed for her room only to find out that
Spinel wasn't there. 'Strange. He usually lies down here when I come home...' She thought,
anxiety creeping down her spine. That's when she spotted a medium sized envelope on top of her
drawer. A look of sheer curiosity and worry passed her face. I don't remember that being there
this morning...

Reaching for the envelope, she peeled the flap open and pulled out a piece of bond paper.
The words were formed from letters from assorted magazines. She skimmed the letter quickly and
dropped it immediately like it was a bomb ready to explode.

The letter read,

DeAR DaIdoujI TOMoyo,

We Have YOUr PrecIoUs CaT iN oUr CusToDy. IF YoU evEr wAnT to GliMPse At iT agAin FoLLow
OuR inStruCtioNs With Extreme PREcisioN. WE DeManD 5ooo Yen froM yOU In ExcHange fOr The fEline.
DrOP The MoNEy oFF at ThE TOKYO TOWER's ObSerVatIon Deck NEar The JAnitor's CLoset Around 7:oo Pm
TOMOrrow. No CallINg THe AuThoritiEs or wE wIll nOt hEsitAte to InfLict Harm On Your Pet.

SiNcERELy,
ANONYMOUS

Tomoyo looked 50% scared to death, 23% confused, 16% irritated and 1% curious. Scared for Spinel
and her safety considering the catnapper had been able to break into her humble abode without her
knowledge, confused on what to do next, irritated on the fact that the catnapper had been able
to decipher her confusing lock on her door and curious on the reason why the criminal had only
asked for a small amount of cash and why he could be so articulate considering he was a pilferer.

But she knew one thing. She had to get Spinel back. One way or another.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Two hours later, Eriol reached his apartment. Tired and drowsy, he walked over to the coach to
try and relax only to slip on a piece of paper carelessly lying on the floor. Luckily, he caught
himself and saved himself a lot of embarrassment from his ego.

"What's this doing scattered on the floor? I just cleaned this place yesterday." Bending down to
pick up the piece of dead tree bark, he read the contents hastily. It was an almost identical
letter to Tomoyo's with the exception that the heading contained his name instead of the girl's
and there was a mention of his losing the cat a few months earlier.

It read,

DeAr HIirAgIzAwa ErIol,

We Have YOUr PrecIoUs CaT iN oUr CusToDy SinCe YOu CArELessLy LoSt It. IF YoU evEr wAnT
to GliMPse At iT agAin FoLLow OuR inStruCtioNs With Extreme PREcisioN. WE DeManD 5ooo Yen froM
yOU In ExcHange fOr The fEline. DrOP The MoNEy oFF at ThE TOKYO TOWER's ObServAtIon DeCk nEaR the
JaNiToR's ClOset Around 7:oo Pm TOMOrrow. No CallINg THe AuThoritiEs or wE wIll nOt hEsitAte to
inFliCt Harm On Your Pet.

SiNcERELy,
ANONYMOUS

"Damn," He whispered under his breath. This was the last thing he needed. A guilt consuming
threat from a catnapper. As if he didn't have enough problems already.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The magnificent sunset view from the acclaimed Tokyo tower attracted many tourists and locals the
world over. The view, however, wasn't Tomoyo's reason for being at the venue. The girl eyed her
watch self-consciously. It was only 6:58 according to her custom-made Rolex. How long had she
been there? She scanned the crowd for a suspicious looking character. She found half a dozen
which was basically everyone in the observation deck. Two men who were in black suits who looked
like international spies, a burly man who was crying his heart out, a priest, a young teenager
and to her surprise (or disdain), Hiiragizawa Eriol.

Eriol has spotted her earlier and was trying his best not to approach her for a little
socializing.

Luckily, she looked like she had no intention of doing so. She crossed her arms across her chest.
'Great, now he thinks I'm stalking him.' She thought, a vein popping on her head as she felt his
intense gaze on her.

He smiled half-heartedly at the sight of her like that. Kami-sama, he missed her. He was about
to walk over to her when the alarm he placed on his watch went off. It was 7:00. Showtime.
Instead of making his way to her, he went towards the opposite direction to the janitor's closet.
It was not hard to spot since it was labeled properly for those who mistook unnamed doors for the
lavatory. There was a man wearing a pair of dark tinted glasses and a trenchcoat blocking his
way.

She wasn't looking at him when he left. She didn't even notice him go since she was tracing the
face of her watch with ennui in her eyes. She was also silently chanting an impromptu mantra she
had just made. 'Don't come any closer. Leave now. Don't come any closer. Leave. Don't come
any closer. Leave.' When she turned around to see if it worked, she was relieved to find him
walking away. That was when she remembered her sole purpose for being in the tower. Hurrying
towards the same direction, she found herself stopping 3 meters away from Eriol who had halted.

"Did you bring the dough?" the man asked in a fraudulent voice.

"Where's Spinel?" Eriol answered with another question, the tone in his voice semi-amused.

Her eyes grew wide. He knew Spinel. And she thought he thought she was a stalker when he was the
one who knew all about this rendezvous.

"He's in the there," The catnapper bluffed while starting to open the door of the closet.

"I don't see him-"

But the criminal didn't let him finish and shoved the unwilling lad into the closet. Though Eriol
was a good lot taller than the man, the latter was stronger. He slammed the door shut and turned
his attention to Tomoyo.

She panicked and tried to make a break for it but the two men she saw earlier who reminded her of
spies blocked her exit.

"I'm sorry miss but we can't let you go." One of the men spoke up and nodded to the one behind
her. That man heaved her up and slung her on his back like a rag doll.

"Put me down this instant!" She felt scandalized at that moment. Her mother won't be pleased to
learn about this.

They didn't listen to her, obviously. Instead, the trenchcoat guy opened the door of the closet
and the spy look alike shoved her inside hastily and she fell on Eriol. A click followed shortly
from the other side of the entrance.

She groaned. This was just perfect. She was locked in a room smaller than her bathroom with HIM.

Eriol was surprised to say the least to see the girl. "What are you doing here?" He asked as she
stood up.

"None of your business."

He smirked despite the situation they were in. It could have been worse actually. He could have
been held at gunpoint and shot. "Hmm. Maybe it is, maybe it isn't. You tell me."

She opened her mouth to retort but shut it again in frustration. She then turned her attention
to the door and kicked it. Repeatedly.

"It's useless, you know."

"I know. But it keeps me frenetic."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Why is that?"

"I have to have an outlet for all my ill feelings for you instead of taking it out on someone,"
She gave him a look that plainly stated that she didn't care if he committed suicide in front of
her.

He sighed in defeat and raised both his hands up in peace. "I get the picture. But can you keep
it down? It's irritating."

She felt as though a vein popped near her brain. 'The second time today. My, I think the
hospital will be seeing me soon. If I ever get out of here.'

"We'll get out of this place," He said out of the blue, ruining Tomoyo's train of thought.

"H-How did you..? You can read minds, can't you! I knew it! Now I'm stuck with a jerk who is
psychic and isn't letting me have my own space in a cramped janitor's closet in the Tokyo Tower.
Wait until Tsubasa hears this one." She was sarcastic but Eriol could make out the distinct
panic in her voice.

"Calm down, Daidouji-san. We'll get out of here...I promise." He patted her on the back
reassuringly.

She looked at him in disbelief. Hiiragizawa Eriol was comforting her...again. Why did she always
have to start breaking down in front of him? Maybe this time she owed him enough not to make a
snide remark. Maybe. The least she could do was keep her tongue at bay. And she did.

"Your silence is getting too eerie." He noted, sitting on the concrete floor. He beckoned her to
sit next to him but she promptly declined.

"I'm not sure if I can trust you enough to sit next to me. The last time we were this close, you
took advantage of the moment and kissed me."

He bent his head low at that. "Gomen. I lost my self-control back then."

"I could easily forget that event and think of it as nothing like just one of those impulses men
get when they're around attractive women but..."

"But what?"

"I didn't want to. It was my first kiss after all. Okaasan was very strict when it came to boys.
She only agreed for me to go on dates with her colleagues' sons and had me followed by
bodyguards. All those who tried to kiss me ended up with more than bloody noses." She cringed at
the memory.

"Well I hope we were followed and I got beaten. What I did was unforgivable...I didn't even have
the courage to face you after that," He confessed.

She smiled faintly at the thought. "No, I guess it was also my fault. I didn't scour the campus
for an explanation."

He chuckled. "Then we're even."

"You could say that. But I'm still not sitting next to you."

He groaned. "I knew it."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

The closet wasn't as minute as Tomoyo thought it was at a first glance. After several observant
stares, however, she found out it was quite spacious. There were several cabinets attached to the
wall, a chair, a broom closet and enough space between her and Eriol. The floor wasn't too filthy
either. It was as if the place was FIXED just for this.

"Penny for your thoughts?" Eriol asked from across her.

"...It's strange."

"What's strange?"

"This whole set-up. The closet is so tidy, the ransom note, the people...us both knowing Spinel."

He cracked up a smile. "That is so like you to think up a reason for everything that's happening
to us."

"And it's so like you to try and make fun of my presumptions," She retorted, blushing at his
earlier comment. "By the way, how did you know about Spinel?"

"Are you sure we're talking about the same Spinel here? I mean there are a lot of Spinels in the
whole planet," He reasoned.

"The Spinel I'm talking about happens to be a Bombay cat."

He raised an eyebrow. "I own a Spinel with the description."

"You! You own Spinel Sun! I can't believe that the owner was right under my nose. I could've
just handed him over to you."

"Do you mean to say that you had him all this time? Why didn't you tell me?"

"I didn't know. Now we both don't have him...Poor little guy."

"Let's think positive. Maybe he's curled on a couch and watching television or something," He
suggested.

"Yeah right."

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Several miles away, in Kazuma's house, on the couch, Spinel sneezed (can cats sneeze?).

Beside the feline was Kazuma watching television. "What's wrong with you Spinel? Don't tell me
cats catch colds. Daidouji and Hiiragizawa will have my head for this."

"Meow."

~~~Tsuzuku~~~
Bwahahahaha! Finally, I finished it! Took more than a month of slacking but finally! Drop reviews
for the last chapter to take shape! Mwahahahaha!