"You already have a fiancé?" echoed Sakura in disbelief as she nodded wearily. She had decided to drop by Sakura's house, hoping good ol' girl companionship can do her good.

It had been days since her arrival in Tomoeda and her engagement with the cold Hiiragizawa Eriol. Ever since she caught her fiancé playing Ragnarok, he had become much colder to her for some reason she couldn't decipher. Embarrassment, maybe? Perhaps, because the way she could see him now, she knew that he was someone who didn't like being make fun of.

Coping with his impossible attitude was hard, but she was slowly getting used to it. She merely strived to not let herself get affected by it, reminding herself that she was a mature, capable adult.

"Who is he?" the cherry blossom wanted to know.

She paused, silently debating whether she should tell her cousin about it or not. In the end, she decided not to. She was mentally exhausted already, and knowing Sakura, the girl wouldn't stop asking about the hows of and whys of the situation, and she wasn't ready to answer them yet. She herself didn't know the answers. It was like doing a stage play without anyone furnishing her the script when everyone else has memorized his own part already.

"It's not yet time to reveal who he is," she said.

"Eh?"

She held her hand up, telling her cousin to stop asking already.

"But I had already arranged a blind date for you!" whined her cousin. "Now what do I do?"

"Blind date?" Her forehead creased. Maybe eating in a restaurant, forcing easy chatter with a stranger wasn't her idea of a perfect get-away from her situation, but she would pick anything now if only to forget about her circumstances.

"You need to socialize, Tomoyo-chan." Sakura nodded in self-agreement. "If you're not having the best time with your fiancé, whoever he is, right now, then maybe the company of another man would ease your mind."

She seriously doubted so, but her cousin was right. She was desperate to take Hiiragizawa Eriol off her mind. "OK, you win." She listened half-heartedly to Sakura's details on the said blind date she arranged for tomorrow night.

The next afternoon, as she and Eriol rode home quietly, Tomoyo decided to break the silence. "Hiiragizawa-kun, you can drop me off in the mall."

He threw her a brief look. "No," he said flatly.

By that time, she had already gotten used to his arrogant, godly, dominating ways. She had learned to not take it too seriously. "Why not?" she asked, her voice even.

"I can't go with you." His eyes remained on the road. "No one will look after you."

"I'm not a toddler anymore."

"What will you do in the mall? If you need clothes, you can have the catalogs-"

She sighed. "Hiiragizawa-kun, what I'm asking you to do is very simple – just drop me off in the mall. I know how to go home by myself, and I do not need a nanny. Furthermore, you don't need to know all of my activities. You're just my fiancé."

"Wrong. I am your fiancé, so I should know," he said.

"Fine. If it would shut you up, I'm going to the mall to visit my hairdresser. I have a date tonight, and I want to look presentable-" She shrieked when she felt herself lurch forward. She could have hit the compartment if not for her seatbelt. She looked around panickedly, expecting a ten-wheeler truck heading for them uncontrollably. All she saw was the road and the trees surrounding it.

"You have some guts telling your fiancé that you have a date," he said sarcastically.

"I'm just being honest! Besides, what do you care? It is my life, not yours! Or have you already taken my right to be myself as well when you became my fiancé?" she snapped.

He turned grim. "I know you don't agree on this relationship, but please have at least the decency to respect me."

"By all means, Hiiragizawa-kun, but respect me too. I didn't want this crazy commitment – where else would you find an arranged engagement done without consulting the girl herself, when she's in the legal age to decide for herself?" She looked out at the window. "What was my mother thinking anyway?" she muttered.

Silence.

Finally, he spoke up. "Do what you want. I don't care."

"Thank you," she said in mock gratitude. She climbed out of the car and slammed the car door behind her.

What was his temper made of anyway? Why was it so volatile and unpredictable? Alas, a living block of ice with a temper like a volcano. Contradiction was an understatement.

Eriol's eyes followed the figure hurrying away from the car. He wanted to call her back into the car, but he was sure that it would just start another round of shouting match between them. He didn't feel like shouting anymore – he was dead tired.

He knew he was crossing the line a bit too much by ordering her around, but he couldn't help it.

"I will look after you, Daidouji Tomoyo, whether you like it or not," he muttered, clenching his fists.

Tomoyo's eyebrow rose a mile when she saw Eriol's car waiting for her outside the mall. He was leaning by it, as if waiting for her.

He then sensed her presence. He tossed the car keys into the air, caught it, and got into the car.

"I didn't tell you to wait," she said slowly. She guessed that she had stayed in the mall for three hours. Did he wait that long for her?

"If something happens to you…" His voice trailed off. He started the car engine again. "Maybe I should go along with you in this date of yours," he said slowly.

She blinked. He wasn't as annoyingly condescending as he was awhile ago. Was it his way of humbling himself? She laughed. "Hiiragizawa-kun, I don't think my date would appreciate my fiancé hanging around with me."

"I see." He turned left towards the avenue where she lives. "Call me when you need a ride home. I don't trust that guy you will have a date with."

She eyed him quietly. Awhile ago, she felt that he was babying her too much, treating her like a child. But the way he speaks now, what she senses was concern – one that a man has for a lady. She couldn't help but smile at the thought.

"Care to tell me what's so funny?" he asked.

"You. I find you funny."

"That's a first," he mumbled.

"If I don't know you, I would have guessed that you're…" She smiled coyly at him. "…jealous."

He suddenly stepped on the brakes. "We're here," he said stiffly.

"So I've noticed." She took a quick glance of her hair that she had just waxed in the salon, enjoying the new luster it had. Even if her date with a complete stranger would be disastrous, at least she would have something for consolation.

She got out of the car. "See you tomorrow, high and mighty eagle." She pivoted, her dark tresses flying around in perfect rhythm. Eriol gazed at her, unspeaking.

Suddenly, his cel rang. He picked the call up. "Yes? Oh, it's you. Yes, I'll be right there." He looked out at the window. He would have preferred to look out for Tomoyo in her date.

Tomoyo got out of the taxi and entered the cozy restaurant that Sakura had told her. She presented her card to the waiter, and she was immediately ushered to a special area of the restaurant. A table for two was set up, with white scented candles and lovely flowers arranged in a porcelain vase.

"Ma'am, the gentleman just left for the lavatory. He said that he would be back," the waiter informed her. She nodded briskly, then turned to the window outside. She did a double take when she saw a familiar-looking car outside.

The Eagle's car?

"Good evening," said a familiar voice stiffly.

She turned around and found herself looking at Eriol Hiiragizawa's carefully blank face. "Hiiragizawa-kun! What are you doing here?" she hissed. "Don't tell me you're following me!"

"No. I have a date with a girl in this table," he explained, showing her his card. She recognized it immediately. "Y-You were the guy Sakura sought for my blind date?!"

"Precisely, or I won't be holding this." He sat down. "Although, I must admit, I was surprised to see you here too." He eyed her intently. "So you will be my date tonight. It had been quite some while since I last went out with a girl."

Her brow arched. "Somehow, I thought of you as a ladies' man, with your looks. One who has his planner fully booked for the night in two weeks."

"Will you believe me if I say that I had lived the life of celibacy that even a priest would not take?" he asked.

"Oh. Did I mention that I thought of you as a liar too? One who can speak out lies like truths and you'll never know the difference?"

He shrugged. "Your perception of me is that bad?"

"Those were your nice points."

He smiled ruefully. "I'm sorry. I told you that it's been a long time since I last went out with a girl. I don't know how to deal with one."

She realized that the cozy atmosphere was relaxing him already, or why else would he smile like that? She felt herself slowly warming up to him. "Why are you isolating yourself from the female species then?"

She gasped when she felt his gaze penetrating her, going deeply into the depths of her soul. His eyes clouded, and he turned to the food instead.

"Did a girl hurt you?" she asked quietly.

He laughed humorlessly. "I'm untouchable. I'm the eagle, remember?"

"An eagle with broken wings, I'm afraid," she said quietly. "You're not as invincible as you thought." She reached out and touched his hand. "See?"

He withdrew his hand quickly.

"Hi-kun…are you gay?" she asked seriously.

His eyes widened, and her heart sank. So it's true…

But then he suddenly laughed, his shoulders shaking, his azure eyes twinkling. She could only stare at him, bewildered. She had this feeling that she just said something incredibly stupid.

"Your mind…" he said in between his chuckle. "…still never ceases to amaze me."

Her cheeks turned warm. "I-I thought…sorry…"

He took his glasses off and wiped a tear of laughter from his eye. "Whew! I've never laughed like that before for a long time."

Her eyes softened. "Hi-kun,"

She saw him stiffen. He suddenly averted eye contact and reached for his glass of water. He drank it thirstily.

"Hi-kun," she tried again.

"Stop calling me that way," he snapped, but his voice had obviously weakened.

She smiled. She had found his first weak spot.

Eriol's grip on his glass tightened when he felt her fixed gaze of fascination at him. If he hears her call his name that way one more time, he knew he might end up doing something that would embarrass both of them.

Damn, he hated her. He hated the way she could wreak havoc into his senses with a mere smile, or her mere angelic voice. Her warm touch awhile ago that nearly made his heart leap out of its place.

Damn you, Daidouji Tomoyo. Damn me too, for I still can't stay away from you.

"Thanks for the wonderful night," said Tomoyo when Eriol dropped her off in front of her house again.

"You have a weird notion of wonderful," he grumbled. "All we did was just talk and dance."

"You were a superb dancer," she said, catching his eyes. They refused her. "And I was delighted by the conversation."

Silence.

"I'm glad," he said at last, his voice almost boyishly shy.

She felt her heart melt. "Thanks again." She moved to take her seatbelt off.

"Let me," he said, helping her get it off. He moved closer to her and took off the belt.

She smelled his cologne. Musky, with a hint of exciting sensuality. She was a little surprised – she thought that Eriol would wear something feminine. She slapped herself mentally.

He looked up. "Daidouji-san…"

She paused, taken by surprise. How did their faces get so close?

The air around them burned in romantic tension, until finally, he reached out and caressed her face with his fingertip, leaving a trail of fire everywhere his finger touched.

She felt her heart race, especially when his face inched closer.

-Piiiiit!!!!

The two broke apart – Eriol had accidentally elbowed the car's steering wheel, making the car sound its horn. He withdrew from her, cursing himself furiously.

She looked at him, stunned. Why was he so mad? Did he find her disgusting? She felt her heart twist painfully. Did he just get carried along with the moment?

"Sorry," he muttered.

"I'm your fiancée," she said, voice barely audible. "I won't get mad if you did that."

"It's not that," he said with a defeated sigh. "It's…" He shook his head. "Never mind."

"Good night then, Hi-kun," she said quietly.

He nodded at her curtly.

That night, she kept on getting text messages from Sakura, asking her about the date. She didn't reply. She was busy staring at the moonlit sky.

Hiiragizawa-kun…you are an enigma.

tsuzuku