Author's Notes:  Okay, closer to the end.  ~sigh~  Will everyone miss this story when I'm done?  Well, I have a few projects ahead of me, just waiting for me to finish *something*, and it looks like the next something to be finished will be this one.  I love the feeling I get when the end is near.  I hope it doesn't disappoint!

I'd like to thank my reviewers for sticking with me this far.  Some of you are along for the ride simply because it's me who is writing this, and I can't begin to tell you how flattering that is.  Others are here because this is so different from what else is out there, and that gives me warm fuzzies as well.  So, to Snowykittenz, Kira, L-chan, Animegal, and Shadow...~glomps~  Thank you!  Sorry for the wait, I didn't mean for over a month to pass this time.  Please enjoy!

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Moon's Dance and Shadow A Kaho and Eriol story

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Chapter Ten

The Hope That Blinds

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It was lonely in that house alone.  I studied, I watched after the garden, and I read, but every day there was an emptiness that I longed to fill.  The emptiness, I told myself, was in my heart.  I was sure that my loneliness was only for him.  For Eriol.  It wasn't the over-large house and echoing silence there.   It wasn't the memories I held, or even the ghosts of time pacing the old family home.  I convinced myself that Eriol was all I wanted or needed to wipe that cold emptiness within me.

I received letters from Sakura and her friends.  I didn't receive one from Touya.  This didn't surprise me, but when the thought hit me my smile would slip a little.

Eriol wrote me letters too.  It was amusing to read one of Sakura's letters after I read his to see the different perspectives on the same event.  She was so puzzled about why she would sense Clow's presence when events would happen, and I didn't try to hold back my laughter while I pictured Eriol standing on a nearby roof or lounging in a tree as he watched her deal with his challenges.  I knew he'd be watching with a kind and probably triumphant smile as she pulled through.  It was difficult for her, but she never gave up.

Nothing less from Sakura-chan after all.

When things were coming to an end I could feel it.  I sat down and wrote two letters, guided by what I could see of the future.  I gave Eriol the information for my flight so he'd know when I would arrive.  I gave Sakura encouragement and a small hint of what could help her. 

"Don't worry though because you have your own invincible spell.  It will all be absolutely okay.  I believe in you, Sakura-chan."

I mailed the letters and cleaned the house one last time.  I was ready to face whatever fate would befall my hometown, even if that meant I would sleep forever.  I would not live in a world without those things I did not love.

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"I only have a few minutes before the Return will bring Sakura back."  Eriol looked nervous, straightening his hat and tugging at the hem of his sleeves.  He already looked perfect, but he couldn't keep his hands still.  This was it, and the fate of us all depended on the strength of this little girl.

"I know.  I timed my return for this after all."

He nodded, patting his collar to make sure it was straight.

"I can't take this back if she doesn't win," he said softly, finally.

"That's why I'm here.  I won't run away now.  I don't want to be part of a world where you aren't.  More than that though, I have faith in her.  She will defeat you."

He shook his head.  "This isn't set in stone.  There's no moon bell to save her at the last minute.  Clow won't pull the strings of fate to hand her a victory this time," he said with some considerable irony.

I bent closer to him and smiled reassuringly.  "You chose the right person.  I have faith in you, so I have faith in Sakura.  I will see you when this is through."  I kissed him gently, then stood back.

"It is time," he said, smiling kindly and putting his apprehension behind him.  This was no time for doubts.  He then swung his huge sun staff in an arc and faded from my sight.

I sat in his chair and waited.  It seemed like no time passed at all before the sky darkened and a heavy feeling filled the air.  I called upon my own light and opened up a book.  The light would last as long as I did.  I told myself it would be no different from reading myself to sleep.

Eventually, that's exactly what I did.

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I was never happier to wake up in the morning.  Eriol found me curled up in his chair and he chuckled at my drowsy state.  He was weary but triumphant as he pulled aside the curtains.  "Look, sunrise!"

"She did it," I said in breathless wonder.  It was a beautiful sunrise.  It was probably the most beautiful one I've ever seen.

Eriol smiled gently.  "It's been a long night, and since I am one of three humans who didn't get any sleep all night, I feel I'm entitled.  I'm skipping school today."  He laughed, taking off his hat.  "I won't sleep very long though.  We have a party to get ready for."

He slipped off to the bedroom, leaving me with his guardians to begin preparations.  Spinel Sun and Ruby Moon agreed to fix food and left me to decorate the dining room.  It would be a wonderful surprise party for the girl of honor.  It would be even more of a surprise when I came out to join them.  I could hardly wait.

When Eriol woke up he helped a little here and there, handing me decorations when I needed them and helping me spread the tablecloth at the last minute.  We smiled playfully at each other in shared triumph and anticipation.  This was the good stuff.

"She's here," he said, just as I felt Sakura's presence reach the front gate.  We exchanged another smile, then he was holding the door open for me to hide behind.  I was in the darkened hallway between the kitchen and the dining room.  We agreed that I would wait there for the right moment.

As the door closed I could feel someone behind me.  At once it was familiar but strange, like a blending of two auras I knew well.  I was startled when I turned around to see Yue, standing before the window, frowning with his arms crossed over his chest.

Eriol?

I know.

I smiled gently.  He would do something as soon as he could be free.

"Hello, Yue."

He looked at me and merely nodded.  He was here for one reason, and he would not be pulled away from his purpose.  I hoped that Eriol could offer the guardian some peace.

We waited in silence for a time.  I listened to the conversation on the other side of the door, but I already had an idea of how it would go.  Half intuition, half logic.  Yue didn't move closer, staying by the window to wait.  I turned to him once again.  "I want to thank you."

This brought a look of surprise to his face and he studied me closer.

"You made Touya happy again, happier than I could have.  You healed him.  I'm in your debt."

He glanced away quickly, and then returned his eyes to meet mine.  "That was Yukito, not me."

I just smiled.  He still thought of himself as two people, but I knew that this would not be the case forever.  The message would be there, and he could do with it what he would.  I turned back to face the door.  It was time to see Sakura once again and tell her the truth.

~~~~~@~~~~~

The next day they packed to leave.  I helped all I could, but there were many things I couldn't help with, so I had time to myself.  I wandered outside for a walk, saying goodbye to my home once again.  It was purely by accident that I ran into Touya this time, I think.  I felt the stirrings of fate, but it was very different this time.

"Kaho," he said softly, watching me walk up to him.  He smiled, looking at peace for once in his life.  For once, I looked at him and saw that I had no effect on his life or state of mind.  I was just a person he had known, drifting toward his orbit and away.  Another moon now circled his life.

"You now have all the answers I couldn't give you."  I smiled back, brushing hair from my face.  A slight breeze was playing around today, toying with my hair as if tugged by sprites.  It only made me smile all the more.

"So, you knew all along?"

I shook my head.  "There were some things I didn't know.  No one knows everything after all.  There were other things I only hoped for, and seeing you smile like that was one.  I'm glad you found your one."

"I'm not the only one smiling," he observed with a teasing grin.

I grinned, glad I could finally share my happiness with someone.  "I didn't return to come home this time.  I returned to be with the one I love when everything happened."

He frowned, erasing the smile instantly to wear a more typical expression.  "He lives here?"

"No, we're returning to England this evening.  He has been visiting for a while, but now that things are over we'll be returning to enjoy our own happily ever after."

Now his frown went beyond his typical look, becoming protective and suspicious.  "Who is it?"

I still smiled, though I curbed my excitement some.  "Hiiragizawa Eriol.  He is the reincarnation of Clow Reed."

He looked at me sharply, then simply shook his head.  "Be careful," he muttered.

I blinked in surprise.  "What?"

Touya hesitated, not wanting to say something, but he finally spread his hands in a gesture of surrender.  "I don't trust him.  I don't like him.  I don't like what he did to Sakura, and I don't like what he did to Yue.  Maybe it's just because he was hiding his true self, maybe not, but I can't tell anymore if I can trust him, so I don't."

I nodded, listening to his warning and dismissing it.  "Do you trust me?"

He patted me on the head with a laugh.  "You're all grown up, you can make your own decisions," he said with a wink.

I batted his hand away playfully.  "You didn't answer my question!"

"You're right.  I didn't.  That's because when it comes to matters of the heart, magic seems to be pretty useless.  So, as far as that goes I don't trust you."

I frowned slightly, but conceded the point.  "Did Yue tell you what Eriol told him yesterday?"

"That Clow thought Yue's false form would love Sakura?  Yeah.  It made me stop and think about fate and love last night.  I'm glad I'm not in a 'fated' relationship, I don't think I could handle the pressure."  His smile was teasing, playful, and so carefree I envied him for a moment.

"What pressure?" I laughed, sticking my tongue out at him playfully.

He shook his head, laughing.  "Maybe I'm wrong.  I don't feel the weight of destiny on my shoulders anymore."

I could feel the underlying pain he still held at the loss of his magic, but overall he was accepting it gracefully.  "Hmmm, no regrets, Touya?"

He stretched with a self-satisfied grin.  "Ask me again in ten years.  After last night, I regret nothing."

It was the first, and only time he got me to blush.  When he noticed he only laughed at me all the more.