Tomoyo watched in astonishment when Spinel suddenly paused in reflection. "Suppi?" she called.
The cat didn't reply. It was too busy recalling something.
Romance Pocketbooks Say: Chapter 2
"Master, I was looking for a bookmark in your bed today," began Spinel as it sat down the lap of its master, who was engrossed in his typical reading material – a scholarly journal. This day's treat for the mage was the theory that two may just be equal to one.
"That's nice," said Eriol absent-mindedly.
"And," continued the creature loudly. "I didn't find a bookmark."
"That's terrible," said its master in the same tone. A polite way of telling his servant to stop disturbing him already.
"But I found something else."
"Blankets or pillows, perhaps?" asked the boy, a hint of sarcasm in his voice.
"No. A picture…of a girl…" It smirked when it finally got the full, undivided attention of its master. "And she isn't Mother Teresa or Emily Dickenson."
The young master suddenly lost his interest on the journal. His cerulean eyes were on the smirking servant. "Y-You saw…"
"Mistress Daidouji Tomoyo's picture…it's under your pillow," said the feline.
"W-What a coincidence," said the Clow reincarnate, maintaining his even voice, but his eyes had obviously become obscure. "I-I was looking for it for ages already…"
"You should have tried looking for it first under your pillow."
"It didn't occur to me that it might be there."
"So how did it end up in that spot then in the first place?" asked the feline, smirking. "I reckon that Nakuru won't put it there- frame-up is too advanced a concept for the void in her mind."
"Well now, are you trying to imply something?" he asked, on the defensive at once.
"No, Master, I was asking a perfectly logical question."
"Ah hell, why do we have to make such fuss on it? Do away with it then." He was about to pick up the journal he had mindlessly thrown some feet away from him when he panicked awhile ago, but then Spinel spoke up again.
"What about the scanned copy of it in your documents?"
He blinked. "D-Don't tell me you opened my computer too?"
Silence, meaning the feline was guilty.
"OK, delete the file then." His exasperated sigh was a give-away.
"Now if you call that a coincidence again, I'll call it divine intervention already," said the feline. "Why can't you stop obsessing about the picture of Ms. Tomoyo anyway? And I would understand if it was a studio shot or something, but heck, it's a *stolen* shot!"
"I am not obsessing on the picture, Spinel. It's just a figment of your overactive imagination."
"Yes, and Viagra is just a figment of a sex-starved DOM's mind too."
"Spinel," he said warningly.
The feline immediately stopped when it recognized the kind of tone he reserves for the likes of Keroberos and Nakuru only.
He began to gather the journal again. "I wish to not bring up this topic again. It's a waste of time. I respect Daidouji-san too much to do what you are thinking."
"Then why do you have a stolen shot of her?"
Eriol paused, then sighed. "I just feel like it."
Period. End of the conversation.
"I told you for so many times already not to indulge in too much sweets!" scolded Hiiragizawa Eriol in gentle exasperation.
Akizuki Nakuru held her cheek, fighting back her tears. "I can't help it! I really try to do as you say – I keep them locked in the highest cabinets. Dakedo, there are times when I sit alone in the kitchen and I could hear them mercilessly chanting, 'Eat me, eat me!' until my self-control would go to waste!"
Eriol sighed. "What self-control?"
She looked at him in a huff. "You should understand too what I feel. You're undergoing the same case I am feeling too."
He looked amused. "Oh? I don't hear sweets calling me to eat them."
"No…that you can't fight off your temptation."
"Huh?" His forehead creased.
His servant seemed to have suddenly forgotten about the toothache she was enduring. She shoved him playfully. "Oh come on, Master! Even if you don't say it aloud, we can see right through you! You're secretly in love with someone named Daidouji Tomoyo!"
He looked at her warily. "What's this? A grand conspiracy between you and Spinel?"
"So Spinel also noticed your behavior eh?"
"You guys…" He took a deep breath. "Why are you putting meanings in our fondness for each other?"
"Because you guys act so sweetly to each other! Master, I can tell that she likes you too!"
"Nakuru, listen. Tomo…Daidouji-san is just a naturally affectionate girl. She's nice and sweet, to everyone in fact. A-And she looks up to me as a big brother she never had, that's all." He clasped his hands together. "As for the second question, she likes a lot of people too. She likes dear Sakura, Li Syaoran, and you and Spinel."
"How sure are you of what you said anyway?" asked his servant challengingly. "It's in the way she looks at you, the way she smiles at you. She likes you romantically."
He paused. "The smiles and looks she give me is similar to the ones she give her beloved romance pocketbook leading men, to Squall Lionheart, to Tom Cruise, to Kero even!"
Nakuru sighed. "Don't you understand her reason for that? It's because she finds all your characteristics in those people…and even in that creature. The men of Mills and Boons are as romantic and endearing as you, that SEED guy is as mysterious as you, Mr. Mission Impossible is as handsome as you, and Kero is as close to her as you."
He was stunned. "T-That's…too much! You really think that could be possible?" He looked up gratefully when he saw the signboard of the dental clinic. "You know, after you leave the dentist' chair, I'm sure you'll forget about all you said."
The impact of the dental visit crashed on the servant's face. "Ah, Master Eriol! D-Don't leave me there! I could already hear his drilling tools from here! Have mercy!!!"
"Would you rather have Yue take that nasty tooth out?" asked the boy patiently.
"Er, I guess not." Nakuru hugged the boy's arms. "But don't leave me there, ok? Keep watch on my operation, I'm scared! What if the dentist suddenly slips his grip on his driller and drills a hole on my tongue instead?"
He smiled. "Then be thankful, because you got to pierce your tongue for free. All you need is a stud then."
"You can wait for your sister here, Mr. Hiiragizawa," said the dentist politely after he finished binding the struggling Nakuru in the dentist' chair.
Eriol smiled as Nakuru shrieked shamelessly. She was already making quite a scene in the quiet clinic of the dentist, shrieking in horror at her physical age of nineteen.
He calmly picked up a newspaper as he heard Nakuru's cries.
"Open your mouth," instructed the dentist patiently.
"Y-You're going to put that…that thing in my mouth?!! Never!"
"Akizuki-san…" The patience of the dentist was reaching its end already.
"It's so long! And thick! What if I choke?!!" she demanded. Outside, people's eyes were wide already.
"Akizuki-san, the sooner you open your mouth, the sooner you can get up already."
"Slide it down my mouth easily then, ok?"
"Sure."
Eriol shook his head smilingly as some customers of the dentist began to discreetly leave the clinic, muttering. He looked back at the newspaper he was reading, but his mind was stubbornly echoing the words his servants gave him.
"Can there be…romantic possibilities for me and Daidouji-san?" he asked himself quietly.
If he would be honest with himself, he would be a hypocrite to say that he didn't like her – who could resist someone as sweet, kind, smart, thoughtful, and pretty as Daidouji Tomoyo?
But he would always push the thought at the back of his mind – he had always thought that it would be ungentlemanly of him to take advantage of their friendship. Tomoyo trusted him, and that trust meant too much to him.
It would be nice if there was even an element of truth in what his toothache-stricken servant said, but then, it was just like asking a long-nosed Pinocchio for the truth.
He was also wary of Tomoyo's addiction to pocketbooks. Perhaps, her fondness for him was only because he resembles the men she admires in those romances.
The last thought struck him. It was the most possible of all the thoughts he came up with.
He folded the paper and turned to the receptionist. "How long will it take for her session to finish?"
"An hour perhaps, Sir," answered the woman courteously.
He got up. "I will just return here then after an hour."
He found himself walking back to the Daidouji mansion, one purpose in his mind.
"For the sake of my peace of mind, I want to settle the score with her," he decided. He brought out the recopy of the picture Spinel found in his bed from his wallet. He smiled at the Tomoyo in the picture, cleared his throat, and began his rehearsal.
"Daidouji-san, it's been quite some time that we had been friends…close friends in fact…so I'm wondering…what…what do you think of me?" he tried, but then shook his head.
"Daidouji-san, I like you. Do you like me too?" He shook his head again. Too strong for him.
As he walked, people couldn't help but throw him a suspicious, sometimes amused look. They don't see gorgeous men talking to pictures while walking in the busy streets of Tomoeda everyday.
Finally, Eriol made it to the front gates of the Daidouji mansion. He cleared his throat, then marched inside. He was ready for the moment of truth.
He was ushered by the maid into the living room, but he asked the maid not to announce his arrival. He went to the mini-library where he often finds his friend.
And as sure as the sun rising in the east and Syaoran wearing something green, Tomoyo was seated comfortably on the carpeted floor, engrossed in yet another romance. On her lap was Spinel…reading a romance novel too? He silently wondered what the world is coming to.
She hadn't felt his presence yet, so he seized the chance to let himself get lost in the quiet beauty of the girl before him. Her dark, lustrous hair was braided loosely, framing her delicate features. Her expressive lilac eyes were languidly reading the lines in the book. He had to smile again, feeling the familiar ache of wanting to hold her close.
As her finger turned the next page of the pocketbook, her eyes caught him. "Eriol-kun?"
His mouth twitched. It was one of the few times that Tomoyo would call him by his first name – and all those few times were when he took her by surprise.
"Hi," he said awkwardly. "I'm sorry for disturbing your reading session."
"Eh? It's alright." She tossed the novel she was reading and showed him a seat. He felt a little flattered with such gesture – Tomoyo, a pocketbook lover, would quickly toss her novels aside just to entertain him.
"So how is Nakuru?" she asked even before he could blurt out the lines he had rehearsed awhile ago.
He was silent for a few moments, his eyes running on her face. He looked at the smile, and realized it was still the same. Nakuru was mistaken after all.
"Hiiragizawa-kun?" she asked again.
He could feel her inquisitive gaze at him, and Spinel's too. He shook his head slowly.
"Hmm…that bad?" She got up. "Wait, I'll fix you some snacks first."
The feline immediately flew to him. "Master, there's something strangely determined in you today."
"Spinel?"
"Hmm?"
He sighed deeply, then smiled bravely. "I'll most definitely tell her about my feelings today. I don't care anymore if she rejects me, but I think I want to be honest to her today."
The feline nodded approvingly just as Tomoyo came into the room cheerfully, a tray of snacks ready.
He took a deep breath and silently waited for the chance to start his confession.
Conclusion up soon! Kyte-chan, hope u feel better already ^^