FARSIGHTED By SibylSofiana

Chapter Four Sayonara

Yep, this is the "Kaho" chapter.

Kaho's POV *FLASHBACK* A few months back.

Kaho felt guilty about blasting Eriol earlier. The report wasn't really that important, but lately she'd been getting more irritated at the small things Eriol did wrong. She tucked her smooth red hair over her ear. What was wrong with her?

It was probably the workload - she was taking on more responsibility now. She was already spending less and less time home and she owed it to Eriol.

She sighed.

~o~

She had always been drawn to younger men, men who were younger by age, but already old souls.

Like Touya. Touya had not acted like a teenager then. He was always the strong one, the protector, the one who carried the weight of responsibility.

Like Eriol. Eriol had looked like a child then, but with Clow's memories and his magic, he was also an old soul. And she had been drawn to his aura of power.

But lately...he was acting not like a very powerful sorcerer, but a mature, yet confused teenager. She would of course, soothe him and give him advice. There it was. The niggling feeling that she was no longer the dependent partner in the relationship... she felt like she was taking care of Eriol now. Like an older sister.

And it certainly did not help things any that they had a twelve-year age gap. With Touya, four years was not too much. But you did not parade a sixteen-year old at university and introduce him to your colleagues as your boyfriend. It would cost her her teaching career and her reputation. Not everyone was so open-minded.

Good thing Eriol understood. She sighed again.

~o~

She had managed to talk to Touya once before Eriol got home from school. Those two had become bosom buddies ever since Touya let bygones be bygones in exchange for ganging up on Li-kun.

"Hello, Kaho. Is the weasel taking care of you?" Touya said by way of greeting. Even if he and Eriol had called a truce, Touya still felt compelled to call him names.

She snorted. "More like the other way around. Honestly, you boys are so awful to pick on Li-kun! What will Sakura say?"

"What the Kaijuu doesn't know won't hurt her..." She could hear the smirk in his voice, and all she could do was heave an aggravated sigh.

"Kaho?" Touya's voice was suddenly quiet. "How are things with you and him?"

"We're okay...although I feel so strange sometimes..."

"Like you're taking care of a younger boy. You've gone through that before."

"Touya, you never acted like a fifteen year old when we were together!"

"More like thirty, huh?" Touya teased, then turned serious again. "Is he still losing Clow's memories?"

"Yes, and sometimes he freaks out when he can't remember something Clow did - probably another prank on Keroberos a lot of years ago."

"Just be patient with him okay? He probably's having a hard time dealing with it. The pranks help him cope, I guess."

"Probably." She hears Eriol coming through the front door. "He's just come home from school. Before he grabs the phone..." she smiles gratefully. "...thanks for the advice, Touya. Say hello to Tsukishiro-kun for me."

"No problem."

"No final words for Nakuru, Touya? I can call her over," she teased.

"Don't you dare!" Before she could tease him more, she handed the phone over to an excited Eriol. Soon he and Touya were deep into conversation about the best way to handle a certain stuffed toy in Syaoran's bedroom that Kaho could only roll her eyes.

~o~

The funny thing was, after that talk with Touya, she felt more and more distanced from Eriol. He was corresponding regularly with Daidouji-san, and talking to more and more people his age. And she felt out of it. Separated.

They were sipping tea in the living room one day when Nakuru came in with another letter from Daidouji.

"You seem to be exchanging more letters with Daidouji-san than Sakura lately, Eriol." Kaho noted quietly.

Eriol grinned.

"Sakura-san doesn't need me as much since she's already got Li-kun, and it probably comforts Daidouji-san to have someone to talk to. She probably won't admit it, but she's feeling a little lonely. It also gives her an opportunity to plot things.."

"Don't tell me you're pulling a prank on Li Syaoran again? And with Touya, no less. However did you manage to get on his good side?"

'Well, Touya-san has set aside certain animosities towards me in order to get back at Xiao Lang..." Kaho just rolls her eyes.

"Don't you boys have anything better to do?"

"Not at the moment, Kaho." Eriol suddenly spots Spinel's teacup and grins wickedly.

~o~

Of course she appreciated fun.

But somehow lately, she appreciated her other colleagues brand of humor. They were mostly her age or older, with the same wit she enjoyed, that she usually ended up late having dinner with them after discussions...

Like tonight. She looked forward to dinner with some of the other girls after the faculty meeting.

The young man looked up from his Chemistry homework as the older woman went past him on her way to the door.

"Don't wait up for me, Eriol. The faculty meeting will take a little while, so sleep early, okay?" she said over her shoulder. He stood up quickly and grabbed her hand.

"Aren't you even giving me a kiss goodbye?" he smiled gently.

She gave him a perfunctory kiss, which was not really what he wanted. They hadn't seen each other much lately, given her busy teaching schedule and his increasing schoolwork.

So, he pulled her close and lifted his lips toward hers. She pulled away first.

"Eriol...I'll be late. I'll see you tomorrow, all right? Good night." She wouldn't even look at him.

Eriol just stood there looking at the door.

~o~

One day it all came to a head. She was stressed out from work, apart from being confused about her disloyal feelings, and Eriol was upset over the fact that Kaho was almost never home.

"You're always at the university, Kaho. I never see you!" Kaho was surprised at his raised tone. Eriol was always polite to a fault, given his past life as Clow Reed, that she was startled.

"But Eriol, this work is important to me. I thought you understood that," she replied wearily. "Clow would..."

"But I'm not Clow..." Eriol's eyes widened, as if taken aback by what he had just said.

At his declaration, Kaho stared at Eriol and suddenly the truth dawned on her.

She answered quietly. "No, you aren't."

~o~

She finally finished the letter. The funny thing was, she could only breathe a sigh of relief, which immediately made her feel guilty. Eriol loved her. And she loved him once. And he was going to be hurt.

She grabbed her suitcase and headed downstairs to the living room. Nakuru was in the kitchen making tea.

"Nakuru-chan."

"Hai, Kaho-san?" Then Nakuru saw her suitcase. "W-where are you going?"

"I'm leaving, Nakuru."

"But, Eriol-sama!"

Kaho handed her the letter she had written. "Will you please give this to Eriol for me, Nakuru-chan?"

"D-did I do anything wrong, Kaho-san?" Nakuru asked in a quivering voice. "I'm s-sorry, please don't go! Eriol-sama will be so sad!"

"You didn't do anything, Nakuru-chan. It's just me. I've changed." She gave the Moon Guardian a soft pat on the cheek. "Thank you for everything. I'll come by sometime next week to get my other belongings. I'll talk to Eriol then." It was probably cowardly of her to leave without talking to Eriol first, but she decided that this was the best course. She grabbed the handle of her suitcase and left the kitchen, leaving a dazed Nakuru behind.

She met Spinel Sun in the living room. The Sun Guardian was in his true form, watching her.

"You're leaving then, Kaho-san?"

"Hai, Spinel. Take care of Eriol for me."

~o~

When Eriol finally understood what Kaho's letter meant, he felt numb. Kaho had left him. She had left him when he needed her.

He turned away from Nakuru, still holding Kaho's letter.

"Eriol-sama..."

He heard her, but he ignored her quivering voice and headed towards the living room to where he had passed by Spinel Sun. He grabbed his backpack and jacket and went slowly up the stairs. He stopped by Kaho's portrait by the wall.

"Spinel Sun." The Sun Guardian looked up at his empty voice. "Please remove this. I do not wish to see it again."

"Hai, Eriol."

His Master continued making his slow way toward his rooms, only glancing at Kaho's empty room across from his. Then he went and locked himself in his rooms, never to come out -- until two days later when Daidouji Tomoyo knocked on his door.

~o~

And there she was finally at his door. Kaho.

"Hello, Eriol."

"Hello, Kaho." What else was there to say?

He just stood there looking at her, as if he hadn't seen her before. She had worn her hair loose, and it reflected the rays of the early morning sun that it hurt his eyes.

When Kaho had lived with them, she tied her hair back in a ponytail or braided it, and wore loose shirts and jeans. Today, she was dressed formally, that he was struck with the fact that she looked so much older than he was used to. *Is she already distancing herself from me?*

"May I come in?" Kaho asked quietly, looking at him with soft, gentle eyes.

~o~

Mechanically, he opened the door and let her in. By mutual consent, they both headed towards the library. By habit, he waited for her to be seated before he sat down himself on the plush armchair by the fireplace.

"Why, Kaho?" he asked first. She took a deep breath and answered calmly.

"Eriol, it just wasn't working anymore. We're two different people now. Remember what you said last week?"

"That I wasn't Clow." Eriol replied tonelessly.

"Well, you were right. I'm not saying this to hurt you, Eriol. But I must admit I had been drawn to the Clow in you from the very beginning. And now..."

"I'm just Eriol." He finished for her.

Why did it hurt so much? It was the truth. He was just Eriol now.

"I still love you, Eriol. But no longer the same way it once was. Now, it's as if you're a brother to me..." Every word felt like a stab through his heart, but he managed to remain impassive.

"It's all right, Kaho. I understand. Really, I do."

He remembered that dream about Clow. About letting her go.

He didn't want to. But there was already a wall between them, and he knew he could not breach it. Never again. He let out a deep sigh.

"Where will you be staying?"

Kaho answered, "A colleague of mine offered to share her flat with me. It's small, but I can afford it. Don't worry, Eriol," she reassured him. "I'll be fine."

He could only manage a nod.

"I'll just get my things and let myself out before Nakuru and Spinel wake up."

"Nakuru already packed your stuff for you as you requested," he supplied, then he suddenly remembered his surprise guest. "Ah, Daidouji-san is sleeping in your room..."

Kaho was surprised. "Daidouji-san is here?"

He managed to look sheepish. "Nakuru was worried about me and called Daidouji-san over." Eriol was not about to mention his two days of locking himself up and starving.

"It was good of her to come. I'll try not to wake her," Kaho promised. As she stood up, she said, "Thank you, Eriol. For everything."

He leaned forward, but she kissed him on the forehead instead, which finally made it clear to him that it would never be the same between them.

"Sayonara, Eriol." And she walked out of his life.

@@@@@

Author's notes:

Sofiana: Well, that wasn't too painful, was it? Sibyl: grumble, grumble.

But of course this is an E x T fic. There is NO way it can be any other with Sibyl around. Since Sibyl is here, Sibyl will make sure to write about lots kawaii ExT moments.

Next chapter: Garden scene- Tomoyo and Eriol