"Tomoyo-chan?"
The worried voice of her cousin snapped her out of her trance. "S-Sakura…" She forced a grin on her face, one that challenged the elasticity of her jaw.
"Don't smile at me like that, Tomoyo-chan. I know a forced smile when I see one." She sat down beside her. "What's the matter?"
"I'm just…tired. All my nakoudo activities have lately been stressful…too many lonely hearts out there," she fibbed.
To her dismay, Sakura didn't buy it. "I don't know why you should be so sad…the way things are going on between Yue and Ruby Moon, plus the enthusiastic responses of your online visitors in the website…a face like that is the last thing I would expect from you. The Tomoyo-chan I know would feel too rewarded to feel the stress."
Sakura may be gullible, but she wasn't insensitive. She sighed. "Don't mind me, Sakura."
"How can I not? I hate to see my one and only best friend sad." The cherryblossom looked at her intently. "Last night, you looked happy with Eriol-kun."
Something clicked in her brain. "You were spying on me?!" she cried.
Sakura sweatdropped. "Er…it just so happens that I was bringing with me my binoculars, and you were in the range of its vision and-"
"Since when had you learn to lie?" asked Tomoyo, an eyebrow raised.
"Fine. I was just curious. I wanted to know what you are doing in the cottage because I'm afraid you might get bored in there waiting for a precious Yue-Ruby Moon moment, but then, I was wrong." She smiled. "Eriol-kun was keeping you company."
Some company it was, she thought wryly.
"He kissed you. I saw it," her cousin continued quietly. "So how long have you been a couple? Why didn't you even tell me about it?"
"Because we never were," she said, laughing dryly.
Sakura's eyes widened. "He was kissing you that passionately and he isn't your boyfriend?"
Tomoyo's face turned pink. "Er…"
"I didn't know you were that…that…" Sakura sighed. "You let Eriol-kun kiss you just for kicks?"
"Of course not," she said. "I let him kiss me because…because I want to. Because his kisses can make me feel so wonderful."
Sakura blinked. "Do you…do you love Eriol-kun?"
Tomoyo shrugged. "I love his kisses."
"That's all?" Sakura was incredulous.
"W-Well, he is handsome alright. And I love the fact that he's as passionate as I am," she paused. "W-With music, I mean. I love being with him- it makes me happy."
Sakura smiled. "I know. I can feel it in the way you speak. Ne, Tomoyo-chan, you care for Eriol-kun, don't you?"
"S-Sakura…" She looked down. "It's too early to say things like that."
"I don't know…you sound like me when I talk about Syaoran-kun."
"I-I do?"
"Hai! You can fake words, but not a voice, and certainly not the radiant glow on your face and the twinkle in your eyes when you talk about your man," she said knowingly.
Tomoyo bit her lip- from her nakoudo experiences, she had said such statement to countless lovers already, and yet, it took naïve Sakura Kinomoto to make her realize it!
"H-Hai. I'm sad because of Eriol-kun," she confessed.
"You think he's still in love with Mizuki-sensei?" asked Sakura. "He doesn't look like a guy tortured by lingering feelings for his ex. You should have seen how fiercely passionate he looked!"
Tomoyo's face burned. "S-Sakura, p-please don't say things like that."
"But why not? Awhile ago, you told me it's bad to lie. And now that I'm telling the truth-"
The Daidouji shook her head. "Y-You don't understand. I-I'm scared."
"What are you scared of? Why will you be scared of feeling the most wonderful emotion in the world?" Sakura wanted to know.
"I'm afraid that he doesn't feel the same way for me." And to the best of her ability, she tried to explain Eriol's theory about their relationship- one governed by the sexual chemistry thing between them. In the end, Sakura looked shocked.
"I…I don't know what to say," she stammered. "I know Eriol-kun has always been proud, but…"
"I can feel it. He's just enjoying himself in my moments of weakness, but I know he's just out of revenge. Even Nakuru herself told me that, because she wants me to be cautious with dealing with him."
Now Sakura looked mad. "So Eriol-kun thinks my best friend is that weak huh? You shouldn't be sad- you should be mad!"
"I am…madly in love with him."
"Hmp! We should teach Eriol-kun a lesson. It's not your fault that Mizuki-sensei left him. It's fate; they're not meant for each other. Of all people, he should understand how destiny works."
"Sakura-chan?" Now Tomoyo looked nervous. It takes quite a something to make her cousin mad, and if she is, even Li Syaoran is wise enough to stay away from her.
"Don't worry, I'll take care of Eriol-kun. No one hurts my best friend and gets away with it, even if it is the other persona of my father." Sakura smiled at her. "Go on with your nakoudo activities with Yukito and Nakuru. I'll take care of him, I promise."
"Huh?" Nakuru gaped at the packed lunch Yukito was handing over to her.
"Yesterday, I was doing the grocery when I remembered that you like sweets, so I made a pie. I'm giving you the other half because I don't want to upset my stomach by finishing the entire pie." Yukito smiled. "Or are you on a diet?"
"Diet? Whazzat?" Nakuru smilingly took the bag. "Arigatou! I was just a little surprised- it's always me who comes to you at lunchtime."
Yuki paused. "Er…I was a little worried when you didn't come to my classroom awhile ago, so I decided to check on you."
"Oooh. I was taking the trash out. I'm the assigned cleaner." Nakuru smiled. "The pie is great!" She took another forkful and popped it into her mouth.
"Cleaner?" Yukito frowned. "We're college students already-"
"My punishment for falling asleep in class. I slept late last night." She continued to eat cheerfully.
"Me too," he said awkwardly. He felt that he was out late at night, but he was not the least bit tired. In fact, he felt…energized.
"You should try communicating more often to your alter-ego," she suggested. "You know, alter-egos come in handy when you are bored and you have nothing to do. You can always talk to him, and you know he won't leave you, no matter how boring the topic is," she said.
Yukito chuckled. "Is that how things go for you and Ruby Moon?"
"I was made this way, aware of my other identity. Ruby Moon is the extension of myself, and I don't have a hard time with that," she said, shrugging.
"Don't you feel confused whether you are better off as Nakuru or as Ruby Moon?" he asked curiously.
"I don't have to choose. I can have the best of both worlds. I can live the life of carefree sweets-loving Nakuru and be the protective moon guardian of Master Eriol at the same time." For a moment, her smile was kind. "You're afraid of Yue, aren't you?"
He paused. She knew what he felt!
"You're scared of the fact that you're not as normal as Touya and Sakura," she said. "I don't get the rationale of your fear though. You should be happy that you have Yue residing within you…because you know you will be able to protect the ones you cherish…like the Clow Mistress for instance…and her brother."
She swallowed the forkful before continuing to speak. "And if you're afraid which persona would eventually triumph over the other…well, I think you shouldn't be worried. No matter what happens, the heart of Yukito Tsukishiro wouldn't cease to exist. It would still be there no matter what happens."
After a moment of thoughtful silence, the snow bunny grinned. "Thanks, Nakuru. Unbelievable, but you actually made me feel better."
"Actually, I won't take thanks." She grinned and looked at his packed lunch. "Where's the other half of this pie? I want more!"
"Nakuru-san," he groaned and took out his hanky. He daintily wiped the corner of her mouth that was smudged with cream. "Don't move," he ordered.
She froze. "Er, am I allowed to breath?"
He chuckled. "Of course."
"Breathing is moving."
"Breathing doesn't require you to walk."
"Moving means action, right? And breathing is an action word, a verb. So…"
Yukito laughed out loud- count on Akizuki Nakuru to say the darnest things.
"I now don't know which side of you do I like better, you or Yue," she admitted. "I like you both! Would you be mad if I tell you that I have a crush on both you and Yue?"
He blinked, then laughed once more. "I feel flattered. My sex appeal is actually twice more powerful."
"That's the spirit!" said the girl, raising her fist genkily. Laughing, Yukito did the same, ignoring the bemused glances from the rest of the Tomoeda University students.
"Just retrieve the email Li sent Tomoyo-chan. Her password is…"
Eriol mechanically noted them down as Sakura said the needed information over the phone. He was still deep in thought, and it concerns a certain mauve-eyed nakoudo whose kiss sent an incurable fever to his blood.
"Why would Syaoran have to send mail to Tomoyo? And why does it have to be me to get it?" he asked a while later.
"Tomoyo-chan won't be in Tomoeda today because she's going to fetch her mother in the airport, and Syaoran called me, saying that he's in the plane right now, and he couldn't log in to send me another email. He sent the letter to Tomoyo by mistake."
If Eriol was in his normal mode, he could have analyzed Sakura's story one by one. But Daidouji Tomoyo had disabled the rational part of his brain, so all he could do was do what Sakura wanted him to do.
He did find the mail by Li, along with hundreds of letters seeking love advice.
However, one mail caught his attention. It was the most recent one too. He decided to read it for entertainment away.
His forehead creased when he finished reading the email.
Was this some kind of a prank?
The love problem of this guy was…he thinks he's in love with the nakoudo, yes, Daidouji Tomoyo!
tsuzuku