Syv: KONICHIWA!!! So sorry for the long wait! I had MAJOR writer's block!
Spinnel Sun a.k.a. Suppi: Yo!
Syv: Hey Suppi-chan! I'm glad you could make it. *Whispers to readers* Kero was stuffing him with sweets a moment ago.
Suppi: Ne Syv-chan?
Syv: Hai?
Suppi: Do you have any sweets???
Syv: *sweat drops* Iie…
Suppi: Oh, I'll just go then and find someone who has…*Starts to leave*
Syv: Matte (wait)! Aren't you supposed to… *Suppi left*
Syv: …okay…anyway, let's get on with the story, shall we? Before I forget, thanks so much to the people who reviewed!!!
thedaidoujicat
Enchantress Azure
Anonymous/skyblossom
AND TO EVERYONE ELSE WHO READS MY STORY, THANKS A MILLION!!!
Syv: Sorry if I didn't put your name. I couldn't say every name 'coz I'm not sure anymore if it's for the story or that author note I put last time. All right, that's done with so next we have…
DISCLAIMER: I don't own any of the CCS characters…I'm not doing this for money so don't you dare accuse me of it!
Syv: Now on with the story!!!
(Translation) ~only for uncommon words
'Thoughts'
"Talking"
Author note
In the last episode of The Light of Love: "Hai (yes), I'm perfectly fine. I was just wondering…"
"Wondering about what?" Tomoyo asked.
Sakura looked at her before saying, "Nandemunayo (nothing), never mind it."
They all stared at her worried, each wondering what it was that was bothering Sakura but no one forced her to tell them. They related to Sakura what happened in school and other miscellaneous matters.
After talking for an hour or so, they said they had to get home. Sakura nodded and smiled at them, grateful for their concern. She watched Kero lead them out of the room.
Syaoran was the last to leave. As he was exiting the room, he heard Sakura call for him.
"Syaoran-kun," she said softly.
He turned around before answering, "Hai?"
"I-I," she stammered then quickly asked, "Daijoubu ka (are you all right)?"
Syaoran smiled at her as he walked briskly back to her saying, "Hai, daijoubu… thanks to you."
He picked up her hand gently squeezing it. She smiled at him as he tucked a stray strand of hair behind her ear.
"Get well soon," he said before replacing her hand on top of her bed and leaving the room, closing the door behind him.
Sakura smiled and soon drifted off into sleep.
~#####~
It was the darkness again. She could see a little light at the end of what seemed to be a tunnel.
'The Light of Importance…'
She stared at the light for a moment.
'Why does it seem bigger than before?'
"Because you have saved something important to you," a frosty voice replied to her thoughts.
Sakura looked around, frightened.
"Who's there?"
"Don't worry. It'll shrink soon as I take those that are important to you one by one," the voice continued as if she didn't speak.
~#####~
Suddenly, Sakura was sweating and panting as she sat straight up looking at two beady black dots.
"Sakura, daijoubu desu ka (are you all right)? I just left for a few minutes and when I come back, you're sweating heavily and looking really frightened. Did something happen?" Kero asked concerned.
"Iie, demo I'm fine. Don't worry," Sakura assured him.
Still not convinced, Kero said, "Did you dream about something?"
Not wanting to worry her guardian, she replied, "Iie."
Kero sighed immediately knowing she was lying, "Okay, if you say so. Just rest and don't tire yourself out. I won't ask if you don't want me to know about it."
Blushing slightly at being found lying, Sakura obeyed and went to sleep not before mentioning a thank you to Kero.
When he was sure Sakura was really asleep, he went to the door and descended the stairs. At the bottom, he met up with Tomoyo and the others who were waiting for him.
"How is she?" Tomoyo asked worriedly.
"I think she had a dream. She didn't want to tell me about it," he explained briefly omitting the part about her lying.
They all went to the living room to continue their discussion.
"Hey kid," Kero said, directing it towards Eriol.
"Hai?"
"You being the reincarnation of Clow Reed and all, do you know of any prophecy or something that can relate to what's happening to Sakura right now?"
"I'm not sure. I'll have to check it," was Eriol's reply.
The four teens decided to leave soon after remembering they still had plenty of homework. Like me -_-; They each said goodbye and cast one last look to the top of the stairs where Sakura's bedroom lay before going their separate ways, Meiling and Syaoran going one way, Eriol and Tomoyo heading in the opposite direction.
As soon as they left, Kero headed back upstairs to check on Sakura and, seeing she was fast asleep, hoped for the best in Eriol's search for something that could possibly help them in understanding the current events happening in Sakura's life as well as in theirs.
Meanwhile, Eriol had parted with Tomoyo before hurrying as fast as he could to his house, eager to check his library and start his research. He seemed to remember something about a prophecy like Kero had mentioned.
When he arrived home, Nakuru bounded to greet him with Suppi on her shoulder. She said a very cheery hello and asked what he wanted for dinner.
"I bought some stuff in the supermarket and I wanted to try and cook something for you. What do you want?"
"Anything is fine, Nakuru-san," was his calm reply, "I'll be in the library if you need me. I have to check something."
"Okay," Nakuru replied cheerily, "I'll make you a nice juicy steak, some soup, and vegetables, and," she continued to say as she headed to the kitchen.
"What's up?" Suppi asked as he turned to follow Eriol to the library.
"And Suppi, I bought some chocolates just for you," Nakuru called out as she poked her head out of the kitchen.
Suppi groaned and resumed to follow Eriol.
Eriol chuckled softly and said, "I'm going to research something Kero-san asked of me."
"Does it have something to do with what's happening now to the Card Mistress?" Suppi asked as they entered the huge oak doors that led to the library.
"Hai, it does. He asked me to look for a prophecy regarding the past events and he also suspected that Sakura-san has been having dreams lately, the prophetic ones."
Suppi nodded as Eriol searched the library for several books. Once he picked out a few thick books, he brought them to a nearby table and sat down. He proceeded to skim through the contents of the books, searching for any relation to the current events.
After about half an hour, Nakuru called to Eriol saying supper was ready. Eriol put down what he was reading as he and Suppi headed to the dining room.
Once reaching the table, Eriol saw the food prepared by Nakuru.
"It looks delicious," he politely said to Nakuru as he sat down at his chair.
"It does, doesn't it?" Nakuru said gleefully, obviously pleased with herself.
"I bet it has poisoning in it," Suppi said once they were all seated.
"WHAT!? It does not! You're just jealous that I got to cook for Eriol and you didn't."
"Now why would I be jealous?" Suppi calmly replied.
Nakuru started shouting at Suppi who sat there with a half bored, half amused expression.
Eriol smiled at his two guardians as he began to eat. He kept thinking about a prophecy in his past life that could relate to the past events. He thought that he somehow remembered something of the sort like what Kero had mentioned. He must have read it before in a book or heard it from somewhere.
Suddenly, he seemed to remember something. It didn't seem too long ago.
~#####~
It was dark and there wasn't any wind. Eriol couldn't see anything around him except for a small light at the very end of what seemed like a long tunnel. He walked towards the light. Even with each step he took, the light never seemed to get any closer. He increased his pace, trying desperately to reach for the light. When finally it seemed as though he'd never reach it, the light was just there, a millimetre from his face. He stretched his hand out towards the light and suddenly he was engulfed by it.
His eyes widened at the sight that lay before him. It was a dark night with no moon or stars. He found himself in Penguin Park standing beside the King Penguin Slide. And there before him was Sakura. She had out her Star Staff and a Sakura Card was in her hand. From what Eriol could make out, she just stood there, tense and preparing to attack.
'Attack who?' Eriol thought to himself.
Before he could think of an answer, it was laid before him. For there, standing right beside him was a figure cloaked in black. He couldn't make out any specific details about the figure for it seemed as if every part of him was merely a black void. He then noticed something else. Beside the figure, he could make out many figures. He wasn't able to identify the figures for it was too dark to see. But one thing is for sure, and that's the fact that they were people.
Then before he could witness more, he woke up from his dream.
~#####~
'Hmmm…I wonder if that dream I had could somehow be related to what's happening now…'
As Eriol pondered over this, he didn't notice two very concerned faces staring back at him. When he finally did take notice, he grinned sheepishly.
"Doshitano (what's wrong) Nakuru-san, Suppi?" he asked although he had a feeling he knew the answer.
"Daijoubu desu ka (are you all right), Eriol?" Nakuru asked.
"Hai, I was just thinking that's all."
"About the Card Mistress?" Suppi asked tentatively.
"Hai."
Not wanting to worry his guardians anymore, Eriol quickly gulped down his food and left the dining room saying he had something to do.
Nakuru and Suppi stared at their master's retreating form and worried what might happen to them all especially after what's been happening lately.
In the meantime, Eriol went to his bedroom to think. He sat at the edge of his bed and tried to remember what else happened after his dream.
~#####~
Eriol had woken up from the dream he had. He remembered sitting straight up in his large bed, sweating heavily and panting. He had looked out of the window and saw the full moon casting an eerie silver glow across the room. He had recalled his dream and remembered every little detail.
Looking once more at the moon, he had gotten up from his bed and quietly headed to the door. He took his robe, which had been hanging on a rack by the door, and slipped out into the darkness of his large mansion.
Walking quietly as not to wake anyone up, he had quickened his pace, eager to know what his dream meant. He headed for the library and, as if guided by some unseen force, walked purposefully up to a shelf. Pulling out a small age worn black book that had lain hidden in between two more commonly used books, he headed towards the table at the centre of the library. He pulled out a chair, sat down, opened up a nearby lamp and opened the book at a random page. Or was it really just by chance that he had opened the book to that page? Nobody knows. All he knew was that somehow his hand had been guided to open that page. Not wanting to disappoint whoever was guiding him to go through this, he started to read.
~#####~
That's all Eriol remembered. He didn't remember what it was he had read or what he had thought after. After some thought over his dream and his experience in the library, Eriol decided to check it out for himself.
He could still hear Nakuru and Suppi arguing in the dining room while cleaning the dishes. Smiling slightly, he headed towards the library. Walking quickly towards his destination, he continued to think over the different possibilities of the meaning of his dream. Many thoughts had swarmed into his head all at once causing his confusion. There were so many questions that needed to be answered, what he feared was how much time he had to do them.
Upon reaching the library's large double oak doors, his thoughts stilled and quieted as he entered the vast room. He proceeded to go to the aisle he had remembered finding the small black book and searched the shelves for the valuable book. He found the two books that he had remembered hid the small book. Looking in between them for the small black book, all he found was dust. He looked around the two books including all other books near the area but he was unable to locate the book he was looking for. Puzzled, he decided to look all around the library for it. He looked under chairs and tables, in between books, under other books or even behind them, he had even checked in between the pages of the books, small nooks and crannies, under carpets or lamps, he searched everywhere for it with no success.
After hours of searching, he finally concluded that it wasn't inside the library so he had to search elsewhere for it. He exited the large room and made his way to Nakuru's bedroom. He reached it in but a few minutes and didn't hesitate to knock.
"Who is it?" Nakuru's singsong voice floated out to him.
"Nakuru, I have something to ask you," he said in his usual calm voice.
The door opened wide and there stood Nakuru with a smile as she asked what she might do to be of service to him.
"By any chance, have you seen a small black book that looks extremely old and torn somewhere around the house? I have been looking for it all over the library but it seems to have disappeared," he explained.
"Hmmmm…small black book…old and torn…oh! Maybe you mean that small book I found lying on the floor the other day in the middle of the hall."
"Middle of the hall…on the floor…the other day?" was all Eriol could mutter, a bit surprised at her answer.
"Yup, it was in the middle of the hall on the floor just lying there. I'm not really sure if it was the other day or two days ago, one of the two that's for sure. Anyway, I put it in the library, on top of the table in the centre. I thought you were using it and might have dropped it or something so I just put it on the table."
"On the table…but I've been to the library several times yesterday and the day before and I definitely never saw a small black book on top of the table."
"That's weird, I'm sure I put it on the table."
"And I just checked the whole library a few minutes ago. I checked everywhere and I didn't see it," Eriol added.
Suddenly, Suppi came out of Nakuru's room where he stays most often. He had heard them talking and he was curious as to what was happening exactly.
"Are you sure you checked everywhere?" Suppi questioned.
"Hai I'm sure. Why don't we check it again together? We might find it," he suggested.
They agreed as they all made their way to the library. Upon entering, they were surprised to see the library a mess. Books were strewn everywhere, chairs and tables were upturned, the windows were wide open, the table lamp lay on the floor, bookshelves were knocked down, the library was a total disaster.
Eriol, Nakuru and Suppi were all stunned. They all stared, mouths agape at the destruction of the room. Nothing of the sort has ever happened in their house before so it was definitely a surprise to see the room like this. Finally, when Nakuru couldn't stand the deep silence any longer, she spoke up.
"Who could've done this?"
Eriol and Suppi had no answer to that question.
"Well, if you're not going to speak up then I suggest we start fixing this place. It's a complete disaster!"
Eriol nodded his agreement as the trio started to clean and fix the library, returning the large room to its original arrangement. As they worked, Nakuru hummed a merry tune to block out the silence. They lifted the shelves and lined them in their usual orderly aisles, returned the books to their corresponding shelves, righted the tables and chairs, and continued to dust the library.
As Eriol was cleaning a remote part of the library near one of its dark corners, he heard something that made his head snap up. In the darkness and silence of the area, a deep echoing voice suddenly made itself heard.
"In the dawn of time, light had shone upon the Earth in your form and the darkness that had ruled this planet before time existed was banished, never to be heard of again…until now! Now, it shall seize the throne which was rightfully its…AND DESTROY THE LIGHT SO IT SHALL NEVER TAKE WHAT BELONGS TO THE DARK EVER AGAIN!!!"
Eriol was stunned. Never had he heard that voice before yet somehow…somehow it seemed very familiar. He didn't have time to think about it. He felt a strong gust of wind blow him towards the dark corner. It was impossible for him to feel wind considering how far he was from the open window but nonetheless it had blown him back against the wall…and hard! He felt his whole body tremble as he slammed against the wall, denting it. He tried to look up but the gust of wind continued to press him so tightly into the corner as if wanting to smother him and turn him into nothing but dust. Suddenly, it stopped. It seemed to have simply dispersed for soon he couldn't feel anything at all, not even a breath of air. He was extremely puzzled and even more puzzled by the fact that he didn't feel an aura and his guardians had not appeared at all.
Suddenly remembering his guardians, he hurried to the centre of the room thinking something bad had happened to them since they didn't come to his aid. But when he arrived there, he saw Nakuru and Suppi casually chatting while sweeping the floor around the centre.
"Nakuru, Suppi…um…"
"Doshitano (what's wrong) Eriol-kun? You look pale," Nakuru said.
"D-didn't you f-feel anything umm…weird just a few moments ago?"
"Iie, doshite (why)?" Nakuru and Suppi asked in unison.
"N-Nandemunayo (nothing), never mind."
"Eriol? Are you sure you're all right? Why don't you rest and let Suppi and me finish cleaning here?" Nakuru asked, concern evident in her voice.
"O-okay. You sure you guys will be all right?"
"Hai (yes), go on. Oyasumi (good night)!"
"Oyasumi," Eriol replied before leaving.
Eriol quietly left the library, closing the door behind him. He slowly made his way to his room still thinking about what happened just a few minutes ago in the library. As he was thinking, he had reached his room. He stood outside the door to his room, his hand on the doorknob. Suddenly, he thought against it and started running.
He had left his house and still kept on running. He didn't know where he was going, nor did he know why he was running. The wind whipped his face as he continued to run. It was already midnight, no one was in the streets and most houses were dim. The sound of his feet hitting the pavement seemed to echo in the silence of the night. He continued to run. Scenery flashed by, he could barely recognize where he was. Suddenly, he couldn't hear anymore the sound of pavement beneath his feet. Instead, he felt soft mud and he heard leaves hitting each other as the wind played with them. And, just as suddenly as when he started running, he stopped.
Eriol stood panting in the darkness, his breath coming out in short ragged gasps from the long run. His head was drooping slightly and his hands lay limp by his sides as he continued to catch his breath. When he finally regained his composure, he looked up trying to find out where he was.
Eriol couldn't see anything at first because of the darkness. When his eyes finally adjusted to the dim light, he saw he was in the middle of a forest. Trees stood on all sides of him, grass lay at his feet, and flowers grew in clumps following irregular patterns. He looked around some more and he could just glimpse squirrels running along the branches of trees and a fox hiding beneath a scraggly bush. He heard the rustling of grass not too far from him making him turn in the direction of the sound. He saw two small glowing eyes pop up from beneath the tall grass before scampering away. He heard a hoot somewhere nearby and he guessed it must have been an owl. He continued to stand there, taking in all the sights and sounds of a forest at night.
Finally, he remembered what he was supposed to be doing. He was running when he ended up here.
"Where is here anyway?" he muttered to himself, realizing that he'd never been to this forest before.
Then he saw a light somewhere ahead of him. He walked cautiously forward, careful not to make too much sound so whatever was the cause of the light wouldn't be alerted of his presence. He continued to walk forward and suddenly, the trees beside him gave way and the light seemed to engulf him. Eriol shielded his eyes away from the sudden brightness. When his eyes adjusted to the light, he put his hand down and stared at the sight before him.
He stood at the edge of the forest on a cliff overlooking the whole city of Tomoeda. But that wasn't what held him mesmerized. There, sitting by the edge of the cliff, was Tomoyo. She wore loose clothes, a simple sleeveless dark violet dress, that hugged her curves nicely enough and her long raven hair flew about her. The light of the rising sun made her look even more beautiful as it gave her an ethereal look. Eriol stood there, unable to move or even breath, fearing that a single breath may startle the beautiful goddess.
Tomoyo, on the other hand, was unaware that someone was in the clearing besides her. She stared at the light of the sun, peeking just behind some mountains far from Tomoeda. She stared at the splendour of the light and darkness as it mingled together. The breeze played with her long raven locks as she sighed at the beauty of the dawn. As the silence of the city engulfed her, she felt herself shiver slightly in spite of herself.
Eriol continued to watch the amethyst goddess before him silently. He couldn't help but stare at her infinite beauty and how well it blended with the beauty of the dawn. He wondered how come he never noticed how beautiful she was before.
'That's because you only thought of Sakura, your "daughter",' a voice inside him taunted.
He shook it off as he continued to watch her. He saw her start to shiver and, in spite of his own restraints, he managed to walk up to her and hug her from behind.
Tomoyo was shivering more visibly now. She couldn't help but feel cold.
'I should have brought a jacket,' she chided herself.
Suddenly, just when she was about to get up, she felt a pair of strong arms wrap around her. At first, she was startled but then she felt so warm and she started to relax in the warmth. She turned her head slightly and was surprised to see Eriol.
"Hiirigizawa-kun!?" she said startled, moving back a bit.
Eriol just smiled at her as he stood up. She was fast though. She grabbed his arm just before he could fully stand and pulled him back down.
"Don't, I was just surprised. I still feel quite cold," she said with her eyes on the ground and a slight pink on her cheeks.
Eriol didn't say anything. He just smiled and sat down behind her and wrapped his arms around her. He's never done this before. He could feel his heart beating harshly against his chest and he felt his face flame up even though nothing much could be seen on his face. His face had frozen in his unending calm but his insides were being hit by a raging tempest. He's never felt like this before. He always felt calm, sure of himself, he didn't know what was happening to him.
"H-Hiirigizawa-kun?" Tomoyo asked timidly.
"Hai?" Eriol was surprised it came out right.
"What are you doing here?"
Eriol didn't answer for a while. He was debating with himself whether to tell her or not.
"Hiirigizawa-kun? You don't have to tell me…"
Before she could finish, Eriol replied, "No, it's all right. I want to tell you. It's like this…"
He explained to her all that happened after they had parted a few hours back. He didn't miss a single detail, he even admitted how shaken he was by the fact that his guardians didn't feel anything when he was sure there was something there. When he finished, he waited silently for her reaction. She didn't say anything at first. He stared silently at the back of her head wondering what she might be thinking of. Tomoyo, on the other hand, stared at the sun as it rose higher above the clouds, casting its radiance on Tomoeda.
"That's really creepy," Tomoyo said almost silently.
After a moment of silence passed between them, Eriol asked, "Why are you here?"
"I couldn't sleep. It was already quarter to midnight and I was lying on my bed with my eyes wide open. I decided to just get up and I silently crept out of the house. The wind started blowing around me and I just started walking. When I next noticed it, I was here."
Eriol silently listened to her as she reminisced on her own experience. He barely remembered he was still hugging her. When he did though, he released his hold on her and blushed visibly. Tomoyo looked back at him bewildered. He stood up slowly while hiding his eyes, then when he was sure the blush was gone, he looked back at her with a smile and outstretched his arm.
"It's already morning. We should be getting back."
Tomoyo stared at him for a while before smiling in spite of herself and taking his hand. He pulled her up and waited patiently for her as she dusted herself off a bit. She walked ahead of him, vanishing in the trees. He just stared at the place where she had sat just a few moments ago. Suddenly, Tomoyo's head popped up from behind the trees.
"Hiirigizawa-kun! You're the one that said we should get going! Where are you?" she called to him in an amused voice.
He looked to where she was with a blank expression at first then chuckled slightly to himself and, taking a few long strides, he reached her.
"You're right! How rude of me to keep a lady waiting. And please, call me Eriol," he said with his usual charm.
Tomoyo's laughter sounded like small bells that echoed around the forest, "You're quite right. And call me Tomoyo."
Tomoyo found Eriol's hand as they walked together towards her house. When they reached her house, Tomoyo looked a little disappointed but she smiled all the same.
"Thank you Eriol-kun," she started, "I hope we can meet there again sometime. I had fun."
"I agree. And thank you too. I shall see you soon, hime-sama (princess)," he said as he took her hand and kissed the back of it.
Tomoyo blushed but managed to add, "And you, oji-sama (prince)."
Tomoyo curtsied slightly before laughing. She made her way to the door and as she reached for the doorknob, she turned around, winked at Eriol, and entered the mansion.
Eriol stood there stunned into silence. He smiled slightly then made his way home. He thought of all that had happened as he walked. He remembered what had happened in the library clearly but what happened with Tomoyo was the only thing he thought about as he reached his own mansion. He walked up to the door and pulled it open. He made his way through the long twisting corridors to his room. When he reached his room, he smiled once more before opening the door. And there, sitting on his bed, were Nakuru and Suppi.
"Eriol! Where were you?" Nakuru asked as she immediately got up from the bed and went over to Eriol.
"I was walking around. Gomen, did I worry you?"
"Iie, iie, it's all right. Are you sure you're all right?"
"Hai, I'm fine."
"Honto ni (really)?" Suppi asked.
"Hai, gomen for making you worry."
Nakuru let out a sigh before smiling and saying, "It's okay. He's all right, let's go Suppi!"
With that, they left his room and closed the door. He looked back at the door before sighing to himself and getting ready for bed. He slipped under the covers and fell into a fast sleep, dreaming of a certain amethyst-eyed goddess.
Syv: So? So? How was that? Was it too short for you? Gomen!!! ^^ I made it E+T 'coz I thought they get too little attention in my fic. I hope it was okay. I'll make it better next time. I wanted to add more but my brain stopped there. Anyway, please review! School's hell these days so please, it would really make me happy if you review. ^^ Thanks!
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Syv: Oh yeah, sorry again for the long wait! Don't forget to press the small button down there and give me a review, okay? ^^ I'm too cute not to be given a review…hehehehehe, just kidding! ^^