STANDARD DISCLAIMERS: I do not own the rights to the series/manga Card Captor Sakura. Though I wish I could own even half of Eriol, I just don't have the right. And thus this fanfic. Sue-ing me will only give you a nicely painful headache.
AUTHOR'S NOTE: So, I am alive after all. No, unfortunately they ran out of coffins for me. So, you see me again with another fanfic. Ah! Don't scream your head off from fear! I will try my best to keep this fic decent for your eyes. Ngiyahahaha.
On with it!
Through a Camera Lens
Carelle
The white fluffy snow came down in little clusters. It surrounded and carpeted the streets and all of the surroundings in Winchester, England. All the more, the rising sun, makes the view more scenic. The flushed faces of the people walking to and fro were a sight to see. The snow fell softly, gently, in small whirlwinds of magical wonder. The white pureness floated from the sky down touching the tainted earth. The powdery whiteness of the snowflakes were present on the heads and clothes of the still drowsy citizens.
This early in the morning, a photo shoot would be the last thing you would expect to see. But, then, in England, and with the people here, nearly nothing is impossible.
"Ms. Smith, could you move a little to left please?" a tall, spectacled English man voiced out from his position.
"Here?" the lady confirmed.
"Perfect." the man smiled and steadied his Polaroid camera. "On three, okay?"
The lady nodded and smiled at the camera.
"One... two..."
---
'Another morning in England,' a girl of twenty-one thought as she walked along a stone path feeling the icy, silent gush of wind whisper coldly, making her delicate, porcelain face flush a light shade of pink.
She hugged her paper bag full of groceries and yawned. She had once more forgotten to bring a sweater. She wanted to get up and go early so as to avoid horridly long lines in the grocery cashier. But the cold would always make her sleepy.
She looked around and smiled with her eyes half-shut, while enjoying the view on the way of people ready to start the day anew, smelling the aroma of morning coffee around and just savoring the early morning in England.
She glanced at her watch and smiled. She still had time before her work starts. She walked leisurely watching the rustic beauty of the old buildings in England. The sun was slowly revealing its form. Its rays shone on her face, alighting such a beauty that was so exotic, so enigmatic, and so dramatic. A girl that would be quickly recognized by her foreign features, by her almond-shaped eyes, and her warm smile.
Those eyes were so very strange, which caused many strangers to stare and get lost in them. They were large, beautiful eyes, lined with thick, long black lashes. The color was a rarity of rarities, a deep purple with a shade of midnight grey. Her long, silky black hair fell down in inky waves, a shock of night black framing a contrast pale, perfect face. So it was winter, she was dressed casually but with unsullied taste in a cream-colored cashmere sweater, one with a tall neck that brought attention to the girl's swan neck, and dark stonewashed jeans. Her gaze suddenly fixed on the surroundings around her. This is definitely England at its glory.
But still... amidst all the beauty before her now...
Tomoyo wished her mother hadn't wished for her to stay at England and work there at the English branch of the Daidouji Co.
She could've done all the work in Japan. And it would all be the same.
No, wait. Not really the same. In here she was alone. And though the feeling of independence may be overwhelming, she still feels the tad bit of homesickness.
Tomoyo frowned. She had been doing a lot self-analyzing lately it had been too strange for her. Maybe, she thought, she was just psyching herself out. She sighed again. She will get through this.
After all, she is not a Daidouji if she could not surpass the pain of the past. A Daidouji does not mope, it plots self-rejuvenation then moves on.
Absently, she fished her cell phone out of her pocket and pressed the keys deftly to go to the most used feature of her cell phone since she moved here. Calculator. Sometimes, she thought that it would be better if she would sell her phone and buy a heavy-duty scientific calculator. But that also, would not be good. Being apart from her mother, she needed a means of communication.
And she would not even want to resort to snail mail. Mostly because she won't have time to write to her mother let alone wait for the reply. Tomoyo would also not dare use email in communicating with her mother. It seems as though Daidouji Sonomi, no matter how powerful she might be in the trade sector, is as in a rush as a late student when it comes to her work. Her mother would want to finish more work in less time. And in Daidouji Sonomi's perspective, a direct call would conserve her more time, thus she could do more work.
She tried to recall the prices of the commodities she had just bought and started punching in the prices to her cell phone.
Why, she just had to ask herself, did her mother had to have her work on the lowest position and gain the smallest pay in the company that she will soon manage? She flinched when the words of her mother sank into her mind once more.
"Responsibility is what every leader needs, Tomoyo. And by the next five to ten years, you would solely handle and manage all the intricate affairs of this trade! Survivability takes priority! And prioritizing needs an awfully large amount of responsibility! So, you must understand why I need you to purposely and intentionally live like an ordinary, budget-troubled person! Am I getting across, young lady?"
"But, Mother!" cried Tomoyo.
"I am doing this for you. I would not want to see you rummaging the streets one day and take the blame for jeopardizing your future! Now, do you understand?"
Tomoyo sighed a sigh of helpless defeat. "Yes, Mother."
"Better."
One should not easily judge her for her past actions. She does not want to act like some spoiled, rich girl who would die if even one of her luxuries were to be taken away from her. But, it is just that her mother's rationale is so out of her comprehension. Tomoyo knew that her mother had full confidence in her. But as she saw it now, Daidouji Sonomi is still not satisfied with her capabilities. Tomoyo is still not good enough for her mother's standards. Still not good enough to enter the chaos that is business.
Tomoyo just shook her head at the memories.
"Okay... one English pound for the bread, two-fifty for the jam, another two and fifty-seven for the canned meatloaf and... damn!" Tomoyo whispered exasperatedly as she examined the bottom of the last can of meatloaf.
"My budget is running short!" Tomoyo frowned for the nth time this morning. How ironic it must be to look at, that at this nice morning she was already a copy of a crumpled test paper.
She still had the water bill, the electricity bill, the cell phone plan that she had to pay. Oh, and the apartment, who, for the love of God, is worth fifty pounds a month with its small size! Tomoyo's consciousness was swirling involuntarily. It feels like her brain cells are dying by the millions each second and there is nothing she could do about it. Must it always be like this?
'Well, I guess I just have to sustain myself with jam, bread, and coffee. I have to give up the meatloaf,' Tomoyo grimaced. A canned meatloaf! Even that she must give up to live a debt-free life in this land. This is absolutely absurd. She wondered idly what would her overactive metabolism do if she would have breakfast food for her lunch and dinner too.
"On three, okay?" a voice shouted.
Tomoyo ignored the voice, perhaps just some overexcited tourist taking pictures with his friends. She had no time for that. She had to think about her budget, her budget and yes, her BUDGET.
"One, two..." it counted.
'Imagine the daughter of a well-off company owner, worrying about money problems,' she sarcastically thought.
"Three!"
"Aaah!" Tomoyo involuntarily shut her eyes from the sudden flash of blinding light.
She looked to her left, the source of the light and fashioned an expression of guilt. "I'm so--"
The man frowned. "Miss, could you please look at where you are going? And please concentrate. If next time, it were a ten-wheeler truck, you would undoubtedly be dead. And be in undistinguishable bits too!"
'Why... how dare this man! She was to ask for his pardon, but he had to insult her! And pose grave threats too!'
"Well, I am TERRIBLY SORRY, mister. Do not worry, NEXT TIME, I would carry sensors with me just so to detect a truck or oversized egos as that of yours!" Tomoyo held her head up high, her hold on her paper bag growing lethal.
The man smirked. His lips curved into a knowing smile and his eyes sparkled that of mischief. "I'll remember that. Just make sure you have extra loud sensors to blast your deep reverie next time, okay? And please try to keep your composure. You look fairly odd with your head up high, but with lips frowning."
"I do not look odd!" Tomoyo hissed. Her eyes forming into slits.
'How dare this man insult her again! And insult her looks no less!' Tomoyo inwardly fumed.
"I was just kidding, miss. In truth, you look like a proud China doll," the man smiled that knowing way again.
'Men! One minute, they insult you, the other minute they praise you!' She rolled her eyes.
Tomoyo just stared at him. There was something oddly familiar with this man. His eyes. Especially his eyes. And that infernal smile!
'Well, maybe he just looks like someone else I knew before,' Tomoyo resigned.
"I'll be leaving now. And again, I am terribly sorry for the trouble," she bowed to the man, then to the fairly smiling, amused model. Somehow, her Asian habits were hard to get over. Not matter, she is still proud of it. She knows that she would not forget her manners learned from Japan. She would inevitably and naturally bow down when she wants to ask for someone's forgiveness, for example.
Tomoyo sighed, and composed herself. She then walked away from the scene.
"It was nice meeting you again, Daidouji-san. I hope you don't mind if I keep the picture!" the unknown man yelled behind her.
Tomoyo stopped in her tracks and abruptly looked behind her. She then squinted her eyes and tried to rack her brains for the man's identity.
'How come he knows my name?' Tomoyo asked herself.
"Give it up, Daidouji-san. I don't expect you to remember me, when it was only a year that we've been together." the man walked up to her.
"What are you saying? Who are you?" Tomoyo asked him. Now, she was totally confused!
"Hiiragizawa Eriol, now do you remember?"
'Hiragizawa Eriol?'
Sooner than she expected, images of a man, no, a kid the same age as hers flashed into her mind.
Right, they were classmates in fifth grade. But he left before the school year ended. So, that is why he looked ever so familiar! Looking at him now, he didn't seem to change much. He still had spectacles on his eyes that seemed to amplify the mischief that was already in them. He had grown taller, as any man would. His built... now that is a different issue.
Hiiragizawa Eriol seemed to get the better part of luck than any man. No, he was not built like some wrestler with overwhelming muscle sizes nor was he so skinny that his body could pass as a girl's. Well, to put it simply, he was... gifted.
'Gifted?! What in the world are you talking about Tomoyo Daidouji? Thinking of Hiiragizawa like that!' Tomoyo shook her head.
"Hiiragizawa-kun?" Tomoyo gaped.
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AUTHOR'S NOTES: And that concludes chapter one! What? You are shocked it was not a one-shot? Prepare then, my minions! I still have more to unleash! Ngiyahahaha!
Now, I demand you to review!
No, really, please review? Please? Have mercy?