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( Thoughts (
Please refer to the bottom of the page for translations
Chapter 4: On my own
Tomoyo kept driving until it began to rain, "Damn.I knew I should have gone home.I have no idea what the hell I'm doing." she said. I was STUPID again! She laughed bitterly at herself, but suddenly stopped as she remembered a song that she had heard once. Getting out of the car she took the keys out of the ignition and pulled the soft cover up. She began to hum it to herself as she walked out in the rain. She soon stopped and hugged the jacket closer to her body
(I don't understand anything any more; my mother and the rest of them don't get how I feel. They all want me to be something I don't want to be.and I don't have a choice anymore. I'm caught between being an angel and a devil if there's really such a thing. Come on God if you're out there answer me damn it! I've believed in this for so long and I've never heard anything! I prayed to you when daddy left. when mom began to go away all the time and you never answered me! I've tried to sink deeper into my own world. get lost in the music, even going away for a while to try and find a new life. They all ask, "Why aren't you happy being what you are?"(
(Because I don't want to be what I am anymore, I'm just going to get out of here. You know every night it's always been the same.remember all the times before you left.remember daddy. even remember the way mom used to be. Speaking the same things every day saying that I'm ok when I'm not. I visited America before my senior year in high school; I actually spent the summer there on an exchange program. That's when I started to learn English. I liked it a lot. for the first time in my life Sakura was pushed to the back of my mind. I even got to visit Warner Brothers Studios and Paramount Pictures.(
As the rain slowed down, Tomoyo walked back to her car soaked .she had made up her mind.
Getting in to the car, she put the keys into the ignition again and started it up, and then she drove to the airport. She knew she had plenty of money to start over, and for a while she could stay with her friends.
She parked in front of Tokyo International Airport and waited as security checked her car over.
"Suru anata motteiru nanika sutsukesu?" an attendant asked her.
"Iie tatta hitotsu kuruma." she responded.
"Daro anata iru motteiku o to issho ni?" he asked.
"Hai." she said.
"Onaji no yoku." he said.
She was directed to get her ticket and then tell the attendant what flight she was on. Walking inside she saw the airport was already crowded with early morning flights, she went up to the American Airways line and waited to get her ticket.
"Nani hiko daro anata iru motteiku?" the teller asked her when it was her turn.
"Hiko bango 432 o Amerika, Los Angeles." she said and handed the woman her credit card. The woman ran it through and gave Tomoyo her ticket.
"Domo Arigato." Tomoyo said.
"Do itashimashite." she replied.
Walking back out the doors, she told the attendant what flight she was on and grabbed her journal from the front seat, she had forgotten it was even there. He wrote the flight number down and she handed him the keys. Before she went back inside he told her that he would make sure everything was in order before her flight took off.
Inside once again, she walked to the waiting area near her flight gate and sat down, it seemed that it wasn't going to be that long of a wait. Looking at her watch she saw that it was 4:30 am, which meant that her plane would be landing at 6:00 pm Tokyo time, which meant it would be 9:30 am in L.A
At 5:00, the gate attendant called for the flight to board. Just as Tomoyo was about to hand the woman her ticket, a familiar voice stopped her.
"Tomoyo matte!"
"Naze?" she asked turning around to find Touya across the room.
"I'm going with you." he said.
"No you're not." she said.
"Too late. I already have my ticket and my bags are checked in. So unless you plan on kicking me out the door as you take off.there's no way you're going without me." he said smiling a devious grin.
"Why can't I ever get away from you?" she asked.
"Because . believe it or not my mother won't let me leave you." he said pointing deftly at his side.
"You can see her again?" she asked. He just nodded and handed the gate attendant his ticket.
Tomoyo shook her head and handed her ticket as well.
The woman opened the door, and winked at them both.
"Ganbatte!" she whispered to Touya. Touya looked over and saw that his mother's spirit was whispering to the woman and smiling with that glint of I have something up my sleeve!
"What was that about?" Tomoyo asked.
"Nothing." Touya said or at least he hoped it was nothing.
What was it that his mother was trying to do?
They went through the terminal and a woman directed them to their seats, which were in first class.
"But my seat." he stopped as he looked at Tomoyo, she was shaking her head.
He shrugged and followed the flight attendant to their seats, then sat down and fastened their seatbelts.
As soon as the attendant walked away, Tomoyo leaned over; "My mother uses this airline for a lot of business trips, they know me by my last name so they over-look people who are with me." she said in a whisper.
"Ahh. ok." he said as he pushed his carry on beneath the seat.
The attendant came back a few moments later, "Korera ni zokusuru anata.hitori no an'naigakari okurikaesu karera o Diadouji-san." she said handing Tomoyo her keys.
"Domo Arigato." she said.
The woman nodded and walked away to the back of the first class compartment and strapped herself in, just as the captain announced that they were ready for take off.
A few minutes later, the plane went down the runway and began its ascent up into the sky.
When the plane was flying smoothly above the clouds, they unbuckled their seat belts.
"Tomoyo do you hate me for coming after you?" Touya asked suddenly.
" Yes and no. I hate that you listened to your mother.but now that you're here I don't mind it. In fact I'm sort of glad. I was planning on staying with a few friends for the summer, but now I could spend it with you.. Wait what about the University?! You have summer term!" she exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I told the Dean I might be taking this summer off. I'll just tell him I had an emergency in the states when we get there." he said, " And it wouldn't be lying either."
"But you just started, what will they think if you just go away for the summer?" she asked.
"If it makes you feel any better I'll tell him that I'm meeting with a professor from UCLA to exchange some teaching ideas. which I already had that in mind before this whole thing began. "
"Now stop trying to change the subject and tell me what's going on, you can't run away this time." he said.
"If I talk.you have to tell me why you stayed with me."
"Deal." he said.
"You know I've loved her for a long time.I guess it just began an obsession, you know making the outfits for her and video taping her. she was the first person who was truly nice to me. And she was so pretty too, everything about her was amazing. I told her so many times that I loved her but she was just too dense to get it. It hurt when she began to fall in love with Syaoran-kun, she would go off and leave me all by myself. my best friend didn't want to be concerned with me anymore.
We went through Elementary, Jr. High and High School together but she still didn't get how I felt. She would fix me up on these dates with guys who were so dense, all they cared about was sports and sex. The first real date I went on was with a girl I had met at an all-school choir competition.her name was Yui. she acted like Sakura in a lot of ways but she didn't have that sweet caring personality, so after a month or so of going out places I told her I couldn't anymore.
I tried dating boys, but I didn't like them and I never found a girl like Sakura so eventually I just stopped trying. You know in all those dates I've never had a kiss, I know it sounds stupid to you. A part of me was hoping that in some way Sakura would realize it and love me, but when I got the wedding invitation. I knew it was over, I made her dress but I couldn't go see her in it. even though I know Syaoran loves her, I still wish I was in his place." I feel like I'm sick in the head, I don't know why but it's like one half of my mind is saying you're disgusting! and the other half is saying but you only want love! Have you ever felt like that Touya?"
He looked at her, wondering if she could have possibly been any closer to what he was thinking at that moment, in all of his years with Yuki. he had felt that he was sick, but he had no one else to turn to so he stayed in what felt comfortable. He could still remember what happened that night, They had been standing outside together looking up at the moon, it was perfectly clear that night and a thousand no million stars must have lit the sky. Just as he had been about to speak, Yukito turned to him and using his affectionate nickname told him that he had fallen in love with some one else.
"Dare ga?" he asked shocked and outraged.
"Akizuki-san." Yukito said calmly.
He left abruptly, and went to the nearest bar.where he got drunk and then walked back to his apartment, of course he had stopped a few times to smash his fist against brick buildings and bloody his knuckles. When he got inside he took all the photos that he had of Yuki over the years and locked them away in a drawer, he couldn't stand to look at them anymore.
"Touya.. Touya?" Tomoyo said.
He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her, she had asked him something just then. what was it?
"What did you say?" he asked.
"I asked you what you wanted to do after we got settled in." she said smiling, trying her hardest not to look like she was about ready to shatter into a million pieces.
"I'm not sure, but Tomoyo.why have we been speaking English?" he asked.
"I need the practice." she lied.
" So do you, you've gone rusty in five years."
The truth was that she simply wanted to forget her life and everything to do with it. He laughed lightly, trying to ease what she was feeling; he could see it in her eyes, the look that was trying to say she was just fine but really it was saying that she needed a shoulder.
"You never answered my other question. were you trying to get out of it?" she asked as she looked out the window towards the rising sun..
"No. but if you really want to know, I was sort of doing the same thing that you were.I played a song that I hadn't played in six months that night. It was the first thing I ever played for him, I also played it the night he left. I was trying to get all of my emotions out just like you were. So when you were crying.well it felt right to stay with you." he responded.
"I'm sorry I went off at you last night, I don't know why I did that." she said.
"I did the same thing, when my father tried to get me to talk, it was like what the hell do you think you're doing trying to pry into my life? I told him some things that Sakura overheard, she came down from up stairs and slapped me. Then she cried, I mean I deserved it. there was no reason for her to cry. I looked at Dad and he didn't say anything. but he stood up and grabbed something from mother's old jewelry box, then he came back and put it in my hand.
When I came back to the apartment, I looked at what he gave me. It was a pair of old diary keys on a red silk cord, I must have sat there the entire night trying to figure out what they meant.
For three days I carried those keys around with me until finally I went back and threw them at Dad, I asked him what they meant and he just smiled for a while. I told him that I wanted to know, and then he told me to give a key to the person I loved. I told him I wouldn't love anyone again and he said the same thing that mother told me just a few weeks ago. don't worry you'll find someone and they'll be who you least expect."
"That's sweet. the key thing I mean." she said yawning.
"Why don't you get some sleep. I'll wake you up when breakfast comes." he said.
"I don't want to sleep." she said yawning again "Besides I don't have a pillow."
"You didn't bring anything with you?"
"No.I'm going to buy new things when we get there, but I did bring my car and my journal." she said holding up the leather bound book and keys for reference.
He shook his head, and lifted his armrest that way she could lean against him. it was the least he could do for her.
She looked at him, but lay down against his chest anyway; knowing that he would be more comfortable than leaning against the hard plexi-glass window.
When she was asleep, he looked over to the empty seat across the aisle; there sat his mother, putting a finger to her lips and making a motion with her other hand as if she was brushing her cheek. Then she pointed to Tomoyo and made the motion again, he looked back down and saw that Tomoyo was tensed up and tears were coming out of her closed eyes. She had been asleep little more than five minutes and already she seemed to be having a bad dream. He began to brush his hand over her left cheek and felt her move slightly, he quickly stopped what he was doing and was going to let her sleep without disturbance but she opened her eyes and turned her body to face his, then moved his hand to her other cheek and closed her eyes again. Yuki had never been this gentle when he slept, when Touya would shift to do such simple things, Yuki would toss and turn not wanting to be held or touched in any way.
He loved watching as people slept, he would sit there for hours to watch Sakura sleep after his father had gone to bed; those were the times when he would talk to his mother the most. She would come into the room dressed as her memory served her in her favorite flannel nightgown, then she would go and sit where the old rocking chair was, right by Sakura's crib. He was the only one who could feel the touch of the spirits, after all he was the only one who could see them. So it was right that he was able to run over to his mother and have her rock him as she sang him her lullaby, they would stay up for a long while and talk quietly as the cicadas would chirp and the wind would blow through the trees. She would tell him of her favorite magical stories, and even some stories about her own magical encounters as a child. but his favorite story was how she and his father had met.
She had found a small baby bird on the ground and wanted to go put it back in its nest. As she climbed the tree Sonomi kept insisting that she come back down but his mother kept saying that it was only a bit farther; when suddenly she had lost her footing, slipped and fell from the tree. His father had been sitting underneath the tree on a bench reading a book and she fell right into his lap, he asked her if she was all right and she said yes and from then on they were inseparable. He had always laughed when she said that his father had said: "I thought an angel fell from the sky."
Looking down at her sleeping form now, she was calm and angelic in her beauty; it pulled at him and he had no idea why. It wasn't like that pull he had when it came to Yuki. but it was similar and that scared him. Suddenly he realized what his mother was up to, they both needed someone to be with in her eyes so why not find it in each other? Was she completely blind? For one thing she was eight years his junior and another she was his cousin on his mother's side and even if it was accepted in Japan.he wasn't sure if his mother had her head on straight. He had to put a stop to this crazy plan of hers before it got out of hand; then again it had been his fault in the first place. If he had just let her alone last night, his mother wouldn't have gotten that idea. ( If you had left her alone. you know she would have killed herself.( his mind said.
He cut off his thoughts at that moment, Tomoyo wouldn't kill herself. she wasn't that stupid.
It was just past eight am when the flight attendant came around with the food trays. Touya gently shook Tomoyo awake and told her that it was time to eat. Sitting up, Tomoyo tried her best to flatten down her hair but gave up at the miserable attempt and ate the cold breakfast and juice. When she was finished, Touya looked at her and began to laugh; "What are you laughing at?" she asked.
"You have a milk mustache." he said.
"Oh ha ha ha very funny, like you've never done that." she said taking her napkin and wiping it off.
"I thought it was." he said grinning. She smacked him lightly on the arm, which of course caused him to make a very sad look and say "You hit me."
"Oh poor baby." she said smiling.
The rest of the day went smoothly, and Touya seemed to forget what he was thinking about earlier as Tomoyo slept. With a deck of cards that he had brought, they had plenty to do as well as other things to talk about but each stayed away from the subject that had brought them to this moment.
As it was just starting to get dark back in Japan, the light of the sun was rising higher over the North American continent. The pilot announced that the flight would be reaching its destination within fifteen minutes and to start making preparations for landing. Tomoyo and Touya put their seatbelts back on and grabbed their things, eager to get back on solid ground. The plane approached L.A. International's landing strip and descended down onto the blacktop with a light bump and skid, then went down the roadway towards the terminals. Airport attendants brought the steps to the door and then waited as the passengers came down, then they directed them through the terminals. Tomoyo waited outside until she saw her car unloaded safely after handing off her keys. Then she drove to the front of the airport where she waited for Touya, he came out sometime later carrying two large bags and set them in her trunk. When he got into the passengers side he buckled his belt and they left the crowded place and headed out slowly at first into L.A traffic.
It felt good to be back in the city again, familiar places and the warm sun shining its rays down on you, and the palm trees swaying in the wind as people walked, skated, or boarded down to their favorite hang outs. Tomoyo looked over at Touya and saw him smile in contented happiness like that of a child.
"Touya is it all right if we go visit a friend of mine?" Tomoyo asked. He nodded, and watched as the sites flew by almost in a blur as she turned down the streets to this friend's house. They soon pulled in front of a spacious house.if you could call it a house. They both got out of the car and she locked it, then they both went up the steps and rang the doorbell. It was answered by a woman who looked to be about Tomoyo's age, she looked at them for a few moments. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Emily.it's me Tomoyo.remember?" she asked a little hesitantly.
"Oh my god..Tomoyo!" she screamed pulling her into a tight hug. "Where the hell have you been?! It's been what three years? Oh my God!" She pulled them both inside, and shut the door.
Over the next hour it was conversation of what had gone on while Tomoyo was gone, Touya had been introduced as a close friend, which got the response "How close?" Tomoyo neglected to answer, which made him look up in a bit of surprise but no one seemed to notice. Touya made a call to his old college roommate Chris then stood by the door. The jetlag was starting to hit both of them and they yawned as they bid goodbye to Emily, she nodded and opened the door saying that they could stop by anytime they wanted to.
Touya directed Tomoyo to Chris's place, who said over the phone that he had plenty of room for them to come and stay. So far everything was going in the right direction and it seemed that nothing could spoil a summer in L.A. except maybe for the meddling of a certain spirit.
A/N: I believe that all of those who may be reading this understand the way arranged marriages work, but just in case you don't.arranged marriages take usually two related people along the line of the mother's side who are cousins and have the father figure of both of them agree to marry their son and daughter together for the betterment of the family. This is still a common practice today in Japan and China as a way to keep family names and histories close. or even for control of major corporations.
Touya's mother in this case simply thinks that her son is lonely and knows that he won't settle down with anyone, so seeing as Tomoyo is broken- hearted; she thinks it would be a good idea. but will it all work out even under the eyes of our blind characters? Stay tuned for the next chapter!
"Suru anata motteiru nanika sutsukesu?" -Do you have any baggage with you?
"Iie tatta hitotsu kuruma." -No just a car.
"Daro anata iru motteiku o to issho ni?" -Will you be taking it with you?
"Hai." - Yes
"Onaji no yoku." -Very well
"Nani hiko daro anata iru motteiku?" -What flight will you be taking?
"Hiko bango 432 o Amerika, Los Angeles." -Flight number 432 to America, Los Angeles.
"Domo Arigato."-Thank you very much.
"Do itashimashite."- You're welcome.
"Tomoyo matte!" -Tomoyo wait!
"Naze?" -Why?
"Ganbatte!" -Good luck!
"Korera ni zokusuru anata.hitori no an'naigakari okurikaesu karera o Diadouji-san." -These belong to you.an attendant sent them, Miss Diadouji.
"Dare ga?"- Who?
Chapter 4: On my own
Tomoyo kept driving until it began to rain, "Damn.I knew I should have gone home.I have no idea what the hell I'm doing." she said. I was STUPID again! She laughed bitterly at herself, but suddenly stopped as she remembered a song that she had heard once. Getting out of the car she took the keys out of the ignition and pulled the soft cover up. She began to hum it to herself as she walked out in the rain. She soon stopped and hugged the jacket closer to her body
(I don't understand anything any more; my mother and the rest of them don't get how I feel. They all want me to be something I don't want to be.and I don't have a choice anymore. I'm caught between being an angel and a devil if there's really such a thing. Come on God if you're out there answer me damn it! I've believed in this for so long and I've never heard anything! I prayed to you when daddy left. when mom began to go away all the time and you never answered me! I've tried to sink deeper into my own world. get lost in the music, even going away for a while to try and find a new life. They all ask, "Why aren't you happy being what you are?"(
(Because I don't want to be what I am anymore, I'm just going to get out of here. You know every night it's always been the same.remember all the times before you left.remember daddy. even remember the way mom used to be. Speaking the same things every day saying that I'm ok when I'm not. I visited America before my senior year in high school; I actually spent the summer there on an exchange program. That's when I started to learn English. I liked it a lot. for the first time in my life Sakura was pushed to the back of my mind. I even got to visit Warner Brothers Studios and Paramount Pictures.(
As the rain slowed down, Tomoyo walked back to her car soaked .she had made up her mind.
Getting in to the car, she put the keys into the ignition again and started it up, and then she drove to the airport. She knew she had plenty of money to start over, and for a while she could stay with her friends.
She parked in front of Tokyo International Airport and waited as security checked her car over.
"Suru anata motteiru nanika sutsukesu?" an attendant asked her.
"Iie tatta hitotsu kuruma." she responded.
"Daro anata iru motteiku o to issho ni?" he asked.
"Hai." she said.
"Onaji no yoku." he said.
She was directed to get her ticket and then tell the attendant what flight she was on. Walking inside she saw the airport was already crowded with early morning flights, she went up to the American Airways line and waited to get her ticket.
"Nani hiko daro anata iru motteiku?" the teller asked her when it was her turn.
"Hiko bango 432 o Amerika, Los Angeles." she said and handed the woman her credit card. The woman ran it through and gave Tomoyo her ticket.
"Domo Arigato." Tomoyo said.
"Do itashimashite." she replied.
Walking back out the doors, she told the attendant what flight she was on and grabbed her journal from the front seat, she had forgotten it was even there. He wrote the flight number down and she handed him the keys. Before she went back inside he told her that he would make sure everything was in order before her flight took off.
Inside once again, she walked to the waiting area near her flight gate and sat down, it seemed that it wasn't going to be that long of a wait. Looking at her watch she saw that it was 4:30 am, which meant that her plane would be landing at 6:00 pm Tokyo time, which meant it would be 9:30 am in L.A
At 5:00, the gate attendant called for the flight to board. Just as Tomoyo was about to hand the woman her ticket, a familiar voice stopped her.
"Tomoyo matte!"
"Naze?" she asked turning around to find Touya across the room.
"I'm going with you." he said.
"No you're not." she said.
"Too late. I already have my ticket and my bags are checked in. So unless you plan on kicking me out the door as you take off.there's no way you're going without me." he said smiling a devious grin.
"Why can't I ever get away from you?" she asked.
"Because . believe it or not my mother won't let me leave you." he said pointing deftly at his side.
"You can see her again?" she asked. He just nodded and handed the gate attendant his ticket.
Tomoyo shook her head and handed her ticket as well.
The woman opened the door, and winked at them both.
"Ganbatte!" she whispered to Touya. Touya looked over and saw that his mother's spirit was whispering to the woman and smiling with that glint of I have something up my sleeve!
"What was that about?" Tomoyo asked.
"Nothing." Touya said or at least he hoped it was nothing.
What was it that his mother was trying to do?
They went through the terminal and a woman directed them to their seats, which were in first class.
"But my seat." he stopped as he looked at Tomoyo, she was shaking her head.
He shrugged and followed the flight attendant to their seats, then sat down and fastened their seatbelts.
As soon as the attendant walked away, Tomoyo leaned over; "My mother uses this airline for a lot of business trips, they know me by my last name so they over-look people who are with me." she said in a whisper.
"Ahh. ok." he said as he pushed his carry on beneath the seat.
The attendant came back a few moments later, "Korera ni zokusuru anata.hitori no an'naigakari okurikaesu karera o Diadouji-san." she said handing Tomoyo her keys.
"Domo Arigato." she said.
The woman nodded and walked away to the back of the first class compartment and strapped herself in, just as the captain announced that they were ready for take off.
A few minutes later, the plane went down the runway and began its ascent up into the sky.
When the plane was flying smoothly above the clouds, they unbuckled their seat belts.
"Tomoyo do you hate me for coming after you?" Touya asked suddenly.
" Yes and no. I hate that you listened to your mother.but now that you're here I don't mind it. In fact I'm sort of glad. I was planning on staying with a few friends for the summer, but now I could spend it with you.. Wait what about the University?! You have summer term!" she exclaimed.
"Don't worry, I told the Dean I might be taking this summer off. I'll just tell him I had an emergency in the states when we get there." he said, " And it wouldn't be lying either."
"But you just started, what will they think if you just go away for the summer?" she asked.
"If it makes you feel any better I'll tell him that I'm meeting with a professor from UCLA to exchange some teaching ideas. which I already had that in mind before this whole thing began. "
"Now stop trying to change the subject and tell me what's going on, you can't run away this time." he said.
"If I talk.you have to tell me why you stayed with me."
"Deal." he said.
"You know I've loved her for a long time.I guess it just began an obsession, you know making the outfits for her and video taping her. she was the first person who was truly nice to me. And she was so pretty too, everything about her was amazing. I told her so many times that I loved her but she was just too dense to get it. It hurt when she began to fall in love with Syaoran-kun, she would go off and leave me all by myself. my best friend didn't want to be concerned with me anymore.
We went through Elementary, Jr. High and High School together but she still didn't get how I felt. She would fix me up on these dates with guys who were so dense, all they cared about was sports and sex. The first real date I went on was with a girl I had met at an all-school choir competition.her name was Yui. she acted like Sakura in a lot of ways but she didn't have that sweet caring personality, so after a month or so of going out places I told her I couldn't anymore.
I tried dating boys, but I didn't like them and I never found a girl like Sakura so eventually I just stopped trying. You know in all those dates I've never had a kiss, I know it sounds stupid to you. A part of me was hoping that in some way Sakura would realize it and love me, but when I got the wedding invitation. I knew it was over, I made her dress but I couldn't go see her in it. even though I know Syaoran loves her, I still wish I was in his place." I feel like I'm sick in the head, I don't know why but it's like one half of my mind is saying you're disgusting! and the other half is saying but you only want love! Have you ever felt like that Touya?"
He looked at her, wondering if she could have possibly been any closer to what he was thinking at that moment, in all of his years with Yuki. he had felt that he was sick, but he had no one else to turn to so he stayed in what felt comfortable. He could still remember what happened that night, They had been standing outside together looking up at the moon, it was perfectly clear that night and a thousand no million stars must have lit the sky. Just as he had been about to speak, Yukito turned to him and using his affectionate nickname told him that he had fallen in love with some one else.
"Dare ga?" he asked shocked and outraged.
"Akizuki-san." Yukito said calmly.
He left abruptly, and went to the nearest bar.where he got drunk and then walked back to his apartment, of course he had stopped a few times to smash his fist against brick buildings and bloody his knuckles. When he got inside he took all the photos that he had of Yuki over the years and locked them away in a drawer, he couldn't stand to look at them anymore.
"Touya.. Touya?" Tomoyo said.
He snapped out of his thoughts and looked at her, she had asked him something just then. what was it?
"What did you say?" he asked.
"I asked you what you wanted to do after we got settled in." she said smiling, trying her hardest not to look like she was about ready to shatter into a million pieces.
"I'm not sure, but Tomoyo.why have we been speaking English?" he asked.
"I need the practice." she lied.
" So do you, you've gone rusty in five years."
The truth was that she simply wanted to forget her life and everything to do with it. He laughed lightly, trying to ease what she was feeling; he could see it in her eyes, the look that was trying to say she was just fine but really it was saying that she needed a shoulder.
"You never answered my other question. were you trying to get out of it?" she asked as she looked out the window towards the rising sun..
"No. but if you really want to know, I was sort of doing the same thing that you were.I played a song that I hadn't played in six months that night. It was the first thing I ever played for him, I also played it the night he left. I was trying to get all of my emotions out just like you were. So when you were crying.well it felt right to stay with you." he responded.
"I'm sorry I went off at you last night, I don't know why I did that." she said.
"I did the same thing, when my father tried to get me to talk, it was like what the hell do you think you're doing trying to pry into my life? I told him some things that Sakura overheard, she came down from up stairs and slapped me. Then she cried, I mean I deserved it. there was no reason for her to cry. I looked at Dad and he didn't say anything. but he stood up and grabbed something from mother's old jewelry box, then he came back and put it in my hand.
When I came back to the apartment, I looked at what he gave me. It was a pair of old diary keys on a red silk cord, I must have sat there the entire night trying to figure out what they meant.
For three days I carried those keys around with me until finally I went back and threw them at Dad, I asked him what they meant and he just smiled for a while. I told him that I wanted to know, and then he told me to give a key to the person I loved. I told him I wouldn't love anyone again and he said the same thing that mother told me just a few weeks ago. don't worry you'll find someone and they'll be who you least expect."
"That's sweet. the key thing I mean." she said yawning.
"Why don't you get some sleep. I'll wake you up when breakfast comes." he said.
"I don't want to sleep." she said yawning again "Besides I don't have a pillow."
"You didn't bring anything with you?"
"No.I'm going to buy new things when we get there, but I did bring my car and my journal." she said holding up the leather bound book and keys for reference.
He shook his head, and lifted his armrest that way she could lean against him. it was the least he could do for her.
She looked at him, but lay down against his chest anyway; knowing that he would be more comfortable than leaning against the hard plexi-glass window.
When she was asleep, he looked over to the empty seat across the aisle; there sat his mother, putting a finger to her lips and making a motion with her other hand as if she was brushing her cheek. Then she pointed to Tomoyo and made the motion again, he looked back down and saw that Tomoyo was tensed up and tears were coming out of her closed eyes. She had been asleep little more than five minutes and already she seemed to be having a bad dream. He began to brush his hand over her left cheek and felt her move slightly, he quickly stopped what he was doing and was going to let her sleep without disturbance but she opened her eyes and turned her body to face his, then moved his hand to her other cheek and closed her eyes again. Yuki had never been this gentle when he slept, when Touya would shift to do such simple things, Yuki would toss and turn not wanting to be held or touched in any way.
He loved watching as people slept, he would sit there for hours to watch Sakura sleep after his father had gone to bed; those were the times when he would talk to his mother the most. She would come into the room dressed as her memory served her in her favorite flannel nightgown, then she would go and sit where the old rocking chair was, right by Sakura's crib. He was the only one who could feel the touch of the spirits, after all he was the only one who could see them. So it was right that he was able to run over to his mother and have her rock him as she sang him her lullaby, they would stay up for a long while and talk quietly as the cicadas would chirp and the wind would blow through the trees. She would tell him of her favorite magical stories, and even some stories about her own magical encounters as a child. but his favorite story was how she and his father had met.
She had found a small baby bird on the ground and wanted to go put it back in its nest. As she climbed the tree Sonomi kept insisting that she come back down but his mother kept saying that it was only a bit farther; when suddenly she had lost her footing, slipped and fell from the tree. His father had been sitting underneath the tree on a bench reading a book and she fell right into his lap, he asked her if she was all right and she said yes and from then on they were inseparable. He had always laughed when she said that his father had said: "I thought an angel fell from the sky."
Looking down at her sleeping form now, she was calm and angelic in her beauty; it pulled at him and he had no idea why. It wasn't like that pull he had when it came to Yuki. but it was similar and that scared him. Suddenly he realized what his mother was up to, they both needed someone to be with in her eyes so why not find it in each other? Was she completely blind? For one thing she was eight years his junior and another she was his cousin on his mother's side and even if it was accepted in Japan.he wasn't sure if his mother had her head on straight. He had to put a stop to this crazy plan of hers before it got out of hand; then again it had been his fault in the first place. If he had just let her alone last night, his mother wouldn't have gotten that idea. ( If you had left her alone. you know she would have killed herself.( his mind said.
He cut off his thoughts at that moment, Tomoyo wouldn't kill herself. she wasn't that stupid.
It was just past eight am when the flight attendant came around with the food trays. Touya gently shook Tomoyo awake and told her that it was time to eat. Sitting up, Tomoyo tried her best to flatten down her hair but gave up at the miserable attempt and ate the cold breakfast and juice. When she was finished, Touya looked at her and began to laugh; "What are you laughing at?" she asked.
"You have a milk mustache." he said.
"Oh ha ha ha very funny, like you've never done that." she said taking her napkin and wiping it off.
"I thought it was." he said grinning. She smacked him lightly on the arm, which of course caused him to make a very sad look and say "You hit me."
"Oh poor baby." she said smiling.
The rest of the day went smoothly, and Touya seemed to forget what he was thinking about earlier as Tomoyo slept. With a deck of cards that he had brought, they had plenty to do as well as other things to talk about but each stayed away from the subject that had brought them to this moment.
As it was just starting to get dark back in Japan, the light of the sun was rising higher over the North American continent. The pilot announced that the flight would be reaching its destination within fifteen minutes and to start making preparations for landing. Tomoyo and Touya put their seatbelts back on and grabbed their things, eager to get back on solid ground. The plane approached L.A. International's landing strip and descended down onto the blacktop with a light bump and skid, then went down the roadway towards the terminals. Airport attendants brought the steps to the door and then waited as the passengers came down, then they directed them through the terminals. Tomoyo waited outside until she saw her car unloaded safely after handing off her keys. Then she drove to the front of the airport where she waited for Touya, he came out sometime later carrying two large bags and set them in her trunk. When he got into the passengers side he buckled his belt and they left the crowded place and headed out slowly at first into L.A traffic.
It felt good to be back in the city again, familiar places and the warm sun shining its rays down on you, and the palm trees swaying in the wind as people walked, skated, or boarded down to their favorite hang outs. Tomoyo looked over at Touya and saw him smile in contented happiness like that of a child.
"Touya is it all right if we go visit a friend of mine?" Tomoyo asked. He nodded, and watched as the sites flew by almost in a blur as she turned down the streets to this friend's house. They soon pulled in front of a spacious house.if you could call it a house. They both got out of the car and she locked it, then they both went up the steps and rang the doorbell. It was answered by a woman who looked to be about Tomoyo's age, she looked at them for a few moments. "Can I help you?" she asked.
"Emily.it's me Tomoyo.remember?" she asked a little hesitantly.
"Oh my god..Tomoyo!" she screamed pulling her into a tight hug. "Where the hell have you been?! It's been what three years? Oh my God!" She pulled them both inside, and shut the door.
Over the next hour it was conversation of what had gone on while Tomoyo was gone, Touya had been introduced as a close friend, which got the response "How close?" Tomoyo neglected to answer, which made him look up in a bit of surprise but no one seemed to notice. Touya made a call to his old college roommate Chris then stood by the door. The jetlag was starting to hit both of them and they yawned as they bid goodbye to Emily, she nodded and opened the door saying that they could stop by anytime they wanted to.
Touya directed Tomoyo to Chris's place, who said over the phone that he had plenty of room for them to come and stay. So far everything was going in the right direction and it seemed that nothing could spoil a summer in L.A. except maybe for the meddling of a certain spirit.
A/N: I believe that all of those who may be reading this understand the way arranged marriages work, but just in case you don't.arranged marriages take usually two related people along the line of the mother's side who are cousins and have the father figure of both of them agree to marry their son and daughter together for the betterment of the family. This is still a common practice today in Japan and China as a way to keep family names and histories close. or even for control of major corporations.
Touya's mother in this case simply thinks that her son is lonely and knows that he won't settle down with anyone, so seeing as Tomoyo is broken- hearted; she thinks it would be a good idea. but will it all work out even under the eyes of our blind characters? Stay tuned for the next chapter!
"Suru anata motteiru nanika sutsukesu?" -Do you have any baggage with you?
"Iie tatta hitotsu kuruma." -No just a car.
"Daro anata iru motteiku o to issho ni?" -Will you be taking it with you?
"Hai." - Yes
"Onaji no yoku." -Very well
"Nani hiko daro anata iru motteiku?" -What flight will you be taking?
"Hiko bango 432 o Amerika, Los Angeles." -Flight number 432 to America, Los Angeles.
"Domo Arigato."-Thank you very much.
"Do itashimashite."- You're welcome.
"Tomoyo matte!" -Tomoyo wait!
"Naze?" -Why?
"Ganbatte!" -Good luck!
"Korera ni zokusuru anata.hitori no an'naigakari okurikaesu karera o Diadouji-san." -These belong to you.an attendant sent them, Miss Diadouji.
"Dare ga?"- Who?