Diamond Sky Chapter 5: Remember, a card captor sakura fanfic

Diamond Sky

Chapter Five: Remember

One week later…

"Eriol-KUUUUN!!"

Ever amiable, Eriol turned with an ever ready smile. And in a soft spoken tone, addressed the pack of senior girls who were currently giggling their heads off in his polite, respectful manner.

"Ohayo gozaimasu, sempai-tachi. Is there anything I can do for you?"

More giggling ensued. Self appointed leader, Hirayama Junko ("I get to be leader! I've got HIRA in my surname! Almost like Hiiragizawa!") stepped forward, a brilliant smile on her face. "Eriol-kun, there you are! Where've you been hiding yourself this past month?"

"Hiding? I've been around, Hirayama-sempai." Replied Eriol politely.

"Please, Eriol-kun, call me Junko!"

He nodded. "As you wish, Junko-sempai."

Her posse snickered and giggled respectively behind her. Junko ignored them as she barreled on. "Anyway, Eriol-kun, we were wondering if you would join us for lunch in the cafeteria today! We don't often see you and we would so love your company!"

"I see. And to what do I owe this honour to, Junko-sempai?"

Junko smiled sweetly. "For just being yourself, Eriol-kun. Nothing else."

"I'm afraid I don't understand. I'm an ordinary 16-year-old just like the rest…"

"Nonsense!" scoffed Junko. "You're so much better than even the boys our age."

"It's true!" echoed the self appointed vice leader, Torajiro Leiko. "They're so immature when compared to you, Eriol-kun."

Eriol smiled. "Thank you, Torajiro-sempai. I'm honoured that you asked me to join you for lunch…"

Giggling and squeals echoed from the group of ten girls behind Leiko and Junko. The ever popular, ever polite, ever cute and handsome Hiiragizawa Eriol was about to join them! What bliss it would be sharing the same bento with that cutie pie!!

"But I'm afraid I must decline."

You could almost hear the sound of twelve hearts crashing right through the tiled second floor and onwards to the ground floor where it landed with a loud, soggy squish, through the silence.

Junko was the first to find her voice. "…WHY?!!"

Eriol's attempt at an explanation was drowned out by cries, sobs and demands of "Unfair!!" "WHY?!" "NO!!". Leiko flapped her arms in the traditional "Shut up you idiots!!!" hand signal before turning back to Eriol, eyes conjuring up the image of broken hearts and soggy pillows as a result of crying throughout the night with candles burning by the side of the bed.

"I'm afraid I have a previous engagement, Junko-sempai."

"Previous engagement?!" Junko screeched. "What previous engagement?! With WHO?!"

Eriol continued smiling calmly. "With a friend, Junko-sempai. And I'm afraid I'm already a few minutes late."

He bowed slightly before straightening.

"Perhaps another time, sempai-tachi. Thank you."

A dozen senior girls watched dumbly as Eriol turned and walked down the corridor and out of sight.

For two minutes, silence swept around them.

Then a single battle cry broke through.

"FOLLOW HIM!!"

Eriol watched from behind a slightly opened classroom door as dust clouds rose up from under the thundering feet of the Eriol-hungry members of HEFC in the corridor. Shaking his head slightly, he closed the door and snapped his fingers.

Tomoyo blinked to see the dark haired boy pop into being beside her just as she was about to leave the class for lunch.

"…ano… Hiiragizawa-san…?"

"Ah, sorry I'm late." Eriol smiled apologetically. "I was detained by Junko-sempai and her friends. And I'm quite sure you're unwilling to be intruded upon by their company, nice as they are."

Tomoyo chuckled good-naturedly. "And what was your excuse this time?"

"What do you mean, 'excuse'?" replied Eriol, feigning slight hurt. "I had a legitimate reason."

A half grin grew on her face. "Such as…?"

Eriol merely took the gaily wrapped bento out of her hands and smiled. "I promised to have lunch with a good friend. Now… shall we?"

Tomoyo nodded, the half grin replaced with a smile. As the pair walked side by side out of the classroom, she contemplated just how things had changed. Hiiragizawa-san's plan had been simple.

"If you would permit me, I could accompany you during lunch so that Sakura-san won't see you being alone. That way, you will not feel guilty at making Sakura-san guilty."

Tomoyo looked so startled, he had to laugh. "I'd like to think that having me join you for lunch isn't as bad an experience as you might imagine, Daidouji-san."

The pale girl immediately shook her head. "No, that's not what I meant. I'm sorry. It's just that… are you sure you wouldn't mind? Surely you'd like to join Sakura and Syaoran…"

"I believe that if I intrude on their lunch once more, Li-san will not be responsible for his actions over a sudden lack of anger management." Grinned Eriol. "And I think that if the seniors saw that I was indeed, shall we say, engaged in something, they would stop trying to ask me to share their lunches."

Tomoyo, in the pit of her stomach, felt alongside a feeling of agreement, a slight feeling of resentment. He was merely using her to ward off the fans.

Then again, wasn't she just using him to alleviate the feeling of guilt off her shoulders?

She contemplated his face for a little more before nodding. "…alright, Hiiragizawa-san. That sounds sensible."

Ever since then, she and Eriol had shared their bento boxes. Their chosen spot was one that was a distance away from Sakura and Syaoran as well as Chiharu and Yamazaki. It was under the shade of the school building, rather secluded where they could observe everyone that chose to have lunch out on the school lawn. To the others, they were just two students whose faces no one could really make out.

That day, Tomoyo had packed some sushi and salmon sashimi and since Eriol had been kind enough to provide some lasagna last time, she had gone and baked a small cake just yesterday afternoon. Eriol's dark blue eyes lit up with a kind of childlike glee to see the slice of sponge cake topped with kiwi slices and strawberry halves sitting placidly amongst the fish and rice.

"Daidouji-san, that looks absolutely delicious."

"It's the least I could do." Tomoyo smiled widely. "That lasagna was cooked to perfection. I had no idea you could cook that well."

"Well, it's amazing what one can do with a cookbook." He smiled as he picked up his pair of chopsticks. "I'm glad you enjoyed it that much."

Tomoyo picked up her own share of sushi. "I hope the sponge cake tastes good. I wasn't sure if you liked kiwi or strawberry."

"Ah, I love both. Sweet and sour is a wonderful combination." He popped some crabmeat wrapped rice and seaweed into his mouth. "Rather like most of the couples here."

"Hmm… an example?"

He smiled. "Sakura and my ever delightful descendant for one. I don't think I need to tell you who is sweet and who is sour."

Tomoyo chuckled. "Alright. Let me try… Chiharu-chan and Yamazaki-kun?"

"Considering Chiharu-san's tendency to violence whenever Yamazaki-kun stretches the truth… I'd say Chiharu-san would veer towards the sour side."

"But it's always Yamazaki-kun who starts it all, what with him lying and someone backing him up in his fabrications." replied Tomoyo with a small grin as she swallowed some rice.

Eriol just smiled as he placed some salmon into his mouth and declined to reply to that statement. "Perhaps they're interchangeable." He looked thoughtful as he chewed, savoured the taste of the sushi and swallowed. "What about Rika-san and Terada-sensei?"

"Rika-chan is most definitely sweet," said Tomoyo immediately. "But as for Terada-sensei, I believe that he's sweet as well. I don't think there's a sour side to him at all."

"Wouldn't that be a sort of strawberry and chocolate combination then?"

Tomoyo took a sip of water from a flask and shook her head. "More like frosting and chocolate. Strawberry has a tart side to it as well and both Rika-chan and Terada-sensei are among the sweetest people I know."

Eriol nodded in agreement. "True. Your observations never fail to be accurate, do they?"

"I guess it's a side effect," replied Tomoyo with a smile. "You can't afford not to be observant behind a camcorder lens. Now, let's see… what about Naoko-chan and Toshiro-san?"

The dark haired boy pondered the suggestion for a minute. "Naoko-san, even with her borderline obsession with the supernatural… she cares a lot for you, Sakura-san, Rika-san, Chiharu-san and Yamazaki-kun. I'd say she's sweet."

"And from what I've seen of Toshiro-san, he's sweet as well." Tomoyo's eyes sparked suddenly with glee. "Did you know, he offered to pay Naoko's overdue book fines twice in a week?"

Eriol had to chuckle at the happiness in his friend's violet eyes. "You seem to be happier about it than Naoko-san. But we have two sweet combinations now… aren't there any more sweet-sour duos?"

Tomoyo offered him a plastic fork.

"Well… if you like, you could consider us."

"Oh?" Eriol smiled as he took the fork from her fingers. "Then, which side would I be, in your opinion?"

Tomoyo tilted her head and put her finger to her chin, as was her habit when she was thinking. "I'd say… you would be the kiwi. You can be tart at times but you're never so sour until it's unpleasant. You're really just sour enough to enhance the flavour…"

Strangely enough, it gave Eriol a feeling of delight to see a slight crimson blush rush to her cheeks as she realized what she had just said.

"That's just my opinion…"

"And I thank you for such a compliment, Daidouji-san." He smiled genuinely. "I'm afraid I can't say anything other than that the strawberry suits you quite well. Pleasantly sweeter but tangy enough to add character." As if to prove his point, he speared a thin slice of strawberry and ate it with a smile.

"Hiiragizawa-san, if those kind of honeyed words don't work on Sakura, it certainly won't work on me either," grinned Tomoyo.

"Alas, the fair lady's sharp perception once again pierces through the façade," lamented Eriol with a large, unconvincing grin. "I present my most humble apologies. May we start over?"

"You are forgiven. Yes, we may," beamed Tomoyo, cheerfully entertaining him in his banter. The two spent the next ten minutes just talking and sharing the slice of cake. Eriol somehow managed to cajole her into at least taking one bite. Then another, and another and another…

"Ah!" Tomoyo cried out softly. "I'm really sorry, Hiiragizawa-san! I ate most of your share…!"

"Really?" He looked at the box where a few crumbs were all that remained of the once scrumptious cake. "Oh, so you did."

"I promise, I'll bring another slice for you tomorrow." She shook her head. "What on earth was I thinking…?"

Eriol shook his head. "No, no. Tomorrow, I shall bring lunch. And dessert in thanks for your cake."

Tomoyo protested but her words were waved away. She finally sighed in resignation. "Very well then. But I'm letting you dig into it. We can consider each other even then. Agreed?"

"You're a shrewd one, Daidouji-san. But," Eriol nodded with his ever-present smile. "Agreed."

It occurred to Tomoyo just then, how often the both of them smiled but never really meant it. She had been guilty of empty, hollow smiles before. He too, she noticed, still seemed to paste smiles on his face like a mask now and again. Regardless of his cheerful demeanour, she wondered just how many of his smiles actually meant something.

"…Hiiragizawa-san."

"Yes?"

She wondered if he would be surprised at her line of questioning or maybe confused. But she knew Eriol better than to underestimate his intelligence.

"Are any of your smiles real at all?"

Eriol had been a master at disguising any sort of emotion that even remotely suggested surprise. But this question had caught him off guard. Nevertheless, he still had his wits about him and tilted his head slightly.

"Why the sudden question?"

Tomoyo looked at the various students spread all across the courtyard and quietly explained. "I was just wondering about... how often you smile… but never seem to be actually happy."

Eriol followed her gaze at the students as well and thought for a little while. Finally, he came up with an answer. "Not many of my smiles are meant to convey happiness, I'll admit that. However… I dare say that the ones that are actually happy, possess a lot of joy." He looked back at her. "Would I be wrong in saying that… perhaps you are the same?"

A small smile appeared as if to prove him right. "No… no, you wouldn't be wrong. I suppose that for us… genuine smiles are rare but deep." She turned to look at him as well with a wider smile. "Unlike some people we could mention."

Eriol chuckled and nodded. "Unlike some people we could mention. But let me just say this, Daidouji-san." He sat up from where he had been reclining a minute earlier. "Whenever one of your rare real smiles emerge, people notice. They may not be able to place just what is different, but somehow, they know it's a different smile."

"…sou ka." She turned away again, just in time to see Chiharu smack Yamazaki, probably for some tall tale regarding soba fish and soy sauce. She giggled as Yamazaki feebly tried to protest in vain since Chiharu never bought anything he said.

Eriol smiled at her amusement. Trust Tomoyo to brush away a subtle compliment such as that. Suddenly, she spoke again.

"You know what, Hiiragizawa-san? I believe you have the same problem."

He raised an eyebrow at her. "Really?"

She beamed, a small tinge of mischievousness in it. "No one knows what it is exactly but there's something about your real smiles that aren't the same. Something that reminds us you aren't always there to annoy Li-kun until he's ready to wring your neck and throw you off the Tokyo Tower."

Eriol laughed softly. "I see… Tell you what, Daidouji-san. I have a proposition for you." His blue eyes gleamed with what Tomoyo had deemed 'suspicious intent'.

"Whenever we see each other, we'll remind each other to smile for real. What do you say?"

Tomoyo looked at his outstretched pinky and with little hesitation, wrapped her own around his. "Deal." She beamed, for real this time.

With a satisfied nod, Eriol released her finger and they went back to observing the rest of the students, both offering comments now and then. Some were witty exchanges, others were intended to make the other companion laugh.

But both of them had the same thought in mind as the bell rang and they helped each other to clean up and head back to class.

He/She looks better with those genuine smiles.

At the end of the day, everyone was at his or her respective lockers, getting ready to go home. Tomoyo felt a tap on her shoulder just as she was finished filming Naoko latching onto Toshiro for the extremely cute thing he had done in the library that day – he'd gallantly paid her fine for her. Again. (Tomoyo just couldn't help but film the part where Toshiro had used the opportunity to ask Naoko out for ice cream. That had been too good to miss)

She switched the power off and turned to see her lunch partner smirking at her.

Tomoyo smiled, recalling the deal earlier that day. "For real, remember?"

Eriol's smirk turned into a grin. A grin that was… somewhat different. "For real."

From the sidelines, Syaoran raised a suspicious eyebrow as Sakura tied her shoelace.

"What the heck are they doing, smiling at each other like that?"

Sakura looked up and looked in the direction Syaoran was facing. "What? It's just Eriol-kun and Tomoyo talking to each other."

"More like smiling at each other like plain idiots."

"Hoe?" Sakura peered intently. Her boyfriend was right. They were just smiling at each other, having a silent conversation. But… there was something that wasn't quite the same. She couldn't place it… but something was different about those two.

Deciding to wonder about it later, she bent back down to finish tying her loose shoelace.

Disclaimer: Card Captor Sakura (c) CLAMP