Disclaimer: I don't own any of the characters in this fiction but the plot is entirely mine as I based it from a story I'm making at the moment though I do want to own kawaii Eriol…
Chapter 2 – Arranged Future
Rain, ran go away, come again another day
Little children, little children want to have some fun and play today…
"Great! Just great!" Eriol exclaimed in frustration as he rushed to the hotel entrance. He looked at his watch, 15 minutes to eight. He was late… way too late… and his mother and sister will not like it one bit.
After his horrible ordeal with the black haired girl he got himself stuck into another congested traffic and a lengthy sermon from Nakuru when he called to her that he was going to be late and that she pick his costume up for him instead.
Walking straight to the elevator gazes followed him making him uncomfortable. He was soaking wet, his midnight hair a mess and his cheek a little swollen. He tried drying himself on the way to the hotel but to no avail as his handkerchief was soaking wet as well and his convertible started to act strange much to his surprise.
After his encounter with the ungrateful raven haired girl the only thing he had with him was full time bad luck and it is driving him crazy. Stopping at the room with the number 864 in it he quickly reached for the keys Nakuru gave to him earlier. He needs to hurry or he might find himself stuck in another hour of sermons.
He was to step inside when the scream of a black haired girl putting on a fairy costume stopped him in his tracks.
"I-I'm sorry… I-I must have gone to the wrong room…You're… YOU'RE THE UNGRATEFUL BRAT!t" Eriol stammered recognizing the girl who is now struggling to cover her body from his eyes.
"HENTAI!!" the girl screamed throwing everything that caught her reach to Eriol's direction – clock, shoes, vase…. And much to his horror an antique cabinet.
"Djoto! … hey.. watch it!..." Eriol stammered as he avoided the things thrown in his direction.
"What's wrong?" Nakuru asked coming out of the bathroom in the room.
"Nakuru-san, there's a pervert!" the black haired girl exclaimed rushing to Nakuru's side and pulling her costume together.
"Oniichan!" Nakuru exclaimed rushing to Eriol. "What took you so long? And why are you soaking wet?"
"It's that brat's fault!" Eriol said anger suddenly rushing unto him. Of all people he could have caught dressing in the room his sister motioned him to, why her?
"Like it is my fault, jerk!" the black haired girl snapped back.
"What's the meaning of all of this?" a raven haired woman in her early forties with beautiful green eyes wearing a witch costume asked entering the room overhearing the commotion from outside.
"Mom, what is this obnoxious brat doing here?' Eriol demanded walking to the woman's direction.
"Aunt Tamara just what is this pervert doing here?" the black haired girl asked the same time with Eriol.
"Is there anything wrong Tamara?" another woman with dark brown hair and beautiful brown eyes wearing an angel costume asked walking into the room.
"I don't know Sonomi, now Tomoyo what's wrong?" Tamara asked her eyes turning from the black haired girl to Eriol to her again.
"I was dressing up when all of a sudden the door swung open and he was staring at me…" Tomoyo started.
"I was not staring at you! I just got into the room in search of Nakuru! I was supposed to get my costume from her!" Eriol exclaimed in disbelief. No way was he going to allow himself be accused as a pervert when he didn't do anything wrong especially after all that he has been through the whole day.
"Yeah-yeah, yeah, pull my leg, like who on earth are you?" Tomoyo pouted not buying his excuse.
"Now, now, I think there's a misunderstanding here…" Tamara started trying to hush the two who are casting daggers through their eyes.
"Tomoyo-san, this is my eldest son, Eriol, Nakuru gave him the keys to the room to get his costume as he's late for the party. He didn't mean to embarrass you or anything" she explained placing a hand on Tomoyo's shoulders. Tomoyo opened her mouth to say something but closed it once again. She wanted to mention the incident by the river but decided not to as her mother did not know that she went there alone and she knew better that stating that incident would bring trouble on her part.
"Eriol, I'd like you to meet my best friend in college, Mrs. Sonomi Daidouji and her daughter Tomoyo." She said motioning to the woman standing beside her.
"I hate to be rude Mom, but just what is the meaning of this and just what is she doing here?" Eriol said slightly allowing his annoyance be seen in his mother's authoritative presence.
"Why such temper? It's settled already, it was an accident, and Tomoyo didn't mean to accuse you…" Tamara said trying to remain calm at the outburst of Eriol's temper.
"It's not just about now… she…" Eriol started only to be cut short by Tomoyo who shot another question.
"Just why are we attending this party Mom? Really, if it's just of the Halloween party we always throw one in England why do you have to pull me all the way to Tokyo? It can't be because of Aunt Tamara, we can always invite her there…" Tomoyo asked looking at Sonomi's brown eyes. Sonomi looked away looking at Tamara in hope of support.
"Well… actually sweetie… it's not just about the Halloween party, right Tamara?" Sonomi asked nervousness totally obvious from her voice.
"Y-yeah… to tell you the truth… Sonomi and I have an important announcement to make…" Tamara said clasping her hands, nervous as well.
"Which is?" Eriol and Tomoyo said at the same time. Upon the realization they shot daggers from their eyes again and looked back at their mothers.
"We didn't think we would be announcing it this early but… I guess this is all for the best, do you think, Sonomi?" Tamara asked looking at Sonomi, uneasy all over.
"…I guess so, Tam…" Sonomi replied with a sigh.
"The truth is… I and Sonomi have arranged an engagement between Tomoyo and Eriol since…" Tamara said clasping her hands once again.
"ENGAGEMENT?" the two exclaimed in horror. It was only a three syllable word and somehow the words keep on echoing on their heads like an endless serenade, only this one is not as pleasant as a typical serenade – this one is very annoying.
"Mom, you got to be kidding, I'm only fifteen not fifty!" Tomoyo exclaimed in horror. She could not believe what she just heard. Engagement? What was her mother thinking?
"Why that's nice!" Nakuru squealed clapping her hands together in delight. Tomoyo and Eriol looked at her in disbelief.
"Oh… I mean… that's surprising…" Nakuru said, uncomfortable by the stares of the two.
"What do you mean nice? Mom! What do you mean engagement?" Eriol questioned shocked at the way things are going. It surely was not his lucky day.
"Take it easy, Eriol. I'm just concerned of your welfare… you're going to college soon…and… and you know" Tamara explained in her most sweet motherly way like what she is saying is something that happens naturally in every high school student.
"What does this have to do with college? I'm not buying this…" Eriol said walking out of the room.
"Eriol!" Tamara called out trying to run after her son.
"Well… you don't expect me to be happy about this do you? Because I'm telling you now, happy doesn't seem to be the right word for this…Because I'm not. We don't even have anything in common and I HATE THAT GUY!" Tomoyo said grabbing one of the keys at the table and walking out of the room as well.
"Well, that's one thing in common…" Nakuru said waving her pointing finger as if to drive her point.
"I guess they're quite shocked by our announcement, should we turn back, Sim?' Tamara asked a look of worry on her face.
"Don't worry about that Tam, they're just surprised, just let them be for now… before we know it they're totally head over heels on each other..." Sonomi said reassuringly.
---
"I can't believe this! This just cannot be possible!" Eriol said under his breath as he opened the hotel suite 945, his mother has reserved for it as the party will be up to past midnight. It was a big room lavishly furnished with fabric- covered walls, crystal chandeliers and original French paintings from the 18th and 19th centuries with three rooms, one for him, his mother and one for Nakuru each equipped with a bathroom just as big as the hall. He doesn't care much on those things though, he was way much more caught up with what happened a couple of minutes ago than to look around and stuff.
"College? Just what does that have to do with me? I'm only a junior in high school…" he said to no one in particular closing the door shut as he take off his wet clothes and took a shower.
"Engagement? Like, I'll be marrying by the next ten years?" he exclaimed to himself in disbelief, steam totally coming out of his head.
After minutes soaked in cold water, he dried himself and put on a clean pair of pajamas and climbed to bed. He didn't want to go at the party any longer, he never wanted to. With their surprising announcement at least he had an excuse to skip the whole thing and sleep instead.
And sleep he did. The toll of the whole day just seems to beat the spirit in him and he dozed soundly to dreamland.
As of Tomoyo, she got herself stuck in between a mob of fans who wanted her autograph.
"Um… I would really like to entertain all of you, but I really have to go… Minna-san, gomen nasai" she said excusing herself and running to the elevator.
She was planning to go to the party and relax herself but it seems that she has to go bed early as the mob of people won't disappear that easily. Checking her key number she walked into the long paneled corridors and searched for suite number 945.
"Mom's probably here…" she said to herself upon the sight of the still-open lights.
Opening one of the rooms, she found a sleeping figure snug under the dark blue covers of the king sized bed.
"Now Mom, I thought you said you wanted to hang out the whole time with Aunt Tamara! Why are you in bed?" she asked teasingly shaking the figure slightly.
"Are you upset about my outburst a while ago? I honestly don't like the idea, Mom." She said tugging the figure slightly waiting for a reaction.
"If you don't want to talk to me about it now… that's okay… because I don't want to either… I'm way too sleepy… I'll just sleep here, if that's okay with you…" she said stifling a yawn and resting her head in one of the pillows.
"Goodnight, Mom" she whispered before the sandman cast its spell on her as well.
---
The streaks of the sun's golden rays that seeped from the plush curtains blinded Eriol's cerulean eyes awakening him from his slumber. Rubbing his eyes with the back of his hand, he tried to get out of bed but felt a certain weight pull the sheets from him.
Following the direction the sheets pulled his jaw dropped almost near the floor at the sight of Tomoyo soundly asleep next to him.
"What the…?" he said surprised. It didn't take a while and Tomoyo was awake and was just as surprised as Eriol.
"What are you doing here?" she asked pulling the sheets near her.
"What are YOU doing here? This is my hotel suite…" Eriol returned the question emphasizing his words.
"But the key I got… it says 945… I-I thought you were Mom…" Tomoyo stammered pointing at the room keys at the side table as if to drive her point.
"Well, I'm not. And you're in the wrong suite! The nerve of you to accuse me of pervert last night…" Eriol said giving Tomoyo a taste of her sarcasm.
"Are you telling me that I'm a pervert?" Tomoyo asked placing a hand on her waist.
"I didn't say that. You did." Eriol said in a matter-of-fact tone.
"You… PERVERT!!" Tomoyo exclaimed hitting him with a pillow totally disgusted by the idea.
"You want to fight? I don't care if you're a girl… You've been pissing me off since yesterday…" Eriol said fighting back with his pillow.
"Why you!" Tomoyo said pushing him out of the bed and he fell in a loud thud.
"Ouch! That hurt." Eriol exclaimed placing a hand on his back.
"Who were you calling a pervert?" Tomoyo asked teasingly from the edge o the bed.
"You! Hentai!" Eriol said pulling Tomoyo from the edge of the bed causing her to fall on top of him.
"Hentai! Let go!" Tomoyo exclaimed trying to break free from Eriol's grasp. Apparently the slit of her chiffon dress from her fairy costume the previous night got stuck in a protruding screw of the bed and she couldn't stand up.
"I can't breathe, how can I let go?!" Eriol exclaimed pushing Tomoyo away from him. If it's because Tomoyo's weight or something else he doesn't know, for the next moments were his most dreaded ones…
"Eriol!" a familiar voice said entering the room.
Eriol and Tomoyo looked at the direction where the voice came. Tamara was by the door, jaws wide open. She seemed shocked from the way she almost dropped her mobile phone and how she opened her mouth and close it for a number of times. She was definitely in a lost of words.
For a couple of seconds they were just staring at each other in utter surprise.
Eriol…
Tomoyo…
Tamara…
And if the objects in the room have their own thoughts as well… they could have fainted…
"Mom!" Eriol exclaimed pushing Tomoyo away from him causing a loud rip sound and a furious Tomoyo yelling.
"Ouch! My back!" she exclaimed as she fall on her butt.
"My… I didn't know you two get along that much…" Tamara said a smile starting to form at the edge of her lips.
"No… you don't get it… I-I… I thought it was Mom, I got the wrong room keys… and then we started to fight…" Tomoyo stammered standing up. She surely didn't like the way things are going and her flushed cheeks says it all.
"Yeah, Mom and her dress got stuck in a screw and everything…" Eriol said standing up as well, a hand on the spot where he landed.
"Now dear, there's no need getting embarrassed from getting intimate… she's your fiancée after all…" Tamara said with a reassuring smile making it sound like as if what she just saw were kids sneaking a cookie in between meals.
"No, you don't get it…it was all an accident…" Tomoyo said shaking her head hard a hand on her now almost bare back.
"Of course it was an accident sweetie… you two didn't mean to argue last night, I'm quite glad you two are starting to get along I was worried that we have made a wrong decision…" Tamara said running a hand on Tomoyo's black hair.
"But this is all a mistake… you don't understand…" Tomoyo said shaking her head harder.
"Mom… stop it… you're misinterpreting things…" Eriol said getting more annoyed on how dense his mother can be. Count on her for her silliest ideas on running his life or ruining it more of.
"Eriol, that's not how you talk to your mother!" Tamara said in an authoritative voice once again. Tomoyo shivered. She couldn't believe such a lovely woman has the talent to change moods in a split second from being a pushy sweet lady to a dictator down to the last bone.
"You don't really want me to give you a lecture right in front of Tomoyo, do you?" Tamara said. Eriol shut his mouth. He knew it was no use arguing over his mother. She was just… just… way too pushy…
"Now, Tomoyo dear. You're mother is waiting for you downstairs, you seem to be having an important appointment to attend to… she's at the lobby" Tamara said looking at her platinum watch.
"I hope you don't mind Aunt Tamara but could I borrow a jacket or something… the back of my dress is ripped…" Tomoyo said quite embarrassed.
"Of course dear. Eriol, why don't you lend Tomoyo your jacket…" Tamara said with a smile.
Eriol was to retort but Tamara's stare stopped him and he went to the closet and came back with a black trench coat to Tamara who in turn handed it to Tomoyo.
"Thank you, Aunt Tamara…" Tomoyo said putting on the coat.
"You're always welcome dear. But I would be really glad if you would just call me Mom. After all, you'll be Eriol's wife…" Tamara said with a sly smile.
Tomoyo just smiled. Eriol forced himself to shut his mouth. Afraid to get herself into another complex conversation, Tomoyo excused herself and went out of the room to lobby where she found her mother sipping coffee with a dark bald man in totally black clothing. Beside the bald man was an ash blonde woman with gray eyes. She too was wearing black only she had a white blouse inside her black coat.
"Hi Mom!" Tomoyo greeted as she approached the table, giving her mother a kiss on the cheek.
"What's the jacket for?" Sonomi asked pointing at the black trench coat lining Tomoyo's petite frame as she motioned Tomoyo to sit beside her.
"Oh… nothing…Who are they?" Tomoyo asked taking a seat as told.
"Tomoyo, I would like you to meet Mr. Andrew Burns, head of a Security Agency here in Japan and his assistant Mrs. Ramona Hilton. They're elite veterans who have escorted international celebrities and even Royal Families…" Sonomi said pointing to the bald man and ash blonde woman who bowed meekly to Tomoyo.
"Mr. Burns, Mrs. Hilton, my daughter, Tomoyo." Sonomi said introducing Tomoyo.
"Security? What for?" Tomoyo asked though she was half aware on where the discussion was heading to.
"Well… since your previous bodyguard Elmira has already settled down, I though you would need a new one…" Sonomi said dabbing her napkin on her well painted lips in a matter-of-fact –voice or rather a superior voice, the one Tomoyo has always feared to disobey with.
"Mom… but I don't need a…" Tomoyo started, making a face.
"Tomoyo, we've talked about this already haven't we. You need a bodyguard, I heard about what happened to you from Mr. Brown. It's no longer safe now …besides you'll get a female bodyguard just like last time…" Sonomi cut in looking at Tomoyo straight in the eyes.
Tomoyo looked down. There was no use putting up an argument. They have argued about this for more than a dozen times and they have only agreed with each others terms when an obsessed fan started stalking her when she was just twelve. The terms are that she will get a bodyguard only if it is a woman and she will just have one bodyguard. Though quite hesitant, Sonomi agreed. Well, at least, one is better than none.
"O… Okay…" Tomoyo shrugged in defeat. For the last 24 hours of her life she has been debating with everybody starting with her Mother, to Eriol, Aunt Tamara… EVERYBODY! And she is starting to get tired from all the babbling and retorts. She was no longer in a mood to do so.
"I'm glad to hear that, I was expecting that you'd put up an argument. Mrs. Hilton will be your bodyguard starting today. Shall we get going now? I'm afraid we will be late for our appointment." Sonomi said standing up from her chair and pulling a number of bills from her purse.
"Appointment? What appointment?" Tomoyo asked puzzled standing up from her seat as well, following her mother out of the hotel room to the chauffeured Rolls-Royce waiting at the Hotel entrance.
"School appointment… first semester is almost over and the second is about to start, you can still catch up…" Sonomi said getting inside the car opened by Mr. Burns.
"I'm studying here in Tokyo? In a school?" Tomoyo asked surprised. Ever since her success in modeling she has been taking lessons from a private teacher as she always have to go from one place to another. She's a senior in junior high now and what her mother just said didn't make any sense to her.
"Yes, that's what you wanted back then right? A normal schooling…" Sonomi said.
"Your father and I have talked about it and have decided that you should take a break… you know, lesser photo shoots and stuff…" Sonomi said like as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.
"You mean to say, we're staying here in Japan? But I thought we're here just to see Aunt Tamara?" Tomoyo said still not believing what she was hearing. From the way it sounds, there ought to be something wrong in the world. She' has always wanted to have a normal schooling and a normal life or at least a semi-normal one. She's been modeling ever since she was five and she's growing a little bit tired of the attention.
"It's not just about Tamara or the party… your father thinks that it's all for the best as he shall be having a major business transaction here in Japan as well… so, perhaps we'll be staying here for a couple of years or something…" Sonomi explained.
"That's nice. When is Dad catching up with us? Where are we staying?" Tomoyo asked excited at the announcement of her mother. The idea of settling down sounds nice to her. It was something different for a change.
"Easy with the questions…" Sonomi giggled taken aback by Tomoyo's reaction as they walk their way to the car.
"Your Dad will be here next month, he just needs to settle some things there in England so he can do business here in Japan and we're thinking of staying in the estate just before Tokyo." Sonomi continued.
"You mean the Lily estate?" Tomoyo blurted out. Sonomi blinked.
"Why yes, it's where you used to stay when you were just a little girl right? Henry and I thought that you would like to stay there since it's where you used to live…" Sonomi said trying to hide her curiosity from her voice as to Tomoyo's reaction upon hearing the Lily Estate.
"I heard it was a beautiful estate with lots of white lilies and has an English styled 18th Century greenhouse…quite lovely…" Sonomi said trying to start a conversation.
"Yeah… I used to play around there… with…" Tomoyo said not knowing if she should go ahead.
"With Lauren?" Sonomi finished for her with a smile.
"Yeah… with her…" Tomoyo said looking down uncertain of how she should complete her statement.
"What's wrong? Is there anything bothering you?" Sonomi asked worried at the sudden change in Tomoyo's expression.
"I… I don't want to stay there… could we just get a new house or something? You know something different…" Tomoyo said trying to change her voice to a more cheery one.
"Just this once, please… I could really use a change of environment" Tomoyo begged mastering all the puppy dog eyes she could master and looking at Sonomi straight in the eye.
"I'll talk to your dad about it… we'll see…" Sonomi said quite taken aback by the way Tomoyo sounded.
---
Eriol appears on the screen kicking a pebble
This is Eriol! I surely am unlucky...first the cemetery, kicks a bigger pebble then the party, kicks a much bigger pebble then the hotel suite kicks a very big pebble... I just hope my friends won't learn about this kicks a BOULDER... WHAT?!? They know?! Boulder lands somewhere at the backstage Maybe I should not go to school...
Things can't get any worse right? I mean... EH?? ... Tomoyo's studying in my school??!!
Next on Project Engagement: Chapter 3 Schoolmate
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